OCR Text |
Show Community Comments . . The Utah State Board of Regents - governing body for the state's colleges and universities last week put a temporary damper on plans of College of Eastern Utah to establish a center for higher education in Blanding. Instead, the Board called for a study of such moves by colleges and universities around the state, and that makes a lot more sense than simply letting the expansions take place at the whim of individual college administrators. The Blanding center, as envisioned by College of Eastern Utah President Dean McDonald, would have operated very similar to the Southeastern Utah Center for Continuing Education in Moab, which is sponsored and operated by Utah State University. And there is ' little doubt that there is a need for such an educational opportunity in San Juan County, as well as in Grand County. The problem, as I see it, is that too many institutions, all governed by the same board and all supported by basically the same taxpayers, are trying to do the same job. That's got to be wasteful in terms of expertise as well as dollars. The study, I am convinced, will give the Board of Regents the information it needs to proceed with the establishment of such centers in a systematic manner, with the interests of rural Utah and the state's taxpayers in mind. It seems to me that a logical course for the Board to follow, would be to designate one institution in Utah to handle the job. And it seems only to make good sense that the institution charged with such a task should be the one dedicated to the interests of rural Utah, and one with a proven track record in providing such educational opportunities. Utah State University, as Utah's "land-grant" college, has historically aimed its major efforts at the rural Utah community; for years it was dubbed "Utah State Agricultural College," and though its name has changed, its responsibility to rural Utah has not. The Southeastern Utah Center for Continuing Education in Moab has filled a real community need. Its success is matched in Roosevelt, where Utah State University has operated a similar center for many year. Given the responsibility -- along with the funds -- I am convinced that the University could enlarge the scope of its operations into other rural Utah communities, and could do it easily by utilizing its already seasoned and experienced extension department and staff of traveling professors. sjt I am not surprised at the Board of Big Game Control's ruling last week on the deer hunt in Southeastern Utah. Utah Wildlife Resources people are making it pretty plain that although they talk a lot about wanting public involvement and cooperation, they really aren't going to follow any recommendations from a group of area residents they consider to be trouble-makers. Moab Sportsmen should use reverse psychology on the Wildlife people. Maybe if we asked to have the whole month of October designated "deer season" in Southeastern Utah, they would cancel the hunt altogether. |