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Show Black Hole Award to Kane Co. KANE COUNTY While citizens of Eastern European countries coun-tries were discovering freedom of information, a free press and open governments in 1991, residents of Kane County learned what it's like to live under a repressive government. For blatant abuse of Utah's Open and Public Meetings Act, the Utah Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has awarded the Kane County Commission, along with the Kane County attorney, one of eight Black Hole Awards for 1991. Other recipients of Black Hole Awards include the Alpine School Board, South Ogden City, the Board of Regents, the Utah Legislature, the Salt Lake Police, the Salt Lake County Attorney, the Beaver Press and the State Department of Environmental Quality. The awards come in conjunction with the National Freedom of Information In-formation Day, held each year on March 16 to honor constitutional rights and laws that guarantee open government, through open meetings, open courtrooms and open records. The Society of Professional Journalists said the Kane County Commission disregarded Utah's open meetings law when it approved approv-ed salary raises for the commission, county attorney and county sheriff during closed-door sessions at the end of 199,1. The commission commis-sion ordered the county clerkauditor to keep the raises secret. Fortunately, she didn't When the news of the salary hikes broke, I more than 250 people turned out at a hearing to protest the commission's commis-sion's secretive action. I "The Society of Professional Journalists believes public officials need to make efforts to better understand the Utah Open Meetings Act,' said Joel Campbell, chairman of the society's Freedom of Information In-formation Committee. "At the same time, the society believes the open meeting laws needs a serious review.' |