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Show i'w mm www! A2 Wednesday, July ZO, 2005 .Vernal Express. $p&cin&JM Region IFfairtesft siumpinrisflr iiiiiwiiftfiS U VfcJU &4bJ l tfli9jfVl UIJVI UIUUUliHl By Virginia Harrington Express Writer Kevin Elliott assumed the position of supervisor of Ashley National Forest this spring. He has spent the last two months getting to know the Forest, his staff and the local community. "I am quite impressed with the passion that people have for the Ashley National Forest," Elliott said. "People are certainly cer-tainly not afraid to voice their opinions about management of the Forest." Elliott said he welcomes these comments from all sides of any issue concerning the Forest as they help him and his staff carry out the congressional congres-sional mandated mission of providing multiple uses of the Forest. Elliott strives for good land stewardship along with multiple multi-ple use. He said in recent years those opportunities have been challenged and compromised by those who are fundamentally fundamental-ly against multiple use. Over the next few weeks, the Forest Service will be developing devel-oping a timeline to revise the land and resource management plan. Elliott said this Forest Plan is similar to a county zoning document, identifying long term goals and objectives, resource protection sideboards and monitoring requirements. "We recently received new regulations that will allow us to take a much more streamlined approach. Our expectation is to have a revised Forest Plan by 2008. In the meantime, we will continue to work under the current cur-rent Forest Plan," Elliott said. He also said that in order to revise the plan in a timely fashion, fash-ion, the Forest Service needs the help of the public. One topic that is mandated by the mission mis-sion is whether or not to add additional Wilderness areas or Wild and Scenic Rivers to the plan. "We will look at ways to protect species diversity and watershed health," Elliott said. Huntsman questions waste transportation Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., said he is shocked and dismayed by a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to allocate federal fed-eral funding to address anticipated antici-pated "legal challenges" that may be brought by the state of Utah "regarding shipments of spent nuclear fuel and high-level high-level radioactive waste to Skull Valley, Utah." "The federal government should not be funding the litigation liti-gation expenses of a privately owned, for-profit enterprise in its efforts to force spent nuclear nucle-ar fuel on a State that doesn't want it," Governor Huntsman said. "This is public policy at 17m VERNAL Express (ISSN 0892-1091) Published every Wednesday for $24 per year in the shopping area and $36 per year out of the shopping area within the state and $39 per year out of state within the USA by the Vernal Express Publishing Company, 54 North Vernal Avenue, Vernal, Utah 84078. Periodicals postage paid at Vernal, Utah 84078. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to VERNAL EXPRESS, P.O. Box 1000, Vernal Utah 84078. Steven R. Wallis Editor and Publisher Carissa Magee Feature Writer Virginia Harrington Feature Writer Brenden Eden Sports Waiter Patty John Proofreader Rock AdsLayout Jessica Wallis AdsLayout Janessa John AdsLayout Jacque Hobbs Advertising Lynne Murray Advertising Harriet Harding Circulation Madonna Allen..... Classifieds, Obits & Legals Phone 435-789-3511 FAX: 435-789-8690 Website: www.vernal.com e-mail: editorvernal.com DEADLINES News...... Monday 12 noon Display Advertising Friday 5 p.m. ClassifiedAdvertising Monday 12 noon Public Notices Monday 12 noon i 1 Ashley Forest Supervisor Kevin Elliott tells members of the Vernal Rotary Club that he welcomes public pub-lic comments as he and his staff prepare to write a new Forest Plan for the Ashley. The new plan should be ready by 2008. oped in 1986 underestimated the demands and impacts of motorized motor-ized recreation. He said that as the new plan is developed, the staff will need to better identify the demands for motorized recreation rec-reation and provide areas for people to ride while at the same time maintain other resource values. "Natural resource management manage-ment is not without controversy. controver-sy. There are many interests and often they conflict," Elliott said. He added that he welcomes wel-comes people to challenge the Forest Service staff to do a good job of implementing the Forest Plan and to meet people's needs in a sustainable fashion. "Debate is healthy and an integral inte-gral part of being a democracy," democra-cy," he stated. Elliot said his challenge and responsibility as a land steward is to involve more people, incorporate science and to make decisions that sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the natural resources. He encourages those who have been involved in the Ashley Forest to continue their involvement. In addition, its worst, and represents a dramatic dra-matic departure from previous statements made by congressional congressio-nal leaders." Huntsman also commented that "our nation's nuclear waste policy should be focused on reprocessing, coupled with onsite storage options, and should not hinge on a plan to send the waste to a tiny reservation reser-vation immediately upwind from Utah's major population center." "The best solutions will be based on science and concern for public safety, and cannot be made on the basis of absolute abso-lute deference to the short-term short-term interests of a few politi- he asks those who have not been involved to speak up and become part of the process. This wet year has presented problems for all Forest users due to avalanches and landslides. land-slides. "Thanks to a lot of hard work by our engineers, fire and trail crews, all of our campgrounds camp-grounds are now open and all of our major roads are now open," Elliott stated. "We have some of the finest employees I have ever worked with," he commented. Elliott said the Forest Service is currently celebrating celebrat-ing its 100 year anniversary. In three years the Ashley Forest will reach its 100th anniversary. anniver-sary. "Our national forests are an irreplaceable part of our American heritage, providing a wide variety of ecological, economic and social benefits to current and future generations," genera-tions," he said. Elliott has a degree in recreation rec-reation resource management from the School of Forestry at the University of Montana and degrees in zoology and botany also from the same university. He has served in the Allegheny Forest and was deputy forest supervisor of Mark Twain National Forest in southern Missouri. He has held positions with the Forest Service in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming and has worked with the Forest Service's Legislative Affairs and Policy Analysis staffs at national headquarters in Washington, D.C. He has a strong background in forest planning and implementation as well as NEPA compliance, appeals and litigation and an ability to build effective community com-munity and legislative relations. nuclear plan cally powerful members of the nuclear power industry. In any event," Huntsman added, "I vigorously oppose any plan to store nuclear waste in Utah." Governor Huntsman is pleased with the reaction from Utah's congressional delegation, delega-tion, which is rallying in opposition oppo-sition to the proposal. Senator Bennett immediately began plans to address the issue in the Senate . Appropriations Committee. Meanwhile, Senator Hatch has been in contact con-tact with the White House, hoping hop-ing to confirm that President Bush does not support the measure. mea-sure. Huntsman said that he "will work with our congressional congressio-nal delegation to determine the appropriate steps to take from here." Private Fuel Storage has applied for a license to store nuclear waste in above-ground containers on the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation in the desert west of the populated Wasatch Front. A decision on the application could be made by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission later this summer. Labor law posters available both online and at DWS . Required labor law posters post-ers are available online and at all offices of the Division of Workforce Services (DWS) throughout the state. The posters post-ers are also available by download down-load from the DWS Web site at jobs.utah.gov. Employers are asked to visit the Employer Resource Section for of the site for required poster information. informa-tion. The 5-in-l, red, white and blue DWS resource poster is required. The most current cur-rent printed version is dated UBIC Art Michele Catteil) COOrdina- tor for the Uintah Basin In Celebration (UBIC, formerly former-ly known as Uintah Basin Industrial Convention) Art Show in Duchesne County, said the show is "new and improved" this year and entries are sought in several categories. catego-ries. The Art Show is an integral part of the UBIC festivities every year. As a community, the event is well supported with diverse artwork entries and many art enthusiasts who come to see the display. Based on the feedback and recommendations recommen-dations from the community, volunteers who organize the Art Show strive to improve the event a little more each year. Each entry is judged by two artists who have experience in the designated art category. Based on their comments last year, the judges' scorecards are being revised to allow for more effective assessments and feedback on each piece. One of the 2004 judges commented, "Judging the children's category catego-ry is the hardest for me. I really hope I can offer them feedback that helps them to see their strengths and encourages them to continue creating." Many participants in past years have requested that more diversified categories be offered, so that items can be judged more fairly. "It's nearly impossible to judge hand-quilted and machine-quilted items in the same category. They are like apples and oranges," stated one judge. As a result, more categories are available than ever this year. The categories Agenda set Legislative The Rural Development Legislative Liaison Committee of the Utah Legislature will meet Tuesday, July 26, at 9:00 a.m. in Room WHO of the Utah House Building. At 9 a.m. the meeting will be called to order by Rep. DeMar "Bud" Bowman. At approximately approxi-mately 9:15 a.m. there will be an overview of rural economic eco-nomic development. Speaking for the federal level will be Howard Cleavinger, assistant field manager for minerals in the Vernal Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM); Janice Taylor, Acting State Director, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development; Huntsman institutes nepotism policy Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., has approved an anti-nepotism policy for his senior staff members. Subject to the legal limits of his authority, Huntsman prohibits the hiring of any politically appointed Executive Branch employee who has an immediate familial relationship relation-ship with a member of the Governor's senior staff. Each member of the Governor's senior staff is required to inform the Governor upon learning that an immediate family member is being considered consid-ered for a politically appointed Executive Branch position, or for any other position to which the Governor could wield substantial sub-stantial influence. For purposes of this policy, the term "senior staff' includes the Governor's Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, Executive Assistant, Senior Advisor 020105. The date is located in the lower left hand corner of the poster. Employers who need to update their posters should contact the nearest DWS Employment Center for assistance. assis-tance. The Uniformed Service Employment & Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) information infor-mation poster is also required of all employers. Visit the Department of Labor Vetrans Web site at http:www.dol. govvets to download this poster. Show seeks entries are black and white film pho- their work and receiving help- tography, black and white digi tal photography, color film photography, pho-tography, color digital photography, photog-raphy, visual arts painting, visual arts illustration, needlework nee-dlework - crochet - knitwork, miscellaneous sewing, hand quilting, machine quilting and crafts, including 3-dimensional work. "We want everyone in the community to make special note of three more new categories catego-ries that we're really excited about," said Catten. "I believe these are the categories that are going to help the Show to expand in directions that benefit bene-fit the entire community." The literary arts will be represented represent-ed this year with a poetry category. cat-egory. Judges with experience and education in the literary arts have been selected. Among other criteria, entries will be given consideration for use of the UBIC theme, "Honoring the Past for Educating the Future." The UBIC Art Show has already begun coordinating with the Duchesne County Library to expand Literary Arts categories cat-egories to include short stories next year. The Art Show will also include professional categories for photography and visual arts. The professional category is for any artists who sells their work. "We had a few disappointed disap-pointed amateur artist participants partici-pants last year who were being judged in the same category as artists with a great deal more experience and training. The purpose of this show is to hopefully offer participants a positive experience displaying for Rural Development Liason meeting and Gary Jann, Resource Conservation and Development Council, Natural Resources Conservation Agency, USDA. At approximately 9:45 a.m. state level issues will be presented pre-sented by Jeffrey Packer, co-chair, Governor's Rural Partnership Board; Wesley Curtis, executive director, Utah Center for Rural Life; Scott Truman, executive director, direc-tor, Utah Rural Development Council; Steve Daniels, director, direc-tor, Community Development, Utah State University; Edward Meyer, director, Rural Development Program, Governor's Office of Economic Development; and Dr. James Bunger, energy consultant, for Economic Development, Communications Director, Legislative Affairs Director, and General Counsel, as well as the Directors of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget and the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. The terms "immediate familial relationship" and "immediate "immedi-ate family member" shall be construed to make this policy applicable to senior staff members' mem-bers' spouses, siblings, step-siblings, siblings-in-law, parents, step-parents, parents-in-law, children, step-children, and children-in-law. "I hold my staff to a higher standard than what is required by law for state employees," said Gov. Huntsman. "This policy will help us avoid any Rangely gets new recreation director Bobby Gutierrez of The Herald Times in Rio Blanco County, Colo, reports that a new director has been hired for the Rio Blanco Recreation and Parks District following a nation wide search. Tim Webber, who recently recent-ly moved to Rangely from Michigan, will take over the position. Webber and his wife, Annette, have three children chil-dren and hail originally from Minnesota. Webber has a degree in parks and recreation with a minor in corrections from Minnesota State University. He spent the past nine years working as the ful feedback from judges with experience," stated Catten. In future years, the goal is to expand these two professional profes-sional categories so the many professional artists in the communities com-munities can display their work and have it judged by professional artists from outside out-side the area, with a possibility for cash awards. "We have so many local professional artists, and they have no real venue to share it with us here at home. It's a shame we don't get to enjoy it more often as a community. commu-nity. Appreciating the fine arts can be so inspiring for our own creativity," commented Catten. As people prepare their artwork to enter in the Art Show, there are a few considerations consid-erations to remember. When the judges are scoring entries, creativity and originality are weighed heavily. Keep this in mind when entering projects made from prefabricated kits. Presentation is also considered in each category. Participants may enter up to two items per category-Registration category-Registration for all entries will be at the West Stake Center on Wednesday, August 3 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The show will be held Aug. 4 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., Aug. 5 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Aug. 6 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Stake Center. The Stake Center is located at 150 S. Skyline, near Constitution Park in Roosevelt, just off Lagoon Street near the ball diamonds. For more information contact con-tact Michele Catten at 435-725-0055. Governor's Office of Economic Development. w- ;J . At approximately 10:30 a.m. county level concerns will be addressed by Mike McKee, Uintah County commissioner; Russ Cowley, executive director, direc-tor, Six County Association of Governments; Larry Ross, Duchesne County commissioner; commis-sioner; and Bill Howell, executive execu-tive director, Southeastern Association of Governments. At 11:00 a.m. the role and objectives of the Rural Development Legislative Liaison Committee will be discussed dis-cussed by the committee members. mem-bers. Remaining issues will be discussed at noon. future perception of favoritism." favor-itism." Current state law requires that family members cannot be in supervisory positions posi-tions over other immediate family members. Consistent with the new policy, Governor Huntsman has also asked Layne Palmer, who has been serving as the International Hosting and Diplomacy Associate to step down. "Layne entered the system sys-tem honorably and has performed per-formed well in his role," said Gov. Huntsman. "In spite of that, we have asked for his resignation res-ignation to be in compliance with the new policy." The Governor added that the situation with Mr. Palmer drew attention to the issue and led to the institution of the new nepotism policy. parks and recreation director in Kalamazoo, Mich. "It was a good move," Webber said. "I'm happy to be here. I have a passion for parks and recreation and working work-ing with people." He also said, "Rangely has different features and programs in place, like a rec. center and also a golf course. They have a great staff and this will be more of a directorship direc-torship role in a bigger department." depart-ment." Webber said he loves kids and looks forward to getting to know more people and the " area. "It's just beautiful here," he stated. |