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Show SERVING MOAB AND SOUTHEASTERN UTAH SINCE 1896 C Mountain Men invite visitors A. V- $; ? Moab, Grand County, Utah 84532 V Conoco gains BLM green light for Parriott Mesa wildcat well ' to Rendezvous The Rocky Mountain Men of Utah invite local area residents to join them this coming Saturday in the reenactment of a traditional Rendezvous. This will be held 10.5 miles down the Colorado River road at Kane Springs Wash Canyon. v & f i, The Conoco proposal to drill a 'wildcat well on Pace Hill near the base of Parriott Mesa will be authorized by the Bureau of Land Management, according to Gene Nodine, BLMs Moab District Manager. BLM has issued the final environmental assessment and permit to drill on the Conoco, Inc. Pace Hill Wildcat Well. Based on public request, Conocos proposed drilling was 'I ' wf& There will be black powder shooting and primitive bow d shooting, and lots of fun and games on Saturday, Feb. 16, beginning i I ' family-oriente- . . addressed in a draft environmental assessment (EA) on which public comment was accepted in a scoping period from December 18 through January about 10 a.m. Other activities will include c a childrens hour, demonstration, a petroglyph tour and live entertainment. People who play instruments are invited to bring them. sledge-o-mati- JIt 1 Mountain Men enthusiasts will be joining in from Utah, Colorado and Nevada. Maps and flyers are available at High Desert Gift Shop. MHHHMUMHHMMMHMMW WEATHER High Low .v-x 4 ' C - 'V March meeting at state capitol to discuss S.E. Utah economics r, area to discuss possible ways of improving economic conditions in this cortwo-count- y ner of the state. Rep. Adams told The this week that conditions here have received top priority for action by the new administration, and the meting will be the opening salvo of an effort aimed at attaining e some goals for imWe not looking are provement. for temporary Rep. Adams stated. We are looking for projects that will e benefits to our bring counties. Also to be involved in the talks are Dee Hansen, new director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, and Cap Ferry, director of the Department of Agriculture. One of the items that will be Times-Independe- nt long-rang- shots-in-the-ar- long-rang- discussed during the meeting will be the possible utilization of a good portion of Utahs River unallocated Colorado Grand water in County developments. That is a difficult, but interesting concept, Rep. Adams stated, indicating that land ownership patterns, methods of utilizing the water and other details will not be easy to work out. Mr. Adams, who serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, announced that his committee finished work on the Career Ladder funding program Monday, doubling the figure in this years current budget from $15 million to over $30 million statewide. The Appropriations Executive committee may well alter that figure as the season winds down, he said. Mr. Adams also stated that he was still optimistic about funding proposals for paving of Property tax collections better than expected Property tax collections were much better this year than I had ever hoped, Grand CounC. Donna Treasurer ty week. this stated Loveridge Mrs. Loveridge stated that a total of $3,730,446 has been collected for 1984 property taxes so far, compared to $3,036,932 for 1983 taxes. This represents 91 percent of all property taxes levied, she said. Although in normal times, Grand County has been able to collect around 96 percent of all taxes levied, that has not been the case the past few years. Mrs. Loveridge stated that she had advised local taxing units that they should calculate projected revenues at around 85 percent of property tax totals this year due to economic The 91 percent figure now standing is much better con-diEion- s. the Burr Trail, although that project is competing with a number of other special funding proposals which all total around $78 million. I dont think that more than about $5 million will be available on the flooding he said, but indicated that the Burr Trail proposal still problem, had a lot of support. The Southeastern Utah legislator stated that the administrations plan to utilize a 18 percent sales tax - earlier earmarked for use by cities and counties - for paying off bonds to be floated for flood mitigation measures - may make more money available for education and special projects, but it is being opposed by local government units, and may not pass. y The current session of the legislature will officially come to an end on Wednesday, Feb. 27, and the pace is getting really hectic, Mr. Adams Said. 45-da- than she earlier anticipated. Largest recipient of collected property taxes was Grand County School District, with revenues of $2,043,104. Grand Countys share for general fund purpose was $536,969. Allen Memorial Hospital received $213,478. Other agencies receiving funds from property tax collections were: Grand Water Conservancy District, $86,439; Spanish Valley Water and Sewer District, $41,133; Grand Valley Special Service District, $94,594; Castle Valley Fire District, $4,359; County Library, $53,697; Cemetery District, $58,281; Mosquito Abatement District, $7,968; Fire Protection District, $102,822; City of Moab, $142,946; Elgin Mosquito District, $977; and Green River City, $18,720. Feb. 20, 4 to 9 p.m. at Helen M. Knight Elementary School. This is one of three hearings set in Utah to give residents an opportunity to comment on draft environmental assessments on studies done on nine sites across the nation being considered for possible further study for the first underground high-levfor repository radioactive waste. The draft documents were issued last Dec. 20 for public review and comment. The comment period ends March 20. Prior registration by those wishing to be heard will be given first priority. To permit comment by as many people as possible, presentations will be limited to no more than 10 minutes and may be limited further depending on the number of people wishing to be heard. Questions may be asked only by those conducting each hearing, and there will be no of those presenting statements. Further procedural rules for proper conduct of the hearing will be announced by the moderator at the start of the hearing. el cross-examinati- . reduce transportation hazards, including the use of flag cars, and restricting passage of drilling traffic to times that it will not encounter school buses. This project is in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. BLMs authorization is limited to the temporary drilling as described in the final EA, and does not commit the Bureau to future development proposals that may or may not be presented by Conoco. If additional activities are proposed, this will require additional National EnAct vironmental Policy documentation and public comment, said Nodine. Copies of the final EA have been mailed to everyone who provided comments or who asked to be on the mailing list. For further information, contact BLMs Grand Resource Area Office, P.O. Box M, Moab, Utah 84532, or call 259-819- 3. San Juan, Grand offset each other in building, but things not good Housing activity dropped slightly in San Juan County during 1984 compared to 1983, but nonresidential construction volume increased, according to year-enfigures released by the University of Utah. d DOE hearing scheduled in Moab Wednesday from nesday, Department The U. S. of Energy will hold a public hearing in Moab next Wed- - scoping were used in for- mulating issues to be analyzed draft EA. Fifty-fou- r comments were received on the draft EA, and have been analyzed and used in writing the final EA. We appreciate the time and effort that was put into each one of the comments we received, Those who attend the Great Hearts Rendezvous of Mountain Men this Saturday will be treated to sights similar to the above. Shown at the rendezvous on the Green River in northeastern Utah are, front, kneeling, from left, Mont Swasey and Cindy Judd, back, Lee Swasey, Varian Allen and Ken Wright. The site will be 10.5 miles down the Colorado River at Kane Springs Wash Canyon, and the public is .invited. Leave Moab on Kane Creek Blvd. hour meeting has A 2 tentatively been scheduled in Salt Lake City during March between Gov. Norman Banger-teDavid W. Adams, executive director of the state Department of Community and Economic Development; State Rep. David Adams of GrandSan Juan, and local elected officials from the Thirty-fiv- e in the , ' Precip. 1985. comments 2, said Nodine. We believe we have produced a final EA that addresses all concerns and mitigates all impacts to the maximum extent possible, while complying with Conocos legal rights accompanying their lease. I would like to thank the public for working with us in making this action better. BLMs analysis has resulted in the conclusion that there will be no significant environmental with impacts mitigation measures and regular inspections as described in the final EA. Nodine stated he has decided to authorize the temporary drilling, contingent on Conoco presenting a hydrogen sulfide evacuation plan to the Castle Valley River Ranchos Property Owners Association prior to beginning drilling operations. BLM also has assurance from the Utah Department of Transportation that all possible safety measures will be used to Adjacent Grand County had just the opposite experience, the of Bureau Universitys Economic and Business Research reports. The number of new dwelling permits was up in Grand but nonresidential construction declined. The nonresidential slack in Grand had the most negative overall consequence. It con- tributed to a 43 percent decline in the countys combined residential and nonresidential construction volume. In contrast, San Juan, despite its falloff in housing, ended the year with a 40 percent rise in overall construction spending. Final San Juan figures showed 15 dwelling permits were issued, 6 percent fewer than in 1983. Despite the decline in raw num- bers, housing volume came to $689,000. There was $1.3 million in nonresidential construction, a 27 percent rise. Home building and nonresidential construction combined came to $2.6 million. Grand County authorized 30 dwelling units during 1984, a 15 percent increase from 1983. That brought dollar volume in housing to $954,000. However, the county had only $222,000 in nonresidential construction, an 82 percent decline. Grands total construction volume came to $1.4 million. The mixed picture in the two counties is typical of rural Utah, says James A. Wood, BEBR research analyst. Housing was up in a few rural areas while nonresidential construction rose in some others. But the general January weather was really pretty mild, if you look at the figures and records Januarys weather this year may have felt cold, however relative to the previous 13 years, the highs were relatively warm with an average of 45.8 degrees, compared to a average high of 41.1 The same was true for the average lows. January 1985 logged an average low of 21.7 degrees compared to a average low of 18.4. The average January snowfall is 6 inches; however last month only 2.25 inches fell. This is considerably more than January in 1972, 1980, 1981 and 1983, each of which received only a trace of snow. The balance creating the average occurred in 1973, with 27 inches, in 1874 with 17.5 inches, and in 1979 with 17 inches. Weather observer Bonnie Midlam included on her monthly roundup some interesting aspects of weather over the last 14 Januaries, as follows: In 1972, the temperature hit 64 degrees on the 23rd, and the lowest temperature was 10 degrees on the third. In 1973 there were ten days below zero; and nights were never above 26 degrees all month. In 74 it was never above 30 degrees all month at night, with the lowest temperature minus 2 on the 23rd. In 1975 the thermometer hit a 14-ye- ar 14-ye- ar 14-ye- ar balmy 68 degrees on the 26th with the days low of 42 degrees. Other nights during the month the temperature did not rise above 28 degrees. In 1976 the lowest was minus eight degrees on New Years Day. Nights were never above 32 degrees. In 1977 the lowest was nighttime temperature zera (Cont. on Page A-7- ) pattern was for construction to stay level with 1983 or decline slightly. There were two notable excep- tions in nonmetropolitan areas. Activities continued to be strong around St. George. In fact, - Washington County authorized more than 900 dwelling units, which put the county ahead of the much more populous Ogden-Webe- r County area. On the other side of the coin, home building dropped dramatically in energy regions. New dwelling units dropped 91 percent in Carbon County, 44 percent in Emery County, and also 44 percent in the Uintah Basin. Carbon also had a total construction decline, but Emery County and the Uintah Basin had increases in total construe-tio- n on the strength of some sizable nonresidential projects. Meanwhile, Utah as a whole had an excellent construction year, mainly because of large apartment, commercial and industrial projects along the Wasatch Front. Combined housing and nonresidential volume was $1.4 billion a 34 percent increase from the previous year. Economists had expected about 16,000 housing starts, but the state ended up with almost 19,000. Overall housing starts were up 28 percent. The year was even better for the nonresidential sector. Volume rose from about $312 million in 1983 to $535 million, a 67 percent increase. Unemployment rate now at 23.1 in Grand Co. Grand Countys employment picture wasnt brightened any this week with the release of the monthly Labor Market Report published by the Utah Department of Employment Security. Januarys unemployment rate in Grand County rose to 23.1 percent an increase over 16.2 percent in December, and over January a year ago, when the rate rode at an almost alltime high of 18.9 percent. The report indicated that 2,970 people were employed in the civilian labor force in Grand County in January, compared to 3,230 a year ago. Things in neighboring counties werent so hot, either. For the area comthe Southeastern Utah prising Association of Local Govern four-count- y ments, all four counties perienced ployment. ex- unemCarbon listed 14.3 double-digi- t percent, Emery 15.8 percent, San Juan 11.0 percent, all led by Grand Countys 23.1. The dismal mining situation is particularly devastating for the residents of Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan Counties, the report said. These areas have lost many jobs from reduced activity in coal, oil, gas and uranium mining. Every county showed double-digi- t jobless rates in January, it continued. The only county in Utah showing a worse rate than Grand was Juab County, with 29.2 percent unemployed. One out of every four persons in the Juab labor force cant find work, the report said. |