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Show n iminii(if rgpui'nnw miiiimi Pag A2 - flllp wi' mu HUJ n. yw-- W'TTy tfawf,'"'"t' Thuraday, April 10, 1997 nnw-Snbqnhe- nt, Letters to the editors . . . Suppoting Bobby Hawks . . . Use of the popular Sandflats area east of Moab is growing by large numbers. Dave Dawson. Sand Flats team leader for the AmeriCorps group, and Craig Bigler, who oversees the project, told Grand County Council members that during the ten days prior to Easter Sunday, there were 1,000 more camper nights near Slickrock Trail than one year ago. and that day use was up by as much as 4,000 people. Additionally. 34,000 people visited the area in March. That compares to a total of 49,000 who visited there in March and April combined last year. Granted, March was a warm month. And Easter came a week or two early this year, making the area particularly attractive to d of winter in the metro areas of visitors escaping the grim factors Those Colorado. Utah and might have accounted for some of the visitation Increase, but not all of it. tag-en- the Sandflats area on Easter Sunday, like we have done for twenty years. The crowds were something else at least around the bike trail parking area but much of the area was void of people. The AmeriCorps people who have been working to keep the peace and protect the environment in the area along with some enforcement help from local federal agency and law enforcement people had done a great job. We visited trails that saw few violations of sandy had been closed with strings of cobblerock. In only one instance of young people head out across the did we see a vehicle-loa- d y dunes as thev are Drone to do in some of Utahs Too to officer bad an enforcement there catch wasnt Disneylands. the culprits. Campsites were for the most part clean. Most importantly, people seemed to be having a good time recreating. We ve dune-bugg- This week the County Council approved an agreement with the Bureau of Land Management that will allow the Sandflats Recreation Area staff to construct primitive campsites and pit toilets at popular camping areas north of town, along the Colorado River Corridor, and south along Kane Creek'. The idea is to have campers pay a fee, as they do at Sandflats, to offset the operating cost of maintaining facilities. Its certainly an idea whose time has come. Fee collection at Sandflats has worked well. There is no reason to believe it wouldnt work well at other popular recreation spots in the county. And since the state and federal powers that be dont seem to be particularly interested in requiring an "outdoor recreation license," which might be used as a revenue producer for limited control and recreation improvements, its good that an agreement could be worked out between the various agencies on a local basis. - 'i Would people pay to use the public lands? WotfWKhey actu-- . ally by a license to hike, bike, etc.7Jhink they would. four-whee- l, don't think it would take constant enforcement to make sure people were properly licensed. Ive hunted and fished in Utah since I was old enough to throw a worm in the water. I wouldnt think of hunting or fishing without a license. And in all the years Ive enjoyed those activities, I can only remember two occasions where a conservation officer asked to see my license. I tElje (UPS) Entered as Second class Matter at the Post Office at Moab, Utah 6309-200- 0) under the Act of March 3, 1 897. Second class postage paid at Moab, Utah 84532. Official City and County Newspaper. Published each Thursday at: 35 East Center Street, Moab, Grand County, Utah 84532 Postmaster: Send changes of address to: The Times-lndepende- P.0. Box 129, Moab, UT 84532 or FAX Member fiMTiMIy NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION Samuel J. and Adrien F. Taylor Publishers and Editors Dorothy Anderson Ron Drake Ken Davey Janice Hubbard Tom Taylor Jed Cooper Nicholas Brown m 0. Dear Sam, In the 13 March TI, R. P. Tyler expressed dismay that the Hunt Creek proposal for affordable housing had been turned down by the Grand County Council and Planning and Zoning Commission. Tyler attributed this to the opposition of the neighbors to the high density required to achieve lower property prices. As a member of the Grand County Planning and Zoning Commission, I know that public clamor from the neighbors wasnt the only factor in the three other decisive issues: First, the site presented access and traffic problems. Pury chase of additional for access and improvement of public roads would solve these, but the investment would have run the cost of the development up too much to maintain affordability, it seemed to me. Second, the long, narrow site made buffering the affordable housing from the lower density rural neighborhood very difficult. If one can buffer development from rural property owners, one can right-of-wa- Backshop Assistant to the Publishers The high-densi- ty Times-lndepende- nt $18.00 Green River, Grand & San $28 per year outside area Juan high-densi- ty $3 discount for persons 62 and older upon request for 52 news-fille- d respect the private property rights of these rural neighbors to enjoy the amenities of rural life they expected to come with their issues Subscribe Now! I Mail to: The Times-lnd- e pendent, P.O. Box 129, Moab UT 84532 Name Address. Phone. enclose $18.00 or $26 for one year or $35 and $51 for two years Cash Check went up to the dump and went through things, and found that white napkin with my hearing aid. He said he had even found kids braces that had been put into the garbage. Bobby has served Moab well, and has put a lot of money into his equipment and has a payroll of people who live here and depend on Bobs Sanitation for the livelihood, and I dont believe we are overcharged for what Bobby is willing to do. I just think people should know. Sincerely, Irene Thome Cyanide devices still? Letter to the Editors: March 28, Saturday, I was going camping in the Book Cliffs area north of Driving east out of Thompson Springs I decided to turn up Sagers Wash road. Noting a white paper sign stapled to the BLM sign for Sagers Wash I stopped to read it. It indicated that M44 cyanide devices were being used in the area and that I shouldnt let my dog loose. That was really all of the information on the sign. When I returned to town (Moab) I called the BLM office to find out about the devices. In short, I was told they are used to kill coyotes on sheep (primarily) grazing allotments. The device is scented to attract the coyote. When the coyote bites down on the part of the device sticking out of the ground it explodes, forcing cyanide into the animal's mouth, killing it quickly. Given the dangerous nature of both cyanide and M44 charges I have several concerns with this program. In the first place, the signing was totally inadequate. The sign was no more than 8 12 x 11 i nches and light stock. A good rain and wind could easily blow the sign off the post. It was in red ink which did signal something unusual. There, was no description of what the devices looked like so that I, for one, had no idea what to avoid, not only with my dog, but my feet also. Would kicking one set off the charge? Finally, there was no indication of the extent of the operation. Was it just up Sagers Wash? Was it a township, a section, the entire county decision. There were Production Manager Sales, Production Contributing News Writer Contributing News Writer Circulation Manager, T-- l Maps Taylor, Steve Bobby and told him, and he Book Cliffs area? In the second place, why is this method of controlling coyotes being used at all? It restricts the use of that area to commercial operations such as grazing and mineral extraction since no one wants to risk the life of their dog or health of their children or selves. I definitely wouldnt call this multiple use. In the third place, that is public land that the grazing and mineral extraction operations already get a substantial subsidy on from leasing it at less than market value. Why should I as a tax payer also subsidize their predator control program so they dont have to hire sheep herders to watch the flocks? Hiring more sheep herders also would preserve a way of life, the loss of which I frequently hear decried by stockmen. Finally, one of the great plea- sures of visiting an area like that is the wildlife. Can north of the government trapper scent the trap in such a way that it attracts only coyotes? Can you guarantee no foxes, skunks, badgers, marmots, prairie dogs will be killed by the devices? And does the cyanide remain in the body? Are you also killing eagles and hawks? In conclusion, grazing is a legitimate use of public land as long as it is done responsibly, but to implement a program that restricts use of on an area solely to such a commercial enterprise is wrong. Sincerely, Joan Gough Affordable housing issues eni tmes-,3lrthepenb- Letter to the Editor: People have been talking a lot lately about changing the garbage collection. Some people think they pay too much. What I want to say is that people just dont understand how much Bobby Hawks does. In the winter I dont have much garbage, but Bobby has his men come right to my door to pick it up. One time I went to a birthday party, and with the noise around, I took out one of my hearing aids and put it in a napkin and put it in my pocket. Later I realized it was gone, and I called zoning. The neighbors did not see this being accomplished, and neither did I. Third, the proposed development addressed the smallest top part of the affordable housing range in our county. The 1996 median household income in our county was $31,500, according to the Governors office. There are 341 households making from 80 of that ($25,200) to the median income in Grand County, composing 11.6 of all households. If the least expensive house ... in an affordable Hunt Creek development cost $78,000, a household income of at least $28,793 would be required to qualify to finance it. Only about 194 households make between $28,793 and $31,500 per year. Hunt Creek was originally proposing 56 units, with a minority at this lowest price. It appeared to me that the County Council doubted that there were very many families in the affordable housing range who both needed and could afford to finance houses in the range, and this benefit didnt overbalance site problems and neighborhood impacts. Also, this particular proposal is not the only affordable housing scheme under development. Jeff Flanders proposal to develop a new county trailer park is active. After encountering some access problems and strong neighbor opposition at an initial site, Mr. Flanders put his proposal on hold and sought a better site. He believes he has located an alternative site which has no obvious site problems. State Institutional and Trust $78-82,0- Lands has engaged Steve Patterson and planner Ray Tay- lor to develop an affordable housing complex on state trust lands south of US 191 near the Grand County Road Department yard. They are looking at starting prices for manufactured houses there of $58,000, Ive been told, and are having traffic and drainage studies done to deal with site issues before final design of the development and submission for approval. When looking at affordable housing issues, one must keep in mind that li09 (38) of Grand Countys 2945 households are in the very low income category of $15,749 or less in annual income. 597 households (20) are in the low income $15,750-25,19- 9 an- - Two events in the world of higher education in Grand County are harbingers of all of Southeastern Utah for that matter Dr. Grace Sawyer Jones as change. Those events are arrival of of the eighth president of the College Eastern, and the departureof Dan Nelson, from the Utah State Universitys local director- v Ph.D. ship, on his way to earn that necessary to Moab at adminis- - f j came Dan when It seems like yesterday, ter the Grand County Extension program for USU. He later I here, stepped in to fill the job as director of the class program for Center Utah Southeastern for the stands which S.U.C.C.E., was the S.U.C.C.E. with ; Continuing Education. Success begins j motto of the day. Its true of higher education everywhere: Dan needs his doc- - j torate to continue to progress in the field of higher education. He will be missed. His whole family, as active members of their church, school and civic communities, will be missed. We wish . S them well. J At a time of change, it is often beneficial to step back and 1 look at where we have been, in order to make an informed judg-meabout where we ought to be going. So here s a little histori- cal overview of higher education development in Grand County. J In 1969, a delegation met with members of the legislature to J advocate for a higher ed. program here, and this resulted in the . USU to line-iteappropriate of some $60,000 in the budget of center. establish that The program grew, and still the local center was a in the legislative budget. Some years we were glad it was a line item, which was the perfect protection from having the program closed in leaner days. The money couldnt be taken and used for j another purpose by USU. Thus we continued through the 1970s and into the 1980s. At a point, interest grew at the University of Utah for establishing a graduate program in the arts in Moab. This idea found a lot of support here, particularly as the school district had closed Helen M. Knight Elementary School, and that building became vacant. The Community Impact Board was approached for a pack-ag- e of funds for this project, and for several years, there were various programs started, as the center struggled to get underway. It eventually failed, for a variety of reasons. During about this same time, CEU started offering classes in Moab, mostly remedial, all lower division, with the objective of making people nt j m line-ite- work-read- m y. the U. of U. and CEU were all offering classes in Moab, and the Board of Regents began to take notice. The regents, who set forth program direction for all of Utahs . institutions of higher education, decreed that CEU be given re- sponsibility for all lower division credit classes, and the USU have the same for upper division classes. That policy remains in At one point, USU, effect today. Meanwhile, the County Council and School District were also interested in the future of higher education in Grand County, and a citizen group started meeting, rather spontaneously, but i with some push from these entities, plus Dan Nelson. The up- - j shot was that the Regents appointed an official advisory committee for the Moab program, including representatives from USU, CEU, business, industry, government, local education, and the . community at large. Shortly thereafter, and working hard together, the move was made from a variety of locations around town to a Joint facility on 2nd South, which was the old federal building. Its not a per- feet working relationship, but it's a great improvement over what we had before. This space provides offices for CEU, USU (and the Extension Program), classrooms, computer teaching downlink, and so forth. It is an interim center, and a good place to be for now, but not an appropriate permanent home for the higher education programs. Land has been donated for a higher education campus south of town. This is being held in trust for a local campus by the USU Foundation. A Grand County Higher Education Foundation is in the process of being formed. We are all thinking about what the between steps should be. USU President George Emert has been quite vocal about making a success of the Joint program in Moab. Now comes the new CEU President Grace Jones, who sings harmony to the same tune, with the local Higher Ed. Advisory Committee completing a very nice chord. As we go forward, I am sure it will be a long, and lovely, very intricate and sometimes difficult composition we build together. No Hepatitis found in Utah after Michigan outbreak Although no Utah school children were affected by a recent hepatitis A outbreak in Michigan, traced to frozen strawberries distributed to the school lunch program, Utah is well above the national average of hepatitis A incidence, warns a Utah State University professor in Nutrition and Food Sciences. The virus is transmitted through the fecaloral route, or by consuming food or water contaminated by an infected food handler. The virus is destroyed in two major ways by washing hands thoroughly after going to the bathroom and before handling or eating food, and by cooking the nual income range. A $21,410 household income can finance a $58,000 house. A $15,750 household income can finance a $42,666 trailer. Housing accessible to moderate and low income households for purchase is what most people think of as af- fordable housing that isnt rented. Pursuit of such housing is an active process encouraged by county government. Sincerely yours, Lance Christie i foods. The source of hepatitis A is hard to pinpoint because of its very long incubation period. For most people, symptoms appear about 28 days after exposure. Symptoms include jaundice, fa- tigue, abdominal discomfort, vomiting, fever and dark urine. Hepatitis A infection is usuillally a mild and ness. It is rarely fatal (less than one percent of all cases) and can be prevented through immune globulin or by vaccination, Brennand says. self-limiti- post-exposu- re The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Dept, of Health and Human Services said Wednesday six states received frozen strawberries believed linked to a hepatitis A outbreak in Michigan where some 150 students and teachers be- came sick, apparently after eating the berries provided with school lunch. The strawberries were imported from Mexico and were processed, packed and frozen for institutional use by a company in southern California, according to the USDA. I 'I |