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Show AVV ' i VV V' V V MOAB, UTAH v 500 Volume 111 WEATHER www. moab t i mes . com Number 3 " s ." Legislators discuss education issues at Grand County forum FORECAST Thursday Mostly Sunny High 38 Low 15' by Jeff Richards Friday contributing writer Partly Cloudy High 44 Low 23' Three members of the Utah Legislature visited the Grand County High School auditorium last Thursday to discuss education issues with local school officials, board members, and other members of the public. The informal meeting was also designed to give Grand County constituents an idea of what to expect during the 2004 legislative session, which began Monday, Jan. Saturday Partly Cloudy High 44 Low 22 Sunday. pi Few Snow Showers High 41 23 Low Read all 19. about it! State Sen. Mike Dmitrich whose district includes all of Grand, San Juan, Emery, and Carbon Counties, plus part of Utah County, was joined by Rep. Brad King (D) of District 69 and Jack Seitz (R) of District 55. Districts 69 and 55 each include about half of Grand County plus parts of other counties. Not surprisingly, money (or lack thereof) remains the biggest challenge facing education, the three lawmakers noted. Seitz said that revenue from state trust lands is expected to be 1.5 percent less than last year. Nevertheless, the Legislature appears unlikely to pass any tax increases this year, Dmitrich noted. Even so, King said that a proposal (HB 45) to adjust the state income tax brackets could generate an additional (D-Pric- Turn to The newly-design- ed section. B You'll find weekly events, a TV guide, horoscope, crossword, calendar, real estate listings, classifieds and more. Tom and Linda Warren. There's more to Thursday, January 22, 2004 life than teaching school. See B12. $42 million for schools. King added that he is supportive of the education priorities that Gov. Olene Walker has outlined, and is hopeful that additional funding sources (including Brian Ankrum. Looking to pass the ball See B1 . Playing in the sky . . Two balloon pilots from Gallup, NM play among the rocks outside the town of Bluff during the 6th annual Bluff International Balloon Festival on Saturday morning. This year 30 festival. Events concluded Sunday with the pilots converged on Bluff for the four-da- y Festivals annual launch over scenic Valley of the Gods about 18 miles outside town. The Bluff Balloon Festival is held in January each year. For information about the 2005 event, A schedule of events is usually posted check the communitys website www.bluff-utah.orin December each year. See second Festival photo on page A8. Photo by Lisa Church g. Inside The T imes Business Directory: BIO Classifieds: B11 Dining & Lodging: B3 Editorials, Letters: A6-- 7 Historic Photo: B1 Notices: B2 Obituaries: A4 Region Review: B2 Sports: B1 TV Guide: B8-- 9 WEATHER HISTORY Date Precia - Hiah-Lo- Jan. 14 27 15 -J- an. 15 an. 16 30 14 35 26 Jan. 43 16 44 17 -J- 37 19 43 23 -J- 17 an. 18 Jan. 19 an. 20 -JTr. - Trail Mix reorganizes, begins year with new focus on balancing user groups needs users. He says he owns a motorbike and rides now and then, but Im not very good, and says his philosophy is not about denying trails to anyone. Im about finding ways to do things that are environmentally reasonable. Drawing on his experience in California, Luptovic says that in many cases, a land managers job is to preserve the land, not to provide recreation, and a lot of mountain bikers dont understand that. He sees Moabs public lands situation as a cooperative environment but adds that land managers are sometimes not sensitive to user communities, or to how they come across when they make what seem like arbitrary decisions affecting recre- by Lisa Taylor contributing writer Trail Mix, Grand Countys multi-us- e advisory committee for trails, started the year with some housekeeping, a declaration of principles, and a proposal to help fund the Colorado River pedestrian bridge. The group brings together hiking, biking and equestrian trail users to prioritize and undertake trail development on primarily public lands. Established in 2001 with an annual county allocation of $10,000, Trail Mix has produced a Trails Master Plan, organized the creation or repair of area trails, worked on signage for the La Sal Mountains, identified horse facilities and drafted recommendations for the Bureau of Land Managements Resource Management Plan. At its January meeting, the group defused its only contentious issue when Kim Schappert stepped down as chair. non-motoriz- ed Schappert also heads the ation. To keep Trail Mix going, Luptovic wants to keep users and agencies talking, and make the operation just structured enough to show the county results that prove its value. Others elected to the executive committee include the citys David Olsen as Dan Stolfa (hiking), Lori Morgan (horseback) and Candee Pearson (biking). Representatives from federal and state lands sit in as needed. The executive group will direct budget and administrative matters and guide trail coordinator Cynde Elrod, the groups only em- business-backe- d vice-chai- r, Moab Trails Alliance, a aimed mainly at making Moab a more attractive biking destination by adding non-prof- it J in Four Categories trails. Committee more single-trac- k members, including U.S. Forest Service representative Shannon Skibeness, have objected to the link, saying even the appearance of a conflict could hurt Trail Mixs image. Schappert argues that the relationship is beneficial, since MTA and Trail Mix have similar goals, and MTA pays her to seek grants and other funding sources. Nevertheless, she handed the chairmanship to newly elected Peter Luptovic, and took a spot as county designee on Trail Mixs executive commit- ployee. In its first meeting Jan. 15, the execu- non-partis- To subscribe to The Times-Independe- nt call subscribemoabtimes.com The nt This go ahead, with construction anticipated within the next two years. The committee will ask the general Trail Mix membership before handing tee. news-pap- er is tive committee voted unanimously to turn over its 2004 allocation to the Colorado River pedestrian bridge, which will parallel the Highway 191 bridge north of town. There is a feasibility study underway to widen the highway bridge in 2007, but that project was originally slated for much later, and the pedestrian bridge will 7X) J7 printed on recycled paper and is recyclable. Luptovic moved to Moab in 2001, and is a former mountain bike instructor whos worked with various groups to mediate between land managers and Continued on Page A2 i one-tim- e al- locations) will be found. One key issue involving education is that of tuition tax credits, which would allow families to claim tax credits of up to $2,000 to send their chile dren to a private school. families with little or no tax liability would be given the amount of the credit, should they choose to enroll their children in private school. This is the third Low-incom- straight year that tuition tax credits have been considered by the Legislature. The 2004 bill is being sponsored by Rep. Jim Ferrin (R) of Orem. (Tuition tax credits) are going to be a very difficult thing to stop this year, King acknowledged last week, but he added that Gov. Walker has said she would veto the bill if it is approved in its current form. In last weeks meeting at GCHS, which about 25 people attended, one thing that all three lawmakers agreed was the important role of parents in educational reform. Public education cant change without parent involvement, Seitz noted. Here are a few the key education-relate- d bills being considered by the 2004 Utah Legislature, as outlined on the Legislatures web site (www.le.utah.gov): HB 14: Repeal of Education Mandates - repeals the State Board of Educations responsibility to design and implement a state textbook plan, and repeals certain school building utilization requirements related to day care. HB 22: Civic and Character Education in Schools - this bill, which would have required educators to incorporate certain Utah values into their teaching methods and curriculum, failed to make it past the House Education Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 20. HB 43: No Child Left Behind Opt Out - sponsored by Rep. Margaret Day-to- n (R) of Orem, this bill prohibits any further participation by Utah and its school districts in the federal No Child Left Behind Law, a controversial measure passed in 2001 that mandates academic testing for all students and requires schools to make adequate yearly progress each year until it is fully phased in by the year 2014. Failure to comply with NCLB requirements could result in the loss of federal education funds, including Title I money. HB 44: Use of Public Education Monies - appropriates an additional $88 million to the State System of Public Education for the Interventions for Student Success Block Grant Program. HB 45: Individual Income Tax Amendments for Education Funding -modifies the state income tax brackets, including adjustments to the amounts for personal exemptions and child deductions. By some estimates, this bill in its current form would generate over $40 million in additional revenue. HB46: Appropriation for School Districts Impacted by Fee Waivers - allows the State Board of Education to distribute funds to certain school districts impacted by fee waivers, with a suggested annual appropriation of $400,000 (ongoing). HB47: Elementary School Vending Machine Sales prohibits foods of minimal nutritional value (as defined by the - Continued on Page A2 Feuding Steen brothers agree to settlement; Charlie is in a care facility with Alzheimers by Lisa Church contributing writer Near the spot where Uranium King Charlie Steen struck it rich more than 50 years ago, the bitter court fight over the remains of his familys estate ended January 14 when attorneys for brothers Mark and Andrew Steen reached a settlement. Andrew, 55, and Mark, 53, sued each other in Moabs Seventh District Court, accusing one another of depleting the familys assets and seeking financial compensation for their losses. After hearing two days of testimony, Judge Lyle Anderson urged the parties on Wednesday to reach a settlement. Following 90 minutes of negotiations in the morning and another hour over lunch, they announced a deal. Under the agreement, Andrew Steen will receive $165,000 in payment for his shares ini Mi Vida Enterprises, Inc., a corporation established in 1973 to protect those Steen family assets that remained after bad business deals and an Internal Revenue Service tax investigation forced Charlie into bankruptcy in the late 1960s. Andrew also agreed to relinquish all interests and claims to assets held by the family corporation. Mark Steen and Mi Vida Enterprises agreed to drop their claims against Andrew. The agreement also bars both parties from appealing the decision, or filing any additional lawsuits against one another, and prohibits them from defaming, slandering, or libeling each other in the future. In court, Judge Anderson said the settlement is in the best interest of all parties, because it puts an end to future litigation. He also lamented the disintegration of relationships between Steen family members. I find myself wondering if there was a time in the shack out at Cisco when gentle, tender words were exchanged. That time is in the distance now, he said, later adding Its kind of a sad chapter at the end of the life of someone whos a Continued on Page A4 |