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Show Page B1 Area-Wid- e Week in Review Items from regional newspapers Heber appoints first woman ... Patricia Thompson said she was stunned" when Heber City Council voted her onto the council to fill a vacant seat two weeks ago. By appointing her, the council was taking an historic step it will be the first time a woman has ever served on the body. Heber ' The Wasatch Wave Protesters: Save the valley ... extended from Grand Junction, Colo. A chain of protesters downtown Telluride to pastures, about five blocks away, in a show of solidarity against the San Miguel Valley Corporations unofficial hotel and golf course there. The proposal to build a 200-roo- pastoral valley floor is the gateway to the small ski town. Currently hite Holstein cows that graze beneath tall home to pines and aspens, one protester called it the heart of the community." The corporation recently expressed an interest in annexing the parcel to Mountain Village, an upscale town on a ridge to the south. Mountain Village has not received a formal request for annexation, but the mere announcement ignited protests from embittered residents who contend it should remain open space. The Daily Sentinel black-and-- 860-acr- e Manti pageant draws 95,000 ... Manti Despite rain on one of the shows eight days, this years Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant drew a total of 95,000 The gatekeepers turned in totals that topped last pageant-goers- . attendance by 900. years The Messenger-Enterpris- e JV burglary ring busted ... Heber Heber City Police have quashed what is being called the largest burglary ring in Wasatch Countys history. Heber City resident Travis Bruce Hardinger, 18, is suspected of some as young as la along with four other juveniles vandalism and burglaries in two LDS churches, seven businesses, two schools, 21 cars, and four homes. They are also suspected of using alcohol, marijuana and powerful drugs while wrecking havoc. Police Detective Michael Richardson said the group first struck a travel agency on March 18. The group was apprehended June 22. Wasatch Wave over-the-count- by power lines ... injured while was Price A Teen trying to boy critically injured retrieve a balloon entangled in power lines Wednesday, June 28 in Price. The boy was working on the repair of a fence with two other construction workers when a local homeowner asked to have two balloons removed from the overhead wires. The boy was lifted up on a backhoe bucket and was electrocuted when he touched a wire. The noise from the explosion brought men running. The boy was taken to Castleview Hospital, then to University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City where he was listed in critical condition. Sun Advocate ld (Dg (Ttnxfg-nhfpmhc- Thursday, July 13, 2000 nt Green River farmer says 'enough is enough' as state changes boundaries in wildlife compensation area that boundary with ground by Betty Bailey der cultivation could put in for Green River Correspondent hunt permits. After January After 50 years of farming and ranching in the Green River valley, the owners and operators of Vetere Farms have said enough is enough. Farmers and ranchers here say they face many trials in trying to make a living off the land in the high desert. Hot, dry winds, searing temperatures, salinity problems, loans and low pay for goods sold are just a few of the many obstacles. Although these problems are the most obvious, a not 60 obvious problem is wildlife and the destruction animals cause to crops. Farmers say the bureaucracy of the Utah Division of Wildlife and Natural Resources - .' I V? V, ArV-- . , ' - . -- v - . A high-intere- is to blame. Deer, antelope, turkey, raccoons, geese, bear, mountain lions and even bighorn 6heep are attracted to the farms for the easily accessible food and water. From an animals perspective, the farms and ranches in the Green River green belt are like a free smorgasbord. Farmers and ranchers here believe they are conservationists, and are more than willing to work with the Bureau of Land Management and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources with wildlife problems. Because DWR officials are aware of the loss wild animals incur on a farmers fields, the agency has several programs set up to compensate farmers. The DWR budgets money annually to fund the compensation programs. The agency also provides explosive devices that farmers may use in their fields to scare away wildlife. However, after using the devices a few times, farmers say the animals quickly realize they arent in any danger and no longer leave when ip- 2000, the new boundary was set for Coal Canyon, excluding all farms and ranches on Hastings road in Elgin. This has created a dilemma for the farmers and ranchers who have to deal with the large herds of antelope and deer, as well as the turkeys that inundate their fields and damage their crops. Boundary Change I... Antelope head found in Veteres field along Hastings Road one explodes. Not Compensated By using compensation programs, farmers and ranchers declare what loss or damage they incur in a growing season and ask the division for reimbursement. This is for hay, alfalfa and wheat, but not for melons, the flagship crop for Green River. Farmers say deer and even gpese find the young melon plants a true delicacy, and damage to a melon crop can be in excess of $3,000 an acre. The money budgeted for crop damage compensation is limited and covers the entire state. The fund is also by how many farmers and ranchpro-rate- d ers apply for compensation during a fiscal year. The other way the division works to compensate farmers and ranchers is through issuing landowner permits. Hunt areas are given a certain quota of permits. For example, approximately 400 hunt tags are issued for the Book Cliffs, and 20 percent of the tags issued are given to landowners based on the quan in Elgin. tity of land owned that is under cultivation. This is to supplement expenses for damages caused by wildlife. Farmers and ranchers are able to either keep the tags for their own use or sell them for as much as $2,000 each, depending on the hunt area. Landowner tags are the favorable option of compensation, farmers say, as they do not come directly out of the DWRs budget s (no cost to the division) and can sell them to make up their losses. These landowner permits are not to be confused with the landowner turkey permits that are issued. Landowners are permitted one turkey tag every year if they draw, but they must buy them just like someone who is putting in for the draw, and landowners are not permitted to sell their turkey tags. Landowner permits are also given by hunt boundaries. The boundary for the Book Cliffs before the year 2000 proclamation was set from the east side of the Green River to and all landowners within land-owner- A first inrmany years: in the black ... Tooele According to Mayor Merle Cole, Grantsville City is in the black for the first time in many years. After all the fixing and the actuals, our budget is pretty close he said. For the first time were in the black. Thats new for us." As a result, the city has an opportunity to raise the bar for employees and tune up infrastructure. Tboele Transcript-Bulleti- n A Look Back in Time Pictures from our past early Cortez, Colo. The monsoon season began year and may reduce the wildfire threat, says assistant state climatologist Nolan Doesken. A lot of people think the monsoon is a rain, but its never been a rain. Its a seasonal wind, specifically a wind pattern for the southwest United States that brings humid tropical air from the and late Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific northward during summer, he said. The winds regularly reach as far north as Interstate 70 in Colorado, occasionally extending to Montana. The Cortez Journal package waiting Blanding that will never arrive, thanks to a little stop in Blanding two weeks ago. Santiago Blanding Police reported two weeks ago that ld Gamez, a Mexican national, was arrested for possession of marijuana on Saturday, June 24, as he traveled through town. Gamez was traveling with his wife and child in a 1988 Buick Riviera when he was stopped for a couple of minor traffic violations. He was traveling from Arizona to an unknown destination in Colorado. According to the police report, Gamez was traveling 20 mph along Main Street and made an extremely wide turn at the comer. , Blue Mountain Panorama Seven killed in fiery collision ... Standing the test of time ... This includes Federal, State and Private Lands The State of Utah is under drought conditions with State-wiFire Restrictions. de Contact your local city fire Department for locations to enjoy your fireworks safely that will not endanger your community. Be Fire Smart Be Fire Safe. sheep out there. Our biggest problem has been the deer and pronghorns. The antelope dig and lay in the hay crushing it down not to mention what theyre eating and the deer eat the melons even before theyre ripe. Ive counted as many as 100 melons destroyed in just two or three rows. The deer and the anteeach other through chase lope the fields, tearing holes in my plastic and destroying my irrigation system," Vetere continued. It is an extremely costly the wildlife." This delicate stone work is typical of many of the Anasazi ruins in the rugged lands south of Canyonlands National Park. This particular ruin, consisting of eight separate rooms and two kivas, is tucked in the head of a shallow sandstone canyon and completely shrouded by thick juniper and pinyon trees. That screening from anyone passing by probably accounts for the fact that it appeared to be free-standi- totally untouched by modem-da- y inhabitants when it ng was discovered 20 years ago. Sam Taylor photo San Juan Record Fireworks are Illegal In the State of Utah Outside Incorporated City Limits mountain lion and big horn When DWR decided to circumvent Hastings Road and the Veteres property, he felt his only possible recourse was to start a depredation hunt on his property. Vetere stated, I contacted DWR when I found out my property had been circumvented by the boundary change and asked them why they had changed the boundary. They told me that the wildlife on my property were not coming from the Book Cliffs area, that they were a resident herd. But if anyone took the time to research it before nicking their decision they would see that a lot of the deer trails come right out of Tusher Canyon, and where else would the bear, lion and bighorn come from if not the Book Cliffs? Vetere continued, DW'R told me were not giving you any tags but you 6till have to feed Mexican nabbed with pot ... for a Someone in Colorado is still Seven were killed in a fiery two-ca- r accident on U.S. Highway 262 between Aneth and Montezuma Creek. The only known witnesses were all killed. All were apparently involved in a late night birthday party. Tragedy struck when the party moved from a home toward Montezuma Creek. Five people left in a 1999 Ford Thunderbird driven by Calvert Weston; two more followed in another car. They apparently were racing toward Montezuma Creek at a high rate of speed when Weston lost control and veered off the north side of the road, overcorrected and crossed the highway. age by wildlife is still continuing. Tim Vetere, spokesperson for Vetere Farms, stated, I have counted up to 45 pronghorn antelope living in our fields on one irrigation pivot alone and 17 on another. Were also feeding 35 deer and as many as 82 turkeys. Weve also seen bear, Road circumvented mid-summ- 2 Vetere Farms and Ranching has 1,500 acres of farm land on Hastings Road, and has more land under cultivation than any other party on the north and south units of the Book Cliffs. The Veteres say they are only one example of landowners affected by the boundary change. Vetere Farms, which had 280 acres of their 1,500 acres on Hastings Road under cultivation last year, received two Book Cliffs permits for crop damage in 1999. This year they will receive nothing, although they have even more of their land under cultivation and the dam- problem. The Division of Wildlife told me I could put in for compensation for the hay, but that they would only compensate me for one ton of hay, the equivalent of $75." Monsoons may bring relief,.. this a bit Monticello at 4 a.m. on July un- Moab FamiiyPractice & Dr. Nathaniel Penn, M.D. i 8:30-5:3- 0 G20 W. 400 Continued on Page B3 Alan C. Jensen, D.D.S., M.S. 570 West 400 North are proud to have TracyReavii, Pur physician's assistant, now seeing patients at our clinic She specializes in womens health and family practice. Feel free tostop tn arid meet her. Mon-Fr- this year, stating the agency would have to do something (t Jensen Orthodontics t Now open 5 days a week: Vetere notified the Division letter in March of of Wildlife by Moab, UT 81532 Call for an appointment 259-223- 2 SPECIALIZING IN BRACES N. I Will Be in Moab July 20 tEBaaBgaaaig |