OCR Text |
Show t 1 1 1 4t' iU 4 If 1 .". U. ' It i)C MOAB, UTAH 500 Volume 107 WEATHER FORECAST Saving Film Thursday i""'1 Partly Cloudy Commission is county goal Low 64 Htgh 91 jA4!r Friday Partly Cloudy High 92 Low 63 Saturday Partly Cloudy High 90 Low 65 by Franklin Seal Sunday staff writer Partly Cloudy 93 Low 62 The Grand County Council heard pleas for help from supporters of the Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission during its regular meeting on Monday afternoon,. With several council members voicing strong reservations but with all saying they didnt want to see the commission disband, the council decided by consensus to hold an emergency meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss ways they might salvage it. During the emergency meeting Tuesday, attended by five council members, the group decided again without a vote to take immediate steps to keep the film commission going. The film commissions phone line will soon be transferred to the office of the Grand County Travel Council. And Kari Huts the former Film Commission Director w ho recently quit that job to take a position as Grand County Economic Development Director will have her hours increased from 35 to 40 hours a week in order to answer the incoming calls. Council members asked her to keep strict records of how much time she spends doing film commission work in order to make certain it does not cut into the rest of her economic development time. Two weeks ago, film commission board member Don Holyoak came before the county council to tell them the film commission was closing its office because of funding problems. Monday afternoon, he was back to ask them to add five hours to Huts job. Continue the film commission so we can continue filming in this part of the state. Bureau of Land Management Real Estate Specialist Mary e von Koch testified that in her position, one of her refor film permits on BLM is to sponsibilities process requests lands. She said that without the film commission providing the film companies with locations and information, she may have to turn requests away. Tm not sure what I'm going to do if they don't have this information when they call Utah Film Commission Director Leigh von der Esch also asked the council to save the local film commission. The name of this game is client services being able to send out information to prospective companies immediately." Without the film commission filling that role, Moab will miss many opportunities, she said. Council Member Ken Ballantynes comment near the end of the discussion summed up the remarks of most of the members present: I think wed be remiss to allow the The harvest Workers at Arches Wineries are crushing grapes, sets CJC goals The organization, in its second year of operation, initiates education and drive, fund-raisi- g-- j Inside The T imes half-tim- Business Directory; 64 Calendar: 63 Crossword Puzzle; 67 Classifieds; 67 Dining & Lodging: 63 Editorials, Letters: A6,7 Notices: 66 Obituaries: A4, 5 Region Review: 6f Television Listings: 62 WEATHER HISTORY Date - Precia High-Lo- Aug. 16 Aug. 17 Aug. 18 Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. 19 20 21 22 102 100 96 98 99 98 99 72 64 Continued on Page A2 -- 60 62 Utahs economy was like rollercoaster ride. A look In Thats a switch from two weeks ago, when Mayberry, Ballantyne and Leavitt said they were leaning toward supporting the proposals. The proposed changes, if passed, would have been placed on the November county ballot for ratification by voters. They included getting' rid of county non-partisa- n Johnsons Up On Top may become 'Cloudrock1 Upscale resort will be ' the most expensive in Grand County' by Franklin Seal staff writer Johnsons Up On Top is a unique mesa with an unusual name. Located on the northeast rim of Spanish Valley, it desert stream to overlooks a the east and an golf course to the west. Long favored by locals as a close-igetaway for hiking, biking, horseback riding and jeping, it also supports a herd of cows. year-roun- d 18-ho- le n And if a newly forming development company has its way, the cows and the Continued on Page A2 The mesa that rises above the Moab Golf Course is Johnsons Up On Top. Developers have pegged it for an upscale resort. Photo by Sam Taylor City joins others in $100K bypass study h v - A by Ken Davey , staff writer The Moab City Council voted 1 to join with Grand County and the Utah Department ofTransportation to fund a study looking into the possibility of building a Highway 191 bypass around downtown Moab. In favor were Gregg Stucki, Kyle Bailey, Kirstin Peterson and Rob Sweeten. Voting no was Joseph Lekarczyk. The bypass discussion was initiated by UDOT. The state agency has determined that the current Highway 191 4-- along Moabs west routing through-traffitraffic down the Potash or side, directing Road and constructing a new bridge in the shadow of Moabs Portal. bridge is inadequate, and should be reconstructed to handle current knd future traffic load. UDOT decided to take the opportunity, before proceeding with plans, to ask local residents if a bypass is a better alternative. Under the UDOT proposal the state would spend $80,000 for the study, with the city and county chipping in $10,000 each. Possible choices include rebuilding the existing bridge and having traffic continue to flow along Main Street, building another bridge near the current one and Visitors from all over the world come to Moab to see and play in its famous canyon country, a spectacle of colorful, jumbled topography with Arches National Park as its star jewel. Few come to explore the fiat, gray and desolate terrain north of Arches called Yellow Cat Flats. But the Yellow Cat area (named for an unfortunate puma killed near an old campsite) is famous in its own right but for a "jewel" of an altogether different sort. Rock lovers, especially those fascinated by petrified wood, know Yellow Cat as the origin of some of the worlds most beautiful specimens of redwood red agate fossils of ancient tree limbs. Usually cut crosswise and polished to show off the red, black, white, yellow and violet stripes and swirls inside the branch. Yellow Cat redwood can be found in some of the best private rock collections. But if youre a rock hunter, dont drive out to Yellow Cat Flats expecting to stitches for Delicate Q4 find any of the coveted To subscribe to stones some experts say the entire area was picked clean years ago. A rock shop worker in Moab said nowadays, its even rare to find Yellow Cat redwood on store shelves. And when a piece shows up at a gem show, collectors go wild for it. On the other hand, local rock hounds say Yellow Cat Flats Thg.TimeS: Independent call subscribemcabtimes.com The XV tY printed on recycled paper and is recyclable. I against. c support funding the study, its something we really need to look into, said Peterson. Im going to vote for it, I think its a safety issue and something that needs to be done, stated Bailey. I think the state wants some direction. I think the expenditures they will make to put in a Continued on Page A2 I Moab to host Millennium Gem and Mineral Show in October by Franklin Seal staff writer Stitchers Quilt Guild makes items for children who need them. , staff writer The Grand County Council voted Monday against approving changes to the way county council members are elected in the future. Two council members, Harvey Merrell and Frank Nelson, voted in favor of the changes. A1 McLeod, Kim Schappert, Susanne Mayberry, Ken by Franklin Seal a a good cause This news paper is districts, shrinking the size of the council from seven to five, getting rid of term limits and the right of voters to recall council members, and going back to political party conventions and primaries instead of the current system to choose candidates. Ballantyne said the only change he strongly supported was abolishing term Continued on Page A2 Ballantyne and Bart Leavitt voted by Ken Davey Region yields red petrified wood specimens of agate fossil Real Estate Weekly, inside Moabs County rejects election changes Redwood of Yellowcat receives national notoriety --- The Nineties back wmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm T 67.01 72 66 Thursday, August 24, 2000 www.moabtimes.com Number 34 Moab resident Jimmie Walker displays polished specimens of redwood found in Yellow Cat Note the petrified limb at bottom, and the rock in Ns left hand, which is featured on the front cover of the magazine at right. Photo by Sadie Warner poor copy i still continues to yield beautiful redwood specimens for those who know what to look for and where to look. Even though it has been picked clean, they say, new pieces emerge as the desert around them continues to erode. Continued on Page A3 staff writer Batten down the hatches, Moab. the Moab Points and During the week of Oct. Pebble Club will host the Millennium Gem and Mineral Show. Some believe it could bring as many as 20,000 visitors to Moab over the four-da- y stretch during a weekend of Moab mountain bike that also boasts the huge race, one week before the Fat Tire Festival. 12-1- 5, 24-Hou- rs The club has traditionally held a gem show each year, attracting 2,000 to 3,000 people if they were lucky, according to the clubs But this year the show has become a national event and is being billed as an American Federation and Rocky Mountain Federation Show and Convention. It started out, we were looking at in the neighborhood of 8,000 to 10,000, said local club Paul Asman. Then the group began advertising, sending packets to nearly every local mineral and gem club in the country. Having talked with many club representatives, and with Moab motels and campgrounds, Asman says more people are planning to attend than he thought. Now people are talking about possibly as many as 20,000 shewing up. It might be dreaming but it doesnt hurt to dream. Evidently, in rock hound circles, Moab gets good buzz. Moab is world famous, theres just no two ways about it," Asman bays. 22 dealers have signed up More than double the number of gem and mineral dealers have signed up to display items at the show than at any previous show 22 in all. A wide variety of items will be displayed, including specimens of world famous Yellow Cat Redwood (see accompanying article); d items; jewelry from inlay to gemstone; cabs from agate to zebrastone; slabs; fossils; dinosaur bone; faceted gemstones; lapidary equipment; findings and books. Visitors can also expect to find demonstrations of and faceting. cabbing, - hand-knappe- flint-knappin- wire-wrappi- g, ng The show will also include door prizes, silent auctions, games and grab bags filled with polished local rocks and minerals. Continued on Page A3 |