OCR Text |
Show February 22, 2001 tllip (Eimfs3nhrprnhrnt PageA6 OURTOWN Community Comments by Sam Taylor CfCm On that group of city fathers was the town's lead- One of the neat things about hying in a community like Moab is the diverse nature of the population, and the differing opinions that motivate them A few recent controversies, while extremely heated, have involved people from all walks of life, people who have lived here forever, and people who have only recently made this community their home In almost every confrontation (mostly before county and city planning groups) people have conducted themselves in good taste, showing respect for each other and courtesy. Only a few times have chairpersons used the almost nevei used gavel to regain order That's healthy It is not the case in your typical Utah community, vhere the establishment" usually calls the shots and are rarely questioned or criticized for their actions by the general public. More and more, though, Utah community citizens are getting a little more involved In Grand County eight or nine years ago we changed our form of government and the whole state mocked us. Now, Morgan County, Wasatch County and even big brother Salt Lake County have followed suit and done the same thing We heard last week that our neighbor to the north, Uintah County, is considering the same move There are minor things about our county charter that would like to see changed, but by and large think it's working pietty well Nobodys perfect, particularly when you are striking out in the head of the pack. believe that in time, we will see changes in that charter But those changes should be made at the baliot booth, by the very people who originally created that document A month or so ago, we published an Old Photo 1956 mayor and feature showing a newly sworn-iof year after tired city council. That particular council, in of the community, used their year water rationing for this community and to secure skills professional water whole this valley ample supplies to ultimately our size of town of a times care needs the take many insurance broker, the owner of a neighborhood grocery store, the owner of a major petroleum distributorship, the owner of a lumber yard, an independent and highly successful consulting geologist, and one the towns most highly respected physicians and surgeons Those people cared enough to get involved. Those of us who turn the tap water on each morning and keep our lawns green in the summertime owe them a debt of gratitude. I'm not inferring here that only business leaders should hold public office. only want to emphasize that these were among the busiest people in the community, and yet they were willing to make the commitment of time and energy to public service. Unfortunately, holding public office is a tough job. Though satisfyng personally, many people who should get involved wont get involved because of the beatings they take from critics from all sides of the community spectrum. Office holding is a tough job, but somebody has to do it. There is an old saying (I dont Know who first said it), that if you live in a community that is being run by a committee, and you dont like what that committee is doing, then get on the committee. Stakeholders in this community that are now galvanizing their forces for or against issues like lighting restrictions or the direction of community growth should give that saying a little thought. This year is a municipal election year. The mayors job and two city council seats are at stake. Filing deadline for city office runs from July 15 through Aug. 16. according to County Clerk Fran Townsend. Give it some thought, public hearing advocates. If you dont like some of the things that are unfolding in this valley and this community, throw your hats in the ring. You might find the satisfactions of serving a whole lot greater than the brickbats you get hit with. ing I I n Many Trails by Adrien F. Taylor I've been a Salt Lake girl pretty much all my life. Lived there as a child, attended college there, had a lot of family there and still do. I have no problem that valley, or most any other around finding my way town in Utah, due to the Brigham Youngs thoughts on laying out a city. Thats all well and good if one is building a city from scratch, like Bro. Brigham and his colonizers did. Most cities do not have that advantage. They develop from old cowpaths, trail crossings, and the like, with no regard to north, south, east and west. Getting around had requested. an epiphany, and Im glad for it. Armed with my trusty map, and not even having to consult it every trip over anymore, am driving from place to place with confidence nowadays. It's a great feeling of liberation, and about time. But dont ever plan to learn to drive around Boston. from the directions It I is I I aft shared an entitled Ode to the Spell Checker! with us this week, and am hereby passing it along, with the usual comment that Im sorry we cant give proper attribution, and hope were not trampling all over somebody copyright. Here tis: Eye halve a spelling chequer. It came with my pea sea. It plainly marques four my revue miss steaks eye kin knot sea. Eye strike a key and type a word and weight for it two say weather eye am wrong oar write, it shows me strait a weigh. As soon as a mist ache is maid it nose bee fore two long and eye can put the error rite. Its rare lea ever wrong. Eye have run this poem threw it. am shore your pleased two no, its letter perfect awl the weigh. My chequer tolled me Mimi Levitt I becomes a matter of memorization, and maps. And so it was with Grand Junction and me. I've had more reasons to be in Salt Lake City over the years than to be in Grand Junction. But my life has switched around, and now need to be in Grand Junction fairly frrequently The first time needed to visit a particular office, asked to be given directions from Horizon Drive (since the airport has been my most frequent destination, so do know the way there). Picture this1 I've lived in Moab since 1955, except for college. And dont know my way around Grand Junction. Ridiculous! got hold of a map and was embarrassed at the circuitous route had to take to get to an address on Rood, by way of Horizon Drive, I I I I I I I I Suites -- 31 Times-lndependen- or FAX r kjif "6 897. of March 3, address: editormoabtimes.com P.O. Box 129, Moab, Postmaster: Send changes of address to: The t, 1 UT 84532 435-259-77- NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION s and UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION Samuel J. and Adrien F. Taylor, Publishers SenaT. Flanders, Editor m Tom Taylor. Zane Taylor Ron Flanders Franklin Seal Lisa Church Mary Wright Sadie Warner Dorothy Anderson A Circulation Manager, l Maps Press, Production Manager Systems Manager T-- News Writer News Writer Advertising Representative Real Estate Weekly, Design Mail Room Supervisor Jose Churampi, Stan Zook... Old journal have a little homemade journal that surely is somebody's treasure. discovered it in a filing cabinet several years ago. If memory serves me, the former owner of the filing cabinet was writing some sort of history. This little journal may have been part of his resource material. 1 wonder if he borrowed the journal and failed to return it. The journal is made of lined paper. The pages are bound together by two pieces of small string, one at each top corner. It would be my guess that the string was threaded through a needle and the needle punched through the paper. The pages are four inches wide by six inches long, There are about 24 pages, written on both sides with pencil. There are an additional six or eight blank pages at the end. The first page of the journal is difficult to read because it is quite faded. The first line reads (I think), Left home September 22. No year is given. However, later in the journal the year 1899 is mentioned. The second page records, Camped at Bartlesville 4 miles west of Dewey on Canay Creek. 26, Camped at Powhuskie on Byrd Creek." A later entry mentions the Cherokee Nation. Apparently, the journal writer records a journey that began in the Cherokee Nation. It ends a few months later at Aztec, N.M. I have enjoyed reading the little journal. Most of the country in 1899 was inhabited if not actually settled. The journey took place over roads. Fences are mentioned. Crops, the types of scil, the condition of cettle, stores, post offices and towns are mentioned. The writers primary concerns seemed to be grass and feed for their horses, and firewood and water for their camps. I thought Id quote a bit from the journal to give some of its flavor. The spelling is, for the most part, pretty good. The sentence structure and punctuation leave something to be desired. Ive taken the liberty of punctuating the writing as I see it. I 1 Bring back the coyote bounty Tim nbcpenbmt UPS 6309 2000 ) Entered as Second class Matter at the Post Office at Moab, Utah under the Act 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 Member by Ollie Harris Sunday, 29, Still in camp. S.H.s left us this morning for the Rio Grand River 12 miles west. We hired pasture for our stock $1.00 for today, and tonight we could get no pasture. Otherwise, this is a fine running creek from which considerable irrigation is done and fine grain and grass is raised. We took a look at their wheat in the stack. One bundle would weigh as much as two of ours. Also Looked at wheat in the bin. It was extraordinary fine spring wheat. Hard, it cracks in the pigs mouth like corn. This is a fine bottom. All Mexicans. Can trade with them some. They talk a little English. Some boys sit awhile with us tonight and one old man. We got a few beans from them today. They live in dobes and several families near together. Their cellars and bins are joined to or a part of the houses. They form a company and own their ditches so a ditch right goes with the land but they sell to none, only Mexicans. There is timber here along the creek. We go inside the fences and get firewood. I see no bees here. Perhaps there is none of this kind of culture as I think no alfalfa is grown. Thomas was offered a good cow and calf for $30.00." Nowhere in the journal can I find a complete name. Sometimes I am not sure whether a name refers to a person or a horse. There is mention made of an Elder Boice who lived near Antonito in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado. The writer mentions Thomas several times. There is the name, Solon. Also, Bill, Lucy, Flora, Jack and Kate, but I think they are horses. Other names mentioned are the following, Floyd H. had a chill today." Rhodes had a pretty hard chill today" Etta H. " Thomas is has fever trailing his buggy and works 4 horses to his wagon. Hildebrand worked 3 and I would have done the same but thought it best to let Lucy rest, so I had a tiresome tug. To night, so far, is clear and cool. If this journal rings a bell with anyone, please give me a call. I would be happy to see it returned to the descendants of these people. Writers on the Range ) 5 Idle Thoughts from Mt. Waas High Country News Bouquets to the Utah State Senate for passing a bill which would provide tax reductions in lieu of complete elimination of the sales tax on food. Utah is one of only a handful of states that tax food. This is one of the most regressive taxes on the hooks. states dont tax food sales at all. Everyone has to eat, rich and poor alike. Thirty-on- e Another eight provide tax breaks. Unfortunately, the House of Representatives probably wont pass the Senate bill. Members there, fearing a major drop in revenue, would rather pile up budget surpluses and create rainy day funds instead of giving all Utahns a break at the grocery check-ou- t line. kif RiPKE2tUX"nV The above is given in honor of the Grammar Phantom, who really is rarely never wrong. Accolades and Admonishment with regard to issues in our community ( pesoois .0V sew." Brick Bats and Bouquets (Eljc RURAL D'D I I rgr (. .0.c. U)k - 77 DO Kelly Backshop Ken Davey, Carrie Mossien News Writers Miller Layne Regional Correspondent Green River Correspondent Betty Bailey Ron Drake Castle Valley columnist Ron George Columnist Oliver Harris Columnist Distribution V quick-breedin- 10-ye- Ericson, Bobbie Domenick, Jed Taylor by Fitzgerald Wile E. Coyote had a pretty tough life. Despite the best efforts of the ACME Corporation, our animated friend still had trouble making a living. One might wonder, in fact, how he scraped together enough cash for his mail-orde- r gadgets. For decades, ranchers have killed coyotes. Recreational hunters chip away at their numbers. The federal government, under the auspices of its mellifluously-monikere- d Wildlife Services Agency, subsidizes the execution of thousands of predators a year - most of them g and adaptable coyote has coyotes. Yet t le survived and thrived. Today, wildlife managers are faced with too many coyotes. Those of us who spend a substantial portion of our lives outdoors are not surprised by this news. The latest proposed tactic is to shoot coyotes from helicopters. A better management alternative is to put a price on the head of every coyote and control the population through an ecobounty. The Colorado Division of Wildlife, the agency charged with protecting the states wildlife, has decided business. Its reasoning is to get into the coyote-killin- g that killing coyotes will help anemic mule deer herds that have suffered in recent years. While conventional wisdom holds that coyotes prey on deer, science is less sure. In the fall of 1999, a study of mule deer herds in Colorado by the Division of Wildlife declared that coyote predation was not a major factor. A short year later, the DOW has decided that coyotes have helped to cause a three-percedecline in mule deer herds since 1996 to a level some 17 percent below targeted levels. So the DOW has started a study: a project with a price tag of $2.6 million. Thats a lot of money, but deer hunting is big business in Colorado. The study may lend some scientific credibility to conventional wisdom, though I am sure the researchers will find that other factors - such as increased elk populations, decreased winter range, and more road traffic and therefore road kill - are all important pieces of the puzzle. More troubling is the suggestion of an advisory panel that the Wildlife Commission use aerial gunning to control the coyote population. In a state that has already banned trapping and poisoning, air attack is one of the few remaining alternatives. The intention is to selectively cull coyotes, concentrating on breeding pairs near fawning grounds. The Wildlife Commission has wisely i elected not to use aerial gunning in the first year of the study, but has left the door open after that. Hopefully, somebody will put an end to this foolish scheme before it gets off the ground. Coyotes have survived aerial gunning before, and no doubt would do so again. Airplanes and helicopters are expensive. In 1999 the state of Montana budgeted $100,000 to add another aircraft to its fleet for aerial gunning. Add to the operating costs the rather gruesome statistic of some 19 helicopter crashes in the last 12 years while shooting coyotes - those crashes killed seven people and injured 26 - and aerial gunning becomes absurdly expensive. A far better and cheaper solution would be to reintroduce the bounty on coyotes. Under such a program, anyone with a dead coyote (or just proof of a dead coyote, thanks) collects a monetary reward. Currently, the Wildlife Services Agency kills some 100,000 animals each year with a budget of $36 million; about 90,000 of these are coyotes. That works out to around $360 a coyote. Now consider the experience of two eastern Colorado counties which, in 1999, brought back the first bounty in the state in 30 years. The money they doled out to bounty hunters: just $7.50 per coyote. Even a more generous offer would potentially save millions of dollars. Depending on how it was organized, a bounty system could be surprisingly flexible. The price is variable. Quotas could be set, even seasons during which the bounty is paid. Sportsmens groups would be more than coffers. willing to contribute to the coyote-cullin- g Some people might argue that controlling coyotes is wrong. But it is far easier to kill a predator than to stop the encroachment of condominiums onto winter range or reduce traffic on roads at night. While it is possible, and sometimes to compensate ranchers for stock losses, there is no way to compensate anyone for dead deer. If necessary. Wile E. Coyote and his relatives may order the ACME Corp. Deluxe Portable Gun. However, there is really no need to force them to scrounge up the money. A flexible ecological management e, Anti-Aircra- ft a aerial gunning bounty will scheme any day. 7Tm Fitzgerald is a contributor to 'Writers on the Range, a service o'High Country News (www.hcn.org). He makes his living in Colorado as a cowboy, guide and out-perfor- m outfitter. high-tec- h |