OCR Text |
Show MOAB, UTAH wvw. moab times .com Volume 108 Number 32 WEATHER FORECAST Activists oppose fee program, local input promised Thursday Strd Storms T. by Cactus Shepherd Low 63 High 91 T. People have been speaking out, and now Storms they are acting out their resistance to Congresss Recreation Fee Demonstration Program now in use by public lands agen- High 90 Low 64 Saturday Strd. T. intern T-- I Friday. Strd. Thursday, August S, 2C01 Storms cies. On May 25, a coalition close to home was first formed to demonstrate against the Fee Demo Program, and then on July 7, 50 High 90 Low 67 Sunday, isltd. demonstrators were federally cited for entering public lands without paying to enter the fee area at Canyon Creek, near Ouray, Colo. e Coalition is a The Western Slope to coordinate formed grass-root- s organization Demo Fee to the program in western opposition Colorado and eastern Utah. It is estimated that 200 members include hikers, bikers, members. environmentalists and wise-us- e No-Fe- Joes," said demonMany are middle-roastration organizer Robert Funkhauser of d Norwood, Colo. Jan Holt, founding member of the coalition from Durango, Colo., explained that many people dont understand what the Fee Demo is, the reason being, its formation was never given public debate, or put up for discussion. It was very hush, hush," High 92 Low 64 Flights cancelled? Air service critics examine their options Back to School 101 This week The T- -l goes back to school. Look inside for all the latest school news EXTRA! and basics, including school bus routes. You'll also find weekly events, a TV guide, horoscope, crossword, calendar, real estate listings, classifieds and more. Don't be tardy! Stroll through the Art Walk It's time once again for monthly event is held Saturday, July 14. Pieces by local artists Tim Morse and Pete Plastow, BLM gives seismic plan Sept. 1 start by Franklin Seal staff writer by Franklin Seal The Bureau of Land Management has approved the Veritas seismic operation near the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. Veritas DGC Land Inc., a global energy explora- staff writer Grand County officials are calling for a meeting with Great Lakes Airlines and federal transportation officials to sort out what they perceive as a growing problem. The airline Moabs main scheduled passenger air carrier has been in operation in Moab since June 7 but has regularly cancelled flights, has never advertised its schedule to the public, has delayed signing a county lease for months, and has not paid the county for back rent or landing fees. Some county officials are concerned over rumors about the airlines financial troubles and the fact that Great Lakes told its local representative not to attend a special county airport board meeting held Monday. The situation has at least one airport board member drawing parallels with a similar situation that occurred prior to the collapse of Sunrise Airlines last year. The same official was so upset last week he paid for a quarter to page ad in The advertise the airlines schedule and to vent his frustration with Great Lakes. Times-Independe- the Art Walk. The she said. The Fee Demo Program was implemented in 1996 so that federal recreation and park areas could afford to overhaul millions in backlogged maintenance. It w as also organized to see whether citizens would pay for recreation on land managed by the lS. Forest Service, National Park Serv ice, BLM Continued on Page A2 Airport Board Treasurer John Continued on Page A2 Great Lakes flight prepares to leave Canyonlands Field Monday. Several flights have been cancelled since the airline started operating in June. Photo by Franklin Seal A above and below, are tion company with offices in Denver, on Monday got a green light to begin seismic operations Sept. 1 on Big Flat Mesa and other areas along S R. 313 on the approach to Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park. The permit gives them until Oct 15 to complete the study. The approval cairm within two weeks of the official closure of the public comment period for the project and may reflect increasing pressures on local BLM managers to speed energy exploration permits. On Tuesday, Interior Secretary Gale Norton told oil and gas producers at the Rocky Mountain Natural Gas Strategy Conference that she would try to speed the paperwork for energy exploration on federal lands Environmentalists, including local members of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and the Sierra Club two weeks ago staged a protest march over the project at the Moab BLM office. Monday afternoon, as word of the Veritas approval spread, Sierra Club representaContinued on Page A2 - featured at The Overlook Gallery, one of four galleries participating in this month's event. Care for a cocktail? Agency won't appeal court order The Utah Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (ABC) decided on Monday not to appeal a recent order by the 10th U S. Circuit Court of Appeals. closed-doo- r sesFollowing a sion, the board announced it would meet on Thursday, Aug. 9, to pass an emergency" set of rule changes to conform with the appeals court ruling. The new rules will remain te 99 72 99 67 1 2 3 101 4 73 T --- 97 65 .22 66.02 5 101 6 104 71 -90 72.02 7 two sections of a Utah law banning alcohol advertisements might be unconstitutional. In it, the three-judg- e panel ruled that a group of tavern owners and two other plaintiffs were suffering irreparable harm because a federal lawsuit which the court reasoned they are likely to win remained buried on the desk of U.S. District Judge David Sam in Utah. The appellate judges ordered Sam to write a temporary injunction against the two statutes. Last Friday, Sam wrote a temporary restraining order on the same two subsections. According to recent news reports, ABCs new rules will likely resemble changes made in 1996 that allowed advertising of 3.2 percent alcohol beer in windows, periodicals, television, radio and on billboards. Tax hike is scaled back after WEATHER HISTORY Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. in effect for 120 days and may overhaul as many as a dozen prohibitions against alcohol advertising. Before the temporary rules expire, the commission plans to craft a permanent set of rules based on public comment. That means that today, w herever you might see just a beer ad, by the end of the week, you could see a wine or hard liquor ad. The appeals court order, issued July 24, said comity hears pleas against it tourism has declined in the last two years, and staff writer argued that increasing taxes at this time puts Area property owners will pay higher taxes an undue burden on individuals and business this year, but the tax hike will be somewhat owners. Tourism is off big time. Its extremely smaller than the county originally proposed. The hard in this economy in this time to raise taxes, said Gary Walter, owner of Moab RV Grand County Council voted 0 LIBRARY DIRECTOR 13 to about increase Camp Park. perMonday by I cant afford a tax increase, cent the portion of individual prop- RESIGNS, Page A 2 said Hertha taxes into the Wakefield, owner of the erty paid countys genCastle Valley Inn. My business is down. eral fund. Council member Bart Leavitt did not attend the meeting. Spanish Valley resident Leslie Phillips said The approved increase means taxes on a the county should consider cutting expenses or $100,000 home will go up by about $14, while reducing services to save money. I have a hard time with the fact that all these services Im paytaxes for a business valued at $100,000 will be increase by about $24. ing for are not available to me, she said, adding that weed control and mosquito abatement peron the final During Mondays public hearing sonnel have been unresponsive to problems in residents area tax countys proposed increase, her neighborhood. Im getting taxed like Im livpleaded with the Grand County Council to cut expenses rather than raise property taxes. Those ing in a big city, and Im still living in Poverty Flats a former name for Spanish Valley. Maybe comments ran contrary to public comments received during a December public hearing on the we should look at how were spending the money instead of just keep bleeding the people dry. issue. At the December meeting, most residents who attended voiced tax for the City council member and area business hike, support which will be used to owner and Gregg Stucki echoed the concern. I dont proupdate equipment vide pay increases for want more services, I want lower taxes, he said. many county employees. Several area business owners told the counColin Fryer summed up the sentiments of cil Aug. 6 that their revenues are down because Continued on Page A2 by Lisa Church 6-- Inside The T imes Business Directory: 67 Dining & Lodging: B3 Editorials, Letters: A6-- 7 Historic Photo: A2 Notices: 66 Obituaries: A6 Sports & Outdoors: B1 To subscribe to Ihe-TJmefc independent call subscribenxabtirRiw.coni The nt This news paper is printed on recycled paper and is recyclable. COPY Close call at Ken's Lake Rescue personnel were summoned to Ken's Lake Tuesday evening shortly after 7 pm. after receiving a call for emergency medical assistance Moab resident Brian Thompson, 42, apparently slipped while fishing on the southeast shoreof the lake. An unidentified woman who had been fishing with Thompson went into the water and managed to pull him ashore. Although he reportedly was unconscious and not breathing, bystanders were able to resuscitate him. He was responsive when the ambulance arrived to take him to the hospital. Photo by Jeff Richards |