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Show Page (The CT:nu'5 - 3! rthrprnJtmt A2 Thursday, August 9, 2001 County tables Library director resigns Th d rector cJ the Grand ('ouny Library has notified tht library board that she is rcMgiung ber po.--t Hectnr at the end of the month Sonja Plummer, who took ovtr the post two years sj.o, sa.d she is tracing to return to Scarborough, Maine, where several family mt mU r and rt lanes live She said she loves Moab and canyon country, the library and Us patrons, hot she needs to ret irn to her homeland Citing the difficulties of being a single r lother raising sevt ral children, she said the plans to finish hei hai helors degree ar d pursue a mast r's degree m Library Suence It s c rtainly a sad day, she said The library board has been very supportive, and the jieople here have lieen supta.rtive but the struggles for day care and the struggle without having family have proven difficult Library board President Janet Iawe said the board plans to make the transition as pand 'ss as possible for l.brary patrons We re all just reehi g from the shock Iajwo sa.d she and County Council Member A1 McLeod who also sits on the library Uiard have lieen met tmg w ith IGrand County Administrator! Judy Bane to chart the future for the next three months The starch fur a new director has already begun and could take up to three months, she said Meanwhile, they will probably hire an interim director either from w itlnn the community or from w ithin I tnh We arent sure we re going to do that, but it s sornt thing we re exploring, she stated heliport plan b Lisa Church staff writer Grand County Council voted unanimously Monday evening to table a proposed The ordinance governing heliport operations in the county At the request of the Grand County Planning and Zoning Commission, the council agreed to send the ordinance back to the commission for further review But a planned public bearing n the issue was held Aug 6, and about a dozen area residents voiced complaints and support for the proposal Several residents expressed concern about the noise created when heli- c Continued on Pae A2 when the user fee is collected can use 80 cents of every dollar collec ted, the remaining 20 percent are retained by the four reside live ageiu les But now, the public agt tu ies are depen-d- i nt on the Fee Ikmo Program Congress has reduced the agencies' budgets by the amount of the foes, and sometimes more, the coalition savH This causes the1 federal land managers to lotus on how to maximize n critics say, rather than what's best for the land, thereby turning the agencies into entrepreneurs rather than environmental preservers The coalition isnt against fees unilaterally, Funkhauser said They are against privatization of the public land Through the Fee- Demo the Forest 'service tan turn over land to the highest bidder, so the land can then have improvements made by the concessionaires, who then call the shots they own the right to do with the land what " they want Land managers can pave roads, build resorts and even build golf courses on the public land, Funkhouser said Once it there is no turning back " hapis-ns- , The Utah Forest Service's budget has remained alsiut the same, said Bill Broadbear, a forester with the Forest Service But the reason for implementing the Fee Demo is to respond to the increasing numlx rs of people who are now visiting Forest Service lands, he said In defense of the program, he pointed out Congress's money is not in" creasing nearly as fast as the people a mints That stab inent up primary concern of the anti fee group Members want Congress to increase its funding of public lands management The Fee Demo has not yet been implemented on Forest Service land surrounding the Moab area But it has lieen put into effect in the northern portion of the Manti-L- a Sal Nation Forest near Price. In the Moab area we've talked about it conceptually, Breadbear said, but we havent designated areas " Where it has been implemented, Forest Service officials say it has been met with positive response because the USFS has workeil with local communities through public meeting" to find out what makes sense to the people living nearby. There was local opposition for charging people for fishing and hiking," Broadbear said. But people understand (barging tor overnight camping." Ke said people don't object to a program proviso that returns monies back to the places from whuh they were collected, said Broadbear Forest Sen t e officials in the Moab area are holding off to see how people in the northern forest area receive the Fee Program. But s and big business high level de may have more impact on the duration of the program, opments fear. According to Holt, it appears the federal agencies are in support of the program, along with the American Recreation Coalition (ARC l, which hacks Congress The ARC in - ision-maker- supported by large corporations, including dozens of motorboat, personal watercraft, HV, motorcycle, ORV and snowmobile manufacturers, as well as tour associations, public-lands concessionaires, petroleum companies and the Walt Disney Company Once the corporations gain the parks, we wont have any control money talks," Holt said The coalition believes this program could create an economic defiendence on motorized recreation and commercial development of public lands, because they bring in more revenue The pay to play' opposition is backed by over 200 national and regional groups, as well as the Western Slope Coalimotorized and comtion All say mercial recreation would likely take precedence over lower-impaactivities such as hiking, camping, nature study and educational outings. Thats because hikers and bikers dont spend a lot of money, Funkhauser said The program is not socially equitable, Funkhauser argues. "The fees will affect people with the least, the most, he said. Low-corecreational opportunities such as picnicking, camping and hiking are espee families cially important to By restricting numbers by doubling fees, who does that cut out first? People already pay taxes to support federal management of these public lands," he said. We assume the role." government will fulfill the The coalition's goal is to convince Congress to fully fund public land with tax dollars through the appropriations process. In order to get the Fee Demo program repealed nationally, members are starting close to home, by asking cities and counties in the region to declare them Fee Free. In Colorado, San Miguel County Commissioners met Aug 3 to discuss the possibilities, and they adopted a resolution to stop the fees. They feel their efforts may keep the Fee Demo program out of San Miguel County. On Aug. 8, Sen. Wayne Allard of Colorado will attend a town meeting in Ouray, Colo., to examine the controversial foe program. Were going to send a loud and clear message for the Congressional Delegation, Funkhouser said. Along with San Miguel County, several other counties are lining up to discuss possibilities for ending the program. Three states have already resisted the Fee Demo Program: California, New Hampshire, and Oregon. The program is authorized through September 2002, with an evaluation report due in Congress this coming Sept. 1, before the test period ends Sept. 30, 2001. Until Congress begins to pay attention to the hundreds of groups opposed to the Fee Demo, protests will continue, coalition meme bers say. On Aug. 25, the Western Slope Coalition will again protest the Canyon Creek area near Ouray, Colo. For more information, contact Robert Funkhauser at or at P.O. Box 403 Norwood, (970) Colo , 81423 Persons may also contact their local public lands agencies representatives. high-impa- st lower-incom- care-takin- g No-Fe- 327-434- 7 A local youth checks out the fresh produce. A lot of people Continued from Page A 1 Cowan ran the ad, he says, because hes angry at the lack of service and hes tired of seeing the county ripped off Im pissed at these people coming in and ..its jubt corporate welfare, as far as Im concerned. To me this is worse than having no air service at all Cowan said on Wednesday morning that for the past 10 days the airline has canceled its last fight of the day from Denver to Moab and back. He said one day, five film company employees were left standing at the gate when the flight was canceled half an hour before it was scheduled to leave Denvei, then reinstated again a short while later, then canceled again. The airport board scheduled a special meeting Monday in order to pick a bid for remodeling the airport terminal to meet Great Lakes needs. Cowan asked Great Lakes Moab Station Manager Edyie Long to attend, but later learned Longs boss told her not to. Consequently, when Cowan and other board members raised concerns about problems with Great Lakes service, they were long on questions but short on answers County Council Chair Kim Schappert said she is trying to pull together a meeting or conference call between federal Department of Transportation officials, Great Lakes representatives and local officials to see if we can make this work." The main concern, she acknowledged, were the cancellations. Airport Board Chair Larry Van Slyke said the board is considering several options, one of which might include having the county pay for advertising Great Lakes schedule locally. Van Slyke tried to put the countys encerns in the best light. I think the general theme of that part of the meeting was, What can we do to enhance thepeoples knowledge of what services exist. are taking off and departing," he continued, that may well be a problem with the cancellations. I suspect that before that airplane departs Denver they call over and find out if there are any passengers. They may well cancel the flight then, because theyve got to have passengers to meet and exceed the costs of the aircraft." But Cowan said the Essential Air Service contract pays most, if not all of those costs by crediting Great Lakes for just under $800 for each completed flight. Hes concerned about the county planning to spend roughly $10,000 from a previous Federal Aviation Administration grant to remodel the airport for an airline about which there are so many questions. He compared the current situation with Great Lakes to that of Sunrise Airlines, which declared bankruptcy last year and left Moab without any regular air service for more than half a year. I dont want to be chopping holes in the terminal, he said, when the company is acting so flaky. Plus, there are so many rumors going around about them going belly up. People do not know when the flights threw the atlatls. A1 to its employees that must be kejit. If we back off our commitment, I thiiik wtfi be doing more damage to the c Minty, !w said. Still, tlie council members did vite to reduce 455 the amount of additional funds being , $45 by sought through the tax increase. The money was e tax increase fur 2001 to come from a lost after the state deto tax monies only recoup valued some property, mostly lailroad lands, throughout the count) By state law, the county may increase taxes for the year the lost revenue occurs. Since the council voted to forgo the tax increase, those funds will he forever lost, said County Clerk Fran Tbwnsend. many in the room, suggesting the county could tighten its belt to help save property owners some money It is a bit of a hard pill to swallow when business is going down and taxes are going up, he said. Council members were sympathetic to the concerns raised at the hearing. Council Chair Kimberly Scliappert told the group she w as in a quandary about having to raise taxes. But she pointed out that over half the year's budget has now been spent I dont see how we can back aw ay from it now she said. Council Member A1 McLeod said the count) had made a commitment one-tim- Seismic plan way vehicle (OHV) travel to existing roads and trails in this general area. New surface disturbance created by the vibroseis trucks w ill and signed at all interbe raked, Continued from Page A1 Activists oppose fee program Airline Continued from Page A1 and fish and Wildlife Agency The area County budget hearing Continued from Page sections tives expressed concern that the permit was being issued too quickly. On Monday evening, SUWA representatives said they were considering legal action to stop the project. Veritas plans to string a temporary grid of cables and receivers across the mesa top using helicopters, ATVs and workers on foot. Then, crews will drive four vibroseis" trucks across the grid, stopping every 100 meters to pound the ground with special pads. The resulting shock waves will give the company a detailed picture of oil deposits when the waves bounce back and are captured by the receivers. Environmentalists have said the BLM is being hypocritical in allowing the company y to drive over the same terrain y where last year they outlawed driving by recreationists. Much of the terrain, they say, is covered by cryptobiotic crusts, which can take many years to recover. But BLM representatives say theyre protecting the land by putting stipulations on the projects original proposal. While its impossible to mitigate fill impacts associated with this type of project, I believe weve taken every reasonable and necessary precaution to protect the land, said Maggie Wyatt, Moab Field Office Manager. Its also important to acknowledge, added Wyatt, that oil and gas exploration activities are an important use of the public lands. The Veritas project is well within the parameters of the 1985 Grand Resource Management Plan as well as a supplemental Plan Amendment used to further refine the BLMs management of oil and gas resources in the Moab area." SUWAs Herb McHarg says the BLM is jumping the gun by approving the project. The 1,900 comments from people across the nation voicing concerns about the spectacular resources in the area should have illustrated significant controversy over the project. But the BLM callously chose to ignore the publics overall desire to protect these wOrM ttjlowtied ftos-- t J nic landscapes from oil exploration, and approved this destructive project." BLM Assistant Field Manager Bill Stringer said the companys original proposal included dropping bundles of receiver lines at key points along the grid about every quarter mile, then dragging them into position using ATVs. During their analysis process, while public comments were still coming in, BLM decided that Veritas would have to use existing roads and trails or carry the lines by hand. But environmentalists say the thumper trucks, which will be permitted to drive cross scars that will country, will leave make it appear the land has been rototilled. According to the BLM, the permit incorporates several reclamation and operational requirements to minimize impact. Some w ith existing routes. No bulldozing of seismic source lines will be permitted. Seismic testing must be completed period to protect wildlife during a habitat. Work cannot begin until after Sept. 1 to protect Mexican spotted ow habitat and must be completed by Oct. 15 to eliminate potential conflicts with bighorn sheep rutting ectvity. Vibroseis buggy trucks will be restricted to existing ways inside the Goldbar wilderness inventory area. 45-da- y 1 cross-count- cross-countr- stipulations are standard operating procedures used for any geophysical exploration project on BLM land. Mitigation requirements include: travel necessary for Cross-countr- y seismic analysis is to be conducted in accordance with the guidelines specified in the pery travel is an authomit. Veritas rized exception to the recent regulatory action taken by the BLM to limit all casual cross-countr- ... Entering a new era In the late 1950s, The OetereJthfeMcFId ofbftsdr pTtrtiryt a revo- -' Times-Independe- luttonary method of graphic reproduction. We started with a used Multalith press, limited to 2 by 14 inches in size. Our negatives, prior to the construction of our 8-- first darkroom, were obtained from Offset printing was the first major change in graphic reproduction in over a hundred years, and came some time before computers. Here l printing foreman Izzy Nelson inspects one of the first sheets of printing coming off the Multalith. Izzy, one of the founders of the Moab Jaycees, later left to help his dad in Moabs Fix-I- t Shop, which later led to the foundation of Nelsons Heating and Refrigeration, where he still calls the shots. However, he did yeoman service at Tha Times when our commercial printing department began to flouiish (He is now one of our fussiest printing customers, but we appreciate his business). Today we are offset ai! the way, through the commercial printing department to the newspaper. And, we dont hardly ever use the darkroom. Even is now computerized by our new Accuset 1 000 image-sette- r. T--l file photo Monticello. T-- i film-maki- off-hig- Cyclists pedalled through the bike parade. Kids painted others kids' faces. Participants had a great time at the Grand County Fair The Grand County Fair is over lor another year, and the following is a list of winners Those receiving Sweepstakes rosettes were Patsy Valerio for her counted crossstitch; Monica Hotyoak for her crocheted table runner, Pat Bickers for her bugs quilt, Mary Ann Fuller for her blue and white quilt, and Adrien Tay'cr for her hand spun knitted lace shawl, all of these in the Home Arts Division. In the Baking Division, Sweepstakes were awarded to Sabrina Randall for her white bread, and to Valoic Leetham for her date cake. Doug Paddock received a Sweepstakes rosette for his scrollwork clock in the Creative Arts Division In the Fine Arts Division, Sweepstakes went to Tina Brown for her stained glass star, to Rita Jonas for her pastel painting, Jake, and to Ben Schmrel for his oil painting, Overlook." In the Gardening Division, Sweepstakes went to Chris Dunham for his Green River cantaloupe and to Orice Irish for her giant green peppers. Shiriey OKelly received the Sweepstakes Rosatte in the Floral Division for he'r African Violets. In the Photography Division, Sweepstakes went to Peggy O'Neil for First Snow," to Jared Smith for Window on the River;" and to Janece Hotyoak for "Trees." Thelma Gordon took Sweepstakes in Home Canning for her pears. Judge's Choice rosettes were awarded as follows In Home Arts, to Monica Holyoak for her crocheted bedspread, to Barbara Holcomb for her crewel work picture; to Marion Eason for her flower trellis quilt; to Tommy Paddock for a log cabin quilt, to Tommy Paddock for a pumpkin waUnanging; to Adrien Taylor for her handspun knitted scad; and to Cassidy Every o' her counted cross stitch. In Baking, the winners were Joanne Mantikos for her kaiser rolls, and Lora Dalaba for her peanut butter cookies. !n Fine Arts, winners were Deb Shank for her purple and cane basket, and Katherine Holyoak for her oil painting Mountain Rusty Salmon had a rosette for her basil, and Margaret Griffith had one for her nest gourds in the Gardening Division. Georgia Russell was honored for her dried flower arrangement in the Floral Division; and Rusty Salmon was selected in Home Canning for her dill pickles. Jory Petitti took first place in the young Judges Choice awards in Photography went to Kent Green, Deb Shank, Jared Smith and bakers cookie contest. Oceana Irish and Erin Olschewski tied for second; and Jessica Janese Carngan and Taylor Hamblin tied for third. In the fresh salsa showdown, Sally Chacon took first, with Obid Hamblin and Lora Dalaba second and third, respectively. In the bottled salsa contest, Orice Irish took first place. Chris Christopher and Lora Dalaba tied for second and Obid Hamblin took third place. The Grand County Fair Board would like t thank all those who entered their exhibits, and every one of the volunteers who helped with the contests, check-in- , judging, booths and ticket sales. Volunteers make the difference and their work is very much appreciated. In Holyoak. competition, Sweepstakes winners were Jessica Bleggi for her bear mountain cake, and Lindsay Holyoak and Tyler Bieggi for their quilts Judges Choice honors went to Sydney Knowles for her quilt; to Lindsay, Megan and Ashley Holyoak for their Giraffe cake; to Jessica Bleggi for her scrapbook; to Lindsay Holyoak for her shorts; to Mark Foster for his tooled leather; and to Tyler Bleggi for a quilt. Winners in the three age categories of the decorated bicycle contest were Erin Aubry, Derrick Lema and Adam Flanders. 4-- H 4-- H Photos by Jeff Richards |