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Show Hr (The Page A8 (tnug-3nfrfpmfrn- Thursday, June 20, 2002 it OURTOWfd the: orougutContinues Community Comments by Sam Taylor It's too hot to be holding elections, but we are going to do just that next Tuesday For many in the county, it doesn't mean a whole lot Voters in District 3, however, have to pare a list of lour County Council candidates down to two. You can read their platform statements on Page A 6. For those of us in other Council districts, however, some of us will get to cast votes in the Congressional race. That is if you are registered Republicans. Two candidates are squaring off to face incumbent Congressman Jim Matheson, and that won't be an easy race, since the young Democrat has done a pretty good job during his first two years in office. The Republican party's redistricting plan, which consider to be one of the worst pieces of legislation h ve ever seen, qave Matheson a bunch of rural Utah countie' md took away sorrv if his Salt Lake County districts. Republicans ai j decided tha to be eligible to vote in a Primary Election, one has to be a registered Republican. The Democrats apparently dont have that rule. voted for the first time in 1954. was stationed at Ft Bliss, Texas in the Army at the time turned 21 which was the legal age for voting in those days sent for and received an absentee The plan split Moab and Grand County down the middle. I will now probably be represented in the Legislature by a person from Uintah County Friends who kve only a few blocks away will be represented by a person from Carbon County For the next ten years, until a new plan is required after the 2010 Census. it will be virtually impossible for Grand County residents to be represented by a Grand County representative predict that we will have a very low voter turnout next Tuesday statewide. I am sure that some people will go to the polls only to find out that they c i t vote. But for voters in Grand Countys 3rd Council District, which is ma e up of regular Precincts 5 and 11, you have some choices to make, and hope you turn out, even if you have not registered a party preference with the County Clerk. I'm prou of all tout f the candidates for County Council in District 3 for participating in our regular "Platti m Page It is a public service we offer every election. The few times over the years we have not run the page, we have gotten a lot of negative reader feedback. We dont need that. ballot from County Clerk Veone Dalton. I think I actually filled out the ballot in a cantina in Juarez, Mexico, but I had it notarized by my commanding officer back at Bliss, so I guess it was legal. I havent missed an election, Primary or General, since that time. Its just one of the things I do. Adrien and I usually go by our polling place after lunch on election day. I won t be participating in next Tuesdays balI failed to however. loting, register as a Republican. One reason was that I didnt know about the new rule until it was almost too late. The main reason, though, was that I was disgusted with am not a member of the prevailing religious faith in Utah, but am glad the U. S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of selling Martins Cove in an isolated part of Wyoming to the Mormon Church. That was the place where scores of handcart pioneers perished in the mid 1800s in a terrible snow storm. The LDS Church wants to memorialize them with a developed park, and the Church has already purchased a private ranch adjacent to the Cove. am convinced in my own mind that the memorial park will be tastefully developed as a memorial to Utahs earliest pioneers who didnt quite make it to Utah. Im also sure it will be of interest to people of all faiths. hope that the Senate follows suit and passes the legislation on to President Bush for his -- I I I I I I I , I Utahs almost one-part- by Ollie Harris sjt I I I Legislature over the y Idle Thoughts from Mt. Waas screwball redistricting plan that was constructed to kill ofl the remaining few Democrats in the Legislature. I'm not sure I want to be officially registered as a member of the party that drew it up. I Springs, flowers and bear scat Kay Shumway and Richard Lyman let me tag along with them for a couple of days this week. Barbara is gone to Colorado to help with her aging parents so there hasn't been much reason for me to hang around the house. Our primary destinations each day were springs because thats where the wild flowers are blooming. Kay, the consummate photographer, is keenly interested in photographing all possible wild flowers. The three of us are fairly compatible. Richard ia the more adventurous, always wondering what is around the bend and if he can get there on his (or bicycle or afoot, for that matter). Kay has immense patience. He becomes absorbed in the beauty of the tiniest flower. He considers camera angles, light and shadow, depth of focus, quality of background, and just how to capture it all with his camera. Come to think of it, they are both artists. The processes Richard uses to waltz a up a badly eroded and studied old mine road is as much art as Kays photography. Its just that with Richard it is kinesthetic. It involves the body in balance and motion, a flowing of tension and timing. I am somewhere in the middle, not nearly as artistic as Kay and his camera or Richard and his Still, I manage. We went to the top of Shay Mountain where we visited three springs. It is curious to me that they are still flowing in the midst of such a dry spell. We noticed big piles of fresh bear scat at each of the springs. Later, we nooned in a shadowy aspen grove. After we ate it seemed natural to just tip over and have a little nap on the grass. I sit on a sheepskin r. Rolled that I place on the saddle of my up, it makes a nice pillow on the ground. Near the northernmost spring on Shay Mountain, we parted company for a little while. Kay and Richard walked down to the spring and I hiked up onto the nearby peak for a glimpse off into CanyonlandB. It was breathtaking. four-wheel- four-wheel- Trails Many by Adrien F. Taylor r. Using the phrase feel badly" thrice in my last column brought down the ire of a reader (not the Grammar Phantom), who wrote anonymously to complain. I agree. It was not only an incorrect choice of words, but a poor choice as well. I briefly considered feel bad," but when that conjured up visions of good versus evil, I went the other (and wrong) direction. In describing my distress at the death of a dog on the highway, I should have used a different phrase. I beg forgiveness for these grammatical sins. aft The teacher is a doll maker by profession, and the class project was a rabbit. We made the head, a tail, a hat, a bag, and small carrots to go into the bag. Directions for finishing the rest were included. So called the whole experience a great success. My sister rented a loom for her class, and made arrangements to keep it over the weekend to finish at home and return it to the shop in Boulder on Monday. The problem was, had put her weaving yarn in the trunk of my car, and inadvertently brought it home with me to Moab. She leaves on a trip Wednesday, June 1 9, so next-daUPS was to get it back to her by Tuesit all became a big hassle that Im sure so day, will work out in the end. The trip over and back, naturally, included the Glenwood Springs section of where the recent fires did so much damage. Burned homes in West Glenwood were a grim sight indeed. The fire had burned on both sides of the highway, even closing it for a time, so that area of mountain will be years in healing. Since the power had been turned off during the fires threat, no ice cream (a tradition on this trip) was available in the where I had stopped. Fire danger signs all along remind motorists of the severe drought conditions, and several fire trucks were also patrolling the freeway, as it has been thought some fires were deliberately set. A Fathers Day family jaunt to Warner Campground on our own La Sal Mountains was a fitting end for a very enjoyable week. While the grass is still green up there, its also pretty dry, overall, and wed all hate to see a fire started in our own back yard, as it were. I I Whenever possible, my personal summer schedule includes the Estes Park Wool Market and classes associated with that event. So that is where was last week. It was a great joy to have my sister, Brangwyn, join me. Usually, get over to the Denver area Wednesday evening, then spend Thursday and Friday at classes, and return to Moab on Saturday or Sunday With my mother, and a brother and sister living there, its a great opportunity for a mini family reunion at the same time. Since Brangwyn had mentioned an interest in learning to weave, was very excited to see a beginning weaving class on the schedule, and she got herself registered. Continuing my recent pursuit of felting in its various forms, I took two days of that The first class was entitled Felting Tiny Treasures," and we made several small items that were a lot of fun. a small pouch, a chick hatching from an egg, a butterfly and a flower. And learned some new techniques. The second day had originally been a class on needle felting A switch of instructors at the last minute resulted in a class that included needle felting along with some other techniques. I I I (Ehucs-3Jnbcpcnbc- nt ISSN (UPS) ) 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 6309-2000- 1538-183- 8 address: editofemoabtimes.com of address to: The P.O. Box 129, Moab, UT 84532 Times-lndepende- or FAX Member of March 3, 1837. 435-259-77- NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION - and PRESS ASSOCIATION Samuel J. and Adrien F. Taylor, Publishers Sena T. Flanders, Editor A- UTAH Tom Taytor Circulation Manager, f Maps Zane Taylor Press. Production Manager Ron Flanders Systems Manager Lisa Church, Janet Lowe Staff Writers Jeff Richards Contributing Writer Sack Wamet Office ManagerSatesDesign T-- V Mail Room Supervisor Dorothy Anderson Valerie Brown, Jed Taylor, Jose Santana.. .Beckshop Ron Drake.. Castle Vakey columnist Ron George Columnist Oliver Harris Columnist Jose Churampi Distribution ) s. High Country News y I Postmaster: Send changes four-wheele- When we came down from the mountain Kay took us on another old road around the west side to a uranium mine his father had discovered back in the 50s. It was a wonderful ride above the white rim. We stopped for a break at their old campsite and Kay showed us the place where he was swept over the white rim by a rolling rock. It is a scary story and you might get him to tell it to you sometime. On another day we went out to Elk Ridge, again to visit springs. We went first to Birch Spring (sometimes spelled Burch"). I knew this spring from the early 60s when I was working in the Hideout mine. It is truly amazing to see water actually flowing from the ground, especially in these times when I seem to be obsessing about water. I dug out an old piece of PVC pipe and cleaned out the small stream that was feeding into it. I replaced the pipe, packed mud around it and set a rock on it. I let the water flow for a few minutes then I filled my water bottle. The spring water and mud were so cold on my bare hands that they began to ache. While Kay stayed at Birch Spring to photograph flowers, Richard led the way down yet another old mine road. We snooped around a sealed-of- f mine then headed on down the canyon on our It got pretty rough but I only cried out in terror once when I thought I was going over. We went all the way down the canyon until the road intersected with the lower road to Deer Flat. Back on top of South Elk we rejoined Kay near Posey Spring where there was yet another pile of fresh bear scat. When we stopped for lunch I remarked about seeing so much bear scat near the springs. Kay, ever the scientist, explained that when the bear tanks up on water it stimulates his peristaltic response. I couldn't argue with that, since I didnt know what the word meant. But, not to be outshone, I added, Yes, and I'll bet it makes him have to go poop, too. Writers on the Range Holding on to roots in a rootless landscape by Stephen J. Lyons With an eloquence that cant be reproduced here, the young woman stood up, tears in her eyes, and wanted me to tell her how she could hold on to her agricultural roots after she had left home for college, and for life afterward in some urban area. She knew she had to leave, but she wanted to take the values and traditions of her farming family with her. I was the keynote speaker invited this past May by the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, as well as the local public library, to participate in a event called Magic Valley Reads. community-wid- e The The book the town read was Wendell Berry Memory of Old Jack, a novel that mourns the passing of our agricultural communities. The 1974 novel covers the last day of Jack Beechum, the communitys patriarch. One thousand copies of Berrys book had been sold in Twin Falls. I thought of the young woman's dilemma when I asked students at Twin Falls High School how many wanted to live on a farm. Not a hand was raised. When I asked how many students wanted to leave Twin Falls after high school, every hand shot up in the air. It was clear she valued something they hadn't dreamed of treasuring yet. Wendell Berry once described The Memory of Old Jack this way: Tve tried in the figure of Old Jack to write a kind of criticism and celebration of my grandfather Berrys generation. I think that was the last generation in this country until now, and maybe for some time to come, that had a chance to become a truly indigenous agricultural community. They identified with their land and took care of it, or the best of them did. But then the opportunity that they represented was destroyed by the adverse markets and social fashions The book could not be more appropriate for the Magic Valley, a traditional farming area that is undergoing what critics call the globalization of American agriculture. It involves the corporate managing of land for quick profits, to the detriment of the agrarian ideal that Berry Writes about. For example, all one has to do is sniff out the nearby monster-siz- e k milking factories that may dairies, force rural residents to sell their homes rather than put up with the stench. Land grant universities these days seem full of mHeoe students willing to carry out this impersonal round-the-cloc- kind of agriculture, turning out marketing mavens, professionals and number-cruncherperky public-relatiowho may not know that a hog is the same animal as a pig. When I worked in agricultural publications for the University of Idahos College of Agriculture (now called College of Agricultural and Life Sciences), the s, mandate regarding student recruitment publica- tions was no cows and plows. We knew to lose the photos of manure splattered ranchers or farmers; we knew to show students in suits handling the implements of the global marketplace laptops and briefcases. April and May of this year were filled with bad news for southern Idaho farmers, and most of the news came out of J.R. Simplots corporate headquarters. Simplot canceled around 40 percent of potato contract with growers in the Magic Valley, citing a glut of potatoes at the companys seven Pacific Northwest processing plants. Many of the growers had had contracts with Simplot for several generations. Then came the announcement that Simplot was phasing out the processing plant in Heybum, Idaho, beginning with the layoffs of 470 employees this fall and another 179 employees by 2004, when the plant closes for good. It hasn't helped morale that Simplot was rumored to be building a processing plant in Manitoba, Canada, a nation with an advantageous exchange rate. But the man with the immense American flag waving proudly above his Boise home didnt become Idahos richest man by exercising sentiment. We owe the young woman an honest answer to her question and we owe a larger debt to American agriculture. I would argue that our very concept of livable communities manageable places of known neighbors and open spaces (ironically, the same areas everyone searches far today) comes from rural agricultural communities. And we are extinguishing them for the usual Inadequate reasons of efficiency and profit. Their passing should make us sad. Don't won-y- , your roots will follow you, I finally told the woman in the audience. But I really dirt-cover- wasn't sure. Stephen J. Lyon i a contributor to Writer s on the Range, a aennce o f High Country A eu in Poonio, Colo radoChcn.org). He write and live in a tTnall agricultural town in the kfiduet. |