OCR Text |
Show 2A Emery County Progress Castle Dale, Utah Tuesday June 15, 2004 Primary Election Continued from PAGE 1A. didate night where the local commission candidates as well as the Democratic an hopeful Gary Petty were present. Tim Bridgewater and John Swallow also attended the event. Chamber Chairman, Mike Hurdsman was the moderator for the evening. Mike Hurdsman, Chamber of Commerce chairman was the moderator for the evening. Sanservero addressed the good pay ing jobs. "Senator Bob audience and he said one problem in the campaign and that was a lack of name recognition. He said he has heard a lot of stories recently about vv ho he is. One story said he was a Greek guy from Price who wants to turn Emery County into Orange County, Calif. Sansevero said that he hates palm trees and he and his wife, Jo, left the rat race to settle in Emery County. Jo and I could have chose to live anywhere and we chose Emery County. He said he likes being close to the desert and the forest. He thinks of Emery County as home to old fashioned values and a community of neighbors. Sansevero said he is a husband, father and a Vietnam Veteran. He has a bachelors in business administration and spent 20 years with a career as a computer systems engineer. Sansevero said he has been told he couldnt get elected in Emery County because he is not from here. He said he views not being from here as an advantage, he ow'es no favors and holds no grudges and has a fresh point of view. He said the county is in trouble although some people will tell you things are fine, and the high unemployment in the county is an indicator of those troubles. The unemployment is 1 percent, which is twice the national average and that is not fine, said Sansevero. He said that Emery County has one of the highest per capita incomes in the state which means the people with jobs have Bennett said, If your neighbor is out of work its a recession, if you're out of work its a depression. With 1 percent unemployment, I'd say were in a depression and I'd like to do something about that. The young people have to head up north, your neighbors have to head up north, and that aint line. We need to help them out. The mineral lease money is in a decline and mining which has been a foundation is in a decline. Coal production is at a all lime low. Sanseero said the county is dependant on an industry which is in the decline and our communities are struggling to survive. He said we need to diversify to reduce the impact of these declines and become thriving, ibrant communities with economic grow th and maintain the lifestyle we loe, want and deserve. Hard work has made Utah world famous, with intelligent, well planned activity, recruiting tech based business and actively encouraging and supporting local businesses to provide more customers; we can imolve citizens in the business of government, because government is a business and we can form partnerships. We can elect people to office with the vision and resolve to succeed. I have the ision, the energy and the 10-1- Jeff Durrant and Kathleen Truman in attendance at the Meet the Candidate night. 1 10-- Lou Sansevero rently working with an individual to bring part of an electrical business to the county and will continue to work to do help the county whether he is elected or not. Sansevero also said that the county could be made attractive to businesses biiuse of the some-thing- to lower overheaywsts involved in operating here mentioning lower electric bills and workman's compensation taxes than in California. He said bus0 inesses who employ people would be more likely to be recruited than larger companies who need more workers. He said he would work to sell the county and get out to trade shows to showr what Emery County has to offer. Sanseero said that county government can go out and look for grants for local businesses to expand and grow. He believes it is a function of local government to help local businesses to 50-10- resolve to help get us there, said Sansevero. A question was asked about what the kind of business Sansevero would bring into the countv. Sanse ero said he is cur- - grow'. Sitterud was next to address the audience. He mentioned the lawsuit against the county which contends that the county is not protecting roads and taking BLM money. Sitterud said this is not true and the county has a contract with the BLM to provide a law enforcement presence on the Sw ell and the officer can only enforce state laws. The county is under an obligation to protect with or without the BLM funds. At the beginning of the wild and scenic river issue the forest service had 38 rivers and now one river is left. The county has been fighting on a monthly basis at meetings with the forest service on wild and scenic river issues. The left fork of the Huntington is being considered for a scenic designation and the right fork a recreational designation. Any wild and scenic designation comes with a half a mile strip of wilderness with it along the riverside. Sitterud stressed that the county cannot afford any type of a designation on the Huntington or any other river. He cited a case in Colorado where a recreation designation of a river led to kayakers bringing a law'suit to run water down the river for their use and the farmers lost out when a court ruled in their favor. Sitterud said the same thing happened in the Klamath Falls area where farmers lost their water. Sitterud said the county is doing everything they can to fight wild and scenic rivers. Sitterud said the work with the BLM has not been as successful as with the forest service. In one year's time, only one river has been eliminated on the BLM and 22 dry washes remain. Sitterud said he believes maintaining our wrnter supply is the biggest issue we have. Regarding economic development, Sitterud said four businesses are currently looking at the county for relocation. The new landfill down in Green River will employ 20 people when it gets started and they are still in the permitting process. Sitterud also stated that you need vv ater for any new economic developments. 7 Sitterud said on the road issue, Emery County is doing what it is supposed to, they have gathered pictures, historical data, GPS data and recorded histories. The records RS-247- are at the state attorney generals office waiting to be used. Sitterud said he has learned something in the last four years and you need to have people behind you at the federal and state level working together. Sitterud reacted to the statement that the county has not taken a proactive approach. He said the people of Emeiy County voted against the monument which was a proactive approach. Also legislation the county has presented in Congress over the last several years for a conservation area and other designations has failed. Sitterud mentioned the grant monies the county has obtained recently to help rejuvenate the Huntington airport and also a grant for the ball complex for dugouts and fencing. The low water boat ramp money for Joe's Valley was also approved. vide leadership to bringthe public lands issue to a closure. He feels the different groups inare not communicating and that sometimes they all want the same thing's in the long run. No group is going to get everything they want. Petty said he feels in the last 10 years not much has been done to improve economic development in the county. Unemployment is high and the mines and power plants need less people to operate than previously. Young people are forced to leave the county to find employment. Petty wants to offer incentives to business to locate here and for local businesses already here to expand. Petty mentioned two Emery businesses they had worked with when he was the mayor of Emery vv ho are doing very well now, due in part to incentives to help them become established. Petty also said he wishes to establish a closer working relationship with the volved Bedroom Furniture 3 pc. group Dresser, Mirror Dinettes 5 pc. sets c Gary Petty Headboard Petty was the first to address the audience, he thanked the chamber for giving him an opportunity to express his views on the issues. He said he had recently attended a meeting on public lands. He said it seemed like a few years ago the county was in an offensive mode in dealing with public lands and now seem to be in a defensive mode and reacting to what the BLM and the forest service dish out. An ATV group currently has a law'suit against Emery County. Petty said it is his goal to pro- - olio Starting at 5s f.v & Amana Washer vM" Commercial Quality Strongest Warranty $30 Rebate good through Sofa & Loveseat BOTH FOR AFTER REBATE Durahyde Onyx cities. Continued on PAGE 3A. ONLY NAV3330AWW vt Mattresses 50 Evaporative Coolers Prices start at if $ D Twin Set uALWAYSlEREElPELlYERYl Frigidaire Freezer Special Purchase JTOsaM it l-- VOICE OF EMERY COUNTY SINCE ; f Administration Editorial Ken Larson GriTl Publisher Ajp Office Manager Circulation Corey Bluemel Display Classified Corey Bluemel Heidi Lemmon Corey Bluemel 1 5 c.f. chest $2y95 Designer Staff Writer Office Receptionist Subscription Rates: 50 cents per copy; $22 per year delivered by carrier in Carbon and Emery counties; $27 in Utah; $30 out of Utah 14 c.f. per year by mail. Office Hours: Monday $25795 - Main, Castle Dale, Utah. Friday 9 00 a m. Classifieds Deadline: Monday at case caso1 EURNITUREf&TARRLIANCES MJIII 00B 637:0140 Editor Advertising ,y.. 5 c.f. chest Patsy Stoddard Sharree Jensen f Linda Thayn Darla Lee 1900 HourslMonAFriI9-6p- m SOURCE Sa tion. Telephone: 10 00 a m. for p m. at 410 East Tuesdays publica- Fax (435) (435) editorfa eeprogress com, publishers ecprogress.com Publication No: (USPS issued once a week at Castle Dale, Utah. Periodical postage paid at Castle Dale, Utah. Postmaster: Send change of address to PO. Box 589, Castle Dale, UT 84513. 381-243- 381-543- 0747-212- right reserved by the Emery County Progress. All is property of Emery County Progress. No part herein may be reproduced without prior written consent. All & i to 5.00 && |