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Show ' t - t THE SAN JUAN RECORD Thursday September 23, 1982 Black is beautiful means the road is paved by Deborah Marcus The last in a series of eight historical lectures on San Juan featured Dr. County Jay coordinator of the Haymond, Collection and Research Division the Utah State Historical of Society. While the topic had been entitled Historic Use of County Dr. Haymond Resources, new evolved a themeSan Juan County Roads, Arteries to Resources and Survival. County Commissioner Ken Bailey was the Monticello respondent and Commissioner Calvin Black was the respondent in Blanding. Haymond stressed that the use of natural resources in San Juan is dependent upon the road system. He noted that until 1909 all San Juan roads were the responsibility of the county. In 1916, post roads were established with state and federal matching funds and regular postal service routes were established. In the same period, a grass roots movement called the Good Road Movement lobbied a Federal Highways Act that gave birth to the Lincoln National Highway that later became US 30 and, more recently, interstate 80. In 1921, roads leading from Moab to Bluff and the Arizona state line were established under the Federal Aid Project. In the 20s and 30s, 728 county roads were built and old trail roads were graveled and oiled. The status of these new roads was dubious. In 1941, Dale a trail guide, stated Morgan, road is none too good, ...the not bad a few trails are opened by cattle and natural terrain in good climate. 30s, a budget of $4 million was alloted to Utah for recovery projects. Approximately $80,000 went to San Juan In the County road projects, I':!''.. J' 7.. The year 1936 brought a uranium mining boom that increased traffic. New roads were necessary, and as Haymond noted, prior to the mining boom, road development was low on the priority list of both state and federal agencies. Haymond showed roads cut through the talus and slickrock of San Juans difficult terrain. By the early 50s, prospectors were using a road cut up a talus slope north of the historic Perkins Ranch. The discovery of oil near White Mesa prompted the improvement of the road leading from the Mesa to Hatch Trading Post. Commissioner Bailey, renoted his spondent, experience with road construction in the Comb Reef area when he leased a compressor to mining companies. He noted that roads were built by private industry from which the state receivedpayment and that the Bureau of Land served to assure Management road building 15) to county standards. Bailey stated that with the rise and decline of the use and production of natural resources in the county, there has been a superhuman effort to develop water resources, roads and associated public use values. Based upon figures from the late 30s, Bailey showed that the assessed valuation of San Juan roads has risen from $1 million in 1928 to over $200 million. In response to questions about archaeological sites on, or near, Jay Haymond, Ken Bailey, Janet Wilcox and Delmont Oswald pose at the conclusion of the San Juan County historical lecture series. Each contributed in some manner to the success of the lectures. John Noxon photo proposed roads, Bailey replied that consideration of cultural values is given high priority. He said that the proposed road between Recapture Dam Reservoir to Bulldog near Blanding had been several times in order to protect archaeological resources. The Utah Department of re-rou- ted S.U.C.C.E. Offers UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY College Courses in San Juan County for the Fall Quarter Classes beginning, September 27, 1982 Registration begins September 8, 1982 (ext. 32) ...in Monticello phone 587-223- 1 ..in Blanding phone 678-220- 1 Center for "SUCCESS" phone begins 259-743- WITH (Continued from Page 1) counties were doing in similar cases. Continuing Education - Bailey said. Bailey attempted to give perspective to the scope of road building and maintenance in San Most people dont know Juan. how many miles of road we have ...how would you like to maintain roads equal to a round-tri- p drive from MonticeUo to Los Angeles? San Juan County maintains over 1,000 miles of road on the Reservation, and there is more to come. Roads on the Reservation generally are not built theyre just places that have traditionally been used for driving. In the evening session, Commissioner Black provided firsthand experience related to the of roads and development resources. He said when he first heard the phrase black is beautiful he was sure it referred to paved roads. San Juan has many scenic attractions, but historically it has Tax cases Southeastern Utah (Moab office Indian Affairs has aided in evaluation of the archaeological sites, 2) S.U.C.C.E. Halliday indicated that he believed case law would support Bakers position but agreed to check with other counties. The Commission felt that a parsonage exemption might open the door to similar requests. 3 end of lecture series been hard to get to them. Roads were one of the reasons Black became involved in politics. His goals included roads from Bluff to Mexican Water, Bluff to Montezuma Creek, Montezuma Creek to Red Mesa and the paving of 5, the first road built to the Colorado River was dedicated in It took another 30 years 1948. before it was paved. recalls hauling ore Black across the old Mexican Hat Bridge. Due to weight limitations, it was necessary to transport the load in thirds, dumping on one side, crossing, dumping, recrossing and reloading on the other U-- slides of - Page 95. U-9- side. Our only resources are natural and human, Black explained. People one or two generations away from the land often dont know where wealth comes from it comes from the land. He outlined the development of the county from one of the poorest in the state in the early 50s with an assessed valuation of $3.8 million to one of the richest in the ... 60s with a valuation of $132,8 million. But we didnt stay there Black said. He iterated several times the problem the county has with an unstable tax base and the need to plan ahead for hard times. At the time Black became county commissioner 14 years ago, long, Halls Crossing one-roo- m by Marcia Redd The School Board reviewed new attendance policies with high school principals. Each high school, has set up a different system which wiU be tried for one year and then evaluated. A bid opening was held for the sale of four used trailers at Mexican Hat. Kay Johnson was awarded two of the trailers, BarMK Ranch one, and PhiUip Palmer one. School attorney L. Robert Anderson, met with the board to discuss the present tax issue. After discussion of HB164,HB196 and SB10 he suggested the board monitor what is happening in the courts. He also commented on the orderly termination hearings held recently. Mark Peterson, principal at Montezuma Creek Elementary, was given permission to work on his doctoral study at Montezuma Creek while also serving in his administrative position. The board approved payment 9 for $327,479 to Zwick Construction for work on Monument there were no Indian employees. One of his goals was to provide training for Indians wherein they could help build their own roads. Navajo men who began working then are still working for the county and some of the finest and best workmen we have, Black said. There are over miles of noted Black. county roads now, 2000 Black referred to other roads the county hopes to complete: Navajo Mountain to Oljato, Canyon-lan- ds loop road and Blue Mountain road. of the problems is the countys lack of economic growth. Our assessed valuation today on stable resources is only $15 million. The balance of county evaluation is 16 times that, but is based on depletable resources. Because of that, we suffer from One yo-- yo syndrome, Blsksaid. We must devise a system to in- crease and improve other parts of our economy, or establish a trust fund and spend only the interest it draws. We now have the legal authority to do that and have set aside $2 million in a trust. Our goal as commissioners is to build a trust so that we may continue to provide the services the county requires and that people want, even in tight econ-om- ic times. school considered Valley High School. board reviewed home The instruction requests and also discussed in length a proposed policy statement. A definite policy will be pursued and approved at a future meeting. Another lengthy discussion was conducted with the principals and local businessmen on collection of taxes at high school bookstores. This issue will be better defined by the State Board of Education and then pursued in depth by the local school board. m The possibility of a school at Halls Crossing is being studied. At present the seven students there cross the lake every day and are bused to Ticaboo for school. Other items briefly mentioned dedication of the were: Montezuma Creek Elementary School; teacher shuttle bus from Blanding to Mexican Hat and Montezuma Creek; a Monticello kindergarten bus run; Dolores County School tuition request, and a third party hearing on a handi-cap- ed student. one-roo- Monticello C of C announces future events by Deborah Marcus The MonticeUo Chamber of Commerce public forum Tuesday at the Juniper Tree Restaurant was iU attended, the fact of which became the main topic of discus- Santa Claus; promotions and cooperative endeavors with the MonticeUo Industry and Trade Enterprise (MITE) to businesses in develop new sion. Persons desiring additional information on the business consultation may contact Peggy exten1, Humphreys at sion 29. A motion was made to engage speakers and Chamber spon- sored events, including a gun and antique show this weekend, September 25 and 26, at the county fair grounds, were announced. Future plans include a winter carnival; a free small business consultation November 3 and 4 with Richard Haglund, business consultant; a rodeo and dance the weekend of October 1; visit from Shop-at-Ho- me MonticeUo. 587-223- The Chamber wants to promote open forum meetings and encourages aU citizens to have their voice in community poUcies by meetattending the at noon at the Juniper Tree ings in MonticeUo. Next meetingdate is October 5. bi-mon- thly |