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Show POOR COPY needed to renew forest service permits EIS now Ranchers may be forced Forest Service has not comout of business because of plied with NEPA, throw them in jail, but dont put law suits filed by conservationists. ranching families out of One year ago, a landbusiness. The Forest Service is conmark ruling by a Salt Lake Busidering issuing short-terCity judge ordered the reau of Land Management permits instead of to consider the environpermits. This plan may not mental impact of cattle be acceptable to ranchers, grazing in the Comb Wash whose bank loans somearea. times depend on the As a result of that ruling longevity of their grazing and other law suits, the U.S. permits. Another plan the Forest Forest Service has decided it must prepare detailed Service is considering is to studies and receive public tell ranchers if they want comment for 4,300 national the Environmental Impact forest grazing permits due Statement for their grazing m 10-ye- San Juan County officials take the oath of office on January 3. Front row Commissioner Bill Redd, Clerk Gail Northern, Recorder Louise Jones, Justice of the Peace Lyon Hazleton, back row Assessor Bruce Bunker, Treasurer Paul Staff photo Barr, Sheriff Mike Lacy, and Attorney Craig Halls. (l-- r) permit on time, they can pay for it, as is often done with to expire December 31, 1995. Utah ranchers hold about HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER FOR SAN JUAN COUNTY, UTAH Vol 79 30 cents No 14 Lawsuit claims A lawsuit charges three Seventh District Court judges and the Utah Judicial System with discrimi- natory jury-selecti- meth- on ods. The result is an under- representation of Native Americans on trial juries. On January 3, attorneys filed a motion requesting the Utah Judicial Council to revise the jury-selectio- n process. Currently, potential juror lists are created twice a year from voter registration and drivers license records. The lawsuit is filed by Monticello attorney Eric Swenson on behalf of Loren Crank, Jr. of Montezuma Creek. University of Utah professor J. Dennis Willigan is listed as an expert witness in the suit. Willigan has been widely quoted as calling the racial disparities in jury selection among the highest ever found in any judicial district in the United States. A Willigan study researched historical data back to 1930. For many years, few, if any Native Americans juries. served on In recent years, a number of factors may have resulted in a move away from the historical disparity in the racial makeup of juries. Seventh District Judge Lyle Anderson is named in the suit. Anderson has handled the majority of Seventh District cases in San Juan County in the past two years. Court records show that of 64 jurors on Anderson eight-memb- January 11, 1995 er juries, 31 were Native Americans. Anderson averages four Native Americans and has never had fewer than three Native Americans on an jury. Anderson had one jury with four Anglo jurors. eight-memb- SINCE 1915 bias in 7th District jury-selecti- on er four-memb- er Other judges named in the suit are Bruce Halliday and Bryce Bryner. Recent voter registration drives have increased the number of Native Americans on voter rolls, thereby increasing the number of Native Americans on potential juror lists. The sovereign nation status of the Navajo Nation also contributes to the lack of Native Americans on district court juries. Native Americans from the reser- - vation are exempt from state law. They cannot be forced to serve on juries. third factor influencing jury selection is English A language proficiency. Utah law requires jurors to be proficient in English. Prospective jurors are asked to complete a questionnaire which asks if they understand English. A fourth factor may be the Francis Navajo culture. of Shorty, ski area EIS statements. 600 of these permits. The San Juan Record Monument Valley, is quoted in a Salt Lake Tribune article, I was not born to judge people. Because the suit was filed in Seventh District Court against Seventh District judges, it will be heard by retired Second District Judge David Roth. The studies, ordered by Forest Service Chief Jack Ward Thomas, must comply with requirements of NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act). Documentation must be complete by late July for permits that will expire December 1995, which may be impossible given the magnitude of the job and time constraints. In a November 22 memo, Thomas wrote, The option of not issuing new term grazing permits to replace those expiring is not an acceptable solution. It also is not acceptable to avoid compliance with NEPA and related laws. Steve Lechner, an attorney with Mountain State Legal Foundation in Denver, says, Livestock operators are being punished because the Forest Service didn't do their job. If the Sweeping changes in Congress have resulted in increased responsibilities and power for congressmen San Juan County. County plans to increase budget Commissioners scheduled a public hearing Jan- uary 23 for comment on increasing the 1995 budget. The move is necessary so the county will qualify for a tax anticipation note and to allow the transfer of money from the budget general fund to the capital fund. In other business at the 1 east of near Moab. In another matter, commissioners asked Bailey to write a letter to R. Buckley Jensen notifying the developer that he must meet US-19- county requirements lated to sub-division- re- s. Commissioners an- bridge qualifies for federal nounced they will make appointments to the San Juan Health Care Services Board at the Tuesday, January 17 commission meeting. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday because Monday, January 16 is a holi- money. day. January 3 meeting, com- mission assistant Rick Bailey said the Utah Department of Transportation reports that the Mill Creek Bailey said UDOT estimates it will cost approximately $159,000 to replace the bridge, which is 12 miles The American Heart Association says cardiovascular disease kills an American every 34 seconds. Lechner says some permittees may ask the Republican Congress to intervene, giving the Forest Service more time to sort out the mess. He said this may prove to be successful, adding that environmentalists will not be happy if Congress exempts the Forest Service from law. The National Environmental Protection Act requires extensive environmental analysis and a public comment period for ski runs, roads, and timber sales on public lands. Grazing permits, Senator Orrin Hatch is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. As chairman, Hatch controls the Senate review of judiciary and executive appointments. Senator Robert Bennett is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. As a member of the committee, Bennett will approve all federal spending bills cluding allocations to in- gov- ernment agencies and the executive and legislative branches. how- ever, have been considered by forest supervisors as en- vironmentally benign that is until field level -- em- ployees began to question the legality of issuing or renewing permits without NEPA documentation. New congressional representing ar assignments In the Utah legislature, Senator Mike Dmitrich is on government capital facilities committee. Keele Johnson is on natural resources, energy and education committees. Baby New Year from M. Valley Twenty-nin- e hours and 33 minutes into the last half of the final decade of this millenium, Monument Valley Hospital welcomed its first baby of 1995. Teryn Elizabeth Yazzie arrived Monday, January 2, at 5:33 a.m. The girl was 21 inches long. She is Representative Bill Orton the first baby of the New is a member of the Banking Year and the first baby born and Budgeting Committees to Tanya Bradley and of the U.S. House of Terry Yazzie of Kayenta. As a Monument Valley HospiRepresentatives. member of the Democratic tal staff celebrated with a party, Orton represents the welcome banner for baby minority party in the Teryn and a special meal for her mother. |