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Show Page 6 Oct. 2, 1 996 Salina SunGunnison Valley News My View ... grab of the worst kind A land New communications law to bring something big, something better by Vic Saunders Southern Utahs Kaiparowitz Plateau is a colorful, yet desolate place. Water is scarce in this slickrock desert, and what wildlife exists there consists mostly of lizards and other desert species. Life in an upland desert environment is hard. The people living in the region eek out a living on ranches hundreds of years old, or work off the ranch in jobs in the petroleum, mining or the minimum wage tourism service industries. A desert highlands timber industry, once very productive and a good wage earner for these families, was recently closed after environmentalists succeeded in adding new regulations which made this industry unprofitable. Its no wonder, then, that many of these ranch families were looking forward to the opportunity offered by a proposed trillion dollar underground coal mining development in this hostile country. The low sulfur coal found in southern Utah bums clean, and is highly prized for this environmental eastern U.S. cities and the Pacific benefit, particularly in electricity-starve- d Rim. Families saw the mine as a way to stay on their ranches and, hopefully, provide a way to keep their children from moving away to seek jobs in Denver, Salt Lake City, or Phoenix. But with the stroke of a pen, President Clinton ended all that. After precious little discussion with Utahs governor and congressional delegation, and with no input at all from the local population whose lives would be severely impacted, the President designated almost two million acres of southern Utah as a new national monument. Utah already has five national parks and six national monuments. Seventy percent of our lands already belonged to the federal government, and almost four million acres of that is off limits to any economic development because of wilderness designation or the potential for it. It w asnt as if the government didnt already control the use of most of the land. bold move? Perhaps it is So why did the President take this Streisands of the world, Robert Barbra and the Redfords to payback political Califorwho promised to deliver the environmental vote in election-criticnia if he would make a significant offering to their cause. That offering proved to be the lives, hopes and dreams of the residents of southern Utah, of the Escalante National crushed in favor of the Grand Staircase-CanyoMonument. What is a concern, though, is the reality that our society has now reached a point w here a privileged, affluent few. in this case the activist environmental community, can callously disregard and barter the hopes, dreams and aspirations of another group of people in exchange for a victory notch in their agenda, in this case, that of environmental religion. They played the political game and w on. But while legal, what President Clinton did in southern Utah is far from being right. People who live in little towns like Kanab, Escalante and Boulder, Utah w'ere helpless in stopping the President. A sign at a rally in Kanab the day of the signing perhaps said it all. We, the people had been crossed out, and in its place were the words, I, the President. This was a federal land grab of the worst kind; one for political gain. Those w ho treasure honesty and forthrightness, who are unafraid to press their cause in the light of day rather than under the shroud of darkness and secrecy, can only hope that what happened to the people of southern Utah is an aberration, and not the sign of things to come. If not, then September 18, 1996, will go down in the history of this country as the day honesty and decency totally vanished from our democratic process. Vic Saunders is Vice for the Utah Farm Bureau Federation al ns President-Communicatio- by Mary Beth Vitale Its the start of something big. The Telecommunications Act of 1996, passed by Congress earlier this year, has the potential to revolutionize the communications industry and have a profound impact on consumers nationwide. Quite simply, the law was designed to create a thriving, healthy telecommunications industry by open- ing the monopoly markets of the local telephone exchange to competition. And as weve learned in the long distance business, when monopolies become competitive, its a veritable bonanza for consumers. If the laws vision becomes a reality, we can expect more choices, more innovation, lower prices and improved quality for communications services and products. Consumers will experience increased convenience p with the advent of shopping, one bill and one customized package of products and services. New services and enhanced technology will be enjoyed by millions, while the U.S. economy gains a competitive advantage in global markets. one-sto- Creating a truly competitive tele- communications industry, however, is going to be a formidable task and its not going to happen overnight. Much of the responsibility will fall to the expertise of state public utility commissions and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). While these agencies appear well on their way to implementing the law as intended, theyre going to have many difficult hurdles to clear. For example, in orderfor competitors to provide local telephone service, the local companies-wh- o have main- tained monopolies in this business for more than 100 years have to open their networks to their potential rivals. More specifically, the local companies under the Telecommunications Act of ns Utah counties brand wilderness reinventory illegal, call on Babbitt to stop The On September 23, the Utah Association of Counties called on Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to halt the he has started wilderness on BLM land in Utah. The counties charged that the reinventory is illegal, based on faulty and discredited criteria, is in direct contradiction of the clear intent of the Wilderness Act of 1964, and will only increase the divisiveness of the wilderness issue in Utah. The counties also released an extensive analysis and effort and critique of the listed the many problems with it. The basic problem is that the reinventory is being done in clear violation of several federal laws. These laws require that there be full involvement of the public and of state, local and tribal officials in the process, in- cluding an opportunity for public comment, before the Government can proceed. The Department refused to do that, explained Mark Walsh, Associate Director of the Utah Association of Counties. The counties analysis detailed other problem areas with the effort in addition to the illegal manner in which it was developed and is being conducted. Like the original Utah wilderness inventory, the ignores specific requirements of the Wilderness Act of 1964 and misapplies others, the analysis found. BLM also is continuing to use a definition of what qualifies as a road which is in direct contradiction to the specific provisions of federal law and court decisions, thereby allowing the BLM to claim that some areas meet the Wilderness Acts roadless requirement when, in reality, they do not In addition, the analysis notes that the effort violates a number of commitments the Secretary made to the Utah Congressional Delegation on how it would be conducted. The Utah counties are calling on the Secretary to voluntarily stop the until the concerns that have been raised can be addressed. We hope the Secretary will do the honorable thing, Walsh said. 1996, must permit new competitors to: connect into their networks wherever it is technically feasible to do so; buy local service in bulk at discounted rates and resell it to their own customers at retail; and buy parts of the local network and combine them with their own facilities and operations to produce competitive local service. Companies like AT&T have entered into negotiations with local companies on these issues in hopes of entering the local service market in the near future. Given whats at stake for both sides, its no surprise to anyone that these negotiations are not going well in many cases. AT&T for example, has not been able to reach an agreement with US WEST. The Telecommunications Act stipulates that after 135 days public utility commissions can be asked to arbitrate, a request that AT&T has made in many states. Considering the complexity of these issues, its likely that similar arbitration requests will be made by many companies throughout the country. Thus, state public utility commissions will play a critical role in realizing the laws vision as their decisions shape how competition will evolve in their states. State regulators will be assisted by the FCC, which on August 8 issued guidelines and rules for dealing with these intricate details. This should take some of the burden off the shoulders of the utility commissions, allowing them to concentrate on resolving the difficult negotiations between the local companies and their new competitors. By establishing a division of labor along these lines, Congress wisely sought to expedite the process of opening up the local serv ice marketplace. Nevertheless, state regulators have a big job ahead of them. If the spirit of the law is to be followed, its imperative that the creation of true, fair competition-an- d the benefits it will bring to consumers-b- e paramount in all decisions that are made. The Telecommunications Act was designed to benefit consumers, not US WEST or the other regional telephone companies and not AT&T or for the many other companies eager to enter the market State regulators must ensure their decisions are driven by how best to serve the people, not the providers. If they accomplish that, we all most surely w ill benefit. Mary Beth Vitale is vice president ofAT&T's local service organization Gooseberry Sevenmile road needs to be improved Dear Editor, ATTENTION: ATV riders Many ATV riders are opposed to the improvement of the Gooseberry Sevenmile road. Each year for the past ten years, since the making of the ATV trials in this location, 100s of 1000s of riders have enjoyed this beautiful area, on their big, noisy machines. This is fine, but the sad thing is that they all go home and then the next year bring two or three friends back with them. Ive heard lots of local ATV riders say, its our mountain and we don't want any more people coming in because of the road improvements. All I can say is, wake up the people are there, the traffic is there, the campgrounds are busy and full and all due to the ATV trails that have been promoted so strong by the Sevier County Travel Council, Chamber of Commerce, ATV Jamboree, and many others. All I can say is Its not your mountain anymore. Now we need a road that will take them out of the Gooseberry and Cold Springs area and put them on top and into Fishlake. Richard Crane 1412 Thistledown Dr. Sandy, UT 84092 The Utah Kids Coalition released its Vote for Utahs Children, 1996", a 10 question brochure to educate both voters and candidates about the needs of Utahs children and families. The brochure helps voters ask candidates their solutions to the problems our children face. The Utah Kids Coalition, composed of a network of over 30 child and family serving organizations, believes that informed voters are the foundation of democracy. The coalition is strictly nonpartisan and is not tion which places the burden of key affiliated with any political action decision making squarely on the shoulders of the governor and the state committee. Utahs children and families de- legislature. The era of let Washingserve elected officials who understand ton do it is over. State leaders - and the challenges and have practical so- voters - must have the knowledge, lutions to those challenges. The an- tools and plans to ensure that our children and families dont lose ground swers candidates give to the questions to will help voters determine Whos for poverty, violence, school failure and crime. Kids and Whos Just Kidding. To obtain copies of the brochure This election year is especially crucial in the wake of federal legisla contact Utah Children, 364-- 1 182. CHECK OUT OUR NEW LISTINGS! - SfS-- Q Before you go after your deer or elk, come see us at Big A for everything you need fq Windshield Wipers keep going Windshield Fluid in the hills! Oil Filters & Oil Air Filters Spark Plugs Antifreeze Tow Chains Tire Chains GunnisorTr"Much Implement really enjoys??? I hope we can all work together on this. 'Whos for kids' brochure available to educate voters Visit BIG A Auto at Gunnison Implement Before The Hunt 62 So. Main, Gunnison I believe that ATV riders need to work together with those that cant afford a $5-- 6 thousand machine and those that dont even want one, but would like to get into their car and go enjoy the beautiful scenery by taking this drive. The cattlemen and sportsmen are learning to work together, now it is your turn to work with all of us. If you are a sportsman worried that this new road would ruin your hunting, then you must be a road hunter. Get off your butt, get out of your truck and hunt like a real hunter. By the way theres not many deer up there anyway. We could always call in the environmentalists and ask them to close some of the trails and make some more wilderness. Then you could have your mountain to yourself, but then who - 528-727- Completly Redone! 4 or 5 bedrooms, 2 baths, all redone inside. Hardwood floors. This is really a must see! If you want country, this is a beautiful set up for you. 1 800 sq. ft. home with 3 car garage. A handyman's dream. Also, horse corrals onl 12 acres. $118,000. A must see! -- Additional Listing! T Charming Old Home ' 1 .6 acres, Has upstairs with two bedrooms. Just listed, this home is priced right at $72,000. Nice Brick Rambler 5 bedrooms, 2 bath, Family Room on 6 acres. Oversized garage! This is a Must See! Cottage Home in Fayette. 12 acre, 3 bedrooms, gas furnace & water heater. All redone! Miller & Company has a lot of new listings Iall on farms, homes and property. Robert Childs 528-716- Janice McClellan A nice modular home 0wnerwillfinancewith$10,000down. Nice yard with sprinklers. This is beautifu inside and out! 3 bedroom, 2 bath family room. Full, unfirmshed basement Asking $95,000. & v V -j 3 528--3 182 Kevin Spencer 528-744- 6 Marlene Cox 835--3 181 Office -- 528-77 17 - MILLER S COMPANY . REAL ESTATE SERVICES INC More! 1 in Centerfield. Big yard, all redone on main floor. 186 North Main, 2 - Bed, 1 - Bath home in Redmond for $70,000. Has big garage with living quarters in back of garage. This is a must see! Gunnison IH f3 ms Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed fv |