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Show Commission approves fax advisory panel resolution By RICHARD SHAW Two weeks ago. Carbon of- ficials accepted public input about the possibility of changing how restaurant and transient room taxes are utilized clear up the conflict that has arisen by the volunteer boards feeling left out of the loop. Section three adds two additional members to the restaurant tax advisory board. The provision specifies that the new members should be selected from statutory industries not presently represented on the board. Presently, most of the members are from the motelhotel and food sen ice industry. The resolution will bring two different people onto the advisory panel from industries like recreational facilities, museums, cultural attractions, etc. The final section of the resow ill Staff reporter w ithin the county. The county commission reviewed the original resolution, then amended and adopted the new document last Wednesday evening. Initially, several members of the community voiced concerns about the fact that the original resolution would cut allocations for events funded in the past so that the money could be used to construct more venues. The resolution approved by the county commission contains the following: Section one denotes that advisory committees should meet quarterly. In the initial resolution, the meetings were to be conducted only once a year. But opposition came from groups stating that they needed more meetings for flexibility. The commission decided to conduct four meetings per year. Section two sets forth a procedure for the commission to consult with the restaurant tax board and the travel council if the county officials disagree with the funding recommendations made by the panels. The travel council oversees the transient room tax. According to the county commissioner, the provision lution defines the kinds of projects and activ ities eligible to receive money from the taxes. But the provision does not lock the county commission or the tax adv isory boards into any percentage like the original resolution did. The resolution works to- ward honoring the laws for the taxes as written. It also more closely defines permanent venues. One of the considerations in awarding the tax monies w ill be the perceived value of the venue or event to the county as a whole. The main thing to remember is that this is a starting point for where we are going, pointed out Commissioner Mike Milovich. I think this resolution covers all the bases we have discussed except the cooperation issues between the restaurant tax board and the travel council board," stated Commissioner Bill Krontpel. We w ill be woik-in- g on that. Acting on unrelated agenda items at last week's meeting, the commissioners: Discussed the issue of organizers having to provide insurance to stage events. Some residents have indicated that Carbon County has been losing events, particularly horse-relate- d activ ities, because of the liability insurance guidelines. The commission is in the pro- cess of revising the rules for business licenses for onetime and limited events to make the situation more tenable. However, the commissioners stressed that the county must address the matter of liability insurance coverage. Approved several applications for property tax exemptions. However, the lawmakers tabled acting on an application from Carbon Country Club because it is unclear w hether the exemption rules and regulations apply. At present, nine holes at the course are county owned and exempt. But the first nine may not be exempt because they are owned by the country club. Approved a jurat to start the ball rolling on the leasepurchase of land for a gun range southeast of the airport. Appointed Tom Matthews to fill a vacancy on the county's weed board. drought cycle impacts Utah's economy Five-ye- ar Utahs five-ye- ar drought cycle is having a significant eco- nomic impact statewide. In an attempt to alleviate the negative effects, Gov. Mike Leavitt urged Carbon County residents and all Utahns to con- tinue using water resources wisely. Utah is the only state in the country classified in the extreme drought category, pointed out Leavitt. Recently, the governor issued a declaration of agricultural disaster due to extreme drought To date, Utahs 29 counties have reported nearly $287 million in drought-relate- d financial losses. Almost half of the 15,000 farms operating at locations across the state have suffered significant losses. This is a hard hit to the economy of rural Utah and causes a ripple down effect to the economy of the state as a whole, noted Leav itt. Conservation by small and large water users in rural and urban Utah is critical. Utah's continued population conditions throughout Utah. growth and multiple years of Forwarded to the United States drought make it v ital for everyone to implement water-wis- e Secretary of Agriculture, the declaration requests additional federal funding to assist the states agricultural industry. The drought we are experiencing is taking a series toll on our water supplies. Even though May has had a lot of precipitation, our snow pack is almost depleted and the ground is extremely dry, explained Larry Anderson, resource director and conservation team member. practices, continued Leavitt. We can all do more to preserve this resource. A statewide public opinion survey determined that 85 percent of Utahns realize it is im- portant to conserve. But the study found that water-wis- e education is still needed. Survey respondents reported that they are watering land-- ( Continued on page 3A ) m;--. Jo- - it- - & V' , ft A ' V; ' - , - W 4 ' , ; ; Memorial weekend accidents plague area, Spanish Fork man dies in Memorial Day traffic accidents pagued the local area, resulting in personal injuries and one fatality On May 24 at 4.02 p.m., old Michael Joseph Everett of Spanish Fork died when the modified Jeep he was driving reportedly flipped and rolled near milepost 242 by the east Price interchange on 29-ye- ar U.S. 6 mishap We had no witnesses who saw the entire accident, he stated Teveretts stepson, Kaleb Barnum, was a passenger in the Jeep. The boy incurred bumps and bruises in the mishap. The death was the only local traffic fatality reported during the holiday weekend. Several unrelated mishaps also caused problems for motorists. At U.S. Highway 6. approximatley 2.25 p m. on Saturday, a Apparently, the traffic slowed and he braked hard and tried to swerve to the right side of the road, explained Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Vasquez. The vehicle flipped around and rolled onto the drivers side. It appears he was killed on the first roll. The Jeep had no top or doors, which may have contributed to the death. The occupants were strapped in the vehicle. Vasquez was traveling in a patrol car several vehicles in front of the Jeep. The trooper saw the rolling Jeep, but did not witness the incident woman moving from Salt Lake to New Mexico went off the road west of Wellington. The accident closed U.S. 6 for 35 minutes, but no injuries trailer being pulled by a resulted from mishap. At approximately 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, an unidentified driver appar- ently fell asleep and lost control of a vehicle west of the Scofield cutoff, The car rolled once and took out fencing on the north side of the road. He only received some bumps and bruises, advised Vasquez. His seat belt saved him from serious injury Workforce services anticipates moderate job growth in county Between 2000 and 2005, the Utah Department of Workforce Services projects the economy will generate more than 154,500 new jobs statewide. Total employment in Utah will increase from 1,353.800 positions in 2000 to about 1,508,3 10 jobs in 2005. At the local level, the south- eastern region encompassing Wright Flyer replica tours Utah, stops at local elementary . Kevin and Haley Shiner sit at the controls of the Wright Flyer. The duplicate airplane of the Wright Brothers first flying machine was constructed by Utah State University students. After touring throughout Utah, the plane will be flown by United States Sen. Jake Gam during a July centennial celebration in Ohio . The aircraft is an exact replica of the original ma- The aircraft is currently traveling through the state 1 and making stops at various schools. On May 9, the chine, but USU students used advanced technology while constructing the model. Materials were disguised to look like the items used by the Wright Brothers to give the aircraft an authentic look. plane stopped at Creekview Elementary and students were able to climb aboard the aircraft. A' Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan counties will experience an annual .9 percent employment expansion rate during the designated five-yeprojection period. At the state level, overall employment will increase by 1 percent, with a growth rate aver1 ar 1 aging 2.3 percent per year. Utahs expected employment expansion exceeds the 1.3 per cent job creation rate projected nationwide. All of the new job opportunities and 80 percent of total employment in Utah during the fiv period will be in service producing sectors. The sectors include transportation, communication and utilities; trade, finance, insurance and real estate; services; and government. Mining, construction and manufacturing - the states goods producing industries - w ill experience 5 percent employment decreases. Less than 20 percent of all jobs statew ide will be in goods producing sectors, pointed out the workforce services department. Nine of Utahs 12 major in- dustry divisions will post growth rates below the states wk 2.3 percent per year average. In addition to mining, manufacturing and construction, the divi- sions include transportation, communications, utilities, trade, finance and agriculture along with federal and state govern- ments. Services, local governments and Utahns will enjoy growth rates exceeding the state average. The fastest growing employment sectors will be business, agricultural, health and miscellaneous repair services. Industries generating the majority of Utahs employment opportunities will be business and health services, local governesments and tablishments. (Continued on page 2A) eating-drinkin- g |