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Show Visit us on the World Wide Web TUesday, Home Grown News Since 1900 September 3, 2002 By PATSY STODDARD Editor public hearing was held in Green River on Aug. 20 to discuss a property tax increase. The city was proposing to increase its property tax revenue. The proposed tax rate would have raised the tax on a $50,000 home to $89.38 and the tax on a business to $162.50. Mayor Glen Johnson said the property tax increase would raise $100,000 for the City of Green River. The purpose of the hearingwas to hear comments from Green River citizens A in regards to the tax increase. Currently the property tax revenue which the city collects is $0. A tax increase would generate a revenue increase of 100 percent. Mayor Johnson outlined the procedure for giving comments which required a trip to the microphone and statingyour name for the recorder. The first citizen to speak said he is opposed to any property tax increase. He feels the property owners are singled out every time and the people who dont He own any property get off scott-frefelt a sales tax was more fair. e. It was later explained that the sales tax is being collected at its maximum level set by the legislature and that type of tax was not an alternative. The mayor explained the average would be about $100 per average homeowner. Mayor Johnson explained the resort community tax which required Green River City to reduce their taxes equal to the amount which was collected on the resort community tax in its first year. The property tax was taken off at that time to meet that requirement. One citizen wondered why a tax was needed. The mayor said they are concerned about the economy in Green River City. He said the revenue raised from the property tax would be used to install curb and gutter and build streets. We dont have any money to Number 36 Volume 102 Castle Dale, Utah Tan increase proposal shot down Green River says no to property tax increase after public hearing http:www.ecprogress.com do that, he said. Councilman Tom Burr said that he receives many requests from citizens wanting curb and gutter. He said they need to prioritize the needs of the Green River citizens. If the property tax is added back on, you and I will pay some of it because the people are taxed at 55 percent of the assessed value but the businesses are taxed at 100 percent of their assessed value. One citizen expressed concern over the exclusion of Green River from the Castle Valley Special Service District on the west end of the county. She said there are a lot of people living in Green River who are on fixed incomes and cannot afford a tax. She also mentioned railroad taxes and payments in lieu of 50t INSIDE 31 3 .TV L.i " I & RV ' Jr (. - r , - , ' . j Jr Watermelon Family Vetere family thrive in growing Continued on PAGE 2A. business IB. Ferron City BRIEFLY overcomes water scare Fire restrictions remain in effect At the Ferron City Council meeting on Aug. 21, the council along with the Castle Valley Special Service District issued a boil order for the drinking water of all residents in Ferron. The order has since been lifted and the water in Ferron is safe to drink. During monthly meter readings, the meter reader noted that one of the meters was runningbaekward, which indicated something was drastically wTong. Upon further investigation, it was uncovered that one of the customers in Ferron had cross connected his secondary water lines and the culinary water system. This connection is not only extremely dangerous but highly illegal. Because of the difference in pressure between the two systems, the secondary water was entering the culinary system causing possible drinking water contamination . Ferron City Attorney, David Blackwell, stated that charges for this kind of action could range anywhere from misdemeanor charges to federal felony charges. .All water lines in Ferron have been flushed and a sample of the water sent to the Utah State Health Department. The results came back and the water is safe to drink. The boil order w as lifted on Aug. 23. The reports have all been made to the Utah Division of Drinking Water by the CVSSD. Darrel Leamaster, from the CVSSD, has stated that an action such as this cross connection is illegal. Every city in the county has an ordinance against these cross connections. Traffic stop leads to drug bust On Aug. 19 an investigation by the Emery County Sheriff's Office Drug Task Force led to the arrest of suspects warrant. wanted on a il Detective Jeff Thomas said, This no-ba- person was located through a traffic stop. Two adults, one male and one female were arrested. The female was released to Utah County authorities for warcharges on an outstandingno-bai- l rant in Utah County. No charges were filed against this female in Emery County. The male was arrested on the outswarrant and charged tandingno-bail with marijuana possession and cultivation. A search warrant was obtained and during the search of the Huntington residence a large marijuana plant was found, four grams of methamphet-amin- e d of and just under a and other paraphernalia. marijuana We really try to work with people and give them a chance when they have problems. Through our drug court program they can get the counseling they need to help beat an addiction. Those in drug court are monitored with random urine analysis and it gives them a chance to get their lives back together. We have an officer that just works specifically with those in the drugcourt. We have also been busy investigating the horse shooting in Huntington, and following up on leads in that case, said Detective Thomas. half-poun- 6 COPY1 Cooler temperatures and higher humidity have reduced the number of large wildland fires in Utah, yet firefighters continue to deal with numerous fires on a daily basis. Wildland fire managers are reminding us that statewide fire restrictions are still in effect. technical workshp held in Price on Aug. 28 was part of the process to gather information cn the resources within the San Rafael Swell. A All unincorporated state, federal and private lands remain covered by either a Stage I or Stage II fire restriction order. Essentially, all open fires of any kind are prohibited, even in improved campgrounds. Also prohibited is smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared to mineral soil. Fireworks and other pyrotechnic devices are also prohibited. A Stage II restriction is still in effect for Garfield, Iron, Kane, and Washington counties, and Beaver County west of Lets Get A dimes. technical workshop in Price begins what is termed the historic partnership to map out a future for the San Rafael Swell By PATSY STODDARD Editor A technical workshop was held at the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum on Aug. 28 in Price. The workshop was held as a starting point in fulfilling the request to the Department of the Interior by President George W. Bush to, Please provide me any information available to your department on lands owned or controlled by the United States in the general area of the San Rafael Swell that contain historic landmarks, historic or prehistoric structures, or other objects of historic or scientific interest." A welcome was given by Tom Rasmussen from the Price Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management. The BLM has contracted with Booz, Allen and Hamilton to gather the information for the resource inventory. Emery County Commissioner Randy Johnson was introduced to the meeting and spoke next, Emery County has been involved for a long time planning for the county and discussing what ought to be done. Ninety percent of the county is federal and state land. We need to do something to be good partners. The area is gaining national interest. I took a friend down for a short trip to the Swell and we passed cars from six different states while we were there. It is of interest and it draws stakehold- - This prohibits the use of a chainsaw or motorized equipment, blasting, welding, or other activities that generate flame, or operating a motorized vehicle off designated roads and trails ljetween the hours of 1 p.m. and a.m. 1 daily. Men charged with securities violations The Utah Division of Securities with the Attorney Generals Office has charged three men with multiple counts of securities fraud. John Tenney, James Klingbiel and Michael Espinoza are alleged to have obtained more than $850,000 from 12 Utah investors by offering promissory notes in a start up com- -' pany called "Echo Tek." Promissory notes are considered securities under Utah State Law. Echo Tek was part of a larger corporation called "Aspirit and claimed to be in the marketing communication services indus-- ! try. Division investigators allege that Echo Tek is not a registered security in Utah, nor are any of the three defendants licensed as s in the state. Tenney failed to di sdose to in- vestors that he had judgments against him totaling nearly $4 million. He was also convicted of 27 felony counts of securities fraud in 1992. Espinoza has had judgments against him totaling broker-dealer- Photo by Patsy Stoddard Mark H. Williams and Paul Crawford talk about the San Rafael during the workshop. ers whose values and opinions disagree. Weve had trouble passing any legislation to protect the Swell. It is a pleasure to be part of a precedence setting partnership to gather input for the President. We hope the process we are now in the middle of will provide trend setting in public lands issues." Wes Curtis from the Governor's Rural Partnership spoke next saying that things are different up front with this idea for a monument proposal simply because, We are having a process, we are doing this as a partnership. It is not the feds, not the BLM, not the county, not the state; but a partnership. We are involved in something historic. What we're doing has the attention of the governor, president and the nation as a whole. This is a high priority for the governor and we appreciate Continued on PAGE 3A. $86,000. Each man is charged with multiple counts of securities fraud, one count of pattern of unlawful felonies; activity, second-degre- e one count of sales by an unli- - censed broker-deale- r or agent, sale of an unregistered security and employing an unlicensed broker-dealor agent, all third degree felonies. Anyone who has invested with the three named defendants or Echo Tek are encouraged to contact Tory Shirley with the Utah Division of Securities at er |