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Show LiJ O; CHID i. y-i- (. Jl The best of '90 Showdowners Recalling the biggest sports stories of 1990. Page 4A These guys say they love working on New Years Eve. Page 6A The sights of the '90s VV Reprints of our favorite photos are found throughout today's issue. Varner pinpoints commission achievements, failures t By LYNN DA Staff writer there are a lot of good people who will see it through. The new public health building JOHNSON list. The Democratic Party and the central committee have, was my project, and the coun- allowed the packing and Commissioner Lynda Varner packed her personal ty can use the building author- stacking of delegates more ity as a money funnel to build than once to fix a ticket that belongings last week and vacated the county office she has a new jail." does not permit the general The commissioners list of for two the public a vote of their own conoccupied past also achievements county science in November, she years. included: the appointment ofa said. Carbon County elecI dont take the credit for all of the best things that have personnel officer; the drafting tions, in essence, are over in of job descriptions for county May or June, whenever the happened during my term as an elected official, Varner employees; the installation of Democratic Convention is declared during an interview fire hydrants in unincorporover. And that is not ated the finalization of areas; I And take dont democracy. Thursday. Varner also classified a the blame for all of the worst, fire contracts with local the agreement with golf course being the first either." Sunnyside Reclamation on priority of the county planning Varner ranked Carbon govthe old Kaiser property; get- departments and the commisof ernments implementation ting the Sunnyside coal mine sion while a new jail is placed a pay equity program for counon the back burner as ty employees high on the list of up and running; the annual clean up the lake campaign another of the most negative the commissions accomplishments. Pay equity was one of around Scofield Reservoir; actions. We have an antithe best things, she said. It and the annexation of Clear quated jail which could cost was something we really Creek into the Scofield Special the taxpayers millions of dolneeded. But I would have Service District. lars if an accident happens liked it to have had a longer What I have really appre- that had to take a back seat to ciated the most, Varner said, an election and a golf course, lifespan than it did. The commissioner also are the dedicated county she said. In defense of the unincorlisted the following as being employees who come to work, about porated citizens who battled among the most positive do their jobs and fjorget I found And actions: the appointments have against the creation of a recrepolitics. ation special service district who individual made has people county government helping over the last two years; the become frustrated with govthey were this districts only ernment to resolve their prob- constituents. They were not negotiated settlement' agreement with former sheriff Barlems very rewarding. Many listened to or represented fairthe consolidation of citizens dont know the system ly by the Carbon County Comry Bryner; mission. The unincorporated the justice courts; the installaor dont know how to get govcitizens felt like rural Utah for them. to work ernment tion of countywide 911 docs with the Olympic faciliresiCarbon County emergency telephone service; Many ties on the Wasatch Front," unaware that are dents any and the creation of the Carbon the commissioner declared. set can with issue to any person County Building Authority They knew what the cities secure funding for the new the item on the commissions would get from a golf course, agenda. public health building. the but they asked why the uninnegative Addressing Jim Robertson has been a which have happened corporated citizens had to be godsend, Varner pointed out. things in the totally responsible for the disterm her office, And the settlement agreeduring mass ranked trict. The commission failed to commissioner the saved with ment Bryner Democratic a the in adequately answer the quesand Party meetings, time money county central committee that and a tion, so they felt they had no of consolidation The run. long other option than to fight and be can packed and maniputhe justice courts and Dll withdraw their properties to lated insure that county were basically my projects. I choice from district. Family the no or have little citizens wish I could be there to help of ballot" on her the at the but top (Continued on Page 2) finish the consolidation, muni-cipalite- s; V K t . i , X 'y i A A "r'-Vov- . A W.' . v. , v'Vf V' - , y A; j y Ay y. X X - 4 Lynda Vamer attended her last commission meeting as a county commissioner Thursday night. Gold Hole slaughter fops list of best news stories for 90 rancher Jim Wilcox accusing four BLM employees of the By ROSANN FILLMORE Sun Advocate editor Choosing the top news stoiy in Carbon County for 1990 is an impossible task. Whether a story is important depends on the people it affects. Some capture our interest or outrage. Another may be frightening. Others may speak of progress. Some will change the way we live or spend our money. Another might trigger our compassion. Gold Hole The story that possibly sustained the most interest and outrage during 1990 was the controversy over the killing of 17 head of cattle at Gold Hole in Desolation Canyon. With wanton, senseless and inhumane destruction of his property, and the BLM replying they had acted legally, with no other alternatives, the drama played out over several months. Although no criminal charges were ever filed in the case, readers responded with anger that the carcasses were left to rot, rather than salvaged to feed the hungry. Wilcox and the BLM battled over the facts in the case. The BLM claimed the cattle were not registered with the brand inspector, so therefore, there was no proof of ownership. Wilcox insisted he had bought the cattle from an earlier see ofthe Nine-Mil- lea- ranch and e by the occasions as was acknowledged BLM on earlier the owner. The BLM said they had attempted to contact Wilcox to remove the cattle and were ignored. Wilcox replied he planned to move them alter the fall round-up- . The BLM said it would have been impossible to trail the cattle out of Gold Hole, that the shooting was the only possible method of disposing of the cattle, but Wilcox took the officials down a trail when they went to investigate the shooting. In the final analysis, BLM Director Cy Jamison deter well-marke- d mined" that the BLM officials had acted in a manner consistent with the laws, regulations and managment needs of the area. The county did not file criminal charges, but Wilcox has not given up. He and attorney Nick Sampinos are still pursuing justice in the case, appealing the matter to Jamison. Drought of rain and snow 1990 and the preceding during three years created a water shortage that touched the lives of everyone in Carbon County. Some areas were more destitute than others, with East Carbon banning all outside watering while other cities simply restricted the The lack hours for outside watering. Price faced the possibility of draining its water tanks so low it could not respond in the event of fire. Only after adjusting watering hours and urging residents to conserve, did the crisis case. Barry Bryner Although most readers Officials ended the year praising residents for their wise use of water. Phil Palmer, director of PRWII), said cooperation among cities and the district allowed the agencies to provide people all the water they ne ded, ns long as it was not all d on the same day. The watenng schedules allowed systems to operate u.-e- effectively, despite the shortage. wearied of reading the long and continuing saga of Carbon Countys former sheriff, Barry Bryner, few stories held the interest ofthe state as this one did. It finally concluded March 23 when Bryner was sentenced for DUI and failure to respond to an officers signal to stop. Judge Ray M. Harding of the 4th District Court sentenced Bryner to pay $1,511 in fees, fines and restir tution and to serve a and a jail sentence, concurrently. The judge stayed the execution of the jail sentence and ordered Bryner to serve 120 hours or community one-yea- six-mon- th (Continued on Pnge 3) Rental disagreement threatens Leisure Services Clubhouse By LAYNE MILLER Staff writer A disagreement between Carbon County Leisure Jerry Carlson, owner of The Clubhouse (CCLS recreation center), threatens to force the recreation agency to find yet another new home. The disagreement began when Carlson failed to make agreed upon improvements to Ser- vices and The Clubhouse property. In a CCLS board meeting on Sept 13, Steve Christensen, CCLS director, told the board Carlson had problems with the lease agreement. Christensen explained that Carlson did not want to construct a roller skatingicc skating rink or the batting cages and he did not want to pave the parking lot. lie also wanted out of an agreement offering an additional one- - car lease on the facility. The board agreed to waive the roller skatingice skating rink, but the members felt the lease option as well os constructiorvof the batting cages and the parking lot paving must be enforced. When Carlson was told he would have to fulfill his promise on the improvements, he ba Iked. One CCLS official said the county attorneys office advised the board to withhold one-ye- ar the rent payments on The Clubhouse until the improvements were completed. However, the county attorneys office would not verify it had given such advice. When Carlson wa3 notified of the boards action, he sent an eviction notice demanding the building be vacated by Dec. 31, nctciding to the unnamed official. CCLS Wade board chairman Hansen said he con tacted Carlson and arranged fir the agency to remain in the building until a new lease agreement can be signed sometime in January. Jerry and I have a verbal to write a new lease agreement next month," Hansen said. John Schindler, deputy county attorney, said the orgi-nlease agreement was never signed by Carlson. He said he knows Christensen and Carlson, so he asked George al Harmond to handle the matter. Hansen said he worried that if publicity about the problems between Carlson and the board surfaced, the verbal agreement with Carlson would fall apart. "This is a great place for us now, and we want to stay here. The agreement is a fragile one, and any publicity about the problems could blow this wide open," Hansen said. |