Show Serving Utah’s Great Pahvant Valley USPS 349 - 520 Coov 50c VoL &Q No 42 Mav 3 199Q Kanosh to combat Mormon crickets by Ken Rand Kanosh farmers and residents will join forces Saturday May 5 in a -wide effort to kill Mormon crickets infesting the area About 80 citizens met at the Kanosh LDS Church Tuesday April 24 to discuss the problem and look for solutions The group agreed a coordinated effort was needed if attempts to control the pest were to have a chance of succeeding and county state and federal officials present said their agencies would cooperate The meeting was organized by several Kanosh residents Officials present were lody Gale USU Extension Agent from Delta Tom Crowe state director of the APHIS program from Salt Lake City Greg Abbott APHIS program director from Richfield Doug Reed US Forest Service Jer’E Bnnkerhoff Millard County Commissioner from Fillmore and State Rep Joseph Moody from Della State Sen Cary Peterson from Nephi could not attend Poisoned bait will be used on about 8000 acres of cropland around the town of about 350 people and cm about 8000 acres of nearby federal land The bait itself is very effective but experts warned the crickets are so widespread that no program will stop them entirely The suppression effort is nonetheless needed because the crickets are already causing crop damage Crowe said economic loss begins when there are three or more crickets per square yard but concentrations vary and can reach dozens per square yard The recent rain otherwise welcome by farmers has diluted the poison they have been spreading in an effort to control the infestation Jim Minton said he spread poison bait' on his property three times this ytar but the crickets keep coming back' “There V billions of them out there" he said “You can see the ground literally move with them The crickets are going to eat us I can see it now" The crickets are in an early Later this stage relatively dormant summer when they begin to migrate residents hope to build a poisoned barrier around the town to keep them out The buffer zone w ill have to be renewed as the poison is consumed or when rain dilutes it The problem in the area is not new “This has been going on down through the years” Virge Christensen said recalling infestation when he was a child Christensen estimated the crickets occupied a five square mile area around the town in pockets some more dense Some bcl ieve the crickets than others originate in the mountains east of Kanosh which is Forest Service and land Bureau of Land Management Crowe said there are as many crickets on private land as on public land He said the APHIS program applies to federal land only and cannot be used on private land “We’re not in the cropland treating business" he said "That will be your responsibility" Crowe said his department faces re- - Farmer Virge Christensen told meeting at Kanosh LDS Church crickets are within a few hundred yards of the town Automobile tractor cycle farm equipment and gardening exhibitors occupied the indoor arena s trie lions imposed by budget constraints and federal environmental policy "The rules are now that we have to have a 640- acre or bigger block of generally infested crickets before "we earrgd into any area and treat" he said “We don’t have the manpower or the funds" Federal land adjacent to private land is sprayed when it is believed crickets are migrating from the public to the private land “We can spray on the federal land adjacent to your land and give a buffer there to prevent the movement of the crickets in” Crowe said “Butithastobe touching federal land” When private land is baited on May 5 federal land will also be baited Crowe said ground equipment will be brought over from Oak City where residents farmers and officials have been fighting another infestation for the past four years “The county will participate on our fair share” Brinkerhoff said “We're committed to help you We’re going to We pay to spray the county property cannot go onto private property" The state is helping through the Extension Service office A The effort may not be complete large part of the impacted area is land Some resiunder absentee ownership dents fear that if the owners cannot be contacted or convinced to cooperate the Se KANOSH page 2 First Horae Show gets rave reviews East Millard Recreation District Chairman Jer'E Brinkerhoff left ceives a check for $250000 from Fillmore Mayor Keith Gill ins re- Manager hired to build pool The Board of the East Millard Recreation District has awarded the job of swimming pool construction manager to Wilford “Butch" Jenson of Fillmore Jenson’s was the only bid submitted to the Board by the deadline of 5 pm Monday April 23 It was opened by the Board which is composed of the three at a meeting County Commissioners the next day The bid was for $20000 payable in six monthly installments of $3333 Onsite supervision will be provided by either Wilford or Scott Jenson The board accepted a bid by Carling and Co of Fillmore for $17320 fee excavation ard site reparation The job includes footings site leveling and and sewer and grading water line installation The solitary bid was within the county's estimated cost The board also approved paying Rocky Mountain Pools $99500 to build the facility’s main component Money raised locally to help defray construction costs was also accepted Total cost of the covered pool which will be built near the county courthouse in downtown Fillmore is $750000 That money was obtained from a state Community Impact Board loan at 4 percent interest for 5 years The county and Fillmore pitched in $250000 each to secure the loan The board also authorized representatives from the pool committee to take the two checks to the CIB Thursday April 26 and sign final papers approving the loan Rec District Chairman Jer’E Brinkerhoff said site preparation would be underway as early as Thursday April 26 by Ken Rand The first annual Trade Fair (Farm Home and Garden Show) held Friday and Saturday April 27 and 28 at the Millard County Fairgrounds east of Delta did better than expected There were 43 booths in the exhibit building and the indoor show arena next door “Our goal was to have 30" Delta Area Chamber of Commerce President Vince Crawford said “so we surpassed our goal It's going real well" The parking lots were full both days “Starting at about five o’clock (Friday) night it filled up" Craw ford said "We had to shoo them out at nine o'clock and then (Saturday ) morning they were here before we even opened" The event was a cooperative effort of the Delta and Fillmore Chambers of Commerce Delta Chamber Business Development Chairman Glen Swalberg coordinated the event along with Chamber member Pat Trujillo "This has been the funniest experience I've ever had in Millard County" Ashexhibitor Shari Ashworth said worth operates the Printing Parlor in Fillmore “I’m getting to meet people on both sides of the county I've never seen such unity and people working together for a common cause for the whole county" Sales at the show were "average" Ashworth said but “people in Delta had no idea I had my business in Fillmore or knew what I did Now they know what I have available and that I can serve the whole county with some of the best prices they’ll find in Utah" Ashworth served as president of the Fillmore Chamber for three years She is presently east Millard tourism director Other business people echoed her enthusiasm Keith Dalton Motor Co salesman Rex Stan worth said four cars were sold on Friday including one "to some people who just happened to be driving by from Salt Lake City" Stan worth said the area has needed such an event for some time “I support this 100 percent" he said "This exposes the businesses and gets people This is a quainted with everybody fabulous thing I think" Delta Chamber Executive Secretary Ruth Rawlinson said all the merchants were pleased “They have had people come up to them and say 'Oh I didn’t know you had that’ They all feel that it’s really been worth their time" she said Direct sales was not the object of the fair Rawlinson said “It w as to acquaint the buying public with what they have I think we’ve succeeded in that" Rawlinson said cooperation betw een east and west county merchants is a good idea "We’re trying to work together and show both sides of the county what we have to offer" she said “We’re saying if you can’t find it in Delta maybe you can find it in Fillmore stead of jumping in the car and going to Provo" Crawford said a lot was learned at the event that will help make it better next year For example he said there was so much interest in participating by local businesses that size constraints of the newly constructed exhibit building became a problem “Next year” he said “we’ll have to do something different We’ll have to make some real plans” Nonstop entertainment took place throughout both days in both building changing every half hour There were 10 events scheduled Friday and 15 on Entertainers included the Saturday Kirk Blucnotcs DHS Jazz Group Penny Sunshine Generation Country a fashion Fiddlers the Dazzellcttcs show and karate demonstrations County's commercial property being assessed These Service office poison bait sacks are being loaded at the Extension for use at Kanosh fo FtHmore by Ken Rand The First countywide improved commercial property appraisal since 1982 is Millard being completed County Assessor Tim Talbot announced "It’s been about eight years since it was reappraised the last time” Talbot said “and the values have gone down so far I felt like we needed to reappraise I don’t think the value are what they should be" T a Jbot said the impact on the county from construction of the Intermountain Power Rant is gone and the real estate market has fallen off "When IPP was here houses were selling for $80000" he said "They’re now selling for $40000 to $50000" Appraisal Associates from Salt Lake City was hired to do the kg work Talbot said the job cost about $30000 Appraisers visited the property checking buildings for condition improvements and additions Their work is now done and their report is due in the Assessor's office "by the end of April" Talbot said Other taxable property in the county win be reappraised Assessors are beginning to appraise land including agricultural in west Millard Nextyeareast county land will be appraised then residential property "We have to do it in different portions because it's such a large project" Talbot said It will take about four to Five years to reappraise all property in the county i "The houses are going to be the biggest Talbot said "because there are so many more houses than there are anything else" The appraisers used 22 businesses as "benchmarks" or standards to compare Talbot said three against property appraisal approaches are used: replacement costs comparible sales and income Accurate property market value estimates are important because tax levies are based on them Talbot said he will send letters to business property owners informing them of the new assessments to “see if they see any problems we need to discuss” Deadline for Talbot to prepiare figures from w hich taxes will be assessed is job" Msy 22 "We’ll probably have to go with the Figures we get on the tsx roll" Talbot said “but we will be able to change it at equalization time" Taxpayers have a period of time after receiving a tax notice during which they may object to their assessments "If we feel like they’re right"Ta!botsaid“we make the changes and if we don't we don't If they don’t like our decision then they can go appeal it to the State Then they’d have a Tax Commission hearing up there" “Disclosure notices" are sent out June Talbot said and during early equalization is held in early August Tax bills are maikd out "some time in October” and taxes are due the last day of November |