Show Serving Utah’s Great Pahvant Valley USPS Copy 50c Vol 82 No 7 August 22 1991 Dumping the Districts County Commissioners Dissolve EastWest Recreation Boards Oak City Shuttle takes interested spectators to historic sites Oak City Days Traditional Celebration Big Success Photos by Phil Finhnson Everyone looks forward to Oak City Days especially the lunchtime traditional pit barbeque beef This year's celebration held in the tiny mountain burg on August 17th amply lived up to the reputation and offered fun for everyone The day began with a momingsidc service at 9:00 ajn complete with fireworks A program with a choir concert took place at 00 and then Rosemary Forster Kirk Lewis and Kerry Mams offered country and western music offerings which got everyone in the spirit of honoring their heritage The traditional barbeque meal fed an estimated 750 people who then spent the rest of the afternoon wearing off the meal in events like the gurny sack race relays and various carnival style feats of skill like egg throwing contests and dunking booths A highlight of the day was the First Annua Miss Oak City Days Pageant event that brought tears (of laughter) to many eyes Ten men (who shall remain nameless except one was the Mayor) dressed in formal gowns high heels and to compete for the coveted crown in talent events like hula hoop harmonica playing and baton twirling Mr George Cross succeeded in winning the votes of judges Monica Christensen and Carolyn Nielson to capture the title (Was it the hips the lips or the twists?) A special shuttle tram was devised to take interested people on tours of historical sites softball games stretched into the evening when two dances topped off the evening The Old Oak City Band performed inside the Old Town Hall and many youngsters shunned the contemporary music playing on the tennis courts to enjoy the music and dances of the older generations A raffle of donated items completed the evening with all monies going to a fund for renovation of the Old Town Hall Once again Oak City Day proved to be a day to remember - with everyone now eagerly looking forward to next summer’s celebration Kate Hellenbrand On Tuesday August 20th Millard Lana Moon County Commissioners Jer’E Bnnkerhoff and Frank Baker had a very busy day First they spent the mornKem River pipeline site ing traveling the then they had lunch with the Kem River then they returned to the officials Fillmore County Court House and rapidly passed a resolution to restrict the power and authority of the Fire Service District and then dissolved the EastWest Recreation District Boards In last week’s Chronicle Progress notification of the Commissioners’ tentions to dissolve the boards were first made public In an announcement written by Commissioner Moon several reasonings for the dissolution were set forth but among residents of the speculation county smacked of a different tone At 200 pm nearly one hundred concerned citizens packed the court room to express their reservations regarding tlie impending decision It was evident early in the meeting that the decision had already been made to eliminate the East and West Recreation District Boards making the three hours of intense public comments all but mute At approximately 5 00 p m all three Commissioners unanimously voted to dissolve the districts Earlier in the meeting Roger Killpack presented the Commissioners with a petition asking that other alternatives be discussed before action was taken Over 350 signatures were attached all gathered within the week following the published announcement Despite the peu tion and several impassioned pleas for tnore pwblic input the Commissioners remained unmoved and left some questions unanswered as they forged ahead decision with their The Recreation District Boards will be officially dissolved at the first of next calendar year with the Commissioners taking over responsibility on September 1st the beginning of the next fiscal year It is the Commissioner's intention now to advertise for a hired manager to supervise a Recreation Department with Special District monies now going into the General Fund Despite assurances by the Commissioners many in the room felt uncomfortable with this new method The largest concern however w as the fact that the decision was being made without (Hitting it to a public vote “Dissolving the boards should not happen without the vote of the people" stated of Delta Ruth Hansen Commissioner Baker responded by saying "Why don't you support us1 We're not worried about these old battleaxes and has bcens we're worried about the youth of the " county Baker continued that if it was put in front of the people and they voted it down “you won't have a program and this is the best answer " He later amended his comments to state that “If voters rejected a county wide board it would revert back to what we have now " board The concept of a was approached by several different speakers Sheriff Ed Phillips first offered the idea with Tom Hamilton suggesting that each town within the County having one vote with an at large representative “Have you ever tried to work w ith a group of fifteen people?” countered Robyn Pearson Tommy Dcarden stated that the Fire District has just such a situation and it works just fine “You wind up with the representation you need" An amended board was suggested that would consist of five members and Robyn Pearson stated that “there aren't five people in this County that arc that dumb” Delta Mayor Don Dafoe outlined his involvement with the history of the Rec reation Board since 1980 and wondered why the Commissioners wanted now to get involved He also wondered about the possibility of a conflict of interest tween Commissioner Baker's involve ment with Della Sports Center and now overseeing the Recreation Department Baker denied owning the business and then qualified his comments by saying that no conflict existed if he did not actively solicit business “If someone comes in I car sell to them" he stated The Commissioner's approach is comparable to the way the Fire District the Police Department and the Landfill District are being handled “We want to bring the special districts into line” stated Baker “We'll still fund them ade” quately Commissioner Moon stated that she believed the effort ould break down the barriers and give her a chance to look at the big picture "We want to leave this " county a better place for our children Children were a major theme for the meeting Robyn Pearson during a half hour historical and statistical revue used the analogy of children eating half sand wiches and full meals to make his point "'Are want to obliterate the pockets of " poverty that exist "We're uying to do aw ay with thench and the poor " Commissioner Baker tried to assure the crowd that the monies will go where they've been carmaiked "How do you head off nicely'’" cut someone's Jer’E Bnnkerhoff began the meeting with an assurance that the bowling a'lcy would be getung the four new lanes thev ant and he ended die meeting by assuring those in attendance that “You’re going to have a better recreation departone that you’ll be proud of " ment Not everyone was placated "Micre will it end1" asked Doug Nielson of Lynndyl His question remains unan swered NOTICE: City Council Member Wes Bloomfield has officially withdrawn from the election for the Della City Council NAe have 2 candidates that have officially filed but we have 3 council scats up for election this year offiAnyone interested in serving as a council member for Delta City must cially file with the City Recorder before Tuesday August 27 at 5 00 p m If you have any quesuons regarding the election please call the Delta City Recorder Dorothy Jeffery at 864 2759 Jay Paulman and Delta Mayor Don Dafoe Jay Paulman Returns Home For 30 Day Visit Mr George Cross winner of the 1st Miss Oak Days Pageant struts hisher stuff City Jut Carnival theme was popular during the day Dance to benefit Kamren with games and races " Fit Aug 23 9 12 Millard County Fair Building Kate Hellenbrand Jay Paulman 24 son of Anna and Jerry Bennett Delta returned home for a 30 day leave after his tour in the Gulf War Paulman serves with the 26th Support Battalion part of the 3rd Infantry Division attached to the First Armour Division of the Army In other words Paulman has been serving as a medic Paulman has been in the Army for three years stationed m Aschaffenburg Germany He and his unit was deployed to Saudi Arabia on Christmas Eve 1990 and returned to Germany on the 2th of July 1991 Paulman returned to Delta for a visit on August th While in Saudi and Iraq Paulman helped to treat the flood of Iraqi POWs “We treated 167 men in the first couple of hours" said Paulman during an interview at Delta's City Offices “Almost all the injuries were shrap- nel" Paulman spent most of his time right on the front lines "Sometimes the front lines would slip behind us” he slated The people he treated “weren’t soldiers Most of them were civilians and lots of them were kids There were a lot of conflicts after the war Hussicn’s army was wiping out villages and kids were also picking up cluster bombs and getting hurt" Paulman had been looking forward to coming home after spending most of the past two and a half years overseas He's still got one and a half years to go and then anticipates continuing in the medical field going to school "It all depends on what I fall into when I get out” he said Right now Jay is enjoying the peace and quiet of Delta even if he is spending his time helping his dad pour cement Jay w ill be returning to duty m Boston at Fort Research Institute the U S NATICK “It's mostly made upof civilians” he said |