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Show v v 7 is w. " ' .: V. - , , jfhV- - 'V . , - . Un " -- i'iL' r 5 v - i vXy&X'Xvtfv: AROUND THE BEND aL iWittjwuwww . .. S aVj AGAIN... fAT SAN JUAN COUNTY) By Ken Sleight SAN JUAN COUNTY NOTES AND THOUGHTS This month, I have capsulated my efforts, reporting on a number of diverse matters that have come about in San Juan County. WHITE MESA URANIUM MILL The White Mesa Utes and other local citizens have taken a strong stand against the mill's plans to import and process more than a thousand barrels of nuclear waste (known as the Cotter Concentrates.) Some 1,225 drums have been proposed to be hauled to the Blanding site from St. Louis. The mill itself stands over ancestral burial sites. sites near by August Demonstrations and increasing opposition are promised. 55-gall- on THE DEAD GOOSE VEGETATION TREATMENT PROJECT EA The Dead Goose EA is out for review and comment. Covered is the "effects of aspen treatment, timber harvest, prescribed burning, road reconstruction and construction, road obliteration, and road improvements in a 5650 acre area of Elk Ridge. The Forest Service's preferred plan would allow the cutting and burning of hundreds of acres of timber. In addition, some 12 miles of "road improvements" would be undertaken which would include graveling, curve widening, and turnout construction. I see this in the same light as I do "chaining." There appears to be more destructive actions than are necessary. Indiscriminate and wide-are- a burning practices are not acceptable. Sufficient roads are already in place and only need to be maintained. Portions of this plan is to be appealed. Copies of the EA is available from the Moab or Monticello offices of the Forest Service. Phone (801) 587-20for a copy of the EA and decision notices. 41 IN SAN JUAN COUNTY The Blue Mountain Shadows recently came out with another fine issue. This one is entitled "One Hundred Years of Quilts and the People Who Made Them." Quiltmaking features a long tradition. My mother and grandmother would have been proud of the ladies of San Juan. They were ardent makers of quilts themselves and joined others on many quilting bees. The articles remind me of my own growing up when the quilt frames and quilts covered nearly all of one room. Scraps of cloth and denim had long been saved just for these economic and social events. I can still hear the womens' excited chatter as they sat around the quilt at home or at the Relief Society room while we kids played under the quilts teasing and poking up through the quilt while the ladies tried to sew. Not only docs the issue feature pictures and stories of quilts and portraits of the women who participated but the issue goes further and tells much of family histories and genealogy. Here are accounts of some 150 women - of those back in history and modem day - who have labored at the art of quilting. One quilt, pictured on the front cover, shows a colorful fabric applique of Rainbow Bridge, the Navajo Twins in Bluff, an Anasazi ruin. Monument Valley and the state flower, the Sego Lily. This gigantic task took the help of several county women. Remember how heavy and warm some of them were? A quilt wasn't right unless it was heavy. A heavy quilt would keep us warmer and last longer. And the patterns QUILT-MAKIN- G RENTALS SALES were always different and their uniqueness subjects of conversation. The magazine itself was begun in 1986 to collect and publish the history and folklore of San Juan County. Janet Wilcox is the able Managing Editor, but my hat is Shurrdl Meyer, off to all of the staff. Order by mail from Blue Mountain Shadows, 24 S. 300 W., Blanding, Utah. $9.50 by mail. co SAN JUAN COUNTY TRAVEL COUNCIL There is always contention on just how best to spend Transient Room Taxes that have been collected from our tourist friends as they pass through. Recently, a proposal was made to grant $54,000 to the Blanding Fine Arts Center for its furnishings. The private Dinosaur Museum in Blanding apparently received a grant of $9,001 recently to build a "living exhibit" project. In addition, $10,000 has been requested to complete the Cretaceous Hall. A proposal was made to spend $5000 to build bathrooms on the number 5 Fairway at the Monticello Golf Course. The San Juan Commission has spent thousands of dollars of transient room funds on search and rescue operations this year. The Commission approved funds to the Central San Juan Recreation District (Blanding) to help repair tennis courts ($23,000), maintenance of the swimming pool ($15,200) and repair of equipment at the Blanding Golf Course ($3,200). Most of these funds would come from the Transient Room tax funds. These projects might all be well and good if the funds were distributed equitably. But the funding is not. The county budget discriminates and so does the travel council budget. It seems that the south portion of San Juan County (south of Blanding) consistently gets the short end of the stick. A Bluff brochure recently received funding in the amount of $191032 There are still few funds granted to Native American interests. The Reservations have always been slighted and this practice continues. It's high time that the board make an accounting. Undoubtedly it will take court action to solve these discriminatory actions. SCHOOL DISTRICT LITIGATION The settlement of the School District Lawsuit and favorable subsequent bond election was great news. After years of futility, Navajo Mountain now will have a high school of its own. The students will no longer need being shipped away from home for many of their education needs. A better educational system is sure to come. COMMISSIONER TRIPS travel by Commissioners County records will surely show excess Lewis and Redd and planner Ed Scherick. Because San Juan County is further away from our capitol city than most counties, high travel and per-dieexpenses are numerous and excessive sojourns concerning expected. However, preoccupation wilderness, SR 2700 roads, the Escalante National Monument the Condor issue, and to Salt Lake City and other issues are very suspect. Recent trips Washington D.C. to lobby against environmental matters are cases in point. Such large expenditures are sure to become political issues at upcoming elections. I have sat in on many commission meetings and little is reported as to what is accomplished on these forays. And the prepared minutes show an even more pronounced brevity. I think it would be in order to have all commissioners and county employees prepare a written report or log record concerning each of their activities and contacts concerning these trips. These reports then could be attached to the minutes for the elucidation of the public. out-of-coun- ty m barn-stormi- UTAH STATE REPRESENTATIVE As the year rolls on, citizens are once again analyzing election possibilities. The State House position, now held by Keele Johnson, is sure to be up for grabs. Johnson is extremely vulnerable and I doubt that hell run again. Apart from his poor environmental record, his local support both in Grand and San Juan Counties have decidedly weakened. Look for candidates entering the arena from both the Navajo Reservation and Grand County. CAL BLACK AIRPORT San Juan County has one huge "white elephant" on its hands. Apparently the units have airport cannot make an adequate go at it so numerous white been moved to the site. I have not yet asked, but does the county or the airport concessioner receive the revenue from these atrocious rental eyesores? Furthermore, was boat storage and parking a part of the original plan? The county has received boat-stora- ge 497 N. MAIN SERVICE ST. (800)635-179- 2 TEGUJTOlO Or BEFOGS tTv ' " h BWEfc. STUD, BICYCLES MOAB. UTAU SSFPRHTF ... l eitiuiutiehi ng (801)259-788- 2 FAX: 259-231- 2 |
