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Show SSfk jr PS3gra& vtr'V kc.' :..' u! '" i T';":-'"'-- :' M! yz- : -- -- 9 5i-- -. - '; 9 r? -- vH r tA , - V hometown Newspaper ate the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in south central Utah. Unlike the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument designation, the Canyons of the Ancient National Monument l- proposal has been under public scrutiny for more than a year. was asked to study the proposed monument and make recommendations. They recommended strongly that no monument was to be created, however the administration went ahead with the proclamation. Colorado elected officials sponsored legislation that would have created a National Conservation Area for the ruggd terrain. However, the legislation was withdrawn when it became clear that it did not have enough political support. The withdrawal of the alternate legislation left the door open for the unilateral designation by the White House. The Bureau of Land Management declared the area as the Anasazi Area of Critical Environmental Concern in 1985. Just as with the Grand National Monunational monunew ment, the ment will be administered by the Bureau ofLand Management and not by the National Park Service. The National Park Service generally administers all national parks, recreation areas and naStair-caseEscalan- THISWVEEKl Commission brief - A committee of area residents tional monuments, including - See page 9 a Nutshell Life in - See page 16 My View, My Cave - See page 22 ilnwHita boy Xavier Presley Victoria & Jervis Ben May 31 Scottie Wade Jody Taylor & Joshua Calvert boy May 31 Aunika Daniell Daniel Hunter girl Tani & June San Juan County forms the western boundary of the new 1 64,000 acre Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado. The monument was created on June 9. I A second judge dismisses charges in Anasazi desecration Bluff. In a ruling dated June 9, 2000, Manley dismissed criminal charges against the Redds in a case that has dragged through the courts for more than four years and has never progressed past the Preliminary Hearing stage. The ruling is likely to illicit a strong response in a case that has attracted a fire storm of controversy. Many observers claim that previous rulings on the case show an apparent lack of respect for Native American burial sites. Other observers counter that while the burial sites deserve respect, the sheer number of sites in San 'Juan County guarantee that remains will be inadvert In addition, other observers -including the Hopi Tribe - claim that the Redds have been treated with kids gloves by local law enforcement and judicial officials. The officials respond by stating the case is complicated by a number of factors and point to the numerous appeals to show that the issue is not simply black and white. Manleys ruling overturns a preliminary ruling by Seventh District Magistrate Lyle Anderson, who bound over the Redds for trial on the desecration charges in October, 1998. The incident occurred on January 6, 1996, when a San Juan County Sheriff's Deputy observed the Redd family in Cottonwood Canyon. Redds claim The that they were on private land with the permission of the land owner. Charges were not filed for several months. More than a year after the incident, at a Preliminary Hearing on March 20, 1997, Seventh District Judge Lyle Anderson dismissed the case, stating there was not enough evidence to bind the Redds over for trial. The charges were dismissed in part because no evidence was presented in the Preliminary Hearing to suggest that the midden area of the site, where the Redds were sifting sand, was a place for the intentional repose of a human body. The ruling was appealed and after oral arguments before the Utah State Court of Appeals in January, 1998, the Court of Appeals backed Andersons ruling. The Court of Appeals denied a subsequent petition to rehear the appeal, but suggested that there was nothing to stop the State from refiling the charges. Soon afterwards, two charges were filed against the Redds, including felony desecration of a dead human body, and a misdemeanor charge of trespassing on state trust lands. In October, 1998, at a second Preliminary Hearing, Anderson threw out the charge of tres case When Rod Snow, attorney for the Redds, submitted a motion to dismiss based upon previous precedent, Anderson recused himself from the trial and Judge Manley agreed to take the case. dismissed the state the that charges, arguing Manley could only use new or previously unavailable evidence or other good cause to refile the charges. Manley adds that testimony that a midden (the area where the Redds were digging) is a common gravesite was not new or previously unavailable. Attorney Rod Snow, who represents the Redds, said, Whatever the reason, the government chose not to produce the turn to page 4) evi-(plea- se Lo Blanding Fr Ili Lo 86 50 84 49 5 87 59 58 51 75 41 79 38 Pr 60 86 49 tr. 88 74 57 80 passing. Acting as a magistrate and not as a Seventh District Court Judge, Anderson bound the Redds over for trial on the felony charges. Manleys i ecent ruling dismisses Anderf ons action as a magistrate. Anderson's ruling to dismiss the trespassing charge was appealed and sent to the State Supreme Court. The Court sent the case back to be heard in the Seventh District court. 1 1 roramwMDiin Monticvllo County. See page 3 Dust in the Wind Jun Hi ently disinterred. Bureau of Land Management archaeologists estimate that there could be up to 25,000 Native American burial sites in San Juan See page 2 Before and after photography te (please turn to page 4) Seventh District Court Judge Mary L. Manley has dismissed all criminal charges in a controversial case related to digging at an Anasazi site near Bluff. James and Jeanne Redd, of Blanding, have been accused of a number of violations, including desecration of a dead human body and trespassing on state trust lands, related to the January 6, 1996 incident in Cottonwood Wash one mile north of i June 14,2000 National Monument created adjacent to San Juan County With the stroke of a pen, approximately 165,000 acres of land contiguous to San Juan County have been thrust into the national spotlight. U.S. President Bill Clinton created the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in Dolores and Montezuma counties, Colorado on June 9. It is one offour national monuments Clinton created through the use of the Antiquities Act of 1905. Clinton said that his use of the Antiquities Act was neccesary in order to protect the highest known density of archaeological sites in the nation. In addition to archaeological sites, the area sits on McElmo Dome, one of the nations largest carbon dioxide reserves. The designation states that oil and gas leases will continue to be honored within the boundaries of the new national monument. The Antiquities Act was also used by Clinton in 1996 to cre- SINCE 1915" 50 cents e 84 Number Thn.ii.mrM for san juan county, utah 82 84 60 tr. 57 50 52 a may run a couple of lemonade stands I because it is a really easy way to get money, since we have already lemonade in the freezer. - Summer plans of nine-year-o- ld Connor Frost of Monticello. 55 index: NEWS ROUNDUP. SOCIETY. SPORTS COMMUNITY NEWS OBITUARIES LEGALS REAL ESTATE. CLASSIHEDS 2 12 17 1 8 23 24 25 26 |