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Show TheEmeryCountyReview.com A Swell Bike Ride Smile for the Camera MECCA holds fall ride at the Wedge Portrait Express helps capture precious moments C1 REVIEW C6 Emery County The Local News, Local Voice, Locally Owned Volume 2, Issue 40. 75 Cents Tuesday, September 30, 2008 Endless Possibilities Former senator speaks to high school students about reaching potential Kathy Ockey The Emery County Youth City Council members invited former Senator Jake Garn as guest speaker at Emery High School on Sept. 26. Garn gave an inspiring speech to the student body about the “Endless Possibilities” the students have in their future. Garn, who will turn 76 on Oct. 12, served as Utah State Senator from 19741993 and had the opportunity to be on the Discovery Space Mission April 12-19, 1983. Garn said he was born and raised in Richfield and he always thought, “How can we trust anyone from Salt Lake City.?” He said he will always consider himself from central Utah, Sanpete and Sevier areas. He mentioned the endless possibilities that are ahead for the student body and said he could not possibly describe what awaits them in their future because he would never have guessed what had happened in his life when he was their age. He served the country for many years in the Navy and when he was released from active duty he was so proud to be an American he became a member of the Air National Guard and also became involved in volunteer activities. He eventually worked in helping others get elected to political office, but never thought he would be a politician. When he was a member of the Air National Guard, there were problems at the Photo by Josie Luke Ferron Mayor Gil Conover, left, resigned during the Sept. 25 Ferron City Council meeting. Councilmember Trent Jackson will act as mayor pro tempore until a new mayor can be appointed to serve the remainder of Conover’s term. Jake Garn airport concerning their hangars and equipment. He went to the Salt Lake City Council about the issue and after airing his complaints without much success, a county commissioner told him if he could make better decisions, then prove it. He told the commissioner, “Maybe I will because any damn fool can do it better than you.” He said his mother was horrified that he had sworn in public, but he did run for and became a member of the Salt Lake City Council. From there he progressed to the county commission and then to his position as a senator. He served as senator for three terms and said he is a firm believer in term limits. While serving as senator he had the opportunity to fly into space with the Discovery mission. He described laying on his back in the space capsule for four hours because of a delay in liftoff. He could not Continued on Page A3. Garbage wars continue in Ferron Josie Luke In what was for many an unexpected turn of events, the Ferron City Garbage Wars were rekindled as Wade Williams, owner of City Sanitation again asked the Ferron City Council to reconsider their decision of awarding the city’s garbage service contract to Emery County Sanitation. Williams explained he had elected to approach the council again after being contacted by concerned citizens. He held that he still thinks the bid process “wasn’t handled properly”, so he said he came “due to the letters, phone calls and people that have gone out of their way to personally come talk to me-- I’d say in the range of about 50-60 people—urging me to fight the issue. What they tell me is that they want our service back.” The city had originally awarded the bid to City Sanitation in July, but their attorney advised them that legally, the garbage service bid must be awarded to the lowest bidder. At a special meeting held on Aug. 7 to address the matter, the council finally awarded the bid to Emery County Sanitation after a great deal of discussion. At the Sept. 25 meeting Williams said there were several issues that he believed were grounds for the council to reconsider the bid award. First, he said, he didn’t believe the bid was handled properly. Second, he still believes City Sanitation offered the lowest bid, and third, he said, “There’s also an argument to be made whether the bid was given to a responsible bidder, due to the fact that up until today, people didn’t have garbage cans.” Continued on Page A3. Ferron mayor resigns Josie Luke Ferron Mayor Gil Conover resigned his position at the city council meeting held Thursday, Sept. 25. The mayor did not directly address the reasons for his resignation, but thanked the city for the opportunity to serve. “I’ll miss it here,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed it.” The council approved the resignation unanimously and thanked Conover for his service to the city, presenting him with a golf pass and a golf club. He in turn thanked them for approving the resignation. “We’ve got a great council here and it’s been an honor to serve with you,” Conover expressed. “The city is in good hands.” The council appointed Councilmember Trent Jackson to serve as mayor pro tempore until a mayor can be appointed. The city will accept letters of intent to apply for the position until Oct. 21. They will then appoint a new mayor at the council meeting Oct. 23. Grilling the Candidates Local and state political candidates field questions from voters Josie Luke Candidates from a range of political races took the opportunity to appear and answer questions from Emery County citizens at the Meet the Candidate Night held in the Little Theatre at Emery High School on Sept. 24. The event, sponsored by the Emery County Economic Development Council and the Emery County Progress drew 12 political candidates in races from Emery County School Board to State Auditor. Those appearing were Janelle Dugmore, Laurel Johansen, Mike McCandless, Sam Singleton and Rue Ware for positions on the school board; Laurie Pitchforth and Drew Sitterud for county commission; David Hinkins and Brad King for state senate; Austin Johnson for state auditor; Bob Springmeyer for Governor; and Bill Dew for U.S. Congress. The high school venue proved to be a perfect size for the crowd that attended. Over 100 citizens turned out to hear the candidates briefly introduce themselves and answer questions from the crowd. Candidates were given three minutes to introduce themselves to the audience, and then they were asked questions submitted by audience members before the event started. At first, the candidates were given two minutes to respond to questions, but because so many were asked to respond to the queries, the time was limited to a minute. Near the end, the event was opened up for questions from the crowd. The ques- tions ranged on issues from education to illegal immigration. The first question of the night dealt with education; It asked why, if a business produced an inferior product it could be recalled, the same couldn’t occur if educational practices or educators proved to be inferior. Many of the candidates acknowledged that the education system and some educators may not be perfect but applauded the hard work of educators in the state. Dew summed up the other point many of them made in quoting what his father, an educator had said, “When a student has an issue, if I can get the parents involved, I very seldom have a failure.” All of the candidates urged parents to take an active roll in their children’s education. Another question was in regards to the issue of illegal immigration, specifically a bill from the last legislative session. The question was addressed to the candidates for State Senate. King reported he had voted against the bill because he viewed it as “a bad bill.” He said that illegal immigration is indeed a “serious issue,” proposing that the most pressing element currently is in “securing our own borders.” Hinkins stated he was not as familiar with the legislation, but agreed with King that border security is a huge issue. He submitted that the Canadian border may in fact be “more neglected” than the Mexican Border, saying that terrorists had entered the U.S. through that border. Springmeyer also ad- Photo by Josie Luke Democratic candidate for governor, Bob Springmeyer, takes questions during the Meet the Candidate Night at Emery High. dressed the issue. He explained that illegal status is determined by the federal government, not the state, and revealed that he supports the position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of “compassion.” The school board candidates were posed the question of what is the biggest issue currently facing the school district. Ware report- ed that one of the issues in the district is that nearly all of the school buildings are getting old and are in need of “rejuvenation and remodeling.” McCandless said there could be “ten number one priorities,” but discussed “emphasizing making sure children are ready to work” when they graduate. Dugmore talked about Continued on Page A3. |