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Show Significant 1990 Events Recapped By The Month i Continued From January 3 Issue July ; Changes made in the Red Canyon channel to control flooding ' appeared to have done their job as j heavy flash flooding struck the channel July 8. The early season I flood caught everyone by surprise, particularly a couple who for 27 years had camped at the camp-! camp-! ground. The Sedona, Ariz, pair told campground hosts Woody and Arda Pollock that it was the first time they'd ever seen water come down the channel. The Pollock said that floodwaters topped those of 1988 that eroded the campground area and T led to $53,000 in flood control work in the spring of 1989 at the popular scenic camping area. The July 8 flood gave the work its first real test John Graf, 45, was ordered July 5 to the Department of Corrections for a full 90-day evaluation, the second ordered by the court as a fol-lowup fol-lowup to an earlier 30-day evaluation. evalua-tion. Graf had entered a nolo contendere con-tendere plea to a charge of forcible sexual abuse, a second degree felony. Graf had voluntarily entered ISAP, a non-lockup facility, since ; his June 7 court date, having agreed to pay his own costs and to make ; restitution in the amount of ; $3,000. He was told that upon ' successful completion of his treat- ! ment, his felony charge could be re duced to a misdemeanor. The annual Cannonville Old Time Fiddlers and Bear Festival was held July 14 where some 300 people peo-ple listened to a group of professional profes-sional musicians play popular blue grass music for the 10th year in a row. Proceeds from earlier concerts and celebrations built the town's community center. Kevin Schulkoski was selected as the new district ranger for the Escalante District of the Dixie National Na-tional Forest, replacing Doug Austin who transferred to the In-termountain In-termountain Region Office in Og-den. Og-den. Garfield County ambulances from three areas transported six victims vic-tims of a 1 a.m. July 22 collision in front of Rubys Inn at Bryce to" Garfield Memorial Hospital. A dozen county Emergency Medical Technicians set up an emergency triage system to prioritize victims' injuries at the scene. Two female tourists from Switzerland were Life Flighted to LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. Others, less seriously injured, were treated locally. Thousands all over the county celebrated Pioneer Day July 24 with traditional activities. Panguitch's Homecoming was a rousing success, suc-cess, with a bigger-than-ever parade, barbecue dinner at the park, and dances and other reunion activities at the high school. August A visiting Japanese tourist was injured Aug. 3 when his rented 1990 Toyota Corolla plowed into an entrance station at Bryce Canyon National Park. Chief Ranger Charlie Char-lie Peterson said 21 -year-old Toshikazu Maekawa's vehicle laid down 77 feet of skid marks before striking the cement abutment protecting pro-tecting the booth. The 6 a.m. accident acci-dent happened before fee collectors arrived to work for the day. From August 7-11, thousands flocked to the Garfield County Fair, held for the first time in the county's new fair building at the fairgrounds adjacent to Panguitch City Park. Hailed as the most successful suc-cessful fair ever held in the county, residents generally seemed pleased and supportive of the way their tax money had been spent, with the 12,000-ft. structure completed just in time for Fair days. Special events on Aug. 11 drew the most crowds. Cutting the ribbon at the fair was Miss Garfield County Sheila SyretL As head of fair activities, activ-ities, Jean Seiler and his wife Spring Seiler were lauded for their hard work in pulling it all off so successfully. Official dedication of the new Red Canyon Information Center took place Aug. 14 as dignitaries recognized those who had made it all come together. Dixie National Forest Supervisor High Thompson told the crowd gathered for the event that the center is a product of extensive ex-tensive partnerships, with the Utah Department of Transportation, Escalante Sawmill, Zion Natural History Association, Bryce Canyon Natural History Association, the USDA and local volunteers working work-ing together. Many individuals were also recognized for their specific spe-cific contributions with special plaques. Kane County Sheriff Max Jackson Jack-son filed charges Aug. 14 in Kanab against Challenger Foundation officials offi-cials in the late June death of a Florida girl, and charged abuse of five other teenagers participating in the company's wilderness therapy program operated out of the company's com-pany's Escalante office. The complaint com-plaint alleged negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor, in the June 27 death of 16-year-old Cristen Chase of Ponte Verde, Fla. A Garfield County ambulance carrying a seriously ill 16-day-old infant, its mother and aunt crashed when the driver lost control on a curve about two miles southwest of Escalante Aug. 17. The driver, a passenger in the front seat and the three occupants of the rear of the ambulance were injured as the emergency vehicle, headed for Garfield Memorial Hospital in Panguitch, Pan-guitch, crossed over to the south side of Highway 12, overcorrected and tipped over. The victims were treated at the hospital, with most released shortly after their injuries were determined to be less serious than originally presumed. Charges by environmentalist factions of "illegal paving" on the Burr Trail were met with an angry reply from Garfield County Commission Com-mission Chairman Tom Hatch who insisted that all work done by the county is "entirely within the law. "We have a valid right of way and a right to proceed with work," Hatch said. Under specific attack were improvements made on a 12-mile 12-mile segment west from Capitol Reef National Park to the upper end of Long Canyon. "We have not paved the road," said Hatch, " and no asphalt has been used. We've simply placed a chip and seal on top of the gravel to keep it in place." A mid-July decision by Federal Judge Aldon Anderson lifted an injunction that had earlier stopped the county from proceeding with work on the road. Jack Voris, chairman of the Garfield Memorial Health Care Foundation board of directors announced an-nounced the mid-August completion comple-tion of a new addition to Garfield Memorial Clinic in Panguitch. The vitally needed 400-square-foot addition at the rear of the building added three offices for physicians and important storage space. Recruitment Re-cruitment of new physicians had placed a strain on office space at the facility and completion of the addition addi-tion at a cost of only $20,000 was welcomed. Contrary to early media reports that Garfield County was forced to stop work on the Burr Trail following follow-ing a July 27 hearing in Salt Lake City, the county's officials said that work was continuing on the road, improvements to which have been a subject of controversy since they were first proposed some years ago. Commission chairman Tom Hatch assured county residents that work was continuing on the Burr. The county did agree, said Hatch, to do no more seal coating on the road until after a hearing set for Sept. 21. "We're not ready for more seal-coating seal-coating at this time," Hatch said, "so the work isn't being held up, and we had completed earlier what we had needed to do." A former Panguitch woman, reported re-ported missing by her husband Aug. 29, 1988, was found working in a New Mexico community by family members on Aug. 26, almost al-most two full years to the day after she disappeared. Beulah "Boots" Lyle, now 55, was last seen Aug. 28, 1988 when she purchased gasoline gaso-line in Moab. Her empty locked car was noticed later the same evening in Richfield. She was reported re-ported missing the following morning morn-ing when she failed to return from a visit to Silverton, Colo, relatives. She was originally thought to be a victim of foul play, but later evidence evi-dence revealed she voluntarily left home to stay. Culinary water problems continued con-tinued to plague Tropic as the town's leaders tried to figure a way out of its dilemma. Water from the town's springs continued to drop on a daily basis as the town sought funding of $755,000 to seek and install in-stall a new reliable water source. A new system of colored runway lights at a total cost of $8,000 were installed at Panguitch Airport to signal pilots about the angle of their approach at night and during bad weather. September Garfield County Commission Chairman Tom Hatch was named a member of the National Association Associa-tion of Counties' Environment, Energy En-ergy and Land Use Steering Committee Com-mittee by NACo President Michael Stewart of Salt Lake City. NACo's 12 steering committees form the policy making arm of the organization. organiza-tion. County Commissioner Louise Liston of Escalante was appointed to the board of directors of the Western Interstate Region (WEIR), another arm of the same organization. organiza-tion. Sixteen western states belong to WEIR, a group with common concerns that focuses on western interests in-terests and presents resolutions to . the national organization for membership mem-bership vote. Heavy flash flooding on Sept. 3 in the Escalante area caused substantial sub-stantial damage to the Alvey Wash Bridge in Escalante, to another bridge over the same wash several miles west of town, to a series of crossings over the same channel southeast of town, and to a crossing at 10-Mile on the Hole-in-the-Rock Road. Jack Zovich, charged with second sec-ond degree felony theft and class A misdemeanor burglary of a vehicle, was given three years probation in Sixth District Court on Sept. 6 and ordered to make restitution of $150,000 to his victims by paying $350 a month until paid. Plant manager Jack Voris at Kaibab Forest Products said that the Phoenix-based company's sale of its Denver building materials distribution distribu-tion center will have no negative effect ef-fect on the operation at the Panguitch Pangui-tch facility. In an unusual twist, construction construc-tion on the Burr Trail continued in mid-September due to the generosity generos-ity of a Deer Creek resident long associated in the public's view with environmentalist factions opposed to its construction. Some 10 trucks were operating on a 24-hour schedule hauling gravel as Harper Construction attempted complete a section of the 66-mile road. The company began using Deer Creek water owned by Grant Johnson after work had been virtually shut down because the company's efforts to obtain water for construction use had reached a standstill. Linda Carr of Escalante was named Miss Garfield County before a record crowd at Panguitch High School where Alisha Hatch of Panguitch Pan-guitch was named her first attendant and Sherrie Mecham of Tropic was named second attendant. Sheila Syrett, as reigning Miss Garfield County, along with Jennifer Nakken, the state's Miss Utah, shared in crowning the county's new queen and her attendants. Garfield County Commissioner Louise Liston was reappointed to the Public Lands Committee Steering Steer-ing Committee of the National Association As-sociation of Counties (NACo). Liston had served for three years in the post Her reappointment gives Garfield County a significant voice in public lands issues. Garfield County commissioners appointed Than Cooper, eight-year veteran of the Panguitch Police Department, De-partment, as Garfield County's new sheriff, replacing Sheriff Robert Judd who resigned Sept. 1 to take a See 1990 Recap Page 4-a 1990 Recap From Page 3-a mid-management position with Utah Department of Corrections at its new Gunnison Facility. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver filed an order Sept. 20 denying an appeal filed by a coalition of environmentalist groups which sought an injunction to stop work on the Burr Trail. Upon his return from Washington, Washing-ton, D.C., Commission Chairman Tom Hatch reassured area residents that specific language in Senate Bill 2969, the Central Utah Project Completion Act of 1990, limits any future reservoirs on the CUP to no more than 10,000 acre-feet, but the restraints will not affect the proposed Hatch Town Dam. The board of directors of the Bryce Canyon Natural History Association As-sociation named longtime board member John W. Yardley as its new chairman, also signing a contract con-tract with Kent Wintch to serve as its new executive director, a paid position. Eighty-year-old Brad Bowman of Escalante was bound over to Sixth District Court after entering a not guilty plea to three felony charges and a class B misdemeanor. Judge David Mower found that there was sufficient evidence to bind Bowman over on production of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled con-trolled substance wit intent to distribute, dis-tribute, and failure to affix a drug stamp, all third degree felonies, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor. Bowman was charged July 27 following an early morning search of his Escalante ranch property. Judge Aldon Anderson agreed with the Denver Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals when he ruled in Salt Lake City's federal district court that he had no jurisdiction over an environmentalist charge that Garfield County is paving the Burr Trail. |