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Show Inconsistent Policies On Hazardous Flooded Monument Roads Result In jjnnecessary Damages To Vehicle ESCALANTE Emergency help for motorists traveling the often dangerous roads in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Monu-ment may depend upon who's giving the orders on any given day. Recently, two vehicles, one privately pri-vately owned and the other owned by the Bureau of Land Management, Manage-ment, were totaled within days of each other, each trapped in rushing flash flood waters. Rescue efforts for each were handled under conflicting orders from BLM officials offi-cials who govern what takes place on GSENM roads and in Wilderness Study Areas in the Monument under the WSA Interim Management Manage-ment Policy. On Tuesday, Aug. 10, about 6:30 p.m., when Kanab Office Bureau of Land Management Biologist Biol-ogist Harry Barber attempted to cross 25-Mile Wash on the way to Little Egypt, the left front tire of his late model Jeep became stuck in quicksand. At that time, a flood in the wash was running about eight inches of water and about five feet across, he said, but by the time attempts to free the vehicle had failed, the skies had clouded up and it had started to rain. Waters in the wash had begun to rise. Barber said from his Kanab office on Monday that he, with two Brigham Young University researchers re-searchers who were working on a small mammal trapping project, had left Smokey Mountain Road, under clearing skies, following the 1 1 miles along Left Hand Collett Road, headed for Hole-in-the Rock Road and the 25-Mile Road turnoff that would lead to their night's camp at Little Egypt. On Left Hand Collett, they had passed the spot where Dr. Rich Allen and his friend, both of Kanab, had spent the night of Aug. 1 in their pickup at a crossing where their 1991 Dodge four-wheel drive pickup became mired at a crossing. The events that led up to the salvage of Allen's vehicle took an entirely different course, however, from the events which governed the rescue of the BLM's Jeep. With the waters rising at Little Egypt, Barber said he called the Escalante BLM office for someone to help, but by the time his help arrived, waters in the wash were running 25 feet across and six to seven feet deep and had pulled the Jeep into the turbulent stream. Unable to do anything, they all headed back to Escalante for the night. The following morning, returning return-ing with additional help, they found the Jeep about a quarter mile downstream. On their way down (See BLM VEHICLE on Page 4A) COUNTY FAIR From Front Page Break-a-way Roping, Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, Goat Tying and Roughstock. All rodeo events will take place at the arenas behind the county fair building. At noon on Friday, the Dutch Oven and Outdoor Cooking demonstration demon-stration will start, featuring R.L. (Bob) Ririe and the Skittle Guessing Guess-ing contest will begin as you enter the fair building. 4-H Demonstrations will start at 2 p.m. and Bingo will begin at 2:30. A volleyball tournament will start at 4 p.m. Teams are asked to sign up in advance by calling Tri-essa Tri-essa Ramsay at 435-679-8663. At 7:30 p.m., the Symphony of the Canyons, formerly the Kanab Civic Orchestra, will present a free concert at the county fair building. A performance of varied musical selections will be presented, including includ-ing patriotic numbers such as "American Patrol," "God Bless America," "American Frontier," "Armed Forces Salute", "This Land Is Your Land," "Stars And Stripes Forever," by John Philips Sousa, "Over The Rainbow," "Banditen Galopp," by Johann Strauss. "River Of Light," composed by Kanab musician Jeri Crosby, "Danny Boy," "Embraceable You," and "Summon The Heroes." Earlier this year, the Kanab Civic Orchestra opted to change the name of the orchestra to more fully reflect the geographical diversity of the group. The name "Symphony of the Canyons" was chosen to represent the many canyons in the area and their beauty. Members of the symphony hail from Panguitch, Kane County, Cedar City, St. George, Hurricane, Fredonia, and Page, Ariz. This summer season has also included a member from Bellevue, Wash., who is working at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The symphony performed a concert con-cert called "Celebrating The Century" Cen-tury" on the North Rim for the opening of the Grand Canyon for the summer season. They will also be performing at the Washington County Fair and doing a concert at the gazebo in Kanab, just prior to performing in Panguitch. The group also performed in a pageant called "America Remembered" on Aug. 6 and 7. A fall Halloween concert as well (See COUNTY FAIR on Page 4A) |