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Show . 'n c . . ) r- ! - - 1 - . ' ; i , i . 1 , :' t . -' S k ' ' , " ;1 .:. f i '. - I. , ; . "t i ;rK " - - A - :- J, I A I , ; , , . ,' -'- u 1 .. .. .. ... - - . . . 4 L " " inr"" T - - - - i Retired U.S. Congressman Jim Hansen displays dis-plays with pleasure the painting by prominent promi-nent Escalante artist Lynn Griffin which was presented to him at last week's By Toni Thayer PANGUITCH Some 50 people attended the Garfield Republican Convention held at the Panguitch Triple C Arena last Thursday, Apr. 3, as conventioneers conven-tioneers honored retired Congressman Jim Hansen for his many years of public serv- Garfield County Republican Convention by Garfield County Commissioners on behalf of Garfield County for his many years of friendship. Garfield County GOP Honors Retired U.S. Congressman Jim Hansen ice. Bill Cox, Chairman of the Garfield County Republican Party welcomed the official speakers and the public, and introduced Joe Thompson of Escalante who offered the opening open-ing prayer. Introductory ceremonies included posting of the flags by the Panguitch High School Color Guard, all members of the 2nd Battalion, 222nd Field Artillery of the Utah National Guard, and recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Bill Cox. A very unique Navajo translation of the Star Spangled Banner was sung by Michelle Thomas, and Neucille Yardley of Panguitch provided the background back-ground music. Cox noted that several of the Color Guard's national units had already been deployed to Iraq and the young men from Panguitch High School would be joining them upon completion comple-tion of high school and basic training. Elaine Baldwin of Panguitch recited a patriotic poem, "The Biggest and Best Flag Ever Flown." State Senator Tom Hatch began the introductions for Congressman James V. Hansen, the evening's keynote speaker. Louise Liston, former Garfield County Commissioner, had been scheduled to do the honors, but was unable to attend due to illness. From her prepared notes Senator Hatch read, "Congressman "Congress-man Hansen is a true friend to Garfield County. He was true to his word that he would help. He never lost touch." Congressman Hansen said he remembered a question he had once asked Louise, "How much (See HANSEN on page 3A) Hansen From Front Page does wilderness help your county?" coun-ty?" He gave Liston's reply, "Wilderness brings hikers and backpackers. They do very little for our economy. They come into our towns with a 20- dollar-bill dollar-bill and a pair of shorts, and don't change either of 'em while they're there." Escalante Mayor Lenza Wilson had words of praise for Hansen on his help for local sawmills, "Congressman Hansen has been instrumental in keeping our communities alive, particularly Escalante and Panguitch. His help and support has kept us going." Mayor Wilson also presented Mrs. Hansen with a corsage in appreciation appre-ciation for her giving up privacy and sacrificing family time in the name of politics. In behalf of the county, Garfield County Commissioners presented a gift to Congressman Hansen. Dodds made the presentation, pres-entation, a painting by Escalante artist Lynn Griffin, depicting Powell Point with two deer in the foreground, positioned just in the moment before butting heads. Commissioner Ramsay explained that the picture was perfect for Congressman Hansen because Powell Point, also known as Escalante Mountain, but more correctly named the Aquarius Plateau, is representative representa-tive of the county's landscape and, "Congressman Hansen has never been afraid to butt heads or lock homs on anything. So, when you look at it, think about Garfield County and how much we love you. "Upon accepting the gift, Hansen noted, "For 22 years I've been butting heads with members of Congress. It's been a very interesting experience." (See HANSEN on page 5A) County GOP Honors Hansen From Front Page Hansen went into the history of Clinton's designation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), "We didn't know about it. The Governor got a call at two in the morning. We were told that it would be the smallest acreage, and I couldn't believe it when I saw that he President Bill Clinton locked up the Kaiparowits Plateau." Hansen received applause and cheers from the audience when he exclaimed that they were going to reduce the size of the GSENM and remove the Kaiparowits Plateau from, the monument boundaries. He noted, "Clinton said we can't have mines everywhere. That's true, we can only have mines where there's ore." ' As far as energy and the price of rising gasoline, Hansen felt that America should have achieved Nixon's goal to be totally independent of foreign energy sources by the year 1980. "We haven't developed environmentally friendly energy." ener-gy." The U.S. energy bill has passed the House and is now on shaky ground in the Senate. "The Senate hasn't done very much. Senators Tom Daschle and Harry Reid have blocked everything," Hansen said. The Iraqi war, he stated, is not about oil. "The idea that Bush is doing this for oil is poppycock. pop-pycock. Anyone can buy oil from Hussein." Hansen answered his own question, is the war justified? "No one wants to go to war, but Saddam Hussein is one horrible man. He'd drop bombs on Washington, D.C. or Garfield County in a minute. He blew up one son-in-law, and he kills children. chil-dren. The President has very little lit-tle choice but to take this guy out." He likened Hussein with Hitler and defined both "as the worst men for our country". Hansen talked about the U.S. all voluntary military and gave thanks for our soldiers overseas, "Bless these kids who've gone over there. If there's one man who should die, it should be Saddam." The crowd cheered loudly at Hansen's remark, "This war is another reason for reconsidering getting us out of the United Nations. I appreciate the President saying, 'We'll do it alone.' Other pre-emptive strikes were Panama, Granada, and think about Brigham Young and Johnson's Army. Those were all pre-emptive strikes." Hansen's speech was followed fol-lowed by the Garfield Teenage Republicans (TARS) business report. Last year they were able to raise funds to send two officers offi-cers to the National Convention, and they've set their sights higher high-er this year with the hopes of sending more attendees. Laurie Talbot gave a special thanks to Ada Cox, "There would be no TARS without her." Marty Stephens, speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, talked about Garfield County's team of elected elect-ed officials. "Rep. Mike Noel has hit the ground running. You should be proud of your two reps; they are not wallflowers." Stephens is also looking forward for-ward to working with Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, "He's not afraid to stand up on issues when he knows he's right." State Senator Tom Hatch reported report-ed on the public education bill, "It was a weighty and difficult bill. I didn't get all that I wanted, want-ed, but we did get major reform. In the future, a high school degree will mean something." Garfield County voiced their collective support for President Bush and the war in Iraq to State Representative Mike Noel, "We supported our President. We stood behind him," he said. Rep. Noel went on, "We passed the RS2477 roads bill and the state lands bill. The Monument lawsuit comes up in July, and we can cut it down in size and develop resources and opportunities for school children." chil-dren." Bill Cox later commented that Noel had shown unusually effective leadership for a freshman fresh-man legislator in having a maximum max-imum number of bills he sponsored spon-sored successfully passed. "We're trying to do what's right for Utah, and I'm proud to represent the good people from Garfield County. It's in these rural communities where the value of America is born and . shaped." Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said his office has received the green light to bring appropriate action into the State of Utah, "We're going to intervene inter-vene on the Western-Livestock grazing suit and bring suit for Box Elder and two other counties coun-ties on grazing." He went to say, "When President Bush took office, we expected to see a change in policy pol-icy at the Dept. of Interior. Instead, they're still using the Babbitt handbook, and we're asking why." |