OCR Text |
Show Thanks To All Who Helped To the communities of Wayne and Garfield Counties, Several weeks ago our family arrived in Utah on Apr. 5 to look for our father and brother Gerald (Jerry) H. Ray whose car was found abandoned at Steep Creek Overlook on Highway 12. Unfortunately Un-fortunately we did not find him but what we did find is several communities of good hearted, caring people. We experienced many emotions during the four days that we spent in Wayne and Garfield Counties. It seemed that everywhere we turned there was someone to help us, like Ryan O'Ryan in Loa who helped us make flyers with pictures of our father on them and then wouldn't take any money from us. Like Ray Gardner, Kurt Taylor, Don Torgerson and Than Cooper who spent endless hours with our family on the phone and in person trying to piece together what might have happened hap-pened to our father. Weld like to thank all the store and restaurant owners for putting up the flyers of Jerry in your establishments. We continue to hope that someone some-one will see his picture and remember something. On Apr. 7, we began the search for Jerry. Our emotions were running high that morning and we hadn't slept much the night before. We were terrified of what we might find and what we might not. When we came to the overlook where the search and rescue teams were to meet, we were overwhelmed by the generosity of so many people. Our family . members were strangers to these people, but yet there were so many people giving giv-ing up their weekend to help us. It brought tears to our eyes. Everywhere we looked there were people, who were going to walk, people on 4-wheelers and people on horseback. We walked side by side with them. They shared our pain and tried to give us hope. The hugs and other offerings of kindness were truly moving. So many of us, especially those who don't live in a small community or have never lived in a small community become hardened to others around us. It seems that so many people often forgot what it means to care for other human beings. Small towns have their share of gossip and everyone knowing everyone (See LETTERS on page 3-A) Letters To The Editor From Page 2-A else's business but the people always look after one another. We feel like your communities adopted our family during the four days that we were there. The Ray and Parsons families would especially like to thank the Garfield County. Search and Rescue teams from Boulder and Escalante, the Wayne County Search and Rescue, the Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue Dog Teams, the Wayne County Sheriffs Department, the Garfield County Sheriffs Hats Off To The Scouts! A special thank you to the Scouts who did the food drive this month and to their leaders. The Panguitch LDS First Ward brought 268 pounds of food to the Panguitch Care and Share, and the 2nd Ward brought in 42 1 pounds. The food sorted by volunteers and placed on the shelves to be given to families who need assistance. It was all particularly particular-ly appreciated because a lot of the Care and Share shelves were empty. Care and Share receives food from the Utah Food Bank in Salt Lake City and much of it comes from scout drives in that area. It is shared with all the food shelT ters in Utah, but they are unable to supply enough and so local area scouts are encouraged scouts to help. Who is eligible to get food at Care and Share? Low income An Open Letter To Grazing Permittees and Lessees You may have recently received a letter from an organization organi-zation identified as the National Public t Lands Grazing Campaign. You should know who these people are and what they are really about. The organization organ-ization would be more accurately accurate-ly named the "National Public Lands Grazing Elimination Campaign" for that is their dedicated ded-icated purpose. Mr. Kerr, the author of the letter, is an outspoken opponent of public lands livestock grazing and has stated, "Advocating better bet-ter grazing of the arid West is like seeking better beating of little lit-tle children. It is not the right goal. We must fight a war of attrition. Their battle is 'better' grazing. Our battle must be no grazing". (High Country News, June 1994) Mr. Kerr was also part of the RangeNet 2000 cast whose agenda is to push cattle off public lands by the end of this decade. (Range Magazine, Spring 2002) Mr. Kerr was also the principle leader of the "Forest Wars" against the timber industry. Mr. Kerr recently mailed letters let-ters to all USFS and BLM grazing graz-ing permittees claiming that he is ieager to find common ground with federal grazing permittees!. Mr. Kerr asked ranchers to support sup-port a proposed federal buyout program utilizing 3.5 billion tax dollars to pay ranchers $175 per AUM. This buy out proposal was crafted by Mr. Kerr and his friends in order to permanently perma-nently and totally eliminate, grazing from all public lands. Mr. Kerr has stated, "We must fight a war of attrition. In the long run, environmentalists have more people, more power, and more money than do Elite Welfare Ranchers". Mr. Kerr has declared war on the livestock industry! He is not interested in "common ground" or the welfare of ranchers. Ranchers and rural Americans should visit his web site at HYPERLINK"http:www.pub- liclandsranching.org" qt www.publiclandsranching.org and learn how livestock grazing in the American West has supposedly sup-posedly caused more damage than the chainsaw and bulldozer combined. Mr. Kerr has declared a war of elitism and arrogance against supposed "Elite Welfare Ranchers". Let Mr. Kerr, your Congressional representatives, your governor, your county commissioners, your fellow ranchers and the American public know that public pub-lic lands grazing is a proud and valid use of our public lands and that rather than supporting Mr. Kerr, you support the continued stability of the Western Livestock Industry. There is no buy-out program. There is no funding for a buyout program. Mr. Kerr is offering a false deal with money he does not have. Mr. Kerr is offering Department, members of Utah Fish and Game, all volunteers who were not directly associated with these agencies, and Kathy Johnson of the Richfield Communication Center. You are all very special people. You have touched our hearts in a way that we will never forget. Leslie Ray Shelly and Andy Parsons Jim Ray Art Ray Eric Ray individuals and families, young or old, without discrimination are eligible to receive from Care and Share and there is no charge. Care and Share, located at 55 South Main in Panguitch, is open daytime hours three days a month, usually the third Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Care and Share will also open for emergencies. The telephone is 4135-676-2260 or 435-676-2509. Escalante also has a Care and Share facility. Scouts in Tropic had gathered 265 pounds of food for that center. Care and Share accepts all donations, food items or money, at any time. Again, thanks and hats off to all the scouts who did a very good job. Faye Worthen Panguitch ranchers a sugar-coated carrot stick with a designed strategy to create dissention within the livestock live-stock community in order to destroy your opportunity to graze livestock on public lands-permanently. lands-permanently. This is an important time for ranchers to strongly support their livestock industry. Mr. Kerr knows his biased agenda is in danger. The Bush Administration is developing policy in support of Congres-sionally Congres-sionally mandated multiple use and sustained yield of our public lands resources, in balance with reasonable resource protection needs. The Grand Canyon Trust's buyout program is under administrative and legal challenge chal-lenge by Kane and Garfield Counties in Utah. Mr. Kerr's show, RangeNet 2001 and its efforts to eliminate public lands grazing, received minimal support sup-port during its Arizona meeting last November. Mr. Kerr and his friends are in a last-ditch panic to gain support for their devised plan to eliminate public lands grazing. Mr. Kerr only wants your communications in a strategy to mount anti-grazi'ng support from within the livestock industry indus-try in an attempt to show Congress and others that ranching ranch-ing support exists for a national (See LETTERS on page 4-A) Letters To The Editor From Page 3-A buyout program and to create false validity for the Trust's buyout buy-out program presently under challenge. Mr. Kerr's and his friends' strategy is devious and deceitful. Their only purpose in soliciting your response is to fulfill their agenda: the total elimination of grazing from public pub-lic lands. Without your support he cannot can-not take your public lands grazing. graz-ing. If you respond to his request you will offer him support sup-port to use against continued public lands grazing interests. Let Mr. Kerr develop his destructive strategy without your help. If some day you receive a congressionally approved appro-ved offer consider it objectively. Do not give Mr. Kerr your support. sup-port. It will only help defeat the livestock industry. Stabilization of the livestock industry and the retention of livestock grazing on federal lands will do more to protect the market value of ranches and allotments for both retiring ranchers and our future ranchers and is a much more viable and preferred alternative than a pipe dream sell-out program that would permanently destroy western ranching. Instead of supporting the grazing elimination campaign we ask that you support your grazing association, the livestock live-stock industry and your rural communities. Attend meetings, read agriculture periodicals, develop a monitoring program on your allotment, document and monitor your allotment files, work with agencies in improving your allotment, work with other ranchers in requesting request-ing range improvements, continue contin-ue to practice good range stewardship. stew-ardship. Most importantly, contribute to a loud voice in support of continued public lands grazing. Our message must be heard because it is just and it is right. . If we, as ranchers, do not stand together and take part in this issue we will be taken apart by this issue. We're proud to be a Public Lands ranchers! We urge you to attend the next Canyon Country Ranchers meeting Thursday, May 16t, 7:30 p.m. at the Warner Ranch located one mile south of Hatch on Fish Hatchery Road just off Hwy 89. Tim Munns and Richard Nicholas of the Utah Cattleman's Cattle-man's Association will speak on the issue of the elimination of grazing on public lands. Worth Brown, President Brian Lamb, Secretary Treasurer Canyon Country Ranchers Association 1750 S 175 E, Kanab 84741 435-644-5963 |