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Show Escalante Valley Citizens Ask . Commission Help In a move designed to secure both more electrical power and Improved roads, delegates from the Esualante Valley met with the Iron County Commissioners, Monday August 2, seeking county coun-ty assistance toward their declared de-clared ends. Representing the people of this rapidly developing develop-ing agricultural area were W. E. Thompson, Jack Moyle, J. E. Thompson, and Cecil Gibson. Lamont E. Tueller, Iron county agricultural agent, told the commission com-mission that he estimates that already this year over a half-million half-million dollars have been lost in the Escalante Valley because of insufficient electrical power to operate water pumps used to Irrigate Ir-rigate planted crops. The delegation pointed out to the commissioners that a lack of proper roads is also retarding the area's potential development. During adverse weather, Escalante Escal-ante Valley residents find it extremely ex-tremely difficult to transport their children to public schools and their produce to railheads and other shipping areas, the group staged. The commission voted to study stu-dy the area and from this inspection in-spection trip it will formulate plans for further road work in the area. An appropriation of $300 to assist as-sist the Rural Electrification Authority project which is being sponsored jointly by Iron, Kane and Washigton counties to provide pro-vide more power to the southwestern south-western part of the state was voted vot-ed by the commission. Former Judge LeRoy H. Cox, of St. George, president and Commissioner Com-missioner H. L. Adams, first vice president of the Southwest Utah Power and Development Corporation Corpor-ation which is attempting to secure se-cure financial aslstance from the REA to construct a dam at the narrows of Zion canyon and for the building of a huge steam generating plant near this site, said that for this purpose there is an almost unlimited supply of Cannel coal in Kane county. It is estimated that the by products derived from this type coal would completely pay for the operation of the plant. Dam storage water would be used for irrigation in Washington county. Anthony Isom, Hurricane, second sec-ond vice president of the corpora-tion, corpora-tion, at the present time is attempting at-tempting to secure the support of pumpers throughout the involved in-volved counties in an effort to overcome all opposition to the plan. Further plans call for the purchase pur-chase of the Southern Utah Pow-er Pow-er Company which would make it possible for the firm to completely com-pletely control all power consumed con-sumed in the southwestern portion por-tion of the state. |