 |
| Photo by Bryce Nielson |
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Public Hearing on CDBG Jan 10
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
The Garden City Town Council will hold a Public Hearing on
Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 4:45 p.m.
The meeting will be held at the Garden City Office, located at 69 N.
Paradise Parkway, Building C.
AGENDA
1.
Roll Call
2.
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) 1st Public Hearing
Notice: The
Town of Garden City, Rich County, will hold a public hearing to consider
potential projects for which funding may be applied under the CDBG Small Cities
Program for Program Year 2013.
Suggestions for potential projects will be solicited, both verbally and
in writing, from all interested parties.
The expected amount of CDBG funds for this Program Year will be
discussed along with the range of projects eligible under this program and a
review of previously funded projects. The hearing will begin at 4:45 p.m. on
January 10, 2013 and will be located at 69 N. Paradise Parkway, Garden City,
Utah. Further information can be
obtained by contacting the Garden City Office at 435-946-2901.
3.
Adjournment
Posted this 27th day of December, 2012
Help Solve a Moose Murder
Someone shot a beautiful moose and left it for dead in the Sweetwater Hillside. There are rules against hunting on the Sweetwater Golf Course and Hillside. This also violates State hunting laws. We need help in identifying the arrows.
Historical Books at Library
Cathie Rasmussen, Librarian
The Garden City Library received a wonderful donation on Wednesday for their Special Collection. Two books containing genealogy, biographies, and Utah history were donated. “Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah: Portraits, Genealogies, Biographies Men Who Came by Wagon Train and Hand Cart 1847-1868” and “History of Salt Lake City” can be perused in the special collections room of the library. At a time when the Library Board has been calling for donations of local history and artifacts for the collection, this generous addition is much appreciated and will be an asset to many history buffs.
Cisco Sonar
By Bryce Neilson
One last observation that most of us have seen is Grandma
hanging out her clothes in the middle of the winter only to have them freeze
solid and then dry. This dynamic
activity is called sublimination which is when water goes from a liquid to a
solid and then due to cold from a solid directly back into a gas.
Bear Laker's
.jpg) |
| Bryce Neilson |
Winter has arrived at Bear Lake. So far my predictions of above average snow
made by observing the number of pine squirrel invading my yard is holding
true. I am just relieved that I don't
need to hear about drought and climate changes when the news stations have
nothing else to report on.
.jpg) |
| Mist On The Lake |
Winter in Bear Lake has a number of characteristics that
don't change from year to year. The fog
is the most prominent one. Now a quick
lesson in thermodynamics. As the surface
water temperature on the lake is warmer than the air temperature condensation
starts to occur. Lots of people will say
"the lake is steaming" which is incorrect. Vaporization occurs when a liquid is heated
to its boiling point at which time the liquid turns into a gas. Condensation is when a gas turns to a liquid
by cooling. On a cold winter morning, evaporation is occurring on the lake as long
as it is liquid. Evaporation is when a
water surface turns from a liquid, directly to a gas. Another unique characteristic of water. The water from evaporation is turned into a
liquid from gas by the cold air. These
little droplets or ice crystals form the fog we see.
We will see this cycle occur frequently as the winter
progresses and the lake approaches freezing.
Depending on the day, wind and temperature the whole Valley will be
filled with "cotton" as you look at it from the over look. Some days, the fog will hang over the valley,
drift to the valley floor during the night and when it lifts in the morning
everything is covered with hoarfrost.
Hoarfrost occurs when condensation (when the lake is evaporating and
cooling) freezes to solid items whose temperature are below the dew point. That is why when we have these spectacular
mornings with hoarfrost on everything you can actually determine which
materials hold heat better. Dark limbs
have less than light colored limbs and so on.
 |
| Fog on the Lake Photo by Bryce Neilson |
You get to experience a lot of things living next to a large
temperate lake. Luckily water is such a
unique matter and a more extensive education in physics and thermodynamics will
help you understand why or just read RCT.
I hope you look a fog and winter days differently now.
Rich County School Board Meeting
Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times
RANDOLPH, UTAH-December 19,
2012. At the beginning of the meeting
there was a minute of silence out of respect to Newtown and the tragedy that
had occurred there.
As the Board was signing checks,
Ralph Johnson indicated that he felt all employees should be paid monthly, not
every two weeks. That would save a
tremendous amount of office time and save the District money. This item was to be placed on next month’s
agenda.
Jaren Wadsworth was present
at the meeting with his wife and three daughters. He teaches math and science in the Rich
Middle School and had not been able to get to any of the other Board
Meetings. He was introduced to the
Board.
The Travel Guidelines Policy
was discussed. There were some wording
changes and the motion was made to adopt the travel reimbursement Policy.
There was a request to home
school which was approved.
Rich County School District
and one other district are invited to attend a dinner the first night at the
EMI (school insurance company) meetings.
It will be held at Little America Steak House on January 10, 2013, at 5
p.m. There will be time set aside for a
question and answer session.
Mr. Saby is the new School
Board Member. He has already attended the new school board member workshop
meetings and will be attending the school board meetings beginning in
January.
The Utah High School Athletic
Association held a Public Hearing concerning changing the boundaries of what
schools play each other. Rich High
School would like to keep the current way things are going but may have some
other schools added to the division.
This would mean there would be play- offs in the division prior the
state competition. That adds additional
travel and addition games where more school class time would be missed. The discussion is still open and no final
decisions have been made.
Four additional basketball
games have been added to the middle school schedule. Two are home games on Thursday nights. The other two are away but close enough that
the players will be able to travel after school to these locations.
Tributes were paid to Blair
Francis for all of his good work on the Board these past few years. Everyone noted their appreciation for his
efforts and wished him well with his future plans.
Calling Out Students Who Don't Do Homework Works Says Motta
Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times
RANDOLPH, UTAH- December 19,
2012. Kip Motta, Middle School Principal,
reported that the school holds students to high standards. Homework is necessary for students to attain
the goals that are set. Currently about
25 percent of the students are not performing up to the required proficiency
level. Every Monday morning, Motta calls
out the names of the students who need to remain after school to complete their
homework and move closer to the desired levels.
There are already five students who will be going to summer school this
coming summer.
Some parents have complained
that they do not like the name of their children called out over the loud
speaker. Motta said that this is one of
the ways that get the students working harder, because they don’t like their
names being read aloud. This practice
has become a real incentive for students to get their homework done. The staff supports the policy, and most
parents like to know weekly where their children are as far as grades and
homework goes.
Students who attend summer
school and do not pass are required to take their last year of school
over. Having the student remain at the
junior high for one additional year before they move on to the High School
sometimes works. Sometimes it doesn’t. However, at the high school level, if they
are not successful, they will be given a certificate of attendance, not a
diploma.
It was suggested that Motta
use the student’s ID number instead of their name in calling out the students
who need to remain after school. He
indicated that he would be more than happy to try this and see how it
works. However, if the students don’t
respond as well using this method, he will probably go back to reading out
names because this policy has been very effective in the past.
Governor's Education Budget Discussed
Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times
Christine Kearl was to be
present at the School Board Meeting and was listed on the agenda. She, however, had been held up in meetings at
the Governor’s office. Superintendent
Lamborn told the Board that she wanted to report on the way educational items
are being released from the Governor’s office that is supposed to fund and
foster education.
She was also going to talk
about a committee called Leadership of Prosperity made up of businessmen. They are particularly interested in getting
young people in Utah with enough background and education to step into the
business world. There is also an
Excellence Commission who has set as their goal to obtain a 90 percent average
graduation rate. They have established
an eight-year long-range plan to try and accomplish this.
Several days ago, the
Governor presented a budget plan indicating that next year’s budget would be
kinder to education. However, he had
$1.67 million set aside for education. The
Committee of businessmen had asked for $2 million in order to meet the goals
that have been set. Hopefully, the
Governor will rethink this issue and at least fund education to the needed
level to move the State forward.
Most people want to see Utah
grow. If this is to happen, more money
has to go to education. People moving here
to work want to have good schools for their children. Schools and their reputations are usually
some of the first items people check out prior to accepting work in the
State.
One-To-One Technology Initiative
Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times
Rich Civic Times
RANDOLPH, UTAH- December 19,
2012. The Middle School and High School
both would like to move toward having a computer for every student called
one-to-one technology. Currently the
High School will be at that point with the purchase of the 30 computers that
have already been approved for the coming year.
The Middle School, however, is not that close.
The current trend is to load
all textbooks onto the computers as well as necessary classroom and drill
software. This is the direction things
are going. There are actually two
different operating systems, the Apple and the Windows environment. Currently, the school has the Microsoft
Windows software because it is set up to control and work with groups of
students. This would be a suggested way
at the present time. The school would
not have to buy nearly as much software because management of the students and
classes is already in place. The devices
that work with the windows environment are called net books.
Casey Johnson, the technical
person for the District, had both an Ipad and a net book to show to the
Board. He noted that the textbooks will
have to be bought and downloaded but that there would not be additional
software purchased. With the Ipad, there
would need to be approximately $500 for software for each of the machines
purchased.
Canvas is currently the
software used by most post secondary schools and would be ideal for the submission
of assignments and things from the students.
Not only is it efficient, but would make going away to school much
easier for the students.
It was noted that several
districts have gone to one student, one computer. Each student is assigned a machine which is
theirs throughout their schooling. This
means that as they take care of the equipment, it continues to work well and do
a good job for them. If they are
careless or damage the machine, they are required to make restitution if it is
their fault. Seniors will be given the
oldest machines since they only have one year left. The new machines will be given to freshmen to
use for the next four years. There are
still lots of questions to answer and problems to work out.
The Board asked Johnson to
continue to investigate and refine what is needed in order to move forward with
technology in the Rich County Schools.
Winter in Bear Lake Valley
 |
| Doug and Elaine Alder |
By Doug Alder, Historian
The original settlers to Bear Lake Valley knew they would
encounter intense winters. That is why
Brigham Young chose Salt Lake Valley over Cache Valley and Bear Lake Valley
that some fur trappers recommended as preferable for the Mormon settlers. The
church leaders waited for 15 years before considering Bear Lake seriously. Then
they undertook the effort partly because the 1862 Homestead Act could have
attracted “outsiders” there. They wanted
the valley to be part of the Mormon empire.
Knowing that the winters there could be severe, they undertook it
anyway. The winters indeed fulfilled
their expectations but they also provided a greater supply of water than
elsewhere in Utah.
In his book A History
of Rich County, Robert Parson includes this report of continuing
winters: “A resident of Laketown
commented in 1884 that ‘never, even during the experience of the oldest
inhabitants, has there been so much snow upon the ground as at present.’ Two to three feet of snow covered the valley
with drifts up to eight feet deep. This
kind of precipitation, occurring for a ten-year period from the mid-1870s to
the mid-1880s, made supplemental irrigation in some cases unnecessary.” (p.79)
Nearly a century later my wife, Elaine, and I were invited
to Laketown to speak to the high school students during the winter. As I recall, there were six of them in the
senior class. When we got to Garden City
in freezing weather, we turned south.
The snow was piled high on the side of the road, higher than the roof of
the car. We were frankly
frightened. We did not know if our old
car would make the return trip. We
confided that to the principal. He had a
colleague address the problem. He put a
large piece of cardboard over the front of our radiator so that the freezing
air would not get into the engine on the trip home.
As we watch the news each evening in St. George, we have
kept close track of the snow level at Bear Lake for 35 years. We know that our friends there have often
seen three feet of snow, especially on the Sweetwater Hill, and that they have
to get professional snow plowers to clear roads so they can get to their
homes. That is likely why the population
of the county is still modest and why summertime visitors enjoy the quietude
and richness of the vegetation when we arrive in the spring. Please keep shoveling.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Have a Merry Christmas!
 |
| Garden City Second Ward Nativity 2012 Photo by Lauriann Wakefield
Christmas
Ann
and I were born and grew up in Utah but moved to Seattle, Washington in September
of 1956 when Ann was nineteen and I was 21.
We had a brand new baby, born in August, a brand new job paying $1.75 an hour,
no money in the bank, no arrangements for a place to live, and a hazy future. I headed to Seattle without Ann so that I
could get processed into my new job and find a place we could rent. Ann and the baby stayed with Ann's parents while
I was house hunting, and while she was recovering from the birth plus the shock
of moving away from her family right in the middle of trying to learn the ins
and outs of motherhood.
I
probably wouldn't have made it those first few weeks except that my dad gave me
twenty dollars to help me with expenses as I was leaving for Seattle. Even then the only thing I could afford was to
rent a bed in an attic room shared with another fellow who I didn't know. There were no cooking facilities and so I
just bought a sandwich wherever I could find one at a price low enough to
afford. Once I had gotten my first pay
check I found a little two bedroom house to rent for $95/month and sent for
Ann. Her parents moved her, the baby,
and all our belongings to Seattle. It
took one very small U-Haul trailer and a few things in the trunk of their
DeSoto car. We lived in the Seattle area
for the next fifty years, but we drove to Utah almost every year to spend
Christmas with Ann's family in Porterville, a little farming community just outside
of Morgan, Utah. Vic and Zylpha Shaw,
Ann's parents, had lived in that little 150-year old house since early in their
marriage.
Over
the years the roads we traveled between Seattle and Porterville varied from dry
to wet to blizzards to solid ice, but every year we returned to Porterville for
Christmas .... like lemmings to the sea.
One Christmas we wrecked our new car, but pushed on to Porterville by
bus because that was our tradition.
Spending Christmas anywhere else was unacceptable to us and our
children. The home of Ann's parents, were
we stayed, was small with one tiny bathroom, but the kitchen was big and so was
the love that we all felt there. Christmas
eve was hot, homemade chili cooked on a coal stove, and pan-fried bread made
fresh from dough rolled and kneaded by Zylpha on the kitchen table. Outside it was cold, but inside it was warm
because Zylpha carried buckets of hand selected coal and tended the big
fireplace that heated the front room.
Napping on the floor in front of that fireplace was a warm and
delightful way to spend a lazy afternoon.
Remember
that Christmas is first about Him whose birthday we celebrate, and then it is
about family and tradition and caring about others. To Quote Thomas S. Monson, "...our opportunities to love and give
of ourselves are indeed limitless, but they are also perishable. Today there are hearts to gladden, kind words
to say, deeds to be done...." So
from the Muddled Male and Ann, his wife, we hope that you have a Christmas
filled with the happiness of family and traditions of love. And if you are faced with challenges we wish
you understanding and hope.
|
Ice Center Party, New Year's Eve
Mon, December 31, 7pm – Tue, January 1, 2013, 12am
WhereGeorge S. Eccles Ice Center / 2825 N. 200 E. / North Logan, UT (map)
The George S. Eccles Ice Center will host a New Year’s Eve celebration for all ages. Three live bands will play 60's, 70's and 80’s music all night. There will be dancing, ice skating and entertainment for the children. The cost is $10 per person.
There is an optional dinner which includes a steak or chicken fajita bar, rice, beans and dessert catered by Café Sabor for an additional charge of $10 (advanced notice needed). Please go to www.ecclesice.com for more details. Bring your date, bring the neighbors and the kids and come help bring in the new year with the community at the Eccles Ice Center.
A Science Festival in Logan for Kids
Thursday, December 27, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
WhereWhittier Center 290 N 400 E Logan, UT
4th Annual Faraday's Holiday Event - A Festival of Science for Kids!
Exciting, Hands-on Science Activities for Kids of all Ages!
Keynote speaker: Amber Stokes, USU Biology Graduate Student
Suggested donation: Kids (5-15) $1 / Adults $2
www.starhousediscovery.org
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Go Swimming! On New Years Eve!
The Garden City pool has been opened for the winter on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5p.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. It will be open on New Years Eve from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
There is a $3 charge for swimming in the beautiful pool! Or you can buy a family pass for $75 which gives you 150 swims!
There is a $3 charge for swimming in the beautiful pool! Or you can buy a family pass for $75 which gives you 150 swims!
Paddle Boats...Summer Will Come
Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times
GARDEN CITY- December 13,
2012. Lance and Jackie Bourn reported on their business that was allowed to
operate in the Park last summer. They
would very much like to renew this license for the coming summer. They would like to get started on advertising
for the next season. As part of the
agreement for being able to rent the paddle boats, they agreed to clean that
section of the beach and keep it clean.
They also cleaned the rest rooms twice a day, trimmed the trees, and
cleaned the boardwalk.
They discovered that they
needed to have the paddle boards on the beach and use that location for the
rentals. As a result, they put up a
canopy and stored the paddle boats in the restrooms each night.
The found that about 85 percent
of the people who rented the paddle boats had never used them before. They found themselves in the teaching
business as well as the rental business.
They tried to make sure that everyone had an enjoyable time. They had a great number of people on FaceBook
who said they enjoyed their experience.
They noted the business was not a big money maker, but that they would
really like to follow through and try again this coming summer.
Several of the Council
Members indicated that they had given this opportunity to the Bourns, but the
whole idea was based on the plan of allowing a bidding process to be held in
order to determine who had the opportunity to use that location after the first
year. They asked the Bourns to wait
until next month so that the Council Members could listen to the minutes from
last spring to make sure they followed through on what had been decided in that
previous meeting.
New Well for Garden City
Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times
GARDEN CITY –December 13,
2012. Zan Murray, the City’s Engineer,
reported that he had been working on making arrangements to get a well in the
new park. It was his understanding that
the City needs a secondary water source as well as redundancy in the City’s
water system. He and Riley Argyle have
found three or four drilling companies that would be willing to bid on this
project. Most drilling companies charge
about $80 to $100 per foot along with other expenses. Mr. Argyle has obtained a permit to drill to
the depth of 200 feet. This would be
just to drill for a test well and will cost about $50,000 - $100,000. Mr. Argyle reported that there was a lot more
involved in getting a culinary well than was expected.
There is a leak in the
pond. There is a leakage test that can
be run on sewer ponds to determine where a leak may be. The workers thought they might use this
method to determine where the leak was in the fish pond and hopefully be able
to seal it off.
The Mayor informed Argyle and
Murray that in just the past couple of days, two new grants have come through
dealing with culinary water for Garden City.
One grant was for $40,000 from the State’s Drinking Water Division, and
the other was also for $40,000 from a CIB (Utah Community Impact Board)
grant. Since these funds have just
become known and available, the Mayor felt that these funds should be put
towards doing a water study to make sure that the well will be placed in the
best location to give the Community the necessary needed water. The study could also cover how the water is
to be handled along Third West and make sure that the best decisions will be
made prior to drilling.
If a good well can be drilled
that will produce enough water to handle the City during the winter months, it
may be possible to shut down the water treatment plant during that time
period. This would save around $4,000 a
month in electricity and heating costs at the water treatment plant alone. This would not reduce or change water
bills. The water treatment plant must
still be paid for. However, it would
allow the city to put the savings to good use in other ways that could benefit
everyone in the community. The Mayor
also informed the Council that he is trying to get the current 4.5 percent
interest rate on the loan for the water treatment plant lowered to 2.5 percent
interest. This would save the City money
because the loan is over a 30-year time period.
Garden City Public Works Report
Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times
GARDEN CITY – December 13,
2012. Riley Argyle, Garden City Public
Works, noted that he had been working with JUB on the new well design. He noted that the highway bathrooms are all
but complete. One fan needs some
additional work and there was a manufacturing defect in the lights. He asked that the City hold back enough
liquidated damages to take care of these items but felt the contractor could be
paid the majority of the contract price.
The Payne Spring project has
been completed. Ted Wilson got his meter
in place and the City has finished up all the work they agreed to do
there. Everything there seems to be
working really well and the spring seems to be producing more water than
expected. Mr. Argyle indicated that
every gallon from the spring helps the City.
There is another well that
might be beneficial to the City. It is
located near the Idaho line. However,
the city needs to get a camera and check the well out to see if there are
perforations and how deep it goes. It
will cost about $1,000 to check this well out.
Argyle has been working with
the Paul Corporation. He indicated that
perhaps the City could save about $1,000 to $2,000 a month if the filters were
cleaned quarterly instead of monthly. Currently
the water going through the filters is really clear. It is only in the early spring when there is
a bit of cloudiness in the water. Since
that is the case, less cleaning is certainly a possibility.
Landscaping around the water
treatment plant is all most complete.
There is still a bit of light cleanup that will be needed to finish it
up.
Third West will have a water
line going south along that road. This
needs to be engineered to determine its exact location and should be included
in the new water study.
The snow fence along First
West really helped in the snow storms that have blown through so far this
year. Snow fence was also placed along
700 West and in Buttercup. The radios
are in the trucks. The broken heater at
the plant has been replaced. The new
truck has arrived and is really nice. A
new GIS unit needs to be purchased so that the City can continue to get all the
water and electrical locations mapped.
There are still two meters
that need to be placed on homes on the Idaho side. These two will require excavation
and checking and will have to wait until spring to finish up that work.
Agreements have been signed
with Elk’s Ridge. It has taken a lot of
time and effort to get the needed information as to who owns what in that
area. The City does now own the property
where the water tank is located.
Garden City Audit
Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times
GARDEN CITY – December 13,
2012Tiffany Wahlberg presented the results of the City audit. She noted that the audit was late because
there were some changes that had to be made prior to completing the audit. She reported that the net assets are up as
well as the unrestricted assets. There
were several inter-fund transfers and some large adjustments that put the City
over budget in some areas. Mrs. Wahlberg said she would be spending some time
in June this coming year with the City Clerk in order to make sure the needed
transfers and changes were made prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Public safety money is sent
to the County Sheriff’s Office and needs to be shown as a payable. The City also needs to budget for the
depreciation for the water treatment plant.
Some motions also need to be made during June in order to make sure that
all adjustments are in order.
Mrs. Wahlberg noted that the
City is in good shape, and the City has done very well in staying within their
overall budget.
Sign Ordinance in Garden City
Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times
GARDEN CITY- December 13,
2012 Andy Stokes, the Garden City Enforcement Officer, requested that the
Council Members read through the updated sign ordinance. The original ordinance was written in general
enough language that it wasn’t possible to enforce. The updated one will allow Mr. Stokes to
approach business owners requesting that they pull their signs into compliance
with the City’s ordinance. Mr. Stokes
noted that the ordinance allows for higher signs in the downtown area while
signs will have lower profiles along entrances into town.
One Council Member asked why
a contractor was required when signs were built and put in place. Mr. Stokes noted that the City does not want
to be responsible for signs that are not properly grounded and have a
possibility of falling. Mr. Stokes
indicated that there are a lot of illegal signs in the city, and temporary
signs are currently almost impossible to track as to the length of time they
have been in place. All of these items
have been addressed in the ordinance.
Garden City Council
Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times
Rich Civic Times
GARDEN CITY-December 13,
2012. Council Member Bess Huefner informed the Council that the Bear Lake
Community Clinic has filled out an application for a CDBG (Community
Development Block Grant) Grant for dental equipment. The City will need to hold a public hearing
for this grant and sign the application because the Clinic is within the City
limits.
Council Member Pat Argyle
asked the Council to approve the appointment of Robert Peterson, Kathryn
Warner, and Jeffrey Probst as members of the Library Board. The was done.
She reported that a class at the pool was canceled after only a class or
two. She asked that the people who had
enrolled needed to be reimbursed for the cost of the class. She also asked that anyone with a punch pass
be able to use it even if there was an expiration date on the pass. The Council approved allowing anyone with a
valid punch pass be allowed to use it regardless of the passage of time.
Council Member Darren Pugmire
reported that the top soil at Heritage Park has not been moved. He noted that the time given to the
individual who was going to move this soil has expired. He suggested that the City let that
individual know that the soil reverts to the City and will be used by the City
for some of their projects.
Danny White, the City
Manager, informed the City that approval had been given to the City to put up
the new city lights within the UDOT easement.
He noted that all the requirements that had been demanded by the State
for these lights has been met, and these lights will be placed as close to the
sidewalks as is possible.
New Canal Easment Rules
Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times
Rich Civic Times
GARDEN CITY –December 13, 2012. George Peart, Building Inspector, reported
that there are currently 14 new homes being built in the City. Mr. Peart expressed concern with the homes
that are close to the canals. He noted
that the State of Utah has changed requirements in building next to a canal and
that 100' from the center line of the canal is the new law. He suggested that the Planning and Zoning
Commission become aware of the new laws and make sure that canals play a larger
role in whether or not permission be given to subdivisions and developers.
Mr. Peart reported that
currently in Rich County canal easements are not platted. He suggested that these canal easements be
platted so that everyone is more aware of how much space needs to be left to
provide canal safety. Mr. Peart also
noted that the canal companies need to play a much larger role in keeping
people informed of the current laws concerning building next to a canal. It was decided that the canal companies need
to have a signature line on subdivision plats for the canal company’s officer
to sign off on such building plans.
Mr. Danny White said that he
has created a map that shows the high risk areas in Garden City. He noted that there are several sensitive
land areas that should be considered when development is suggested. He encouraged the Planning and Zoning people
to become aware of the most recent water laws passed by the State.
Mr. Peart also reported to
the Council that he is currently working on a commercial building inspector
license. The Council encouraged him to
continue to work in this direction because it will be most helpful in this
area.
Ice Plunge is Coming
Bear Lake Monster Plunge
January 26, 1013
Located at the Bear Lake State Park
Marina, Garden City, UT
Friday, December 21, 2012
Cisco Sonar - Christmas Bird Count
Bryce Neilson
I am sure that everyone is getting ready for the
Holidays. That means I will once again
be involved in the Bear Lake Christmas Bird Count. Over the last ten years, a small core group
of birders from Cache Valley come over to participate with a few of us from
here. The annual Audubon Christmas Bird
Count is a national event that covers most of North America. It was started years ago by the Audubon
Society in an attempt to develop trend data on regional bird numbers using
volunteer birdwatchers. Different areas
were established and people went out, observed, identified and counted birds.
Bear Laker's
.jpg) |
| Bryce Neilson (Not a Bird) |
 |
| Sawhut Owl |
 |
| Virgina Rail |
 |
| Chickadee |
Dennis Austin, a wildlife biologist from Cache Valley, now
retired, started the Bear Lake Count. He
felt that it was important to document what species of birds were wintering
here at the Lake. Trying to get
participants has been a challenge over the years. There just doesn’t seem to be many bird
watchers here. You don’t need to be a
member of the Audubon Society, just someone interested in birds. The count will occur December 27, regardless of weather. We have done them in the sun, blizzards and
when it is so cold you can barely make it out of the truck. You count the birds in your area, but nowhere
else to avoid duplication. I know that
lots of people feed birds around the lake and in recent years these numbers
have been included. At the end of the
day Dennis collects and tallies the count information and submits it to the
Audubon Society. All of the bird counts
from all over are then combined and published in a magazine.
Obviously the species and numbers change throughout the years with
environmental conditions but every year we see new species, don’t see birds we
had seen before and generally have a
good time, outside, with our binoculars.
It even helps me with my infamous weather predictions associated with
wildlife. We are always looking for
volunteers and we will be happy to train.
Just let me know.
Pictures by Bryce Neilson
Garden City, The Last Town in Bear Lake Valley
Doug Alder, Historian
 |
| Doug and Elaine Alder |
When one drives into Bear Lake Valley from Logan, the first
community one sees is Garden City.
Ironically it was the last village founded. The towns in Round Valley and Laketown were
established by individual families instead of by planned Mormon missions, but
they followed the layout plans of the villages in the north. After they were functioning, the land in the
Garden City area became enticing. It had
less agricultural opportunity because it was not as expansive but a water
project in Fish Haven enticed people to move there. Phineas W. Cook had established a sawmill and
gristmill at Swan Creek. He was an
entrepreneur and innovator. He realized
that farmland in Fish Haven was limited and he began to look south and realized
that a thousand acres was available there.
In 1877 he and his sons began work on the Swan Creek Canal that would
send water in that direction.
Hearing of that possibility, four families moved there. Cook
built the canal to the site and intended it as a profit-making venture. He knew that the land was a bit lower than
the other towns and believed it would be very good for gardens. So instead of having farms outside town, he
set up large town lots to be the site for such vegetable and fruit
gardens. Most Mormon towns had ten-acre
blocks with eight one-acre lots. He set
up the blocks with narrower streets and eight-acre blocks with each family
receiving two acres instead of one. His
predictions were correct. The town soon
became a successful gardening town.
Some had suggested Bellview as the name for the town but the
gardening success led to the name Garden City.
Cook anticipated that the canal could water 800 acres. The vegetable crops grew well. An LDS congregation was organized with
William Wright presiding. Directly south
a similar pattern began in Pickleville.
Later Nathanial M. Hodges purchased land south of that and established
the Hodges Ranch that was expanded exponentially, up to what is now known as
Hodges Canyon and to the lake, where recreational facilities would later be
developed.
Robert E. Parson says: “The history of Garden City is not
one of larger ranches and livestock but rather one associated with small,
specialized operations such as the cultivation of the raspberry introduced by
Theodore Hildt in 1910. Additionally,
Garden City, more than Laketown, became most strangely associated with Bear
Lake itself. . . with the blue waters and sandy beaches of Bear Lake.” (A History of Rich County, p. 108)
Garden City Dance Recital
 |
| Garden City Dance Recital with Carly England, Sophie Gough, Madison Moldenhaur, Jack Wakefield, Morgan Ward and Miley Wride |
 |
| Photos by Lauriann Wakefield |
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Look For The Helpers
As we have witnessed a horrendous tragedy in Connecticut, everyone of us is touched by the outpouring of love for those who suffer. My daughter, Wendy, sent me a quote by Mr. Rogers.
"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world."
I am reminded of the helpers when we see the outpouring of love for those in our own community who are struggling during these holidays. We pray for each other and we do acts of service. If we continue this, then the world will become a wonderful place. Just look for and be one of the helpers.
"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world."
I am reminded of the helpers when we see the outpouring of love for those in our own community who are struggling during these holidays. We pray for each other and we do acts of service. If we continue this, then the world will become a wonderful place. Just look for and be one of the helpers.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Garden City Library Statistics 2012
Letter to Editor: Swan Creek Power Plant
To The Editor:
I would like to make the suggestion to have the city look into
generating their own power for the water treatment plant. They could use water
powered generation using the Swan Creek water current. It is one of the older
uses of generating power and is in use all over the world.
It wouldn't have to be a large one and it would be City Owned and
operated. If you talk to the area old timers Swan Creek was the first power
plant production in the area.
It would be interesting to check into getting a bid and find out
how long it would take to pay for itself with the savings. The existing buried
line from Rocky Mountain Power could be used as a back up if and when needed.
The money saved may also help to pay off the water treatment loan which in turn
could lower the monthly water rates for the citizens.
Jim Schnetzer
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)