The Polar Plunge! The Fifth Year of Madness!

Itedal Iskander recently from Syria
and Bear Lake Community Clinic Pharmacist Richard Ballam before the Plunge.
Photos by Bobbie Coray


Richard Ballam, AFTER!

 

 

Bear Lake Yacht Club getting ready for the Polar Plunge
Photos by Bobbie Coray

A family from Sandy, Utah making the jump together!

 

Representative Mel Brown Reports to School Board

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times 

RANDOLPH, Utah.  January 15, 2014.  State Legislator Mel Brown noted that there was $338 million left in the budget at the end of the year.  $206 million will take care of some of the ongoing school expenses.  One hundred thirty-two million is one-time money that was left over and most has been assigned to be used in education.  However, there is a $25 million deficit in the general fund that must be made up.  Another problem the State faces is money to cover student growth. An increase of 1 ¼ percent per pupil comes to an additional $85 million.  Also the State needs to help school districts pay for the additional benefits that are required. “When you look at all of these things, it can be seen that there is not much money for new programs.  Money is a real challenge,” said Brown. 

The upcoming legislature has 86 new pieces of legislation that will affect the schools.  Senator Osmond has called for doing away with compulsory education deeming it to be the parent’s responsibility.  At the same time, he is asking that no restraints be placed on the charter schools and home schools. 

The $495 million bond failed in the Jordan School District.  “There is a brand new school in Draper that is so extravagant it is unbelievable.  Yet, the Jordan School District right next to Draper is so crowded they are having problems accommodating all of the students.  Draper went wild with the money they had and now want to take money from other Districts to help with ongoing expenses.  Money is going to be a real fight in the upcoming session.  There are going to be some real challenges” Brown said.  

Brown noted that he was very disappointed with the course offerings in the concurrent enrollment programs.  USU Eastern in Vernal promised they would take over and make sure delivery of courses would be taken care of.  Snow College was willing to step in when not all of the expected classes materialized and made a commitment to help.  Snow is now in the process of getting a new President.  Hopefully, he will follow through.  Snow has actually had some struggles, and Brown said that no one knows exactly what the new president, Gary Carlson, from Logan originally, will decide to do. 

Rich County Board Members noted that they didn’t care who provided the courses, just so they were available and the students were able to take what they need.  Brown noted USU has a broad state-wide network but doesn’t seem to be willing to fight for the cliental that exists.  USU was originally given the responsibility to take care of the concurrent enrollment program and has failed school districts like Rich County. 

Currently there are more students and the same amount of money available.  This means the amount per student is going down each year.  The quality of education generally suffers when this happens. 

Higher education is currently having a struggle.  When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dropped the missionary age, it took a real toll on higher education.  These institutions are unsure of the future.  Higher education does have some new commissioners who appear to be willing to work with the legislature.  Hopefully, the Council of Presidents will also work with the legislature as well. 

The legislative session this year will be different and difficult, Brown said.  There is the problems of  legalizing gay marriage which is going to take time and a lot of dialogue. There are also issues with the attorney general’s office.  Since Swallow resigned, the state investigation has stopped.  However, writing the written report and tying up all the loose ends has cost the state over four million dollars.  Currently the State Government is also spending money to appeal the legalization of gay marriage. 

Mel Brown would like to see the Federal Government turn over all their lands to the State.  The Federal Parks would be excluded, of course.  Currently 70 percent of Utah is federally owned.  These lands either sold or leased would then give the state enough revenue in taxes to make sure all schools have what they need.   

Growth predictions in Utah say that by 2050 (36 years) the population will double.  Seventy percent of the growth will be located along the Wasatch Front.  There will become less and less influence from the rural areas.  “That is a scary thought.  We need to do something to mitigate such a happening.  We need to be more visionary.” Brown said.  

Capital equalization would probably try to equalize everything.  District with low tax valuations may receive more funds whereas District like Rich County have high valuations because of the number of secondary homes and would receive a smaller amount of money.  It takes a lot of effort to defend a tax base per pupil.  Rural schools have a real disadvantage.  There should be equality according to the state constitution.

But it actually costs more per pupil in rural schools than in high density areas. 

Another interesting problem within the state is the refusal of some universities to accept credits from another state university. There should be articulation among state institutions and credits should be transferable.  Mel Brown said, “this activity is “academic arrogance.”  It has got to go away.  Transferability is imperative.” 

There is a meeting every Friday for the rural superintendents.  Board members could attend if they so desired.  

The common core is another thorn,  Brown said.  Local schools should be setting their own standards. The common core has ended up being a federal program which brings in lots of red tape and complications.  Also the program to give schools grades is a waste of time for education.  What is being accomplished by such a program?  Students should be graded, but the schools they attend should be left alone.
 

Communication is tremendously important.  Representatives need to know what a great impact changes make.  

School Board Policies Questioned

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times  

RANDOLPH, Utah. January 15, 2014.  After hearing from Legislator Mel Brown, the Board went into executive session. 

 

Joey and Kamille Trujillo were next on the agenda.  They requested hard copies of the policies used by the Rich County School District.  They indicated they did not have enough money to have the internet and asked for hard copies of the policies.  They specifically asked for the Privacy and Disclosure Policy for all students.  They wanted a copy of the Disciplinary Policy to see how punishments are determined and to see if there is equality for all students or if is done on a case by case basis.  They also wanted to know if there was a policy for parents—in other words when does the school act in place of the parents on certain decisions.  They also wanted a copy of the drug testing policy and grievance policy.  Superintendent Dale Lamborn said he would run copies and they could pick them up the next day by noon. 

The Board members had attended a convention and reported on the sessions they had attended.  The majority of the Board Members had learned a great deal and was glad that they had been able to attend the various meetings and workshops. 

The meeting for next month was pushed back a week and will be held February 26. 

 

 

Brian House: Letter To The Editor

Letter to the Editor

During the 2013 Utah legislative session HB333, sponsored by Representative Menlove and Senator Hillyard, was passed by the Utah legislature.  HB333 was originally proposed to effectively close Bear Lake beaches or “sovereign lands” to ANY and ALL use by the public to protect Bear Lake from invasive species. In a last minute change, made in the last hour of the 2013 legislative session, HB333 was changed to allow “adjacent property owners to launch or retrieve a vessel from their adjacent property”.  Effectively HB 333 creates miles of uncontrolled launching along the shores of Bear Lake, with no enforcement, no regard to vehicle use, no regard for public safety, and no protection from potential invasive species contamination.  

Under HB333; the Utah DNR, through the Bear Lake Regional Commission, issued 75 private property launching permits, permitting 75 private launching sites on the Utah portion of Bear Lake.  No one knows what vessels were launched, where they were from, or how many vessels were launched. Friends, family, short term renters, and neighbors could launch under the issued launching permit without ever completing the Invasive Species Program.  An entire subdivision could use the issued launching permits without ever completing the required invasive species certification.  What exactly has been accomplished with HB333, and the associated closure of public lands?

If Bear Lake is a concern to our Utah legislature and our Utah DNR in regards to invasive species contamination; WHY has Rich County and the Bear Lake valley not had a resident DWR law enforcement officer for over 5 years? Bear Lake is managed as a trophy fishery, has 4 endemic fish species, has the annual Cisco run, but NO resident DWR officer.  Adjacent property owners can use Bear Lake sovereign lands for launching, the public can NOT.  If an adjacent private property owner can launch from their property; in reality what difference does it make if a boat launches down the beach 100 feet or 2 miles?  By law: ALL vessels launched in Utah are REQUIRED to comply with the Utah Invasive Species Program and have a daily or annual certification form on the vessel and visible in the launching vehicle.

The state of Utah, along with the Utah DNR should be growing the Bear Lake economy, as well as supporting recreation. The state of Utah, the Utah legislature and Utah Department of Natural Resources should be promoting Bear Lake, its fishery, AND our public lands, NOT closing them. The state of Utah and the Utah legislature need to come to the table, develop public launch sites on the west side of Bear Lake, and provide equitable enforcement of the invasive species program AND related sovereign lands regulations. The State Of Utah is spending MILIONS to eradicate invasive carp from Utah Lake, while little is being done at Bear Lake to prevent invasive species contamination or increase public recreational opportunities.

All of HB333 regulation ONLY applies to the Utah portion of Bear Lake; Idaho has NO additional beach launching regulations or beach closures on the Idaho portion of Bear Lake.  Idaho has an Invasive Species Program tied to Idaho vessel registration and a mandatory Road Side Inspection Program; in 2012 Idaho personnel inspected over 42,000 vessels from 43 states, finding 57 contaminated vessels. Idaho has NO additional regulations to protect Bear Lake. The reality is a vessel can launch at Lake Powell or Sand Hollow Reservoir, (both considered contaminated waters), and 10-12 hours later launch on the Utah portion of Bear Lake, following all of the rules of HB333.

The Utah legislature, including Representative Menlove, and Senator Hillyard; the Utah DNR, including the Division of Fire, Forestry and State Lands, Division of State Parks and Recreation, and the Division of Wildlife have ALL failed the citizens of Utah, Rich county and the recreational users of Bear Lake. HB 333 is wrong in so many ways; it fails to protect Bear Lake from invasive species, closes public lands to the public,  allows unregulated launching, stifles the local economy, fails to protect public safety, and provides NO enforcement of sovereign lands regulations. HB333 accomplishes nothing.

The Utah legislature needs to support equitable land management programs, create laws that are fair to ALL users, resident and non-resident, property owners and non-property owners.  HB 333 has created a program that is virtually impossible to enforce, and at the very least questionable in its legality by treating one public land user differently then another.

Brian House, Garden City resident.

A More Complete Obituary Of Becky Lyn Green

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Becky Lyn (Murphy) Green returned to the loving arms of our Heavenly Father on Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, due to an automobile accident. Becky was born March 11, 1955, to John and Nancy Murphy. She graduated from Jordan High School in 1973 and earned her associate degree from Dixie College in 1976. She married her "Angels," Michael Clifton Green, on April 13, 1978, for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple.

Together they had three beautiful daughters, TeAh (Daniel) Phoenix, Kortny (Darrick) Pope, and Nicollette (Danial) Atwood. Becky had one beautiful granddaughter, Kiayah Atwood, whom she loved dearly.Becky was a devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving as a Primary President, counselor, teacher, secretary and nursery leader. Becky truly enjoyed many hobbies; she loved reading, sewing and quilting, scrapbooking, and tole painting, and enjoyed any time she could have with her granddaughter and family.

Becky is survived by her husband, Mike, her three daughters and one granddaughter, her parents John and Nancy Murphy, her sisters Barbara Powell, Susan Wetzel and Colleen Earley, her brother Mark Murphy, Clifton and Joyce Green (father- mother-in-law) and a loving extended family. The family extends its special thanks to Dr. Strong and his staff, and all those who took care of Mom.

Funeral services were held be Saturday, Jan. 25, at the LDS meetinghouse in Garden City, Utah. . Interment was
at the Garden City Memorial Park.

Winter Fog

Photo by Lauriann Wakefield

Garden City Council Reports

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  January 9, 2014.  Mayor Spuhler reported that Danny White is no longer the City Administrator.  He will be given opportunities to design projects and work with the City on a contract basis.  The announcement for a new City Administrator position has been posted.  The position requires the individual be able to do code enforcement, has a management degree, able to handle finances and accounting matters, handle human resources issues, and live within the City limits.  So far there have been 33 applicants for the position.

Bruce Warner questioned why several of the surrounding subdivisions have not been annexed into the City.  He would like to look into this matter and see if it would be possible to bring that about.  He also would like to bring natural gas into Garden City.  He noted that it was difficult to know if all of the businesses in the area were licensed in Garden City.  He volunteered to work on this issue.

Chuck Stocking was asked to take care of a lighting issue on the Southwest corner of the library.  He said he would look into the matter.

Additional changes need to be made to make sure the pool is operating correctly.  The proper amount of chemicals and water temperature needs to be looked into.

It was also noted that bonding on building projects needs to cover the entire project. It can be done by phases or for the entire project at once but must include and cover everything including buildings, infrastructure, and all amenities.  The amount of the bond must cover 125 percent of the project cost and if the project goes over the time limit, the bond should be increased to 150 percent of the project cost.

Garden City Audit

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah. January 9, 2014.  Tiffany Wahlberg, the City’s accountant, submitted the audit report to the Council drawing attention to some of the changes that have been made.  Tiffany pointed out that the total net position for the Town as a whole increased by $267,615.  The total unrestricted net position for the Town, as a whole, increased by $54,764.  Total net position for governmental activities increased by $230,464.  Finally, the total net position for business-type activities increased by $37,151.

Tiffany noted that the City had a clean audit and is doing well.  She did make some suggestions as follows: The first concerns the accounts payable area.  The recording of accounts payable has been an issue in prior years, and it was much less of an issue in the current year.  However, she did identify instances of unrecorded payables during the audit.  The Town should continue to monitor these items, especially for the few months following year-end to ensure that invoices paid after year-end are properly recorded as payables if necessary.

The second suggestion is dealing with the Utah Retirement Systems.  The state of Utah requires employers to make an annual formal action in writing adopted by persons authorized to amend the governing laws authorizing employer “pick-up”.  Although the Town did provide documentation that the rates had been approved and signed, Wahlberg was unable to find mention of formal action in the minutes.  She said, “please ensure that a motion has been made for the current year and remember to make a motion in City Council to accept employer “pick-up” when approving the retirement rates.”

The last suggestion is about fund transfers.  Although the Town uses only minimal water, the Town is still required to invoice the general fund at the same rate charged to other customer’s of the utility.  The Town provides services to the Water Enterprise Fund approximately equal to the cost of the water, however, the charges need to be more fully documented in both the Water Enterprise Fund and the General Fund.

The Muddled Male

Psychotic Personality

Bob Stevens, The Muddled Male

 

         Ann, my wife, has always considered me to be tilted a little off-center.  Part of her concern came from paying too much attention as I bragged about childhood memories during the times we were getting to know each other.  Take my ingenious invention for catching lizards, for example.  The mountains around Devils Slide were covered in cement dust and lizards.  A newcomer to lizard hunting would automatically assume that catching a lizard skittering through the dust only required one to grab the tail, since that was the last thing to leave the scene and the closest thing to the hunter.  But a serious hunter quickly learned that lizards have this clever ability to shed their tail and flee the scene leaving the hunter in the dust holding a tail but no lizard.

 

            Then it came to me.  I could modify one of my mother’s four-tine forks to create the perfect lizard catcher.  First I bent the outer tines outward to increase the spacing between those two tines to a little more than the width of an adult lizard.  Then I bent the inner two tines backward so that if I stuck the outer tines perpendicularly into the ground, the inner tines would be parallel to the ground.  By tying the modified fork to a stick I could use it like a spear except that if I aimed carefully I could plant an outside tine on each side of the lizard with the inner tines pressing down snuggly on the lizard’s back and holding him against the ground until I could safely get him into a quart jar.  The problem was that there was only a fraction of an inch between a good aim and a lizard with a terminal tine wound.  When I admitted to Ann that occasionally my aim was poor she immediately jumped to the defense of the lizard and threatened to terminate our courtship even though this had happened several years before we even met.  The only thing that saved our relationship was when I explained that my mother eventually found out why her forks were disappearing and closed down my lizard trapping business.

 

            Ann and I had a good relationship after that, until the Kent cat caper stressed our marriage more than forty years ago in Washington State.  There was a cat that took a liking to lying in our driveway in the warm sun.  Each time we came home from shopping and I started into the driveway Ann would make me stop, get out of the car, and carefully guide the cat off the driveway to safety before I was allowed to get back into the car and pull the car into the driveway to park.  Well, it was my driveway, and cats are supposed to be smart, so one day we arrived home from shopping and instead of getting out of the car to guide the cat to safety I just started driving slowly into the driveway expecting the cat to be smart enough to get up and move.  We buried Tiger in grass town, an area in the woods where the neighborhood dumped their lawn trimmings.  It was a nice funeral except for Ann screaming over and over, “You murdered the cat, you murdered the cat you Kitty killer.”  She also said, as I recall, “I wish I had never asked you to marry me.”

 

            Well it has been more than forty years and she had mostly forgiven me.  At least she only reminds me about that mistake once in a while when we are having an argument.  That is until this past week when she came upon the results of study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.  According to the study, researchers analysed comedians (and she is assuming that includes people who write humour columns) and found that “The creative elements needed to produce humour are strikingly similar to those characterizing the cognitive style of people with psychosis- - both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.”  And now she just looks at me a hisses like an angry cat who has come back from grass town to haunt me.  More than that, she has hidden all our forks.  Have you ever tried to eat steak with a spoon?

Impact Fees To Be Raised

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times 

GARDEN CITY, Utah. January 9, 2014.  Zan Murray of JUB, the City Engineer, reported to the Council concerning the data that has been collected so far. 

The Study for Garden City is not yet complete, but a first try at determining impact fees was presented at the Thursday night meeting.  As more usage data is obtained, the figures can be refined.  However, it was felt that the City should get some information to assist them in changing impact fees to cover costs incurred by the City. 

Data was collected concerning the service area and a demand analysis.  The estimated value of the total system is $8,439,295.   This figure includes the treatment facility, Payne springs and all current storage and distribution facilities.  The current level of service was translated into ERCs (equivalent residential connections).  An ERC requires 1.12 gallons per minute.  In addition, all ERCs require a certain amount of storage. Emergencies also require additional storage which comes to another 953.38 gallons.  There is currently some excess capacity within the system. 

The latent or excess capacities as well as the percentage of growth over the next ten years are both figured into the formula.  The current debt that has been incurred for the water system must be considered as well.  Bills must be paid and future facilities are going to be needed.  The assumption that the City should begin to pay as they go is the desired philosophy for the future. 

After working with all of the above information, the recommended impact fee per ERC is $5,150.  This is a steep increase because the current fee is only $1,200.   Apparently the City has been paying for a fairly large part of the cost of adding new ERCs into the system.  This information will be taken into account as the Council considers a change in impact fees. 

The next step in the water study will be to look at the monthly fees that are currently being charged.  The report on the fees should be available in the next few weeks. 

Obituary, Janice Hodges Hartley

Janice Hodges Hartley died Friday, January 17, 2014.  She was the third child and only daughter of Janet and Dee Hodges.  Her two brothers are Jeff Hodges of Salt Lake City and Dennis Hodges of Laketown, Utah.  She leaves three children.  Until her death, she was working at Dee's Service Station in Laketown. 


The funeral will be on Wednesday, January 22 in the Laketown LDS Church in Laketown at noon.

Garden City Fire Board

Chris S. Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times 

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  January 16, 2014.  The Garden City Fire District had its regular monthly meeting on January 16, 2014.  Present were Brian House, Christina Gracey, Perry Wakefield, and Randall Knight.   Howard Pope was absent.  Tom Weston, county commissioner, who was appointed to the board in December by a formal vote of the county commissioners, indicated that he would not serve and would be removed by the commission at its next meeting as they have found that there doesn’t need to be an elected official on the board.

Perry Wakefield was voted as new chair, Randall Knight as new secretary.  Tiffany Wahlberg asked board members to more clearly indicate their votes as some were not distinct.  Christina Gracey asked that her vote for acceptance of Randall Knight as a board member for a new term had been incorrectly recorded and that her vote should be recorded as an abstention.

The board reviewed the annual audit procedures and chose Tiffany Wahlberg to do the financial statements and the firm of Woods-Richards to do the “Agreed Upon Procedures”. The annual cost for the financial statement is in the range of $1,000.

Chief Wahlberg wants to form a technical rescue squad of approximately 8 persons.  He also noted that the number of firefighters has grown from 17 to 26, which means that the personal protective gear owned by the department is right at the edge of the number of firefighters.  Some of the new firefighters are not yet certified at the appropriate level but training is under way to bring them up to operational readiness with formal testing to follow.

There will be some remodel of the fire station, including minor reframing, tile, and carpet work.   Chief Wahlberg said that in an emergency the station had backup power available and could serve as an Emergency Operations Center for the county on a short term basis.  The chief also wants to get two HAZMAT technicians trained in Rich County (not just operations, but formal technicians).  He expressed the hope that one would come from the south end of the county.

Obituary, Becky Murphy Green

  Becky Murphy Green was killed in an crash in Logan Canyon, January 14, 2014.  To many citizens of Garden City, Becky was the beloved assistant post-mistress at the U.S. Post Office, a good friend and a delightful person whose smile brightened everyone's day.  She was born March 11, 1985.  She graduated from Dixie State College.  She is survived by her husband Mike and her loving children.

The funeral will be held in the Garden City LDS Church at noon on Saturday, January 25, 2014.  Viewing will be from 9:30 to 11:30.

Letters To The Editor

On Bryce Nielsen’s Turkey Photo

January 7, 2014: Mr. Nielsen, that is a gorgeous photo of the turkey.  Just to let you know, I also have a love-hate relationship with the turkeys. They invariably come to my garden where I've planted my iris bulbs and dig them up searching for the seeds the chipmunks have buried in the garden dirt. Karen Smith

On The Muddled Male

This is a hilarious post. Bob..err Muddle Male..there is a much better way to remove the seeds so as to prevent staining of every surface of your house. A quick google search will give better instructions, but basically you do the whole process in a bowl of water. That way when you burst a seed it just oozes into water.  Incidentally, "pom's" are one of my favorite fruits. My wife and I will eat them in replacement of popcorn during a movie. Yum AND healthy!  Joey Stocking

PS If you need another alien fruit that is also hard to peel, but worth it, try a pomelo.

On Not A Muddled Mathematician.

By the way....I would a lot rather hunt ducks than struggle with Calculus. You know Chris, you may want to try ducks again. Now that you have aged and your tastes have become more gourmet you may find these birds ($30 each at stores) prepared with the right recipe delicious. By the way, I have some extra breast fillets I would be happy to drop by.  The Old Man

Water's Edge Lawsuit Stopped

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times 

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  January 9, 2014.  The City became vulnerable to lawsuits because of a problem with procedures concerning the Water’s Edge Subdivision.  When the Water’s Edge PUD asked for a change in height, the issue was sent to the Appeal’s Board.  The Appeal’s Board determined that the Planning and Zoning Committee did have the right to negotiate height.  However, after the Appeals Board, the item should have gone directly to District Court.  Mr. Mecham, however, was sent back to P&Z. 

After a long and complicated discussion, it was determined that Mr. Mecham would stay within the height restrictions and that the ridge line would be the considered the line between lakeside zone and the commercial zone.  It was also noted that the building footprints would be much larger than on the original plans. 

Mr. Mecham agreed to stop the court proceedings which would allow the City to keep their insurance.  He also agreed to sign the required papers to stop the lawsuit..  However, it was noted that the Appeals Board would have to call a meeting vacate their decision.  The City Attorney was present and indicated that the paper Mr. Mecham agreed to sign was all that was needed to take care of the situation and still allow the subdivision to move forward.  Mr. Mecham will need to redesign the project and once again go through the required steps for a design approval.