Dedication of World War II Statue In Garden City

Chris S. Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times


Photo By Chris Coray

Photos by Elvira Luzack

After what has been nearly two weeks of steady rain the sun came out precisely in time on a beautiful afternoon for the dedication of a statue in honor of Robert and Maxine Calder and all the Garden City veterans of World War II.  Sculpted by Dan Snarr at the direction of the children of Robert and Maxine Calder, the statue was unveiled and dedicated at a ceremony attended by approximately 200 people on Saturday, May 23, 2015.  The bronze statue, in the image of Robert Calder as an infantryman in the US Army during the war, stands in a small park next to the old Calder home.

Photos by Elvira Luzack

Gaye Johnson, one of Robert’s daughters and speaking for the family, thanked all who attended, including honoring 3 living Garden City survivors of that conflict, John Hansen, Dean Cook, and Blanch Hodges.   Sculpter Dan Snarr provided remarks about what an honor it had been for him to have the opportunity to create the statue.   Johnson read from personal notes she had compiled from discussions with her dad about his war experiences and included the reading of two letters sent many years ago by grandchildren.   Dee Johnson then read the names of those WW II Garden City veterans also honored on plaques on the statue base, three of whom gave their lives in the conflict.  John Groll formally dedicated the statue and park.

Musical numbers were provided and concluded with a singing of “God Bless America” by Robert Calder’s granddaughters and great granddaughters, with the audience joining in on the final verse.  Post 52 of the American Legion provided a 21 gun salute followed by a rendition of “Taps”.

It was a genuinely wonderfull way to observe Memorial Day in Garden City and the statue now stands clearly and firmly to commemorate the service of Mr. Calder and all those who served to provide us the freedom we treasure.  The family hopes that it will always be a place of remembrance, of peace, and of respect.

Congratulations Rich High Class Of 2015

Bear River Association of Governments Offers Medical Transportation Program

Research of the Bear River area has shown that transportation is lacking for vulnerable adults who live in rural areas. This covers Cache, Rich and Box Elder counties. Without a bus service like more populated areas, outlying cities and towns have very few options. If an individual needs to travel to see their physician, a specialist or receive treatment, they must depend on available family and friends, and gasoline can be costly. The Medical Voucher Program can reimburse the driver a client chooses at a rate of .35 cents per mile who will transport the participant to medical type appointments. This includes doctor visits, dental and eye appointments, pharmacy stops, blood draws or other lab work, cancer or wound treatment, dialysis and mental health visits. We have acquired federal and local funding so there is no cost to the client.

Criteria for the program includes:

·         Participant must be an older adult (60+) and have a mobility issue, or be a person with a disability and unable to drive.

·         Participant must be living at less than 200% of poverty. For one person that means an income of less than $1945 per month. For a two person household that means an income of less than $2622 per month, three people =$3298.

·         Participant must not be involved with any other transportation reimbursement programs.

·         Participant must live outside the busing zones of CVTD or have need to travel outside of the busing zone.

To talk with a caseworker and see if you might be eligible, contact the BRAG office at 435-752-7242 ext. 424. We can come to your home or you can come to the BRAG office to meet and talk about your eligibility and participation in the program.

** If an individual receives state Medicaid help, they may be eligible for a different transportation program called LOGISTICARE. Call 1-866-418-9830 and present your Medicaid # to find out.

May School Board Meeting

Chris Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  May 20, 2015. The Rich County School District held its regular monthly meeting with all members in attendance.

The board recognized 5 students who had just received Associates Degrees from USU.  The students were present at the meeting and are:  Tanner Petersen, Porter Argyle, Jerica Sorochuk, Alex Bird, and Tristton Banham.  All 5 expressed an interest in further education, 4 in engineering and 1 in business.  Several planned on missions prior to additional education.  The board also recognized the golf team for the 5^th place finish in the state tournament.

The board voted to increase the price of a meal at the high school from $3.00 to $3.50.  There has also been a fairly dramatic decrease in the number of students who qualify for subsidies (based on income), which will reduce the anticipated revenue by about $85,000 per year.  This shortfall will have to be made up by fund transfers from other areas.  The board also approved the plans of all schools with respect to Trust Land Funds (the major funding item being laptops), approved the proposed summer sports camps (and costs), and adopted by first vote a policy that deals with school bus driver compensation.  This policy will require a second vote in June.

Scott Ferguson, athletic director, asked the board to approve an increase in compensation for assistant coaches in high school sports (not middle school, and not for head coaches).  The board had several questions and asked that the proposal be reworked and brought forward at a future meeting.

The fire marshal reported that an external agency inspection of the propane tank at the middle school has revealed that some significant upgrades must be accomplished almost immediately.  The cost is expected to be in the $30-$50 thousand dollar range and needs to be finished within 60 days.  The board voted to go ahead quickly with the project and directed that bids be acquired and a contract awarding decision be made in the next couple of weeks, probably before the next board meeting.

The board listened to a proposed preliminary budget for next year, presented by  Brandee Johnson, administrator.  The revenue estimates were described as “soft” as county data had not been received, but included a tentative 3% raise for employees and additional funds for an expected 14% increase in health care coverage costs.  The 14% figure does not apply to the entire budget, only to the cost of health care coverage provided to covered employees.  Overall, the initial “soft” data indicates a likely annual deficit in the range of $200,000 (in an 8 million dollar budget) but there are adequate funds in the reserve.

The board was asked to approve an exception to the policy about confining activities to Fridays in that it was asked to approve a football game on August 27^th, a Thursday, in Bluffdale.   It is apparently the case that if scheduled, the game would be televised on KJZZ.  The board approved the exception to the Thursday rule and gave the go ahead for the schedule change.

Bear Lake Shake

Request For Bid

Garden City Cemetery District

Request for Bid

May 11, 2015

Widening and improvement of cemetery entrance

The Garden City Cemetery District is requesting proposals from qualified contractors for the widening and improvement of the cemetery entrance.  The project will include removing existing culverts, fence, gate and tree; traffic control during construction; installing new culvert, gate, sod and sprinkler system.

Contractors must be bonded and able to meet UDOT requirements.  The project will begin ASAP and must be completed prior to the end of 2015.  Contractors must provide a signed W-9 and proof of licensing and insurance.

A copy of the bid schedule and plans are attached to this bid, however to obtain a copy for bidding purposes, please contact Tiffany Wahlberg at twcpa@cut.net and the information will be emailed to you.

Proposals are to be received at the address below no later than June 29, 2015.

Send proposals to:

Garden City Cemetery District

Attn: Tiffany Wahlberg

PO Box 362

Garden City, Utah 84028

For questions, e-mail Tiffany at: twcpa@cut.net

Photo

Garden City Council May Meeting

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  May 14, 2015. The request to encumber parcel numbers 41-21-32-031 and 41-21-32-032 was made by owners Eddie and Pamela Hunsaker.  These properties are located in the Buttercup Mobile Home Estates Subdivision.  Approval was granted.

Gary McKee, a local realtor, informed the Council that The Seasons Development Project and the CCR’s that have been written for the subdivision have been purchased and are under new ownership.  The new owner will probably start some building in that area in the near future.  Several changes on the subdivision plan have been made because some individuals had purchased some property included in this subdivision and have opted out of the subdivision.  The Council noted that the amount of green space is going to be affected by the changes that have been made.  This will probably result in fewer buildings being allowed to be built in this subdivision.  The new owner will probably have to draw up new plans and present the new subdivision to Planning and Zoning prior to moving forward with construction in this area.

Ordinance #15-06, an ordinance updating commercial zones, was approved by the Council. 

Ordinance #15-18, an ordinance stating who approves business signs within the city, was approved by the Council.

An Ordinance #15-19, establishes policies and procedures for a temporary business license.  It was approved by the Council.

Ordinance #15-20, an ordinance establishing policies and procedures for a temporary short term rental license, was discussed.  The Council requested that a statement needed to be added that made it clear that a complete application packet needed to be submitted before the temporary short term rental license would be granted.  With this addition, the ordinance was approved.

It was noted that Zipz has broken several of the City’s ordinances.  The owner should be informed of the infractions and action taken in this situation as quickly as possible.

A short discussion was held concerning Elk’s Ridge.  It was noted that the individuals who have purchased property in that Subdivision should organize themselves into a homeowners’ association and begin to take responsibility in getting things moving forward.  Mayor Spuhler noted that if the City tries to assist them, it may give them the impetus that they need to actually begin to develop out the properties located in this subdivision.  He noted that he felt at least two items need to be addressed—a second entry/exit from the subdivision and road improvements.  He encouraged the Council Members to consider these two items.

The Council approved the tentative budget for the fiscal year July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016.  Budget funds include the General Fund, Buttercup Special Improvement District Fund, the Capital Projects Fund, the Beach Access Fund, and the Enterprise (water) Fund.

A motion was made and passed giving approval of the Utah Retirement rates for fiscal year July 12, 2015, through June 30, 2016.

It was noted that the City may get the necessary permit to maintain the lakeshore. They are still waiting, however, for final approval.  That will allow the City to actually maintain the beach front.  It was noted that canopies cannot be left on the beach overnight.   Also, parking will be allowed on the beach as long as the vehicles are at least 100 feet away from the water’s edge.

There are three options in getting to the beach.  (1) Individuals can park and walk to the beach.  (2)  There is a free shuttle that stops at most of the beach access points allowing people to get to the beach that way.  Also, individuals can pay a $10 fee to drive down and park along the beach.   There has been a telephone number set up to give individuals information about Garden City and beach access.  The number is 435-363-4647.

 A motion was made and approved that will allow the City to obtain the needed funding to purchase the Shundahi water tank.  Garden City will pay $92,307.69 on or before September 30, 2015, to Norm Mecham as nonrefundable earnest money.  The City’s Engineer, Zan Murray, will write up the required federal forms to borrow federal dollars to purchase of the Shundahi tank as well as add additional water projects that will need funding during the next three or four years.  Asking for the funding all at once is the easiest way to make it possible for the City to move forward in taking care of several items without having to write up new requests each time another part of the water expansion plan moves forward.

New Businesses Opening

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  May 14, 2015. Kelly Budge and Andrea Wells requested a business license for their business called Whimsy Boutique, LLC.  It will open at 65 W. Logan Road #7.  All the proper paperwork had been submitted.  The motion was made and approved to grant a business license to this new company.

Stop and Drop requested to operate a portable toilet service in Garden City.  The owners are John and Kyle Spuhler.  They are storing their equipment and toilets at Needles and Leaves Landscaping Company.  The motion was made and passed to grant this company a business license to operate their business in Garden City.

Moe’s Eats requested a transient vendor business license to operate their mobile food trailer in Garden City each Thursday through Sunday during the summer months.  They realize that they will not be allowed to open their business during Raspberry Days.  The mobile food trailer will be parked on the south side of Epic’s building located on North Bear Lake Blvd.  The Council was concerned that perhaps the trailer will be too wide to park at that spot.  Council member Darrin Pugmire was asked to check this location to make sure that area can actually accommodate this business.  There are rest rooms available inside of Epic’s building which will be available to Moe’s Eats’ customers.  It will be open from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. at night.  They will be serving fresh corn dogs, fries, and more.  Merrill Moore will be operating this business.  Permission for the transient license was given contingent on the findings made by Darrin as he inspects this area.

Approval of short term rental licenses were granted to the short term rental located at 2176 South Bear Lake Blvd. # 298-300, Ideal Beach, Owners Richard & Lyn Bessey, and will be handled by Rily Property Management; to Ken Ashby using Bear Lake Lodging for the structure located at 929 North Harbor Village East Drive, #214; to Bruce Wilden using Bear Lake Lodging for the home located at 1850 South Bear Lake Blvd.; and to Jill and Jason Taylor, using Bear Lake Project Management for the home located at 721 Cambry Drive.

Three other short term rentals were granted short term rental licenses as follows:  The home located at 902 North Newberg Drive, #2, owned by Dan and Darlene Houser and handled by Bear Lake Project Management contingent upon resubmitting a drawing of the home layout; To Randy and Gillian Lloyd for their home located at 228 Snowmeadows Circle contingent upon obtaining signatures from both the building inspector and from the fire chief’s inspection; and the home owned by Eric Derr of Wonderr Holdings, LLS, contingent upon getting the signatures of the building inspector and the fire chief.

It was noted that perhaps a letter should be sent to all owners who currently rent their homes as short term rentals.  They need to know that all transient taxes and sales taxes that are collected eventually are returned to Garden City.  These taxes (pal taxes) are used for the parks, the pool, the library, and any arts projects and programs that are sponsored by the City.  In other words, it assists the City make activities available to guests who stay in these homes thereby giving them fun things to do while they are in Bear Lake.  It is important that these taxes be collected and submitted to the proper authorities.

Musings Of A Muddled Male

Paddling the Circuit

By Bob Stevens, The Muddled Male

      For some time now I have been feeling a touch of envy whenever I compare my accomplishments to those of my joint columnists, Cisco and the Unmuddled Mathematician.  They seem to have lives filled with doing lots of manly things while I sit at my computer trying to remember embarrassing moments in my life about which I can write to bring you a chuckle.  But then I remembered a manly thing I did years and years ago.  A thing that I will share here in an attempt to upgrade your opinion of the Muddled Male as a real man.

      When I was about forty, I went with a group of Boy Scouts on a seventy-three mile canoe trip around the Bowron Lake Chain.  The Chain is a series of ten lakes plus water ways within the Bowron Lake Provincial Park in north British Columbia.  The lakes are located in a rectangular-like arrangement such that you start out at Kibbee Lake and if you continue around the entire circuit of lakes and water ways you will finally make your way back through Bowron Lake to a spot near where you left your car.  While it is possible for a really strong and really experienced group to make the trip in a couple of days, the trip for most groups traversing the entire circuit is five to seven days and includes lots of paddling and several portages where you have to carry not only your canoe and paddles, but also miscellaneous safety gear, a sleeping bag, a tent, all your food, and equipment to cook and eat the food.  You also have to carry ropes to suspend your food high in the air between two trees whenever you stop for the night because there are both grizzlies and brown bears in the area looking for something to eat.  Hopefully what they eat won’t be you.

      It was six-hundred miles from Kent, Washington, where we lived, to the Bowron Lake Provincial Park.  When we arrived it was the latter part of a May evening, and raining.  We pitched our tents in the rain, got up the next morning to fix and eat breakfast in the rain, and finally began hauling our now soaked gear to the first lake to load our canoes, also in the rain.  Packing our soggy stuff and carrying it from the parking area to Kibbee Lake took more time than we had anticipated and by the time we were finally in our canoes it was too late in the day to go any farther than to paddle across that first one-mile Lake and set up camp for the night.  Because the camping area was too small for the whole group, four of us, two adults and two scouts, decided to portage the mile and a half to the next lake where we would start out paddling again the next morning, with the Kibbee group following close behind. 

 May was the time for heavy spring rains and the trail was muddy as you can see by the picture of Tom and his friend Scott carrying their canoe through knee-deep mud during a portage.  We passed another traveler coming down the trail toward us with one shoe on and the other foot bare.  The sole of the shoe that had been on the bare foot was pulled off by the mud.  Each time he took a step and sunk into the mud with that foot, the upper portion of the sole-less shoe was forced up his leg in such a way as to leave it hovering just below his knee, a perfect mud depth gauge.

      While our group of four was preparing to push on across the three-mile long Indianpoint Lake, the Kibbee group decided that instead of following us they would go back to the lodge area, get a room for the night to dry out, clean up, and rest while they waited for the rain to stop.  They would then canoe down Bowron Lake several miles, camp, and fish for the rest of their stay while waiting for our group to complete the circuit and pick them up on the way back.  The need to dry out resulted from their decision to stretch a plastic tarp between four trees to shield them from the rain as they slept, and in the middle of the night the tarp tore and dumped fifty gallons of cold rain water down onto and into the sleeping bags where they lay curled up trying to stay warm.

      By the time our group of four got to Lake Isaac we were feeling like professional canoeists and thought we could handle anything.  That was until we looked at the map and saw that Lake Isaac was twenty-one miles long.  That was a long day and a lot of paddling.  When we arrived at the campground at the end of Isaac we were completely exhausted, and everyone but me laid down to take a nap.  It was a peaceful, quiet evening and I decided to paddle a little way out from the shore and just enjoy the solitude and the scenery without the nuisance of a life jacket.  On the way out I decided to adjust my position in the canoe to make it easier to row.  In an instant I was in icy water over my head.  The water was so cold it was almost impossible to catch my breath.   The only thing that saved me was a gigantic rock beneath the surface of the water just high enough to let me stand on my tip toes and keep my nose above water.  I didn’t have enough air to yell for help, but it wouldn’t have helped because everyone else was asleep.  And besides, I would rather have drowned than to let anyone discover they were traveling with a doofus.  I managed to grab the canoe floating near me and hung on while I kick-paddled the canoe and me, back to shore where I tried to dry off before anyone noticed.

      Thank heavens the remainder of the trip was less eventful and by the time we got back to the main body of our group, everyone was anxious to head home to a dry bed and mom’s cooking.  It was raining again and cold when we stopped part way down Bowron Lake to eat before we got to our vehicles.  We prepared what you might refer to as “miscellaneous soup” by dumping all the remaining soup packets together into one common pot.  One of the boys stirring the soup dropped the ladle into the pot and nonchalantly stuck his muddy, grungy arm and coat sleeve into the soup and retrieve the ladle.  Not one diner even flinched.

That trip taught me some basic lessons about Scout Canoe Trips. (1) While a Scout may be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, and reverent, he is not necessarily always clean.  (2) Luckily a scout comes pre-equipped with a cast-iron stomach.  (3) When they said to not stand up in a canoe they were talking specifically to me. (4) A rain poncho stretched across two paddles works well as a labor saving sail.  (5) Bears are less dangerous than the Park’s outhouses.  The outhouses were well designed and sturdily built to withstand any kind of weather, but they didn’t prevent Park animals from chewing the wood away from around the seat to get to the perspiration-salt left there by sweating canoeists.  It was the only restroom where I had to hold my arms way out to both sides to keep from falling in.

As I write this column forty years later I am grateful to be way too old to be invited to ever go again.

Eagles Nesting In Bear Lake Area

Photos by Susann House

Garden City To Consider Enterprise Zone

Bobbie Bicknell Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY,Utah. May 14, 2015. Mitch Poulsen, Economic Development Coordinator for Rich County,  told council members that it might be a good idea to enter into an  Enterprise Zone Agreement to allow businesses to capitalize on tax  benefits for businesses in Utah’s rural areas.  The County Commissioners want to designate all of Rich County as an Enterprise zone.  But that does not include the cities.  The Governor’s economic development people said that it didn’t count for the cities unless the city made that designation for the city.

There are rural fast track grants for cities which have this designation.  Tax credits are also available.  “Why wouldn’t we want to do it?” said Spuhler.  It is an administrative tool to further commercial development in rural areas for cities less than 10,000.   Garden City qualifies and being a rural resort community, “we should be all over it,” said Poulsen.

The city will need a public hearing and to draw up a map which includes the zone and send in the application to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.  Poulsen could write the application.  Council Members suggested that Poulsen have a training with the Chamber on how to utilize the benefits.