November Voting Materials Mailed

If you are registered to vote in Rich County, you should have received your voting packet which includes the official ballot, a self addressed stamped envelope, instructions and the Voter Pamphlet Information FOR Local Option Sales Tax.

This must be marked and mailed before November 2, 2015.

The .25% sales tax increase proposed would come directly to the county to help support our county road construction and maintenance.  As most of the sales tax is paid for by tourists this would help to have them pay their fair share of road maintenance.  There are about 350 miles of county road. $0.15 from each $100 spent would go for road maintenance.

The other $0.10 would go to a statewide pool of counties who vote for this tax.  Then 50% is redistributed based on proportion of population and the other 50% is based on point of sale in the county,

Choosing to maintain our roads today is the financially responsible and fiscally conservative approach

Prop 1 is NOT for the construction of major highways, it is dedicated exclusively to our local transportation needs.

There will be a PUBLIC MEETING to discuss Proposition 1

Tuesday October 27, 2015 at 6 p.m.

Rich County Courthouse, Randolph

Letter From Garden City Council Candidate

Pat Argyle as well as myself are both running for city council. This will be my second term. I feel obligated to run again because it has taken me four years to catch on to the know how's of how to help be a benefit to you all as citizens of this wonderful city we all live in. 

Pat has also put in four years and that was two years ago. In the meantime she has been in the Planning & Zoning and continuing to help the city and donating her time and talents. We both would love your vote this election year. We both want nothing else than to serve you and try to help our city grow in a needed and organized way. 

Please note that our only reason to run for this position is to help you as Garden City residence feel and know that our minds are open and we won't let any personal agenda get in the way of our service. Thanks for all you do as residents and if we can ever be of help in anything you may need you know that we are always here for you. 

 Regards, Darin Pugmire

NOT In Garden City Says School Board

Chris Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah. October 21, 2015. In a process initiated by a group of citizens 19 months ago, the county has finally completed a state law-mandated reapportionment of the Rich County School District and a new board member will be chosen by the school board.

A request was made of the board that the open interview meeting be held in the new district, using the offices in Garden City.  This request was made because the new board member will represent Garden City and having the candidate interview meeting there would more easily allow citizens to attend and listen.  Board member Bryce Huefner spoke in favor of that idea.  Board members Scott Sabey,  Monty Weston, and  Eric Wamsley expressed willingness to have the meeting in either the Randolph district office or in Garden City. 

Board member  Pete Cornia stated forcefully that he thought the meeting should be in Randolph as that is where the district office is and the computers were there if needed.  The board caved to his intensity and voted to have the meeting in Randolph, with Cornia, Sabey, and Weston in favor.

Huefner opposed, and Wamsley abstained. 

Editor’s note:  There was a direct conflict in the reasoning and votes of board member Cornia with respect to board meetings away from the district office.   Cornia expressed opposition to having the special board meeting in Garden City to interview potential new board members from that district, yet while scheduling the next regular school board meeting for November, the board decided, with Cornia’s active support, to move that meeting to Laketown.  When asked by a citizen in the audience how the board could do in that,  when moving the meeting would mean the computers would not be available there, board member Cornia said, “We’ll manage.”

An opportunity for good public relations with Garden City citizens was lost.

The school board was notified Oct 9 by the county commissioners that the reapportionment was effective immediately.  U.S. Census data was the source of raw data used to complete the realignment of all of the 5 districts, which will result in several significant changes.  

First, a new school board member will be appointed within 30 days for the newly formed district 5, which consists essentially of that portion of the county north of US 89 and west of Bear Lake, and county citizens in that district currently have no representative on the school board.  This area is essentially Garden City north, but includes the Swan Creek area and extends to the Idaho border.  While precise data for the boundary exists, no person or office in the county has produced that data, even when asked, rather only general maps for all 5 districts that are not clear with respect to precise boundaries.

In a school board meeting October 20, the existing school board approved the following process for the naming of a new school board member:  Any citizen who is a resident of district 5 (this may be difficult to learn for those near boundaries) and who wishes to be considered for appointment to the school board for an interim period until the next district election needs to send a letter to the school district so that it arrives not later than noon on Nov. 4.  On November 5^th at 9 a.m. the school board will have an open meeting (required by law) in the district office in Randolph, where those interested will be interviewed by the board members.   

The existing board will then select the new member.  While the interview meeting is open to the public, board deliberations afterward are likely to be conducted in executive session.  A vote, however, must be conducted in public.

Fall Light

Photo by Perry Wakefield

School Board Addresses Several Issues

Chris S. Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  October 21, 20015. In its regular monthly meeting, the Rich School District Board addressed a number of issues in a wide ranging agenda. Besides the process of appointing a new board member for the newly created district 5 due to reapportionment (north part of Garden City and area from there to the Idaho border), the board:

1) Adopted a school bus policy that will limit the use of the district’s buses to carrying students, educators, district personnel and chaperons for academically related purposes only. A ratification vote for this policy is set for next month.

2) Expressed concern over the evaluation of home-schooled students at such time when those students re-enter the public school system. Superintendent Lamborn indicated that the evaluation and placement of such students is a school district responsibility but acknowledged that conflicts could arise,

3) Learned that the state has established a requirement that all students pass a basic civics exam before graduation from high school. The superintendent noted that parents could still choose to have their children opt out of this state-required exam, but no student will graduate until he/she has passed the exam. This exam is similar to one required of persons seeking U.S. citizenship.

4) Approved a number of funding changes resulting from a variety of federal and state programs, whose purposes include professional development of staff, assistance in very low income areas, special education, and early childhood education.

5) Noted a problem that exists with playing football with the Diamond Ranch Academy. A number of Rich athletes were removed from the latest game after head and other injuries, treated by EMS personnel and/or transported by ambulance with head concussions following a recent football game and this same issue has been reported by other schools that have played Diamond Ranch. Contact will continue with the Utah High School Athletic Association over this issue.

6) Approved the appointment of Betty Weston as a 4hr/day aide at South Rich Elementary.

7) Approved a taxpayer funded Christmas gift to all the employees of the district (101), including the board, of up to $50 in a certificate for a turkey/ham/etc., to express appreciation for all the work of the employees in the district. Total cost is $5,050.

Danger Cave Tour

DANGER CAVE FALL TOUR OFFERED NOVEMBER 14, 2015

Salt Lake City -- Learn the history of Danger Cave and why it is one of the most important archaeological sites in the United States. Utah State Parks staff will host two tours of Danger Cave State Park Heritage Area, Saturday, November 14, 2015.

Tour tickets are $15 per person. Individuals must purchase ticket in advance and have ticket in hand to attend the tour. Space is limited. For more information, email Utah State Parks Heritage Resources Coordinator Justina Parsons-Bernstein at jparsonsbernstein@utah.gov with Danger Cave Fall Tour 2015 in the subject line.

Please be aware the tour involves some very steep and rugged hiking. Meeting time and place will be provided after ticket purchase is confirmed.

Utah State Parks

From the Salt Lake Tribune. "Utah state parks officials are preparing for a rare tour of a cave in the west desert that contains evidence of human habitation more than 11,000 years old.

Authorities say that Danger Cave is one of the most important archaeological sites in the country. Well-known University of Utah archaeologist Jesse Jennings used was one of the first to use radon carbon dating when he excavated the cave in the late 1940s, and he confirmed that humans had been in the area much longer than previously thought.

It was named Danger Cave when a large rock fell off a cliff face, narrowly missing an excavation crew.  The cave is located near Wendover, about 120 miles west of Salt Lake City."

Newell Sorensen, Long Time Garden City Resident, Dies

Newell J. Sorenson, 88, of Lovell, Wyoming, born Apr. 24, 1927, passed away on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015, in Utah.  He had been a long time resident of Garden City, Utah.  He was preceded in death by his wife Garnet Mangus Sorenson this year in June.  He leaves behind five children,  Scott (Patty) of Richmond, Kentucky, Sherry, (Allen) Taylor, of Payson, Utah, Jay (Tara) of Provo, Utah, Max (Tanna) Clarkston, Wa, and Chris of Tooele, Utah and 26 grandchildren and 36 great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

Job Posting For BLCH

Bear lake Community Health Centers has an opening for a part time receptionist. Excellent public relations and computer skills required. Two years experience preferred. Email resume to hr@cvchc.org. Position closes 10/30/2015. Bear Lake Community Health Centers is an equal opportunity employer.


Cristal Mackley
Human Resource Specialist
Bear Lake Community Health Centers
(435)-755-6061

Cisco Sonar

The Deer Hunt
By Bryce Nielson

I was up before daylight this morning.  As I watched the daylight start to fill in I was thinking about deer hunting.  The light filled in and was soon there was enough to shoot.  This is the time of day when the bucks, who have been out all night, start to move into cover.  I stood on the deck listening for the first shots of the opening morning.  I heard nothing, no people in red on the ridges, no sense of excitement.  School wasn’t even let out early on Friday.

My thoughts slipped back to the 1960’s ( hell, I am starting to sound like the Muddled Male and the Unmuddled Mathematician) and I thought about the 1964 deer hunt.  I had waited for this hunt for my whole life for this day after I turned sixteen.  I had always watched my Dad return to Salina where he had grown up to hunt deer.  I had never been able to go until now.  Deer hunting was serious business.  He needed meat to feed his five hungry kids and now I could add to the larder.  My rifle was a war surplus Springfield 03-A3 bolt action 30.06.  I had been working on it all year trying to sportirize it after he bought it through the mail for $29.95.  It came wrapped in Cosmoline.  It took forever to get all the grease off and cut down the old military stock.  I removed a lot of wood and when I was through it was light, with open sights and kicked like a mule.  

I have hunted deer every year since.  After I left home the strategy was still the same.  Don’t worry about “horns” because you can’t eat them and knock down the first buck you see.  After I had a family that philosophy continued.  Fast forward 50 years.  Now my wife and daughters don’t eat deer meat.  My grandsons, however, love and request “delicious deer”.  They are the reason I will continue to hunt.  Their Dad doesn’t hunt so I wan them to have the opportunity to experience what I did as a boy.  If they like it and continue, great, but it is fine if they don’t.  I will understand.

As for deer hunting today things are drastically different.  The big family tent camps with everyone from grandpa to the baby standing around a smoky fire and sleeping on the cold ground are gone. The death mall came when Wildlife Resources limited the number of permits busted up the State into 26 areas that you have to draw on.  

Today’s deer camps are different and new family traditions are being made.  Trailers and  toy haulers of all sizes, OHV’s and magnum four wheel drive jacked up trucks, big screen TV’s, little yapping dogs running all over and the kids are having a blast, making memories.  As far as killing anything, that is incidental and just causes issues with cleaning, skinning, processing and then (uck) eating it.  The point is, it has become a family event with the same core values that I had as a kid.

Do I pine for the old days?  Not really. It is a new generation and they need to do things that match their perspective.  Besides, I find deer hunting much easier on my side by side Ranger.

Fall Fields

Photo by Laura Cluff