Rich County Commission

Bobbie Bicknell Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  November 4, 2015. Hoffman Insurance representative, Dan Hoffman said that the cost of the group medical insurance would be going up 2.5% with an increase in out of pocket maximum.  The out of pocket will go from $4,000 to $5,000 per individual and $8,000 to $10,000.  Emergency room deductible will go from $250 to $350.  However, the county is paying less than they did a few years ago.  There are no  increases in dental and life insurance.  The county paid $426,990 for the group insurance.

Reed Ernstrom, Bear River Mental Health Director, discussed the BRMH area plan.  Much will be the same as last year.   There is a mental health court in Cache County and a new one in  Box Elder County which they believe will help in getting the correct treatment to offenders rather than increase the prison population .  The Justice Reinvestment Investment  is aimed at reducing incarceration for non violent offenders and opting for treatment instead.   They have received $50,000 from that program.

Ernstrom  said that he appreciated having Commissioner Cox on the board  and said that he was a steadying hand. 

He said that they are continuing with youth consultation and education, adult peer support  and education.  The average person who suffers from mental health disease has a 25 year less life expectancy.   They will have 1.5 counselors for Rich County schools.  BRMH is trying to address the growing need by having two individuals, one full time and one part time.  The commissioners approved the plan.

Bret Argyle, Rich County Fair Director, asked the commission for a budget and a line item in the budget, because if they had their own budget they could plan for the next year.  They could also contract with rodeo providers earlier.   They have $7,000 in the bank now with some donations still to come.

Argyle said that Woodruff and Laketown might be interested in a Rodeo Series a for locals and he is meeting with them.  He would like to have new concession stands, for which he believes that Mitch Poulsen, Bear Lake Regional Commission, can find grants. 

They spent $36,000 on the five day fair.   Many donations helped too, which meant that less money was spent this year.  The breakdown of funding is $10,000 county,10,000 cash donations, and in-kind donations as well as ticket sales from the rodeo and other events.

Winter Coming In Over The Lake

Photo by Darin Pugmire

Bear Lake Brawl Controversy

Bobbie Bicknell Coray

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  November 4, 2015.   Joseph Coles, Bear Lake Brawl Triathalon, came to report on this year’s Triathalon.  This is a swim, bike and run race held near Bear Lake.  Commissioner Tom Weston said that there had been some hard feelings with the local EMT volunteers who had been requested to spend as much as 14 hours sitting around.   They were not paid and had to give up their time at their places of work. 

The Triathalon had a person over safety who was an EMT, who was to act as safety liason.  However, there was a communication breakdown with the Rich Ambulance and the BLB Triathalon personel.  He acted as safety liaison.   But he “ruffled feathers” when he said that he was in charge of all EMT as Rich County has to take the liability for all actions.  Coles said he was new and eager and overstepped his bounds.  He asserted that there needs to be layers of safety, but that there needs to be better coordination.  He said he was unaware that they were volunteers.  He had paid the county for the ambulance time and thought the EMT would be paid too.

EMT need to be onsite for the swim portion, but perhaps the ambulance could be “on call” for the rest of the race.  Commissioner Tom Weston said that some of the EMT felt that they were just standing around.  Kim Wilson, EMT, believed that the race’s EMT was in charge and that was contrary to the way they wanted to do it because of liability issues. With only three ambulances it puts a strain on the system.

Cole said that 300 people participated in the race the first week and 150 the second week and that he felt that things went well with the race.  Next year he will look at paying EMT personnel.  He was told to coordinate with them for the ambulance use.  The dates for next year’s race are September 10  and September 17.

Garden City Gun Range

Bobbie Bicknell Coray, Reporter
Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  November 4, 2015.  County Commissioner Tom Weston met with Darin Pugmire, Garden City Council,  and Richard Droesbeck, Utah State Parks,  to get something in place for Droesbeck to get funding for the range.  

The agreement will be that Garden City will design and manage the facility, the county will maintain the road and parking lot and dust control.  Cox said that funding needs to be discussed. There is grant money but it needs to be matched. 

“It is a great project, “ Weston said. There will be a long range shooting range for rifles and shotguns.  Mitch Poulsen, Bear Lake Regional Commission,  said that they can attract shooting competitions throughout the summer and fall with this kind of a range.  The  county is also considering an archery range near Swan Creek.

Good Stuff

By John Brown, The Man
ISIS, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, Iran.

What drives these groups?

What are they really about?

Why is there so much religious strife in the Middle East?

For that matter, what is Islam actually about? Is the religion really defined by these violent actors, or are they just the most visible because they’re what’s reported on in the media?

I set out to find the answers to these questions, and what I have found so far surprised me. If you are interested in understanding what’s going on in the Middle East today, you have to understand Islam. And it’s a fascinating story. There are a lot of books on the subject, but you don’t have to sift through all those I did. I want to share with you three slim books that I found to be the most clear and engaging introductions I’ve come across.

The first is Understanding Islam: An Introduction to the Muslim World by Thomas W. Lippman, an award-winning author and journalist who specializes in the Middle East and spent years living in Egypt, covering the events, and traveling from Tunisia to Pakistan. Again, this is a slim, easy-to-read volume, but it is packed with information. If you want to know the basic beliefs of Islam, who Muhammad was, what all this business about Sharia is, and who the major Islamic groups of the Middle East are today, this is the book to start with. One note, you want to make sure you get the third edition of this book.

The next book is by Bernard Lewis, a man internationally recognized as one of our century’s greatest historians of the Middle East. The book is called The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror. Again, another slim, engaging, but information-packed volume. In it, Lewis explains what it is in Islam that is breeding these extremist groups. And what is leading them to target America, which is especially interesting because for most of the 1900s the United States was seen as the good guy by the Islamic world. What changed? Read this book to find out.

The last book, a lively, engaging read, is called After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Sunni-Shia Split by Lesley Hazleton, another veteran Middle East journalist. When you finish this book, you will understand why Saudi Arabia supported ISIS before they so recently turned against it. You’ll understand why they recently joined Israel, of all nations, in condemning Iran’s nuclear program. You will also understand one main reason why the Iraqis can’t seem to get along. In this book, Hazelton goes back to the beginning of the religion and tells the story of the splitting of Islam–the split between the Shias and Sunnis. It’s as significant a split as that of the Protestants from the Catholics in the time of Luther. But unlike that split, which has lost almost all of its heat, the antagonism between Sunni and Shia still leads to war. You cannot understand the Middle East today without understanding this.

So there you have it. If you’ve been wanting to learn more about Islam and the Middle East, you’ll find these the perfect introduction. And if you’re religious at all, you’ll find much to ponder. There isn’t one god-fearing Christian, Jew, Hindu, or what have you who doesn’t think that submitting our will to God’s won’t help us build a better families, communities, nations–a better world. Would it surprise to you to know that Muslims believe the same thing? That Islam means “to submit” to God?

There are of course many differences between Islam and my own Christian beliefs, but there are also many striking similarities. And the experience I kept having reading these books was seeing over and over again echoes of my own faith and the history of Christianity. There are cautions, to be sure, but also things worthy of emulation. If nothing else, it felt like it did when I learned Dutch. Yes, it was all foreign, but I saw the ties and the differences and, surprisingly, understood my language better than I ever had before.

Now there are three other equally fascinating books I want recommend that focus on Al Qaeda, fighting terrorism, and Saudi Arabia, but I’ll save those for another time. Go treat yourself and read these fine introductions.

Halloween At The Garden City KOA

CNN Comes To Garden City

Gary Tuchman, CNN News

The Red Zone
By John Spuhler, Garden City Mayor

Would it be surprising to know Rich County and Garden City are the reddest county and the most Republican city in the reddest state in the United States?

The Cable News Network, better known as CNN, wanted to know what area of the country represented the largest percentage of registered republicans and after some research they determined by a slim margin Rich County was it.

Gary Tuchman CNN correspondent for the Anderson Cooper 360 show went to the census data and determined the Garden City area to be the most populated area so he gave me a call after first calling the Garden City Library. When Gary introduced himself from CNN, my response was similar to a protective dog who has a stranger at the door. My hackles were up. It is probably a similar reaction that a liberal democrat would feel if Fox News showed up in the bluest of blue counties.

Gary’s charisma, demeanor as well as the explanation of the project and an opportunity to promote Garden City provided a level of assurance for me to say yes. Gary’s instructions were find ten people from Garden City both young and old, men and women, who were registered Republicans and were interested in matters of politics. We would evaluate performance of the candidates from the republican debate held Wednesday October 28th on CNBC. Sounds easy?

It was interesting, and understandable that some of the people I called to participate told me they were not interested and here is why. In our politically correct cultural the various media mediums demonize conservative opinions that are contrary to the masses. Taboo subjects and terms are growing like invasive weeds choking free speech. I was able to locate the individuals who I felt would represent the city and the county well.

I met the producer of the show, Elise Miller, an amazing young woman from New York City. Elise coordinated the event with precision and showed up with the CNN crew Wednesday afternoon. Chuck Stocking and his company Bear Lake Cabin Rentals put the CNN crew up in one of his beautiful homes overlooking the lake and we were set for a debate party or lynching, I still was not sure if I had been duped. The event was exactly as CNN advertised, no zinger questions, no deception, just pizza and political conversation about the candidates.

Gary wanted to know who we were voting for prior to the debate and asked questions following the debate if then had a different opinion. A live feed with a short segment happened just following the debate and a longer segment was aired the night following. I was very impressed by the kindness and professionalism of the crew from CNN. I received follow up calls and emails from Gary and Elise asking if he felt we were treated fairly. Gary, told me he wanted to come out with his family in the summer. My personal introspection following the event will help guide me in the future. My first response was hackles up and instant judgement at the motive of CNN and their big city crew. However I believe we all can be better served by having our ears open and allowing our intuition to guide us before we let cynicism rob us of opportunity.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to enjoy the fun and informative night with those who attended and represented Garden City and Rich County with class. Thank you to Druci Wadsworth, Ken and Donna Hansen, Rich Monk, Chuck Stocking, Pat Argyle, and Bob and Jill Peterson.

Fire On The Lake

Photo by Mike Moldenhauer

Arden Kelton Dies

Arden Allen Kelton died peacefully in his sleep on October 31, 2015, in Logan, Utah.  He was born July 5, 1937 in Bessemer, Michigan. His parents were Arden Anson Kelton and Catherine Eileen Thompson.

He received his BS degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, his MS in Radiological Science and his PhD in Medical Physics from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Arden was a scientist first and foremost and was instrumental in starting several biotech companies. He could repair or build anything and was a perfectionist in everything that he did.

Arden Kelton leaves behind his wife, Judy Agnew Kelton and a combined family of 9 children and step children plus an adopted daughter.  He and Judy have 21 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.