Scholarship Available

CentraCom is giving away six scholarships with a value of up to $2,000.  The scholarship may be used for any college expense, such as tuition, books, housing, etc.

It’s the time of year when high school seniors are thinking about the next great step in their lives—college. They are thinking about where to go, where to live, and what classes to take. College is a wonderful experience but it can get expensive in a hurry. Application fees, tuition, student fees, housing, books… the list goes on and on.

We are committed to helping the students in our service areas achieve their goal of a college education. For the past 16 years, CentraCom Interactive has offered scholarships to eligible high school seniors planning to attend college. This has been a great opportunity not only to serve our community, but to get to know future leaders of America.

We are pleased to announce that we have again partnered with Snow College to bring even larger scholarship value. We will be giving away six scholarships with an initial value of $750. If the recipient chooses to attend Snow College, the scholarship from CentraCom will be $1500 and Snow College will match $500 raising the value to $2000 (scholarhip deferrals for service opporutnities will be managed by Snow College). The scholarship may be used for any college expense, such as tuition, books, housing, etc.

If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please contact Erin Williams at (435) 427-0688 or (800) 427-8449 to obtain an application. You may also e-mail Erin. Additionally, click here to download the application.

The requirements are:

• → Must be a high school senior planning or accepted to attend college in the fall of 2019 (scholarhip deferrals for service opportunities will be managed by Snow College where applicable), and also a legal dependent of a CentraCom Interactive customer.
• → Must fully complete and sign the 2019 scholarship application form and include a photograph. Handwritten application forms will not be accepted. Please place application materials in a single envelope. Do not staple. Please use a folder or binder for application materials.
• → Submit a typed double-spaced 500-word original essay about current global event with a human interest topic.
• → Provide a current copy of your high school transcript, stating cumulative grade point average.
• → Provide a copy of your ACT results.
• → Provide a personal evaluation/recommendation of your principal or teacher of the student’s high school listing aptitudes, attitudes, leadership, character, etc.
• → Provide at least one letter of recommendation from an employer, civic or religious leader from the community where applicant resides.

Completed applications must be postmarked no later than April 12, 2019 and mailed to CentraCom, PO Box 7, Fairview, UT 84629, or delivered to our office at 35 South State, Fairview, UT 84629.

A committee will evaluate all of the applications submitted. The selection of the successful candidates will be based on the following criteria:

1. originality and creativity in presenting the essay,
2. noteworthy involvement in community service and school activities, and
3. future goals demonstrating a genuine interest in continuing education.

The chosen candidates will be notified by telephone and by mail. The winners will also be featured in our web site.

be a bumblebee

Cisco Sonar

By Bryce Nielson
This is a column from 2017 to put this year's snow in perspective

Lots of snow in the Bear Lake Valley.  I received an email from the editor asking me if I would write something about the snowfall.  I guess she figured I had been here a long time (1974) and often brag about being an observer of our environment that I would have some enlightening comments.  There was only one problem.  As the snow started, I left Bear Lake for the Riviera Maya in Mexico for a week.  I heard about it but missed it laying on the beach.  I did arrive home to the aftermath however.

Weather is tricky business.  It is like fishing or anything else.  You remember the exceptional events but everything else rapidly fades into the fog.  I have seen many major snowfall events here but struggle to remember the specifics.  Drifting around in my mind is one snowstorm in years past that dumped about 5 feet.  I don’t remember what year or date it occurred but I do remember many buildings having their roofs collapse.  It may have been a result of the snow or a rain afterwards.  I do remember specifically a yellow equipment shed, directly south of Brian House’s home flattening, never to be rebuilt.  Other snowstorms had significant snow but the effect was magnified by heavy wind.  Those are the ones that close schools.

So you have moved to Bear Lake in the last 10 years.  You are now snowed in or out.  You soon learn what a Skidster is since it is the only thing, other than a big blower, that can deal with this amount of snow.  So what does the future hold?  The only thing that is accurate about weather is what happened the day before.  So I decided to use real data about where we are now compared to past years.  The NRCS maintains SNOTEL stations to measure precipitation.

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/water/snowsurvey/

  

Remember, this is a moment in time over years.  Lots of things can happen from here on but 2017 was almost as high as 2008.  Remember that?

Wake Up Early So You Don't Miss Sunrise

Photo by Carol Ann Dyer

Rich County School Board Meeting

Reported by Randall Knight

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah. Feb 18, 2019 at 5:00 PM.  All of the board members were present: Scott Sabey, Eric Walmsley, Cyndi Caldwell, Pete Cornia and Scott Tolentino.   The agenda was followed as published but a closed session was held at the end of the main public session to discuss staffing.

Transportation Policy 403 was discussed and the board voted to delete four items that were discussed last month to reduce the district’s liability.

Cyberbullying, Harassment and Hazing Policy 510 was discussed.  If the school district is notified of misconduct of students off-campus during school hours that can impact students on campus the school will get involved.  If an event takes place on school owned items during non-school activities the prohibited actions will be handed over to law enforcement.  The District Attorney will not get involved with cyberbullying.  If school members detect social media items that are illegal they will notify law enforcement but if they are not illegal but in a gray area then the parents will be notified and it will be their responsibility to handle the problem.

The board reviewed a preliminary 2019-2020 calendar to resolve some conflicts.  The Christmas break is long and can impact the required number of school days.  If a resolution can’t be made some Fridays may be required for makeup days to allow graduation before Memorial Day.

It has been pointed out by state inspectors the district is not ADA compatible in a few areas for wheel chairs: playground surface with pea gravel and no elevator or ramp at Bridgerland.  They also listed the door knobs should be lever action instead of the current round knobs.  From a maintenance standpoint there is concern the lever action knobs can be broken so spares need to be available and carbon monoxide detectors need to be installed.  The board has also been informed the meeting room is not inviting to the public because of its location and size.  The color scheme is also out dated and needs to be upgraded.

The $8.5M building bond sale was completed and the paper work will be completed by February 26 so the funds will be in the account by the end of the month.  The contractor wants to break ground in April.

Superintendent Lamborn reported last week the UHSAA Board of Trustees voted unanimously to start seeding state tournaments for traditional team sports and invite ALL teams to participate.

The sports that will be impacted are baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball, volleyball and lacrosse.  The other sports will use the current seeding method.  The Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) that will determine seeding will use the following formula: team’s winning percentage (40 percent), winning percentage of a team’s opponents (40 percent) and winning percentage of a team’s opponent’s opponents (20 percent).  All games will count toward the RPI index, not just region games. Preseason  games will also count equally toward qualifying for the playoffs.  The main problem is the big schools have the highest risk because if they lose to a small school it really impacts their RPI, but they gain very little when they win.  It may also impact the travel distances the teams will have to cover for games out of their region.

The next scheduled Board meeting will be held March 12 at 5:00 PM.

Windows On The Water

Photo by Scott Livingston, Garden City

Rich County Commission Meeting

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich County Commission

RANDOLPH, Utah, March 7, 2019. Nate Roberts of Areta Land Company had some questions concerning property taxes.  He was supposed to call in and talk with the Commissioners.  He was unable to call.  His name was added to next month’s agenda.

Debbie Ames, County Recorder, noted that the Interlocal Agreement with Wasatch County for provisional survey work needed to be updated.  This company has been working with the County for the last eight years.  The agreement will be the same as in previous years.  Instead of eight years, however, the number will be changed to nine.  The motion was made and passed to continue this agreement for another year.

Linda Downing came in with the request for a business license.  She will be making baby clothes as well as outfits for cowboys such as chaps, saddle bags, etc.  This business will be conducted over the internet.  The motion was made and approved to give her a business license.  The business will be called Downing Enterprises, Inc.

Lou Jean Argyle, County Treasurer, came into the Commissioners to ask if she could add a penalty to an individual who has not paid the taxes on one parcel of property and paid after the deadline on some other parcels of land.  The Commissioners made a motion and passed it allowing a penalty on late taxes as well on the outstanding taxes that will need to be paid.

Argyle asked that the Commissioners raise the amount of money charged for a returned check fee.  Currently the bank charges $15 for any returned checks.  The County then sends a certified letter to the individual letting them know of the bounced check.  That certified letter costs $6.85.  Currently the cost for such items has been $20.  The County is losing money in this situation.  The Commissioners made a motion and passed it changing the cost from $20 to $25.

Norman Weston noted that he and Sim Weston had approached Wayne Batty and asked him to the Chairman of the Rich County Rodeo and Fair activities for both this year and 2020. He accepted this responsibility.  The motion was made and passed giving this responsibility to Mr. Batty.

Sheriff Stacey needs a new vehicle.  He turned in two bid; one for a Ford and the other for a Chevrolet.  It was noted that the equipment that the County has in the Sheriff’s current Ford vehicle will probably fit without being changed if the Ford was purchased.  If the Chevrolet were purchased new fittings would be needed.  A motion was made and passed to approve the purchase of the Ford Vehicle.

Pam Cornia reported to the Commissioners that some additional soil was needed for both the large and small rodeo arenas.  She thought at least an inch and perhaps more needs to be purchased and spread.  Also, it was noted that the soil that is currently in the arenas needs to be stirred and pulled back into the centers of the arenas. Currently, the soil has slowly been pushed to the outside areas and needs to be pulled back into the center. 

Water sprinklers also need to be fixed so that the entire arenas are covered daily.  There are several sprinkler heads that are broken or have frozen, and some are not spraying enough to cover the area that they should be. 

Pam Cornia noted that they usually have 12 or 13 events each summer.  The group has gotten their own insurance.  The Commissioners asked that she bring a copy of the Declaration Page of the Insurance Policy to be placed in the County records.  The Commissioners said that the County also has some insurance as back up if something happens that will require additional help.

A Heber City  resident who takes care of the arenas there, where many of the competitions are held.  He has offered to come up and help Randolph with their arenas if they needed some advice and help. 

John Chadwick had requested for some time on the Agenda.  He wanted to discuss the possibility of getting some concert series going in the area.  He, however, was unable to make it.  The Commissioners ask that he be placed on the agenda for next month.

Kim Wilson, the County Assessor came in asking that some personal property needs tax exemptions for this coming year.  A motion was made and passed exempted all LDS Churches in the County from property taxes.