Enterprise zones, grants and summer concerts

Bobbie Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.   May 1, 2019.  Mitch Poulsen, Bear Lake Regional Commission, asked the County to adopt a resolution for an enterprise zone to help with economic development.  Enterprise Zones are areas created by the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development to encourage economic growth and development in specified areas by providing tax breaks to development projects within these boundaries. The unincorporated area of the county will be considered as an enterprise zone. The Governor’s office will be asked to designate it. This is a five  year designation.  The County did adopt the resolution.

CIB (Community Impact Board)  has a $20,000 grant for developing a comprehensive plan for Rich County.   The last plan, according to Poulsen, was completed in 1996.  It is a matching grant.  The County’s portion for  the match could be the money already given to BLRC.  Poulsen said that he could write the grant and do the plan since the BLRC needs money.  Commissioner Bill Cox said there is a program out of BYU which is looking for counties that need to do comprehensive plans and have them developed by students.   He thought that it would  cost about $14,000.

Poulsen said he has been approached by Nate Parry for a Special Events Permit  permit for a summer concert series on the weekend at the Sweetwater Golf Course on the driving  range.  The  concerts will be given by Lone Peak Entertainment every week during the summer and must be over by 10 p.m.

Bike Path

Bobbie Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.   May 1, 2019.  Mitch Poulsen, Bear River Regional Commission, told Commissioners again about the $300,000 grant which will expire in December of this year if they do not start on the bike path before then.  A  variance has been given by UDOT for the part of the path that is adjacent to  Epic Recreation next to a driveway which is actually in the right of way easement and about two  feet from the existing house.  Even though the path goes right by the house, it should give them better access to their home and make egress easier.

UDOT made the variance because they want bikers and walkers off of the road.  That curve has some obstructed views and could be a potential danger. In some places the bike path will be lower than the highway. 

Matt Coombs, Forestry, Fire and State Lands, said that he would approach his organization for another $100,000 if the bike path is started and it may be higher if it is possible to get it to Rendezvous Beach.  Poulsen asked if they could ask for incremental funding each year until the path is completed.  Coombs said yes.

Commissioner Bill Cox said the legislators want to provide more opportunity for beach access.  If we had had a plan this year they might have put money into it this year.  Cox said, “We need to get started and we need to look at more parking and more toilet facilities.”

Commissioners hope that the new Cisco Road will draw people over to the east side so that there will be more beach open on the west.  Cox felt it would be better to construct the path during the fall after the tourist season. Cox told Coombs that he should go ahead with the final plan to be ready for the fall. He said that the plan should reflect the path going to Rendezvous Beach.  This will be on the agenda again next month. 

Cisco’s Sonar

Bear Lake Sculpin

By Bryce Nielson

Spring is finally arriving.  It may last at least two weeks.  The tons of snow we   I have to admit that I had serious concerns about flooding this spring.  Fortunately, as far as the melt was concerned, we had a perfect warm up.  Cold days with intermittent warm spells resulted in the water coming off slowly and evenly with no serious flooding issues.  The high country is just beginning to thaw, so high flows will come down the Bear River and Smiths Fork which will contribute to filling the lake.

received during the winter is melting.

There is a small fish in Bear Lake that will be happy.  The high lake elevation will mean more rocks are covered and increased spawning habitat for the endemic Bear Lake sculpin.  The Bear Lake sculpin (Cottus extensis) are spawning along the east and south shores. The loons and mergansers are seen feeding spawning sculpin along the shorelines.  In early April, they begin to migrate towards shore. During spawning, they swim miles to find rocks to attach egg masses to.  They are poor swimmers and only move in short bursts and that can take some time. The males stake out their territory under rocks and entice the females to join them.  As the female deposits a sticky patch of about 400 eggs on the bottom of the rock and the male fertilizes them.  The female then swims off leaving the male to protect the egg mass until they hatch.  He fans the eggs with his pectoral fins to keep the silt off and oxygenate them while protecting them from crayfish and other egg predators.  Depending on water temperature and wave action, the eggs hatch weeks later and the fry disperse throughout the lake.  The small sculpin hide in the extinct shells scattered along the bottom.  The male sculpin then goes back to his solitary ways where he will be trying to escape predators since sculpin are one of the preferred food items for cutthroat and lake trout   

During the rest of the year, these fish are scattered throughout the lake, on the bottom, feeding on midge larvae, nematodes, stray eggs or anything else they can consume.    They are the most highly evolved fish in the lake and most of their cousins are marine (ocean) species.  They do not have scales but have a large well-developed head and pectoral (front) fins.  They are characterized by opercal (cheek) spines and brilliant blue eyes, the same color as Bear Lake (see photo).  The adults average three to four inches but rarely exceed six inches.

They also have another unique characteristic.  They are the chameleons of the lake.  Depending on what color the lake bottom is from white to dark, they will change color to blend in with it.  If it is all one color, they will mimic it. If there are gravels, they will be splotchy.  This adaptive characteristic allows them to hide on a seemly bare bottom which there is a lot of in Bear Lake.

I have always enjoyed studying and observing these unique fish.  Not much is known about them, but they are an integral part of the ecosystem.

Spring Bird

Photo by Lauriann Wakefield, Little Starling Photography

Dee's Super Service, Laketown, Utah

A surprising treasure exists in Laketown, Utah.  In a time when "service stations"became convenience stores and car, truck and semi repairs are done in dealer repair shops, Dee's Service is an unusual place.

Over 74 years old, the Sinclair service station is now run by its third generation owner Dennis Hodges.  Hodges son  Kiley will be the fourth generation.

Started in 1945 by Hodges maternal

Parnell and Letha Johnson

grandfather Parnell Johnson, then his father Dee Hodges who died in 2012 it still is the "go to" place for a diverse set of vehicles.

After Dee Hodges' graduation from North Rich High School, he married Janet Johnson on July 3, 1953, in Laketown, Utah. 

Dee Hodges

He and Janet returned to Laketown, where they continued to work and raise their family until his passing. Dee loved his work with his father-in-law, Parnell Johnson, at  Johnson's Service Station in Laketown. In 1975 Dee and Janet took over the business, changed the name to Dee's Super Service, and continued on the family legacy.

Dennis and Kris Hodges

Dennis Hodges and his son, Kiley Hodges now run the service station which has also added a continence store and a summer ice cream parlor. 

The day I was there to work on my camper, there was a large tractor, an 18 wheeler, a car, a pick-up, a tow truck and a machine of undetermined use.  It also houses a parts area.

Our Lake!

Photo by Tyler Davidson

Parent/School Messaging System

In 2012, Rich School District purchased a school messaging system that interfaces with our Student Information System (Aspire). The system is called School Messenger and it allows the school to contact parents by phone, text message, or e-mail.

School Messenger allows us to contact you in case of school closure, delayed bus routes, changes in activity schedules, snow days, etc.  At 9:00 A.M. each day, the system will also automatically contact you if your student is absent from school.  This is a safety feature we feel will be of value to you and your student(s).  Any time you do not contact the office to excuse your student(s), they will be marked as unexcused and the School Messenger System will automatically contact you.  Once you have received this information, the onus is on you to call the school to ensure your student(s) is to be excused.

If you wish to receive a text message instead of a call, or both:  Simply text any of the following words to the number 68453: subscribe, option, yes.  You will know you were successful if you receive the following reply:  You are registered to receive approx. 3 msgs/mo. Text STOP to quit, HELP for help

You will want to repeat this opt-in process for any wireless number that you wish to include.  If you are uncertain as to whether or not you have already opted in, simply repeat the opt-in process.  There is no harm in sending the opt-in message more than once. 
In addition to performing the opt-in process, you will want to insure your wireless number(s) and all contact information is up to date in Aspire.

Please note, although the district does not charge for this service, it does not pay for text message charges that may be incurred by you for sending or receiving text messages.  Please check with your wireless provider for information regarding possible charges.

If you have any questions, please contact the district office or your school's office.

School Calendar

RICH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

    Adopted 2019-2020 CALENDAR

Monday	August 19	School Begins
Monday	Sept. 2	Labor Day
Wednesday	Nov.  27	Minimum Day
Thurs - Fri	Nov 28 - 29	Thanksgiving
Fri - Wed	Dec 20 - Jan 1	Christmas Break
Thursday	Jan 2	Back to School
Friday	Jan 3	School will be held
Wed - Thurs	Feb 26 - 27	No School
Friday	March 6	School will be held
Friday	May 22	Last Day of School -min
Friday	May 22	Graduation

 

Rich County School Board Meeting

Kathie B. Anderson, Reporter

Rich Civic Times 

RANDOLPH, Utah. April 16, 2019. The Rich County School District held its regularly scheduled Board Meeting.

 Zack McKee, interested citizen,  inquired respecting a baseball team or a softball team at Rich High School.   He asked if this would benefit the school district and offered to conduct a poll to see if the community and students would like a baseball team.  Many people have approached him with very positive views.

The Board Members expressed concerns about practice time, interference with football and track, and the Title 9 programs (equal representation of boys and girls in sports).  McKee will conduct a sport assessment and report his findings back to the Board.  Superintendent Dale Lamborn said that the USHAA is in the process of developing a survey that will poll high schools regarding the sport programs.

A motion was made by Scott Tolentino and seconded by Peter Cornia to ratify the fall 2019- 2020 school calendar.

One change was made with the region track meet.  It will be hosted again in Evanston, Wyoming, but will be held on Thursday, May 9, 2019.  This will be a one-day activity culminating event.  Mr. O’Neil will take care of everything for this event since they are already setting up for their region track meet being held that weekend.   A motion was made by Pete Cornia and seconded by Scott Tolentino.  Motion carried.

Policy 309 - This policy has been discussed and reviewed for three months, the policy deals with released time from the regular school program.  A clean copy has been completed and reviewed now by legal counsel. A motion to ratify was made by Scott Sabey and seconded by Cyndi Caldwell.  Motion carried.

Trust land Plans: Tara Cornia coordinates this program for Rich School District. Every year in the spring the principals meet with their community council members at their individual schools and write a plan and look at their need assessments, look at their testing scores, and talk with all the  stake holders to see what all the students’ needs are and they  write up a plan that goes along with the  Trust land funding.  One of the rules is that the local school boards must approve plans before they are sent to the State for approval.   Districts cannot do capital expenditures out of fixed costs. Following is a list of needs that was made by the individual schools: 

North Rich Elementary

AR stipend for person who runs the program

Reading coach

Fine arts and painting class

Classroom instructional aide

Rich High School

Student laptops for incoming freshman.  Biggest expense*  

Professional development stipend for teachers to unpack standards

Library books

Special Education teacher ($30,000) (Approved by Board last year)

Rich Middle School

AR parent stipend

Junior National Honor Society stipend

Junior Honor Society materials/membership

AR software / progress monitoring

Art expert stipend

Science materials, lab and digital equipment

Student computers. Biggest expense*

Music program instruments

Civics instructional materials for class

(P.E./Health) birdies and rackets

Civics instructional materials

Level books and novels for ELA classrooms

South Rich Elementary

Professional development stipend for teachers

Assemblies

Literacy specialist

Math consultant to help with math instruction

Accelerated reading books for library

Math, reading, science and materials for teaching goals

Computers

Software for reading, math, science 

A motion to approve the Trust lands plans for all of the schools in the district was made by Scott Tolentino and seconded by Eric Wamsley.  Motion carried.  These plans will now be sent to the State for final approval.

A motion was adopted to authorize Grant Wamsley, from the Board, to accept the graduates for 2019.

Interest-based Facilitation (contract negotiations) has been a very positive experience.   Eric Wamsley made a motion, seconded by Peter Cornia, selecting Scott Tolentino and Pete Cornia as this year’s Board member facilitators.  It may be the end of May or June until the facilitation will begin. A proposed increase for School District employee benefits of 3.2% was considered.  PEHP is very proactive with 100% doing preventative benefits.  Jennie Johnson, the Business Administrator, is very proactive and is always sending out the latest medical helps and recommendations to the staff.

TSSA (Teacher Student Success Act) Framework legislation is much like Trust land money. Each District will receive $140,000 to be divided between four schools, the money flows to the schools with twenty-five percent going towards teacher’s salaries.  It can be used for counselors and other instructional uses.  The Legislature wants to make sure all of the WPU does not just go to teacher salaries.  Next month Superintendent Lamborn is asking all schools (principals and their staffs) to come up with articulated ideas of their wants and needs to be presented at the School Board Meeting.                                  

The Legislature has said this was an ongoing funding, but the Board is a bit skeptical.  This past year the Board decided to give a bonus to the teachers just in case this money was not funded again.  Many questions about this framework still need to be worked out until any decisions have been finalized.

Rick Limb, Physical Plant Coordinator, discussed many summer projects that need to be done for the new school year.  Many projects that the District need to work on are related to making all schools and playgrounds ADA (American Disability Act) compliant.  Rich Middle School and North Rich Elementary Schools need sections of roof repaired, he thought that maybe contractors could repair roof while doing new building.   Some of the carpeting also needs to be replaced, ADA compliant door handles need to be installed throughout schools.  CO2 monitors must be installed in all buildings by 2020, septic system needs to be enlarged to a 5000-gallon tank.   A   building security system needs to be installed.  It has been recommended that an intercom system be installed, and FOB (transponders) on system installed throughout system. Superintendent Lamborn and Limb have been in constant communication with the builders, electricians, and engineers.   Hogan Construction and the Rich School District are working together on an addendum for the existing schools and the new building.  It will be pricey, but in the long run, it will be well worth the expense they said.

Superintendent Lamborn reported that the Rich County School District is in good shape regarding Title 9. The National cheerleading competitions are really growing.   Utah is now having competitions.  Our teams can now compete in Salt Lake City. 

The next School Board Meeting will be held May 20, 2019 at 5:00 p.m.