Obituary-Terry Earley Willis

 Terry Earley Willis, husband, father, grandfather, and friend, was called to his heavenly home on October 4, 2025. 

Terry was born on August 2, 1943, to his parents, Claude George and Lucy Miranda Willis, being the youngest of his siblings. Terry attended North Rich High School, and upon graduating, chose to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, being called to what was once the Northern California Mission. 

After faithfully serving his mission, Terry returned to Laketown, where he began his love for ranching. Terry met the love of his life, Jeannie Hildt, shortly after, and they were married and sealed in the Logan, Utah temple on October 8, 1971. Terry and Jeannie were blessed with four children: John, Mary Jean, David, and Stephen. 

Terry loved taking the boys up to help him at the ranch, even if sometimes they were more trouble than help; he found great joy in being their dad. After raising their children, Terry and Jeannie decided to serve a couple's mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where they were assigned to serve in the Kingston, Jamaica, Mission. Upon finishing their mission, they were called to serve as temple workers in the Logan, Utah temple, where Terry went to faithfully serve the lord for 18 additional years. 

Soon after his release as a temple worker, his health began to decline, but he continued to be faithful and as active as his health would allow him. Terry loved the Lord, His family, and friends, and was the epitome of Christ-like love.

Terry is survived by his loving wife, Jeannie, and sons John (Jennifer), David (Sheri), and Stephen (Carrie), being preceded in death by his daughter, Mary Jean.

To help celebrate Terry’s life, a Viewing and Funeral will be held at the following times on October 9th, 2025

- Viewing will be held from 10:00-11:30 am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Laketown, Utah (115 S 100 E St, Laketown, UT 84038).

- The funeral will be held following the viewing at 12 pm.

- Burial will be held at the cemetery in Round Valley

Photo by Trudy Smuin

 

Bear Lake State Park

 Current Conditions:

Mostly Clear

Low Temp:24° F

High Temp:65° F

Water Temp:61.9° F

Water Level:5915.10′

My Time as the Rich County Emergency Manager Bryce Nielson

It started back in 2003. I just finished with 12 years as the Garden City Mayor 4 years as a Rich County Commissioner and I had retired from my Wildlife Resources career of 33 years. The Rich County Emergency Manager position came open, so I figured I would apply for it to give me a new challenge. Little did I know that when I got the job it would turn into a second career. That was 22 years ago, and I retired this past week. 

Most of the emergency managers in Utah have fire or law enforcement backgrounds. I was the odd man out being a fish biologist/politician from a small rural county. The emergency manager is an administrative position. I spent most of most of my time looking at a computer, attending meetings and working with individuals in emergency management. I wrote grants for equipment and partial funding for my position. I was not fighting fires or making rescues, but I supported the responders that were. To be effective I needed to know FEMA’s rules, the State policies and be able to interpret them for any situation. It needs to be automatic, so you train and train for these types of events. You need to know what to do in the event of emergency who to call and how to deal with it. Planning and exercise are critical along with knowing who you're working with from the different areas of the region. 

In Utah, most of our emergency plans are associated with earthquakes which certainly will occur. If the big one hits the Wasatch Front, I don't think it will impact Rich County significantly other than the effects of all the people coming here to escape the impacts from where they live. This may result in commodity shortages and restricted travel, but plans exist for this. My primary concerns are with wildfire and extreme weather events. They will be far more localized. Evacuation from these types of events will be challenging especially with our population of seasonal transient visitors. We need to stay aware of these threats. 

Emergency Management is something you plan and train for years for and hope never happens. Fortunately, I was never involved in a major disaster. We all think nothing will happen in Rich County. That may have been the case over the last 20 years, but it could happen tomorrow. We can live our lives comfortably because we live in a beautiful area and threats are low. Just remember to remain vigilant and stay aware of what is going on in the world around you. I have appreciated the opportunity to be the Rich County Emergency Manager. Now I need to find something else to keep me out of trouble.

Rich School District

 October

9th Thurs.     RHS  VB with St. Joe

10th Fri.        RMS  VB Divisional Tourney

                      RHS  VB  Tiger Classic in Roy

                       RHS  FB with So. Sevier

11th Sat.         RMS  FB @ Pinedale

13th Mon.       RHS  XC @ Manila

Rich County Sheriff's Report for September

 

Terminated 911 call 1

Hit and Run Traffic Accident 1

Traffic Accident w/ Damage 15

Traffic Accident, w/ Injuries 1

Intrusion Alarm 3

Animal strays,dead,noise 3

Assault 1

Agency Assistance 3

Citizen Assist 1

School Assist 1

Attempt to Locate Person 1

Attempt to Locate Vehicle 1

Child Abuse 1

Civil Dept. assist 3

Criminal History 14

Citizen Dispute 2

Domestic Violence 1

Fingerprints 1

Trash,Pole,Smell of Gas,Etc. 1

Found Property 2

Juvenile Problem 2

Lockout 1

Lost Property 1

Noise Problem 2

Property Damage (all types) 1

Sex Offense 2

Suspicious Incident 3

Suspicious Person 2

Suspicious Vehicle 2

Telephone harassment or obscen 1

Theft 5

Threats 1

Incoming Tip 1

Traffic Hazard 4

Abandoned Vehicle 1

VIN Number Inspection 6

Stranded Watercraft 1

Welfare Check 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total Incidents for This Report: 96

Wildfire Wednesday

Laketown Town Council Meeting

 Notice is hereby given that the Town of Laketown Town Council will hold their regularly scheduled meeting at 7:00 PM on Wednesday October 8, 2025, in the Laketown Town Office located at 10 North 200 East Laketown, Utah.

1.	CALL TO ORDER - Mayor Burdette Weston
2.	OPENING CEREMONY - TBD
3.	ROLL CALL
4.	APPROVAL OF AGENDA
5.	APPROVAL OF PRIOR MEETING MINUTES
A.	September 3, 2025
B.	September 24, 2025
6.	BUDGET REVIEW
7.	APPROVAL OF BILLS 
8.	ACTIVITY COMMITTEE - Chairman Jordan Gomez 
9.	UPDATES FROM CLERK'S OFFICE (Lisa)
A.	Dot gov transition
10.	ACTION ITEMS FROM PREVIOUS MEETING
A.	Mayor Weston - winterized the rodeo grounds
B.	Dan & Jeff - winterized the drinking fountain at the rodeo grounds

The Town Council will not begin discussion of the following agenda items before 7:30 PM

11.	QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FOR MAYOR AND COUNCIL: 
Any person wishing to comment on any item, not otherwise on the agenda, may address the town council at this point by addressing the mayor and town council and giving his or her name and address for the record. Comments should be limited to not more than three (3) minutes, unless additional time is authorized by the mayor. Citizen groups will be asked to appoint a spokesperson. This is the time and place for any person who wishes to comment on non-agenda items. Some items brought forward to the attention of the town council will be turned over to the clerk to provide a response outside of the town council meeting.
12.	PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION - Chairman Duane Robinson
13.	ITEMS OF BUSINESS
A.	Resolution 2025-10 Add to the consolidated fee schedule - Building Inspector: Plan Review Fee (commercial building 50 % and residential 20% of the building permit fee)
B.	Thad Willis / City Water and Drilling of a Well
C.	Discussion on Well drilling within city limits
Action Item: CM Willis follow up with attorney on this matter
D.	(Lisa) Discussion on adding to the fee schedule a request to have water meter read on months when meters are not ready by Cody
E.	Town Snow Removal
14.	COUNCIL BUSINESS: 
-	Water Updates - Delora Wight
-	Roads & Streets Updates - Brandon Willis
-	Park & Recreation Updates - Denise Johnson
-	Rodeo & Arena Updates - Kris Hodges
15.	MAYOR'S REPORT: 
-	Bear Lake Regional Commission Report
-	Town Updates
16.	EXECUTIVE SESSION (if needed) 
17.	 ADJOURN 
NOTE: The Town Council may vote to go into an executive session pursuant to the Utah Code 52-4-205 
On TUESDAY  October 7, 2025 at 9:00 AM a copy of the foregoing notice was posted on the Utah Public Notice website at  http://pmn.utah.gov and on the Laketown website at www.laketownutah.com