Computer Class At Library

The Garden City Library will be offering a beginning computer class for anyone who is interested.  Please call Cathie Rasmussen, Library Director, at the library for more information at 435 946 2950. The library hours are as follows:

Monday & Friday                   2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday                            10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday                                10 a.m. to 2 p.m.      

Octo Bear Fest, October 22

New Pastor In Garden City

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  October 5, 2016. William and Gloria Bagley, who moved to Garden City in July are “planting” a new non-denominational Christian church in the city.  Bagley has been a minister since 1974 and was trained in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  For the last 14 years they have been in Preston, Idaho at a church there.  He said that his goal is to start a church and become involved in the community.  Bible study groups will be offered. They have four children and 17 grandchildren. 

They are part of the Rural Home Missionary Association based in Morton, Illinois.  This missionary effort is financed by churches in Michigan and Illinois.

Sunrise

Photo by Elvira Luzack

Water's Edge Passes P&Z

Bobbie Bicknell Coray, reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah. October 5, 2016. Planning Commission Approval for phase 1 and 5 and 6 of Water’s Edge  After many months of appearing before the Garden City Planning commission, Chris Shurian and Brian Balls, developers of the Water’s Edge, said that they had met all of the requirements of Zan Murray, the city engineer. 

The fence that is proposed to protect the Huefner property was discussed. Don Huefner said they settled on a date to be finished which will be before the certificate of occupancy.  Should the fence be on the property line or  on Huefner’s or the Water's Edge property line?  Huefner thinks since it is Water's Edge fence it should be on their property so that it will be clear that the developers will maintain it. 

If it is on the property line it might be considered a partnership and Huefner doesn’t  want to be responsible for it.  The developers said they were fine with putting it on their property. The fence will be 6’ high, with rock pillars.  

UDOT has a few more requirements for traffic studies which may have to be done in the summer.  Water's Edge traffic engineer has been working with UDOT and they seem to be very cooperative. They have worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to preserve existing wetland.

Water’s edge will begin with a hotel, water park and a condo building for the first phase of construction.  The access to the hotel will be on 50 S and 150 S Bear Lake Boulevard.   This project began in 2007 and according to Lance Bourne, “we are closer than we have ever been to beginning the project.”

Vote Needed on Eastside Bear Lake Sewer Project

Bobbie Bicknell Coray, reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  October 5, 2016.  The Eastside Bear Lake Sewer Project which will extend sewer service north along the east side of Bear Lake was discussed at county commission meeting by Mark Stringham, Skyler Davis and Leahann Lamb of the Division of Water Quality.

If the existing residents connect right now they will pay $40 per month plus the cost of abandoning their existing septic system.  That will save them $3200 impact fee and a $750 connection fee.  If they do not sign up to connect now they will still be required to connect to the sewer without these savings when a home is sold or there is remodeling.   There are 15 residents that this affects.

The sewer is being installed to maintain the Bear Lake water quality by providing an improved and sustainable mean of disposing of wastewater. This also provides sewer to the Scout Camp which is heavily used in the summer.

One problem is getting residents to respond.  The people who live on the East Side are mostly summer residents.  Casey Florence, HOA representative has tried to get them to  come to open meetings to see what their options are but no one has come to the meetings.  Stringham said “it’s a great funding package.  The funds in the program are in demand for other programs so the community should act quickly.

Commissioner Bill Cox said, “they already know about and understand the project, we don’t need another meeting.  They just want to know how much it costs.”  He suggested that they send out a mailed ballot and have them vote.

County Business Discussed

Bobbie Bicknell Coray, reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah. October 5, 2016.   Commissioner Bill Cox reported on his meetings with the Mosquito Abatement  Association.  He said that there have been some positive tests for West Nile in Utah but none in Rich County.  There was one Zika case but it was believed to have been someone who travelled outside the state.  The mosquito pulls will be tested for both.  But Utah does not have the mosquito species that carries Zika. 

Over 80% of our goods come in on containers and they bring in new species of insects.  The government is trying to monitor the containers  and use mosquito control measures. 

Bill Cox also reported on a   Commissioners Workshop in Vernal which covered a lot of public lands issues.  Resource management plans need to be completed for each county and Rich County needs to spend next year in preparing one.  BRAG has a lot of information which can be used in this and will be a great help.  The county commission will have to appoint a committee to work on this.

Wallace Shulthess, Woodruff, told commissioners about his concern on a property boundary.  He recently had a survey on county road and it showed the road was actually on his property, not county property.  He wants an agreement to allow them to farm the property around the county road as it is his property and he is worried about the future of that property if it is not confirmed as his. 

Woodruff is working on surveying its roads, because some of the old surveys were not done correctly.  Fence lines need to be down the center of proposed roads until further development. Commissioners told Shulthess that his new survey will be recorded.

Parcel numbers will be changed this year  for tax notices according to Lou Jean Argyle, treasurer.  Quite a few people are paying electronically and they may become confused by the change in numbers but in reality the number is similar with only 2 zeros added in the middle of the number to allow for the growth in the county.

Ocie Frazier is putting in three cattle guards on Lewis Ridge Road, Thousand Dollar Ridge Road  and Cut Off Ridge Road and needs county approval.  The county will maintain them.  The guards will be 16 feet wide which allows the roads to be bladed if necessary.  It will be beneficial for several ranchers.  The county will install them but Frazier will pay for them.  The county issued permits for each guard.  The permits are $50 each if they provide the cattle guard.  

Musings Of A Muddled Male

Two Loves

By Bob Stevens, The Muddled Male

       Several years ago I told you of the problems I had created for myself in an attempt to satisfy the demands of two lovers.  I repeat that confession here as an introduction to my current problem.  It is an example of what goes around, comes around …. albeit in a slightly different form.  And now to my previous confession:

       If you see me wandering around with my head in my hands it isn't a migraine, it is simply that the two loves of my life are not getting along.  It is probably my fault.  I have tried, but being male I am, by default, insensitive, inattentive, and overly involved in mundane, technical things.  I'm not certain how one man deals with two loves whose needs and tastes are so completely opposite.  The one thing I know for certain is that I would have failed as a polygamist.

       My current state of pain all started when Ann, my first love, curled up on my lap, ran her fingers through my hair, and cooed, "I want you to tell me that you love me more than your iPhone or your computer.”  I should have known she had a jealous streak since she had been demanding more and more of my time the past couple of weeks.  Almost as if she was purposely and selfishly trying to keep me too busy to be with my second love, the digital one.

       So in the interest of peace I grabbed a slip of paper and hurriedly wrote, "I love you more than my iPhone and my computer, together or separately."  Things were going great until she noticed that on the back of the paper I had written, "Note to self: apologize to iPhone and computer later."

       So now you know.  My head is in my hands in an attempt to cover my black eye.  Ann claims that my eye can't hurt nearly as much as her heart, but I know that all it takes to make her feel better is a power outage or a battery failure.

       And now to my current problem.  When we left the hill above Bear Lake and moved to Logan, one of the advantages we expected to find was closeness to stores.  In fact, we live close enough to a Wal*Mart store that we could walk, if I could get up enough courage to sprint through the roundabout that sits at the halfway point.  So not having such courage we choose to drive, and that is the first half of our new problem.  As an engineer it is imperative that I park our car exactly centered between and parallel to the two lines that define the parking stall.  That would appear to be an easy task, except that the approach is narrow and the process of dodging people and carts and other cars as I try to line up with the parking stall causes me to end up in a way that provokes Ann, my wife, to respond with such taunts as, “The car is in crooked, you’re too close to this side, or you’re too close to the curb.”  And so I begin the process of see sawing back and forth in an attempt to get the proper alignment.

       But when we finally get settled squarely in the stall, another problem begins.  Ann, who is kind and tender hearted and always wanting to make things better for others, begins scurrying around the parking lot gathering up shopping carts that have been left all over the place by thoughtless shoppers.  “Ann,” I counsel in a stern voice, “they have young men who are paid to do that.  Let them do their job.”  But Ann keeps collecting and moving carts into their parking stall.  Since we moved here we have been to the parking lot dozens of time but have never quite made it into the store.

Well, maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but if you come to Wal*Mart in the evening and you see an old man see sawing in and out of a parking stall, and his wife scurrying around gathering up shopping carts, that will be us.  Be certain to wave as you go into and out of the store.  We will still be there.

Saturday Morning Sunrise

Photo by Tavis Buys

Rich County Author Releases New Book

Amber Argyle is the bestselling author of the Witch Song Series and the Fairy Queen Series. Her books have been nominated for and won awards in addition to being translated into French and Indonesian.

Amber graduated cum laude from Utah State University with a degree in English and physical education, a husband, and a two-year old. Since then, she and her husband have added two more children, which they are actively trying to transform from crazy small people into less crazy larger people.

Asked about how Randolph affected her writing she said: "I specifically remember a time when my dad was chasing cows and dismounted to check the cinch. The horse whirled around and kicked him in the face. Dad had broken facial bones and a nasty scar. Most people would have labeled the animal dangerous and put him down. Instead, Dad renamed him Killer and rode him until the day that horse died (wish I were half as tough). 

That's the kind of example I grew up with as a kid. I was surrounded by ranchers with calloused hands and soft hearts. By women who dedicated their lives to raising their families. Our community lived and breathed for their children, and it showed in the school and community events. And though I haven't lived in Randolph for 17 years, it is still home. The people are still my neighbors, and they still support me as they did when I lived there. It was among them I learned to reach for my dreams, shake of my failures, and try again. And again. And again. 

It was that fortitude that kept me pushing myself to write four novels before one of them was accepted for publication. And it was that drive that kept me going for two series of twelve published books. One series was about witches; one about fairies. But the dedication, selflessness, and sacrifices of the characters all stemmed from the people I grew up watching. The people of Rich County, and specifically, Randolph."

Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge Prescribed Burn

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge- Montpelier, Idaho

Contact: Jeremy Jirak- Bear Lake NWR Manager

jeremy_jirak@fws.gov

Phone #: 208-847-1757

The Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge staff will be conducting two management actions this fall in order to improve habitat and management capacity at the refuge. 

A prescribed fire will be taking place on the west side of the refuge in the Bloomington Unit. Burn operations will occur over a couple days between September 15th and October 31st, 2016. The prescribed fire can only occur when weather and field conditions meet prescription so that the burn can be carried out safely. The prescribed fire is intended to reduce dead wetland vegetation and increase the quality of wetland habitat.  This unit of the refuge is not open to the public. However waterfowl hunters and other recreationist should be aware of burn operations and possible road closures during burn days.

This fall the refuge will also be drawing down water levels in all of the wetland units beginning around September 15th.  Wetland units are being drawn down to allow for a LiDAR flight.  LiDAR is a technique where an airplane flies over and surveys the elevation of the ground with lasers. Water levels must be low as possible during the flight to map the bottoms of the wetland units. This will allow refuge staff to more accurately track and manage the amount of water in the refuge.  The flight will take place mid-October.  After this time the refuge will begin refilling its wetlands with water before the winter. Recreationist should be aware of dangerous flowing water conditions around water control structures and steer clear of these areas.

During the hunting season hunters can expect lower water levels and decreased access to the hunting areas due to the low water conditions. This project will only be during the 2016 hunting season and water levels are expected to be normal for the 2017 hunting season.

If you have any questions about either activity, please contact the Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge Office at: 208-847-1757.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Morning At The Pond

Photo by Tammy Calder

September School Board Meeting

Chris S. Coray, reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  September 21, 2016.  The Rich School District held its regular monthly meeting.  All members were present.

The board voted to not charge EMS personnel directly for some of the costs incurred in background checks required by those who provide that service at schools in the district.

Considering the upcoming hire of a replacement for Richard Clark, who is retiring as business manager, the board decided not to require a CPA credential for applicants, that the USBA could serve as a non-binding filter on applicants, that the application date would be Jan 3, 2017, that the start date and salary were negotiable based on experience.

The board received a report on the recent SAGE tests mandated by the state.  Overall, in language arts, the percentage of students judged proficient was 44% compared to the Rich District-wide average of 53%.  In mathematics the state proficiency result was 47% and the district 49%.  In science the state average was 49% while Rich District was rated at 47%.  It needs to be noted that the averages for the district were for the aggregated schools, including elementary, middle, and high school.  In the Rich District only 3% of the students opted out of the test.  In the state as a whole, the highest percentage of opt out students was in Park City, where 50% of the students chose to not take the test. 

Checking additional data available on the State Board Web site, more specific data can be obtained.  Just for example, in mathematics, 40% of the students at Rich High School were judged to be proficient, compared to 64% at Sky View High School in Smithfield and 36% at Manila High in Manila.  SAGE mathematics proficiency levels were higher at the middle and elementary schools in the Rich District than at the high school. 

 (Reporter’s comment and opinion:  The SAGE tests are an unsatisfactory and defective measure of student mathematical proficiency.  It is also true that Utah is the only state in the nation that uses SAGE tests.)

The ACT test, which is not SAGE connected, in mathematics resulted in an average score of 19.0 at Rich High School compared to a 19.7 average statewide (36 is a perfect score).  Admission to some colleges, like BYU, which has a high demand, requires a composite ACT of 27 or 28.  In some extreme cases, like CalTech, a perfect 36 composite ACT is not sufficient to guarantee admission.  

The NESS funding program is being examined statewide.  Its main purpose is to provide extra assistance to small schools in isolated areas, recognizing that there are often extra education opportunities in large schools in large districts and this program attempts to equalize opportunity.

Emergency Preperation

Rocky Mountain Power urges

planning and preparation for emergencies

               Rocky Mountain Power encourages its customers to review their emergency plans and emergency kits before winter weather sets in this year. National experts in emergency preparedness remind citizens that the time to prepare for any emergency, including a power outage, is before it occurs.

            “Our customers expect reliable electric service and our employees make every effort to deliver it,” said Mike Felice, Rocky Mountain Power health and safety director. “However, there are some conditions that we can’t control – like severe weather, vehicle accidents and other circumstances that could cause a power outage. Experts advise us all to have a plan and a kit assembled to make life easier for our families in the event of a power outage.”

            The autumn season is a great time to gather supplies for an emergency kit and discuss plans for dealing with a potential emergency in our families and businesses. Reliable information regarding many types of emergencies can be obtained from government resources like www.ready.gov and recognized experts such as the American Red Cross.

            Rocky Mountain Power has additional recommendations for customers when an emergency causes a power outage:

·    Have an outage kit and routinely inspect its contents. Items to have in your outage kit include:

o   flashlight and extra batteries

o   battery-operated alarm clock and radio

o   ready-to-eat foods and manual can opener

o   bottled water

o   blankets

o   first-aid kit.

·    If you see a downed power line:

o   Don’t touch it. Call 911 immediately then call Rocky Mountain Power toll free at 1-877-508-5088.

o   Keep everyone out of the area, including pets.

o   Do not touch a person if a power line is touching them. Immediately call 911.

o   If a power line falls across your vehicle, stay in the car and wait for emergency personnel to cut the power. If your vehicle is on fire and you must get out, JUMP with both feet togetheras far from the car as possible. Then hop or shuffle far away from the car, keeping both feet close together. If a part of your body touches the car and the ground at the same time, you could be electrocuted.

·    In your house during a power outage:

o   Never use kerosene or propane heaters inside without proper ventilation.

o   Preserve body heat by wearing multiple layers of clothing.

o   Place blankets and towels around windows and doors to help keep heat inside.

o   Protect pipes during freezing weather by wrapping them with insulation.

o   A full freezer should keep food frozen and safe for about two days when kept closed.

o   If someone in the home is on life support, be sure to have a back-up system and a plan of action for an outage.

o   Never plug a generator into an outlet and don’t connect a generator directly to your home’s main fuse box or circuit panel. If you must provide temporary power to your home’s wiring system, obtain the necessary local permits and have a licensed electrician provide installation.

            For more information about outages, preparation and power restoration, check the company’s website https://www.rockymountainpower.net/ed/po/or.html. To report an outage, call toll free 1-877-508-5088.

Bear Lake Corridor Study

Anita Weston, reporter

Rich Civic Times 

GARDEN CITY, Utah. September 8, 2016.  Bob Peterson, Garden City Manager, told the city council that a Bear Lake Corridor Study has been completed by UDOT.  The report was prepared by Fehr & Peers and W. H. Lochner. 

The executive Summary notes: "The Bear Lake Corridor Study is an intermediate Level Corridor Study, for the US 89/SR-30 corridor through Garden City, Utah and adjacent to Bear Lake State Park.  The corridor serves key recreation destinations and experiences traffic congestion and safety issues during peak visitation periods.  The corridor also serves as part of a regional highway network, so solutions must balance local travel tourism, and inter-regional travel.

The study was carefully designed to execute planning efforts that can be used in subsequent NEPA processes based on FHWA planning guidance.  Specifically, a robust in person and online public engagement process was done to gather feedback that informed preliminary purpose and need statements and helped screen alternatives.

Analysis of seasonal variation suggests that traffic volumes occur often enough within a range where capacity enhancements or traffic management strategies are justified.  The region essentially experiences “special event” visitation levels for weekends and holidays throughout the summer.  However, the nuances of the situation are complex and evolving, particularly as Garden City expands local streets that provide alternatives to bear Lake Boulevard.  Selection of appropriate strategies should find balance between accommodating peak season travel demand without overbuilding and considering the values of the community.

The Bear Lake Corridor Study identifies a spectrum of issues that include intersection design, turn lanes, pedestrian mobility, roadway geometry, on road cycling, and beach access.  The study provides recommendations for several priority project and implements strategies and serves as a basis for UDOT and stakeholders to plan improvements.  The study was careful to recommend projects that are appropriate given the context of the scale and variability of visited demand, the context of the semi-rural setting, and public preferences.

Recommendations are provided in the final chapter as “cut sheets”—each project is summarized with information for project description, purpose and need, preliminary costs, environmental screening, outstanding issues, time horizon, and implementation steps.  Supporting engineering drawings and cost estimates are provided in the appendices."

Pilot projects that were suggested are as follows:

Traffic Management Committee

Temporary speed feedback signs

Numbered or named beach access points

Centralized park-and-ride located near 300 West with shuttle service to key beach access locations

Park-and-bike facilities near 300 West

Bikeshare program that operates on weekends during peak season.

Temporary traffic signal at the interest ion of US 89 and SR 30

Traffic pace car

Temporary Variable Message Signs (VMS)

Courtesy shuttle between the Marina and Marina overflow parking

Free taxi or shuttle during weekends.