Cisco Disco Winterfest

January 28, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

This annual event includes the CISCO DISCO, a favorite local tradition, and is the biggest winter event of the Bear Lake Valley. Activities for the whole family.

MONSTER CISCO DISCO- Dip net for Cisco fish on the east side of Bear Lake at dawn. Traditionally "Cisco Beach" is the best place to go. The reasonable State Park fee applies. You'll also need to have a Utah fishing license.

Monster Bait Tournament - Bring your BIGGEST little Cisco fish to the Utah State Park Marina before 2 p.m. to be entered in the contest. Great prizes for several age categories.

Monster Craft Fair - crafts, food, and raffle prizes.

Monster Chili Cook-off - Judges will determine who has the best chili. Great prizes will follow. Spectator taste-testing to take place after judging.

Monster Polar Plunge - "Go jump in a lake!" and help raise funds for the Common Ground Outdooa Adventure an organization based in Logan, UT. Costumes highly encouraged as there are prices for groups and individuals. $30 per jumper.

bearlakemonsterwinterfest.com

The History of the Cisco Disco Bryce Nielson

Annual event started small in the mid 1980’s. A good friend, Don Archer and I would get together to catch a limit of cisco each year. Since it was cold, Don would bring a Coleman stove to make a pot of coffee. People would stop by for a cup and wonder what we were going to do with the cisco. When we said, “eat them” many folks wondered what they tasted like so we shared.

Don started bringing a fry pan, flour and oil. When you cook cisco, eat them fresh. Usually, fishermen are so sick of cisco after cleaning a hundred, they put them in the freezer and forget about them. A couple of months later they thaw and cook them and wonder why they taste so fishy. After they tasted them, fresh, on the tailgate of the truck, they changed their minds.

As the years passed, the cooking of Bonneville cisco, fresh, grew. It really took off when Ralph Blotter and Andy Bolos became involved. As an organizer by nature, Ralph decided to take it to the next level and cook his world famous scones and have Andy provide the fresh cut fries from his restaurant in Ogden. He planned to feed everyone on the beach. The crowds exploded and there was always a big fire and lots of antifreeze and socialization.

My dear friend, Doug Miller, Utah Outdoors, showed up one year when it was well below zero. He noticed everyone standing around the fire in the normal, duck coverall dress jumping up and down, hands in their pockets, trying to stay warm. The only one sitting in a chair was Heber Stock, of original pioneer heritage, of Fish Haven. He was our oldest participant and was there every year until he passed away at 85. He could remember gill netting cisco under the ice as a boy filling buckets with fish on a sleigh pulled by a pony.  Doug wanted a parting shot with all the crazy fishermen including Heber so we all stood in a line dancing back and forth trying to keep warm at which point Doug dubbed the movement, the “Cisco Disco”. It has been a tradition ever since. People come and go and for the last few years Scott Tolentino, with lots of friends, have continued to host the Cisco Disco. It was great to see kids and adults, coming out in the cold, eating freshly caught cisco with tarter sauce, hot fries and scones, slathered in honey butter.   It was always free, with a tip jar to help buy supplies.

As the years passed, the volunteers grew and the word spread. Soon members of the local LDS Wards started to come in increased numbers. The Jessica Ward, a local gal, organized a polar plunge at the Bear Lake State Park Marina to raise money for charity. That event also grew and it was natural for them to combine forces. Both outings started to have hundreds of participants, so the Bear Lake Rendezvous Chamber of Commerce got on board, and publicized the “Cisco Disco” which brought more visitors to Bear Lake during January. Utah Parks and Recreation facilities were filled around the third Saturday in January, so they became more involved and didn’t charge Park entrance fees. It continues to grow and there are many other things going on during that time.

I am pleasantly surprised so see what happened over the last 30+ years. In the 1980’s, interest in cisco fishing had declined since the heydays in the 1960’s. Fishermen had always worried how it would affect the fish population, few fished with cisco as bait and it was too damned cold. Now, the crowds have returned. Not all of them fish for cisco, but many are dressed in crazy outfits it jump in the lake and always a ton of families and kids. It is still cold, but they don’t care.  It is all part of the annual Cisco Disco FUN.

Cisco’s Sonar

By Bryce Nielson, The Cisco Kid

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?

Snow Becomes Dangerous

Photo by Rich County Sheriff

Short Term Rentals In Rich County

Kerri Hislop and Anita Weston,  reporters

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  January 4, 2017.  A follow-up on last month’s short term rental discussion was conducted.  George Peart and Kim Wilson will be responsible for handling the details concerning the short term rental ordinance.  They had some questions for Mr. Mitch Poulson and the Commissioners.

Peart asked that a better definition of the areas where short term rentals will be allowed in the County be written.  He also felt that some appointed body or group such as Planning and Zoning should be included in permitting or excluding short term rentals.  He said that some group that has a public agenda is needed so that the public will be aware of what is happening concerning short term rentals.  He noted that there are several HOA’s that have written in their rules that short term rentals are prohibited.  Other HOA’s are experiencing problems in their areas even when short term rentals are allowed.  He felt something needs to be done to take care of the problem areas by making some rules or stipulations before short term rentals are allowed.

Wilson noted several wording errors that make the ordinance difficult to understand.  She also noted that currently short term rentals in the County are being taxed as residential dwelling, but are businesses.

Snow Falls

Photo by Amber McKee

Photo by Hans Neissen

Olsen Letter To Garden City Residents

Anita Weston, reporter

Rich Civic Times 

The following letter was received by most of the Garden City residents.  It was sent by Phil and Connie Olsen.  Apparently they own a home in Shore Lodge Estates.  This is for your information in case you did not receive a copy of the letter:

Dear Garden City Resident,

Our names are Phil and Connie Olsen.  We’re your neighbors and we’re writing you today about an imminent threat to private property rights at Bear Lake due to actions now being taken by Mayor John Spuhler and the Garden City Council.

Like you, we love Bear Lake!  Our family legacy extends back more than 100 years.  Phil’s mother was born in Star Valley, Wyoming in 1913 and started coming to the lake in a horse-drawn buggy with her family when she was a small child.  After she graduated from Utah State University, she was a school teacher in Garden City in 1937 and 1938.

We’ve owned property in Shore Lodge Estates at Bear Lake since 1971.  The project consists of 29 individual lots that share common driveways among blocks of four or five lots.  It was developed as a private subdivision and it was approved by Rich County back in 1960, long before Garden City performed this function.  We built a cabin on our property in 1978.

In May of 2013, Garden City unlawfully, and without any warning, removed six gates from the driveways in Shore Lodge Estates and installed signs indicating that our driveways were available for general public access to the lake.  Our Homeowners Association objected and filed a lawsuit against Mayor Spuhler and Garden City.  On July 26, 2016, after a three-year long legal battle, Judge Thomas Willmore issued his ruling in which he confirmed the fact that our driveways are private property.  This is how he summarized his review of all the facts:

“A developer intending to indicate private streets within his development on the plat must either name them “private driveways” on the plat, or simply state that all land intended for public use is indicated on that plat and then fail to indicate any such land.  By all appearances, this developer has done the latter.  The use of the words “Streets” in the owners’ Dedication does not indicate any land for public use.  The Defendants have presented little else of relevance to support any other finding.  For a declaration to be effective, an owner must have a “clearly manifest intent” through either declarations or surrounding facts and circumstances.  Not only do the declarations and surroundings facts and circumstances fail to show a clearly manifest intent to dedicate, they appear to constitute evidence of intent not to dedicate.”

As a result of the judge’s ruling, Garden City was forced to return our gates and to abandon their claim on our driveways.  (We’re happy to send you a copy of the judge’s complete ruling or to provide you with additional information.  Please send a request to:  shorelodgehoa@gmail.com)

To the shock and dismay of the Shore Lodge Estates property owners, many of whom are elderly, Mayor Spuhler recently notified the HOA that the city now intends to seize maneuver which is intended to be used when private property is required to meet a “compelling public need.”  It is also intended to be used as a means of last resort when all other options have been exhausted, which is certainly not the case here.

A far better solution is to establish better planning policies going forward.  Some of this is now being done by the city as it requires new developments to provide public access points as part of the zoning and approval process.  This was done recently with the Water’s Edge development and the Legacy Beach Project.

The use of forward planning to secure public access points is a better solution for both the homeowners and the city.  Shore Lodge Estates, for example, was not planned with public access in mind.  Had the requirements for public access been in place, it would have been a simple matter for the developers to provide public access on the northern-most edge of the property.  That would have insured the privacy the homeowners’ desired and it would have provided the access that the public wants as well.

Forward planning reduces the costs to the city as well.  For example, the only cost to the city for the Legacy Beach Access will be the preparation of the public access lane.  Public access at the Water’s Edge project will be completed by the developer.

In attempting to seize our private driveways, the city has already spend over $100,000 in legal fees and, if the city decides to move ahead, it will have to spend significantly more money as they are required to pay market value for our driveways, pay the lawyers (potentially both the city attorney and the Shore Lodge Attorney), pay for studies and adjustments to US 30, as well as pay for environmental studies for all associated actions.  We believe that this money would be far better spent on improving the public accesses currently owned by the city and for securing long-term solutions without forcing homeowners to give up their private driveways.

We are asking for your help to encourage the Garden City town council to thoroughly consider the cost of taking their intended action to seize private property.  Instead, let’s encourage the city to spend our tax dollars on the improvements of public access points it already owns and to spend money on projects located closer to the center of town where more people can benefit.

We encourage you to let the mayor and the members of the city council know what you think.  We also encourage you to attend the upcoming City Council meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 12^th at 5:00 p.m. at the Garden City Office Property.

Sincerely,

Phil and Connie

Rich County Management Plan

Kerri Hislop and Anita Weston, reporters

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  January 4, 2017.  The State of Utah requested that each county in the state prepare a resource management plan. The plan was to include many areas and topics of interest to the State.

Mitch Poulson, the Director of Bear Lake Regional Commission, was asked by the Commissioners to write up this plan on behalf of Rich County. There is a deadline that needs to be met in submitting this plan to the State. Mr. Poulson was asked to report to the Commissioners how the plan was progressing and to see if they could help or assist in any way to move the plan forward.

Poulson presented a rough draft to the commissioners of a few of the areas that were requested to be included in the management plan. He submitted material concerning the following:

The current assessment of all natural resource issues was submitted.

County culture and history—how it is going to fit with Rich County

Management strategies are included that will affect the locals.

A weed section will be written. Greg Peart will assist in putting this section together.

Forrest management which includes firefighting cost, logging effects and so forth, will be included as well.

Water rights which include water shed, flood plains, and wet lands will also be summarized.

Wildlife resources, which include the role of predators, will be a separate section.

Tourism data will be added. Deanna Rothlisbeger will be assisting with this area.

Energy Resources, particularly looking into solar farms, will be considered.

Wilderness areas that support fish and wildlife will be included as well. The suggestion was made to check with the forest service for specific wilderness areas within the County.

A discussion was held to determine how much money should be spent on the report, what part of the budget will be affected by the report, and how that will work for the County.

It was determined that peer review would be needed as well as making sure all areas are covered. The state regional guide needs to be contacted in case he has suggestions for additional areas that needs to be included, or some that perhaps can be removed from the plan.

The plan needs to be comprehensive with plans included with each issue as well as enough detail and information to satisfy the state’s request.

Letter To The Editor

To the Editor:

This letter is in response to the January 10 letter written by Bess Huefner titled, “Wrong to restrict Bear Lake access.” I felt it was necessary to correct some of the misconceptions, half-truths and misstatements contained in that letter. I was born and raised in Ogden, Utah. My family has been spending summers at Bear Lake since the mid-50s, first camping, then in a trailer located on the old Holiday Beach and Marina. In 1968 when that area was sold to a private buyer we looked for a place to relocate that would provide both access to the lake and solitude. My parents bought a piece of property in Shore Lodge Estates to meet these criteria.

The first point to be made is that before the land was subdivided, and the whole time since that subdivision, the access driveways were closed to public access; first by the Stringham family that owned the property, then by the developers and finally by the individual owners. The lot owners didn’t wake up one day and say, “Gee let’s close these roads.” They were always considered private. I don’t know of any owner within Shore Lodge Estates that thought the general public ever had a right to access those driveways. The years-long court case was about what intent was manifest in the plat subdividing the area.

The ruling by judge Wilmore is clear; the plat contains standard language used to subdivide larger parcels into smaller parcels to sell. It doesn’t not contain a clear intent to dedicate the driveways for public use; in fact it’s pretty clear the intent was NOT to dedicate the driveways for public use.

Ms. Huefner also talked about access in other areas like Hawaii. It’s true that Hawaii has been proactive about developing public access. But what she fails to mention is that eminent domain is not used to achieve access. They use forward planning to develop access, similar to what was done with legacy beach. This process allows for better solutions and lower costs than seizure of private property by government entities.

Public access is a concept I support, but not at the expense of individual private property rights. The current issue isn’t about public access, it’s about private property and government overreach. The city, state and counties should develop a process that is inclusive of all the stake holders, including private property owners to secure access. Not to seize private property based on the desires of a few limited politicians.

James Hanzelka, Stansbury Park

Letter To The Editor

To The Editor:

Thank you for the clear logic to your thoughts, Bess.

While not always the case, usually when one side of an argument tries to play on people's emotions (instead of brute logic), then I have found that I need to look closer at that side of the argument to figure out what is really going on.

It is too bad that issues like these arise that cause malice and strife. But it reminds how important it is to: 1)make agreements clear in the beginning rather than later, 2) It is important to make those agreements in written form 3) It is important to stick to those agreements.

If the gates had never been allowed to go up in the first place, we would not likely have this issue today.

I too hope for peace and resolution soon, so we can all go back to getting along.

Joey Stocking, Garden City

Letter to The Editor

Bear Lake-Hot seat of controversy.

The changes that have come to Garden City have improved/frustrated the people who live and come to play there. New laws on land use, sewer, water, fire, and safety have all caused uproars through the years.

I live on 150 So. and the use of the road has increased by 100% plus. But, I also understand that the lake is for everyone and there needs to be access.

The state helped the City clean and pave the road to the lake. The City runs a bus in the summer for visitors who want to get to the beach. It has helped with the traffic and dust so much.

Much criticism has been directed at the Garden City Mayor and Town Council over the years when people have chosen to voice their feelings about issues which affect them-which is an American right.
When a mayor allowed Shore Estates to gate the access to the lake at Shore Estates, I felt at the time that it was not right and told him that these accesses would be important later as the population increased in our area. He chuckled and told me that the accesses would never be used and the Shore Estates people wanted to protect their vacation/year round homes.

I have read the Shore Estate plat and it states that the accesses were to open to the public for perpetuity-not just for the adjoining land owner’s use. When we came to Bear Lake in 1968, we had friends-Larry & Sharon Harris whom we visited a lot at Shore Estates. They knew the accesses were open to the public. Over time the Shore Estate owners have wanted to keep people from walking on “their” public accesses.

We lived in Chicago and there were public walking lanes to the lake. We visited Honolulu and there were public walkways to the ocean. The Legacy Development granted the City a walking path to the lake.

In the Pickleville plat there were walking lanes to the lake. Homeowners did not want people walking past their homes, but the City began cleaning and signing those areas for use of the public.
Yes, Judge Wilmore said the gates could go back up, but I believe he did not understand the issue that his decision will affect all public roads on plats that anyone then can say this was a decision made by a Judge about public access and can be changed at will. This ruling will also reflect on the historical roads that people have tried to fence over the years. The state ruled that the historical roads remain open.

This part is long, but should be refuted.

“Other evidence strongly supports a finding that neither the (homeowners) nor (the town) ever intended or believed the driveways to be public streets. If a city owns public city streets for 50 years, upon which many of its families reside, it will typically pave or improve the streets in some way, plow the snow from them or name them,” Willmore wrote in his decision. (Only one homeowner lived on these 5 streets year round for the last 50 years-we have another street in Pickleville where one homeowner lives and we don’t plow for him and he is 94. Naming the streets should have been done on the plat-only no one thought about that detail 50 years ago. Many of our streets were not paved as the City did not have much money to do so until the late 90’s, even then it was on a limited basis. Several streets are not paved even now. The road to the Negus Ranch has been there over 100 years and is still not paved).

“A city would not allow public city streets to be chained off or gated by private citizens for any length of time, much less for decades. (The town) seems to confuse maintaining sewer and water lines under the driveways with maintaining the driveways themselves as owners would … by all accounts, (the town has) never exercised control over these driveways like owners until the events underlying this cause of action.”

After noting that the homeowners could be harmed from losing their privacy from the loss of gates, Willmore went on to write that “if anything, the public’s interest lies in obtaining unrestricted use of these driveways at the expense of these (homeowners).”

(The use of the access roads was to be walking lanes only to protect the homeowners).
Lastly, the homeowners have never paid taxes for “their” driveways. I mow and remove snow on the State Highway ROW. I’d like to not have to pay taxes and then get reimbursed for eminent domain. All of the City should share in what they will get if this continues to go to eminent domain.
Another thought: The Foundation of Bear Lake is working towards purchasing land for another park, but that is years in the making and perhaps all of the private lands will be gone and the Foundation will just keep helping with bike path around the lake.

Seriously, I wish for this New Year a plan of peace and goodwill-especially at Bear Lake.

Bess Huefner

Chris Stone Coray 1943 - 2017

Editors Note: Bobbie has obviously been occupied with other matters the last few weeks. I've done my best to keep this newsletter going on her behalf. Because I wanted to get this obituary out before next Monday (and because I missed having anything to send lass Monday) I am sending a special edition of the newsletter. My sincerest condolences to the Coray family for their loss of Chris. He truly was a wonderful man that did a lot of good for this world. 
- Joey Stocking of Garden City, UT

Chris Stone Coray was born July 11, 1943 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Howard Flygare Coray and Ivy Josephine Stone Coray. He passed away unexpectedly Jan. 3, 2017, of Acute Myeloid Leukemia at the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. After graduating from East High School, he earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Utah. He served in the U.S. Army as a nuclear weapons officer from 1965-69. During his years in the service he was stationed in Germany, Turkey and the USA.

On Nov. 25, 1966, Chris married Bobbie Bicknell (chief editor of this newsletter) at the Fort Douglas Army Chapel in Salt Lake City.

Chris received his doctoral degree in mathematics at the University of Utah, where he was awarded an NDEA Fellowship. He began his teaching career in 1973 as an assistant professor at Idaho State University. During that time he also worked as a researcher at the Idaho Nuclear Engineering Laboratory.
He began teaching at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, in 1975 and was a full professor of mathematics. While in this position at USU he authored many refereed papers and published research. He also received several National Science Foundation grants. Chris was awarded the Gerald Sherratt Special Recognition Robins Award and the 1988 Professor of the Year in Mathematics and Statistics.

In 1979 he was baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in 1980 he and his family were sealed in the Logan LDS Temple.
In 1982, he was selected to work with the University of Tokyo in a space-related research project. During this time he and his family lived in Tokyo, where Chris worked with the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science for nine months.

In 1994 he was named Cache County Chamber "Total Citizen of the Year," and in 1997, Teacher of the Year in Mathematics and Statistics. In 1997 he also won the prestigious NORCHE prize. In both 2000 and 2001 Chris was named the Department and College of Science Advisor of the Year. He also served on the USU Faculty Senate for many years.

In 1990, he was elected to the Cache County Council and served a four-year term, where he was able to implement the 911 system in Cache County and created a 10-year planning project that has resulted in making Cache Valley a better place to live.

Chris was chair of the Cache County Sheriff's Merit Commission from 1996-2002 and member of the Countywide Planning and Development Governing Board. He also served as a member of the Community Accountability Board and Adult Probation and Parole. In addition, he served as chairman of the American Cancer Society from 1996-98 and served on the board of Logan Regional Hospital. As chairman of the Logan Regional Hospital IHC Foundation he helped to raise $1.4 million towards the construction of a beautiful new cancer center. As he watched patients who had to drive long distances for treatment he became committed to building a cancer center in Logan.

Chris was a wonderful father who loved to share his love of reading (especially the "Oz" stories by L. Frank Baum) with his two daughters and now his three granddaughters. He also loved being in the sidelines at basketball and soccer games. He was thrilled when his daughters and granddaughters - whom he called his "grandberries" - excelled in violin, soccer, ballet and ice skating. As his family grew, Chris was able share with them his love of hunting, fishing and camping. Chris also found time to be a Scouting leader to young men and taught many young men the values of hard work and forthrightness.

Chris served as a bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints USU First Stake. Currently, he was serving as the High Priest group leader in the Garden City Second Ward. His favorite Church calling was as Young Men's advisor, where he was able to teach and influence many lives.

After retiring to Garden City, Chris continued to serve his community as the chairman of the Garden City Fire Department, the Sweetwater HOA Board president and the Sweetwater Water Company Chairman. He helped to build the Garden City offices and library. In his spare time, Chris was "The Unmuddled Mathematician" columnist for the Rich Civic Times. He also voluntarily tutored many young people in the community. It was always important for him to "lift people up," but his greatest joy was his three granddaughters.

In 2010, he and his wife Bobbie were called to an LDS Humanitarian Mission to Damascus, Syria, where he was associated with Damascus University and worked on LDS Humanitarian projects. In 2011, during the "Arab Spring" they were transferred to Madaba, Jordan, where Chris assisted in the founding year of a new Catholic University, The American University of Madaba.
He is survived by his wife; daughters, Kimberly Erin Coray Larson (Steve), Wendy Kristine Coray Wimmer (Marc); and three granddaughters, Savannah K. Larson, Jade Wimmer and Carmen Wimmer. He is also survived by his mother, his brother, Reed Spencer Coray, and sister, Samala Coray, and a large extended family of nieces, nephews and cousins whom he loved very much.
A scholarship endowment at the USU Department of Mathematics has been created for students in rural areas in Chris' name. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made at https://www.usu.edu/advancement/coray/.

Visiting and greeting will be held at the Allen-Hall Mortuary, 34 E. Center St., in Logan, on Friday, Jan. 6, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and in Garden City at the Garden City Second Ward on 65 S. Bear Lake Boulevard on Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. with the funeral held at noon. Condolences may be expressed online at www.allenmortuaries.net.

BATC Report To RC School Board

Anita Weston, reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah. December 21, 2016. Troy Christensen presented information to the Board concerning Bridgerland Applied Technology College (BATC).  He had a video that he played for the Board dealing with what they call stackable credits.  BATC and USU have built a curriculum that allows for 90 credits from BATC to transfer to USU as 30 credits.  These credits can be earned while still attending high school or while attending BATC.  They are accepted by USU and move students forward without having to retake any courses.

Christensen noted certificates start careers and degrees elevate them.  In other words, a student can gain a certification and get a good paying job.  As they work, they generally decide that they would like to gain more education to allow themselves to increase their pay check.  Thus, they are able to be accepted into USU and already have credits that move them toward their goal while still working if necessary.  It seems to work out really well for the students who have been following this path.

Statistics show that technical skills fill 68 percent of the jobs that pay a livable wage.  A bachelor’s degree fills about 21 percent of all jobs and a higher PHD education is needed by about 11 percent of the jobs.  It is easy to see that skills are where the majority of the jobs in the work force exist.

Christensen said there are two key points that individuals should be aware of.  First, there are exit and entrance points that must be considered.  Also specific, relevant, and economical facts must be known.  The most common path is getting a high school diploma.  Next is a technical certification, then an association science degree and finally a bachelor’s degree.

At Rich High School, the students are able to have concurrent enrollment.  Students have the opportunity of getting most of those required credits for an associate degree.  A bachelor’s degree requires 126 credits.  BATC has set up pathways toward the associate degree so that no extra classes are additional credits are required.  It is a very economical and good way to move a student toward a higher education.  BATC has the same agreement with most of the higher education institutions in the state allowing students to transfer to the school of their choice.  Currently, 90 percent of the students gaining certification at BATC are employed when the finish their program.

School Board Meeting Adopts CTSO Program

Anita Weston, reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah. December 21, 2016. The Utah State Board of Education has mandated that every high school in the state is required to offer a CTSO (Career Technical Student Program) or the $89,000 add on funding will be withheld. This is generally taken care of by creating student organizations such as FFA (Future Farmers of American) etc. which creates additional work for teachers who are put in charge of these programs.  That means that teachers either need to be paid more or given release time to handle the programs.

Principal Larsen went to the school board with all kinds of facts and figures to show that Rich High School is offering more opportunities to students than any other school in the State.  He told the State Board that Rich High School is the best school in the State.  He then went through what is available to the students here.  He noted that the currently has a 900 hour drafting program, a 900 hour robotics and automation program, a machine shop experience, an agricultural science program, and the current business classes of desk top publishing 1 and 2 and computer science will become a computer science program, there is a welding program, a construction trades opportunity, carpentry, auto diesel experience, several medical programs and a foods and culinary arts experience. 

He noted that 93 percent of the students are involved in these programs as well as athletics and other outside activities.  He said it was putting an extra burden on the teachers in the Rich County School District.

He noted that they didn’t seem to mind hearing about all of these things.  They then explained  that the CTSO that Rich High School should adopt is called Skills USA.  It would fit beautifully because it deals with many of the above programs.  They recommended that any student who isn’t currently in one of the programs be called as the president of the CTSO and that student should then recruit some other students to help.  The students who are outstanding in any of the programs could then be sent to the state and national competitions which means they would be out of school for perhaps a day or two.  The students are responsible for the organization.  It is set up so that the students have an opportunity to develop leadership skills which is the reason for CTSOs in the first place.

A current Utah State School Board Member is also the national board member of Skills USA.  He was at the Board Meeting.  He showed a video of what is expected of schools that belong to Skills USA.  He noted that apparently the students at Rich High School are certainly getting technical skills.  However, he felt that Skills USA would add the opportunity to develop leadership skills.  It is an inter-curricular organization.  It covers all of the programs at school as well as Bridgeland courses.  There are state, regional, and national competitions.  There are dues that will have to be paid.  Generally at the competitions only one student (the best) is sent to represent the school.

The Board was told that if they don’t get something going that the State will recognize as a CTSO program, they will lose the $89,000.  It must be put in place this year in order to not miss out on this year’s funds.  The motion was made and passed by the Board that Skills USA would be adopted and organized within the next few weeks.

Rich County School Board Meeting

Anita Weston, reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah. December 21, 2016. A home school request was approved by the Board.

Policy 312.3.1 is about the amount of time a student is allowed to be out of school when they are sick or hurt.  The time period is three consecutive months.  The motion was made and passed with the suggested improvements.

Utah High School Athletic Association has changed regional boundaries.  Principal Larsen reported that the meeting where the changes were made was cordial and went well.  He noted that Rich High School will be the largest school in the new region.  Some of the schools that are now in our region are private schools.  Many do no have all of the same sports as Rich High so there will be interesting changes as time passes.  Rich High School is the only school sponsoring football.

Scott Tolentino attended the workshop for newly elected local board members.  He said that it was a great training meeting.  There were 71 newly elected individuals and 67 of them attended the meeting.  There were four break-out sessions that were especially helpful.  He said that he learned a lot of good things that will be helpful as he begins work on the board.  He noted that several local boards communicate with other board members using social media which kept everyone on the board current with what is happening.  They also shared important topics prior to the meetings so the members can look into these issues before the meeting.  He was told that it was a good idea to attend the City Council meetings to be aware of the work that the various cities are doing.  There is a meeting February 17 on capital hill for all school board members.

The PEHP Health Screening schedules were pretty much filled and were well attended.  Three people came to do the screening and were very professional and competent.  All who attended were given $50.  Individuals who were out of compliance were given suggestions to help them meet their goals.  All who met their goal were given another $50.  This was a very positive thing and made people enthused and willing to attend.

The superintendent noted that the transition from one insurance company to another one was very seamless and was especially well done.  He felt that the business manager should be thanked for all of his help in making this change.

January Board Meeting will be held January 18, 2017.