Showing posts with label KUER. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KUER. Show all posts

Saturday, September 28, 2019

San Juan Commission Meeting/ Blanding Arts and Events Center. Oct. 1, 2019 -- Bear Essentials


San Juan County Commission Meeting in Blanding Oct. 1

Documents Updated at Commission meeting today
  Only a small scattering of citizens attended the San Juan County Commission meeting held in Blanding today, Oct.1  Kudos to Mexican Hat, Bluff, Monticello, and Spanish Valley citizens who drove some distance to attend. Mayor Joe Lyman gave a welcome and brief background of the beginnings and goals of Blanding from 1905 to the present and how cooperation and involvement created a successful community. He specifically mentioned the tunnel/ water development, a college campus, and medical facilities.





A very interesting slide presentation given David Ure (Executive Director of SITLA) talked about SITLA lands, and PILT funds and the benefits to Utah and San Juan County. Each acre of public/SITLA land generates .86 cents each year, which is in turn distributed to counties by State law. State trust lands in Utah make up 1/9th of the state. Funds are also used for higher education, and other state institutions. Funds collected have been invested and the "endowment" continues to grow, now standing at $2.9 Billion. Each year students and schools benefit from the Endowment's growth. Some funds are also used to clean up graffiti and dump areas on public lands.












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Agenda:
SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING
ARTS & EVENTS CENTER - CONFERENCE ROOM
576 W 200 S, Blanding, UT 84511
AGENDA
October 1, 2019

  9:00 A.M. Work Meeting

1. Emergency Management Training for Elected Officials (Approx. 1 Hour) - Tammy Gallegos - San Juan County Emergency Manager
2. Presentation regarding PILT Funds, David Ure - SITLA Executive Director
3. Briefing about San Juan County's budget and preparation plan, John David Nielson - San Juan County Clerk
4. Briefing on Potential Property Tax Increases, John David Nielson, San Juan County Clerk
5. General Plan Update Discussion, Mack McDonald, San Juan County Administrator
6. Public Lands Update Discussion - Nick Sandberg, San Juan County Planning

11:00 A.M. Commission Meeting

1. Approval of minutes - August 17 & 24, 2019
2. Citizens' comments to the Board of San Juan County Commissioners* (Please complete the request form - available at the door)
3. New Hires, Walter Bird - San Juan County Personnel
4. Ratify Approval of Notice to Residents Regarding Potential Property Tax Changes, John David Nielson, San Juan County Clerk
5. RESOLUTION OF APPOINTMENT OF A SAN JUAN COUNTY REPRESENTATIVE AND AN ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE UTAH COUNTIES INDEMNITY POOL ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING Mack McDonald - San Juan County Administrator
6. Mexican Hat Special Service District Board Appointments, Mack McDonald - Sam Juan County Administrator 
7. Approval to Replace Windows in the Public Safety Building, Monty Perkins, SJC Maintenance

~~ Recording of Sept. 17 Special Commission Work Meeting


1. Executive Session to discuss pending or imminent litigation
2. Discussion and Possible Approval of a Settlement Agreement Regarding Attorney's Fees to be paid to the Plaintiffs in Navajo Nation et al v. San Juan County.






~~ Fast Facts Related to the Electoral College

~~ KUER Interviews to Increase Understanding: Featuring Cindy Black Perkins

"Cindy Perkins and her family have lived for five generations near Blanding, a community agitated by the designation of the Bears Ears National Monument in 2016. Jeremy Lynch moved to Moab to work with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. They met halfway in Monticello."

"What happens when two people of different backgrounds and beliefs sit down face-to-face and interview each other? This summer, Utah Public Radio has been recording these new StoryCorps-style interviews, from travels to the far corners of the state including Monticello, Moab, St. George, Cache Valley and Vernal. We now invite you to listen in on some of these thought-provoking small steps.

These conversations were recorded by Utah Public Radio in partnership with StoryCorps as a part of their One Small Step project


~~ Wrong Again!  50 Years of Failed Eco-pocalyptic Predictions

~~ Finding Addresses on the Navajo Reservation Can be Life Threatening

~~ San Juan to Pay 2.4 Million to Navajo Nation

~~ Charges of Racism Still Hovering Over County Politics

~~ Racism a Favored Theme for Commissioner Maryboy

Saturday, August 31, 2019

"Be Nice" Revival -- Following Divisiveness in Meetings Bear Essentials 8/30/2019


Life Beyond the Wasatch Front


~~ Election Integrity: America's Biggest Issue

~~ New York Times Trying to Rewrite History to Fit Its Biases

~~ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Loves to Hate the Electoral College

~~Massive Rock Fall in Zions Injures Three Hikers



~~ Commissioners United in Ending Lawsuit Concerning Redistricting

~~ Two Town Hall Meetings held Recently: Monticello and Mexican Water

    The objective and balanced reporting in this KUER article is appreciated.

~~ New Dinosaur Dig South of White Mesa  KUER

"Just south of Blanding, researchers are excavating seven giant dinosaur vertebrae. They are part of a 70-foot-long diplodocus skeleton that will be on display at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County."

~~ Patagonia Shame Patch/ Public Lands Council 

     The Public Lands Council iron-on clothing patches are designed to cover the logo on Patagonia merchandise and cure “Patagonia Shame.” These patches were developed in response to the profit-driven marketing efforts of multinational retail corporation Patagonia, who promoted false claims about national monuments in the wake of the recent decision to appropriately scale Bears Ears and Grand-Staircase Escalante.
Visit http://publiclandscouncil.org/ to get your patch today!


~~ Gavin Noyes Claims Concerning Cultural and Political Divide: 

 "The issue is that the white people live in the north, and the Native American people live in the south, and those are two different worlds that don’t interact."

~~ Accusations from M. Maryboy Fly in the Face of Open Meeting Concept

  Quotes from Mark Mayboy's rant at Aug. 23 meeting, Mexican Water Chapter House 

Here are a few moments from Mark Maryboy's unprovoked rant at the Mexican Water chapter of the Navajo Nation Aug 23 during a town-hall meeting (comments were directed at a handful of San Juan County residents – of group members only one was male, several were Navajo – who drove down from the northern part of county).
Maryboy was scheduled to talk about water rights at the meeting, according to its agenda (below). He went off script. Two reporters were there – Zak Podmore, from The Salt Lake Tribune, and Kate Groetzinger, from KUER radio in Salt Lake City. Both have access to national media. It's likely Maryboy knew they were there and would report his every word.
Maryboy is a board member of the Salt Lake City-based activist group Utah Dine Bikeyah and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and a long-time advocate of creation of Bears Ears National Monument. He's been quoted extensively as an authoritative source in hundreds of regional and national reports published by the nation's most prominent news outlets.
* Navajos on the BLM's Bears Ears advisory committee are "tame Indians" just trying to get something from "white Mormons."
* To a questioner who suggested she and Maryboy might be related through an aunt: "She's too ugly to be related to me."
* “All I can say is that you have an idiot aunt,” Maryboy used that adjective several times.
* A question on November's ballot about possibly changing the way county commissioners are selected came from "racist Mormons from Blanding and Monticello."
* The petition was pandering to "illiterate" Navajos.
* “Red-neck Mormons is what they are … They are probably all members of the Ku Klux Klan.”
* “Which part of the Ku Klux Klan do you belong to?”
* “If they don’t let the Navajos (govern) … all I can say is go back to Missouri where you came from.”

~~ Zak Podmore's SL Trib's Version of the Mexican Water Meeting Aug 21

Response by Nicole Perkins after reading his article: " 
"I didn't know that Zak was a such an adept gymnast. He has really mastered those backflips and somersaults, twists and handsprings as he carefully danced and twirled his way oh so delicately around Mark and his rantings. Fascinating performance with quick turnabouts as he savagely painted a red target on the back of a Navajo lady with such masterly, dastardly precision. I give it a 10 for his fairytale performance but sadly a 1 for actual journalism."

~~ Worsening Road Conditions on the Navajo Reservation

~~ Is Johnny Depp's "Sauvage" Perfume Ad Appropriate Use of Sacred Land?

~~ Hikers Have Adverse Effect on Elk

~~ SL Tribune Gehrke Spews Racist Remarks about San Juan County

          Does this look like San Juan County is Racist? We (Hispanic, Navajo, Anglo, Ute) all joined together in 2016 because of what was being done to us and our county because of Pres. Obama's excessive declaration of a 1.9 M acre Nat'l Park...7/27/2016 Senator Lee and other State officials spoke and people from all walks of life, and cultures spoke and were listened to.







~~ Old News in case you missed it: Conservation in the West/ Nat'l Geographic Article: 

“It is encouraging and inspiring to see Congress renew America’s long, bipartisan tradition of conserving lands, wildlife, and waters, bolstering rural economies, and guaranteeing public access to the outdoors for the enjoyment of all,” said Molly McUsic, president of the Wyss Foundation, whose founder the Jackson Hole, Wyoming-based businessman Hansjörg Wyss announced last autumn that he was giving $1 billion to the cause of conservation. Wyss and McUsic are hopeful that strong support for the Dingell Act might serve as a wakeup to the Trump administration in realizing that environmental protection is a winning position. This passed in March, and affected several parts of Utah


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Description/Agenda: SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING Sept. 3, 2019

ADMINISTRATION BUILDING - COMMISSION ROOM
AGENDA

  9:00 A.M. Work Meeting

1. San Juan Stampede Update - Karah Nay, Rodeo Director
2. Review of Draft Agreement between the Bureau of Land Management and San Juan County regarding law enforcement services - Sheriff Torgerson
3. Briefing regarding a possible request for a Library Fund tax increase for 2020 - Pat Smith, Library Director
4. Review a request to purchase a truck for the Public Works Department - Ben Mussselman, Public Works Director
5. Discuss contract modifications with the U.S. Forest Service regarding cattle guard installation and certain road treatments - Ben Musselman, Public Works Director
6. Discuss a resolution authorizing outside legal counsel to file cross-appeals to 2019 appeals filed by taxpayers subject to central assessment - Kendall Laws, SJC Attorney
7. Discussion of a possible employee compensation study - David Everitt, SJC Interim Administrator
8. Follow up Discussion of a resolution regarding oil and gas leasing on Bureau of Land Management lands near Hovenweep National Monument - David Everitt, SJC Interim Administrator
9. Updates - Jerry McNeely, SJC Liason
10. Public lands updates - Nick Sandberg, SJC Planning

11:00 A.M. Commission Meeting

1. Approval of minutes - August 6, 2019
2. Citizens' comments to the commission* (Please complete the request form - available at the door)
3. Accept the 2018 financial audit findings - Jon Haderlie, Larsen and Company
4. Approve new pay schedule for sworn officers in the Sheriff's Office - Jason Torgerson, SJC Sheriff
5. Approve the Public Works Department truck purchase -Ben Musselman, SJC Public Works Director
6. Approve contract modifications with U.S. Forest Service regarding cattle guard installation and certain road treatments - Ben Musselman, SJC Public Works Director
7. Out of State Travel - Paige Wray, USU Extension
8. Approve a letter of support for a SITLA range improvement project - Nick Sandberg, SJC Planning
9. ADOPTION BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF SAN JUAN COUNTY, ACTING AS THE GOVERNING BOARD OF MEXICAN HAT SPECIAL SERVICE DISTRICT, OF A PARAMETERS RESOLUTION RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE BY MEXICAN HAT SPECIAL SERVICE DISTRICT OF A WATER REVENUE AND REFUNDING BOND IN AN AMOUNT OF NOT TO EXCEED $200,000 AND CALLING FOR A PUBLIC HEARING RELATING THERETO
10. Approve a resolution authorizing outside legal counsel to file cross appeals to 2019 appeals filed by taxpayers subject to central assessment - Kendall Laws, SJC Attorney
11. Approve a resolution regarding oil and gas leasing on Bureau of Land Management lands near Hovenweep National Monument - David Everitt, SJC Interim Administrator
12. Commission Reports
13. Executive session to discuss pending or imminent litigation
14. Approve resolution designating individuals to participate in mediation on behalf of the Commission with regard to attorneys' fees owed to the Navajo Nation



Friday, April 26, 2019

April Showers Concern over Committees and Commission ~~ Bear Essentials 4/26/2019


Reflections on the West

Book on Bears Ears Available  $40 -- Back and Beyond in Moab


 Reflections on Bears Ears

"The idea, however, that the federal government would simply take over land in the possession of others through a designation of a national monument is not unprecedented. Just south of Bears Ears, Canyon de Chelly National Monument is still disputed ground. The Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs maintain ambiguous control of the area rather than the Navajo Nation, despite the fact that none of the land is technically owned by federal agencies."

~~

KUER Assigns Reporter to Cover SE Utah

"Kate Groetzinger (Southeast Utah Bureau) is from Austin, Texas, where she is completing a master's degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin's Moody School of Journalism. She has worked for Austin’s NPR station, KUT, and her work has been published in the Texas Observer, The Austin Chronicle, Quartz, Rhode Island Magazine and Artsy. She has also worked for the Voces Oral History Archive at the University of Texas, collecting and preserving the stories of Latino/a civil rights leaders in Texas. She holds a degree in English from Brown University."  However, SJC remains gun-shy! 

~~

Amy Irvine Takes On Edward Abby: Interview by Andrea Ross

"Amy Irvine: We all objectify landscape—because we have this idea that it’s our church, our refuge, our aesthetic. We feel entitled to use it as a surface for recreation, or entertainment.       Our impacts on public lands is something that I don’t think the environmental community has not been very honest about. I want to take this moment to ask: What do we do now? We have to admit that we are loving the land to death. For example, the numbers of people flocking to the Bears Ears: it has no management plan in place. And the government’s been furloughed, so even if they could staff it, that’s not happening; nothing is in place to protect it. On such vast and vulnerable landscapes, we must better police ourselves."

~~

Senator Mike Lee Pod Cast: Rediscoverng the Declaration of Independence

"Abuses of federal power, including federal overreach and over-regulation, balance of power between the legislative and executive branches, along with issues within the judicial system are rampant. All the issues appear rooted in the neglect of the Declaration of Independence. Could rediscovering the declaration renew the nation and restore power to the people? Utah's senior senator, Sen. Mike Lee, explores the issue on this edition of "Therefore, What?"
~~

Three of the most Telling Failures of Socialism

1. Socialism has never succeeded anywhere --including the Marxism-Leninism of the Soviet Union, the National Socialism of Nazi Germany, the Maoism of Communist China, the Chavez-Maduro socialism of Venezuela. It has never come close to anywhere near Marx’s ideal of a classless society.
2. Marx has been wrong about nearly everything he predicted. The nation-state has not withered away. Capitalism didn’t break down as a result of the Industrial Revolution.
3. Socialism denies the existence of an essential human trait—human nature. Marx borrowed from the Enlightenment to declare that human nature was malleable, not constant. Christian theology with its idea of a fixed God-given nature infuriated Marx.


~~ Dry Wash Reservoir Pipeline Increases Amount and Distribution of Water

by Scoot Flannery: The expanded storage in Dry Wash Reservoir highlighted the need for a more efficient conveyance system from Dry Wash Canyon. That's when the Blanding Irrigation Company went to work. Funding was procured, permitting was completed, and the project was constructed during one of the driest years in memory... just in time for one of the best water years!
Although they didn't have to build a tunnel from Indian Creek to Johnson Creek, the work, effort, and volunteer time that went into this project is proof that the spirit of those who came before us is still alive today!

  (See article in Good News Blanding) 


Summary of April Meeting with State AG's Office 

By Cheryl Bowers, Blanding City Councilwoman: 

" - A quick update on the training with the Attorney General's office today in Monticello (April 23). I wanted to get this out in case anyone (like me) was waiting to see the results of this training before writing additional letters.
The Assistant Attorney General, Scott Cheney, and the Director of the Utah Records office conducted the training. They were both gracious and very helpful at answering questions.
1. Bruce Adams was the only commissioner there. I'm not sure why Commissioners Greyeyes and Maryboy weren't there, but they missed out on some good information. Kendall Laws and the new Assistant County Attorney were there, along with John David and a Spanish Valley resident (I believe her name is Ms. Fields).
2. They only emphasized two areas of concern: the Open Meetings Act (OMPA) and GRAMA requests.
Items most people may not be aware of:
(1. The Assistant AG's determination was that having 4-6 meetings a year in other parts of the county wasn't a violation of the law (to have "Occasional meetings" outside of the county seat). In fact, he recommended it.
(2. Texts received during the course of a commission or public meeting are subject to GRAMA requests and have to be produced if they were about county business. They recommended public officials don't text during a commission meeting as then it becomes public information.
(3. The Assistant AG recommended that during public comment, the Chair of the board allow back and forth discussion, including answering questions, so there is no misperception of secrecy. They recommended that if we have a concern about why, how or who initiated an issue, resolution, etc. that we ask that question during public comment and the public body should respond. (The Chair does still have the ability not to answer or to stop discussion that he believes is beyond time, etc.).
(4. I spent a lot of time on- two members of a public body meeting together as there will be change to this starting in July. The assistant AG, said that if the meeting (without proper public notice) meets the definition of OPMA then it can be a violation- Definition - "The convening of a public body with a quorum present, whether in person or electronic communications, for the purpose of discussing, receiving comments from the public about or acting upon a matter over which the public body or specific body has jurisdiction or advisory power."  (More information about Utah Open Meeting Act)

~~Advisory Committee for Bears Ears SL Tribune Version 

~~SJ Record Version of New Advisory Committee

Adams, Maryboy, and Greyeyes: SJC commissioners - KUER photo

~~Utah, Colo, and Ute Tribe Hope to Benefit from "Liquid" Assets

~~ Conflicts Voiced at April 23 County Commission Meeting

~~ Senator Mike Lee's Congressional Concerns  Live stream video

~~The Problem with Affluence (and Influence) in the New West by Stacy Young

"The New West is also where virtually every successful company that comprises what we might call the Recreation Industrial Complex (RIC) now primarily sells sanctimony and only secondarily sells the good or service that keeps its owners and executives well-fed. In a way, it’s an ingenious twist on Robinson Crusoe: we should speak only of our arduous journey toward self-actualization but, yeah, by the way, we also happen to be fabulously wealthy thanks to the Brazilian plantation we own.

In canyon country, specifically, we can observe how the RIC manufactured both the demand for “Bears Ears” and the satisfaction of that demand. In statistical terms, approximately no one seemed to need to visit “Bears Ears” before December 2016, but now every outdoor athlete with a shoe contract and a Personal Brand to burnish — an “influencer” in the postmodern vernacular — seems determined to make an Insta-pilgrimage to “Bears Ears” or to at least engage in a bit of slacktivism from afar. The hoi polloi cannot be far behind."  April Canyon Zephyr

~~ Opposing view on Spanish Valley Development by Kerry Behunin 






~~ Kelly Pehrson, County Administrator Gives Two Week Notice:

Pehrson will be the new Deputy Director over Utah Department of Agriculture and Food in Salt Lake City. The Petroglyph


~~ Moab is Drowning in Tourists --Why are they Advertising?

~~Big Money Funding the Environmental Left

~~Fossil Fuels and Sage Grouse: Interior Dept Targeted in Law Suit

~~ How Instagram Ruined the Great Outdoors

~~Development in Spanish Valley May be Halted

~~ James Adakai Letter to SL Tribune

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Hearings, Hearsay, and Hope: January 23, 2019

News in the West

~~Mitt Romney's First Town Hall Meeting  Jan. 22

Lake Powell Pipeline Project

~~Despite Education and Warnings, Tourists and Bison Don't Mix 

~~ Paradise Lost:  St. George's Unchecked Growth

~~ California Hikers Not Prepared for Winter

~~ When Politics and the News get too much to Stomach  Try some humor

Bill Boyle Back as Editor of San Juan Record


~~ Marathon Hearing Discusses Residency of Willie Greyeyes 1/22/19

~~ Utah Challenges Control of Federal Lands

~~Snow pack on Blue Mountains Continues to Build






~~Recording of 1st Commission Meeting Jan. 2019 

~~New County Commission Prepares Resolution to Undo Will of the People 

Example: 
-Section 1: All prior resolutions or official actions of the San Juan County Commission opposing the Bears Ears National Monument or calling for its dis-establishment or reduction, and specifically Resolution Nos. 2015-09, 2016-08 and 2017-02, are hereby immediately rescinded.

-Section 2: The San Juan County Commission condemns the unlawful actions of President Donald Trump by effectively dis-establishing the Bears Ears National Monument through the issuance of Proclamation No , 9681 in violation of the Antiquities Act of 1906,

~~ KUER New Commission Builds up Old Tensions     

Photo by Judy Fahys KUER

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Some States are MORE Equal that Others



Sunday, January 13, 2019

New Start for San Juan: Bear Essentials January 2019

News in the West











~~ Canyon Zephyr Editor Found Innocent of Defamation Charges

"We have great news today! If you remember, The Zephyr was sued by former Moab City Manager Rebecca Davidson and Tayo, Inc co-founder Tara Smelt in the fall of 2016. That lawsuit was dismissed by Judge Anderson in February, 2017, but Davidson and Smelt appealed to the Utah Court of Appeals. We had oral arguments in front of the Appeals Court this past September and we have just today received our ruling! The Appeals Court unanimously affirmed Judge Anderson's dismissal. The ruling is a fun read. Enjoy and Celebrate!

~~ CNN  Senator Cruz and Rep. Rooney Introduce Constitutional Amendment with Term Limits 

"The amendment, co-sponsored by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and David Perdue (R-Ga.), would restrict senators to two six-year terms and House members to three two-year terms. A similar amendment was proposed by Cruz in January of 2017."

~~Federal Judge Drops Suit Against SJC Auditor/ Clerk: Costs are High

~~ Trump: Pushes to Ramp up Logging on Public Lands

~~ Dixie Area Nat'l Parks Continue to Function with Local Financial Support

~~Federal Government Poor Manager of Nat'l Parks: States Could Do Better

"During the 2013 shutdown, under the Obama administration, the federal government took an especially punitive position. The administration sent armed government agents to shut down the parks. It sent in extra staff to erect barriers around some monuments — monuments funded by private trusts — such as the World War II memorial in Washington, DC."


   

   ~~Who is Funding the Sunrise Movement, and their Anti-Fuels Agenda

"Linking Movements: Newly released information on the deep-pocketed backers of the growing Sunrise Movement behind the "Green New Deal" reveals that the new push in Congress is being funded by the same donors supporting climate litigation. Both the Rockefeller Family Fund and the Wallace Global Fund provide substantial financial support to EarthRightsInternational (ERI), the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit representing Boulder County, Boulder City and San Mateo County in their lawsuit against ExxonMobil and Suncor, as Western Wire reported, and now we've learned that these same foundations provided the initial funding for Sunrise."

~~ Earth Rights International Role Training Indigenous People

~~ Nature Conservancy Acting as Fed. Government's Real Estate Agent?

"The $1.025 million transaction also sheds light on the threat to traditional rural Western communities posed by one of Capitol Hill’s most insidious slush funds, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Created in 1964, the LWCF was originally supposed to help states develop planning for recreation areas and related facilities. But over the decades the LWCF has morphed into a piggy-bank in which deep-pocketed environmental groups collaborate with wealthy, and often, out-of-state landowners flip land to the federal government."