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A Winter Adventure
James L. Davis
To own an Alaskan Malamute is to own a fury bundle of energy and to own three Alaskan Malamutes is to own more energy than you can manage on any given day, unless of course you want to have a dog sled team.
Which just so happens to be why 13 year old Dawson Jensen of Castle Dale wanted the dogs in the first place, to pull a sled. Having watched dog sled teams in the movies and on television, the San Rafael Junior High student thought he would like to try his hand at training his own dogs to pull a sled, the only thing he was missing were the dogs…and a sled.
Even though his dad, Glen Jensen, is a veterinarian, actually getting three Alaskan Malamutes took some time. Eventually the Jensen’s found two purebred Malamutes in Lehi and a third dog was found at the animal shelter.
With three dogs to train Dawson and his dad spent the summer months training them to pull a scooter in preparation for the snowfall. Training the dogs to pull a sled meant that they had to have someone to follow, which in this case meant Dawson’s dad.
“Dad was in front on his bike acting as the lead dog,” Dawson said and then thought better of it. “I mean the dogs followed my dad,” he said with a grin.
Glen, with a grin of his own and a raised eyebrow, tried to help his son stop digging the hole he was in. “The dogs have a natural instinct to run and to follow, so you get them to follow you and get used to the harness,” he said.
With the dogs used to being harnessed the Jensen family carefully planned a trip to an area south of Miller’s Flat where they could camp overnight and try the dogs out on the sled. Father and son and a group of relatives took to the mountains the weekend after Christmas to brave the cold; Dawson with his team of dogs and sled, Glen with his cross country skis and extended family members with snowmobiles.
With frigid temperatures the father and son adventurers also had the chance to give a test to another little hobby of theirs: igloo building.
Glen stumbled across a website that advertised an Icebox that is a form used to make an igloo when Dawson was preparing for a winter camp as part of Boy Scout Troop 315 in Castle Dale. The two made their first igloos last year near Mammoth Reservoir and today they have one in their front yard. They built another for the sledding expedition.
“It’s not easy work. It takes four to five hours to build one,” Glen said.
But while it may not be easy work, it was worthwhile work, especially when crawling out of the igloo first thing in the morning.
“When you went outside you could feel the temperature drop 20 degrees or so,” Dawson said.
Glen said that just a little candlelight and their own body heat raised the temperature in the igloo into the mid-30s through the night.
As for the dog sledding, Dawson was pleased with how his dogs, Sitka, Nome and Omack performed on their first outing, although Nome grew tired after a while and had to be released from the sled.
On their first dog sledding expedition the two were wished well by Dawson’s mom, Leslie and his two brothers and two sisters, but they didn’t go on the trip with them, for good reason. Leslie said she couldn’t take the worry.
“It makes me so nervous. I froze all night and I wasn’t even out there,” she said.
As for experiencing the thrill of sleeping in an igloo, Dawson’s mom is in no hurry.
“Not a chance,” Glen said with a laugh. “She won’t even go inside of it.”
And that includes the igloo right outside the back door.
County greets the new year peacefully
Josie Luke
Although the New Year’s holiday has traditionally kept the Emery County Sheriff’s Office especially busy, more recently, according to Sheriff Lamar Guymon, there has not been much difference between the holiday and any other weekend.
This year the sheriff’s office did not set up any traffic stops and had a normal patrol of three officers on duty.
They made two driving under the influence arrests, one on Highway 6 and the other on Highway 10. Arrests were also made as officers broke up one juvenile party.
Sheriff Guymon reported it being a “normal weekend” and attributes some of the drop to people being more responsible. “People are better about getting designated drivers,” he commented.
He also said there were an average number of juveniles at the party and that the officers followed their normal policy in breaking it up. Normally, after a party is reported, officers wait until all three can respond and catch as many of the juveniles as possible. If the party is larger, other officers may be called in to respond.
The juveniles are given citations and their parents are called to pick them up either at the site of the party of at the county jail.
At times, when it is warranted, juveniles are taken to the juvenile detention center.
Committee plans February kickoff
to spur teams toward Relay for Life
James L. Davis
The Relay for Life committee is preparing for the 2008 American Cancer Society fund raising event as it plans a kickoff event in February to attract teams to help build on the record-breaking success of last year’s relay.
Relay for Life will hold its kickoff event on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Castle Dale Senior Citizens Center and everyone interested in forming a team for Relay for Life is invited to attend. Those registering their team on the night of the kickoff will be able to do so for a $50 registration fee and returning teams that sign up again and bring someone else to sign up a new team will be able to register for only $25. Team registration is normally $100.
The Relay for Life event itself is scheduled for June 20-21 at Emery High School. This year’s theme is Animated for a Cure and teams will be encouraged to come to the relay dressed as their favorite cartoon character.
The relay committee is also planning to once again have the Miss Relay Contest, which proved to be a crowd favorite last year. During the Miss Relay Contest brave male contestants come dressed to compete for the “Miss” Relay crown. Every team was asked to have a Miss Relay contestant last year and roughly half of the teams were able to find a male contestant brave enough to show up at the high school in a dress. Committee organizers hope with enough advance planning, there can be even more contestants this year.
Last year during Relay for Life teams raised more than $34,000 in the fight against cancer, shattering the previous record for the county event by more than $10,000.
During the Relay for Life kickoff event in February organizations will be present to give teams information on possible fund raising activities and those interested in starting a team can learn more about how Relay for Life works.
Relay for Life is a community gathering where everyone can participate in the fight against cancer. Teams of eight to 15 people are asked to raise at least $100 each in the fight against cancer and during the relay team members walk laps at the Emery High track. Later in the evening during a luminary ceremony luminaries are lit around the track in honor of those who have lost their battle with cancer or in celebration of survivors. Teams are also asked and encouraged to sell luminaries to those who have a loved one impacted by cancer.
Relay for Life will start on the evening of June 20 and continue throughout the night, ending on the morning of June 21. Teams set up tent sites on the football field and are encouraged to decorate their sites in their theme of choice. Contests are held throughout the night for fun and to raise donations to go toward the fight against cancer.
Those who are considering having a team are encouraged to start early and plan to attend the meeting on Feb. 7. For more information call Kristi Rasmussen at 653-2471 or 749-2533.
In new year county faces public lands opportunities/challenges
James L. Davis
With 92 percent of Emery County designated as public land county leadership has had a finger on the pulse of land issues out of necessity and as a new year dawns Ray Petersen, Public Lands Council administrator said he is “cautiously optimistic” about 2008.
With a full plate of issues ranging from coal mine development to the Bureau of Land Management finalizing its resource management plan for the area, the issues can be complicated, divisive and unending and require a long term commitment to keep educated on the issues, which is where the Public Lands Council comes in.
According to Petersen Emery County was the first to develop a lands council and today there are less than five established in the state, although many counties are beginning to realize the value of a lands council.
“Public lands councils are rare. We really had some wise commissioners when they established it,” Petersen said.
After years of wrangling over public lands issues, the lands council has grown to be respected by those it deals with every day, particularly the BLM and Forest Service.
“We really have a good relationship. That doesn’t mean we don’t butt heads, but we work it out. They seek out our input and we provide it to them in abundance,” Petersen said.
Some of the land issues the county and Public Lands Council will be keeping a close eye on during the year include:
Coal
“Emery County continues to be supportive of coal production,” Petersen said, acknowledging that in the country there is a different temperament about coal production than in years past.
Despite a steady drumbeat of calls for using alternative energy sources Petersen said he doesn’t see and end to coal in the near future, but acknowledged that coal power may come to an end. He believes that it won’t happen until the coal reserves in the county are used.
“We’re not going to shut off the switch and sit in the dark waiting for new energy sources to happen,” he said.
On the horizon for coal production in Emery County, Petersen said it appears that the permit for Lila Canyon has been finalized and development of a Lila Canyon Mine is now up to UtahAmerican Energy. Although the company has given indications that it wanted to start the development of the mine immediately, it would still take more than a year to develop the mine and have coal on the ground.
Petersen said Emery County has cut a rough road leading to the future mine site to allow the company to access its right-of-way and when the time comes the mine company and the county will partner in the development of the road, as the county has done in the past with mine site developments.
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance has taken numerous legal actions to halt any development of Lila Canyon and Petersen said while things appear to be finalized now, it is possible that SUWA might try one more appeal before the development can go forward.
At SUFCO the mine is working on a project to revitalize springs cattlemen rely on. In the mean time Petersen said the mine has been good to bring water down for cattle. The mine is also planning to create a wildlife habitat and will develop a pipeline project to held wildlife habitat.
The State and Institutional Trust Lands Administration has also put out for bids for coal development more than 8,600 acres of land northeast of Joe’s Valley Reservoir. The tract of land butts up against the idled Trail Mountain Coal Mine and is part of the same coal seam.
BLM’s Resource Management Plan
The Price Field Office of the BLM released for public comment is draft resource management plan in September and closed the public comment portion on Dec. 13. The draft RMP comes after years of debate and discussion and originally included five different alternatives to management of non-wilderness study area lands with wilderness characteristics. A sixth alternative to management appears as a supplement to the plan. According to Petersen the BLM has to consider all of the comments made during the public comment portion and will spend the next several months finalizing their document before submitting it for a final record of decision. The plan should before the end of this year.
“We’re confidant that the plan will be acceptable,” Petersen said.
When the RMP is finalized it will encompass the San Rafael Swell area and the Price River Resource Area and it will set the area apart as the on only one with a complete route designation plan.
Wild and Scenic River Designation
The Forest Service was considering suitability of a portion of Huntington Creek for Wild and Scenic River Designation but the creek does not appear in the Forest Service’s draft recommendation. A public hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Wild and Scenic Rivers Suitability will be held Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Huntington City Hall.
Oil and Gas Development
Emery County continues to be extremely active in oil and gas development, with the northern part of the county just now starting to show increased activity. South of the Green River area activity is increasing, but activity on Forest Service land has slowed to a stop.
The county continues to look at a variety of other areas, including sending a letter to the Department of Environmental Quality in support of their testing of Joe’s Valley Reservoir fish for higher than usual levels of mercury. The county has also received a grant that allows it to sign access roads for off highway vehicles to reach trail systems. And, as always in Emery County, the concerns over drought are water are ever present. On that note, however, Petersen is somewhat philosophical.
“You can plan and plan and plan but the good Lord allows what he allows,” he said. |
