CEU merger storm quiets, for now

Josie Luke

Though a proposed bill, which would have joined the College of Eastern Utah with Utah State University, will not be pursued further this session, news of the possible merger elicited strong emotions and numerous questions from citizens of Carbon and Emery County as well as students, staff, and faculty from CEU.

“My understanding is that the bill is done for now,” stated State Representative and CEU Vice-President of Institutional Advancement and Student Services, Brad King over the telephone on Feb. 15. This comes after two meetings were held to discuss the issue at CEU, the second of which drew a huge crowd to the Jennifer Leavitt Student Center on Feb. 12. State Senator Mike Dmitrich and Representative King attended the meeting via satellite and took questions from the crowd at CEU as well as a group at the San Juan campus. Representatives from the State Board of Regents also appeared.

Dmitrich, who backed the proposal, believes that the merger would benefit CEU by offering more educational opportunities for students, but in a telephone conversation Feb. 14, he revealed that it would be put on hold while “the Board of Regents and the Commissioner of Higher Education look at it and come back with a recommendation to the Legislature.”

This all occurred after both Dmitrich and King were contacted by a number of community members who were reticent about the proposal because of the many questions they viewed as unanswered. In the conversation on Feb. 15, King said he believed that “the Senator was able to hear the concerns and I think he listened carefully.”

CEU president Ryan Thomas said, “There are a number of unanswered questions. I do not view the prospects of some kind of increased affiliation with Utah State University as necessarily negative. I just think there are a number of questions that need to be addressed before we determine whether this is really positive or negative.” In a statement by Utah State University President Stan Albrecht, he said that USU would support the merger if it proved to be beneficial to all involved.

In the meeting held on the Feb. 12, Dmitrich began stating, “I’ve said from the onset that if it’s not in the best interests of the students and the best interests of the school, we wouldn’t go forward with it.” Clarifying an earlier press release, he said that in his view, CEU would continue their open enrollment policy; tuition would not be affected, because it is set by the Regents, and the college would still participate in sports as part of the ICAC.
Many questions and concerns were voiced at the meeting. A majority of the questions in the meeting were over what changes would occur at CEU, such as: When would the merger go into effect? Would tuition costs rise? What effect would the merger have on the vocational programs at CEU? WETC? What would happen to the nursing program? Cosmetology program? Would it affect extracurricular programs? Would jobs be lost? Dmitrich responded that many of the answers would be determined by the Regents, and that his intentions were that the bill would not hurt CEU in any way. He also responded, “I don’t know,” to a number of questions, which proved to further excite some questions as to why the proposal was even being pushed at this time.

The meeting proved to be tense at times. Professors Curtis Icard and Corey Ewan were forthright in their concerns over the proposal. Icard expressed that if such a bill were passed, Dmitrich’s intentions would “not be enough” to assure the community. This statement along with similar statements was followed by applause from many attending the meeting. Icard also stated that there were “huge issues outstanding,” and that the way the process had been conducted was “profoundly wrong-headed.” Ewan referred to the proposal as “legislation with a whole lot of holes,” and stated, “We still have too many questions and no answers.”

In the later telephone conversation, Dmitrich expressed that he felt that the crowd had focused on the negative at the meeting and that the positive aspects of the proposal had been missed. He also related that one main point had been missed in all of the discussions, that he works to represent the tax payers in the area which help to fund state colleges.

President Thomas concluded the meeting thanking the King and Dmitrich for their time. “I think they have indicated their willingness to be responsive,” he concluded.

A discussion board can be found at CEU’s homepage, www.CEU.edu where community members are encouraged to post comments and questions. A summary of the possible models for the proposed merger drafted by President Thomas can also be found on the site.

Life is a Dance

James L. Davis

Conventional wisdom would lead you to believe that if you were to ask a group of 5th and 6th grade students if they enjoyed dancing, those who said no the most emphatically would be boys. But for anyone who has ever tried to understand the inner thinking of a pre-teenager, there is nothing conventional about them.

The 5th and 6th grade students at Castle Dale Elementary who have been learning the intricacies of dance etiquette from teacher Carrie Jean Jones will complain loudly if given the chance about the horrors of having to dance, but their smiles on the dance floor betray them and the whine about having to dance is most often followed by a not quite so whiney “when are we going to do it again?”

“They love it,” Jones said, playing DJ for the students as they were taught line dancing by Emery High senior Chase Humphrey and Castle Dale Parent Teacher Association President Serene Weber.

As the students went through the boot stomping of line dancing Jones smiled at the students’ turns on the dance floor. In its third year, the dancing class has proven to be a favorite with students, teachers and family, who sat quietly taking pictures as the dances progressed from line dancing to the twist, the waltz and the tango. Throughout each dance the boys acted as gentlemen to their dance partner ladies and while they might complain emphatically after the dances were done, during the dance there was not a complaint to be heard.

Cleveland receives favorable audit report

Judi Bishop

Happy Valentine’s Day was the greeting for the opening of the meeting called to order by Mayor Chris Parkins during the Cleveland Town Council meeting held, appropriately enough, on Valentine’s Day. Council persons in attendance were, Richard Murdoch, Greg Oliver and Jason Merrill. Town secretary Jamie Jensen presented the minutes from the previous meeting which were unanimously accepted.

Doug Rasmussen, representative from Smuin, Rich and Marsing was introduced to give the report on the financial status of Cleveland after the recent audit. Rasmussen gave a favorable report to the mayor and council.

Heather Jacobson and Ashley Stansfield addressed the council about the need for an improvement of the soil on the infield of the ball park after a number of complaints had been received from other teams who came to play on the field. Murdoch made the suggestion of a $500 budget for the ball park improvement. Parkins asked that Jacobson and Stansfield put together a plan of what they felt was needed at the park and bring it back to the table at the March 13 meeting.

The issue of automobiles being parked on sidewalks in the summer was also addressed because of children having to ride on the street to get around the vehicles.

Power poles that need to be relocated in relation to city streets projects was addressed with Murdoch making a motion that it be done. The motion carried.

Jensen gave the council a suggestion for Cleveland Town Days, which had been a proposal by Eldon Holmes for a small car race, similar to soap box derby cars. After a fairly lengthy discussion, it was decided that 100 South with the hill in front of the school would be the best spot to hold them.

Jensen will contact Holmes about working out the details of the event and present it during the planning meeting on April 17.

The need to sign water leases was the next order of business and it was agreed by the council that they would lease water shares for $2 a share from the school district.

Greg Oliver reported that he needs to order the fireworks for the July 24 celebration. He also said that the fire department will be holding car washes for fund raisers again. Lastly, he indicated that the burn dates haven’t been set, as of yet.

Merrill made a suggestion that they have a beautification project for the entire town. Instead of looking for the most beautiful yard, he recommended that they recognize the most improved yard. Further discussion on the subject was tabled until the next meeting.

Price men charged with ‘shooting spree’ death of deer

Two Price men were charged last week with the killing of at least 11 deer in October of last year.

Ethan Johnson, 19, and Levi Bradford, 18, of Price have been formally charged by the Seventh District Court with two felony and four misdemeanor counts, stemming from a two-day shooting spree west of Price, which resulted in the death of at least 11 deer.

On Oct. 26 and 29, the two men shot at least 11 does and fawns in the Gordon Creek area, near the steel bridge west of Price. All deer were allowed to spoil.

Conservation officers were notified by a concerned sportsman, who saw magpies feeding on the ground and left his vehicle to investigate. After seeing two dead deer, he called the Division of Wildlife Resources. Conservation officers responded and found an additional nine deer.

Evidence collected at the scene and information provided by the concerned sportsman led to the arrest of both men.
This winter, deer herds around the state struggle to survive. The reckless behavior of a few individuals aggravates an already critical situation. The DWR encourages everyone to report malicious behavior by calling the Help Stop Poaching Hotline at: 1-800-662-DEER. Callers may remain anonymous.