‘Unbelievebale’

Family overwhelmed with support for ill son

James L. Davis

“It’s unbelievable.” Yolanda Thompson could think of no other words to describe her feelings as she sat with her family on the far end of the bleachers in the Huntington Elementary gymnasium and watched as row after row of people sat down to bid on items donated to the cause of saving her son.

Ryan Thompson, 17, on the waiting list for a liver transplant, sat with the rest of his family and his girlfriend on the bleachers, a little awestruck, a little embarrassed by all of the attention, as hundreds of people rallied to support the Thompson family with a fund raiser to help cover the costs of a much needed liver transplant.

The Feb. 23 fund raiser showed once again the commitment of people throughout Emery and Carbon County to help in any way that they can. Organized as a benefit dinner, auction and bake sale, items were gathered from local businesses and individuals to go to the cause of helping Ryan. The doors to the elementary school continued to open and close as people gathered to help the Emery High student.

With entertainment by the Val Jensen Band, LaRae’s Dance Studio dancers, and vocalist Jeannie Baggs, the gymnasium was filled with donated items to be auctioned to cover Ryan’s surgery costs, estimated to be close to $150,000 after insurance has been exhausted. Items auctioned for the benefit included quilts, tools, lamps, silverware, sporting goods and handmade crafts.

The show of support from the community was overwhelming to the Thompson family.

“I live out of town and only get home on the weekends, but I never want to move from here,” said Ryan’s father, Timothy, who works for Geneva Rock in Salt Lake City during the week.

As people came and went, placing bids during the silent auction of hundreds of donated items, Ryan and his girlfriend, Brittany Hansen, tried to look inconspicuous in the corner of the gym, talking to friends quietly.

“It’s really surprising,” Ryan said of the crowd that had gathered to help him, many of them people he did not even know. “I didn’t expect this many people.”

In the past few weeks numerous other activities have taken place to benefit Ryan, including fund raisers at Emery High School and Canyon View Junior High. Collection jars are in place at local stores and banks and a fund has been established in Ryan’s name at Desert View Federal Credit Union in Huntington and Ferron.

County looks to purchase property for monument

Josie Luke

An important step was taken in the creation of a monument for the miners who died at Crandall Canyon Mine, with the Emery County Commission voting to take the lead in acquiring land near the mine site for the memorial
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“Basically, they had to have an entity to take ownership,” explained Commissioner Drew Sitterud, “so that it would always remain open, even if the mine were reclaimed.” He also said that as the landowner the county would probably be in charge of the project, but that no tax payer money was intended to be used in the project at this time.
A majority of the land proposed for the site is owned by Genwal Resources, with a smaller part owned by the Forest Service. So, the commission will negotiate with the mine and the Forest Service to acquire ownership of the land. Ray Peterson, who is over public lands in the county will assist the commission by completing the required applications.

Sheila Phillips and Dave Shaver, a representative from the mine, who will be assisting the families and the commission in the process, attended the commission meeting. Shaver reported that “Utah American Energy fully supports the efforts of the families and the Commission.”

The area the families have picked for the monument is near the mine site, and according to Sitterud, is less than an acre in size. Representatives from the families of the six miners who are entombed in the mine sent a letter to the Emery County Commissioners requesting that the County assist in acquiring the land. The letter stated:

“We represent the families of the six miners who were killed in the Crandall Canyon Mine tragedy. As you know, our loved ones are permanently buried in the mountain and will never be recovered. We are now attempting to find some closure to our loss by constructing a final memorial. We have selected a site just above the Crandall Canyon mine site in an undisturbed forested area that we feel would be suitable. It is as close to where our loved ones are entombed as we can reasonably get, and it provides a relatively peaceful setting for the headstones.

“We are requesting that Emery County act on our behalf to acquire the site from the forest Service and from Genwal Resources so that it may remain a protected sanctuary in perpetuity. We envision a memorial site with the six headstones facing toward the mountain in which they are now buried. A trail would lead from the Crandall Canyon mine yard to the memorial. We also request a small separate area for parking, isolated from the mine equipment. We would ask the county to consider working with the Forest Service to take over the Crandall Canyon road in the future so that when the mine is reclaimed there will still be suitable access to the memorial for the families.”

The letter was signed by Sheila Phillips and Nelda Erickson, representatives from the families.

Huntington council votes on storage facility

Josie Luke

After much debate, the Huntington City Council granted a business license to Darrin Hurdsman for the indoor-outdoor storage portion of his business which would be located at 54 West Center in Huntington. The council declined to give permission for a state impound lot to be included in the license.

The decision was made at the city council meeting held Feb. 20. After receiving advice from their lawyer, that the city ordinances allowed for such a business, some of the council expressed that they felt that even though they might not want to approve such a business, that as elected officials, they were required by city ordinance to grant the license. At the conclusion of somewhat heated discussion, Mayor Hilary Gordon asked the council whether they would like to grant part of the license, and they agreed to do so.

The Council had chosen to table the decision at the previous city council meeting held Jan. 16, in order to further investigate the matter. The subject was consequently addressed at this meeting, where the decision was finally made.

Hurdsman purchased the business in 2006 from Jerry Carlson, who had received a license for an outdoor storage facility from the city in 2004. Hurdsman was given a license signed by the then mayor in 2007, but afterward it was discovered that licenses are not transferable according to city ordinances.

Hurdsman then approached the city requesting a business license for an indoor-outdoor storage facility along with an impound lot. Problems began when the concept of a state impound lot at the site evoked fear in many citizens that the facility would turn into a junkyard for the impounded vehicles.

At the first council meeting, a number of citizens expressed concerns. Lamar Guymon, who lives across the street from the business, was included on the agenda. Guymon expressed concern that the business had been running under a license that was in effect “null and void.” He was also was fearful that the business would decrease property values and would have a negative effect on the neighborhood overall.

Hurdsman expressed that his intent was to increase the value of the property and to have a successful business. He said that he had made improvements to the property and would continue to do so. He also agreed to adhere to any conditional uses placed on the property, including the construction of a sight-obscuring fence.

Because Hurdsman was not present during the beginning of the discussion in the second meeting, Gary Arrington, the city’s zoning administrator, again expressed that Hurdsman’s intent was to run a successful business and that he would follow the conditions and that beyond that, Hurdsman didn’t have anything more to say.

Once again many people were concerned that what they referred to as a “junk yard” would be located in such a residential neighborhood. The site of the business is basically an island of land zoned for commercial use in the middle of land zoned for residential use.

The meeting again drew a large crowd of citizens who desired to express their opinion on the issue. Mayor Hilary Gordon was compelled to stop discussion several times to bring order back to the meeting. She reported that she had spent a lot of time looking into the background to find the most legal way to deal with the issue and asked that those attending would have respect for each other and for the city council.

The city’s zoning committee chairman summed up much of the concern saying, “I think everybody knows that the storage part of it is not the problem, it’s just that slash impound lot that’s the problem.” Arrington reported that in fact, it was not required by city ordinances that Hurdsman include the impound lot in the license, but that he had insisted that he do it to be “up front.”

After some discussion, the mayor asked if the council would like to present a motion to grant the business license, the crowd in the room expressed concern that the portion of the meeting set aside for public comment occurred afterward and that they would not get a chance to express their concerns before a vote was made. The council decided to open the meeting up for public comment on the issue.

Lamar Guymon again addressed the council saying, “I am not going to live with the wrecking yard and dismantling yard that is already in violation across the street.” He also challenged what the lawyer had told the city. “My attorney tells me a different story than yours tells you. What he tells me is ‘Good, let the city issue the license’ and my costs and my injuries go up. My damages increase when you allow that to happen. You keep saying there’s nothing you can do. We elected you to look out for our rights also.”

Janet Geary also expressed that she is concerned at the impact such a business would have on the appearance of the city. She recently moved to Huntington and related that as the city looks now, she is “ashamed to have my friends come down here and visit with all of the junk that is around our city.” She also read a letter from a group of citizens who support the beautification of the city, which urged the city to work to insure that the business would remain “a quality operation.”

Some citizens cited the state of repair that other businesses in the town were in that Hurdsman was supposedly involved in. Hurdsman encouraged the council to take any needed measures to solve problems with those businesses, and stated that the business he was proposing would follow the conditions that had been set.

After further discussion the subject concluded with the council’s decision to only approve part of the license.

Treatment facility decision goes back to Ferron City Council

James L. Davis

A decision by the Ferron Planning and Zoning Committee during its Feb. 19 meeting puts the future of a planned residential treatment facility for troubled teenage girls back into the hands of the Ferron City Council.

The treatment facility, planned by Charlotte Williams of Orangeville, would be located on property off of State Street in south Ferron. It would provide housing for troubled girls ages 12 to 18. During the most recent planning and zoning meeting a crowd once again gathered to voice their support or objection to the center. The zoning committee voted to deny the zoning request for the center because the area planned for the treatment facility is not zoned for such a facility.

The city’s attorney, Richard Chamberlain, had voiced his legal opinion in January that since there was no zone within Ferron that specifically permits such a facility it would be appropriate to deny the permit application. Williams and her lawyers are of the opinion that since zoning does not specifically deny a treatment facility, it must be allowed.

While the committee denied the zoning request, it will recommend to city council that it consider amending the zoning to permit the treatment facility to open for business. Planning and zoning is an advisory committee to the city council and the council can either accept its recommendation or not.

The debate over the proposed residential treatment facility has been ongoing for several months and has polarized opinions within the city and elsewhere.

When the issue first came before the planning and zoning committee there was not a quorum present to vote on the zoning request and when the issue went before city council, the city approved a business license to Williams for her facility, pending clearance by planning and zoning. With what she felt was conditional approval to open her business, Williams began work on renovating the building she had leased to prepare it for operation.

In the interim, residents living near where the facility would be established began to voice their concerns about troubled youth being housed in a treatment facility they did not want to be in and argued that a treatment facility is far different than a foster home. During the Jan. 10 meetings of the planning and zoning and the city council meeting the issue dominated both meetings with the end result being that planning and zoning recommended that the city council rescind their earlier decision to give a business license to Williams. Dennis Worwood, committee chairman, asked for public input on the matter. During the city council meeting the council took the committee’s recommendation and rescinded the license and the issue went back to planning and zoning for further discussion and research.

The request for comments from the public resulted in a wave of letters both for and against the facility being sent to the city.

With the decision by the planning and zoning committee to return the matter to the city council, the issue remains a subject for debate. The Ferron City Council will meet again on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.