High Flying Visitors

With the help of local pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Third Class Willie Robertson, students at Emery High School were given the opportunity to see four Apache Helicopters up-close after they landed on the football and baseball fields on March 12. It took the four helicopters around 40 minutes to fly to the high school from their base in West Jordan. Each Apache has two pilots, with CW3 Robertson and Capt. Badwell flying the first one, which landed on the football field, and Maj. Copeland and CW3 Harris, Maj. Waldrop and Capt. Smith, and CW3 Snowball and 1st Lt. Kimber flying the three that landed on the baseball field. The event served as a unique way for National Guard recruiters to allow students to see the helicopters and speak with the pilots and other members of the National Guard.

Representative McIff briefs county on legislative session

Josie Luke

State Representative Kay McIff spent the evening of March 12 with Emery County citizens discussing the work he did in the recent Utah State legislative session. McKiff discussed immigration, animal cruelty, water rights, education, transportation, mineral lease revenues, the new office of mine safety and the retirement of State Senator Mike Dimitrich.

He explained that 796 bills were introduced during the session, but the one he received the most input on was the animal cruelty bill. He revealed that he had received hundreds of emails regarding the issue, one even from Israel. He reported that the final bill that passed made it a felony to abuse a companion dog or cat.

An issue of special importance to Emery County was that the cap that had been put on the amount of mineral lease revenue that many counties in the state were to receive was eliminated. McIff explained, “In a quiet sort of way, we were able to work that into the appropriations,” releasing nearly $5.5 million to Emery County this year, part of which funds the county’s special service districts. This will make funds available for those districts to keep running and continue planned projects.

Immigration was also a topic of much discussion during the session. McIff revealed that the legislature did pass an immigration bill that would attempt to deal with the issues facing the state, but that it wouldn’t take effect until the middle of 2009. In discussing immigration issues, he explained that it would help people to understand that the legislature is limited in what it can do because, “Our jurisdiction in the state of Utah is very limited. We only control to our border, not to the national border. We have no power of disposition as it relates to undocumented persons. We can’t punish them based solely on their status, because their status does not violate Utah law, it violates the law of the Unites States.”

He also explained House Bill 51, which will allow cities, towns, water districts and other public water suppliers to acquire water rights according to projections of the levels that may be required in 40 years. He admitted some faults in the bill, but expressed hope that those would be addressed in future sessions.

Because state revenues were almost $350 million below December 2007 projections, the legislators had to push to find money for education. McIff was pleased with the amount they were able to accomplish, including a two percent raise in the amount schools get per student and a $1,700 raise in teacher pay. He said he had hoped that the raise would cover classified employees, but that didn’t happen.

McIff also addressed state transportation explaining that the issue of I-15 in Utah County dominated discussion. The legislature will move forward, making I-15 the dominant project, but agreed that this wouldn’t be “to the exclusion of other projects.”
Another project that McIff worked on was to establish the state Office of Mine Safety to supplement federal supervision of mines. He revealed that $280,000 was allocated to fund the new office.

Representative McIff also spoke of Senator Dimitrich’s announcement of retirement. He said, “Personally I’ve always gotten along really well with him and I’m sorry to see him quit. He’s been an effective senator for you.”

Grant gives fire department tools to find victims

Josie Luke

Awarded a $10,000 grant by the Utah State Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, the Ferron City Fire Department was able to purchase a new tool to aid them in their duties.

After receiving the grant in the second round of 2007 funding, the department now owns a FireFLIR thermal imaging camera, which will help them to find people trapped in a fire, locate flames through smoke, determine when temperatures are too dangerous to stay in a burning building and also find the origin of a fire.

The grant was awarded as a 50/50 matching grant, with half coming directly from the division and half coming from credit given to the department for training hours. With the total price for the device totaling almost $12,000 the Emery County Fire Protection Association funded the other $2,000. So, the device is owned by the Ferron Fire Department, and will be made available for use to other county fire departments, to benefit citizens throughout the county.

For a completely volunteer fire department with a relatively small budget, such grants are important. Grants have also been used to pay for the fire house, fire trucks, and many other things the department needs to operate.

One of the uses of the device the Ferron firefighters are most excited about is the ability it will give them to more quickly and easily locate people trapped in burning buildings. According to Chief Randy Johnson, they have found statistics stating that without the imaging device, the chances of finding a person are 40 percent and with the device, they are nearly 99 percent.
The device will virtually allow the firefighters to see through walls to find where people and fire are located in a home before they enter the building, along with allowing them to find their way within the structure. Johnson explained that when they enter a building, it is “pitch black, and you can’t even see the fire, but this penetrates the smoke, so we can step into a room and find the fire.”

The firefighters are also able to connect the camera to a television outside the building using an antenna. It also comes with a remote device that allows someone on the outside to monitor what is happening inside of the structure. Similar to a travel DVD player, the device allows the person to see what the firefighters on the inside see, along with the temperature within the structure. Johnson explained that this is an important feature that will allow him to pull the firefighters out if the danger is too high.

Another incident that the device will assist them in is when they respond to a smoke call, where they are unsure of where the heat is coming from. The device will also show the firefighters where “hot spots” are in a wall, such as an electrical short, or other issues.

Fireman Eddie Deto is thrilled about these possibilities.

“It helps us to fight fire and it helps us to find people. If we save on life, that is so much more important. The cost [of the camera] doesn’t even matter,” he said.

Orangeville considers changing parking rules

James L. Davis

The Orangeville City Council met for its regular meeting March 13 in the new community center.

The Old Firehouse Orangeville Community Center is nearing completion, with the inside of the facility finished with the exception of some acoustic controls in the main room of the center. The outside of the center is awaiting its stucco finish.
The project by Stilson and Sons Construction has resulted in a community center that city leaders believe is second to none in the county, with a large meeting room and kitchen area and a state-of-the-art sound system, with speakers inside and outside of the building, for larger gatherings. The center will be available for rentals for individuals and organizations.

The city held an open house for residents to get a glimpse of the renovated old fire station prior to the city meeting.
During the council meeting a number of discussion items were on the agenda, many of them revolving around parking on city streets and beautification issues within the city.

The council discussed a proposed amendment to its traffic code, which would result in a return to 45 degree parking along Main Street. Currently all of Main Street is designated parallel parking. The council considered a draft amendment to the ordinance which would designate Main Street from 1st North southward 45 degree parking, including in front of Cottonwood Elementary. In discussions with the school, Councilmember Carole Larsen indicated that the school was actually in favor of the parking being designated 45 degree instead of parallel because of traffic congestion during school events.

The council discussed the possibility of designating all city streets in Orangeville 45 degree parking with the exception of the Cottonwood Subdivision and a few narrower streets within the city, which would be posted parallel parking only.

Also addressed in the proposed amendment would be a section making it illegal for any large commercial vehicles to park within city limits on city streets for longer than four hours. The proposal comes as a result of complaints from some residents that semis are parking on city streets for extended times, causing parking and safety concerns. The council did not vote on the issue and it will be considered further in the April council meeting.

Also discussed during the meeting were plans for beautification in the city. Orangeville has designated April 15 to May 15 for city clean-up activities and dumpsters will be dropped off at several locations within the city for residents use during the month. The city has also designated May 3 as city cleanup day and is seeking volunteers to help clean up neighborhoods. Projects are being planned for the beautification of Creekview Park and the area around the bridge on Main Street.

The city is also encouraging residents to use this time for projects to beautify their own homes and property. Joyce Law has agreed to organize volunteer efforts for neighbors to help neighbors with beautification efforts. She hopes to organize efforts by neighborhood and on May 3 volunteers will fan out to take on individual projects. If you have cleanup projects that you need additional help to complete, call Joyce Law at 748-2288.

In conjunction with Orangeville beautification efforts, the city council approved the implementation of a Paint the Town project. In an effort to encourage city residents to help make Orangeville more beautiful, the city will begin offering certificates to Orangeville residents beginning in April that will be good for a percentage off on exterior paint.

Pat Jones of Jones Ace Hardware has agreed to give Orangeville residents $3 off on every gallon of exterior paint purchased at his store when presented with the certificate from the city. The city will match the dollar amount given by Jones for a total of $6 off for every gallon of exterior paint purchased for painting homes or businesses within city limits.

Residents will need to give the location of the home or building they plan to paint when requesting the certificate from the city. The certificates will be available in April and the Paint the Town program is limited to a total of $500 in funds, so certificates will be provided on a first come, first served basis until they are exhausted.

The city council also approved the purchase of a used street sweeper to augment the once a year street sweeping provided by the Castle Valley Special Service District.

Precinct caucus meetings scheduled for March 25

The State of Utah has declared that Precinct Caucus Meetings will be held throughout the state on March 25 at 7 p.m.
Precinct officers, county delegates and state delegates will be elected at the precinct meetings.

Support your community, county, and state by attending your local precinct on this night.

The Republican Precinct Caucus Meetings will be held in the following places.

Precinct # l – Emery, Emery City Hall
Precinct # 2 - Ferron South, Ferron City Hall
Precinct # 3 - Ferron North, Ferron Elementary School
Precinct # 4 – Clawson, Clawson City Hall
Precinct # 5 – Orangeville, Cottonwood Elementary School
Precinct # 6 - Castle Dale West, Little Theater Emery High School
Precinct # 7 - Castle Dale East, Castle Dale Elementary School
Precinct # 8 - Huntington East, Huntington Elementary School
Precinct # 9 - Huntington West, Huntington Elementary School
Precinct #10 – Cleveland, Cleveland Elementary School
Precinct #11 – Elmo, Elmo Library
Precinct #12 - Green River, John Wesley Powell Museum
Emery County Democrat precinct mass meeting locations:.
Precinct #1 Emery = Emery City Hall.
Precinct #2 Ferron South = Ferron Senior Citizen Center.
Precinct #3 Ferron North = Ferron Senior Citizen Center.
Precinct #4 Clawson = Ferron Senior Citizen Center.
Precinct #5 Orangeville = 75 East Main Castle Dale (county courthouse).
Precinct #6 Castle Dale West=75 East Main Castle Dale (county courthouse).
Precinct #7 Castle Dale East=75 East Main Castle Dale (county courthouse).
Precinct #8 Huntington East = Huntington Elementary School.
Precinct #9 Huntington West = Huntington Elementary School.
Precinct #10 Cleveland = Huntington Elementary School
Precinct #11 Elmo = Elmo City Hall, 90 S. 100 E,
Precinct #12 Green River = Sheriff’s substation, 48 Farrer Street.