Emery County youth thank the commissioners for their support of the Castle Country Classic Junior Livestock Show.
By Julie Johansen
The safety minute presentation for the Emery County Commission meeting on Tuesday was presented by Cory Worwood, the weed and mosquito supervisor. Even though Emery County is traditionally a dry county, he said that three times in the last seven years, he has had employees stranded by flash floods as they worked in the county. His presentation gave a few quick and important warnings for dealing with flash floods.
These included listening to and heeding warnings as well as not crossing flood waters in a vehicle. He reported that 6” of water can wash away a person, 12” of water can wash away a vehicle and 18” to 24” can take out a road. Worwood concluded by stating that flash floods are serious.
Next, the safety Visa gift cards drawing was done by Commissioner Lynn Sitterud to recognize those who have been using safe practices in the workplace. The two EMTs were Doug Moreno and Seth Gardner. Safety sensitive employees were Keaton Cowley and Kimberly House. The full-time employee was Vanesa Justesen and the part-time employee was Ellie Whitesel.
Ten youth from Emery County 4-H and the Future Farmers of America then took time to thank the commissioners for their support of the recent Castle Country Classic Junior Livestock Show. Each youth expressed appreciation and reported on the success of the show. The Emery County Commission donated buckles to the show as awards and each exhibitor in attendance at the meeting was wearing their buckle to express their appreciation. They also reported their desire to make this an annual show.
Next, Emery County Sheriff Deputy Shaun Bell and Sergeant Riley distributed sheets with predicted expenses and income for the addition of more state inmates housed in the Emery County Correctional Facility to each commissioner. They were requesting the hiring of four additional correction officers to comply with Utah State Correctional Facility rules to increase the number of state inmates. They reported that they need to have at least 25 inmates in order to make it profitable. They also shared the individual educational benefits of having these employees trained. The commissioners approved but called for an accounting of the expense and income once they reach their desire quota. Modification 001 to the Cooperative Law Enforcement Annual Operating and Financial Plan between the County of Emery and the USDA, Forest Service and Manti-La Sal National Forest was also approved.
During the elected officials reports, Emery County Sheriff Greg Funk reported a very successful triathlon last weekend where 130 participants completed the course. Although the spectator numbers were lower than expected, he said that the Emery County Search and Rescue team did a great job.
Commissioner Kent Wilson then expressed his concern over the increase of property taxes for the county. He had a good report about EMTs for Green River, stating that they were at about 95+% of the needed staff and expect to be 100% by August. He also reported that they have been approached by a company about using the old weed and mosquito building.
Commissioner Sitterud spoke about new contracts at the San Rafael Research Center. Also, he remarked that it was great to have it busy there again. Commissioner Sitterud also said that a local company, Conductive Composites, is interested in becoming part of this growing research.