By Julie Johansen
The Emery County Commissioners met on Tuesday at the county administration building in Castle Dale. The monthly safety minute presentation was given by San Rafael Museum Director Tiffany Baker. She spoke about how custodians can remain safe at their place of employment. Baker discussed safety practices, including eye protection from cleaning solutions, wet floor caution signs, power tool safety, paint odors and how to use ladders correctly. During the awarding of the Visa safety gift cards, which reward employees practicing safety in the workplace, the following employees were given gift cards: Melanie Hoffman, Angelina Migliori, Ken Anderson and Merrill Duncan.
Many voiced their appreciation to the commissioners in the meeting. Sandra Huntington, Emery County Fair Chairwoman, thanked commissioners Lynn Sitterud and Gil Conover for supporting commissioner Kent Wilson and herself with the ideas and plans for the Emery County celebration they had in lieu of the traditional county fair, which was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the abnormal circumstances, the feedback from the event has been positive.
Emery County 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) members and leaders also thanked the commissioners for their support and funding for the Castle Country Livestock Show hosted in place of the Southeastern Utah Junior Livestock Show. In addition, the two groups asked for continued support for another show in 2021, similar to this years’ event. It would not replace the Southeast Utah Junior Livestock Show but would be held beforehand and would be done on a much smaller scale. The feeling is that a small show presented many advantages for children in the area.
The request for proposals for a public lands consultant were then opened, but the commission requested additional time to review the proposals, which came from Ray Petersen and Sunrise Engineering. A decision should be made at the next commission meeting.
Jeramy Jorgensen then gave a presentation regarding the annual wildland fire season update. He stated that there have been 27 wildland fires in Emery County in 2020. There have been no forest fires; all fires have been on Bureau of Land Management ground or private land. The arson fires on the Skyline last week were in Sanpete County. They are currently working on four private land fire reduction activities. He reminded all that state fire restrictions are still in effect and violations are a class C Misdemeanors. In Utah this year, there have been 963 human-caused fires, which is 75% of all the Utah fires.
Emery County Public Lands Director Jim Jennings reported on his findings regarding the Long Street Road in Green River. In 2005, then land owner, Holyoak, built a gate across Long Street Road, denying access to the rest of the seven-mile road to the Price River. The new owner, Noelle Belarko, purchased the land thinking that this road was closed to the public.
Many others have testified that they have used that road for many years. Emery County Attorney Mike Olsen stated that the county considers it a public road and will go to litigation if necessary to retain access. Olsen will speak with the new owner and set up a timeline to retain the road by offering alternatives.
The commissioners then approved a sponsorship of $3,000 to the Heroes Among Us event that will be hosted in Green River on Thursdays and Fridays during the month of October. One of the commissioners will attend the event every day in order to become acquainted with the businesses’ CEOs, who will be sponsoring the veterans honored at the events.
During the elected officials reports, everyone expressed concerns regarding mental health issues in the area and state. They expressed that these are troubling times, which have affected many individuals, causing officers to put their lives on the line to protect their communities. Everyone conveyed their appreciation to the officers for that sacrifice.
