East Carbon Mayor David Avery was in attendance at the final Carbon County Commission meeting for the 2018 year to take time to speak with the commissioners on events and happenings in the city throughout the past year.
He began by thanking the commissioners for the opportunity to address them. Mayor Avery then regaled the commissioners and crowd with a brief history on the Grassy Trail Riding Club, stating that the group began in the early 1940s. The group would travel to the west of the town to pull off a rodeo, which eventually evolved into an arena being built in Sunnyside Canyon.
Mayor Avery stated that since then, there has been a rodeo every year. However, the 2018 rodeo was in a precarious balance for some time due to the condition of the arena. Commissioner Casey Hopes was contacted regarding the issue. While sand for the arena was not in the budget, Commissioner Hopes re-approached the issue and suggested that crusher fines be used.
Another roadblock was met for Mayor Avery in the form of having transportation for the crusher fines. While still debating a way to make this happen, Mayor Avery was surprised to see Carbon County vehicles traveling into the city to deliver the crusher fines to the arena. The ECDC then donated a grater to assist and the project was complete. Mayor Avery reported that over 2,000 tickets for the 2018 rodeo were sold and the stock and participants were the best yet.
“We rock and rolled until eleven or 12 a.m. for two nights,” Mayor Avery said.
Not ending his praise there, Mayor Avery also recalled the commissioners assisting with the expansion of Carbon Medical to the city as well as new equipment, issues with land and surveying, and the use of a county ambulance. The county also assisted East Carbon in chipping of the streets, saving the city “tens of thousands” of dollars, according to Mayor Avery.
Mayor Avery highlighted a time that Commissioner Jae Potter, while on vacation, quickly worked to assist the city during flooding. Commissioner Jake Mellor was also spotlighted for being a player in the groundbreaking of the new clinic. From the city, recreation department, ambulance service and more, Mayor Avery thanked the commissioners and wished Commissioners Potter and Mellor farewell.