The
Insider
Serving Wayne & Garfield Counties, Utah
Loa • Fremont • Lyman • Bicknell • Teasdale • Torrey • Grover • Fruita • Caineville • Hanksville Panguitch • Panguitch Lake • Hatch • Antimony • Bryce • Tropic • Henrieville • Cannonville • Escalante • Boulder
Thursday, February 24, 2022
Issue # 1449
insiderutah.com
Local Students Make Trip to Washington with Prevention Coalition
UDWR Announces Finalized Water Resources Plan
Garfield County Commission February 14
SALT LAKE CITY - After processing over 270 public comments, the Utah Division of Water Resources has finalized the Water Resources Plan. This plan is the result of years of data gathering, modeling and other collaborative efforts to identify when and where water will be needed throughout the state. “A safe, reliable water supply is critical to Utah’s prosperity and quality of life. This plan provides a comprehensive look at Utah’s current water use and supply conditions and future demand scenarios,” said Candice Hasenyager, director of the Division of Water Resources. “It’s a long-range planning document that looks 50 years into the future and has been years in the making.” The plan focuses on three water management principles: • Reliable data is needed to make informed water management decisions. • Supply security requires a comprehensive approach. • Healthy watersheds are necessary to ensure the viability of the state’s precious water resources. Water Resources Plan Cont'd on page 2
Courtesy Melissa Veater
Student members of the Panguitch, Bryce Valley, and Escalante Prevention Coalitions met with Utah 2nd District U.S. Representative Chris Stewart (left) during their visit to Washington the week of January 30, 2022. Shown are (L to R) Taylor LeFevre and Skyler Ott - BVHS, Ben Peterson and Hope Peterson - EHS, Skylar Frandsen - PHS, Kelton Porter - EHS, Paisley Tebbs – BVHS. Kneeling: Treyson Prince - PHS, Ryen Treanor – EHS. Representative Burgess Owens (right), from Utah’s 4th District, joined them for the visit. WASHINGTON, DC Only time will tell how a unique opportunity like a high school trip to Washington, DC, will shape the futures of the students making the journey. But it is certainly the “experience of a lifetime.”
Utah DWR Conservation Officers Investigate Hunting Permit Fraud, Seize Illegally Killed Animals in Recent Cases
Courtesy Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Trophy Mule Deer Illegally Harvested in Henry Mountain in 2019. If you have information about any wildlife-related crimes in Utah, you should report it to DWR conservation officers. SALT LAKE CITY Usually, when people hear the term “poaching,” illegally killing wildlife without proper permits comes to mind. But another form of that is illegally obtaining those permits through fraud, and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources conservation officers have recently investigated several of those types of cases. Since 2017, DWR conservation officers have in-
GARFIELD COUNTY The Garfield County Commission went into session and immediately closed for an executive session to discuss personnel and litigation. Back in regular session, Commissioners Taylor and Pollock agreed to skip their board reports to make up time. Public Works, Dave Dodds. Interns from Southern Utah University will help update the county’s GIS roads layers. Grant funds are being sought to construct a bridge over Bullfrog Wash on the Burr Trail. Road crews will start the Red Canyon project with Forest Service in a few weeks. The Commissioners approved up to $12K for a cattle guard requested by Doug Cox and Sean Frost for their East Bench allotment near the Panguitch airport. Materials for a 12-ft section would cost $9000, plus concrete and labor. Commissioners discussed lowering costs by using county or jail resources for the labor. Planning, Kaden Figgins: Figgins reported that Cannonville cell tower contracts are in place and it will be built this spring. Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. Chad Jones introduced himself as the new manager of the park. Although
vestigated more than 95 cases where someone intentionally committed license fraud to obtain a hunting permit. These cases typically involve a nonresident claiming to be a Utahn in order to increase their odds of obtaining a permit for a once-in-a-lifetime or limitedentry hunt or to get the lower permit price offered to Utah Permit Fraud Cont'd on page 6
REGIONAL WEATHER FORECAST FOR SOME BUT NOT ALL REGIONS REPRESENTED IN OUR NEWSPAPER COVERAGE AREA
During early February, nine local high school students representing Escalante, Bryce Valley and Panguitch high schools—each members of their schools’ Prevention Coalitions—made a special trip to the nation’s capital to join
Torrey Town Council by Amiee Maxwell
February 10 TORREY - The February 10 Torrey Town Council kicked off with a report from Mayor Wright. He provided an update on upcoming UDOT projects in the Torrey area and reported that he is currently pursuing funding options for a walking path through town, a possible speed study, and grants to assist with drainage help needed in town. He also gave a report on possible affordable housing grants to pursue and said that the town is unlikely to get a CIB grant for new playground equipment, so they will pursue a grant through the Eccles Foundation. He also reported that Dave Love was elected chairman of the Planning and Zoning Committee and that Steve Babbitt has offered to take a potential open seat on the committee. Next, the council approved a resolution related to the number of new connections available for Torrey Torrey Council Cont'd on page 3
youth from around the country for the annual Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America conference. This is the first year that all three of Garfield County’s high schools have participated in the annual conference.
CADCA Conference
Garfield Commission
Cont'd on page 9
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New BLM Trail Features Help Visitors Test Their Limits for Dry Fork Slot Canyons
Courtesy Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management Utah and Kane County Search and Rescue Ropes Team installed preventative warning signs at the Dry Fork Slot Canyon trailheads that illustrate the canyon's narrowness & allow visitors to test their ability to pass through the narrow slot section. GRAND STAIRCASEESCALANTE N.M. - The Bureau of Land Management Utah and Kane County Search and Rescue Ropes Team installed preventative warning signs at the Dry Fork Slot Canyon trailheads that illustrate the canyon's narrowness & allow visitors to test their ability to pass through the narrow slot
section. To help prevent the hazardous situation of being stuck in a narrow canyon, the new trailhead signs are a great resource for visitors to know their limits and reduce the chances of having a hazardous situation in the future for other visitors and rescuers. Last year, search and rescue calls were made by
visitors who became lodged within the canyon and needed assistance to get out. The Kane County Search and Rescue Ropes Team responded to these incidents and safely removed the visitors from the canyon. We appreciate Dry Fork
Cont'd on page 2
UPCOMING EVENTS... Wayne High School 2022 Junior Prom
March 19, 2022 9:00 PM - Midnight $8 for singles, $10 for couples, and $30 for families
THURS. FEB. 24 - WED. MAR. 2
Mostly sunny, with little to no chance of precipitation after a couple of snowy days earlier in the week. Highs range from the high 20s to low 50s; lows in the single digits to 20s.
CADCA is made up of over 5,000 community coalitions across the U.S., and students with the Panguitch Prevention Coalition first started
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
—Edith Wharton
Parowan Swap Meet
March 25 & 26 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Iron County Fairgrounds 50 South 600 East Clinic Way, Parowan, Utah ALL content for THE WAYNE & GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER MUST BE submitted by FRIDAY AT NOON to be included in the following Thursday edition of the paper.
BOXHOLDER
PRE-SORT STANDARD PAID RICHFIELD, UTAH PERMIT No. 122