Meet Louise Parry Lloyd

Six County AOG Offers Tax Assistance

JUAB / MILLARD / PIUTE / SANPETE / SEVIER / WAYNE COS.Free tax preparation help is available to qualifying citizens in the “six county” area. In-person Federal and State tax preparation by IRS certified volunteers, as well as DIY online tax preparation, are available to residents in the area.

The Six County Association of Governments provides a multitude of services for those living in

Juab, Millard, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier and Wayne counties here in central Utah. For more information on tax help, contact Six County AOG VITA Program Manager Shara Bastian at (435) 893-0728 or schedule an appointment online at earnitkeepitsaveitutah.org.

—Gloria Albrecht, Six County Association of Governments

Letters to the Editor

WAYNE CO. - Let us take a moment and meet Louise Parry Lloyd and her husband Lamar Lloyd. The Lloyd’s moved to Wayne County in 2020 from Evanston, Wyoming. They lived in Bicknell for a time, and they now reside in Fremont. They both work for Howie Blackburn.

Louise and Lamar were married in April of 1963 and have seven children: Joe, Richard, Craig, Gary, Robert are the boys, and the two girls are Paula and Caroline. There is 14 years between the oldest child and the youngest. She thinks she has 20 or so grandchildren and maybe 15 to 19 great-grandchildren; she’s lost count on the total numbers.

Louise was raised in Bluffdale, Utah, as one of 12 children. Her father died while working for Geneva Steel. Her mother, Grandma Parry, never remarried and raised all 12 children. Louise’s mother didn’t get a job until her oldest child was 18 years old, and she was the oldest graduate that Jordan High School has ever had; she received her high school diploma at the age of 90 years old.

Lamar and Louise raised their children, mostly in the Burley, Idaho area, on a farm. This taught all the children about what hard work was and helped grow them into the hard working adults that they are. Lamar drove truck for a time, and Louise would be out feeding the farm animals and taking care of the home.

Lamar loves his three donkeys and takes extra good care of them. He helps his son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Frannie Lloyd, take care of the horses. He’s just an old farmer at heart.

Louise has had many jobs over the years, mostly in the food service industry. She was a nutrition worker at Alta View Hospital for many years, and moved on to work at West Jordan High School in the kitchen. But, her children said, her favorite job was being a waitress at Connor’s Café in Burley, Idaho. Her granddaughter Ricki Lloyd remembers singing the “cheeseburger song” with her when she was a little girl.

Her sister Joyce, daughter Paula and Grandma Parry all took a trip to visit family who were on a mission at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii. This trip brought the two sisters closer together.

Louise’s daughter-in-laws bragged about her quilts and aprons she made for a Bunco group prize and her love of crocheting. “She has a great mind to fix or engineer sheets, purses, dresses, pants or anything that needs fixing,” stated her daughter-in-law Brook Lloyd. One of her friends, Judy Greene, also summed-up Louise, “She never has a bad thing to say about anyone or anything. She’s a glass is ALWAYS half full person and is one of the sweetest people I have ever met.”

If you happen to see these two on the street or at the store, stop and say "hello." You’ll be glad you did.

—Lisa Jeppson

Donavan Smith, WCHC's Director of Pharmacy Services, Honored with Award

Courtesy Association for Utah Community Health Donavan Smith, Wayne Community Health Center's Director of Pharmacy Services has been honored with National Association of Community Health Centers's 2023 Elizabeth K. Cooke Advocacy MVP Award.

WAYNE CO. - We are very happy to share that Donavan Smith, Wayne Community Health Center's Director of Pharmacy Services, has been honored with National Association of Community Health Centers's 2023 Elizabeth K. Cooke Advocacy MVP Award.

Donavan has worked hard to preserve access to the #340B Drug Pricing Program in Utah and is always willing to share his expertise with health centers across the country.

On behalf of all of us at Association for Utah Community Health, congrats!

—Association for Utah Community Health

Property Taxes

Understanding how to prevent systematic embezzlement of our money. (1) State law – “TRUTH-IN-TAXATION”. Cities / towns, county, school districts, and several others are local taxing entities. All these entities are required to match with previous year’s property tax income for current year. Lets say Panguitch City Government collected $500,000 in property taxes in 2022. In 2023, it grew to $700,000 (due to growth in buildings, inflation, market values of properties, etc.), $700,000 needs to be brought back to $500,000 thru automatic tax rate reduction. Governing bodies ( School district board, county commission, city council / mayor, etc.) have no powers to play with this. Rain of $s ( $200,000 ) is not for city cronies to enjoy. It is required to be passed on to taxpayers / property owners as tax rate reduction. (2) State Law - Governing bodies ( City Council, County Commission, School Board, etc.) have authority to increase tax rate (if needed, justified, etc.). However, public knowledge / approval is needed. Example - In Orange County, CA county crooks embezzled millions of $. Legal system took care of the crooks. The ditch created was required to be filled by property owners through tax rate increase. (3) Above (1) and (2) are totally different things. Public has the right, jurisdiction, burden, and responsibility to get full knowledge from county assessors, commissioners, auditor. (4) According to Utah Tax Commission ( to Utah Legislatures) - “Local governing bodies run from increasing tax rate. They do anything to stay glued in the chair. This is translating into "Punish Peter to pay Paul" culture. (5) If you find $100 less in property taxes over previous year, hold your horses to award credit to local government cronies. You may have >$300 less to pay. You need to question your property value, growth in properties in the county, and automatic required drop in tax rate. (6) What is needed (with Garfield County in huge surplus) is well qualified / educated / skilled people in the workforce (employment) as independent auditors screaming about + transparency + respect to public rights. The world came a long way from 18th century “Snake Oil Salesmen culture” to Oncologists, gynecologists, cardiologists, etc; in 21st century. Would you be surprised if our local lords ( gov. conies) not familiar with this or consider all of us as dumb.

Harshad P. Desai, Panguitch

AmeriCorps Seniors:

Senior Companion volunteers are 55 years or older and help older adults improve their quality of life. Senior Companions receive benefits such as meal and mileage reimbursement and can earn $400 or more of tax free* monthly income that doesn’t affect their own senior benefits.

AmeriCorps Seniors

Cont'd from A1

For more information on becoming a Senior Companion, contact Maradee Peterson at (435) 893-0735 or by email at maradeep@sixcounty.com, or contact Jill Fullmer at (435) 893-0748 or by email at jillfullmer@sixcounty. com

AmeriCorp Seniors also has opportunities for youth mentors who will work one-on-one with children in local schools who need a little assistance with reading and math or other skills. As an AmeriCorps Senior working with kids, you become a role model and friend to today’s youth, sharing wisdom and helping to shape the citizens of

Corrections:

In the March 16, 2023, issue of The Insider, we printed a story in the "Schools and Sports" section (B1) titled "BVES Presents 'Mamma Mia' April 19-22."

It is in fact Bryce Valley High School that will be putting on the production.

Please, see B1 in this week's issue for a corrected article.

—Insider

In our Wayne County Commission meeting report for March 6, 2023 published last week (March 13, 2023) we published a list of projects that had received funding from the Community Impact Board for capital improvement projects, which was based on a list currently housed on Wayne County's economic development page. This was a list of priorities for funding in 2022-2023, some of which may have been funded, and others not. We apologize for the error.

—Insider tomorrow.

AmeriCorps Seniors working with youth earn a stipend of about $200 a month* and transportation reimbursement. To be eligible, you must be 55 years or older and commit to serve up to 15 hours weekly.

For more information about serving today's youth as an AmeriCorps Senior, contact Maradee Peterson at (435)893-0735 or by email at maradeep@sixcounty.com

*earned income does not affect your personal Social Security benefits, low income housing, HEAT, food stamps or other services you receive.

—Gloria Albrecht, Six County Association of Governments

Erica Walz

Graphic Design: Emily Leach

Tessa Barkan

Amiee Maxwell

Kadi Franson

Lisa Jeppson

Ian Marynowski

Basic Needs: This week's installment of "Feathers" discusses the basic needs of birds: food, water, and shelter.

Debbie Savage ers, at least in part. In lieu of natural seeds, black-oil sunflower seeds seem to be favorite. Unfortunately, they’ve become quite expensive due to crop failures the last couple of years, but I bite the bullet and buy them anyway. It’s what I do. Tiny thistle (nyjer) seeds are popular with finches, especially Goldfinches and Siskins.

Pairs of Orioles and Black-headed Grosbeaks enjoying fruit and jelly on a homemade feeder.

I do not use common seed mixes or cracked corn as they draw introduced birds the only water sources on our dry ridge are the ones I provide, and there are a variety. The simplest is just a large plant saucer, about 2” deep, on a stand on my deck. In winter, I add a simple immersion heater to keep the water liquid. I also have two ponds, which are just 2-3’ wide pre-formed vats buried to ground level; various sizes and shapes of these containers can be found at ranch supply stores. Bear in mind that there needs to be a means of escape should a creature fall in—a middle rock island from which to leap, a stick on which to climb out, or something. And placement of your pond is important; it should not be adjacent to any plants in which cats can hide (outdoor cats kill 58 million birds a year). In winter, I use trough heaters to keep the ponds ice free. Except in winter, one of the ponds is fed by a small, recirculating stream. When I get it going in spring, I am immediately surrounded by birds who are drawn more to the sound than to the sight of

Hummingbirds are our primary nectar feeders, but Orioles also love it. And they, along with Western Tanagers, Cedar Waxwings, Black-headed Grosbeaks and Robins, are among the species which consume fruit.

During cold weather, several species appreciate the extra fat found in suet or peanut butter. This is particularly true of bark gleaners (Chickadee, Titmouse, Nuthatch), but my winter Juncos love peanut butter, and I have even seen Tanagers consume it during cold springs. Scrub Jays, of course, will eat any and all of the above. There are countless types of seed feeders out there, some more decorative than functional. I look for those that are sturdy, easy to clean, and difficult for Jays and other large birds to use. I suspend mine from long arms attached to the deck railing so they are out of reach of chipmunks and squirrels. Thistle seed feeders (the seeds are treated so they don’t sprout) are constructed of fine-gage mesh or can be a simple mesh sock. Recently, in my continuing effort to thwart large birds from consuming everything, I’ve been using small feeders that attach to windows via suction cups and have a removeable tray for ease of filling and cleaning.

Everyone is familiar with hummer feeders. The concoction used to fill them (1 part sugar to 4 parts water) is virtually the same as flower nectar; no need to use food coloring.

Nectar feeders for Orioles are similar, but with bigger holes and appropriatelysized and -placed perches. Both should be cleaned periodically (nectar ferments and algae grow), more often in hot weather, so look for brands (e.g. First Nature) with wide mouths.

Fruit can be provided to those species who relish it, such as orange halves, apples, or jelly (grape is most economical). There are special feeders available which have spikes for fruit and a jelly receptacle in the middle.

Wire suet feeders are probably familiar, and suet cakes are readily available. And no one turns their beak up at a smear of peanut butter on the suet! I have made peanut butter feeders out of lengths of log using a spade bit to create hollows. Bark remnants are good for clinging, as are horizontally cut grooves.

Various types of feeders are illustrated in a photo attached to this article. Of course, you can manufacture your own, as I did with the peanut butter log.

My friend Jeff is genius at creating feeders out of remnants and found objects. He has ground trays for seed and raised platform feeders with small spikes for fruit and plenty of room for other foods. The amazing contraption seen in another included photo is popular with fruit and jelly eaters— if the food’s there, they will come—and some fruits are simply attached to trees, as seen in the main photo of this story (A1).

Don’t want any type of feeder? Plants in your yard, especially drought-tolerant natives, can provide needed food in the form of insects on shrubs, seeds, nectar, and fruits. Consider letting your seed-bearing plants and grasses stand over the winter and not pruning your fruiting plants until spring in order to provide winter foods.

Water is a necessity for everyone. Many animals can survive for a while on little or no food, but not for long without water. Bird’ needs for water varies with temperature, activity level, and the water content of their food. They have an amazing ability to conserve water physiologically by resorbing it from liquid waste rather than producing a watery urine; the end product is the white part of bird droppings. Still, birds do need water to drink and to keep their feathery coats in prime condition by bathing.

Birds can get water from the irrigation of lawns and agricultural fields or from rain puddles, but a constant water source in your own yard can draw birds in and add to your enjoyment of our feathered friends. Except for the intermittent stream far below, water. There are all kinds of water circulating devices to be found on line, many of them solar.

Vegetative shelter is a third necessity for birds. They need it to hide while scoping food and water sources, escape and avoid predators, roost at night or in storms, keep warm in winter, and nest. Vegetation, however, especially native vegetation, is under siege by humans. It is typical for people and their contractors to “clear the decks” in preparation for building a house, glamping facility or other structure, rather than working around any native vegetation already in place. Later, they will be plagued with dust from unanchored earth and the weeds which thrive at such sites. And who wants to live or stay on a barren site? They are not very glamporous!

When we bought our home site, it was only partially cleared. We asked our contractor not to remove a single plant without our OK and are grateful he was willing to comply. Instead of a man-made desert now, we live in an established Pinyon-Juniper forest and have the creatures that go with it. You can do similar things with your own landscaping wherever you live. With some thought and the right plant choices, you can create an environment which is attractive to both you and the birds.