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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, July 28, 2022
Wayne County Commission
Counties Across Utah Increasing Fire Restrictions
SALT LAKE CITY Due to another year of severe drought, Color Country, Central Utah, and Northern Utah Interagency Fire Managers have implemented fire restrictions on all unincorporated county, state and federally administered public lands in the following Utah counties: Juab, Millard, Wayne, Piute, Sevier, Sanpete, Box Elder, Weber, Cache, Rich, Morgan, Davis, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah, Washington, Kane, Garfield, Iron and Beaver (excluding Uinta, Wasatch, Cache National Forest, and Manti La-Sal National Forest), and BLM administered lands in Wasatch and Summit. “Despite the recent monsoon storms, rainfall has not been widespread, and the majority of Utah remains in extreme drought,” said Bureau of Land Management Utah State Fire Management Officer Chris Delaney. “While the moisture we received was much needed, it has not been enough to reduce our wildland fire risk. We still need Fire Restrictions Cont'd on page 9
by Lisa Jeppson
July 18, 2022
by Kathy Munthe
Nesting Season It's a lot of work Stuart Russo-Savage | Emily Leach
American Robin nest with three beautiful eggs (right), and a Lesser Goldfinch collecting nesting material (above).
ESCALANTE - After my last article, the run-up to nesting season must have been rather disappointing for some of you. Decline in bird populations aside, the displays— and especially songs—males use to attract females were suppressed by May’s bru-
Fall Entrada-Sponsored Citizen Science Night Sky Monitoring Event to be Held September 24, Following Heritage Starfest
Courtesy Barb Walkkush
Volunteers Anne Macey, Chris Lippard, and Dale Jaworski at the spring Citizen Science Night Sky Monitoring event on April 24, 2022, in Torrey, Utah. The fall event will take place on September 24, 2022. TORREY - The fall Entrada-sponsored Citizen Science Night Sky Monitoring event will be held at the conclusion of the Heritage Starfest on Saturday, September 24, 2022. This is the second of the biannual light pollution monitoring data collections. Please mark your calendars. Torrey Town was the
Issue # 1471
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first of only two Utah communities to receive International Dark Sky (IDA) designation. One requirement to retain the designation is to collect monitoring information and include it in an annual report that is submitted each October to IDA (www.darksky.org) by Night Sky Monitoring Cont'd on page 3
REGIONAL WEATHER FORECAST
tal and relentless winds. The “dawn chorus” at my place was often a single Mourning Dove’s plaintive call. Still, birds managed to hook up and reproduce, as evidenced by the spotted young Robin in my town yard, the succession of insufferably loud imma-
Entrada Hosts "Classic Conversation" with Wayne Co. Fire Chief Steve Lutz on Aug. 4 TORREY - On Thursday, August 4, at 6 p.m., Steve Lutz and Don Gomes will discuss the many facets of Steve’s life in a 1-hour "Classic Conversation," hosted by the Entrada Institute at Robbers Roost in Torrey. A limited live, in-person audience will also have an opportunity to converse with Lutz. Steve Lutz fought his first fire in 1975 and became an EMT in 1976. He served the Utah Fire & Rescue Academy for 30 years. Currently, Lutz is Wayne County Fire Chief, leading local battalions throughout the county to new levels of expertise. A main objective for Lutz at this stage of his fire-service career is to complete and publish a work documenting every firefighter line-of-duty death in Utah. Steve notes, “Even decades later, there Steve Lutz
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ture Pinyon Jays at my seed feeders, the anemic car-alarm squeal of new Black-headed Grosbeaks, and the increase in Black-chinned Hummers at my nectar feeders as females show their young the ropes. The onset of nesting is timed so that hatching occurs
when the appropriate foods are at their peak. Unfortunately, that peak has gotten earlier and earlier as the climate has warmed. Resident birds have been coping with this change Nesting Season Cont'd on page 7
WAYNE COUNTY The second Wayne County Commission meeting of July was held on July 18, 2022. Commissioners Blackburn and Brian were in attendance. Commissioner Wood was excused for personal reasons. The agenda for the meeting was accepted and approved. Minutes from the commission meeting held on July 5, 2022, were accepted and approved. The first order of business was the project for the Wayne Wonderland Airport presented by John Spendlove, a representative from Jones & DeMille Engineering, who has been working on a 20year master plan. Jones and DeMille are partnering with Century West Engineering on this project. The proposal of $382,360 will include survey work, locating existing features, providing aerial shots of the area and extending the runway. The FAA requires that 10% of the fee is met, which Wayne County has in a fund. Commissioner Blackburn was concerned with an existing irrigation line located Wayne Commission Cont'd on page 3
New WCFD Fire Station Opens in Torrey; WCFD Offers Chipping to Reduce Wildland Fire Fuel by Steve Lutz, Wayne County Fire Chief
Courtesy Steve Lutz
Wayne County firefighters Sushiel Keswani and Wes Barclay stand by as Donkey Flats homeowners burn piles of tumbleweeds in two temporary wire corrals on May 16, 2022. WAYNE COUNTY The Wayne County Fire District (WCFD) is happy to announce some recent important progress and several opportunities for community involvement. We’ll highlight a new
station with some updated equipment, a sharp uptick in wildfires, and some great opportunities for Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) property owners to increase the resilience and fire survivability of their
little piece of heaven. The District reached a milestone when Station 606, in Torrey, opened for business. The station was financed WCFD
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UPCOMING EVENTS... 2022 Garfield Co. Fair
2022 Wayne Co. Fair
July 30 - Aug. 6
Aug. 15 - 20, 2022
Red, White, & Blue in '22!
Stars, Stripes, and Summer Nights
Garfield County Fair Building
Loa Town Park and Fairgrounds
FOR SOME BUT NOT ALL REGIONS REPRESENTED IN OUR NEWSPAPER COVERAGE AREA
THURS. JULY 28 - WED. AUGUST 3
PM thunderstorms forecasted for every day this week (30 - 50%), which will slightly lower temperatures. Highs in the 70s and low 80s; lows in the 50s. Winds steady from 7 - 10 mph.
Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you.
—Langston Hughes
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.
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PRE-SORT STANDARD PAID RICHFIELD, UTAH PERMIT No. 122