EHS Wrestling Coach Paul Dodge and wife Jolene reported:  “We had 3 of our 4 wrestlers go to State and although we all had a great time, only Neil Owens placed.   Neil took 4th in State in the 1A Division in the 125# weight class.

We would like to thank all the community who supported the team, the wrestlers, and manager, Kelsey Torgersen for their teamwork and sportsmanship.”

And I’d like to thank Paul and Jolene for their volunteer efforts to coach and travel for our kids.  Good Job!

The next Scenic Byway 12 Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday February 16, 2010 in Panguitch at 1 pm. The meeting will be held in the Panguitch City/Library Conference Room at 25 So. 200 East.  The agenda is going to be very full with a special election to replace Jo Sojourner who resigned as Committee Chair, and approval of a vendor from the 9 bids received for our new website, route guide and brochure. Plus we’ll have presentations from Bryce Canyon National Park, BLM/Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and Dixie National Forest. They are each seeking the Committee’s input on projects of their own. John Holland will report on his meetings with towns, counties and byway partners since the last meeting in October 2009.

The Secretary of the Interior has approved the reinstatement of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument Advisory Committee.  Watch for details if you are interested in appointment.

Just a note to thank Garfield County Commissioners for their support of the Escalante Municipal Airport Rehabilitation project.  I’ll give you the details in the next edition.

I read the Salt Lake Tribune on-line the other day to see Jordan School District is receiving pretty significant cuts in their funding.  I decided I needed to research the issue and found they have some special issues that affect only their district.  However, there are cuts projected by the legislative committees for the balance of this year and next year.  According to the Utah State Legislative Website, “appropriations supporting public schools represent the largest expenditure in the state budget, totaling more than 34 billion in FY2010.  Funding supports the education of 563,700 students and the employment of over 50,000 FTE employees of which over 29,000 are licensed and working the schools districts and charter schools.”

The Public Education Appropriations subcommittee reviews and approves the budget for three principal areas: 1)The minimum School Program; 2) The School Building Program; and 3) Education Agencies including the Utah State Office of Education, State Charter Schools, Educator Licensing, Science Outreach and Education Contracts.  On the average, state revenues to public education provide approximate 50% for school district and charter schools.  Local revenues contribute 33%, 11% from federal funds and 7 % from other sources.

The committee has approved a reduction of funding for the balance of FY2010 of 4%.  They are currently discussing and reviewing a further reduction of 5% for the FY 2011.  These reductions are being discussed at the local level and the School Board Meeting tonight should start the conversation.

Explore Escalante
jana@exploreescalante.com

Escalante continues to get lots of publicity about our Grand Staircase. I’ve been working with some of the local businesses to create one-page web sites to use as grabbers and then link to various Escalante Businesses. I’ve been using pull quotes from various articles published about the area over the years. As I get them done I’ll share them, the list of articles is pretty impressive.
Are you ready for some summer reading? Summer? Winter just quit (I hope). There’s only a month of school left and the longest day of the year is only 60 days away, so get ready. You might pick up a book a month (remember the old club?) and be prepared to loll the summer days away (after you’re done canning, gardening, making repairs to the house, barn and fences, getting the kids school clothes made and planning your Christmas gifts).
Printed material s are on a downward slope straight to the e-screen versions of newspapers, magazines and books. Amazon has a book reader you can buy and download books to read. Its call the Kindle. Somehow it’s just not the same as curling up with a good book. Until they completely go away, here’s a few you might consider:
“Animals Make Us Human”, by Temple Gradin and Catherine Johnson, the second non-fiction about a pets right to a “decent life” and “a painless death”. For politicos, “The Rules of the Game”, by Leonard Downie Jr. will keep you on the edge of your chair. Using his 17 years with the Washington Post, Downie uses the material for a different twist. Don’t forget, its fiction. Lastly, if you like Frank Lloyd Wright’s Architectural skills you’ll be intrigued by “The Women”, written by TC Boyle. You’ll learn of the other side of this complicated man. The story is about love, not architecture.
Garfield County School Board met at Escalante High last week. I attended the work session and found new members asking hard questions focused on educating our children. Make no mistake, there are five strong-minded Board members with their own sets of priorities. But with this board, it’s not about who will win or lose, it’s about how they work together. So far it’s lookin’ good. There’s a budget work session scheduled for May 6th at Bruce Valley High School. Check the district’s website for confirmation of the date, place and time.
My thanks to Supt. Parks for making sure the agendas are posted to the state website, http://www.utah.gov/pmn/index.html. If you’re interested in the board meetings and their content, you can sign up to get agendas e-mailed to you from that site. Now if we could get Garfield County to post theirs the miles between us would be fewer.
Until next week – - –