Explore Escalante
jana@exploreescalante.com

The wildflowers have been absolutely exquisite. Tracy and I have wandered around the plateau and so enjoyed the various plants in bloom. The prickly pear cactus on Smokey Mountain Rd comes in three colors. The Penstemons offer at least three colors. And the Mule Ears on Main St are so bright; they almost hurt your eyes. What a delight.

At the last council meeting Nicole Croft received the City’s support for this year’s Saturday Market. It will open July 4th weekend and go every Saturday until Halloween. Find a card table, put a fitted cover on it and get ready to buy, sell or barter goods, food stuffs and plants. Questions? Contact Nicole Croft.

Betty Alvey brought me a letter from her daughter Linda (Alvey) Stokes. Inside was a letter from Riverton City, where she lives and works, announcing her Riverton City Choice Award for Excellence in Education. In addition, the Utah Association of Family and Consumer Science Teachers (UATFACS) chose Linda as Teacher of the Year! Congratulations. Moms pretty proud and we’re very happy for all. More wonderful goodies for Story Catching.

What’s Story Catching? Digital Scrapbooking, now available at Gallery Escalante. Story Catching is based on writing more and less pictures and stickers. More info is available at the website.

Have you been to Bryce Canyon City lately? If not, you should take a ride, get a treat and visit Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel. Randsom Owen’s latest artwork is hanging in the lobby and they are very nice. The Hotel is pretty much complete and was very busy the day Tracy and I stuck our noses in.

Don’t forget June 19th is the recital for Evolution Dance Company, 7:00 PM at the High School.

That’s a very busy weekend in Escalante. The Orem/Sunset Heights LDS Stake are to be in the area for their Aaronic Priesthood Encampment June 16th – 20th. 16th they’ll lunch in Town Center Park and from 1:30 to 4:30 they’ll be working on various service projects, both for the US Forest Service and Escalante City. Allysia Angus and Jerry Taylor have been working on the logistics and projects to keep 350 boys and their 100 adult chaperones busy. If you have any projects you think might benefit from their service you can contact Jerry Taylor or Vicki S at City Hall.

Although I did thank the Boy Scouts and congratulate them for their various service projects, I did not acknowledge their work to have flags on Main Street for Memorial Day. This year the leaders, Tim Olson and Dale Henrie, with scouts Justin Olson, Afton Nez, Jake and Caleb Christensen made sure there were flag holders on every block, and then placed and removed flags for the weekend. Thank you each one for your efforts. Both my parents are WWII Marine Vets and appreciate when people remember their efforts through displaying the flag of our great country.

The City agenda is long and gets more complex all the time. There are two new businesses in town. Rick Howell is working on turning the big house on 300 S into a Bed and Breakfast. Although the Council approved his request for a conditional use permit and a business license, there are structural changes that need to be made to meet code. Rick indicated he’ll return for a building permit when he gets the design complete. Jeff Dunn was approved for a business license for his Handyman Business. The state has a new classification for folks that want to work for others but don’t want or need a contractor’s license. The Handyman has a license and insurance to protect the consumer for fraudulent businesses, yet does not have the same requirements as a contractor. More details available on-line at http://www.utah.gov.

Mayor Porter reported the Fire Station will go out for bid mid June and congratulated the Clinic staff for a fine BBQ.

Councilman Allen talked about the on-going drainage issues; the completion of the electrical project at the airport; and the intergovernmental agreement between Escalante City and the Garfield County School District for the Little League Field. When the final agreement is signed by all the parties I’ll tell you about it.

Councilman Graham reported on the Filtration House. The Council approved purchasing ½ Acre of land from Lenza Wilson for the Filtration House to be located next to the water tanks on the hill. In addition, Lenza will work with the City to provide utility easement for power to the filter system whenever needed. The well house, on property off Highway 12, will consist of a little larger concrete block building to secure equipment within the terms of the City’s current lease for that location.

Desert Doc gave me a whole list of people from various places, and I’ll be darned if I can find it. Sorry Doc. Needless to say, there are a ton of motorcycles in town this year and more arriving every day. Watch for them as you travel.

On Thursday, June 11th Tracy will take me to Brian Head for a meeting of the Community Impact Board. City Treasurer Ronda and I will be presenting an update on the City projects funded by them thus far and a request for $30,000 matching funds to have the City Engineer create a Park Master Plan. That would provide time for public meetings and feedback for improvements to Town Center Park, Mohr Christensen Park, the Rodeo Grounds and the Little League Field at the High School. It will provide an opportunity for folks to talk about how they’d like to see the parks used and what equipment should be there. The final designs can then be used to apply for funding for the improvements. The whole process will take 1-2 years. But it’s a start. The Gallery will be closed the 11th.
Until next week – - – - -

OPEN HOUSE – everyone is invited to see the Kazan Clinic in all it’s beauty Friday, March 20, 2009 from 4-6 PM. Join Sheri, Judy and Becky Roberts and celebrate this beautiful building created by the community volunteers.
I forgot to include Precision Pipeline, who is installing the new water lines in the city, in my kudos for the clinic. Trent Danklef, the supervisor for the project, volunteered two of his crew to help Sheri, Judy, two IHC workers, and Jeff Dunn move the equipment and boxes. What community support. Thanks Precision!!!!!
There is much debate in the community about the water project for Lost Creek Spring. There is a large public record at City Hall that identifies the various players, what they did and did not do and who was going to do what, when and how. You could write a Freedom of Information Act Request for the Forest Service Records on Lost Creek.

I could write several articles about it, but rehashing is not going to get the necessary land use permit for a 30’ usage ¼ mile long that will be reseeded and reclaimed and use the old CCC Camp gravel pit for the staging area with access for maintenance. I think the Mayor summed it up the best when he wrote to the U.S. Forest Service Regional Forester in Ogden and simply said, “the service we received from the Forest Service is unacceptable. The City of Escalante is asking you to accelerate the process for the land use permit so the citizens of Escalante can have the needed water.”

The City started this process in January of 2007. The Council was told last meeting it would take 24 months to complete. We should be done. I hope they’re listening. If you’d like to add your two cents to the discussion you can reach the Regional Forester , Harv Forsgren, at 801-625-5306 in Ogden, Ut.
Until next week – - -

Explore Escalante
jana@exploreescalante.com
In arid country, making the best use of water is essential for survival. In a contemporary backyard garden, water conservation means less work and lower water bills. That’s what the Utah Division of Water Resources Chief of Water Conservation and Education wants to see. An article in the Deseret News identified three Utah cities/districts that had not complied with HR 71 (passed in 2004) requiring any water district that 1) accepts drinking water grant/loan monies; and/or 2)has 500 + connections on their system, to provide the department with a water Conservation Plan. If you don’t submit a plan the Dept. has the right to publicize the name of your district so peer pressure will make you comply. Out of the three in the press release, two had done theirs but had not sent them in. One, Gunnison is working on theirs. How hard would it have been to have the Chief, Eric Klotz, call before the press release went out and confirm that it had not been done? He did call, as the press release was being sent. Was Escalante City’s plan done? Yes, back in December of 2008. It has to be done every 5 years. Mr. Klotz informed me that the Division wanted financial penalties for cities that didn’t comply, but the legislature would not go along with that. The publication of the names was a better tactic and Mr. Klotz agreed – they’ve had 100% compliance since 2004. Now if we could get Mr. Klotz to call first, no one’s names would be published. You can reach him at 801-538-7264 or e-mail him at erickloztz@utah.gov
In the meantime, the citizens of Escalante are planning their Saturday Market for the coming season at the Utah Canyons Store. They will open the first weekend in July and continue until the Saturday prior to Halloween. You’ll see press releases in the Insider reminding you. But you might want to think about what you’ll plant in this water-tight era of new water lines and rebuilt irrigation dams. What vegetables are not high water users? The three sisters (corn, beans and squash)? Corn and Squash require quite a bit of water. Chiles are less so, and Punta Banda Tomatoes are not too bad. Some herbs can be grown inside (cilantro, parsley, Mexican Oregano) as long as they have great window light. You can add onions and shallots to the ground along with Sunflowers and Amaranth. Just be sure you water before 10 AM or after 6PM, because we told Mr. Klotz that’s part of our water conservation plan. And don’t forget – the Saturday Market can include crafts, plants, personal care items (like homemade soaps) and live chickens. Just a good ole’ village market (home canned items must be prepared in a commercial kitchen) – plan your part now. These markets are not exempt from sales tax collections, so if you sell be sure you report and pay.
Fat Men Basketball – at the heart of the playoffs, these tested athletes stunned the crowd with their expertise. And the ref did his part with a two point layup for the underdogs. The Underdogs were those wonderful folks that paid to play to support EMT’s. The rest of us paid to watch, paid so much a point for certain athletes abilities (Mr. McKnight cost me $10 and Randsom $0.00) Organized by Toad (aka Terence Mitchell) a lot more spectators would have been wonderful, but they still raised over $500 to help offset the costs for EMTs to volunteer their time and travel to train to take care of us and our visitors. Thanks. It was a delightful evening of “tom foolery”. Until next week – - –