Candidates’ Commercials

In his new TV commercial, Sevier County Sheriff candidate Rippstein cites his 19 years of experience, and says that keeping you and your family safe is his first priority.

You may view Kirt Rippstein’s new commercial online here:

Sevier County Commission candidate Tooter Ogden is offering three TV commercials, to help you learn more about him and how he wants to serve you.

Tooter Ogden: Working Hard for You

Tooter Ogden: Businessman

Tooter Ogden: A History of Service

Texting while driving + accident = 15 years in prison; Texting + no accident = 3 months in prison

A new study has found that drivers sending/recieving text messages are 23 times more likely to crash while driving.

That’s right: texting while driving raises your crash risk by 2,300 percent. For more on the study, which videotaped 100+ truck drivers for 18 months, click here: http://tinyurl.com/kjkq88 .

And Utah officials are not going to permit texting any more.

Utah now has the strictest limits and harshest laws on texting-while-driving in the nation. As the New York Times put it:

“The new law, which took effect in May, penalizes a texting driver who causes a fatality as harshly as a drunken driver who kills someone. In effect, a crash caused by such a multitasking motorist is no longer considered an ‘accident’ like one caused by a driver who, say, runs into another car because he nodded off at the wheel. Instead, such a crash would now be considered inherently reckless…

“Under Utah’s law, someone caught texting and driving now faces up to three months in jail and up to a $750 fine, a misdemeanor. If they cause injury or death, the punishment can grow to a felony and up to a $10,000 fine and 15 years in prison.” (More info here: http://tinyurl.com/lubhhr ).

Is this a problem locally? We at Ideal Living were nearly run off Main Street by a teen texting while driving a brand new car — who remained completely oblivious to anything but their text messaging until they stopped at a red light at 300 North — in the middle of the intersection. If the other drivers had not been alert, someone could have easily died.

Further, given the sloping shoulders on our country roads, there are numerous accidents and fatalities on Central Utah roads. Nearly all accident reports read the same: “Driver 1 was distracted, driving off onto the shoulder. Driver 1 over-corrected, the car rolled and…” The fatalities, impacts with other cars, and injuries are described next.

This text message is clear: Don’t text while driving. And, don’t send text messages to someone driving.

Planning Commission wants to exclude citizens from decisions

At their August meeting, the appointed members of the Sevier County Planning Commission considered whether they should prevent local citizens from being able to appeal any of their decisions.

Larry Hanson, Planning and Zoning Administrator, read the rule allowing the appeals process to the Planning Commission and requested a change to nullify the possibility of any future appeals.

Currently, within a limited time, citizens can make an appeal to the County Commission about Planning Commission decisions.

Several members agreed that the current rule does allow for local citizens to mount protests, since property values can be effected by Planning Commission’s decisions near and far. But, warming to Hanson’s proposal, they said they would like to do away with the appeals process and thus save themselves from hassle and embarrassment, except perhaps for adjacent property owners and the applicants themselves.

A member of the commission suggested that such a move could violate the United States Constitution. Larry Hanson replied that he had also noticed that, so they would need to be careful in how they wrote the new rule to block citizens from appealing Planning Commission decisions.

The members then stated that rather than face possible future embarrassment by passing the change immediately, they would have a work session to discuss the matter further September 9, 2009, beginning at 6 pm.

The move to do away with the public appeals process is believed to have been sparked by an altercation in a previous meeting. Reportedly, an applicant appeared at a recent meeting unannounced and requested a large project, which some observers fear may be a cover for hazardous or nuclear waste handling or disposal in the county. Regardless, Planning Commission members quickly agreed to sign a long-term contract on behalf of the County with the man — who is now said to be a felon.

The Commission was reportedly preparing to sign the contract, when a local citizen at the meeting complained that the Commission members did not have the authority to make such a move. In response, the citizen was threatened with arrest for interfering. In the end, the Planning Commission did not sign the contract.

Sevier News Now: County Planning Commission: August 2009

Sevier County Planning Commission members consider how they can limit appeals to conditional use permits so that anyone who would be effected by the decision can no longer appeal to the County Commission — unless they own property adjacent to that in question. Concerns are raised that doing so could violate the United States Constitution, so they plan how to get around that.

2009 County Fair in Sevier County, Utah

Celebrating the annual county fair — and the new facilities at the re-built fairgrounds.

2009 Sevier County Fair: Under Construction

Central Utah Public Health Department: H1N1 Virus Pandemic

Public hearing on Hazardous Waste Dump: Sevier County Commission Agenda: 12-15-08

County Commissioners
Subject: Other
Meeting Title: Sevier County Commission
Meeting Date & Time: Mon Dec 15 09:00:00 MST 2008 – Mon Dec 15 15:00:00 MST 2008
Description/Agenda: SEVIER COUNTY COMMISSION
DECEMBER 15, 2008 AGENDA

9:00 AM          Correspondence & Business; Pledge of Allegiance
Set time and date for closed meeting to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation, or to discuss the character, professional competence, physical/mental health of an individual        40 Min
9:40 AM          Travel Council Recommendations  5 Min
9:45 AM          Surplus Property        5 Min
9:50 AM          Mark Rickenbach – Road Equipment        10 Min
10:00 AM        Claims  50 Min
10:50 AM        USU Cooperative Agreement       10 Min
11:00 AM        Public Hearing:  2008 Budget Opening    15 Min
11:15 AM        Kent Nielsen – County Ordinance regarding electronically stored information     15 Min
11:30 AM        Woody Farnsworth, Richfield City – Tax abatement on parcel 1-12-11      15 Min

LUNCH

1:00 PM          Budget Hearing:  2009 Budget    15 Min
1:15 PM          Public Hearing:  Consideration of ordinance amending Subdivision Ordinance providing restrictions to remainder parcels  15 Min
1:30 PM          Darin Robinson – Salina Creek Project Bid Approval      15 Min
1:45 PM          Sevier Power Company – Ripcord Agreement        15 Min
2:00 PM          Consideration of Appeal from Sevier Citizens for Clean Air and Water with regards to Conditional Use Permit approved for Sevier Power Company’s ash disposal site       1 Hr

**Commission Meeting will be held in the Commission Chambers of the Sevier County Administration Building, 250 North Main, Richfield.

Notice of Special Accomodations: NA
Notice of Electronic or telephone participation: NA

Other information:

Meeting Location: 250 North Main, Richfield, 84701

County Commission Meeting Agenda: Dec. 1, 2008

County Commissioners
Subject: Other
Meeting Title: Sevier County Commission
Meeting Date & Time: Mon Dec 01 09:00:00 MST 2008 – Mon Dec 01 14:00:00 MST 2008
Description/Agenda: SEVIER COUNTY COMMISSION
DECEMBER 1, 2008 AGENDA

9:00 AM Correspondence & Business
Set time and date for closed meeting to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation, or to discuss the character, professional competence, physical/mental health of an individual 45 Min
9:45 AM Planning and Zoning Commission Appointment 5 Min
9:40 AM Freedom Chairs for Soldiers Families 5 Min
9:55 AM Travel Council Recommendations; Business Licenses 5 Min
10:00 AM Department Head Meeting; Pledge of Allegiance 1 Hr
11:00 AM Matt Christensen, Forestry Fire and State Lands – Wildland Fire Budget Agreement for 2009 15 Min
11:15 AM Assessor Gail DeMille – Refunds and Assessor Adjustments 15 Min
11:30 AM Kent Nielsen – Temporary Judge 15 Min

LUNCH

1:00 PM Agenda Items 15 Min
1:15 PM Rick Peterson – Valuation of Property 3-317-1, 3-317-2, 3-317-3, and 3-317-4 15 Min
1:30 PM 15 Min

**Commission Meeting will be held in the Commission Chambers of the Sevier County Administration Building, 250 North Main, Richfield.

County Commissioners Agenda Nov. 17: Election, Right to Vote, Coal Ash Dump, & NEVCO/Sevier Power Plant to be considered

County Commissioners
Subject: Other
Meeting Title: Sevier County Commission
Meeting Date & Time: Mon Nov 17 09:00:00 MST 2008 – Mon Nov 17 16:00:00 MST 2008
Description/Agenda: SEVIER COUNTY COMMISSION
NOVEMBER 17, 2008 AGENDA

9:00 AM Correspondence & Business; Pledge of Allegiance
Set time and date for closed meeting to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation, or to discuss the character, professional competence, physical/mental health of an individual 20 Min
9:20 AM Appointment to Planning & Zoning Commission 5 Min
9:25 AM Bookmobile Contract 5 Min
9:30 AM County Attorney Dale Eyre – Bike Path Settlement 5 Min
9:35 AM County Attorney Dale Eyre – Victim’s Advocate Grant 5 Min
9:40 AM John Hunt – Code Red, Reverse 911 Contract 5 Min
9:45 AM Resolution 2008 -11-1 appointing UCIP Representative 5 Min
9:50 AM Secure Rural Schools funding discussion 10 Min
10:00 AM Claims 45 Min
10:45 AM Mark Rickenbach – Equipment, Road Department 15 Min
11:00 AM Kent Nielsen – County Property Use Regulations, Purchase of training materials, good driver rewards 15 Min
11:15 AM Ann Parkinson – USU, FYP 15 Min
11:30 AM Canvass of 2008 General Election 15 Min
LUNCH
1:00 PM Public Hearing: Consideration of a zone change request for Robert & Lois Moore, Burrville area. 15 Min
1:15 PM Tristan DeMille, Cason DeMille, Woody Farnsworth – Richfield City Sewer 15 Min
1:30 PM Right to Vote Committee – Request for recovery of reprint costs from Sevier Power Company 15 Min
1:45 PM Jim Kennon, SCCAW – Fly Ash Disposal 15 Min
2:00 PM Emery Polelonema – CIB List, Final Approval 15 Min
2:15 PM Thomas Rodgers – Safety issues with housing 15 Min
2:30 PM James Porter – Civil Air Patrol 15 Min
2:45 PM Ken Brown – Western Counties Alliance Update 15 Min
3:00 PM Jeff Nielsen – 911 Grant 15 Min
3:15 PM Matt Christensen, Ryan Jensen – Koosharem Fire Department 15 Min
3:30 PM Surplus Landfill Equipment Bid Opening 15 Min
3:45 PM Sevier Power Company – Planned Unit Development, Development Agreement 15 Min

**Commission Meeting will be held in the Commission Chambers of the Sevier County Administration Building, 250 North Main, Richfield.

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