Republicans narrow the ballot: Ivan Cowley out: Tooter Ogden and Kimball Poulson and Ogden and square off on June 22

At the Republican caucus last week, Republican candidates for county commissioner and sheriff were narrowed down to two finalists in each race. The final breakdown is as follows:

County Commissioner A
Gary Mason
Sara Straw

County Commissioner B
Garth “Tooter” Ogden
Kimball D. Poulson

County Sheriff
Republican: Nathan J. Curtis
Republican: G. Kirt Rippstein

In a surprise, Ivan Cowley, one of the incumbent commissioners, was left out of the race for commissioner. Gary Mason, also an incumbent, remains in the race for North Sevier County.

Here is a statement from each the remaining county commission candidates:

– Garth “Tooter” Ogden (transcription from his speech at the caucus meeting):

“Hello, my name is Garth Ogden. Most people know me as Tooter. I served an LDS mission, returned and married my sweetheart and we have 5 children, and 4 grandchildren.

“As the former owner of Ideal Dairy, we owned our own dairy herd, raised our own crops, processed our own milk, made our own ice cream, and provided home delivery for our milk products. In essence we produced our own products and sold to a wholesale and retail market. As the owner of the business, I learned to have a greater understanding of business.

“I served on the Richfield Planning and Zoning for 6 years. I represented Sevier, Garfield, Wayne, and Piute counties after being nominated as a board member for the Utah Dairymen’s Association. This board was primarily responsible for legislation for all dairymen in the state of Utah. Currently, I am serving on the variance committee in Richfield.

“I have been a member of the Richfield volunteer fire department for 20 years. I have served in the capacity as first and second lieutenant and captain; now serving as secretary. The Richfield Fire Department has given me an appreciation for public service and a desire to continue to serve my neighbors and this community.

“Why do I bring up my service with the fire department? Because I enjoy being of service but most of all my experiences with the fire department have taught me how to meet challenges and honed my decision-making skills. Do you know of anything more devastating than a fire? The country is facing a different type of devastation, that of economic devastation — if things don’t change. Our county needs a new direction and a leader with the backbone and common sense to make tough decisions. I am that leader.

“It is my belief our county’s economic welfare will continue to face major problems unless the leaders do something. It is time for new leadership.

“Right now our county is fractured because of decisions that have been made and those that have not. This has got to change. We need to go forward together as a county to expand businesses throughout the whole of Sevier County. We should review and assess all possibilities to create positive growth and revenue.

“Jobs here, Jobs now, all the while preserving our air, our water and our quality of life.

“Currently 30% of our tax revenue is dependent on the coal mine. If there was a major accident such as happened in West Virginia or the Murray mine in Price, Utah, where the coal mine was closed, our county would lose 1500 jobs, not to mention the reserves from the mineral rights. That’s devastation.

“Jobs here, jobs now. This will be my direction. In closing I want to say, being your Sevier County commissioner would be my ONLY job. I have the time, the experience, the knowledge, and the courage to make tough decisions and get this county going in the right direction.

“More than anything I want to hear from you. I want hear your ideas, your concerns, and the directions you would like to see us go as a county. I would appreciate your vote and your support as your new Sevier County Commissioner.”

– Kimball Poulson:

“I am running for the office of Sevier County Commissioner because I have the experience, education and leadership skills to be your next County Commissioner. While serving as a Richfield City Council member, I worked extensively on the city budget and I am very familiar on how government accounting works. I assisted with the negotiations of several large land issues such as the following: Acquiring property for parking behind the Reel Theater, land for the Richfield City Airport, the development of the Richfield City Business Park as well as the development of Technology Drive and College Avenue. I was also the adviser for the Richfield City Youth Council for 4 years and Chairman of the 4th of July Committee for three years. I believe this experience will be beneficial to the position of County Commissioner. I enjoy serving in the community and look forward to working for you.”

– Sara Straw:

“The Commissioners Job is: Taking Care of Sevier County. The LAND is so important.. they’re not making any more of it.. so we need to take care of it. Without WATER, the land is worthless. Protecting our water is number one with me. Farming is a 60 million dollar economic payday every year. Our FARMERS & RANCHERS are number one with me. Local officials need to LISTEN to the people who’s money they are spending. I will be Fiscally Frugal and Transparent. I will make public reports on what the county commissioners are doing. I am against any heavy industry being built next to homes and ruining property values. I support all our local businesses, from TOURISM to Mining, to Small Businesses. A diversified economy is a strong economy.”

Local residents are encouraged to participate in the upcoming election, not only by voting on June 22, but by visiting with the candidates, reading through their web sites, and engaging in the political process. And may the best man — or woman — win! Our beautiful valley deserves it!

Central Utah Food Sharing feeding more local residents: New program helps kids in need

Central Utah Food Sharing, the Richfield-based non-profit which serves as the food bank for needy families in the Six County area, has started a new program to help local children. The program “Back Pack” is currently operating at Pahvant and Ashman schools, and food bank staff hope to include the entire county’s schools nest year. The program helps needy children who local schools believe to be in need receive food to help them over each weekend, when the regular schools’ free lunch program does not operate. Parents who are concerned about their children’s nutrition should contact their principal for more information about the program.

The food packs include varied food items that children should be able to prepare themselves, in case parents are working over the weekend.

Most people who visit the local food bank are employed, often at several jobs, but find themselves unable to meet their family’s basic needs. Demand for food assistance has risen sharply at the Richfield area food bank, up 40% month-to-month over the past year, reflecting the pinch in local homes over the current economic crisis.

Central Utah Food Sharing has recently received a CIB grant, and other donations, to expand to a new larger building in Richfield’s older industrial park. Bidding for the new construction project will go out in the next few weeks. The food bank welcomes financial donations from local residents, as they are a non-profit organization and rely upon donations to operate.

The recent food drive was well supported by the community, and those who left food for local Boy Scouts are thanked for their generosity. Despite the area’s best efforts, however, donations were down about 6,000 pounds of food this year, from the 20,000 pounds they were donated last year. Food bank staff are sympathetic, seeing more clearly than most about the economic difficulties the area is now facing. In response, the state’s Utah Food Bank is helping to increase their regular donations to help keep local families healthy.

NEVCO to submit Gas Power Plant to Planning Commission

On April 14, the Sevier County Planning and Zoning Commission will consider the following matter:

6:20 PM Planned Unit Development: Sevier Power Co. LLC;
Consider Concept approval for a natural gas driven power plant on their property located west of highway 118 next to the Sigurd substation.

The requirements for concept approval are as follows:

A) Concept Review.

    1) Ten (10) copies of all documents required for concept review with the appropriate fee shall be submitted to the Zoning Administrator at least fourteen (14) days prior to placement on the agenda of the county planning commission. Documents required for concept review shall be:

        a) Signed documentation of closest municipality showing the municipalities’ rejection of an annexation request or a waiver of such requirement by the Board of County Commissioners. (Appendix E)

        b) Sketch plan of the proposed development showing the entire area to be developed and entire area to be left in open space.

        c) Geographic locational references such as but not limited to: section corners, surveyor markers, etc.

        d) Name and address of subdivider, designer, engineer, and surveyor.

        e) Statement of existing underlying zoning.

        f) Notation on the plan of proposed site uses including but not limited to; dwelling units, open space, recreation area, commercial area, industrial area, parking, etc.

        g) The plan shall show general lot, street, park, and open space layouts.

        h) Location and source of required utilities including but not limited to: power, water, and wastewater disposal as required by Section 14.76.070.

        i) A thorough statement documenting and identifying the specific policies and policy recommendations in the General Plan (Sevier County General Plan Chapter 12) that the proposed plan encompasses and to what degree the proposed plan will accomplish those specific policies and policy recommendations.

        j) Any other criteria the planning commission deems necessary to fulfill the objectives of the General Plan and this title.

    2) Approval shall be based on criteria outlined in Section 14.52.050.

    3) If denied concept review approval the applicant must reapply within 6 months of the date of denial without additional fees or your PUD application fee (Appendix C) must be repaid.

The rules for zoning changes are required to not only protect the residents of the county, but to also help the applicants adequately plan for a successful project. The rules are also to protect the county from legal challenges should the zoning change prove to be controversial, of questionable legality, or in the event that the approved project should fail before completion.

When NEVCO/Sevier Power originally applied for concept approval for their unsuccessful coal-fired power plant in July 2006, NEVCO submitted a painting of trees obscuring 462 foot smokestacks — in lieu of formal, surveyed blueprints — and was also lacking other items listed above. At that meeting, then-chair Cecilia Bytheway suggested that concept approval be rejected. Members of the Planning Commission ignored those concerns and awarded concept approval to the now-failed project. Members of the commission stated that they believed since everyone knew the application was for a coal-fired power plant, no further documentation was necessary. Bytheway, an engineer by profession, resigned from the Commission shortly thereafter. Video of that meeting may be viewed here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3883525997372583783#, and an excerpt from that meeting is available below.

The upcoming Planning Commission meeting to consider concept approval for a natural gas power plant will be held at the Sevier County Administration Building at 250 North Main Street in Richfield.

NEVCO has asked the county to hold their application for the partially-approved coal-fired power plant on hold indefinitely, stating they would relinquish it only after approval was awarded for the proposed gas power plant.

The full Planned Unit Development rules are available for download (.pdf format) here.

Current Sevier County Census Report Status

On the official Census web site, they explain why the census is important:

“Take 10 minutes to fill out your 2010 Census form and mail it back TODAY. If 100% of households mailed back their forms, taxpayers would save $1.5 BILLION dollars. Let’s all do our part and mail back our forms!

“Census information affects the numbers of seats your state occupies in the U.S. House of Representatives. And people from many walks of life use census data to advocate for causes, rescue disaster victims, prevent diseases, research markets, locate pools of skilled workers and more.

“When you do the math, it’s easy to see what an accurate count of residents can do for your community. Better infrastructure. More services. A brighter tomorrow for everyone. In fact, the information the census collects helps to determine how more than $400 billion dollars of federal funding each year is spent on infrastructure and services like:

Hospitals
Job training centers
Schools
Senior centers
Bridges, tunnels and other-public works projects
Emergency services

“Participation isn’t just important—it’s mandatory.”

Not only is filling out the Census required by law, it is required in the Constitution — in the third paragraph.

Some national republican figures decried the census as an invasion of privacy, only later learning that the census forms are very simple, asking for name, birth dates, and race of those living in your home (view all questions here); further, all individual information will be remain private for 72 years. At least one political figure rephrased their position after learning that if people in their district did not fill out the census, that they themselves could very likely lose their congressional seats.

If Central Utahns do not fill out the census then local government, schools, and non-profit aid organizations could find themselves unable to meet our citizens’ needs. And with the area thought to be poised for significant growth, everyone in the area could be significantly harmed. Our area needs your support by filling out the census.

So, if you haven’t already, fill out and submit your census forms at your earliest convenience.