Sanpete County - Gov. Olene Walker visited local officials and attended two community events in Sanpete County Thursday afternoon. First, in Manti Walker designated the city as a 21st Century Community.

"I am pleased with the efforts and community spirit of the citizens of Manti," said Walker. "They have worked diligently to develop and adopt a new general plan for their community, which is outstanding. With the help of the Association of Governments and with financial commitment from the mayor and city council, this forward-looking plan will guide Manti well into the future."

As part of the 21st Century Community Program, a group of Manti citizens also worked with the city council to save Manti’s Old City Hall. Investing $10,000, plus money from grants, the citizens volunteered 3,800 hours of service to restore the city treasure and increase its insurable value from $20,000 to $450,000.

The 21st Century Community Program is both an invitation and a challenge to rural communities to engage in planning and development to accomplish the following: prepare rural Utah for unprecedented population and visitor growth; create new jobs and reduce unemployment; diversify rural economies; and protect quality of life.

Walker also cut the ribbon for Sanpete County’s newest Smart Site at Snow College in Ephraim.

"The Smart Site program is critical to the state’s efforts to grow our technology industry," said Walker. "Growing our economy is the basis of Utah’s future."

Skyline Drive Technology (SDT), a Smart Site business and SBA certified 8(a) company, hosted a ceremony and open house. Skyline was created as a Community Development Corporation to bring jobs to Sanpete County. SDT has signed a business development agreement with Applied Composite Technology of Fayette, a high-tech firm focused in the area of high-strength composite and metal design, analysis, and production.

"The agreement provides the basis for ACT and SDT to work together to obtain federal contracts," said Sally East, economic development director for Sanpete County. "Skyline

has collected a number of resumes from potential employees, created marketing materials, and met with federal agencies in Washington, D.C."

"The Utah SBA Office is proud to have Skyline Drive Technology as a participant in the 8(a) Business Development Program," said Minority Enterprise Development Assistant Director Josie Valdez. "This program helps socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs gain access to the economic mainstream of society."

Illusion Academy is another Smart Site business operating in Sanpete County. The Mt. Pleasant-based company has been in operation since June 2002, producing computer-generated illustrations.

"Our wired Smart Sites in rural Utah are bright spots in the state’s economy right now," said Jeff Gochnour, director of the Division of Business and Economic Development. "The addition of the Sanpete site and the recent designation in Wayne County will enhance the program, which is designed to create hi-tech, higher-paying jobs."

The Governor’s Rural Partnership designated Snapshot Media as an official Utah Smart Site last week.

The state’s rural Smart Sites employ workers who use computers and the Internet to perform tasks for clients anywhere in the world. Since the program was launched more than two years ago, about 700 jobs have been created at more than 40 Smart Site enterprises.

4:58:52 PM    

January is Radon Action Month – an opportune time for Americans to test for radon in their homes. Because families are spending more time indoors during the winter months, January is a good time to test for this radioactive, invisible, odorless gas. Exposure to radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. EPA estimates that approximately 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year are radon-related. Radon comes from the decay of naturally occurring uranium in the earth's soil and can accumulate indoors to dangerous levels. Simple, inexpensive do-it-yourself radon test kits are available. EPA recommends that houses with radon levels of 4 picocuries or more of radon should be fixed to prevent accumulation of the gas indoors. EPA is working with state and local partners to educate the public about the dangers of radon. To learn more about how to receive a discounted radon home test kit or for more information about radon, and how to contact your state radon office, go to: http://www.epa.gov/radon , or call 1-800-SOS-Radon.

see also: Utah Indoor Radon Program

7:52:31 AM    

On Wednesday, Gov. Olene Walker and Lt. Gov. Gayle McKeachnie passed a significant milestone on the path to resolving decades-old rural road disputes by submitting an application to the Utah office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for a recordable disclaimer of interest regarding the right of way for the Weiss Highway located in Juab County.  With this application, Utah formally begins a process whose outcome will have national significance, Walker said.   Utah has long been a poster child for public lands issues, and the R.S. 2477 roads are no exception.

"We are confident we have found a practical, factbased method for resolving these long-disputed issues relating to many of the rural roads. Our aim is to protect Utah’s natural, scenic areas while maintaining the state’s vital rural transportation infrastructure."

The Weiss Highway has existed since the 1930s and has been used for ranching, farming, recreation, search and rescue, law enforcement and land management. This road is the main route and in most places the only east-west route traversing Juab County.

In preparing this first application, the state strictly followed the methods laid out in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Department of the Interior and the State of Utah, formalized April 9, 2003. Included in that MOU were seven touchstones that would be used to determine which roads would merit application. To be initially considered, a road must meet the following minimum criteria:

• Existed prior to 1976
• Can be traveled by cars and trucks
• Is not in a national park
• Is not in a wilderness area
• Is not in a wilderness study area
• Is not in a fish and wildlife refuge
• Can not undergo expansion ? As is, where is.

In addition to meeting these requirements, the MOU provides for an open, administrative process whereby each road considered for application will include readily available information so that anyone can comment throughout the process.

The wheels are in motion, McKeachnie said.  This first application process becomes a great opportunity for learning. What we learn this time around will help us refine the next applications we prepare.  Along with the governor, I want to thank those who have invested countless hours in preparing this application and who continue to support these efforts.

With the application formally submitted, the BLM will evaluate the application materials and determine if the state has met the criteria outlined in the MOU. If the application is approved and a recordable disclaimer of interest is issued, the state will gain legal right of way to the highway.

For more information regarding R.S. 2477 issues, visit www.rs2477.utah.gov.

6:02:48 AM