Gov. Olene Walker, joined by the First Gentleman, Myron Walker, and the Governor’s Commission on Marriage, will honor ten Utah couples during the Governor’s Celebration of Marriage Friday, Feb. 13, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.

"It is truly a pleasure to honor these couples for their service and dedication to each other and to their families," Walker said. "Couples like these contribute much to our state, and we appreciate them for it."

The Governor’s Celebration of Marriage is part of Marriage Week USA, an annual event now in its twelfth year in Utah. The celebration will feature workshops, refreshments, live music and keynote speakers Richard Paul Evans and Michele Weiner-Davis. The conference will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will end with dancing until 11 p.m.

Eight couples will be honored with the "Gold Medal Marriage" award. The award recognizes a marriage that is healthy and enduring. Two Utah marriages will also be recognized as "Milestone Marriages," representing healthy, long-term marriages.

Those being honored for "Milestone Marriages" follow below:

• Hans (Swede) and Mildred Hansen, married since 1927
• Aubrey and Eleanor Parker, married since 1929
• "Gold Medal Marriage" recipients are as follows:
• Alma and Pamela Leonhardt, Cache County
• James and Nola Walker, Grand County
• Arthur and Hazel Evans, Iron County
• Duane and Janice Johnson, Salt Lake County
• Phil and Lou Mueller, San Juan County
• Derek and Lori Powell, Utah County
• Floyd and Frances Kinsinger, Washington County
• Rollo and Irene Miller, Weber County

Tickets for the Governor’s Celebration of Marriage are available through Smith’s Tix. Sponsors of the event include the following: Bank One; The Book Table; Chevron; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Foundation; The Clyde Companies; FM 100; Hotel Monaco; Intermountain Health Care; KSL Television; Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah; STAR 102.7; United Concerts; the Utah Department of Human Services; and the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

1:03:46 PM    

Today, Gov. Olene Walker reaffirmed her commitment to solve a 30-year dispute regarding rural county roads. This announcement comes in response to a copy of a U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) letter received by the Governor’s Office.

The Feb. 6, 2004 letter, sent to U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman per his request, addresses the recognition of R.S. 2477 rights-of-way under the U.S. Department of Interior’s (DOI) Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) Disclaimer Rules and its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the State of Utah.

I want to reassure Utahns we will continue to move forward on resolving R.S. 2477 rights-of-way issues, said Walker. We are committed to a collaborative and reasonable public process to resolve road disputes.

The GAO letter validates the application process Utah is following with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to claim historic rights-of-way. Recently, Utah submitted its first application using this process for the Weiss Highway in Juab County.

In its letter, the GAO finds that the MOU between the State of Utah and the DOI constitutes rulemaking. Under a 1997 Congressional moratorium, the DOI cannot make rules regarding R.S. 2477. However, Walker believes the GAO finding has no legal bearing on the state. In the MOU Utah and DOI agreed that roads in national parks, wilderness areas, wilderness study areas, fish and wildlife refuges, and national forests will not be considered in this process.

This letter will not change our approach to solving these critical problems, said Walker.

Walker intends to abide by the spirit of the MOU and will only submit claims for roads on unreserved BLM land.

-more-

The R.S. 2477 effort is a partnership between the state and all 29 Utah counties. The partnership is directed by a committee consisting of state and county government officials.

We will proceed with disclaimer requests for roads, and this letter will not drive policy in Utah," said San Juan County Commissioner Lynn Stevens, co-chair of the Executive Committee for the R.S. 2477 Project.

Lt. Gov. Gayle McKeachnie, also a co-chair of the committee, is encouraged by the progress made on R.S. 2477 rights-of-way issues. Utah’s work with the DOI has jumpstarted a process I believe will yield common sense solutions to a critical, long-standing problem.
6:23:50 AM