February 5, 2015 Wayne & Garfield County Insider

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The

Insider

Serving Wayne & Garfield Counties, Utah Loa • Fremont • Lyman • Bicknell • Teasdale • Torrey • Grover • Fruita • Caineville • Hanksville Panguitch • Panguitch Lake • Hatch • Antimony • Bryce • Tropic • Henrieville • Cannonville • Escalante • Boulder

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Traffic Jam

Issue # 1084

Business Signs Offer Boost to Rural Businesses

Legislative change could create policy to allow Tourism Oriented Directional Signs connecting travelers to rural businesses

Stephanie Frazier

A photo of a group of pronghorn was captured by Panguitch resident Stephanie Frazier in late January, as the herd ambled across a section of Highway 143 between Panguitch and Panguitch Lake. Known as the swiftest North American mammal, this group seems unconcerned about getting across the road in a hurry, opting for more of a leisurely stroll.

Bryce Canyon Winter Festival Celebrates 30th Anniversary; Free National Park Entrance All Weekend BRYCE CANYON CITYHistoric Ruby’s Inn is preparing to welcome hundreds of visitors this February for a weekend of adventure, learning and sightseeing as part of the 30th annual Bryce Canyon Winter Festival. “Winter makes Bryce Canyon come alive with color,” said Falyn Owens, executive director of the tourism office for Garfield County. “I’m always telling our summer visitors to come back in the winter for a truly unique experience.” The winter tradition takes place over Presidents Day weekend, Feb. 14-16, and allows participants the rare opportunity of visiting a snowcapped Bryce Canyon. The towering red rock spires and contrasting white snow combine to create stunning scenery in the giant natural amphitheater. “For our 30th anniversary we’ve added even more to the list of activities and entertainment,” said Jean Seiler, director of marketing for Ruby’s Inn. “As always, the most anticipated events will be the cross-country ski races for kids and adults.” The ski races are just the beginning of the familyfriendly activities happening both indoors and outdoors. The schedule includes kayaking tutorials, running clinics, dance classes, leather working, watercolor painting and photography. “The winter festival is an incredible opportunity to learn something new,” Ruby’s Inn

The Bryce Canyon Winter Festival, held over President's Day weekend on February 14 -16, will combine winter sports activities at Ruby's Inn with free visitation to Bryce Canyon National Park for additional recreational and interpretive activities. General Manager Lance Syrett said. “Families can learn ski archery on Saturday at our free class and then compete in the biathlon on Monday.” This year the National Park Service is waiving the $25 per-car entry fee over the entire weekend into Bryce Canyon National Park. This will allow winter festival attendees to take part in rangerled geology talks, snowshoe hikes, astronomy presentations and telescope viewings. “We have some of the highest elevations of Utah’s national parks, giving us reliable snow cover and clear winter air,” said Kathleen Gonder, Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Information at Bryce Canyon National Park. “Bryce

Garkane Offers Electrical Safety Training to Fire Departments In an effort to keep our communities safe, Garkane is offering electrical safety training to local fire departments. The training will consist of teaching fireman and first responders how to avoid being injured when they encounter downed power lines, auto wrecks involving power lines, and what not to do in a structure fire involving electrical hazards. Contact Marion Chappell at 435-836-2795 or call any Garkane office if you would like to schedule a time for Garkane to provide this training. —Garkane Energy REGIONAL Weather forecast for some but not all regions represented in our newspaper coverage area

Thurs. FEB. 5 - wed. Feb. 11 WARM. Highs Thursday through Monday in upper 50s to low 60s. Partly cloudy Thursday through Saturday and sunny Sunday and Monday. High temps dipping slightly Tuesday and Wednesday to upper 40s, low 50s. Lows all week hovering around freezing. No precipitation is in the forecast.

Canyon is the perfect winter destination for everything from snowshoeing to stargazing.” The winter festival is just one example of the outstanding partnership that exists between the national park and Ruby’s Inn, Gonder said. Ruby’s Inn is located just outside the gates of Bryce Canyon

National Park and provides the closest available lodging and a boarding zone for the park’s shuttle during the summer. “We appreciate our relationship with Ruby’s Inn and the opportunities it creates to expose more people to the Winter Festival Cont'd on page 2

Tropic - When the Escalante Rock Shop installed a portable sign for their rural business on Utah’s Scenic Byway 12 back in 2008 they were breaking the law. A Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) employee showed up at the front door of the shop, handed the sign to the owners and let them know the sign was illegal. Too bad for the owners who watched their business double when the sign was in place and then fall by half again once the sign was removed. The Rock Shop experienced the stark difference between being visible and invisible to passing tourists. Tourism Oriented Directional Signs, also known as TODS, offer a solution to this problem through a signage program available to UDOT now, but just out-of-reach due to a ruling in 2010 by the Utah State Legislature, Administrative Rules Review Committee which determined that UDOT should not be granted authority to implement the sign program. A similar program allowing logo signs near exits on urban freeways and highways, with controlled access, has been implemented for years in Utah. Only the rural TODS program is not allowed. State Road 12, along with 25 other roads in Utah designated as Scenic Byways, offer some of the best auto touring options for travelers making their way to Utah’s State and National Parks & Monuments and world-class destinations across the state. The scenic byway designation tells travelers they are on the most scenic roads in the state and that they can expect great opportunities to experience the scenic, cultural, historic, archaeological, natural and recreational values intrinsic to byways.

The coveted byway designation does come with one restriction, that is off-premise business signage has not been allowed on byways since 1965 when the Highway Beautification Act (HBA) was passed during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. The HBA was intended to protect natural and scenic beauty along highways by, among other things, controlling billboards in rural, scenic and agricultural areas. Hoping to see a change in the restriction on UDOT’s authority to implement the TODS program in Utah, a number of Utah businesses and byways are spearheading the effort to overturn the 2010 ruling through legislation to be introduced in the 2015 legislative session by State Representative Mike Noel. John Holland, Byway Coordinator for Scenic Byway 12 participated in efforts to implement TODS in 2009 and 2010. “Forty-one other states have implemented TODS so there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Utah is missing out by not having a TODS program”, says Holland. “This is a simple economic development solution for rural businesses and it is time for Utah to implement the program. UDOT is on board and ready, willing, and able to develop a TODS policy to be implemented across Utah wherever tourism based businesses are found, not just on scenic byways.” The Escalante Rock Shop and hundreds of other businesses just off the main thoroughfare in Utah’s many tourist areas stand to benefit from a boost in visitors and business once the sign program is approved and implemented. —Scenic Byway 12 Committee

Smith Receives FFA Scholarships

Call for Photographers

GSENM announces new Artist-in-Residence program in partnership with Amazing EarthFest! KANAB - The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Amazing EarthFest! are announcing a new Artist-in-Residence Program for photographers. The purpose of the Artist-in-Residence partnership between GSENM and Amazing EarthFest! is to promote awareness through landscape photography of the exceptional natural and cultural treasures within the monument. The program aspires to share the scenic beauty and unique stories of National Conservation Lands with the public through artistic expression. The residency provides artistic and educational opportunities to promote a deeper understanding of the natural, cultural and historic resources on GSENM. The residency provides an opportunity for learning and dialogue about

the value of the National Conservation Lands and their connection to the local community. It allows uninterrupted time in a stimulating and rugged environment for artists to pursue their work and share it with the public. As a popular local event, Amazing Earthfest! invigorates Utah communities by celebrating the public lands of the western Colorado Plateau; our magnificent national and state parks, national forests and monuments. The festival provides experiential learning opportunities to connect participants with the natural beauty of the region. Artist-in-Residence – Photography Applications will be accepted through February 13, 2015. Photographers Cont'd on page 2

It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not to deserve them. —Mark Twain

Courtesy of Jessica Grundy

WAYNE COUNTY - Breanna Smith was awarded a $200 USU scholarship for the Future Farmers of America Utah Dairy Heifer Contest. She also was awarded with a $1000 scholarship from National FFA for her FFA project. This National Scholarship was open to all FFA member in the grades 9-11 throughout the United States. Only two FFA members from Utah were awarded this Scholarship. Congratulations Breanna. —Jessica Grundy ALL content for THE WAYNE &GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER must be submitted on FRIDAY before 5:00 pm to be included in the following Thursday edition of the paper.

BOXHOLDER

PRE-SORT STANDARD PAID RICHFIELD, UTAH PERMIT No. 122


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February 5, 2015 Wayne & Garfield County Insider by Wayne & Garfield County Insider - Issuu