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, April 16, 2015
The Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company: An Event Not To Be Missed
Courtesy of Boulder Heritage Foundation
The Ririe-Woodbury Dancers. The dance company will be performing in the Escalante High School auditorium on Friday, April 24 at 7pm. The event is free of charge. ESCALANTE - For the the efforts of the Boulder Arts the contemporary dance comfirst time ever, the internation- Council, along with support pany will present two lecture/ ally renowned Ririe-Wood- from the Escalante Canyons demonstrations at the Escalanbury Dance Company will Art Festival, Garfield County te High School Auditorium on visit Escalante on April 23rd School District, the Utah Di- Thursday, April 23, one for eland 24th, providing a commu- vision of Arts and Museums, ementary students at 10:00am nity performance and two stu- and the National Endowment and one for high school student lecture/demonstrations. for the Arts. Ririe-Woodbury This special opportunity is As part of their mission to Cont'd on page 2 being made possible through help spread dance education,
Escalante Showhouse Being Restored ESCALANTE Wild West Retreat owners, Shannon and Jenifer Steed, are in the process of restoring the Escalante Showhouse to a new state of glory. After sitting idle for 30+ years, Escalante Showhouse will provide local "night life" again. Built in 1938 by pioneer Loren Griffin, the showhouse is part of the new Escalante Historic District, awarded National recognition March, 2013. The showhouse was the center of entertainment in this Mormon village. Gas powered movie projectors provided some weekend opportunities for locals and "local talent" was the
house as a dinner theater with live entertainment and movies. In addition, the facility can be rented for wedding receptions, reunions and other special occasions. The Steeds currently own and operate the Wild West Re-
years with the cattle industry as its lead economic generator. Tourism has now displaced that and the need for entertainment venues for visitors is important. "We've been offering live music at Cowboy Blues for several years now, but it's just
KANAB - The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is hosting two Walks & Talks Lecture Series presentations highlighting a major restoration project on Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and surrounding public and private lands. Speaker Kristina Waggoner will present “The Escalante River Watershed Partnership; Working across boundaries on restoration”, on Saturday, April 18, 2015, at the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center located at 755 West Main, Escalante Utah; and again on Thursday, April 23, 2015 at the BLM Kanab Visitor Center located at 745 East Highway 89, in Kanab, Utah. Both presentations will begin at 7:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Savings Time. Waggoner is the Project Coordinator for the Escalante River Watershed Restoration Project that begun in 2009. The project was initiated by the community-based Escalante River Watershed Partnership (ERWP), which formed to protect and maintain a healthy river and watershed for future generations, and coordinate restoration efforts across boundaries. Waggoner will talk about how the Escalante River is being threatened by invasive plant and animal species and what efforts the ERWP has undertaken to combat this growing problem. Waggoner was hired in 2010 by Grand Staircase Escalante Partners as the fulltime Project Coordinator for the ERWP. Prior to this, she worked with Grand StaircaseWalks & Talks Cont'd on page 2
Sky Quality Monitoring Citizen Scientist Project Invitation
Volunteers are invited to help monitor the brightness (or darkness) of local night skies on Friday April 17 in Torrey. TORREY - Are you a night owl? Do you like to prowl around in the dark? Would you like to make a contribution to science? On Friday night April 17, community members are invited to participate in the first, biannual Sky Quality monitoring event. Participants of all ages will be involved in measuring the brightness of the night sky using Sky Quality Meters. This citizen scientist program is being sponsored by the Entrada Institute with the cooperation of the Capitol Reef National Park. No experience is necessary to participate. The group will be traveling around Wayne County collecting information at a variety of different sites. Participants will get the chance to use a Sky Quality Meter, Kestrel Weather Meter, and Handheld GPS device that have been purchased with grant funds from The Outdoor Foundation to promote night sky education in the region. Or, just come along for the experience and opportunity to learn more about the importance of dark night skies. Staff from Capi-
tol Reef National Park will be available to answer your questions and provide star charts to help identify objects in the night sky. The group will meet at the Torrey Town Park at 8:30PM on Friday April 17. Participants will carpool around the county and end back at the park around 11:30PM. Bring a coat and red-light flashlight. If you don’t have a red-light flashlight, red cellophane will be provided to cover your white light. Light pollution impacts our ability to see the stars and other celestial objects. In addition, it can affect energy consumption, wildlife, and human health. This data will be used to track help us understand changes in sky brightness over time in our area. Data from the project will be shared with the National Park Service and uploaded as part of the “Globe at Night” program. To learn more about this international citizen-scientist campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution, go to http:// www.globeatnight.org/. —Annette Lamb
Henrieville Council Discusses Hwy 12 Improvements at April Meeting by Andrew Branscom, Bryce Valley Community Reporter
Courtesy of Wild West Retreat
The Escalante Showhouse is shown at left in the black and white photo, circa 1950; and the color photo, inset above, shows interior renovations currently underway. backbone of what the theater offered. One of 124 buildings in the district that contribute to its historic nature, the showhouse is located in the heart of the downtown business district and within walking distance of the growing tourist based economy of Escalante. The showhouse was the center of entertainment during its hay-day. The Steeds plan on using the show-
Two Special Presentations Highlight Community Partnership
Issue # 1094
treat, a unique cabin get-away in Escalante and run the casual dinner-house, Cowboy Blues. The addition of the Showhouse will allow them to expand their offerings for more tour buses and custom catering events. They have catered many meals over the years, including meals for 400 Boy Scouts and 550 Utah Harley Hogs. The Escalante community has survived over the
REGIONAL WEATHER FORECAST FOR SOME BUT NOT ALL REGIONS REPRESENTED IN OUR NEWSPAPER COVERAGE AREA
THURS. APR. 16 - WED. APR. 22 Following a very cool and windy Thursday (highs in the low 50s) the week will warm up to the 60s and low 70s the rest of the week. Sunny on Friday and Saturday with clouds moving in on Sunday. Lows throughout the week still hovering around freezing or just above.
not enough," said co-owner Jenifer Steed. "We're excited to be able to expand what we offer and restore this important Escalante building." You can read about their efforts on their Kickstarter campaign page at http:// tinyurlcom/lh9tkug or visit one of their websites - www. wildwestretreat.net or www.escalanteshowhouse.com. For More Information: Contact Jenifer Steed at 435826-4849 or e-mail her at yahoo@wildwestretreat.com —Wild West Retreat
Andrew Branscom
Henrieville's familiar old store on Hwy 12 was an item of discussion during the Henrieville town council meeting on April 9. The building may be slated for demolition. HENRIEVILLE - Henrieville is a familiar site to those that travel along Utah State Route 12 routinely, although it could look a little different in the future. Shortly after the town council convened for their April session, held on April 9, John Holland from the Scenic Byway 12 Committee gave his annual presentation. He mentioned several potential improvements for the town of Henrieville. They varied in scope from simple water fountains and bathrooms to a museum. Other Byway 12 concerns were brought up. One concerned citizen asked about
Truth is everybody is going to hurt you: you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for. —Bob Marley
adding a bike path do the seasonal influx of bicyclists, but as of now there are no imminent plans. The current UT-12 bike path has yet to be finished as far as Bryce Canyon. The town council also discussed the possibility of replacing the remnants of the old store on the east side of town, next to the post office, and making it the site of a small attraction focused on pioneer heritage. This plan is still in the embryonic stage and faces a common small town problem, lack of available funds. Councilmembers agreed to keep brainstorming possible
solutions and ideas for this site. According to local residents the building has been vacant for many years. At least one aesthetic improvement of Henrieville should be noticeable in the short-term. Several small landscaping decisions were made on the area surrounding the senior center, playground, and firehouse. Residents of the town and those passing by will have one more reason to stop, enjoy the view, and maybe even play a game of horseshoes at the new horseshoes pits.
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