It sure looked like a boondoggle

Prior to retiring from my day job with the gommint, we referred to boondoggles as any time a lot of folks from the same office all went in separate vehicles to a meeting spot.  

In truth, it was usually due to the meeting being brief and everyone then dispersing in various directions for other tasks.

A fleet of white pickup trucks – eight or ten – was parked in front of the La Sal Post Office and store a couple of weeks ago. Sure had the appearance of a government boondoggle.  

But upon closer examination, these were not Federal or State trucks but private vehicles. There was a large, lower case “e” with a swoosh on each door.  

It was Emery Telecom coming to town just as promised last year to begin installing high speed fiber cable to our remote area of the world. Can you say “gig” boys and girls? 

Why, this just might put us into the twenty-first century.

Many more white trucks of various varieties can be seen around the village as the fiber line is being installed. Wherever possible, the line is being hung from existing power poles. Much more cost and labor efficient.  

Emery has also acquired the Utah Education Network contract locally, formerly held by Frontier Communications. 

Emery has delivered information cards to all the homes in the area telling folks of the soon-to-be-here speedier internet and phone service.

Call now if you want to get signed up for their services and have a drop installed at your location.  

As I understand it from their information meeting last year, connections will be hard-wired to homes. This is exciting. Full speed ahead!

There has been some chatter around town from folks wanting the ball field at the Community Center and La Sal School to be fixed up so that folks can use it.  

That has been a concern for some time for the La Sal Recreation Board. The School District shut the water off to the field a few years ago. Well, here is an update.

First a big thanks to Robert B. for brush hogging the field last week. Unfortunately, there will be no further work on, or water to, the field.  

The well, which was drilled 15 years ago, produced over 50 gallons a minute back then but is now only putting out 12 gallons per minute plus a lot of sand if it sucks too much. And, I mean a lot of sand.

That is why the school district curtailed water to the field. They also installed a sand trap at the well and inside the school to protect the kids’ water.

According to one source, goodbye water – goodbye school. So that makes it more important to have good water in the school if nowhere else.

Bottom line, what you see at the field now after the brush hogging is what we’ve got.

Water table levels have become a big concern in our area. As more and more people move in and drill wells and/or draw more water from the ground, the water level has dropped.

There is a plan afoot to build over 100 new homes on the section of land between the Copper Mill Road, Markle, and La Sal road.  

Many folks have concerns, as does the Utah Water Rights Division, as to the effect this would have on already lower aquifer levels. 

This issue will probably be on the agenda for the August or September County Planning and Zoning Board meeting.

This meeting is held every second Thursday of the month at the County Courthouse.  

If you have concerns, I’ll try and keep you posted as to when exactly this issue will be on the agenda.

FYI, there is currently an opening on the Planning and Zoning board for a representative from the La Sal area.

If you have real concerns about growth issues, etc. in our area, consider stepping up and getting on the board.  

The effects of the pandemic strike again.  The folks at the local Latter-day Saint Church were all set to go back to meeting as a congregation last Sunday, but concerns over the virus once again raised their ugly head and in-house meetings have been postponed ’til the end of July.  

I think folks mostly just want to be able to visit friends again as much as anything.  Stay tuned for latest information.

It’ll be another Sabbath day on The Mountain for me!