Life in San Juan

Fourth of July 2020

Images of “Free to Be Me” Fourth of July celebrations in Blanding. When the city was unable to sponsor the traditional annual event due to COVID-19 restrictions, Blanding residents and businesses banded together to organize their own festivities. Chalk art photo by Daniel Jolley; all other photos...

San Juan County Fair on schedule to open August 1 in Monticello

The theme of the 2020 San Juan County Fair is “In An Uncertain Year, Your Fair Family’s Here.” It will be the twentieth county fair Anna Fredericks has organized. It will also be the most different county fair she has organized. Part of the challenge, Fredericks said, has been simply getting word...

Fourth of July to be honored in Blanding

by Rhett Sifford Staff writer A group of Blanding residents and businesses, led by Toniee Lewis, have banded together to organize a private event that will celebrate American freedom, stand against a loss of freedom, and ensure that a big Fourth of July party won’t be missing in Blanding this year...

Aaron Butler scholarship winners named

The Aaron Butler Memorial Award of Excellence has been presented to Rianna Shumway and Dillon Slack of Monticello High School, along with $1,500 each. Laura and Randy Butler presented the award, inspired by their son, Staff Sergeant Aaron Rhett Butler (Army Special Forces), who was killed in action...

Blanding City Council cancels Fourth of July events

After a lengthy discussion and input from legal counsel and health officials, the Blanding City Council voted 3-2 to cancel the 2020 Independence Day events sponsored by the city. Councilmembers Logan Monson and Cheryl Bowers voted against the measure. Much discussion centered around the...

Traditional Memorial Day Sunrise Service at Blanding Cemetery is presented via video

Two men sought for shooting at officers in Aneth

Two Aneth area residents are sought by a variety of law enforcement agencies after shots were fired at law enforcement officers from a home in Aneth. Gary Lee Jr and Cecil Vigil, both in their late 30s, are the subject of a massive search in the area. Officers were preparing to serve a warrant for...

Please shop locally when you can

It would be a shame if two of the big “winners” in the COVID-19 crisis are Amazon and WalMart. While many local businesses have been shuttered or slowed for weeks, these giants were open for business 24/7, with unlimited resources, active websites, and what some consider to be predatory pricing....

Quarantine madness

Day 27 of COVID19 Quarantine. The madness has begun. Sure, initially I felt like I had won the lottery. I was working from home – my dream job. But now I’m not so sure. I found out that there’s a woman who lives in my house; she says she’s my wife and she thinks she’s the boss of everything. I...

San Juan Hill recreated in a beautiful carving by Bluff Fort Service Missionary Jerry Allred

As the Mormon pioneers who went through the Hole-in-the-Rock from 1879 to 1880 drew near to their final destination in southeastern Utah, they encountered a formidable barrier known as Comb Ridge. They had already descended down through the Hole-in-the Rock to the Colorado River, blasted roads...