News

SJ School Board gets construction update, hears school reports

The San Juan School Board met on September 11 at Whitehorse High School in Montezuma Creek. Business Administrator Kyle Hosler provided a brief update of the progress on construction projects for Bluff Elementary School and the Montezuma Creek Elementary School gymnasium. Both projects are...

San Juan County agrees to $2.6 million settlement for attorney fees for seven-year voting rights/redistricting case

San Juan County will pay $2.6 million in legal fees to make a settlement in the massive voting rights lawsuit between the county and the Navajo Nation. The settlement was approved at a special meeting of the San Juan County Commission on September 24. The $2.6 million is for the Navajo Nation...

No government form question on 2019 ballot in Grand County

Significant portions of this article are taken from a Times Independent story by Doug McMurdo Voters in Grand County will not weigh in on a proposed new form of government in the November general election. The plan to put the issue on the ballot was dashed on September 5, when Grand County Attorney...

San Juan County is not broke: Legal fee settlement may be painful, but it is not likely to bankrupt county

DUST IN THE WIND While it is not as bad as many people think, it also isn’t as good as we may be accustomed. I am referring to the financial status of San Juan County. In September, county officials – including Commissioner Bruce Adams, Attorney Kendall Laws, and Interim Administrator David...

Fugitives caputured near Tonto Basin, AZ

Two wanted fugitives were captured by U.S. Marshals on September 11 after nearly two weeks on the lam. Blane and Susan Barksdale were arrested without incident at an isolated home near Tonto Basin, AZ. The husband and wife had overpowered two guards in a prisoner transport van near Blanding on...

San Juan Record adapts to changes, expands to meet reader needs

The San Juan Record is in the process of developing a “2020 Vision” as the information industry continues to grow and transform. This vision will result in a few changes in coming weeks. “Our readership has never been larger,” said San Juan Record Publisher Bill Boyle. “The challenge is making...

Judge rejects SUWA motion in public lands case

With a scathing rebuke, a federal judge rejected a motion by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) to become a full-party participant in a landmark public lands case. Judge Clark Waddoups ruled on September 5 that SUWA could participate in a massive case regarding RS-2477 road rights-of-way...

Blanding City Council calls for county civility

The Blanding City Council called for civility and cooperation among San Juan County residents in an August 27 meeting. The council discussed a letter and press release condemning the comments former San Juan County Commissioner Mark Maryboy made in a Mexican Water town hall meeting held August 22...

Fugitives are still at large after overpowering guards

San Juan County was apparently the setting in the past week when two prisoners escaped from custody while being transported from Henrietta, NY to Tucson, AZ. The two overpowered a two-person transport team on August 26, soon after leaving from the San Juan County jail in Monticello. Initial...

Commission opposes oil, gas lease sale

The San Juan County Commission voted to oppose an upcoming oil and gas lease sale on land maintained by the Bureau of Land Management near Hovenweep National Monument. The vote came at the September 3 Commission meeting. The resolution calls on the BLM to “defer the sale to prevent the degradation...