San Juan County

Planning Commission promises dark skies plan for Spanish Valley

The chair of the San Juan Planning Commission promised during a meeting Wednesday, April 3 to pass a dark skies ordinance for Spanish Valley after many residents contacted commissioners and planning staff following the commission’s previous vote to not recommend such an ordinance. “I will make a...

Rep. Curtis tours San Juan County

Congressman John Curtis recently made a whirlwind tour through San Juan County, arriving from the north and exiting to New Mexico. Curtis led two town hall meetings, with approximately 80 people participating in Bluff and more than 50 attending a meeting in Mexican Water. Curtis said the town...

Making progress on visitors guide

The San Juan Record and San Juan Chamber of Commerce need your help as they gear up to publish the 2019 version of 101 Ways to Experience San Juan County. The annual visitors guide lists scores of great ways to enjoy the spectacular beauty of San Juan County throughout the summer. The guide is...

Commission approves four new policy resolutions

In a continuation of the trend of setting policy through resolutions, the San Juan County Commission approved four new resolutions at their March 5 meeting. By a 2-1 vote (with Commissioner Bruce Adams voting no), Commissioners signaled support for a bill currently before Congress to expand Bears...

Oil and gas leases fund CIB programs

Oil and gas leases on federal land have helped fund more than $58.8 million in projects in San Juan County since 2010. From the new water and sewer system in Spanish Valley to a new fire truck in Monticello and from flood mitigation efforts in Bluff to new health care facilities in Blanding,...

San Juan County moves out of severe drought

My son, Samuel, has a neat trick. His hair is curly, and it tightens on his head just before we get some precipitation. Conversely, when it’s going to be dry, his hair is relatively straight. A week ago Sunday, his curls were about as tight as they’d ever been. Sure enough, the next day we received...

Oil spill reaches San Juan

In the past week, a six-inch diameter transfer line northwest of Montezuma Creek began leaking crude oil and produced water into Bucket Wash. The wash, which is usually dry, was flowing with snowmelt, and oil traveled approximately three miles before spilling into the San Juan River. The transfer...

New Blue Mountain Shadows explores food

When it comes to “What’s Cookin’?” both necessity and available ingredients have always dictated the end results of human consumption. The new winter issue of Blue Mountain Shadows explores cultural food patterns which were impacted by both the culture and geography of the Four Corners area. From...

Epic snowstorm shuts down schools, businesses, roads, and may have brought an end to a drought

The strongest snowstorm in several winters took aim at San Juan County in the past week, resulting in closed schools and businesses, closed highways, copious amounts of snow, and what may be the end of a drought. Snow began falling on Wednesday evening, didn’t stop until Friday afternoon, and...

Commissioners consider seven new resolutions

The new San Juan County Commission continues the trend of considering a host of new resolutions. Commission Chairman Kenneth Maryboy read seven new possible resolutions at the February 19 Commission meeting. They may be considered as an action item at future meetings. In addition, the Commission...