By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
Education was at the forefront of the Emery County Board of Commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday, May 20. Looking to strengthen the county’s youth, the Commissioners approved donations for marching band students, archery students and a student attending the Governor’s Honors Academy.
First on the body’s docket was the approval of donations to two additional individuals to make the trip alongside the Carbon/Emery marching band to Washington, D.C. Commissioner Keven Jensen explained that during the first donation cycle, the two girls weren’t sure if they would be able to attend but had since solidified their plans. Each student will receive $250 to help offset the trips cost.
Next was another investment in education for the Commissioners, with Izzy Turner approaching the podium to ask for a donation to attend the 2025 Governor’s Honors Academy. “It’s a 9-day, prestigious organization where I will get to learn from the best of the best. Only 50 students are allowed to attend, and they are among the top 50 students from across the state. The average GPA of the students attending is 3.9; the average ACT score is 25. It’s a very prestigious place, and I’m so grateful to be accepted.”
Turner explained that she was approaching the Commission because the academy encouraged participants to seek sponsors to help cover the cost of attendance. Again, the Commission chose to approve a donation of $250 to Turner on the condition that she give an update when she completes the program.
Representatives from the Huntington Elementary Archery team rounded out the donation request. Having recently competed in the national tournament, the team had qualified to make the trip to the World Archery Tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. With 13 students looking to participate in the competition and a total cost of $3000 per participant, the Commission looked at the budget before deciding an appropriate amount would be $200 per archer, helping chip into the total cost.
Moving from the education items, the Commissioners considered an application from the Emery County Sheriff’s Office for the State Task Force Grant. This grant helps fund the Emery County Drug Task Force, and when put to a vote, the body unanimously approved the application.
Continuing on grants, next on the docket were two grants from the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation – one for trail equipment and supplies and the other for the Trail Crew. AnnDee Mead explained,” The first one is just items our Trail Crew needs to keep doing the work. Some of the things are a jackhammer, a generator, and then culverts. They keep culverts on hand so they can take them out and get them when they have a project.”
Moving to the second grant, Mead shared,” It’s just kind of a continuation of what we’ve done for years. So, we use the OHVR funds to pay for our two-part time trail crew members, so we’re just wrapping up the 2023 and 2024 grants, and then these would be to continue to pay them through 2025 and 2026.”
With minimal discussion, both grants were approved by the Commissioners.
Directing their focus to tourism, the Commissioners approved the continuation of marketing through Go Travel Sites. “This is a partnership we’ve had at the travel office for 20 years that helps us provide information to potential visitors,” explained Mead. “So the Go Travel sites have Go Travel Utah and Arizona, and so on all over the country. And if someone is on the Go Travel Utah site and specifically clicks on something in Emery County, it automatically generates an email that says, ‘Here’s how you can learn more about Emery County,’ or,’ Here’s some things to see in Emery County.'”
The site allows local travel agencies to modify these emails to their liking, making it more alluring than other sites. It also sends contacts to the tourism office who have used the service so representatives can reach out directly to interested parties. Again, the item was approved in a 3-0 vote.
Next, the Commission approved a request for quotation for videography and photography assets to be used for social and other media. With a straightforward premise, the RFQ was accepted.
The final item of the meeting was a request to donate two large portable AC/fan units to be placed in the Blue Sage Arena for events like the Castle Country Classic Livestock Show. It was explained that the biggest complaint surrounding these events was the heat inside the arena. These fans would look to alleviate that problem. Additionally, the request would see the Road Department purchasing new fans. In a unanimous decision, the Commission approved the donation.
Following this, the meeting was adjourned.
The next meeting of the Emery County Board of Commissioners is scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, at 3 p.m. in the Emery County Administration Building.