Miners Memorial for Emery County moving along

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

The Emery County Commissioners heard from the Miner’s Memorial group. Dennis Ardohain said they are raising funds to place a miners memorial at the court house in Castle Dale. They are wrapping up their Carbon County miners memorial and it will be dedicated on Labor Day at the Peace Gardens in Price. They have had several large donors for the projects and help from the Utah Legislature with Sen. David Hinkins and Rep. Brad King aiding in the contribution by the state. Other large contributors have included: Tony Basso, Mark Bingham, Castleview Hospital and Carbon County. They still need $40,000-$50,000 for the Emery miners memorial. They would like the project completed for next year’s Emery County Fair so it can be dedicated at that time. Organizers said they would like the support of the county and the citizens in raising the additional money. The project is to remember and honor the many Emery County coal miners who gave their lives while working to support their families and build the local economy. Coal miners provide the fuel to light, heat and energize America. The building of this monument will enable the county to keep forever the memory of those dedicated workers and show they did not die in vain but gave their lives for a grateful community and its livelihood.
A lot of time and effort has gone into the two projects to gather names and all the work has been done by volunteers. They have 28 members on their committee. PacifiCorp has adopted any miners from their mines. “When the project is completed, it will be three years we’ve put towards this,” said Ardohain.
Commissioner Ethan Migliori said the county has had discussions about the project and they are excited to see it move forward.
The county is grateful for the private parties that have taken on this project. He said they will look at the money and see what the county can put towards the project.
The money is needed by the first of the year, so plaques of bronze and stone can be ordered. A time capsule will be placed in the miners memorial in Carbon County. The Sun Advocate is also preparing a book to honor the event.
Aquatics Manager Shannon Hiatt approached the commission about additions and changes to the fee schedule at the Emery County Aquatics Center. They want to implement a punch pass for aquasize, laps, and showers for the climbers. Ten punches would be $25 and it would be good for six months. A family night rate on Mondays for $2 per swimmer from 5-7:30 p.m. will begin the middle of September.
Commissioner Migliori said the county wants to see the pool used and he appreciates the efforts to maximize use of the pool.
The commission approved the Emery County Fair Vendor Application/Agreement to be used in 2016.
The approval of Amendment number one on the contract between the Division of Water Resources and Emery County will provide two years to complete the Huntington Creek Recovery Project.
The contract of the Inter-Agency Coordination and Sub Recipient Contract Agreement between Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments (SEUALG and Emery County) to administer the Emery County Aging and Nutrition Programs from July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016; was tabled. The SEUALG will need to attend a future commission meeting to outline what the money is used for.
The grant was approved from the Utah Department of Public Safety Division for Emergency Management,
Scott Crook from the Arnold and Crook Law Firm reviewed the new Personnel Policies and Procedure Manual for Emery County. He works with cities and counties to make sure their policy and procedure handbook is up to date with state law. Regulations have changed over the years and he looked for things not in compliance with state statute. The anti-discrimination portion of the policy manual will be updated with changes with non-discrimination based on sex and religion. He said he has modeled the Emery County manual after other counties he has worked with.
The commissioners said they haven’t read the entire manual yet and would like to table approval until they have completed the book.
At-will employees were discussed and career service employees. Career service employees have protection under the law that changing elected officials can’t come in and get rid of them and replace them with employees they select. These protections were started with the labor movement to protect civil servants.
Commissioner Keith Brady said in the private sector you can fire someone without stating a reason and in the government side, sometimes people give half-hearted work and it’s difficult to fire someone. These protections do not apply to contract, seasonal and temporary workers. They went over the steps to take for a nonperforming employee. Such employees could be disciplined and the procedure for this was outlined.
Record keeping and computer safety are also part of the manual. Each department can have a stand alone policy for department specific issues. The main policy is for the entire county. The conflict of interest and disclosure policy has been updated. An employee cannot be a direct supervisor of a family member.
Emery County will submit its own Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Application. If you don’t have a plan you can’t apply for the grant.
Commissioner Paul Cowley reported the work is continuing on the Swinging Bridge project and the exercise with the National Guard went well. Commissioner Brady said the Beehive Drive was in Green River with their cool cars and they presented scholarship money to Green River City.
Commissioner Migliori said the Emery County Fair went well and thanked all the volunteers involved with putting on the fair.
The commission approved out-of-state travel to Mesquite, Nevada for Capt. Kyle Ekker to attend Drug Task Force Commanders Meeting during UNOA Annual Conference.
The commission approved a 3 percent wage increase for Melissa Arrien and Earl Nelson after successful completion of their six month orientation period.