Monolith continues to make headlines

The San Juan County monolith continues to make news across the world.

The hidden stainless-steel monolith was discovered in a remote corner of Lockhart Basin in mid-November. By the time it disappeared on November 27, it had garnered international (and maybe even some inter-galactic) attention.

The San Juan County Sheriffs office has been inundated with calls from across the globe, including media calls from near and far, calls from concerned people who are anxious to follow the story, and more than a few calls from the fringe of this universe and beyond.

The Sheriffs Office is still working on the case, but faces a difficult task to determine exactly what was the possible crime and exactly who is the possible victim.

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The monolith is apparently for sale on an online auction site, although the auction details appear to be more than a little suspicious.

A BOC Auction for a “Mystery Metal Monolith from Utah” was first listed on November 30 with a $100 bid. As of the press deadline, the highest bid is $125,100.

Act quickly, the auction is set to close on Monday, December 14. By the way, they only accept PayPal.

The auction description states that the monolith was a “local science experiment” that was set in place in April, 2020.

However, satellite photography and a local cowboy who runs cattle in the area provide evidence that it has been there for several years.

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The monolith has touched down, at least through December 18, at the San Juan Record office in Monticello.

Our entry into the annual Monticello Gingerbread House tour features a re-creation of the monolith. Drop in and check it out, along with the 14 other entries from local businesses in the annual contest.

They can be found at Artisan Jewelers, Monticello Merc, Main Street Drug, Blue Mountain Foods, Paca Pantry, SJC Library, Zions Bank, Desert Rivers Credit Union, Thrift Store, Farm Bureau, Thatzaa Pizza, Welcome Center, Wagon Wheel Pizza, Subway, and the San Juan Record.

Emily Boyle is the creator of our monolith.

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My heartfelt thanks to the San Juan Record staff after they fought through a recent bout with coronavirus. I bet that many readers and listeners may not have even noticed!

I have four full time employees and three of them missed significant time after COVID paid a visit in late October. All three of them were out during one very, very long week! In total, we were impacted by five weeks of adjusted schedules and quarantine.

By working at home or coming in after business hours (masked and gloved up!), these dedicated workers were able to keep up with our relentless workload.

Thank you to Jill Pearson, Rhett Sifford, Andrea Montgomery, and David Boyle. They are the best!

Thankfully, they all had relatively minor symptoms, like up to 80 percent of COVID patients. Aside from a few days of flu-like symptoms and a loss of taste and smell, they have all recovered.

We realize that they were fortunate. This virus is cruel, with relatively minor symptoms for approximately 80 percent of victims, severe symptoms for another 15 percent, and potentially life-threatening symptoms for the remaining five percent. It seems to seek out and find the most vulnerable and at-risk members of our communities.

Since March, nearly eight percent of San Juan County residents have tested positive for the virus, with 118 of them hospitalized and 33 fatalities.

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We continue to make progress on implementing our 2020 Vision at the San Juan Record, which has included an expanded website, changes to the SJR Bookstore, and the addition of Redrock Radio.

The radio station has required an incredible amount of work and is still very much a work in progress.

In recent weeks, we have started the Redrock Morning Show, featuring David Boyle, at 9 a.m. each Monday through Friday.

The show airs live at 92.7 FM and at Redrock92.com. In addition, it is available in podcast form at redrock92.com.

Thank you for your support and patience.