News

Asphalt plant focus of Commission meeting

The licensure of an aggregate and hot mix asphalt plant in Spanish Valley was the topic of significant discussion at the November 5 meeting of the San Juan County Commission. Commissioners felt pressured to act as they faced a November 8 deadline for public comment on the licensure decision by the...

October continues trend of dryer-than-normal months

Cold and dry was the story in October in San Juan County, as the string of dryer-than-normal months begins to grow. The dry month is similar to 2017, but in marked contrast to one year ago, when area communities received several inches of precipitation to mark the end of a prior drought. For...

Questions arise over November 5 election

While the November 5 election features a single question for San Juan County voters, the special election is getting more and more complicated. The ballot question asks if a committee should be formed to consider a change in the San Juan County form of government. Ballots have been mailed to...

Mike Lee in Moab: All politicians want Utah to remain a ‘public lands state’

by Carter Pape The Times-Independent As protestors stood silently around the room with signs advocating to “keep public lands in public hands” and to “protect wild Utah,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, broke the fourth wall on Friday, October 25, during a roundtable discussion in Moab to say that “not a...

County entities are considering tax increases of up to 22.9 percent

Despite the fact that San Juan County is already the highest-taxed county in the state by percentage, a property tax increase of 22.9 percent is being considered by three separate entities associated with San Juan County. A notice to residents of the potential tax change was approved at the...

Utah State University School of Applied Sciences, Technology, and Education is divided and growing

In an effort to better serve students in the largest department in Utah State University’s College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences (CAAS), and to advance career and technical education programs, particularly in southeastern Utah, CAAS Dean Ken White and USU President Noelle Cockett announced...

Daily blasting continues for Highway 191 road work

Controlled explosions sent tons of rock onto Highway 191 this week. Motorists traveling between Moab and Monticello could run into delays due to blasting associated with improvements to U.S. 191 between the 107 and 109 mile markers. Since the end of August, Utah Department of Transportation (...

Broad range of experience for new county adminstrator

Mack McDonald, the new San Juan County Administrator, recently took some time from a very busy schedule to meet with the San Juan Record. McDonald began his new position on September 23, replacing Interim Administrator David Everitt as the key county employee in sprawling San Juan County. He moves...

Water year was wetter than normal, but drought designation returns

Despite a dry end to the recently-completed water year, San Juan County experienced a remarkable wet year. The water year runs from October 1 to September 30 every year. In the past year, Monticello received 136 percent of normal precipitation, including receiving ten feet of snow. Monticello had...

Elected officials meet from federal, tribal, state, county, and community groups

A group of elected officials met on Wednesday, October 2 in Blanding, including Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Congressman John Curtis. The group included tribal, federal, state, county, and community leaders. According to President Nez, the focus of the discussion was “how the entities...