Friends of Virgin, Inc.
P.O. Box 790005
Virgin, Utah 84779-0005
www.friendsofvirgin.com
If you wish to be removed from our email list please send a message to friends@friendsofvirgin.com.
Our Purpose:
To promote the continued health, safety, security, beauty, and viability of the town of Virgin, Utah, through the combined efforts and talents of the individuals and entities herein known as the Friends of Virgin.  Though the Friends of Virgin differ dramatically in viewpoint and political affiliation, they unite here to assist in informing and educating local residents and decision-makers; promoting openness in the town government and free access to its records; and encouraging public input as well as its serious consideration by officials.
Board of Directors:
Lee Ballard, president
Adele Pincock, secretary
Sandra Grow, treasurer
Linda Collet, director
DRD Properties South director
Jan Walker, director
ABOUT OUR NEWSLETTER
The directors of FOVI decided a few months ago that, since the Virgin Town newsletter now does such thorough coverage of town meetings, our Meeting Watch section had become redundant.    However, it has now been pointed out to us that the town newsletter reports only on council meetings.  Thus, we are bringing back our Meeting Watch this month with a report on the July meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
In planning our last issue we decided to leave out some of our usual features to devote maximum space to the Congregate Living Facility Ordinance, as there was a possibility that the public hearing on the issue would be held before now, and we wanted to do our best to inform you on an issue about which many residents have expressed concern.  We were a bit surprised to hear grumbles from some of our readers who, we are now pleased to realize, are actually telling us that they enjoy those features we left out.  Our apologies; we will try to plan better in future to have space for everything.
MEETING WATCH
[editorial and explanatory comments italicized in brackets]
Planning & Zoning, 7/2/03:  Members present: Chairman Allen Lee, Darwin Hall, Marcia Rasmussen, and Larry Amodt.  
	After approving minutes from May’s meeting with two minor changes, the commission addressed “Recommendation and Review of the Road Standard for the Subdivision Ordinance Revision” [Town Council voted in June to send the Subdivision Ordinance Revision back to Planning to finalize these road standards]. It was decided that the St. George Road Standard, from which the planners will derive our own, would be put on a disk to facilitate editing and printing.  Larry made a motion to table this item until road standards are ready, with a set of plans that all can look at. Allen seconded. Ayes unanimous.
	The next item was “Recommendation and Review of the Congregate Living Facility Ordinance”.  Lee Ballard and Adele Pincock read through revisions on the new draft, most of which had been recommended by the commission at the previous meeting.  In this version, items of legal concern were marked for Town Attorney Russ Gallian’s attention in his legal review. The commission agreed to send the ordinance on to the Town Council with a few changes, including a clarification of an item addressing unlawful activity by staff or management of a CLF, and the removal of a separation requirement of 1000 feet from Scenic Highways and Byways. It was suggested that the Town Council immediately advertise a public hearing on the ordinance so councilmembers could discuss public input gathered when they meet on July 17th.  [the hearing is set for that very evening, and we venture to say our council is eager to hear comment from the residents]  Chairman Allen Lee asked Lee Ballard to make the changes and get the recommended version to the Town Hall the following day.  The motion was made and the Commission voted unanimously to recommend the ordinance, with the changes and revisions made, to the Town Council for public hearing.
	Next on the agenda was “Recommendation and review of business license for Dustin Spadaro”.  Dustin said he would be taking safari tours from Springdale to the Kolob Terrace area, working out of a home office in Desert Gardens (he is purchasing Vince Blackmore’s house).  At this time he has only one tour truck and he will park it in front of his home.  He said he would like to use the Mesa Road. 
The commission required that the city be listed as coinsured on a minimum three-million dollar liability insurance policy; that, if he expands to more than 2 trucks, he must come before the council for permission, that he meet all CC & R’s for Desert Garden Estates, and that he follow all appropriate state codes.
Allen made the motion to recommend approval to the council of Dustin Spadaro’s business license to run a safari business with the above conditions. Darwin Hall seconded. Ayes unanimous.
Items from the floor: Bruce Densley asked about Virgin’s sign regulations. Linda Collet offered to get in touch with Joy Henderlider and provide him with information.  The meeting was then adjourned.
OPINION
We will not go into detail here about the Congregate Living Facility Ordinance here as we devoted our entire issue to it in May.  However, we do want to encourage everyone who has an opinion about youth homes and other group facilities to look through a copy of the ordinance (available now at Town Hall) and to re-read our last newsletter to prepare for Thursday’s public hearing (feel free to contact us for a copy, or find it on our website at www.friendsofvirgin.com).  Once the council has received input from the public it will consider what the people want, make whatever changes in the current draft it deems appropriate, and put it to a vote, possibly in August.  If you are concerned but cannot make the hearing, you have the option to put your opinion in writing and leave it with a councilmember or the clerk.  Some questions you may want to ask yourself:  
•	should large private youth facilities (RTCs) be allowed to locate in Virgin?  
•	if so, how large should we allow them to be (how many consumers per center)? 
•	how many of these facilities should we allow?  
•	what percentage of our population should we allow consumers to comprise?  
•	where should we allow them (i.e. in or near residential, commercial, industrial, resort zones;  near the highway or not)?
•	should we license smaller facilities for the disabled, homes for the elderly, or youth homes in residential zones?  
GOINGS ON
 Once again, Ken Cornelius has made a great success of the Virgin Town 4th of July Celebration.  Proceeds this year are to go to the new Virgin Volunteer Fire Department.  Ken received much assistance from Sandra Grow (assistant chief of the fire department and FOVI treasurer), John Grow (also a fire department volunteer) and Gary Wilcox (councilman over the fire department). Thanks to all of you and to the others who worked on preparations, all who made donations, and thanks to Sandra Grow and Mayor Jay Lee for the early morning clean-up on the 5th. 
The Fifth District Court preliminary hearing for ex- Virgin Town Clerk Noelle Higbee and Mayor Jay Lee will be held at 9 a.m. on August 25th in the Fifth District Courthouse, St. George. Ms. Higbee and the Mayor were arraigned late in May on second degree felony charges of misusing public funds after an annual audit turned up irregularities in the town  coffers.  Naturally, this hearing is open to the public and is of interest to any Virgin taxpayer. If you plan to attend the hearing, allow plenty of time, as the judge was asked at the arraignment to block out a minimum of two hours per defendant to hear the evidence.
FOVI celebrates one year since its incorporation this month, so we are going to take a little space here to reflect.  It is only when thinking back to the way things were a year ago that we realize how different is life for an actively concerned citizen of Virgin today.  What has changed?
A visit to the Town Hall is a completely different experience today than it was last summer.  When one arrives during office hours, the door is open.  A friendly (if overworked) town clerk politely does her best to fulfill any request on the spot.  As far 
as we know, anyone can now review public records on a whim; no obligatory wait, no request form necessary, no phone calls to the mayor or town attorney required.  
Town council and planning commission meetings are different as well.  Input is sought from the public on nearly every item.  Discourse is polite, respectful, and often even, well… fun.  Residents who care about issues are treated as the valuable resource they are, and their help is welcomed and utilized. 
Town ordinances which have long been out of date are now under revision.  Planners, councilmembers, our zoning administrator and our clerk have worked unbelievably hard over the last few months on employment policies, revisions to our subdivision requirements, the ordinance addressing congregate living facilities, our annexation policy, and more.   
The town newsletter, once quarterly or random, now comes every month. Thanks to Councilmember Darcey Spendlove    for volunteering the time to produce what, as mentioned earlier, has become a useful, informative report.  
We do not suggest that FOVI is responsible for these improvements.  They are the result of the hard work and open minds of many individuals, including several of our decision-makers. However, we like to think that our nearly-constant presence at meetings and other events, our twelve informative newsletters, and our persistence in adhering to our purpose as honorably as we know how, have earned us the support of many area residents who may initially have had misconceptions about our motives or integrity.
On to more practical matters; as FOVI goes into a new year we are ready to collect membership dues again.  Members will receive letters to that effect shortly.  We do realize that those who joined recently may feel gypped when asked to pay annual dues again, already.   However, for logistical reasons (aside from our constant need for postage, ink and paper funds), we will always ask for dues at the same time of year.  Wait, if you prefer, until your year is up; we will accept your check gratefully whenever it comes.
If you are not yet a member but enjoy our newsletter or simply want to support our activities, now would be a good time to join or make a donation.  You may contact us via email (see page footer) or P.O. box (see front page).
 A Message from the Fire Department
The new Virgin Volunteer Fire Department would like to thank residents for their support and donations. 
The fire department is in the process of reorganizing. Nicole Olsen has resigned as fire chief. Sandra Grow and Joel Haws have stepped up as joint assistant chiefs. We also have signed up three new recruits. Welcome and thank you to Herb Frost, Chris Downard, and Gary Bratton, who made it to division chief of the San Bernadino County Fire Department before retiring with 37 years of service. We are already deriving benefit from Gary’s experience, as he not only shares extensive resources but now provides training to our volunteers every week. Thanks to Gary for all his help!
Although we feel the Department has gained strength and is headed in the right direction, we still need volunteers. Summer trainings are held every Monday night at seven. If you would like to volunteer, please call Heather Brinkerhoff (635-3524), Joel Haws (635-3272), or Sandra Grow (635-7351) for the next training location.
Upcoming Dates
Public Hearing:  Congregate Living Facility Ordinance; Thursday, July 17th at 7pm 
Town Council:  Thursday, July 17th at 7pm; work mtg 6:30
Planning & Zoning:  Wednesday, August 6th at 7pm; work mtg 6:30
Town Council:  Thursday, August 21st at 7pm; work mtg 6:30 
Preliminary Hearing:  for previous Town Clerk Noelle Higbee and Mayor Jay Lee; August  25th at 9 am; Fifth District Court at  220 N 200 E in St. George
Town Council Candidate’s deadline: Applications must be filed by August 15th.
History
	Here is another excerpt from the diary of Charles Workman.  He and his wife Josephine were the first schoolteachers in Virgin.
JULY 1899 
1- Sat. (Clouds) Started from Kelsy's at 6:20 A.M. and reached home about 4 P.M. Fed team at Toquerville 2 hours. I ordered a buggy through the Co-op Store, some time ago and it has come, cost about $70. 
2- Sun. (Clear A.M., cloudy, west wind P.M. Sprinkle) Fast Day All the Bishops and Pres. of Stakes are called to meet in the Temple at Salt Lake City today. I attended meetings as usual. 
3- Mon. (100, 2 P.M. Clear, calm) Mailed a supply of report blanks to all of the School Districts of the County, also wrote a note to the trustees. Prized goods. Elisha Lee cut our lucerne. I pulled our peas. 
4-Tuesday. (Clouds, west wind) Independence Day.  Salutes at Daybreak.  Flag raised at sunrise. I was "orator of the day". Appropriate exercises began at 10 am. Races and other sports for prizes at 4. Dance this evening. Took first drive in our buggy.
6- Thur. (Clear, fair) Started for St. George about 4:30 P.M. with wife and children, in our buggy. Stayed all night with Henry and Zannie at La Verkin. 
7- Fri. (Fair) Went on to St. George this morning, arrived about 3 P.M. 
8- Sat. (Clouds) Doing some business with the Co. Clerk and 
Co. Treasurer. Bro. Arthur Miles and Nephi M. Savage. Got some stationary etc. belonging to Co. Superintendant’s Office. 
9- Sun. (Fair) I attended Sunday School and 2 P.M. meeting. Pres. McArthur and Pres. Cannon occupied the time giving a report of what was said at the Special Fast meeting or Solemn Assembly held in the Salt Lake Temple, last Sunday. 
10- Mon. (Hot - Cloudy, sprinkle) Started home 5:15 A.M. stayed at LaVerkin 4 or 5 hours and arrived home about 6 P.M. 
11- Tues. (Cloudy P.M., Thunder and Lightening, sprinkle of Rain) Working in the garden. Prepared warrants to send to Supt. Decker, Mr. Bennion and Mr. Leigh of Cedar in payment of Wash. Co.'s share of Institute expenses. 
Father has ripe tomatoes.