FIVE COUNTY

NEWS

FROM ‘R’ VIEWVOLUME VII NUMBER 1 JANUARY-MARCH, 2007

Director’s Dialogue

I would like to welcome two newly-elected CountyCommissioners to the Association’s Executive Committee.Lois Bulloch is serving another term in Iron County and hasbeen assigned to the Steering Committee. CommissionerBulloch is well-versed in local government issues and is agreat supporter of regional programs. She was a drivingforce in the creation of the Iron County circuit rider plannerprogram seven years ago.

Denny Drake will be representing the Washington CountyCommission. Commissioner Drake is coming from a longtenure as Mayor in Santa Clara. He has participated inpublic lands issues such as the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve,and has a great understanding of social service needs atthe local level.

I look forward to working with these outstanding localofficials. We will be introducing new mayor representativesat our 14 February Steering Committee meeting in Kanab.

Last month the Steering Committee approved vision andmission statements for the Association of Governments. Iworked closely with my leadership team and staff to craftthese statements. They reflect our roots in decades ofcooperative policymaking at the regional level insouthwestern Utah. This cooperation began decadesbefore federal and state policies encouraged the creation ofmulti-county districts.

These statements will help guide Association staff andleaders to continue a tradition of effective and efficientprogram delivery. (Ken Sizemore)

Cashing in on the VITA Program Puts Money

in the Pockets of Local Residents

The Five County Association of Governments is helpingcoordinate the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)program again this year. Our AmeriCorps Vista staff,Dean Brooks, David Peterson, and Holly Vandre have allcertified to assist with the tax preparation program. Weare working in conjunction with free tax preparation sitesin all of the five counties. Sites and contact informationare listed below.

The VITA program was created to raise awareness ofEarned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The IRS estimates thatup to $80 million in available EITC money goes unclaimedeach year. You may know someone who is eligible forEarned Income Tax Credit of up to $4,500. Our staffprepared a tax return for a family in Kanab this week thathad a tax refund greater than $5,000.

The IRS has indicated that nearly all households withincome of less than $38,000 are eligible for the freeincome tax preparation. The VITA program completed9,000 State and Federal returns last year in our state andhelped Utah residents claim $9.5 million in Earned IncomeTax Credits.

This is a statewide effort which is supported in part by theUnited Way. In addition to assisting eligible households(Continued on page two)

Mission Statement

The Mission of the

Five County Association of Governments

is to

Plan, Prepare and Partner

with federal, state and local governments

to

strengthen the role of southwestern Utah local

officials in the execution of state and federal

programs at the local level.

Vision Statement

The Five County Association of Governments

staff excels in facilitating the development and

delivery of programs assigned by local officials

to assure southwestern Utah remains a premier

region in which to live, work and recreate.

(Continued from page one)

with free tax preparation, we are encouragingpersons to become more financially literate andparticipate in the Utah Saves program (seewww.utahsaves.org).

This is the second year the Five CountyAssociation Human Services unit has helped tocoordinate this effort. We appreciate the supportgiven by all the volunteers and Volunteer Centersin our area.

For more information contact one of the locationslisted in the table below:

Location Contact Telephone #

Beaver County

Beaver County

Library

Mark 435-438-5373

or 211

Garfield County

Volunteer Center

Tropic

Panguitch

Escalante

Shauna 435-679-8737

or 211

Iron County

SUU (Cedar City)

Paiute Tribe

Jeff

Maureen

435-586-5406

435-586-1112

Kane County

Volunteer Center Joretta 435-644-3696

Washington County

Dixie State College

Bs. Dept.

Dixie Care & Share

Five County

Association of Govts.

USU Extension Office

Kevin

Kara

Dean

Eric

211 Only

435-628-3661

or 211

435-673-3548

435-634-5706

Staff Spotlights:

Kristen Clark is the newdata specialist for Child CareResource & Referral inCedar City.

Kristen was born in SanDiego, California and is still a‘sun and sand’ girl at heart.However, she also loves themountains and red rocks ofsouthern Utah. She oftensaid, Sand is sand…even ifit’s red.”

Kristen attended Southern Utah University whereshe was active in many organizations on campusincluding SUU’s Concert Choir, Engineering Cluband SUUFACS. She also had the opportunity toperform with the university’s premiere song anddance group, Acclamation. Kristen was amember of Acclamation for three years andtraveled throughout the United States, England,Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and theBahamas. She was also an ambassador for theschool and presented many speaking andperforming engagements.

Kristen graduated magna cum laude fromSouthern Utah University with a BS degree inHuman Nutrition and a minor in Music. Hercourse work also focused on early childhooddevelopment and nutrition of the infant and child.

After college, she went on to accept a positionwith Central Utah Public Health Departmentwhere she worked to coordinate the HeartDisease and Stroke Prevention Program for thesix county area. She also had the opportunity tobe a part of the Healthy Richfield Committee,teach WIC classes, speak to various communitygroups on healthy lifestyle choices, organize cityevents and work with youth through the 5-A-Dayand Gold Medal Schools Program.

Kristen also has her personal training certificateand teaches aerobics part-time at Gold’s Gym.She loves to be active and enjoys helping othersachieve their healthy lifestyle goals.

Kristen’s husband recently returned from Iraqwith the 222nd – triple deuce. She is veryexcited to be back in Cedar City with him andlooks forward to working with child care providersin the southern Utah area.

Kathy Gonzalezjoined the VolunteerCenter of Iron Countysta ff as the RSVPProgram Assistant inOctober 2006. Born inPuerto R ico , Kathymoved at age 9 with herfamily including twobrothers and a sister, toLogan, Utah where shel iv ed and a ttendedschool until she was

called to serve in the Pennsylvania, PhiladelphiaLDS Mission.

In August 2006, Kathy moved to Cedar City towork toward a Nursing degree at Southern UtahUniversity. Her goal is to someday work in ahospital, specifically in the labor and delivery unit.In her spare time, Kathy enjoys spending timewith her family, playing games and working onpuzzles. She also enjoys reading and watchingold movies.

Susan Long cameto work for the FiveCounty HEAT Officethree years ago byway of Las Vegas (toohot), Oregon (toocold), and finally tosunny St. George, aplace that is just rightf o r S u s a n , h e rhusband, J.R., andher dog, Mandy.

Susan is now the Supervisor for the HEAT Programin the five county area. She has developed a goodrapport with the workers in each of the five countiesand with the state program specialists. She is doingan excellent job monitoring the program in the fivecounties. She really enjoys the interaction with theclients she serves in the HEAT program. She feelsthat the program really does make a difference inmany people’s lives, particularly the elderly, thosewith small children, and those on fixed incomes.

Susan has made many new friends since moving toSt. George. In addition to work, she loves to read,cook, and watch old movies. She has a son living inArizona. She is a grandmother of three children, andshe actually loves her daughter-in-law.

Susan hopes to work for the HEAT program for manyyears to come. If you know of someone who mightbe interested in applying for help with energy costs,please refer them to Susan in the WashingtonCounty office or the local HEAT offices in each of thefive counties.

Tracy Garrett hasbeen with the FiveCounty Association ofG o v e rn m e n ts s inceOctober 2005 serving asthe director of theVolunteer Center of IronCounty and as programcoordinator for the threeprograms of the SeniorCorps (RSVP, Senior

Companion and Foster Grandparent Programs) inBeaver, Iron and Garfield Counties.

A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Tracy grew up in anAir Force family which provided her with lots ofopportunities to see the world before settling in CedarCity in 1992. Tracy’s interesting work historyincludes, in her young years, everything from bussingtables, selling shoes and piercing ears to typingcontracts for studding horses. In her not-so-youngeryears, she did framing, teaching and worked as acustomer assistant at craft stores and as a dentalassistant, an Air Force Munitions System Specialist,and in automotive and household paint and glasssales. Most recently she has earned her living as alab technician, engineer, and professional propsmaster all of which prepared her for her currentposition at the Volunteer Center where she must tap

her rich resource of life experiences on a daily basisto meet the needs of the people and assignments ofher job.

Tracy also enjoys having family nearby and isparticularly proud of her favorite title of ‘Aunt Tracy’to Britne, Garrett, Riley and Robbert, with whom shespends much of her spare time playing games anddoing arts and crafts!

Second Annual Dixie Transportation

Expo

The public is invited tostop in at the Expo toprovide your concerns orideas regarding the manyc u r re n t a n d fu tu r etransportation projects inthis area. If you use arearoads and highways,walk, ride a bicycle or usepub lic t ra n s it , yo u r

opinions and feedback are valued and needed.

Informative displays and updates on current, plannedand potential transportation projects will be availableto you. Representatives of the Utah Department ofTransportation; City of St. George; Dixie MetropolitanPlanning Organization; Hurricane City; Ivins City;Santa Clara City and Washington City will be on handto answer questions and gather feedback from you.

The Expo will be held in the Dixie Center (in theballroom); 1835 Convention Center Drive, St. Georgeon Tuesday, February 6, 2007 between the hours of11:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Transportation projects and information to bedisplayed include:

• Bluff Street Corridor

Study

• St. George Airport

• Southern Parkway and

I-15 Interchange

• Dixie MPO Planning

• Brigham Road

Roundabouts

• Safety / Police

Department

• Brigham Road • Snow Canyon Parkway

• Red Hills Parkway Study • SunTran

• Dixie Traffic Control

Center

• System Design and

Freight Movement

• St. George City Master

Traffic & Transportation

Study

• St. George City Capital

Projects: Mall Drive

Bridge, Valley View

Bridge, Mathis Bridge,

Signals, etc.

• I-15 Improvements

Milepost 0-10

• Bicycle and Pedestrian

Planning

• Hurricane SR9 • Hurricane 600 North

• Telegraph Street Study • Santa Clara Streetscape

• Vision Dixie

Steering Committee Meeting

Schedule:

Wednesday, February 14, 2007, 1:00 p.m.

Kane County Courthouse, Commission

Chambers

76 North Main Street; Kanab, UT

Wednesday, March 14, 2007, 1:00 p.m.

Beaver County Administration Building,

Conference Room

105 East Center; Beaver, UT

Please submit articles to Diane

Lamoreaux via e-mail

(dlamoreaux@fcaog.state.ut.us) or

in writing to: P.O. Box 1550; St.

George, Utah 84771-1550. For

other information or services,

please call (435) 673-3548 or

visit our web site at:

http/www.fcaog.state.ut.us

Five County Association of Governments1070 West 1600 South, Building BP.O. Box 1550St. George, Utah 84771-1550

Emergency Home Repair Program

The Emergency Home Repair Program is a grant

available for up to $2,500 to assist low income home

buyers with single item home repairs that pose a threat

to the health and safety of the occupants, or threaten the

long time integrity of the dwelling.

The needed repair should require immediate attention

and may include items such as a deteriorating or leaking

roof, inoperable furnace or water heater replacement,

leaky plumbing, faulty electrical, lack of sanitary facilities

or other crisis related repairs that are directly connected

to the dwelling.

The Emergency Home Repair Program is an equal

opportunity program. For additional information call

Danna Alvey at (435) 865-0195.