DENVER—A new analysis of more than 100,000 individual comments submitted to regulations.gov finds Utah residents expressed overwhelming support for protecting Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
In April, President Trump ordered Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to begin a 120-day review of national monument designations dating back to 1996. Secretary Zinke must present a 45-day interim report on Bears Ears National Monument this coming weekend. During the 15-day public comment period on Bears Ears, more than 100,000 Americans submitted comments directly to regulations.gov. While the comment form did not require commenters to disclose their zip code or home state, a large number of commenters stated they were Utah residents.
A full-text search of those comments by the Center for Western Priorities found more than 1,200 self-identified Utahns. Of those Utah residents, 88 percent expressed support for keeping national monuments intact, while 11 percent requested President Trump shrink or rescind monuments.
“Some politicians have claimed Utah voices were ignored in the creation of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase,” said Greg Zimmerman, deputy director at the Center for Western Priorities. “Now the truth has been laid bare for President Trump and Secretary Zinke to see: by nearly a nine-to-one margin, Utah residents support their national monuments. Any attempt to erase or shrink them will be a slap in the face to Utah voters, who overwhelmingly acknowledge the value of their public lands.”
Additionally, a survey of advocacy groups that are gathering comments as part of the public comment period now finds more than one million Americans have voiced their support for national monuments across the country. Those bundled comments will be fully submitted to the Department of the Interior at the close of the 60-day public comment period, which ends on July 9.
A previous analysis by the Center for Western Priorities found that in the closing days of the Bears Ears comment period, 96 percent of individual comments submitted to regulations.gov told Secretary Zinke and President Trump to keep or expand America’s national monuments. Including the bundled comments from advocacy groups, well over 99 percent of the total comments gathered expressed support for national monuments.
Methodology: The Center for Western Priorities downloaded the text of all comments submitted to regulations.gov on and prior to the May 26, 2017 deadline for comments on Bears Ears. A full-text search was performed for 27 terms, including “Utah resident,” “resident of Utah,” “live in Utah,” and variations including “San Juan County,” “Blanding,” “Monticello,” and “Bluff.” The 1,548 matching comments were then manually analyzed to confirm a statement of Utah residence, as well as support or opposition to national monument designations. After excluding matching comments that did not clearly state Utah residence, 1,280 comments from Utahns were used in this analysis. Since the Department of the Interior did not require commenters to reveal their state of residence, it cannot be considered a complete account of Utah responses to the public comment period.
CWP deputy director Greg Zimmerman is available for interviews. To speak with an expert about parks and public lands, contact Aaron Weiss at 720-279-0019 or aaron@westernpriorities.org.
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The Center for Western Priorities is a conservation policy and advocacy organization focused on land and energy issues across the American West.
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New children’s book in planned series teaches about awareness, acceptance, inclusion
Tricia Lynn announces publication of ‘Make a New Friend’
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — One day while at the park with her son, Tricia Lynn prepared herself as a boy known for being a bully joined them. It only took a few minutes for this young boy to become annoyed and then angered by her son’s mannerisms. Lynn decided on this occasion to take a different approach. She explained to this frustrated young boy that her son has autism and his brain doesn’t work the same. It was then that she saw something she did not expect. The young boy’s irritation immediately transformed to concern. Inspired by this experience, Lynn wrote “Make a New Friend: With Autism” (published by Balboa Press). Lynn plans to continue to add to this series to include a multitude of new friends and discoveries with titles including “Make a New Friend: with Down Syndrome” and “Make a New Friend: Who is Deaf.”
In the book, a young girl named Hannah wants to play at the park. Her friends aren’t there, so her mother encourages her to talk to a boy she doesn’t know. Hannah is reluctant because he has strange mannerisms. She learns that his behavior is because of autism and that he has talents too.
“Autism awareness is growing as more people are being diagnosed with Autism at an alarming rate,” Lynn says. “This book allows us to ask the questions more of us want to, through Hannah, and get the answers about individuals with Autism.”
An excerpt from “Make a New Friend”:
Hannah saw the boy on the bench but he was not someone she knew. He looked strange. He was rocking back and forth like he was in a rocking chair. The boy was talking to himself but Hannah could not understand what he was saying.
“Mama, that kid’s weird,” Hannah whispered.
“He’s not weird, Hannah. He’s different. We’re all different.”
Hannah looked at the boy more closely. Yep, he was weird alright!
“Make a New Friend”
By Tricia Lynn
Softcover | 8.5 x 8.5 in | 44 pages | ISBN 9781504379557
E-Book | 44 pages | ISBN 9781504379564
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Tricia Lynn lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. She enjoys hiking, traveling and camping. As a mother of two children with special needs, Lynn has come to cherish the life lessons of wisdom and love this experience has provided. Now her passion is to share these lessons with the world. “Make a New Friend” is her first published book.
Balboa Press, a division of Hay House, Inc. – a leading provider in publishing products that specialize in self-help and the mind, body, and spirit genres. Through an alliance with indie book publishing leader Author Solutions, LLC, authors benefit from the leadership of Hay House Publishing and the speed-to-market advantages of the self-publishing model. For more information, visit balboapress.com. To start publishing your book with Balboa Press, call 877-407-4847 today. For the latest, follow @balboapress on Twitter.
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MAID-RITE SPECIALTY FOODS, LLC. RECALLS BEEF PRODUCTS
DUE TO MISBRANDING AND UNDECLARED ALLERGENS
WASHINGTON, June 8, 2017 – Maid-Rite Specialty Foods, LLC., a Dunmore, Penn. establishment, is recalling approximately 174,000 pounds of various beef products due to misbranding and undeclared allergens, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The products contain milk, a known allergen, which is not declared on the products labels.
The raw and ready-to-eat beef items were produced between March 13, 2017 and May 26, 2017. The following products are subject to recall:
The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 77” or “EST. 118” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to institutional locations throughout the United States and Canada.
The problem was discovered on June 6, 2017, when Maid-Rite Specialty Foods, LLC. received notification from one of their ingredient supplier that the bread crumbs the company received and used in the recalled products potentially contained undeclared milk.
There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.
Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.
FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify theircustomers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls.
Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Kurt Sorensen or Deb Weber, Managers FSQA, at (570) 343-4748. Media with questions about the recall can contact Michael Bernstein, Vice President, at (570) 343-4748.
Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov or via smartphone at m.askkaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day. The online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/reportproblem.
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MAID-RITE SPECIALTY FOODS, LLC. RECALLS BEEF PRODUCTS
DUE TO MISBRANDING AND UNDECLARED ALLERGENS
WASHINGTON, June 8, 2017 – Maid-Rite Specialty Foods, LLC., a Dunmore, Penn. establishment, is recalling approximately 174,000 pounds of various beef products due to misbranding and undeclared allergens, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The products contain milk, a known allergen, which is not declared on the products labels.
The raw and ready-to-eat beef items were produced between March 13, 2017 and May 26, 2017. The following products are subject to recall:
The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 77” or “EST. 118” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to institutional locations throughout the United States and Canada.
The problem was discovered on June 6, 2017, when Maid-Rite Specialty Foods, LLC. received notification from one of their ingredient supplier that the bread crumbs the company received and used in the recalled products potentially contained undeclared milk.
There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.
Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.
FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify theircustomers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls.
Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Kurt Sorensen or Deb Weber, Managers FSQA, at (570) 343-4748. Media with questions about the recall can contact Michael Bernstein, Vice President, at (570) 343-4748.
Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov or via smartphone at m.askkaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day. The online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/reportproblem.
Local students graduate from Oregon State University
Media Contact: Oregon State University News Office, 541-737-4611, Oregonstateuniversitynews@oregonstate.edu
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University will hold its 148th commencement on Saturday, June 17, at Reser Stadium on the Corvallis campus.
The commencement speaker is Hüsnü M. Özyeğin, who headed to Oregon State University in 1963 with only $100 in his pocket and graduated to become a highly successful business leader and philanthropist in Turkey and throughout Europe.
OSU is one of the few large universities in the nation to hand out students’ actual diplomas during the commencement ceremony.
Commencement is free and open to the public; no tickets are necessary. More information about OSU’s graduation is available online at: http://commencement.oregonstate.edu/.
Local students graduating this June from Oregon State include:
UTAH
Alpine: Eric W. Anderson, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science.
Draper: Adam de Jong, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science.
Escalante: Josephine Muse, Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude, Natural Resources.
Kaysville: Jessica L. Anderson, Master of Arts, Applied Anthropology.
Layton: John R. McClung II, Master of Science, Wildlife Science.
Ogden: Matthew N. Gillins, Master of Science, Civil Engineering.
Park City: Allison L. Bebbling, Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing.
Pleasant Grove: Matthew K. Palmer, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science.
Provo: Richard W. Bradshaw, Doctor of Philosophy, Geology; Samuel S. Goodrich, Doctor of Philosophy, Nuclear Engineering; Nicole A. Quist, Master of Science, Physics.
Salina: Dru V. Crane, Bachelor of Science, Natural Resources.
Salt Lake City: Jessie E. Eiting, Master of Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences; Ian M. Hultquist, Bachelor of Science, Environmental Sciences; Jacqueline K. Kobayashi, Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude, Exercise and Sport Science; Shane M. McKee, Master of Engineering, Computer Science; Jon M. Patterson, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science.
Sandy: Suvadee T. Ercilla, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science; Roarke A. Jennings, Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude, Tourism and Outdoor Leadership, Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude, Sustainability; Kelsey E. Pizac, Bachelor of Science, Animal Sciences.
South Jordan: Andrew D. Bashford, Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing.
Spring City: Kalli J. Tabolt, Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude, Agricultural Sciences.
Vernal: Caitlin B. McRae, Master of Public Policy, Public Policy.
West Jordan: Benjamin M. Tullis, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science.
