Category: News

Bluff Town Council Briefs – Jan. 22, 2019

Tuesday's council meeting kicked off with a discussion of a potential Community Development Block Grant to help pay for a city water engineering plan. There are complications associated with the town's recent incorporation and the ownership of water rights. Mayor Ann Leppanen suggested shooting for a June 2019 deadline for transferring water rights to the … Continue reading Bluff Town Council Briefs – Jan. 22, 2019

Challenge to Commissioner Willie Grayeyes’ Residency Status Heard in 7th District Court

By Zak Podmore Just weeks after Willie Grayeyes was seated to his new post as San Juan County commissioner, a challenge to his candidacy was heard in Seventh District Court in Monticello. The challenge was brought by Blanding resident Kelly Laws, Grayeyes' Republican opponent in District 2 who lost the November commission election by a nine-point … Continue reading Challenge to Commissioner Willie Grayeyes’ Residency Status Heard in 7th District Court

Republican candidate files petition to remove County Commissioner Willie Grayeyes from office

Complaint before Utah court alleges Grayeyes is not a county resident The first majority-Navajo commission in the history of San Juan County is facing a legal challenge before it's even seated. On Wednesday evening, Kelly Laws -- the Republican county commission candidate who lost to Democrat Willie Grayeyes in the November election by a nine-point … Continue reading Republican candidate files petition to remove County Commissioner Willie Grayeyes from office

Community Rebuilds Completes First Straw Bale Home in Bluff

In March, Malyssa Egge sat down for her first meeting with Community Rebuilds, a Moab-based affordable housing nonprofit that was hoping to expand to Bluff. Nine months later, on December 21, she greeted over a hundred people outside her brand new straw bale home to celebrate its completion. “It’s magical in a way,” said Egge, … Continue reading Community Rebuilds Completes First Straw Bale Home in Bluff

Editorial: A Timeline of the Bluff Dwellings Community Reinvestment Area

Note: Following the publication of an article on Community Reinvestment Areas in December, I received several follow-up emails asking for clarification on the mechanics of the program. I hope this article provides a more complete summary of the situation. More background on the Bluff Dwellings CRA can be found here. It's been over a year … Continue reading Editorial: A Timeline of the Bluff Dwellings Community Reinvestment Area

Artist Joe Pachak puts finishing touches on his seventh-annual winter solstice sculpture

(Crossposted in the San Juan Record) Since October, artist Joe Pachak has been constructing a 25-foot tall coyote sculpture in the center of Bluff. The body is made of cottonwood, willow, and tamarisk and it’s covered with a “fur” of native grasses. All are local natural materials – “found objects” as Pachak calls them – … Continue reading Artist Joe Pachak puts finishing touches on his seventh-annual winter solstice sculpture

School Board Not Ready to Make a Decision on CRAs

By Zak Podmore (Crossposted in the San Juan Record) The developers in San Juan County who are hoping to partner with the San Juan School District on two hotel construction projects will have to continue to wait on a decision from the school board. At the December 4 meeting, board members suggested they didn’t have … Continue reading School Board Not Ready to Make a Decision on CRAs

Bluff hosts public hearing on Lyman Family Farms’ request to disconnect from town

By Zak Podmore (Crossposted in the San Juan Record) Only a few months have passed since Bluff’s first town council was sworn into office and already the boundaries of the newly incorporated town may be redrawn. On Oct. 24, Lyman Family Farms Inc., a privately-owned company with real estate holdings across Utah, requested that 391 … Continue reading Bluff hosts public hearing on Lyman Family Farms’ request to disconnect from town