Home Care In Beryl, UT

BERYL JUNCTION, Utah — San Pablo Mission is a mission small in size but large in spirit.

Located in Iron County, the town of Beryl Junction has an estimated population of 197, according to the 2010 U.S. census. Two years ago, the mission was comprised of just a few members, but now dozens of families attend the Sunday Masses. That is, until the coronavirus pandemic started.

Father Sebastien Sasa Nganomo Bibisayone, parochial vicar of St. George Parish in St. George, Utah, who ministers to San Pablo Mission, used to make the 100-mile round trip every Sunday for Mass. Now, however, he goes there four days a week, while continuing to follow the social distancing recommendations from the state government and the Salt Lake City Diocese, which covers the state of Utah.

On Sundays, he celebrates Mass, on Thursdays, he offers adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and twice on Fridays, he leads the Stations of the Cross. Thanks to his knowledge of social media and online communications, Sasa transmits the Mass through Facebook live and YouTube.

“I am looking to encourage the community to keep on having the Catholic Church close,” he told the Intermountain Catholic, Salt Lake City’s diocesan newspaper.

He has added a personal touch, as well, calling each family “to see how are they doing, what do they need, if anything, and to make sure they know they are not alone,” he said. “We are with them God is always with them.”

Father Sasa also has been visiting families, when needed.

“I believe that in these times, more than ever, our people need the priests, they need words of hope, they need comfort, they need support. … I, with all the precautions, visit them,” he said.

The families are afraid, but Sasa, using the Liturgy of the Hours, has prayed over the phone with them.

In these challenging times, people need to feel closer to God, he said.

“That’s why I have been also publishing online the words of the community, as well as words from Pope Francis,” said Sasa. “For me these words are key. … They can accompany the people through these challenging times.”

On his Facebook page, Sasa has been posting messages from his parishioners. Daniela M., a young catechist, is one who has shared some words. She wants all the young people and children to know that Jesus is with them.

“We need to get closer to the church. … Do not be afraid open your heart to God. He is always there with us,” she said in her message to the community.

Similarly, Luisa G. said that people need to maintain their Catholic identity.

“The word of Jesus keeps me alive. We need to share our faith with everyone, and that’s what we are doing here (at the mission),” she said. “Life keeps on going, and we need to keep our faith alive.”

Luisa, a mother, said that she is very grateful to Sasa.

“This is a very hard time. We are all scared, we keep hearing of very sad moments happening all over the U.S. and we are just asking God that this (pandemic) comes to an end soon. … We are scared to lose our jobs, about the economy … but we are not alone; we have our church,” she said.

Every Sunday, she and her children watch the Mass together.

“When I open the Facebook, my kids get really excited,” she said. “Their lives have changed. They can’t go to school, so now they are really looking forward to that moment when they can see Father Sasa. … For them, it is a distraction. They get happy when they see our priest talking through the screen.”

Her children are looking forward the moment when they can physically go back to church, she said, “but for now, we have to keep on going, we have to keep God’s word alive.”

Very few of the children at the mission have received the sacrament of confirmation, and many don’t receive the other sacraments regularly, Sasa said.

Even with the pandemic, parents need to keep their children close to the church, said Antonia Gatica, the mission’s director of religious education.

“We need to keep teaching them, we need to pray with them. … We cannot be in the church right now, but even like that we have to keep on learning of our church, even at a distance we can be together through our church,” she said.

Sasa has a similar message for all Catholics.

“Believe that God is with us, celebrate in communion with him, and keep celebrating that we are alive,” he said, and reminded people to keep present the three key words from Salt Lake City Bishop Oscar A. Solis’ pastoral plan: “Believe, celebrate and live,” he said.

Vallejo is a staff writer at the Intermountain Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

rPlus Energies, a Salt Lake City-based renewable energy developer, hosted a groundbreaking ceremony this week for the construction of the 200 MW Appaloosa I solar project in Iron County, Utah, the second largest utility solar facility in Utah to date.

The Appaloosa facility groundbreaking follows the 400 MW solar plus 200 MW storage Green River Energy Center earlier this year, and 80 MW Three Peaks Solar facility from 2016, both of which are rPlus Energies projects. It is among the largest projects in the state.

Despite a challenging year grappling with ongoing global supply chain disruption in the utility solar market, Luigi Resta, CEO of rPlus Energies, told pv magazine USA the project developer continues to execute on a 1.2 GW development portfolio against a broader 13 GW multi-year project pipeline with solar as well as energy storage, wind and pumped hydro storage assets.

For Appaloosa, the company circumnavigated supply chain and commodity market challenges by going with a new module supplier, ET Solar, utilizing ET-M772 540 watt bi-facial modules for the ground-mounted project, Resta said. The 540W modules carry a 20.9% efficiency rating and feature a mono-crystalline PERC solar cell mounted in an anodized aluminum alloy frame.

Additional components used include Sungrow utility-scale inverters, Nextracker racking hardware and Shoals Technologies wire harnessing and coupling equipment, Resta said.

For Green River Energy Center, Resta said the company has yet to select the distributor of the 200 MW battery storage systems, but said the system would use a traditional two-hour dispatch lithium-ion battery system.

Sundt Construction, Bodec and BHICO are providing electrical and general contracting services for the Appaloosa project construction, Resta said.

Portfolio diversification

To date, rPlus has developed solar, wind power, storage and pumped hydro power projects in 16 states in the Western region of the U.S. While the company has felt direct exposure to commodity and supply chain disruptions following the Covid-19 pandemic, Resta said the company has tried to mitigate exposure to the solar market by developing projects across four asset classes.

The company has also sold projects and sought project equity and debt financing from Greenbacker Capital, which is investing in Appaloosa I as well as other prior projects, among other potential investors.

Salt Lake City-based rPlus Energies was formed in 2018 and is owned by the Gardner Company, a Utah-based family office and commercial real estate developer. Prior to rPlus, Resta spent over a decade at Scatec Solar, Onyx Renewable Partners, a Blackstone Group company, and AMG Energy, in various project development management roles.

Commercial offtake flexibility

Meta, the operator of Facebook, is the Schedule 34 offtake power purchaser of power generated by Appaloosa as well as Graphite Solar, an 80 MW solar project in Carbon County, Utah. Pacificorp, a Berkshire Hathaway utility, also purchases power from Appaloosa as well as the other Utah solar facilities.

Resta explained that corporate purchasers like Meta are able to procure power from rPlus facilities in Utah under Rocky Mountain Power’s Schedule 34 green energy tariff, a utility tariff which allows the Utah utility to execute power agreements in excess of 5,000 kW on behalf of large corporate customers.

According to SEIA, Utah is the 12^th largest installer of solar projects in the U.S. with 2.73 GW installed through September 30, of which utility projects remains the majority demographic, with a 1.9 GW development pipeline over the next five years across each sub-sector. About $512 million in capital investment poured into the Beehive State in 2021.

Prior to the announced Green River Energy Center, D.E. Shaw Renewables Investments’ 230.6 MW Cove Mountain project in Beryl, Utah held the claim to largest solar PV project constructed in Utah.

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BERYL, Utah — Craig Laub’s father started growing alfalfa hay here after he came home from the Army.

“He came home after World War II,” Laub said, “come out here and developed the farm from sagebrush.”

Now the Laub family grows 10,000 tons of alfalfa a year in the southwest Utah desert.

“Basically a matter of economics,” Laub explains. “We had to have a cash crop.”

Alfalfa farmers like Luab are trying to irrigate more efficiently, but Laub’s irrigation pivots are still drizzling 900 gallons a minute onto his alfalfa.

That means his field near Beryl is receiving as much water every 2-and-a-half hours as, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates, the average family of four uses in a year.

About two-thirds of all water diverted in Utah goes to growing hay, said Gabriel Lozada, an associate professor of economics at the University of Utah. He recently wrote an analysis of hay and water in Utah.

If we were to stop growing hay today, how many more houses could we water in Utah? Lozada says residential water use could increase six times.

Yet hay farming in 2020 was less than 1% of Utah’s gross domestic product, Lozada found.

“And so the price system doesn't work for water in agriculture,” Lozada said.

That’s because farmers typically buy water rights when they purchase real estate. Unlike, say, many residential water bills, water rights holders don’t have to pay more based on consumption.

“And that generates huge inefficiencies,” Lozada said.

Mining is a much larger export for Utah. Coal and copper aren’t edible, and Lozada acknowledges: “Free market economics doesn't really take that into account.”

Hay became a cash crop in Western states because it’s durable. Alfalfa, for example, only needs to be replanted every five or six years, survives temperature extremes and doesn’t necessarily need any fertilizer or pesticides.

That doesn’t mean you just add water. Hay also requires a lot of labor and diesel fuel. Tractors and other farm implements cut it, rake it, chop it and spit it into trailers.

The Laub family hauls their chopped hay to a production facility near Beryl. The alfalfa is compressed into cubes – sort of like a hay bale the size of a saltshaker.

Some of their hay is sold to local ranchers. About a third of the Laubs’ cubes – and about a third of Utah hay overall – are sold overseas.

“We export to Japan and Taiwan, primarily,” Laub said.

Laub will brag about how efficient his farm is getting with water. At his field near Beryl, water used to shoot out of the top of his two-story tall irrigation pivots, some of the liquid evaporating before it hit the ground.

Now hoses with nozzles on their ends dangle from the pivot, drizzling water just inches from the ground. Money from the Utah Legislature has helped Laub and other farmers pay for the upgrades.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox recently released a plan to help farmers conserve more water. It calls for more irrigation and technology upgrades. It does not discuss asking farmers to pay more or dissuading hay farming.

“We're close to three-acre feet now to raise the same crop that we raised four-acre feet earlier,” Laub said.

That doesn’t mean others can drink or bath in water that Laub conserves. Utah law requires water rights holders put the water to beneficial use or risk forfeiting their rights to it.

“It’s kind of a hot topic and Utah water law right now,” said Emily Lewis, who teaches water law at the University of Utah.

She said the state’s legal community is trying to find a framework where rights holders like Laub can easily sell excess water to other users.

“There are other states who have looked at this and adopted their laws to recognize a way to incentivize,” Lewis said.

Lewis says Utah water law is complicated, but has worked well. She pointed to the spot where she recently met the FOX 13 crew – City Creek Park in Salt Lake City.

“This was the place where Brigham Young’s exploratory party first dammed up City Creek Canyon,” she said.

“This really is Water Right No. 1 here in the state of Utah.”

Lozada agrees a water-trading system would benefit farmers and cities. It would also require infrastructure investments. Laub, for example, pumps his water out of the ground beneath his own fields. Anyone else wanting the water would have to transport it.

Meanwhile, Utah grew less than 2% of U.S hay in 2020. Lozada thinks a reduction in Utah hay would have little impact on food prices.

“It's not that farmers are doing anything bad,” Lozada said. “It's that the economic environment that we've put farmers in isn't appropriate for a climate that's getting more and more arid.”

“Unless somebody comes up with something better, it’s the cash crop,” Laub said. “It's the best crop for us to raise.

“You like to drink milk. You like beef. All these things that we raise. I mean, alfalfa directly is not any use to you, but it sure adds to your diet.”

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IRON COUNTY, Utah, Dec. 5, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — Iron County officials have obtained search warrants for three locations in the investigation of the alleged kidnapping of Dinah and Hattie Coltharp.

In a news release late Tuesday, the Iron County Sheriff’s Office said an FBI forensic team is assisting in the collection of evidence in the case.

An Amber Alert was issued, and the two girls were found after an intensive search in a remote part of southern Utah.

Samuel Warren Shaffer, 34, the self-professed prophet of a so-called doomsday group known as Knights of the Crystal Blade, has been arrested and faces two felony counts of kidnapping and four felony counts of child abuse. During an interview, Shaffer said he had turned over the position of Prophet to the girls’ father, Johnathan Coltharp.

Coltharp is currently in Sanpete County Jail on charges of kidnapping and obstruction of justice.

Investigators said Dinah Coltharp, 8, and her sister, Hattie, 4, were taken from their Sanpete County home by their father in September. Their two brothers, William, 7, and Seth, 6, and their grandparents, Keith and Catherine Coltharp, traveled with them.

Authorities say their father took the children and grandparents to San Juan County, where they joined the Knights of the Crystal Blade.

Officials said they were unable to act at the time because Coltharp was married to the children’s mother, and he had parental rights. Since then, the mother divorced Coltharp and was awarded full custody of the children.

According to the latest news release, on Friday, Dec. 1, the Iron County Sheriff’s Office received court documents from Micha Coltharp regarding her four biological children.

“Micha believed her children were in the Iron County area somewhere near Beryl junction about 30 miles west of Cedar City,” the release says. That wasn’t enough information, though, for deputies to find the children.

On Sunday evening, ICSO received a tip that Keith and Catherine Coltharp were in a remote area of northern Iron County about a mile west of Lund.

Deputies went there and found the Coltharps’ vehicle “at a compound made up of shipping containers. It appeared as though people were living in the shipping containers at that time.”

On Monday, at about 11:15 a.m., a vehicle was seen leaving the compound area. Deputies made a traffic stop and made contact with Keith Coltharp.

It was determined that two of the children — Seth and William Coltharp — were at the compound with Catherine Coltharp.

The boys were taken into custody as directed in the court order, and later transported to the Cedar City area, where they were given a medical check up and then interviewed.

Investigators determined that Samuel Shaffer was last seen with Dinah and Hattie Coltharp. He also had his two biological children — Lily, 7, and Samantha, 5 — with him.

Shaffer was believed to have left the compound on foot sometime after 4 p.m. Sunday. It was reported that he spent the previous night with all four girls in a tent on or near the property, the release states.

Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft were deployed to help search the area, and an Amber Alert was issued for the two Coltharp girls.

About two hours later, someone who heard the Amber Alert called to report a man walking alone on the dirt road several miles west of the compound.

When deputies responded to the area, they found Shaffer, and he was taken into custody without incident.

Shaffer then gave law enforcement a general location of two of the girls.

Deputies went to the area and found Lily Shaffer and Hattie Coltharp inside two blue, plastic 50-gallon water barrels. Shaffer said they had been put in the barrels to conceal them from law enforcement.

“At this time it appears the children had spent approximately 24 hours inside the barrels in subfreezing temperatures. These two children were not properly dressed for the cold temperatures and did not have food or water at that time. Shaffer also made statements he had left a firearm behind on the ground next to the barrel,” the release says.

Shaffer initially refused to tell authorities where Dinah Coltharp and Samantha Shaffer were.

The Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter came on scene to help with the search. Gold Cross Ambulance and Intermountain Life Flight helicopter were also called. Approximately 20 law officers began a search for Samantha and Dinah.

After about an hour, Shaffer finally gave officers a location for the girls, and they were found in an abandoned single-wide mobile home.

The release says the girls were in poor health, dehydrated and lethargic.

All four girls were brought to the command center to be checked by medical personnel. They were then taken by ambulance to the Cedar City hospital, where emergency medical care was provided.

“The youngest child: Samantha Shaffer has since been flown by Life Flight helicopter to Primary Children’s Hospital due to her condition. Her condition is unknown at this time. The other three children have been released from the hospital,” the release states.

The investigation is ongoing.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is currently suffering from not only an extreme drought but also wildfires engulfing the state. Over 40,000 acres have burned from fires in June alone.

Utah state and local officials took extra precautions by banning fireworks in some areas and setting restrictions on campsites to prevent wildfires. Kait Webb, fire spokesperson and prevention coordinator for Utah Division of Forestry Fires and State Lands, said it is more critical this year than ever to learn fire prevention.

“When we have something like a drought, what that means is our soil moisture is incredibly dry,” Webb explained. “Those fuels are very dry as well and the lower the humidity levels in vegetation the easier it is for a wildfire to start.”

It will take very little to ignite wildfires in Utah this year.

“This year, we are observing fire activity that we tend to see in August and it is early June,” Webb said.

Eight wildfires in Utah

The Sego Fire in Grand County, Utah started from a lightning strike on June 20. So far, the fire has burned 85 acres and according to Utah Wildfire, it is 0% contained.

The #SegoFire started this afternoon on the southern end of the Book Cluffs, north end of Thompson Springs in Grand County. This lightning caused fire is burning in inaccessible terrain. Air resources are on scene. #kmyffsl pic.twitter.com/Ze6rO0ADNg

— Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) June 20, 2021

For firefighters, this fire is unique because the terrain is inaccessible.

“There are different accessibility challenges for every fire, but when we say the terrain is inaccessible it may be too steep, it may be rocked out cliffs, and there aren’t any roads to start with,” Webb said.

Webb also confirmed they are using air resources for this fire because it could be that the terrain isn’t safe.

On April 4, a red flag warning was issued for the Uintah Basin due to critical fire conditions in the area.

June 20, the Horsecorn fire, located on the reservation in a three-county area known as the Uintah Basin, was started by a lightning strike. Both air and ground resources were called to work the flames.

The Horsecorn fire has burned a total of 662 acres and is 0% contained. The fire is still extremely active and the BIA Forestry & Wildland Fire – Uintah & Ouray Agency is asking individuals to stay away so crews can work.

[Photo Credit: Mark Williams]

The Morgan Canyon Fire is unique because it was caused by a small plane crash on June 18. The fire in Tooele County is said to be 0% contained and has burned over 167 acres.

The #MorganCanyonFire is currently 167 acres and 0% contained. Yesterday, with favorable weather conditions, firefighters conducted successful firing operations along the handlines and Stansbury Trail in more favorable ground for suppression. Air attack continues to assist crews. pic.twitter.com/TsaCamdXWe

— Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) June 22, 2021

According to Utah Fire, the growth of the flames is minimal and has moderate fire behavior. The smoke from the fire traveled east into the Salt Lake and Utah Valleys, where people could see it all over.

[Photo Credit: Utah Fire Info]

The Flatt Fire, located in Beryl, Utah, has burned 14, 379 acres and is 57% contained according to Utah Fire Information. The cause of this fire was natural being a lightning strike according to Iron County Sheriff’s Office.

The fire is burning south from the starting point near 200 South Old Modena Road. Evacuation orders are in place from 2000 South Old Modena Road east to 2400 West and south to Enterprise.

An evacuation center has been opened at Enterprise High School located at 565 South 200 East.

One structure is reported to be lost.

#FlattFire 6/21/21, Acres 14,379, Contained 50% fire stayed in the current footprint despite the wind event. Containment on the north and east perimeter of the fire was achieved Some fire resources will be released to assist with other emerging fires in Utah pic.twitter.com/SLGZLNRH6W

— Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) June 21, 2021

[Photo Credit: Kane County Emergency Services]

Kane County Emergency Services reported the Deer Springs Fire, which started June 18, has burned 223 acres and is 65% contained. The fire began from a lightning strike on the land while the sage and dry brush encouraged burning.

As a result of this fire, The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service issued a statement Tuesday that there will be a full forest closure for the Kaibab National Forest beginning Wednesday Morning.

“A full forest closure means the public is prohibited from entering any part of the Kaibab National Forest at any time,” the statement said.

The forest service has already begun the vacating process for those individuals who are already camping there at this time.

[Photo Credit: Utah Wildfire Info]

Humans caused the fire burning south of Moab on June 9. The Pack Creek Fire was started by an unattended campfire, according to responding authorities.

A mix of dry vegetation and winds caused the fire to spread quickly, destroying on structure in the midst. Many other structures are threatened by the blaze. In response to the fire, all homes in the Pack Creek Community have been evacuated.

So far, the fire has burned a total of 8,952 acres and is 66% contained.

Containment on the #PackCreekFire increased as the 378 personnel have safely contained 66% of the fire with minimal acreage growth today, 8,952 total acres. Fuels reduction played a vital role in slowing the spread of this fire. To find out more visit, https://t.co/VN4rFkFIVT

— Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) June 23, 2021

The Bennion Fire, burning in steep and rugged terrain on U.S. Forest Service land, is in the Manti-La Sal National Forest. So far, the fire has burned 8,313 acres and is 80% contained according to Utah Fire authorities.

Kevin Abel with the Dixie National Forest said that structures are threatened.

The fire is being fought by ground and by air.

The Mammoth wildfire has developed approximately 10 miles east of our KICX radar and it along with its smoke plume are currently visible on its images. The fire is the green area on the left with the plume moving east into Bryce Canyon. #utwx pic.twitter.com/l8fsWhQqd3

— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) June 5, 2021

Photo credit: Utah Fire Info

As of June 22, the Bear fire, burning north of Price and Helper, Utah, has burned 12, 170 acres. The fire is said to be 93% contained and according to Utah Fire authorities, the cause is still under investigation.

Additionally, the fire is reported to be a “mop-up and patrol status” fire meaning it is almost out. “When we first fight a fire we engage in what is called ‘Fire Suppression’,” Webb explained.

“This is stopping the progression of the fire and keeping the fire to a specific area we are comfortable with,” Webb said. “We are removing fuels and building lines and once the line is established we start working the fire perimeter with water and tools to extinguish heat.”

The cause of this fire was a lightning strike and crews are still working to put it completely out.

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