Home Care In Virgin, UT

ST. GEORGE — Southern Utah welcomed a “one in a million” white bison calf to the Zion White Bison Resort and Zion Nature Park.

The female calf was born on March 31 at 7 p.m. to the resort’s 5-year-old female bison, Marshmallow, and BraveHeart, a 4-year-old white bull.

“A white bison is a rare animal that is revered and held sacred to Native American tribes,” McKell Davis, a spokeswoman for the resort, told St. George News. “If that happened, they had a ceremony; it was this very special thing.”

Davis said her online research shows the birth of a white bison happens in only “one in a million” births. The name for the calf has yet to be chosen.

When the resort initially opened in September 2021, it was called Weeping Buffalo Resort and had brown bison. But after the owner brought in a white bison and heard from local Native Americans that the white bison was sacred, he decided to bring in Marshmallow, BraveHeart and the newborn calf’s grandmother Ghost, an 8-year-old white bison.

Davis said the resort is committed to preserving and protecting the sacred animals while offering guests an unforgettable experience.

A news release issued by the resort shared its excitement about the newborn:

“The resort is eager to share this remarkable addition with its guests and promote awareness about the importance of conservation and the cultural meaning of these amazing bison.”

Access to the bison is limited to guests, Davis said, and general public viewing of the new calf has yet to be available due to ongoing construction at the resort.

Davis said guests are encouraged to appreciate the spiritual and cultural significance of the white bison while learning about their role in Native American traditions.

Currently, the Zion White Bison Resort provides a sanctuary for three white bison and two brown bison. The bison calves will be rehomed to Native American tribes when it’s time to wean the calves from their mothers.

The resort is located 14 miles away from the timeless beauty of Zion National Park and features 36 glamping units on-site that include tipis, covered wagons and cliff dwellings. The tents have modern comforts such as TVs, hot tubs and climate control. That number could increase by fall, along with an additional 150 RV sites, Davis said. Davis said future plans include a restaurant or a convenience store and also a hotel for the property.

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A rare white bison with its mother, Marshmallow, was born near Zion National Park at the Zion White Bison Resort, Virgin, Utah, unspecified date | Photo courtesy of Zion White Bison Resort, St. George News

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

Washington County residents warned to be prepared for the worst; city crews stand ready as rivers rage

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SANTA CLARA — At the bridge on Old Dixie Highway 91 that crosses the Santa Clara River, what normally looks like a gentle stream was a fast-moving torrent around 11 a.m. Wednesday as gauges nearby and closer to the Gunlock Reservoir were passing flood stage.

Update March 15, 7 p.m. New details on rising waters in Santa Clara, I-15 closed between St. George and Las Vegas, video updated, additional photos added

But five miles downstream, the river, while not its usual trickle, still seemed to be gently moving.

“Where is it?” a worker with the city of Santa Clara could be heard saying on the Clary Bridge above the river with several other workers. About seven city vehicles in total from Santa Clara, Ivins and St. George and two excavators at the ready, the city’s mayor said, prepared to remove debris that might clog up the river..

As a U.S. Geographical Survey gauge near the Winsor Dam on the Santa Clara River rose six feet in three hours as the sun rose Wednesday morning, the combination of a steady rainfall on top of snowmelt has areas near rivers and streams throughout Southern Utah either experiencing active flooding or the treat of the same.

Flash flood warnings and watches from the National Weather Service are in effect through Thursday afternoon. Santa Clara and St. George officials have stationed crews on bridges and excavators along the Santa Clara River. In Bloomington, a trail near the Man O War Road Bridge above the Virgin River was closed as fast, choppy waters flowed below.

Streets above the washes have been flooding over since Tuesday night in Enterprise, which has been seeing several days of scattered drizzle, and county officials said other areas near state Route 18 are experiencing flooding, though they are mostly uninhabited.

Late in the afternoon, the National Weather Service issued a new flash flood warning for the Bloomington area, saying that by Thursday morning the Virgin River there is expected to crest at nearly 19 feet and flood waters will threaten homes in Bloomington Park. That would be the highest at the Man O War Bridge since the river crested at 17 feet in January 2008, but is still less than the 26-foot crest recorded in the January 2005 floods.

Further downstream the Virgin River past Arizona, by 6:30 p.m., flooding was complicating the commute between St. George and Las Vegas. Past Mesquite, Interstate 15 flooded, forcing its closure at Logandale/Overton exit in both directions.

Back up in Enterprise, officials reported the Lower Enterprise Reservoir had risen a foot in about in hour around 5 p.m. to 24 feet. That’s two feet below where the reservoir could spill over and threaten the town itself.

Local officials have been worried since January that a large snowpack combined with a steady rainfall could create conditions similar to the 2005 Santa Clara flood that swept away homes and caused more than $225 million in damage.

But by noon, even while the river was raging five miles away, city workers remained on standby next to calmer waters. And Jason Bradley, emergency operations manager for Washington County, told St. George News that wasn’t an accident.

“The water kind of just blows out into open areas so it doesn’t blow into Santa Clara like it used to,” Bradley said of efforts since 2005 to lessen the blow of flood waters coming down the Santa Clara River. “We’re hopeful with all the mitigation that’s gone on throughout the last few years, we will be able to make it through this.”

Santa Clara Mayor Rick Rosenberg, in his other job leading Rosenberg Associates, has been the project manager on many of the mitigation efforts. Even as his city workers saw the river as being corralled, Rosenberg said he still had concerns that the worst was still coming.

“The flood has not reached the city yet. Maybe in an hour or two, “ Rosenberg said around 11 a.m. “Current flows are manageable but now the reservoirs are full. We will have to monitor conditions throughout the runoff period.”

Just before 2 p.m. Wednesday, the water started rising and raging below the Clary Bridge. By 6 p.m., river water filled the entire ravine. A little downstream, Lava Flow Drive and its bridge were flooded over next to Sunbrook Golf Club in St. George.

That point was underscored at the Gunlock Reservoir, where Gunlock Falls saw torrents of choppy water, and officials were closing off some areas as needed because of debris coming off the spillway.

Far down the river at Mathis Park next to Dixie Drive, St. George workers and an excavator were also at the ready.

“We do have crews ready to remove debris if it impedes flow, in particular along the Santa Clara,” St. George spokesman David Cordero said.

For residents at risk, Cordero said free sandbags can be picked up at the Reuse Center at 575 E. Brigham Road near Desert Hills High School.

The same option is available for Santa Clara and Ivins residents at the Santa Clara-Ivins Fire Station, Santa Clara-Ivins Fire Chief Andrew Parker said.

For those who live near the rivers in Washington County, Bradley said the time is now to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

“If they believe they’re at risk, they need to take proactive steps,” Bradley said of local residents near rivers and streams. “Make sure to have a place to go if you have to and consider sandbags, especially if they’ve had problems in the past.”

On the Virgin River, the weather service said Wednesday morning that it was possible that the river in the Bloomington area may reach flood stage in the next 24 hours. “Trail closed” signs could be seen next to the Man O War Bridge.

As of 2 p.m., St. George closed the Middleton Wash Trail, the Halfway Wash Trail tunnel at Royal Oaks Park and the trail from Bloomington to Sun River.

The Virgin River could also be seen flowing rapidly next to Sullivan Soccer Park in Washington City.

Wet weather has been a constant theme further north in Enterprise the last few days.

Enterprise Fire Chief Brenden Moody said the bridges on Center Street and 100 South have flooded over. However, he adds, the rest of the city is handling the water well.

“Over the washes is where it’s flooding. The city streets are handling it quickly,” Moody said. “Weather has been a constant stream the last couple of days.”

Moody said Tuesday night, a vehicle tried to cross one of the flooding wash overpasses and was swept into the wash. He added both the passengers and the vehicle itself were removed safely.

The way the county’s emergency manager puts it, a brain drain might be the only reason to be around the local rivers, streams and washes – or the Gunlock Falls area.

“Hopefully people don’t do that. It’s just not smart,” Bradley said. “ You should stay away from spillways and trails near the rivers. Our rivers are close. Things change from moment to moment so let’s cross our fingers.”

This is a developing story.

St. George News reporters Layce Lundy and Vin Cappiello contributed to this story.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — The steady downpour of rain that blanketed Southern Utah well into Wednesday night caused flooding throughout the region and left two rivers swelling to the point of running over as water levels rose higher than they have in nearly two decades.

The heavy rain also melted the snowpack, which makes up about 95% of the state’s water supply, according to the Utah Department of Natural Resources. The melting snow also sent water running downstream into the overflowing rivers that quickly reached critical levels.

The National Weather Service issued two flash flood warnings at 8 a.m. Thursday, saying conditions were expected to continue until 6 p.m. and also provided flood stage levels for the Santa Clara River at St. George and the Virgin River at Bloomington. The Santa Clara river rose to nearly 18 feet, the highest since 2005.

David Cordero, communications director for the City of St. George, said it will take some time to rebuild a few of the trails and some of the cart paths at Southgate Golf Club, including the “front 9” that is expected to remain closed for repairs until the middle of April. Sections of the multi-use trail may take a month or so to complete.

“I think we came through OK,” Cordero said. “We will have a better gauge on the timeline in the coming days and weeks,”

Virgin River

The upper Virgin River watershed encompasses nearly 1.4 million acres that stretch across Utah, and in Bloomington, the river rose to 17 feet and was moving at 10,800 cubic feet per second Thursday morning. The last time the river rose to that level was in 2008, when it rose to 17.8 feet.

The Virgin River is more than 590% above the seasonal averages, and according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s SnoFlo report, “Recent flow activity has caused river levels to skyrocket.” The spike in the need for flood removal services is expected to increase the likelihood of water damage to the surrounding area.

Runoff waters and flooding have created waterfalls in Gunlock State Park and caused road closures due to debris coming off the spillway. Those closures remained in effect Thursday.

Zion National Park

Visitor access has been impacted at Zion National Park, according to the park’s website, which states that the Narrows, as well as all routes that exit through it, are closed for the next 24 hours, or until the volume of water drops below 150 cubic feet per second.

Riverside Walk, a paved trail that starts at the Temple of Sinawava, is open.

The park advisory also states that travel has been reduced to a single lane both in and out of the park at the South Entrance to accommodate for the drainage improvement work being conducted under the roadway.

Additionally, rock falls have limited travel near the Mount Carmel Junction, which is blocked near the East Entrance, as well as to the south, near Springdale. Park officials also advise that a rockfall near Kolob Canyons Road has blocked off travel beyond the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center, and once the debris has been cleared, the roads will reopen.

St. George News has assembled photos and video, including those submitted by the Southern Utah community, of the storm and its aftermath, which can be viewed in the video at the top of this report.

St. George News reporter Chris Reed contributed to this report.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — Rain falling on deep primed snowpack in the headwaters of the Virgin River has resulted in a flood watch being issued by the National Weather Service for Washington, Iron and Kane counties.

The alert, which includes Springdale, specifically covers “flows in the Subway, the Narrows and other drainages through Zion National Park that feed into the North and East Forks of the Virgin River.”

Water levels “may increase quickly and reach critical levels within the park. Mainstem river flooding of the Virgin River is not expected,” the weather service said in a news release.

“The North Fork of the Virgin River is expected to rise above 3,000 cubic feet per second, while the East Fork of the Virgin River is expected to rise above 1,200 CFS, both of which are below mainstem river flood levels. However, flows of these levels will be dangerous to hikers and outdoor recreation within slot canyons and normally dry washes.”

The flood watch is in effect from 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday afternoon.

The Utah Department of Transportation said on its website that the storm will bring “heavy precipitation to the state.” Brian Head is listed as one area that will be impacted by “road snow accumulations,” while Cedar City and the Iron County Interstate 15 corridor could see winds of 40-50 mph.

UDOT encourages drivers to exercise caution should they encounter excessive amounts of water or flooding on the roadway, adding:

“You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible flood warnings. Those with outdoor recreation plans in Zion National Park should be prepared to take action should flooding develop or plan to avoid flood-prone routes within the park.”

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Virgin River near Bloomington is flowing between 8 and 9 feet but is expected to rise as the storm develops.

Click the links to access on-site webcams at Zion Temples and the Zion National Park South Entrance.

Official in the town near Zion National Park voted repeatedly to up their pay without properly codifying the increases.

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Virgin • Municipal officials in Virgin, a small town 15 miles west of Zion National Park, voted repeatedly to increase their pay between fiscal years 2018 and 2022 without holding a public hearing or codifying the increases by ordinance as required by state law.

Mayoral pay went up from $400 to $1,000 a month, a 150% increase, over that period. Members of the Town Council increased their monthly pay by 250%, from $100 to $350. They also more than tripled the Planning Commission chair’s pay from $85 to $325. Pay for others on the commission jumped from $65 to $255.

By Mayor Jean Krause’s reckoning, Virgin overpaid its elected and appointed officials by $78,240 during that four-year period. Krause, who became mayor last January, said the pay hikes happened during former Mayor Matt Spendlove’s watch and doesn’t know why town officials quit complying with the law.

“It’s up to the mayor and town council that’s in office to know how to do things right,” Krause said. “My educated guess is that the previous council thought they knew what they were doing.”

Spendlove did not return phone calls, but Councilman Gene Garate, who has been on the council for three years and voted to approve some of the increases, said there was nothing nefarious going on. He said the previous mayor and council thought they were complying with the law by putting the increases in the budget each year.

Garate said each time the budget came up for approval, the meeting was properly noticed and copies of the budget with the proposed pay hikes were available to the public and discussed openly. But the increases were never put in ordinance form.

“Ignorance and errors on our part did not mean malfeasance on the part of the individuals that screw[ed] up. We just didn’t know,” he said. “It’s real easy for people to jump in and say all this shady crap is going on in this town. And that’s not the case. We try to do the right thing but holy criminy, there’s so much to keep up with.”

State code requires the cities to provide notice at least seven days before a public hearing to increase salaries. If municipal officials decide to hike pay, the code requires them to enact that increase by ordinance. Virgin town officials did neither.

Councilman Paul Luwe, a former city attorney for Bozeman, Montana, discovered the problem after he took office in January and wondered why he was receiving $350 a month instead of the $100 listed in the municipal ordinance. He notified Krause that the ordinance needed to be amended to reflect town officials’ current salaries.

Luwe said the mayor agreed but asked him to hold off until after the budget for fiscal year 2023, which contained yet another proposed pay increase was approved, so the city would not be processing two amendments to the salary ordinance in a short time.

Krause said town officials intended to provide the public notice of the proposed pay hikes in July, but someone dropped the ball. Nonetheless, the salary increases went into effect in July, despite the lack of a public hearing.

Another public hearing set for August had to be continued to September, the mayor added, after another item on the agenda took up the whole meeting. On Sept. 28, the mayor and council members voted 4-1 to approve the ordinance to hike municipal pay and made the increases retroactive to July. Luwe voted against the increase.

The latest pay hikes for the fiscal year 2023 bumped up the mayor’s monthly pay from $1,000 to $1,200 and council members’ pay from $350 to $400. The planning commission chair’s pay increased from $325 to $400, and other commissioners’ salaries went from $255 to $300.

Ann Beshell, who has lived in Virgin for 20 years, said the lack of transparency is something many residents have come to expect from their elected representatives.

“I understand people need to get paid, she said. But they need to do everything according to the law. They can’t just say, ‘Let’s give ourselves a raise’ and not have to ask the townspeople about it.”

California transplant Tony Sweett, who has lived in Virgin since 2019, is more inclined to give Virgin leaders the benefit of the doubt. He said his interaction with council members Garate and Leroy Thompson has shown him they are upfront guys. “I have the utmost confidence in them,” he said.

Heath Snow, Virgin’s part-time city attorney, said he did not know until just recently about the illegal salary increases. Krause said it is unfair to pin the problem on Snow, who only weighs in on matters when asked by town leaders.

“He would never have been aware that the town had not done an ordinance for salary,” the mayor said. “[Part-time city attorneys] do not sit there with a microscope and watch every little thing the town does. That is not their job.”

At any rate, the mayor and council agree, the question remains what to do about it. Krause said a representative of the state Auditor’s Office, who contacted her after receiving a complaint about the salary irregularities, told her the council needs to decide to recoup the cost or enact an ordinance to forgive the overpayments.

Snow has advised town leaders the latter might be the better option. Luwe concurs, saying trying to force current and former city officials to repay the amount they were overpaid could cost the city more in legal expenses than the amount of money they could recover.

“You might have to proceed with a civil action to collect the money,” Luwe said. “You’re going to be suing many of your citizens. This is a small town, so suing citizens is going to have a detrimental effect on people serving [in municipal government] in the future.”

Garate doesn’t mince words about which of the two options he prefers.

“We’re a very small town; everybody knows everybody,” he said. " If you come in and start saying, ‘Well, we’re going to sue you to get the money — the $300 or $500 or whatever it was that the town paid you that wasn’t put into ordinance because we messed up.’ Holy criminy, it would rip our town apart.”

Krause and council members will meet Nov. 16 to consider their options. While the outcome of that meeting is not set in stone, the city is currently drafting a proposed ordinance that would essentially forgive the overpayments by approving the increases from fiscal years 2018 to 2022 and making that approval retroactive.

Correction, Nov. 10: This article was updated with the correct percentages of increases for the mayor and Town Council.