Utah County Issues State of Emergency As It Morphs Into a Ghost LandBy Heather Callaghan Commissioners in Garfield County have declared a state of emergency for those cities, as the increasing decline in rural students has signaled the end. Without students or the federal jobs and industry that left, the ability to keep functioning is in jeopardy. Thats only one part of the domino effect. Fox 13 News reports: Theyre constantly trying to reduce grazing, they have eliminated out timber mill, Pollock said. Look at the access to public land. Theyre constantly trying to close roads. Pollock said its an issue that has slowly grown over the past 20 years, and began with the establishment of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. At that time Escalante High School had close to 140 students enrolled in grades seven through 12 now there are only 50. The superintendent is not wanting to talk of closing the schools but is calling for economic development; for industry to return. He said, Hes right about the source of the cascade And without students, there is no justification for the school to run or salaries for faculty and staff. Apocalyptic type movies and TV shows often depict a few students gathered around a teacher in a large, abandoned school. But thats not how it works right now if they up and move away. A gargantuan portion of federal funding is based on each students attendance. There is a dollar amount in the several thousands on every one of their heads for each year, and depending on how many days they attend. This is so the schools will strictly enforce attendance, even sending brutish truancy officers out to children who have a doctors note. They are between a rock and a hard place as the local economy dries up. They blame the government for pulling out, but also are calling for the governments help to secure the economys return. Tourism just isnt enough. Thus, the declaration of emergency But they arent just calling for more money. Garfield County is not anti-government, Pollock said. The most patriotic people in the United States are right here in this county. We want what is right for the nation. We want what is right for this county. In a strange turn of events, and while looking for a solution, they discovered that more than half of Utahs coal is in the wilderness. But, almost 100 percent of the county belongs to the federal government (not to environmentalists, as they said on the news segment below). Will the government watch as they inflict more austerity and the people become more desperate, turning to nomadic lives? Is this a part of Agenda 21 in action? Commissioners demand to have more control multiple use of the land. They are in discussions with federal legislators on what to do. In the 1990s, the government and certain political talkingheads promised that free trade would create the opposite of austerity-ridden ghost towns. They promised that global competitive edge, that increased industry and production. Industry wouldnt leave it would soar! They shooed away fears of impoverishment. And now? They want Fast Track they want the TPP? More of those ill-fated agreements of the 1990s that continue to rip through the nation? The superintendent reminds me of a man who just started paying attention. Who finds himself bewildered in the Twilight Zone and at the mercy of a broken economy. Even he, in a State-funded position, cannot secure for himself the steady flow of income. He continues to swing an ax in the dark, attempting to chop toward the root. We want the traditional jobs back, Pollock said. Heather Callaghan is a natural health blogger and food freedom activist. You can see her work atNaturalBlaze.com and selfnewsPost.com. Like at Facebook. Recent posts byHeather Callaghan: 