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Independence Day In Colorado City


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A few members of my husband's family attended this celebration. Always glad to see progress. Little things like this are not usually picked up by anything but the local media.

here is a link to the local online newspaper and a video.

http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2016/07/03/ccj-an-evolving-short-creek-celebrates-freedom/#.V3li9jh_waI

 

(unrelated note, I'm not sure when you look at the article if you see the same sponsors, my sponsor is Dr. Empey. he is my mom's dr and his son was badly hurt in the Brusells attacks. I have been totally impressed with how he has countined to care for his elderly patients that need him in our rural area while his son is recovering in another city)

 

 

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This is really quite a touching article.

"Everyone is welcome, without exception."  The FLDS police death grip on this community has been released. 

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My heart goes out to your mom's doctor, and his son. We know the feeling here in Orlando.

So, how does this work? Was this done entirely without government oversight? I'm impressed that the communities are pulling away!

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26 minutes ago, FundieFarmer said:

My heart goes out to your mom's doctor, and his son. We know the feeling here in Orlando.

So, how does this work? Was this done entirely without government oversight? I'm impressed that the communities are pulling away!

There are people(non FLDS) that live on the outskirts of the core of Colorado city and this group has been growing for years. Southern Utah became unaffordable or offers very small plots of land so about 10 years ago more families starting moving out that way. In Southern Utah you get .20 acre lot of 100k and 30 minutes away in near Colorado city you can get 5 acres for 10k. My husband has 2 brothers that have property out there. One brother has a small second home with 50 acres. He works In southern Utah but didn't want to raise his family with no yard and likes riding his atv's and being outside. My husband other brother moved to Colorado city and teaches there. His kids were raised and he liked the low cost of living and having a job where he could help. The outsiders (and anyone else who wanted to join them from Colorado city) have had an old schoolhouse where they have lots of great things for kids and families to do with little cost and they have weekly meetings. The once powerful FLDS is losing its grip and between the outsiders that have moved to the area and the FLDS that left (but still live there because it is where their home is) , there are enough people to start up these events. There was a concert there recently, with dancing:) and the family dollar and subway opened up and more business are coming in. The hope is since there is a college Mohave valley college in Colorado city, they can turn the city into a small college town and get more jobs and businesses in.

 

I do like to post positive things here because I am 100% positive some Colorado city and Centential park residents read here and I know one person from a family we have discussed here is a quiet member. While I do not like some things that go on out there, it is not all bad and some people are really trying hard to have a good honest life.

 

 

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22 hours ago, silverspoons said:

The hope is since there is a college Mohave valley college in Colorado city, they can turn the city into a small college town and get more jobs and businesses in.

This is fascinating.  I think this area has a much larger population than I had thought.  The college (link here) is so important because many people can aspire to acquire employable skills in their various programs and then continue to live close to home with a good skill or trade.  I'm also guessing that the high real estate prices on the Utah side are related to St. George, which has turned into a mecca for some retirees. 

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46 minutes ago, Howl said:

This is fascinating.  I think this area has a much larger population than I had thought.  The college (link here) is so important because many people can aspire to acquire employable skills in their various programs and then continue to live close to home with a good skill or trade.  I'm also guessing that the high real estate prices on the Utah side are related to St. George, which has turned into a mecca for some retirees. 

The healthcare programs at Mohave college have been popular with Utah residents for years. I know plenty of women 15-20 years ago carpooled to Colorado city from St George to become nurses. The cost is a lot cheaper and they have more slots then the Utah programs (that have 5 year wait lists).  Compared to Dixie State (St George) Mohave has more practical courses and certificates. I have degrees multiple degrees but in Southern Utah most degrees do very little. I was very tempted to take the Mohave Valley divorce mediation certificate program. Utah requires mediation in many divorce cases now yet there is no school in Utah outside of the SLC valley to get certified. The cost was $350 for a 1 year course and a certificate that could easily earn someone $75k. I just couldn't do the drive with my other commitments at that time in my life.

 

The big change will happen if they build mutli-unit housing. There are plenty of polygamist owned construction companies in Colorado city, it is just getting the plans approved for apartments and strip malls. St George was just rated the 2nd worse place to live for wages (with cost of living factored). This is because St George area has a whole 4 small apartment complexes(excluding income restricted units , senior only units or limited college housing) for over 100k people. There are 10k college students in St George and less then 400 dorm or student housing rooms. Rents are crazy, if you are lucky to find a one bedroom you are looking at $800+ a month and a 3 bedroom house (in a safe neighborhood) are $1600-2000. Add in the majority of the jobs are low wage jobs like retail, fast food, or low wage jobs in healthcare like CNA/MA for nursing homes and assisted living. The city of ST George refuse to build apartment complexes. Instead you find 5-10 young people sharing a $2000 a month house with neighbors complaining about the cars or 3 single parents sharing a house.

The hope is Colorado city will do what Cedar city did. Cedar City wasn't even on the radar 15 years ago and now SUU is the school to go to. Cedar got the college housing, built up the school. is affordable, offered discounts to CA students for a few years and now SUU and USU (Logan , another small town that is a booming college city now) are where students are going instead of BYU or UofU. There were only 2 kids out of over 500 going to BYU (it used to be about 25% of the class!). The graduations I went to had maybe 15 kids each going to Mohave, all for the healthcare programs. The biggest parents say is housing in Colorado City but the low cost and good programs had Mohave on their short list.

St George housing prices are high because of retires or CA transplants but there is another reason. Property Taxes and electricity are CHEAP. So you can buy more house. I lived in a small village in upstate NY and loved my house, My house payment for my house was $650, my taxes were $500, and my yearly average for utilities was $550/month, so $1700 a month. Here my house payment was $1500, taxes $80, utilities $100, so $1680. So I paid the same amount to live, but my NY house was worth 100k and my Utah house 300k. They will never raise taxes much, the school district is the 5th lowest large district in the nation in funding and people refuse to raise taxes to get even basic needs for schools. I am watching for what will happen if the electricity ever changes. St George (Dixie Power) has the second lowest electricity cost in the nation at .02kwh. You would think it is solar? no solar is banned in most of  St George even though we have 350 days of sun. The electricity is from a co-op (which the government has being trying to get rid of ) and it is from a coal fired plant (which they are trying to shut down). If I was not in this co-op My monthly electricity (almost no one uses any natural gas) would be well over $1000 this month but with the co-op it was $85 and I ran my A/C non stop since it has been over 100 everyday. The city would crumble into foreclosure land on the south and east sides where the LDS familes live if the co-op goes away. It was interesting watching residents here glued to the whole political coal debate , when the news focused on WV, PA area but Southern Utah was just as interested in any changes. At our latest meeting less then 5% of people said they would be able to afford their home if the co-op went away, that would mean about 60k people unable to afford to live in St George. Colorado City and other surrounding areas could really boom if the co-op disappears.

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Every little bit of progress is such a good thing in those towns. It makes me happy to see fear smashed with love and acceptance. Hopefully, with Lyle on the run, more people will break away. I think the spell is broken and it's just a matter of unlearning it for those still in.

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A bit OT, but still related:

My best friend's family semi-retired to Kingman, Arizona, which I know is where a lot of FLDS go for medical care and such that they can't find in their own community or small towns.

But, my childhood best friend's mom is still doing some work as a doctor, and is also originally from a patriarchal country with polygamy (the family are progressive, though devout, Muslims).

I so wish I could pick her brain about what she thinks and feels about the FLDS she likely sees in the practice, not to mention all those poor kids with genetic diseases due to inbreeding. That's something I've wondered in general- what do secular workers, esp. those like doctors, teachers, and court personnel, think of the FLDS and the changes now being made?

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1 hour ago, lawlifelgbt said:

A bit OT, but still related:

My best friend's family semi-retired to Kingman, Arizona, which I know is where a lot of FLDS go for medical care and such that they can't find in their own community or small towns.

But, my childhood best friend's mom is still doing some work as a doctor, and is also originally from a patriarchal country with polygamy (the family are progressive, though devout, Muslims).

I so wish I could pick her brain about what she thinks and feels about the FLDS she likely sees in the practice, not to mention all those poor kids with genetic diseases due to inbreeding. That's something I've wondered in general- what do secular workers, esp. those like doctors, teachers, and court personnel, think of the FLDS and the changes now being made?

Polygamist at the hospitals and clinics in St George is so common it is not a big deal for employees or other patients. You have to remember plenty of polygamist work in healthcare. They do everything from covering lots of the bad CNA shifts at hospitals and nursing homes, to many of the RN/LPN in hospitals and clinics, they work in billing and admitting, and some are doctors. My husband's cousin grew up polygamist in Colorado City and he went to Harvard and is a doctor.

With the genetic issues, it is frustrating. I have a child with a disability and access to specialist is limited in Southern Utah. They fly down here every 6-8 weeks. It is very hard for me to see 6-8 or more kids with the same issue waiting in front of me. I had one child with a disability and I waited almost 5 years and saw all sorts of specialists in deciding if I should have just 1 more. The medical community IMO judges the LDS community more then the FLDS community on  having mutilple kids with genetic issues and welfare fraud. I think the feeling is the FLDS women have less education, more pressure on them and fewer options then the LDS women that have baby after baby with the same medical issue. Plus I do agree the LDS welfare fraud bothers me more the FLDS welfare fraud. While I dislike all welfare fraud, seeing LDS women living in 500k homes with new SUV's, designer handbags and clothes use Medicaid bothers me more then a FLDS mom with 12 kids living in a trailer or half built home using Medicaid. I also see less FLDS at these pediatric clinics because the hard core FLDS with more of the inbreeding left for TX, Canada, ND, or Mexico.

As for teachers, my husband's brother teaches in Colorado City at the public school. It is has a different set of challenges. It is more about catching kids up , self esteem, and introducing them to society . My BIL used to teach at a school that had bullying and gang issues so he enjoys actually teaching and helping kids learn now. Some families are moving into Hurricane and St George and attending public school here. There are more resources for catching up and more sports and social oppurtunites. I would never know the kids were polygamist except for the last names. The moms still dress traditional and I asked a few of them and they said after 50 years they can't make the change in dress. they have no issues with their kids dressing "normal" but they just can't. I know the teachers and staff at my kids school are super proud of the polygamist kids that come here as teens and cram years of learning and catch up into 1-3 years and graduate high school. They want to give them awards and praise them but the kids don't want to be singled out. By coming to high school in Utah and getting good grades they get free college and I think that is reward enough to them.

In my 20 years of living back and forth in various places in Utah, the Kingston's are who scared me the most when it came to a medical situation. I wont say more about the specifics but the Kingston's make the FLDS look like angels.

There is someone else on FJ that also has some great insights on this subject so hopefully they will chime in.

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Silver spoons.....Am I right in thinking that you are saying that in-migration will eventually dilute the strong fundie FLDS in this area?

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@silverspoons, these are incredible, insightful and informative posts.  Please share anything else you think we'd be interested in knowing. 

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