Editors Note: This article was originally published in the Dec. 20, 2023 issue of the Chronicle Progress. Some information may be outdated.
Area's history celebrated in 2023
Local history was a focal point in Millard County throughout the first half of 2023. Big stories recalled the area’s cherished past all year long, in fact. But a few from the beginning of 2023 st ill resonate.
Remembering James Wakasa
A painful part of Millard County’s World War II history came to a close April 22, as James Hatsuaki Wakasa was memorialized following the 80th anniversary of his death.
Wakasa was a resident of the former Topaz Internment Camp, when he was shot and killed walking his dog.
His fellow internees, outraged, erected a stone monument at the site of his death. Concerned with a possible uprising, camp officials ordered it destroyed. Instead, the architects buried it, where it remained a memory and secret in the desert until 2021, when it was discovered by archaeologists. It was later removed in 2022 in an effort to protect it from vandalism.
Its removal caused an uproar within the Japanese-American community, spurring a reaction from the Wakasa Memorial Committee, comprised of survivors and descendants of Topaz, to properly memorialize Wakasa and the monument itself.
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of his death, the Topaz Museum Board, Wakasa Memorial Committee, members of the public with various religious backgrounds gathered at the site of Wakasa’s death for a purification and memorial ceremony, including a sacred salt ceremony, prayers in English and Japanese, and a Native American ground blessing by a local Paiute spiritual leader.
“The purpose of the events were for healing,” said Scott Bassett, secretary of the Topaz Museum Board, at the time. “The ceremonies at the site and the museum were wonderful…it was a time to heal. Now, it’s a time to forget about past history and move forward.”
Van’s Dance Hall Revival
Dreams of reopening the once iconic Billy Van’s Dance Hall got one step closer to becoming true in March, when the Greater Delta Area Restoration Committee received a $70,000 grant to begin restoration.
The dance hall had sat vacant for 50 years and fell into disrepair. Earlier renovations had been done in 2008 with a new floor and previous roof repairs, which were done after four inches of water had seeped into the building.
“It’s a beautiful, wonderful piece of history that shouldn’t be let go,” said Laurie Griffiths, committee chairman of the grant. Griffiths has been part of the crusade to restore and reopen Van’s Dance Hall for over a decade.
Opened in 1926 by William Edward Van de Vanter, the hall was the social hub of the 20th century in Millard County, drawing dancers from far and wide to cut a rug underneath a disco ball of hand-cut glass and other artisan decorations. It was placed on the national historic registry in May 1995.
Other work is needed on the hall, including floor support, plastering walls, and bringing the building up to modern code. A Centennial Celebration is slated for 2026, regardless if the hall is still undergoing maintenance. The future goal is to use the hall for family or school reunions, wedding receptions, and of course— dancing.
Gunnison Bend Massacre Dedication
The efforts to memorialize the Gunnison Bend Massacre site came to finality in May.
Efforts for a new marker and site dedication began in October 2022, where the West Desert Company of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers sought donations to secure an updated monument and headstone at the site.
Jennifer Tolbert, outgoing company president, and her board were approached by the International Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in the fall of 2022, who requested the marker fixed. The original markers, placed at the site in 1926 and 1988, were both ravaged by vandalism and defacement, and were subsequently removed.
However, those plans changed; due to concerns of vandalism and bureaucratic red tape, plans had to be changed.
Instead, the marker was unveiled during a ceremony at the Great Basin Museum on the massacre’s 170th anniversary.
The massacre occurred during the Walker War, a series of skirmishes between Mormon settlers and Native American tribes.
On the evening of Oct. 25, 1853, Gunnison and his men had made camp on the bank of the river. The next morning, as they had begun to rouse for the day, that were attacked.
Eight men were killed, Gunnison included. Three escaped on horseback, but one fell into the river and hid.
Gunnison was taken to Fillmore for burial. William Potter, a guide, was taken to Manti. The remaining six men, John Bellows; W. Jacob Creuzfeld, a botanist; Richard H. Kern, an artist; and Privates Liptrott, Caulfield and Merteens were buried at the site, where they remain.
A carved, wooden now hangs above an exhibit featuring artwork and a stand-in of the newly furnished informational plaque. The plaque was handcrafted by local artisan, Jared Willoughby.
“We had thought about making a memorial marker for these men,” Tolbert said. “We looked diligently to find the privates so we could put their full information. We couldn’t find it. We want you to know they are here, they were brave, and they fought hard.”
MSD Sets Sights on Building Project
The Millard School District Board of Education unveiled plans for a $75 million bond and building plans to buttress schools in Delta and Fillmore in anticipation of a growing student body back in January.
The bond would include $41.3 million to renovate Millard High School, including replacing its current academic building with an updated, 90,000-square-foot facility filled with new classrooms and other updated spaces.
The proposal also included $5.4 million set aside for a 12,000-square-foot addition for Delta High School and two 9,000-square-foot additions to Fillmore Middle and Fillmore Elementary schools—each $4 million a piece. Funding for the projects would come from general obligation bonds, which would go before voters in November on the general election ballot.
This caused concern among citizens, namely when it came to impacts to property taxes.
The district later presented a scaled back, $50 million “Plan B” in February. The proposed option called for bonds that would cost taxpayers nothing in new property taxes.
The smaller version of the plan included renovations at Millard High and Fillmore Elementary, but would cut plans for Fillmore Middle School altogether and look at other cuts to bring the project in at close to $50 million, including soft costs.
The last time the district asked voters to support tax increases to fund new construction was in 2013. It was shot down at the ballot box, forcing the district to rely on its own savings and lease revenue bonds.
The district planned to urge voters to choose the $75 million plan versus the smaller one, simply as a cost saving measure.
The board decided to move forward with preparing a general bond obligation resolution seeking voter approval to issue at least $50 million in bonds to fund both a $35 million renovation effort at Millard High School and a smaller project at Fillmore Elementary.
Sovereign Citizen Attempts Bogus Land Grab
A sovereign citizen’s attempt to claim local lands as his own raised eyebrows last spring.
Nathan-Dewayne: Nearman© filed multiple Declarations of Homestead on 8,361 acres of Millard County property in 2022, relying on federal land patents dating back to the 1800s as “exhibits,” in an effort to prove legitimacy.
Much of that land is owned by the state’s Utah Schools and Institutional Trust Lands Administration; some is Division of Natural Resources property, with the rest in private hands.
Nearman and a coterie of supporters eventually surprised county employees when he showed up one day in December 2022 to the county recorder’s office to check on the land claims and demand title to the property.
Nearman accused officials of costing him “millions of dollars.” Sheriff’s deputies were called to keep the peace.
It isn’t the first time Nearman has tried to claim ownership to what isn’t his. One such incident occurred in Utah County in 2021, when Nearman allegedly used a group of armed men to evict a property owner. He allegedly told law enforcement “he was prepared to engage in a violent encounter” at the time.
An arrest warrant was issued for Nearman on a first-degree burglary charge; he seemingly fell off the grid, at least for a time.
In response to his homestead claims, local landowners filed suit against Nearman, petitioning the court to nullify the liens he placed against their properties. Two civil actions were filed in June, totaling $27,000 against him. One complaint also alleges Nearman knew the liens he placed were fraudulent, a violation of a statute that allows plaintiffs to seek as much as $10,000 per wrongful lien—or $90,000 total.
Judge Anthony Howell cleared the liens in July, and issued an injunction against Nearman, allowing damages and other costs to be recouped by one group of plaintiffs in future proceedings.
Court records show Nearman didn’t issue a reply in the cases.
Nearman’s life of anonymity came to an end in September after Utah County Sheriff’s deputies took him into custody. He posted a $10,000 bond to get out of jail, with a signed promise to appear at later court hearings in the burglary matter.
Tragic Accidents Reported in First Half of Year
Tragedy waits for no one—the first half of 2023 carried a few sad incidents.
The first occurred in February, after a 29-year-old Salt Lake man drowned in the Meadow Hot Pots. Christopher Lunt was pulled out of the water after being under the surface for multiple minutes. He was transported to the Fillmore Community Hospital, where attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
A witness at the scene reported he was visiting with friends, when a stranger yelled for help saying a person had been free-diving into the water.
“One of my friends dove down more than 20 feet to where the body was and pulled it up,” wrote Ryan Nord, a Brigham Young University student, wrote. “He immediately screamed to call 911. He pulled his body out of the water onto the snowy ground and a group started to do CPR while someone called for an ambulance.”
Lunt was a Southern Utah University student, and had previously gotten engaged to his fiancee, Hayley Pendleton, in December. Lunt’s death was ruled as an accidental drowning.
Two separate accidents injured 15 people in June.
The first occurred on June 22, when a Nissan Armada driven by Ramon Frausto of Las Vegas drifted off the left side of northbound I-15. Fausto’s car crossed all lanes of traffic, leaving the interstate and went through a fence.
The vehicle was carrying seven other occupants ranging in ages from 3 to 47 years old. Two occupants were taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center; the remaining were treated in Fillmore.
The second accident occurred June 26, when the driver of a Ford Explorer traveling southbound along I-15 “dozed briefly at the wheel, and drove into the rear of a semi.”
The Explorer spun 180 degrees and stopped in the middle of the roadway. The car was occupied by seven people aged 7 months to 32 years old.
All occupants were transported to Fillmore Community Hospital in stable condition. The driver of the semi was uninjured.
