Dixie residents crowd public hearing on Strake

ST. GEORGE — The first of two public hearings in Utah on the federal government's proposal to conduct a massive non-nuclear explosion at the Nevada Test Range drew jeers, boos and even a little heckling from a large crowd on Thursday.

The hearing, requested by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and hosted by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, ran for three hours on the campus of Dixie State College. Dianne Nielson, executive director of the department, conducted the meeting and a court reporter recorded all public comment.

Those who wished to speak at the meeting signed up and took turns standing at an open mike set up inside the Dunford Auditorium. More than 250 people gathered for the hearing with at least 60 people signing their names to the public comment sheet.

In an earlier press release, Huntsman said he would include a copy of the transcript of the hearing in his comment letter to the National Nuclear Security Administration's Nevada Test Site Office opposing the Divine Strake experiment.

Many of those in the audience, however, did not seem to realize that Huntsman had already indicated he was opposed to the test.

"I did not vote for you, Governor Huntsman," one woman said, addressing her remarks to Nielson. "If this experiment happens, I will tell people not to move here because you (those moving in) will die."

A young man who said he was 18 years old said area teenagers are at the highest risk if Divine Strake is conducted.

"The people making this decision are not even being affected by it," he said. "Somebody from this community should be in on the deciding factor. There are people growing up here that are terrified of this. That's not democracy. We should not fear our own government."

One man who spoke in favor of the test, 66-year-old Carl Palmer, said he knew he was walking into the lion's den when he decided to speak up during the public hearing.

"I really felt what it was like to be in a lynch mob from the outset," the Cedar City native said, following his remarks to the crowd, all of which drew loud derogatory comments from several people in the audience. At one point, another man in the audience stood up and shouted at those who were booing Palmer to "show this man some respect!"

Palmer defended the government, thanked the scientists and other specialists working on defense-related matters, and said he was concerned about what he was hearing at the meeting.

"This thing has grown so far out of proportion, it's taken on a life of its own," Palmer said, prompting another round of heckling. "Iran is going underground to develop nuclear technology and I am for this test. I believe in the government."