A lot of new people have moved to Sanpete County lately - some for employment at the new state prison in Gunnison or at recently established small businesses.
And some, retirees mainly, want the peace and quiet of the county's small towns and have been buying sometimes long-vacant homes.Shirrel R. Young is an exception. He wants Sanpete County to annex him.
Young, the only remaining resident of Thistle, the railroad town devastated by flooding in the early 1980s, has submitted a petition for annexation to the Sanpete County Commission.
The commission has asked County Attorney Ross Blackham to study the legal ramifications of the case before it takes any form of action.
Young's petition asks Sanpete to annex 110 acres that includes his homesite and some hilly ground that are now a part of Utah County. He claims he wants to build a resort at the location and catch some of the tourist traffic that passes along U.S. 89 to the southern Utah parks.
The Utah County Commission, he says, has been giving him the run-around.
"Mr. Young is apparently mad at Utah County," says Kristine Christiansen, Sanpete County recorder. "In one way, it's a trivial affair," she adds, "but it could create problems."
That's because Young also has submitted a petition to the Utah County asking that the annexation of the 110 acres to Sanpete County be approved.
If both petitions meet the legal requirements then the issue will have to go on the November ballot in both counties, Christiansen says.
In that case she may have to issue a voter-information packet that would, among other things, list the pros and cons for annexation.
That could be time-consuming and a little expensive, according to Christiansen.
Beyond studying the legal aspects, what is Sanpete going to do about it? "Let Utah County take the lead," she says. "It's their baby."