Burning hinders library's progress
 
Tiffany De Masters
tdemasters@thespectrum.com
The Spectrum
 
ST. GEORGE - Efforts to start a library in Colorado City, were hampered Saturday when thousands of books were burned.

President of the HOPE Organization Elaine Tyler has been part of the process of collecting books to start the library, with collection getting under way in 2007.

"I'm just sick over what's happened to our books," she said. "Thousands of dollars worth of books just gone up in smoke."

HOPE is a nonprofit organization that helps polygamous individuals or families safely integrate into mainstream society.

Stefanie Colgrove, of Centennial Park, Ariz., had the vision to start the library. With grandparents who were educators, she started the library with her family's personal collection.

"It's (putting together the library) been a long road already and now we hit a big old bump," she said.

The books were being stored in an old schoolhouse that hadn't been used for several years. Bruce Wisan, special fiduciary of United Effort Plan Trust, said he gave Colgrove an occupancy agreement to use the schoolhouse as a library.

Before the books were burned, U.S. Judge Dee Benson and 3rd District Judge Denise Lindberg were in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals because of conflicting orders regarding the UEP Trust and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Wisan said Benson ordered him to turn everything over to the FLDS Church, while Lindberg has ordered him not to hand over control of the UEP Trust.

"I'm still under Judge Lindberg's orders and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals," Wisan said.

UEP Trust was handed over to the state, Tyler said, because of alleged embezzlement and other issues within the church in 2005.

The schoolhouse, Wisan said, is UEP property.

"They (suspects) chose to enter the building illegally and empty it," he said. "The local police said it's a civil matter, they're not going to get into it."

Books believed to be part of the future library were also donated to Deseret Industries in Cedar City over the weekend.

Store Manager Chad Campbell said a group of young men brought books in nice boxes. It appeared the men were from the polygamist community because of their dress.

Books were put onto 10 different pallets about four feet high.

After hearing news of the book burning in Colorado City, Campbell said, he got a hold of law enforcement.

"Not very often do we get a large quantity of books donated," he said. "They (young men) said the books came from a library that was closing down - we took it in stride."

The books burned, Colgrove said, were part of her grandmother's collection - medical journals and memoirs.

"Family personal history went up in flames," she said. "Who in their right minds burns books in America might I ask."

This incident, however, will not stop Colgrove and others involved in starting a library.

"We need to establish a common ground, and establish the right of freedom of speech, and freedom to think for oneself and have a little more respect for each other," she said. "They picked the wrong person to strong-arm. There will be a library."

Mohave County Sheriff's Office is investigating the book burning incident. Calls made to the public information officer were not returned.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published April 21, 2011
 
Back