Former Utah congressman Bill Orton died when his ATV flipped over and crushed him on a sand dune at the Little Sahara Recreation Area in Utah.  Orton, 60, was riding alone and wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.  He was killed instantly.

Orton was a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 1997.  He ran an unsuccessful campaign for Utah governor in 2000.

The sheriff said the popular park is “a fun but dangerous place to ride.  It’s a lot of rolling hills.  He went off a sand dune without realizing how far down he was going.”

Several other riders Saturday were injured in ATV crashes and five had to be airlifted by medical helicopters to hospitals.

Story at FoxNews

This information was provided by the Land Trust Alliance:

Last Thursday, Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Rural Heritage Conservation Act, S. 812, a Senate bill to make permanent the enhanced tax deduction for conservation easement donations.

Senators Baucus and Grassley are the Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate Committee on Finance, which handles all tax legislation.  Having these leaders as champions gives this bill a big leg up from the start, but additional Senate co-sponsors are always helpful.  Click here for advice and facts you can use when asking your Senators to become co-sponsors of S. 812.

This new bill is similar to house bill H.R. 1831, which has an amazing 93 representatives as original co-sponsors.

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A Dozen Ways to Say Thank You

Thanking your elected officials when they do something right is an important step towards building a long-term relationship you can call on time and again.  If your Senators and Representatives are among the sponsors of these two important bills, please find a way to say thank you today!

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