ST. GEORGE - Responding to angry Utahns who want to make their opinions known regarding the proposed Divine Strake test at the Nevada Test Site, St. George will play host Thursday night to one of two public hearings arranged by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

The hearings will be conducted by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and allow residents to make public comments about the detonation of 700 tons of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil at the NTS.

"The reason we are holding the meetings is that the governor feels that there needed to be more of a public process," communications coordinator Lisa Roskelly said. "The public will be able to provide comment for this important issue."

Comments will be recorded by a court recorder and a transcript of the hearings will be included with the governor's letter to the National Nuclear Security Administration/Nevada Site Office opposing the test.

Last week, the NNSA and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency held public forums on the Draft December 2006 revised Environmental Assessment for the Large-Scale Open-Air Explosive Detonation Divine Strake at the Nevada Test Site.

Referred to by some individuals and environmental groups such as HEAL Utah as a "dog and pony show," the open house forum did not allow public comment, accepting only written comment about the environmental assessment.

The Divine Strake test, while non-nuclear, is expected to create a large cloud of dust, possibly rising 10,000 feet into the air. The site of the proposed test at the Nevada Test Site is only a mile from where nuclear testing was conducted beginning in the 1950s.

Residents downwind from the test site, exposed to radioactive fallout during the nuclear testing years, are not only concerned about new fallout from radioactive dust that may be raised by the test, but also what the test may lead up to.

The possibility of more testing and the potential for testing to go nuclear has many people in the state up in arms.

St. George resident Lois Iverson said she plans to attend the public hearing Thursday.

Iverson, a lifelong resident of Southern Utah, lost two sons and her husband to downwind-related illnesses. Her daughter has thyroid problems.

Born and raised in Toquerville, Iverson lived in Cedar City during the testing years.

"My daughter and I both wrote to the Department of Energy," Iverson said. "I also plan on being at the meeting Thursday to say my piece if I get a chance."

Iverson's son Paul died on May 8, 2003. Three weeks later, Iverson lost her husband Rudy.

While Iverson has a distrust of the government, which she said continuously told residents of Southern Utah that the nuclear testing was safe, her son Paul worked in several capacities for the state of Nevada. He was the administrator of the Division of Conservation and Planning for the Nevada Department of Energy, then appointed Deputy Directory of the Department of Minerals.

Iverson was the Director of the Nevada Department of Agriculture when he passed away.

Patricia Lee, a resident of St. George, believes the Divine Strake issue is the first step to nuclear escalation and has talked to many people in the area who are upset and concerned about the proposed test.

Lee grew up in the Salt Lake area and although she has not experienced any health problems from being a Downwinder, she has friends who have health problems or lost family members to Downwinder illnesses.

Lee said she has great concerns about the test - partly for what it may lead to - and says the loss of a human life is not acceptable.

"I am hoping that at least as many people who went to the meeting last week will attend the meeting Thursday," Lee said. "I have a lot of hope that we can make a difference if we stand together strongly as a community and it's time to do that."

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