During a GOP meeting Thursday, representatives from Jon Huntsman's gubernatorial campaign, Ellis Ivory's Salt Lake County mayoral campaign and Bob Bennett's senatorial campaign criticized the repugnant tone of NRCC ads and fliers on behalf of congressional candidate John Swallow.

The message from the NRCC: We're going to keep doing what we are doing and there is nothing you can do about it.

Not only did state GOP chairman Joe Cannon do something about it by revoking his permission for the NRCC to use the Utah Republican Party mail permit, he informed Republican operatives imported by the NRCC from California to walk door-to-door on behalf of Swallow that their expenses would not be reimbursed by the state party.

Utah Republican Party officials have been swamped by complaints from callers incensed at some of the campaign fliers, including ones that criticized Democratic Congressman Jim Matheson for supporting an immigrant-friendly bill that actually was sponsored by Republicans Chris Cannon and Orrin Hatch, and for supporting a national prescription drug bill that was endorsed and pushed through Congress by the Bush administration.

When the complaints were forwarded to the NRCC, officials there falsely denied responsibility for the fliers, said Cannon.

What comes around . . . Two years ago, several Republican Party officials were stripped of party jobs by Salt Lake County GOP leaders for endorsing Democratic County Council member Randy Horiuchi in his race against Republican Bruce Reading. The officials eventually were reinstated and the leaders who punished them replaced.

Now, Reading is feeling the heat for his publicized support this week of Democratic Salt Lake County mayoral candidate Peter Corroon. E-mails circulating throughout the party suggest Reading be kicked off its Resources Committee. Reading claimed innocence Tuesday, saying Corroon put his name in an endorsement ad without his permission.

Learning by example? The students at Ensign Elementary, who have been taught conservation and responsibility, were troubled Monday morning while noticing sprinklers running at the Salt Lake City-run 11th Avenue Park for an hour during a rainstorm.

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Paul Rolly and JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells welcome e-mail at rolly_wells@sltrib.com.