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Show C-1 B-1 PIGMENT, PAPER PART OF ARTISTIC PROCESS STAY UP TO DATE Follow us on Twitter @parkrecord for all of the latest and breaking news in Park City and Summit County A CHAMPIONSHIP IS IN THE DEER VALLEY AIR THE WAY WE WERE, A-13 PLOT TIME TO READ ABOUT PARK CITY HISTORY COLUMNS, A-14 Park Record. AMY ROBERTS MOURNS MORE THAN A MAN IN MCCAIN The PA R K C I T Y, U TA H W W W. PA R K R E C O R D . C O M Wed/Thurs/Fri, August 29-31, 2018 Serving Summit County since 1880 Depolarize politics, a group says | Vol. 138 | No. 59 50¢ Challenge the summit The Ice Arena evacuated as a gas is released Ammonia concentration reached levels that can be fatal after compressor valves failed JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO Rev. Charles Robinson introduces panelists at a forum discussion at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in 2016. Robinson is spearheading the creation of a group dedicated to bridging the partisan divide. Liberals, conservatives encouraged to engage each other in area ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON The Park Record For more than a decade, Rev. Charles Robinson, of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, has helped lead community forums to tackle controversial topics facing the nation, such as race, immigration and sexual misconduct. As an extension of those often-difficult discussions, led by the Park City-issue group the Project for Deeper Understanding, Robinson is hoping to create a new group dedicated to bridging the partisan divide that is often brought on by those issues. He said the group, Depolarize Now!, is intended to bring people of different political ideologies together. “I think most people would agree it’s getting worse and not better,” he said. “We are getting to the point where we are building toward some kind of cultural crisis that may end up undermining our own democracy. I’m not sure how our democracy functions when half of the population won’t talk to the other half or views the other as stupid.” Depolarize Now! will function differently than the Project for Deeper Understanding, with a unique method and format leading each meeting. The model will be based on a program instituted by Better Angels, a bipartisan citizen’s movement aimed at unifying a divided nation by bringing liberals and conservatives together. It is a collaboration between St. Luke’s, the Park City Sunrise Rotary Club, the Project for Deeper Understanding, Better Angels and the Citizens of Utah. An organizing meeting for Depolarize Now! is scheduled to be held from 6:30 until 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, at St. Luke’s. Robinson said more than 70 people have shown an interest in participating. The meeting will provide an opportunity for people to determine how they want to participate. There are four roles people can hold: moderator, organizer, participant and observer. Please see Depolarize, A-2 3 sections • 36 pages Classifieds .............................. C-8 Columns ............................... A-14 Crossword .............................. C-4 Editorial................................ A-15 Events Calendar ..................... C-6 Legals ................................... C-11 Letters to the Editor ............. A-15 Restaurant Guide.................. A-12 Scene ...................................... C-1 Scoreboard ............................. B-5 Sports ..................................... B-1 Weather .................................. B-2 The postmark deadline for someone to formally request the opportunity to submit one of the arguments to the Clerk’s Office is Saturday if the request is sent via the mail. The deadline is Sept. 4 by 5 p.m. if the request is made via email. A member in the group that opposes the Treasure development proposal and supports the ballot measure did not provide detailed information on Tuesday. John Stafsholt, who is involved with the Treasure Hill Impact Neighborhood Coalition, said it was unclear who would draft and submit an argument in favor of the ballot measure. The group has been expected to be heavily involved in the drafting of an argument in support of the acquisition of Treasure. Members have closely monitored the talks about the Treasure development proposal for more than a decade, molding their arguments over time. There is not known organized opposition to the ballot measure, and there has not been an indication that a group is preparing to form for the election season. If there is not a group in opposition, there remains the possibility an individual could approach the Clerk’s Office expressing interest in drafting an argument. The supporters could be considering a statement that highlights what they anticipate would be the impacts should the ballot measure fail and A potentially fatal gas leaked at the Park City Ice Arena on Saturday, the Park City Fire District said, requiring the evacuation of the building and a response by a hazardous-materials team. Bob Zanetti, the deputy fire chief, said firefighters and the hazardous-materials team were called to the Quinn’s Junction facility at 3:30 p.m. The Park City Police Department said in an online posting valves on two compressors failed. The valve failures led to ammonia in a gaseous form to be released, the police said. The leak was contained to a mechanical room and the gaseous ammonia did not reach toward the ice rink, he said. He said the gaseous ammonia was at “dangerous levels.” The hazardous-materials team found that the gaseous ammonia reached a concentration of more than 8,000 parts per million in the air. That level of concentration can be fatal, Zanetti said. A detector designed to measure the concentration was triggered, prompting the call to the Fire District. Zanetti said 10 firefighters, primarily members of the hazardous-materials team, responded. They spent nearly four hours at the scene. Zanetti said the firefighters wore oxygen tanks and specially sealed suits designed to protect against airborne chemicals. They entered the building and opened a large garage door in the back for ventilation purposes. Firefighters shut off the ammonia valves. The ammonia is used in the refrigeration system that freezes the ice. The firefighters also used fans to help with the ventilation. The levels of gaseous ammonia dropped steadily to safe levels once the valves were closed, he said. Phil Kirk, a police captain, said approximately 10 guests at the Ice Arena and five employees were evacuated. Kirk said one of the employees was briefly exposed to the gaseous ammonia. That employee was investigating what triggered the detector when the exposure occurred, Kirk said. A medical crew evaluated and then released the employee. The evacuation lasted approximately three hours. The Police Department created a perimeter around the building to stop anyone from entering. Dave Thacker, the chief building official and fire code official at City Hall, said it took approximately 90 minutes for the level of gaseous ammonia to fall to a point that oxygen masks were no longer required. He said the faulty valves were isolated. The detection of the leak, the emergency response and the repairs transpired as designed, he said. The “operation ran as it was supposed to,” Thacker said. Please see Arguments, A-2 Please see Ice Arena, A-2 COURTESY OF DON COOK Santiago Vega-Castro rides in the National Ability Center’s Summit Challenge on Saturday. The Chile native and University of Utah student competed in the Pyeongchang Paralympic Games earlier this year for para-alpine skiing and is a member of the NAC competition team. He was among approximately 800 riders who participated in the annual NAC event. Treasure arguments needed shortly, but from whom? County clerk awaits pro, con statements about Park City’s $48 million ballot measure JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record The debate could be boisterous this fall about Park City’s ballot measure to fund most of the cost of a $64 million acquisition of the Treasure land in a conservation deal. But the sides have been quiet as important procedural deadlines near related to the vote in November. The window when supporters or opponents of the ballot measure must signal their intention to provide an argument for publication in official election information remains open. By midday Tuesday, though, nobody had formally approached the Summit County Clerk’s Office about potentially drafting one of the arguments. An official in the Clerk’s Office said on Monday an unknown man on Friday contacted the office inquiring about the process of submitting a statement. The man is in favor of the ballot measure, the Clerk’s Office said. The inquiry did not act as a formal request to provide the argument in favor of the ballot measure for publication. A group flies high after $150,000 donation Delta pilots fund helps cover a down payment for children’s facility ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON The Park Record The Community for Children’s Justice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to securing a standalone facility for the Summit County Children’s Justice Center, received a $150,000 donation over the weekend. The organization announced that the money will help cover a substantial portion of an initial down payment for a property at the Silver Summit junction. The contribution from the Delta Pilots Charitable Fund was awarded to representatives of the Community for Children’s Justice on Saturday. County Attorney Margaret Olson, along with Ted Walker, with the Division of Child and Family Services, and Tracey Tabet, an administrator within the Utah Attorney General’s Office, were also present. Harry Kirschner, vice president of the Community for Children’s Justice, said the donation is critical for supporting the Summit County community, especially the victims and families that are served through the center. “The reason that the CJC exists is to find a place for these children and families to go to begin both seeking justice and ensuring ultimately that their story is heard and the perpetrator is prosecuted,” he said. “This is a place where a family can begin their journey of healing.” Summit County’s Children’s Justice Center is part of the Utah Attorney General’s Office’s Children’s Justice program. It is one of 23 state-run facilities providing child-focused programs and operates under the auspices of the CounPlease see A group, A-2 ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON/PARK RECORD The Delta Pilots Charitable Fund contributed $150,000 over the weekend to the Community for Children’s Justice organization’s efforts to secure a standalone facility for the Summit County Children’s Justice Center. The donation will help the organization close on a property located in Silver Summit. VISITOR GUIDE The Kimball Art Center is open to the creative process The open studio on Aug. 30, is designed to help the public explore the creative process. Participants will be able to sign up for two classes. Printmaking, metalwork, portrait drawing, ceramics and welding will be offered. More: www.kimballartcenter.org. |