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Show Page The Ogden Valley news Volume XVII Issue XXIII May 15, 010 The Ogden Valley news Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 801-745- 688 Fax: 801-745-006 Cell: 801-791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@digis.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 801-745- 879 Fax: 801-745- 879 E-Mail: crwendell@digis.net crwendell@msn.com Opinions expressed by advertisers, columnists or letters to the editor are not necessarily the opinions of the owners and staff of The Ogden Valley news. guidelines for Letters to the Editor Letters should be 300 words or less. Letters must be signed and the address of the writer submitted. The Ogden Valley news reserves the right to edit or decline printing of any submissions. Announcements Sought As a community service, The Ogden V alley n ews will print local birth, wedding, obituary, anniversary and missionary farewell & homecoming and Eagle Scout announcements free of charge. 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Note: The contents of The Ogden Valley News are copyrighted. To protect this publication and its contributors from unlawful copying, written permission is required before any individual or company engages in the reproduction or distribution of its contents, by any means, without first obtaining written permission from the owners of this publication. The deadline for the OVN June 1 issue is May 15. Letters to the Editor The Power of Taxation is Also the Power to Destroy We have read and listened with interest the comments, ad nauseam, by proponents of Health Care Reform. We could not disagree more with their single viewpoint. Stripped of their excess verbiage, they argue that health care is an entitlement regardless of ability to pay. With the same logic, they could argue the masked bandit knocking over the 7- Eleven is entitled to his ill-gotten gain provided he tithed it. Forty-seven percent of this country do not pay Federal Income taxes; thus, should have no say in government allocations for spending—much less demand health care at public expense. Don’t you people see that theft by government is no different than any other form of highway robbery? You have confused compassion with liberalism. The first is what you do with your resources; the other, what you do with someone else’s resources. This country is inching itself toward a civil conflict between those who pull the wagon and those who merely ride for free. There are answers to helping folks in need, but it’s not in using the power of taxation, which, in reality, is the power to destroy. Richard Evans, Charles Watson, Eden If it Walks like a Duck, Talks like a Duck, & Looks like a Duck, it Must Be a Duck! I would like to write a rebuttal to a viewpoint published in the Ogden Valley News, May 1, 2010 by a Mr. Gary D. Anderson, attorney, also of Huntsville. The heading to his Viewpoint was, “Obama’s Healthcare Reform is Forward Thinking.” Right out of the box, I want to say that this so called “Forward Thinking” is what has gotten us into the trouble we’re in right now. What we need more of in this great country of ours, are people in Washington who will do some “Retro Thinking.” Going back, yes going back to the wisdom of our Founding Fathers and Constitutional Principles. Forget this “Forward Thinking” (progressivism) as it has accomplished nothing of real value since “Mr. Whomever” came up with the idea. Ever read “The Little Red Hen?” This is a child’s version of Socialism, which Mr. Anderson says came to his rescue after FDR. You cannot sugarcoat the taking, by force, from your neighbor and giving to another and calling it a “good deed.” Our representatives, almost without exception, have abandoned Constitutional Principles, compromised their own principles; answered to special interest groups; and sought position, power, and prestige over the guardianship they swore an oath to inexorably keep inviolate. What’s even sadder, we now have these acolytes, like Mr. Anderson, who buy this diatribe—hook, line, and sinker. All one has to do is read the Constitution and the writings of just one or two of our Founders to understand what they meant when the Constitutional Convention was in session those many years ago. Mr. Anderson, being an attorney, explains his thinking as most attorneys want to regulate and control and write laws that create work for their profession. That is their nature; they cannot help it. I went through law school and I heard this ideology “preached” from the pulpit, so I know full well where Mr. Anderson is coming from. Side note: We have an attorney running for the Senate. He claims he wants to go back to Washington and “fix” things. We, the People, cannot pass laws or enact legislation; those we send to Washington do. Sadly, 60+ Senators are attorneys. Only politicians create problems in Congress and then campaign against them to get themselves elected to “fix” the problems they created. My next point of contention is that Mr. Anderson feels that the recently passed Health Care Reform bill is a good thing. What? Not even under the Commerce Clause is there any Constitutionality in the passage of this bill. Congress has the power to regulate commerce between the states, foreign nations, and the Indian tribes. This bill doesn’t regulate commerce, it creates it; it forces you and me to purchase health insurance and then fines or jails us if we do not. I guess it does take the common man/woman to understand the Constitution and the powers We The People granted the federal government, because, as an attorney, Mr. Anderson just doesn’t get it. It matters not whether the health care bill is good, bad, or ugly, it isn’t Constitutional . . . period; simple as that! The Constitution (the federal government) is to protect our rights, not guarantee that everyone is equal in their prosperity or their pursuit of happiness. If the government attempts this, it will only guarantee that everyone will be equally poor and have no ability to pursue happiness because the government will try to provide it by taking from someone by force and giving it to another. The Constitution does not guarantee that we will have riches, power, fame, or even happiness. It only guarantees that the government will not step in the way of our seeking those things, and protect our right to do so. Lastly, Mr. Anderson sarcastically used the word “Marxist” while referring to FDR and Obama. Let me quote from the Pravda newspaper (Russian newspaper) of April, 2009, written by Stanislav Mishin. “It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American descent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people. True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was [sic] conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. “But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists. ‘Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls’ . . . .” So, Mr. Anderson and other acolytes, if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and looks like a duck, it must be a duck. Yes, Marxism is exactly what Obama and his ilk are promoting here. Get your head out of the sand and wake up. Doing good is not taking from me and you by force and giving to another. The song you mentioned was not sung to the government, but to you and me—individuals, not the statists in Washington! Lonnie D. Crockett, Ph.D., Huntsville Community Encouraged to Provide Input to County on Heliport Issue I attended the Ogden Valley Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday, April 27. I went to get an update on the “Conditional Use Permit” (CUP) for a heliport at the Red Moose Lodge. Before getting to the heliport item, we listened to a presentation on the Blacksmith Village development, in Eden. This presentation was well prepared; information was comprehensive and very explicit. Ultimately, the Blacksmith Village was approved. There was some apprehension though from one of the Commission members. The concern was over whether to allow curbing as part of the development “as it may detract from the rural atmosphere” of the Valley. A thought that came to my mind, I didn’t recall any detailed presentation from the Heliport CUP applicants, and there was no discussion on how the heliport operation could “detract from the rural atmosphere.” The Heliport CUP update from the commission basically consisted of four main issues: • Helicopter refueling from a public road • Impacts on wildlife • Safety • Agreement on flight frequency Of the four issues, they resolved the issue of refueling helicopters from a public road; they will not do this anymore. They will pull the truck into the parking lot to refuel—I assume. The wildlife issue is still pending on a response from the State Department of Natural Resources. They contacted the FAA and their response was that they had no requirements for this type of activity. My understanding is that any safety issues or requirements are the responsibility of the local government—in this case, the county. That was the extent of the safety issue. As far as flight frequency, there was no resolution on that issue yet pending more discussion with the CUP applicants Diamond Peaks and Wolf Creek (RLR Properties LLC/JCA Properties). They mentioned that there was some discussion on alternate flight paths and using other locations—but no apparent resolutions on these. There wasn’t much detail given in this update. My impression was that the Commissioners really didn’t want to discuss it too much, and that it would somehow disappear through some sort of economic attrition process. Public comment on this issue was not allowed. One commissioner said that maybe a better option for them would be for the company to use the Cache county side for their heliport. I rest my case. The point I am making here is that I think the Commissioners need more input from the public. They realize that the current heliport has many negatives. These negatives were pointed out to them in the original meeting on this issue in addition to letters they received from the public. The one big issue that was mentioned was the future potential development of the property surrounding that area. Unfortunately, I think this would have more impact than the noise, safety, or wild- life impacts. Looking at the zoning regulations, CV-2 allows for a conditional use heliport. So given this, this is one of the few CV-2 zones in the area, I think this may end up being the permanent heliport and hub of additional helicopter activities if the CUP is allowed. I encourage you to write to the Planning Commission. I think the emphasis should be on finding a solution. This may include: 1.Encourage the commission to find a better alternate site—a site that wouldn’t require a flight over the entire valley. 2.Emphasize the detrimental impacts on future development in that area along with your safety, wildlife issues, and rural detraction concerns. Comments can be sent to planning office manager Sherri Sillitoe at <ssillito@co.weber. ut.us> There is also a link to her email in the Planning minute’s site on the right side of the page: <http://www.co.weber.ut.us/wiki/index. php/Ogden_Valley_Agendas_%26_Minutes> Other options are to fax comments to 801399-8862, or mail comments to: WEBER COUNTY PLANNING DIVISION 2380 WASHINGTON BLVD SUITE 240 OGDEN UT 84401 Please reference comments with “CUP 04-10.” Ron Tymcio, Eden |