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Show Page The Ogden Valley news Volume XIV Issue XXIII September 15, 007 The Ogden Valley news Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 745- 688 Fax: 745-006 Cell: 791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@att.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 745- 879 Fax: 745- 879 E-Mail: crwendell@att.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. We invite residents to send their announcements to: The Ogden Valley news PO BOX 130 EDEN UT 84310 If you would like your submitted items returned, please send a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. The Ogden Valley news , while respecting all property received, will take no responsibility for lost or misplaced items. Please remember to keep a copy for yourself. Invitation for Articles The staff of The Ogden Valley news welcomes the submission of articles by our readership. We invite you to submit local historical accounts or biographies, articles pertaining to contemporary issues, and/or other material that may be of interest to our readers. We also invite you to submit to the paper, or notify the staff of local events. Awards that have been earned by the reader, family members, neighbors or friends are also sought. While the staff of The Ogden Valley news invites the submittal of information and articles, we reserve the right to select which material will be considered for publication. All material, to be considered, must be submitted with the full name, address and telephone number of the person submitting the material. The OgdenValley news’liability on account of errors in, or omissions of, advertising shall in no event exceed the amount of charges for the advertising omitted or the space occupied by the error. The Ogden Valley news does not endorse, promote or encourage the purchase or sale of any product or service advertised in this newspaper. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The Ogden Valley news hereby disclaims all liability for any damage suffered as the result of any advertisement in this newspaper. The Ogden Valley news is not responsible for any claims or representations made in advertisements in this newspaper. The Ogden Valley news has the sole authority to edit and locate any classified advertisement as deemed appropriate. It also reserves the right to refuse any advertising. 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 October 1 issue is September 15. Letters to the Editor Utah Roadies More Considerate than Most Note: This letter was submitted in response to Laura Warburton’s letter “Consideration and Safety Just as Important as the Law” that was printed in the September 1 issue of “The Ogden Valley news. Wow, Ms. Warburton finally said what I’ve been complaining about for years! But on the whole, I feel that Utah roadies (the bicyclists, not the drivers) are much more considerate than California roadies. And just about anyone on a bike under the age of 21 is way more aware that a car is bigger than they are and can cause some serious damage. I have found (in California) that the adults on bikes had a really bad attitude towards the roads. They refused to signal, would not ride just two abreast, but quite often four or five abreast, and would NOT go into single file when a driver came up behind them. As a driver, why should I steer into oncoming traffic and put my life at risk? Bikers need to be more considerate. Hats off to Ms. Warburton for stating her feelings about a really, really stupid law. And, by the way, has anyone checked on that? How do we know if those bikers were telling her the truth? Cindy Maher, Eden A Pledge to Remove Officials from Office I am writing as a delegate to the Weber County Republican Party. As a county delegate, I pledge that if there is not some sort of tax relief for this coming tax year from this outrageous tax increase we have all seen, I will do everything I can to see that each and every candidate for county office who is responsible for this increase—including all three commissioners and the county assessor—is turned out at the county convention level as they all come up for re-election over the next six years. I also call on all county delegates to take a similar position. We need to put in place officials who will do the will of the people, not officials who are interested in spending as much of our tax dollars as they can extort from us. If these outrageous taxes stand as they are, our county leaders need to be replaced with responsible leadership, and we can do that at the county conventions. Let’s all stand together to make those responsible be accountable for their actions. Alan Clapperton, Huntsville Open Letter to Representative Gage Froerer I am writing because of my great concern of what the terrible increased property taxes are doing to the people of Ogden Valley. It is not only senior citizens, which I am, who cannot afford the current raises, and are sickened by what will probably happen in the coming years, but also young families who must spend way too much of their income for housing and taxes. People are being forced to move. I believe everyone deserves to have some kind of adequate housing. Homes should not be a stock market commodity. Homes should be affordable and should not be the basis for income for the state. It is not equitable. I would propose that raising sales’ taxes would be much fairer; everyone would pay. And if you look at it closely, pennies per dollar each time you buy would not cost as much as a large soft drink at McDonalds. Luxury taxes on all the “adult toys” we see in people’s yards would help too. Many states in our country have enacted new property tax laws that put the property tax rates back to previous rates a few years ago and these rates cannot be raised more than a small percentage—1 % in some states—until the house is sold. This protects those who wish to remain in their homes long term. It also contributes to a stable community, and protects the home owner from unaffordable future taxes. Those who buy and sell will have to pay Living Expenses Have Increased—Retirement pay is still the same We complained last year to the county assessor’s office regarding our property taxes and were told, “It’s Huntsville,” and “It’s the State.” Thinking we could reduce the taxes, we were given a list of unreasonable requests to submit to the Board of Equalization. So, what a shock to open our property Valuation Notice for 2007 and find the proposed taxes for our home would be $2,947.76, up last year from $1,252.66— an increase of 138%; our home was built in 1889. We have only added two rooms to the original structure. My youngest son lives in Huntsville also. His proposed taxes went from $1,800 last year to $4,000 this year. He would have had to budget over $300 a month to pay this year’s taxes. He said he would probably have to secure a loan in order to meet his obligations; he wouldn’t even have it paid before he’d receive his tax notice in 2008. What is Weber County thinking? We have been retirees for 22 years, as are many Valley residents. We have been residents 54 years. All living expenses have increased—not retirement pay. We attended a meeting at Snowcrest Junior High on August 15 regarding the increase in property taxes for our valley, thinking there would be some solutions to this unbelievable burden placed on the residents. We came away with the understanding we would have to pay this year’s taxes and wait to see if anything would be done before next year. Oh, how I wish we had our old valley back, away from all the developers; the expensive new homes that have a bearing on our taxes; the recreationists; the increased traffic; and the poor drivers who speed, tail-gate, and pass dangerously—all in order to reach their destination in a hurry. Us old-timers suffered through the road construction during the time the dam was raised in the 1960’s, through the slide in the 1970’s, and are still suffering when Ogden Canyon is closed for the accommodations for the various races due to the lure of our beautiful valley. Our valley should bind together and refuse to give in to these ridiculous taxes. It was done before during the time of the Rebel School Incident. the higher taxes each time they do so. As the Representative in the legislature for Ogden Valley, and as part of the tax committee, I think it is your duty to work to change the tax laws of Utah. It was stated earlier that you said there is not much you can do. Well, I think that is why you and all legislators are voted to represent us. If you don’t give the people relief, I hope we all will rise up in Utah and put on the ballot a constitutional change as the people of California did with Proposition 13. I ask all the people of Utah to stop blaming people who are moving to Utah. Since the Olympics everyone was saying what a great windfall for business and economic development, and that people from all over the world would become aware of this great state with all its recreational opportunities and beauty. Well, they are aware and they are coming. We live in a world of moving around. Most families here have sent children or family members to other places for an education, or a job. Some come back, some don’t. We have to be realistic and work on legislation that will protect what we prize. Thank you for working hard and doing Erma Wilson, the job that you strongly wanted and cam- Huntsville paigned for. Nancy Marty, Huntsville UDOT Closes Freeway Off-ramp UDOT has announced that, beginning September 4, the northbound OFF-RAMP at 21st Street (Exit 343) in West Haven will be closed for approximately three weeks for reconstruction. Motorists may use interchanges at 31st Street and 12th Street as alternate routes. Inspirational Thought “I want a one-armed economist so that the guy could never make a statement and then say ‘on the other hand . . .’” -Harry Truman |