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Show The Ogden November 15, 2007 Valley news Your Community Newspaper PRSRT STD POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 11 EDEN UT POSTAL PATRON EDEN-LIBERTY-84310 HUNTSVILLE-84317 OGDEN CANYON- 84401 HCR 843AO Huntsville Town Announces Election Results Huntsville Town has announced the results of their 2007 General Election. For the two-year seat for Town Council, incumbent Jim Truett, representing Party #1, was elected with 174 votes over Our Town candidate Paul Newey. Truett currently works as a district manager for Miller Electric Manufacturing Company. He has stated that, as a member of the town council, he hopes to strengthen and unite the community. For the two positions open for fouryear seats, Steve Johnson and Max S. Ferre’, both Party #1 candidates, beat out Our Town candidates Alan Clapperton and Chris W. Stevenson. A professional artist, Johnson states that he is a fifth generation resident of Huntsville, and will work to keep the community the way it is. Ferre’, a retired educator/principal, says that it is his goal to do what is best for the town through unification and trust building on the town’s already established sound foundation. Of the 485 registered voters in “Moonrise Over Wasatch” Photographs taken by (c) 2007 Wrinkle In Time Photography, LLC. Ballot Measure for Sales Tax Hike a Close Call in Weber County—Davis rejects measure By Shanna Francis Ogden Valley News Voters at the polls in Weber and Davis counties cast their ballot for or against a proposed ballot measure in their respective counties, passage of which would increase local sales tax by ¼ cent for transportation. The taxing measure was based on authority recently granted by the Utah State Legislature after governmental leaders recognized that population growth and travel demand have been vastly outstripping their ability to keep up with needed highway and transit improvements to deal with ever increasing highway congestion—congestion that has begun to hit a tipping point at which conditions are worsening at a more rapid pace than funding resources are becoming available to meet the rising demands for expanded infrastructure. County leaders were hoping that success of the ballot measure would help provide the funding needed to move forward to build highway and transit capacity. Voters in Davis County overwhelming voted against the measure by about 10,000 votes. Initial ballot counts in Weber County looked favorable, with a 310 vote margin for the proposed ballot measure. As of November 8, Weber County election judges and ballot counters were still sifting though mail-in ballots, and provisional and absentee ballots before releasing a final tally on the measure. Approval of the tax measure in Davis County would have generated between $11 and $12 million per year. If the measure passes in Weber County, it is projected to raise about $8 million annually for transportation projects within the county. One quarter of the money (1/16 cent) will be used for corridor preservation at the discretion of the respective County Councils of Governments. A principal target of these funds was for a proposed North Legacy Highway corridor in northwestern Davis County and western Weber County. Other possible uses of the money were to include protecting the right-of-way for the widening of Redwood Road in southern Davis County and 12th South, located west of I-15 in Weber County. Also, to offset hardship cases of homeowners who need to move for highway projects but have difficulty selling their homes because they live in a corridor SALES TAX HIKE cont. on page 17 Six Siblings Compete Together in St. George Marathon On October 6, 2007 Danette Stuart of Liberty, along with two sisters and three brothers, completed the St. George Marathon—each running the entire course. When asked why they decided to run, Danette said, “We thought it would be a great way to honor our dad, R. Earle Sanders, who died unexpectedly on July 1.” While some of her siblings are experienced runners, this was the first marathon for Danette and Trecia. “Although the southern Utah scenery was striking,” Danette stated, “I’m sure there is no prettier place to run than in our beautiful Valley.” ELECTION cont. on page 6 County Sees Surplus of $37.6 Million in 2008 Valley to post signs in their yards that read, By Marshall Thompson Standard-Examiner staff mthompson@standard.net Weber County Commissioners unanimously approved a tentative budget for 2008 Tuesday [October 30] that would leave a surplus of about $37.6 million for governmental funds. Thanks to fiscal responsibility and increasing revenues from property taxes, the county has raised its total surplus by 84 percent since 2004. Tentative general fund expenditures for 2008 total nearly $55 million, up $2.7 million, or 5.1 percent from last year. The best part about the surplus, said Commissioner Jan Zogmaister, is that it comes without a tax increase and without raising the property tax rate. “We’re in a good position, and it’s allowing us to not raise taxes,” she said. “That’s good because people are a little sensitive about taxes right now.” Property values in Weber County have skyrocketed in the last few years, causing property taxes to go up as well. The situation has caused some residents in Ogden “For Sale. Can’t Afford the Taxes.” The county finances are so robust that it could potentially cause some problems. State law requires that a county’s general fund must not exceed 20 percent of revenue at any time. Dan Olsen, the county comptroller, said that in 2006 the general fund was at 16.4 percent of the revenue, and in 2007 it is estimated at 19 percent. The tentative budget projects 19 percent again for 2008. If property values climb beyond the county’s expectations, money will need to be switched from the general fund to another account, such as capital projects. “If we ever got to that point, we’d put the money into capital improvements and roads. Or we may purchase some equipment that we’ve been holding off on,” Olsen said. “There’s never an end to the list of projects.” SURPLUS cont. on page 17 Weber County Reads “Beowulf” “One Book, One Community” projects (community-wide reading programs), initiated by the Library of Congress’ Center for the Book in 1998, are being introduced across the United States and around the world. The “Weber Reads” program is designed—through the Weber County library system—to create a communitywide discussion by encouraging all area residents to read the same exceptional book “Beowulf,” a well-told adventure story readers of all ages will enjoy reading and talking about. “Beowulf” is the oldest existing work in any modern European language. Originally written in Old English and dating from around the 7th century, just one copy survived Henry the VIII’s dissolution of the Catholic monasteries. The story of Beowulf the dragonslayer is packed with action and adventure. When Hrothgar, a Danish king, is confronted with Grendel, a monster who has taken to attacking his hall, Herot, Beowulf of the Geats, an area in southern Sweden, sails to Denmark and slays Grendel. Subsequently, Beowulf must also fight Grendel’s mother, and later in life meets his match when he fights a fire-breathing dragon. The story is filled with tales of good kings and bad kings, wars and battles, dragons and monsters, honor and deceitfulness, but “Beowulf” is more than a fast-paced adventure story. This foundation of English literature also presents a unique historical From left to right are siblings Trent Sanders, Malauna Anderson, Layne Sanders, account of life in the sixth century, explainDanette Stuart, Trecia Trost, and Brandt Sanders. ing the codes of conduct and world view the tribes lived by to help ensure their survival. Readers will find many parallels in modern society to ponder and discuss as WEBER READS. The Washington Post wrote about the benefits of a community-wide reading BEOWULF cont. on page 13 Ogden Valley Branch library staffed created the dragon from the story of “Beowulf” as part of a contest amongst library staff at different library locations within the county. |