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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, September 3-6, 2005 The Park Record A.-2 Shepard aborts campaign Nonprofit taps former politico unopposed, an unexpected scenario Without candidate, the October issincerunning the mayor's office is among the highest-profile political positions in Summit County. primary election is cancelled Shepard's decision also casts more doubt on whether the 2005 campaign will generate much By JAY HAMBURGER voter interest. Turnout at polling places during Of the Record staff Park City's off-year elections is normally low and, "(Ron Shepard has aborted his campaign for the without primaries this year and without a contestP4rk City Council, ending his candidacy because ed mayoral campaign, the number of voters could h$ said he could not run for office and handle fam- further erode. ily issues at the same time. When primaries are scheduled, the candidates !He withdrew from the election on Wednesday and voting Parkites usually enter the political atfd Cindy LoPiccolo, City Hall's elections officer, mode around Miners Day, which is on Monday. sajd Shepard's name will not appear on the ballot. This year, it could be several more weeks before Shepard's departure means that the city will not be people become interested. required to hold a primary. Shepard said he does not plan to be involved in ;J Before he withdrew, five Parkites were running the campaign, saying he does not want to "Monday for the City Council, one more than was needed to morning quarterback" the remaining candidates. force an October primary. The remaining candi"I can't. Who am I? I'm the guy who dropped dates are the incumbents, Jim Hier and Kay out," Shepard said. Culvert, who are each seeking second terms, and However, Shepard wants the candidates to pick challengers Mark Blue and Roger Harlan. up his key campaign issues, like proposing a rea1 Shepard said he and his wife are divorcing, sonable approach for City Hall to purchase some wftich he said brought "added complications" to development rights from the Sweeney family. The his campaign. family plans to build the controversial Treasure * "It's a disappointment because I really did feel I Hill project on the slopes of Park City Mountain hfid some value to bring to City Council and the Resort. He hopes the candidates also address wireelection itself," Shepard said, calling the decision less Internet capabilities, another of his campaign planks. tc withdraw an "emotional setback." ilHe said he is unsure if he would seek office Shepard is an art consultant, a veteran of Park again. Shepard challenged for a City Council seat City's art-gallery industry and a ski instructor at in'2003, losing in a primary election with lukewarm Deer Valley Resort. voter support, garnering less than 4 percent. In July, after he filed to run for office, Shepard ! Shepard acknowledged a domestic dispute said in an interview that, if he won in November, he between himself and his wife in December and would seek re-election in 2009. said, although charges were dismissed, he enviNone of the remaining candidates are new to sioned the divorce becoming fodder for his oppo- Park City politics. Hier is a former member of the nents. He did not want his son to endure such a Planning Commission. Calvert is a business concampaign. sultant. Harlan served on the City Council in the • Shepard's departure is the second surprise of the 1990s and has a professional background in youth 2005 election season, following the uncontested groups. Blue has twice run for the City Council mjayoral race. Dana Williams, the first-term mayor, without advancing from the primary. Parkites rally for Katrina victims • Pontinued from A-1 > efforts, like apartments, clothing and food. The number is 1 (866) 873-2437. ;*Lt. Doug McCleve, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, said, though, that cash donations to the American Red Cross are most helpful. McCleve said Utah's relief organizers are unsure of the condition of the refugees who are expected in the state. They are unsure how long they will stay, he said. Most will be housed at Camp Williams, which he said could hold up to 1,000 people, and a few hundred more could be housed in a Midvale shelter. Merchants feel hurricane's wrath But higher gas prices are good for business in some ipites the disaster will affect respects, he says. sririmp prices, but most of the "Our business improved, impact has to do with the cost of because I don't think people foel, at this point. want to spend money to drive % "We get our seafood from their own cars, so maybe it's a m^ny sources around the coun- positive effect - but not on our tfy and the.world, and.we know, bottom line," he said. "Right that shrimp will cbsFmofe, we' how, our price fora ride is the jujt haven't felt it yet," she same, but our [operational] costs are going up." explained. ; Hapa Grill Executive Chef Park City Public Transit is Stan Battle expects the Mexican also battling Katrina's CSuIf shrimp it orders for spe- vengeance. However, the effect cials will rise 30 percent in price on public transportation does soon, but typically, the not appear to be dramatic. Redstone Towne Center restauPark City Transit fleet manrant orders its prawns from ager Eric Nesset admits, "yeah Hawaii. we're feeling it," but public •} The most immediate effect transportation appears to be frfcm the hurricane on Hapa's weathering the storm a bit betmenu is on asparagus, since the ter than others. hurricane disrupted the irrigaSeven new buses have been tion on the Mississippi, he said. ordered by the department, and • ""We won't be changing the will soften the blow of gas prices on our menus, but we prices since they will be 10 perrrave switched the vegetables we cent more fuel-efficient, he serve with our dishes," Battle explained. And in the meantold The Park Record. time, currently, the city operates 26 buses, 15 of which are new and offer the same gas-saving Transportation • Park City Ace benefits. "transportation, Inc. taxi driver "Usually about six percent of pan Wilcox says that fares for our budget is for gas, but this the company have remained the year, it's nine percent," he said. same since 2004, and that only "But that has to do with more recently, there has been talk of than just an increase in fuel raising rates. costs. We've also increased our • ''We've been feeling [the mileage." pressure] of gas prices for Nesset reports that from July rftonths now, but Hurricane 2003 to July 2004, $200,000 of Katrina has just aggravated it," funding went to fuel, while the Wilcox explained. "In just a few next year $350,000 of Park City days, it seems like gas costs Transit's budget went to fuel. h;ave jumped 20 cents [a gal- However, last year, the departlon.]" ment oniy logged in 650,000 ' Wilcox estimates that before miles. This year the total came to the hurricane, he was already 900,000 miles. spending over $30 a day. On "[The price of gas] is still not a average he drives 150 to 200 huge cost," he said. "It's a factor, miles. but as far as considering cutting •Continued from A-1 back on transit, it has actually strengthened the city's commitment to offer people the transportation they need." Since purchasing buses is more economical than building new roads for cars, Nesset says the city's strategy to increase its public transportation services will remain strong, though the price of gas has risen 25 percent in the last year. Residents and visitors alike will therefore continue to receive free rides. "As the price of oil continues to rise, I don't think it will be enough of a cost increase to change our policy on bus fares," he said. "When you charge a fare, you automatically lose onethird of your passengers." The town's use of the bus system this summer increased 10 percent over last year, however, it's hard to say whether or not some of that increase has to do with a busier season, he admitted. Buses aren't the only vehicles Nesset oversees. His fleet is 2,000 strong, and unfortunately, he says, companies have yet to make fuel-efficient snow-plows, mowers and loaders. "Frankly, the city doesn't have a lot of flexibility when it comes to the rest of the vehicles," he said. "If it snows, the snowplows will need to be out there." In light of the nearly jump in gas prices since last week, Nesset hopes people are thinking twice about driving to the grocery store on gas, and are instead opting to take the extra minutes to grab a bus. "A car typically carries an average of one or two people per trip. A bus is always a better choice when it comes to fuel-efficiency," he said. stepped down as executive director of the organization to pursue a position with The People's Health Center. "I really want people to know that we've got a person who's bilingual, who's got all of the right stuff. He's worked for everybody from Mike Leavitt to Rocky Anderson," Weiss said. Business people, police officers and others who work with immigrants are also encouraged to seek Martinez's guidance, she said, adding that his office is at Aspen Villas Apartments. PCCOC is currently working on a future fundraiser and recruiting an attorney who could possibly meet pro bono with the center's clients, she said, adding that support for PCCOC has come from Park City Municipal, the Park City Police Department and Aspen Villas. "I'd like to find out where the gaps are in the service and see what ways the city and the county could provide services to meet those gaps," Martinez said. "A lot of folks don't realize that this population is now sustaining the economy." He jumped at the opportunity to leave politics for a more grassroots position, Martinez added. "You get farther and farther away from the human touch. What PCCOC was offering was an opportunity to reconnect," he said, recalling a statement from Robert F. Kennedy. "We'll be recognized not so much for how we treat our rich and wealthy but how we treat the least of these ... I haven't touched some of these types of cases for several years." Park City Community Outreach Center hires former SLC councilor to oversee programs By PATRICK PARKINSON Of the Record staff The Latino leader of a new non-profit outreach center will meet Saturday at Aspen Villas Apartments with Park City police officers and firefighters to discuss how to improve relations between the agencies and local minorities. Trustees for the Park City Community Outreach Center (PCCOC), which formed last spring to assist Summit and Wasatch counties' immigrant communities, have tapped a former director of Utah's Office of Hispanic Affairs and former Salt Lake City Councilor and Salt Lake City Community Development Director to head the organization. "He's extremely qualified for what he's doing," said Shelley Weiss, a member of PCCOC's board of trustees. PCCOC Program Director Lee Martinez, 52, now commutes to Park City from Salt Lake to assist mostly Spanish speakers with labor disputes, legal and housing issues. "[He's] trying to get more information on everything, whether people have health insurance, whether they know what they're going to do with the driving privilege card," Weiss said. "He's kind of a numbers guy." Roughly half of his workload involves quelling disputes between contractors and Latino employees who aren't paid for their work, Martinez said during a telephone interview Thursday. "There are a lot of people who are being taken advantage of - a lot of the immigrant community," he said. According to Martinez, he regularly meets with clients "who are saying, 'I worked for this place and they won't pay me.'" "1 won't say most of them, but there are some ... they aren't very fair or just with their workers," Martinez said about some contractors in Summit and Wasatch counties. "Some people think that that's going to be easy to slide on by ... without some kind of guidance or assistance, that would continue." He also educates Spanish speakers about how to settle traffic citations or retain attorneys. But familiarizing the immigrant community with the area's police officers and firefighters is the point of Saturday's event. "So if they ever need to call them, the community knows who they are," Martinez said. "If you have a really heavyhanded police force ... if you're undocumented, you're not likely to call the police." And in surveying local immigrants, Martinez discovered that many residents have shoddy car insurance. "Their insurance companies are weasels ... I've been stunned by just the lack of response," he said. "Part of that is because they buy terrible car insurance." Shortly after forming PCCOC last April, Weiss Captain deployed to Louisiana By PATRICK PARKINSON Of the Record staff The Summit County Sheriff's Office's lead death investigator deployed Thursday to Baton Rouge, La., to help identify victims of Hurricane Katrina. Sheriff's Capt. Alan Siddoway is a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT). "All of the D*MORT teams have been deployed.' It's the first time in the f history of DMORT that all of them have been deployed to one spot," Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds said Friday. "Alan's one of their regional deputy commanders." Siddoway was stationed Friday in Baton Rouge, constructing "makeshift morgues" and preparing for truckloads of bodies to be delivered from the Gulf Coast, which Katrina ravaged earlier this week. "They're expecting literally thousands of dead," Edmunds said, after speaking with Siddoway Friday. "He says it's chaos." He expects Siddoway to be deployed with DMORT for at least a month. "They try to make identification on these people," Edmunds said. "They'll photograph, they'll possibly pull fingerprints. Sometimes they might have to do DNA analysis ... it's a pretty nasty job." Siddoway expected crews to complete the facilities and begin examining dead bodies Friday evening, he added. "They haven't seen body one yet. The bodies are trying to get to their morgue," Edmunds said. "It's a dire circumstance." Siddoway, who often investigates how some people die in Summit County, worked with DMORT on the East Coast in 2001 helping to identify victims of Sept. 11. "He's one of the best in the country, that's why they've got him down there," Edmunds said. "The New Orleans Police Department is completely overwhelmed as is the Louisiana State Police." Working in Louisiana provides Siddoway valuable experience in dealing with a natural disaster and "it's Summit County's way of helping our brothers," Edmunds said. Utah offers shelter plan for refugees SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Utah officials on Thursday said they've worked out a logistical plan for bringing as many as 1,000 refugees from Hurricane Katrina to the state - if Louisiana's governor decides to send them. "I would hope by the end of the day we would know," said Lt. Verdi White II, director of the state's division of emergency services and homeland security. Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman was one of several governors asked for help by Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco on Wednesday. Should that request become an active rescue mission, Utah's Army National Guard would immediately begin flights to Louisiana, dropping off teams of 50 guard members to help with relief efforts there and returning to Utah with 50 refugee passengers, Lt. Col. Charles Dressen said. Upon arrival at Salt Lake City International Airport, state and local health officials plan to assess refugees for medical needs and then transport them by bus to the guard's Camp Williams in suburban Draper. Housing will be provided there first, moving only to an overflow homeless shelter in Midvale, or to housing at the military's Dugway Proving Ground if absolutely necessary, White said. Officials also have plans for an emergency serv- ices center at Camp Williams, where refugees could access counseling and religious support, clothing and health care, child care and employment services, said Jan Buttrey, emergency medical services director for the state Department of Health. The state is also working with the Jordan School District to ensure that any children who need to can enroll in local schools. "You name it, we'll be able to be there to answer their questions and to support them," Buttrey said. White said Utah is in uncharted waters in trying to find ways to help Louisiana because in most cases, the state's emergency responses involve the deployment of resources, not the acceptance of hundreds of people who need refuge. And, he said, there's no way to know just what the costs of such an effort might be - or if there's money to pay for them. "The way to look at it is this is a humanitarian mission. Here in Utah, we're going to yoke up with the good people who live here and with organizations that serve people," White said. "I believe very strongly that somewhere down the line, there will be some federal assistance. But we're going to worry about that later because we have an immediate need." CEAGO V I N E G A R D E N RESTAURANT V V V F O U N D A T I O N Giving to Our Community The Blind Dog Culinary & Wine School with Ceago Vineyards Present an evening of fun, food and fabulous wine. www.theunderdogfoundation.org Please join us Saturday September 17th at 6:00 pm. For reservations and questions please call 435.655.0080. Open for dinner Monday through Saturday 5pm to close 1781 Sidewinder Drive • 435-655-0800 • www.blinddoggrill.com Save the Date for the Underdogs primary fund raising event... k P A R K C I T Y Culinary, CLASSIC 02.02.06 thru 02.05.06 |