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Show THE ZEPHYRAPR1L 1991 PAGE 2 page two .11..,., I Jim Stiles are paid a token Impossible. County Commissioners and particularly City Councllpersons for J. went J. work to Wang, he made It allowance for their efforts. When Dave Blerschled Mr. Involve Council that of the vote on Wang. And on might any clear that he would abstain to vote a deadlock, can break who a mayor a council composed of five members and On on Issue. the other hand, any Blerschleds withdrawal cannot cripple or paralyze a vote Commission could and has to a the due abstains conflict, commissioners If any of the three found Itself hopelessly deadlocked. In I dont plan to analyze each of the examples Ive mentioned here, but my own mind, I have a very difficult time believing they were all done for the "public good. Which brings me to the next question... So what? Does anyone care? No, let me I In rephrase that does anyone care enough to raise their voice protest? fall back on the I last two words (and their definitions) that listed at the beginning of this tirade. Is It a that we're Indifferent to possible question of apathy? Have we become so so cynical and disheartened by all questions of ethics and honesty? Or have we become the lies and conflicts weve endured In the past that we are resigned to expect more of the self-absor- bed same? remember an Interview I did with David Knutson In September, 1989. David called me and said he wanted to speak on the record about the Book Cliffs Road. What he had to say was extraordinary. Essentially, he described a deal that the Grand County Commission cut with Steve Creamer of Creamer & Noble Engineering. Creamer, known for his political connections to the state legislature, was promised the million dollar engineering contract for the proposed Book Cliff Road If he could successfully lobby for mineral lease monies to fund Its construction. At least thats the way David saw It In part, he said: "....It was pretty much a given. There wasnt any Intention of ever seriously considering anybody else. Steve Creamer was the one who got the money, who pushed It through. He had all the contacts. That was a gentlemans agreement to begin with... For all Intents and purposes the decision to go with Steve Creamer had been made a long time ago. Right or wrong, It had. I never understood why David told me that story, but I thought It was pretty stuff. next The week, Salt Lake Citys KTVX News picked up the story and powerful interviewed Creamer himself. He, of course, denied everything, but his statement was full of contradictions. I fully expected to see the Tribune and the Deseret News and KUTV and KSL follow up with stories of their own. After all, we were talking about a dollar deal between government and a very powerful Utah-bascompany. If ever there was a case of conflict of Interest, this was It Nothing happened. Not a peep. I ran up a hundred-doll- ar phone bill to the Office. Generals even returned Most calls. Attorney They rarely my people who read the story shook their heads and shrugged. Politics as usual, they said. And mostly, I heard: Theres nothing we can do about It They are wrong. The Grand County School Board decided to return to a five-dschool week next fall because a small group of dedicated parents were convinced that eventually their voices would be heard. The crowd that showed up for last weeks meeting and vote on the Issue made all the difference. We can never allow public officials to become so arrogant and so detached from the public they serve that they assume to know whats best for us. No lopsided political victory ever meant that the candidate can turn his back on the citizens who elected him. Remember Nixons Second Term? I Conflict of Interest: a conflict between the private Interests and the official responsibilities of a person In a position of trust (as a government or corporate official). Apathy: lack of Interest or concern: INDIFFERENCE. Resignation: the quality or state of accepting something as Inevitable: SUBMIT. -- Websters Collegiate Dictionary In this, the Age of Buzzwords, there Is one word or phrase I hear more frequently than any other In Grand County, Utah these days. The buzzword for 1991 Is conflict of Interest If anyone has any doubts about Its meaning, the definition Is stated above. Actually, conflicts of Interest alleged or real, are nothing new to any of us. When lame-duCommissioners Jimmie Walker and Dutch Zimmerman, along with current Commission Chairman David Knutson, created a special service road district and Dutch helped appoint himself to the Board and Jimmie and Dutch hired Jimmie to be Its paid administrator, some citizens cried conflict of Interest And when, at the same time, David conflict of Interest. appointed his own father to serve on the Board, citizens cried When the hospital board member Mayor Tom Stocks rented an apartment to new LHS administrator John Johnson at taxpayer expense, citizens cried conflict of Interest. When Commissioner and hospital employee Sam Cunningham helped fire the former hospital board and appointed herself to the new Board, citizens cried conflict of ck Interest multi-milli- on ed ay When City Councilman Dave Blerschled accepted a consulting position with conflict of Interest prominent Moab businessman J. J. Wang, citizens cried When Commissioner and brick mason Manuel Torres won the contract to do the new brickwork on the Moab Equestrian Center and used the extra bricks, purchased by the public, sales tax free, to build a new "Lube It" In town, people cried you guessed It At one time or another, almost every board member of every agency In Grand County has been accused of having a conflict of Interest. Does the Film Commission always make sure that the same small group of businesses get the concession contracts when a movie comes to town? Does the fact that the Travel Council Is composed of men and women In the tourist Industry who benefit from their own decisions create a conflict of Interest? Which of these numerous and depressing examples truly represent a conflict of Interest? Going back to the Websters definition, the key word for me Is "trust Does the action taken by a public official shake the trust that the public has In them? Are we still able to believe that their action Is for the common good? In a small town with a tight economy, some conflict Is Inevitable. Should the Travel Council ban anyone from participating on the Board If they have any vested Interest In the tourist Industry? Such a move would probably result In a vacant board. Can a public official refuse employment with a business that might have dealings with the city or county? Ms r fke pr&uwT 1 know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion. Thomas Jefferson THE CANYON COUNTRY ZEPHYR P.O.BOX 327 MOAB, UTAH 84532 (801) JIM STILES, PUBLISHER Trish West 259-777- 3 subscribe to THE ZEPHYR production manager contributing columnists Ken Sleight Jane Jones moab city reporting Ken Davey environmental issues Jack Campbell Despite a 28 postal rate increase a subscription is still only contributing writers Damian Fagan Nancy Shanaman David Travers Lloyd Pierson 12 DOLLARS Jane Jones (1 year, 11 Michael Cohen 1991 The Canyon Country Zephyr all rights reserved The Canyon Country Zephyr is a monthly newspaper, published eleven times a year at Moab, Utah. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of its vendors, advertisers, or even at times of its publisher . name address renewal new subscription issues) |