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Show THE ZEPHYRNOVEMBER 89 PAGE 2 Commissioner David page two ' Jim Stiles Knutson Mv second question revolved around comments by that contracts for the engineering In the September Zeohvr. In It, David suggested firm to the of Creamer been promised had Informally and Book CBffs Road project the contract was put out for bids. Was It Illegal to do so? n Noble long before Office Insisted that It must defer to the County September the Attorney General's Mrs. Coates Is retained Attorney to determine any question of illegaUty. However, their private counsel. by the Road Board at $75.00hr. as To me, this appeared to constitute a conflict of interest and later, on October Office agreed. : But he advised that 13, 1989, Joe Tesch of the Attorney Generals Mrs. Coates first. Then she, because to of that sort must be taken . any question of her conflict of interest, must defer to the Attorney General. So on the morning of October 13, went to Mrs. Coates office to Invite her to the interview with the Commission. I decided to save the questions for the Interview. When I walked in the front door, I could hear the County Attorney I asked the secretary If shuffling papers at her desk, Just 15 feet down the hall moment later a returned told and me that Id I could Mrs! She Coates. speak with I I have to make an appointment explained that merely wanted to ask a question of her time. The secretary disappeared 30 seconds and would take no more than -again and came back with the same answer - make an appointment (Whatever happened, I wondered, to "call me anytime"). I said that would be fine. For the third time, the secretary walked the short distance to the County Attorneys desk and came back. "How does Wednesday of next week sound? "It doesnt sound good," I repUed. Had I known there was I wanted to do the interview on Monday or Tuesday. no way she could participate on those days, I could have made adjustments. But I did need to know when she would be available so I could contact the Commissioners and make arrangements. The secretary dutifully took notes, and I asked that Mrs. Coates contact me by phone before the end of work on Friday. She never called. On Sunday, I called the Commissioners and cancelled the interview. I had run out of time. I already had completed Interviews with the Mayoral candidates and felt yve could skip a month with the Commission. Still, had Mrs. Coates responded by Friday, we could have worked out the logistics of getting everyone together. On Monday morning, a letter arrived from Mrs. Coates, stating that she could not attend the interview on Monday or Tuesday, "as I will not be In Moab until approximately 1:00 p.m. or later on Wednesday, October 18. Too little. Too late. I then sent her a letter regarding her conflict of Interest with the Road Board. It was hand delivered to her on Tuesday, October 17, In Salt Lake City. A phone call by her to Mr. Tesch could have resolved the question of conflict of interest and I advised Mrs. Coates that I expected a response by October 2Q. A response never came. In light of the candor and openness that I have encountered from other elected official like David Knutson, Merv Lawton, Feme Mullen and Tom Stocks, I admit that this experience with the County. Attorney has been frustrating. During Watergate, this kind of silent treatment was called "stonewallin, and In the long run, it sure didnt help Ml Nixon. I also know that Mrs. Coates has advised other elected officials to avoid talking to the press. Im pleased, at least, that no one has taken her advice. So where to now? Since others have learned of my efforts to Include the County Attorney In the Commission Interview, Ive received questions to submit to her. Id like, therefore, to extend an invitation to Mrs. Coates to participate in the nxt Interview, probably around November 13, provided she hasnt accepted another Job and left Moab. As for what Ive said here, Id Dke to offer the County Attorney an opportunity and the space to reply. If she thinks Im being unfair, then she has the right to tell me. Communicating with each other will benefit us all far more than stonewalling. 1 , The first Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, protecting the right of freedom of speech, has long been a source of consternation and and sometimes rightfully so. In its never aggravation to people in public life or for a scoop the big story, the media has often distorted the truth ending search to satisfy a particular point of view. In addition, the press has shamefully invaded the privacy of individuals on many occasions, turning a private tragedy for instance into a public spectacle. Anyone who writes has a tendency to lapse into heavy rhetoric from time to time; in years past, Ive been guilty of spewing some hot air myself. But since its inception, The Zeohvr has bent over backwards to accommodate different points of view. I welcome opinions that are different from my own; in fact, I wish I could get more feedback from the other side of the aisle. The interviews, In particular, have been an attempt to allow a variety of elected officials and others in public life to express opinions without fear, of being edited. Since March, I have interviewed the Grand County Commissioners each month, the Mayor, the Road Board Administrator Jimmie Walker, CanyonlandS Superintendent Harvey WIckware, and Chief Ranger Tony Schetzle, and Grand County High School Principal, Tom Martin. In dozens of hours of taped interviews, I have never received a complaint that I edited or took their comments out of context to alter or distort the meaning of their words. It was for that reason that I took exception to comments by County Attorney Elaine Coates In a letter to Sam Taylor October 12, 1989). She said in part, ... I have found it doesnt matter what you say, newspapers and TV are going to publish what they want to and edit out what they want to and people are going to believe what they want to. I didn't think that was a fair generalization, at least to this newspaper, and I wanted to prove to Mrs. Coates that she was wrong. When she ran for office, she promised to be a full-tiCounty Attorney whose door would always be open. In In that same October 12 letters, Mrs. Coates said, "Anyone who has fact, unanswered, questions may call me anytime. I decided to take the County Attorney at her word. I had a couple of questions and an invitation. First, I wanted to Invite Mrs. Coates to the next Commission interview. Where else would she have a better opportunity to express her opinions without fear of having her words distorted? My first question concerned her pending application for employment with the U. S. District Court. Mrs. Coates applied recently for an administrative clerk position with the Court In Salt Lake City. Rumors have run rampant lately, and I wanted to ask her directly whether she thought her chances of being selected were good. If she Is hired, she will have to resign from her elected position and move to Northern Utah. Himes-Independ- ent. me . I 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)259-777- 3 JIM STILES, PUBLISHER v ; V . Trish West production manager GIVE A GIFT SUBSCRIPTION TO THE ZEPHYR contributing writers ' Ken Davey, Audrey Graham, Tim Knouff Lloyd Pierson, John Sensenbrenner, Ken Sleight, Alan West Terry Tempest Williams FOR CHRISTMAS The Zephyr will send a card to the recipients, and start their subscription with the December issue. . To: name address 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 publishers. 1989 The Canyon Country Zephyr all rights reserved From: name address ' |