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Show PAGE 2 THE ZEPHYRJAN-FE- B 1994 income. As any advertising supplement might do, the story emphasizes all the diverse recreational opportunities available in Moab, from mountain bikes and golf courses, to a look at our booming movie industry. The story, however, provides little room for balance when it comes to discussing the effects of rapid growth on Moab's future. Ms. Hulet writes: Page Two "But while encouraging new business and increasing tourism is a must for Moab's economy to keep issue. The 'no growth' crowd growing, how much is enough? Two schools of thought sharply divide this the future and dont let anyone says lock it up, freeze them out and throw away the key. Preserve Moab for else in. But the 'growth school says the reality is that people are going to come and the community needs to plan now to manage growth responsibly. " Jim Stiles Get reaL The "no growth" crowd may, in their heart of hearts, wish and dream that Moab could be the sleepy little town that it once was. But I don't know of anyone, even me, that has any hope of seeing such a trip into the past ever reoccurring. About all the "no growth crowd can dare to expect or demand is the kind of managed growth and planning that both the city and county councils are tackling right now. Their efforts are being fought tooth and nail, by developers and some real estate companies, every time the governing bodies try to impose any restraints or restrictions on growth at all. h A case in point is the recent battle over a plan to build a Wendy's in Ken discussed street. this downtown Moab, with ingress and egress on to a residential Davey issue at length last month, but it deserves repeating now. Some of the Moabites interviewed in the Utah Business article who touted, "quality of lifestyle," as a Grand County selling point, are the same ones coming to planning commission meetings demanding that this fast food restaurant be built, regardless of what it does to the neighborhood. Even though the planning commission h has, for months, been developing the concept of a pedestrian zone that would restrict think it should be exempt type businesses, those pushing this In the Utah Business supplement one Moab businessman scoffed at the notion that our population will get out of hand, stating in the article that "there simply isn't enough land to grow too large." But his partner, a few paragraphs later says he expects Moab's population will peak at 15,000, saying, "Moab is pretty much back to where we were before the bubble burst. I figure it will take about three years to catch up with St. George." 15,000? Catch up with St. George in three years? Am I missing something? drive-throug- The Lame Issue. Thank God, I thought it would never arrive. This is the third annual installment of the Lame Issue, although we are rapidly dosing in on five years of publication. We were lame before our time How this now traditional title for the January February issue took form now escapes me ...I guess it was obvious from the content I don't know. And again, while some of the contributors to this month's edition have sought to write stories worthy of the lame label, others have disappointed me with work that is fairly ludd and insightful. It is that kind of disrespect that makes me wish oil the Zephyr writers could be like our contributor Hank Rutter. Hank submitted a piece this month, even he had no though assignment, but it was so lame that I knew we had to find a way...any way, to see that it was printed (You can find Hank's diatribe against the embattled Mr. Groene in the Feedback section.). In any event, I like a writer who turns his work in on time, puts it on a Word disk so I don't have to pay someone to type if, and writes as lamely as is requested by the editor. Bless you Hank. Actually, as I flip through the pages, it would appear to me that the paper is about 57 lame; even part of this particular exercise in futility is intended to be taken seriously. But it is HiffimH to take anything seriously in a publication where its stated goal is to be lame. In addition, the name has caused some confusion among the staff. Production assistant and computer whiz Karen Downey, who just recently joined the Zephyr, understood me to say that this was the lame' issue, and arrived to type in a stunning gold lame' evening gown. She looked like a million bucks but sweater to make it my office is a tad cold in the winter and I finally had to lend her a through the day. elections this year, no spedal Thankfully, we are not faced with another set of election issue of the Zephyr, and by the time this paper hits the newsstands, I will hopefully be long gone. Which means that if you have a complaint about this particular installment of the Zipper, if you were offended in some way, if I (once again) caricatured your lovely countenance in what you regard an unflattering manner, if you thought the entire paper was a waste of 75 cents, remember, the dunces are you stole the paper in the first place, and, secondly, by the time you track me down to complain, I won't have the slightest idea what you're talking about. Short-ternot just a good idea, it's a life saver. memory loss.-.it'token-conservati- ve Perfect-compatib- le K-M-art mid-wint- er m s A recent issue of Utah Business magazine carried an advertising section an Moab, called "TOURISM: Moab's New Uranium." Rex Holman of Canyonlands Advertising, produced the supplement, but the writer of the accompanying story, Renon Klossner Hulet, was, according to Rex, hired directly by the magazine. For the most part, die story is a fairly accurate and informative account of Moab's recent history and its shift from die extractive industries to tourism as Grand County's major source of "All the news that causes fits." drive-throug- drive-throu- gh Almost tripling the population is not an act of managed and responsible growth, as I see it. The impacts on this community would be staggering and costly. Five years ago, when the community was still somewhat depressed, Moab's intended goal was to become a town with a healthy economy again, where people could make a decent living. As die one Moab businessman said, we've recovered from the bust of the early 80s. The question is, who benefits now from an outrageously swelled population? And who pays for it? The real constituency, the ones who see any and all proposals for growth as the positive, regardless of impacts, is the same group who tries to hang an obstructionist, unpatriotic label on anyone who attempts to even take the time to evaluate the effects of a proposed development. When the backers of a project object to scrutiny, whether by the citizens themselves or by the elected officials who represent them, we have to ask why. pro-grow- th When the Zephyr comes back from its hiatus in March, we hope to make a real and realistic attempt to look at Moab's future and to examine what its citizens and governing bodies can do to protect the "quality of lifestyle" that was so strongly stressed in Ms. Hulet's story. So often, I hear Moabites on both sides of the Growth Debate say that change is inevitable. In the Utah Business article, Grand County Travel Council Director Linda Carlson said as much when she proclaimed, "It's like telling a flash flood coming down die canyon, 'Look, go away. I'm camped here. You can't come down the canyon.' Well, it's coming folia, and get out of the way!" Well, I don't quite buy that analogy. What might be more appropriate is to imagine yourself downstream from Hoover Dam; we can order the engineers to open the diversion tunnels wide-ope- n and surely get washed away by the ensuing flood. Or we can at least try to control the amount of water we release from the dam, to assure our safety and the safety of the canyon and the river that flows through it. Wie can make that choice. Grand county made news across the nation this year. Stories of our "citizens' revolt" were carried in newspapers and magazines from the West Coast to New York. We made news because we did something unique...we dedded to make our government accountable and we should be proud of the efforts we made. Now we have the opportunity to tell our city and county councils just what we want this part of southeast Utah to look like in 20 years. Of course, change is inevitable, but it doesn't have to mean new fast-forestaurants, strip malls, modular motels, and condo developments. Change can also mean new ideas, new values we cherish the most The citizens of attitudes, and a new awareness of the small-tow- n Grand County do not have to throw in five towel to h speculators and wannabe land barons. It's still our town. od THE CANYON COUNTRY get-ric- ZEPHYR P.O. BOX 327 MOAB, UTAH 84532 (801) 259-77- 73 "You can ask me for anything you like, except time." --Napoleon publisher & editor Jim Stiles I was sitting in front of Dave's Comer Market last week, reflecting fondly on the fact that just a few short weeks ago, I could sit on the same stone bench and bask in the warmth ofthe late afternoon sun. The front of Dave and Melody's store is something of a sun magnet But on this particular day, and for many days to follow, all the southern exposure their stare has to offer will do no good at all. Because as I sat there and felt five temperature fall by leaps and bounds, I watched the sun slip behind the West Wall at 3:49 PM. political specialist & features Ken Davey contributing writers Jade Cambell Jane S. Jones Cherie Gilmore T. Scott Groene Mary Yates Hank Rutter historical photos Herb Ringer I have never understood why, in addition to all the other miseries of winter we are forced to endure, we have to turn our clocks bade in October so we can really get depressed. Isn't it bad enough that we have to walk on cold linoleum in the morning, and sit on cold toilet seats, and scrape our windshields, and catch the flu, and listen to our friends' doomsday warnings about electric blankets? Enough is enough. Not only do I think we should abolish Standard Time once and for all, it's time for radical change. I call it the "9 o'clock dock." I believe that sunset Bhould always occur at 9 PM. Regardless of the time of year, the sun should always set at the same time every day. That way, at sunset, we'd always know what time it is. And, of course, it would also provide hours and hours of extra time to do the things we like to do when we get home from work. Of course, in the winter when we are lucky to get nine hours or so of daylight in a 24 hour period, it would mean that sunrise would occur at about 11 AM. But so what? Most people have to go to work anyway; except for the farmers who already get up in the dark, I doubt if anyone would notice. And at 11 AM, everybody would be awake to see the sunrise. There is nothing more beautiful or uplifting than a sunrise. While sunsets have a certain sad and melancholy feel to them, five dawn is full of hope and promise. Yet most of us sleep through those best moments food editor Willie Flocko Roving Reporter Robert Fulghum production & circulation assistant Jennifer Rodocker Karen Downey photographs & art are by the publisher unless noted otherwise. The Zephyr, copyright 1993, 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 . Mi 'jr;t 4 |