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Show THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 2 Volume X Issue XI September 15, 2004 Letters to the Editor The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 745-2688 Fax: 745-0062 Cell: 791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@att.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 745-2879 Fax: 745-2879 E-Mail: crwendell@att.net crwendell@msn.com Opinions expressed by advertisers, columnists or letters to the editor are not necessarily the opinions of the owners and staff of The OGDEN VALLEY NEws. Guidelines for Letters to the Editor Letters should be 300 words or less. Letters must be signed and the address of the A Thank You to the Ogden Valley Community The owners and employees of South Fork Recreation in Huntsville would like to extend a special thanks to the community for their support of our business. We would like to say thank you for welcoming us into your community. South Fork Recreation will be closing at the end of September to move to Morgan, Utah. We would like to invite all of the community to continue to let us serve you at our new location. Thank you again for your business. We hope to see you in Morgan in the near future. South Fork Recreation Ogden Valley Balloon Festival Organizers Apologize writer submitted. The OGDEN VALLEY NEws reserves the right to edit or decline printing of any submissions. Announcements Sought As a community service, The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS will print local birth, wedding, obituary, anniversary and missionary farewell & homecoming and Eagle Scout announcements free of charge. We invite residents to send their announcements to: The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS PO BOX 130 EDEN UT 84310 If you would like your submitted items returned, please send a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. The OGDEN VALLEY NEws, while respecting all property received, will take no responsibility for lost or misplaced items. Please remember to keep a copy for yourself. Invitation for Articles The staff of The OGDEN VALLEY NEws welcomes the submission of articles by our readership. We invite you to submit local historical accounts or biographies, articles pertaining to contemporary issues, and/or other material that may be of interest to our readers. We also invite you to submit to the paper, or notify the staff of local events. Awards that have been earned by the reader, family members, neighbors or friends are also sought. While the staff of The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS invites the submittal of information and articles, we reserve the right to select which material will be considered for publication. All material, to be considered, must be submitted with the full name, address and telephone number of the person submitting the material. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS’ liability on account of errors in, or omissions of, advertising shall in no event exceed the amount of charges for the advertising omitted or the space occupied by the error. The OGDEN VALLEY News does not endorse, pr ‘omote and On behalf of the entire Wolf Creek Resort Ogden Valley Balloon Festival Organization Committee, I would like to apologize to all of you who were inconvenienced by the parking lot jam on Saturday night. I also want to extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the entire organizing team and volunteer staff for rearranging their priorities and spending hundreds of their personal hours to take on such an enormous challenge with such short notice. I have never been a member of a team as dedicated and willing to sacrifice nearly all of their available time for a great cause without compensation. There are several people who deserve gold medals for finishing the balloon festathon, but one individual clearly stands out in my mind and that would be Rob Thomas. Rob had two months to get the necessary permits, clear the 40 plus acre site from ditches and boulders, plant a 5-acre field of grass, install the necessary irrigation system, install new roads, build new fences, install new water lines, bring in power, and yes, arrange to park 4,000 cars. During the same time, he had no choice but to continue to perform his leadership role at Wolf Creek as the Superintendent of the Golf Course, and the Overseer of the development of Wolf Creek’s entire infrastructure during our busiest time of year. If any one is to blame for not controlling the parking lot exodus on Saturday night, it was me. At around 8:00 p.m., I insisted that Rob go home, hug his wife and children, and get some sleep since he had only been home for two hours in the previous two days (his 19th wedding anniversary was the next day). In my mind, and I am sure the mind of all who watched, Rob was a hero—not the goat some have made him out to be. Looking ahead, let me share some great news; Rob will be in command of the parking next year and when he has hind sight, it’s beyond 20/20. Steven Roberts, Wolf Creek Resort Managing Partner claims Or tisements in this newspaper. The OGDEN VALLEY News has the sole authority to edit and locate any classified advertisement as deemed appropriate. It also reserves the right to refuse any advertis- Note: The contents of The OGDEN VALLEY NEws are copyrighted. To protect this publication and its contributors from unlawful copying, written permission is required before any individual or company engages in the reproduction or distribution of its contents, by any means, without first obtaining written permission from the owners of this publication. Balloon Festival RECREATION cont. from page 1 character. Transportation access to and from adjacent areas, including the Ogden/Wasatch Front region and I-84 in Morgan County, is also a key concern to residents, resort owners, and local officials. As recreational growth increases, the impacts of increasing traffic on existing development must be considered. Area recreational planning and development should seek to address these issues as the region continues to serve a growing base of residents and recreational visitors. The county has contracted with the consultants—Bio-West—to hold a minimum of two public meetings in order to prepare vision statements for recreation/resort areas and general recreation activities. A draft document will then be prepared that will include the vision statements to be used in the plan preparation. The consultants will then pres- Next year we plan to better educate the public on the timing of specific events so they can arrive prior to the activity that attracted them. But given that we only had about 70 days to plan this massive event, we are very pleased with the outcome and thank everyone who helped, and the entire community for their support. We admittedly were caught by surprise by the traffic snarls and parking problems when the crowd far exceeded our expectations on Saturday night. The delayed opening of the North Ogden Divide added to the problem. And while we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our guests, plans are already underway for satellite parking lots with an “Olympic” style shuttle program and an exodus plan over the divide. However, the best news of all is that the event helped raise over $25,000 for Ogden Valley Pathways, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and build non-motorized trails throughout the Valley. Ironic, isn’t it? Nancy Seraphin Ogden Valley Balloon Festival, Inc. Public Relations Director Eden ent the draft statement to the Township Planning Commissions. The final draft Vision Statement will then be presented for discussion at a public hearing with the Township Planning Commissions and, finally, to the Weber County Commission. The first round of public workshops addressing the development of the Ogden Valley Recreation Plan element of the Ogden Valley General Plan are scheduled for Wednesday, September 29 and Thursday, September 30. On September 29, the workshop will be held at 6:00 p.m. in the Weber County Building located at 2380 Washington Blvd., in the county training room—room 312. The Thursday workshop will be held at Snowerest Jr. High, also at 6:00 p.m. For more information, contact Inspirational Thought | “Were a star quenched on high, for ages would its light still traveling downward from the sky shine on our mortal sight. So when a great man dies, for years beyond our ken, the light he leaves behind him lies upon the paths of men.” Eden Planning Committee Election Scheduled Elections to select new members and alternates of the Eden be held Thursday, October 7 at 7:00 p.m. in the conference room in Eden. The public is invited and will cast ballots to select the serve four year terms. The committee provides input to the Commission at its monthly meetings. Questions may be directed to committee chair Stephen <sdclarke@oValley.net> Planning Committee will of the Red Moose Lodge new members. Members Ogden Valley Planning Clarke at 745-1348 BARBARA BEALBA INTERIORS Blinds, Shutters & Shades Reupholstery Design Consultation 745-2269 E-mail: barbarab@konnections.net —Longfellow oe 0 sailor bo, t New Hg me September 25th 9:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Meet our Doctors Meet our Staff See our Stuff You'll Love It! 952 28th Street Ogden, UT 84403 801;399-0260 ENLIGHTEN YOUR WaAy Weber County Planning Director Jim Gentry at 3998791. Custom Draperies or of any product or service advertised in i this newspaper. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS hereby disclaims all liability for any damage suffered as the result of any advertisement in this newspaper. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWs is not nesponeinie) for any Unbelievable UNBELIEVABLE! What a celebration we had when we presented the Ogden Valley Balloon Festival. The 10th year of this annual event featured perfect weather with over 40 balloon pilots in attendance from all over the country, and they all raved about the incredible natural beauty of our mountain valley and its friendly people. The vendors were absolutely tickled with many almost selling out of their arts and crafts. The majority of them have indicated that they definitely want to come back next year. The talented entertainers, most of whom were local, especially enjoyed the new venue, and quite a few of them donated their services for the chance to perform in front of such an attentive audience. About 100 volunteers worked tirelessly and went way beyond the call of duty to make this the best event possible—all I can say about them is WOW! But most importantly, we will remember all the young children who had such contagious smiles of glee as they watched the incredible, colorful sight of balloons inflating and taking flight. Their joy embraced the true spirit of the event. It was all about community and pride in this place some of us are fortunate enough to call home. Rain ce call Tae ae a FREE ESTIMATE or |