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Show , ; V.; , ;r The Park Record D Section A fage A14 D Thursday, December 1, 1994 a Nuisance lawsuit has Ca 9 far-reaching effects ' Any time you want to feel what life was like for miscreants in the 19th century, Park City's Old Territorial Jail is a good place to get the experience. 0 You make your way carefully down a steep staircase in Park City's Museum on Main Street. Immediately a strong feeling assails you. The feeling ijS unavoidable. The walls, the very air you breathe are redolent with the utter hopelessness and squalor of the jail's former inmates. You can almost see them milling about in the large cell, their clothes filthy and baggy, their eyes downcast. The threat of violence and disease everywhere. You stroll into oner tiny cell whose dimensions are only six teet by three feet, it is nnea with a undo the latch which had closed behind him. The city attorney has labeled it a nuisance suit and refused the family's claim to damages. But the suit is more than a nuisance, it is robbery. It is one more example of how the public at large is diminished by the litigious few. Thousands of tourists and locals will henceforth be denied the memorable chill of knowing what it's like to be locked in a jail cell with ghosts of the 19th century for a few moments because members of a little girl's family were not as vigilant or careful as they could have been. Editorial rickety cot and a privy pot that would not be private at all. Imagine being confined underground in a space that small for even a day, for something you may or may not have done. The sensation is enhanced if the door happens to close on you. For the few moments it takes for someone on the outside to slide back the ancient latch, you get a little taste of the fear and desperation felt by alleged criminals of days gone by. r It's a different museum experience, and one not available to many in our sanitized world. But soon the experience itself will be lost to history. A lawsuit being brought by a Spanish Fork family is going to result in the cells being locked so the public can never enter them, regardless of whether the city wins or loses, according to museum director Marianne Cone. 1 The lawsuit is being brought because a three-year-ojld child had part of her finger sliced off when her uncle kicked his way out of a cell after he couldn't Furthermore, the suit is costing local taxpayers money that could be spent on other things. It is a terrible thing to harm a child. The guilt is extremely difficult to live with. Bringing a lawsuit may seem like a help in shifting some of the blame, but in our opinion the ultimate fact remains that it was the child's family that allowed the accident to happen. The museum now feels obligated to alter the jail, whether or not the family's suit prevails, simply to prevent future lawsuits. It's debatable whether the safety of the place will be ensured as a result After all, if the family, knowing their child as no one else would, could not predict (or even notice) that her curiosity could get her into difficulty, how could the city possibly anticipate all the quirks of behavior thousands of visitors could exhibit? Life is inherently dangerous, particularly for children: We all know this, and as a society, we should not continue to take seriously claims for redress from people who should shoulder their own culpability. A Thumb Up, Thunib Mown THUMBS UP to all the dedicated snowplow drivers whose hard work let everyone make it to Thanksgiving festivies with friends and family. lis Christmas... JV ID L5o : If you purchase a new subscription for $18.00 (inside Summit County) or $36.00 (outside Summit County), well include a gift-wrapped. Park Record mug as a stocking stuffer! (Mugs wii! not be mailed they must be picked up at Park Record ' office. Offer good for new subsc?lpHons3oWlV no renewals.) Stop by our office at 1670 Bonanza Drive today! r - i - ; ; ; : ; - ; m rS S - i cIQTI Serving Summit County since 1880 good while supplies last! r -optoc e7rCSi0v lilMr II irt I Recreation board needs you! Arc you fed up with the current status of recreation in the Snyderville Basin? Do you get annoyed when you hear the Snyderville Basin Recreation Board whine about funding on KPCW? Do you like the new $200 non-resident pass at the Racquet Club? Would you like to hold the Commissioners-elect to the fire when it comes to recreation in the Snyderville Basin? Well, if any of these questions' elevate your blood pressure, there is an opportunity awaiting you...The Snyderville Basin Recreation District Board has board member positions open for 1995, There is a very simple procedure for applying.' Send your letter of interest to:1 1 Summit County Human Resources Department P.O. Box 128 Coalville, UT 84017 The Snyderville Basin Recreation Board has a ; diverse range of issues facing it in 1995. Issues such as'' funding, financial planning, legal structure, park;; planning and site acquisition. The Board needs you if ; you have expertise in these subjects or simply a t passion for recreation. The time commitment is not'1 -great meetings Guest Editorial 11 - a month : I Iin the evening, pushing hard" to make 1995 the year for recreation in the Snyderville ? Basin. You can make a difference, choose to v participate in the process and make recreation you top " priority for the Snyderville Basin in 1995: " 'v.nrol Jody Graham Chairman - Snyderville Basin Recreation Board ' Post-election thoughts Long before the recent elections of November 8, many wished as I, that this event would hastily conclude. We were worn down slick by the three Ns Negativism, Nastiness and some Numb-skulled shenaniganism's that had occurred leading up to election day. That election is now history. In the past, most post-election bitterness and divisiveness seemed to dissolve overnight with a closing of ranks and support pledged to, the winners by the electorate (at least through a honeymoon period), and the losers were saluted and applauded for their effort But now comes forth a new post-election era, with snipers taking pot shots at the carcasses of candidates who lost, as did one of your readers in a Letter to the Editor last week, regarding a local race. It seems to me that this new level of grimy crossfire will surely lead to a greater danger to all of " us in future elections. If the three Ns continue to proliferate as they have,"4, and post election harpooning becomes fashionable,'1 we will find ourselves with fewer qualified and", good candidates willing to subject themselves to :, campaign election abuse that now seems common. I believe that those who choose to run for public office, whether,.., Guest Editorial thein in whole- pari or not at all, or even if,,; we like them or '" not, should be accorded a certain courtesy, if for no other reason thatnrespect for their commitment to ( . serving the community. . The election is history. I say enough is enough. '., ,! , Tom Frey SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION 1 Year inside Summit County, $1 8, outside Summit County, $36 Mastercard Exp. or Visa No. . - ' .- . . Date: Name Mailing Address . Payment must be -, , received before subscription begins Thank You r.i STAFF PUIWHEH ECHTOA MNIHHM Staff Writers. Contrirutinc Whtem. ttiiiciirnoN . Andy Bernhard .Sna Flinders .Ambef McKee, Diana Hingston Luke Smith, DavcMictariam Nan Chabt-Noaker, Matt Ott .Tom Clyde, Rick B rough Pam Latham Classified Manach Accounting, Fmnt Desk Advertking Dihctor AovEinuNG Sum... .JtachelleElckhoff .JOm Dudley, Kim Hanrn MPamda Haintworth Tracy Callagher, Holly Rudy Donna Benjer, Lisa A. Schofield Photographer It Darkroomm, Eva Kropp Production ...Kat Jamei, Pam Vernon, Alan Stanwyck Dhtmrution Jayion Frampton Circulation - Chuck Cunningham, Dan Olten Cartoonut Michael Draper The Pork Record (USPS 0037-; 8730) is published weekly by , diversified Suburban Newspapers, . 1670 Bonanza Dr., Park City, UT. Second Class Postage in Park City, UT. ;- ' POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Pork Record, Box 3688, Park City, UT 84060. Entered' as second class matter, May 25, 1977 at the post office in Park City, UT , 84060, under the Act of March 3, 1897. Subscription rates are $18 inside, Summit County, $36 outside Summit County, UT. Phone (801) 649-9014. Published every Thursday. rs Si o a' n : 'A '. ,r..' |