OCR Text |
Show Viewpoints. A-I5 WEDTHURSFRI, MARCH 17-19, 2004 THE PARK RECORD EDITORIAL Approaching an anniversary that none of us will be celebrating It is hard to believe that it has already been a year since the world sat riveted to their televisions tele-visions during first days of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It was as if the war was a mini-series that viewers expected would wrap up quickly with a predictable ending. After days of nonstop news coverage, though, viewers were finally forced to return to pre-war routines. Still, there was a sense, at least among Americans that the U.S. would prevail, as it did during Desert Storm, within a month or two. Now, a year later Americans and their allies are stunned that American soldiers are still fighting, and dying, in Iraq. Last week the death toll among U.S. soldiers topped 550. Over the weekend, six more American soldiers and four civilians were killed as a result of the conflict. And, despite the Bush administration's claims that Iraq is getting closer to regaining sovereignty, sover-eignty, there is no clear end in sight. Here at The Record, the war has been brought home to us by our office manager Patti Christenson, whose son PFC Russel Mackey left for Iraq on April 1. For the past week, Patti has been on tenterhooks waiting for word that Russel is on his way home. He was due to leave Baghdad last week but is still waiting for a transport plane. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR During the past year, she says Russel, with whom she exchanges frequent e-mails, has changed dramatically. No longer the fresh-out-of-high-school recruit. He is a seasoned specialist special-ist who, she says, has seen death firsthand. Last August, he helped clean up the carnage when a truck bomb killed 20 people at the United Nations headquarters in Iraq and according to his mom, he has been stoned by Iraqi children. He is more grown up and, having married his high school sweetheart right before leaving for Iraq, he is now a father. Like Russel's family. The Record's staff can only hope that Mackey will make it home safely. safe-ly. Another young Utah father, Sgt. Clint Ferrin of North Ogden, will not. He w as killed w hen a homemade bomb was tossed at his patrol in a Baghdad neighborhood. There are other native sons still serving and our hearts are with them and with their families. As we mark the one-year anniversary of the war this week, Parkites will have an opportunity opportuni-ty to honor all of America's Armed Forces, especially those who sacrificed their lives at "A Memorial for Utah's Slain Soldiers in the Iraq Conflict" which will be held March 22 from 7-9 p.m. at the Jim Santy Auditorium, 1255 Park Ave. in Park City. WHY THE LON6 FACE BUB? YOU GOT (f YOUR ONE ACRE OF OPEN SPACE AND SSS THAT CUTE FELLA IN THE TREE 15 Q TJs A PRETTY GOOD SIGN THAT WE f NsiS MANAGED TO KEEP ALL THE L WILDLIFE JOHN KILBOURNP4RK RECORD Lodging bankruptcies Editor: After reading the four articles regarding the bankruptcy of "High Mountain Properties" and "A Lodging Connection" we wanted to provide you and the community communi-ty with our insight. The similarity of our company name with the now defunct "A Lodging Connection" is nothing more than a coincidence. We own Park City Lodging Connection and we are a lodging reservation wholesaler. Our main reason for this input is to let it be known that we have integrity and we honor our commitments. commit-ments. For seven years we have taken pride in assisting our clients in finding a property that fits their needs and in helping make their vacations in Park City memorable. We were emotionally and monetarily affected by High Mountain Properties closing clos-ing their doors. We had numerous reservations reserva-tions that had been paid in full to High Mountain Properties. Since our clients are our first priority, we felt obligated to secure alternate lodging for our displaced guests. We wanted to do this without any additional cost or inconvenience to our guests. With the help of our lodging partners, Resorts West and Lespri Property Management in particular, particu-lar, we were able to accommodate and often upgrade our clients. Snowflower Condominiums, R&R Properties and Resortquest also offered to assist us with units at discounted rates. Please understand that we lost all of our commissions on these reservations and had to pay a second time for the alternate accommodations. We are a small company founded in 1997. We do not have the luxury of a "corporate umbrella" but we did make sure we had money in the bank for a rainy day. We are sure there are many others who have been impacted by these two bankruptcies. bankrupt-cies. It appears that Park City has narrowly escaped quite a bit of negative press. We all realized that Park City's reputation was at stake. It may well behoove the Park City area property managers and lodging wholesale companies to be required to have escrow accounts or be regulated or licensed in some manner. We find it positive that the Chamber is addressing these issues and look forward to their input. Sincerely, Barbara Pavlick, Co-owner Diane G laser, Co-owner Park City Lodging Connection Rural density vs. urban sprawl Editor: On Tuesday night the Snydervillc Basin Planning Commission held a public input session ses-sion to a full house of concerned citizens. The subject: a proposed development called, "Aspen Highlands," which was seeking approval to build 61 units on a 184-acre parcel par-cel adjacent Hidden Cove and Southridge subdivisions. The commissioners heard an earful from both the developer and the public. In the end, each of the commissioners voiced their very strong concerns that the developers had not met the requirements or intent of the "Development Matrix" and would have a big problem trying to advance their current plans. The public process worked... so far. Citizens from Jeremy Ranch, Hidden Cove and Southridge got up one after another to voice their concerns about the impacts on density, traffic, viewshed, wildlife corridors, open space, trails, schools, and more. I was impressed by the variety, substance and civility civil-ity of the whole process. I commend Max Greenhalgh for chairing a difficult meeting with humor and patience and to the commissioners commis-sioners for really listening. The issue of Aspen Highlands goes much further however. It speaks volumes about the general planning process. "Base density" in Summit County is one unit per 20 acres (or one in 40 acres in "sensitive" areas). This is because counties are supposed to be low density, den-sity, rural environments. If you want more density, annex to a city or town, or incorpo rate your own that was the original intent. Of course, western Summit County has now become an urban sprawl area, in many ways indistinguishable from Sandy, Draper and other urban towns on the Wasatch Front. How come? Is this what we really wanted? Aspen Highlands is a good example. The developer is entitled to seven units on his 184 acres, per code. The Development Code (Matrix) allows the public, through elected officials and Planning Boards, to grant increased density in return for specific, tangible, tangi-ble, public benefits the developer will provide. pro-vide. It's a trading game. In the case of this project the developer was offering very little tangible public benefits to justify the enormous enor-mous public impacts of the development. They were asking for maximum density for minimal public benefits. But they'll be back. So my question is this looking at the incredible growth in the Snyderville Basin over the past 20 years, what specific, tangible public benefits have we received for all that development? Where has the rural environment environ-ment gone? Has our collective desire to live in a rural mountain setting blinded us to what is actually emerging around us? When will we begin reining in the "trading game" of property rights vs. public "benefits." Is money really our highest value? You will know the tree by the fruit it bears. These are questions I ask myself. I hope the Planning and County Commissioners might do the same. The "tragedy of the commons" com-mons" is fast approaching. Paul Sincock Kudos to public art Editor: I would like to thank the Olympic Legacy Enhancement Project Committee, Park City Public Affairs Department and Park City Council for the opportunity to compete as a finalist for the 2002 Winter Games public art project. The selection process was thoughtful, thought-ful, comprehensive and well organized. Quality public art enriches our environment, and its attendant discussion enlivens our community. I strongly support public art in Park City and hope to be able to contribute to its success suc-cess in the future. Steven A. Swanson Welcome home, Bear Samples Editor: While we no longer will have Bear Samples' column to read, it will be great to have him back here with us in Park City. I would like to say "Welcome Home" to a great American and a true hero. This is a man who has dedicated close to 30 years of his life to serve both God and country. Most recently he has spent 18 months in both Iraq, Kuwait and New Orleans, at the expense of his family, to provide the much needed spiritual and mental counsel to our troops. I am glad he is safe and I thank him for his dedication and service. Sincerely, Michael Flaherty Local control Editor: I was listening to Summit County Commissioner Shauna Kerr being interviewed inter-viewed on KPCW this week. During the interview she was asked about what she thought about the notion of the incorporation incorpora-tion of the Snyderville Basin. She said there are two general reasons for incorporation; services and representation. I agree with her on this. She mentioned that city-like services are being provided by Summit County, therefore there was no need for incorporation. Secondly she said that she didn't think the residents of the area were too concerned about representation. I beg to differ on both counts. The services provided for the 17,(XX) residents of the "Snyderville Basin" are significantly less than those provided to the much fewer 7,000 resi dents of Park City. An example of this is the bus service. The current bus service doesn't serve residents at all and only serves the businesses busi-nesses on SR 224. And the approved future bus service pales in comparison to the service in Park City in terms of hours of operation, frequency and area serviced. The existing and future bus service is operated oper-ated by Park City Municipal by people w ho are not elected by Snyderville Basin residents nor are accountable to them. The weakness of this set-up was evident at the public meetings meet-ings unveiling the proposed new service. At these meetings maps were displayed which were so out-of-date that entire subdivisions were not shown while jeep tracks long abandoned aban-doned were shown. When I pointed this out to a Park City bus service employee he said he "didn't really know those areas that well." As for representation, the level of political representation for Snyderville Basin residents resi-dents can only be described as undemocratic. For example, exactly 100 percent of the members of the Park City Council live in Park City. Meanwhile only 33 percent of the members of the de facto city council for the Snyderville Basin - the Summit County Commission -- live in the Snyderville Basin. The problem with this is seen when critical public meetings regarding Kimball Junction plans or Basin Recreation or water issues are held in Coalville, when exactly zero percent of the residents affected live within 20 miles of Coalville. Another example of undemocratic representation repre-sentation has been the six-year saga regarding regard-ing the Willow Creek park and surrounding area. The many local residents who attended these meetings who were in favor of the Fieldstone golf community and against the multi-field active-use park were ignored by those two commissioners and the other county coun-ty officials who dismissed those residents as "not representing the community." Now we hear of a proposal to change the County Commission to five seats with one seat each for Park City, the Snyderville Basin, North Summit and South Summit, with one at-large seat. This proposal to "improve" the commission is again patently undemocratic as these suggested districts have wildly different populations by more than 300 percent from smallest to largest. Didn't anyone pay attention in their civics class? If the commission is expanded to five commissioners, the only fair way to structure these districts would be for them to have equal population. So Commissioner Kerr, I invite you to ride the bus to visit me to discuss these issues further. fur-ther. Oh wait, you can't. There's no bus near me. Colin Jackson Stop criticizing the DWR Editor: In almost every issue of The Park Record, it seems like someone is criticizing the DWR for something. I wonder if these people who are quick to find fault with the DWR and who publicly voice their judgmental opinions in the media have ever stopped to contemplate contem-plate their own culpability in the ecological equation? The fact that humans choose to live within important winter range, putting undue stress on animals, doesn't seem to get publicly denounced very often in the media. Yet, the organization that is faced with managing the problems created by these mountain dwellers gets criticized on a regular, on-going basis. Many of these complainers have very little, lit-tle, if any, real knowledge of wildlife biology biolo-gy or habitat issues. Fewer still are aware of the complexities of managing wildlife in an ever-changing political and social climate, the ominous objectives facing the DWR and the limited resources and economic factors the DWR must work with. Maybe the DWR isn't doing such a bad job after all if you factor in all the variables the public isn't aware of.' Instead of criticizing and condemning, why not be proactive instead'.' The DWR has meeting schedules and loads of information posted on their website so that any member of the public may become actively involved in the organization's organiza-tion's decision-making processes and activities. activi-ties. II a person is genuinely interested in the management of Utah's wildlife and natural resources, getting involved as a volunteer with the organization assigned the formidable formida-ble task of managing Utah's wildlife and resources would be a far better use of energy than criticizing and complaining about it. Wendy Mair HeberCity Thanks to the Fire Department Editor: Boy Scout Troop 71, Park. Cily, Utah would like to thank the Park City Fire Department and specifically FiremanEMT Ken Smith for the fantastic job he did in giving giv-ing a presentation on first aid to the scouts on March 3. The scouts would have stayed there all night if we had let them! They got some great information and training that will be useful to them for the rest of their lives. The ability and confidence to help someone else, as well as themselves, in time of need, will make these scouts better citizens. Our sincercst appreciation goes to Mr. Smith for generously generous-ly donating his time away from work to help our scouts. They are never going to forget what Mr. Smith taught them. Sincerely Thomas Kirchenheiter, Patrol Leader Boy Scout Troop 71, Park City How about biodiesel? Editor: In response to the Feb. 25 letter from Ken McCarthy about our dependence on the world's depleting oil supply: I've spent the last 10 months restoring a 71 Toyota Land Cruiser that I recently put a diesel engine into. This little bugger is a great little engine and you missed a great moment the other night. The vehicle, which hadn't run or moved since 1985, finally fired right up! The "grand plan" has been to run it on biodiesel that I plan to brew myself from used vegetable oil from some of Park City's many deep fryers. This leads me to my point... There has been a growing trend to run biodiesel in municipalities and states all over America. Closest to us, it is used by the state of Idaho and in ski towns throughout Colorado, with Telluride leading the charge. Though the fuel is grown by American farmers, the principle reason it is used is that it produces significantly signifi-cantly lower amounts of both greenhouse gas and smog. While 1 highly praise Park City's recent choice to buy wind-powered electricity, electrici-ty, it is my opinion that if Park City were to adopt some sort of biodiesel program, it could be just as effective in reducing pollution pollu-tion and utilizing clean energy. The only shortcoming of the fuel is that it "gels" much easier. Conventional diesel fuel suffers from the same affliction but the fuel companies have come up with additives to keep this from happening in winter. The solution they have come up with for biodiesel is to simply blend it with regular diesel fuel. It is available commercially is pure and pre-blended pre-blended forms and can be blended up to 35 to 40 percent blend with no negative effects in even the coldest of winter temperatures. At the University of Vermont, we started a program that ran our buses on a B30 (30 percent) per-cent) blend. The buses operate as much as 18 hours a day, seven days a week, and to this day, years later, there have been no reported problems specifically related to the fuel. So there are a few options; I would be interested in starting a local co-op and I am already aware of several other people in town who might be interested. If our source of biodiesel is used deep fryer grease, I estimate esti-mate at a co-op level we could produce fuel for the going rate of diesel if not cheaper. However, if the city were to implement a biodiesel program, they would need to use a commercial grade fuel that runs over $2 a gallon and would likely need some additional addition-al funding. In any case, I personally would be interested interest-ed in pursuing the concept at both a cooperative cooper-ative level and municipally. I would even be willing to lead the charge if I can gather some supporters! My e-mail address is andre(?col-legeinternetsolutions.com andre(?col-legeinternetsolutions.com and I can be reached at 631-0021 (cell) or 649-0316. 1 will be glad to answer any questions anyonC might have. Back to your original idea, Ken - they estimate esti-mate about 50 percent of our oil comes from overseas and about 16 of the fuel burned daily is in diesel powered vehicles. I think it would be pretty neat if we could transfer 16 of our oil dependence to a clean fuel grown by American farmers. Andre Shoumatoff The Park Record welcomes letters to the editor on any subject. We ask that the letters adhere to the following guidelines:They must include the address and telephone number of author. No letter will be published under an assumed name. They must not contain libelous material. Writers are limited to one letter every 28 days. Letters must not be longer than 350 words (guest editorials, 550 words) and should if possible, be typed. We reserve the right to edit letters if they are too long or if they contain statements we consider unnecessarily offensive or obscene. In addition, thank you letters may be limited in length with regard to businesses and event sponsors. The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER Editor Staff writers Contributing writers Editor's assistant Classified advertising Office manager Circulation manager Accounting manager Advertising director Advertising sales Editorial production Photographers Production director Production Distribution Cartoonist Andy Bernhard Nan Chalat-Noaker Jay Hamburger Pat Parkinson Monika Guendner Jennifer R. Merback Casey Basden Brett Larsen Joe Lair Tom Clyde Teri Orr Jay Meehan Joan Jacobson Silvia Leavitt Linda Gorton Linda Jager Berris Samples Courtney Herzinger Inkarna Black Alice Hummons Patti Christensen Michael Duffy Kate Keesee Valerie Deming Wendy Halliday Anne Anderson Cathy Vandeweghe Christy Wilson Molly Ballard Erin Donnelly Cheryn McNicol Wendy Mair Rena Jensen Teresa Chavez Kat James Scott Sine Grayson West Matt Gordon Kristi Ruppert Scott Schlenker Jason Plawecki Kyle Burress Shannon Rogers Kaya Darko Carrie Winston Justin Deuel John Kilbourn Contents of the The Park Record are copyright 2(K)4, Diversified Suburban Newspapers. All rights reserved. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the managing editor or publisher. The Park Record (USPS 378-730) (ISSN 0745-94X3) 0745-94X3) is published twice weekly by Diversified Suburban Newspapers, 1670 Bonaiva Dr., Hark City, Utah. PeriodicaLs Postage paid at Park Cilv, Utah. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Park Record, Box 36XX, Park City. Utah K4060. Entered as second class matter. May 25, 1977 at the post office in Park City, Utah X4060, under the Act of March 3, 1X97. Subscription rates are $37 inside Summit County, $70 outside Summit County, Utah. Subscriptions are transferrable: $5 cancellation fee. Phone (435 ) 649-9014 or fax (435 ) 649-4942. Published every Wednesday and Saturday. |