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Show Opinion and Editorial. WASATCH PAGE 24 COUNTY COURIER Hey Guys, It’s Not Misinformation TUESDAY peg 7,gee ge genta rtn gymerns tt = ree ena RS ce Ago comet Co eh, dicecisellncehcaeedieluetingnd nye aig Fei a — | ables ea ops ; a red be Lsidlgbithdbaling | sled es bisa ; or i ee € appreciate the County Commission communicating their point of view with the public (see _ page 28). Since this paper started its operation, we’ ve been getting feedback from readers asking for more ‘information. Commissioners please continue to write, the people would like to know your positions. We will publish the commisioner’s correspondence as long as it is submitted before our printing deadline and it hasn’t been pub. lished elsewhere. Since this letter was an apparent response to our coverage of the Jordanelle firehouse, we feel the need to challenge statements in this letter. The commissioners’ letter starts out by saying there is “misinformation being circu- $ te “e eee eee blilig di ee Ny oa rent and will need fire protection at some point. We agree. gation imposed on them. However, we believe the commissioners’ letter is However, Deer Crest is the only development currently under construction and will be the only user for at least several years. The real reason the fire station is being built -at this time is that it is a contractual obligation imposed on the county by the “Deer Crest Intertocal Agreement” ‘approved by the prior commission and dated December 17th, 1998. The current commission is doing the right thing and it surprises us that they feel the need to rationalize their actions. If the county has a contract, they must honor it. Right or wrong, once signed it is an obligation the county must make good on. We applaud the current commission for fulfilling the obligations imposed on them lated regarding the Jordanelle Fire Station.” In our stories Re to rationalize the time frame by pointing out that other developments besides Deer Crest are planned for the area we have pointed out three important points. First, the fire station will be staffed full time while the rest of the coun_ty remains volunteer. Second, the firehouse is currently being built with money from the general fund. Third, the fire station is being built on leased land. Amazingly, the commissioners admit all three points in their letter. Hey guys, its not “misinformation” if its true. Duh. One item we didn’t cover, but the commissioners seem sensitive about, is why the firehouse is being built now by a prior commission. The other item the commissioners appear sensitive _ about is making clear that they want Deer Crest (and other potential developments in the area) to pay for the increased costs of a full time fire station. The requirement for a full time staffed station is also a contractual obligation imposed on the county by the “Deer Crest Interlocal Agreement.” We agree that the residents of this area _ should pay the additional costs and again applaud the cur- instead of later. The commissioners seem to feel the need commissioners for fulfilling a contract obli- misleading when it says the prior and current commissioners have a “plan” for making Jordanelle residents pay the higher costs. On page 17, section 9, paragraph b) of the “Deer Crest Interlocal Agreement” it states the “county, Wasatch through County : the Fire BY DAN Courmr Protection Special Service STEPHENS PusiisHEr j Manacine Eprror District, or other such entity formed for that pur3 pose, shall provide fire fighting personnel and equipment.” It is clear that the intent was to have the Wasatch County Fire Protection Special Service District provide see MISINFORMATION on page 28° Letters to the Editor a er glee meee hcg oy ’ Weg oyne requesting we be isstied the license, plus many more words of encouragement from area people. : We again went to the council last July fs with a written request ——— Lsihleiahalaeaid con tlre dRAd ll led eel Editor: Sele some of the reasons we felt were of an affirmative nature, _but were again rebuffed by the same individuals with the admonii want to echo in the strongest possible terms the sentiments tion that any further request would be denied. We felt that we are expressed by Homer Lebaron, Keith Baker and other neighbors in being grossly. diserninated against for Ome. unnecessary or Valley Hills Estates over the leakage and flooding from the = - decently explained reasons.’ Canal, which poses a threat to the neighborhood. Following are just some of our arguments we feel are justifiIf the lower canal bank should break, Valley Hills oul ably reasonable to warrant the issuance of a license to us: become Utah’s next Riverdale, with widespread destruction from 1. We are the only convenience store in Wasatch County not ~- floodwaters. While it might result in less mud damage than allowed to sell packaged beer products (that we are aware of). This’ Riverdale suffered, the water could easily flood dozens of baseeffectively forces the Valley residents, wanting the product, to ments and yards over a large neighborhood. In fact, the cascade drive 15 to 30 miles on very busy roads to another town, or coun- | from a major break in the Timp Canal’s lower bank could end up ty, to purchase it. rupturing the lower Wasatch Canal as well, spreading damage over -2. We are denied the competitive stance of providing package a still larger neighborhood. Losses could run well into the millions. beer to them and the resultant profit to us; plus, the town is also Equally significant, the inattention among the Water denied the sales tax revenue, vai now goes to the other locali_ Conservancy District, the Bureau of Reclamation and Heber City ties. mocks both state and federal law, which give strong emphasis to 3. We are very reluctant to sue through the courts because a verwater conservation. Water conservation on the Central Utah dict in our favor could result in the town’s people having to ie the Project is a joke, despite the enabling laws’ emphasis on water condamages, and most of them cannot afford this. servation. The bureaucrats admit that a third of the water delivered, 4. The Town Council has not offered any justifiably oe reaby the Timp Canal is lost by evaporation and leakage. sons for the denial, except for some vague “safety concerns.” Meanwhile, those of us with homes on the canal’s lower bank 5. We feel that the Town Council is not acting as a separate govare suffering heavy, direct and indirect losses in property value ernment entity, but they are reacting from a biased church oriented from the leakage. The leakage in my yard and my immediate viewpoint, thus intermingling their civic and church duties, which _ ~ neighbor’s lot takes the form of small waterfalls constant enough is against the U.S. Constitution. to irrigate a compe of sections of cultivated farm land over the 6. Unfortunately the Utah State Alcoholic ies Control summer. Commission gives each county or town the right to deny a Class 1 Utah’s delegation in < in ee zeal to see the Central license within its community. This, in effect, promotes unfair comUtah Project fully funded and completed, should insist that the petition in the retail sales level of packaged beer products. Conservancy District and the Bureau of Reclamation stop passing 7. We believe that the only fair way to determine the question the buck and rectify this chronic waste of Utah’s most precious of issuing a license or not, is through a legally conducted survey of resource, which is both a breach of CUP law and a threat to local all households in the valley and include everyone age 21 or over. taxpayers who oe fund the a 8. The Town Councils’ action of refusing to allow the Round Valley Market to sell packaged beer products is tantamount to Frank Mensel stealing their profit and the town sales tax. 9. We think the Walisburg valley residents want to hear from the Town Council and deserve to hear their reasons for refusing to ‘issue the license. The council seems to be hiding behind a “veil of silence.” If the council has anything to say or any person for that matter, we would be pleased to hear from you in writing. If it is | Editor: worth verbalizing, it should be worth putting in writing. If the Mayor is adamant in his refusal because of the lack of a We, as owners of a small convenience store in the small compeace officers presence, why not discuss with the County Sheriff munity of Wallsburg, Utah, feel that we are being discriminated the possibility of a satellite office in one of the unused rooms of the against by the “Town Fathers” consisting of a mayor and three Town Hall, with utilities paid by the Town. The Sheriff and the | _councilmen (one councilman approved). towns people might be very interested in such an arrangement. Earlier this year we applied for a license to sell packaged beer products at our store. The council turned us down by a 3 to | vote. Fred & Brenda-Vincent Much discussion was generated in the town and even spread to the Salt Lake City area as a result of their decision. Beer Sale Discrimination We have a sia signed Be A12. of the valleys: residents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY We invite the submission of reader opinion letters for publication in The Wasatch County Courier. We will . do our best to print all letters we receive. We promise not to pick and choose which ones to publish based on our own agenda. However, a few rules are probably in order. | 1. We reserve the right not to print letters we deem to be inflammatory, factually inaccurate or with unsupported accusations. 2. We apologize in advance if we are unable to print your letter because of space considerations. But, please, don’t stop writing. We will try our best to print your next letter. 3. We will print letters as they are | submitted, with spelling and gram- . matical errors. This is not because we ‘want to embarrass or ridicule writers with their errors. It is because we do not want to unintentionally change | the meaning of your letter. Some letters are written in character with intentional errors to emphasize aa point. | We will be glad to proof iad correct any letters that have a written request to do so after the signature. Of course, we won’t print that request in The Courier.You are also invited to come to our office and write your letter at one of our computers. Please call 6542661 in advance to schedule a time on one of our machines. 4, We give priority to letters sub- mitted on 3 1/2 floppy disks in text only format. Please keep your letters under 500 words. We do reserve the right to edit long letters for brevity. All letters must include a signature and a phone number. Please bring a photo ID with your submitted letter. The Courier will confirm the identity of the writer. We will not print your letter without conformafoe = The Wasatch County Courier is not responsible for, nor do letters to the editor express the views of The Wasatch County Courier. The Wasatch County Courier cannot and does not vouch for the accuracy or validity of any Letters to the Editor. |