Show PUBLIC FORUM LETTERS TO THE EDITOR What Is your opinion The Express welcomes letters from Its renders readers concerning any subject pertinent to the Uintah Basin While there are no restrictions as to contents or reasonable length letters must be submitted exclusively to the Express and anCl bear the writers writer's full nome name signature phone number and address Names must be printed on political letters but but may be withheld for good reasons If requested on others All letters ore are subject to condensation Attorney knocks To the Editor The recent deliberations of the Republican County Committee in designating Byron Merrell as its Can Can- Candidate for the term as county and the dubious design design- lion tion of Mark Nash as stand in can can- candidate candidate for County Attorney suggests some very unsavory propositions that the supposed heads of the party who make the nomination and the candidates themselves have failed to answer And there is a reason for such lack of candor and clarity for the actions of the Com Com- Committee Committee and the reactions of the can can- candidates candidates unveil to us in naked clarity the desperate maneuverings of a self self- serving clique and the opportunistic designs of certain aspirants of office rendered purely in their own self interest to the detriment of the common weal And looking at the matter dispassionately dispassionately if it is possible to still the anger over the by which such is sug- sug suggested suggested the situation posed is one of irony as well as paradox that leaves unanswered several salient questions that neither the candidates themselves nor their advocates even attempt to answer For instance how do heads of the Republican party justify the double cross that they rudely and unjustly foisted upon Mr Wardell when they vir- vir virtually virtually twisted his arm and induced him to accept an interim appointment to this position under the promise and assumption that he would be designated for the nomination by the Central Com Com- Committee Committee of the Party And It is not being cynical to suspect that the nomination was tendered Byron Merrell on the assumption that he would be more ser ser- servile servile vile and less independent more manipulative than Mr Wardell And the designation of Mark Nash as the if candidate the complaisant pup pup- puppet puppet pet and stand in to accommodate the designs of Richard Davidson is too bold for irony and more in the nature of farce or parody For one thing it reveals that Mr Davidson has tenaciously held on to his nomination by the party even though he had been ostensibly fa Judge by the Governor which appointment on on- on only ly awaits Judicial clarification And this posture leans in a pronounced sense more toward cupidity and avarace than toward altruism and and such is the formidable conclusion that one must adopt with regard to the matter this despite the famed declamations of humility and self self that Mr Davidson vocally proclaims In the first instance there is something amiss about a person seeking somewhat avid avid- ly lya a Judicial appointment when he is ac- ac actively actively and openly aspiring for a purely political office of County Attorney Mr Davidson knew such was his intentions and it does not comport with the honor that he avows to even mildly suggest that he would mislead the citizens of Uintah County in to thinking that his lone and primary interest is their welfare in aspiring aspirIng ing to be County Attorney And this posture of altruism becomes even more tarnished when it is noted that Mr Davidson has drawn in full his dollar stipend for the Month of October this even though he is waiting by the hour for his appointment to the Judgeship to tobe tobe be sanctioned and formalized by a pro pro- pronouncement pronouncement of the Supreme Court Well be assured these manipulations are a along along long way from the hallowed deliberations that one usually associates with Judicial appointment Indeed the whole affair smells rankly of politics In its most sor- sor sordid sordid did aspect And Mark Nash hardly adds stature or luster to his position in consenting consenting ting to be artful sycophant in the whole situation Indeed there is something lacking lack lack- lacking ing in courage In even consenting to be an if nominee let alone to lend ones one's reputation to the purely and outright cupidity of Mr Davidsons Davidson's designs For Forthe Forthe the truth is lucid and condemning Mr Davidson has held on to his nomination for more than three months allowed his name to be put on the official slate of can can- candidates candidates and this because his cupidity ambition whatever avarice adjectives you want to use tempts him to hedge on his appointment by keeping this naked avenue of ambition open to him Such a heads you win tales I lose proposition might fit into Mr Davidsons Davidson's purely selfish designs but It hardley squares with the m more re exemplary character that we demand of our judicial appointments and it perhaps coincides with the ambi- ambi ambitions ambitions and designs of the clique that con con- control control the Republican Party but hardly with the obligations and duties that the citizens of this county ought to demand of aspirants of Public Office And finally what about the faceless posture of Mark Nash it is hard to say anything complimentary of his ting accepting even inferring the nomination under such uch circumstances I find it revolting to tomy tomy my senses and my civic ideals to think one would allow oneself to become a stand stand-in an if candidate to cover the designing machinations of an Indeed ambitious aspirant to public office In- In deed ambitions I suspect that Mark Nash's ambi- ambi ambitions outrun his sense of proportion and also his sense of decency in this ma matter Finally let us speculate on rumina- rumina ruminations ruminations and anticipations of the actors in inthis inthis this bizarre fiasco no doubt both Mr Davidson and Mark Nash feel that they can perform an II Alphonse and farce for the benefit of themselves and at little loss to their position position tion Mr Davidson avidly sees the Coun Coun- Coun County ty Attorneys Attorney's Office there if his Judicial appointment does not materialize also there is a servile County Commission to ta add a juicy stipend to the office hence he can continue without loss whatever the results of the deliberations relative to the Judicial appointment Mark Nash as the if Candidate can fill in as faceless stand stand-in in the event that Mr Davidsons Davidson's appointment is validated if it fails he can to draw his a year salary as Public Defender And the enigmatic question is whether the voters of Uintah County will be able to see through this veiled tissue of vanity ambition and naked politics and the whole sordid yen ven us hope that Respectfully Yours ALVIN G NASH HASH Attorney at Law Property tax increase To the Editor I walked out to the mailbox last Tues day in a normal state tate of mind but when I came back I was in a state of shock I had recel received ved our Property Tax notices for the year 1 I had been expecting them to be raised somewhat but I certainly wasn't prepared for the astronomical amount they turned out to be I went to the desk and looked up the amount we paid last year for tor the same property and to 10 and behold I the taxes for this year just lack ten dollars of being 5 times more than they were last year Talk about in in- in inflation And how ridiculous it seems to tome tome me especially in the light of the reces- reces recession recession sion we have been in this year If this tax situation is hitting everyone in the valley at the same rate of escala escala- escalation tion as ours I certainly feel sorry for those whose jobs have been so slow that it will be a real hardship to meet this bill Then on Friday the new Vernal Ex- Ex Express Express press came out with the headline Decreasing Farmland Worries Soil or- or Official How ironic We who love our farmland cannot see how we are going to keep our land when all around us cur neighbors are selling their land for hous- hous housing housing ing developments and there are other circumstances that are causing our taxes to escalate so high that we cant can't afford to keep our land I shudder to think what the future holds Sincerely BETTY T BOWDEN |