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Show VIEWPOINTS A -17 WED/THURS/FR1, SEPTEMBER 3-5, 2( THE PARK RECORD www.parkrecord.com EDITORIAL Park City High School remodel has been a long journey work around'the students. And when the jackhammers were running, iPods were used more for survival than entertainment. ' • . But the classes of 2009 and beyond will benefit greatly from the additional classrooms and technical upgrades. Unfortunately, the Park City School District won't have long cranes. • • • •• .' And it is stunning. ' ' • torest'on its laurels. Board members are already looking for The fac,ade, with iis steel trestle-like welcome mat, hand- . a site for a future high school campus. And given the length somely echoes the town's mining past and yet its carefully of time it takes to plan, design, fund and build a high school, designed energy-conserving features, like the solar.panels they are to be commended "for starling now. The school board is scheduled to meet with SummitCounly officials this on the east-facing roof, speak to the future. For most residents the construction project has been, at month to look at potential sites. Properties at Bear Hollow worst, a mild annoyance and, at best, an .interesting process and Silver Creek have been mentioned as possibilities. In 2004 a group' of regular citizens serving on the board of to watch unfold. But we know it has been a huge hassle for the students, teachers and administrators who. had to carry education took a giant leap of faith and voted to go forward on with classes despite the noise, dust and ever-changing with a .major remodeling of the existing high school. Over footprint. the last few years, they and their successors have taken some Hundreds of students trudged to outdoor portable class- heat.about the inconveniences the project has caused. We rooms in ferocious winter weather; hundreds more had to are glad triey had the vision and courage to move forward hike from far-flung parking areas. Some classrooms were and we support the current board in its effort to keep the hot, some were cold, as plumbers and electricians tried to ball rolling. few toddler-sized trees have been planted around Park City High' School's new entryway and they couldn't be a more welcome sight. After four years of demolition and construction, the school's' new look has finally emerged from behind'piles of rubble, backhoes and A LETTERS TO THE EDITOR- McPolin recycling is off to hot start . Football players have other gridiron skills Editor McPolin is making some real changes this year: 10 new teachers, shades for the gymnasium, and more. One thing that has not changed this year is the Green Teams commitment to recycling. The first week of school the students, parents and staff collected over 600 pounds of recycling. Alter the students demanded that .the parents collect plastic as well as the paper, cardboard and tin last year, we had an amazing 18,000 pounds of material collected for the lO7-'O8 school year. With a start of 600 pounds in one week it will be exciting to see if we can beat our record. I'm proud to be a McPolin parent. ' Editor: ... ' Building on its past success, the PCtfS football team held its 4th annual Team, Family & Friends BBQ on August' 16th. Located at the Silver Mountain Sports Club and Spa and hosted again by Stanton and Nancy Jones, the "evening was a great success in introducing the 2008 team and raising money to cover the cost of new equipment for this year's 80'players: Nearly 300 people attended the evening which culminated with an auction of pies made by each senior player. A • generous thanks to Wasatch Audio/Visual for donating the sound system, Dave Loyens as our auctioneer and Mike and Joyce Sibbett for the BBQ. We look forward to another great year in representing Park City. Come join us for a game. Shirin Spangenberg Richard Vincent Park City On behalf of the Park City Football Task Force staff, the team of city workers who helped us move the hundreds of boxes of books to the Santy Auditorium, and to Park City Market who donated paper bags for our shoppers. Your support is greatly appreciTerry Rosen: Editor: • ated, j Xhe Park Record quoted Glenn Park CHy Our next fundraiser to benefit the Wright • of the Summit County library is our annual Author Luncheon oh Democratic Party as saying he didn't Tuesday, October 21st, featuring as the want local law enforcement to enforce speaker Carolyn Jessop who wrote any immigration laws. "Escape," the story of her life with, and As a lifelong Democrat I am appalled her escape from, an FLDS community and offended that a leader of any party with her eight children. Tickets are on sale would take a position that the laws of Editor: at the Park City Library and Dolly's Book the United States shouldn't be enforced. The Friends of the Park City Library have Store. We know our local community will To say such a thing is on its face, well, completed another financially successful continue to be as supportive of this event un-democratic. ; Labor Day Weekend Used Book Sale. All as they are of our book sale! Is Mr. Wright suggesting that we get proceeds benefit the Park City Library, to choose which laws should be enforced and we couldn't do it without the support and which ones shouldn't? Is he suggest- of our entire community. Thank you to the Petrlne Nielsen & Suzelle McCullough \ i n g anarchy? Or should we just enforce many locals who join the Friends, donate Co-Chairs, Park City ' those laws that Mr. Wright likes and dis- books all year, volunteer to work at the pense with these silly election things and sale and refill their bookshelves with purjust rename the USA the Kingdom of chases from the sale. Glenn Wrightia? Special thanks to the helpful library Who chooses what laws to enforce? I think Mr. Wright is doing a good job convincing me, a lifelong Democrat, to vote for McCain. Used book sale was a labor of love i i GUEST EDITORIAL Letters Policy Size matters when you gofor'green' bragging rights By Monique Cloe, Writers on the Range I was reading the •Boulder "Cpunty Business Report recently when an article about the "greenest home in North America" caught my eye. The house was being built to fulfill the dream Of a businessman who specializes in renewable energy. At first glance, Ronald Abramsons project, now breaking ground 10 miles north of Boulder, Colo., seemed to live up to his lofty goal. The house harvests the sun's energy through passive and active solar design; it utilizes carefully selected, earth-friendly materials. But then I noticed the elephant in the room - the house covers 6,500 square feet. That's nearly three times the median size for new homes in America, according to 2007 census data. For the past decade, super-sized homes have spread like dandelions across the West, testament to the outmoded consumer ethic that bigger-is better - especially if'it's bigger than the Joneses. A host of derisive monickers have followed - McMansions, Hummer homes, prairie castles; and my favorite - humungalows. But how.can size not matter when it comes to green building? The resources required to build and furnish a larger home need to be factored in, as well as the fuel expended and pollution created to transport those resources to the site. Council passed new Yules limiting most 3ig homes like the Abramspns' often are remodels in the city to 3.000 square feet. built far from urban,centers. The rulers of Seattle's planning board is currently grap. M , t- ,.pling with its these prairie . . ... . own home-size castles must therefore in Everyone's looking for the silver r u l e s burn fuel to response to a get to work or bullets that will allow us to carry on our public outcry an airport. the loss Bigger homes COnSUWptlVe lifestyles JUSt as We against of neighboralso require character. more upkeep always have. But to be truly green, - think of the. some sacrifices have to be made." B o u l d e r • landscapers, , .County, where housekeepers, the Abramsons window cleaners and dbg walkers who are building, has passed new zoning rules have to commute to service the home and to limit house sizes. But there's a loopits occupants. Adding solar panels and hole. Developers can exceed the limits by cork floors to one of these mansions is a purchasing transferable development nice touch, but is this going green, or isjt credits.that will preserve vacant land elsegreen-washing? where in the county. The US Green Building Council has In this case,*Bou!der was following the recognized the inverse correlation of example set by pioneering Pitkin County, square footage and greenness, adding a home to Aspen's bazillionaires. In 2000. new. home-rating system this spring to its the county limited the size of new homes popular LEED . (Leadership in to 5,750 square feet. Of course, for those Environmental Design) certification pro-- who can afford a'new home in Aspen, the grams. Its system includes a "Home Size $300,000 for every extra 2,500 square feet Adjustment" formula to compensate for turned out to be only a minor deterrent. "the over-arching effect .of home size on Mega-estates were still being built, causresource consumption." ing Pitkin County to set an absolute maxA decade 'ago, the term "mansionisa- imum of 15,000 square feel a few years tion" didn't exist. Now, a national move- ago. ment against it is gaining-traction in the Transferable development rights are West. This May, the Los Angeles City like the carbon offsets of the construction industry. They allow the rich to buy indulgences to ease their guilt while continuing to commit sins against the environment. Yet a small part of me feels bad about criticizing people like the Abramsons. They are, after all, helping to advance the sustainable building movement by paying an 8-to-15 percent premium to make their mansions greener. As in the case of organic foods, as green building materials become commonplace, prices will come down, and the rest of us will be able to afford them. Still, if they're striving to be the "greenest," I can't understand why the Abramsons couldn't make do with a more modest house, say 3,500 square feet. That would still be twice the size of the median home in America 35 years ago. I think that the "green" McMansion symbolizes what's wrong with how Americans have faced climate change and resource devastation. Everyone's looking for the silver bullets that will allow us to carry on our consumptive lifestyles just as we always have. But to be truly green, some sacrifices have to be made, such as giving up the home theater or that fourth bay in the garage. The Park Record welcomes letters t o the editor on any subject We ask that the tette adhere to the following guidelines:They m include the home (street) address and tel jjhone number of the author. No^qct be published under an assumed na Letters must, not contain libelous mate rial;. Letters should be no longer than about 3Q&J words (about 600 words for guest editoriagg and should, ff possible, be typed.We reserve the right to edit letters if they are too lorra of if they contain statements that are unneo^ essarily offensive or obscene. Writers ar»J limited t o one letter every seven days? Letters thanking event sponsors can list nt£ rnore than 1,0 Individuals and/or business**?* Send your letter to: edftor@parkrecord.cpm The Park Record Staff; r. PUBLISHER Andy Bemhard *>; Editor Nan Chalat-Noaker Si't Staff writers Jay Hamburger .**; Monique Cole is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org). She writes and tries to live small in Boulder. Colorado. Contributing writers GUEST EDITORIAL The NRA board needs somebody like me By Pat Wray, advocates care nothing at all about the health of public lands or wild anjma'ls. The NRA's ability to lake money from hunters and use it in _ y, ways that will - ^ the NRA has been willing to sacrifice anything in its quest for Second Amendment votes - including our hunting heritage. away from the NRA and outside the conversation we need to hold about responsible gun ownership. We need those Like every hunter worthy of the name, thoughtful people back in. I want to protect our hunting heritage so I am a life *Stop the endless search for enemies of men and women many years from now can h member of the the NRA. Not everyone who disagrees experience the same love, awe and respect hSngtns Thi-NRA's ty ability to take moneyy S S ^ .I with the NRA is the devil incarnate. for wild animals that I've been privileged h hSnters and d use i it i in waysh that ft% support itsRequire the organization to work with to know. But the two bedrock require- tmes one of frQ{J1 1 the most dis. . . . . . . . . , . etforts to pro- politicians who care about the environments for that to happen are the health of .honest public will ultimately ruin hunting constitutes tea our right to ment, wildlife and wild lands in addition to animal populations and the health of the relations cams ,i_ . V i . • , » » • . bear arms and their support of our Second Amendment lands on which they depend. Without ever i one of the most dishonest public-rela- i U m the rights. The two are not mutually exclusive. those two, nothing else we do will make a There's my platform. Am I electable? perpetrated on campaigns ever perpetrated on organization to tlons difference, and of the two, the land is most the American It's a fair question. I have been blasted in the American . r v r r ^ g gg g e a r e s s i v e important. people. the American people." in its work. But several NRA publications because I have If our lands are healthy, wild animals tne Consider ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ _ ^ ^ _ _ ^ _ _ NRA in its publicly disagreed with its positions, its will proliferate. If the land is made unin- the support ^ ^ ^ ™ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ " ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ • ^ ^ ^ present form is campaigns and its political relationships. habitable by excessive development or the NRA pro- • • ' incapable of But I'm not alone. Many other NRA natural-resource exploitation, wild ani- vided .to disgraced former Rep. Richard working simultaneously on behalf of members agree with me. and if my name 1 mals will be lost, no matter how pure our Pombo, R-Calif., prior to his-co-spojlsor-. hunters and gun rights. Pretending other- and platform are placed before them. I intentions. ship of a bill permitting the sale of millions wise1 is a blatant, if well-camouflaged, lie. think I have a reasonable chance. Even if That's why I've decided to run. for a of acres of public land to mining compaI am not elected this time, the discussion In my opinion, the board of directors, position on the board of directors of the • nies. Copsider also NRA's1 support for shoujd: will at least force an honest self-examinaNational Rifle Association. How, you . politicians like- Idaho Rjepublican -Sen. *Deraand that the organization divest tion of the organization's way of doing might ask, will being an. NRA director Larry Craig, who has made a career of itself of the bloated bureaucracy that's business. help me preserve our hunting heritage? opening up public lands for private ostensibly devoted to the welfare of It might make the NRA leadership Simple. If I have a voice at the table, I exploitation..Craig remains a member of hunters and hunting. Create a new, entireanswer the question, "Is the future of have a shot at stopping the, incredible the NRA board of directors. We also ly separate hunting-based organization hunting an acceptable sacrifice on the damage the NRA is doing to the long- shouldn't forget the NRA's aggressive arid that succeeds oj falls'on its own. We've altar of the Second Amendment?" term prospects for hunting in this country. public support of the Bush administra- had enough institutionalized deceit. Ever since the NRA convinced hunters tion's effort to remove federal protection •Require hAesty in NRA editorials that the organization protected their inter- for 58.5 million acres of inventoried road- and messages. The group's misleading and Pat Wray is a contributor to Writers on the ests, it has taken money from hunters and less areas, in the face of overwhelming sci- inflammatory writings have created para- Range, a service of High Country News funneled it into the coffers of politicians entific evidence that roads and-traffic noia and suspicion among gun owners. (hcn.org). He is an avid gun owner, they could count on as dependable voters diminish wildlife populations and hunting This shameless fear-mongering, coupled rcloader and hunter. The author of "A Chukar Hunters Companion," he lives VYIIUIIW, j j u p u i a u u n a uiiu l i m n i n g i ins Miumeicbfj i c a r - m o n g e n n g , c o u p i e a for gun rights. The problem, of course, is U.minion ii Th l andd others h i h iintense ffurji i raising, ii h hd hhun- with his wife and three hunting dogs in opportunities. These examples, with has pushed that many of the strongest gun-rights too numerous to mention, illustrate that dreds of thousands of reasonable people CorvalUs, Ore. Writers on the Range S 7 Editor's assistant Copy editor Special sections editor Pat Parkinson ~Joe Lair %;' Adia Waldburger 1% Greg Marshall ,'-'. Lindsay McClure Andrew Kirk Tom Clyde Teri Orr Jay Meehan *' Joan Jacobson J Larry Warren $ Steve Phillips '** Alisha Self David Hampshire •;* A.M. 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