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Show A-15 Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, April 7-10, 2012 EDITORIAL Don't let a thief steal the rest of the ski season from you LETTERS TO THE EDITOR School Board should invite other opinions Editor: After reading "School board facing hard choices" by Vicki Whiting, I realized a few things. First, if five million dollars is going to be deducted from the Park City School District budget, those of the school board shouldn't be the only ones with a say in deciding what to cut. Kids are the first people who are going to feel the change, so why not ask highacademic-level students their opinion because they know what's helping them in school and what's not. For instance, if you are trying to decide whether to keep a class size of 25 in Honors English or drop AP Pottery, I, as a student, think cutting the pottery class is a much better choice because I know that 30+ kids in a classroom is not productive. Second, the teachers should have a say in what should be kept because they know and understand what is best for the students and what will help them in the future the most. Say the options were to either retain IT personal or retain electives such as jewelry-making classes. No brainer, right? Keep the IT guys. Our world is greatly dependent on technology and with it advancing so rapidly, you need computer-savvy peo- ple to help in every school. Third, these decisions may not only affect teachers and students for the short-term, but also the long-term. Too soon, kids will become adults and adults will get older. Who do you think will take care of the adults as they get older? Their kids or the next generation. Without the right education, how is the younger generation supposed to handle all these responsibilities? Without the right education, a grim future is on the horizon for all of us. Jessica DiCaprio Seventh-grade student, Ecker Hill Middle School Ure reasoning on Stone Ridge is questionable Editor: Dave Ure's reasoning behind his solitary vote for the Stone Ridge project should frighten any Park City resident that moved here as an alternative to the seemingly endless suburban sprawl. He voted for this project of 230 units or so in a parcel zoned for eight because he did not feel there was "closure" to the issue. Is Councilman Ure to tell us that there is no point in standing in the way Larry Warren's column wanders into the sunset When Larry Warren offered, in January 2008, to write a weekly column based on his travels in the Western states, we wondered how long it would take him to run out of material. After all, what could a Salt Lake City TV reporter know about anything beyond the Wasatch Front? Well, he fooled us. We didn't understand then that his travels, both on and off the job, have taken him all over the West. In the process he has interviewed some of the West's iconic figures - people like Wallace Stegner and Stewart Udall. He has become familiar with the West's great cities and its spectacular wild places. He has taken us to the Yukon, to Virginia City, Montana, to the Galapagos Islands, and to Fleet Week in San Francisco Bay. But his columns have been more than travelogues. One of our favorite pieces was a passionate defense of funding for Utah's state parks, which the Legislature is slowly whittling away. He also wrote an insightful two-part series on pho- tography gleaned from years spent with some of the best in the business. A couple of years ago Warren landed another gig - as the general manager of KPCW. Somehow, he managed to juggle the demands of that job with his other responsibilities, including freelance writing and filmmaking. But, ultimately, something had to give. And, just when he had us convinced the well would never run dry, he admitted that he was grasping for column ideas. His column last Wednesday was about historical Virginia, an area that hardly qualifies as the West. In case you missed the footnote at the end of that column, Warren is taking a sabbatical from "Wandering the West." Actually, it was our idea to call it a sabbatical - to let him know that his contributions will always be welcome in The Park Record. In the meantime, to borrow a phrase from fellow journalist Charles Osgood, we'll see him on the radio. The ski season's end is a week or so away. We hope your season ends with your skis, or snowboards, in your possession instead of in someone else's hands or attached to someone else's boots. The Park City Police Department has responded to a series of thefts involving skis or snowboards in Park City in the last two months. Thefts of skis and snowboards occur throughout each ski season, but the numbers have been especially noticeable since early February. The Police Department investigates thefts if they occur at Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley Resort or elsewhere in the Park City limits. There have been weeks that reports to the police were logged day after day from spots at or close to the two resorts. The cases continue as the ski season's end nears. Some might be cases of mistaken identity - skis basically look the same other than the scratch marks if they are of the same make and model. Others could turn up after the police were contacted. But we're afraid many of the cases could have been actual thefts, and that means there are opportunists stalking the racks, the snow, and the sides of buildings where people leave their skis as they take breaks from the slopes. The authorities have long warned that thieves might be looking for equipment to sell on the black market. A few hundred dollars for a pair of used skis and bindings, perhaps even more, could be an attractive proposition for a thief. A less likely scenario is that thieves want the equipment for themselves. There are a number of ways that skiers and snowboarders can protect their equipment. All are simple, and the minimal effort that they take could save them from hundreds or thousands of dollars in losses and the hassle that follows the theft of skis or a snowboard. The resorts provide places where equipment can be secured for a short time while someone is eating lunch or exploring the base area shops. Just ask a resort staffer for the location. The Police Department, meanwhile, years ago started a ski-registration program meant to discourage thieves and make it easier to return stolen equipment to its owner if it is later recovered. Call the Police Department at 615-5500 or log onto the department's section of City Hall's website, www.parkcity.org, for more information. Don't let a thief steal the end of the ski season from you. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR of any development, no matter how ridiculous, because someone might sue? Thank you to the other four members of the council who showed more spine. Justin Klug Park City Quick, efficient action by county firefighters Editor: Wildfire is a very scary thing. Last Saturday a neighbor decided to burn the underbrush in his fields - not an unusual occurrence for property owners in Eastern Summit County at this time of year. As soon as the ice melts and the snow clears, we often see farmers clearing the irrigation ditches in preparation for spring runoff and the onset of flood irrigation. This method is usually fast and efficient. But Saturday was no usual day. Wind gusts in our area exceeded 45 mph and dry conditions were comparable to late summer. The small fire quickly jumped out of control and a wall of fire and smoke raced in our direction. There was little anyone could do to stop it. 911 was called and, within minutes, firefighters with water trucks came from every direction. They quickly assessed the situation, took a defensive stand ahead of the fire and subsequently prevented any structural damage. A very dangerous and extremely scary situation was abated thanks to their quick, efficient action. They remained onsite for most of the day and returned after dark to make sure there were no flare-ups caused by the persistent wind. Later we learned that a permit is required for all property owners to burn anything on their property. Upon request, a manned water truck can be provided to help monitor the fire until it is safely out. We also learned that these are all volunteer firefighters who have separate lives from firefighting and give their time and energy to professionally prepare and protect all of us in Summit County. We'd like to publicly thank them and acknowledge the brave work they do protecting the citizens and property of Summit County. Jan and Jack Massimino Donna McAleer story was an insult to readers Editor: A front page article in the March 28-30, 2012, Park Record was written such that I actually fished the paper out of the garbage can in order to properly and accurately address the article. The article was written by Jay Hamburger and was entitled "Pinebrook woman vies for seat in Congress." While I understand that ours is a small newspaper, Park City, nevertheless, has a very intelligent and educated populace. One would therefore think that that you would write and feature articles done in such a way that do not insult the readers. For instance, the information contained should at least be as accurate as one can find on any given road map. Never have I ever thought that Snyderville Basin and Pinebrook were the same place. Hence, the basis for their being two separately designated locations. The headline referred to Ms. McAleer as a "Pinebrook woman" and then the article immediately contradicts itself citing Ms. McAleer as "a Snyderville Basin resident." Please be specific in your citations. When listing Ms. McAleer's educational background as "a graduate of the United States Military Academy" it would be nice to tell the reader if it was the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Academy. Why not give proper credit where credit is due? Adding insult to injury, the style in which the information was presented made it seem as if this might have been a "courtesy article." That is to say that the paper did not really want to publish the information. Was there perhaps a "political agenda" to be discerned from the quality and accuracy of the article? If not, then why put such dribble on the front page? That's no way to present a local woman who is willing to and who is making an effort to provide better leadership for all of our benefit. Hopefully this letter will alert you that people are reading the paper and this unfortunate incident will not be repeated. Gary Cohen LETTERS POLICY 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 home (street) address and telephone number of the author. No letter will be published under an assumed name. Letters must not contain libelous material. Letters should be no longer than about 300 words (about 600 words for guest editorials) and should, if possible, be typed. We reserve the right to edit letters if they are too long or if they contain statements that are unnecessarily offensive or obscene. Writers are limited to one letter every seven days. Letters thanking event sponsors can list no more than 10 individuals and/or businesses. Send your letter to: editor@parkrecord.com The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER Andy Bernhard Editor Nan Chalat-Noaker Staff writers Jay Hamburger Scott Iwasaki Christopher Kamrani Megan Yeiter Sarah Moffitt Gina Barker Contributing writers Tom Clyde Jay Meehan Teri Orr Amy Roberts Larry Warren Copy editor David Hampshire ADVERTISING Classified advertising Jennifer Lynch Office manager Tiffany Rivera Circulation manager Lacy Brundy Accounting manager Kate Fischer Advertising director Valerie Spung Advertising sales Lori Gull Rachael Young-Tilton Barbara Yarbenet Jodi Hecker Erin Donnelly Photographers Grayson West Tyler Cobb Production director Matt Gordon Production Scott Schlenker Pat Hamaker Megan Maynard Park City Oakley For the record Photos by Tyler Cobb Asked at Park City Mountain Resort How was the ski/snowboard season for you? Morgan Butler, Naperville, Ill. Awesome! It was really fun and I got to ride the Town Lift this year. Connal Grisley, Salt Lake City I did not get out enough, but all in all it was fun, even if the snow was crappy. Ryan Bever, Liberty It was not that great. Park riding was good, but backcountry powder days were not so good. There were not too many of them. Jordan Jennings, Salt Lake City It was great. I got to spend a lot of good days with family and friends on the mountain. Matt Frigone, Park City It was dry, but still fun. Not the best I've see here, but Park City did good with what they got. Add your response to the question of the week on The Park Record's facebook page: facebook.com/parkrecord |