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Show A-17 Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, January 25-28, 2014 EDITORIAL Governor and Legislature need to act on Utah's smog crisis U GUEST EDITORIAL Teacher has better approach to underage drinkers Families are still waiting for sheriff to respond By JOE TESCH Midway Tami MacFarlane is one of the most responsible parents in Park City. I do know her. I know of the openness of her home to many teenagers over many years. Our 18 year old son spends much time with that family and he shares with us her discussions about the dangers of underage drinking and her urging of him and his friends to stay away from it completely. Tami has this unique talent that encourages teenagers to open up to her, often more than to their own parents, and as a result she is able to have a very positive influence on their lives. Now let's look at the Sheriff's approach. He and others in the community say that they believe in aggressive law enforcement and to let the courts handle the problems. We all want our children to be alcohol free, but this approach doesn't work. First, as parents, we, not the courts, need to control and educate children about the dangers of alcohol. Second, while many studies have been performed over the years, the firm consensus is that there are no studies which show that putting underage drinkers into the court system has a positive result. I'm not alone here in promoting better methods. Monique Lin-Luse, the speaker at the Marking Luther King Memorial Luncheon in Salt Lake City on January 20, 2014, made this comment regarding schools referring students to law enforcement: "But there are solutions. Schools can become safer and have fewer dropouts if they do things Dear Editor, like focus on instructive discipline rather than sending kids out of school, and refer them to guidance counselors rather than the police. We know that works…" Utah Supreme Court Justice Christine Durham called Lin Luse's remarks "dead on." How about ill-mannered and unnecessarily heavy-handed treatment by arresting officers? Do you think that teaches our children respect for the law or law enforcers? Think again. We are trying to build character in our children, not fear. As for instructive discipline, take a page from our team coaches. To get the best out of every child it requires a unique and special application to each particular child. Educators should know this. Neither the Sheriff nor the courts are equipped for this task. But parents are. They must take the time and the effort - don't look to the courts to do your job. There is a teacher in our school system who anxiously awaits the public forum. Unfortunately, she may be waiting a long time. Although I was a criminal prosecutor for over 20 years, the Chief Deputy Attorney General of the State, I've lived in Park City for over 30 years (but recently moved to Midway) run a business on Main Street have been on several Park City public and nonprofit boards, and have always been a firm supporter of our police department, since I disagree with the Sheriff, he has declined to be involved in any forum where I, who he has stooped to calling an "alien" and an "agitator" participate. Of course, he has also manufactured false motive regarding my concerns. I won't be bullied by this Sheriff, so it looks like he won't be there. This isn't a personal matter. It's about misguided policy. There are a lot of productive ways for us as a community fashion solutions to underage drinking which are effective and don't create permanent criminal records for our young adults. We need to find those solutions. The Park Record welcomes letters to the editor. For more details please visit our website. www.parkrecord.com/writealetter For the record tah has been busy playing host to two highprofile events this week - the Sundance Film Festival and the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market. Unfortunately, the first glimpse many attendees had of the state's vaunted, pristine landscape was shrouded in smog. Not just a little bit of haze, but grimy, lung-clogging, eye-searing smog. While the state's economic development boosters will cheerily tally up the positive impacts of the two events in terms of global exposure, we are wondering whether anyone will ask how many film- or outdoor-industry business prospects were turned off by the frightful air quality. But the fact that Utah's air quality is now making embarrassing national headlines is not the worst of it. Of much greater concern is what the pollutants are doing to year-round residents and why the state has been so slow to respond. Last year, during his state of the state message, Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert mentioned the problem, calling on individual citizens to carpool, use energy efficient appliances and use mass transit. But, in the same speech he decried government regulation and extolled the growth of Utah's oil and gas industry. Let's be honest, it's hard to get excited about carpooling when you see oil tankers idling all night at the truck stop. According to the governor, "Responsible development of Utah's energy resources and the protection of Utah's scenic wonders are not mutually exclusive ideas!" One look at Salt Lake City's skyline this week would seem to disprove that. In that same speech, Gov. Herbert gushed, "Outdoor recreation, with its $5.8 billion annual economic impact, is fundamental to our culture, our health, our economy and our lifestyle." But some outdoor-industry leaders whose flights into Salt Lake were delayed due to smog, that might find the governor's enthusiasm a little hard to reconcile with the dirty air that is already spreading across three Northern Utah counties and threatens to affect even more. Governor Herbert is scheduled to deliver this year's annual report on Thursday. This time we'd like to hear a realistic plan to regulate emissions. And we aren't the only ones. Thousands of local residents are expected to attend a Clean Air Rally, today, Saturday, at noon at the state capital. To put it bluntly, state legislators, who are scheduled to convene for the first day of the General Session on Monday, have a long way to go to prove they are more interested in their constituents health than the big industries who contribute to their campaigns. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Park Record ‘poll' on marijuana was irresponsible Editor: As a resident of Park City and a parent to three school-age children, I was disappointed and perturbed to see the "poll" that was published in The Park Record recently regarding the legalization of marijuana. Not one response that you published indicated opposition to this, despite that more than 40 percent of our state residents oppose it, and despite the widespread problem that this drug poses among the Park City youth. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal (it can be found here: online.wsj.com/news/articles/ SB1000142405270230461740457 9305090110567998), "…pot damages the heart and lungs, increases the incidence of anxiety, depression and schizophrenia, and it can trigger acute psychotic episodes. Many adults appear to be able to use marijuana with relatively little harm, but the same cannot be said of adolescents, who are about twice as likely as adults to become addicted to marijuana… Marijuana impairs learning, judgment and memory-no small matters during the adolescent years-and it can do lasting harm to the brain. Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, has found that marijuana can damage cognitive function in adolescents by disrupting the normal development of the white-matter that brain cells need to communicate with each other…." Marijuana is a known "gateway drug" to other harder substances and we, as residents and parents in Park City, need to be vigilant and protect our children against this dangerous substance. I hope that, in the future, The Park Record will support us in these efforts. Kathryn Zwack Park City Coal is an essential energy source Dogs are safer at the end of a leash Editor: Dear Editor, There is a rolling billboard at the Sundance Film Festival educating the public about the importance of affordable, abundant coal and its direct connection to our economic prosperity and energy security. I applaud Friends of Coal West for sponsoring the billboard, because it is very important to understand that affordable electricity is a primary driver of Utah's economy. Nationwide, coal generates 40 percent of America's electricity. We are fortunate in Utah that more than 80 percent of our electricity is generated by coal, providing us with some of the lowest-cost energy in the U.S. Coal provides affordable and reliable power for our homes, businesses, hospitals and schools, and that same affordability and reliability also is critical to attracting new companies, and the jobs they bring, to Utah. It's estimated that Utah's population will double by 2050. If that is the case, we are going to need all the energy we can get to power our society. That means we will need a diversified, all-of-the-above energy portfolio that includes natural gas, wind solar, geothermal, biomass, nuclear, hydroelectric, and yes, a lot of coal, to meet our energy demands. Continuing to have coal as a significant component of that energy mix will ensure Utah maintains our competitive advantage. The coal industry is ready, willing and able to continue providing consistently low-cost base-load power in Utah for generations to come. Our future depends on it. Think about that when you flip on the light switch, or even the next time you're enjoying a movie. I think that people in Park City should keep dogs on leash because there are many dangers that could kill a dog and it would be safer if they would be on leash. Mark D. Compton, President Utah Mining Association Salt Lake City Scott Hersch Park City The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER Andy Bernhard Editor Nan Chalat Noaker Staff writers Jay Hamburger Scott Iwasaki Adam Spencer Aaron Osowski Alexandria González Contributing writers Tom Clyde Jay Meehan Teri Orr Amy Roberts Steve Phillips Tom Kelly Joe Lair Copy editor Alan Maguire ADVERTISING Classified advertising Jennifer Lynch Office manager Tiffany Rivera Circulation manager Lacy Brundy Accounting manager Jennifer Snow Advertising director Valerie Spung Advertising sales Lori Gull Rachael Young-Tilton Jodi Hecker Erin Donnelly Cristina Kramer Photographer Christopher Reeves Production director Lisa Powell Production Kara Dunston Ben Olson Luke Nielson Photos by Christopher Reeves Asked on Main Street What was your favorite Sundance film, and why? Chelsea Whelpley: McKenzie Cranford: Molly Anne Turner : Jasper Zweibel : Luis Bordonada: My favorite was "The Skeleton Twins" because I'm a fan of Kristen Wiig. I found a lot of parallels in it with my own life, so it was nice that I could relate to it in my own life personally. "The Overnighters" was my favorite because I appreciate how the community opened up to, and dealt with struggles that I never would have known was going on if it wasn't for the film. My favorite has been "Hellion" because of the relationship between a brother and dad struggling with destructive behaviors because of an extreme loss and wanting to overcome that and mend their family. Viewing "The Raid 2" was quite an experience. It was so intense that they had to stop the film halfway through because of a medical emergency. It has my seal of approval. There is a lot of domestic violence where I come from, so the documentary "Private Violence" was my favorite because of how they showcased the damage of reporting, and not reporting domestic violence. Add your response to the question of the week on The Park Record's facebook page: facebook.com/parkrecord |