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Show O O Tl r : Vol. VIII, No. 18 Dog catcher, Summit County's head animal control con-trol officer came under blistering attack at-tack Tuesday before county commissioners. com-missioners. About 15-20 residents gathered to charge that Officer Barry Shoda has harassed individual dog-owners; dog-owners; that Shoda has overzealously collected dogs that were on leashes or sitting on their owner's property or has cited dogs accompanied by the owner; and that he has persistently used rumor and innuendo against county residents. Shoda said he has acted under policies laid down by the county and its sheriff. Other complaints, he said, are based on hearsay and "just aren't accurate." ac-curate." "We don't want this to be a lynching," lyn-ching," said Commissioner Ron Perry in response to the heated attacks. But the commission vowed to correct problems. "If there are wrongs, let's right them!" said Commissioner GeraldYoung. ; -k . Commissioners " 'and rVj' Tridents agreed much of the problem is caused ' - by the county's dog ordinance. Under that law, which requires a dog to be on a leash, even an animal walking with School's 1 A status comes under fire by John Kinch Just when Principal Jack Dozier thought he could breathe easily about Park City High School remaining 1A for the next two years, the November decision by the Legislative Council of the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) was challenged last week. However, following some tense moments, Park City managed to hang onto its 1A classification by a paper-thin, 20-18 margin. "It was a white-knuckle affair," said Dozier after the vote was taken. Utah's high schools are divided into four categories, from 1A to 4A (based on enrollment) for athletic and academic competition. As one of the state's smaller schools, Park City High School has traditionally competed in the 1A ranks. The November vote, upheld last Thursday by the Legislative Legisla-tive Council, allowed Park City to remain 1A for the next two years, although its enrollment of 205 (based on the top three grades) exceeded the cutoff point for 1A, which is 199. In November, Gary Avise, then vice-president of the Park City Board of Education, argued that natural rivalries (such as those with North and South Summit) would be jeopardized if Park City were reclassified for the Crime report Assa by Jeff Howrey Year-end crime statistics compiled by the Park City Police Department show that crimes such as assault, burglary, and larceny-theft experienced exper-ienced modest rises during 1982. But by comparing overall figures with those of preceding years, it also appears that the local police force is becoming more successful in prosecuting criminals and recovering stolen property. While part of that success may be due to more aggressive techniques and harder work on the part of local officers, it is also true that there are SJ J jj fcisB ' ' JiS y resi its owner would be a "dog at large" in violation. Residents also said the county pound at Kimball's Junction needs to have regular hours that will enable owners to retrieve their dogs. Commissioners were reserved in their response. "Animal control has been kicked around," said Commissioner Cliff Blonquist. "I can understand the verbal ver-bal abuse he goes through when he picks up a dog." However, Blonquist said the commission com-mission has asked Shoda to "install a little public relations" in his work. And where the individual complaints are true, Shoda was asked to correct his behavior, he added. Said resident Rachel Kinsella, "We don't feel we accomplished anything." Kinsella, a Park City resident, said she is drawing up a petition to gather sentiment sen-timent against Shoda. The ' specific complaints . against Shoda " consisted of some of the following: ....... Oakley resident John and Sherry Allen said his family has been selectively selec-tively harassed by Shoda. The officer upcoming school year. If the move were delayed for another two years, he said, there was a possibility that all three Summit County high schools could be moved from 1A to 2A at the same time. Although Avise's arguments convinced con-vinced the Legislative Council in November, it didn't convince the 2A schools from Region 10, including Juab, Manti and Millard, which wanted Park City to join their region. They asked the Society of Superintendents Superinten-dents to persuade the Legislative Council to reconsider the proposal. Dozier told the council Thursday that if the decision were reversed, it would cause problems for Park City. "We have already scheduled sporting sport-ing events with 1A schools, as well as signed contracts with them that we would compete for the next two years." Dozier added, "We are very fortunate to remain 1A." There were six other teams, not as fortunate as Park City, which were realigned at the meeting. Park City may face realignment two years from now, when the next evaluation is scheduled. If Park City becomes 2A then, Dr. Dozier would like to see the school join Region 9, which has teams closer to Park City, like Wasatch and Morgan. shows approximately twice as many policemen police-men in uniform today as there were in 1979, the first year in which comprehensive compre-hensive crime figures were kept by the department. Key results in the recently released police figures show that : In 1982 there were 13 assaults in Park City, as compared with nine the year before and just two in 1980. In 1982 there were 112 burglaries as compared with 105 the year before and just 50 in 1980. In 1982 there were 269 larceny-thefts, larceny-thefts, up from 252 in 1981 as compared with 197 in 1980. A12 Wally Cooper, the man who brought you the restored re-stored Miners Hospital Library, now turns his talents to City Hall. Story byNanChalat. Thursday, January 20, 1983 ordinance dents tried to pick up the Allen dog on the street while it was accompanied by a family friend. When the charge was thrown out by a local judge, they alleged, Shoda said to Mrs. Allen, "I hope I don't ever find you dog again" in a manner that suggested a veiled threat. Shoda said he made the remark because Mrs. Allen might not have understood un-derstood her responsibility to keep the dog leashed. "I told you, though, I would try to keep him under control," Mrs. Allen said. John Allen said that thereafter, the dog was "religiously" kept in the yard, but did leave one other time following a dog in heat and was picked up. "There are other owners with loose dogs," he said. "How come mine gets out for 10 minutes and is collected?" Allen said the dog catcher continually con-tinually patrols the lane in front of his house, c , "And he has told my neighbors.that my dog is the catalyst for the animal trouble in the area. I'm at my wife' end." ,f : ' Resident Vincent Desimone said he witnessed at least two instances where Shoda took a dog off an owner's property. In one case, the dog was on the front porch and in another case, Shoda took the dog off a leash. Later, Shoda explained to commissioners com-missioners that the leashed dog was involved in a biting incident and he took it in quarantine for possible rabies. Rachel Kinsella said her dog was at a neighbor's house when Shoda called on the neighbor. When the dog affectionately accosted Shoda, she said, he coaxed the dog out of her neighbor's yard and into his truck. "That's not a dog at large," she said. On another occasion, she said, Shoda stopped her husband while he was walking on the street with the dog. Shoda demanded an ID, and cited Mr. Kinsella for having a dog at large. Gilbert Mayhur said other dog owners were afraid to appear at the hearing and voice their complaints. Turning to Sheriff Fred Eley, he said, "we need protection from him (referring to Shoda)." Pokey and Peggy Richardson, residents of Silver Creek, said their dog was cited for barking at Shoda's vehicle after he drove by their home at high speed. On the other hand, Mr. Richardson alleged, Shoda failed to follow up on a complaint about poisoned meat being laid out for dogs in the Silver Creek neighborhood. The dog catcher did imply im-ply that other residents in Silver Creek were responsible for the poisonings, said Peggy Richardson. She also said Shoda has been seen using his county vehicle for private business. Mr. Richardson also pointed out, however, that the ordinance caused much of the problem. The leash law, he auto Motor vehicle theft was the one major category which experienced a decrease. Last year's total of 11 was a considerable improvement over 1981 's figure of 30 stolen cars which itself was a decrease from 1980s total of 38. All in all, there were 408 criminal offenses of serious nature in Park City in 1982. Previous years' figures were 398 in 1981, 287 in 1980 and 292 in 1979. The key tangential factor to keep in mind when comparing yearly crime statistics is police effectiveness in apprehending and prosecuting offenders. of-fenders. In those terms. Park City ' said, does not apply sensibly to a rural owner's property, where a dog owner might have several acres. "Mr. Shoda is a little over-enthusiastic, but anyone would have trouble with that law," he said. Many complaints said the dog catcher cat-cher came onto people's property to collect dogs. (Kinsella said her sister-in-law's dog, though licensed, had been taken from its yard.) County Attorney Robert Adkins, said a licensed dog in its own yard is not "at large." "The dog control officer can come onto property to see if the dog is licensed, but he has to be reasonable about it." He also said the dog catcher could follow on private property in "pursuit" of a dog. Shoda said he welcomed the chance to get complaints out in the open. "When I pick up a dog, it's not a benefit. Rather it's another headache for me," he explained. "The directions j I!m given come from the sheriff, Ron Robinson. In the beginning, I was in daily contact with Ron, Bob Adkins, and assistant county attorney) Terry Christiansen." Commissioners Blonquist said, "We never heard from that other side today who don't want dogs on the sidewalk in front of the deli. We get calls from parents in Summit Park concerned about packs of dogs." Commissioner Young said several residents have called him to say they like the present dog law. Both sides agreed the dog pound needed to have more regular hours and better communication should be set up to dog control officers. (They now meet owners at the pound by appointment.) appoint-ment.) Said Bob Allen, "I have to get my dog back at their convenience." Resident John Harrington said the pound may be open, in effect, for three working days. "And that day may be a half-hour long." He suggested setting special late hours for the facility. The pound was mentioned by another party. KPCW radio reported that the Utah Humane Society sent a letter to Summit County, following an investigation. While it did not find evidence of misbehavior on Shoda's part, the society suggested regular hours for the pound, and an extension of the present legal five-day limit to claim dogs. The commission said it had not seen the letter yet, and a skeptical Gerald Young said the society would probably not follow up on the problem. "They like to come and stir up the fire," he said. Blonquist said the commission will work to improve the pound and the dog ordinance, "and we are trying to install in-stall a little public relations in Mr. Shoda petition. Rachel Kinsella said she was not en tirely satisfied with the meeting results. She invited residents to contact con-tact her for information on an anti-Shoda anti-Shoda petition. thef seems to be making progress iUi .us enlarged police force. Last year almost 50 cases of criminal offenses were successfully resolved through arrest and trial proceedings. By comparison, in 1981 only 36 such cases were cleared and the year before there were only 19. In terms of the value of property stolen by criminals, overall in 1982, thieves laid their hands on $311,000 worth of cash and various types of goods (jewelry, clothing, motor vehicles, ve-hicles, TVs, stereos, household items, etc.). In 1981, the dollar value of stolen Bl The Park City High School basketball team came within seconds of beating the North Summit Braves Friday. Story by John Kinch. 4k Judy MacMahon in front of ftf -?V " irW i I v. :tVs ' 1' MfJ i , h J1Mif II iiiniii mi! ' - S 1 . . , ' 1 I 4 ills acM anon to resign from library post by Nan Chalat Park City Library Board members were surprised and disappointed to hear that Judy MacMahon will be resigning her post as Park City library director early this spring. MacMahon announced she will be moving to Ohio to marry Jonathan Dworkin, a labor arbitrator in Shaker Heights, Ohio. She said she does not plan to leave Park City before March, which will give the Library Board time to launch a national search for a qualified replacement. "I am awfully sorry to be losing Judy," commented Library Board member Julie Bertagnole. "She has been an integral part of the new library since the blueprint stage and worked many seven-day weeks in an effort to keep the old library open while helping to plan and then open and operate the new building. In addition to her work as library director Judy has participated partici-pated in many civic projects to the benefit of the entire community." MacMahon was hired by the Park City Library Board in January, 1981. At that time the library was located on Main Street. MacMahon immediately called the Utah State Library Board in for a consultation and revamped the existing book collection. When construction con-struction began on the Miners Hospital she checked on the progress constantly while gathering resources to create the best library facilities possible. own in items was much higher, $468,548, while in 1980 it was $317,617, about the same as 1982s figures. But, again, when comparing such dollar figures it is important to note how much the cops recovereda true barometer of police efficiency. On such terms. Park City police did fairly well in 1982, recovering $92,874 worth of stolen goods or roughly 30 percent of the items stolen That performance was better than the men and women in uniform did in 1980 but fell short of the recovery rate in 1981 when police managed to iwkwt K, J. ii, S- J f 8 V Two Sections, 32 Pages photo by Nan Chalat the new Park City Library. MacMahon gives much of the credit for the success of the library project to the Library Board and city administration. administra-tion. "The community is fortunate to have such capable people, she said. "For a small town it is remarkable." She is confident that she will be leaving the library in good hands. MacMahon recommended that applicants ap-plicants for the position be familiar with the lifestyles of a resort community. She said they need to be skilled in all aspects of running a library, not just administration. She emphasized her hope that the new library director would become involved in-volved in the community. During her tenure in Park City, MacMahon has been an active member in the Democratic Party, an officer in the Park City League of Women Voters and a member of the Utah State Library Association. She is also a KPCW volunteer with a Monday morning classical music program. Parkites might have expected that, now the new library is running smoothly, MacMahon would have wanted to rest on her laurels. On the contrary, she would be happy to do it all over again. "I've had all the fun," she said. MacMahon will formally announce her resignation at the next Library Board meeting on Jan. 25. "She will be missed by all of us," said Bertagnole on behalf of the board. a whopping $213,631 which represented about 46 percent of the goods stolen that year. In terms of arrests made, Park City police had their most productive year ever in 1982, making 176 adult arrests and 25 juvenile lockups for crimes ranging from driving under the influence to burglary to disorderly conduct. In 1981, 156 adults and 10 juveniles were arrested. The year before, 126 adults and 12 juveniles got caught commiting crimes. While in 1979, 95 ;idulls and 20 juveniles took that long ril'ti Coalville. r - r i - 5 , jut '82 |