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Show 2 . BLOOMING11MES - AL 1993 Talking Together (when we have different opinions) A remembered phrase from some long ago sociology class: "The measure of a community’s health is the amount of diversity it can tolerate.” With the amount of diversity we have here in Castle Valley, we can claim to be a very healthy community. One of the consequences of this diversity we claim to love is that we sometimes have some rather spirited discussions at Town meetings. The last few Town Council and Flaming Commission meetings were certainly examples of this. At the March town Council meeting, several residents were so vigorous in asserting their views about the importance of having the freedom to do what they wanted that they overwhelmed some of the less aggressive members of the audience and, ironically, ended up depriving those people of THEIR freedom of speech. Differing views are appreciated; harassing other speakers is noL' Two years ago I was member of a Forest Service committee that could have been World War HI. Instead, it is my favorite example of how people with very different values can work together. This committee was to decide one of the touchiest issues in Grand County—which roads and trails on the La Sals should be left open or closed to vehicles. The committee consisted of a miner, a rancher, a logger, a hunter, 3 Red Rock 4-Wheeler, and an environmentalist (myself). After nine months and many meetings, we came close enough to consensus that we could all agree to the plan the group came up with. There was very little fighting and arguing. How come? What we discovered was that as long as we focused on a specific road or trail we could have a high quality discussion about the need or lack of need for that specific road. Whenever we strayed to the more general or ideological level (i.e., whether roads were good or bad in the forest, etc.), we invariably got into arguments. Again, as long as we talked about specifics, we could talk about who needed to use the road, the effects of that road on wildlife or other humans, whether it was causing erosion, whether it would be used for mining or logging in the near future. We almost unpolluted by bright lights. Other residents depend on their outdoor lights for many reasons. the compromise is to require outdoor lights to be shielded (if there was a complaint), so that both roups of residents could do what they wanted to do. While not an absolutely perfect solution for either group, most of the needs and desires of both groups could be accommodated. Certainly a better solution than the old CV solution of getting out the rifle and shooting out the offending light (and then wasting all that time trying to explain it to the judge). —Jack Campbell Fire Department Notes In last month’s Times, Bill Viavant listed a few things that may help us improve our insurance rating. One of always came close to agreement once the most important things is a large we waded through the details. We had the kind of data you could use to make a decision. enough group of fire fighters who know how to use all of our equipment without injuring themselves or others. As of now we have eight trained The problem we seem to be having in some of our Castle Valley discussions is that we’ve started off on the ideological level and never gotten past the arguing (and maybe not even known what we’ve been arguing about). firefighters, and we are grateful for them, but it takes seven crew members to answer a fire call, so we don't have adequate back-up. Our goal is to have 25 people trained and ready. My nextt subject today is batteries. There are a lot of sources for new and If we’re going to discuss the BIG issues like FREEDOM, LIBERTY, and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, let’s used vehicle batteries. Everyone should be aware that our fire trucks are LLQL one figure out how we can connect these of them. —Floyd Stoughton, Fire Chief concepts to the specifics of our lives. Does freedom mean the right to do certain things to one’s neighbors, or is it more important to have the freedom not to have certain things done to you by your neighbor? of course, it’s some Parents April is upon us. Around the bend is May. of both. The challenge of living together is to come up with the best ratio of freedom to’s and freedom from’s. To make sensible choices about when we If 0 building’s in the offing. need additional protections, and when Parents Love you a ton Then it's time to make some hoy. So if Spring is making you ontsy. Come see me those are either foolish or burdensome. When we start getting specific about some of the problems here in Castle Valley, we begin to find solutions that both allow substantial Whether you're a daughter or a son with your plan. We’ll build whot suits your fancy, Or we'll build what you think you con. Dave Wogstcrff GENERAL CONTRACTING Call 259-5077 freedoms to do the activity while still offering other residents protection from the undesirable side effects of that activity. ' The Town’s solution to the outdoor lighting controversy seems to be an excellent example of this. Some residents really enjoy walking at night and looking at the desert nigh sky, Parents can be crude And Parents can be rude But Parents providefood And they always want you to havefun Sometimes you think they've stopped loving you And youfeel like moving to Honolulu But the truth is they're just mad at you —Mara Ginnane |
