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Show Viewpoints The A-19 Park Record. Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, April 7-10, 2018 editorial Ownership of Bonanza Flat is in hand, but hard part isn’t over C letters to the editor Help keep Park City beautiful Editor: Spring looks like it’s really here, the snow is melting and revealing all the dog poop left behind and trash once buried in the snow. Where is my beautiful Park City? Besides the unsightliness of all this “new found” dog poop it’s unhealthy to all of us. It’s been quoted in articles that in the USA, pet dogs produce 21.2 billion pounds of poop each year. Dog poop is full of nasty bacteria and potentially even parasites. An even more serious problem is rain run off or snow melt can wash dog poop right into water systems. People who don’t own dogs shouldn’t have to watch where they are walking. We all shouldn’t have to look at all this trash and poop on our trails, open spaces and parks. The snow did a good job hiding it now it’s time to pick it up. I am a dog owner and try to always be diligent about Leave No Trace. If each one of us dog owners take an extra bag or two out with us each time we walk our best friend and pick up an extra poop we’d get back our beautiful city. I started cleaning one section of open space at a time in Newpark, it’s working. This is a The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER ....................... Andy Bernhard Editor ................................... Bubba Brown Staff Writers ......................Jay Hamburger Scott Iwasaki Angelique McNaughton Ben Ramsey Carolyn Webber Contributing ............................. Tom Clyde Writers Jay Meehan Teri Orr Amy Roberts Tom Kelly Joe Lair Copy Editor ............................ James Hoyt Engagement Editor.........Kira Hoffelmeyer Photographer .........................Tanzi Propst Office Manager ..................... Tiffany Piper Circulation Manager ............. Lacy Brundy Accounting Manager ......... Jennifer Snow ADVERTISING Classifieds/Legals ............. Jennifer Lynch Advertising Director ........... Valerie Spung Advertising Sales ................... Jodi Hecker Erin Donnelly Olivia Bergmann Chris Roberts Sharon Bush Production Director ..................Ben Olson Production .......................... Patrick Schulz call to all dog owners — please just one extra dog poop pick up. Donna Sims Park City Leave handicap spots open Editor: I have a pet peeve. It bothers me when I see an able bodied person pull into a handicapped spot without a handicapped permit thinking they have the right because they will only be a few minutes or there isn’t another available spot. Secondly there are those who do have a permit but their handicapped person isn’t in their vehicle and they have the right because they do have a handicapped permit. Please save those spots for those of us who do need the easy access spots. I have had MS for 47 years and struggle to walk with my 2 canes and every step matters to me. For the most part, I am very happy to live in a place where there are so many kind people who do offer to help me every day. Thank you, Thank You! Michelle Sweet Park City Cleaning up parking lots needed Editor: I would like to acknowledge the progressive environmental policies of our Mayor, City Council and City Staff. Electric buses, an extensive public transportation network, energy conservation and a strong commitment to recycling and open space. Thank you for all you do for us. Expanding this “green” vision, I encourage our leaders to turn their attention to the town’s outdoor parking lots. Whether public or private many parking lots appear littered with trash — especially their perimeters. It is a visual pollution that reflects on us all. Perhaps the town can implement a program to encourage business owners to clean up their public areas? The City can set an example by attending to their parking lots — and maybe Summit County will follow suit? Let’s continue our quest to set the bar higher and higher when it comes to a cleaner and greener community — we can do it! ity Hall’s push last year to raise millions of dollars to finalize the purchase of Bonanza Flat was a herculean effort worthy of one of the Wasatch Back’s unmistakable treasures. A little less than a year later, though, the hard part is far from over. Ownership of the 1,350-acre swath of land in hand, the city is now deep into the discussions about how to manage it. It’s a difficult task and one that requires a deft touch to balance the many competing interests among people who recreate or live near the land. City Hall held an open house centered on Bonanza Flat on Monday and has discussed the topic in other meetings in recent weeks. The range of information from the city and feedback from interested parties illustrate just how complicated crafting a conservation easement and management plan for the land will be. It’s not a shock to city officials, who knew owning and managing Bonanza Flat would be complex when they asked voters in 2016 to support a $25 million bond to fund most of the acquisition and engaged in last year’s all-out campaign to raise the remaining $13 million to meet the purchase price. They were correct to view the opportunity to conserve the long-desired land as being worth the challenges. But given the amount of money taxpayers and others plunked down for the deal, and its importance in the Wasatch Back, it’s critical that they get the management of it right. One polarizing issue that embodies the intricacies of the discussions is whether snowmobiling should be permitted. Snowmobilers who have ridden the land for decades argue Bonanza Flat offers some of the best snowmobiling around and that the activity doesn’t harm the land or wildlife. A City Hall survey of residents last year, however, revealed that many view the use of motorized vehicles there as inappropriate. The matter is complicated by the fact several residences near the land are accessible in the winter only via snowmobile. And that’s hardly the only topic that will drum up disagreements. Park City has also indicated it may prohibit hunting on the land. It would be the right call since one point of conserving open space is to protect the animals that inhabit it. But it’s not a straightforward issue, as hunting, which has previously been allowed on Bonanza Flat, is sometimes important in keeping the wildlife population at healthy levels. Other aspects the city will have to consider include questions like whether to make recreation improvements like mountain biking trails and cross-country skiing tracks. And if so, where and how many — and what about parking? Whatever course the city ultimately takes, there will be many who disagree with various elements of the plan. That’s inevitable with something as complex as Bonanza Flat. As long as city officials make every effort to reach the best-possible solutions, though, the fact Parkites will get to enjoy the land for generations to come is ultimately what’s most important. guest editorial The public health epidemic of #MeToo MEGAN GLASMANN, M.ED Park City In the United States, 25% of women and 17% of men will be sexually abused or assaulted in their lifetimes. Even more disturbing, every 98 seconds an individual is sexually assaulted based on reports by the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. These rates of sexual assault are far higher than the rates of breast cancer diagnosis or childhood poverty, indicating that sexual harassment is a significant social issue with even broader consequences, including homelessness, incarceration, lack of education, and mental and physical ailments. Furthermore, 26 public-school districts across the U.S. agreed in 2017 to at least $37 million in settlements resulting from allegations of sexual harassment or sexual assault of students, teachers or other employees based on reports from The Wall Street Journal. Clearly, this is a pervasive and deeply rooted problem. Jane Fonda, celebrity actor and activist, has suggested that “in order to root out the problem today, we must understand that working-class women, women of color, trans women, and disabled women constantly experience harassment, assault, and rape — and they’re more likely to be fired if they speak up.” Others have emphasized the importance of companies publishing statements that reaffirm the commitment to ethical and supportive reporting processes in response to the recent sexual harassment allegations made against high ranking officials and men in a variety of professional fields. Despite the steady momentum that has carried sweeping changes and hasty firing of high profile men in public postings, sexual harassment lawyers have indicated that sexual harassment is incredibly difficult to prove legally, as it requires severe or pervasive behaviors to have merit in the courts. This supports the claim that businesses, academia, and professional organizations must reevaluate their con- duct policies and procedures. Given the continued difficulty of discerning red tape and societal pressures to view sexual harassment and violence as more than simply an internal policy issue or women’s issue, it is essential that businesses and organizations alike are educated on the impact and prevalence of sexual harassment. The current political climate and the general lack of public knowledge has led to a perpetuation of what the Chronicle of Philanthropy called a “culture of silence.” A 2017 web poll conducted by The Business Journal indicated that 66 percent of respondents had witnessed or experienced sexually inappropriate behavior in the workplace. Evidently, the silent status quo has allowed sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior to prevail in professional settings. And, although the #MeToo movement experienced its Malcolm Gladwell style “tipping point” in the past year following the Harvey Weinstein allegations and the outpouring of White female actresses acknowledging their sexual assault experiences, this began long before the social media wave. Instead, the first #MeToo campaign began with Black activist Tarana Burke in 2006. Before this, Anita Hill brought sexual harassment into the spotlight while withstanding humiliation in 1991, and still earlier were legal cases brought forth as early as 1975 by brave African American women seeking fair treatment in the workplace. Considering the prevalence of sexual assault and its dire consequences, it is quite clear more protections are needed in the workplace. That said, until we change as a society, these policy changes may be limited in their impact. This is not to say that organizations should resist the societal pressures to increase accountability and provide workplace anti-harassment training. Instead, we should be aware of the reactive nature of many policies and consider that it is likely that workplace trainings will be most beneficial until we begin the integration of preventative, societal level measures. David Nicholas Park City For the record Photos by Kira Hoffelmeyer Asked at Park City Library What are you excited for most about the shoulder season? Diego Zegarra Park City I’m excited about furthering our conversation with the City around social equity. Michael Auerbach Manhattan, New York City I enjoy that the restaurants are less crowded, hiking and biking trails off mountain, and doing things I would never do in the ski season. Patti Chaney Park City I love to mountain bike! Also, my husband and I go traveling in our motorbike through Utah’s state parks for a little adventure. See these photos and more by following The Park Record on Facebook.com/parkrecord and Instagram.com/parkrecord |