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Show A-12 The Park Record Meetings and agendas Wed/Thurs/Fri, June 20-22, 2018 Core saMples By Jay Meehan TO PUBLISH YOUR PUBLIC NOTICES AND AGENDAS, PLEASE EMAIL CLASSIFIEDS@PARKRECORD.COM Red rock and rez AGENDA SUMMIT COUNTY COUNCIL Wednesday, June 20, 2018 NOTICE is hereby given that the Summit County Council will meet in session Wednesday, June 20, 2018, at the Sheldon Richins Building, 1885 West Ute Blvd, Park City, UT 84098 (All times listed are general in nature, and are subject to change by the Council Chair) 1:30 PM Closed Session – Personnel (15 min); Property acquisition (60 min); Litigation (15 min) 3:00 PM - Move to auditorium 3:15 PM - Pledge of Allegiance 3:20 PM Work Session 1) Implementation and findings of ProjectABC; Travis English (20 min) 2) 3:40 PM - Discussion regarding declaration of emergency procedures; Bryce Boyer and Chris Crowley (30 min) 4:20 PM Consideration of Approval 1) Possible action regarding appeal from the April 27, 2018 Decision of the Community Development Director declining to process an April 27, 2018 Colby School Project Conditional Use Permit Application; 3770 North SR224, Park City, Utah; Pat Putt and Bruce Baird (45 min) 2) 5:05 PM - Ratify the 2018 Auditor’s Certified Tax Rates pertaining to Summit County General Fund, Municipal Services Fund, Assessing & Collecting Fund, Park City Fire Service District, Summit County Serve Area #6, Summit County Serve Area #8, Summit County Wildland Fire Service Area, Snyderville Basin Recreation District, and Snyderville Basin Recreation District Bond; Michael Howard 3) 5:15 PM - Approval of recommendations of the Summit County Recreation Arts and Parks (RAP Tax Cultural) Committee 4) Council Comments 5) Manager Comments 6:00 PM Public Input One or more members of the County Council may attend by electronic means, including telephonically or by Skype. Such members may fully participate in the proceedings as if physically present. The anchor location for purposes of the electronic meeting is the Sheldon Richins Building auditorium, 1885 W. Ute Blvd., Park City, Utah Individuals with questions, comments, or needing special accommodations pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act regarding this meeting may contact Annette Singleton at (435) 336-3025, (435) 615-3025 or (435) 783-4351 ext. 3025 Posted: June 15, 2018 Mormon FamilySearch to accept same-sex couples Genealogical database change to begin next year BRADY MCCOMBS Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY – The Mormon church’s massive genealogical database will begin accepting submissions of names of people from same-sex relationships sometime next year. The move doesn’t foreshadow any change to long-standing church opposition to gay marriage, but it is being done to ensure the databank has as much information as possible for researchers, according to a statement from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “No judgments are made as to the legitimacy or character of the relationships found in these public records, nor can they be,” church spokeswoman Irene Caso said. “They are simply collections of data to be assessed for their genealogical value by each researcher.” Caso said church members who use the database to request temple sealings for their ancestors understand that can only be done for marriages between a man and a woman. The genealogical database, called FamilySearch, posted a statement in April on its website updating the progress of the expansion plan first announced in 2015. The statement said several systems must be redesigned to make possible the submissions. Officials expect that work to be done by 2019, the statement said. “The goal of FamilySearch. org is to capture, store, and provide records and an accurate genealogy that represents past, present, and future families of the world,” the statement said. “To support this goal, same-sex relationships, including samesex parents and same-sex couples, will be provided in FamilySearch Family Tree.” The Salt Lake Tribune first reported this week that the change would go into effect by next year. The Utah-based religion of 16 million worldwide members has held firm to its opposition of gay marriage and homosexual activity while trying to foster an empathetic stance toward LGBTQ people. The church received harsh criticism from LGBTQ groups in 2015 when it banned baptisms for children living with gay parents and instituted a requirement that those children disavow homo- sexual relationships before being allowed to serve a mission. The changes were designed to avoid putting children in a tugof-war between their parents and church teachings, leaders said. The move to allow same-sex couples in the database is an important step forward that shows the Mormon church is making some progress on LGBTQ issues, said Troy Williams, executive director of the LGBTQ support group Equality Utah. “We have families, we’re having children,” Williams said. “It’s important that the LDS database reflect that.” The focus on genealogy by Mormons is rooted in their belief that families should be the focal point of lives, and that family relationships continue into eternity. The website is used to do family tree searches and for church members to record baptisms of the dead. The Mormon church is the only major religion that baptizes the dead, and the ritual has contributed to struggles by the faith to combat the mischaracterization of its beliefs. The proxy baptisms do not automatically convert dead people to Mormonism. Under church teachings, the rituals provide the deceased a choice in the afterlife to accept or reject the offer of baptism. LGBT groups allowed in Provo parade after uproar Nondiscrimination clause included in July Fourth event JULIAN HATTEM Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY – Organizers of a prominent Utah July Fourth festival struck a deal to allow five LGBT organizations to participate in the parade Thursday, reversing an initial rejection given just hours after signing a nondiscrimination agreement with Provo city leaders. The deal followed an outcry that included the Utah County Commission chairman threatening to rescind $100,000 in funding and an LGBT group leader denouncing festival organizers as showing “staggering bigotry.” America’s Freedom Festival didn’t immediately comment on the deal. But a member of the festival’s board of trustees agreed to pay for a float hosting three of the groups, said Kendall Wilcox, a member of Mormon Building Bridges. The two other organizations will march with a quilt that Wilcox said represents different versions of Utah families. Festival organizers said earlier that the five LGBT organizations were among 22 applications denied for failing to meet its specific requirements. Two of the groups had filed a joint application. It’s unclear which requirements the groups had not met. Festival organizers said participants cannot touch on political or social issues and must focus their applications on the spirit of patriotism. “Let’s celebrate America pure and simple,” festival director Paul Warner said in a statement after the rejections were announced. The event had been criticized for blocking participation by LGBT groups in the past, but Wednesday’s outcry noted the festival had signed a contract Tuesday with Provo city leaders that included a new nondiscrimination agreement. As part of the contract, the city agreed to provide $150,000 in cash and in-kind contributions for the festival. Organizers had also signed a separate contract with Utah County in March that included a nondiscrimination clause. The contract stipulates county contributions of roughly $100,000 for the event. After the applications were rejected Wednesday, Troy Williams, the executive director of advocacy group Equality Utah, accused organizers of “staggering bigotry” and said in a statement that the disconnect between their words and actions was “astonishing as it is disappointing.” Utah County Commission Chairman Nathan Ivie said on Twitter that he would try to pull funding for the organization. Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi had urged the two sides to work together on an arrangement to allow the LGBT groups to participate. The theme of the float agreed to Thursday is “Utah’s LGBT community celebrates America: United we stand.” The emotional two-hour meeting Thursday involved tears, yelling and deeply painful stories, Wilcox said. “I’m sort of in shock and pleasantly surprised at how much ground we actually covered,” he said. “Red is this yielding land/ turned inside out/by a country of hunters/with iron, flint and fire.” ~ Linda Hogan (Book of Medicines) My turn as tour guide had finally arrived. Over many years now, that particular joy had fallen to family members on Kauai. Parading me from beaches to ridgelines (tropical jungle landscapes all), they provided a show-and-tell of island history that included a virtual graduate degree in all things “da kine.” Well, with the ball now in my court, I had a chance to return serve at various southwestern National Parks and Navajo Reservation locales. With any luck at all, “Shaka, brah” will soon morph into, “Yah-ta-hey.” My esteemed siblings, sister Mary Beth and brother McGee, not to mention my equally renowned son Smokey, were all chomping at the bit. As was their aforementioned guide. Being a selfish sort, the trip, as mapped out, had begun to resemble a “greatest hits” of his past exploits upon the red rock. Jumping in the creeping line of vehicles entering Arches National Park just north of Moab proved to be not as much a test of patience as we originally thought, but although well worth the wait, wasn’t the quickest we’d ever seen. And, as advertised, parking at trailheads was an issue. Of course, there’s a reason for all this, and the lights-out, over the top, geological splendor of the joint remains pretty much as good as it gets. A showplace for the eroded entrada strata, Arches had the crew packin’ cameras and giving it their best Ansel Adams at every opportunity. We then moseyed down to Cortez, Colorado to stay with friends while giving the An- cestral Puebloan heritage up at Mesa Verde National Park a shout-out. Not nearly as impacted tourist-wise as Arches, the remnants of the various stages of what we once referred to as “Anasazi” culture, from the earliest “basketweavers” of around 550 AD to the Cliffdwellers who would up and disappear around 1300 AD, were still as intriguing and haunting as ever, if not moreso. Mesa Verde captivates! Of course, there’s not much anywhere that evokes the depth of both real and imaginary The lights-out, over the top, geological splendor of the joint remains pretty much as good as it gets.” memory to the extent of Navajo Tribal Park at Monument Valley. We have the John Ford and John Wayne films “Stagecoach” and “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon”, among others, to thank for that. You want “magical,” well, here’s the cherry on top. Next up would be what would become our deepest foray into the Big Rez, the mesmerizing and haunting ravines of Canyon de Chelly National Monument. Although “Hózhó,” the Navajo concept of peace through balance, seems to radiate throughout these gorgeous canyons, carnage, also, once dwelt here. Kit Carson and the U.S. cavalry saw to that as they put to a violent punctuation mark on what had become known as the Navajo Wars. Up in and around Massacre Cave in Canyon del Muerto, the northernmost arm of the Monument, ghosts now look over the site of the defeat that preceded their long walk to Basque Redondo in New Mexico. We would put that destructive part of our colonial history on the back burner as easily as we would that of our ensuing destination, a boat tour out of Wahweap Marina on Lake Powell. The collective above the waterline geologic beauty of the formations and sandstones of the lower and middle Jurassic period belie the murder of Glen Canyon precipitated by the construction of the “damn dam.” Many have called Glen Canyon Dam the “most hated chunk of concrete on earth.” Additional beauty awaited our tribe up on the 9,000-foot elevation of the Kaibab Plateau and along the road that ended at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. “The good rim,” as Ed Abbey was wont to say. Stops at Cape Royal, Point imperial, and the Roughrider Saloon at the Lodge would second that opinion. We wrapped it up with a “brush-by” of Bryce Canyon, a drive-thru at Capitol Reef and a scrumptious breakfast at “Hell’s Backbone Grill” in Boulder, which proved a nice bookend to an earlier one in Mancos, Colorado, at “The Bakery.” Memorize those names! We also caught sight of all five Laccoliths: the Henry’s, the La Salles, the Abajos, Sleeping Ute, and Navajo Mountain. What’s not to love?! Got a feeling the whole “famdamily” will be back for more. Jay Meehan is a culture junkie and has been an observer, participant, and chronicler of the Park City and Wasatch County social and political scenes for more than 40 years. red Card roberts By Amy Roberts Good news Rx I went to the doctor the other day. No injuries or illness or anything particularly concerning. Just, annual exam time. Blood pressure, temperature, heart rate all normal. I took some deep breaths and said, “Ahhhhh.” Run of the mill standard screenings that take a few minutes and cost a few hundred dollars. It was all predictable. Except for what came next. “Have you been having any feelings of depression or hopelessness lately?” She asked me. I wasn’t expecting this question, so I thought about my answer for a moment before I said, “Yes. Every time I turn on the news.” My response was meant to be amusing, if not a tad cheeky. But in the days after my appointment, the more I thought about my answer, the more I realized it was fairly honest. Nothing bums me out more than the news right now. And “don’t watch” doesn’t work for me. For starters, I’m a junkie. But aside from that, I don’t see the benefit of willful ignorance. Other than maybe being in a better mood. There’s a saying in the news business: If it bleeds, it leads. Tragedy and scandal make for a gripping headline. And unfortunately, there’s no shortage of either at the moment. Our news is a 24/7 cycle of one-upping the last WTF cycle of stories. And my job as a columnist is to offer comment on them. Which, as I realized during my doctor’s mental health screening, does little to keep me sane. Or smiling. As such, at least for this week, I’m making a concerted effort to find the flipside. Good stuff is happening, it’s just not making the front page or top news block as often. For starters, the FIFA World Cup is currently underway in Russia. Quite simply, no other sporting event in the world comes close to matching the spirit of the World Cup. The Olympics may garner more attention from global leaders and media outlets, but for all of the countless competitions and choreographed pageantry, the Games don’t come close to the uniting, almost cosmic passion that envelops soccer’s greatest stage. Even the United Nations is jealous of soccer’s unifying force. Good stuff is happening, it’s just not making the front page or top news block as often.” Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan once said, “The World Cup makes us at the United Nations green with envy. As the pinnacle of the only truly global game, played in every country by every race and religion, it is one of the few phenomena as universal as the United Nations.” So far, my favorite headline coming out of Russia is Iceland’s reaction to a draw with powerhouse Argentina. Iceland players and fans celebrated with unabashed joy, as if the team had won both the final match and the lottery. Despite the game technically ending in a tie, by all accounts, it was a win. After all, there are more registered soccer players in Argentina than Iceland has total residents. This is Iceland’s first World Cup showing, and it’s the smallest country to ever qualify. Never mind that Lionel Messi, arguably the best player in the world, plays for Argentina. And the world, minus Argentinians, celebrated with Iceland. They were every fan’s team that day. There really is nothing more global than soccer. The sport has more followers than any one religion, and it’s more universally understood than any one language. The World Cup is the most-watched sporting event on the planet, and on July 15th, it’s expected well over three billion humans (more than half the planet!) will act in unison as they gather to watch the final. There was more good news, celebration, and unification coming out of Russian when it was announced the U.S., Mexico, and Canada won the bid for the 2026 World Cup, making it the first time the tournament will ever be hosted by three countries. Considering how happy these two stories made me this week, I can only hope soccer becomes part of the regular news cycle. Amy Roberts is a freelance writer, longtime Park City resident and the proud owner of two rescued Dalmatians, Stanley and Willis. Follow her on Twitter @amycroberts. |