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Show Viewpoints The A-23 Park Record. Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, August 18-21, 2018 editorial End of run at Deer Valley marks close of a chapter in Park City A letters to the editor Organizations went the extra mile for cause Summit County community as we continue to empower people to lead sustainable lives. Editor: Recently, 172 guests came together to celebrate local food and a sustainability in Summit County. Recycle Utah would like to thank everyone who attended and supported our 3rd Annual 100 Mile Meal, held on August 11 in Oakley. The evening was filled with live music by Clark Uri and Mark Allen, a small silent auction with items from Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort and a five-course meal crafted from ingredients within 100 miles by the Executive Chef Alex Malmborg and the Park City Mountain Culinary team. Together we raised over $30,000 to support Recycle Utah’s recycling services, as well as our environmental education and advocacy programs. We would especially like to thank Gallery MAR for sponsoring the event, Vail Resorts EpicPromise and the Park City Mountain culinary team for preparing the meal, and all of the local farmers and producers who donated ingredients. We would also like to thank our board members and volunteers who worked so hard to make this event a success. We are so grateful for the overwhelming support of the Park City and Carolyn Wawra Recycle Utah executive director The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER ....................... Andy Bernhard Editor ................................... Bubba Brown Staff Writers ......................Jay Hamburger Scott Iwasaki Angelique McNaughton Ben Ramsey Carolyn Webber Alder Contributing ............................. Tom Clyde Writers Jay Meehan Teri Orr Amy Roberts Tom Kelly Joe Lair Copy Editor ............................ James Hoyt 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 Lindsay Lane Sharon Bush Production Director ..................Ben Olson Production .......................... Patrick Schulz Vote yes on Medicaid expansion Editor: Every day at People’s Health Clinic I encounter individuals who live in our community who go without health insurance. Most of these people work at least one and many two or more jobs. Because they make too much to qualify for Medicaid and not enough to be able to afford ACA insurance they are left vulnerable to chronic illness, accident or injuries. Because I see this heartache daily I chose to be one of the original signers of the Medicaid expansion initiative here in Utah. Nearly $800 million in federal funding per year is already set aside for Utah that we are not getting back. We will only get that money back if we expand Medicaid. But Utah has not made this a priority and we are now in the minority of states who chooses to do nothing. Today, 150,000 Utahns who earn under $17,000 per year go without access to healthcare coverage. Medicaid expansion will create a $1.7 billion economic impact by creating nearly 14,000 new jobs in Utah, not to mention lessening lost work and school attendance when people are not being cared for. A worker on Medicaid at a low-wage job who gets a promotion shouldn’t have their healthcare Letters Policy The Park Record welcomes letters to the editor on any subject. We ask that the letters adhere to the following guidelines. They must include the home (street) address and telephone number of the author. No letter will be published under an assumed name. Letters must not contain libelous material. Letters should be no longer than about 300 words (about 600 words for guest editorials) and should, if possible, be typed. We reserve the right to edit letters if they are too long or if they contain statements that are unnecessarily offensive or obscene. Writers are limited to one letter every seven days. Letters thanking event sponsors can list no more than 6 individuals and/or businesses. Send your letter to: editor@parkrecord.com For the record n era at Deer Valley Resort, and in Park City, will come to a close in January. The resort announced on Thursday that Bob Wheaton, its president and chief operating officer, will step down this winter after three decades at Deer Valley’s helm. While many speculated that Wheaton’s departure would come sooner rather than later as the resort enters a new period following its acquisition by Alterra Mountain Company last summer, the significance of the move is nonetheless difficult to overstate. Wheaton, who will step into a new role as a senior adviser to Alterra, is a central figure in Park City’s modern chapter. Deer Valley during his tenure, which began in 1988, grew into one of the finest ski resorts in the world, and the resort’s success was inextricably linked to that of the town itself. As Deer Valley flourished, Park City through the 1990s and Olympic era morphed into the renowned mountain destination it is today. Through all the prosperity, Wheaton seemed to understand the importance of Deer Valley’s connection to the community. A focus on being a team player has been a defining trait of the resort’s relationship to the Park City area under his stewardship, and it will be a major part of the taken away because he or she is now ineligible — we should reward their hard work instead of punishing them. Lastly, no one should have to decide if they can afford life-saving healthcare like treatment for cancer or diabetes. Utah taxpayers pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for unnecessary emergency care and hospital costs incurred by the uninsured. With Medicaid expansion, this would not be an issue. For these reasons I support the Medicaid Ballot initiative — please join me in Voting “Yes” on Proposition 3 on Nov. 6. Beth Armstrong People’s Health Clinic executive director Clean-up efforts made big difference Editor: Thank you to Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History for their efforts in cleaning up the Alliance Mine buildings in Empire Canyon. I lead Summit Land Conservancy’s Hops Hunters hikes, and the difference between our first hike in June before the clean-up and our most recent visit on Sunday was remarkable. There were several hikers who were impressed by the improvements — removing the trash, including a couch and a shattered TV set, countless bottles and cans, and erasing the graffiti on the exterior of the building has made a significant difference. I will be back to the Alliance Mine on Aug. 31 for our hops harvest, and I look forward to sharing this wonderfully improved area with our volunteers. To everyone who donated their time and energy to preserve a piece of our heritage: thank you! Because of your dedication and your commitment, a significant artifact of our history is made more accessible and approachable for others to enjoy. Tangible connections to Park City’s legacy he leaves behind. As he departs, many wonder whether that philosophy will continue to be such an integral part of the resort’s DNA. Denver-based Alterra has sought over the last year to assuage Parkites’ concerns that a shift from those principles is on the horizon, but skeptics will remain unconvinced until the company has ample time to make good on its promise. Regardless of how Deer Valley evolves without Wheaton, his exit caps a period that has ushered in monumental change in the local ski industry, beginning with Vail Resorts’ acquisition of Park City Mountain Resort in 2014. After the sale of Deer Valley, Wheaton, with a steadying presence honed over 30 years, stood as the last vestige of the old guard. Following his exit, and the reshaping of Park City’s ski industry, people will continue to flock by the thousands for ski vacations. Our status as an iconic winter destination remains secure. For Parkites, though, things will never be quite the same. A new era in our history began when PCMR changed hands. Four years later, the ink on the previous chapter is at last dry as one of its central figures moves on. history and heritage are integral to the fabric of our community, and without the dedication of people like you, it would be lost. Julia McCarrier Edwards Summit Land Conservancy programs coordinator Wildlife bridge doesn’t meet needs Editor: On Thursday, August 2, 2018 in a meeting with UDOT about the Parley’s Summit wildlife fencing and wildlife overpass, we learned that the alleged wildlife overpass will not meet Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) guidelines for wildlife crossings. It is too narrow, not designed to hold soil or vegetation, and will not have light or sound barriers. I.e., it is designed to handle deer. The reasoning is that UDOT does not have enough money to build a wildlife road crossing meeting FHWA guidelines, even though other states having less state highway funding, do so. We were told UDOT uses only the most costly type of bridge structures, rather than pre-cast arches typical for wildlife road crossings in other states, even over I-90, because UDOT must allow for future road widening (more lanes inducing more traffic and sprawl). UDOT’s justification for not adding sound and light barriers is that the traffic is far enough below the bridge not to shine lights directly into the animals’ eyes. UDOT claims that, by the numbers, deer cause the most property and personal injury costs to vehicles. However, data gathered in a 17 month period by Save People, Save Wildlife show that 23 moose-vehicle accidents on I-80 in our area cost an estimated $1.934 million and 45 deer-vehicle accidents in the same area and period cost an estimated $688,000. Yet, full grown moose will be able to jump the 8-foot wildlife fencing when it is on hillsides and are unlikely to use the bridge. I have not noticed people clamoring for another truck lane or sound walls, but local people want real wildlife road crossings meeting FHWA guidelines to preserve local wildlife and forest biodiversity and reduce forest fire likelihood. Kathy Dopp Park City Thaynes land should not be part of bond Editor: We were surprised to see a Park Record story yesterday that city councilors were going to vote to put Treasure acquisition on November ballot. Surprised because we feel there has been very little discussion about adding the Thaynes Canyon-Snow Ranch Pastures piece to the bond. The Thaynes canyon gift was proposed first at a July 12, 2018, city council meeting. It took 20 plus years to settle on Treasure payout but a mere 35 days to take care of Thaynes Canyon. We naively thought there would be a PUBLIC discussion about this. Do you even know that some of us are thinking that this does not belong with Treasure bond? The mention of Thaynes-Snow Ranch wasn’t even on the first page of the of the Wednesday newspaper. Pretending we all agree with this addition to our taxes could sink twenty years of work. How about holding honest open hearings (now that people are returning from summer trips) to accurately gauge public sentiment. We would be at the city council meeting this evening to protest but we have plans that were made months ago. This casual giveaway of tax dollars will be resisted because Treasure should be enough. Pete and Peggy Martin Prospector Photos by James Hoyt Asked at Round Valley and Newpark Have encounters with e-bike riders affected your enjoyment of trails? Alex Graves Salt Lake City “Here, no. … I know that down in the valley it can be challenging, usually when you’re going uphill and an e-bike is going down, for some reason it’s just fast and loud. But other than that, I don’t really have that much experience with it or opinions.” Craig Foster Gainesville, Florida “No. I would think they would be no different from regular bikes. … We’re by City Park there and those bikes, they’re the smaller ones.” Andy Kahn Houston “I don’t ride too much on trails, I ride mostly on the street. … I usually don’t see e-bikes there.” Travis Tomczak Summit Park “For the most part, it’s not really too much of an issue. I have certainly encountered a few where it has allowed people who generally probably wouldn’t be near a certain zone of trails to be there and kind of not know the unspoken etiquette. … I see positives and negatives to e-bikes.” See these photos and more by following The Park Record on Facebook.com/parkrecord and Instagram.com/parkrecord |