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Show Viewpoints The A-15 Park Record. Wed/Thurs/Fri, August 29-31, 2018 editorial New group in county has the right idea: ‘Depolarize Now!’ O letters to the editor Visitor says goodbye for good, Park City Editor: My family and I visited Park City between August 23 and August 27 to watch my son ride in a mountain bike race over the weekend. On Saturday, August 25, we drove two cars up to Deer Valley to see the race. We tried to park in the underground lot but it was full. We searched for pay parking but with the construction couldn’t find any up near the venue. So we ended up parking both cars off the side of Sterling road. We saw the red sign about it being a private street but there was a line of 15 to 20 cars already there. Since it was a quiet Saturday we parked and walked up to the event. We returned a few hours later to discover that both of our cars had been towed. It cost $560 to release both cars, after being impounded for an hour or two. The unexpected expense ruined our vacation to say the least. We’ve been visiting Park City about one or two times per year over the past several years. We usually rent a condo or home, ski, rent mountain bikes, eat out a lot, and generally spend lots of money while we’re here. I’m not sure who called to report the innocuous parking far off the street on a quiet Saturday during an event, but the over-zealous enforcement and exorbitant costs have soured us on ever visiting Park City again. There are many other mountain towns that are far friendlier that we’ll visit instead. David Osleger Davis, California Boom, boom, boom — forever changed Editor: Yes, Park City, that is the noise that will be echoed throughout our town as developers spend 3-5 years (minimum) blasting away at our iconic Treasure Hill. It will take that long just to clear the mountain of trees, blast, excavate, remove earth, and re-grade the mountainside, with up to 150 foot high cliffs cutout to make room for this massive project. Here are some facts: EXCAVATION: Estimated to be the size of 18 montage excavations TRUCKS: 300 trucks per day to haul away the dirt PROJECT SIZE: Roughly equal to 10 Walmart discount stores. HEIGHT: Up to 14 stories high CONSTRUCTION TIME: 8-10 years: 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 Engagement Editor............ Chris Samuels 3-5 years of blast & shoot operations WATER: Additional 13-17 million gallons per year forever CARS: 1,000 vehicle trips to property each day forever (projected) LOCATION: Creole ski run in Old Town. Roughly 200 yard above the Town Lift base. Sadly, the last fact is that our town will be forever changed. But if we all vote for the open space bond in November, Treasure Hill will be preserved permanently as open space, a 100 percent conservation easement held by a third party. There is talk about town that after the bond passes, the city would then be free to use Treasure Hill land for housing or whatever it would like — that is FAKE NEWS. The land will be conserved as is, forever. The talk about town that this project can never be built is also FAKE NEWS. The drawings and plans are already done and there are investors in New York just sitting and waiting for the bond to fail. Then they will fast track the approval and move forward with a 1 million square foot project. Aren’t you glad the White Barn was preserved years ago? Did you know that a Smith’s grocery store plaza and strip malls were going to be built there? Aren’t you glad we voted to preserve Round Valley? You will always be glad we saved this piece of Park City. Kyra Parkhurst Old Town Project unearths plenty of support from Parkites Editor: On Thursday, Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History, led by Hope and Sandy Melville guided 41 people on a terrific hike to see our progress on Jupiter Ore Bin, California Comstock Mill and Thaynes Conveyor. We were shuttled up to Guardsman as a special favor by Park City Mountain. Pat Pond and Robin Filion donated their time, their amazing culinary skills and the ingredients to prepare an exquisite gourmet luncheon. Park City Market donated the steak and portobello mushrooms. Brent Whitford donated Red Bicycle Bread. If you have a chance, thank these people for their undying support for our mine stabilization project. Sally Elliott Park City Cows are welcome sight at McPolin Farm Editor: I love those cows, and the horses. I live in Park Meadows and every time I leave my house, I drive down and am greeted by that pastoral scene. I missed the cows this summer when they weren’t there early. I grew up on a farm and I’m not so sure cows count as agricultural management, but I’m not going to quibble. I don’t care why they’re there, just please, Park City, keep inviting someone’s cows back every summer. Thank you. Beano Solomon Park City 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 Raise your voice about cougar quota Editor: On August 30, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is voting on a quota increase to 653 cougars for the 20182019 hunting season. The estimated number of cougars in Utah ranges from 2,000 to 4,000. A 7/27/18 Daily Herald article notes the DWR estimates 2,000 adults ur country has seldom been so polarized. A quick glance at the news on any given day — or through the feed of your social media platform of choice — makes that apparent. We’ve become so divided, in fact, that many of us no longer see people whose politics are different from our own as compatriots. Rather, we view them through the lens of our disagreements. After all, how can someone who supports policies — or politicians — we vehemently dislike share our same American values? Or so the thinking seems to go. In Summit County, though, a new effort is pushing back against that notion. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church is organizing a group, dubbed Depolarize Now!, whose mission is to help people who disagree engage in civil discourse and learn from other perspectives. Imagine such a concept. Talking to each other instead of arguing past one another. Summit County, while home to a diverse range of political views, has not been a flashpoint of the kind of vitriol seen elsewhere in the country. Still, we’re not insulated from it. Depolarize Now!, which plans to include an equal number of people on the left and the right, is a worthy effort and will hopefully draw plenty of support from residents. If we are to repair the division that currently plagues our country, it will be through regular folks looking beyond their differences to reach a common understanding. The majority of Americans deserve the respect of being heard. Most of us, no matter where we fall on the political spectrum, simply want to carve out a good life. We seek the dignity of working for wages that allow us to provide for our families and the comfort of knowing they’re safe. We hope for a country where the American Dream is attainable. We disagree profoundly about what such a nation looks like and how to get there. Those disagreements are complicated and they should not be trivialized. The future of America, as it always has been, will be shaped by which side wins them. What must change, though, is our inability to recognize the humanity in the people waging the argument on the other side. They are Americans, flawed but doing the best they can. Just like us. Until we regain sight of the common bonds inherent in that fact, the tense political climate will continue, and we will be destined to remain divided. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church is scheduled to hold an organizing meeting for Depolarize Now! on Wednesday, Aug. 29, at 6:30 p.m. More information is available at www.stlukesparkcity.org. guest editorial Parkites have a beef with McPolin cows DAVID SWARTZ AND LAUREN LOCKEY Park City We are writing in response to the City Council Staff Report authored by Luke Cartin on July 18, 2018, regarding Regenerative Agriculture on City Lands. It is our recommendation that any use of animal agriculture on city-owned open space should not be allowed at the present time or at any time in the future. The staff report cites a few examples of the carbon benefits that ranching or raising animals for food has on the land, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. Animal agriculture is the single largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in our country and on our planet. We have known this for years, yet for some reason or another it is still not widely discussed. Even back in 2006, the United Nations released a report that states raising cattle for food produces more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transportation industry combined. Not only is animal agriculture the leading cause of climate change, it is also the leading cause of pollution in our rivers and streams, the leading cause of deforestation and ocean dead zones, the leading cause of loss of wildlife, and it is by far the largest use of freshwater resources in our state with most of the water in Utah being used to grow a crop that humans don’t even eat, Alfalfa. According to a number of environmental organizations, it takes roughly 1,800 to 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. In a drought stricken region of the country with record wildfires this year, it would be prudent to not promote the industry that uses the most freshwater resources. Currently there are 110 cattle on the McPolin Farm producing about 65 pounds of excrement per animal, per day. That’s and 2,000 under 1 year. If only 400 are taken per year, that’s 10 percent. The Mountain Lion Foundation says, “Experts suspect kitten deaths could equal or exceed the number of cougars killed by sports hunting.” They note that a study in Southern Utah showed the “annual mortality rate in an unhunted cougar population was a fairly high 26 percent.” According to the Daily Herald, Randy Hatch, a member of Utah Houndsmen Association said “we’d like to see an older class of lions, we think there’s too much harvest going on.” He believes the are fewer cougars than the DWR’s estimate and notes 7150 pounds of waste per day that is polluting our land and local streams and rivers with the nitrous oxide containing runoff. If those animals are there for an average of five months per year, that would be over 1 million pounds of waste being produced per year from just those 110 animals. Park City wants to obtain a net-zero level of carbon emissions by 2022, which is commendable. However, lowering carbon emissions by drastically increasing methane emissions is completely counter intuitive since methane is 85 times more effective at heat trapping than carbon. Every two cows produce the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as one gas powered vehicle. In that case since there are 110 cattle on the property, picture in your mind 55 vehicles slowly driving around the McPolin property every day you see the cattle out there. Another thing to consider is that it will take 100 years or more to see the effects of removing carbon from the atmosphere, whereas we can see the results of removing methane from the atmosphere in less than a decade. There is nothing more environmentally damaging to our planet than raising animals for food. The thought of having agricultural animals graze on city-owned land in Park City is outrageous for a town that promotes sustainability as a top priority. The McPolin Farm is a beautiful scene for those traveling to and from Park City. We often see wildlife roaming the tall grasses and trees. It would be a shame to now see cattle and other farmed animals tearing up the land and creating waste on such beautiful open space. Thankfully, every year there is a significant increase in the demand for plant-based foods, with environmental concerns being one of the primary reasons for this shift, along with human health and animal welfare. Times are changing and Park City has an opportunity to lead on this issue. concerns about areas being overrun by out of state outfitters bringing in people paying thousands for guided hunts. Advocates note recent studies which indicate the killing of older cats lead to more conflicts from younger animals and imply that younger animals who do not know how to hunt properly may be a cause for unwanted attacks on pets and livestock. According to the Humane Society, the new quota would be “nearly triple what is considered sustainable according to cougar research across the West.” They note “Utah’s own cougar biologists have repeatedly warned that the state is risk- ing over-hunting, and should instead implement stronger protections to support the survival of this species.” They are asking us to “send a message to Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources Wildlife Board urging them to reject the proposed increase in cougar trophy hunting quotas for the 2018-2019 season.” There will be a Utah Wildlife Board meeting August 30. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the DNR Salt Lake office auditorium at 1594 West North Temple, Salt Lake City. Jean Tabin Park City The Park record Pulse Here’s a sampling of the conversation readers are having on our Facebook page. To visit the page, go to Facebook.com/parkrecord/. With the budget increase looming hopefully they can ‘increase that headcount’ if they’re serious about keeping us safe in the future……and we can thank even more of them next year! they are amazing And extremely short staffed…and deserve every kudos as do our nurses and doctors.” ‘How did your first day at Treasure go sweetie?’ ‘I fell in the hallway and skinned my knee. It was so crowded and I got pushed.’ ‘Were they being mean?’ ‘No, there just wasn’t enough room.’ She is on the small side so I suggested she walk near the walls? This building needs to go.” Now acquire the Treasure land and keep Old Town backdrop wild…” Some people don’t like cyclists. Some people don’t like dogs. I can’t understand either of those opinions. Bikes and dogs are awesome.” Michelle Kerby, on video highlighting an annual ceremony honoring Summit County’s first responders Larry Schember, on article titled “Park City firm forgoes further development in vicinity of PCMR” Christie Worthington, on guest editorial titled “Park City School District tax increase is remarkable display of chutzpa” Robbie Stout, on article titled “Park City probes violent clash between cyclist, man with off-leash dogs” The Park Record attained permission to publish these comments. |