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Show Page A7 - tUfre -- ffitmgg-nftepenbe- nt Castle Valley Comments Letters from the People VFW vandals are stealing from selves For as long as I can remember, my father, Fred Every, has been the Commander of Moab's VFW post 10900. 1 wanted to let my Dad and all of Moab's Veterans know they are greatly appreciated. The future members of the VFW are in Iraq and Afghanistan today, fighting for us all. It is in their character to serve, which is why they continue to do so even after they re- turn home. He and his fellow veterans have been working year after year for their community. They help those in need whenever they however can, they can. At Thanksgiving and Christmas they distributed not only a holiday feast, but also enough groceries to keep each family fed for weeks. They have provided assistance to a family who could not afford to bury a lost child. They have awarded scholarships to local students. The list goes on and on. None of this, of course, would be possible without the generosity of those of you who have donated food items or money or participated in their fund raising efforts. For this they are always full-hearted- ly grateful! by Ron Drake ... keeping this in mind, along with the fact that these men sacrificed everything for our country, I want to bring it to the communitys attention that twice in the past week someone has broken in to the humble, little, converted trailer house that is their Post. Most recently they lost over a thousand dollars when the door was busted in, and the vault was crow barred open. Their most recent fundraiser was sabotaged. They had been working to help a local woman fund her kidney transplant. But they wont stop. They will work twice as hard to replace every penny. Whoever has done this is the lowest of the low. To invade the sanctity of a organization in this manner is in effect stealing from yourself. They stole from all of us, and it breaks my heart that there isnt more that can be done to find and punish them. If anyone has any information about these crimes please do the right thing and turn him or her in. You are a victim too. In this case, we all are. -- Cassidy Every Grand Junction, CO Now, not-for-pro- No censorship for me, please . . The photos I submitted of the cougar-killin- g mule in Arizona have aroused indignation among some: from tacky to outrageous. The reaction has stimulated the following thoughts: First, the photos and captions came from a friend of a friend in Ticson. I know no more than appeared in the article: A cougar stalking a hunting party on horseback ambushed the accompanying dogs; hunters fired weapons; cougar may or may not have been hit; the mule counterattacked and killed the (wounded?) cougar. Those finding the photos too horrific for publication would, I presume, also studiously avoid the National Geographic, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, where savage preare regularly portrayed dation and as an intrinsic part of the nature that we proclaim to worship both beautiful and terrible at times. I wonder, would a photo of the same cougar pouncing on Bambi be offensive? If a cougar attacked your dog, would you let nature take its course, or intervene if possible to save your pet? Is the mule to be condemned for defending itself against a perceived threat? Not Im nominating that mule as the new by me mascot for the Democratic Party! .'It seems some would advocate a form of . , censorship of nature, analogous to another d coffins streamwhitewash the ing back from Iraq that we are not permitted to see, nor the 6,000 new amputees and severely wounded warehoused in veterans hospitals. to keep Weve been fitted with us blissfully ignorant of the terrible cost of this idiotically managed war. Officially, we dont even count the.number self-defen- se flag-drape- horse-blinde- rs of Iraqi civilians killed, anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000. Out of sight, out of mind. But when we SEE what really goes on like the shockAbu torture we are lifted of Ghraib ing photos out of a dangerous naivete. I hope the cougar intruders in our own town can be trapped and relocated rather than killed, but lets not be naive about the potential danger. An outdoorsman venturing into the wilderness inhabited by known predators (bear or cougar) is, hopefully, taking an informed risk, and may carry either a firearm or pepper spray for A jogger or child riding a bike on the Millcreek path presumes to be in a safe zone from animal predators, and is thus totally defenseless. Its easy to support a certain policy when its not your child, or your Weekend Warrior, at risk of injury or death. If the cougars can be trapped, I suggest an ideal spot for their relocation: the civilian wing of the DoD, where they can draw some real blood from the Neocon chicken-hawk- s who have so cavalierly sent our troops to be maimed and killed in their global chess game. That flock of fools is now seriously advocating an attack against Iran,, believing it will spark a revolution against the Mullahs. Nothing in history supports that fallacy: internal factions always rally in unison against an external invader. morons need to have These Gucci-shoe- d their noses smeared in the gore theyve created or at least be exposed to some of the gruesome photos Ive seen of what all the smart bombs, RPGs, and depleted uranium poison have wreaked in our name. -- Travis Kelly self-defens- e. Moab Message to the Left . . . After reading a letter from Cris Coffey l ean plainly see why the House back. It just does White left cant get the not matter if you accept what President Bush wants to do with S.S. or not, the left does not have enough federal power to stop him (thank "about Social Security, you, Ohio). He wants to give America a choice with S.S. I thought all you lefties were pro choice. The main reason the left does not want S.S. messed with is the more money in our pocket the less power and dependency there is in Washington. In order for liberalism to work they need dependency. S.S. was never meant to be a savior, just a supplement. The other point I have is this: the top 10 percent in this country pay 90 percent of all the taxes so they deserve tax cuts. How many business owners would stay in business if they were taxed to death. No business no employment, no employment no economy get it? It is no wonder with people like Coffey roaming around Moab these days, the economy is the way it is there. We dont live in a liberal wealth redistribution country, and I know that just eats you up. I thank God that President Bush hais the guts to fight the left. -- First, let me say that I am not taking sides in the Atlas tailings debate. I get amused to see the experts with Ph.Ds and whatever to tell us why the Colorado River is shifting to the north bank. Take a good look at the aerial photo in last and you can see a weeks e dike going from the south bank to the upper end of the island. You can also see the dike by driving across the Colorado River Bridge and looking downstream. About 1963 or 1964, the main channel went between the south bank and the island. Atlas Mineral had pumps on the north bank and had a hard time getting enough water. Atlas ed Times-Independe- nt man-mad- Jerry Miller Green River, Wyo. Dont blame Mother Nature for river diversion ... hired C&W Contracting Co. to push a dike from the south bank to the island so water would be diverted to the north side of the river. The reason I know this is because I was the dozer operator that did that job. Atlas then capped the dike with rock so it became a permanent dike. It shouldnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you build a dike to divert water to the north side of the river that is where the water will go. Guess we shouldnt blame Mother Nature for something humans did. --Neal Swisher Moab Hopefully citizens will let the county council know . . . I hope lots of people read Adrien Taylors editorial in last weeks paper. I think she brought up and articulated very well many points and issues that need to be discussed. Particularly the question of what kind of community we become. Since our economy is so dependent on the people that come to enjoy the relative quiet and staggering beauty of our wild lands, it would be foolish to encourage more motorized use by making it legal to drive ATVs on paved county roads. Balance is the key here. I bet a vast majority of folks in Grand County would agree the level of motorized recreation is high enough. Especially now that it is turning more and more into some kind of battle of machine against nature; rock crawlers, high tech ATVs that can go anywhere and ultra fast I dont mind responsible motorized recreation, I just believe increasing and encouraging more of it would be detrimental to the long term health of our economy and would hurt, not help, the entire tourist business that derecpends on the broad base of reation visitor. The motel that makes money drive enthusiast also makes on the on the money person who hikes to an arch. will let the county council citizens Hopefully know how they feel so they can make balanced decisions that benefit the entire community. -- Steve Meleski . Castle Valley snow-machine- non-motoriz- ed , Thursday, February 3, 2005 s. Last week the Castle Valley Town Council released an official invitation for all to attend their monthly council meeting. The open public meeting will address our water matters that, if I understand correctly, are becoming an issue again. Salt Lake City attorney Jerry Kinghom will also be on hand to give a presentation and answer questions. Water issues are nothing new for the valley however; weve been dealing with them since before the property owners association was even organized. Before the town was organized and able to control the water, each individual property owner had to prove their own water. That involved building a water distribution system to irrigate enough land to satisfy the allotted acre footage of water, usually nine acre feet. If an attempt was made on your distribution system but not completed, a property owner could file for an extension. If no contact was made with the state engineers office in Price about your water, a resident could lose their water rights altogether and several did. Gerald Kinghom is a familiar name associated with Castle Valley also. His name first came up probably on April 24, 1981 when POA Chairman Joe Kingsley stressed the importance of individuals proving their water by the next February. People stand a good chance of losing their water, he said. Kingsley and fellow board member Robert Deglas met with Kinghom who they said specializes in water rights cases and came back with a lot of valuable information regarding water rights. The following year, Ken DeVore, a board member said a major problem facing them was some who proved up their water usage actually didnt have their rights but only an application for water. Norm Walker was to print a pamphlet for the steps to be taken for proving water rights to ease the confusion. On April 8, 1982, POA Chair Valli Smouse organized a water workshop and in July State Engineer Mark Page spent two hours answering questions from more than 30 people assembled at the firehouse. The following week, Kinghom met with the POA board and residents about another legal issue with Utah Power and Light and was later able to negotiate a substantial refund to subscribers over alleged improper charges. The following year, Kinghom met with property owners at the annual POA meeting and spoke about water rights. He said the POA could not act as an entity to secure water rights for the future residents of Castle Valley. He suggested forming several types of public enti ties including a county service area, improvement district, special service area and his recommendation, a municipal corporation, or in this case, a town. A town feasibility study committee was formed and met early the nejet year and Kinghom was involved with them offering advice and material to get started. He has been our guest several other times over the years offering his expertise on other issues facing the community and the current town council still has his phone number on their direct dial function. The official invitation follows: On Thursday, February 10, during the regular Castle Valley Town Council meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m., there will be a public meeting concerning the Towns water rights and the ongoing water rights adjudication. Castle Valleys town attorney, Mr. Gerald Kinghom, will make a presentation and answer questions. All Castle Valley residents and property owners are encouraged to attend this very important meeting. On March 3, 1983, Phyllis Godwin formed an exercise group that met early in the mornings three times a week at the church and had an average of 12 people participating. They were bumping and grinding to recorded musical exercises featuring several artists including Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons. Even though Phyllis hasnt been involved for many years, the exercise group has met nearly continuously ever since. Just recently Alice Drogin announced that the group will now meet at the new community center Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6 to 7 a.m. She invites anyone wishing to get the blood moving first thing in the morning come join in and continue the tradition another 20 years. Other things on the community calendar this month includes the community potluck dinner at the church next Tuesday, February 8 beginning at 6:30 p.m. It will be a Valentine theme and the men will prepare the dish to share. Because of this, the Castle Valley Medical First Responders will be on standby that evening. The planning and zoning commission will meet the following evening at the town hall beginning at 7 p.m. The town council will meet on Thursday, February 10 at 6:30 p.m. and the Castle Valley Volunteer Fire Department meets Tuesday, Feb. 15. On Tuesday, February 22, the medical first responders meet for their training meeting at 7p.m. at Fire Station One on the Loop Road. Heres another thought about Courthouse Wash I just finished reading the article, Consider the strange case of Courthouse Wash. I have found with interest some of the same ideas I have felt over the years expressed in the article. However, if I may share another thought, I wonder if some ideas might be modified or altered. I am not writing this to find fault or excuse, only to present another thought. I can remember many years ago (my memory fails me on exact year, but I believe it was late I960', maybe early 70s) that a massive flash flood came through Courthouse Wash. It was large enough that we at Texs River Cruises spent most of the night moving boats and our dock upstream to prevent them from being sanded in by the backwater of the river and flood. The next day a large deposit of sand blocked . . . at least 75 percent of the river. The deposit diverted the water so much Atlas Minerals had no water for their operations. They were nearly shut down for days until they were able to redivert the water to their side of the river. Atlas built a dike or levee to redirect the water to their side of the river. As I looked at the photo in your last issue, it appears to me that remnants' of the levee are still evident. To me the levee also had or still has an effect on the flow of the river allowing the large downstream island to form. As I said earlier, my intentions are not to blame anyone or distrust any findings. I am only pointing out another factor that may have been overlooked. I welcome any other comments or observations. -- Bemie Radcliffe Moab Economic downside to becoming motor destination The Many Trails column has a very good point about the economic downside of Moab becoming a motor sport recreation destination. My friends and relatives who visit Moab come to enjoy the splendor of the surrounding area. They want to boat or hike or bicycle in an environment that is unlike the urban areas from which most of them come. They want the quiet and the beauty and an unspoiled and remote experience. There are already places here where they will no longer go because of the thoughtless or malicious damage done to the land by vehicles, and this damage is expanding into adoff-roa- d ditional areas at a frighteningly increasing pace. We also have a couple of visitors who come here to 4WD on backcountry roads. As responsible they are among the loudest complainers about the destructive, unsightly and unnecessary vehicle tracks scouring the backcountry. Way to go Adrien . . . acquaintances that have decided not to return to Moab because they are angered by the fact that we the city (their words) and would allow such the federal government wholesale devastation of such an incredible landscape. I recognize the fault for the backcountry damage lies not with the county, but with the BLMs failure to restrict vehicles to designated roads and trails. But by encouraging more travel, which is what the county would do with ordinances allowing ATVs on paved roads, the county is inviting more destruction of the land, and is discouraging those tourists who come to enjoy the spectacular beauty of this place. As Many Trails points out, they are much larger in number than the ATV drivers, and many would quite likely be driven out by the noise and large footprints of those I have two cross-countr- y vehicles. -- Karen Robinson Moab ... I read your column last week about ATVs and I think its great that you had the courage to take that stance on such a highly contentious subject. We definitely need to protect the goose thats laying the golden eggs here. The majority of Moabs tourism base doesnt come here to tear the place up with motorized toys. The BLM is currently revising its countywide management plan. The same principles apply there as well. In deciding which trails ought to be open to motorized use, it makes sense for the BLM to adopt a balanced travel plan that takes into account the needs of the majority of Moabs citizens and tourists who arent into motor sports. The Redrock Heritage Proposal would manage roughly 20 percent of the BLMs land for use, while leaving roughly 80 percent for the motorheads. The key thing is to allow some areas for the ATVs, jeeps and dirt bikes but to make sure there are plenty of areas left relatively undisturbed. Thanks Adrien and the T-- Way to go! -- Kiley Miller non-motoriz- I. Moab |