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Show Page A6 (Ebf (Timfg-lnhrpcnbf- Thursday, November 23, 2000 nt Community Comments by Sam Taylor For the first time since World War II, Moab has never been so isolated in terms of public transportation. In the late 1 940s and early 1 950s, we had bus service in both directions courtesy of Continental Trailways, which later was bought by Greyhound which never served this community Sure, the Continental buses crossed paths here at about 3 a m., but once you got over the shock of getting up at that hour and had made your way to the station," the ride either to Salt Lake City or to points south including Albuquerque, was pretty comfortable If you didnt mind driving to the railroad depot at Thompson, Denver & Rio Grande Railroad operated mornSalt Lake ing and evening trams between Denver and in the often were late, particularly City Though they winter, the depot was warm and comfortable, and the tram rides were marvelous. During my final college year, I made 29 round trips in 32 weeks m order to get my degree I could take one D&RGW tram around 5pm or 6 a m. in either Salt Lake City or Moab, and in five hours arrive at my destination. It made a convenient place to study, gave me an opportunity to spend a couple of weekend days on the ob here at The Times, and the food was wonderful. The local tram, The Prospector, ran only between Salt Lake City and Denver The California Zephyr ran from Chicago to the West Coast. They were equally comfortable Then D&RGW eventually sold out to Southern Pacific, who sold out to Union Pacific. Only the Zephyr was left, and they moved the depot 12 miles away to Green River. It's been a while since I've talked to anyone who took the train to Salt Lake City or Denver. It was a great experience, though. We used to do it in with all the kids just to see the city all dolled up for the holidays. In the late 1 950s, Frontier Airlines, a great small regional airline headquartered in Denver, expressed an interest in serving Moab with its venerable DC-- 3 airliners. That was when the Civil Aeronautics Board implemented, under congressional mandate, the Essential Air Service Act. The law was designed to provide subsidized air service to isolated communities when larger airlines decided to drop their small towns. Frontier's service was super for a while until that company also decided to knock heads with the big boys in major airports. Soon, the big guys kicked them into oblivion. Moab, however, remained a qualified Essential Air Service" city, one of four or five in Utah, and replacement carriers took up the slack. Most were but service continued, with new providers picking up the connection. It wasn't until Alpine Air took up the contract almost 20 years ago that we had any continuity of service. The subsidy shrunk each year. But finally, Alpine had a bidder against them when the contract expired (which it did periodically). They had been the lone bidder for years. The opposing bid was considerably lower than short-live- d, Alpine's Local officials, including the Grand County Council and Grand County Airport Board, along with a number of businesses in town, wrote to the Federal Aviation Administration urging that Alpine be awarded the contract based on their years of service. It was noted that the lower bidder had been on the market for quite some time, and that the acquisition of a FAA contract would make a sale more attractive. Ignoring local requests that Alpines contract be renewed, the feds took the lower bid. Now that Sunrise Airlines has filed for Chapter 1 1 bankruptcy and abruptly stopped flying, the FAA is struggling to pick up the pieces. Its obviously going to cost more money. The deadline for applications has passed. The federal agency received three applications. They had better look them over pretty carefully. Probably the most highly qualified applicant, one that presssurized aircraft, already has a fleet of gives me heartburn. It proposes three flights a day from Moab to Denver, with one connecting to Page, Ariz. There is no plan in their proposal for service to Salt Lake City. Moab's community city of interest is Utah's state capi-to- l. While I have nothing against Denver, I also have no real interest in flying to Denver. I used the local carrier here often during the past four decades. There was a time, during the Frontier days, when their primary flights were to Denver. But they had a connecting Salt Lake City flight in Grand Junction, and it was still a lot easier than driving, particularly in the winter. I hope that the FAA doesnt rush to judgment. They need to counsel with local officials and business people to see where the action will be. They are to be praised for getting replacement bids only three weeks after the demise of Sunrise. A few more weeks talking to locals, though, wouldnt hurt a thing. Lets get it right this time, friends in Washington. twin-engin- e, Many Trails by Adrien F. Taylor number of activities in the community. Star Hall contin-- , ues to be high on my list of things that need more work.1 I am hopeful that we will have the renovation completed by the time her centennial rolls around in the spring of 2006. So it's a good opportunity to remind businesses and individuals that a donation to the Star Hall renova- I have many things to be thankful fbr this year. I am thankful for this country, and the great privilege it is to live here, despite the horrendous problems with presidential election 2000. Im not even predicting anymore. Had to let out that great big breath some days ago! I am thankful for Moab, and living in Moab for so many yeais. As one of five children in a wandering family, it is still extremely satisfying to be planted here, and not wishing to move off someplace else. Oh, I could stand a few more cultural opportunities, but the tradeoffs wouldnt be worth it. I am thankful for that wandering family, now reduced from seven to five members, and for the love and caring we continue to share. And thankful tor Sams family, now reduced from seven to two. And for our own family, all grown and all working here in this business. And also for our children's children, and how rare and precious it is to be close to them and be in their lives. The business is a continuing source of challenge and satisfaction. The readers might note that, as of this week, we have divested ourselves of the titles of editors," and appropriately changed Senas from Associate Editor to Editor. (So why is it, I asked Sam, that I seem to be doing more editing now than I have in a long while? Because now were just publishers?) Our sons and are also there on the staff list. Tom is Circulation Manager and operates T--l maps; Jed works in the backshop; Zane is Press and Production Manager, and Ron is Systems Manager. There is plenty to do to go around! Operating a newspaper in a vibrant community such as Moab is an exciting job. Now that we have a larger staff, and a bunch of younger people with a lot of energy, Vie business has been expanding at an astounding rate. It's great to watch, and also to be a part of the change. I am thankful to have the time to be involved in a son-in-la- tion is completely tax deductible. The Moab Higher Education Center is also a top priority for my spare" time. I believe higher education (and its close relative, economic development) is an absolute necessity to maintain the health and forward motion of this vibrant community. I am thankful that the old animosities between the College of Eastern Utah and Utah State University are finally in the past, and that we are moving forward. We have a plan at the Higher Ed. Center, and that is to buy the building where we are, and to eventually acquire the whole complex there, whenever the City of Moab gets ready to sell the current City Hall. We're asking the County Council to put some money in for purchasing the building, and well ask the City Council for some, when their budget cycle rolls around. Local government needs to be involved in higher education. Were going to ask the Community Impact Board for a portion of the mineral lease money which is set aside for higher education. Our application wont be in competition for other CIB applications which may be going out from Grand County. We'll be holding a public hearing in the near future, inviting everyone to come and hear about the plan. And I hope everybody does. But I w digress. I am thankful for the people of this community that I rub shoulders with day by day; for the Valley Voices and the congregation at the Community Church, and I'm sure to leave some important people out, so will just suffice to wish all a very Happy Thanksgiving. tmcs-31nhepcnh- mi 6309-2000- ail of address: editor6moabtimes.com P.O. Box 129, Moab, address to: The Times-lndependen- or 435-259-75- Member Harris Riding the bus was chatting with a Native American student the other day. I asked him where he lived and it turns out that his home is two or three miles off the pavement and a little over 50 miles from school. This results in quite a long bus ride. He said that he especially dislikes it when there is no one to meet him when he gets off the school bus in the evening. If no one meets him he has to walk home. In winter it means walking home in the cold and dark. You can make what you will of his circumstances. To some they may seem impossible, to others something of an adventure. It all boils down to attitude and expectation. Whether his circumstances are good or bad depends upon his attitude and expectation. Im pretty sure that if I were in his shoes I would just accept the circumstances and make the best of them. Others might find them intolerable and set out to change things for the better. Again, it is a matter of attitude and expectation. I have some experience with riding the bus to school. Our circumstances in Idaho, Colorado New Mexico and Washington all dictated that we ride the bus. Never did I have a ride as long as my young Navajo friend, at least not as long in terms of distance. Some were surely as long in terms of time. We rode over mostly unpaved roads which were rough and I slow. The year I attended ninth grade in Durango, Colo., was not a good one for me. I caught the bus at 7:10 a.m. and classes ran from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Before I walked to the bus stop there were chores to do. They included milking, watering and feeding the cow. All of the water for the household as well as for the cow and other animals had to be drawn by hand hum the well. A cow can literally drink buckets and buckets of water. There were also pigs and chickens to tend and wood to chop. We got home at around 6 p.m. and evening chores were pretty much a repeat of the morning. FAX t, UT 84532 435-259-77- NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION and PRESS ASSOCIATION Samuel J. and Adrien F. Taylor, Publishers SenaT. Flanders, Editor UTAH Writers on the Range Living in a society three-quarte- rs by Allen Best When I was a kid, summer vacation wasnt in spring, ski season didnt start until it snowed, and presidents werent anointed until the votes were actually counted. Now, our society has fully caught the hurry-ubug, always jumpy to push the calendar. Educators in Denver are sweating over whether to begin classes in Starting school weeks before Labor Day would allow city students to compete against suburban kids for jobs in May. The suburbs, and nearly all other school districts in Colorado, schedule. are already on the hurry-uIts not just schools, and not just Denver. Across the West, Halloween candy goes out sometime in September, and Christmas trinkets get hoisted even before Thanksgiving. In olden days, decorating of trees was part of Christmas Eve festivities; now Christmas trees get pitched at some houses the day after Christmas. Snowmaking begins at two ski areas in Colorado in September, just a few days after the official end of summer. The ski runs at Loveland Basin opened Oct. 21, ribbons of white set against a landscape of brown. As bizarre as that sounds, listen to this: Loveland makes twice as much money during the first three weeks of ski season as it does during the last three weeks. When Loveland closes in late April or early May, its for lack of customers, not snow. At virtually every ski resort across the West the story is the same. During autumn, when snow is an anomaly, people want to ski, and so ski areas make snow while leaves are still turning, and they open for business before the World Series is even over. Come spring, and typically the deepest snowpacks of the year, the consuming public wants no part of it. That irony has environmentalists and marketing directors both scratching their heads. At sporting arenas, its the same story. How many times, unless the game stays close, do the seats empty p mid-Augus- t. , Tom Taylor. Zane Taylor. Ron Flanders Franklin Seal Lisa Church Mary Wright Sadie Warner. Dorothy Anderson 1 Circulation Manager, l Maps T-- Press, Production Manager Systems Manager News Writer News Writer .Advertising Representative Real Estate Weekly, Design Mail Room Supervisor Jose Churampi, Stan Zook... Kelly Ericson, Bobbie Domenick, Jed Taylor. .. Backshop Ken Davey, Carrie Switzer. News Writers -- ..Regional Correspondent Layne Miller. Green River Correspondent Betty Bailey. Ron Drake Castle Valley columnist Ron George Columnist Oliver Harris Columnist J Distribution K From this vantage of years it seems like a lot of chores but I was the oldest of a large family and the next five children were girls. It was customary for the boys to do most of the outside chores. I do not recall resenting the chores. What I didnt like was going to school in town where the Durango kids referred to those of us who disgorged from the bus as dumb farmers." I didnt like arriving at school with milk spattered on the tops of my shoes and cow manure stuck to the bottom. I didnt like being at school smelling like the barn with cow hair ail over my coat and mud on the cuffs of my pants. When I got into the inevitable fight all I got for my trouble was a black eye and a broken fist. The black eye did nothing for my pride and the broken hand doubled the time it took to milk the cow. We moved to Washington State after that freshman year, but Barbara, whom I eventually fell in love with and married, rode the miserable bus to Durango all through her high school years. From what I understand she wai something of a discipline problem. Ill let you be the judge of that. She and some others were ensconced in the back of the bus secretively playing jjoker with actual face cards. I mean, it doesnt get much worse than that. When the bus driver discovered them involved in such sin and debauchery, he kicked them off the bus. Barbaras parents had to assure the driver that she was appropriately repentant and would never behave in such a shameful manner again. Only then was she was allowed the coveted privilege of nding the bus. If you should notice an ugly, yellow stain on the paper as you read this you will understand that it comes from the dripping sarcasm. I hope my young Navajo friend has a better experience riding the bus to school and I hope that those who meet him there, teachers, peers and townsfolk, make him feel welcome. High Country News p ) (UPS) Entered as Second class Matter at the Post Office at Moab, Utah under the Act of March Second class postage paid at Moab, Utah 84532. Official City and County Newspaper. Published each Thursday at: 35 East Center Street, Moab, Grand County, Utah 84532 Postmaster: Send changes XIdle Thoughts from Mt. Waas by the fourth quarter? And how about business offices? Years of experience have made me leery of important business on Friday afternoons. Most of the workaday world has slipped home early. From schools to offices to arenas, weve become a three-quarte- r society. Why do we collectively want to jump the calendar? In the case of schools, its not too hard to under- stand. Several years ago Colorado state government mandated testing of all students in publicly funded schools. The cumulative te&t scores for reading, writing and mathematics have become the standard by how schools, and their teachers, are measured. Nobody wants ah F, or even a merely average grade. The test have become so that in Denver, there was even talk about ending the school year after the tests. School is meaningless, apparently, once the tests are over. But other hurry-u- p habits are harder to fathom. Why do drivers on the street outside my house acceof a block only to jam lerate hard for on the brakes at the stop sign? Maybe leaden-fee- t, early skiing, October Christmas and even overly eager and errant election results all stem from a human tendency to want what you cant have, and shrug off what you have in abundance. Whatever the cause, I have this nagging fear that n someday this mentality will be more to me d than ReinRudolph the annoying deer at Thanksgiving. My dream a nightmare, really is that 111 get sick in the fall, and without the formality of actually waiting for my time, the undertakers will start stuffing me into a. coffin. "But I havent even died yet," I will protest Hey, its Friday," they will tell me, and we want to go skiing." Allen Best is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (www.hcn.org). lie lives near Denver. three-quarte- rs jump-the-gu- Red-Nose- |