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Show r1 g map nr: "n.ri jfii (The PageA6 (Timps-3iibppmbr- - - i n Thursday, August 23, 2001 nt our Town Community Comments by Sam Taylor During our tarty years of marriage, with four smaii children, we couldn t alord real vacations, like many young families As a matter of fact with a small weekly newspaper with a Wednesday deadline to meet, we couldn t really aHord o miss many tain (that s singular, and singular is proper), Adrien and drove to Medicine Lake for lunch, and to see it I could still use my fly rod. I still can, and proved it with Sena and a couple of friends, who arrived on I horseback as witnesses, on my second cast turned the little fellow back into the lake to grow a little more, having not injured him any with my size 16 Renegade fly That ended my fishing for the day I really prefer halibut Mostly, though dozed while Adrien ran her spinning wheel And we did a tot of remembering, recalling dozens of trips, which were all special and all a little different wont bore you readers with the deI Wednesdays y As a result we took a lot of three- and weekend vacations dunng the summer months in the La Sal Mountains Our favonte place was Medicine laKe near the top of La Sal Pass We tented, used a variety of camp tra ws when finances improved a bit, and vehicles to Medidrove a vancty of roads the over because there, from the years cine were of mountain atrocious, and we either side the that kind of hoped they stayed way because it kept our favorite place pretty secret There were times when we would see no other people there for days tour-da- - I I tails. is still a magic place, and ttie road up the backside of the mountain is dramatically improved The It one up from Pack Creek Ranch, though, is a mess, just like it always was. Adrien found a small, unique (at least to her) rock. She insisted on bringing it home to join a large collection of special rocks she has carted home over I wonthe years. They just sit around the der what the pioneer owners of the place would think about that. The early Stewart family who pioneered the place, and later the Sog Shafer family who farmed it for many years, probably spent hundreds of hours clearing that patch of ground of rocks that had washed down trom the hillside. Now Adrien is restocking the place with her special rocks. We don't even have a rock garden Just rocks. But that is her thing and won't argue the point. We will make a few more trips to Medicine before the summer is over. For one thing, we have grandchildren now who need to get better acquainted with it and catch some trout of their own. believe I can still teach a kid how to fish at least with a casting red instead of my faithful fly rod at a time We caught a lot of fish One year just after the small pond had been freshly stocked, we put the kids to work with salmon eggs, and using dishpans, and running furiously, we stocked one of the beaver ponds above the main lake We enjoyed using that pond later with dry flies to catch those twice-plante- d fish which grew tremendously during the mini-far- summer months Mostly, though, we enjoyed being a family We like to say that we brought up our kids at Medicine Lake, and we literally did They never forgot it Now they are having a chance to give their own offspring the same experience I'm sure that the memories from La Sal Pass are more strongly lodged in their minds than the bicentennial trip to Washington, D C , the couple of trips to Disneyland, an auto tour of California's Big Sur, or the few days in Yellowstone, On Saturday, not having even been on the moun- - I Many Trails by Adrien F. Taylor window, notice my poor flowers need a drink of water. I put the glass in the sink and theres the remote for the TV on the kitchen counter. Whats it doing here? I'll just put it away.. .BUT FIRST I need Wasatch Woolpack Handspinners internet chat room are Two things currently circulating on the worth sharing, for those of you who are ready for a laugh 1. I just wanted to let you know that have AAADD with been diagnosed recently Attention Deficit Disorder This is how it goes decide to do the laundry, start down the hall and notice the newspaper on the table OK, Im going to do the laundry. .BUT FIRST I'm going to read the newspaper. After that, notice the mail on the table. OK, I'll just put the newspaper in the recycle stack .... BUT FIRST I'll look through the pile of mail and see if there are any bills to be paid Yes, Now where is the checkbook? Oops . there's the empty glass from yesterday on the coffee table. I'm going to look for that checkbook.. BUT FIRST I need to put the glass in the sink I head for the kitchen, look out the to water those plants. head for the door cat. Cat needs to be on the and...Aaaagh! stepped fed. Okay, I'll put the remote away and water the plants... BUT FIRST need to feed the cat. END OF DAY: Laundry is not done, newspapers are still on the floor, glass is still in the sink, bills are not paid, checkbook is still lost, and the cat ate the remote control... And, when I try to figure out how come nothing got done today, Im baffled because. ..I I I Age-Activate- Editor's Notes I d I I I KNOW I WAS BUSY ALL DAY! 2. Go to smurfgen.html and find out what kind of Smurf name you have. Im not saying anything about mine in print. Brick Bats and Bouquets Accolades and Admonishment with regard to issues in our community by Sena T. Flanders I dont like to complain to elected officials. Aa a journalist, I find it most important to hear all sides of a story, and present those sides to the public through the newspaper. But there are times when I put my journalistic hat aside, and work to effect change as a resident of this county. I am doing that this week, after considerable thought about an incident that has made me angry and fed up with how Grand County officials disresjaect the very laws they enact. The countys method of enforcing its codes has reached a point that I feel is intolerable. That method, which I describe as the tattle-tal- e way to try to get things done right, is one that county council members have perhaps unofficially adopted in order to shirk their responsibility in making sure that property owners adhere to the countys laws. Its no secret that the council has instructed its building department to disregard many parts of the code unless the public makes about complaints infractions. And by so doing, they have placed the code enforcement burden on the public. It seems our officials are unwilling to follow the very rules they enact. The precedent they have set by allowing some properties to breach the code while others are ordered to toe the line is unfair, unprofessional and I believe, illegal. bouquet to Grand County School Board members, District staff and school administrators for their efforts to retain employees slated for layoffs. With Grand County schools some of the most underfunded in the state, and with Utah one of the most underfunded states in the country, we need to keep our educators. A big Bouquets also to Grand County's school crossing guards who were out in force starting Wednesday heljnng assure that our kids make it safely to school and home again. And also to vehicle drivers for obeying speed limits in school zones and watching out for the kids Ixiuquet to the Moab Area Economic Development Council and the Governor's Office for helping bring Moab into the 21st Century with the "Smart Site" designation. By joining the list of existing "Smart Sites" around the state, Moab increases its ability to attract jobs A high-tec- h (Eljc I am particularly angry at this time because their way of doing business has conic back to haunt me personally. Late last May I attended a planning commission work session and listened to concerns being raised by commissioners with regard to the truss factory and storage unit development on Spanish Trail Road. I heard Building Inspector Jeff Whitney respond to a question about the landscaping, or lack thereof, at the truss factory. He said vegetation 6309-2000- Postmaster: Send changes address to: The Times-lndependen- or Member H of March 3, FAX t, PO Box 129, Moab, UT 84532 ASSOCIATION ! Circulation Manager, T--l Maps Press, Production Manager Tom Taylor Zane Taylor. Ron Flanders Franklin Seal Lisa Church Michael Gostlin Sadie Warner Dorothy Anderson Jose b Systems Manager News Writer News Writer News Writer Office ManagerSalesDesign Mail Room Supervisor Distribution Churampi Kelly Ericson, Bobbie Domenick, Jed Taylor Darin Hawk Layne Miller Betty Bailey Ron Drake Ron George Oliver Harris Ryan McDowell next to a neighborhood. Mr. Whitney told me he didnt know the exact answers to my questions, but said he would research the issue and get back to me, which he did within minutes. I thanked him for his time and was satisfied with the answer. I made no complaints about what would proceed on that property, after being assured that adequate landscaping and fencing would be installed. And I felt the code would be respected in this instance, because the projects on that corner have caused some concern and discussion by the planning commission. Now, more than two months after that incident, I come to find out that the owner of the storage units is blazing mad at me for calling the building inspector. Little did I know that a public would breach official disclose and my confidentiality name to the owner of the property. And this is how we enforce codes in Grand County. I ask our elected officials this: If youre not going to take the heat regarding the codes, who is Backshop SalesProduction Regional Correspondent Green River Correspondent Castie Valley columnist Columnist Columnist Sports have been enjoying the most delightful time. While I was in South America forty years ago I wrote my family asking my mother if she would save the letters that I sent home. Saving the letters would accomplish two things. First, they would serve as a journal record of my sojourn and, by foregoing the writing of a separate journal, I could make my letters more detailed. Mom faithfully saved each letter. It seems a miracle to me that they still exist. Within a couple of months of my return, my family suffered the complete destruction of their home by fire. I was not living at home at the time and, by incredible good fortune, had taken my letters with me. They have followed me all these years waiting for someday when I would transcribe and organize all of them into a manageable and readable format. The time has come, the task is begun and it is wonderful. You have to realize that it was some trepidation that I began to go through the old letters. Like everybody else, I want to see myself in a positive light. I want to believe that I behaved well, that I was true I UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION Samuel J. and Adrien F. Taylor, Publishers SenaT. Flanders, Editor t. safety concerns regarding an industrial manufacturing plant property right precedes application of codes. It will take a directive by the council to make code enforcement a priority. The council should also direct county staff to be more professional in duties. their conducting Specifically, public employees should keep calls of concern private unless otherwise specified. Also, they should apply the code evenly and fairly throughout the county, not as it suits their whims or alliances. I understand that the of owner the business establishments on the corner of South Highway 191 and Spanish Trail Road is displeased that her new projects are being forced to comply with our code. It seems she is blaming me for causing the building inspector to make her abide by the code. Didnt Grand County write the code and set it in place? I certainly did not. I am a private person who has high expectations of public servants, including those elected, appointed and hired. I am disgusted that I became the focus of this controversy, and I can thank the building inspector for that. I suppose I can also thank the Grand County Council for being party to this controversy, because they have left it up to public complaints to guide code enforcement. The council has the jxiwer, and I believe the responsibility, to see that codes are adhered to, and that county personnel operate as professionals. They should not allow another private person to take the blame for code enforcement, when it is their responsibility. Old letters 435-259-77- NATIONAL NEWSPAPER vegetation be kept alive. That type of attitude toward an infringement of the code really irked me, and I called Mr. Whitney a couple of days later to find out if there would be any landscaping to enhance the storage units being built nearby by the same owner of the truss factory. My call was meant to make sure that our building inspector was doing the job he should be doing, in addition to getting answers about the appearance and public by Ollie Harris 1897. address: editormoabtimes.com of the vegetation, even code specifies that the though re-pla- Idle Thoughts from Mt. Waas nmncs-lnbcpmitc- nt ) (UPS) Entered as Second class Matter at the Post Office at Moab, Utah under the Act 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 had been planted there, but he surmised it had died because it was no longer visible. There was uncertainty in his reply to the planning commission whether the property owner would be forced to going to? Very few people would risk being defamed if they knew that such consequences would come to pass. Furthermore, whats the point in wasting the planning commissions time, the publics time, and staff time funded by taxpayers, in developing codes that wont be upheld? It is time for the Grand County Council to make a sea change. The council should make a genuine effort to enforce all of the countys codes, and make them applicable to all developments in the county, unless some previous h to my personal expectations. I am just past the first six months and, So far, so good. The worst thing about my old letters is that I often wrote in fragmented, incomplete sentences. Its just the way I wrote at the time. Im sure that I knew better. Also, my penmanship wasnt the best. My dad couldnt even decipher some of my letters and my mom had to read them aloud. But, the content of the letters just fills me with good feelings. The next letter to be entered into my computer is dated Dec. 17, 1960. By that time my Spanish was coming along nicely. Here are a couple of excerpts from that letter. I went up on top of the building and watched the sunset, ate an apple and a piece of pizza. Below me the people were walking in the evening breeze after a hot day. A palm tree swayed in the breeze and a beautiful bush of pink and blue, diameter snowball flowers (hortencias) was at its base. A dog or two barked, the frogs began to five-inc- h Continued on Page A7 |