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Show i y yjaHtjf'.iy. agyHHrUlIjii P9A8 (The (Tixnrg-3nrpntft- Thursday, August 29, 2002 mi OUR, TOWN! Community Comments Talor by Sam majority of voters m the general election. That s only fair The fact that the new law, at this point, would only impact one company, Envirocare of Utah, by dramatically raising fees (or dumping radoactive wastes n Utah, may be an unfortunate targeting of one big company I don't believe, however, that it wi kJ ttie waste cksposal firm, or other sxTxfar companies that may start up nuclear waste repositories n the future In tfie meantime, those increased fees wiB go to public education, prohibit tfie introduction of Class B and C racfcoactfve waste and high-levnuclear waste into the state and help Utahs most needy citizens. y The whole signature requirement unconstitutional is because it violates equal protection and tree speech guarantees. That is as it should be. There s no justice in a voter in small As a country pubteJw from a rural Utah county, should Us incensed, according to upstate news pundits, over the Utah Supreme Court s decision declaring part of the state s citizerviniliati ve law unconstitutional But m not As a matter of bet am delighted In 1998 criticized m tins column the arrogant actions of the Utah Legislature m making it more difficult lor regular citizens to get involved in lawmaking through the initiative process It was pretty apparent that legislators wanted to reserve to themselves tfie making of law I I I I low-lev- el By uppmg tfie number of counties where 10 percent of registered voters n 20 of Utah s 29 counties, a county rmmU-- r much higher than the old ne batrve law required trey made it almost mpossitie (or citizens to have measures placed on tfie baflo through the petition f cess Three of the five mem bers of the Utah Sup me Court tett tfie same way Adamant that peiple reign over government and that government does not rule over people, the state's highest court also ordered that the Radioactive Waste Restrictions, a citizens rvtiatwe, be placed onto upcoming statewide election ballots. el multi-count- Daggett County, for instance, having a thousand times more say in a matter the i a voter on the Wasatch Front. Ive always believed that ordinary people are not dummies. I have also always said that legislators should never operate under the premise that its not what the people think that matters, rts what they SHOULD think. By and large, general election voters are pretty careful about how they vote can prove it. Prior to elections, we get m this office countless calls from people who donl understand certain issues on the ballot and want understanding and advice. That is why traditionally editorialize on how am going to vote on noncandidate issues on the general election ballot. In two weeks, we are going to publish nearly two full pages of material on the constitutional change proposals and initiatives on this years ballot. am certain that conscientious voters are going to read it carefully before making up their mjnds. Actually those soliciting signatures actually got well over 96.000 Utahns to sign up. That was some 20,000 more than they needed. The trouble was, those signatures were gathered from only 1 4 of flying Look for it in Idle Thoughts from Mt. Waas I the state's most populous counties, and the petition was initially turned down, but now it is up and November by Ollie Harris I Because the peoples right to directly legislate through initiative and referenda is sacrosanct and a fundamental right, Utah courts must defend it against encroachment and maintain it inviolate, the prevailing justices said. It must be understood here that petitioners are not making law They are simply proposing a change in legislation that must be approved by a I I Trails Many by Adrien F. Taylor marathon meeting of the County Fair Board Tuesday evening signaled that the event is coming up soon. Actually, its not until Sept. But with a million details that's soon. A gigantic effort is being made this year to make the fair into an event that will generate interest and involvement from the community, and not just the community, from upstate visitors as well. Hertha Wakefield and her helpers are inviting Wasatch Front residents, by way of inserting our fair information into the Salt Lake Weekly That insert, incidentally, will appear in The next week, providing details about when contests will run, and how to enter your stuff, and what all else will be happening Actually, the events in which most anybody can participate are greatly enlarged this year. And winners will win real money, thanks to the Recreation Board, which has allocated pnze money for contests and for the Miss Grand County Scholarship Pageant and Woman of Achievement program. Students in the schools are involved with poster contests. Scouts are being asked to be involved A 19-2- with various aspects of fair needs. Artists and artisans are asked to submit their work for display (and sale, if wished); demonstrations will be going on; there will be food booths, and a petting 1, zoo! The well-know- countryrock group Firefall will in the outdoor arena and will n appear Friday night really kick things off. Activities for children and families will go on from morning and into the afternoon on Saturday. The Beer Garden will not open until after these competitions are finished, which has been a concern of some parents. Locally produced beer and wine are the largest part of Grand County agricultural industry at this time. That is one of the things which will be likely to draw visitors, and a real Times-ln-depende- nt ty feather our cap. Add to that oxen and handcarts, and the Little Britches Rodeo on Sunday morning, and you have an event which will offer something for everyone. Mark your calendar. This is going to be in good! The trees Barbara and I went over to Colorado to see her parents yesterday. We always stop along the way and get some fried chicken to take to them for lunch. It is grandpa Lees choice when we call ahead and ask what theyd like us to bring. This was our first visit that he didn't get up and come into the kitchen to eat. Both he and mother Lee were born in 1915 and the years have taken their toll. She still cares for him the best she can and there is a great deal of tenderness between them. This time it wasnt just the grandparents that we found deteriorating. Southwest Colorado is under the same curse of drought as we are here in southeastern Utah. The Lees are further affected because there is no culinary water distribution network out where they live. Virtually every household is served by a well except those rare few who still haul water and dump it into a cistern. And, the water table is dropping. Water conservation has been a matter of principle for Barbara and me. Had we been of a mind to, we could have kept our lawns green. As it is we are probably trying to keep too many trees alive. For the Lees, though, it is no longer just a matter of principle. Their well is too quickly depleted and too slow to recover. Leaving the toilet unflushed is stark necessity. I walked out between some sheds and behind some bushes to where I could see the trees across the draw. I was shocked to see so many of them dying. I suppose it could be that they are just old but I fear that it is the drought thats causing the needles to turn brown. The trees comprise a pinyon forest of eight or ten acres east of town. They were known to us when we were children as The TYees." They were a wonderful place for games of cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, or army. I learned lessons of stealth and concealment. I wore an old green army shirt from my dad's WWII days. Its faded wool blended well with the trees. I learned that the human eye, like the eye of almost all predators and prey, is drawn to movement. If I could stand still enough for long enough, the enemy would walk right past me. Ours was the last place on the east side of town. Our back fence had a gate across the path that led down to the draw where someone had long ago made a bridge of logs and boards across the boggy stream. Once across the draw, the path led up through tall sagebrush and into the trees. In those days Barbara lived behind the trees. Although it is inconceivable to me now, I was more interested in Barbaras brother, Wallace, than I was in her. That is not to say that I never noticed her. She was a very beautiful child. But, in the final analysis, she was a girl. I have a memory of her in those days, though. I am hoeing weeds barefoot in the garden when movement catches my eye. Thin, beautiful Barbara walks out of the trees. I am shy. The beating of my heart quickens. She walks down through the sagebrush and across the crumbling I watch her from the corner of my eye, to not stare. She comes up across the pasture trying and opens the gate. My heart accelerates. The path leads right past the garden. She is getting closer and I am alone. I wish for Stuart or Wally, anyone so that we might be loud and tease her. Suddenly, it seems, she is there. Ive been holding my breath. It takes a lot of guts, but I quietly exhale, Hi," as she foot-bridg- e. goes by. I dont know what to make of these feelings left from the trip to see the old folks. Grandpa Lee, who played catcher on the town softball team, my own father who played second base, Barbaras mother and mine, even Barbara and I, all growing old. Barbaras hair is as white as her mothers and my own is gray. We have quietly and courageously accepted all these developments. But, I never expected the wells to go dry, and I never thought the trees would die. High Country News Brick Bats and Bouquets Accolades and Admonishment with regard to issues in our community How many entities do local citizens have to fund to teach our children? The Moab City Council's vote to allow city staff to read to students in the Grand County School District is completely off base. The city's function has never been to teach students. Leave the teaching to the school district, and the functions of running a city to the city. Hats off to Gregg Stucki for being the lone council member to swim against the tide on this vote. We reiterate what he stated Tuesday evening: The line item for salaries and benefits has been getting bigger and bigger. This is like throwing wood on a fire already burning out of control. If we can figure out a way to do this without paying our employees, I can support it. But they need to work their 40 hours a week for the city, not volunteer and get paid for it" Further, Council Member Rob Sweeten should have ate stained from the vote and declared a conflict of interest in the matter because his wife heads up the local Parents for Public Schools organization. The Times Independent supports Parents for Public Schools. This newspaper has and always will be the community's strongest advocate for quality education, particularly reading. But this decision smacks of bias and unsound thinking where government entities are concerned. We cant back this measure. IC imrs-(3Jnhepenb- eni 8 ISSN (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. 6309-200- 1538-183- of March 3, 1897. Published each Thursday at: 35 East Center Street, Moab, Grand County, Utah 84532 address: editormoabtimes.com ail Postmaster: Send changes of address 435-259-75- to: The Times or FAX Member lndependent, PO Box 129, Moab UT 84532 435-259-77- NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION and UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION Samuel J. and Adrien F. Taylor, Publishers Sena T. Flanders, Editor Tom Taylor...., Circulation Manager, T- Maps Zane Taylor Press, Production Manager Ron Flanders Systems Manager Lisa Church, Janet Lowe Staff Writers Jeff Richards Contributing Writer Office ManagerSalesDesign Sadie Warner -l Mail Room Supervisor Dorothy Anderson Valeria Brown, Jed Taylor, Jose Santana... Backshop Ron Drake Castle Valley columnist Ron George Columnist Oliver Hams Columnist Jose Churampi Distribution Writers on the Range What NIMBY really means by Paolo Bacigalupi At a recent hearing on natural gas drilling in my county, a rancher stood before our planning commission and said, "I support President Bushs policies to make America energy independent, and I don't want to be a NIMBY, but..." He then went on to outline the catastrophic impacts gas drilling could have e on our countys outfitting and hunting economies. His dilemma is a real one. Whether its gas drillin western Colorado, or nuclear waste storage in ing Yucca Mountain, Nev., or a South Carolina governor threatening to lie down on the train tracks to stop nuclear waste from entering his state, is everywhere. Yet no one wants to be one. The people who say that they dont want to bear the burden of our nations energy development or radioactive-wast- e disposal immediately become NIMBYs. Theyre called unpatriotic, or hypocritical. In my county, the pointed response against NIMBY-isgoes, How do you heat your home? and we are forced to admit that we do indeed warm our homes, light our stoves and heat our water, often with natural gas. But is this the end of the debate? After all, NIMBYs often say no because they have legitimate concerns. Should they sit meek and silent while their livelihoods, property values, water and communities are destroyed by the gas drilling industry? Should we say to them, Tbo bad, you live in the wrong spot. Suck it up, sacrifice for the nation and suffer?" NIMBY tells us something important. The cowboy standing up in a public meeting to enumerate economic and wildlife impacts to his county is telling us that every time we turn on a gas stove and experience the warm glow of cheap, readily available fuel, we are taking pleasure while he or someone like him suffers the real cost. NIMBY is the warning sign that tells us our system is broken. It tells us that some energy companies chose to ignore their impacts, either because they believe the impacts are too expensive to remedy, or because impacts are externalities, big-gam- i nected to profits. NIMBY tells us that our government bureaucrats havent been paying attention to the public welfare. A friend of mine has a son growing up in the Bronx. One in two children in his neighborhood have respiratory problems. Not coincidentally, a Bolid waste incinerator sits nearby. The neighborhood couldnt muster the political clout to force the incinerator elsewhere. If thered been a few more NIMBYs in this part of New York, my friend's son would be breathing a lot easier today. Instead, he Bits and breathes medicine through a mask. Hes five years old. NIMBY tells us about morality. NIMBY tells us that some of our industries and wastes not only shouldnt be in MY backyard, it's possible they shouldnt be in ANYONES backyard. If gas companies and nuclear industries and trash incinerators cant or wont care for the damage they inflict on their neighbors, then we as a nation need 1) to pay more so that these companies can afford to be responsible neighbors, or 2) change the way we consume so that our actions dont make other people suffer. Knowing how the gas industry behaves in Colorado, I feel different about turning on my gas stove. I use it consciously and sparingly, knowing that someone far away may have suffered when this gas was extracted. As for the NIMBYs in roy own county, I' m joining them. Were going to fight the gas drillers until they agree to respect our water, our wildlife and our communities, and were going to fight the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission until it starts behaving like a responsible regulatory agency. Were going to fight until our county is safe from an industry that has 1 run amok. Until things improve, I'm a NIMBY, and I wont apologize. If I dont protect my backyard, who will? Paolo Bacigalupi is a contributor to Writer! on the Range, a service of High Country News in Paonia, Colo., (hcn.org). He lives on a Sunshine Mesa above Paonia. ry i iPOOR ( |