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Show Kge 2 Messenger-Enterpris- Letters to the Editor To the Editor: Technology will continue to advance and continue to affect our daily lives; and without painful restrictions of one child per family, population growth will continue. Growth and change appear inevitable. Effective focus is on con- trolling, not deterring, these . Editors Note: Letters to the Editor are to be no longer than 500 words, as stated in our policy. Letters longer than 500 words will not be published. We request you honor this size limit so as to provide as much space as possible for all who wish to express an opinion. Live F o and let live have heard much talk, both compro and con, about tow n. into Another big ing money come in to eat up the little man. This will happen not only in Ephraim, but the whole county will be hurt. We will see a lot of empty buildings throughout the the Editor: I have lived in Ephraim over 70 years and have seen many changes. I remember when they were laving the cement highway north ol town and the old cobble-,-ion- e gutter that ran through Main Meet. I here was an old picket k nee amnnd Snow College and I remember the old city hall. Other fond memories are the Model I l ord lire engine, the creamery and the pea factory. The old Red and White Market was once one of live of this kind of market, all making a living along .vith several small dairies. All of these are now gone, replaced by big industries. I never dreamed that I would evei see a McDonald's in our little t twn or a stop light. A few of these i hanges have been for the better I Wal-Ma- I rt county. I have heard these little fellows should learn to compete and come down in prices. Mow can I, at my age compete with a fellow 25 or 30 and 280 pounds, in a wrestling match? We live in a world of survival of the fittest. And I have always believed in live and let live. I guess maybe I am just too old. am the only one of my family that remained here, which I am very happy for. love Ephraim. 1 1 guess. WAL-MAR- T he Dilemma: I phi aim City is faced w ith an unhappy dilemma, as w uld be my other town considering inviting that wily Wal-mainto its boundaries If Ephraim approves Wal-Ma- it by annexing land by the cemetei y . they stand to gain much in sales tax revenue, while neighboring towns will sotely lose: but ii Ephraim City denies Wal-Maits coveted annexation, then city officials fear another town will ! rt rt 's glittering revenue and Ephraim will suffer losses. capture sales-ta- Wal-mart- x neighbors, it hardly seems there is any sense of community among them, does it. We wonder why they don't notice the obvious: that the only way to be protected from each other's greed is to create a united barrier -- - a coalition - to keep the wolf from the door, whether it be Wal-maor any other potentially damaging corporate giant who may intend to destroy all the competition in our county and reign over us as a -- rt monopoly. ul The Obstacle: The reason why they aren't considering this? Rival towns are blinded by those shimmering dollar signs in front of their eyes. And, curiously, they seem blissfully ignorant of the danger they are courting. The Solution: With one town seeking to piolit at the detriment of its lutions to control growth and change. Here are some ideas: Set your own standards for who you will be. World class communities need world class master plans. Require new commercial construction to pay $ per square foot towards hiring a city planning consultant. Is Wal-Ma- rt too close to town or to the cemetery ? Most shoppers t. will be driving to this Drive a little farther. Pass an ordinance requiring businesses over 40.000 square feet to build a mile from city center. 1 Wal-Mar- 1 of commercial construction to fund restoration, parks, or community artwork. A similar plan works for Portland, Oregon. Or require the new busi Dollar signs in eyes To the Editor I ittle Essav: "SANI'E IE COMMUNITIES II W I A PROBLEM WITH trends. Develop city plans and enis change. force them. Wal-Ma- rt Maybe unwelcome. But, it seems to be coming. Bring in Wal-Ma- rt on Ephraim's terms. Remain mindful to the relevance of j our community referring to a collective jour, not an individual your. Community goals, by definition, focus on the common good. Individuals will have to compromise. Consider that no plan is a plan and an option. Easier in the short run. Harder in the long run. Continue the creative thinking to dev elop common goals and so- Require Ililmer Peterson Ephraim, Utah Sherron Andreascn Ephraim, Utah WEATHER for the Manti area Reported by Lee J. Anderson Questions zoning ordinance on Ephraim's terms Wal-Ma- rt He invite loiters to the Editor from our readers. Letters must be signed, in good taste, not libelous or slanderous, and limited to 500 words. H e reserve the right to edit letters to meet space requirements. No more than one letter per person per month will be published. The opinions expressed are solely thos of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper. September 17, 1998 e ness to sponsor development of a recreational trail atop the old railroad bed or to restore the Bishops Store House. Maintain Ephraims aesthetic beauty. Pass architectural ordinances. In little Freeport, Maine you arc hard pressed to easily identify the Taco Bell, Arbys or McDonalds. Hey, big businesses, want to do business in Freeport? Its their town. They know what they want and you play by their rules. Worried local businesses will flounder? They will be forced .to change, but need not fold. A mom and Pop grocer in Barrington, Rhode Island continues to thrive after a built He identified his niche. nearby. Keeps an immaculate store and employs skilled butchers cutting custom quality meats. Customers are offered wicker instead of dirty plastic baskets. From his picture perfect fruit display he selects for you a melon which will be coret rectly ripened for Wednesday's pot luck. 1 le runs store charge accounts and delivers. Customer birthday greetings arc posted on a chalk board alongside the daily specials. Customers arc savvy. They distinguish between value and price. With synergy of its citizens and critical, focused work by its city council, Ephraim will control its quality of life and destiny. It has more to offer itself than an apartment building in every back behind yard and a huge Wal-Ma- rt the Welcome sign. Jim Custer U S. Navy Virginia Beach, VA Gross distortion of truth The letter to the editor by Benton Peterson that stated any business failures in Sanpete County should be blamed on the t, County Commissioners, not was such a gross distortion of the truth that we did not take it too seriously. I lovvever, a number of senior citizens were concerned enough to call and ask if there was any validity to the statement, so I felt the need to respond. The recently adopted Zoning Ordinance refers only to multiple unit residential facilities, some of which are presently located in Manti, Ephraim and Moroni and maybe other cities in the county. What the ordinance does is to encourage that these units be located in the indiv idual cities and towns so that all the needed services, such as ambulance, police, culinary water, doctors offices, etc. are close by and are readily available. The Ord inance docs al low for a facility to be built out in the unincorporated parts of the county, but it would have to be approved under a conditional use permit to Wal-Mar- of the building, and health, safety zoning ordinances are adequate for the protection of the residents. A review of the records will show that the commission has very actively supported the seniors and elderly in the county by providing money to all of the Senior Citizen Centers in the County. The State Legislature requires that we provide 10 match of state monies to the Six-Coun- ty Aging Pro- grams. We do this and we have also voluntarily for the past three years contributed an extra $ 9,000 to the Meals on Wheels program. So be assured, seniors and elderly, we love you and support you and do w hat we can for you. Some of us on the county commission are members of your group. I could not make any sense out of some of the other things that Mr. Peterson talked about, but w ill be happy to review the ordinance with him if he will just let us know and will refrain from upsetting the 1 public. Robert D. Besscy Sanpete County Commission Chairman No remorse for litigation THEMANTI IVIessenger USPS 3284-000- 0 THE EPHRAIM Enterprise USPS 1777-200- 0 Published each Thursday for 50c each, $16.00 a year inside Sanpete County and $19.00 outside Sanpete County, by Messenger-Enterpris- e '"f , 35 S. Main, Manti, Utah 84642. Periodicals Postage Paid at Manti, Utah. Send address changes to: POS EM AS J ER: e Messenger-EnterprisInc. 35 S. Main, Manti UT 84642 Max and Beth Call Publishers Max Call Editor David Call General Manager TriciaCall Sales Representative Karen Buchanan Manti City Reporter I Lynn Schiffman phraim City Reporter Shirley Bahlmann Sanpete County Reporter Manti High School Sports Greg Dcttingcr MCMBEH PROl'l) MEMBER OF dieted, fff f NATIONAL "EWSPAPER ASSOCIATION Is the quaint Manti siren a times. In July the council committed deadly weapon? That is a decision soon to be made by a judge. to move the siren from the city Recently approximately 1000 jard within 30 days. This commitment to me was broken. If the people signed a petition to reinstate the siren, even though it vio- Manti City council honor their lates several local, state, and fed- commitment and obey the laws eral ordinances and laws. These and ordinances, they would not be laws have been broken and the law sued so much. How many times must be satisfied. Ignorance of the has Manti City been sued? I want to thank the 1000 law is no excuse. I didnt know I I didn't know the was speeding, people who signed the petition to for was reinstate the siren. That makes me loaded, gun example. I feel that 1 have had the have little remorse for this litigapatience of Job with the Manti City tion. and the siren. I have been to the , Don Cofer council with this problem many Manti, Utah Salt City Candles Fall and Christmas candles are now available with new scents, jars and holders. Five new Christmas scents: Candy Cane, Deck the Halls, Gingerbread, Winter Holidays and Christmas Frost. Plus Pumpkin Spice and Candy Com for the Fall! To purchase candles or to earn FREE large candles by hosting an Open House, contact Melanie Jenkins at 835-413-1, Responding to the letter in last weeks paper by Robert Bessey: have a hard time understandBob does and says. On what ing one hand he says we need a new plan for the zoning around our cities and towns and on the other he allows new agriculture buildings to be placed closer to our towns forcing us all to live with thousands of those stinking turkeys and use our city drinking water for one of the best farmers in the country because he had nowhere else to 350-acr- e place the sheds on his front property. If what Mr. Bessey says about county ordinances, do in fact not supersede city ordinances, it does exactly the opposite. Any proposals for the development around a city limits arc controlled by the city, for the buffer zones, then the city of Ephraims council would 1 of Utah be in violation of misconCriminal Code. Official duct - unauthorized acts or failure d duty )By not protecting the citizens rights and property ). These issues would only make . would be sense why Wal-Maside of tow n building on the north next to the cemetery instead of the south side of town next to all the rest of the clutter. So again, if what Mr. Bessey says is true about ordinances are not enacted to punish or inhibit citizens, they are in place for the keeping of the citizens who care from the mercy of those who don't care. Mr. Bessey must be one of those who does not abide by the law and one w ho dtves rt law-abidi- Hopes insure that all To the Editor: To the Editor: Wal-Ma- rt not care. Example: On Jan. ; 1 1 , 1996 the: legislative body for Sanpete adopted the new Agriculture Pro4 tection Area Law for the county. The attorney for the county and the County Clerk allowed for the filing of 5 petitions for agriculture protection from being a nuisance Nov. 7, 1995, 65 days before it ever became law. And upon filing, allowed the petitioner the petitioner by not paying any filing fees of Utah violating title Code. The Legislative Body is in Agriculcontempt of ture protection area advisory board was never created until 1 9 months after it was passed into state law.- - Being in contempt of of Utah Code. A lawsuit was filed approximately 2 years ago w ithin the District Court, Sanpete County, Utah (a fraud) Between the Nielsons and the County of Sanpete and was assigned before the Fiduciary of the Court K. L. Mclff, Order Striking Motion For Summary Judgment because the motion was not filed properly before the Court. It appears the highpriced attorneys for the Nielsons did not file properly before the court, then how can our elected officials that cannot obey the Utah Code, laws governing them, make laws governing the citizens of the county properly. So if the violations by the procedures of the law arc not follow ed, is the Agricultural area protected? Nielson Brian-Richa- rd Ephraim, Utah finds another place To the Editor: This weekend I had to travel to up Orem and noticed one of the great businesses. Future Shop, going out of business. It was sad in a way, realizing that after making such a commitment to the community for so long (a little over a year) that they are run out of business by a yet bigger competitor down the street. Recently I purchased a disk player from a furniture store in Mt. Pleasant. I received a card from the owner thanking me for my purchase and inviting me back again. His name and phone number were on the card if I had any question or needed help. Kind of a small town thing, I guess. bought some pottery in Spring City last Christmas, and have received newsletters of the business and the fam ily who runs it and invitations to their picnics. Kind of a small town thing, 1 guess. I went into one of the local stores in Fountain Green to buy a hole punch the other day. They were out at the time but let me take theirs until they got more in. Kind of a small town thing, I guess. I know that Wal-Mais hopto ing come into our valley. I don't believe that the people who run it or who will be employed by them will be bad. But I do know that the small businesses that are in this community, many of them that have been family run for genera 1 rt tions, will be put out of business. The family businesses will try for a while but eventually the few cents someone can save on a bag of chips will give in to our better judgement. My daughter is attending Snow College this year. When I travel to see her I always look forward to seeing the landmark of the Ephraim City Cemetery. I cant imagine having that beautiful sight stricken from our view or landscape. We could never get it back. I think our country lifestyle here in Sanpete County is one of the greatest in the state. The services of the family-ru- n businesses arc second to none. We sometimes think that by having something bigger or different we will have it better. After spending a lifetime in the city it was time to get out. Our Provo home used to overlook wonderful farm grounds and orchards. Now it overlooks gas stations, movie theaters and large re- tail centers. used to think I wanted that. It seemed convenient. It seemed progressive. It seemed exciting. Boy was I ever wrong. Sanpete County is a wonderful county with a great heritage. I will find its hope that Wal-Ma- rt place somewhere else that will be less disruptive than here. Russ Evans Fountain Green, Utah WALL BROS. FRUIT STAND Highest quality, fruit I locally-grow- n at competitive prices! - OPEN AUGUST THRU - MID-OCTOB- 365 East Main Sanlaquin, Ulali Call Rose nflcr G:00 p.m nl (80 0 751-351- 7 |