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Show SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS Commentary WEDNESDAY MARCH 28, 1990 Appalled by Johnson Editorial Editor: Commission filing procedure is screwy commission elecA situation exists m the county strange tion this year, and we wonder if the legislature had fully thought tnrough what the application of their House Bill 40 would mean. When we were first told by County Clerk Kathy Chamberlain how the election would be conducted, we could hardly believe it and kept questioning her as to whether we understood it correctly. With the changeover to all four-yea- r terms, this year for between the two posithe first time there is no distinction tions that are available on the commission. We had assumed that would mean people would simply file for a seat on the would win the two commission and the top two slots. Instead, the positions are separate seats, designated arbitrarily as county commissioner A and county commissioner B, and when a person files he must designate which he is a candidate for. What this means is that people coming in to file look at who has filed for each post and make their decision based on whom theyd prefer to run against. We know this has already happened and people have been able to select the opponentfs) theyd rather face. Because this didnt seem right or reasonable, we checked the actual legislation (Chamberlain supplied a copy), and thats exactly what it says: Whenever two county commission positions are vacant for a general election, they are designated county commissioner A and county commissioner B. At the time a candidate for the county commission files a declaration of candidacy for a county commission position when there are two positions vacant, he shall designate on the declaration of candidacy form whether he is a candidate- for county commissioner A or county commissioner B. A memorandum from Dave Hansen, Deputy Lt. Governor, to county clerks concerning filing questions, confirms the A and B procedure, and adds a further suggestion that doesnt In order to assist potential candiappear helpful. It says, fmnfnrm candidates that County Comdates. von mav want four-year seat and County Commissioner A is the present seat. missioner B is the present two-yeAt first, it might seem this would be helpful because its at least some sort of rationale for distinguishing the two seats. In our case, we would tell candidates that one position is for the four-yea- r term, now held by Charolette Damson, and two-yeone is for the term, now held by Vince Underwood. While it would tie the post to something that could be a distinguishing factor, it really wouldnt help the problem of candidates selecting how they want to match up. We asked current commission chairman, Underwood, what he thought of the filing procedure, and he said he also was surprised it is set up that way, ana it doesnt seem fair or reasonable to him. Its not right they can gang up that way, he remarked. Maybe we can get this changed before the next election so that candidates cant rig the iaceoffs. It should be just open competition for the two seats. This method promotes gameplaying instead of honest and straightforward competition For the available seats. vote-geite- rs ar ar JR Jourdain explains Dear Editor, I was in ho way supporting th e proposed incinerator. I do not have enough information to form an opinion, yet. My point was that whenever some company wants to locate it alwaysbugs me that they choose Arizona or some other state, instead ofUtah. Not necessarily Kanab, but the whole state. Im not willing to give up my clean air for MILLIONS ofjobs. Im not talking MILLIONS, Im city councils efforts in this area. Kind of off the subject of my letter. Im also impressed by Mr. John sons efforts. Hes willing to stand up and speak out in a time of much apathy in our world. By the way my views are shared by many, but those people who know me will tell you that Im willing to stick my neck out when many are not. As an unbiased observer at the March 12 meeting con- cerning the proposed hazardous waste incinerator on the Kaibab Reservation, I was appalled by Jess Johnsons insinuation that Kaibab Tribal Council members are taking bribes to insure their vote in favor of the incinerator. This seems to be a tactic to turn the tribal members against their council. This is an insult not only to the council, but the entire tribe. They need to understand that no matter which of them would have been serving on the council, they would have been implicated just as well. Jess Johnson also says that puttingin the incinerator would cause a decline in tourist business for our area. Being a businessman who depends on tourism, I cant see where having the incinerator will have any impact on the tourist trade. , I would not like to see anything come into the area that would be hazardous to our health, but I believe that even those who are totally opposed to the incinerator should take a second look at the methods being used by Jess Johnson and AAI. Anyone who would accuse people without cause will say anything to get people to support them. They also have suggested that if the incinerator is voted out, they will try to get some kind of safe industry to help out tne Kaibab Tribe. Dont hold your breath. When this is over, I believe the tribe will be on their own, just like they were before this issue appeared. So the tribe has got to stick together and make an appropriate decision concerning the welfare of their people. D.M. McCormick Fredonia Disgusted with city Editor: Letters After reading the article in last weeks paper concerning the suspension of the peace officer Lets tap US Dear Editor: Cedar City was my home from 1986-8Citizens at that time were unsure about Cedars future. About that time Iron County was a selected site for an incinerator. The few people who were in favor of it thought it 8. would bring an economic miracle. However, more people were against it and decided not to let the incinerator be built there. When I visit Cedar City now I can clearly see it didnt need hazardous waste to save the city. It seems to flourish without the help of garbage. What brought about change wasnt a miracle industry, or an amazing government; it was the community. Kanab doesnt need someone or something to come rescue us. I saw a whole group of people pull together in Cedar City and make changes. I know Kanab has the potential to do the same. I saw how strongly the people in Kanab and surrounding areas care about this community. The support that was given during the fundraising time for the hospital was a sign of what we are capable of. If the people here will keep getting involved in whats going on around us, and communicate ' with our elected officials, not just complain, I know we will see a change for the better. Lets unite and tap Kanabs greatest resource . . . US! Angela Kleinman v , 1. Kanab Europe trip has spots Editor: . in Orderville, several questions arose which I thought deserved more in depth discussion and which the residents of Orderville should question. Mayor Gouldingindicated that the action was taken to nip this thing in the bud and that the problem was merely personal and not professional. When did this personal problem first arise? At what time was the mayor first aware of the problem? Does the employment contract with Mr. Brinkerhoff allow for suspension for personal reasons? If not, could the town incur any liability for improperly suspending the officer? This suspension is only for a one-mon- period. What would th the towns next course of action should the issue not be resolved? What criteria is being used to determine if the problem has been settled? Are there proper safeguards in place to prevent the matter from becoming an issue again? If so, what are they? be Brad Adair Orderville Frosts offer thanks . Editor: We, the family of Mary Frost, wish tp express our; thanks, to ner many inenas ana Tamny ior the compassion shown to her before and at her passing. We greatly appreciate the food, flowers, kind words and donations to her memory, We want to thank the Fourih Ward Bishopric and Relief Society for their understanding and helpfulness at that time, and a special thanks to those that participated in the funeral services.. Our summer trip to Europe is shaping up to be one of the best, travel experiences yet. We plan Thomas and Jane Haycock to depart July 7 for Frankfurt Harrison K. and Helen and return on July 26 after visFrost the most beautiful of areas iting Continued on next page West Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and France. We still have six vacancies to fill our group and would like to invite anyone to join us for a. truly great travel adventure. Please call me for trip informa). tion The Southern Utah News (ISSN No. 0049-- Small Town Stuff! The usual is to harass the divorced women and their kids, repeatedly arrest the local drunk every payday and that sort of . . . ! And now Kanab after not being big enough to serve the KCR residents equally as citizens of Kanab have two choices: (1) Be fair (not petty), or (2) The Alps or Bust, return taxes collected, and let Gene Drake the KCR residents and Kane P.S. Would our lovely Swiss-bor- n County maturely handle what lady from the Ranchos who cannot. the city obviously is part of our group, please call You, the city, have really dis- me. couraged progress and growth with this puny action against Southern Utah News Mr. Child whom I dont even (644-5492- De-anne- x, Colette Jourdain know. Kanab Signed, presently looking for P.S. I must have more support another place to retire! than indicated in the letter by C.W. Tom Collins is M. Bushe. that Las Vegas, Nev. North reasoning My talkingaboutthe people already from someone London, England P.S. Accolades to Southern Utah here who need good jobs. Im notknockingtourism perse answered my letter and not any News for keeping us informed! person. Or maybe its just just that we spend too much localthe local people understood Elliott on Deans List time on it. There are many that Gayle Alice Elliott of Fredonia companies that are clean and my previous letter was in supsafe that I would like to see in port of better jobs because they too live and work here, and not a our area. Im impressed by the recent letter in support of the proposed reports about our mayors and incinerator. Questions Goulding Editor: has been named to the fall semester Deans List at Arizona State University in Tempe. Elliott is a senior business major. DEADLINES 1 659) is published every Wednesday at 40 E. Center, Kanab. Utah 8474 1 . The News serves Kane County, Utah, and the Arizona Strip. Address communications to 40 E. Center, Kanab, Utah 8474 1 , or telephone Advertising rates available upon request. Second Class postage paid at Kanab, Utah 84741 . Newsstand price 350 per copy. Yearly subscription rates to Kane County addresses and Fredonia and Moccasin, Arizona, $1 5; others $23 (out of U.S. $30). 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