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Show SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 9, 1994 Opinion Letters Continued from Page to Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Second, if this project is ever 4 built, most of the benefits ex- pected to accrue from this project will seep out of southern Utah To express our quicker than you can say, "Jack Flash. In fact, Andalex Reappreciation sources directors living in chaDear Editor: in Geneva, Switzerland, The family of Riesha Boudra teaus and residences in the Dutch expresses their deepest appre- Antilles and Bermuda will be ciation for all who have been a the primary beneficiaries. strength and comfort throughKen Rait. Issues Director out the past few weeks. We treaSUWA sure the friendship and love we feel in this area. There are many Our renewable resource who gave so freely in our time of greatest sorrow. For the past Dear Editor, few years Riesha expressed a Someone is not telling the to home the whole to return truth about our forests-ou- r yearning Kanab area that she loved so renewable resource. much. It was not only the beauty Since 1909, the inventory of of the Red Hills but the people available timber on the Kaibab she missed. Your love for her National Forest in Northern and her family were expressed Arizona has tripled. This fact so fully in the flowers, food, and exists because of the careful harmany acts of kindness. Your love vesting that has been done over and friendship is our eternal the past 50 years. The goshawk has increased with treasure. & the care given the forest by the Linda Anthony & Chatterley Family timber harvesters and the U.S. Richard & Anna Baughman Forest Service. This could be true & Family of every species the preservationMichael Boudra ists use as a ploy to prevent use of this renewable resource. Every they raise an issue, it costs Thanks for a helping time citizens thousands of dollars to hand prove they were wrong. The U.S. 'needs lumber. The Dear Editor: While traveling to Cedar City forests need management. WithWednesday afternoon, I lost con- out timber harvesting, grazing trol of my truck and ran off the and planned care, millions of road. It was snowing on Cedar acres will be lost (not used) to Mountain, too much for my little wild fires, disease and insects. brown truck to handle. Travel- Radical environmentalists are a lot of half-truth-s ing by myself didn't help mat- preaching ters any. I didn't have to wait about our renewable resources. an unlong for help. A white suburban They are advocating of the came around the corner, then a healthy preservation to returning them to little blue pickup truck. I want to thank the two men the environment that existed in times. driving those vehicles for their Iri our forrural communities help and kindness. Not saying We do our asset. are ests biggest much they quickly pulled me out and I was on my way home. not have tax base from railroads, Maria Jones factories, etc. The stumpage fees from the sale of trees to harvesters help us provide a decent education Andalex issues for our youth. Preservationists have successfully stopped the fees Dear Editor: Andalex Resources appears to because some influential people be stooping to a new low in sug- want to turn the Kaibab National gesting that the Southern Utah Forest into a private playground Wilderness Alliance, in our op- that very, very few can enjoy or position to their coal project, is use. It is a successful, selfish, to control people by partly responsible for the U.S. power-gra- b land and water. and our women men controlling sending young Gulf to protect to the Persian Rural areas may be the minorthis nations energy supply. It ity but we are real people. Please seems like a good time to call a find out the other side of the story before you believe anything spade, a spade. Andalex coal which that is put in front of you. First, the As you citizens in other areas intends to mine from eastern Kane County is completely ir- elect candidates to public office relevant to OUR nations energy or make appointments to boards interests. In fact, Andalex Re- like the Arizona Game and Fish, sources has purchased 2.5 ck eq- please, please choose people with those uity interest in a Dry Bulk Fa- a sense of fairness-no- t of backed an in Los Harbor the supply by unending Angeles cility which is designed to expedite radical environmentalists money to grind. coal exports from the U.S. to with a private power-ax- e consideration Thanks for your Pacific rim nations. Andalexs own documents demonstrate of these concerns. that Kaiparowits coal is headed Joy Jordan Fredonia but not to domestic consumers, for-ests-n- ot pre-settleme- nt 5 Guest Editorial A view from Editors note: This letter was given to us too late last week to print. By Todd MacFarlane Please be advised that I have announced the withdrawal of my candidacy for the position of Kane County Attorney. Having announced my withdrawal, I would like to express some personal opinions. For the most part, these are not the opinions of the Kane County Attorneys Office, they are my own personal opinions, penned on my own time, using my own resources, based on my own experience. As opposed to your Backseat Writer, of whose identity we are not certain, but have some good ideas, my view is from the front seat. It hasnt been from the drivers seat (sometimes I wonder if anyone really occupies that seat in Kane County), but having served for a year as Kane County Attorney, I have definitely had a view from the front seat of the Kane County roller coaster. These days, I analogize Kane County to a troubled adolescent meandering from one crisis to another in life, without any real planning or conscious direction. For years, it didnt really seem to matter, because people wondered if Kane County would ever grow up, and if it did, it would take quite a while, so there would be plenty of time to think about it, and decide how to go about it. At this point, however, it appears that Kane County is on the verge of puberty and some changes are going to start happening fast, whether we are ready or not. Moreover, unless we start deciding right now what we want the area to be, it may well become something completely different than we had in mind. According to some, and with all due respect to Glen and Norm, things can only get better for Kane County. Af ter a f our year reign of terror that has finally worn other commissioners and officials down to the point that the commission spends most of its time being lectured to, yelled at, arguing, debating the same issues over and over again, and spinning its wheels by getting itself into trouble, then repeatedly reversing itself trying to dig its way out, arguably things cant get much worse. As a parting note, and in an effort to set the record straight to some small degree, a comment or two about the County Sheriffs race. The Sheriffs race and the way it has come to totally dominate the election and county political action, has gotten completely out of hand. At a the front seat point when relevant law enforcement agencies and departments should be working together for the common good of our area, as someone else noted, the campaign has pitted father against son and brother against brother. The candidates and their supporters, are acting more like adolescent junior high school cliques than mature adults. Their antics and attitudes remind me of the fervor demonstrated by the radical extremes on both sides of the abortion debate. Two wrongs don't make a right. It is literally nauseating to watch. From my front seat perch, I have had a very unobstructed view of the commotion. The can- didates andor their supporters on both sides have begged me to get involved, as county attorney, in an effort to tip the scales in their favor. Both sides have made allegations of criminal ac- referee, and ifsomeone attempts to get in the middle and start laying down rules after the parties have already started hitting below the belt, in all likelihood he will catch it from both sides and get beat up worse than either of the parties, which is precisely what has begun to happen in this case. As I have told the candidates, if they are going to insist on a bare knuckle street brawl, as opposed to a boxing match, theyll just have to roll up their sleeves and keep slugging, even below the belt if they insist, until it is over, but Im not goingto be a political pawn for either party. Since neither of the candidates is perfect, and they both have their problems, and you cant tell what the truth is, how do you decide who to vote for? Like a judge hearing a case in which he is convinced that witnesses on both sides are lying you throw out the suspect testimony on both sides and make the decision based on other evidence. In this case, dont be fooled by both candidates position that they are saints and their opponent is the devil. They both fall somewhere in the middle. So throw out all the accusations, cheap shots, and sensationalism, because both sides are guilty, and unless you are willing to draft someone else entirely, vote for the person you think is the best qualified of the two candidates, based on train-- i ng, experience, background and ability. If you make a decision based on anything else, it will be based on shaky footing at best. As Kane County encounters the growth pains of puberty, the next four years will be critical. If we get off track (or perhaps stated more correctly, stay off track), it may become impossible to get back on track. Consequently, for better or for worse, the majority needs to speak and we need to decide where we want the county to go, and which track will get us there. In conclusion, after a year in the bone jarring front seat of the Kafie County roller coaster, I see no incentive to stay in the front seat. The view is every bit as good, more rewarding, and a lot less stressful from a seat further back, where, in addition to experiencing the same ups and downs, you dont have the uncompensated additional responsibility of trying to keep the sleepy and uncooperative driver awake and on track. semi-civilize- d tivity, which, contrary to Daily Spectrum reports, I have reviewed and reached a conclusion. In my opinion, there have been indiscretions on both sides. Neither candidate is lily white. Both candidates have made mistakes and have at least a bone or two rattling in the closet. As for all this business about what is the truth and who is telling the truth and what you should believe and shouldnt believe, as far as I am concerned neither of the candidates has anything up on the other in this department. F or the most part, I have reached the conclusion that the majority of allegations are little more than petty political sour grapes on both sides. To give the matter further opportunity for review, however, at the request of both candidates, I referred the matter to Iron County Attorney, Scott Burns, for a second opinion. If serious offenses have been committed, they will be pursued, but that course of action will not be at the beck and call of the candidates, intended solely to coincide with their own political agendas. I have advised both the candidates, that lam not going to step in, prematurely stop the fight, and raise either of their hands in victory. Im sorry, but I have a job to do, and I do not have time to set everything else aside, don riot gear, and become the fulltime referee of the county sheriffs race. Apparently, they want to bringmy office, like their own and the county commission, to a complete standstill, spinning wheels in petty political squabbles, until the election. As opposed to a boxing match which P. S. If anyone is in the market starts out with rules and a ref- for onions, I will be happy to eree, in a street brawl there is no share. |