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Show 'Writing sets a new low hr the term dvir THE SAN JUAN RECORD Wednesday, October 9, 2002 - Page 7 Egregious affront h our election process Dear Editor: This is in response to your invitation for comments to your vitriolic and vindictive personal attack on Lynn Stevens in last weeks Dust in the Wind. Your edito- Dear Editor: There has been (and is happening now) an egregious affront to our election rial was full of the very thing you condemn Mr. Stevens for expressing. You requested that responses be civil. Your writing sets a new low for the term civil. process here in Blanding. I am surprised that someone in Blanding has not noticed or picked up on it yet. Perhaps your column should be renamed HMud Slinging in the Wind. We attended and recorded the two meetings you cite. We do NOT agree with How can any person have the audacity to claim to be the Commissioner your characterization of Lynn Stevens behavior. Your readers should note that elect before we have had our general elections? It is my understanding that in your most recent attack on Mr. Stevens, along with your August attack, you do Election Day is the first Tuesday of November, 2002. It is also my undernot take issue with his consistent message of a need for accountability by public standing that the primary election process is for the purpose of each party officials and public employees regarding their use of public funds. Curiously, you choosing a candidate to represent that party in the general elections. It is do not evpn let your readers know what his message is. It is obvious that your also my understanding that even though the other party does not have a candidates name to place on the ballot for the general election, that the people goal is to attack the messenger since you do not disagree with the message. Your use of editorial privilege to use bully tactics in your writings has done a of the area.can still have the opportunity to write in a name on the ballot in great deal to further polarize the separate communities in San Juan County. the voting booth, ifthat person will fill in a form at the county office declaring This, at a time when virtually everyone is saying there is a need for more coop- that he will run as a write-i- n candidate. We should all know that the election is not over until all the votes have been eration and for working together. We also have Commissioner iy Lewis on tape in a public meeting launching a counted after the general election and the candidate is sworn in as Commisworld-clas- s tirade of inappropriate and abusive language toward a group of busi- sioner Elect. When a person is so anxious to take control and starts asking for investiganessmen with whom he disagreed. This was in one of the hundreds of meetings you attended. We must conclude that since Mr. Lewis represents Monticello and tions representing himself as Commissioner Elect before he has been elected, has views with which you agree, HIS conduct and demeanor as an elected official .he appears to be power hungry. That person does not need to be given that are fully acceptable. power. We need someone that can be congenial and represent all of the people in Your vilification of Lynn Stevens months before he is sworn in as the Blanding district representative on the commission is not balanced, fair and objective re-- the district and still get the job done, not someone that wants to rule by the porting. Perhaps you should print a more complete and consistent report of this force of intimidation. I suggest that the voters of Blanding encourage James Shumway to accept picture. Perhaps you should also apologize to your readers for using your editothe challenge to let us write in his name on the ballot this general election rial powers to mislead them. Sincerely, day, November 5, 2002. Fin and Jill Bayles Sincerely, W. Skouson John Blanding Let the chips tell where they may Calling i Dear San Juan County Residents: There have been several occasions over the past 10 months that I have wished that I had not been elected mayor of Monticello. It has inhibited my ability to d because I appear voice my opinion on some issues that are more to have an agenda. I have decided to let the chips fall where they may at this point, and let my feelings be known on the issue of the health care in this county. There is no doubt that the community of Monticello has more to lose than Blanding if something were to happen to the hospital. Economically, it would be devastating if most of the 0 jobs were to leave our community. A lot of the employees travel from Blanding and their status may also be compromised. I read with great interest the October 2 Letter of the Editor written by John Skouson, regarding the financial viability of the proposed new facility in Blanding. The same questions have been asked many times in the past by myself and others, always with the response that since we do not agree with even the concept of another hospital, no answer would be good enough. I disagree with the assessment. I would like to think that there are a lot of right thinking people in Monticello, just like there are in Blanding, who can look at a situation and make a sound judgment regarding its realistic chances for success. The problem is; emotion has gotten the better of our good sense in this case. The battle lines have been drawn, the opponent has been identified, and the blood letting has begun. All to the detriment of our communities. We have so many things in common and yet we let this issue get in the way of the progress we can make. A partnership between our two towns cannot and will not take place until our common denominators rule, instead of our few differences. Now a word concerning the voice that has become the loudest. It has been said that in the absence of true leadership, the people will listen to the loudest voice. Lynn Stevens has assumed that rule. Ive never before witnessed an individual, with less historical background, have such an abundance of negative things to say about what has, and is being done by so many for so long. I do not know of one thing that Stevens has been happy about since returning to San Juan County. He has expressed considerable anxiety about the school district, the health district, ATV use, county expenditures, and the list could probably go on and on. When he gets done fixing the health care, what will be next? It is an interesting study in behavior to watch Bill Redd and the way he conducts business as a county commissioner, very quiet and under control, influencing things without controlling them. Bill Redd is known clear across this country, and I doubt it is for his overbearing, abusive method of winning friends and influencing people. You do not lead by hitting people over the head thats assault, not leadership. I had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Stevens for a couple of hours recently, and during that time he warned me against antagonizing the hell out of Lynn Stevens for the next four months. Well excuse me, but some of the things he told me then, have not been reflected in the way that he has conducted himself since. We discussed the need for county unity and since that time, all he has done is galvanize the opposition on both sides. Learn some things from Commissioner Redd! It has been said by one much wiser than I: The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge. It is time for this to stop. Health care, as important as it is, is not the beginning and end of what is important to this county. We have, and will continue, to face issues that will be difficult to agree upon but we still need to face them together with the idea that what is in the best interest ofour county should be the guiding light. Friends, families, business associates, and other issues hang in the balance of what happens in the coming months. If the silent majority remains silent, this thing will continue to go terribly out of control and nothing good will be the result. Another thought to end on and it applies to each of us in various ways. Do not persist in folly. It is not a badge ofcharacter to continue down the wrong road. Scott Pehrson county-oriente- a spade a spade Dear Editor: Kudos to Mr. Bill Boyle, for having the guts to call a spade a spade. News people sometimes find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to speak out when something is definitely wrong. Thanks for your integrity, Denise Frost 80-9- - Continue digging this system out of the recT Dear Editor: I was sure relieved to learn that the Health Care Board requests were not quite as bad as the September 25 papers led me to believe. Kudos to the commissioners for not forgiving the $500,000. Now lets apply some hard work and determination and a willingness to get by when possible and continue digging this system out of the red. The Health District needs to honor its past debts just as all the rest of us do. If the cities of Blanding and Monticello have had debts that they owed forgiven, that was wrong too. It is seldom too late to do things right. So, if the reports of progress at the district are factual... Congratulations and keep up the good work! But let us all always remember, If you owe it, pay it. Taylor Lyman Taxpayers have already paid hr this loan Dear Editor: In reference to the Commission meeting on September 23 regarding the health care request to forgive a loan: John Hart should pay for the loan from his own money. Taxpayers have already paid for this loan. I support Lynn Stevens comment on the open cash register. Why should we build a new hospital when we already have one? We should keep the hospital that we already have. The loan needs to be paid and we need to work together to make San Juan Hospital work well for everyone. All doctors in the county need to have hospital privileges to better help San Juan County residents. Milton Pipkin Thoughts to be aware of with domestic violence Dear Editor: October has been recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, although the local conference was held in September (close enough to October). Two days of testimonials and hardcore information was presented at the mestic Violence Conference presented at the Arts and Events Center on the College of Eastern Utah San Juan Campus. I had a chance to attend both days to hear why women in abusive situations have an extremely difficult time leaving their violent partner. (please turn to page 8) - |