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Show a MOUNTAIN Backs AVG6ID THE MEGA STORE MESS Down Salt Laker Protests “Ski Utah” Tags - and Wins! lens of thousands of Utah cars carry billboards, cleverly disguised as license plates, promoting the local ski industry and its corporate clearing house, Ski Utah But Kurt Fisher's car is not one of them. Fisher, who is dead-set against ski resorts developing the canyons of the Wasatch Mountains or the state goyernment providing tax breaks for those companies, refused to display tags saying: “Ski Utah!” and “Greatest Snow On Earth.” ‘Tm not going to carry their damn sign around for them. And I’m not Kurt Fisher refused to promote plates. would cite him for the violation. But none did. ‘T got pulled over a number of times. I would get written up for everything but the plate,” he explained in an interview. “I would even ask them to ticket me for the plate, but they just wouldn’t do it.” Requiring Utah residents to carry the corporate logo of the ski industry flies in the face of free speech, Fisher explained, citing a 1977 US Supreme Court case in which justices ruled that a New Hampshire resident and Jehovah's Witness did not have to display the motto “Live Free Or Die” on his auto’s plates. “The flip side of free speech is the right not to speak,” Fisher says. But the Utah Although the plates outwardly seem designed to attract out-of-state skiers, something else may be at hand. “It's primary impact has been to create a consensus among Utah voters to support tax breaks for ski resorts and the Olympics,” Fisher contends. The “Ski Utah” plates came out of by the a 1984 program Bangerter Administration Utah. Utah skiing on his license going to pay extra money so I don't have to carry their damn sign,” Fisher said, referring to the state policy requiring an extra $10 to $20 fee for alternative plates displaying wildlife, university logos or other emblems, rather than the words “Ski Utah.” Several years ago, in an act of civil disobedience, Fisher painted over symbols of skiing on his plates with black paint. He was hoping, he said, that some law enforcement officer in Utah plates are perhaps IN THE CENTER OF SALT LAKE CITY more sinister than New Hampshire’s because they embody a corporate logo. And that is something taxpayers shouldn’t have to promote, Fisher noted. to boost ski tourism in Try One of Mama's Specials Some 10 months ago, Fisher decided to take his fight right to the State Tax Commission. He filed a petiwith the tion State Division of Motor Vehicles and refused to carry the Ski Utah tags. “They looked at me like I may have just gone off my medica- tion,” he recalls. When DMV dismissed his petition, he appealed to the State Tax Commission. After nine months and a flurry of paperwork, six inches deep, the Attorney General’s Office began to realize that Fisher was not just posturing. Finally, an administrative law judge told the AG’s Office to settle with Fisher or risk losing the case. “They (the AG’s Office) were worried that someone was going to come in here and call their bluff and make them change all the skier plates in Utah. But I told them I just wanted a plate (without ‘Ski Utah’) and to be left alone.” So, the state coughed up a centennial plate adorned with Delicate Arch at no extra charge. Jose Pollo - Chicken and $10.95 5 in chipotle sauce said he didn’t think of his Delicate Arch license plate as promoting Utah tourism, even though its creation, too, was exactly for that purpose. @ PAGE 11 pepper Serving Dinner Nightly 5 p.m. sauteed Mamia’s Spicy Veggies — A medley of fresh vegetables blended in our special chipotle $9.95 sauce to 10 p.m. Pecan Chicken — Boneless chicken breast topped with crushed pecans and pineapple salsa. $9.95 1821 Sidewinder Drive in Prospector 645-8226 } yoming 10% OFF ALL Wyoming Don’t Miss Our Sale Wear Racks Shows pride in organizations that protect the world we live in by continuously donating a portion of our profits to: Conservation Alliance * Jackson Hole Alliance Greater Yellowstone Coalition We hope you take a vested interest in your surroundings by making The Mountain : Times an important part of your mountain lifestyle. The AG’s Office has pooh-poohed the outcome. But Fisher says he’s willing to help like-minded individuals, who don’t want to drive around with “Ski Utah” billboards. Anyone interested in his help can write Fisher at: P.O. Box 11753, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84147-0753. An. interesting post script: Fisher bell Nacho Mamas Wyoming Woolens 518 Historic Main ¢ Park City, Utah & Jackson Hole Wyoming 801-645-9427 ep TERS.) Wyoming Weac \\ State TIMES FLEECE FEET |
