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Show The Ogden July1, 2007 Valley news Your Community Newspaper PRSRT STD STD PRSRT POSTAGE PAID PAID POSTAGE PERMIT NO. NO. 11 11 PERMIT EDEN UT UT EDEN POSTAL PATRON PATRON POSTAL EDEN-LIBERTY-84310 EDEN-LIBERTY-84310 HUNTSVILLE-84317 HUNTSVILLE-84317 OGDEN CANYONCANYON- 84401 84401 OGDEN HCR 843AO 843AO HCR Don’t Miss the Biggest Yard Sale of the Summer! Ogden Valley after a June snow storm. Photo courtesy of Bill Singleton. Weber County Planning Commission Considers New Manufacturing Zone for Ogden Valley By Shanna Francis Ogden Valley News The Weber County Planning Commission will be addressing a newly proposed zoning ordinance, the MV2 zone (heavy manufacturing in Ogden Valley), which was recently drafted by staff, at their June 29 meeting held at the County Commission chambers in Ogden. Last month, a petition was brought before the commission asking for a conditional use to be added to the current MV1 (light manufacturing in Ogden Valley) zone to allow for on site rock crushing facilities and activities. The Planning Commission denied the addition of rock crushing activities as a conditional use in MV1 zones, but asked planning staff to write a new ordinance for the Valley that would allow heavier manufacturing activities such as rock crushing. The petition and adoption of a newly created MV2 zone in a site specific area of Ogden Valley would then have to come before the Planning Commission for scrutiny and recommendation for acceptance or denial after a public hearing on the proposed zone change. Planning Commission members can accept, deny, table, or ask for changes to the newly drafted ordinance that will be presented Tuesday evening at 4:30. Huntsville’s Ninth Annual Charity Garage Sale will be held July 12, and 13. This sale is guaranteed to be the biggest yard sale you will find in Ogden Valley. In years past, around 80 to 90 families have donated items to the Charity Garage Sale. All proceeds from the event go directly to three local charities: The Make-AWish Foundation of Utah, Ogden Regional Infant Demise Foundation, and McKay Dee Labor and Delivery Bereavement Foundation. The proceeds are donated to these causes in memory of several Ogden Valley infants and children who have passed away in the past few years. The leftover items are split between Your Community Connection (YCC) of Ogden/Northern Utah, the MS Foundation, Big BrothersBig Sisters, the Deseret Industries, and the Salvation Army. The annual garage sale began in 1999. That year, six-year-old Elisabeth Hillstrom was diagnosed with brain cancer. MakeA-Wish Foundation of Utah granted her wish of getting a horse, a corral, and feed for the horse for a year, with Elisabeth naming her new horse Carrots. Sadly, Elisabeth was only able to enjoy her horse for a short time and she passed away in June of that year. Thirteen-year-old neighbor and friend Elizabeth Stitt wanted to do something that summer in memory of GARAGE SALE cont. on page 9 This Year’s Balloon Festival Scheduled for August 17 – 19 The13th Annual Ogden Valley Balloon Festival in Eden and Huntsville is scheduled for August 17, 18, and 19 and will feature 30 hot air balloons competing in various aeronautical challenges. The balloon launches will be each morning at approximately 7:00 a.m. The festival, which will offer fun for the whole family, will feature activities in Eden and Huntsville, including a Fine Arts Show, Arts & Crafts booths, continuous live entertainment featuring over 130 bands and musicians, kids’ games, and an antique car show. Balloonmeister Mike Bauwens, who attends ballooning events all over the country says, “I am thrilled about the format of this event. This is the only festival I’ve attended that has so many activities besides ballooning going on. We’re pleased to be the featured entertainment, yet we also enjoy participating in the other activities.” “We want this event to be an opportunity for the community to celebrate the beauty of hot air ballooning with their families and friends against the backdrop of our mountains, and to get a chance to BALLOON cont. on page 14 Disappearing Common Birds Send Environmental Wake-up Call— Audubon analyses reveals dramatic declines for some of Utah’s most familiar birds Population declines for some of the most recognized and beloved birds in Utah echo the disturbing findings of a new analysis by the National Audubon Society that reveals how local and national threats are combining to take a toll on birds, habitat, and the environment across the country. The national study found that populations of some common birds nose-dived over the past 40 years, with several down nearly 80 percent. In Utah, three species top the list of common birds of concern with dramatic declines over the last 40 years. The Horned Lark has declined by 27% on summer counts and 91% on winter counts. The Brewer’s Blackbird has declined 79% on summer counts and 89% on winter counts. The Sage Thrasher only occurs in Utah in the summer and has declined by 66%. The dramatic national declines are attributed to the loss of grasslands, healthy forests and wetlands, and other critical habitats from multiple environmental threats such as sprawl, energy development, and the spread of industrialized agriculture. The study notes that these threats are now compounded by new and broader problems including the escalating effects of global warming and demand for corn-based ethanol. In Utah, urban sprawl and energy development continues to impact the quality and quantity of key bird habitats. Keith Evans has been the regional Christmas Bird Count Editor for Utah and Wyoming for over ten years and he also has been running Breeding Bird Surveys since 1967. Keith states, “Utah is a great place for birds; however, their habitats continue to be impacted by urban sprawl, wetland drainage, energy development, invasive weed species, and pollution. As good neighbors, we should improve our land ethic and Fox in Ogden Valley. Photo taken by Jim Huddle. AUDUBON cont. on page 14 A new Huntsville Town sign on First Street welcomes entrants to Huntsville. Conservation and Flood Damage Prevention Makes Good Cents! Only 40 miles from New York City, Ocean County, New Jersey, is among the fastest growing counties in the nation’s most densely populated state. It is also a place of great natural beauty and home to a network of streams and marshes along slender Barnegat Bay. Inappropriate development across Ocean County is polluting the ground water and threatening the quality of life. Despite this, county leaders were long reluctant to ask voters to spend money on open space protection, fearing that the largely Republican and senior electorate would not support new property taxes for land conservation. But polling and other research by the Trust for Public Land (TPL) suggested that voters would support local open space funding. TPL helped organize a citizens committee to promote a property tax measure and helped draft a measure that their research indicated voters would support. When county leaders approved the measure for the November 1997 ballot, TPL made a grant to a community organization to educate the public about the issue. Today, Ocean County is one of 16 New Jersey counties and 99 municipalities to have dedicated open space trust CONSERVATION cont. on page 17 |