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Show Volume XIV Issue XXI The Ogden Valley news Page August 15, 2007 Letters to the Editor Editor’s View Is Your Voice Really Heard, or is it Taking a Backseat to Dirty Politics? Weber County Commissioner Asked to Remember Who He Represents I chose to attend the public County Commission meeting held August 7, 2007 at the Weber County Building. It really opened my eyes to the way we as concerned citizens, and the public as a whole, gave up our voice the day we place our elected officials in office. The topics at hand were as follows: • Public hearing zoning petition ZP-0607 to create Manufacturing MV-2 Zone in Ogden Valley. • Public hearing zoning petition ZP05-07 to add cement batch plants as conditional use to Manufacturing MV1 Zone in Ogden Valley. I am just a little confused because I thought that the purpose of these meetings was to get public input. That happened, but only to a limited extent. Let me explain. The Petitioner got up and stated his case and made an official petition, after which the meting was opened for public comment. The majority of people in attendance stood and voiced their concerns and opinions in opposition to the petitions. They were greeted in an unprofessional, inappropriate, and distasteful manner by the commissioners. A woman stood to voice her concern for her children’s safety as they walk to school along a section of Highway 162 in Eden that is highly traveled by large trucks and equipment. She was rudely interrupted and brought to tears when Commissioner Kenneth A. Bischoff made this comment, “Your time is up; make your point!” Comments such as these were heard continuously throughout the meeting. Aren’t the commissioners elected officials placed in the office they hold by the public? Then when a citizen poses a concern within the county, furthermore at a public county meeting, should not the commissioners listen politely and attentively? Many other concerns were brought up such as noise, pollution, health issues, and safety. When these issues were brought up, the commissioners seemed to ignore or pose questions in favor of the petitions, which leads one to believe that the decisions were already made and the meeting was just a formality. Did our input even matter or had the decision already been made? The commissioners started off the meeting by saying, “This meeting is to address MV-2 rezoning in general, not for a specific site, for a proposed rock crusher along with a cement manufacturing facility, so please remember this when you make your comments.” But by the end of the meeting, and with a little pressure, they slipped up and released both proposed sites for these facilities. They even went as far as to say they had spent a lot of time the past week in the Valley looking and touring the proposed sites. Were our concerns heard or even considered? The first petition was voted on and denied, but the second petition was voted on and a conditional use permit was issued, even though our planning commission unanimously voted to deny both petitions. The public stood up, with a majority in attendance, and voiced their objection. So, Back to School Night at Valley Elementary August 20, 2007 For more information, call 452-4180. again, I pose the question above, were our concerns heard or even considered? Maybe heard, but never considered or the meeting would have had a different turn out! • Public Service • Public Trust • Customer Service • Financial Stability • Continuous Improvement These five values are written on the wall behind the commissioners; can our commissioners honestly say they upheld all five of them during that meeting? You may think that this meeting had little or no affect on you, or that this article is stupid or silly, but the next time you want to go for a scenic drive through the Valley, or want to take the boat out on the dam, just remember that our commissioners have approved a cement facility that releases chemicals into the air, ground, and water, which will be built next to a primary river that feeds into the reservoir. We the public must get involved because the beautiful playground we all love and enjoy today could be gone tomorrow if we don’t. Are we willing to sacrifice so much so that one or a few can fill their pockets? It seems the commissioners are! Who is actually running our county government—the commissioners or money? Kenneth A. Bischoff, “Are we done?” Jason Chambers, Eden Arrogant, disrespectful, condescending, patronizing, and even downright rude are adjectives that describe publicly elected Weber County Commissioner Kenneth Bischoff’s unacceptable behavior as he chaired a political foray called a county commission meeting on August 7 at the Weber Center in Ogden. A standing room only crowd of Valley residents witnessed the unprofessional behavior of their taxpayer supported representative after gathering in the Commission Chamber in a public show of opposition to a proposed zoning change and conditional use permit. The meeting took on a rather undignified and circus-type character during the public comment period when Valley residents took advantage of their legal right to stand and voice their opinions and concerns regarding the proposed heavy manufacturing activities; and Bischoff, himself, took advantage of every opportunity to belittle and degrade both those commenting and the comments they offered. He also chastised the audience several times for applauding relevant comments; for making, what he deemed, redundant comments; and taking up too much time with their comments. His behavior also created a chilling affect whereby less emboldened citizens’ voices were silenced. With several youth in attendance, I was both embarrassed and appalled at the unprofessional behavior of our representative, chagrined that they had to be exposed to the negative, demeaning show of behavior associated with an elected official, and the democratic process that EDITOR’S VIEW cont. on page 8 Soccer Update Fall 2007 Attention all soccer players! If you have signed up to play fall season AYSO soccer and haven’t been contacted by your coach by August 31, please call the coach coordinator for your age group. Coach coordinators are as follows: U-4/6 Charlot Lowe U-8 Cindy Hillstrom U-10 Jeannie Johnson U-12 Karen Froerer 745-2028 745-3613 745-3466 745-9518 U-14 Holly Beck U-16/19 Chris Brown 745-4617 745-2286 Also, if you are 12 years of age or older—parents included—and want to learn more about the rules of soccer, then learn to ref; we need referees! A referee clinic will be scheduled soon so why not give it a try? For more information on refereeing, or to register, call Gina Gonzalez at 544-6829. Give it a try—it will be fun and rewarding! |