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Show Page The Ogden Valley news Volume XVI Issue XII June 15, 009 The Ogden Valley news Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 801-745- 688 Fax: 801-745-006 Cell: 801-791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@att.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 801-745- 879 Fax: 801-745- 879 E-Mail: crwendell@att.net crwendell@msn.com Opinions expressed by advertisers, columnists or letters to the editor are not necessarily the opinions of the owners and staff of The Ogden Valley news. guidelines for Letters to the Editor Letters should be 300 words or less. Letters must be signed and the address of the writer submitted. The Ogden Valley news reserves the right to edit or decline printing of any submissions. Announcements Sought As a community service, The Ogden V alley n ews will print local birth, wedding, obituary, anniversary and missionary farewell & homecoming and Eagle Scout announcements free of charge. We invite residents to send their announcements to: The Ogden Valley news PO BOX 130 EDEN UT 84310 If you would like your submitted items returned, please send a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. The Ogden Valley news , while respecting all property received, will take no responsibility for lost or misplaced items. Please remember to keep a copy for yourself. Invitation for Articles The staff of The Ogden Valley news welcomes the submission of articles by our readership. We invite you to submit local historical accounts or biographies, articles pertaining to contemporary issues, and/or other material that may be of interest to our readers. We also invite you to submit to the paper, or notify the staff of local events. Awards that have been earned by the reader, family members, neighbors or friends are also sought. While the staff of The Ogden Valley news invites the submittal of information and articles, we reserve the right to select which material will be considered for publication. All material, to be considered, must be submitted with the full name, address and telephone number of the person submitting the material. The Ogden Valley news’ liability on account of errors in, or omissions of, advertising shall in no event exceed the amount of charges for the advertising omitted or the space occupied by the error. The Ogden Valley news does not endorse, promote or encourage the purchase or sale of any product or service advertised in this newspaper. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The Ogden Valley news hereby disclaims all liability for any damage suffered as the result of any advertisement in this newspaper. The Ogden Valley news is not responsible for any claims or representations made in advertisements in this newspaper. The Ogden Valley news has the sole authority to edit and locate any classified advertisement as deemed appropriate. It also reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Note: The contents of The Ogden Valley News are copyrighted. To protect this publication and its contributors from unlawful copying, written permission is required before any individual or company engages in the reproduction or distribution of its contents, by any means, without first obtaining written permission from the owners of this publication. The deadline for the OVN July 1 issue is June 15. Letters to the Editor Ogden Valley Pathways Thanks Supporters of the Ogden Valley 6th Grade Hike and Essay Contest There are people that donate to their communities because they want to make a difference. Many quietly provide funding or other support of a program because they feel it is valuable and important. They do so without any fanfare or recognition. Ogden Valley Pathways would like to thank volunteers, parents, and students, Ogden Valley 6th grade teachers, the Forest Service, and donors who have made the 6th Grade Hike and Essay Contest a huge success. Our special thanks to Ed Radford for providing the monetary support for this program for the past ten years. Sponsored by Ogden Valley Pathways, and coordinated by Board Member Marion Horna, this program would not be possible without Mr. Radford’s generous support. Each year, the 6th graders at Valley Elementary have the opportunity to hike the North Arm Trail. They learn about trail etiquette, wildlife, the importance of nonmotorized trails for a healthy lifestyle in the Ogden Valley, the importance of volunteering and getting involved with their community, and the significance of having and maintaining trails in the community in which they live. In addition to the hike, the children have an opportunity to submit an essay. This year’s essay topic was “How I Can Maintain, Improve, and Expand the Existing Trail System in the Ogden Valley.” The top ten essayists received a $25 cash award presented at graduation. Ed funds these cash awards in addition to the busing expense to get the children to and from the trail. He has done this quietly and consistently since the program began. Offering our children an opportunity to get out and walk the protected wilderness areas is valuable not only to them, but to generations that follow. If our current youth value the trails system, they will pass the heritage along to the following generation and be good stewards of our community. Ed realizes the importance of this learning experience. Ogden Valley Pathways expresses its sincere appreciation to all those involved in this great effort over the years; all of whom have equally contributed to the success of the program. Ogden Valley Pathways Board Low-flying Aircraft in Ogden Valley! I’m a relative “newbie” resident of the Ogden Valley, having moved here a little over two years and four months ago with my family. We first chose to live in Eden, along Wolf Creek Road . . . just down the hill from Wolf Lodge. I first experienced this issue with a privately owned helicopter flying into and out of the area of “The Refuge” (or that direction) and coming over my house at roughly 300 ft. Now, two years later, I’ve moved my family to the hillside community of Nordic Valley (Still in Eden, officially). Since moving here three months ago, our house has been buzzed by low-flying aircraft three times! Twice by a twin-engine private plane flying into the valley (north-west to southeast) and then back out of the valley (reverse direction), and the most recent occurrence . . . last night (6/5/09) by a multi-engine, large aircraft that—in complete darkness—I presumed was a four-engine, turbo-prop C-130 or something that size. Now, is anyone else noticing these occurrences or am I just going crazy? The reason for my concern is not the noise, as I am partially deaf from a military disability. My concern is this: I am a private pilot who has owned and flown his own aircraft in the past. The FAA prohibits aircraft to fly in “sparsely populated, Class G areas” any lower than 1000 feet unless attempting to land or takeoff from a local airstrip. And then, there are “noise abatement procedures” in and over residential areas. The occasional “sight-seeing joy-ride” by a small private plane, I have no problem with as long as it’s very “occasional.” But, I experienced a very real panic last night that this very large plane, possibly being flown by a military or civilian “show-pilot” who is unfamiliar with the terrain of our valley and surrounding area, or has wrongly set his or her altimeter, was going to crash into Wolf Mountain or, even worse, my house! By the way, the FAA would understate such an event as an “unplanned impact with terrain!” That’s subtle, don’t you think? Now, maybe this happens all the time. So, I’m wondering if anyone else is noticing these occurrences and has a problem with them. If so, the FAA has a “hot-line” number for the Salt Lake City and greater surrounding area where such “low-flying aircraft occurrences” can be reported. If others have issue with this, as I do, I will research the number and follow-up this commentary by posting it on this blog! By the way, a slow-moving, low-flying hot-air balloon . . . no problem! But a low-flying, fixed-wing airplane or rotorcraft traveling at 50-150 mph . . . that’s a problem in my eyes! Thanks for your time and “keep your heads low!” I’ll look forward to your responses, if any, or maybe I’ll just start wearing earplugs and blinders! Bill Lyman, Nordic Valley Follow-up to “The Lower and Middle Classes are to Blame” This letter is in response to Mr. Bennington’s response on June 1 to my original Letter to the Editor published in the May 15 issue of The Ogden Valley news. First, let me thank Mr. Bennington for his sympathies. I am glad to see there is someone else upset about the disparities of the higher income classes and our numerous associated problems. I too am very thankful for my children’s education. Thanks Larry. However, there are just a few points of clarification I would like to make that apparently did not come across during my first article. First Point: Payroll Taxes I am very familiar with the payroll tax; however, when I struggle with the difficult questions I am forced to ask one of my employees who went to school and received degrees, I normally go to a CPA or an attorney. Either one usually has the answers to the hard questions, and can read the big words for me. I pay the same amount of payroll tax that all my employees do; however, for the portion of my income that I’m not forced to pay payroll taxes on, I simply do not receive the benefits of the government’s “forced” retirement program. Thank goodness; the only people retiring in wealth on a government retirement program these days are our Representatives who continually give themselves cost-of-living increases. The rest of the population living on this “forced” government retirement program, unfortunately, normally retires into poverty. But, then again, you’re right, let’s continue to force everyone to pay into a program that is doing such a good job right now. Please keep forcing me to pay into a program that will most likely not even be around for me to receive its benefits. For the sake of argument, let’s say it is still around when I need it; odds are, I won’t be. Although, if I am lucky enough to make it, I can rest easy knowing I will live out my days below the poverty level. . . . Sweet! As a side note, if I had a fund that did what the SS is doing, the SEC would put me in jail before I could say Ponzi-scheme! Second Point: Income Taxes If Mr. Bennington believes that the only people who receive their income taxes back make below $8,951, he needs to get a new CPA. That, of course, would put the tax payer below the taxable brackets and, therefore, they would not even pay income taxes to begin with. I am simply referring to someone who gets their taxes back due to deductions. I have not always been in this income tax bracket and I am aware of the “legal” deductions the average American can use and the amount of taxes that are refunded. If you are interested in speaking to a great CPA, let me know and I can make an introduction. (My tax CPA also went to school). Final Point: Flat Taxes Yes, I am fine with the government taxing the poor, struggling citizens trying to make ends meet. Why? Because then maybe you, Mr. Bennington, would care what the government is doing with all of our money. Then maybe you and the rest of the middle class would stand up and ask your representatives what the heck they are doing with “trillions” of dollars. Now, of course, I believe in compassion and would be just fine with a tax-free zone for lower-income citizens. However, until the money the government is spending hurts everyone the same, people like you will continue to allow the government to do what ever they want without the much needed checks and balances. Who’s to Blame? Of course all of us are to blame; however, the point of my first article was, the greatest burden of fault is with the lower- and middleincome classes. Why? They make up the majority, and they pay the least in taxes. As long as the majority of people don’t care about each other and each others’ money, we as a country will never be in a better financial situation and will continue to drive ourselves deeper and deeper into debt. Mr. Bennington, it came out loud and clear that you don’t care about me or anyone in my income tax bracket; that’s fine. But for the sake of our great country, please start caring about how our government spends its citizens’ dollars. It should make no difference whether it’s payroll tax, income tax, property tax, automobile tax, sales tax, death tax, gift tax, or any other tax or fee. . . the government is taking it and spending it; I’m simply asking each citizen to care how it’s spent and to demand responsible government spending. Again, thank you Mr. Bennington. I appreciate “actual thinkers” like you; it gives people like me someone to pray for every night. Brad Hess, Huntsville Liberty Days Schedule 2009 If you need additional information about any of these events or if you would like to volunteer, please contact the person next to the activity you are interested in. Friday, July 3rd 6:00 pm Set-up for the next day by those that live in the Liberty 2nd Ward Boundaries (Mike Rhodes 745-2397) 6-9 pm Rodeo and Horse related events will be held in the Liberty Park Arena. For more information on events, times and costs, please contact Julie Mertlich at 801-745-3731. Saturday, July 4th 6:15 am Registration for the Moose River Run at The Preserve Bowery (Louise Hill 745-6524) 7:00 am Moose River Run - $6 each or $20 per family - immediate family members only) 7-9 am Breakfast - $7 each or $25 for a family of 5 (Brett Hansen 745-3212) 7-9 am Game Sign-ups (sharmaincroft@gmail.com) 7:00 am Booths Open (Julie Rhodes 745-2397) Booth space is available for $20. Booths may be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis and no booth duplicates. We would really like some more games for the children to participate in, games like the dime toss, the softball throw, the balloon pop, the ring-toss and many others that I’m sure you can remember from carnivals of the past. Families and fund-raising groups are welcome to participate! 8:45 am Flag Raising Ceremony (Cecil Satterthwaite 745-3084) 9:00 am Parade (Julie Rhodes 745-2397) 9:30 to Noon Arena Games (Brett and Jenny Harrop 745-3666) Mutton Bustin’ $10, Greased Pig Chase $8, Chicken Catch $2 11:00 am Snack Bar Opens (Dan and Laura Burkhard 745-9446) 12 Noon Volleyball Tournament (Carolyn Hogge 745-0307) 12 to 2 pm Games (Vicki Phipps 745-3610) Stick Horse Derby $1, Sawdust Find $1, Fish Catch $5, Tug of War (free), Gunny Sack Races (free), Arm Wrestling $2, Watermelon Eating Contest $2, Hot Dog Eating Contest $3, Pie Eating Contest $3 4:00 pm Take Down tents and prepare park for the evening by those that live in the Liberty 1st Ward boundaries & members of the Fellowship Bible Church (Mike Rhodes 745-2397) 6:30 pm Dinner $8 each or $30 for a family of 5 (Dutch Oven Potatoes, BBQ Ribs, Salad, Cobbler) 6 pm to Dark Evening Events (Dennis Gooch 745-1240) Cow Plop $5 (sign-up earlier in the day), Greased Pole $1, Dance under the Pavilion, Patriotic Tribute and FIREWORKS!! After Basic Lawn Clean-up by those that live in the Nordic Valley & North Fork Areas (Mike Rhodes 745-2397) Monday, July 6th 10 am General Park and Detailed Lawn Clean-up by those that live in the Nordic Valley & North Fork Areas (Mike Rhodes 745-2397) The Liberty Days committee would like to thank those who volunteer year after year to make this celebration a success! For those of you who aren’t involved, but would like to be, we ALWAYS have things for people to help with and you will find that it is a fun and rewarding project to be involved in. Please contact Ross or Julie Mertlich for more information at 801-745-3731 or <mmertl1773@aol.com> |
