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Show Page 2 The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume I, Issue XI August 1999 Letters to the Editor The Ogden Valley News Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 745-2688 Fax: 745-0062 E-Mail: shannafrancis@worldnet.att.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 745-2879 Fax: 745-2879 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 Valley News will print local birth, wedding, obituary, anniversary and missionary farewell and homecoming announcements free of charge. We invite residents to send their announcements to: THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS P O 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 recieved, 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, births, weddings, anniversaries, mission homecomings and farewells, and death announcements. Eagle Scout and other 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. Answer From Commissioners Sought on Wolf Creek Park and Trail A meeting was held in the Weber County Commission chambers after Dave Wilson’s public invitation in the Standard-Examiner on April 24 that our group get a lawyer and “hash it out.” Issues of the Wolf Creek park and trail, which have been quit-claim deeded to Rulon Jones, were thoroughly addressed at the meeting. Those attending were: Weber County Planning Board member Haynes Fuller, State Planning Land Use Committee member Robert Fuller, attorney George Handy, public trails advocate Dave Holmstrom, Weber County Operations Manager Gary Laird, Weber County Attorney Dave Wilson, Commissioners Camille Cain and Kenneth Bischoff, Ben Toone and myself. It was concluded that the 30-footwide, 2.5 mile trail leading to the 160acre park in Wolf Creek is still public. Because the trail was originally deeded to the public, not the county, I believe the county’s quit-claim deed to Rulon Jones is void. Our attorney George Handy gave everyone a copy of the Utah State Code that plainly showed where the code was violated by commissioners. Commissioners were strongly advised by Mr. Handy that the violation and other unethical actions in this public land giveaway would cause them to lose in a court action. There seems to be a pattern to defraud the public. In the same county commission meeting two years ago the Wolf Creek Park was sold for $200 per acre. A special warranty deed for 1,060 acres of beautiful public park land in North Fork gave Earl Holding options to buy the North Fork Park for only $200 per acre! He did not exercise his option. We have waited more than two months for an acknowledgment that the entire quit-claim deed to Rulon Jones should be void because the trial is still public. This will hopefully prevent taxpayers from having to fight their own elected officials in court to get back their own land. Kent Fuller Eden What Are You Willing to Give Up–To Save Just One Life? Recently I’ve been reading of the outcry from people to limit this, ban that, and make more laws. Lately it involves firearms, but I’ve seen it in other issues. It’s also been my experience that when people want to limit, ban and outlaw things, it’s always things that pertain to other people. But what really galls me is when they try to shame me into their position with the phrase, “But wouldn’t it be worth it, if it only saved one life?” The insinuation being that I’m a cold, shallow person who doesn’t value life. I would then ask these people one question, at what point does death become an acceptable price to pay for conveniences in your life? Thousands of people die each year in automobile accidents. Are you willing to go back to the horse and buggy? But what if it saved just one life? Wouldn’t it be worth it? How about just going slower? If 55 miles per hour is better than 75 mph, wouldn’t 35 mph be better than 55 mph, or 25 mph? Would you be willing to let the government put mandatory controls on our vehicles to insure they couldn’t travel faster than 35 mph? But what if it saved just one life? People are electrocuted each year. Are you willing to go back to wood stoves and candlelight, even if it saves one life? Throughout history people have killed each other over different religious beliefs, probably more than any other reason. Are you willing to give up your religion? Not even to save one life? The media reports a criminal tragedy and overnight there are “copycat” crimes. Should we limit what the media can report? Would you really want them to? But what if it saved just one life? Weber County changed our form of government without our consent, our voice or our vote. Then the local County Commissioners made the determination of who would be on that Nordic Valley/ Liberty Township Board without even interviewing the candidates. It must be nice to be so omnipotent that you can determine what is best for us without our vote and who are the best candidates without talking to them. Do you begin to see a pattern developing in our county and state? Perhaps, before you try to shame me into your way of thinking, you should look in the mirror and ask yourself, “What am I willing to give up?” I believe this process should be reversed and a vote should be taken. If the people of Nordic Valley and Liberty want to be governed by a Township, then let a majority of them vote for that form of government. I also believe that those people responsible for making these changes without our consent should be thrown out of office. They obviously do not believe in a representative form of government where the power to govern comes from the voters. But what if it saved just one life? Wouldn’t it be worth it? Paul L. Judd Liberty I didn’t think so. Doug Coleman Eden, Utah Nordic Valley/Liberty Township a Farce Once again the people of the Upper Ogden Valley have had their rights trampled into the ground. In a state that prides itself on moral leadership, I find it amazing that the public officials continue to make decisions that are so blatantly offensive and anticonstitutional. We are supposed to live in a state that believes in a representative form of government. We are supposed to have the opportunity to have a part in the process that determines who will govern us and what form of government that will be. Like a thief in the night our form of local government was changed from Planning Committee to a Township. Having tried many times to get enough signatures to force a vote, somehow our form of government was changed by a mere 25% of the registered voters signing a petition. That’s right, we did not even get to vote on that change. Talk about the tail wagging the dog. I was contacted many times by those people seeking this change and repeatedly told them I was not in favor of this new form of representation. I had first hand witnessed the great abuses taking place in the East Huntsville. Township by small minded, misguided people who had their own agenda. I came to the conclusion that it’s good to have some people from different parts of the county helping to make those decisions because they are not personally involved and can look at issues in the Valley from a more objective perspective. The process should be fair and uniform to all people. I had always been taught that if you drive government down to its lowest level, you get the best representation because you have local people making the decisions. You also get the absolute greatest opportunity for abuse of power. Ogden Canyon History Corrected Sometime ago you published an article on the Hermitage Hotel in Ogden Canyon. We enjoyed reading this article very much. Your article, along with others that have appeared in the past in the Ogden Standard Examiner and other newspapers have given accounts of the drowning of “Uncle Billy Wilson’s” daughters. Uncle Billy was my husband’s grandfather’s brother, and we have quite a family history on him and his famous hotel; therefore, I would like to set the record straight. His little daughter’s did not drown on a raft in the river. They, along with a Mr. George Newby of Pleasant View, all drowned according to accounts published in “The Standard, “ April 28, 1888 and April 29, 1988. I copied the articles from the papers of that date, and they have been in the obituary books in the history of the Valley in the Huntsville Town Hall. I hope you think the articles worthy of being published in your newspaper. We commend you on your efforts in your publication. We enjoy so much reading of happenings in our Valley. Thank you. (Mrs.) Erma Wilson Huntsville Note: See article submitted by Mrs Wilson on page 16. Weber County Library Annual Used Book Sale Friday, August 27 & Saturday, August 28 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Main Branch Library, 2464 Jefferson Avenue, Ogden |