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Show Page 2 The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume I, Issue XII September 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. T HE O GDEN V ALLEY 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 T HE O GDEN 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. Local Resident Debates Label It was a shock to read Karen Burton’s article about the vandalization of the Huntsville Branch of the Weber County Library. The youth of our country certainly are degenerating. In the last paragraph of the article, this statement was made, “The teenagers involved in the incident at the Branch are from good families.” I beg to differ with that statement. If these teenagers were from good families, they would have been home in bed during the nighttime period when the incident apparently occurred. In good families, the parents would have been more diligent in supervising their children and teaching them to know “right” from “wrong.” Herman Blumel Eden Confiscation of Guns Ultimate Goal There have been countless situations in which citizens (the author included) were able to avert an attempted assault by merely brandishing a weapon. In many cases, firing the weapon was not necessary to ward off the perpetrator. Our founding fathers recognized the importance of having the right to own and bear arms for self-preservation. There is no way that more laws to restrict these rights for the law-abiding citizen will have any negative impact on the criminal. The gun laws now in effect are more than adequate. What is needed is enforcement of these laws. It appears the strategy of our liberal/ socialist politicians is to enact more gun laws, continue lack of enforcement of the laws, and then proclaim that, because the laws don’t work, federal registration of guns is the only solution. We cannot sit idly by and let this happen. Contact Senator Hatch and urge him to oppose any additional gun-control legislation. To anyone who is opposed to the law-abiding citizenry’s right to gun ownership, I ask you: Would you be willing to post a sign in a front window of your home, stating: “There are no guns in this house?” Give it some thought. Donna Rose Huntsville Hearthside, Once Home to Popular Dinner Plays We have enjoyed reading the Ogden Valley News and commend you on all of your hard work. A few issues ago, I read the article about the historical Hearthside building. There were two years that were left out of that history. After the roof collapsed and it was restored, my husband Brad and I leased the building from Scott Larkin. We renovated the “huge” upstairs of the building, laid new carpet, painted, and actually lived there for two years, making it our primary residence. We had a purpose to all of this, i.e. we employed the Ogden Community Theater actors to put on Neil Simon plays, as well as Melodramas on the other side of the building, and we served hot dinners, making it a “Dinner Play.” Alta Spencer of Eden was our wonderful cook–she also cooked for the Ogden LDS Temple. Her wonderful home-made rolls, cinnamon rolls and deserts were the talk of the town. We had guests from all the neighboring towns attending these professional performances. It was a lot of hard work . . . as well as a lot of fun! We also sponsored two New Year’s Eve parties, where after the dinner-play, we had a band, noise-makers and a large crowd of fun people. As your article stated, the many furnaces in the old building made it very expensive to heat in the winter, with monthly bills of over $2,500 for the heat alone. With our low prices for the dinner and play, and with all the expenses that had to be paid, after two years we moved on to other things. For several years, we were approached by many people in the Valley, telling us how much they missed coming to the dinner-plays. Barbara Hansen would round up her large groups and come to all of the performances . . . she was one of our biggest backers! Just wanted to fill in the two year gap that wasn’t reported in the earlier article. Lu Skinner Eden Group Hires Attorneys in Effort to Rectify County Action In an effort to avoid costly litigation, concerned citizens have hired lawyers who are communicating with the Weber County Commissioners in an effort to void the sale of an 160 acre Wolf Creek mountain park and trail. A public announcement needs to be made concerning the legal owners of the access trail that the county and Rulon Jones both claim to own. A reading of Utah State Code 17-27305 shows that a violation occurred when the land was sold. This illegal action should nullify the quit claim deed that transferred the property from the County to Liberty resident Rulon Jones. Mr. Jones ignores any attempt to negotiate. Commissioners should be accountable to the people–working for them, not against them in court with public provided resources. The Commissioners are defending what appears to be an illegal land sale. 12,000 petition signers have asked for their land back. In this case, the facts should right a wrong: 1. $200,000 tax dollars, plus County equipment and countless County employee man hours were given to build Powder Mountain Road for a private owner, who exchanged the mountain park and trail for the road. Then the land was sold at a great loss, only $32,000 in inflated dollars. 2. This land was sold in violation of State Code since the Weber County Planning Commission was not notified as mandated. The sale was also executed without an appraisal. 3. The rights of every taxpayer in Weber County were violated when their land was sold without public notice or bids, denying all citizens the same chance to purchase the property as was given to Rulon Jones. 4. A 1967 planning map of Ogden Valley shows a Public Mountain Park over the noted area, not a private hunting sanctuary. The original intent of this land was to provide public outdoor recreation access to one of Utah’s most beautiful settings. Access is still denied by a locked gate. One acre now sells for $90,000 close by the trail head gate along Powder Mountain Road–is it any wonder that we are having to fight to get our land back. Thanks to everyone who is helping and supporting the efforts to correct this public tragedy! Kent D. Fuller Eden Early Eden Park Supporter Thanks Those Who Have Labored to Create and Build the “Old Town Square” Early church Prophet President Brigham Young advised all communities to settle close together. The “Blackhawk War” was posing safety problems for the early valley settlements. The town of Eden was surveyed. The plan consisted of nine blocks of six acres each. The blocks were divided into eight lots each, with a public square as the center block. This square is now the new Eden Park. Because Eden had no one with authority to take care of the existing property deed, it was kept with other properties belonging to the LDS church. With the changing of bishoprics and other authorities within the church, the deed eventually became the property of the corporation of the church, located in Salt Lake City. This came to the attention of citizens in Eden when they heard the church was not interested in keeping this property, considering to sell or dispose of it. With many thanks to those church members who could have bought it for their own personal gain, it was ultimately decided that the land should become the property of Weber County until Eden could claim it legally. Weber County Commissioners called a meeting to elect a park committee. A selection of five Eden residents was approved, and an assessment of $10.00 per residence was collected for improvements and operation of the park. In the past, many events for park improvements have been held to obtain extra finances, and many hours of donated work have been involved. I decline mentioning names because so many were, and still are, active participants. This town square project was a much needed part of the community, and we need to keep building and working to make this “old town square” something future generations can be proud of. Betty Lund Formerly of Eden Thanks Given to Balloon Fest Supporters On behalf of the Eden Park committee, I would like to thank all the volunteers who put in their many hours of service! Many thanks to the sponsors for their support, to the entire community for its involvement and continued support, and to all of you who have helped bring this event to what it is today. As Martha Stuart would say, “It’s a good thing!” A sincere thanks to all. Wendy Hill Eden |