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Show THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 2 Volume III, Issue I November 1, 2000 The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 745-2688 Fax: 745-0062 Cell: 941-1957 E-Mail: shannafrancis@worldnet.att.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 745-2879 Fax: 745-2879 E-Mail: crwendell@msn.com Barbie Sunderland 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 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 nember 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. Letters to the Editor Right or Wrong, it is Still My Country Eden Resident Urges Citizens to Vote This slogan, made famous by John Wayne, a personal hero of mine, seems particularly relevant as we approach the upcoming election. The benefits of living in America include the right to choose what religion I want to practice, what woman I want to marry, how many children we may decide to have, and the right to vote for whom I feel will represent our community and country in the best interest of all the people, not just a select few. I believe these rights far outweigh whatever drawbacks others may attribute to living in America. Living in America also gives you the right to disagree with political candidates and seek public office regardless of your personal agenda. However, it does not give you the right to tear down opponents’ signs, much less burn them. These signs manifest the democracy we live in and to deface/destroy them makes a mockery of all our forefathers fought and died for. The candidates and their supporters responsible for such action know what I am referring to. On the other hand, Glen Burton has used his rights to serve the people of Weber County over the last 36 years, from entry-level firefighter to Assistant Chief with Ogden City, then as Weber County Fire Chief, and finally as our County Commissioner for the past four years. Commissioner Burton’s example of serving all the people of the County, not just a select few, far exceeds that of his opponent’s. It appears the only wrong thing he has done in the past four years is upset a small group of Ogden Valley hunters. Right now, Weber County has the luxury of being served by a team of commissioners that are dedicated to making life better for all of us. They agree to disagree except when it comes to serving the people of the county to the best of their ability. It makes sense to keep this team together and allow them to complete the many projects still ahead of us. With the coming of the Olympics and many other challenges, this is not the time for on-thejob training, so let’s stick with a winning combination and re-elect Glen Burton to the Weber County Commission! At the risk of beating an old dog to death, I would like to point out that the sale of the Wolf Creek public property to Rulon Jones by Weber County Commissioners has yet to be settled in court. On August 25, 2000, the Utah Supreme Court overturned one of the cases the County depended on for their defense. The case against the Weber County Commission was ready for a decision by Second District Judge Michael Lyon on October 19th. Instead the County postponed the ruling until November 9th 2000, just after the upcoming elections. The public deserves a ruling on this case. Postponing it only adds costs to the public, and suggests political sidestepping by the County. I find it interesting that the Weber County Commissioners had every opportunity to finish this, but chose to delay it until the elections are over. Perhaps they fear the outcome may hurt Commissioner Glen Burton’s chance for re-election. Indeed, if the court finds for the Plaintiffs and overturns the sale of our public land, it would point an accusing finger of wrongdoing at those involved. No matter what the outcome in court will be, the fact remains that Commissioner Glen Burton, and the others involved, did not represent our best interest. The people of Weber County did not gain anything from this sale. We all lost a great deal. Not only the use of the land, but the trust of our commissioners. We elected them to govern on our behalf and, in this case, they did not. They are using our tax dollars to defend their actions in a court of law. We can assume that the costs are substantial. Of the three commissioners involved in the sale of the Wolf Creek public property, only Glen Burton is still in office. He is running for reelection. I can not find it in my heart to vote for a man I already know can not be trusted with my best interest. I urge everyone to vote. No matter who you choose, it is your choice, if you do not exercise your right, then you have no room to complain. James B. Banks, Liberty Beth Porter Eden Weber County Commission and Long Range Planning Our county has many problems that are surfacing every day, due to a lack of long range planning. For example, I would point to the recent Combe road problems that have developed. This lack of forethought for infrastructure will contribute to growing traffic problems as time goes on. I have personally witnessed the traffic snarls that developed along the I-95 corridor in Northern Virginia when developments were built without regard to insuring appropriate infrastructure. The recent dumping of sewage into our rivers also highlights the long range planning problem, as well as a continuing problem with communication between agencies and entities in Weber County government. Why did we not have any contingency plan in place for this type emergency? Robert Fuller has the first hand knowledge in private commerce and industry to know how our economy functions, understands long range planning, and has a clear understanding of what needs changed to improve the functioning of our county gov- ernment. Bill Lindsay Huntsville Glen Burton's Wife Wants Community to Know the Rest of the Story I have sat silent and watched as a man I have known for over 22 years has had his integrity and honesty impugned by more letters and innuendoes than I care to remember. I believe it is time you, the people, know the rest of the story . . . This man cares more about the people of Weber County than most of us can even begin to imagine. His career was spent running into burning buildings when everyone else was running out. This intense desire to “put out fires” which can harm us all is still with him as he continues to serve us. This man couldn’t tell a lie if his life depended on it . . . to be anything but honest is a totally foreign concept to him. As one colleague has been known to say, “He can be brutally honest, but you always know where you stand with him.” The worst that can be said about his honesty is that he holds his fellow humans to the same standard, never believing others are capable of acting any other way. Sadly, this is far from the truth. For the past three years a small group of disgruntled Ogden Valley residents have been working more diligently than they have ever worked to serve the people of Weber County to lead you to believe that this man did something illegal, unethical or at the very least, self-gratifying while entrusted to look out for the welfare of Weber County. These “tall tales” seem to be growing even taller as they attempt to see their candidate become your next county commissioner. Perhaps they have been telling their lies for so long, they no longer know or care what the truth is! On November 7, each voter will be entrusted with the responsibility to choose the candidate which will not only serve their best interest, but also the best interest of each citizen of Weber County. I wish each of you had the opportunity to know this man as I do, then you would have no doubt who will best serve our County’s interests during the next four years. Unfortunately, this is not possible, so I am asking you to take my word for it. Trust me. . . no one knows him better than I do. The man I am referring to is Glen Burton, my best friend as well as my husband. Despite what you may read or hear, you have the right to know that Glen has never intentionally done anything to damage the public interest entrusted to him during his last 36 years of public service, first as a professional firefighter and second as your county commissioner for the last four years. Glen’s actions speak louder than the words of his harshest critic. Glen has earned your trust and deserves your vote. To do less will be a tremendous disservice to yourself and the people of Weber County. Deby Burton, Liberty |