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Show March 1 03.qxd 12/7/2021 3:39 PM Page 2 THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 2 Volume VII Issue X March 1, 2003 The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 745-2688 Fax: 745-0062 Cell: 791-4387 E-Mail: shannafrancis@att.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 745-2879 Fax: 745-2879 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 VALLEY NEWS 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. Letters to the Editor HB 122 Crafted to Circumvent Public Process Many of you have read with interest the recent ruling by the Utah Supreme Court Justices, voting 5-0 to void the sale of the public Wolf Creek Park to Rulon Jones. The basis for this decision was that Weber County Commissioners sold the land illegally, by not taking the proposal before the planning commission, and by not allowing public input. During the five year court battle over this 160 acre public park, which was totally funded and fought by private citizens, Weber County Commissioners and attorneys have arrogantly insisted private citizens should not, and do not, have a right to a voice in public land decisions. But the State Supreme Court has ruled otherwise, and firmly upheld the rights of citizens to be heard. Now, the Utah State Legislature has decided that since the Supreme Court upheld the law in giving public land back to the public, they will simply change the law. House Bill 122, sponsored by Representative Ann Hardy, coincidentally, wife of Bountiful’s city manager, will make it legal for any county or city government to sell any “significant” public property with “reasonable” notice and no planning commission input unless the land use changes. Who determines what is “significant” property? Or “reasonable” notice? Of course, the county/city governments do, and we are right back where we were—governments doing what they want, and answering to no one. Since the Supreme Court ruling, it appears that governments are now worried they cannot ignore the law, as many of them have been doing, by selling public properties without consulting planning commissions and/or citizens. Could another one of those governments be Bountiful City? Officials should answer to those whose taxes pay their salaries—you and me. Hopefully, there will be strong opposition to HB 122. Please voice your concerns to your legislator by phone, letter, or email. Ben P. Toone, Eden HB 122 Proposed to Heal Wounded Egos The recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of the citizens, which declared void the sale of Wolf Creek Park, ended a long, costly battle. NOT SO! Shockingly, House Bill 122 surfaced to take the wording out of Utah’s State Code that prompted all five Utah Supreme Court judges to overturn the park sale to Rulon Jones. This court ruling requires all public land sales in Utah to go before their planning commission. This will eliminate sweetheart deals, a government perk that some in government office find irresistible. Commissioner Glen Burton’s public statement in the Standard-Examiner February 12, “The Utah Supreme Court missed the ball on this case,” implies Weber County has taken this court ruling personal. They are strongly supporting House Bill 122. The purpose of this bill is to make it easy and legal to keep the public uninformed about the sale of public land. This bill reeks with vendetta, opening the door for Weber County Commissioners to sell the Wolf Creek Park back to Rulon Jones, nullifying the Supreme Court ruling that now protects all public lands in Utah. The Our View, “Public Land Sales Should be Difficult,” from the StandardExaminer, dated February 15, points out the need to stop HB 122. “Cities and counties are public institutions and must answer to the citizens. They are nervous because they have always sold land without planning commission review, and are loathe to change.” Robert Sykes, attorney for plaintiffs in Wolf Creek land suit, was quoted in the Standard February 12, “With the 160 acres, the county sold a park to a single bidder without any public notice or hearing and without an appraisal. Now they are trying to validate that system. I find this totally outrageous!” Why should Utah’s State Code be changed with the passage of HB 122, just to heal wounded egos caused by the Supreme Court ruling against Weber County Government? Please call your legislators! Kent Fuller, Eden Editorial Americans Note: Submitted by Marcy Petersen of Eden You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. So an Australian dentist wrote the following to let everyone know what an American is, so they would know when they found one: An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan. An American may also be a Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans. An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses. An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God. An American is from the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person the pursuit of happiness. An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need. When Afghanistan was overrun by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country. As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan. Americans welcome the best, the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best athletes. But they also welcome the least. The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America. Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. I’ve been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 other countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists. So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty tyrant in the history of the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself, because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place—they are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American. Inspirational Thought "Every man is a diary in which he writes one story while intending to write another. His humblest moment is when he compares the two." -- Hugh B. Brown Deadline for material for the March 15 OVN issue is March 5. Now wait just a minute here! . . . Just what is this stuff? |