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Show A quarterly publication serving communities in the west portion of Salt Lake City Winter Issue #4 page | 2002 E-mail editor at thefifer] West Side Residents Battle Union Pacific by Charlotte Fife-Jepperson The fight against Union Pacific (UP) Railroad's decision to reactivate the 900 Residents protest 900 South reactivation late in December South rail line has been underway for over three months. | Many Glendale and Poplar Grove Residents have experienced an emotional roller coaster over the course of events since UP first announced that it was going to reactivate the line back in October of 2001. At first, people were surprised, then . angered. Residents and community leaders had expected something entirely different. Years ago, UP had filed for abandonment of that line and were involved in the Gateway master planning process, which included abandoning the line and converting it to a linear parkway trail, which would connect to the Jordan River Parkway trail. "In fact, this right of way was up for sale to the public until just last Vedat. says Edie Trimmer, Poplar Grove Community Council Chair. But, UP says this reactivation will relieve congestion in the downtown area during the Olympics and thereafter. Residents are outraged that UP rail chooses to alleviate congestion in an industrial/commercial area by moving it to a residential area that is already plagued with more than its fair share .- of industrial hazards. After confirming UP's intentions, City and community representatives quickly gathered to determine a Strategy to prevent the trains from running. The City took swift legal action in two separate cases; they filed a petition with # the Surface Transportation Board (STB) which is the federal governing agency over the railroad, and a legal suit in Federal Court, which will be heard on March [1, 2002. People felt discouraged when the STB ruled in favor of UP on January 22nd, despite all of the letters written to the STB and local politicians in behalf of west side residents. And, then, shortly after Christmas, as the test trains starting running, people had to yell to carry on a conversation in their own homes along 900 South because of the noise. Feelings of defeat and powerlessness started to set in. The Virtues of a Community Garden by Ginger Ogilvie I love to visit my garden. Immersed in a sea of sunflowers, I find rows and rows of fresh, delicious vegetables. I tend snow peas in the spring, heirloom tomatoes in ing in apartments the summer, and a variety of greens year-round. The flowers in the garden open their big yellow heads to the sky, like beacons for bees and other beneficial insects. Beyond its beauty and tasty produce, the thing that I love most about my garden is the diversity of people - adults and children - that I share it with. My garden is a community garden. Community gardens are housing, plots of land, often what used West Side Stories Page 10 In Your Opinion Page 8 or senior renting, or who need a sunny spot to grow a few tomatoes. There are many community gardens in Salt Lake City, including the west side. One of the gardens that I work with is the Fairpark Garden, which is located on the northeast corner of the State Fairgrounds (1037 West 300 North, just west of the fire station). The Fairpark Garden is one of four gardens operated by Wasatch Community to be empty lots, that are shared by many different people to grow fresh produce for themselves and their families, This type of garden is ideal for people who are liv- organization that promotes healthy, sustainable living through community gardening and youth gardening edu- in The Grove Glendale PGSCC Section Page 5 Gardens, a local non-profit (see Garden page 3} Forum Glendale CC Section Page 6 However, with some important media attention from local newspapers and radio stations and a successful community fundraiser at the Sunday Anderson Senior Center, support and hope were rekindled. Over $1,000 was donated to a legal defense fund. As local residents began to help themselves, more people began offering support, both financially and physically. With new involvement from several concerned residents at the Wasatch Co-housing project in the Glendale area, an even better organized strategy group evolved, calling themselves (see Battle page} Helping Kids Grow into Responsible Adults Let's face it: the ultimate goal of parenting is to produce adults who can be responsible for their own behavior and decisions. This means parents must gradually relinquish control as the child .begins .to - accept responsibility and demonstrates that he or she can be trusted. Although caring for very small children often requires constant supervision, dealing with teenagers can be almost as exhausting, as parents try (see Help Your Kids page 3} Happenings Events and Resources Paget] |