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Show Page 2 The Ogden Valley News Volume XXIX Issue VI January 1, 2022 The Ogden Valley News Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 801-745-2688 Fax: 801-745-2688 Cell: 801-791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@digis.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 801-745-2879 Fax: 801-745-2879 E-Mail: crwendell@digis.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 522 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. Letters to the Editor Move-ins With Too Much Disposable Income Driving Long-time Residents Out An influx of people with lots of disposable money is forcing long-time residents out of the valley. My wife and I moved up here 25 years ago to retire. As for retirees, we are on a fixed income. This summer, our water company said “no outside watering” in a letter that was issued last June, and every water bill contained the same notice. I complied with the request but still was hit with a $300-a-month water bill. My 25-year-old established trees and lawn, more or less, died. This, while new developments were laying sod and even using water from house connections. Some had planted as many as 25 new trees and bushes. Some of these new units were on automatic sprinkler systems with timers that were letting water run down the gutter! I complained about the situation and was told some people were paying $5,000 a month for water, which they willingly paid. Which tells me they weren’t concerned about conserving—only about making money. I have read it costs 27% more to live in the valley than it does in Ogden. I believe this is because people with money really don’t care about prices, which is driving prices up because of greedy businesses that can, so are, making more money on lots and homes, which is now beginning to out-price real estate for the average homeowner or family. When will this stop? And what can we do to stop the influx of so many people coming in and changing the demographics and dynamics of this valley to the point of forcing long-time residents out. Name on file, Eden The Ogden Valley News Should Be More Vocal About Snow County Initiative My wife and I have been Valley residents for almost ten years now, which I realize isn’t a significant amount of time compared to the born-and-raised, long-time Valley residents but I do believe it is enough time to get an understanding of what issues the Valley is dealing with and so urgently needs to resolve. Because my wife and I will probably always be classified as “city folk” or “intruders” as we have been called since moving here, I generally try to keep my opinions to myself unless it is relevant to a project I feel will help preserve the amazing qualities of this Valley. The new Snow County Initiative that is currently in process is the project I have become involved with and one I think will be a positive move that will allow residents to control our Valley’s destiny, and one I feel the Ogden Valley newspaper should be a more vocal ally of. In my opinion, we should not be allowing Weber County to decide the fate of short-term rentals (STRs) or any other matter the Valley might have, since it is apparent the Weber County Commissioners care more about extracting our Valley’s tax dollars for their own pet projects and developments. I am not aware that anything has been once-and-for-all decided upon or resolved yet by Weber County regarding STRs in our Valley. It seems to me, we would all be better Time for Some Tough Love O.k. parents, it’s time for you to have a difficult conversation with your kids and especially your young women. The hard fact is, predators are outside your perimeter and they are circling your children like vicious, depraved wolves. They have no compassion. They are sociopaths. They care about one thing and one thing only and that is their own selfish desire for warped and deviant sexual gratification. They are very skilled at their craft. They often don’t appear dangerous until the jaws of their trap snaps shut. Now, not even your perimeter is safe. Likely, you have unwittingly let the predators in the wire and paid to do so with your subscription to your child’s phone service or your internet provider. Please read the following stories carefully. During any given day, you probably walk past several of these people. Some of them are family friends. Some of them are youth leaders. Some of them are teachers. Some of them are complete strangers. They are everywhere. Ratchet up your security and have tough, frank conversations with your kids. You may think to yourself, “I don’t want to destroy their innocence.” Just remember this, the predators don’t care about your child’s innocence, and they would be happy to take it. P.S… it’s statistically likely that someone reading this is a predator. Think about that…. Below are links to recent predator activity: served by getting involved in committees and initiatives that can promote our personal views and desires for this Valley we call home. I believe The Ogden Valley News should clearly voice support for the Snow County Initiative and focus articles on all the numerous reasons why all residents should support creating our own county. This initiative, when completed, will allow residents who have disagreements about what should and shouldn’t be allowed in our Valley to have a more productive and beneficial way to control the future of Ogden Valley. John Gally, Liberty • Utah kidnapping suspect met victim on ‘Kik’ app: kutv.com/.../police-utah-kidnappingsuspect-met... • gephardtdaily.com/.../man-on-offenderregistry.../ • gephardtdaily.com/.../woman-arrestedafter.../ • Police seek help identifying man seen peering in child’s window: ksl.com/.../police-seekhelp-identifying-man... • Utahn accused of kidnapping Snow College student charged with six felonies: ksl.com/.../ utahn-accused-of-kidnapping-snow... Tina Allred, Eden Things I Just Can’t Understand Thanks for sharing the things that make you worry our civilization is collapsing (December 15, 2021 issue of The Ogden Valley News, “Stand Up for America”). Like you, there are things I just can’t understand. I don’t understand how some can’t see the benefit in removing statues glorifying people who declared war against America, especially when to do so isn’t erasing anything. An estimated 60,000 books have been written about the Civil War, not to mention at least 150 movies and documentaries on the subject. “Canceling” our culture, or “erasing” our history isn’t possible and it’s not productive to get people stirred up about it. I don’t know what you are talking about when you accuse someone of destroying the American flag. If you see a group of people wearing the American flag as a pair of pants or a shirt or hat, and maybe carrying a Confederate flag, it isn’t a group of Democrats. I, too, worry about property damage connected with protests, especially the damages our country suffered on January 6. Numerous sources estimate the cost of repairs to the U.S. Capitol will run in excess of $30,000,000. I mean, how could someone “support the destruction of historical and cultural institutions” like the very seat of our government?! And why would someone want to “rewrite America’s history” by canceling the results of a fair and accurate election?! Now those are things to worry about! As to your concern about recent criticism of the police; personally, I would be more concerned if we weren’t allowed to criticize the police. Police violence is now a leading cause of death for young men in the U.S., according to the National Academy of Sciences. It should be talked about. (Google Daunte Wright, Andre Hill, Manuel Ellis, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Atatiana Jefferson, Aura Rosser, Stephon Clark, Botham Jean, Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Freddie Gray, Janisha Fonville, Eric Gardner, Michelle Cusseaux, Akai Gurley, Gabrielle Nevarez, Tamil Rice, Michael Brown and/or Tanisha Anderson for details.) I don’t know what should be done about the immigration problem. All you have to do is read what is on the Statue of Liberty (“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free…”) to realize our country has held differing philosophies about immigration over time. It’s a tough one. What I won’t do is dehumanize immigrants. I won’t favor electrifying the border wall, putting spikes on top of it, or surrounding it with a waterfilled trench stocked with snakes or alligators. Immigrants are human beings in tragic circumstances—not animals. I could respond to a number of other issues you raised but I’d rather decorate my Christmas cookies. Happy Holidays! Harold Stephens, Eden Snowmobile Rentals & Tours! The OgdenValley 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. Our Snowmobile Wildlife Tour guarantees you will see wildlife or your money back! 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. The deadline for the OVN January 15 issue is January 4. We have all the rental gear you need. We also sell souvenirs, shirts, and accessories in our Eden store. Snowmobiling is always good no matter the snow conditions! We are on-site at the Monte Cristo Trail head located in the beautiful Wasatch range of Northern Utah. We are Ogden Valley’s and surrounding areas Snowmobile Destination. Two locations to serve you: 3718 N. WolfCreek Dr. Eden Utah 84310 and Monte Cristo Snowmobile Complex, Utah. Visit www.ClubRecUtah.com for more information or call 801-745-3038 to reserve today. |