OCR Text |
Show The Best of Spanish Fork & Salem 2007 Results Are in Steve Hardman EDITOR Most people hate surveys. I love them. My thoughts on gas prices? No problem. The renaming of the Delta Center? Yeah, Til share my opinion. I am a pollster's dream. So when we decided to do a Best Of Spanish Fork and Salem survey, I got excited. What would our readers have to say about things like food, health and customer service? I must admit, I found the results surprising. Weil, okay. Macey's being named the best grocery store in town didn't really surprise me. I used to work there. And Cold Stone having the best ice cream wasn't quite breaking news, either. I mean, who doesn't love Sweet Cream with mix-ins? But it really was exciting - and surprising - to tally the survey results to see what our readers thought. Like, who has the best burger in town? It was like a tight race: Glades, Stone Drug and Barry's neck and neck. Or should I say bun and bun? Glades and Stone Drug tied, with Barry's coming in only one vote behind. Wow! Of course, the best fries in town was like watching one of the Stewart twins run. Barry's takes the crown and a full seven seconds later, the rest of the crowd jogs in. Some of the most interesting results were in the non-business categories. Did you know that Diamond Fork is the preferred campground of News' readers? Okay, so maybe you did, but do you realize that the best hiking spot is above the reservoir near the cross? And overwhelmingly, the favorite out-of-area vacation destination is Disneyland/Orange County. One could also gather from the survey that Fiesta Days is the community event of the year, and that while Canyon View Park is the nicest around, Knoll Park in Salem and Spanish Fork's Library Park have the best playground equipment. And here are a few, little-known facts about our survey. Bill Bushman received as many votes as President Bush for best Current Local Government Official, although neither is technically a current local government official. Current Salem mayor and News' publisher Lane Henderson received two votes for the past Best Mayor of Salem. Fifteen elementary school teachers were listed as the best, which makes it tough Steve Hardman / Spanish Fork News MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD: The readers of The Spanish Fork News have cast their votes on everything from best playground equipment — Library Park, above — to favorite high school activity — football games, right. to single out only one. So we didn't. With only a one percent cost-of-living increase this year, we figured that if the legislature won't support them, we will. Thank you, readers, for your participation. Many of the results absolutely thrilled me and to be completely honest, some even disappointed me. Even I have favorites, and sometimes my favorites didn't win. But that is what made it so fun. I didn't decide. Spanish Fork News readers did. I was surprised at how many people actually filled out the survey. Truthfully, I wasn't expecting so many. Understand, a Gallup poll this ain't. This is not a scientific survey. There is no 'margin of error.' The results are intended primarily for 'oh' and 'ahh' sounds. See what you think of the results. Were they who you voted for? But remember - ultimately, the results of our Best Of survey show that Spanish Fork and Salem have a vibrant business community that realjy is worth visiting. From food to finances, our local merchants and service professionals are, quite honestly, the best around. |