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Show Viewpoints The Park Record. A-13 Wed/Thurs/Fri, October 30-November 1, 2019 editorial Problems that plagued Summit Bike Share need to be resolved W letters to the editor Former mayor endorses Worel Support for Trailside program Editor: I had the honor of serving as Mayor of Park City from 1990-2002. I can say with confidence, if Nann Worel had been a City Councilwomen during my tenure, many of the current issues we face today, traffic, affordable housing, losing our small town feel would be far easier to solve. Nann is a visionary. She is a leader who understands we don’t need Band Aid solutions, but rather a long term strategy that works both now and for a Park City decades from now. Under Nann’s direction and thoughtful foresight, the People’s Health Clinic went from a run down trailer to a state-of- art medical facility the cares for the underserved on our community. As a Planning Commissioner, Nann was instrumental in building consensus in a number of controversial development projects and ensuring Park City residents were represented in the process. As a City Councilwomen for the past four years, Nann has been committed to understanding the issues, considering the impact of each vote, and being accessible to the constituents she serves. Today’s Park City, and the Park City of the future, need Nann. I hope that you will join me in voting for Nann this November. Editor: After researching the Welcoming Schools program, we wholeheartedly support Trailside’s faculty and principal as well as the Park City School District in their effort to equip teachers with tools to address bias-based bullying in their classrooms. We are concerned that a small but vocal group seems to be acting out of fear of “other.” We truly do not understand the desire to “Stop Welcoming Schools.” Why would anyone choose to “Stop Inclusivity,” “Stop Equality,” Stop Compassion”? We encourage meaningful conversation based on factual information without hiding behind the curtain of anonymity. To learn more about this professional development tool, please see welcomingschools.org and to gain further insight into the dangerous effects of bullying on our youth, please see stopbullying.gov. Bradley A. Olch Former Park City mayor Nann and Becca are assets on City Council Editor: After spending the last three years working closely with incumbents Nann Worel and Becca Gerber, I fully support them both for their second term on Park City Council. In the last year and a half, I have served on City Council alongside them (the previous 1.5 years as a staff member) and see what an asset they both are to our community. Nann Worel works tirelessly behind the scenes to support our diverse community. She has a special connection to our nonprofit community, and while her passions lie with our underserved community, she has unique influence across the socio-economic spectrum and in turn fosters understanding among divergent groups. Becca Gerber is a champion of the workforce and works diligently to daylight the realities that group faces in our community so their voices are heard. Her experience having grown up, and now raising a young family, in Park City is a crucial voice on City Council. Her support of those trying to live and work here gives her the momentum to stand solid when she sees any potential decision as out of touch with that population. Please give Nann and Becca your vote to continue the good work they’ve started! Lynn Ware Peek Park City Council member The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER ....................... Andy Bernhard Editor ................................... Bubba Brown Staff Writers ......................Jay Hamburger Scott Iwasaki Alexander Cramer Ryan Kostecka Contributing ............................. Tom Clyde Writers Jay Meehan Teri Orr Amy Roberts Tom Kelly Joe Lair Copy Editor ............................ James Hoyt Engagement Editor............. Jeff Dempsey Photographer .........................Tanzi Propst Circulation Manager ............. Lacy Brundy Accounting Manager ......... Jennifer Snow ADVERTISING Advertising Director ........... Valerie Spung Advertising Sales ................... Jodi Hecker Lindsay Lane Sharon Bush Emma Fedorowich Director of Digital Marketing .. Tina Wismer Production Director ..................Ben Olson Production ......................... Louise Mohorn Kelly Bullett, Brandie Revoy and Art Veenema Park City Community Church’s Peace and Justice Committee Students make huge impact Editor: I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Park City High School Latinos in Action students for their incredible generosity. I recently visited Mrs. Anna Williams’ Latinos in Action classroom to propose a service project that would include helping me collect a “few” items that I could bring to an orphanage that I will be visiting in Guatemala in November. This past Thursday I was invited back to the class to collect what they had gathered. Rather than the “few” items I had proposed, I was presented with backpacks stuffed with goodies for each of the 27 kiddos currently living at the orphanage. The clothes, shoes, school supplies and toys in each bag were purchased and prepared by the LIA students specifically for each child. They were also able to make a cash contribution which they collected from the PCHS student body. I was completely overwhelmed with the personal effort and investment the LIA students contributed to this project. Their donations will make a huge impact on the lives of the children at “Hogares seguros para ninos” in Solola, Guatemala — just as they have made an impact on mine. My “Live PC Give PC” donation will go to Latinos in Action this year. Dana Mulick Park City Give Becca another term Editor: I am very fortunate to call Becca Gerber one of my closest friends. Becca is the friend who always makes time for you no matter what is going on in her life. She’s the friend who calls when she knows you have a busy week to check in, who encourages you to get out for a quick walk when she knows you need it, and who comes to your house the day you move to entertain your kids when your husband accidentally double books himself. She’s the friend who always puts herself second, or third, or fourth because her commitment to others is so strong. I remember several years ago when Becca told me she wanted to run for Park City Council. What I’ve learned about holding an elected position since that latenight walk all those years ago is that it requires much more than I realized. I’ve learned the longer you serve (within reason, of course), the better you become. I’ve learned that while it is technically only a part-time commitment, it is a full-time responsibility. Becca has grown as a person, a leader, and thankfully a friend over the last four years. I am very fortunate to call Becca a close friend, but Park City is very fortunate for what Becca has given to our community and that she’s offering to continue to give. Please give Becca another term to continue to work for us. Meisha L. Ross Snyderville Basin vhen the Summit County Bike Share launched in the summer of 2017, city and county leaders hailed the program as a fun recreation option for both visitors and Parkites and, more importantly, an alluring mode of alternative transportation that would cut down on traffic. Despite scattered problems like complaints of underage riders misusing the e-bikes, the program seemed to live up to that billing during its first two years. This year, though, the bike share fell flat. According to county officials, it’s largely because a subcontractor responsible for maintaining the fleet did, too. The firm, apparently, did not have enough parts on hand or mechanics on staff to keep the bulk of the program’s bikes operational, especially early in the season. As a result, ridership fell precipitously — in fact, there have been only a few more riders this year than there were during last June alone. That’s a shame because of how well the bike share has been received and how successful it was in its first two years. Plenty of folks have enjoyed ditching their cars and spending warm afternoons pedaling their way to and from destinations all over the Park City area. Even factoring in this year’s decline, riders have used the bike share for nearly 85,000 trips covering a total of more than 160,000 miles, according to statistics available on the program’s website. As approximately $1.5 million in taxpayer money has been used to get the Summit Bike Share off the ground — about half of that coming via a federal grant and the rest split between Summit County and Park City — the problems that plagued the program this year are even more frustrating. (Bewegen, a Canadian company that runs the bike share on behalf of Summit County, uses revenue from fares to pay for ongoing operations and maintenance costs.) By the time the bike share is rolled out next spring, the issues need to be fixed so the community can resume enjoying the benefits it brings when it’s working. Bewegen says it has already begun remedying the situation by taking tighter control of the day-to-day operations and overhauling the bike maintenance system. The company says the Summit Bike Share is its most popular program in the U.S., so it seemingly has every incentive to make good on its promises. Hopefully, it does. Thousands of people have enjoyed cruising around town on the e-bikes, and thousands more will be glad to do so in the future, if only the system can rise to the challenge of meeting the demand. guest editorial Vilification of those opposed to Welcoming Schools program is unwarranted and wrong ALLISON COOK Park City I am a woman, a Jew, a doctor, the mother of a gay son, and a feminist who attended an elite women’s college. My youngest son is a junior at Park City High School and his brothers are in college, so the proposed “Welcoming Schools” curriculum at Trailside Elementary will not affect my family directly, yet this program concerns us. I understand why the parents who filed the cease and desist order have done so anonymously. The vilification of anyone not “toeing the party line” is horrible. Just read the letters that have been written to the editor. Or read the quote by Andrew Caplan, president of the Park City Board of Education, who likened these parents to hood-wearing Klansmen. My gay son was sickened during the bear spray attack at PCHS. I have not seen the level of condemnation for this attack as is being directed towards parents concerned about the proposed curriculum at Trailside. In fact, some have said the attack that injured my son, a member of the LGBTQ community this curriculum is designed to welcome, is justified because he is conservative. The hypocrisy is palpable. As a life-long feminist, I am concerned with the attempt of the transgender movement to erase many gains we women have made over multiple decades. In recent years, transgender athletes have decimated women’s sports by shattering records thereby dashing biological females’ life-long dreams. Hard fought Title IX protections are vanishing. Rapists identifying as women are being moved to women’s prisons; battered women’s shelters are forced to admit biological males identifying as women who could endanger the residents the shelter hoped to protect; and transgender women with penises are openly using locker rooms where I, other women, and young girls change. Many liberal democrats and prominent members of the gay community are concerned as well. What about our safe spaces? As a doctor, teaching gender fluidity is politics, not science. Women have two X chromosomes and men have an X and a Y chromosome. As a libertarian, I truly believe that you can identify as whatever you choose, share your bedroom with whomever you love, and raise your kids however you believe, but you should not be able to force your beliefs on me nor mandate how I raise my children. Each family is unique with its own issues. As a Jew, I worry about the 2017 FBI statistics showing 58% of religion-based hate crimes in our country are perpetrated against us, and, on a per capita basis, Jews are 3 times more often victims of hate crimes than members of the LGBTQ community. I became a single mother when my children lost their father at ages 7, 9 and 11. At home, we read special age-appropriate books written by elementary experts to help process our loss. I am not asking the school district to read from the Torah or enact a special program to help other families in the school understand the trauma of losing a parent. Other children in similar circumstances could benefit from such a program. Yet asking the entire student body to participate would be ludicrous. We all need to teach our children to live by the Golden Rule. It should be applied regardless of religion, color, gender, political affiliation or sexual orientation. Programs geared towards certain special groups will, by definition, marginalize others. Many of you disagree, and I respect that. Thankfully, we live in a country where that is our right. Because of this disagreement, this is a subject matter best left to parents to address at home. We moved to Park City in part because of the highly ranked school district. According to US News and World Report, PCHS dropped from 200 in the nation in 2011 to 3,381 in 2019. Graduates are only 37% proficient in reading and 40% in math. The new PCSD administrators should focus their attention on academics, and let the parents worry about the rest! The Park record Pulse Here’s a sampling of the conversation readers are having on our Facebook page. To visit the page, go to Facebook.com/parkrecord/. A bus lane? Really? That’s not the solution. Unfortunately I and many others cannot take my infant and toddler on a bus to get to school/work. That’s not going to solve anything.” Sarah Hawkins, on “Park City mayor says UDOT has scrapped controversial S.R. 248 concept” It is never as simple as Mr. Clyde makes it out to be. Re-striping 248 for four lanes will dangerously narrow, if not eliminate, bike lanes. And road bikes using these lanes now can’t ride the nearby Rail Trail because it is choked with pedestrians, dogs and maintenance issues. Beware of simple solutions to complex problems.” Tom Horton, on “Tom Clyde: Speed limits and consultant firms” Supply and demand. If the government stays out of it the resorts will eventually have to do something. If the government gets involved it is essentially just giving the resorts a huge subsidy at the tax payers expense.” Mark Gonnerman, on “For the Record: What is the role of employers in addressing the workforce housing shortage?” I wish there was some sort of rent control. There are tons of empty condos and houses in Park City because rent is too high. $3k-$4k per month for a condo is way out of reach for some families let alone workers. Not sure what the solution is.” Lisa Phinney, on “For the Record: What is the role of employers in addressing the workforce housing shortage?” Sooooooo the outdoors is just for hikers and bikers now? Trust me those lands have been being hunted long before park city transplants ever came on the scene. Do these people know how bow hunting works?” Alicia Barstow Kaney, on “Park City police field complaint about bow hunter on trail” The Park Record attained permission to publish these comments. Some comments may have been lightly edited for clarity. |