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Show Viewpoints The A-9 Park Record. Wed/Thurs/Fri, March 11-13, 2020 editorial Can you do better than your elected officials? Prove it. s the saying goes, decisions are made by those who show up. A variation of the adage could be this: Decisions are made by those who put themselves in the position to make them. That point is pertinent this week as the filing window opens Friday for residents to declare themselves candidates for public office in this fall’s election, which will include seats in the state Legislature, on the Summit County Council and on local school boards, as well as a handful of department head positions at the County Courthouse. That means the time is now for people to step up and participate in a way that goes beyond contacting their elected officials or, as too many of us do, simply venting frustrations on Facebook. Fed up with what’s happening at the State Capitol? Run for office. Think you can do a better job than those serving on the Summit County Council or filling the other elected county positions? Run for office. Question the decisions being made in your child’s school district? Run for office. Even if you’re relatively pleased with your elected officials, the course of action is the same if you believe you have something valuable to offer as a public servant. Run for office. A misconception that many have is that being an ex- A letters to the editor Deliver better snow removal The parking lot on the side of the Main Street post office is not being plowed or taken care of in a timely manner. It is dangerous — a couple of weeks ago it was a sheet of ice. Many people of various ages — some with disabilities — often have to navigate an unplowed, unsalted area when they get out of their cars. This is unacceptable — the city needs to take care of this since it is not the responsibility of the post office. Also the area in front of the post office needs to be better maintained. Wendy Lavitt Park City Response needed after poaching The slaughter of the bull elk off of Bitner Ranch Road is not just a simple crime of poaching. Rather, it’s a complex murder of magnificent animals that includes issues of sadism, animal cruelty and public safety in the discharge of weapons near homes/public highways. Left unchecked what can we expect? We can only ponder if this is other than economics. Certainly, expect more poaching, as this is not the first incident in the area. The state Division of Wildlife Resources has complicated this matter by refusing to declare the Bitner Ranch Road area a no-hunting zone, even though it is a corridor for the elk migration to protected areas and includes housing developments that are deed restricted by the county to prevent hunting. An immediate community-wide response is required. The County Council should assign Sheriff Martinez to investigate and he should enlist the State Bureau of Investigation if necessary. The council should request the Division of Wildlife Resources to declare the entire Bitner Ranch Road area a no-hunting zone and pressure our state representatives to get DWR to act. Additionally, the council should donate to the GoFundMe account offering a reward for information leading to an arrest. The Park Record should also step up and publish in every edition a frontpage summary of the investigation so that citizens will be able to monitor the response of our public officials. KPCW could do the same. Most importantly, anyone with information should come forward. Donate to the GoFundMe reward site and contact our government officials to act. Robert Neumeister Glenwild The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER ....................... Andy Bernhard Editor ................................... Bubba Brown Staff Writers ......................Jay Hamburger Scott Iwasaki Alexander Cramer Ryan Kostecka Contributing ............................. Tom Clyde Writers Teri Orr Amy Roberts Tom Kelly Joe Lair Copy Editor ............................ James Hoyt Engagement Editor............. Jeff Dempsey Photographer .........................Tanzi Propst Circulation Manager ............. Lacy Brundy Distribution........................... Henry Knight Accounting Manager ......... Jennifer Snow ADVERTISING Advertising Director ........... Valerie Spung Advertising Sales ................... Jodi Hecker Lindsay Lane Sharon Bush Director of Digital Marketing .. Tina Wismer Production Director ..................Ben Olson Production ......................... Louise Mohorn Shamed into silence On March 6, this newspaper interviewed the leader of the Summit County Democratic Party, Meredith Reed, about Michael Bloomberg’s first-place finish in the Democratic presidential primary in Summit County. “I’m stunned,” Reed said, adding, “I’m not familiar with any Bloomberg supporters.” The shock of the Democratic leader is shocking to many Democratic voters. If there’s one person that should have their finger on the pulse of the Democratic electorate in Summit County, it should be the leader of the Democratic party in Summit County. One possible explanation of this disconnect is that Reed has isolated herself in an ideological bubble, only interacting with the faction of the party that shares her views. But a more generous explanation puts the blame on the current environment of public opinion: Reed doesn’t know what the majority thinks, because the majority is afraid to say. We live in a time where it is increasingly common for people to heap shame on others for their politics. Many Democrats think this is actually a good thing, because the people being shamed into silence are the bigots supporting bigoted candidates. But even if you accept this thinking, you should consider that shame is an imprecise weapon: the collateral stigma of bigotry tends to stick even to moderate Democrats, being after all not so different from moderate Republicans, who are just two steps away from the Third Reich ... at least, that is how moderate Democrats fear they will be perceived, and so they tend to hide their beliefs. But they don’t stop voting. the point of lower shareholder profits in the interest of less carbon output is not only wise but imperative to the longterm existence of Rocky Mountain Power. David C. Ludema Park City Build, baby, build Congrats to Wasatch County for continuing the growth around Jordenelle and ruining the landscape around the reservoir. And what exactly does “regionalization” mean as spoken by officials? Is that a term meant to convince us of the county’s blunder? I can’t wait for more traffic to come and more of the natural landscape to be altered for the pursuit of dollars and sales. Oh and wait, what about all those who ride their bikes up the hill and into Ka- pert politician is the only way to get elected. Particularly at the state and local levels, though, that’s simply not true. Running for public office doesn’t take any special attributes other than passion and a desire to serve one’s community (and competence, of course, though measuring that is up to voters). The vast majority of local elected officials are regular folks who simply saw an opportunity to roll up their sleeves and took it. And doing that is especially important because there’s no guarantee anyone else will. Two years ago, for instance, there were six county positions on the ballot but nary a Republican challenging for any of them. The Democratic candidates breezed to victories, and residents were robbed of the opportunity to discuss and consider competing visions for the future of the county. By stepping up and running for office, residents have the power to make this election season different. Several enthusiastic and qualified candidates entering the fray for each seat would allow for the kind of debate befitting the offices they seek to hold. And most importantly, it would give voters a chance to pick the best person for the job. If that’s you, show up to the Summit County Clerk’s Office, declare your candidacy and prove it. For information about how to become a candidate for office, visit summitcounty.org/270/Clerk.The filing window closes at 5 p.m. on March 19. mas and from Kamas to Park City. The thought of more high speed traffic is encouraging. What will come next? Maybe private docks, and resident-only access? Maybe there will be kayak wars. Keep up the great work, elected officials. You’re all doing a swell job of continuing to play into the developers’ hands. In fact, why don’t we allow for multiple hotels, shopping centers, more car dealerships and three more Woodward eye sores to be built. That should guarantee each of you re-election. Sure the developers and proponents for growth will argue how necessary development is, and why it’s good for the area. Why shouldn’t they? These very same people have found an area where the elected officials in Park City, Summit County and Wasatch County just say “yes” seemingly to any and all growth proposals. I mean really, if only winning the lotto was as easy as just buying a ticket. So how much will our taxes continue to climb to fund services needed to accommodate this impending growth, given the right of way, by our trusted elected officials, who claim to have the city and county’s best interest at heart. That’s more funny than a stand-up comic’s routine. It’s like the Trump administration has entrenched itself in Park City, Summit County and Wasatch County. Despite pleas to stop growth, or at lest curb it for an extended period of time, nothing changes, concerned voices fall on deaf ears, and it’s business as usual. The motto for our elected officials and this area should be “Build Baby Build.” Oh, how’s the alleviation of traffic congestion on S.R. 248 and S.R. 224 going? Andre Palai Jeremy Ranch 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/. Jonathan Warden Thaynes Canyon Honest dialogue and corporate compromise In a Park Record letter to the editor Feb. 29 titled “Take Rocky Mountain Power to task,” I painted a less than optimistic view of residential rooftop solar future if the public service commission allows Rocky Mountain Power to reduce credit to solar producers for excess power by 83%. Even with this uncertainty, there are significant arguments for rooftop solar as an alternative to fossil fuel production of electricity. First, reduced cost. A solar system installed seven years ago would cost about 25% less today. Second, increased efficiency. A solar panel of seven years ago rated at 250 watts today is rated at 310 watts. Third, environmentally friendly. Except for production of the system itself, electricity is produced carbon-free. Fourth, residential rooftop solar is without moving parts, resulting in low system maintenance. Fifth, no added footprint. Corporate energy producers are investing in vast solar arrays that cover thousands of acres of land, further degrading the environment. Conversely, rooftop solar uses an already-existing footprint. Sixth, little energy loss. Electrons moving in a conductor cause resistance which in turn creates heat. This resistance is the largest cause of energy loss from generation to user. The longer the conductor, the more loss. Rooftop solar electricity is used onsite and by immediate neighbors with less loss due to the length of the conductor. A significantly more efficient system. For an electric generator utility to remain viable, it must give its stockholders a competitive return for their investment. This requires making a profit. That reality is not intrinsically bad. Neither is it counterproductive for residential solar producers to appreciate the power company’s valuable uninterrupted service. However, honest dialogue and corporate compromise to Make more crosswalks underpass/tunnels (like the one that goes under 224 in Kimball Junction) — the crosswalk in front of Fresh Market should be a priority for a tunnel. Traffic would be unaffected (many don’t understand how/why the stop lights there work anyway) & pedestrians could safely cross between the bus stops there as well — I’ve seen many people run across Park Ave to catch buses, and don’t we want to encourage public transportation?” Crosswalks near roundabouts are extremely dangerous, and defeat the purpose of roundabouts which is to keep traffic flowing, not slamming on the brakes for a pedestrian in your blind spot! Please reconsider the position of these crosswalks! Redstone in front of FiveGuys and the opposite side near Vessel, and the one at the bus station near Walmart and the library.” Mary-Peirce Conner Griffith, on “Record editorial: Rash of auto-ped collisions in Park City highlights need for increased safety” Julia Erbacher Wylie, on “For the Record: How is your experience as a pedestrian?” In addition to 20,000 units being a massive number, I am baffled at how Deer Valley doesn’t have an operating agreement with Mayflower. How has this not happened yet? Like what if Vail operates it. That will box DV in like crazy. Hopefully they can work this out.” Ryan King, on “With 20,000 units planned around the Jordanelle Reservoir, officials say regionalization is key” One of the best assets of the PC area is this pristine reservoir and it’s LACK of development! Those responsible for zoning should look at their role in protecting the Jordanelle — you are the stewards.” Brian Sterrett, on “With 20,000 units planned around the Jordanelle Reservoir, officials say regionalization is key” The Park Record attained permission to publish these comments. Some comments may have been lightly edited for clarity. |