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Show A-12 Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, March 21-24, 2020 The Park Record Meetings and agendas More dogs on Main By Tom Clyde TO PUBLISH YOUR PUBLIC NOTICES AND AGENDAS, PLEASE EMAIL CLASSIFIEDS@PARKRECORD.COM Nevermind the apocalypse Notice is hereby given that the Summit County Board of Adjustment will NOT meet on Thursday, March 26, 2020 The next Board of Adjustment meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 23, 2020 Notice is hereby given that the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 24, 2020 has been CANCELLED The next Snyderville Basin Planning Commission is scheduled for Tuesday, April 14, 2020 Is social distancing in the desert helpful or harmful? National Parks stay open, but the risk to towns is debated BRADY MCCOMBS JAMES ANDERSON Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY — Most national parks are open as a refuge for Americans tired of being stuck at home during a global pandemic, but despite now being free to visit, people may find it more difficult than normal to enjoy them as parks close visitor centers, shuttles, lodges and restaurants to fight the spread of the coronavirus. Parks are trying to keep up with ever-changing rules and recommendations from government officials who are urging people to avoid gathering in large groups but allowing them to get outside for fresh air and exercise as long as they keep their distance from others. The National Park Service says it’s adhering to the latest guidelines from the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vowing to keep outdoor spaces open while giving park superintendents the power to close or modify operations. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on Wednesday temporarily waived National Park Service entrance fees to make it easier for people to get outdoors and “implement some social distancing.” “Getting out into the wilderness is perfect for what we call the ‘shack nasties’ — being cooped up inside your home,” said Trish Jacob, an employee of a backcountry guiding company near Rocky Mountain National Park. But not everyone is on board with the idea of people descending on parks and their gateway towns to escape the virus. Executives at a hospital in Moab, Utah, implored state officials to slow the flow of people coming to see the red rocks and unique formations at Arches and Canyonlands national parks over fears the city’s hospital can’t handle an outbreak. Officials this week limited hotel stays there to people in town for work and banned in-person restaurant dining. Nationally, park superintendents are devising ways to stay open while keeping people at safe distances from one another and trying to ensure park employees stay healthy. Many parks closed visitor centers, museums and entrance booths while rangers are stationed outside to field visitors’ questions. Though rangers are working, some parks warned people to be extra cautious and prepared, especially in places with wintry weather, because resources are strained amid the pandemic and rescues may be more difficult. Zion National Park in southern Utah halted shuttles used by most people visiting its red rock vistas nestled in a narrow canyon. Tourists now must wait for limited parking to free up before driving into the canyon. Grand Canyon National Park stopped its shuttles and closed its restaurants. In Northern California, visitor centers at several destinations managed by the National Park Service, such as Muir Woods National Monument, Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge, are closed. Yellowstone National Park, Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado followed suit. Most facilities and roads in Yellowstone — which spans parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho — and Rainier normally are closed this time of year because of deep snow. The Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island in New York are closed entirely. We’re just encouraging people stay home and stay in their residences and to wait out this two weeks and hopefully things will return to some kind of normal,” Elaine Grizler Executive director, Moab Travel Council Workers at Grand Canyon have shifted from duties that put them in close proximity with tourists to other posts within the park. “We’re just coming up with different ways for them to do their jobs that’s mindful of the CDC guidelines,” park spokeswoman Lily Daniels said. For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. But for the elderly and people with existing conditions, it can cause more severe illness. The vast majority of those who are infected recover. The Utah hospital’s concerns aren’t related to being out in the wilderness but rather the social interactions before and afterward at hotels, bars, restaurants and often crowded trailheads or entrance gates. Expecting thousands of tourists this weekend, Moab Regional Hospital executives urged the governor to ban visitors. A subsequent prohibition on tourists staying at area hotels complicated matters. “We’re just encouraging people stay home and stay in their residences and to wait out this two weeks and hopefully things will return to some kind of normal,” said Elaine Gizler, executive director of the Moab Area Travel Council. Like the interior secretary, U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah has encouraged people to enjoy the parks and open spaces where they can keep distance from others. That’s just what Katarina Takahashi of Longmont, Colorado, did in Rocky Mountain National Park. Takahashi trudged through fresh snow during a threehour hike to Emerald Lake last week, passing other alpine lakes surrounded by towering peaks. The 3-mile trek was a much-needed escape into what she called “a stark and empty landscape.” “It’s a very refreshing time to be outdoors, to get the health benefits of exercising, be in the sunshine, and get away as well from the anxiety I’ve felt, that we’re all feeling, about the virus,” said Takahashi, a 32-year-old freelance Japanese language translator who blogs about the outdoors. Businesses in Estes Park, a gateway town for Rocky Mountain National Park, are watching virus developments warily. The town of 6,000 relies heavily on the park, which drew a record 4.6 million visitors in 2018. “We are open for business until the city tells us otherwise,” said Jacob, who works for Kirk Mountain Adventures, which offers snowshoeing, fly fishing, hiking, backpacking and other excursions into the park. Kirk employees were out this week leading snowshoeing and fly fishing trips — each limited to three people, not because of the virus but because many visitors want a more intimate experience in nature. But spring break business is slightly down, Jacob said. Like its Moab counterpart, the Estes Park Chamber of Commerce is focusing more on helping its members deal with the virus than promoting tourism. The town’s already been hit by a statewide ban on dining at restaurants and bars. “We’re not encouraging visitation to Estes Park right now,” chamber executive director Keith Pearson said. If there’s any silver lining, Pearson said, it may be better that the first shock waves from the coronavirus are hitting now, rather than during the peak summer season. He noted that Estes Park has bounced back before: It was isolated by devastating flooding in 2013. “By Memorial Day, if the worst can be in the rear-view mirror, that would be fantastic,” Pearson said. It’s been a week now since the start of the apocalypse. Plague, financial collapse, societal disruption, and then just for the hell of it, let’s have an earthquake or two. What’s next? About the only things left are fire and flood. It was all getting me down, to put it mildly, and I decided I had to crawl out from under the bed and get on with life. Face it with courage and determination. The first night of the lockdown, I woke up in the middle of the night to crashing and banging downstairs. I immediately assumed that armed marauders were coming for the toilet paper. On closer examination, I figured out that the Roomba had not successfully transitioned to Daylight Saving Time, and had come on randomly in the middle of the night. The toilet paper was secure. The next morning, I sheltered in place to take care of a lot of household tasks that had been ignored during the aborted ski season. I got all the checkbooks balanced, months of transactions posted in the business books and finished my tax returns. The house is spotless. It was a very productive morning. After an early lunch, there was a great nap and then the rest of the day to fill. Watching the news was a terrible idea, and while I could have been watching any number of entertaining shows, I kept turning back to the business channel to watch the stock market implode. Trillions of dollars died and went to money heaven this week, and there’s no reason to think it will come back on Easter. Looking at a cat-food based retirement. The news was weird. Not just the content, but the production. Corporate CEOs were giving interviews from the panic rooms of their Hamptons mansions. The cable companies are terrified of trying to be on the air without their anchors, so the usual teams are split up, appearing instead from their living rooms, with kids crying and dogs barking in the background. If the on-air team all gets sick, they still have 24 hours a day to fill with something. It all looks like public access cable channels from the '80s. ESPN is playing reruns in the absence of any live sporting events. That’s harder to do with coverage of the financial collapse. The dogs convinced me to put down the remote and go out.” I couldn’t let it get to me. Rise and shine. Carry on. The dogs convinced me to put down the remote and go out. I dusted off the cross-country skis that haven’t seen any action this winter and did a long loop. When I got home, there was a big sore on my foot. It’s probably just a blister. But it could be leprosy. You never know. I decided to watch it for a day or two to see if gangrene set in. With my foot wounded, I went for a bike ride the next day. It was wonderful to get out. Spring is beginning to break through. After the ride, I coughed up a little stuff. That’s pretty typical, especially when clearing the winter’s crud out of the lungs for the first time. Nothing to worry about. But I Googled the symptoms for tuberculosis just in case. A friend was excited to see the first marmot of spring. It’s a sure sign that the season is changing. The marmots aren’t out at my house yet. This one seems early. There may be something wrong with it. Probably carrying plague or something. Despite trying to prepare for the apocalypse, there was nothing in the house I felt like cooking or eating, so I drove to Heber for a take-and-bake pizza. I figured that would be safe. While I’m eating it, I read the news that every high school kid in Wasatch County (including the three who made my pizza) is now in quarantine for 2 weeks because one of their classmates had a confirmed case of the virus, with no obvious source of contagion. Would you like extra pepperoni on that? I didn’t feel the earthquake. My phone melted down with messages from friends and family who did. I turned on the Salt Lake TV stations and there were some kind of lame remote stand-ups from reporters. One was breathless in front of something that was a combination of a construction site and a damaged building. It was hard to tell which was going up and what was falling down. And then the screen went black. The satellite uplink from Salt Lake was gone. So another round of texts to figure out if it was something with the satellite or if Salt Lake had just been swallowed into the earth. Fortunately, the city was still standing. In the 1996 movie classic “Mars Attacks,” the world was saved when they accidentally discovered that playing Slim Whitman’s yodeling song, “Indian Love Call,” turned the invaders away. It’s worth a try. Tom Clyde practiced law in Park City for many years. He lives on a working ranch in Woodland and has been writing this column since 1986. sunday in the Park By Teri Orr Scary times require brave leaders OK, Universe — you had me at the coronavirus. The earthquake was unnecessary. In the space of one week — one week — we became the epicenter — in Utah — for the most contagious virus on the planet and we experienced a 5.7-magnitude earthquake with more than 40 aftershocks. Even those of us who feel like we have nerves of steel, normally, were rattled. Almost exactly a week ago — as of this writing — there were two confirmed cases of the virus in Summit County and three from out of state. In just one week those numbers have risen expediently — to more than two dozen cases in Summit County and rapidly growing. Even I can do that scary math. It is growing fast — so fast we can expect the numbers to keep spiking for a while because the shelf life of this contagion is long — it can live on surfaces for up to 10 days, experts say. The solution for containment of the disease — which is emotionally painful for a gregarious community like ours — is containment of the community-social isolation. Scrupulous hygiene — even within your family unit and distancing for those rare occasions you do need to go to the market or pharmacy. Young children are not at the highest risk of getting this disease but they are carriers. The oldest among us are most vulnerable. Those are the hard facts. We shut down the town so fast it is dizzying how our entire lives changed in a just a few days’ time. And no doubt hundreds of lives — perhaps thousands of lives were saved — we’ll never know — because of the swift decisive action of brave men and women who put public safety above ego and turf battles and respected jurisdictional authority. Someday, when this has run its course and we are returned to a new normal, there will be time and space to celebrate the extraordinary leadership that took place to bring us to our current level of shutdown — long before the states around us had adopted our restrictions — long before most of the rest of the state has adopted our tough, smart New Rules. And it all happened because people in places of influence took extraordinarily brave measures to keep us safe. From start to finish — once they had their plans — even as the events and the disease num- bers were expanding around them — they took less than 48 hours to — Shut It Down. Park City Manager Matt Dias ran point inside the city with the leadership of council people Nann Worel and Steve Joyce — pushing to have restaurants and health clubs and the ski resorts shut down to prevent the spread. And their pushes would have fallen on deaf ears and been ineffectual had it not been for the brave, bold decision making by Rich Bullough, the county health director, the ultimate authority in such a crisis. And he knew he had the support of the strong leadership of County Councilors Roger Armstrong and Kim Carson. Along with the cool hand of Tom Fisher, county manager. Putting the health and safety of our residents above the business interests of our community was a different kind of risk and each of them weighed that. And all settled on life over the temporary loss of some liberties.” Putting the health and safety of our residents above the business interests of our community was a different kind of risk and each of them weighed that. And all settled on life over the temporary loss of some liberties. To a person — they measured carefully and quickly and decisively for life. Your life — your kid’s life. Your grandfather’s life. Your neighbor’s life. All the stranger’s lives. Life. And now that the new reality is setting in — there are grumbles about what this looks like and feels like day-to-day. We want — in our society of instant gratification — to be done with the unpleasant. We want our toys back and our gatherings and our community of engagement and celebrations. But right now we are at war in a way no generation has ever been before us. And the entire planet has the same alien enemy to fight and it is our chance to work with other countries and health care systems and religious leaders and political ones to forget the borders and the ideologies and focus on a collective battle plan. As respected international medical experts and highly viewed talking heads and all faiths of religious leaders have urged in the past few days we must all act as if WE each have the virus and do everything possible not to share it with others. That will keep us vigilant and thoughtful and respectful of distances and emotions. This is hard already. It is, however, a matter of life and death. My favorite lighter but still potentially deadly story happened under the code name Operation Golden Girls. A friend, who lives in Park City, was told her Gram’s nursing home in Salt Lake City was going on lockdown indefinitely — which meant she could no longer visit her beloved Gram. And that Gram would be living in an increasingly confused world of isolation. After much deliberation and lack of consensus with family members in other states, my friend sprung Gram and brought her up here to the comfortable home where my friend lives alone. There was plenty of room and Gram is mobile so these things helped. Gram is in her early 90s. I don’t think my friend has broken 50 yet. It is a rather radical lifestyle change for both of them. The text photo of Gram impeccably dressed and coiffed, sitting in the easy chair watching “Bridesmaids” on the big screen television made me laugh and cry, out loud. There is kindness and sweetness and tough times and decisions to be made each day ahead. We need to remember our community DNA. After the fire in 1898 when Park City was nearly totally destroyed — we rebuilt. We went from a former flourishing mining town with a beloved (collapsed) Opera House to an international resort community, beloved the world over. Once we are healthy again — I can’t wait to see who we will become. For now — we need to take care of each other — remotely — every day — especially all the Sundays in the Park... Teri Orr is a former editor of The Park Record. She is the director of the Park City Institute, which provides programming for the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center for the Performing Arts. |