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Show A-8 Wed/Thurs/Fri, December 2-4, 2020 The Park Record In Memory... Stephen Michael Doilney November 9, 1944 - November 28, 2020 Mike Doilney passed away peacefully at home with his family by his side on the morning of November 28th, 2020 after a gallant battle with brain cancer. Mike is survived by his wife, Toni, of 52 years, his son Jake Doilney of Park City, his daughter Essie Roberts of Whitefish, Montana, his brother Jim Doilney of Park City. He has six wonderful grandchildren: Waylon, Holden, Greta, Mackenna, Liam and Sebby. Mike was loved and respected by his extended family; Toni’s father, David Wiegman (94) and brothers Nelson and David Wiegman, Essie’s husband Henry Roberts and the many nieces and nephews and their growing families coast to coast. Especially dear to Mike and Toni are their lifelong friends, Diane and Carl Dofelmier, Mike and Linda Barnes, and Connie and Bill Marolt. Mike grew up in Aberdeen, Maryland. He met Toni in the summer of 1966. They were “working” at the beach in a popular Ocean City restaurant. Of course, he was the cook, and she was the waitress. It was love at first sight! They were married in 1968. If you knew Mike, you knew how much he loved his sports. Whether it was baseball, intramural basketball, football, lacrosse, soccer, skiing, golf. You name it, he played it. He was especially proud of competing in the Continued from A-7 Ranchers worry which currently supplies Wilcox Ranch with its water. According to the company, the aquifer is already contaminated with oil and radioactive elements at levels beyond federal drinking water standards. The company offered to dig a new well for the Wilcox Ranch into a deeper Navajo Aquifer that has better water quality. But the deal came with a catch, Wilcox said. They would only dig the new well — which could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars — if Wilcox signed over rights to his current well, which he uses for drinking water at the Racquetball Nationals in Memphis, TN in his 50’s. Mike received his MBA from American University, worked for Naval Intelligence during the Vietnam years, and held 3 teaching jobs to support his young family. He taught math to junior high schoolers, Accounting at the Washington Technical Institute, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland. If ever anyone embodied the word Entrepreneur, it was Mike Doilney. He was never afraid of taking the big risky leap. He moved West, to a ski resort in Utah with his brother Jim, opening a restaurant, the Corner Store still owned by Mike’s nephew, Max Doilney. Their parents thought they were crazy and would soon be returning to Maryland. However, this did not happen. The brothers then opened an après-ski bar with daily video of skiers on a big screen. This was maybe the first sports bar in Utah! He shifted his interest to the new real estate market that was opening up in Park City in the 1970’s. New homes and condos were being built in Park Meadows and around the golf course. It was an exciting time of change in Park City and Mike was a part of it. He worked with his brother Jim and best friend, Mike Barnes to develop projects in Deer Valley (Solamere, The Cache), condos and ranch house where he lives with his wife Joan. They also use the well to fill a series of guzzlers for wildlife and livestock on the ranch. “What happens if I sign off (on) that other well and they don’t hit water?” Wilcox asked. “I ain’t got no other water. We can’t exist here without these wells.” George Shaw, Lisbon Valley Mining Company’s president, said Wilcox’s concerns would be addressed in detail at an upcoming public hearing with the Utah Division of Water Quality, which will be held virtually on Tuesday at 7 p.m. A public comment period is open through Dec. 4. “We believe that our permit application process will show the company’s project will not have a long-term adverse impact on groundwater resources outside the exemption boundary,” Shaw said. But for Wilcox, such promises sound like those he has heard 434 Main Street, Park City Utah 435.655.9505 www.purplesageparkcity.com Pre Season Special! Buy 1 Entrées and receive the 2nd free! Come enjoy dinner in the heart of historic Main Street with this coupon and one of your dinners is on us! Open Tuesday to Saturday at 5:30pm A Fine print: Limit 3 coupons per table. Entrée of equal or lesser value will be discounted. Coupons must be present to receive discount. A gratuity of 18% will be added prior to discount. Dine in only. Expires 12/12/2020 time and again from mining companies using more conventional methods, and he fears the damage from the in-situ mining will be more permanent than a scar on the land, even if it means far less surface disturbance. The in-situ mining requires the company to obtain an aquifer exemption permit through the Utah Division of Water Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Part of the criteria the EPA typically uses to grant an aquifer exemption is that the aquifer not serve as a source of drinking water, and documents filed with the DEQ state that the nearest public water drinking well is 14 miles from the project site, not on the Wilcox Ranch. Shaw said questions about why the Wilcox well wasn’t listed as a source of drinking water on the permit application would be answered at the public hearing. If the request is granted, Lisbon Valley would become the first aquifer in Utah to be exempted to allow for the in-situ extraction of minerals. Wilcox’s neighbors, Scott and Julie Stevenson, are the only other residents of Lisbon Valley, and although they draw their water from a deeper aquifer that won’t be exempted, they’re also concerned about contamination. The Stevensons rent historic cabins and serve food at the 3 Step Hideaway, a rustic 80-acre retreat utilized primarily by cross-country motorcycle riders completing one of two long-distance routes that pass through the area. The 3 Step water well is less than a hundred feet from the aquifer exemption boundary, Scott Stevenson said, but the well location was misplaced on maps used by the state, making it appear farther away. The company plans to conduct extensive surveys of hydrological connectivity between the shallow and deeper aquifers in the region as part of the project’s planning process, but Stevenson and Wilcox are worried that the sulfuric acid and other contaminants could work their way into deeper communities in the Junction (Pinebrook, Blackhawk, Trout Creek). He also restored and built buildings in the historic district of Main Street. When his 2 children went off to college, it was time to move further West. On to California and the beautiful wine country. Mike, the entrepreneur, said no problem – let’s grow grapes and start a winery. With willing partners from Park City (Chins, MacQuoids, Sargetakis, Barnes) they started Parallel Wines – a nod to their skiing background and their love of food, wine, and the beautiful Napa Valley. The partnership continues today, producing a limited number of elegant wines (with the help of Phillipe Melka). Mike had a wide range of creative interests. He loved art, travel, food, architecture, and design. He and Toni enjoyed family trips to Ireland, France, Italy, Egypt, China, Japan, and Russia. Most people did not know that he studied his French daily with the hope of someday living in Europe. He was also planning to explore his creative side – to be a sculptor or glass artist. Although he lived life fully with loving kindness towards all, he was not finished. Sadly, cancer cut short his creative dreams and ambitions. He will be laid to rest in the Park City Cemetery. In the summer the famaquifers widely used for drinking water or into the Dolores River, a tributary of the Colorado River. And Stevenson noted that past in-situ copper mining has led to elevated levels of radioactive elements such as uranium and thorium in groundwater. “This valley has been perforated,” Stevenson said. “It’s like Swiss cheese out here with wells.” “They’ve drilled for uranium; they’ve drilled for everything,” Wilcox added. “It’s a wonder it don’t fall off the face of the earth.” For both Wilcox and Stevenson, the Lisbon Valley Mining Company’s series of financial troubles dating back at least five years, are another reason to mistrust the project. The company owes over $2.1 million in property taxes to San Juan County, according to the treasurer’s office, with missed payments dating back to the 2014 tax year when there was a drop in global copper prices. “When copper was up in price (in the early 2010s), they were knocking some serious money,” Stevenson said. “The part that really frosts my cookies is then they can’t pay their taxes the next year. Where did all that money go?” Since November, the Utah State Tax Commission has filed multiple tax liens against the company, and four contractors have sued the company in district court over the last year for allegedly failing to pay invoices for equipment and machinery used at the mine. “Everybody has loaned them money,” Stevenson said. “We just had a tax raise (in San Juan County) because these clowns can’t pay their taxes. It just doesn’t sit well with me.” Shaw estimated the company has generated over $200 million of economic activity since 2009, which includes wages, local and state taxes, and payments to vendors. If the aquifer exemption is approved, Shaw said it could potentially double the life of the mine, prolonging the copper deposit’s economic benefits for the county. In March, after a bridge loan ily hopes to have a small celebration of a “life well lived.” We miss this loving, kind, gentle man. He meant so much to all of us. The family would like to thank the kind caregivers of Applegate Homecare & Hospice, Danville Support Services, and Emerald Care. to the company was withdrawn due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company furloughed all of its workers with little advance notice, and was unable to meet payroll. Some workers stayed on without pay to keep the acidic solution used on the facilities heap leach pads from spilling into the environment before the state stepped in to continue the work using surety bond money. Regulators at the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining issued a rare emergency order and revoked the companies permits. They also ordered reclamation of the mine by 2021. But after the company received new financial support, including between $1 million and $2 million in federal CARES Act loans, it reapplied for its former permits and is expected to reopen soon. Brian Somers, president of the Utah Mining Association, said San Juan County has the highest unemployment rate in the state, and mining is a key industry locally. “The Lisbon Valley Mining Company should be commended for its perseverance in refinancing its operations in order to preserve a major economic resource that provides jobs, tax revenues, royalty payments and many other economic benefits to the county and state,” Somers said. “Highly-skilled workers in the mining industry in San Juan County earn 95% more than the average county wage,” he added. “Before operations were disrupted earlier this year, Lisbon Valley Mine was one of the largest private employers in San Juan County and will become one of the largest employers in the county again by providing 65 to 95 high-paying jobs as it reopens and expands.” Copper prices are rebounding, Shaw said, and the mineral, which is a key component to many renewable energy technologies, will likely stay in high demand as the world transitions away from fossil fuels. For Stevenson and Wilcox, however, the mine’s track record make them question the projections laid out by the company. “Jobs are hard to come by YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR YOUR BUSINESS. WE’VE GOT THE TOOLS TO HELP YOUR BUSINESS GROW. LET OUR READERS BECOME YOUR CUSTOMERS. CONTACT US AT 435.649.9014 TO PLACE YOUR AD HERE! in this county, and I’m all for jobs,” Stevenson said, though he noted the majority of the mine’s employees come from outside of San Juan County. “But when it gets down to brass tacks,” he continued, “the job is only as good as the employer is honest and has integrity to take care of things and take care of its employees. These guys have shown numerous times that there is no real integrity.” Looking ahead The San Juan County Commission, which has generally been supportive of Lisbon Valley Mining Company and has waived hundreds of thousands dollars in fees and penalties on the company’s back taxes over the last two years, signaled concern over the in-situ mining plans at a recent meeting. Commissioner Willie Grayeyes, a Democrat and member of the Navajo Nation, stated on Tuesday that he would like the Commission to take a formal stand against the in-situ mining proposal at the upcoming hearing. And the commissioners recently wrote a letter to the state supporting a request that more information be made public. “Residents and livestock users of these existing water wells are understandably concerned with the potential effects on water quality of these wells with the proposed injection of a sulfuric acid solution into the aquifer that supplies these wells,” the letter stated. “Quality water sources are scarce in this area and degradation or decrease of these waters would have devastating effects on culinary and livestock users of these waters.” Carly Ferro, director of the Sierra Club’s Utah Chapter, said her organization opposes the in-situ mining plans and will be following the company’s permit application process. “Overall, our region and our people deserve clean water, a healthy future and sustainable jobs,” she said. “This expansion will create environmental and health harms at a time when we’re already facing a significant public health crisis. We see it as unnecessary and reckless to risk public health and groundwater in an area where water is finite and a life-sustaining resource.” Wilcox said the mining proposal has helped him gain a new perspective on the lifetime he’s spent ranching. “If we got $10 million (to relocate), we’re still never going to find another Lisbon Valley,” he said. “Our whole life has been right here.” Though he has tangled with environmentalists in the past, Wilcox said he’s willing to ally with any group that will step up to help protect the water in Lisbon Valley over the coming months. “My dad is probably turning over in his grave just like an alligator in a snare (to hear me talk about working with environmentalists),” Wilcox said. “But the America we live in is different now.” “I’ve never been somebody that looked that far into the future,” he continued. “But I’ve got two great grandchildren right now today. It’s a whole different way to look at things: What’s it going to be like when they’re my age?” |