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Show Volume XXX Issue VI The Ogden Valley News Page 3 November 1, 2023 Letters to the Editor Know the Source My husband and I have lived in Ogden Valley for almost 27 years. I have always loved The Ogden Valley News. I have even contributed often, writing articles, letters and sharing photos. I love the historical accounts, the photo layouts of Halloween and 4th of July events, and stories of the amazing accomplishments of our Valley youth and residents. I learn of friends’ loved ones who have died or are celebrating major life events in the Obituary/ Announcement section and I use the calendar to look forward to the upcoming happenings. I am betting this is true for most of you too! I have high hopes that most people who read this paper also understand the power of journalism and recognize media bias. Media bias is actually a HUGE contributor to our world’s division and troubles in recent times. Shanna Francis is the editor of The Ogden Valley News. I am fairly certain that she created the paper and I know that she and especially Jeanie Wendell work hard to keep it going. I appreciate them for that. However, if you don’t understand Shanna Francis’ bias and don’t see it blaring throughout our local newspaper, then please take note of it. It is not only presented in her editorials, but also in the placement and selection of stories, and the editing done to letters submitted to the paper; there are many ways to manipulate news. Just think of the difference between CNN, Fox, and the many alternate news sources available online, in print, television and streaming. What you read/watch skews your thinking. In this same vein, please be aware that the Facebook group, Ogden Valley Smart Growth is a private group for people “against growth”, according to a comment by David L. Carver, the group’s administrator on Facebook. Anyone associated with or supporting true smart growth is not allowed on the page, they are blocked and all of their posts removed. So, the people joining that group are seeing one side of the issue. The developers’ visions and plans are not represented. This is all legal and perfectly fine, but rather misleading for the people who join to figure out where they stand on development and how our valley should grow. True Smart Growth should include all ideas, foster discussion and debate and encourage transparency. In recent years, Shanna Francis ran for office. She ran against Gage Froerer for Weber County Commissioner with a slow-to-no-growth platform for the Valley. She does not hide her bias against development, not just smart development, but all development. She has publicly stated that she supports down zoning and taking away landowner’s property rights. This year, Shanna Francis has gone to war against my husband (and actually me) to build public outcry against our business and his character. In conjunction, and yes, connection with several Facebook pages that repost her articles, and community groups who send out her articles in letters to their constituents, she is allowing misinformation (and actually defamation of character and slander in several of the Letters to the Editor) to spread and influence the public’s view of our business and character. In her recent editorial, Shanna called out my husband by name and used extremely snarky and outright mean tone and language. Please hear tone in a story. Please recognize bias. Please don’t jump on a bandwagon you are not sure about. Growth and development have always been emotional and personal issues, and it is easy to disparage and be frustrated with the person perceived to be bringing growth, but in reality, growth is coming and is here. We need to have guidance on the most cohesive plan to managing where the growth goes and how it comes about. Is it best to have a homegrown company with a developer at the helm who is invested in our town and knows how to create communities that fit the future needs of our valley, or investors who live faraway and only want what makes the most money? John has been a builder and developer in our valley for 26 years. We raised our children here, have many adored friends, employed hundreds of valley folks, created communities with thought and care and contributed to the Ogden Valley in both deed and dollar. We love our valley home and I can assure you that all of our visions and development that we continue to invest in are done legally, and with heart and foresight for how we want to help this valley grow. Thank you, Melissa Lewis, Eden Giving Thanks As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, it is appropriate to reflect with gratitude for the abundance of resources we have as residents of Ogden Valley. In 2023, did you… • Walk or bike along the Pineview Loop Pathway or enjoy the beautiful upgrades to our local trails? Thank the Trails Foundation of Northern Utah. • Cross country ski on an immaculately groomed trail in North Fork? Thank Ogden Nordic. • Hike or ride a mountain trail that was trimmed and free of dead fall? Thank Back County Horsemen. • Play a game of tennis or take lessons on the Snowcrest courts? Thank Ogden Valley Tennis and Pickleball Association. • Admire the breathtaking open spaces that surround the Valley? Thank Ogden Valley Land Trust and willing landowners who donate their development rights. • Have an opportunity to support and give back to our deploying servicemen and women and their families? Thank the Wolf Creek Foundation. • Find that your or your neighbors’ children and grandchildren’s education was enhanced through enrichment activities at our local schools? Thank the Valley and Snowcrest PTO’s. • Observe kids on the ski slopes who were developing skills in this lifetime sport for Editor’s View Thank You, Ogden Valley! As creator, co-owner, and editor of The Ogden Valley News for the past twenty-five years, I want to publicly thank, literally, the greatest community in the world for your support through this past quarter of a century! Where does the time go? This humble effort, The Ogden Valley News, started as a means of ensuring the continued unity of this valued close-knit community that I had the blessing of growing up in. As it began to Artist Craig Peterson of grow and expand, Huntsville with commis- I wanted this sioned bust President unity to be shared George W. Bush, 2004. and felt by all; thus, the idea of introducing a bit of Valley history in each issue of the paper—a bi-monthly snapshot of what has made Odgen Valley… Ogden Valley! Insights into her people and echoes of their cultural voice. I saw, also, a need for a means of communicating information to all residents regarding Valley events and issues. What began, truly, as a labor of love for a community that I, and four prior generations, have called home, ended up being a transformative endeavor that has forever changed my life for the better. The community has returned to me far more than I’ve ever expended in ensuring a paper is wrapped up, printed, and delivered two times each month. This, because of the amazing, incredible, people I’ve encountered while reporting on events, individuals I’ve been introduced to, and who have allowed me to share a small, sometimes intimate portion of their lives. Pathway essay winners, 2012 Through the vehicle of this local, community newspaper, I have had the great privilege of being invited into the lives of so many, invited to share a gamut of emotions through this multiyear journey: joy, sorrow, success, tragedy, celebration, anger, frustration, mourning, laughter, and even awe—the general miracle of everyday living, year after year. What a panoramic view of Ogden Valley I’ve been blessed to view and be emmeshed in, made beautiful and sacred by the people who live and share their lives here, together, as a community. Ogden Valley residents truly exemplify the meaning of this word: not a place, a building, subdivision, resort, or organization; nor an exchange of information over the Internet. Community is both a feeling and Elisabeth Hillstrom 1999. a set of real relationships among people in order to meet common physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual needs. An article by doctors David M. Chavis the 昀椀rst time? Thank the Snowbasin Sports Education Foundation. • Watch in awe as a person with a disability zipped down the mountain on an adaptive EDITOR’S VIEW cont. on page 11 sled? Thank Ogden Valley Adaptive Sports. Elisabeth Hillstrom Charity Garage Sale, 2010. • Attend a local art show or take an art class? Perhaps attend the free music events held in Huntsville? Thank Mountain Arts & Music. • Get lost? Get rescued? Read with amazement about volunteers who helped rescue someone who was lost? Thank K-9 Search & Rescue. • Enjoy the slopes with the peace of mind knowing there are trained rescuers in the Valley? Thank the Northern Wasatch Rescue Professionals. • Know a youth who developed life-long skills by participating in an overnight camping adventure? Thank the Boy Scouts. • Learn how to be prepared in case of an avalanche? Thank Ogden Avalanche. • Attend the Farm Festival this fall at Sunny昀椀eld Farm or enjoy the summertime Music on the Patio at Wolf Creek? Thank the Community Foundation of Ogden Valley. If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions and are feeling grateful, great! Visit CFOV’s website at CFOV.net to learn more about how our local nonprofits enrich the lives of Valley residents and visitors. In this season of Thanksgiving, we hope you will give to say thanks! Donate today at Ogden Canyon cleanup, 2012. CFOV.net. Live Here. Play Here. Give Here. |