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Show Summit Park Resident Enjoys Best of Both Worlds James R. Schnirel, president of Utah Technical College at Salt Lake, says that commuting from the college to his home in Summit Park allows him to enjoy the best of two worlds. A resident of Summit Park since 1967, Schnirel says he likes the proximity of Salt Lake, where he and his wife Shirley and their three children can attend music, ballet and sports events, and yet live where they can feel the four seasons and appreciate each; Schnirel, who first joined the staff at UTC in 1962 as an instructor in architectural drafting technology, works with watercolor as a hobby. Painting mountain scenes is a favorite pastime since water colors give instant creative feedback and a sense of accomplishment. He also admires the mountain flowers which . cover the whole side of the hillside near his home in Summit Park during the spring and provide a combined show all summer long. But Schnirel says that glowers are too much of a challenge to paint and that presently he is progressing, but he is just up to sagebrush. In addition to Schnirel's appreciation for the beauties of Summit Park, he has liked being a part of that community and has been active in fire protection in both Summit Park and in Park City. When the Schnirels first came west, just after Jim had received his B.S. from the University of Oklahoma in 1959, they were just passiing through. "But we never got out of the valley," Schnirel said. They lived in Salt lake for eight years before designing and building their home in Summit Park. At that time there were no more than 75 homes in an area which has now grown to over 300. As president of the Summit Park Homeowners Association, he worked with Summit County Commission in conjunction with snow plowing problems and improving fire protection. Under Schnirel's direction the Summit Park Volunteer Fire Department was organized. The county furnished the shed for the fire equipment, which was a large Utah State Forest Service tanker. Whenever there was a wild land or brush fire, the volunteer fire department responded, Schnirel said. high percentage of the volunteer fire crew were women. Schnirel's interest in fire protection has led him into other community activities. He is presently on a citizen's committee for planning and zoning for Summit County, as well as being appointed commission chairmann for the Park City Fire Protection District. Schnirel is pleased with other accomplishments of the commission which has bought equipment, provided a Mac pumper on a lease basis, purchased land in Summit Park for a fire station and developed a master plan for fire protection in the county. "I've enjoyed the pioneer effort in seeing what could be done," Schnirel says. In addition, he has "got to know many people in the area," sometimes while fighting fires. Park City now has the best volunteer fire protection in the state, he says. Jim is not the only one of the Schnirel family who enjoys Summit Park. John who is a seventh grader in Carl Winters Middle School in Park City, likes skiing and mountain men lore. On his trips into the city,, he complains that there are too many people, his father says. "The kids enjoy the regenerative quality' of life and have a subliminal sense of appreciation of their environmental surroundings. |