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Show With the primary t'i'dion less ' than a month away (Aug. 21). the i II,,. Park Record this week begins a ' tinnjj l(0C0rlI series of candidate profiles. 03" , featured in this issue are Wendell "Dutc h" Woolstenhulme j """"X TT Jl J" 1 3 " " ant' "'0'"1 Bergen, who are (TP) I "fP-Tl v ttTITITI (T fT rn!iifEH V4X L-WV V I 1 ViX- t 11 IV 1 , V V Commission Both candidates live in the South Summit area. Roads a priority as Woolstenhulme vies for County Commission seat 'i by Rick Rrough : Wendell "Dutch" Woolstenhulme said this week that as Summit County Commissioner he would work honestly and hard to get the most from tax money spent. : Woolstenhulme is a Democractic candidate for the two-year seat on the commission. He is a lifelong resident of the South Summit area and his great-grandfather helped to settle the Kamas Valley. In a Record interview, he said his neighbors asked him to run for office so they would be represented by someone who knew the area. ; In county government, one area that interests him is the road department. The county has spent a lot of money for new equipment, he said. "But they have not kept the roads up for the amount of tax dollars they get today. We've gotta do something about the highways." For example, he said the road leading east from Oakley to Weber Canyon is in bad shape. "Until July 1, you couldn't go up that road without hitting chuckholes." In the Weber road case, however, it is possible the county is waiting until the Federal government can contribute contri-bute to the cast, he said. Woolstenhulme also said he has heard grumblings among road department employees. Some staf fers say they get the poorest equipment equip-ment or are assigned to bad details, be. said. "They could have better communications among themselves," them-selves," he said. Another county goal, he said, should be to use local services. Summit County should purchase vehicles from local dealers, for instance. Woolstenhulme has operated a service station in Oakley for 24 years and noted, "If the locals didn't support me, what's the use of me being there?" His family has long been involved in the area. Father Elmo is mayor of Oakley and brother Ken was county commissioner. "I was the fourth of 11 children," he said. "We learned to work and provide for ourselves. I've learned to be an honest, fair-shooting person." He ran for commissioner in 1978, but said he didn't mind losing, then, to Gerald Young. "We rodeoed together. We've always been good friends." He would not have run for commission if Young was not retiring from the seat this year, he said. The issues when he ran in 1978, he said, were similar to today's. The county had road problems, and citizens discussed what to do with the Coalville Hospital. About the 1984 race, Woolsten hulme commented on these issues: He said the county will either need a manager, or the commission will have to spend more time at work. "You can't do it one day a week," he said. The county's increased wealth is one reason for the problem, he said. But he didn't know if the answer is a manager or a more full-time commission. He expressed caution about the county obtaining federal-state grants for services. As a rule, he said, the grants disappear after a few years, leaving the county to pay for the service. "I don't think we should get the money unless we can absorb them (services) with tax dollars." He said he intended to look at the county's work in the health department. He also had not studied the county's direction of development develop-ment and building. "I presume we're up on it," he said. There is friction between the three sections of the county, but they need to work together, he said. An old-time resident is well qualified to run the government, he said, even if rapid changes are coming to the county. The Kamas area, he said, still runs on the traditional ranching and farming industries. "Ninety-five percent of the jobs here are old-time businesses," business-es," he said. Dutch Woolstenhulme Many Park City and Coalville residents may not know him. But Woolstenhulme invited them to talk to anyone who knows him. He concluded, "People have said to me, 'By hell, we want to be represented by an honest, good-working good-working person.'" He pledged, "I will devote my time to the county and will serve them 100 percent." |