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Show H ' H ii SraiiMinniiit it SuamnunmSd; Jackson inspector can have his cake ; but not without editorial comment ! Jackson Hole Guide r Inspector asks cake for bribe? Jackson Hole A Jackson Hole builder could say construction there takes the cake. In fact, he claimed, it took a cake for him to complete an expansion expan-sion of Teton Auto Parts last May. Jim Watts, a partner in the Four Corners Concrete company, claimed he phoned to get town building inspector in-spector Rod Capel to appear when he poured footings for some walls. When Capel didn't show up, Watts poured the footings anyway. He delayed work on the walls, he said, until the inspector could return from an out-of-town trip. But when Capel did show up, he slapped a stop-work stop-work order on the job due to the footings. Watts claimed he was told he could (a) tear out the footings or (b) lose his license to do business in Jackson. Or he had a third choice: He could proceed with the work if he sent a German chocolate cake to Capel's assistant and a dozen roses to his secretary. It would have cost him $2,000 to $3,000 to tear out the footings, Watts said. "Roses and a cake cost $40. What choice did we have?" Capel told a different story. He saying he would be out of town too frequently this winter to attend meetings. But John Horn, who has served since January 1984, also bemoaned the planning direction of the county. "We need serious low-income housing hous-ing projects, not one they call low-income low-income and then sell for $60,000," he said. Houses could be built for $40,000 to $42,000 if developers could build to a feasible density, he said. The only lots available now, he said, are scarce small-town lots that cost more than their value or county property pro-perty held by code to no more than a house per three acres. Town to host TV mini-series A mini-series to be filmed partly in Jackson Hole will star Richard Chamberlain as 19th-century explorer ex-plorer John Charles Fremont. The production by Sunn Classics, called "Dream West," will start filming in the area in late October using 300 to 400 extras. Other Wyoming locations will include Gillette and maybe Cody. The Jackson Hole Playhouse and the Actors Co-op already are casting some small speaking roles. The series is scheduled to be aired in the spring of 1986. Tax decision is challenged KetchumSun Valley The Sun Valley Co. will appeal the 3-2 decision of the Idaho Supreme Court, which said the Resort Cities Option Tax was constitutional. con-stitutional. A spokesman said since the ruling was a close decision, the company wants to exhaust all avenues of appeal. ap-peal. The company has until Oct. 3 to petition and file briefs on the appeal. Then 35 days are allowed for both sides to make arguments to the court. Option tax money collected by Sun Valley City will be held in escrow until un-til the case is resolved. It is Sun Valley's money that is tied up because it was the original defendant defen-dant in the case challenging the option op-tion tax. ds Calling Knievel The Mountain Express has a job for, Evel Knievel. An Express editorial noted Twin Falls, Idaho, commemorated Knievel's attempt in 1974 to jump the Snake River Canyon. Can-yon. But the Express said the Ket-chum Ket-chum r area had an even greater challenge.! Knievel should be booked, it said, I to jump the historic potholes on Warm Springs Road outside Ket-chum. Ket-chum. "To miss all of them, Knievel would have to travel about five miles in the air. It could be the grandest of all his attempts." Jackson Hole News Hospital workers quit in dispute Jackson Hole Five employees at St. John's Hospital, including the director of nursing, have resigned over dissatisfaction with the way the operating room is run. Nursing Director Susan Walliser said she had been trying to get firmer rules and regulations in the OR, but the situation had not changed chang-ed in nearly seven years. "You couldn't get anything done," she said, despite efforts of hospital administrator Robert Lippard. Lippard said the resignations were caused by a hectic work load during the summer in OR, long hours and staffing shortages. The i hospital tried to hire extra help, but I personnel didn't show up. For now, St. John's will try to get temporary OR help from Hospital Corp. of America, which manages the hospital. said the footings were poured I" without any attempt to contact him. In response, he closed the job before he left town. During his absence, he said an employee of Watts came to the office and verbally abused the personnel. ' Capel later told Watts he could accept ac-cept an affidavit for an uninspected job, specifying the material used. But Capel asked it be accompanied by the cake and roses to teach Watts a lesson about showing respect for city employees. But a Guide editorial disagreed. "No one, public employee or private citizen, has a right to respect. That's something that has to be earned by allofus." '" ' v The article suggested Watts' repeated phone messages were not passed on to Capel. ". . . perhaps Capel should be more concerned about his staff's performance and less concerned with its collective ego." City planner steps down A member of the Teton County Planning Commission has resigned, |