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Letters to the Editor, June 30-July 2, 2010

At festival, it was great to be green

Editor:

On behalf of the staff at the Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter, I’d like to thank all the volunteers, sponsors, vendors, and the community for making the 6th annual EcoFestival a great success! Last Saturday (June 19) was a sunny and fun day in Kimball Junction. Everywhere you looked there were folks talking with vendors, painting and crafting, learning about living and building green, or chatting with neighbors. We estimate over 1,500 people attended the EcoFestival.

Over 35 volunteers teamed together to build the festival and provide an exciting event for the community. Special thanks go to Arts Kids for planning and hosting the art area! Hundreds of plant pots, tiles, paper flowers, and pipe cleaner bugs were crafted and carried away by happy children.

Thanks to Tom Ward and the Board of Realtors for sponsoring the EcoFestival and bringing a greater diversity of vendors to the event. All sponsors are important to the success of EcoFestival and also include Newpark, Snyderville Basin Water Reclamation District, Park City Chamber Bureau, Arts Kids, Hogle Zoo, and This Week in Park City.

EcoFestival was a wonderful way to kick off a beautiful summer here in Park City. We look forward to seeing you at the EcoCenter or during one of our monthly programs and films this summer. Thanks!

Savannah Wake

Swaner EcoCenter

Editorial was both (W)right and wrong

Editor:

The Park Record editorial of Saturday, June 26, regarding the Republican primary win of Mel Brown had it partially right. The (Republican) voters of House District 53 proved more moderate than the Tea Party anticipated, but its other suppositions are arguably wrong.

Mel Brown may be an old-time establishment Republican, but whether or not he has any influence on the Republican machine is increasingly in doubt. A powerful faction of the party, the Patrick Henry Caucus, put Jon Hellander in play. This may be the faction that elects the next Speaker. A significant voting bloc in HD 53, Morgan County, soundly rejected Mel and there is a Constitution Party candidate in the race from Morgan County to satisfy this constituency.

Of course, calling Mel Brown a moderate is a bit of a stretch. The only issues on which he disagreed with the Patrick Henry folks were (to his credit) vouchers and support for public schools. An examination of Mel’s voting record in the past session shows that he voted for every half-baked constitutional challenge message issue that was proposed by the majority. In a year where the legislature failed to fund education at a level that will account for the anticipated growth in the school population, Mel was willing to flush millions down the drain tilting at federal windmills.

But in another sense Mel Brown is part of the establishment. The legislative leadership rules Utah with an iron hand. The leaders of the legislature continue to receive unlimited amounts of campaign contributions, directly from corporate treasuries. For these contributions the corporations reap tax benefits, sweetheart contracts and laws and regulations that directly benefit their bottom line. Some of these deals directly benefit legislators or their families. All of which adds to our tax burden or reduces the services we receive from our tax money.

Some voters may be satisfied with this state of affairs, but for those who are not, I offer an alternative. My vision is of a state legislature that actually does the people’s business and whose number one concern is the welfare of our population. I will wage a vigorous campaign in all parts of the district and with the help of like-minded voters intend to retire Mel Brown. Contrary to The Park Record’s supposition, we can and will do better for our county, district and state.

Glenn Wright

Candidate, Utah House District 53

Political candidates deserve respect

Editor:

Your editorial and Parkinson’s item in 6/26 issue constitute a mean-spirited and unproductive slap at candidate Jon Hellander. The Rag calls him an upstart opponent from the fringes of the Republican Party. Upstart! Hellander is a Republican … and you know nothing about Republican voters in this county or elsewhere. Any candidate either defeated or in victory deserves basic respect for the effort of putting self out there. You appear to be making an effort to discourage anyone not of your far left liberal line from seeking public office. Shame on you is not enough to say but you do not care a whit anyway! Would you keep on the commissions, councils, and boards all the old timers with 2 or 3 worn-out terms?

You owe Jon Hellander, our neighbor from Kamas, and any other person even thinking of running for public office, an apology.

Paula Hurd

Park City

Seeking to control destiny is no threat

Editor:

Well, you coulda knocked me over with a feather. There was The Park Record extolling in a main editorial the virtues of Rep. Mel Brown (R) — arch conservative, member of the ruling junta, whipping boy of years past and resurrected because he is not endorsed by the "Tea Party." The Record has, in times past, editorialized that citizens should become involved in the electoral process. Apparently that zeal for involvement ends when said citizens take a different tack from what The Record thinks is in our best interest. The Record assumes that we are a community of sheep that need to be told where to graze; The Record is our sheepdog keeping us from slipping away from the pack. The Tea Party is an idea, not an organization. The Tea Party collects no dues, has no charter, bows to no one and has only one goal: Get the governed involved and back in control of their collective destiny. Is this something to be feared? Only if you are truly afraid of change.

Thomas Hurd

Park City


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