Teachers grateful for community support

Editor:

On behalf of the staff and faculty of Jeremy Ranch Elementary, we would like to thank Stein Erickson, Kneaders. Deer Valley, EATS, and all the Jeremy Ranch Families who contributed food to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week. We were fed the most delicious lunches everyday! What a treat for us. We certainly feel appreciated and very lucky to be a part of this amazing community. Thank you!

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Melinda Breiholz

On the behalf of Jeremy Ranch Elementary teachers

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Vote for Rubin in GOP primary

Editor:

After a fair amount of research, I will be voting in the Republican Primary for Jack Rubin for Senate District 26. I believe he is the best candidate to take Senator Van Tassell’s seat. I believe he will represent Park City, and the rest of the constituents in this very diverse district. He listens, he learns, and he is open to the best ideas and solutions from either side of the aisle. The deadline for affiliating as a Republican to be able to vote in the primary is May 30th. Please join me in voting in the primary, and in voting for Jack.

Liza Simpson

Park City

#MeToo discussion failed to offer deeper understanding

Editor:

I strongly support the Project for Deeper Understanding. And I think Renai Bodley Miller did a good job moderating Thursday night’s forum on the #MeToo movement.

The panel, however, failed to engage with Renai to advance the project’s mission to explore a diversity of viewpoints.

Of course, there is not a lot of viewpoint diversity on the issue of sexual misconduct. Nobody, fortunately, seems to consider themselves pro-sexual-assault.

However all movements are made up of imperfect human beings, who will produce imperfect results. We can support the movement while disagreeing on the methods and criticizing the excesses.

But there was no disagreement or criticism on Thursday night. The postmodernist view, advanced by about half the panelists, went unchallenged. To Bodley Miller’s question of whether the #MeToo movement had been “weaponized”, Jacob Jobe, who teaches Social Justice at Park City High School, responded that this suggestion was simply backlash from the patriarchy losing its power.

This statement effectively closed the door to deeper understanding in that room. Nobody offered an alternative point of view, for fear of being viewed as sympathetic to the patriarchy.

There is something called the Spiral of Silence, described by political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, in which once a viewpoint is perceived as unacceptable to a group, those holding that viewpoint will remain silent for fear of isolation, even if in reality the viewpoint is shared by the majority.

I believe the Spiral of Silence explains why many victims of sexual assault remain silent for so long. The #MeToo movement helped to break that spiral of silence, empowering countless women (and men) to speak out, by letting them know that they were not alone.

Ironically, this same Spiral of Silence prevented a deeper understanding of the #MeToo movement itself from being explored Thursday night.

Jonathan Warden

Park City

Parent education event was powerful

Editor:

Our Summit County Sheriff’s Office is to be commended for the powerful message shared at the Front Line & Blue Line parent education event held recently at Ecker Hill Middle School.

Thanks to Sheriff Martinez, Lieutenant Hemingway, Lieutenant White and their team, over 350 parents in our broader community were privileged to hear a presentation which included critical information on drugs, internet use and what parents can watch for to prevent potential deleterious effects on our youth.

The program is the brainchild of the Summit County Sheriff’s Office and was made possible through their initiative. We are also are extremely grateful to the Parent Education Workgroup under the guidance of Mary Christa Smith, the Coordinator for Communities that Care, the Summit County Health Department, and the Park City School District for collaborating to bring this event to fruition.

When we saw the program, which was presented in both North and South Summit earlier this year, we simply knew we had to bring the message to Park City. Kudos to our wonderful parents, who turned out in record numbers to become better informed and boost the youth protective factors in our community.

Thank you to our childcare workers comprised of PCSD students and staff, especially Mary Klismith; to our PTOs, especially Meghan Luckan, for providing refreshments, to PCSD Communications Director Melinda Colton, and the many community partners represented at the Resource Fair that regularly do their part to safeguard and support our youth.

Due to the overwhelming response, there are plans to offer a similar event in the fall.

Grateful for our community,

Mary Christa Smith

Communities that Care coordinator

Alison Vallejo

Park City School District prevention and intervention counselor

Bike swap is a boon for the community

Editor:

You could say it’s nothing but a bike swap, the Cole Sport bike swap, look deeper and you will find many meaningful impacts.

It seems simple enough, a bike swap supporting a non-profit, but first lets consider the idea of a local business taking valuable time and showing the community that it works to get involved. Secondly, by doing a swap Cole Sport is raising awareness for all local non-profits, all hundred plus non-profits, on how simple it is to support your favorite cause. Thirdly, the financial benefits, regardless of the amount raised, alway helps a non-profit to get closer to achieving it’s goal.

Thanks to Gary and Jana and the entire staff at Cole Sport.

Charlie Sturgis

Mountain Trails Foundation executive director