Editor:
As parents of the Jeremy Ranch Elementary School children most affected by the difficult decision Principal Wallace had to make, we wish to express our gratitude and support. A challenging teacher resource circumstance faced our children’s class last fall. When determining the best option for our children’s classroom, Principal Wallace worked effectively with the parents, minimized disruption to the students and did her best to ensure a stable and rich learning environment.
We strongly urge the Board of Education to reinstate Michele Wallace as principal of Jeremy Ranch Elementary School so that she can continue to lead the students and faculty in educational excellence.
Sincerely,
Parents of children in JRES Voth/Ferguson class
Stephanie Osborn, Ross DiCaprio, Shana Hopperstead, Karen Howell, Bryan Howell, June Roscoe, Scott Roscoe, Robin Holt, Lisa Anderson, David Anderson, Caron Rohman, Mike Rohman, Kim Dickerson
Strike one, you’re out?
Editor:
As a retired school principal from another state, I have watched with keen interest the termination of JRES principal, Michele Wallace. The board terminated Ms. Wallace, a 19-year Park City School District employee who had a stellar career according to parents and teachers. She was terminated for violating a school district policy. How egregious was this violation? She was asked to stay on the job through the end of June.
School principals do not make decisions in a vacuum. Where was her supervisor during this time the decision was coming down? Principals usually make decisions that are in the best interest of students, staff and the community they serve. It sounds from the letters of support for the principal that this decision was made with these reasons in mind.
Does the district not have a progressive discipline plan in place for all of its staff? Whatever happened to reprimand, suspension and then termination? Because of privacy matters, we will never know the board’s side of the story. Make one bad decision and you are gone? Something is not right.
Frank Brusa
Park City
Reducing the carbon footprint
Editor:
The Park City Board of Realtors Environmental Issues Committee and Recycle Utah would like to thank all the businesses and city and county officials who attended the Recycling Workshop held at the Alf Engen Museum on March 27.
Thanks to excellent press coverage from The Park Record and KPCW, we filled the room with more than 60 people representing property management associations, hotels, retail associations, restaurants, and local recycling vendors who truly want to recycle.
We would especially like to thank Connie Nelson of the Utah Olympic Park, Brent Giles from the Park City Mountain Resort for his "Save Our Snow," presentation, and Kevin Callahan from the County Department of Public Works for addressing audience questions about the county’s current solid waste program.
For businesses that missed the workshop, Recycle Utah will provide free, personalized support in starting or improving a business, condo or neighborhood-recycling program. Please call 649-9698 or go to www.recycleutah.org and click the green button for businesses, hotels and condominiums on the home page.
This was just the start of a productive community dialogue about ways that Summit County and Park City businesses can reduce their carbon footprint. We will publicize more recycling and energy conservation workshops in the near future.
Karin Tritt Ross
Park City Board of Realtors and Recycle Utah Board of Trustees
End of the ski industry
Editor:
One of the network news programs broadcast a story about Park City’s ski resorts’ efforts to combat global warming, but it is too little, too late.
Several climate studies predict the end of natural snow skiing south of Canada below 10,000 feet by mid-century. That’s the end of Park City. Since those studies, climatologists found that global warming is happening faster than they thought because the world was cooled for 50 years by volcanic dust. The end of Park City will be even sooner.
Recent research shows that small particle pollution, which makes the Wasatch Front the most polluted place the country, causes a decline in precipitation on downwind mountains, like the Wasatch Range.
Utah’s ski industry faces a double whammy from both pollution and global warming. Goodbye snow, goodbye skiing, goodbye real estate market, goodbye hotels, goodbye restaurants, goodbye Park City. Park City is on its way back to being one of Utah’s ghost towns. Look at this ski season: record warmth, record pollution, record low snowfall, and the worst is yet to come.
The resorts are finally trying to do something about it, but not enough. Park City’s only chance is drastic action on a global scale, not greener ski lodges. Fortunately, Park City’s business community is in the ideal place to help themselves, skiers and the rest of the world save the snow. Global warming and pollution are the threats, and a cause of them are Orrin Hatch, Bob Bennett, and most of the State Legislature. Hatch and Bennett, especial Hatch, are ringleaders in a Congressional Republican cabal that has stymied every attempt to address global warming and pollution for the last 20 years.
If the ski resorts are really serious about global warming — and they are dead if they are not — the most important thing they can do is put their talent and resources to work to get Hatch, Bennett, Cannon, Bishop, most of the State Legislature, and Jon Huntsman out of office as fast as possible. Until then, their efforts are a mere charade, doomed to fail.
Keith Baker
Heber City
Unauthorized diplomacy
Editor:
There is the debate going on whether Pelosi had any business in Syria or did she overstep good taste, not to mention American foreign policy.
I was surprised to see how well she looked with the cloth on her head — when in Rome do as the Romans do. What did not come out was a small remark as to the conditions of women in Syria, where the donkey comes first unless in a minefield. Didn’t see or hear any remarks about Assad the dictator ruling Syria by virtue of being his father’s son, another dictator in his own right. A dynasty of dictators, members of a small sect representing nine percent of the population and ruling the remaining 91 percent.
So according to Pelosi "the road to Damascus is the road to peace?" Now, I don’t mind naivete, but in the person of Pelosi it is misplaced and dangerous. Assad is an eye doctor, meaning an educated man, which makes him even more dangerous as the excuse of being ignorant is removed by default.
Syria is accused of helping the Hezbollah, which they consider just another party in Lebanon. These are the guys that killed 241 Marines, while they slept or relaxed, but they are "just" another party. Syria permits insurgents in Iraq to operate from its territory necessitating the U.S. to stay longer (Pelosi wants a time table for pulling out). Syria is disrupting Lebanon’s democratic government, accused of killing Harriri by the UN, toothless as it is (I am sure with Assad’s blessing or request). Assad, a picture of honesty and fair play must have been all smiles, reminds me of "big bird" on a diet. Why lend legitimacy to this predator? Why not wait until the Democrats are in power and go there by the mandate of a Democratic president. Why jump the gun and have the world think
America’s divided, weakening our armed forces in Iraq with a dual message? Why label yourself and be labeled. Hey, maybe I am naive myself, but that is how I see it.
Sincerely,
Jack Karmel
Park City