in Dogs
If You Have a Dog That Is Even Slightly Aggressive, Please Keep Them on Leash
A few nights ago my 16 year old dog was attacked on a dog walk by an off leash dog. The dog rushed at my leashed companion, and when we tried to walk away, it jumped her.The dog bared its teeth, grabbed her by the shoulder, and yanked her down. Luckily the flashlight I carry doubles as a stun gun. I pulled the trigger into the air and the sound and air-spark was enough to make the dog let go and run away. Of course the owner came running up, saying “sorry, sorry, sorry.” Now my 16 year old girl is left with a huge limp and an apology.
This is the second time my dog has been attacked, the other time being in Salt Lake. That time I was left with $400 in vet bills and my dog was left with tubes coming out of her back to let fluid drain and a cone around her head. Of course, the owner of the dog that attacked us scurried off, never to be seen again.
As I’ve written before, I don’t think the answer is more laws and more enforcement. Frankly, if a dog owner has an aggressive dog and is walking them off leash, the small chance that animal control is going to ticket them likely doesn’t even weigh on their mind. They’ve already crossed the Rubicon. They are being selfish and putting their own best interest in front of the rest of the community.
It’s also not fair to punish those dogs and owners who have their dogs under control (leashed or not). I’ve been in Utah 10 years, and probably walked my dog 7,000 times here. I’ve had two incidents. That’s 0.02% of the time.
Yet, I’ve had enough. Even 2 times, when an off leash dog hurts my dog, is too many. Perhaps I should have realized it sooner.
So what am I going to do? Carry and use pepper spray. If I have my dog on leash and an off leash dog approaches aggressively on a trail, sidewalk, or road I will pepper spray the dog. You may think that is cruel. What I have come to understand is that not protecting my best friend is what is cruel. It’s not fair for owners, who know they have aggressive dogs, to allow them to inflict damage on our companions and then simply walk away from it.
In a best case world, owners with aggressive dogs will realize their is a potential downside to their poor decision making and will leash their dogs. Problem solved. In a less best-case world, their dog will be sprayed with pepper spray. There will be no long term impact to their dog. However my dog will be fine and they’ll likely need to spend time dealing with the situation. This is the exact opposite of what happens now; the owner’s dog who is attacked has to deal with it and the aggressor walks away.
Before the hate mail arrives please let me explain what I am not doing. I am not randomly planning on spraying off leash dogs that are under control, dogs behind a fence (electronic or otherwise), or a 2 year old lab “puppy” that is so excited that it may accidentally run into me, my dog or my kids. Like a concealed weapon, you always have to assess the situation and the surroundings. You only act when you or someone else (even your dog) is in danger.
I’m also not advocating being a jerk on the trails. I’m a huge proponent of Charlie Sturgis and Mountain Trails “10 seconds of kindness” campaign. I’m also not advocating pepper spraying dog breeds purely on the basis of bad reputation (pit bulls, rottweilers, akitas, etc.). I firmly believe most people and dogs do the right thing.
Yet, now I realize I need to protect my dog from danger and I’m willing to use a non-lethal method to ensure that she is OK. Some people may say something like, “if you even think of pepper spraying my dog I’ll sue you.” The problem is that if my dog is on leash and if your dog is off leash, acting aggressively, and approaches me in a manner that I feel is threatening and I pepper spray your dog, you are not going to win that legal battle.
The other thing to note, that I think often goes unsaid, is that the size of the dog doesn’t matter. My dog was attacked by a bichon (a very small dog) in Salt Lake and it ripped my dogs neck to pieces. In the latest incident it was a medium-sized mixed breed dog that drug her to the ground.
My hope is that owners of aggressive dogs will do the right thing and make sure their dogs are always on leash outside of their property. If not, I am no longer going to allow their lack of responsibility to negatively impact those who I love.
in Schools
Project For Deeper Understanding “Debate” on the Park City School Bond is Already Flawed
I usually love the Project for Deeper understanding events. Their Ski Link event a couple of years ago was outstanding. However, I have grave concerns over the setup for their discussion of the Park City School Bond. They are inviting 6 guests to speak and “debate” the issue: two citizens “for” the bond, two Park City School Board members, and two citizens against the bond. The issue is this “fair” debate consists of twice as many people for the bond as against it.
On the “Yes” side you have former school board member Moe Hickey (who is heading up the “Yes” campaign for the bond), Katherine Hoggan (Park City Ed Foundation Board member), Tania Knauer (School Board member who voted for the bond), and Phil Kaplan (School Board member who voted for the bond). On the “No” side you have Joe Cronley and a player to be named later.
That would be 4 people for the bond and 2 against. If this was a fair discussion and everyone got equal time there would be twice as many arguments for the bond as against it.
I’m not sure if this was an intentional move to provide an advantage to the pro bond group (unlikely given Project For Deeper Understandings past) or a simple oversight.
Either way, one school board member should be dropped from the panel and another anti-bond citizen should be added. It’s the only way to make this discussion fair and provide the public what they deserve… a fair and balanced discussion.
Wasatch Front Mayor Launches Campaign Against Sales Tax Increase for Transportation
Down in the valley this November, many residents will be voting on Proposition 1, a sales tax increase to benefit transportation. However, South Jordan Mayor, Dave Alvord has launched a campaign against the tax increase. His main arguments are:
- Half the revenue associated with the tax will go to UTA (Utah Transit Authority… the bus and rail people).
- UTA Bus and rail are being subsidized at 85%-95% levels — meaning that fares don’t even begin to cover costs.
- Mass transit works best in areas of the United States with dense populations. But here in Utah, drivers have voted with their keys and have largely chosen the car over the bus.
- Proposition 1 does not allow for cities to offset their current transportation spending. What that means is that every city will have a de facto “pedal to the metal” transportation budget. This one-size-fits-all approach will force cities that already have sufficient funding for transportation to find new projects for this money — projects that might not be needed.
- A sales tax increase would hurt the middle and lower classes disproportionately.
- We should focus transportation spending where there is the highest demand: roads.
A similar vote is likely coming to Summit County next year.
What’s interesting about Mayor Alvord’s ideas are almost diametrically opposed to what we here from our leaders, here. He seems to basically be saying that Utahns want cars, any proposal that gives a significant amount of money to UTA won’t be spent effectively, and the taxes hurt the middle and lower classes. It’s a set of arguments we should keep in mind as we head into next year.
We all want to ensure that KPCW doesn’t have to start doing traffic reports “on the 9’s” but a editorial like Mayor Alvord also argues that we may not want to blindly agree to a sales tax increase in the hope that it will do some good.
in Film Studio
‘Blood and Oil’ on Life Support After Week 2
I was driving back from Heber yesterday and came upon the back side of Park City Film Studios. Never before have I seen such a fine collection of trailers in one spot — and I assume they are mostly there due to ABC’s ‘Blood and Oil’ production taking place at the film studios. If you want the opportunity to see it for yourself, you better hurry. It looks like ‘Blood and Oil’ may not be long for this world.
TV By the Numbers reports, “Two weeks in, ABC’s scripted shows collectively are doing better than any of their network brethren… Even the critically pilloried “Dr. Ken” scored pretty well in its premiere. Which isn’t to say there aren’t some trouble spots. Newbie “Blood & Oil” dipped in its second week, downgrading it to a likely cancellation.”
So it appears the movie studio will likely be looking for a new production to take up residence sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, that’s likely harder to find than it sounds. I hope the studio made some good money and negotiated a good cancellation clause. Otherwise, as often is said in a show that’s not about to be cancelled…
Winter is Coming.
in Olympics
Today I Learned… Colorado Turned Down the Olympics Over Traffic
I was writing a story on a toll traffic lane in Colorado and came upon this quote from the Denver Post:
Contrast that with Utah and Mountain Accord. We seem to want to build more infrastructure so we can bring in more people and hopefully bring in even more with a future Olympics.
Perhaps Utah does need an Olympics to jump start our economy. Perhaps, we as a people, want to spends billions to update and expand our infrastructure. Perhaps we’re willing to trade some quality of life for a train. Perhaps the inflow to our economy from the visitors associated with an Olympics outweighs negatives.
Everybody has their own opinion on that. I just found the difference between 1970’s Denver and 2016 Salt Lake interesting. Perhaps Denver residents may view it differently today. I wonder how our residents would vote on an Olympic bid?
Colorado May Implement Pricey Toll Lane Aimed at Ski Traffic
A reader sent in an article about Colorado’s new variable-priced toll lane that extends 13 miles on Interstate 70 between the mountains and Denver. While toll lanes are nothing new there are a number of interesting aspects to this one:
- It only runs 72 days a year (weekends and Monday holidays)
- The toll is priced based on the traffic situation. When traffic is bad, it will cost as much as $30. When traffic is lighter is may cost as little as $3.
- This is likely the most expensive toll per mile in the U.S.
- The toll-lane is only operated down the mountain into Denver, which is where traffic backlogs often occur.
The Park Rag reader noted: “Consider I-80/US 40/SR 248 ‘Express Route’ to/from Kearns Campus ? parking; shuttles to/from PCMR or CANYONS sites or ?DV????? (avoiding SR 224 stop & go). SR248 would be designated/enforced ‘3 lane’ during high-occupancy periods.”
The reader has a point. Imagine a variably priced toll that costs up to $30 to drive in on 248 or 224 during weekends and holiday periods. This could cut two ways. Either the toll could be used to incentivize people to take the bus (or carpool) or it could be used to gain revenue to offset other programs targeted at reducing congestion. Or Both.
The idea of busing from the Kearns School Campus may work on weekends but the parking lot would be too full during school days (and Sundance). That said, there is the Park and Ride out past Park City Heights that the city always talks about using but never seems to pull the trigger on.
The idea of pricey tolls is interesting. There are details to be worked out like how to minimally impact those who live and work in town (and depend on those corridors) and the inevitable push back from the resorts. If somebody is going to make $30 off of cars, I’m sure Vail wants it to be them.
Yet, it’s another idea to put in our quiver of potential solutions –one that we get a free ticket to watch (in Colorado) and see how it works out.
Each time I read about these ideas, it just reminds me that busing alone (or rail alone) isn’t a solution by itself. I know Summit County and Park City are still working on trying to find solutions. I know that they are hoping Mountain Accord will chip in $400,000 for a transportation study. I just hope that it doesn’t come back with more of the same-old-same-old. If rehashed solutions would have solved the problem, it would be fixed by now.
We need some out of the box ideas. Perhaps toll roads aren’t it, but perhaps they are part of the solution if done effectively.
Thanks to the reader who sent in the article and comments
in Community
Sam Jackenthal Passes Away
It’s with great sadness that we report that 16 year old Park City freeskier Sam Jackenthal has succumbed to injuries sustained in a September 8th skiing accident in Australia.
He is survived by his mother and father, Jennifer and Ron and sister Skylar. Our thoughts are with the Jackenthal family.
That’s just way too young.
Update: KPCW now has more information
in Schools
Do Park City School District Policies on Busing Make Traffic Worse?
I was sitting in a Park City School School Board meeting and someone said, “do you know how many kids ride the bus to McPolin? 10.” I took it as a joke, but it may not have been given current school board policies regarding student busing.
A Snyderville Basin resident had begun a campaign to change fees associated with busing. It seems students within 1.5 miles of an elementary school or 2 miles of a secondary school are not eligible for busing without paying a $200 fee per child. This $200 fee, it seems, incentivizes many parents to drive their kids to school instead. Resident, Alex Brown, has started a petition to get the fee reduced or removed and has asked for people to attend an October 20th school board meeting to express concerns to the Park City School Board.
If you look at a map of the area surrounding McPolin Elementary School, a 1.5 mile restriction generally encompasses a large share of students that attend the school. This may explain the reason only a few students take the bus to the Kearns Campus area.
This decision by the School Board (which has been in place for years) was likely based upon Utah Code which says:
(1) A student eligible for state-supported transportation means:
(a) a student enrolled in kindergarten through grade six who lives at least 1-1/2 miles from school;
(b) a student enrolled in grades seven through 12 who lives at least two miles from school;
Therefore, the district may fear they would lose state funding by allowing students in close proximity to schools to ride the bus for free.
However, Ms Brown claims, “when asked what the $200 per child fee is used for, I was told that it goes into a pot for under-funded programs which means any program not just transportation.”
This is likely one of those policies that have been in place for years. However, with current transportation problems in and around Park City, it seems it should warrant some creativity from the School District. If we could even get 30 more students on a bus (and out of cars) to McPolin, Jeremy Ranch, Parley’s Park, or Ecker Hill it could take substantial pressure off of our roads at peak times, make school parking lots safer, reduce the number of accidents, and cut down traffic entering and exiting our schools.
I hope the school board will listen to Ms Brown and work to find a solution that benefits everyone.
If you’d like to sign Ms Brown’s petition, you’ll find it here.
If you’d like to contact the School Board or Administrative personnel on the issue, their email addresses are below:
in Development
A Great Discussion That Reminds Us To Start Paying Attention
Every once in awhile there will be a 30 second exchange between people that everyone should hear. This morning it happened on KPCW. Summit County Community Development Director Pat Putt was interviewed by KPCW’s Leslie Thatcher about different developments happening around the Snyderville Basin. One of those developments discussed was the Silver Creek Village, near Home Depot. The conversation was:
Leslie Thatcher: A heads up…this community [Silver Creek Village by Home Depot] is basically as large with the number of units as the municipality of Park City.
Pat Putt: 1300 residential units and 50,000 square feet of neighborhood commercial. It’s likely that 20 years from now, if you want to put a balance point of the epicenter of where a lot of the real Parkites will be living, it will be in that quadrant of our community for sure.
Leslie Thatcher: And they’ll be in the South Summit School District.
Pat Putt: Yes.
So, why do you care? If Mr Putt is correct (and he probably is) it’s time to start paying attention to that area and envisioning what we as a community want the area east of Highway 40 to look like in 20 years. While there have been “concerns” about what the area will become, it is beginning to be fleshed out. Near Quinn’s Junction, the area is starting to house small retail and office space (the Park City Gun Club, 43 Racing, etc.). Near I-80, the area will have Silver Creek Village (described above). There is also a proposal to put a development with mixed residential and commercial on the south side of Home Depot (Pace Meadows). As the area between Home Depot and Quinn’s converges, and the EPA figures out how to deal with environmental cleanup efforts, there will be more pressure on Summit County to allow growth to occur along Highway 40 between I-80 and Quinn’s Junction.
It doesn’t take too much of leap of faith to imagine a large “L” of commercial activity that starts at Silver Creek Village, extends to Quinn’s Junction, turns and heads toward the movie studio and extends into town along Highway 248.
You may be “for” this growth. If so, you’ll likely want to make sure it is done right, with transportation and design done appropriately. You may be “against” this growth and hope the area east of Highway 40 stays open space. In that case you should likely fight projects beyond what are already entitled (i.e. the Pace Meadows Project).
Either way, changes are coming, and if Mr Putt is right, those changes are going to be huge. The actions we undertake now will like impact the future of the Snyderville Basin.
in Economy
Summit County Unemployment Rate Stays Steady in August
The Utah Department of Workforce has released unemployment numbers for August 2015. Our seasonally adjusted non-farm unemployment rate is holding steady at about 3.2% (same as August). We continue to have the second lowest unemployment rate in the state, with only Cache county having a lower rate at 3.0%.
Non seasonally adjusted data from jobs.utah.gov provides a similar view. Compared to August 2014, approximately 630 more people are working in non-farm jobs in Summit County in August 2015 (23,294 in 2014 vs 23,926 in 2015).
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