Light the Fuse on Fireworks Restrictions

You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.

Tonight at the La Verkin City Council Meeting, the mayor and council unanimously passed a resolution limiting the discharge of fireworks to the City's main park, Wanlass Park.  While this may seem like a minor decision to some; in a community that feels strongly about property rights, the decision by the council to limit fireworks is sure to be a controversial one.

I strongly support this decision and was impressed with the minimal amount of discussion this issue required.  Mayor Wilson stated it was the shortest discussion ever had on the issue.  Our councilmen exercised great judgement in recognizing that the combination of the current dry conditions our community is facing this year and the decision by the State legislature to allow aerial fireworks and the wind gusts that the area has been experiencing are all a combination for potential disaster.  Councilman Jensen stated that he clearly supports personal property rights, but felt that it was in the best interest of the health and safety of the community to limit fireworks to a contained area.

Last year, while watching a fireworks show in the neighboring community of Hurricane, we watched the hillside in that community blaze from stray sparks from the show.  This was not the first time we had watched a hillside burn as the result of professionally discharged fireworks.  The Town of Springdale experienced the same thing several years ago and it prompted that Town Council to do away with the Town's 4th of July Fireworks Display and limit fireworks within the Town to residents on the ballfield.

But last year, we were not able to leave the flames behind and return safely home.  Shortly after getting our daughters to bed, my oldest daughter started yelling that our hillside was on fire.  Sure enough, neighbors shooting off fireworks in the street had caused a section of the hillside to start on fire.  Luckily for us, there were plenty of neighbors ready with hoses to put it out, but it was a very terrifying night for our family as it brought back memories of when fire had spread up that same hillside the year previous and destroyed our home.

Fireworks will never go away. And manufacturers and distributors will continue to lobby the legislature to continue to minimize communities ability to limit this business.  I want to be clear that I enjoy fireworks, both the professional displays and the kind you can set off yourself.  But like anything else, common sense in use needs to prevail.  So I applaud tonight's decision by the La Verkin Council.  It may not be the popular choice, but it is the right choice for this year and I know that my children will sleep better because of it.

UFOs, Pink Flamingos and Free Speech

I believe there should be a part of society that conscientiously works as a ‘critical partner’ of the government.
-- Dewi Rana Amir




I have been watching with great interest the happenings in the little town of Apple Valley.  For those of you that are unaware of what's happening, you can link to an article in the Salt Tribune that does a pretty good job summarizing all the activity here.

Throughout this process, the Town of Apple Valley has shown both the best and the worst that can epitomize a democracy.  The worst are the threats, intimidation and name calling that occur so often when tempers flair and individuals act out in the heat of moment or in fear.

But the best far outshines the worst.  A group of citizens felt that their needs were not being met and their opinions, ideas and concerns were being disregarded by their elected officials.  This group of citizens came together and began to take action.

Throughout history, whenever a group wishes to express their disillusion with their government, these citizens have found ways to utilize the media to draw attention and rally others to their cause.  Our founding fathers distributed pamphlets, delivered speeches and composed editorials for the newspaper.  Couriers were employed to spread the word from town to town.  During the Civil Rights movement, television and radio were effective in bringing awareness to the cause.  Who today does not have an image of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial telling the country of his dream or the Freedom Riders being dragged from busses?  Today groups promoting change utilize the social media tools of Facebook, blogging and YouTube to spread the word and to let the world know of their cause.

Yet still the most important element to any change is the individual.  No matter the technology, it is the grass roots effort of the individual; going door-to-door, gathering together to debate or to demonstrate, taking the time to become educated on the issues, signing a petition and showing up to vote that empowers change.

The citizens' group of Apple Valley have done an excellent job in spreading their message.  They have a spokesperson in Jake Dumpling, a scarecrow with his own Facebook profile, who offers sometimes cutting commentary on the events in the community.  They have a symbol in the pink flamingo that is prominently displayed in the yards of residents who support disincorporation and the need for change.  The words pink flamingo has become an acronym for the cause:


P - Political
I - Incumbents
N - Not
K - Keeping
F - Formal
L - Legal
A - Agreements
M - Must
I - Investigate
N - Necessary
G - Governing
O - Operations

An alien landing site has been established with extra-terrestrial visitors being invited to stop on by.  And a series of videos entitled Apple Valley UT Take Back Our Community has been recorded and posted.  

While much of this may seem tongue in cheek, the concerns of the citizens were heard and enough signatures were gathered on a petition to have a judge rule that a vote could occur.  Tomorrow is the day determined by the Town to hold this important vote.  The election judges are in place.  The ballots have been printed.  The time and location have been set.  Now it is up to the residents of this community to show up.  I look forward to the results of this example of the principles of democracy that are so important to each of us.

Civic Duty As a Tithe

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.
Benjamin Franklin


When I was a little girl my father taught me about tithing.  I remember the lesson well.  He taught that the Lord has asked us to return a tithe.  This tithe was to be not only monies given to the church, but included time as well.  He explained that we had been blessed to be born in the one country that would allow us to have true freedom and  as recipients of that blessing we owed a tithe to insure that others would have the same blessing.  Just as we donate our time in church service, we should donate time in community service.  As a history teacher, he taught us that this country was founded on the service of others.  Our founding fathers gave up much of what they had and endured many hardships so that we could enjoy the freedom that is so often taken for granted.

My childhood is filled with memories of my parents giving back to the community.  My father served on the planning commission and the city council.  He served in the State Legislature and most recently as Mayor.  He and my mother also served on many community committees that helped organize events in the small town where I grew up.  My mother played the piano for a community singing group and our home was often filled with their voices raised in song as they practiced.

Other of my earliest memories include sitting in the living room listening to my father and my uncles discuss politics and who needed help in the community, helping my father campaign, taking meals to people, helping build homes in the community, taking produce from our garden to individuals, etc.  I remember one summer when there was a family in the neighborhood that was struggling and the mother had decided to start a home preschool/ daycare.  Even though my mother was a "stay-at-home mom", we soon found ourselves enrolled in the program. And yes, it was fun.  I remember learning to sing Frere Jaques, drying grapes to make raisins and drinking coconut milk.  From their example I learned that while a town may be made of individuals, a community looked after one another.

As I have applied the lessons learned as a child to my life as an adult, my world has been expanded exponentially.  I have been able to meet people that I would not have met otherwise and now consider my dearest friends.  I have gained experience that I would have had in no other way.  Opportunities have been opened for me that I could not have imagined as I looked for ways to return my tithe.  Just as I treasure the memories of service that I have from childhood, my grown children can relate stories from their own childhood where they have worked side-by-side with us on a community project and these times have allowed us to grow closer as a family.

Our family has lived many places across this country.  As we have embraced each new town, the same lesson I learned as a child holds true - A community looks after one another.  Each of us have a responsibility to find a way to serve in our community; to offer a tithe of ourselves.