"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
Our hats go off to the dedicated residents of Powderville who once again pounded the pavement on Presidents day with protest signs in hand.We invite you to listen to KVNU's For the People [2nd hour - fast forward to 32 minutes] as Protest organizer Deja Mitchell did a masterful job of overviewing the Presidents Day event.
Powder Mountain spinmeister and publicity spokeswoman, Lisa Davis, was later interviewed. When asked about the protesters she said, "They may not know their neighbors very well, because the people we have talked to definitely have very strong ideas of what they want done in their back yards..." She went on to say, "They are not 'pawns' of a corporation."
To the contrary, they are nothing but pawns, and the corporation will soon appoint six puppets to govern the people.
Davis seemed to imply that there was a long list of Petitioners for the incorporation, and many not associated with the corporation. That is pure and simple spin - better yet, rubbish, as there were less petitioners for the incorporation than we have fingers and toes.
At last count, over 500 have signed the petition to change HB 466, the tainted law that allowed this takeover from a greedy, fascist corporation.
In fact, the short list of Powder Mountain Incorporation Petitioners included:
Mark E. Arnold - Owner of Powder Mountain
Lee A. Daniels - Owner and Money man behind Powder Mountain
Steve H. Nielsen II
Edward F. Bates
Rickey T. and Theresa A. Stearman - residents - Mr. Stearman is an employee of Powder Mountain
LaVar R. Lowther
Eric Smith
Dr. Alvin and June H. Cobabe - Founder of Powder Mountain
Aleta Cobabe - Daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Cobabe
Clair and Shawna Van Meeteren - Shawna is also a daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Cobabe
Doug and Jamie Lythgoe - Daughter of Clair and Shawna / Granddaughter of Alvin Cobabe, founder of Powder Mountain. Also a realtor and member of the Weber County Planning commission, the body that conditionally approved Powder Mountain's rezone request in December.
Robert MacCulloch
Wayne C. and Gayla Folkman
Rulon and Kathy Jones - Large land owner of property adjacent to Powder Mountain
David Barlow
Colby Sanders
Powder Mountain, with their polished PR firm and high priced legal team overlooked one large piece of the puzzle - the resolve of Ogden Valley residents and their ability to "come together" for the common good. Valley residents will not sit back idly and watch the puppet show - the last time we did that was during the 2nd grade puppet shows at Valley Elementary.
With that in mind, we will heed the suggestions of many residents and officially kick off a Boycott Powder Mountain campaign. While the results may be hard to quantify, Powder Mountain can rest assured they will be losing business. To add teeth to our Boycott, we will include details of how to Ski World Class Snowbasin for less than the cost of a Powder Mountain lift ticket.
Costco sells Snowbasin tickets for about $47 each, when purchased in a three-pack for a total price of about $139. As the Boycott continues, we may even have Snowbasin tickets available for sale at the protest locations, with the motto:Turn around and enjoy some 'World class' skiing for just $47.
From Salt Lake, there is a Costco located on the way to Snowbasin in Bountiful. There is also one located in Downtown Salt Lake and Ogden.
To see how effective our campaigns may be, we invite Powder Mountain officials to conduct a simple test. Go to Google and search for "Powder Mountain Protest" or "Powder Mountain Boycott." The results may surprise even their arrogance.
The protest spurred much interest in the media, as KSL Eyewitness News and Fox 13 reported from the site.
KUTV 2 news has said they will attend a meeting Thursday that Powder Mountain has claimed they will hold with citizens. To date, we have no information on this supposed meeting and can only assume it will include more of their rhetoric filled attempts to divide and conquer.
The Weber County Forum posted another winner with their run down of the Kimball Wheatley "Manifesto." The Voice of Deseret Blog also chimed in.
We have saved the most incredulously stupid comments for the end, and they were published in Marshal Thompson's Standard Examiner coverage of the Protest. Sadly, by a future Powderville resident and realtor in Gage Froerer's office named Erin Stokes. We will give her the benefit of the doubt as she has obviously been drinking the Powder Mountain kool aid and could use a serious dose of reality. Her comments provide for a laughable and astonishing read:
Erin Stokes, a real estate agent in Eden, said she can’t understand why some of her neighbors are against the in- corporation plan. After looking at both sides,she said, she feels a new town is clearly the best choice. “I listened to all the things my neighbors had to say. I talked to the marketing people for the developers, and they were very helpful,” she said.
“I’m just really excited about it. I don’t see any negatives to it at all, and I’ve studied it a lot.”
She must be using a different text book for those studies than the rest of us. And of course marketing people are helpful - they are trying to sale you something that you do not need!
Currently, Stokes said, she has to drive her kids seven miles to a park in Huntsville, so she is looking forward to having more recreational opportunities closer to home.
Let's see, seven miles down a gradual hill to Huntsville or 5-8 miles up a steep grade to Powder Mountain. She lives next to Wolf Creek, so what other recreational opportunities are the 'white knights' of Powder Mountain promising her?
But Stokes said the protesters have been staging their demonstrations on that very road, and it appears to be safe enough to her.
A flat and wide portion of the road at the base of the mountain was the location of the protest. Does she not know that the road, by Powder Mountain's own admission, has a 13% grade, although reliable sources inside Powder Mountain have said the road is actually as steep as 22%.
To simplify for Powder Mountain's followers, that is 22 feet vertical rise (vertical means upright or up, in even simpler terms) for every 100 feet horizontally (run).
Powder Mountain has certainly found some ardent supporters.
The BOYCOTT begins now!
UPDATE: 8:30 AM
Wolf Creek resort has asked to "Opt Out" of Powder Mountain Town, as reported in today's Standard Examiner.
Also, be sure to attend the State Capital Tomorrow morning:
HB 164 and SB 25 to be heard 2-21-08
8AM
Room C450.
These are the 2 bills dealing with Powder Mt and other incorporation petitions.
Anyone is welcome to attend and voice concerns or support for these bills.
UPDATE @ 12:45 pm
We have our own "ardent supporters" at the Weber County Forum. Rudi and Co. has diligently helped to expose the plight of our future "Powderville" residents. Don't miss today's classic missive. Thanks Rudi!
