Valley Citizens For Responsible Development To Meet This Week

The Valley Citizens for Responsible Development (VCRD) will hold their membership meeting:

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

7:00 PM

Weber County Library, Ogden Valley Branch in Huntsville

Members, prospective members and guests are urged to attend.

"Speak up for what you want, or take what you get!"

Weber deputies seeking several suspects in boat hit-and-run

UPDATE TO OUR AUGUST 23, 2011 POST
From the Standard Examiner

HUNTSVILLE -- Authorities are looking for several suspects who were on a boat that struck and killed a woman in Pineview Reservoir over the weekend.
ABC 4 reports (http://bit.ly/p6ikog ) the Weber County Sheriff's Office believes the boat's driver stopped and talked to the injured woman in the water before fleeing.
Weber County authorities say 49-year-old Esther Fujimoto of Ogden died after she was struck around 8 p.m. Sunday while swimming in the reservoir.
Deputies say a bystander heard her screaming and came to her aid in a row boat. Fujimoto later died of her injuries.
Friends and colleagues say the woman was a University of Utah scientist seeking a cure for cerebral palsy.
Officials are asking anyone with information about the accident to contact authorities.

Weekend Ogden Valley Tragedies Leave Two Dead

Experienced Swimmer and Motocross Rider Both Killed

An experienced swimmer was hit by a boat and killed Sunday evening on Pineview reservoir.  The boat that allegedly hit Ogden resident Esther Fujimoto, 49, left the scene.  The boat is described as  white and blue with three males riding inside.

From Fox 13 news, we share this video,  Woman killed at Pineview Reservoir identified as U of U researcher

And from the Standard Examiner:

  
Boating victim was familiar with waters, says colleague

Weber County Sheriff's Office Lt. Lowther encourages anyone who might have been in the area to contact the sheriff's office. They especially hope to hear from three individuals in a blue and white boat who were sailing in the area, to share any information regarding what they might have seen.

On Thursday, during practice at the Powder Mountain Motocross, 16 year old Dylan Perkins of Surprise, AZ was killed.

Teen rider killed at Powder Mountain motocross practice

 Dylan is the second death in the Powder Mountain Motocross three year history.  In 2009, 16 year old Tanner Krahenbuhl, from Henderson, Nevada, was killed when the motor home he was riding in lost control and rolled over on the Powder Mountain road.

Ogden Valley Arts Heritage Festival This Weekend

Guest post by Narlene Allen Story

It all starts tomorrow

We are getting closer... It all happens starting tomorrow....

Everything is in place for the kick off concert tomorrow night at 7 pm at the Hearthside. Tickets are on sale online at www.ogdenvalleyarts.org or at the door! It's going be an amazing evening.

Then, Saturday.. What a line up we have!
Join us for games, food, vendors, and Music... music... music!

Festival opens at 10 am
Music starts at 11 on two stages: The Hearthside and the Montessori are.

Kids games start at 11am.

Vendors will be there as well as artists!

Bring the kids.. the Eden Fire Engine will be there for the kids to climb on.

We also have Horse drawn buggy rides going on all day!

Oh.. and don't forget LUNCH! The Hearthside is catering lunch from 12 noon to 2 pm and it's all HOMEADE! Lunch tickets at $7.00 for an awesome home cooked meal so bring the kids.. grandma and grandpa and enjoy a weekend with the family!

For a complete schedule of events check us out online at www.ogdenvalleyarts.org


We hope to see you there!

Ogden Valley Forum now listed on Utah Top Blogs web site

We are excited to be included in the new site www.utahtopblogs.com.

The UtahTopBlogs.com is a local blogs aggregator that republishes the titles of new posts from selected local blogs and presents them to visitors in a simple and convenient manner.

The Ogden Valley Forum was chosen among many other local blogs, and you can see our posts along with the posts from many other popular blogs and forums at UtahTopBlogs.com.

Tour of Utah Passing through Ogden Valley Wednesday

Be sure to plan your travel as the Tour of Utah Bicycle Race will be passing through Ogden Valley Wednesday, August 10, 2011.  Riders will depart Ogden at 11 am, traverse North Ogden Pass and descend into the Valley, passing through Liberty, Eden and Huntsville while continuing down Ogden Canyon.  The race is scheduled to end between 3:45 and 4:30 PM.

Ogden Valley Arts (OVA) Heritage Festival August 19-20

•  While staying off the busy Ogden Valley roads tomorrow, be sure to watch the Noon News on KUTV 2.
  Tune in to hear all about the Heritage Festival - happening Aug. 19th & 20th in Old town Eden!
  
  You can read more about it online by clicking here.
  
  Tickets on sale now for the Friday night concert!

North Divide Open Now!

Effective immediately, the North Divide

Road is open. Drive Carefully.

Ogden Valley Forum

Planning Commission Meeting Tonight

 The Ogden Valley Planning Commission will be having an important work session tonight.

Here are the details:

The meeting will be held in the Weber County Commission Chambers, Weber Center (2380 Washington Blvd). The meeting will begin at 4:00 p.m. in the order listed below.

 Agenda Items

W1. Discussion:

Z011- 1 Work session discussion on a proposed text amendment to the Weber County Zoning Ordinance by amending the definition of “school”, adding the definition of “Therapeutic School”, establishing facility requirements, and to include “Therapeutic School” as a conditional use in the F-5, F-10, F-40, AV-3, FR-3, and CV-2 zones (Fred Smullin, Applicant)

Adjourn to convene a combined Ogden Valley and Western Weber County Township Planning Commission agricultural tourism field trip to Sand Hill Farms

Download a full copy of the Ogden Valley August 02, 2011 packet, in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), here. Packets are available only for the current agenda and approximately thirty days after that date.

Lakeview Water and Mountain Sewer owner bugs out under investigation pressure.

It was learned recently from Melvin Smith, Ron Catanzaro’s attorney

in the Ogden area, that Catanzaro has left the State of Utah for Nevada.

As reported in this blog, Mountain Sewer Company has been the subject of a Formal Complaint and investigation by the Utah Public Service Commission (PSC) regarding operating problems and billing questions regarding both Mountain Sewer and Lakeview Water Corporations.

Our information is that Catanzaro turned over most or all of his assets to the owner of A-1 pumping pending approval of the Public Service Commission. These assets include both Mountain Sewer and Lakeview Water Corporations. Word on the street is that Mountain Sewer owed A-1 pumping and other vendors substantial unpaid bills for services.

At the pre hearing conference on July 19th the Public Service Commission law judge indicated that a complete audit of Mountain Sewer as requested by the complainants would be one of the first orders of business, and the parties would reconvene in about a month to to discuss the audit results and set the date for the Formal Hearing. It appears that Mr. Catanzaro did not want to face the PSC audit results and examination of his operating procedures detailed in the formal complaint, so he decided to sell out and leave the area.

An initial meeting between the prospective new owner of Mountain Sewer and Lakeview Water corporations and the Ad hoc committee of utility users that filed the formal complaint against Mountain Sewer was held on July 28th. The purpose was to air out some particulars about the sale and transfer of assets and responsibilities and to have some utility customers meet the new owner so they could get to know each other. The new owner committed to working with the users to resolve current outstanding issues and he promised to stay in communication with the utility users on the operations and plans for the future for both corporations. A check with the PSC staff indicated the normal timeframe for approval of an uncontested sale of a PSC regulated company is from 45 to 60 days.

It is not clear as of this writing how this transfer of assets will affect the pending PSC formal complaint or what the reaction of the possible sale is from the Weber County Commissioners who have been the body politic for oversight for Mountain Sewer for many years.

Update on Lakeview Water and Mountain Sewer

A correction to the initial post: The new owner of Mountain Sewer and Lakeview Water is the father of the owner of A-1 Pumping.

WOLF CREEK CANYON TRAIL SATURDAY

WOLF CREEK CANYON TRAIL SATURDAY JULY 30 8 AM - Noon

Please come and help keep

our Weber Pathways Trails clear of Dyers Woad.

Bonus!!: Daypass to Powder Mountain !!! (1 / person)

Meet at the trailhead on Powder Mountain Road (State Route 158), some early birds are starting at 7:30 am so come earlier if you prefer) The trail is in bad "woad shape" and yes it is late in the year, but if we cut and bag it, it will prevent thousands of seeds from washing down into the forest. Some kind of group has don the first 200 yards, but the woad continues up the trail into the Canyon.

Please come and help beat the Woad. Questions: Miranda Menzies

Cell 513-368-4356 Home (Thurs pm onwards 801-745-2793.)

Pre Hearing Conference - Mountain Sewer Formal Complaint

On Tuesday, July 19, 2011, the Public Service Commission Administrative Law Judge, David Clark, conducted a pre hearing conference to lay out the  procedures regarding the Formal PSC Complaint filed by a group of Ogden Valley residents served by Mountain Sewer Corporation.

Judge Clark stated that since there would soon be a request from Mountain Sewer for a rate increase, and a possible sale of Mr. Catanzaro’s water and sewer properties, the complainants request for a complete, independent audit of the utility's accounting books and operating systems by the PSC staff will be one of the first items to be addressed.

When the audit of Mountain Sewer is completed, all parties will again meet to discuss the results of the audit and determine the next step in the complaint process.

The Weber County Commission, who is the designated body politic for Mountain Sewer, chose not to send a representative to the conference today, but sent a letter to the Administrative Law Judge stating their position regarding their responsibilities for oversight of Mountain Sewer.

The Ogden Valley Forum feels the non-participation by Weber County is a disservice to Mountain Sewer customers, especially those in the Lakeside Village Town homes, and is a continuation of Weber County’s inconsistent oversight record regarding Mountain Sewer operational problems. Many of the Lakeside Village town home owners have suffered multiple sewage flooding incidents (the latest March 16, 2011) due to the functional problems of Mountain Sewer’s lift pumps. These town home owners have found a mixture of storm water with raw sewage in their homes during numerous flooding incidents dating back several years.

The Forum urges the Weber County Commissioners to step up and fulfill their responsibilities regarding Mountain Sewer instead of pushing the problems off for future meetings of the Special Service District  board.