Letters June 17, 2009

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

By Planet User

Future for young people
“You can’t always get whatcha want, but if you try sometimes you just might find you get whatcha need.”

The Comprehensive Plan is a vision document for the next 60-plus years; I will hopefully be here 60 years from now, with a family, still enjoying our wonderful scenic vistas, natural resources and community.  Yet, as I sit here and write this I cannot help but feel frustrated at the members of my community who are telling me we don’t need anyone else – that a build out cap is imperative or Teton County will lose its character.  To these folks, I respectfully have a few questions and comments:

Are you going to deed restrict your house or sell it for below market value when you leave to ensure that workers – not just second home owners - have the opportunity to live here?  Because if not, I’m guessing that not only will St. John’s be understaffed, but Hungry Jacks and Wilson Backcountry may have a hard time staying open year-round, and those middleclass families are going to be an enigma… oh, so wait… maybe we won’t need teachers?  

I am a 27-year-old who works for a nonprofit, mentors a 4th grader, is a volunteer advocate for the Community Safety Network; I ski, mountain bike, kayak, fly-fish (well, I’m still working on mending correctly), enjoy playing with my dog, listening to the Grateful Dead and cooking dinner for my boyfriend. 

When I hear people telling me that Jackson doesn’t need anyone else – that commercial growth is bad, residential growth invasive and that not everyone has the right to live here (one of my favorite things to hear), I get upset.  I am an asset to this community – I am an essential part of this “community character.”  And yet, hearing men and women I respect argue against any sort of future growth – limited or not – I feel disheartened, because my future, along with the many people my age who want to spend their lives in this Valley, depends on our economic viability – long and short-term.  

I do not think we need to build Jackson into the next 3-4 stories tall resort town – absolutely not!  But, for us to come up with the best guiding document for those LDR’s I strongly believe that it requires us – the community – to show our character by sharing, being nice and telling the truth – things we all should have learned in kindergarten.  
– April Hankey, Jackson

A Day For Daddy
This coming Sunday, not only marks the Summer solstice, the official fist day of summer, but also a day set aside in recognition to honor thy Father: Fathers’ Day.
Let us face the reality of facts. The father has not been so honored like thy mother in the genre of sentimentality. Thus is true that throughout history men have gained the reputation of brutes, warmongers, egotists and deadbeats and have overshadowed that of the maternal gentility.

It is only in the recent egalitarian era of gender that fathers have molted themselves of such imagery and have earned the rightful respect in the parental theater of kindness and understanding.

It is widely known that there exists a multitude of outstanding fathers and it is deservedly acknowledged by this day of recognition. So to those many men of paternal benevolence, my father being among them, I warmly wish you all a well-warranted Happy Fathers’ Day.
 –  Patrik Troiani, Jackson

Freedom of smoking choice
I am an anti-smoking advocate, so I choose to stay away from properties that allow smoking.  While chatting over a meal of chicken wings and beer, I encourage my friends to choose healthy habits regarding smoking.  I pursue my happiness at smoke-free establishments and I use non-coercive private methods to convince public and private property managers to have smoke-free policies.  These methods have worked! In my town, I am able to go into government buildings, stores, restaurants and friend’s homes and enjoy a smoke-free environment.

I recognize that the employees and patrons of businesses like the Virginian Bar and Exum Guides choose to place themselves in potentially dangerous environments.  Perhaps an unelected board should prohibit the Virginian Bar from having smoke in the air and Exum from climbing on steep rock faces?  Perhaps carrot sticks are healthier than second hand smoke and perhaps hiking the put-put trail is safer than climbing the Grand.  If the health board legislated carrots and hiking; it is possible that some individuals (a group of whom make up the abstraction “public”) would be “healthier.”

Me?  I choose individual freedom of choice.  I do not wish to shut down the Virginian or Exum, I simply don’t patronize these good establishments.  For an overweight person like me, smoking and climbing are simply too dangerous to my health.  Pass the wings please.
– Shepard Humphries, Jackson

Sicko
Matthew Irwin’s sycophantic rant this week in favor of Obama’s health care takeover sickened me.
– Daryl L. Hunter, Irwin, Idaho.

‘Don’t know our history’
Good article and very interesting but, this goes out to Bruce Tlougan.  Next time someone (including all newspapers) asks you to comment on Daylight Donuts, the owners or anything about them, your comment should be “No comment!”  We did not tell you or anyone else exactly how many tickets to our raffle that we sold.  Our business is none of your business.  Just because you are in the location that we worked so many years to build, you know nothing about us or our history. Thanks!  Just wanted to get that off my chest!
– Lori Beck, Daylight Donuts


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