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Letters to the editor

David Lach

The Edwards Metropolitan District Board of Directors has reached the unanimous decision that the district should take a leadership role in pledging funds from the Edwards area for the Eaton Ranch (Eagle River Preserve) open space acquisition. The board has decided to pledge $750,000 to the acquisition, based on the following rationale:1. At this time, we believe there are only two viable options for this property, either it will be acquired by the Vail Valley Foundation for open space or it will be sold for development. If the land is sold for development, the price of the land will dictate that a high density development be constructed, resulting in a significant amount of commercial and residential development. This development would bring added traffic, impacts to area roads and other infrastructure, etc., all of which would adversely affect Edwards. This may be one of the last opportunities for the acquisition of a large developable parcel for open space on the Valley floor.2. The Eaton Ranch is located in Edwards Metropolitan District so the district will be supporting open space within its boundaries.3. The district has sufficient funds available to participate in the open space acquisition, using funds that are on hand in the general fund, and the use of these funds will not adversely impact the district’s ability to fund any other obligations for which it presently has commitments.4. Since the Edwards area residents will receive the most direct benefit from the open space, it is only appropriate that the Edwards area communities contribute proportionate to the benefit they will receive.5. Since the open space is in the heart of Edwards, it is easily accessible which will provide a great opportunity for Edwards area residents and visitors to utilize and enjoy the open space on a regular and frequent basis. Because of this central location, this open space will have a higher level of utilization than the county’s other more remote open space.While the district’s pledge is contingent upon satisfaction of reasonable use conditions and review of necessary legal documents by the district’s counsel, the board is confident that the district will be able to consummate the pledge and is looking forward to the enhancement of the Edwards community with the addition of this significant open space parcel.David LachPresident, Edwards Metropolitan DistrictSees a slurWhen I first read the Tipsline to Matt Zalaznick about the Holocaust, I basically thought it was written by an incompetent dullard with an education that didn’t include reading. But thinking back on it I now know it is worse than that. Latent anti-Semitism masked with a compliment to a Jewish journalist is much more dangerous. Hatred is dangerous, and shouldn’t be accepted by a newspaper.For general information, on a weekly basis, you can read about world genocide consistently in the Intermountain Jewish News, in articles as well as letters and in other Jewish publications around the country. For example, last week’s issue had two letters referring to Armenia and Darfur. The Jewish community, more than any other, is totally sensitive to genocide because of past experiences, and this is the reason for Holocaust Remembrance Day. Not just a day, but always a reminder of the worst example of man’s inhumanity to man. What other groups have consistently reminded the world of the horror of genocide? Nobody has been more vociferous on this issue. The Vail Daily has been delinquent in commenting on hate Tipslines for some time and its editorial policies need to be examined. Arthur KittayEagleGreat teacherI realize that you are not fond of letters saying nice things about people (because the nice ones always go to the back pages), but hang with me, I’ll rail someone later in the letter.I write to tell you of an amazing lady. This lady is a teacher, a mentor, and as far as I can tell, a saint. This lady teaches the way that we would like to see all teachers teach. She puts all of her passion into what she does. She puts her full heart into her job. With a name like Fulhart, I guess you have to. Shelly Fulhart is a PE teacher at Brush Creek Elementary School. She dreamed up this Brush Creek Biathlon for the 5th graders, where the kids train for, and then participate in a 1.5-mile run, and a 3-mile bike ride. The kids learned that physical exertion could be fun, and very rewarding. The speed of the kids was amazing, but something really unbelievable happened yesterday at that event. Kids learned that supporting their classmates could be even more fun. For some of the kids, the biathlon was a breeze, and for some it was very challenging. These kids recognized that their classmates were working beyond their comfort level, and they found a new respect for the kids that were not blazing a trail. I saw kids run extra laps to support a classmate that was struggling. I saw kids run through the finish line, catch their breath, and take off running to support other children. The site that I hope to never forget is the 25 children running in with the last finisher. While the mothers watched and wiped tears away, the fathers all looked at their shoes. Folks, these are 5th graders! Do you remember 5th grade? Where kids supportive to one another? Shelly doesn’t make them support each other. She just brings out the good in people. Her compassion is contagious, and the kids learned more yesterday than some learn in a lifetime, and they will use some of these skills and compassion forever. They will use these skills to be happy in life. Unfortunately, this will not show up on the CSAP this year, and her TAP pay will not increase. In fact, Shelly will not even be offered a full-time job next year because of No Child Left Behind and TAP. This is a crime against all of the children. How can we let this lady get away? There is something wrong with our education system right now, but we chose to look at the results of tests of only academics in our valley. A teacher cannot be looked at as a computer teaching other computers. Don’t we want our teachers teaching the kids how to be good people? Right now our teachers are handcuffed. The teachers have so many curriculums to teach these kids, that there is no time to teach a kid to be a good human. There is no time for a teacher to be a mentor to a child. There is no room for creativity. There is no time. An obesity problem in our country is directly related to the cuts in physical education classes. Some of us do believe that being healthy is more important than learning algebra in the 5th grade, or the college scholarship, or the big paycheck. As a parent, the only thing that I want for my kids is for them to be happy when they are older. Yes, I would like my kids to go to a great university, but not at the expense of health and happiness. I speak as a parent, but I speak for many parents. To someone in our education system: Please don’t let people like Shelly Fulhart get away from our kids. Our kids need people like her.Robert CrawfordEagleMemory lapseIn response to Terry Quinn’s letter regarding “intelligent design,” I must say he’s very hypocritical in accusing someone of not doing their homework on any given topic. He seems to have conveniently forgotten the millions who died, over thousands of years, in the name of religion. It’s happening as we speak. Religion breeds intolerance, ignorance, and fear of the unknown. I, on the other hand, believe the chaos theory that anything and everything can and will happen at any given time. I also realize it’s a theory, and is open to debate. Religion is not. You either believe, or you are going to hell. This theory opens all doors for the intelligent, inquiring mind. If God gave these special gifts to us, then shouldn’t we use them to question our origins, our surroundings, and eventually the supposed force that gave us these gifts? If you ask a deeply religious person, you will receive a resounding “no,” followed by the eternally cited quotation, “You must have faith!” That’s akin to breeding and training a beautiful and gifted race horse, only to blindfold it and hope it still finishes the race. Maybe there is a God, and also intelligent design, and I leave those and all other doors fully open. I also have humility, a sense of reason and logic, and am comfortable in the knowledge that our feeble minds can’t begin to understand the complexities of our universe, much less ourselves or what brought us here. So I leave it to chance, and hope that open, evolving minds might someday, collectively, do the same. Luke AndersonEdwards Vail, Colorado


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