Steamboat Pilot & Today

One-sided view
I think Susan Bacon should be fired for her blatant one-sided propaganda article on Triple Crown in last week's Pilot. Steamboat residents do not hate Triple Crown participants as people. We do, however, dislike their trash, noise and disrespect for the environment in general. Although the money is nice, most people, other than business owners, would rather do without the hassles of babysitting 5,000 to 10,000 people every weekend. I encourage Triple Crown parents to look around your condo complex and see what I am talking about sunflower seeds, water balloon shrapnel, pizza boxes and Coke cans. They are not biodegradable, especially on asphalt. We receive many complaints where I work about teens, so it's not just local people who are disturbed. Some people come to the quiet, beautiful mountains for just that quiet, beautiful mountains.

Triple Crown a nuisance
I am sure everyone agrees Steamboat is a lovely place to visit and play in the summertime, as was evidenced by the articles in the newspaper interviewing Triple Crown participants. Now, I suggest you interview the service people who clean up after Triple Crown. We would like to enjoy summer in our town also. And I really think the five-year contract with Triple Crown should be put up to a vote of locals and not just decided by the city and the chamber.

Don't close highway
I think it's about time the city of Steamboat Springs decided not to allow functions on a major U.S. highway. I think closing down a highway going through town is absolutely ridiculous. There's no reason you couldn't use Yampa Avenue for things like the car show and the marathon.

Cover future events
While I love your newspaper, it is rather disappointing that you guys do not cover future events very well. It's very rare that we find out about future events in your newspaper. For example, we did not see anything about the Mustang Round-Up until the day after the event. You do have a Happenings section, but there's usually not much there. If you could help us out in that area, we would really appreciate it.

Isn't it ironic?
At the Oak Creek meeting Thursday night, the fire marshal declared a Stage 2 condition, which was posted and required smoking indoors only. Then the Town Board took a break and everybody went outside to smoke. Isn't that strange.

Tired of Safire
I'm getting a little tired of William Safire's views on the ViewPoints page. Could you balance that with a different view or print less Safire? He's getting on my nerves.

Where's sportsmanship?
My 5-year-old plays soccer in the Steamboat soccer league, and last week when we were playing an opposing team, one of the mothers of the opposing team booed when my daughter's team made a goal. I was wondering where our sportsmanship is when a mother boos at 5-year-olds.

Glad fireworks canceled
I'm glad the city canceled the fireworks show, but not because of the fire danger but because fireworks are not what Independence Day is all about. It's supposed to be a celebration of our country's freedom and independence from oppressive big government.

Enough Mallard
Enough with Mallard Fillmore every day. Not everyone who reads your paper is an acerbic, aging conservative with heartburn. So please do yourself and your readers a favor and at least put Doonesbury next to it like an even and more conservative paper than yourself, the Emery County Progress in Utah, does. They are both radical and extreme so they provide a good counterbalance to each other.

Not conserving water
I was at Strawberry Park the other day when it was about 80 degrees and breezy and the water was going on the fields Triple Crown uses. This certainly isn't conserving water.