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Regarding the Tribune article, "Don't oppose drilling if you want state cash," (Brian Maffly, May 30): Wow, Rep. Mike Noel sure knows how to win friends and influence people. He suggests that much-needed water funding should be withheld in order to spite some portion of the Torrey population that didn't vote for him and had the temerity to oppose a nearby gravel pit.
Does he realize that whatever percentage of the local population did vote for him would also be harmed by such an outcome? Does he realize that businesses and employees in Wayne County (which gets nearly half its income from tourism and visitors to Capitol Reef National Park) would be similarly harmed by a looming water scarcity? Noel's logic is astounding.
Noel assumes that people in Torrey (and Teasdale) who opposed the gravel pit did so because they are opposed to sand and gravel mining. If he'd read any of the material submitted in this case, he would know this couldn't be further from the truth. We have always supported the need for gravel extraction; we depend on it as much as everyone else in the state.
Our opposition was always about the location — a bucolic, residential area.
In the past 12 months at least two companies in the county have found gravel mining sites in less populated areas that will have less impact on residents. Clearly there is no lack of appropriate mining sites among the 2,500 square miles of this county, sites that wouldn't create losers along with winners.
It is unfortunate that Noel chooses to traffic in unfounded stereotypes and seems to believe that policy differences justify insults. He says he wants to "educate his constituents" and yet his approach to doing that is rather clumsy.
If he really wants to educate us, he should come to Torrey and spend some time talking with us. He just might learn something himself in the process.
Bill Barrett
Torrey