Response to “Live and Die in Helper”

    Ouch! The article in “Castle Country Living”….”: To Live and Die in Helper”, delivered on April 13, 2018, just gave many residents, long term ones, a slap in the face.
    You are very wrong! The Helper Community has never lost hope. There have been many ups and downs in past years in Helper, but the residents who worked very hard for so many years managed to help sustain its viability. Many residents have maintained beautiful yards and property through good and bad times. Please give these residents credit for what they have done in the past. We love our city. To many, Helper has always been a diamond, not “a diamond in the rough”. We would rather not be looked upon as a people who need rescuing!
    No where could you find better and more dedicated business owners than we have had in Helper in the past, such as Richard Colombo at R & A, Steven Giacoletto at Workman’s market, Marrellis at Central Commission, Marrellis at Bowling Alley, Chuck Ghirardelli at Chuck’s Pharmacy, Sherri Mills at the Risque, Pierce’s Stations, Fossat’s Drive In,… just to mention a few. Please do not downplay their accomplishments and dedication and all they did to contribute to the survival of Helper.
    Let us not forget that Marie Davidson had several businesses in the area in those years when you say there was no hope. Also, Mark Stuckenschneider had businesses in Helper at the time including the restaurant that is currently owned and operated by Cindy and has been enjoyed for many years. The upgrade of our swimming pool which Dean and Stacy Armstrong and others worked so diligently to attain has been a great addition to Helper. Remember Ron Cooper who worked so hard to get our beautiful walkway. Remember all the years that we have had the Christmas parade. All these thing kept our Helper going.
    No, this community has never lost hope. As far as the tumbleweeds that were seen in Helper blowing down the street in 2001, there seen blowing down the street on April 13, 2018 as well (It was windy!).
    Please understand that these same residents of Helper do appreciate what the Helper Projects Committee has done and is doing for Helper. However, all you need to know that we never gave up hope for Helper. Again, we have been in bad situations in the past but we have survived.
    You see, long term residents of Helper are very proud of our former city council and mayoral leadership. This is not to say that the present leadership is not good because we know they are, but those who served in that capacity in the past did an excellent job with the resources they had available to them. I am sure that other small towns would to love have had knowledgeable people like Gary Harwood, who knows Helper inside and out and who served on the council, as part of their leadership. We have had excellent people serving as council members and mayors in the past.
    In summary, please be careful what you publish about our Helper in its previous years and in its past. Generation of hard working coal miners, railroad workers and power plant workers, among others, have live and died (sometimes tragically) in and for this community. We love our city and we need to give credit where credit is due…… and then on with the wonderful work that is being done today.
Dolores Slavensky.