Letter: Canyon residents deserve help too

r Many people whom I’ve talked to who have grown up in Utah County will ask me where I live. I hesitate a bit to let them know I live up Hobble Creek Canyon, which really should be called “Paradise Canyon.” For the old settlers who had to hobble their horses to keep them from running off, they named it Hobble Creek Canyon. To my surprise, very few of those I spoke with knew anything about the canyon.

There is an important purpose in writing this expose about where I live. It’s not meant to be a travel guide, although it will let many Utah County residents know we are here just east of Springville. If you drive into the canyon on our little two-lane paved road, you will marvel at the diversity of the things you will see. Large and beautiful homes, smaller well-kept dwellings and yards, and lovely pasture lands where horses abundantly roam. It sports one of Utah’s prettiest golf courses and also offers large camping and family picnic grounds maintained to perfection.

Many will see the wildlife that make their homes in the canyon and not understand the secret of the wonderful variety of those species. You see, the canyon, where there is a year-round, clear water, fish-filled creek that runs through the whole canyon, is a wildlife refuge for wild turkeys, plentiful deer and their offspring, herds of elk, an occasional moose with her calf, raccoons, skunks, squirrels and a marvelous variety of birds. 

What is the secret to all this for everyone to see? Well, it’s the people who live in the canyon and provide for the well-being of its beauties. They make sure the wildlife is cared for in the cold winter months and they allow these creatures to thrive in the pastures and abundance of green lawns, not to mention the choke cherries. All of this is here for everyone to enjoy.rUnless you were told, you wouldn’t know the whole story. Even though the “old timers” and new neighbors give their support without compensation, pay their property taxes and spend much of their monthly income in Utah County, they basically get nothing in return. In the winter, the county does a half-hearted job of keeping the left-hand fork passable. When you get to the gravel road that runs all the way to Strawberry Reservoir, you’ll find it in tip shape all summer, even for the few people who use it during the hunting season. Part of this road is in Utah County and part “state,” I suppose. These people include the ranchers who run their cattle up the right-hand fork.

However, the main purpose of all this is to address the 50 or so families who live up Bartholomew Canyon Road, a gravel road belonging to Utah County, depending on which day you talk to those who have authority over the Utah County road system. They have been asked to pave the dirt road up to the gate where one passes into Hobble Creek Haven. Again, depending on which day and to whom you speak, they say that they will get the road paved or offer some excuse about why they can’t pave it, let alone why they don’t keep it graded so that people can avoid wrecking their vehicles.

Then there is the issue of the children who are bused into the canyon and don’t have safe passage in any season of the year because of the ongoing traffic on the road. It is especially dangerous in winter because of slide-offs, which do occur regularly in winter. Also, there is always the chance that a cougar or bear may be lingering nearby. The Haven HOA takes good care of our own roads for parents to be able to pick up their children at the bottom of the road near the bus stop.

So let me take off my gloves a moment. If the county commissioners and road maintenance people can’t provide us the same consideration as they do other taxpayers, then possibly it’s time the people in Utah County gave us a little help in November. Those of us in Hobble Creek Haven would surely respond with a big thank you and an invitation to come and discover this whole, beautiful canyon.

Gary Heesch

Hobble Creek Haven