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http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2006/03/18/news/20060318_news_23.txt By CYNDY COLE Members of the Save the Peaks Coalition delivered Friday what they said were more than 3,000 signatures from around the world asking Flagstaff's City Council to block snowmaking with reclaimed wastewater on the San Francisco Peaks. The unofficial petitions, delivered to Mayor Joe Donaldson the same day Arizona Snowbowl opened, sought to cancel the already approved sale of the water to the ski area. If the city reneged on its contract, it would face lawsuits, White said. The agreement extends Snowbowl's rights to the water beyond 2010, with periodic renewals contingent only on the Snowbowl fulfilling the terms of the agreement and the state continuing to certify the wastewater quality as appropriate for snowmaking. Signatures were gathered from Thailand, France, Germany, Croatia and beyond. The out-of-Flagstaff signatures and the petition itself don't count, according to city law, because they're not from Flagstaff residents and not applying to a ballot measure, law, or issue up for the council's consideration. "We don't want our mountains desecrated," Kelvin Long, of the coalition, told the mayor as Donaldson accepted the petitions, posed for a photo, thanked Long, and said he had to leave for a meeting. The Save the Peaks Coalition held a morning prayer vigil at 6 a.m. near Snowbowl, inviting the public and the media. Police were present, and had discussed this arrangement previously, said John Nelson, the supervisory law enforcement officer with the Coconino National Forest. The police presence made Save the Peaks member Klee Benally feel guarded "like a criminal," he said. That's exactly the opposite of the way one member of law enforcement remembers it, saying the police were invited. "There were no issues and no one was upset that we were there. Just the opposite," Nelson said "They thanked us." Benally did thank Nelson, he said, but he hadn't invited him. There was a conference call beforehand. "We look after everyone's rights up there," Nelson said. "What we're concerned about is opposing views over the issue. When we get those opposing views and people mix we could have some unpleasant things happen." That's the problem, Benally said. "That shows that there is an issue with our practicing a religious way on this site," Benally said. "The fact that we need to be escorted or watched over in that manner while we're praying shows there's something wrong." Cyndy Cole can be reached at ccole@azdailysun.com or at 913-8607. |