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New mayor of Franklin reflects
on his favorite town
By Greg
Aullman
March 3, 2008 | FRANKLIN, Idaho -- I had a chance to
get an inside view from a man who has resided in Franklin
for the past 50 years, and now presides over Franklin
since January. That man is new mayor Wayne Priestley,
and he told me a little bit about his life and also
a little bit about the town he has grown to love.
The mayor told me he was born in Dayton, Idaho, which
is west of Preston, and then was able to move over into
Franklin where he has lived for the past 50 years. He
talked about how he was born "in the days before hospitals,"
and this seems to help him hold onto a day past where
people were calmer and friendlier than the hustling
and bustling of today's average person.
"You knew your neighbor, you could help them, and
they'd help you back," he said.
When asked what he would change about Franklin, he
reminisced back to when the city was more allowing of
animals despite the smells, and remembered how Franklin
was just a small farming community after all its changes.
He talked about how the city was changing and growing
though and that was just one thing that he missed about
the old Franklin.
Priestley used to own what could be Franklin's most
recognizable landmark of today in the Utah-frequented
store, La Tienda. Back when he owned it the name was
Wayne's 76, but now he jokes about La Tienda's more
commonly heard nickname, the "Utah Lottery".
The biggest issues that seemed to be facing Franklin
are growth and adapting to that growth.
The mayor faces a huge obstacle, as Franklin has expanded
to include Mountain Meadows and Legacy Ranch, two subdivisions
that should nearly double its population. Legacy Ranch,
which is currently under construction, will include
about 250 new homes, and Mountain Meadows will add an
additional 180 new homes. The obstacle comes in changing
the current water, sewage, and electric structure to
accommodate such growth, and an added trial to that
is the drought that hopefully will be coming to an end
with this winter's snowfall.
The mayor jokingly calls Franklin County "just a bedroom
for Logan" since so many of its residents work in Utah
but have their homes in Idaho. Of the growth he said
that "for a small town, most people aren't ready."
Franklin is a growing town and when the new housing
is added it will be nearly double in size, a daunting
prospect for any mayor of any town, yet Priestley seems
ready to handle the challenge.
"Franklin is Idaho's oldest town, and sometimes it
acts like it," he said.
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