| Salt Lake City |
 |
 |
| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
 |
| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
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| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
|
| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
|
| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
|
| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
|
| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
|
| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
|
| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
|
| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
|
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Mountain Green folks sorry to see Games end
By Carrie Kennington
Deseret News staff writer
MOUNTAIN GREEN, Morgan County — High winds here last week postponed the women's downhill, and a traffic jam caused some to miss the beginning of the men's downhill. But the people in the small town of Mountain Green, one of the last stops on the way to Snowbasin, are sad to see the last of the Olympic events at that venue end.
"As a business we were excited to have it in our back yard," said Kent W. Francis, vice president of the First National Bank of Morgan. Snowbasin is about a 10-mile drive away.
From the window in his office, Francis can see the park-and-ride lot for Olympic volunteers and workers. Tuesday the lot sat empty. "It feels funny not to have anyone there," he said. Mountain Green has fewer than 2,000 residents.
The world got to see the town's beauty last week. The bank experienced a bit of extra foot traffic from out-of-towners, mostly coming in to use the ATM.
By the time his bank opened all last week, at 9 a.m., Francis said the park-and-ride lot was full and he had no problems getting to work. In the afternoons the parking lot cleared out, and by 5 p.m. Francis had no problems getting home. The jam near there that blocked traffic trying to get to men's downhill happened on a Sunday when the bank was closed.
In the back of the building where the bank is housed, Abe and Christine Murdock run Murdock Business Design. Before the Olympics showed up in their town, they worried if they would be able to make it across the Old Highway Road that runs through Mountain Green. They live about a half mile down the road from their business.
"We thought, 'Gee, are we ever going to leave our driveway?' " Christine said. But Abe Murdock said, "It wasn't as bad as we expected."
The couple originally moved to Mountain Green for the scenic view and the quiet. They watched the Olympics on TV rather than going to events.
"We like people," Abe said, "but in small doses." They feel a touch of pride watching the camera pan across their home mountains where they ski regularly.
"It's like, now we're famous," Christine said.
Down the street at the Old Farmer's Market Sinclair Station, manager DaRece Glover is able to give a sigh of relief after what she calls "a busy weekend that lasted all week." She was worried what the Olympics would bring after experiencing World Cup traffic last year.
"This was nothing compared to that," she said. She attributes the smooth flow of Olympic traffic to buses taking people from park-and-ride lots.
In the back of the store is a sign "Welcome 2002 Winter Games," saying welcome in multiple languages. It is signed by U.S. and international ski team members who came through on their way to Snowbasin. Some also picked up a few essentials while in the store.
Glover said the hot items last week were motor oil, snacks, jerky, bananas, film and Gatorade.
She wishes the Snowbasin events had been spread more across the two weeks, but she is also glad the mad rush is over for Mountain Green.
"I'm glad I'm not in Park City," she said. To accommodate customers and vendors, the station stayed open 24 hours.
Many people who came into the market commented on the beauty of the area and how nice the locals were, Glover said.
Sinclair employee Lyman Moulton said the Feb. 10 traffic jam brought some angry people into the market. Some have even offered $100 to park in their parking lot. A few times, Europeans pumped diesel into their rental cars. Other than that, Moulton and the other employees were in good spirits.
To customers leaving the store, Moulton said, "Watch out for snow snakes."
E-mail: ckennington@desnews.com
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February 22, 2002
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