Page A24 The Salt Lake Tribune OPINION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1998 THE TRUTH OUR VIEW The Salt Lake Tribune’s Editorial Position Prohibition in Draper Draper may have the right to choose whether it will be “wet” or dry” when it comes to alcoholsales, but any decision in favor of an alcohol sales ban probablywill be costly, certainly not easy, cious message and will send a perni- \ coterie of Draper residents want the city to become dry; that is, to ban il] alcohol sales. They want to turn the clock back some75 years, back to what they probably view as a halcyon era when a largely Protestant coalition successfully shepherded Prohibition through Congress and three-fourths of he state legislatures. Ina legal sense, any Utah communi- ty can indirectly choose to be wet or ivy. Blanding, for example, has banned ill alcohol sales for years. The Draper City Council recently refusedto giveits consent to a golf course’s request for a state liquorlicense, effectively killing the proposal since Utah law requires local consent for these licenses. However, it may be more problematical for Draper to reverse the clock, so to speak, on the one restaurantli- quorlicense in the city. Such an act could be — and rightly should be — construed as a taking, an unconstitu- tional seizure of property unless just compensationis paid. Despite the airs and presumption of some of its residents and officials, Draperis a small city and its taxpayers might not appreciate the legal costs of a prohibition campaign. Perhaps more importantis the message that Draper would send. It is a message of intolerance, closed-mind- edness, and moralistic — evenreligious — condescension. Like it or not, Draper is part of Utah. Attempts to ban alcoholin Utah are seen as Mormon. Whethera partic- ular attemptto banalcoholis or is not is irrelevant. It is the perception, not the reality, that counts. If the 20th century taught anything, it is the primacy of image. Just ask The Churchof Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about polygamy. It has not had anything to do with plural marriage for a hundred years, yet most everyone thinksit is a Mormon thing. If Draper officials and most of its residents seriously want to turn their city into a dry town, they need to consider all of this, especially the cost involved and their willingness to payit, and, most ofall, the image they want goodwill, butlittle of it will be found this month between Salt Lake County Attorney Doug Short and the county commission. They are at it again, bickering like highly sensitive, thin-skinned children of a decidedly self-centered bent. All they know of the season, apparently, is thatit is the timeto bejolly, evenifthis normally pleasing trait has been warped into one more akin to comic buffoonery than unbridled joy On Nov. 19, just a week before ‘Thanksgiving, Short filed a lawsuit against the commission and county, claiming they conspired to deprive him of his civil rights by suchrecalcitrant acts as docking his pay and culling his staff. His lawsuit lacks the dramait oth- erwise would have, since it merely con- tinues a longtime adversarial relationship between Short and commissioners characterized by lawsuits, charges and countercharges. Indeed, one of these legal headbutting contests currently is before the Utah SupremeCourt, namelythe question of who or what is the countyattor- Letters from The Tribune’s readers ney’s client: the county commission or the county andits residents as a whole? Commissioners have been as eager as Short to play the game. Not to be outdonebythe attorney’s Nov. 19 lawsuit, commissioners Nov. 24 drafted a letter to Short saying he can no longer representthe county or direct its legal staff because of a conflict of interest created by his lawsuit. Apparently, they would have him simply draw his last month of pay, a reward for en- forced idleness. Onits face, the commissioners’letter is proper. It does not take a law school’s course on ethics to determine it is wrong to continue representing a client that oneis suing. Nevertheless, commissioners have millennium computer bug and all the hype next year leading up to it pale beside the fact that muchof this ongoing foolishness between Doug Short and the commission will end after 1999 begins, will renewthe February proposal in the next Congress or moveon. This year’s proposal had two main parts — an increase in the child-care tax credit for the middieclass, and a compa- rableincreasein a program ofchild-care grants to the states that mainly benefit the poor. The president backed away after the defeat of the tobacco-tax inse on which he had countedto finance the program. the money, the paymentsthe states re- ceive from the tobacco companies under whosimply don’t care? Is it ever a parent’s right to let a 12-year-oldlisten to music which describes sexualacts in de- 80 times? These specific songs and CD's card. One must question the financial soundness of carrying items that are stolen in such great quantity. But even more importantly, ourlibrary needs to devise a system wherethese types of items are not availableto any child. Thisis the only appropriate response for a society that prides itself on protecting children. NANCY RECTOR new angles on this problem. First of all, skateboarding as a sport has, in most cities, no place for athletes obscureprovision of the settlement that the industry insisted was necessary to was made aware of this and helped to down bythe same amount; so reads an As for the Republicans, the alternative ate this year would have guaranteed the increased aid the president proposed for the middle class while leaving the poor to fight for theirs a year at a time within the appropriations process — and even theincrease for the middle class would have been attenuated. Lest they be ac- cused of favoring working mothers over those who stay at home, the group would have given the tax credit to both. What began as a child-care proposal was convertedfor ideological reasonsinto a gen- eralized tax cut. In the House, meanwhile, rather than increase child-care funds, Republicans are considering giving states greater freedom to use exist- renewshis proposal. TheSalt Lake Tribune KEARNS-TRIBUNE CORPORATION, 143 S. MAIN ST. SALT LAKECITY, 84111 Spurn Severance Pay In the year 2000, the current commission form of Salt Lake County government will be replaced by a council/mayor form. Two of the current commissioners will receive hefty severance packages for the two yearsof their term notserved. The severance packages together are worth almost half a million park, What other sports do you know can be very destructive to local property. Wewatched as the marble steps, plant- ers, and trim in front of the Ogden City Centre building were chipped away by skateboardersillegally practicing their tricks. We found ways to build in deterrents to skateboarding on these marble installations, but they cost taxpayers a lot of money dowsof businesses, or soccer teamsplaying on private lawns. There's no reason for Sugar House businesses to put up with destruction of their property, or in- timidation of customers. Local skate- boarders need to clean up their act and be grateful for parks that are beingbuilt for them — at no little expense, I might add, to taxpayers. ADELE SMITH Ogden Q trade showsand other events across the state in order to explain the reasons for supporting Proposition 5. Don Peay and his group did a great job of organizing these volunteers and certainly should be recognized in that respect. RICHARD SMITH Salt LakeCity which, like our federal Constitution, strike a balance that protects and meets the interests of most everyone. On the other hand, referendums are not usually the product of compromise, rather,a polarized position on a particu- lar issue of the day, They pass with 50 percentplus onevote, leaving the views of the other 49 percent completely unrepresented. True, referendumsare pure democracy, but so is a lynch mob where emotions overrule commonsense. In a pure democracy, we wouid vote on everything. The constancy of the rule of law would be replaced by referendum rule driven by the stampede of the day. Unfortunately, success of a referendum is more often determined by the organizational and promotionalskills of opponents and proponents than the merits of the proI strongly oppose weakening the effect of my vote, and I yoted for Prop. 5 be- get shortfall ($37.5 million and counting) and the subsequentneedto raise taxes, I support the commissioners’ decision not to accept the half a million dollars in sev- to get 67 percent support then it has a greater chanceof including myviews. packages,GivenSalt Lake County’s bud- erance. I would like Commissioners Callaghan and Shurtleff to back their promises not to accept the severance with a written promise and a voluntary resolution that they will not under any circumstances accept the severance money. The law causeofthat reason.If an issueis crafted ‘The supermajority requirementought to be appliedto all referendums. Maybe it should be applied to acts of the Legislature and Congressas weil. This would ensurethat laws passed wouldtruly be the will of the people. One sure result is that our lawmakers would pass fewer laws, and I can’t see that as bad. KENNETH M. NIELSON Leamington states that elected officials receive severance, but these sameofficials can indeed refuse to accept the severance if oO promisedto do. want the people of Salt Lake County to hold these elected officials to their promises. It’s easy during an election year to make promises, butit's not so easy for us citizens to get our elected officials to keep those promises. Mary Callaghan and Mark Shurtleff — keep your promiseby putting it in writing and I'll sleep better at night knowing that you didn’t contribute to the already strained county budget and my next tax increase. WENDYSMITH I know we wouldn't tolerate golf balls or basketballs going through the win- mulate laws. Usually these laws are the result of negotiation and compromise each publicly stated over and over that they would not accept the severance Politicians have short memories and I However, while skateboarders wait for skate parks to be built, their boards than welike to think. We elect people to representus in the Legislature and Con- gress. Their job is to research and for- posal. they do so voluntarily, as both have with no legal place to play? In view of the disappointmentof Tribune editorial writers and many Public Forum contributers, like it or not, the result of Prop. 5 is more consistent with our representative form of government dollars! The two commissioners have budget to build Ogden’s first skateboard Utahns who volunteered their many hours of time manning booths atfairs, ; Utah 84110. i Our fax numberis (801) 237-2316. push through some money in the city I would like to thank the hundreds of PAST PUBLISHERS PUBLISHER Dominic Welch EDITOR James E, Shelledy the Ogden City Council a few years ago, I CommendsProp. 5 Volunteers UTAH’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1871 Where to Write 1 When submitting letters to the Public Forum, please include your full name,signature, address and daytime telephone numbers. Information other than your nameand thecity in which you live are kept confidential Keepit short. Concise letters developing a single theme are morelikely to be published. | mPlease type and double space W Letters are condensed andedited. Because of the volume of mail received, not all submissions are published. W@ Mail to Public Forum, ‘The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, tail? Or listen to an albumwhichuses the f-wordover 175 times? Or one where wo- to practice their sport. As a member of child care — or not. It would be up to them. Those are among the deflections the president will have to deal with if he Jerry O'Brien (1983-1994) what if parents are not aware of what is available? And what about the parents their recently settled lawsuit will go seek an increase in the tobaccotax, but that has become a more-complicated proposition. If the federal tobacco tax John W. Gallivan (1960-1983) This is the parents’ responsibility. But Sugar House. I'd liketo give a couple of ing welfare and social-service funds for John F. Fitzpatrick (1924-1960) Thelibraryhasstated that they are not responsible for what children check out. TheSalt Lake City Council has been criticized for banning skateboarding in Next year, the president again could goes up, and the states receive some of haveaccessto this type of material at all should concern us. o A Proper Place developed by the small groupin the Sen- The questionis whether the president are stealing the largest portion of these things. It is kids. The fact that children Taylorsville It's a good idea, but in theend, insteadof finance other undertakings. as it comesin. Andit is not adults who arein the libraryand there are hundreds more available to anyone with library Even the uncertainties of the Y2K keep the states from double-dipping administration countenanced a sizable cut in a source of child-care money to sex are disappearingat an alarming rate of these things and I can verify that “porn-rock’’ music disappearsas quickly other's authority anddecisions. going gameof puerile tweaking of each increasein federal child-care subsidies, an expansion of existing programs, the ing those aboutthe occult, rock stars and (50,000 plusa year). I have tracked many menare referred to as the b-word over Child-Care Dilemma some$20billion worth over five years It seemsthe Salt Lake Public Library can’t keep people from stealing “The Satanic Bible” off its shelves. Items includ- been as goofy as they claim Short has been. It does take two to tango, and they have been eager playersin the on- Condensed From The Washington Post gress in February disappeared from legislative viewso quickly that most people don’t even rememberthat it was proposed. The president requested a major Proper Decision Pernicious Collection ANOTHER VIEW The most ambitious initiative in the budget President Clinton sent to Con- THE PUBLIC FORUM their community to project. Short vs. Commission ‘This is supposedto be the season of PLAINEN Riverton o Tithing Issues In response to who “contributed their hard earned tithing” to the political views of the LDS Church, isn't it also reasonable to believe that perhaps the “church” encompasses more than one corporation? There seem to be those individuals who would believe these things to be untrue. Isn't the issue of same-sex marriages more of a moral issue than a political one? These people seem to believe that Americais in a “moralcrisis,” yet one of the most outspoken advocates of morality should not be allowed to contribute to this cause whichit so strongly believes in. Would these individuals show such Chauvinistic Beliefs great disagreement if the LDS Church were to participate politically against 1 hope the sentiments conveyed in Ronald Hathcock’s letter (Forum, Nov. 18) are not shared bythe majority of the peoplein this valiey. I find it very unfortunate that someone mayassumethat be- cause I don’t share his beliefs, I must have no appreciation for things like a rainbowora child's smile. I am offended by the accusation that I am motivated strictly by greed, power, and physical urges, just as I’m sure Mr. Hathcock would be offendedby the accusation that his good deeds are spawnedbythe desire for a reward in heaven rather than a genuine desire to help another person. Mr. Hathcock, I do not share your be- liefs but please don't pity me forit. Although it may bring youa senseof security to think otherwise, yourbeliefs don’t entitle you to a monopoly on value. JEFF YORGASON Murrayy such issues as, say, legalizing murder or drug use? I do not wish to take a position on the marriageissue one way or another as I believe thatis a whole otherissue. I simply don’t understand why these people think that their tithing money went to- ward a political contribution, and thus they ‘‘will no longer contribute their 10 percent” to the political views of the LDS Church. How do they even know their 10 percent went to a political contribution? Thefactof the matteris, no one knows whether that money came from tithing or cattle ranches. And until those persons do know fora fact where that money camefrom, they should not make public assumptions. JUSTIN WATTERS Salt Lake City ,