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Show NcwU1ah.Thun,da,,Ma,d,2.l.2.-l-ate2 New Ulah Pleasant Grove RevicwLindon liJilion Opinion Elizabeth Smart is finally hor Looking out for each other One of the top news stories ' of last week, if not the last year, has been the recovery of Elizabeth Smart. Local, statewide, even national and international attention has been focused on our area as the young woman was recovered after a nine-month nine-month ordeal about which we may never hear the full details. Family members, law enforcement officers, friends and the general public have expressed deep and profound gratitude for efforts put forth since last June.. Some people were able to join search parties par-ties while others prayed for her safe return. As Elizabeth and her two captors traveled in Utah and California, they had a number of near misses as individuals came close to identifying them and reporting them to authorities. author-ities. Credit goes to all who tried to help, including Alvin and Anita Dickerson who were the ones who reported their location loca-tion to police in time for them to apprehend the trio. There have been measures taken, in part because of the focus on the Elizabeth Smart disappearance, to help members mem-bers of the public find a way to assist law enforcement officers. offi-cers. One is called the Rachael Alert, and gets details out about a victim and suspected kidnapper. First the information informa-tion goes to radio and television; televi-sion; then it expands to electronic elec-tronic highway signs, flyers, trucking communication devices, computers and pagers. All the marvels of modern communications come down to one thing, however: It takes cooperation from the citizens. All the electronics ever invented invent-ed have to rely on the eyes of humans. It takes caring and concern to get people involved in the first place. The marvels of the media simply help them get the message across and helps the public know what the particular par-ticular needs are. Whether or not there is a kidnapper and victim on the loose, we must all become involved in watching out for our friends, neighbors and their welfare. It's the American Ameri-can way. Stand up and be counted - the right way Opinions about how President Bush is handling the current state of affairs with Iraq run deep. Some support the President without with-out question, focusing on the importance of protecting numerous numer-ous freedoms, not to mention the need to protect our own citizens. KJ J n i , 1 lost." I agree. We're all on the same Others oppose just as strongly page here. I'm sure most, if not all the President's stand to use force," of us don't want to see war with if necessary, to disarm Iraq, stating stat-ing that diplomacy and the United Nations inspectors should be given more time. Certain celebrities have been especially vocal about their feeling feel-ing toward the impending war and towards President Bush himself. him-self. At a recent Dixie Chicks concert con-cert in London England, Natalie Maines, lead singer for the group told the crowd: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." The Dixie Chicks, country music's hottest female band, is also from Texas. It's one thing to state this type of opinion on one's own soil, but to make this type of a statement in a foreign country, while on stage, is a poor choice of judgment indeed. This statement of presidential non-support by Ms. Maines has since caused harsh criticism by would-be fans of the Dixie Chicks, to the point that Maines has since made additional comments, and an eventual apology. Since Maines' original critical remark, the group released the following statement: "We've been overseas for several weeks... The anti-American sentiment that has unfolded here is astounding. While we support our troops, there is nothing more frightening than the notion of going to war with Iraq and the prospect of all the innocent lives that will be Iraq occur either, and I hope we all share similar concerns. To her credit, Ms. Maines also made the following apology: "As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. disre-spectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect." Regardless of how one feels about the current situation, it appears that war with Iraq is almost imminent. In last Monday's Mon-day's Daily Herald, the paper reported through an associated press article that U.N. inspectors have flown most of their helicopters helicop-ters out of Iraq amid fears of imminent war and Germany has advised its citizens to leave the country. These issues hit close to home as well. My wife and I have a 17-year 17-year old-son who we would like to A miracle occurred last week when Elizabeth Smart was found. A large community - not just Salt Lake City, or Utah, but the entire country - shared in the joy of a lost child being found and returned home. For a brief period, we let go of thoughts of disaster and impending impend-ing war and simply felt the delight of Elizabeth's return. The nine-month mystery of Elizabeth's Eliza-beth's whereabouts had come to a close. As Elizabeth's family, friends, and neighbors showed their love by decorating the neighborhood with blue ribbons, I thought about the young Pleasant Grove boy who, nearly a year ago today, was missing. I recalled the massive mas-sive search effort that people gave for this child. Little Zachary Furner, only five years old and autistic, had disappeared. disap-peared. Neighbors turned out in droves to search for the boy. Fortunately, For-tunately, he was found a day later, a bit hot and sweaty, but safe, in the trunk of his family's car. It is amazing, and a wonderful example of community cohesive-ness, cohesive-ness, when people band together to search for one who is lost. It shows that we, collectively, possess a great deal of nobility and goodness. It also shows how we value the uniqueness and preciousness of each individual. The (jr, , oat wuiU hund;5 ' that the $c"4arlc make- Therfc ata tlon a"d im Iigh lives. "Fas inThre poi T nd Ve fu l0peEl:, and to CfjntinUe yrho c friends. and (aShe she will be . dres childhood 0e d: The in El-tion all young chj..h m, ls safe at hrJttays. iiy, surround lance munity. dest Linda wihere pres lalds It's spring (cleaning) time again"- 1 The first day of spring ought to be a joyous time. It happens this year on March 20, today. It's the signal that the storms and cold of winter are over, or at least beginning to end. This year, though it feels like we've had spring for the last two months. Every once in a while a cold front or storm front would come in, but they rarely stayed long and then it was back to balmy, spring-like weather in January and February. Don't get me wrong, I like spring, well, I like most of spring. I'm not real crazy about that annual tradition called spring cleaning. Spring cleaning has its origins back in medieval Europe. Come fall, those Europeans (including my ancestors) would get ready for winter by cutting fresh rushes rush-es to put on the floor. Then, they would bring all the animals in to keep them warm for the winter. Of course, the animal's ani-mal's body heat would also help r -.... i , keep the humans warm. All winter long, the animals, owners and any visitors would live inside their small homes. They had big smoky fires. They would also throw the bones from their meat on the floor for the dogs. Millions of little bugs also lived in the rushes. When spring finally came, they would clean out their homes by throwing all the old rushes out. Then they would banish the pigs, sheep and goats back to the barnyard and sweep their dirt floors. Much of the spring, summer and into the fall, they'd eat outside, out-side, so the inside was clean until winter came again. Even understanding this origin ori-gin for the tradition of spring cleaning doesn't help me like it anv better. and s saic m se start to wi: itl The wonderful gift books can bri? I've been feeling a little down lately, and realized I'm probably suffering from the effects of too much bad news. With constant talk of imminent war and rising gas prices, as well as a sluggish economy, it's amazing amaz-ing we are able to get out of bed in the morning. After going through the motions one particular day, I ended up at the library for a child's science project. As soon as I walked through the door, I saw a display of recommended rec-ommended children's picture 1 1 "'" ' "II "" III I books, including some with which keep on American soil as long as I had become familiar at a vounir age. possible. He has his own set of dreams, and going to war isn't included in that list. He would rather, during the next few years, have the time to restore his '67 Mustang, and to achieve other goals that he is working towards. I hope he has that chance, but more importantly, we are Americans, Ameri-cans, and we support the cause of preservation, freedom, and God-given God-given rights. Greg Hall can be reached at gahall61yahoo.com There was Harold with his purple pur-ple crayon, beckoning me toward him, daring me not to remember the day I was able to sign my name and get my first library card so I could finally check out books of my very own. I picked up the book and could immediately visualize the old bedspread on my mom's bed, where I first turned the pages of "Harold and the Purple Pur-ple Crayon." I think I even smelled cookies baking, but that may have been conjured up out of some kind of cliche in the back of my mind. I wandered the rows of picture books, even though I was there on a completely nonfiction assignment, assign-ment, perusing covers old and new, pleased with the increased quality and quantity of children's books being published in recent years. I saw books I bad read for the first time with each of my children. chil-dren. I chuckled to myself after seeing some that made me laugh hysterically for their cleverness. I saw the books that were thought-provoking, thought-provoking, the ones that were maybe a tad overly sentimental, but sweet nonetheless, and the ones that I admired solely for their beauty. For a good 30 minutes, I literally literal-ly lost myself in reminiscing about various children's books. Vivid images literally Hashed before my eyes as I recalled r, wn . USnot,riuir ng-Ilikea,f mc as the nextillenj spring seem; t of : to do it. s. I wantUng w the warmth -c bro yard, not r. down walls o: T 1 1 Know lt;; It's not iCll important v,-v our modernl, are clinical r.ighes those early i.yrnn; and with c-progi techniques atU kept verve!:;; n tn No, spnrrashiI . -'lMei more about i UrrO1 : h as monotonous rstat( Spring Citiinn & ritual begiuz;c mei cleaning ni i Ariz accept it. place I'm just c::n b , . flooi doing the w::; ,. . , vauJ this part:cu.r-iuali regi itler, w' ault, 1 Arc scenes in i.-xerci these boob r.Hans , , , . rst o suddenlv rei isgr ing because i tQ c were good. ggion The feebp ying been feeling - me the com'"' i, of '. brought by s'ft or gathered up sm 1 them out "'- COnilllUC r.'-f pj, children eve: pm t become much f Yo much rarer c-'" 9:20 P C:is nricej'e Ring rise, auu"" abound, and lint thev ahv'lvi RemenM :jCiA tho70'sMdo However, i mure, and the more invito m So . t" - This i? L., local , I Movie t raters si?1" 00 7n5 gooo tonight d chilrnJ dy Ba priM" 15 2:30 4 New Utah American Fork Citizen, Pleasant Grove Review, Lchi Free Press, Lindon New Utah, Lone Peak New Utah 59 W. Main American Fork, UT 84003 An edition of The Daily Herald, a Pulitzer, Inc. newspaper USPS 018-580 (ISSN: 1521-6845) NEWSSTAND PRICE: 50 cents SUBSCRIPTION RATE: 1 year - $26 (in county) $35 (out of county) (Thursday and Sunday plus Holiday deliveries) lloli(hiy deliveries include delivery Ilie week of luislcr. Memorial, Independence, I'ioncer, Labor, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's. Wc welcome news tips. Call 756-7669 to report a news tip or if you have a comment or a question. We welcome letters to the editor. All letters must include the author's name (printed AND signed) and a telephone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, punctuation, taste and length. Letters are welcome on any topic. DliADLlNHS Classified Advcrtisini! . i " 'l Ml. 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