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Show Volume I , Issue X Page 13 The Ogden Valley News July 1999 Point of View Long Time Resident Dismayed Over Lack of Respect For Private Property Rights By Shanna Francis Darald Michelson from Hunstville has seen a lot of changes over the years in the Valley. Seeing an increase in the lack of respect for others’ property has been a point of change that has been particularly disturbing to this gentle and bright man. Mr. Michelson has had trouble in recent years trying to keep others from trespassing on his property. Fences have been cut and crops have been flattened. More recently, a youth on a four wheeler had a “hey day,” not mowing or bailing, but flattening Mr. Michelson’s grain crop that stood higher than an average man, except where the intruder had careened through the field gleaning a carefree joy ride at the expense of Mr. Michelson and his peace of mind. My own experience has led me to the same conclusion as I have witnessed a heightened disregard for others’ property, by old and young alike. Some seem to have no qualms about cutting through other people’s property to get to one destination from another–climbing through fences, removing barriers, disregarding “no trespassing” signs. Some trespassers stroll through others’ property as if it were a public park, others walk their dogs, some drive their all terrain vehicles. I have even witnessed others, driving heavy construction equipment through private property, taking wire cutters and cutting the fence in order to be able to do so. Beware if you happen to live on a corner lot, children walking to and from bus stops, or walking home seem to be oblivious to the fact they are wearing a path across someone else’s Letters to the Editor Reader Thanks Author For Special Feature Article Resident Urges Passage of Senate Bill Congratulations to Charlie Hasenyager for her informative presentation (OV News, 6/99) of the effect of nuclear fallout in Utah and other states from the 1950-80 Nevada Test Sites. We all need to be reminded. Our busy lives result in a dangerously faulty attention span limited to what happened today. We engage in massive denial of danger and darkness. Americans love happy endings. Thank you, Charlie, for urging all of us to challenge authority and insist on the release of the information we must have to protect our children’s lives. And thanks to OV News for printing this “Special Feature.” Going local may be the only way to pressure a secretive government. Imagine the resulting Utah landscape today if 40 years ago the U.S. Government had imposed an embargo against the Mormon lifestyle based on a communal economy benefitting the rich and poor working classes with good health care programs, scholastic opportunities, and basic food programs using the church welfare farm. Utahns would be struggling to improve their lives, living in ill-lit, unpainted houses. Using dial phones, typewriters, old cars of the post WWII era, and bikes. Many of the back streets would be unrepaired, littered with garbage. Turning 40 years old next month, I would have lived my entire life with no hope. Today, and for 40 years, the Cuban Nation, our little sister due to its close ties and common history, remains, despite the end of the Cold War, under a harsh U.S. unilateral blockade. Senators Bennett and Hatch have see-sawed on the latest round of Cuban issues now in Washington. This week, both houses will be voting to permit simple travel to and from Cuba. The Senate will vote on Cuban free trade of food & medicine. Senator Bennett voted to table the Freedom to Travel amendment to the Foreign Aid Appropriations Act S.B 1234, along party lines, as the votes began building in favor to finally lift that restriction. The passage of The Cuban Food & Medicine Security Act, SB 926, could Marjorie Hilton Eden, Utah lawn or field, destroying shrubs and other planted items that may happen to be in their way. The Forest Service has had a difficult time keeping ATVs and SUVs out of sensitive watersheds and other areas supporting sensitive plant species. Trespassers have had little regard for signs, gates and fences that have been erected in an effort to control these critical areas. Tax payers have to fund projects and extra manpower in an effort to curtail these destructive intruders. As parents, please discuss with your children, as I have often had to do with my own, the importance of respecting the property of others, and remind them that trespassing is unacceptable, at times destructive and costly, and often illegal. Stop in to Valley Market for all your summer Camping , Fishing & Grocery supplies easily pass in its wake. Will the fine citizens of Utah accept the World in the Winter games, yet allow our Senators to vote against bills that involve such simple principles of human decency. You can reach Senator Bennett at (202) 224-5444. Matt Frandsen Huntsville Baby Safe Home Last month’s article “Safety First for Children” was interesting and informative. As a parent, I feel it is absolutely critical that every home is equipped with basic baby proofing hardware. Many baby product manufacturers also realize the importance of a baby safe home and provide consumers with a wide range of choices to equip their homes. Unfortunately, not all manufacturers provide consumers with durable, effective “quality” products. As a professional baby proofer, I urge parents to seek quality products which are often difficult to find in stores (please consult your yellow pages under “baby products and services” for dealers). Parents will discover that an investment in durable, effective safety devices will be greatly appreciated and depended upon by all in the home of every baby and small child. Jennifer Johnson Babysafe Home Security Liberty, Utah |