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Show J Parents advised Brigham City, Utah June 2, 1977 Thursday, BOX ELDER JOURNAL, 2 Get in there . and read ! . . J. McCarty Executive Secretary Utah Education Association Here it is summer already, and finally we have a chance to relax and let down. But this can be a problem for children. Research shows that young students sail along splendidly as readers during the school year, but when summer comes they let down and all but stop reading. This lapse hurts their reading skills. So what are we going to do about it? Well, Dr. Nancy Livingston, reading specialist for the State Board of Education, has some thoughts on that. Among by Dr. Daryl them: First, Residents have been biting on tax bullet Mayor Harold B. Felt suggested to us this week that an editorial appearing in the May 29 Box Elder News may have been unfair in assuming something that, in fact, was not the case. The mayor said it was not his intention to imply in his annual budget message that local citizens have not been touched by fee increases in recent years. And that we erred in inferring that he did. The chief executive was friendly, not hostile, in bringing this to our attention. And we appreciated that he would drop this bone of contention on our desk and not gnaw on it as a martyred public servant with everyone but us. WE WILL CONCEDE the mayors point to a degree. Nonetheless, the thrust of his message and that of the new record budget with its attendant tax and rate increases was this: We have tried to skimp for too long and the time has come to bite the bullet. 9 Our response was that, although v across-the-boar- i wi d the mass increases now proposed may be justified, local folks have been jawing on that proverbial bullet if not cracking their dentures thereon for the past years. But its not our intent here to split hairs. We and the mayor and all persons interested in efficient city operation share the same goal and the same concerns. We want to sustain a high quality of life in our community, see that adequate services and programs are provided and do it with the most economical use of municipal income. three-and-a-ha- lf A DIVISION OF opinion is invited, however, on what constitutes economical, adequate and necessary. And thats why Brigham City citizens should have an interest in what happens to this proposed budget' and recommended increases. You and your neighbors have an opportunity to comment and ask questions this evening (Thursday) when the first of two public hearings is held in the city hall. Read the details in a front page story today. WuS Challenge is stiff for schools chief The man named Wednesday as Box Elder districts next superintendent of schools, Dr. Leonard F. Dalton, brings with him to the job an impressive background. Indeed, his credentials had to bear special merit. He was in competition with more than 50 other persons for the position. At the outset, then, he is a man who deserves respect for having survived the rigors of an initial screening of applications and later a personal interview by the board of education. There is little question that his formal education and accomplishments in the academic field have provided the tempering necessary to The Garn report by US Sen. Jake Gam A nwspapr WMkly 1901, Box published Eldar wry JOURNAL stbiishd in bv tht South Thursday 55 l, First Wait, Brigham City, Utah, B4302. Sacoftd Class postaga paid at tha 14 First Wait South post offica, Brigham City, Utah, 14302. Charlas "Tuff" Claybaugh Ganaral Managar Publishar Editor Bruca T. Kayas, Managing Mika Parry, Sports Editor Sarah Yatas, Sociaty Editor rata $10.00 par yaar pay Subscription abla in advanca in connection with tha Box Eldar Journal (published Thursdays) in Box Eldar County. rata $14.00 par yaar pay-abSubscription in advanca in connaction with tha Box Thursdays) Eldar Journal (publishad outsida Box cular County. Arland Tingay, Nawspapar Supr. Van Claybaugh, Photo-Pres- s Supr. H. E. Andarson, Commarcial Printing Supr. NATIONAL NEWSPAPER AiittUtltM fmM uis fm prtu cn Sf This m SUSTAINING MEMBER 1972 space contributed by the publisher Maybe it will The five most the districts top administrative post. But, perhaps even more important will be the demands on his ability to communicate, to foster and promote good will in that broad community which encompasses teachers, principals, central staff plus students, parents and other citizens. The challenge is a stiff one for Dr. Dalton. But he impresses us as a man who has met and mastered challenges before. Wed like to wish him well and extend a Box Elder county welcome to the new superintendent and his family. We look forward to working with him in the future. dangerous words in the English language. American Cancer Society We want to cure cancer in your lifetime. to automate the customize their service to a restaurant, and to cut their work force by This would result in a loss of 6,000 jobs just within alternative but cafeteria-typ- e one-thir- d. An Agency For Consumer Advocacy? On April 6 President Carter called upon Congress to create an Agency for Consumer Advocacy. In his message to Congress the President said, one of the best steps we could take toward a leaner, more efficient government would be to create an Agency for ConConsumer Advocacy. sumers need one strong, central voice to speak for them within the government...! would rely on this group of people to help me probe constantly into the rest of the government... On the same day bills were introduced in the Senate and the House of Representatives to create the agency requested by the President. As outlined in the proposed legislation, the agency would be independent, with considerable powers to advocate consumer interests in the courts and before governmental agencies. The ACA would also be empowered to receive and act upon complaints from consumer groups and to obtain information from private business related to those complaints. The agency has been described as having a watchdog role over potential actions or existing policies which are not in the best interests of consumers. Similar The minimum wage is 'getting out of hand' One of the most important pieces of economic legislation to face the Congress this year will be the measure which would increase the minimum wage. A House subcommittee has already acted to raise the minimum from the present $2.30 per hour to $3 per hour. The full committee will act on the legislation in the near future and a similar bill is expected in the Senate no later than this summer. The idea of a minimum wage was bom in the days of the sweat shops when exploitative employers took advantage of less than skilled employees almost to the point of slave labor. There was justification for establishing a wage floor. However, it is now getting out of hand. Just as the bill to increase the minimum wage is one of the most important pieces of economic legislation to come before the Congress, so also could it be one of the most damaging. When the wage is set too high, it causes unemployment. In fact, every time the minimum has increased, so has unemployment. When an employer is forced by government edict to pay a higher wage then he can afford, he must cut back on the number of his employees. It is estimated by some experts that if the minimum were increased to $3, it would put 750,000 to one million people out of work. Particularly small businesses which could not pay the tab would be forced to reduce the number of employees. of a nationwide fast food chain which The wrote saying that if the employes 18,000 people recently minimum wage were raised to $3, they would have no vice-preside- nt ELDER BOX their system. He correctly points out that if this figure were mulitiplied by the number of other nationwide fast food restaurants, the number of jobs eliminated would be more than significant. One of the biggest tragedies in all this would be that such unemployment would hit hardest at those who can least afford it: the youth and the unskilled, whose rates of joblessness are already far above the national average. When I was going to college, I was willing to work for almost any amount of money I could make. It would have been devastating to me if my employers had let me go because they couldnt pay what the government said they must. There are two other potential dangers which must be explored. The absence of jobs in the private sector adds to the pressure for the government to create public service jobs which, of course, increases deficit spending and fuels the inflationary fires. Also adding to inflation and the subsequent pain to consumers would be passed on to the buying public in the form of higher prices for goods and services. Some level of minimum wage is necessrary but an increase to $3 per hour is unjustified and would be extremely l " detrimental to our economy, especially at a time when everyone is concerned about our unacceptably high level of inflation and unemployment. legislation proposals have long commanded strong support from various consumer groups and some elements of the business community, including Montgomery Ward, Zenith, Mobil Oil and Polaroid, but efforts in recent years to create an Agency for Consumer Advocacy have been An amended version of the current bill was considered by the Senate in 1974. Six weeks debate ending in filibuster killed the proposal in spite of four attempts to end debate and vote on the bill. In 1975 consumer advocates were optimistic. But the measure died in conference committee after passing both houses of Congress when President Ford threatened a go to the library regularly with your youngsters during the summer. And when you go, dont stand around watching them read. Let them see you reading along with them. Dont make reading a task kind of activity. Let the kids read the kind of things that are fun for them. Travelling this summer? Then make a game of having the children pick out words on road signs for rapid recognition. (If you are driving, though, let the others play those games while you keep your eyes on the four-lane- .) Boys, generally speaking, have more trouble learning to read than girls. So have them look up scores on Little League games on the sports pages. Let them see that reading is a practical thing. You can do this by having them read labels on the breakfast cereal boxes, the route names on buses and street signs. different Boys usually like books on experiences, adventure, exploration, fantasy, outdoor life, sports especially ones with surprise twists, action, comedy and fanciful passages. If your child isnt old enough for school, teachers suggest that you read to that youngster. It helps them to understand that those black marks on the pages stand for something and that they can tell stories. In the Uintah School district, teachers will be visiting in dozens of homes to read to children. As for your school-ag- e offspring, encourage them to read and they wont suffer summer skill loss. while exercising in the school yard because of pollution saturation. In that connection, I found it very foolish years ago for local kids to chase after the mosquito spray-trucgaily inhaling, in big gulps, clouds of spray fog. Every should wear a respirator, and so poision should men handling insulation materials, such as rock wool, for the protection of their lungs! A much more serious type of lung disease is known as respiratory tract cancer which occurs in cases of prolonged exposure to asbestos, arsenic, beryllium, nickel, and radio-activ- e particles, for example. Tolerance as regards inhaled particles of the numberless metallic, mineral, and organic irritants varies, of course, wit each individual. When the irritant dust particles cause lesions in the lung(s), you have what is called pneumo-conio-s(lung disease). All types of influenza or flu are disabling or lethal if accompanied by lung infections. Therefore, when swine flue was predicted last fall, swine flu vaccine was dispensed liberally to protect the populace against that type of flu and the lung infections which could be expected to accompany any epidemic or pandemic outbreak of swine flu. Curiously and fortuately enough, as I had predicted in a letter to this column, swine flu did not break out. when aggraGenerally speaking, air pollution-especiall- y vated by a weather phenomenon called temperature inversion-exposes everybody to many irritants and pollutants that can cause lung ailments like emphysema. Even cystic fibrosis may possibly be due to chromosome breakage brought on by environmental causal factors. k, spray-applicat- veto. The obvious question must be raised what is there about this bill that stops its passage? Opponents of the consumer agency remind that such legislation creates another new bureaucracy with a dangerously vague authority to intervene in governmental and private business sectors. What is really needed, the opponents argue, is stronger oversight and increased ef- - ficiency of existing agencies for consumer protec- tion. Another problem with real substance is the creation of another level of government red tape with the attendant lack of true concern for the people. The prominent adversaries of a consumer agency include the United States Chamber of Commerce, The National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable. As one small businessman recently said of the proposed agency, Free enterprise is so today that survival is next to impossible, and more regulation will force consumer prices even higher, bog government down and push federal spending skyward. over-regulat- Letters to the Editor ... The editor invites and welcomes letters for publication in these columns. However, contributions must be signed and also bear the writer's adress and telephone number. It is suggested that letters not exceed 250 words in length. Everyone's exposed Editor: Hippocrates, the legendary father of medicine, diagnozed about 2400 ago as potters rot a lung disease contracted by potters or workers in ceramics. Coal mining brought with it a lung ailment called black lung or anthraco-silicosi- s through habitual inhalation of coat dust. The Industrial Revolution ushered in many new industries, and the handling of thousands of minerals, and later on, of a legion of synthetic chemicals, led to a big increase in lung diseases as a result of the respiratory hazard of breathing in irritants in the form of small metallic or mineral or dust particles. Industrial safety in modem industry in and health laws have resulted virtual control of most of the occupation dust hazards. But this does not mean that we have solved the industrial or the automobile exhaust pollution problems. Even such as cops on traffic duty or school children can and do become exposed to such pollutants. For example, we have all heard of, or seen pictures of, little Japanese school children forced to wear gas masks rs or is sincerely yours, Adolph Kaltwasser, Brigham City Resents tabernacle use Editor: This is a complaint to the general public that once again Junior High school officials have held the commencement exercises of the school in the Mormon tabernacle, Brigham City. While the action taken is less than court case, it is also something more than an annoyance. For my part I would defend Protestant and Mormon children from having to graduate in a Catholic church and by the same token I resent Catholic youth from being forced to attend such a ceremony in the Mormon tabernacle. I see no reason that adequately warrants this action; the high school facilities could easily have been reserved. Coming at a time the American Civil Liberties union is challenging the educational system of Utah on the seperation of church and state, this commencement exercise seems to be flagrant in its violation. We trust this will be the last time this ever takes place. To do otherwise would only give credibility to the oft repeated saying, Some United States citizens are only second class citizens in this state of the United States. With regrets, Rev. James J. Divlin SJ, Assistant Pastor, St. Henrys Box Elder Stirring up trouble? |