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Show t rtkt Km!) Ut r ' ti HiVlt-- horumnni UTTERS TO THE EDITOR School volunteers should not bo restricted Tin? f.ly thing tffcnivtf nvtf vf Mr. bus SUuiiicfhvk concerning I DS is the tidily nni.tn4Mcs volyniming their service to the Daws Cwiniy uKmU, ry lie Mates ihe schools are in tJeperaie need of volunteers but we need to reject everyone who dies not meet bis crueru. hy would it be offensive if n'her faults had representatives offering their community service to these schools? I think the school district would welcome volunteer from other faiths l.ke Catholic, Jewish, Lutheran. Itaptist, Ihesbytertan, Kchimied I DS, Witness, cl ul. lets get our head out of the bag and look ariwnd us. Ihcsc faiths are here and are a part of our society whether tie likes it or not. He says we should have a dosed dotr" policy and restrict all religious denominations from volunteering in public schools. He aw states we should just parents of die students, um? Majbe he is living in a dream world but tliese parents are of the rcbgmns he menu. ms in his anisic, In dtrir own right these parents are al representatives of their respective religions. So now must we screen them parents to make sure they meet his criicna? 1116 teachers are also of the same denominations. Do we also have to screen them so they meet his critena too? If he thinks we have a shonage now, who will we have if we use hts criteria to select dune who instruct our students? lie must have a dim view of our Davis County School District and ihe way they are educating I support the district and their efforts to have the best for our children. Aw Shape our children. South IIWsrT Tho miracle at Layton Commons Park Megan Krebs was a typical 5- She would run laughing while she rlayed with her friends. A loving child she was prone to give (hove around her hugs. year-ol- She often told her parents and family she loved them. She was an intelligent child and understood most of what was going on around her. She was an intelligent child and understood most of what was going on around her. She even understood the fact she had cancer. She had a rare form of cancer known as Neuroblastoma which affects the adrenal gland. In most situations it corrects itself but not in Megan's case. It began to grow and spread. She underwent the usual treatments of chemotherapy w hich often made her sick. Davis men have special seat for long 1 ccording to a recent study, men in I. Cache, Rich and Davis counties live . JUongcr than most men in the rest of Viewpoint thecountry. The Harvard University study showed thcl men in Cache and Rich counties, with a life expectancy of 77.5 years, lived longer th,in any other men in the country. Davis County was sixth out of counties in the U.S. with an average life expectancy of 76.5 years. I wonder why that is? I cant speak for Cache and Rich counresident of Davis ties, but being a long-tim- e County I have a few ideas. The obvious reason is lifestyle. We Davis men tend to drink less, smoke less and stay activities. away from high-ris- k OK, so were dull. We probably end up boring all our peers comto death, thus eliminating the age-ol- d petition. Actually, there might be some other contributing factors. For instance, any male, no matter the age, who gets up at 5:30 a.m. in December to take the plunge at Surf N Swim when it doesnt have a bubble is tough enough to survive anything. Because the pool hasnt received its bubble yet, courageous men and boys (alright, and some women) have dared icy temperatures to work out. Pretty soon Davis County will have its Howell g Andy Davis County Editor own polar bear club much like those in Minnesota whose members routinely go out for a dip in the lake during the winter months. Then there is Lagoon. With the amusement park right in our backyard, we Davis County men start out early in life building up our hearts while experiencing the Collossus and the Jet Star rides. Dont forget Antelope Island. Regular trips to the state park help build up lungs by breathing in all that lake air at the entrance to the causeway, which also happens to be adjacent to the North Davis Sewer Treatment plant. Also mountain biking, hiking or horseback riding on a spring or fall Saturday afternoon helps develop our agility as we avoid all the others crowding the trails for the same experience. A healthy diet of buffalo burgers also probably contributes to our longevity. The many men who participate in the annual bison roundup also are destined for a . life long life, in particular the ones who ride in the buck of the pickups herding the bison across the island. This activity will build muscles, especially in the lower extremities. But habits can also lead to living longer. And in Davis County we have one particular trait that other men in other parts of the country dont follow - we lower the toilet scat. of Da- In an unofficial survey, 75 percent vis County men say they regularly put down the toilet seat after use. This is a dramatic improvement over the 3.3 percent of men who perform that duty nationwide. Nothing can contribute to a longer life for household than regumen in a mixed-gendlarly remembering this duty. But there is one major secret why Davis County men live so long. er Its Davis County women. With so many beautiful, intelligent, dynamic women residing in our county, we men just want to live longer. I hope that last statistic makes up for me being in the minority on the toilet seat survey. Andy Howell can be reached weekdays at 776-495- 1. As a final means of curing her the doctors ordered a bone marrow transplant. As many know this is a very painful treatment, but through it alt Megan remained the thoughtful, adorable and welt aware of what was happening to her. On her last day with her family she was still the tender She talked with her family. She even told her father not to take pictures of her while she was still in bed. Then the time came when Megan left all those who loved her and passed on to another world, a world that few of us know but we hope is better than this one. A place where there is no pain or suffering and parents dont lose their children to what seems the unfairness of life. It was summer when Megan left, and then came fall with its colors. Winter was well on its way when Woody, one of the directors at Layton City Parks decided to do something nice for Megans family. Woody had been a long-tim- e friend to Megans father. He was in charge of setting up the holiday lights for the Layton park. He decided to dedicate one of the displays in memory of Megan Krebs. Woodys crew decided on Pegasus which is a whimsical flying horse. The horse is rearing back on its hind legs. To the top of the head it stands 6 to 7 feet high. The wings are outstretched with a span of 12 feet. The frame is metal with mini Christmas lights attached. The wings are outlined with garland. It is very spectacular indeed. Over all it is one of the favorite displays at Layton Park. There is a plaque that reads, In memory of Megan Krebs." It had been over two years since Megan had left and it was the second season that Pegasus was on display. It was Dec. 30, 1995. There was a big storm that caused all the electrical breakers to switch off at the park. With all the electrical breakers switched off all the holidjy lights were off. all the lights except Pegasus. There it was as bright as ever with an unusual glow around it. Jancnc, an employee of Layton City, had decided to drive by and see how the displays were doing. When she saw the Pegasus all lit up and everything else out. She checked the breakers. She couldn't believe it. The Pegasus should have been turned off too. But there it was all lit up. A couple of days later Jancnc was talking to the parents of Megan. She told them about Pegasus being all lit up and how baffled all the parks people were. They told her it had been Megans birthday that night, so it was no wonder Pegasus was still up when everything else had gone out. This event, no matter how subtle, has become very special to many people. It gives hope to those who have lost children. It gives hope to all of us. It gives hope to things we dont understand, especially when someone close has gone on. These occurrences are gifts. What a better gift than a gilt of hope. Milt Neeley Roy Climate control treaty clouds outlook for nations farmers By DEAN KLECKNER American If Farm Bureau Federation president theres one thing those of us agriculture wish we could its the weather. So when talk turns to the issue of climate change, we listen. Unfortunately, right now we dont like what were hearing or seeing, especially as the United Nations meets in Kyoto, Japan, this month to sign an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which some - but not all - experts say are causing global climate change. Guest column In the first decade or so, theres been considerable debate I ajjout whether or not greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide, ni- trous oxide and methane) are contributing to increases in average global temperatures and adverse changes in the worlds cli- mate. Theres considerable evidence on both sides of the question and many different views about what to do about the problem, if it indeed exists. World leaders have been grappling with this scientific debate for years. In 1992, the U.S. and other nations signed the Rio Treaty that called for voluntary, non-bindi- measures to limit greenhouse gases. However, last year negotiators changed course and embraced Legally enforceable, binding targets for greenhouse gas reductions. Many na- tions, including United that spell out timetables and measures for reducing emissions. All of the proposals that will be debated at Kyoto are unacceptable. They all would have a dramatic effect on agricultural practices and productivity, hampering one of our most competitive industries. All of the proposals would mean new laws and regulations. For Farmer, those could take the form of new taxes 1 LjCOPY the States, have submitted proposals American agriculture is an unqualified, success story, and the envy of the world. Our citizens should loudly question any proposal such as the climate change treaty that would undetmine that success. - - To reach the emissions goals on fertilizer, limitations on production per acre for some crops, of most treaty proposals, the requirements for plowless soil United States would have to hike in the preparation, mandatory fallowing adopt a 25- - to of cropland, limits and restricprice of a gallon of gasoline, actions on livestock production, recording to most analysts. In my strictions on timber harvesting, industry, this would have a devand restrictions on the processastating effect. Farmers use a tremendous amount of petroleum ing, manufacturing and transporand petroleum-derive- d tation of food products. products to produce the nations food supHigher taxes, more regulations As a result production costs and red tape translate into higher ply. would soar. Economists in my food prices for all Americans and organization estimate that a runeconomic troubles for food proin fuel prices would slash ducers. Its not hard to imagine up farm income nationwide by 24 to how such a proposal, imposed 50 percent, depending on the throughout the economy, could cost our nation billions of dollars price increase. in reduced production and Impacts would vary by commodity. For corn growers, their 50-ce- nt production cost would rise 15 to 31 percent, depending on the increase in fuel prices. Their returns, or net profits, would plunge 23 to 51 percent. Dairy farmers would see less of an increase in their production costs - 4 to 7 percent, but their returns would be sliced by 26 to 53 percent. Another recent study, by sparks Companies, a Memphis-base- d agricultural consulting firm, painted a similarly bleak picture. Sparks estimates that production cost jumps and increased costs to others along the food handling and distribution chain will drive up consumer prices for food by nearly 3 percent, doubling the recent inflation trend. That increase is expected to hurt most the more d than of U.S. households that make less than 420,000 per year. Other Americans would be forced onto public feeding rolls by the higher costs associated with the treaty, which one-tjiir- V would put an additional 700,000 of our citizens in Food stamp and Child Nutrition programs at a cost of $2.1 billion per year. ' According to Sparks, the costs imposed on agriculture by a treaty would also mean a drop in farm exports, smaller farmers going out of business and possibly more government aid for farmers to counteract the economic hardships that would result. American agriculture is an unqualified success story and the envy of the world. Our citizens should loudly question any proposal that would undermine that success. There are lots of questions from all quarters whether a climate change treaty will actually help the environment, theres no doubt, however, that it will hurt our economy. Lets hope that if an agree-.- , ment is reached in Kyoto, our Senate will have the good sense-t- o reject it when it comes up for ratification next year. |