| Show I Friday November 30 2001 A4 The Herald journal Our view New kid in town w hat is a “Black Beausome people it is a For ty”? stallion of book and movie fame for others it is a type of Gibson guitar and for still others it is a certain style of Stetson hat But to Cache Valley residents the term “Black Beauty” refers first and foremost to the big black barrels used for garbage pickup According to local lore the nickname was coined by former Herald Journal reporter John Wise who once wrote a humor article about alternative uses for the imposing recepticles The city-coun- ty article was accompanied by a photograph of Wise in hunting garb holding a shotgun while standing inside a Black Beauty Well after more than a decade of loyal service the valley's beloved black trash barrels are now sharing the spotlight (or should that be streetlight) with a new can on the block It's an olive green trash barrel of the exact same proportions that is being used in Logan’s pilot recycling program If the pilot program succeeds and the green barrels come into common usage it just wouldn’t seem right for the green barrels not to have a nickname too So if anyone out there has a suggestion please drop us a line and we will share it with readers Our proposed nickname: “Green Monsters” Your view security-bettget our own house in order by acting instead of reacting It is necessary for those in chaige to get their act together with regard to jail safety not next week but instantly even if it means a change in supervising personnel on all shifts Who is supervising the supervisors? Who can attest to the understanding the employee in charge has of the gravity the critical aspect of his assignment Are these persons victims of minimum wage with little prospects of advancement or are they content with what they have? er raises questions To the editor: We in this community are pleased to hear that a recent jail break plot was foiled but questions remain 1 How long has the mechanical locking system in “A" block been malfunctioning? 2 How long had the inmates in this maximum security unit been planning their escape? 3 Why were the inmates only transferred once the escape plan was discovered? Why was a transfer not placed in order once it was known dial the mechanical locking system was malfunctioning? 4 The Herald Journal article stated that Williamson said he could not release details of the lock malfunctions Why is this so secretive information? Are none of the locks at the jail functioning? 5 Who oversees the security and safety of our jail? The staff and other inmates were in potential danger because of this malfunctioning lock but also we who live in this community were in danger from those in maximum security escaping This is a time in our country when citizens are looking for -- Lee Hobbie Lojm Pride the scourge that got us here To the editor The flurry of patriotism that is among us now shows us that there are a lot of good people out there that love America and freedom But let’s not celebrate our own destruction because of our lack of understanding The scourge that got us here is pride And what are our leaders telling us? Have pride and we will protect you Mike Lowe Lewiston Lawmakers UJS SENATE-UTASen Robert Bennett Republican — US Senate Washington DC Utah office: 20510 (202) 4225 Federal Building 125 S State St Salt Lake City UT 84138 (801) H 524-593- 6142 Idaho office: 801 E Sherman Pocatello ID 83201 (208) 5 236-677- 44 3 Sen Orrin Hatch Republican — US Senate Washington DC 1 Utah office: 5 205 10 (202) 8402 Federal Building 125 S State St Salt Lake City UT 84138 (801) 224-52- 524-43- 80 UJS HOUSE-UTA- H James V Hansen Republican — Represents 1st Congressional District which includes Cache County Washington office: 2466 Rayburn Building US House of Representatives Washington DC 20515 (202) 3 Utah office: 1017 Federal 25th St Ogden UT 324 Building 7 84401 (801) or 225-045- 625-567- UJS SENATE-IDAH- Editor’ note: Presented below are two perspectives !rom Cache Valley residents on national forest protection Issues The authors submitted them separately this month In the interest of balance we have decided to couple them together on this page although readers should be advised neither author wrote his essay with a presentation in mind “pro-co- n' Jail escape plot 224-54- Soapbox 393-83- 62 O Larry Craig Republican — 520 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510 (202) Idaho office: 801 E Shaman Room 193 Pocatello ID 83201 111 Russell Senate Office Building UJS HOUSE-IDAHMike Simpson Republican — Represents 2nd Congressional District which includes Franklin County 1449 Longworth House Office Building Washington DC 29515 Idaho office: 304 N (202) 8th Room 325 Boise ID 83702 Washington DC 20510 (202) (208)334-195- 3 224-27- 52 (208)236-681- 7 Michael Crapo Republican — 224- - Mallard Fillmore O 225-55- 31 Forest ecosystem must be protected Watch your step environmentalists ByJimSteitz Was Thompson o community can collectively articulate pur future landscape and quality of life through the Wasatch-Cach- e National Forest (WCNF) Plan Revision The Plan will guide its management dramatically affecting Wasatch Front quality of life for 10-2years Utahns love their Wasatch Mountains wife unmatched passion Our interests are numerous varied and intense WCNF is among the most heavily used National Forests U is alsosn important link between the Wasatch backbone th HigbUintas and fee Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem The soils and vegetation of fee WCNF supply much of our fresh water Multitudes of unique plants and animals call it home Bridgerland Audubon Society Bear River Watershed Council USU’s Ecological Coalition of Students (ECOS) Ogden Sierra Qub Western Watershed Project and Logan Skiers Alliance commend fee Forest Service (FS) for recognizing this immense value and damage it has sustained from logging grazing and motorized recreation and for seeking ecological sustainability Wasatch Front citizens must craft a plan that respects the magnificence of fee WCNF and its inhabitants human and otherwise ECOS recommends the fol- w lowing to achieve this vision First we must avoid logging the WCNF The High Uintas have been grossly overharvested and fee rest is marginally productive but sustains rich habitat on thin soils and sparse rainfall Several dear-cuhaven't recovered after 30 years This environment backyard to a burgeoning human population does not suggest wood production We commend fee Forest Service for considv ering full protection and urge its adoption ' Second recreational options should be balanced Winter recreationists currently have little respite from snowmobiles The FS recognizes these conflicts but the current proposal does not address them proposing ' ski destinations for motorized important use Boundaries are ambiguous and unenforceable and use are cone-- : many areas proposed for spondingly unsuitable or even unsafe Stunning increases in ORV use have caused great damage FS staff confront countless illegal “ghost” vroads vandalized gates denuded hillsides and trashed ’ streams Afew users commit most violations and ORV users must better '7 V1 police themselves We commend efforts to retire illegal roads and urge the delineation of meaningfully large areas This contiguous enforceable friends and neighbors users ORV our helps responsible avoid contributing to fee WCNFs ruin ' A 0 ts cross-count- ry 7 - 't non-motoriz- ed “ biles I thought feat a quest for the truth was needed The Nov 2 2001 HJ had a nice cover photo showing two mot riding a snowmobile in 6 inches of snow at Tony Grove Mr McAvoy expressed concerns about soil compaction and the erosion potential from “400 pounds of people on top of 500 pounds of tracked machine run-niaround on muddy soils” He inferred feat the riders in fee photo and snowmobilers as a group were eroding and compacting the soil everywhere they went and he 7 noted that they should police themselves better Mr 'McAvoy got fee weights right but feat was about all On other aspects of snowmobiling he is not well informed or has been misinformed by some environmentalist propaganda Snowmobilers universally avoid muddy soils like Bill Clinton avoided the truth about Monica Riding a snowmobile on bare or muddy ground can cause accelerated wear on the skis as well as on the more expensive plastic and metal parts that slide across each other m the track assembly A few yards of mud can cause several seasons worth of normal wear The photograph did not show any muddy soil and it is unlikely that the snowmobile in fee photo was driving ova any soil not covered by snow Using a tape measure and a calculator I began a quest for information to confirm that a snowmobile compacts fee soil far less than a hilrer and to put Mr McAvoy’s concerns to rest Grabbing one of my hiking shoes I determined feat it was 12 indies long and on average 3 34 inches wide yielding a surface area of 45 square inches (si) (3 34 x 12 45) The section between the ball of the foot and fee heel seldom touches fee ground and is about 3 inches square Therefore the average man’s shoe has a surface area of 42 si Using die weight of a 200 pound person or a 160 pounder wife a 40 pound backpack fee force exerted on the soils by this person when walking was calculated to be 476pounds pa square inch (psi) (200 pounds 42 si 476 psi) j How does this force compare to the force exerted by the snowmobile in the photo? Again my trusty tape measure collected the following information from an actual snowmobile Itack widfe s 5 inches Track length touching the snow and supporting weight (on a ' k sled like in the photo) 60 inches Sid width 6 b 12 inches and ski length touching the snow and supporting weight 36 indies These measurements determined that the effective surface area of the track 7 was 900 si (15x60 900) and feat each ski was 234 si (6 12 x 36 234) for a total area supporting the weight ne Back-count- ry non-motoriz- ed fter reading Mr Dairen McAvoy’s November 15 editorial regarding soil compaction from snowmo- : long-trac- '' SeePROTECTooAio The - : ' y-: See STEP on A10 : 'v Herald'Joumal BHZZ The Herald Journal welcomes letters to the 3 The Opinion pan Is intended to acquaint: ' readers with a variety of viewpoints on matters ol puMc importance and provide members of the community with a forum lor their views- - : Personal columns cartoons and letters (ram -readers reflect the opinions of heir witters and creators Edttorials under the hearing ‘'Our represent ths views of the Herald Journal SI board Members of the editorial board: : ' — Judge Leaned Maitd Letters should be: typewritten and doubieepaced No more than 450 words In length' Addressed and Mude daytime phone number for purposes of verification ' Signed by the author 'lndMdualeere Imbed to onit pubttshed let3 ' ter within any y period AddraaeE-mletters to hj!etterOhjnewicomGuestcom-mentarfe- e are also welcome and are run at the Bator's dtacretion 30-da- BRUCE SMTHIpuMaher edrtor receives the right to edt al letters to contain to the length and style requirements of the r DARREL! EHRLJCWcity edttor CINDY YURTHtaatureeadtor CHARLES MoCOLLUMtnanagbig edttor Potentially Nieloue or offensive letters not be published however and the edttor t Americanjurist (1S72-1X- 1 al ft-' |
