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Show Hflnw AlboDint Hi? ipv o a wnDdDnnQ(t Where does snow come from? Jesse Whites ides Water evaporates, goes to the sky, turns the clouds grey, and it snows. PageA2 Thursday, January 28, 1982 DMnttoirnsiH lis . .jS. i "QC Silver Creek (and the trout) deserve better treatment . Silver Creek and the Snyderville Basin Sewer District are in the news again. Last January, they hit the headlines when irate Park Meadows residents complained that raw sewage was being piped from a nearby pump station into the nearby creek. The situation was blamed on a poorly-designed sewer system installed by the original developers of the Holiday Ranch area, Ramshire, Inc. Almost exactly a year later, they hit the front page again. Snyderville's plans to ask for a reclassification of Silver Creek had brought shouts of alarm from downstream water users. Although the reclassification would not, on paper, have any impact on the use of the Weber River and its tributaries for drinking water, it would allow the district to discharge more chlorine and ammonia into the stream than is now permitted. That in turn would allow the construction of a cheaper sewage treatment plant in the Silver Creek Junction Junc-tion area. On the surface, these two incidents have little in common other than the parties involved. One was a short-term crisis touched off by a system inherited by the Sewer District. The other promises to have a long-term impact for which the district could be directly responsible. But there is a common denominator here: us. Most of us made a conscious decision to move to this mountain environment, en-vironment, and it is our presence which is threatening it. As David Mueller points out in his letter on Page Four, Utah is the second most arid of the 50 states. The moisture which falls on the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains is as a most precious natural resource. It irrigates farmland and sustains wildlife as well as providing drinking water for the metropolitan areas. As anyone who has tried to drill a well already knows, every drop of water which flows out of the Snyderville Basin is claimed by the Wasatch Front communities. They don't seem to mind too much if we use a little, as long as we put it back. And put it back the way we found it. Although this statewide obsession with water can generate some incredible red tape, it also serves a purpose. It forces us to be conscious, at least in one area, of what we are doing to our environment. The Sewer District has asked for a reclassification of Silver Creek from 3A (protection of cold-water fish, such as trout) to 3C (protection of nongame fish, such as carp or perch). Unlike Mueller, we probably couldn't tell the difference! between a carp and a cutthroat. For us, fishing is about as exciting as watching the paint flake off the front of City Hall. What we find disturbing is the sentiment behind this request: "Let's recognize Silver Creek for what it is." In other words, it has already been screwed up, so we're really -not making much difference. We think it does make a difference, the difference between be-tween continuing the abuses of our predecessors in this valley and trying to make up for them. Beause life in Silver Creek was poisoned for 30 years or more by mine tailings doesn't mean we have to continue that tradition. We might be able to understand the district's position a little better if it promised a savings for the taxpayer. But the first phase of the proposed Silver Creek plant would be funded by private development. We have to wonder why the district is inviting such abuse when public funds aren't even involved. But even if public funds were going into the Silver Creek plant, our position would be the same. Protecting the quality of our water, even if it costs an extra $100,000, or $400,000, must be given top priority. And, after all, when you look at the price of land in this area, $400,000 doesn't seem like a lot of money. iMUTOKl F MIAN m by Stanley Karnow (EfldDlbsall Mew U.S. needs to improve relationship with China Washington President Reagan has averted a collission with China by deciding against the sale of sophisticated sophisti-cated fighter aircraft to Taiwan. But, it seems to me, he ought to take further steps to strengthen the Sino-American relationship, which is so crucial as a counterweight to the Soviet Union. For one thing, he should affirm his commitment to the Shanghai communique com-munique of 1972, issued during Richard Nixon's historic journey to Peking, in which the United States obliquely acknowledged the existence of "one China," including Taiwan. Such a gesture would indirectly serve to disavow his sloppy campaign assertion in favor of U.S. recognition of the Taiwan regime as a rival Chinese government. That statement scared the Peking leaders, who saw it as an attempt to formulate a "two-China" policy that is, in their view, a violation of their territorial integrity. In addition, Reagan should quietly encourage Taiwan to explore the possibility of a deal with China, starting out perhaps with trade and cultural exchanges of benefit to both. The mainland Chinese have repeatedly repeat-edly expresed their eagerness for a rapprochement with their Nationalist adversaries on Taiwan. Similarly, many Taiwan businessmen would welcome the chance to get into the China market openly instead of trading secretly, as they do. Above all, I think, the president should reassure the Chinese of their importance to the United States by sending a high-level mission to Peking. In my estimation, nobody is better suited to head such a mission than Henry Kissinger. The Chinese, who traditionally prefer personal to institutional links, trust and respect Kissinger. He brilliantly prepared pre-pared the spectacular Nixon voyage, working out in advance the substance of the Shanghai communique, which opened a new era in Sino-American relations. By employing a figure as prestigious as Kissinger, moreover, Reagan would be signaling to the Chinese that he esteems them as a major power a status that they certainly deserve. In that respect, the president made a mistake a couple of weeks ago, when he assigned Assistant Secretary of State John Holdridge to placate the Chinese on the Taiwan arms question. Holdridge, though an able official, lacked the prominence for the job. It would be equally wrong in my view for Reagan to rely on Nixon, who is planning to return to China next month to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his famous trip. The Chinese admire Nixon, but his record is too blemished at home to use him as an emissary. The only alternative to Kissinger in my opinion would be the president himself. But if he goes abroad, as he should soon, I believe that his priority ought to be a summit meeting with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. To understand the currently fragile state of U.S. bonds with Peking, it is necessary to reach back to 1978, when the Carter administration established full-scale diplomatic relations with China. At that time, feeling especially threatened by the Russians, the Chinese rushed into normalization with the United States, registering only minimal objections to Carter's insistence in-sistence on continued American arms sales to Taiwan. Not long afterward, however, Congress Con-gress passed legislation requiring the president to furnish Taiwan with weapons for a "significant self-defense capability." Peking went through the motions of denouncing the law, but effectively ignored it. What began to worry the Chinese in 1980, though, was Reagan's pro-Taiwan pro-Taiwan rhetoric largely because it put their leader, Deng Xiaoping, on the spot. Despite its Communist system, China is not a monolith. As the late Mao Tse-tung's convulsive Cultural Revolution dramatized, it is a land of regional and ideological factions chronically in conflict. Some, for their own motives, opposed Deng's move toward the United States. He has managed to control them by demonstrating to his senior party and military comrades that the American connection is advantageous to China. But Reagan has raised doublts that have made it increasingly difficult for Deng to promote that notion. Thus, as the question of arms deliveries to Taiwan surfaced, Deng has been almost compelled to kick up a fuss in order to prove to his internal foes that he is also dedicated to China's national interest. The entire affair, therefore, has become more symbolic than real though, to the Chinese, there is a good deal of reality in symbolism. What Deng and his group need from Reagan, then, is a message that the United States is not turning away from them. If the message is persuasive enough, they can probably tolerate minor military hardware for Taiwan, which is not threatened anyway. Kissinger would be a perfect courier to carry such a message, making it plain to the Chinese in the process that they are not being taken for granted. (c) 1982 The Register and Tribune Syndicate Inc. Michael Thompson From water. 7, r ' If lp Jll$ik SiPlfi Justin Moore The sky. 'A V. V'' Mindy Bailey Mother Nature. Casey Landes Rain comes down first, and what happens after that is that winter win-ter comes, and it makes it snow. Andrea Ruzicka Water evaporates and turns into great big puffy clouds, and then it starts to rain, and it turns it into snowflakes. 0 by Jack Anderson Aftermath of Paris embassy hit stirs new fears at State Department Washington A few days ago in Paris, an American lieutenant colonel named Charles Ray was shot and killed as he left his apartment to head for work at the American Embassy. An unknown assassin simply walked up to him, aimed a pistol at Lt. Col Ray and shot him in the head. The shocking thing about Ray's murder is that he was a man you wouldn't expect to be on any assassin's hit list. He was one of four assistant military attaches at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. By anyone's definition, he was a middle-level official. This is what has the top echelon at the State Department climbing the wall. On Nov. 12, 1981, the acting U.S. ambassador in Paris, Christian Chapman, Chap-man, was the victim of a similar attack. A lone gunman confronted Chapman as he was leaving his home to go to work. The would-be assassin fired six shots at Chapman. But the acting ambassador ducked behind his car and all the shots missed. The attack on Chapman was a failure, but it led the State Department to tighten security for top American officials in Europe. The success of the tighter security measures is what is now driving the State Department to despair. With top U.S. diplomats better protected, anti-American anti-American terrorists apparently have decided to make middle-level U.S. officials their targets. That's how the State Department experts interpret the murder of Lt. Col Ray. Obviously, there is no way that bodyguards can be provided for every U.S. diplomat in Western Europe. This means that every American stationed in Europe, from ambassadors to file clerks, is a possible target for merderous terrorists. Congress is to blame Whatever the cause of the Jan. 13 plane crash here in Washington turns out to be, we can tell you who's really to blame for the tragedy. It's the members of the United States Congress. Let us explain: National Airport is cramped into a tiny area on a river bank. It is flanked by high-rise buildings. The runways are too short. And just a few hundred yards beyond the runways, planes must clear bridges crowded with commuters. , Yet National Airport is not only kept open; it's one of the most congested airports in the country. Why? Investigators Investi-gators for the General Accounting Office know why. They have just completed an investigation of the airport. Their report hasn't been written yet, but our reporters have talked to them. The story can be summed up in one word: Congress. National Airport is controlled by congressmen. It's their private fiefdom. It's wonderfully close to Capitol Hill. In normal traffic, a congressman can get from his office to National Airport in less than 15 minutes. That's why National Airport is still operating. That's why it handles as many as 1,000 flights a day. And that's why Dulles Airport, a 45-minute drive away, is still not used to capacity after, nearly 20 years. The GAO investigators point out that National, unlike other airports, can't generate its own revenues for improvements. improve-ments. It must go to Congress for all its money. Why is this important? One example, directly related to the recent horror: One of the survivors said the pilot tried to abort the takeoff , but ran out of runway. For the past few years, National Airport officials have been trying to add a safety zone at the end of the runway. But Congress put politics ahead of safety., Not until this year did the lawmakers finally approve the funds. And the money can't be spent until next year. That's no way to run a railroad or an airport. Headlines and Footnotes The Soviet Sovi-et Union has stationed a combat brigade of 3,000 soldiers near Havana. There's also a huge, Russian-built intelligence facility on the island. From it, the Soviets can monitor communications communi-cations throughout the United States and Latin America. The Russians sometimes hear the U.S. ambassador's telephone calls even before officials in Washington do. Nearly two years ago, an American journalist named Jon Anderson was arrested in Peru on trumped-up drug charges. He was uncovering official corruption at the time. While he waited in jail for 18 months, we wrote about his plight. Now we are pleased to disclose that he has finally been released. Peruvian police, it seems, finally admitted they could not prove the charges they had lodged against him. President Reagan has apparently run short of jobs as political payoffs for his friends. So he recently nominated a longtime fundraiser friend, Eugene Lipp, to the National Transportation Safety Board, where he'll have to make decisions on aircraft safety. But Lipp's talents lie in marketing, sales and public relations not in aviation technology. Some suspicious senators have told us they might not go along with the nomination. Copyright, 1982 United Feature Syndicate, Inc. Newspaper: Subscription Rales, $6 a year in Summit County, $12 a year outside Summit County Published by Ink, Inc. USPS 378-730 Publisher jtn Wilking Editor ; David Hampshire Advertising Sales Jan Wilkin. Bill Dickson Business Manager RickLanman Graphics Becky Widenhouse, Liz Heimos Staff Reporter Beltina Moench, Rick Brough, Morgan Queal Typesetting Sabina Rosser, Sharon Pain, Kathy Oeakin Subscription & Classifieds Marion Cooney Distribution & Photography Michael Spaulding Entered as second-class matter May 25, 1977, at the post office in Park City, Utah 84060, under the Act of March 3, 1897. 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