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Show pinions Wednesday, March 22, 2006 Sanpete Messenger/Gunnison Valley Edition A4 To FOR THE EDITOR--LETTERS'TD-THE-EDITAR POLICY GO TO' WWW.SANPETEMEBSENGER.CDM, QN CLICK 'OPINIONS' THEN 'LETTERS TD THE EDITOR' Concerned with Sheriffs Office records that are exempt from public disclosure, but it's a constant battle to keep the Legislature from adding more exemptions. Media interests waged just such a battle I doubt many Messenger readers have been during the last session when amendments were chomping at the bit to read something about proposed to exempt communication (letters, open government. But I think it's an important memos and emails) from a constituent to a legtopic. So bear with me. By the end of this ar- islator, between one legislator and another, and ticle, you should see that open government is a between legislators and legislative staff. All of topic that affects you personally. those proposed exemptions were defeated. But one new exemption was added that Last week was Sunshine Week, designated by the American Society of Newspaper Edi- has already caused us problems at the Messentors to focus attention on the need for openness ger. It was the so-called Blackberry Amendin government. As part of the observance, edi- ment, which said that agencies don't have to torial cartoonists around the nation drew car- release public employees' and elected officials' toons on the subject and offered them to all home and cell phone numbers. newspapers free. We're running one of them Several weeks ago, we used the Utah on this page. Legislature's web site to obtain contact inIn 1991, the Utah Legislature passed a law formation for Sen. Darin Peterson, who repcalled the Government Records Access and resents Sanpete County in the Utah Senate, Management Act (GRAMA), which was based for use in our booklet titled "Who's Who on the federal Freedom of Information Act and What's What in Sanpete County." A (FOIA) passed 40 years ago to ensure that all couple of days ago, we went back to the federal government records remain open to in- site to verify the information. It was gone. spection except those fitting under a few exWe /axed a request to one of our local emptions. cities for phone numbers for newly elected Under GRAMA, a private citizen or re- council members, also for publication in porter can file a request for a specific record— "Who's Who." The city recorder refused to it could be a nursing home inspection report, release the numbers, citing the Blackberry minutes of a local planning and zoning com- Amendment. (We said, "Nonsense" and got mission, a police report, or umpteen other types the numbers out of the phone book.) But you get my drift. We can't hold of records. public officials accountable, and neither Upon receiving a GRAMA request, the state or local government entity involved must can you, if we can't reach them to ask a either release the document, or explain why the question. Open government is a serious matter. record fits into one of a few GRAMA exempIf we, as serious journalists, and you, as a tions. If the government claims the record is ex- concerned citizen, don't fight to keep govempt, the requestor can challenge that claim ernment open, we won't know what govbefore the State Records Committee, a panel ernment is up to until it does something made up about 50-50 of media and public rep- that bites us personally. As Hodding Carter, a former weekly resentatives. Or the requestor can bypass the newspaper editor, State D e p a r t m e n t Records Committee and go directly to court. Nine times out of 10, once a GRAMA is spokesman and chair of Sunshine Week noted, people generally do'n't worry about submitted, the agency releases the record. In my five years with the Messenger, we' ve access to government "until the flood used GRAMA four or five times. Most of the comes and you discover they've been lytime we haven't needed it. But when we have, ing to you about the levies." "It's better," he said, "to find out be, we've surely been glad the act was there. GRAMA lists about two-dozen types of fore the flood hits." Open government is important to democracy EPHRAIM I am concerned with the state of law enforcement in Sanpete County. I left the Sanpele County Sheriff's Office in the spring of 2003 after 13 years to go work for die new police department in the Salt Lake Valley. The move has been a good one for me. I have learned a lot working in "the city," but I miss very much working for citizens of Sanpete County. I have noticed a trend in the Sanpete County Sheriff's Office since 2003 (when the current Sheriff was elected). I believe more deputies have left during the last four years than any other time in the history of the office. It used to be an honor and a privilege to work in the Sheriff's Office, and it was unthinkable to find employment elsewhere. During my time at Sanpete County I was promoted twice. However, 1 was demoted and stripped of my pay by the then newly elected Sheriff Kay Larsen. No reason was given to me, other than it was not fair to the two deputies he had just promoted to keep me at lieutenant's payHe was wrong. Rick Howe and I sued with the help of our labor union, and we won. The courts handed down a judgment in favor of Rick and I, which reinstated two years1 back pay for both of us, courtesy of the taxpayers. Apparently, he needed my pay to raise the pay of the deputies who supported him in his run for sheriff; it was their reward for him achieving his goal. He later told my wife regarding my pay that he needed to "go in a different direction." It was very apparent at the time that the "good 'ol boy" system was alive and well in the Sheriffs Office. I have no ill will towards Kay Larsen. In a way I have to thank him. I am much better off financially and career-wise. 1 never would have even thought of looking elsewhere for employment. I was happy working for Sanpete County. I have gained a tremendous amount of training and experience during my time in the city. I hope someday to return to Sanpete County to share my knowledge and experience. True leadership is in need. The sheriff should be a leader. However, every leadership principle ever taught to me has either been ignored or abandoned by the current administration, and the job just isn't getting done. It shows by the tLrnover ratio of deputies fleeing for better jobs, or, like some, getting out of law enforcement entirely. The department has definitely "gone in a different direction." I hope the citizens of Sanpete and the communities in the county will take the time to find out what is going on with the Sheriff's Office. Ask questions! Are you getting the service they pay fpr? It is imperative the delegates throughout the county take this matter very seriously in the next few weeks. Take a close look at the candidates running for public office. Don't vote from emotion—make an informed vote. TJ Herbert Team One Gear Scout/Sniper USMC Class 1-87 Thanks for donation to Palisade Pals For the past week I have been traveling in the southern parts of Nevada and Utah, opening up our new chapter of the Palisade Pals, and making arrangements for the spring camps. Upon returning I was quite surprised tofinda rather large donation from the Snow College football team. I would like to say thanks to the young men for their kindness and generosity. The Pals have had a couple of opportunities to work with students from Snow College. We find them to be caring, hard working, enthusiastic and a credit to their generation. We salute them and take pride in our association with the students of Snow College Bill Peterson President, Palisade Pals News [E Nobel Peace Prize winner, holocaust survivor to speak at Snow College By John Hales Associate editor EPHRAIM—A renowned holocaust survivor and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize will speak at Snow College in May. Elie Wiesel.the 1986 recipient of the Nobel prize and one of the world's most strident voices against intolerance and indifference, will deliver the 2006 Grace A. Tanner Lecture on Human Values at Snow on May 22. "This is an amazing opportunity for the citizens of Utah to hear one of the world's greatest ambassadors for peace," said It was Wiesel who uttered Michael T. Benson, Snow's presi- the now famous piece 6f wisdom, dent. "Professor Wiesel's visit to "The opposite of love is not hate; Snow marks the first time ever a it's indifference. The opposite of Nobel Laureate has spoken on art is not ugliness; it's indiffercampus, and it is a tremendous ence. The opposite of faith is not honor for us to host someone of heresy; it's indifference. And the his stature and reputation." opposite of life is not death; it's For decades since surviving indifference." Nazi concentration camps at the Prior to delivering his age of 15 (and losing his mother, speech, Wiesel will add to the father and one of three sisters over 100 honorary degrees he has therein), Wiesel has been outspo- received from institutions of ken against intolerance and injus- higher learning with an honorary tice, creating the EJie Wiesel doctorate of human letters from Foundation for Humanity to com(See "Speaker" on A12) bat such things. 325 West 100 North What can USU do for you? Apply old credit to a new degree Earn,a Bachelor Degree in: • Business • Elementary Education • Interdisciplinary Studies • Liberal Arts Well I ain't been sleepin' too good ever since Verl got that check in the mail. I just know he's gonna get in trouble but every time I bring it up, he asks me if all those fellars in Washington are gonna send all the money back to the taxpayers that they have been swingling us out of since Washington set up for business? Well, how do you answer that question? Verl says that big company in Texas wiped out people's money in the billions, and just because the head fellar is a buddy of the president, there don't seem to be too many worries. And then he brought up iraq and how much it's costin1 the U.S. taxpayer to keep that mess goin'. Verl said I shouldn't be too quick to judge him because he plans to buy me a new pair of gloves'at IFA, and after he said that, I started thinkin' that maybe •he was right about keepin' the money and all. 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