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Show I ommunity A2 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2008 lews Our greatest treasure - N E W S - Spanish Fork ORT 280 North Main St. Spanish Fork, UT 84660 Lane Henderson Publisher Namon Bills Editor Dana Robinson . . Assoc. Editor The Spanish Fork News is published each Wednesday for $37.50 per year in area and $41.50 out of area by J-Mart, 280 North Main St., Spanish Fork Utah 84660. Email stories to cditor@spforknews.com Email ads to ads@spforknews.com Call us at 794-4964 POSTMASTER Send address changes to Spanish Fork News 280 North Main St. Spanish Fork, Utah 84660 The entire content of this newspaper is Copyright© 2008 Spanish Fork News. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the editor or publisher. DEADLINES Weddings, anniversaries, missionaries, 1st birthdays, articles, photos, letters to the editor Friday, 12 p.m. Display advertising and classified advertising Thursday, 12 p.m. Letters to the editor do not tncccesarily reflect the views of ?The Spanish Fork News. Covering tvhat matters most Hardman. Although Steve has moved on to another job, he was Newsprint Musings at the helm of this paper during Namon Bills most of 2007, the period the contest covered. Steve's passion and dedication were a huge factor in Last weekend Dana Robinson and I attended our first winter the success of our paper. At the convention of the Utah Press As- convention, he was personally sociation (UPA). As a relatively honored with first place awards young paper, this is the first time for best editor's column and best The Spanish Fork News has been news photo. He was also the represented as a member of UPA. driving force behind our dedicaConsequently, it was also our tion to the troops, which received first time competing in the annual the Community Service Award. So kudos to Steve. Wherever he Better Newspaper Contest. goes, he'll always be a local news We competed against weekly guy at heart. newspapers from across the state in our circulation group. When I Beyond that, I think our sucsaw what we were up against, I cess has to be contributed to had my doubts as to how well we you, our readers. Without you, would do as a rookie paper at this there would be no Spanish Fork competition. It was clear to me News. You've supported us from that there's a lot of newspaper tal- the start, and you've believed in ent in the state of Utah. Needless us all along. Even though I may to say, I was pleasantly surprised have had some doubts as to how — thrilled, actually — when we would do in competition, it The Spanish Fork News won 16 seems there was no doubt in our awards, including General Excel- readers' minds. Those who have lence, the top award given at the spoken to me have universally expressed their confidence in the convention. A lot of people have offered excellent quality of our newspatheir congratulations on these per. awards. I want to emphasize that It is said that a stream never this was a team effort. The names rises higher than its .source. By you see every week in this paper the same token, I believe a"com— they're the ones who deserve munity newspaper is simply a the credit. From writers to pho- reflection of its source, the comtographers to designers, our staff munities that it serves. So.if congoes the extra mile every week, gratulations are to be offered, and they're certainly deserving of they should go to you, the members of the community, i You are, the praise. I can't mention everyone's and always will be, the heart and names in the limited space I have soul of The Spanish Fork News. here, but I'd like to specifically Thanks for making us great. mention our former editor, Steve TRANSMISSIONS Celebrating 20 years serving great customers. Thanks for your confidence in us! 590 North Main, Spanish Fork www.deans-quality-transmissions.com 798-1664 Musical Instruments The Board of Education of the Nebo School District is accepting bids from qualified vendors for musical instruments for various schools in the District. The "Bid Form" provided in the bid documents must be completed in order for the Bid Proposal to be deemed responsive. Bid documents will be available in the Operation's Department located at the Nebo School District Office, 350 South Main, Spanish Fork, UT 84660 on March 12, 2008. Bids will be received until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25, in the office of Steve Maughan, Director of Operations, at the Nebo School District Office. Bids may be delivered by mail, in person, or facsimile (801) 374-6060. Questions regarding this bid should be directed to either Julie Christofferson at (801) 310-0612 or Kathy Carling (801) 354-7433. Vendors submitting a bid for the musical instruments are cautioned not to contact members of the Board of Education, School District Administrators, or School Staff, other than the designated contacts listed above. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in disqualification from consideration. The Board of Education of Nebo School District reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids or to waive any formality or technicality in bids in the interest of Nebo School District. \ Life After Birth Janene Baadsgaard One day 1 was waiting in line for my child's evaluation with his new kindergarten teacher. A stylish young mother and her son sat in the chairs next to us, because the teacher was running behind. I was obviously eight months pregnant and hovering on the huge side of big. This young mother stared at my belly and asked, "Why do you want to do that again?" Her question caught me off guard. I blushed. "This is it for me," she added. "Boy am I ever ready to get this last one in school. Now it's my turn for me." She was wearing beautifully tailored clothes, her hair was elegantly styled and her long fake fingernails were polished pink with jeweled flowers on the tips. "Just bought that," she finished pointing to a shiny red sports car in the parking lot. "Nice, huh." I looked down at my protruding mid-section and asked myself... Why am I doing this again? My worn maternity clothes were stained orange across the belly with my preschooler's spaghetti from lunch. I still had dirt under my fingernails from playing in the sandbox. My wind-blown hair was stuck to several sticky ways know when they're somebody's treasure.. Wiping runny noses, changing messy diapers, fixing endless meals, sorting dirty laundry, soothing crying infants, waiting up for teenagers, supervising homework, cleaning up after the stomach flu, washing dishes, bringing in a paycheck and picking up after another toddler tornado doesn't seem like important work. It is. Loving and serving children of all ages is the'only work that really matters. The value of each person's soul is priceless. So, the next time you're in the middle of cleaning up yet another mess, repeat these words . . . Children are my diamonds. I'll do whatever it takes to nurture their souls because then I'll be rich with love forever. Janene Baadsgaard will be signing copies of her books at the Spanish Fork Seagull Book on Saturday, March 29, from 12-2. She is the author of many humorous and heartwarming books for families including "Families Who Laugh ... Last" "On the Roller Coaster Called Motherhood," "The IDS Mothers Almanac" and her most recent publication "15 Secrets to a Happy Home," available at local book stores or on-line at www. spTingcreekbooks.com. She can be reached at janenebaadsgaard@juno.com. kisses on my cheeks. The old van I drove was covered with mud and still smelled like hot dog and marshmallow smoke from our last family camp-out. Yet, I knew exactly why I was doing this again. I cleared my throat several times, turned to this woman and asked, "What if a highly important person brought you to the opening of a diamond mine and said you could go inside and gather as many diamonds as you wanted? But, there was one condition: You only had a certain amount of time before your opportunity was over and then you couldn't gather any more diamonds. Would you do it?" "Sure, who wouldn't?" the stylish young mother answered; • "What if some of the diamonds were hidden in the rocks and you had to work really hard to find them and keep them?" "I'd be willing to do whatever it took to get those diamonds because then I'd be rich," the young mother answered. "Even one diamond is worth a fortune." "That's why I'm doing this agajn," I answered patting my abdomen. I'm not sure that woman understood what I was trying to say. But I noticed that my little boy, who was seated next to me, took my hand and quite literally beamed. Children al- It's the Nebo Philharmonic What's in a name? As president of the Nebo Philharmonic Orchestra, I was disappointed to note in your story about the Arts Council request for an Aits and Cultural Center that the orchestra was identified as the "Utah Valley Orchestra." Please allow me to inform you that right here in your own hometown you have a full-size symphony orchestra made up of adult volunteer musicians who have auditioned to be become part of the orchestra. We are led by a professional director, Benjamin Winkler, and rehearse every single week in order to be ready to present three to four concerts every season, plus occasional community performances, as invited. We are the Nebo Philharmonic Orcliestra. Although we invite members from all over the Nebo area, at this time we are financially supported only by the Spanish Fork Arts Council. Ticket sales and donations, and each of our concerts has at least one performance here in Spanish Fork. We are working hard to make ourselves known, and are proud of our accomplishments. I moved to Spanish Fork in October, 2005, and got things going on organizing an orchestra the following April. This is only our second season, and we realize that it takes a while for people to become aware of the existence of a brand-new orchestra. However, we feel we have something very special to offer that is worth the support of the Nebo community. If you have never come to a concert, feel free to join us on May 17 here in Spanish Fork at the American Leadership Academy. Our prices are more than reasonable for a quality performance of high quality music right here in the neighborhood. As far as we know, we are the only symphony orchestra in existence between Provo and Nephi. We appreciate the support we have received from the Spanish Fork News, and we sincerely hope you will remember our name — Nebo Philharmonic OrchestraCarolyn Sorensen Spanish Fork ply as Lou. Winner, on the other hand, distinguished himself principally by the length of his rap sheet. Most of his adult life was spent either behind bars or planning something that would result in returning there. I bring up this subject because, on the political front, we are now being forbidden to use the full name of one of our presidential candidates. Using the middle name of Barack Obama, his wife tells us, is "the ultimate fear bomb!" And since Political Correctness, in today's atmosphere, trumps freedom of speech, nearly everyone is falling in line. I'm going to go out on a limb here and mention "the ultimate fear bomb" because I want to help. OK, the name is Hussein. Now I concede that this is not a name previously associated with American Presidential politics, but neither was Milhous or Mitt for that matter until Nixon and Romney came along. But if Michelle doesn't like her husband's middle name, let's change it. My middle name is Lee and he's welcome to use it. I wouldn't advise his wife to use it because Michelle Lee has already been taken by someone famous. But the name Lee has been used by some infamous folks as well, like Lee Harvey Oswald. I guess that referring to Obama simply as BO wouldn't pass PC muster, either. How 'bout something that would appeal to the hispanic vote? Like maybe ... Fidel. No? Wait, wait it's coming to me. I got it — LaVell. Batack Lavell Obama, or what about Bronco? Barack Bronco Mendenhall Obama! That could turn Utah into a blue state. Let your voice be heard. Write a letter, to the editor; The Spanish Fork News "Covering what matters most" The Galloping Geezer Gary Davis We all know people with names that are... different. Maybe you're one of those people. I know a woman named Frank and she likes being Frank. My father's given name was Sprigg. My parents gave that name to my older brother, who has gone instead by his middle name since he was a child. Lots of people change their names to something that they feel more comfortable with. At a high school reunion a couple of years ago, I ran into a woman who had changed her given childhood name from "Elsie" to "Leigh." Leigh is an incredibly accomplished woman and a name change was likely in order there. Some years ago, a black family living in the projects of Philadelphia, had their sixth child. It was a baby boy and they named him Winner. Mom and Dad thought that Winner would likely be their last offspring, but two years later another male child joined the family and they named him.. .that's right, Loser. "Oh no!" you're thinking, "What kind of parents would condemn a child to go through life with a name like, Loser? He's doomed!" So how did Winner and Loser turn out? Well, Loser was a bright kid who applied himself in school and got an academic scholarship to college. Upon graduation from college, his mother encouraged him to go into law enforcement, where he ended his career as a police sergeant. He kept his first name and his sense of humor. Mostly his friends referred to him sim• • •• • • - • - \ \ w - : • > - |