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Show A2 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2007 ommunity ews Covering what matters most - N E W S - Spanish Fork Letters to the Editor 280 North Main St. Spanish Fork, UT 84660 Lane Henderson Publisher Steve Hardman. . . . . . . . Editor Namon Bills 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 editor@spforknews.com Email ads to ads@spforkncws.com Call us at 794-4964 POSTMASTER Send address changes to Spanish Fork News 280 North Main Sr. Spanish Fork, Utah 84660 The emire content of this newspaper is Copyright© 2007 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 Responsibility to vote On Sept. 11 we citizens of Spanish Fork have the opportunity as well as the responsibility to make our decision as to whom we want to serve on the next city council. Yes, it is "only" the primary election, but the decision of who will be on the list of finalists come November is also very important. Our choices now will be vital in determining who will be making important decisions that will affect the future of "Our Town". As I have read the write-ups on the Spanish Fork Internet, I have been impressed with the quality of candidates from which we have the chance to choose. The decision in selecting our choices of three of the 11 candidates does require, careful, thoughtful consideration. In deciding the direction for the future, a worthwhile activity seems to be to pursue a review of the past in order to find which decisions were beneficial to the town and citizens as well as the atmosphere which conclusions were reached. As I have reflected on the past, I have concluded that, for me, the time when we were represented by a lady on the council (Thora Shaw and Lil Shepherd) or a lady in the mayor's chair (Marie Huff), decisions were made that the city's electrical system; major helped support the family values improvement in the condition of as expressed in the city's motto of the streets and roads; and organized Pride and Progress. The climate system for a much improved in council meetings during these water system; and the creation of times seemed to be without a recreational program second to the hindrance of a contentious none as well as other improvements which have made Spanish Fork a attitude. In the decision making process, desirable city in which we choose the members of those councils to live. certainly had different opinions I have concluded that we should but their decisions were made in seriously consider the example of an atmosphere of civil discussion the past and on Sept. 11 and again without contention. As a result, in November, select a lady to be a we were able to achieve justifiable part of the new city council. pride in selecting progressive James Dunn projects for the development of Spanish Fork Remember Patriot Day Congress passed Public Law Number 107-89 on Dec. 18, 2001 designating Sept. 11 as "Patriot Day." On Tuesday, Sept. 11, the American Legion Post 68 in Spanish Fork will sponsor a special 9-11 program, "We Remember." The program will pay tribute to those who lost their lives from terrorist attacks at New York City, Washington D.C. and Sanksville, Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001. We will also honor our armed forces who are fighting the War On Terror, our military veterans, police officers,firefightersand EMTs. The program will begin at 6 p.m. in the park behind the Spanish Fork Library. Seating will be provided but, you may bring your own lawn ^chairs. Please come and join us on Sept. 11 as "We Remember." John M. Williams Comjnander American Legion £ost 68 Vouchers Two new public elementary and two new public secondary schools are being built in my area alone. The problem of over-crowded classrooms is made worse by the problem of teacher shortages. All this, and theeducationestablishment is creating such a fervor over private school vouchers. Vouchers would help ease the situation at a lower cost to taxpayers than public schools (because personal funds also help pay each child's tuition, which is also less than the public cost per pupil). Vouchers would cost $9.2 million for the first school year — what the public system spends every single day. Further, the cost of the special election on vouchers is estimated at $8.2 million. How absurd! Opposition to vouchers can't be about money or what is best for taxpayers or children — it's about maintaining a monopoly. Mary Furner Spanish Fork Friday, 12 p.m. Prepare for the future Fall, football and high school follies our state, it froze most of their winter wheat. The wheat there is planted in November, so it Shirlene R, Ottesen is ready to harvest in the early spring and much of it was frozen. I probably need to warn you On top of that, they are suffering that this is a depressing column. from about a four-year drought. If you don't want to be depressed, Farmers are having to sell their you may want to find something cattle because they have no feed else to read. Tornadoes, floods, for them. Our food supply is so earthquakes, wars, drought, fragile that it's scary. hurricanes, fires — it's rather All the floods in the Midwest obvious that some pretty terrible this past week are bound to things are happening. Not only have an effect on the crops in here in the United States, but all Texas, Missouri, Iowa and parts over the world. People dying in of Illinois. The Dakotas are Peru because of an earthquake, struggling with drought. Here in people losing their homes and Utah, the Milford fire destroyed businesses in floods in the much of the range land. Many Midwest, 181 miners trapped in lost cattle in that fire and some a flooded mine in China, fires cattlemen are having to sell off burning out of control in Greece, some of the cattle that survived farmers losing everything in thefirebecause they have limited fires and drought. I feel like we feed for them — not enough to are living in a pressure cooker go through the whole winter. and the lid is about to blow. And there have been similar The weather is so intense and problems in other parts of the extreme. In some areas, we don't world. Because of the rise in just get a little rain anymore, it's fuel prices, we have already 12 inches in 24 hours — more in seen prices go up in the grocery one storm than usually falls in a stores. whole year! I have a confession to make. I And do you know what like shoes. I can't help it; I think concerns me the most? The fact shoes are interesting and I would that we can no longer depend like to have a whole closet full on being able to live as we have of them. been accustomed to. We are I think it goes back to the used to turning on the faucet in days when I was a child and we the kitchen and water coming had two pairs of shoes — one out. We go in stores that are for Sunday and one for work. packed with all kinds of food If we were lucky, we got a new and supplies. We go about our pair for school. These were the lives in a very nonchalant way, days when we wore shoes out. fully expecting that tomorrow We didn't just get tired of them and days in the future will be or want another pair, because just like yesterday and today. that wasn't even considered. We are not paying attention We wore them until there to all the signs around us. We were holes in the bottom of have Dish Network TV and we the shoe. When that happened, listen to a station called RID- we put a piece of cardboard to TV. It's a channel all about fit inside the shoe to cover the farmers, farms and rural living. hole so we didn't get hurt if we In Georgia they raise a lot of stepped on a rock. You would winter wheat. I didn't know that have to position it right so the until we saw a report on their ridge wouldn't make your foot agriculture crops. They raise lot sore. of a pecans, peaches and much The cardboard worked pretty of this country's winter wheat. well except when it was stormy Well, this past February when and it got wet. Then your socks we had such a cold spell here in got wet and your feet got pruny. There and Back Again 'i But when you got home from school you just cut another piece of cardboard and got ready for the next day. The moral to this shoe story is: as much as I would like to have a big supply of all kinds of shoes, the pretty ones, the practical ones, the ones for show and the ones that are in style, I would much rather have a supply of food on hand to feed my children should something happen that would make our food supply scarce. I would hope that by planning and the careful expenditure of money, I could always make a loaf of bread, a batch of cookies or a pot of soup. If my closet were full of shoes, I guess I could boil up a pair or two and see what kind of soup that would make. There is a story in a pioneer diary about a mother whose children were crying because they were hungry and had no food to eat. She let them suck some flour that was stuck in the seams of the flour sack. After reading this column I haven't decided if I'm preaching or lecturing. Maybe a little of both, but I would rather call it "counseling." Dawn Van Nosdol, the author of the column Ready or Not that appears in this paper, has given much valuable advice and good tips on how to begin and use our food storage. All I have to say is, "Amen." Don't put it off! It's hard to live with regrets. I can't imagine anything worse than having a family that is hungry and desperate for nourishment and having nothing to give them. We have a responsibility to use our financial resources wisely and I can't think of a better place to spend it. A food supply will give you peace of mind, and what greater gift could we give our family in these times of turmoil and uncertainty? We have all had a struggle with the would'ves, could'ves and should'ves in our lives. I hope that when that time comes we don't say,"If only ... !" any longer and asked him how he liked his trees that morning. He held a straight Ramblin' Roads face and said he liked them fine. They Charla Zeeman looked the same as they always did. Finally, at the last period of the day It's fall again — at least it should be. an announcement came over the loud School has started and isn't that when speaker. All of those involved in the school usually starts? But as was as it's toilet papering of the night before were been, I'm not sure what season it is. But requested to appear in the principals back to fall and school. office immediately. They were It seemed that every year, at some instructed to undo their artwork from time during the year, the cheerleaders the night before and clean and pep team girls up the yard on the corner toilet papered the of Main Street and 2nd homes of the ball North. There would be players. Football an inspection made first season saw toilet thing in the morning paperonevery player's and no paper was to house. Basketball season be found. Their mouths and baseball season each dropped open and one of came with their share of toilet them asked why. "Because," tissue in every yard. Why this the principal informed them, occurred, I never could decide. "you decorated the wrong I could see so much against it. house!" All that toilet paper wasted in ': That night the voices of cluttered up yards and someone I '. several young people could having to clean up the mess and be heard throughout the time wasted. neighborhood all coming from the But those involved seemed to enjoy corner house. There was shouting, the activity. Finally, the principals, singing, giggling and screaming. No school board, athletic directors, one complained and no one came counselors or someone decided to put around. No police officers were called. an end to the activity. But that isn't what And the lady in the house made no I'm writing about. appearance. No one answered the door One year the quarterback on the at the persistent knocking as the girls local football team lived next door to tried to present their gift of cookies to an elderly lady who lived alone. Now make up for the mistake they had made. this lady was stone deaf. She could hear They finally went home after leaving absolutely nothing. She spoke clearly the cookies inside the screen door. because she had had good hearing in The morning inspection passed with her younger days and she was well flying colors. The quarterback could educated. do nothing but laugh at their tale of The students decided to go out toilet compassion and then explain to them papering one moonlit night before that the lady inside the house had not a game. They did a fantastic job of heard them, but everyone else in the stringing toilet paper in every tree in the neighborhood had! quarterback's yard, as well as those of Later, the deaf lady told us of her the other players. Some of those trees dismay at finding all that toilet paper were pretty tall and well filled out. It in her trees one morning and having it was no easy task and it really took a lot all taken out and her yard cleaned the of paper. next morning. Besides that, she couldn't The next morning, the quarterback figure out where the cookies had come arrived at school chuckling quietly to from. One mystery remains — how did himself. He said nothing about the fine the principal find out about the mess in job of toilet papering his yard. Finally, the first place? No one ever solved that one of the girls could not contain herself one. I |