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Show A2 Opinion and Commentary Wednesday, May 14, 2003 PUBLIC FORUM LETTERS TO THE EDITOR What is your opinion? The Express welcomes letters from its readers concerning any subject pertinent to the Uintah Basin. There are no restrictions as to contents, if not libelous or vindictive and of reasonable length (two typewritten double spaced pages). Letters must be submitted exclusively to the Express and bear the writers name, signature, phone number and address. Letters for the sole purpose of expressing thanks to individuals or groups will not be printed in the forum. Letters may be mailed, faxed at at editorvernal.com. or through The name or names of those submitting letters must appear on all published letters. All letters are subject to condensation. Letters express the opinion of the writer and are not necessarily the opinion of the Express Editor. full 789-869- 0 ' the fact that she did nut run away, called another six grade student and her family white trash, and told yet another student that he wasn't very smart and that no one liked him. While we gladly respect the freedom of every individual to have his or her own beliefs, we do not believe any teacher should be expressing those beliefs to impressionable students. Our tax dollars pay for the curriculum to be taught, not for the political agendas ol the individual teacher. We would like to encourage all parents, especially those with sixth grade students who may have this teacher, to spend a few extra minutes and find out what current issues, if any, are being discussed by the teachers. If you feel any of the information being discussed is inappropriate, we urge you to immediately contact the principal and lile a grievance. We are proud of our son for having the courage to stand up for himself and to disagree with his teacher when he felt it was necessary. We are thankful for the many teachers and school administrators who do their jobs well and who truly care about the students they teach. And, we wish to express our gratitude to the men and women who serve in our armed forces. We appieciate their courage and dedication to our country and pray for their safety. MICK & RAS1 II I LL RICHARDSON . Venial - I Roads Dear Editor, I wonder sometimes whos in charge of our county roads. I drive in some rural areas and they have some decent roads, but the roads around the valley are horrible. When they do put in a nice road they will let ash-le- y valley water cut them, and you will have a road that's always rough. A rational person would think you build roads where the most people reside. BLN BRIDGES Vernal am I? Where Dear lid i tor. Nine years ago I came back to the Uintah Basin. My parents live across the street and told me that I am no longer part of the United States. The US Post Office says that Im in Roosevelt, which is Duchesne County. However the Border puts me in Uintah County. The phone book puts me in Ft. Duchesne, but their map says that I'm about 2 or 212 miles Northwest of Ft. Duchesne. Now my Voting ID puts me in Ballard. People call my street Whiterocks Rd. , and by mistake my mail often goes to that Zip. I am on No I am off the Reservation. Having my residence appraised puts me wherever the appraiser wants me to be. Now T was bom in Roosevelt Hospital in Duchesne of 1952 and we moved to County in JUNE Salt Lake City in 1954. I guess I can say that I know where I am now about as well as I knew where I was in MAY of 1952. Yes Mom and Dad you were right again, I am no longer a part of the United States. SHARON DAVIS u" Roosevelt War Iraqi Dear Editor, On Friday, March 28th, our sixth grade son came home from school extremely upset. After calming him down, we learned several comments made by his language arts teacher had left him devastated. Apparently, the teacher began the class with a discussion about fights occurring between students at the middle school. This somehow led to a discussion of the war in Iraq. According to my son, and several of the other students in the classroom, the teacher made statements indicating his belief that we should not be at war, that the U.S. has no proof Saddam Hussein is evil, and that we cant trust the news to tell us the whole story of what is happening over there. Our son raised his hand and disagreed with the teacher. During the disagreement, our son stated that his father had fought during Desert Storm. At that time, the teacher whispered to our son that his father w as nothing but a As the class ended, our son was in tears. screw-up- . Several students reported the incident to the principal. Mr. Ed Johnson. During the next class hour, Mr. Johnson called our son to the office and had him detail what had happened. Fortunately, for our son, Mr. Johnson has agreed to have him removed from that classroom. He has also responded favorably to our request to launch a thorough investigation into the classroom conduct of this teacher. We have spoken with several other parents who allege this same teacher has made inappropriate comments in the classroom in the past. They say he previously stated his opinions regarding the war, said Elizabeth Smart was not kidnapped and the proof is in Shelley Fenn, Raymond Shiflett, Albert Bertagnolli, Doug Gibbs, Buck McDonald, Todd Merkley, Kali Merkley, Alan Hazelbush, Ken Bentley, Kirsten Bentley, Denise Bullard, Neil Wilcken, Jeff Wilcken, Janeil Wilcken, Marci Merkley. Missing from the picture are Ronnie Merkley, Saelee Perez, Scott Linda Higgins, Fowler, Janna Merkley, Tammi Strange Local citizens say clean up your act A ground swell of enthusiasm erupted during the second annual UintahCounty Cleanup week on, April 26 through May' 3. The joint force of private citizens, industry representatives, local county government, state and federal agencies once again joined in an effort to demonstrate their commitment to a cleaner community. Despite the challenging spring weather, the Uintah County Landfill recorded a total of 1,307 loads taken in during that time. This is a significant increase over its normal weekly traffic. Shawn Labrum, Landfill manager, estimated over 20 tons of trash was hauled in from the Ballard area alone. The Uintah County Commissioners are once again pleased at the level of cooperation demonstrated during this venture. There were several days when BLM and County employees worked together to clean up trash on public lands. On one particular day, the Sheriffs Department sent a guard and six inmates, along with County equipment, to clean up the old Jensen Landfill site. Another day found Forest Service employees out with pickup trucks to help clean up the yards of some elderly County residents. along w ith doing some cleanup on public lands. In addition, there were individuals who participated, a Cub Scout troop, and a large group of employees from Questar. Again this year, those collecting the most trash were rewarded with prizes donated by some generous, community minded Vernal businesses. Always a willing partner, State Institutional Trust Lands Administration donated the money to host a Thank You BBQ at the end of the cleanup. On the afternoon of Saturday, May 3, a few brave souls gathered at the Vernal Golf Course picnic pavilion to cook reminisce about the cleanup. The wind blew, the air was chilled and the rain came down, but spirits were high and a good time was had by all who -- attended. On the west end of the County, Inland Production Company once again became an important part of the cleanup effort. After an Inland barbecue, the staff accomplished approximately 180 cleanup hours. Mike Guinn from Inland said, It was ugly! Feeling overwhelmed, but determined, volunteers were able to fill one bag approximately every 100 feet. Inland volund teers kept three dump trucks on the run. are on next year... planning to Already, they planning keep up on what has been accomplished in the past and deciding what areas to accomplish next year. Despite the great annual event this cleanup has become for our community, everyone needs to remember the more sober side of this. Dumping on public lands is illegal. It is a punishable crime both financially and with community service hours. People need to remember, in the long run, it's much less expensive to take the trash to thclandfill and pay the minimal fees. Take pride in UintahCounty! It really is a beautiful ten-yar- Published every Wednesday lor $24 per year In shopping area and $36 per year out of shopping area within state and $39 per year out of state withm USA by the Vernal Express Publishing Company. 54 North Vernal Avenue. Vernal, Utah 84078 Periodicals postage paid at Vernal, Utah 84078 POSTMASTER Send address changes to VERNAL EXPRESS. PO. Box 1000. Vernal Utah 84078 Steven R Wallis Editor and Publisher Feature Writer Feature Writer Feature Writer Public Notices Virginia Hamngton Maureen Spencer Mam Oaks R Patrick Bostick Richard Hamngton Tom leverton Tern Black Tasha J Robinson Advertising Advertising Circulation ft Classified Ads Advertising and Layout Advertising and Layout Mindy Morgan FAX Phone Website www vernal com editor O vernal com NEW DEADLINES ffmws Monday 12 noon Monday 2pm Monday 2pm Monday 2 pm. Display Advertising Classified Advertising Pcfckc Notices i place to live! Cell Phone... Continued from page A1 into a restaurant. The restaurant will have outside dining and the council voted to allow the outside dining area to be open until midnight. The sale was also approved by the Municipal Building Authority. The citys fiscal year is coming to an end and a public hearing date was set for the fiscal year 2004 budget The public hearing is Wednesday, June 4 at the Vernal City Offices. 3 Winward... Continued from page A1 which Lloyd was a charter member. Lisa concluded with an anecdote about attending many funiary "viewings" with her father when she was a child. She noticed that her father would become emotionally distraught but continued to attend these viewings. Upon her questioning why he became so emotional, he told her that he was saddened because he wouldn't have the opportunity to see these people for a very long time. Representing Lloyd Winward at the Chamber meeting were Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Lori Winward and Haley, Laura daughter Kaloi ' and daughter Hannah from Alexandria, Virginia, grandson Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Winward and youngest Winward great grandson Owen of Provo. Wade Olsen, chairman of the Distinguished Alumnus Committee, explained to the Chamber that many had suggested that Alta Winward be given the award with her husband but that selection rules made the double award impossible. He recognized her strong influence for good in the community. Winward was represented by his family at Wednesday morning's Uintah High School presentation of the award. Son Lloyd Lori presented the accolades portion of the acceptance, and daughter Lisa Winward presented his personal history and experiences accompanied by photos of his lifetime achievements. According to Olsen, the youthful audience was "mesmerized" by the fascinating story of the man who began life with such challenges and accomplished so much. Also speaking at the Chamber meeting was outgoing president JoJo Gale who gave a quick sketch of activities and changes in the chamber. She included the new Dino logo, the introduction of the new business of the month award, the Chamber web page, weekly and planters newsletter and along Main Street. Paleo... Continued from page A1 Paleo. Uinta Paleo paid up to $60,000 to excavate the rest of the bones of the dinosaur hoping to locate the head. I have tried to preserve the integrity of the museum as a display of scientific research, she said. Others have tried to turn it into a warm and fuzzy museum and visitor center. Bilbey has worked at the field house for 15 years, choosing to stay at home and look after the museum rather than going elsewhere for more money. She and her husband, Evan Hall, have documented 150 years of paleontology history which was displayed at the museum. They have donated numerous hours to the museum. Now she has been barred access to the museum even to continue work, on the dinosaur skeleton which has been her project for the past several years. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Dr. Peter Robinson, professor J, Third and fourth grade sllicJents at Naples Elementary School treated colorful banners to honor those brave individuals who died in the crash of the shuttle Columbia. The colorful banners decorate Cobblerock Park. Western Petroleum takes first in safety recognition Vernal and Roosevelt-base- d Western Petroleum was recently awarded two 1st place awards in the state of Utah at the Utah Awards Association Trucking Ceremony in St. George. The first award was presented for Western Petroleum's outstanding performance in Truck and Driving Safety in which the company received first place in its division of Tank Trucks. The second award was presented for Safety in the Workplace in its division of truck ing companies With less than 25 employees. Western Petroleums 15 truck drivers have driven a total of 19.5 million miles accident free. That averages out to 1.3 million miles per driver. We are proud of our outstanding driving force, Perry Taylor, owner of Western Petroleum, said, and we hope that we can continue to perform to a standard which will provide for a safe highway for us and those we share the road with. safe-drivi- Mathis appointed to Western Park Board Uintah County Commissioners Dave Haslem and Mike McKee held the weekly public commission meeting May 13 in the absence of Commissioner Jim Abegglan, who was in Salt Lake City on county business. The commissioners approved John Mathis, DVM, as an alternate to the Western Park Board of Directors. Vemie Heency will move up from her position as alternate to fill the spot vacated by Doug Slaugh and Mathis will take Heeneys place as alternate. Thom Warded petitioned the commissioners for approval of an interlocal agreement between Uintah County, Morgan County and the state of Utah for a rejuvenator for the airport. The interlocal agreement will decrease the costs to all three government entities. The commissioners voted to approve the emeritus at the University of said Colorado, paleoecologists around the West have been contacted by Utah investigators in the case. He said that from what he had been told about the case, Bilbey had done nothing unusual: Thanks to Sue Ann Bilbeys work that museum has been put on the map that is a Robinson very important find, said. Bilbeys findings go beyond the Williams on another project, pipeline project in the Duchesne River Formation, where they have discovered fossils which have never before been found in that formation. The commissioners also voted to realign a D road in the Painted Hills Subdivision. The road has been the subject of months of controversy among homeowners in the area as some county plats show the road exists and others do not. Realignment of the road and vacation of the disputed footage is expected to solve the problems for all homeowners involved. Sunrise Engineering was approved as the consulting contractor for the reconstruction of the Massey Bridge. Sunrise will receive just over $84,000 for supervising the Utah of project. Department Transportation, which is paying $1 million for the reconstruction, wrote the contract which was approved by the commissioners. The commissioners, in their role as Municipal Building Authority, approved expenditures of $20,000 for Uintah Care Center. Administrator Dunbar Wayne requested $7,584 for magnetic locks that meet fire codes for the east wing and $720 for nurse call enun-ciatothat will allow the nursing staff to respond to resident needs more quickly. Dunbar also requested $913 for a surveillance camera for the main lobby, phone testing equipment at a cost of $325 and improvements to the air conditioning equipment at a cost of $8,675. The commissioners approved the expeditures, which will be paid out of the surplus building funds owed to the county by Wadman Construction. rs ft |