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Show Opinion and Commentary 2 Vernal Express Wednesday, November 15, 2000 ( YOU PAID YOUR J 7 ' V PROPERTY TAXES YET (NAW JACK-STRAWS by Jack Wallls Getting flu shots The Utah Department of Health has issued prioritized priori-tized flu vaccine recommendations due to shipment delay and depleted slock of vaccine previously delivered. deliv-ered. The original recommendations are still in effect. The first priority to receive available flu vaccine are those individuals at highest risk of complications and death from influenza. Over the last month, the UDOH Health Resource Line has received nearly 1,000 calls concerning flu shots. Many of the callers were curious if they were considered "high-risk" or wanted to locate the vaccine. vac-cine. "High-risk" individuals are, for example, those w ith diabetes. Getting the flu, which can lead to pneumonia, can lead to hospitalization if you have diabetes because the immune system cannot handle the infection. People with diabetes are also about three times more likely to die from influenza or pneumonia than people without diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10-30,000 people with diabetes die each year from influenza complications. Deaths among people with diabetes increase 5 to 15 percent during the flu epidemic. This statistic is staggering when you consider there are approximately 16 million people with diabetes in the United States and 97,000 w ith diabetes in Utah. Diabetes is just one of the "high-risk" or "chronic conditions" that the UDOH recommends be treated with the flu shot. Other conditions are heart conditions, condi-tions, asthma or other lung conditions, HIV, AIDS, or any other condition where the body has difficulty fighting infection. Other "high-risk" individuals are those living in nursing homes or assisted living centers. They are in this priority category due to close contact and how the flu can spread so quickly. Those over 65 are automatically automati-cally at risk because of their age. When the body ages its ability to resist and fight infection decreases. Those w ho are "high-risk" for the flu are usually the same group of people who are at highest risk for developing pneumonia, which can often lead to death. For most people, one dose of pneumonia vaccine provides pro-vides lasting protection. There is plenty of pneumonia vaccine to go around. The UDOH encourages this group to seek a pneumonia shot without delay unless they have had a dose within the last five years. Summary of UDOH flu vaccine delivery recommendations: recommen-dations: FIRST PRIORITY to receive available flu vaccine are those individuals at highest risk of complications and death from influenza, which are the following: Nursing home or institutionalized patients. Individuals with chronic disease or immunosuppressive immunosup-pressive ages 6 months65 years and older. General population age 65 and older. SECOND PRIORITY to receive available flu vaccine vac-cine in the following order: Health care workers with direct patient contact. Household contacts of chronically ill or immuno-suppressed immuno-suppressed patients. Pregnant women in 2nd and 3rd trimester. THIRD PRIORITY. Critical community workers (police, fire, public workers, teachers). Population age 50 and older. In addition to the vaccination, there are some simple things you can do to reduce your chance of getting the flu or pneumonia and or spreading it to those around you. Wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing, immediately discard tissues tis-sues into the trash after use, don't handle others" used tissues, drink plenty of liquids, eat a healthy diet, exercise and get plenty of rest. For information about diabetes or other chronic conditions, con-ditions, call the toll-free Health Resource Line at 1-888-222-2542. PUBLIC FORUM LETTERS TO THE EDITOR What is your opinion? The Express welcomes letters let-ters from its readers concerning any subject pertinent perti-nent 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 writer's full name, signature, signa-ture, phone number and address. Letters for the sole purpose of expressing thanks to individuals or groups will not be printed in the forum. Lettersmay be mailed," faxed at 789-8690 or through e-mail at editorvemal.com. The name or names of those submitting letters must appear on all published letters. let-ters. All letters are subject to condensation. Letters express the opinion of the writer and are not necessarily nec-essarily the opinion of the Express Editor. Electoral College Dear Editor. When I learned that it was very likely that Bush would win the White House, but Gore would end up with the most votes my knee jerk reaction was "That's not fair!" even though I voted for Bush, it didn't seem right that Gore should lose if he received the most votes. This caused me to really start thinking about the Electoral College, why we have it and should we keep it. Figuring out why we have it was the easy part. The Founding Fathers, while writing The Constitution, had two opposing views about the individual states power in Coneress. Those from states with hich nonulatinns wanted states to be represented by population, those TrddltlOfl who were from the states with smaller populations wanted each state to have an equal say in Congress. The compromise was a two-house congress. The Electoral College is a spill over from this state vs. population debate. then making the final decision based on the number of congressmen. The question of weather or not to keep the Electoral College will be debated w idely for some time, and most will side with its elimination. Personally I think it worked the way it was meant to work in the 2000 election. elec-tion. Bush won 29 states. Gore won 21 states. Many of the states that Bush won have smaller populations than the states Gore won. Without the Electoral College the vote of 29 states means less than the vote of 2 1 states. Or a minority of states gets to pick the president. It is a fact that regions within the US tend to have certain political reliefs. Take a look at any map from the last election. Areas with the densest populations lean toward the Democrats, less populated areas are more Republican. If election of the president were left to the popular any time there is a tight race, the race will almost always go to the candidate that allies himself with the few densely populated areas, making it very difficult for the remainder of the US population to have a shot at selecting a president. Should we keep the Electoral College? Well that's easy to answ er. If you vote Democrat you'd probably be better off without it. If you vote Republican, by all means, keep it. Put another way; should voters, as a nation, choose the nation's president, (this means a minority of states could pick the president). Or let voters vot-ers w ith a state choose w ho could best represent them, and weigh their decisions against the other states. Democrats typically like one big government, while Republicans like more control on the local level. The . Electoral College shifts the weight of your vote to more of a state or local level, while without it your vote is. just on among millions nationwide. Just my opinion, Clint Cook, Formerly of Vernal Dear Editor, The Founding Fathers were concerned that presidential presiden-tial candidates would only campaign in the areas with the highest populations. Remember this was back when ideas like TV, radio, and the internet could get a person burned at the stake. So campaigning was very different back then, and often focused only on areas of dense populations. Leaving the rest of the country with very little knowledge of the candidates. The Electoral College, by giving each state a number of votes based on it number of congressmen, sort of evened things out for the states with low populations by allowing voters to choose a presidential candidate at the state level, and W-m VERNAL Express (ISSN 0892-1091) Published every Wednesday for $19.00 per year In shopping area and $30 per year out of shopping area within state and $33 per year out of state within 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. P.O. Box 1000, Vernal Utah 84078. Jack R. Wallis Publisher Steven R. Wallis Editor and co-publisher Carol Jewart Lifestyle Writer Vicki Feldt Public Notices Tara Maylett Advertising Marie Yoder .Advertising Jody Smuin Circulation & Classified Ads Phone: 435-789-3511 FAX: 435-789-8690 Website: wwwvemal.com e-mail: editorOvemal.com DEADLINES News Monday 12 noon Display Advertising Monday 5 p.m. Classified Advertising ....Monday 5 p.m. Public Notices .. Monday 3 p.m. We must, by all means, keep the Electoral College intact. It's first and foremast traditional never go against tradition, no matter how ridiculous in the modem mod-em world. While we're about it lets have the Electoral College appoint the King of Americas. How does King Teddy sound? Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? GARY (RED) Hatch Vernal Shiozaki Dear Editor, I certainly wish that your newspaper and the Vernal City Police had that Andy Griffith mentality of "Now hold on. We'll get to the bottom of this." Andy was fair. "Innocent until proven guilty" meant something. Andy did not make any person out to be a common criminal in the newspaper. (Even if they were because he simply felt that their actions stood on their own and he didn't have to stoop to mudslinging to make it nasty). I've noticed that many people act like sharks. Any blood in the water and they attack everything, especially what's injured. Poor Tom Shiozaki. He has been an asset to this town. He has tried to help every person who came to him. You all know that. He would not knowingly break the law in this way. You have to ask yourself, "What would he gain by breaking the law?" He would lose his business. But the truth of the matter is, he had a lot of business at his pharmacy. People, think on your own. Don't let somebody fill in the blank for you. Tracey Gifford Vernal Out of U.N. Dear Editor, As a taxpaying and voting citizen, I am greatly distressed dis-tressed over the continued anti-American actions by the foreign bureaucrats who control the United Nations. IE HOW COME YOU AIN'T da m CM 7k A . CAUSE IT'S THE ONLY ( TIME I EVER GET MY i V NAME IN THE rftPER.y IS Vernal to receive second fiber optic strand Vernal's second fiber optic strand is just over Asphalt Ridge from becoming reality. The cable is being put in by Uintah Basin Telecommunications Association as a redundant line in case one is severed. "Redundancy is always important to maintain services," said Leon Mansfield, multimedia director for UBTA."We were committed to making the connection to Ft. Duchesne, and because it is getting more difficult to get a permit to put in a line, we decided to continue on to Vernal. Two years ago the company completed com-pleted a fiberoptic line from Lapoint to Vernal which follows the Maeser Highway and 100 North into Vernal. The new line will initially connect with the old line at 1500 West and 500 North following conduit which was installed last year during the installation of a waterline along 1500 West Ideally there won't be any digging in town to install the second line, but there are no guarantees. guaran-tees. The new line will assist UBTA in providing telephone service to the Vernal Area at the end of next February when they acquire the Vernal area from Quest Mansfield said the company is also seeking to provide services in Colorado."We are already providing wireless service in Rangely. Colo. UBTA is negotiating with telecom companies in Colorado to provide a link to a backbone in Grand Junction or another city so that service ser-vice w ill not be severed. Mansfield said when a fiber line was cut in Park City, it knocked off serv ice to the Uintah Basin. "It all depends on the weather," Mansfield said about the completion of the second fiber line which will follow Highway 40 to 1500 East. "The contractor is already saying that the frost is going deep." SLC crash kills Vernal man A Vernal man was killed in a traffic traf-fic accident in Salt Lake City at about 4 p.m. Sunday due to snowy conditions. Frederick C. House, 53, was killed when his truck ran into the back of a semitrailer while traveling north on 1-2 1 5 near 600 North. The semitrailer was slowing down for a traffic accident that was stalling traffic. The Utah Highway Patrol said that House, hit the semi trailer at a high rate of speed. There were no other injuries. Another accident occurred by inattentive drivers dri-vers passing by, but there were no serious injuries. i pi 1 INW1 r 1 J V V I j t f 1 f'L J. Twenty-six members of the Uintah Basin Board of Realtors received the Presidential Award sales individual indi-vidual sales amounting to $1 million. These top sales people are (front) Shar Benson, Susan Nebeker, Freida Parker, (second row) Karlee Boyles, Virginia Birch, Linda Bameck, Chelle Brandon, Angela Walker, Jannine Smith, Karen Price, Cleo Mortensen, Bob West and (back row) Gene Ostler, Dennis Mott, Ryan Mott, A. Lynn snow and Troy Allred. Not picture are Gerrie Buckalew, Mary Lou Dixon, Chree Karren, Lou Harrison, Phil Harrison, Jody Hancock Kevin Young and Bobbie Mott who also received a Distinguished Award. ' What most American citizens don't know is that U.N decisionmakers decision-makers are demanding the American taxpayers pay millions more than our fair share for U.N. activities. The U.N. has also announced plans to bring more of our military forces under its control, create global taxes to fund its programs, pro-grams, create a standing U.N. Army and establish' an independent International Criminal Court that would have the authority to arrest and try American citizens. Furthermore, the U.N has also placed millions of acres of American land under "U.N. Designation," along with dozens of American landmarks including the Statue ' of Liberty and Independence Hall, home of the Liberty Bell. It is time for all candidates for president and those elected to Congress to oppose these anti-American anti-American measures, protect American sovereignty, and work to get America out of the U.N. once and for all. Tell your congressman to vote for Rep. Ron Paul's bill HR 1 146 to get the United States out of the U.N. Call both senators Hatch and Bennett (202 224-5444) to oppose the United Nations' charter for Global Democracy. The 90 nations who attended their Millennium Summit meeting Sept. 6 in New York City, met to discuss the signing of that charter. President Clinton was there. The charter, when ratified, will destroy out Constitution, our Bill of Rights and our way of life. Our gun rights will go with the 2nd Amendment Point three will create a Global IRS to tax. If you think your taxes are toe high now just wait until the U.N.'s IRS stop by your home lo collect with a U.N. standing army (that you pay for) behind them. Maurice Strong, co-chairman U.N. Commission on Global Governance stated: "It is simply not feasible for sovereignty to be exercised exer-cised unilaterally by individual nation states." DOROTHY LUCK Vernal |
