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Show Chicken About Utah Features Editor: Paul Garcia Phone: 626-7f?' Rubber chickens, bike trails part of state charm By Heather Wheatley senior features writer The Signpost "This is the dace." r The saying is true. Utah is the piace ror many oaa ana unique places and products. Utah is home to Moab where mountain bikers die and find heaven. The bike shops outnumber the grocery stores two to one. "There are not many towns of 8,700 people that can support six bike shops," Dave Bagley, owner of Top of the World Cyclery, said. The discovery of the Slick Rock Trail put Moab on the map. Many other trails have since been discovered, and no bike shop has had to shut its doors yet. Top of the World Cyclery is one of the newer stores, being in its third season. Spring and fall are the ideal times to bike Moab's landscape. Weather and land meet at " perfection during those times. "Moab is the mecca of mountain biking destinations," Bagley said. Several other geological formations throughout Utah such as Zions Canyon, Arches National Park and r Bryce Canyon carved by wind, sand and water have become ideal places for bikers, hikers and photographers. Utah is home for two state birds. One is official, the other not, but ""both are responsible for helping out the state in their unique ways. The California Sea Gull was a - miracle for the early Mormon settlers Presidents Report Dear Wildcats, I hope you are enjoying your summer. If you're reading this on campus that might be questionable! I want to update you on several things, most importantly tuition. The State of Utah, for the fiscal year 2002-03 that started July I, showed a budget deficit of $173 million. This is primarily due to low tax revenue from Utah lax payers. This problem made Higher Education and nearly all other government funded organizations vulnerable for budget cuts. Over the past several months President Thompson, his staff legislators, student government leaders and concerned citizens have been lobbying to protect Higher Education. The scare was that we might take up to a 20 percent budget cut from Higher Education, raising tuition to nearly $1,500 per semester even before this fall. Two weeks ago at the Capitol it appeared Higher Education would take a $9 million budget cut, the Governor, though, pushed extremely hard that they not do that. Therefore, the cut came down to $2.9 million on Tuesday. We should be grateful 1o the governor, President Thompson and those who helped protect students. This means only a .57 percent cut from WSU and no tuition increase. A few steps can and must be taken by you, the students, to have Higher Education continue to be protected. In November all the House of Representatives and half of the Senate positions come up for election. Past years show the students in Utah have had poor voter turnout. If you honestly want your tuition to stay reasonable and get a quality education you need to vote. It is a reality that if students do not vote, legislators are less hesitant to take cuts from us. You will be able to register for voting on campus in September. Between then and November we will have several candidates at Weber State. Please attend these debates and vote in November. I'm excited that it went so well at the Capitol. I'm also excited about the upcoming year. We have plans that include a Sept. I! memorial, plans for improving community involvement and goals to set the record for attendance at the homecoming football game. If you have anv questions or would like further information please e-mail me at brodybarnesmail.weber.edu. Go Cats, Brody Barnes WSUSA President "for over 7 0 years now, we've used the rubber chicken as our mascot. We give rubber chickens to all our friends and have them over all our computers' Suzanne Stensaas associate professor at University of Utah plagued by an infestation of crickets that were sure to completely consume the crops. The other Utah bird is the rubber chicken. Yes, the rubber chicken is correct. This bird is aimed more directly at Utah's pocketbooks and good fortune, however. Salt Lake City is the nation's leading center of rubber chicken manufacturing through Loftus International. Loftus Novelty was founded in 1939. It began as a small retail shop on Main Street in Salt Lake City. "Young people would go to a show, grab a hamburger and come into Loftus," Gene Rose, current CEO of Loftus International, said. Rose's stepfather started the company. Rose came right out of high school and straight into the business. Loftus Novelty grew to carry over 3 ,000 items nationally and internationally. In 1995, Loftus Novelty became Loftus International. Just as their claim states "A Tradition of Mirth and Amazement Since 1939," Loftus carries novelty items, magic tricks, Halloween products, mylar balloons and even a risque line. The company continues to stay in the state of Utah out of choice. "Utah is the state I was born in," Rose said. "I've been all over the world, but I like Utah." While Loftus deals in magic, its founder did not. Rose is somewhat of another story. "I dabble in it a little bit," Rose said. "I love to be fooled by close-up magic." s The rubber chicken seems to be more of a good luck charm than Rose ever imagined. Rose remembers when his son would ride around in his beetle with a rubber chicken. Never did Rose expect anyone else to use the rubber chicken as a sort of talisman. In 1992, during a Slice of Life Workshop in Salt Lake City, the rubber chicken was called upon to ward off the demons of evil and mayhem who destroy computers and nuQiist 13H1 - 15th ShCiTJQGd Hills Oogistration July 1sl-3 1st $80 includes food, lofting, T-sUri, snd lots oil sin multimedia programs. At first, the "shaking of the chicken" was done symbolically with a closed fist. In 1 993 , the Slice of Life Team obtained a clutch of chickens from US Novelty located in Salt Lake who carry the chickens through Loftus. "For over 10 years now, we've used the rubber chicken as our mascot," Suzanne Stensaas, associate professor at University of Utah and a Slice of Life producer, said. "We give rubber chickens to all our friends and have them over all our computers. This has become a international thing at a multimedia workshop." Slice of Life is a non-profit project based at the University of Utah encouraging the development and integration of educational multimedia applications in health sciences education. Whenever any Slice of Life multimedia is shipped, a rubber THE Fcr more information: Call 626 -6349 or- visit ViTrB .v-sSisrecfuIssisrshln chicken is stuffed inside the container to ensure a timely and safe trip. The rubber chicken has flown all over the world with Stensaas for workshops for Slice of Life. This past weekend it visited Mexico. But, Utah is the rubber chicken's home and it enjoys the state. Such is the case with many Weber State University" students who feel that there is no place like Utah. "I like the mountains, the characteristics of Utah," Shamae Mechem, a junior, said. "I like the little communities, the traditions we have like Pioneer day where we all come together." For Ryan Wolsey, junior, three things will keep him in the state. "Mountains, family, friends," Wolsey said. You can reach reporter Heather Wheatley by calling 626-762 1. THE FEU, THE PROUD, WILDCATS |