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Show C3H efaSGiiGiiS rappQd by oraiisiiiGSiiSalete, mm m&i BY N. E. WILSON The Draft Environmental Impact Statement, released by the Air Force last Thurs -day, came under immediate fire by environmentalists and national news media, both of which have shown a continued bias towards the multi -billion dollar defense project to be located in Utah and Nevada's Great Basin. As SANE Director David Cortright stated almost immediately im-mediately after the release in Washington, D.C. last Thursday, "From the moment mo-ment the Carter Administra tion announced its decision to develop the MX missile system, sys-tem, opposition has been loud and unceasing." Mr. Cortright is certainly certain-ly right about the loud and unceasing, but what he failed to say is that the anti-MX movement is not broadbased. The millions of Americans, often called the silent majority ma-jority not only support the MX decision, but an across the board upgrading of the military, after having watched watch-ed the U.S. sit idly by for the past decade while some 30 countries have fallen to the Communist menace. The Iron Curtain no longer is just a Eurasian block, Africa, Af-rica, the Carribean, Central and South America are . liberally spotted with Communist Com-munist countries. The Red Tide has spread. Americans are acutely a-ware a-ware that 52 Americans are held hostage by little Iran, and the U.S. seems helpless to do anything about it. Afghanistan Af-ghanistan is overrun by Russia, Rus-sia, and the UJS. scolds from across the pond. And as the International energy crisis looms Into war In the Per- ' sian Gulf, the U.S. admits it cannot protect it's Interests, Inter-ests, nor it's friends. Yes, opposition to MX is loud and unceasing, due largely to liberal news media me-dia that search out the few vocal opponents like Mr. (Continued on Page 12J Am-1 M i.iititfiTm'rt' MHj" MHS CONCERT BAND: This group of young people make up the MHS Concert Band, which presented it's annual Christmas Concert last Wednesday. Wed-nesday. They are: Flutes, Suzanne Morris, Kim Asay, Lisa Florence, Pattl Puffer, Tori Petersen, Debbie Baxter, Venora Underwood, Aaron Heer. Guitars, Chris Duffy, Jess Rowley; Clarinets, Laura Lee Erick-son, Erick-son, Karen Jensen, Mr. Burger, instructor; Alto Sax, Debbie Myers, Stephanie Smali; Tenor Sax, John Easton; Low Brass, Amy Heer, Mrs. Burger; Percussion, Bruce Thompson, Scott Manhard, Clayton Holm, Danny Robbins, Mark Corbrldge, Trumpets, Glen Thompson, Bill Morris, Scott Sullivan, Aaron Myaer, Robby Robbins, John Carter, Car-ter, Ralph Heer, Bill Denny, Lenney Robbins and Roger Rose. HERE'S MORE ABOUT MX STATEMENT Cortrlght that express the network point of view. A case in point was last Thursday, shortly after the EIS was released. Channel 2, of Salt Lake City, buzzed Into Milford to film the reaction. re-action. Of course, no one here had seen the 9 volume EIS, let alone the back up material, which is even more extensive. Still Reese Stein and his camera crew buzzed around town, Interviewing any local residents they could get to talk on camera. There were approximately 20 in all. Finally Fi-nally they came across the Kearney . brothers, from Richfield, who run cattle ln Pine Valley, where MX is to be deployed. Even they were not opposed op-posed to MX, but had concerns con-cerns as to how it may affect af-fect their cattle operation. In fact they were just coming out of a meeting with the Air Force and Corps of Army Engineers, where they had been working together to alleviate al-leviate the Impact, and were going on an on site tour of Pine Valley, to discern what could be done to reduce any adverse effect on their operation. op-eration. You guessed it, Stein rushed rush-ed back to Salt Lake City for the evening news, and of all the interviews he'd conducted conduct-ed in Milford, the Kearney brothers were theonly ones broadcast. That's not news reporting, that's news making. If you get someone to talk long enough, something they say, taken out of context, . will present the point of view that the broadcaster wants to make. So the Draft EIS made little impact on Beaver Co. other than that made by the visiting media. And we wonder how the environmentalists and politicians poli-ticians could respond so quickly to the vohimnoos DEIS. Gov. list, presented with his copies on Wednesday Wednes-day afternoon, took to the camera a couple of hours later with complaints of It's inadequacies, and Gov. Matheson barely had time to open the cover before leveling similar charges. And the real radicals like SANE's Mr. Cortrlght, had their statements prepared before the DEB was released, re-leased, so they could begin condemning It Immediately. We expect there will be little in the DEIS that is new andor more shocking than what we've already been told. Possibly there will be more detail, but few revelations. rev-elations. Once we get our grubby little hands on a copy we will study It thoroughly for ourselves. Meanwhile, the bottom line seems to be, Is IfX a viable vi-able alternative to bolster the national defense? Will it serve as a deterrent to nuclear war? If the answers to those questions are yes. then we cant af9ord net to build it, and H should be deployed deploy-ed as soon as possible, in the manner which best serves the national Interest. |