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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, July 9-12, 2005 The Park Record A-22 RIGHT ANGLE PICTURE FRAMING PHOTOS • PRINTS • FINE ART Quality art and lop quality service lo meet all your framing needs Park City's most unique collection ofpre-made frames! RIGHT ANGLE PICTURE FRAMING • 1240 IRONHORSE DR. 649-3640 Right no*1 door to Windy Ridgo Cafti Utah State Parks list coming events Utah State Paris boating ty of the week With an ever-increasing demand on Utah's lakes, reservoirs and rivers, boaters have the responsibility to learn, practice and advocate safe, courteous and ethical use of the state's waterways. Responsibilities include learning and obeying the boating safety laws and rules, being environmentally conscious, and sharing the waterways with other boaters, swimmers, and anglers. Recent surveys indicate that more than 80 percent of Utah's registered boat owners have not com- pleted a boating safely course, 'liiis implies that a vast majority of Utah's boaters are unaware of the basic safety equipment and navigation rules needed to operate a boat. Not only will successful completion of a boating safety course increase knowledge and participation of boating safety, il can also reduce the premiums on boat insurance. For more information about boating safety courses in Utah, or for a free copy of Utah's Boating Course, visit www.statcparks.utah.uov or call (801) 538-2628 within the Salt Lake calling area or 1-800-743-3792 from ANNUAL FLOOR SAMPLE Ranger Program - Snakes, Salamanders and Lizards: Children ages six to!2 are invited to learn what it means to be a Upcoming Utah State Paifcs events Junior Ranger, as well as other •July 16 Rock Cliff Nature cool stuff about nature. Earn a Center/Jordanellc Stale Park Junior Ranger Badge and dertifiFrancis: Junior Ranger Program - cate. Meet at the campground Pest Patrol: Children age six to 10 office from 11 a.m. lo 12 p.m. For arc invited to the Nature Center more information, please call from 11 a.m. to noon to learn (435)654-1791. about the three Ps in fighting •July 16 Wasatch Mountain pests. Children will earn a badge State Park - Midway: Campfire and certificate. For more infor- Program - An Owl's Life: Join mation, please call (435) 782 park staff to learn about owls in a 3030. fun, and entertaining way •July 16 Scofield State Park - through drama! You could be Price: The Scofield Olympic part of the play! Program begins Distance, Sprinl Triathlons, at 7 p.m. at the campground Biathlon, and 5K Run at the amphitheater. For more informaMountain View boat ramp. tion, please call (435) 654-1791. Events begin at 6 a.m. For more •July 16 in August 26 Iron information, please call (435) Mission Suite P;irk Museum 448-9449. Cedar City: Painting exhibit by •July 16 Wasalch Mountain Leslie Orion. For more informaSlate Park - Midway: Junior tion, please call (435) 586-9290. outside the Salt Lake calling area. Boat Smart from the Start! Live by the rules! Immigrant soldiers fight for the U.S. By STEPHEN WALL ALL CLEARANCE ITE I I SATURDAY 1 0 - 6 NO PAYMENTS UNTIL 2007 S NO INTEREST IF PAID BY 2007 Applies to purchases made between 7/5/05 - 7/9/05 with approved credit. DREXEL RALPH LAUREN QUEEN GLASS-TOP COCKTAIL TABLE $$49? NOW $ BACHELORS CHEST NOW $ 9 9 9 $544? N O W * 1 3 7 9 1099 ALEXANDER TAYLOR RECLINER BURGANDY &SQQ N O W $ 9 9 9 STONE TOP SLEIGH BED PRE-HOLIDAY SPECIAL HENREDON 40 OFF DINING TABLE ALL DINING FURNITURE IN-STOCK & SPECIAL ORDER $&s*5 NOW $ 3 9 9 9 "ALFRESCO" ALL ITEMS SUBJECT TO PRIOR SALE / / / / / / • • TAKE AIM SOFAS CHAIRS DINING TABLES ARMOIRES DESKS LAMPS CURIO CABINETS CHESTS % io OFF ALL "ORANGE DOT" SALE ITEMS Hamilton Park H E N R E D O N * RALPH LAUREN « B E R N H A R D T 206 E. Winchester (6400 S.), Murray • POSTER BEDS / RECLINERS / GRANDFATHER CLOCKS / SLEIGH BEDS / MIRRORS / CHINA CABINETS /DRESSERS / CREDENZAS DREXEL^HERITAGE, Hamilton Park 174 E. Winchester (6400 S.), Murray SALE ENDS SATURDAY-JULY 9 MediaNews Group Wire Service Army Sgt. Manuel MendozaValencia lost both legs fighting for his adopted country, a nation where he couldn't even cast a vote. Even his green card had expired last October when a roadside explosive device blew his vehicle "three-stories high" taking the young soldier's legs along with it, his sister said. Immigrants and noncitizens such as the 24-year-old Fort Irwin, Calif.-trained Mendoza-Valcncia have helped fight America's wars since the Revolution. It makes such stories particularly poignant on this Independence Day 2005, when thousands of others of America's warriors - citizens and noncitizens alike - are placing their lives at risk in mortal combat. This Fourth of July, MendozaValencia remained in a wheelchair al Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D C , learning lo walk again on prosthetic legs. "He's my brother, and I love him so much," said Marcela Mcndoza-Valencia, his 23-year-old sister, of Boonville, Calif. "It's hard to see him like that." In a special ceremony at the hospital in December, the sergeant took the oath of U.S. citizenship. He is among the more than 80,000 immigrants in the U.S. military. About half are legal permanent residents who have not become citizens. These noncitizen soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines lack the right to vole or serve on juries, cannot become officers or serve in posts requiring access to classified information. They also must leave the military after eight years of service, obviating the possibility of a career and eventual retirement. Such restrictions have helped motivate immigrants to pursue citizenship. An executive order signed by President Bush in July 2002 allows noncitizens serving in the military to apply for citizenship after one day of active-duty service. More than 16,000 military members have taken advantage of the decree and become citizens, immigration officials said. It's a course to citizenship followed by many in other American Wars, including World War II. Korea and Vietnam. Others joining McndozaValencia in this special cadre are: • Army Sgl. Vidar Mora, who came to the United States from Mexico as a toddler. "There's no other country like this country." said Mora, 21, who is based at Fort Irwin. He became a citizen in Los Angeles June 23. His three-year military career includes a 12-month stint in South Korea. "I became a citizen because it's a belter opportunity for me," said Mora, who grew up in Houston. "I'm able to serve a career, which is 20 years, rather than just eight years. I want to protect this country and keep it safe for as long as I can." • Jose Osnaya, a Mexican immigrant, who served two tours of duty in Iraq as a Marine. He recalls being part of the company that helped topple the infamous slatue of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Opening a scrapbook of his war experience, Osnaya shows photos of Iraqi civilians waving and smiling at the camera. "How could we not be doing the right thing?" said Osnaya, 21. who lives Highland, Calif. "You see all the improvements. People are voting. They have freedom of speech." A tank mechanic, Osnaya said he kicks himself for not thinking of applying for citizenship until he fought in the war. "I don't get the full benefits other people do," Osnaya said. "I know its hurting me. It's my fault. I'm the only one in the family who is not a citizen." Osnaya said he tries to follow in the footsteps of his father. Rafael Osnaya. who worked as young boy in Mexico making wooden boxes for a soft drink company and sleeping in cardboard shacks. Today, his falher is a mechanic and supervisor for a metal pipe company, who achieved the American dream for his wife and two children. "My falher is one of the most successful guys in the world," Osnaya said. "We are a country that's based on immigrants. Immigrants arc the people that bring this country up." • Army Staff Sgt. Christian Casillas, a recruiter in Rcdiands, Calif., said young Latinos can relate to his experience as a Mexican immigrant who came to this country at age 6 and became a naturalized citizen in 1998. "Not everybody is willing to stand up to help defend the country they were born in," said Casillas, 24, who served in Iraq for a year. "The contribution of immigrants is important. They're helping out the country they're going to live in for the rest of their lives." • Cpl. Heidi Loredo, although a first-generation MexicanAmerican whose parents were born in Mexico, still speaks Spanish al her parents' home in Munstcr, Ind., near Chicago. Loredo, who serves in the Marine Corps at Twcntynine Palms. Calif., plans to return home to celebrate her birthday next month. "I'll have a big pinata and I'm 22 years old," she said. "Tradition is a very big thing in our culture." She said she joined the military because it is an honorable way to recognize her parents' sacrifice in making a better life in the United States. "I feel like I have to set the example for my kids and my nieces and nephews," said Loredo, whose parents were factory workers in Mexico whose home had cement floors and no bathroom. "I want (the younger ones) to understand how lucky they are to be in this country." Despite their patriotic devotion to their adopted homeland, many immigrants retain sentimental ties lo the culture and language of their ancestors. Speaking Spanish came in handy for local members of the National Guard when they teamed with soldiers from El Salvador during their one-year tour in Iraq that ended in February. "'We got called to do a hospital dedication, but we were given wrong information about the location," said Maj. John J. McBrearty executive officer of the National Guard's 1st Battalion, lS5lh Armor Regiment based in San Bernardino. "The El Salvadorans were able lo communicate in Spanish with my partner, who was MexicanAmerican," McBrearty said. "I don't think we would have made it if he didn't speak fluent Spanish." • Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Luis E. Valle, 23, a Navy medic stationed at the Twentynine Palms Marine Base, said that when the Humvee he was riding in was almost blown up by a roadside explosive in Iraq, he felt like he earned the right to become a "complete" American. "Even though I defend this country, I can't participate in its decisions." Valle said. "I can't vole. I can't get into an officer program. "I don't get the same privileges and benefits. I dont believe that's fair. I'm still like a second-class citizen." Valles application for citizenship has been approved. The young sailor is wailing to learn the date of his naturalization ceremony and anxious to take the oath of allegiance. |