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Show 2 Vemal Express Wednesday, August 1 8, 1 993 WHAT HAPPENED C SET IT TO YOUR HEAD ?J -i JACK-STRAWS byJackWallls Volunteorism What is the single, most important element in community com-munity survival and progress? Volunteerism. Where would our community be without volunteerism? Nowhere. Do you volunteer your services for the betterment bet-terment of your community? I hope so. It isn't necessary that you belong to and become actively ac-tively involved in every community committee in town. It is necessary that you belong to and become actively involved in something besides regular work, play or retirement if you want your community to be a cut above the rest. Volunteer work is the best kind of work, because it is done for your community and for your fellow citizens. citi-zens. It is done without pay or remuneration of any kind, other than the knowledge that you have done the right thing, at the right time, to the best of your ability. Just imagine what kind of community you'd have without volunteers. Community clubs, service clubs, church organizations, much of the arts and local humanitarian hu-manitarian efforts would simply not exist without volunteers. Age doesn't matter, wealth doesn't matter, even ability doesn't matter much. What does matter is the desire to make your community better in everything. "If your church is the beating heart of your community com-munity and business is the backbone, then volunteerism volun-teerism is the helping hand," states Harlan Hansen of The Community Advocate. When you volunteer, I assure you that you will, invariably, in-variably, get back more out of the community than you ever put in. Not often, if ever, will you get back a financial reward, but you will be paid full measure, in warm friendship, discovered abilities, worthwhile projects and renewed vitality, states Hansen. This is your community. You should be proud of it If you can't be proud of it, you should change it. Don't complain about your community and don't place blame about things that may have gone wrong, or just didn't happen. Those are negatives that impede im-pede progress. What our community needs are positives. And those positives will take root and will eventually flower, just as soon as you volunteer. Try it out and see for yourself. 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 re-strictions as to contents, if not libelous or vindictive vin-dictive and of reasonable length. Letters must be submitted exclusively to the Express and bear the writer's full name, signature, phone number and address. The name or name of those submitting letters must appear on all published letters. All letters are subject to condensation. con-densation. Letters express the opinion of the writer and are not necessarily trie opinion of the Express Editor. Grazing fees Dear Editor, As an economist at Utah State University who has studied grazing fees on public lands since 1966, 1 am alarmed by many aspects of the changes by the Clinton Administration. Study after study shows that permittees per-mittees incur high non-fee costs to graze livestock on public lands. In 1992, these other non-fee costs (fences, water supplies, etc.) were estimated at $13.28 per AUM, which means that ranchers must pay about $17.56 per AUM under the proposed fee system. Many ranchers ranch-ers will find that this is not economically econom-ically feasible. Moreover, there is not enough private land for ranchers who decide that they cannot afford to use public lands. The result will be the end of livestock live-stock production in many areas and another blow to beleaguered rural communities. The concept of applying a single fee to all public lands is seriously flawed and should be reexamined. The proposed fees are a step in the wrong direction and seem to be motivated mo-tivated by political expediency, rather then economic rationality. There are alternative methods to equitable assess grazing fees, including in-cluding a proposal developed by the Western Livestock Producers Alliance. Ranchers are willing to pay their fair share for the right to graze public lands. The proposed grazing fees do not give them that opportunity. DARAWINB. NIELSEN Professor Department of Economics U.S.U. mm Vernal Express (ISSN 0892-1091) Published every Wednesday for $17.50 per year in shopping area and $28 per year out of shopping area within state and $31 per year out of state within USA by the Vernal Express Publishing Company, 54 North Vernal Avenue, Vernal, Utah 84078. Second class postage paid at Vernal, Utah 84078. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to VERNAL EXPRESS, P.O. Box 1000, Vernal Utah 84078. JackR. Wallis Publisher Steven R. Wallis Editor Melanie Morrison Staff Writer Kathleen Irving Staff Writer Eric F. Pye Sports Writer Janet D. Wallis .Advertising Marcia Henry Advertising Judy McCarley Circulation & Classified Ads Colleen Noble Legal Notices Phone 789-3511 FAX 789-8690 Member of Utah Press Association and National Newspaper Association Area correspondent! Tridell Lorna McKee, 247-2350 Lapoint Marlene McClure, 247-2552 Whiterocks Virginia Ferguson, 353-4584 Manila Clara Robinson, 784-3436 Deadlines News Monday 5 p.m. Display Advertising Tuesday 11 a.m. Classified Advertising Tuesday 11 a.m. Public lands Dear Editor, The Clinton Administration has demonstrated some ambivalence concerning agriculture. While acknowledging that agriculture is "America's number one industry," providing 21 million jobs and the "single largest contributor to our net trade balance" (Presidential proclamation, procla-mation, March 20, 1993), some actions, including the recent proposal pro-posal to more than double grazing fees, are less supportive of agriculture. agricul-ture. The proposed increases in grazing fees and the proposed controls on water rights could deliver a devastating devas-tating blow to Utah's economy. About one-fourth of the state's income is derived from agriculture, and 45 of that is due to beef and sheep production. The grazing fees and other proposed changes threaten threat-en much of this income. President Clinton recently called Western grazing fees "nickel-and-dime stuff" (Newsweek, August 9, 1993). That simply is not true. These actions of the federal government govern-ment affect the lives of tens of thousands thou-sands of citizens, particularly in Utah where the federal government own 69 of the land. As John Kenneth Galbraith said, "...the public pub-lic lands of the United States exceed the combined areas of Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Denmark, Hungary and Albania. Where socialized ownership of land is concerned, only the USSR and China can claim company with the United States." Government ownership of land is accompanied by enormous power. This authority should be exercised judiciously. In the interest of fairness fair-ness and economic good sense, grazing fees should give our farmers farm-ers and ranchers an opportunity to make productive use of public lands. All of us will benefit Sincerely, RODNEY J. BROWN Dean of Agriculture Utah State University H. PAUL RASMUSSEN Director Agriculture Experiment Station Utah State University Elk hunting Dear Editor, A couple of days ago, I was contacted con-tacted by someone who had bought a license to hunt a cow elk on private pri-vate property. I was glad to give my permission, as I think our elk population popu-lation needs to be thinned out. I have written letters about this before. be-fore. But then I learned the truth of the matter and it seems that the DWR has got us again. You see, they sell licenses for these cow elk to unsuspecting unsus-pecting individuals and then when they read the fine print on the license, li-cense, it says that these animal may be shot on private land only, and anyone who knows about most of the private land on Diamond Mountain, knows that where the fence ends up at the top of the hills, is where the elk retreat when someone some-one frightens them, that land belongs be-longs to the BLM and once they cross that fence the hunter may not pursue. It is about like when we were fighting in Korea and could not go beyond the 37th Parallel. I think the Recreation fees Dear Editor, In regard to the article in last weeks Vernal Express about participation partici-pation fees at Uintah High School, several points should be brought out. Athletics in the high school are not just recreational programs as the Uintah School District obviously feels that they are. As Robert Kanaby, the Executive Director for the National Federation of State High School Associations said, "Interscholastic sports are not just after-school activities, but are an extension of the school day. School representatives have to constantly reinforce the kinds of things that are learned in activities that go beyond the normal school experience, and that there is a place for that, as strongly as there is a place for the chemistry, biology, and English curriculum." The second important point is that the Uintah School District has constantly con-stantly been using the Recreation Tax as a "proverbial carrot" to dangle dan-gle in front of all the special interest groups in the school district These recreation monies have already been used as pacifiers so many times that the school board has convinced con-vinced themselves that this source is a bottomless well to be tapped at will. The school board might tell the public that they will rescind the fee, but the fact is the fee is here to stay. Participation fees have been used in high schools as long as most people can remember. The problem with this is the public will suffer in the long run. The recreation monies will be used for a variety of "needs" instead of offsetting the cost of the public using the school districts facilities. Soon the gymnasiums, auditoriums, wood shops, home economics, metal shops, pool, computer, com-puter, music rooms, and other areas will be closed to community use. The third point is that the school district needs to accept the fact that the athletic labs are an educational curriculum that is just as necessary in life as any other subject taught in the high school. Then the district needs to fund the whole school district dis-trict on an equitable basis. Although we know being equitable is hard for the district to do. They can barely give a 2.4 raise to the teachers and then turn around and arbitrarily give two administrators over $16,000 in total raises. Get it straight and get it right! BETTY JENSEN Vernal, Utah Complete exhibit Dear Editor, Got an idea. Why don't they combine com-bine the exhibits of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers with the exhibits ex-hibits at the Western Heritage Museum? Then they would really have a complete set of exhibits of the settling of the Uintah Basin. Just a suggestion. LEE CARROLL Maeser elk sense this and know that the hunter has wasted his time and his money. Thank you for letting me spout off a little steam. MILTON SEARLE Vernal , WHAT TIME DOES ) V IT GO OFF ? J Marijuana... continued from page 1 Uintah County Sheriff. The Moonshine Bench crop produced over 510 plants. "The combined seizure, we have been told, probably proba-bly represents the largest operation ever seized in the Uintah Basin," said Sheriff Meacham. Herness had been living in his vehicle ve-hicle and canoeing to an island in the Green River where he cultivated the marijuana. He is being held in the Uintah County jail on $25,000 bail. At bail hearing Thursday, 8th District Court Judge John Anderson refused to increase the $25,000 bail as requested by Uintah County Attorney Harry Souvall. Attorneys for the Hutchings requested a bail reduction at the same hearing. It was refused. The marijuana taken from the two sites range in size from a couple of feet to 13 feet high. Federal guide-lines guide-lines place the average street value of an unharvested marijuana plant at $1,000. Sheriff Meacham said confidential confiden-tial informants to the Narcotic Strike Force led investigators to the marijuana gardens. "I would credit the Uintah Basin Strike Force for this arrest," said Phillips. "These busts would not have happened without the Strike Force." "Of all the agencies I work with through the state, these are the easiest easi-est to work with. They are not concerned con-cerned about turf, but they get in and get the job done. A lot of credit goes to Sheriff Meacham, Chief Hamner and the Roosevelt Chief of Police for making the Strike Force possible." 18-year old extradited Naples City officers, Sgt. Sam Arbgast and Robert Hatch, extradited extradit-ed Mathew Theodore Zelasny, 18, of Vernal, from Monroe, Neb. to face charges in the Eighth District Court in Vernal of burglary of a business, a third degree felony. He is also being charged with three counts of contributing to minors. mi-nors. The charges stem from an incident last June 18 where it is alleged that Zelasny and three juveniles entered the Naples Truck Stop through an unlocked door after the store was closed. According to statements taken tak-en from clerks at the store, the suspects sus-pects had been in the store earlier in the day and distracted them while one of the suspects went to the back and unlocked the door. $300 in cash and an undetermined amount of merchandise was taken. Most of the property was recovered that night All of the juveniles were referred to Juvenile Court Zelasny fled from the scene that night. He was located in Monroe, Neb. after being booked into that county's jail on unrelated charges. Nebraska authorities agreed to drop the charges they had against him in Nebraska pending successful extradition extra-dition by Naples authorities. According to Sgt. Arbgast, Zelasny is being questioned in some of Vemal City's unsolved burglaries. burglar-ies. Other charges may be files against him. He remains in Uintah County Jail on $6,000 bond. A . V&M BLM EMPLOYEE, Ed Wehking, overturns rock to reveal where portable water tank was connected to marijuana garden's watering water-ing system. THE VOICE OF BUSINESS PROMOTING EXPORTS by Dr. Richard L, Lesher, President US. Chamber of Commerce WASHINGTON The greatest challenge facing Washington today is not taxes, crime or health care, or even stimulating economic eco-nomic growth, but rather defining the nation's role in the new post-Cold War world. United States foreign policy since World War II was consistently dedicated to the containment of communism, and every other concern including commerce com-merce was subordinate to that primary pri-mary objective. Time and time again, U.S. trade negotiators would hammer out tough trade agreements only to see them casually sacrificed to geo-political concern. For example, Washington was always willing to wink at Japan's predatory preda-tory trade practices as a price for keeping Japan in the anti-Soviet alliance. Now the Cold War is an historical footnote, and the United States is reassessing reas-sessing its priorities. Japan is only one of the many nations that can no longer use the East-West conflict as a lever to obtain ob-tain trade concessions, or as an excuse to keep their marketsclosed. There is growing grow-ing recognition that in the post-Cold War world, the status of nations will be determined deter-mined not by military strength but by economic clout. Within that context, the United States today is evaluating all of its foreign commitments and alliances in economic terms, and judging them accordingly. ac-cordingly. Likewise, the president and Congress are beginning to evaluate do-' mesuc laws and programs in terms of their impact on the m tion's competitiveness competitive-ness in the world marketplace. There are many ways to assess competitiveness, com-petitiveness, but perhaps the most reliable reli-able yardstick is exports. The nation that cannot sell its products and services to other nations on a consistendy profitable profit-able basis is in deep trouble. That means us. On average, the Group of Seven nations devote 16.5 percent of their Gross Domestic Product to exports. By contrast, only 7.5 percent of the U.S. GDP is committed to exports. ex-ports. Granted, the size of the UnitedStates economy somewhat mitigates that disadvantage. dis-advantage. In fact, the United States is the world's largest exporter, a distinction distinc-tion we tend to trade back and forth with Germany from time to time. The U.S. has a large, aggressive export sector that virtually dominates many key markets. Clearly, all is not bleak on the trade front All the same, the United States does not yet demonstrate the same level of commitment to expects that other Group of Seven nations do, and therein lies our peril. It is imperative that this country accept the challenge of world commerce, and the pressing need to beef up our export sector. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has set an ambitious goal of raising the nation's commitment to exports to the same level as other G-7 countries by the end of this century, and has asked the Clinton administration to adopt it as well. Clearly defining such a national objective will do much to focus the nation's attention on our most basic challenge. 4 I |