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Show Opinion and Commentary 2 Vernal Express Wednesday, January 3, 1996 JACK-STRAWS byJackWallis Centennial Year This week is one that has been looked forward to for many years by Utahns. Thursday will be the celebration celebra-tion of 100 years since Utah became the 45th state which took nearly 50 years of preparation. Three days of activities began Tuesday in Fillmore. On Wednesday three train rides will feature celebrations celebra-tions originating at Morgan. Green River and Cedar City all en route to Salt Lake City. On Thursday, at precisely 9:13 a.m., a re-enactment of the statehood announcement will take place at 59 S. Main Street. At 10 a.m., the 1896 Statehood Parade will reappear at South Temple and Main Street. Two programs at 12 noon and 3 p.m. at the LDS Tabernacle will recreate the inaugural ceremony. At 7:30 p.m. in the Delta Center the Utah Centennial Gala will feature Utah's finest talent in a once-in-a-life-time performance with indoor and outdoor fireworks. fire-works. Some of the problems in gaining statehood have been documented in a five hour, two night Channel 7 TV production this Wednesday and Thursday, 7 p.m. in, "Utah: The Struggle for Statehood." The documentary was started three years ago, starting start-ing as a two-hour program undergoing three exten sions to the final five, but could have gone for eight hours. Taking 50 years of history and compressing it into five hours was no easy task the abundance of information infor-mation was almost an overabundance. By the time the research was done, the KUED team had logged over 12,000 visual images everything from photos to maps to diary and journal pages to editorial cartoons to official government documents. Only about a third of the research material was used in the documentary. A first-person account of the history his-tory uses 250 speaking parts using 80 national political politi-cal figures, community leaders, businesssmen, and media figures as voices. The Uintah County Centennial Grand Ball will be held Saturday at the Uintah High School Commons area starting to 8:30 p.m. The evening will include the presentation of the queens, grand march, great music, entertainment, refreshments and a floor show. The event is sponsored by the Uintah County Centennial Committee and the Uintah Arts Council. Admission will be charged. This week's Centennial activities will truly make history for Utah as well as its many communities. 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, phone number and address. Letters may be mailed, faxed at 789-8690 or through e-mail at editoreas-ilink.com. editoreas-ilink.com. The name or names of those submitting letters must appear on all published letters. All letters let-ters are subject to condensation. Letters express the opinion of the writer and are not necessarily the opinion of the Express Editor. Instructor appreciated Dear Editor, Ms. Audrey Coons: A current instructor at the Maeser Learning Center, she is over due for recognition for her dedication to all students. Ms. Coons has taught school for many years. She has given a lifetime to studentsparents in the educational field. I believe every person who gives a special gift should be acknowledged with a special thanks. Ms. Coons can be easily defined as a friendmoralist of most everyone. Any negative feedback on comments to her kind old-fashioned old-fashioned ways should be eliminated based on her love for children. Her professional manner intercedes over and above any difficult experiences she faces. Her life has been children and all children are treated with gentleness yet to be conceived. Maybe someone will follow in Ms. Coons footsteps and leave a lasting impression as she does this day. PAUL TANNER Vernal Care Center Dear Editor, The Uintah Care Center operates on unique and strict standards in relation to each resident. The services provided within the center consist of social services, day care activities, physical therapy, speech therapy and excellent nursingdietary departments. depart-ments. Administration over the UCC has developed and implemented long-term objectives to fully meet the requirements of State regulations. UCC has ubout 75 residents within its center. I believe that Vernal City residents need to always think positive of the care center and completely down-grade uny negative influences which the media or persons may create. Vcrnul City was again listed as one of the best little towns of America. In all respect to the staff at UCC. each one provides their special contribution to Vernal City and its well deserved position. R. TANNER Vernal Exp (ISSN 0892-1091) Pwbhpd every Wednesday tot St9 00 per year in I hopping area and 130 per ye M of shofKXng within note and 133 pet year out Of Itatt hm USA by lh Vernal Epet Pushing Company. 6 Noun Vernal Avenue. Vernal. Utah 84076 Second ciatt pottage pad at Vernal Utah 40?6 POSTMASTER Send M'eM efang to VtANAl EXPHES9. P.O. Bat 1000. Vemal Uin UQt jet R W ,...:..,....,..,....,.,...,.,.. PubMher Steven A Wa't ., ;...............,.:.,..,.,,.,...;,..,...,.,...,. Editor View Feu ..,.....,.....,.,.. ,....,.....,.,.,.,......,. .Ueryie Writer Kathleen ttvtng .,.......,., ........... ,.,..,.... Staff Writer te f. Pye , .,.....,......,.......... Spent Writer Janet 0 We Advtmma. Mat Henry ,. Advertising Mea Morttaon .. ....... OtuWon ft Gefied Adi Pone 7 351 1 FAX ?8 mm Member of Ulan Prest Aaaocaton and Natona Newspaper Aaocaton Inn Marten McOu. M-Slti WMeM .....Y$t t erguson. 3) t Mane Cie-a Kotointon. 7M 338 Vide lome MtKee. S 7 2350 Deadline Sews Monday t P rtv tW Mveamfl Tuesday 11am Ointrnd Advet-i?g... Tuesday 11 a m. HOUSE 6C? ENOUGH MONE TO HAUL OFF THE GARBAGE J i r : " ' Su rainier Games to come to Vernal Due to a realignment of regions, Utah Summer Games officials have chosen Vernal to host the Central Regional qualifying qual-ifying competitions next summer. Under the direction of Shane McAffee, Uintah Park and Recreation director, the new site will host track and field events, swimming, basketball and volleyball. "This is a great opportunity for the Vernal area." said McAffee. "About 1 ,000 competitors from outside the area are expected to attend the event.." ' The track and field events will be at., the Uintah High School football stadium which seats over 3,000 people. Gary Galley, Uintah High School track coach, is the coordinator for these events. The Uintah indoor pool, with a new $12,000 electronic timing system, will be the location for the swimming competition. compe-tition. Kathy Worthen, Uintah. High School swim coach and U.S. swim official offi-cial will supervise the event. The basketball events will be at the Uintah High School main gym coordinated coordi-nated by Jay Dee Nielsen, assistant director of the Uintah Recreation Association. Volleyball will be accommodated in the girls' gym at the high school and Vernal Middle School." The middle school gym will have three volleyball courts. The volleyball director will be Doris Salazar, Uintah High School volleyball vol-leyball coach. "The Vernal facilities were well chosen cho-sen the pool, middle school and junior high ,are within two blocks of each other and the high school is only a half a mile from the junior high," said Connie Jones, " Utah Summer Games media spokesperson. Other attractions which won Vernal the bid to host the games are the Dinala.nd Golf Course, Western Park Convention Center and Museum, Steinaker and Red Fleet State Parks, Museum of Natural History, Dinosaur National Monument and Quarry. . j Weekend dates for regional events are May 3 1 to June 1 or June 7-8 with a registration reg-istration deadline of May 18. Finals will continue in Cedar City, June 13-22. Registration deadline for Finals is June 1. The central region consists of Utah, Wasatch, Carbon, Duchesne, Daggett and Uintah counties. "The regional competition of the Utah Summer Games is a tremendous opportunity oppor-tunity to extend Utah's premier amateur sports program to all interested athletes in the state," said David A. Slack, executive execu-tive director Utah Summer Games. "I feel the Utah Summer Games has the potential to promote the good within a community as well as the recreation programs." Superintendent responds to letter In response to a letter to the Editor, in the Dec. 27 edition of the Vernal Express, Superintendent David L. Allison, Uintah & Ouray Indian Agency clarified his responsibility regarding the construction of the Whiterocks Road. In a letter written by Rose Mary , Fausett, it could be misconstrued that Allison would maintain 51 percent tribal members on the construction of the road. The tribe has retained another contractor contrac-tor for the project and decided to terminate termi-nate its contract with L'&W Construction effective Feb. 2, 1996. "It is my responsibility to see that tribal trib-al members are hired according to federal feder-al law as to the grant to the county to build the road,' said Allison. "I cannot enforce 51 percent if it is not federal law," he said. Uintah County, in conjunction with the Ute Tribe is constructing the Whiterocks Road, 12 miles, at a cost of $3 million. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is paying 85 percent of the costs. Uintah County's part of the road cost, $600,000, is being paid by a grant from Uintah Special Service District. Higher speed limits up insurance premiums Some motorists are worried. Now that the federal government has decided to allow each state to set its own speed limits lim-its or do away with limits altogether some people are predicting that auto insurance premiums will climb just as fast as the speed limits do. Well, you can breathe easy, because that just won't happen. According to Western Insurance Information Service," increased speed limits can't have an immediate effect on auto insurance premiums, because insurers insur-ers base premiums on claims experience. It will take at least a year to collect enough data to determine if increased speeds are causing additional andor more costly insured traffic crashes, or if speed has no effect at all. Regardless of how well or poorly motorists handle increase speeds, it's important to remember that insurers also use numerous other factors to calculate an auto insurance premium. That's why an unmarried, 17-year-old boy who lives in downtown Denver probably would pay more for auto insurance than a married, mar-ried, 35-year-old woman who lives in Lusk, Wyo. no matter what the speed limits are. Some of the factors Insurers consider when calculating auto insurance premiums premi-ums include: t. Where the insured vehicle owner lives (for example, rural vs. urban urea, downtown vs. suburban area, theft and crash claims experience specific to that area, etc.); 'The driving record, marital status, sex. and age of the drivers) of the insured vehicle (for example, a DUI conviction con-viction indicates a high-risk driver, mar ried drivers tend to be safer drivers than unmarried ones, males are involved in more traffic crashes and fatalities than females, teens are involved in more traffic traf-fic crashes than people in their 40s, etc.); The type of insured vehicle (for example, motorcycle vs. private passenger passen-ger car. fancy sports car that is expensive to repair vs. a standard sedan that costs less to repair, theft experience, etc.); How the insured vehicle is used (for example, driven mostly to and from, work vs. driven often on business, the ' number of miles driven annually, etc.); The number and types of safety features fea-tures included with the insured vehicle (for example, in 1994, lir bags prevented 527 deaths, scat belts saved 9.175 lives, child safety scats saved 308 lives, motorcycle motor-cycle Ttclmcts saved 527 lives, anti-theft devices reduced auto thefts, etc.). If motorists aren't able to drive safely at higher speeds, the effect of increased speed limits will become a factor insurers insur-ers have to consider when calculating auto insurance premiums. However, it's important to note that if speed-related traffic crashes were to increase in Provo, insurance premiums in only that area could be affected, provided pro-vided no trends were detected statewide. Likewise, if Las Cruces, N.M., were the only area in that state that didn't see an increase in speed-related traffic crashes, insurance premiums could rise throughout through-out the state, with the exception of that area. In other words, you, the driver of the insured vehicle, will help determine whether or not higher speed limits will affect auto insurance premiums. Voice of Business Another black and white movie by Dr. Richard L. Lcshcr President U.S. Chamber of Commerce WASHINGTON Steven Spieling's jgwfav mastcnui depiction of the holocaust. f 1 "Schindlcr's List." was shot almost total- V - 1 Iv in black mill ttliite nn iirliuie ilrnur. lure from custom which most critics agree made the film more powerful and compelling. The same cannot be said of Rob Reiner's "The American President" which, although shot with color film, presents the standard Hollywood "black and white" perception of the nation's political scene, The dominant theme of the movie is a bachelor president pres-ident trying to make romance with a lovely lady while he' running the counuy. That much is okay. Romance is generally deemed a basic ingredient of movies, even those set in Washington. In truth, this plot line is not too far-fetched. History offers many examples of presidents who romanced lovely ladies, though only one of them James Buchanan w as a bachelor at the time. Less charming is the film's simplistic portrayal of politics in the nation's capital which, as in early cow boy movies, clearly identifies the "good guys" from the "bad guys. Lest anyone in the audience is too thick to get the message, the president in the movie, played by Michael Douglas, lards his leftist boilerplate boiler-plate on thick and gooey in a prolonged speech, the essence of which is that anyone who really believes in the Constitution just naturally belongs to the American Civil Liberties Union; that the only way to reduce crime is to ban handguns; and that protecting the environment should be the nation's number one priority, even if we have to shut down the economy to do it. It is probably just as well he didn't get into welfare, wel-fare, abortion and deficit spending, though I doubt if anyone who sees the film will emerge with any doubts where Reiner. Douglas and the rest of the Hollywood liberal establishment stand on those issues. In fairness, fair-ness, this amusing political soap opera reflects the traditional tra-ditional mindset of many movie makers that their purpose pur-pose is to entertain, not educate. This attitude is most evident in movies based upon historical figures and events, which routinely play fast and loose with the truth in pursuit of dramatic effect. In addition, there is a cynical attitude among some of the Hollywood elite, that movie audiences are either loo slow-witted or apathetic to appreciate the subtleties of real political debate about complex public policy issues. Why anyone would believe thai is beyond m. Indeed, anyone watching the healed debates on tlte House floor on C-Span in recent weeks must have been captivated by the clashes taking place. At issue are subtle but important public policy issues about which serious, intelligent people disagree and care deeply. It seems to me that this deadly earnest contrast, con-trast, which appears so vivid in' real life, could be made into compelling drama. Bui whenever Hollywood tries lo capture the political scene on film, the result is superficial fantasy like "The American President." I believe the problem lies not with the complexity of the subject matter or lack of audience sophistication, but rather Hollywood's self-imposed intellectual straitjackct. The people who make movies simply cannot, can-not, or will not, sec the other side of the issues about which they feel so strongly. They appreciate the Constitution's defense of free speech but not its defense of the right to bear arms. They appreciate clean air and water, as we all do. but do not see the rampant abuses when properly rights are infringed, jobs are destroyed and the public is terrified by inflammatory warnings of nonexistent health haanls in our food. It is this murky reality, in which competing interests must be balanced amid contradictory evidence, thai makes Washington such an esciting place lo live and work. The drama we see here every day is much more intriguing than Hollywood's simplistic "black and while" fantasies. |