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Show .Vernal Express. Qn)(Q)n) Public Forum by iKi&iPipmiMm Letters to the Editor What is your opinion? The Vernal Express welcomes letters from its readers concerning any subject pertinent to the Uintah Basin. There are no restrictions on contents, if not libelous, vindictive vin-dictive and in good taste. The letters need to be a reasonable length, two typewritten double spaced pages. Letters must be submitted exclusively to the Vernal Express and bear the writer's writ-er's full name, signature, phone number and address. Letters for the sole purpose of expressing express-ing thanks to individuals or groups will not be printed in the forum. Letters may be mailed to P.O. Box 1000, Vernal, Utah 84078, faxed at 789-8690 or through email at editorvernal.com. The name or names of the persons 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 necessar-ily the opinion of the Vernal Express Editor. UUJ iV U tJUU By T.G. SCARECROW Apology Dear Editor, I am writing in response to Resident's rights, in the Sept. 20 issue. I am the person who caused the damage to the writer's house. She did fail to mention that I looked her square in the eye, and sincerely apologized for my actions. I felt very fortunate that no one was injured, or killed for that matter. I agree that my punishment might not have been just in a sense. I was though, in a court of law, held accountable for my actions. I don't feel that I got off as easy as she said. I was given ; fTf ?; 7v,;', T i i i : . f 1 SililiiiPliWiWiiill t Uintah County Commissioner David Haslem, Mike McKee and Jim Abegqlen, recognized Fireman Floyd Workman for 52 years of service. State requests information from gas industry in pricing probe Francine A. Giani, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce, announced today that letters have been sent to the attention of Lee Peacock, Utah Petroleum Association and John Hill, Utah Petroleum Marketers & Retailers Association requesting request-ing financial information to aid the Division of Consumer Protection's investigation into Utah's high gas prices. The letters to the Utah Petroleum Association requested request-ed copies of financial statements, state-ments, crude oil pricing and purchasing histories, along with records of "rack" industry pricing for refineries that supply sup-ply Utah consumers. The letter addressed to the Utah Petroleum Marketers & Retailers Association requested daily pump pricing and bill of lading information for twenty four randomly chosen retail outlets around Utah. The three letters were sent as a result of the initial meeting Sept. 19, 2006 between Department of Commerce employees and representatives rep-resentatives from Utah's gas refineries and retailers. "As we investigate Utah's high gas prices, I would advise consumers to use their purchasing pur-chasing power to find stations offering discounted prices at the pump," said Francine Giani, Executive Director for the Department of Commerce, "If every Utahn makes an extra effort to find the best price, retailers will be forced to lower prices." In addition to steps being taken by Giani and her investigative investi-gative team, Gov. Huntsman and the Department of Commerce have added links to find Utah's lowest gas prices through their websites. You can find the Governor's link at www.utah. govgovernor by going to the Quick Links section and clicking click-ing on "Find Cheap Gas Prices in Utah". There is also a link at the Commerce Department website web-site at www.commerce.utah.gov On Sept 15, 2006 Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. asked Francine Giani, Executive Director of the Department of Commerce to investigate an amount of restitution for her, as well as another person whose property I damaged. I was also ordered a fine, and jail time. These families were not the only ones with whom I have caused complications. The fact is long after the court system has freed me from my debts, I still have to live with the bad choices that I have made. I am not unfeeling, I have guilt, and do feel remorse for those I have hurt. I admit my wrongs, and if I do not better bet-ter myself, then I am at fault and no one else. Concerning the judges that are in the court systems here. They do what they believe is in the best interest of society. i ' "V ' - I . t Tmw -I - Utah's high gas prices after local prices edged higher than national averages. Once the investigation is complete, the Department of Commerce will submit a report to Gov. Huntsman and the media for review. In a letter to Lee Peacock, Utah Petroleum Association, Giani requested information with respect to the refineries that provide gasoline to Utah retailers: For each of the refineries, refiner-ies, the percentages for the past year for crude oil the refineries have purchased from the following fol-lowing sources: domestic crude, Canadian crude, and non-Canadian non-Canadian international crude. For each day from Oct. 1, 2005 to the present the daily price per barrel paid by refin Class teaches students how to dance Students at Uintah High School have an excellent opportunity oppor-tunity to learn how to dance in Robin McClellen's social dance class taught on B days from 9:30 to 10:50 a.m. There are about 52 students this semester and there are almost as many boys as girls. This year there is a greater opportunity for the students to take the class because there is a section every semester instead of just one as in years past The students are currently learning the fox-trot and have just finished the mambo and the salsa (the two dances are nearly identical). They will also be studying the waltz, cha cha, rumba, two types of swing, and a variety of line, contra, square, and round dances. Robin said, "The kids are great. They really can dance, they just don't know it yet." Mrs. McClellen starts by teaching students the basic steps. After they have learned enough basic steps to create a variety she lets the boys lead the girls through their favorite steps. She has partners switch often so students get to know each other as well as how to dance. They all work very hard every day to make neighborhoods like those here, as well as all over the country, safer. I believe the community would not vote a judge into their position, unless they were absolutely sure they are competent enough to do their job exceedingly well, with good judgment, and to the best of their ability. If in fact the writer of "Resident's Rights" is living in fear that another person may run into her house again, I would like to take this opportunity oppor-tunity to further my apology. I will pay for any counseling necessary nec-essary so that she and her family fami-ly may live a normal life again. Tom Cunningham and Fire Marshall Jeremy Raymond eries for crude oil from each of these three sources. The past year the percentage percent-age of profit from the sale to retailers of all grades of unleaded unlead-ed gasoline that has been used by the refineries to subsidize the transition to Ultra-Low-Sulfur Diesel Fuel. Identify each gasoline retailer in Utah in which a refinery has an ownership or affiliate relationship. "I want to assure you that it is not my intention to publicly release any proprietary information," infor-mation," Giani said. " When you provide these statements to the Department, I encourage you to make any confidentiality confidential-ity claim you feel appropriate under Government Records access and Management Act." Students John and Kaylee learn the fox-trot.When one remembers school dances, he or she tends to think about doing the fox-trot or the twist, but that isn't the case of high school students today. School dances seem to have a lack of actual dancing, but that may soon change. One thing she is planning to do to increase the circulation of these dances is showing the kids modern songs that have the same rhythms as the classic clas-sic ones. By doing this, the students stu-dents understand that they can dance to their own music, not 17HE FIRST 5ETTIER5 CAME TO OUND J&77. ft FERRY THAT CROSSED GREEN RIVER OPERATED BYIAR5 JENSEN. Hard to tell the difference by John Stossel In this era of a big-spending Republican administration, the differences between conservatives conserva-tives and liberals have shrunk somuch, it's hard to tell who's who. Take embryonic stem-cell research. President Bush has limited taxpayer funding of this research on right-to-life, not fiscal-conservative, grounds. He's not against all federal financing of the research, but he doesn't want to expand what's already being done. Conservatives generally gen-erally support him. Liberals oppose Bush's stance because they like funding what they favor, and they favor stem-cell stem-cell research. They often describe Bush's policy as a ban on research. That's not true. Researchers at Harvard, Vanderbilt, and other private institutions already spend millions on this work. Clearly there's a difference between private and government govern-ment financing, and someone can logically favor the first while opposing the second. Many Americans think embryonic stem-cell research is immoral. Federal funding makes them pay for something they regard as murder. Actor Mel Gibson was one of the few who stated it clearly: "Why do I, as a taxpayer, have to fund something I believe is Emily Sullivan enjoys her social dance class. Social Dance instructor Robin McClellen just the music of their parents or grandparents. One student, Emily Sullivan said, "1 like being able to hold hands with the boys while learning to dance." J x r y 4 THE TOWN GREW AROUND unethical?" Yet many conservatives miss the point. Consider last week's U.S. Senate primary race in Rhode Island between liberal Republican incumbent Sen. Lincoln Chafee and "conservative" "conserva-tive" Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey. Chafee accused Laffey of being a "hypocrite" because "He invested in embryonic stem cell research as a member of Wall Street community but now opposes Federal funding." I would expect a liberal to overlook the difference between private and government govern-ment funding. But conservatives conserva-tives should understand that there's no hypocrisy when a private investor funds something some-thing he doesn't think government govern-ment should fund. So when I heard George Stephanopoulos asked Laffey about this on ABC's "This Week," I expected a principled explanation of the difference. I was disappointed. Here's what Laffey said: "At the federal level I've studied the subject. After $100 million and 10 years of federal fed-eral money, there are no cures and no human clinical trials, while there are thousands going on with adult stem cells. So I urged the federal government govern-ment to spend more money on adult stem cells because I want solutions now. My father has Alzheimer's, so no one can get up like Sen. Chafee and tell me I don't care about people." When Stephanopoulos asked if he had a moral objection to taxpayer funding, he said, "No, I don't. I'm a businessman. It's an economic decision. I want to put money where it works." Wait a second: That's the conservative case against federal fed-eral funding? It's not effective? I thought conservatives wanted government strictly limited to what the Constitution prescribes. pre-scribes. If Laffey is that clueless, clue-less, conservatives shouldn't mourn his primary loss to Carter to be in The 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, will be in Elko, Nev., today to campaign on behalf of his son Jack Carter's campaign for the United States Senate. The media arrangements are as follows: fol-lows: At 10:30 a.m., the President will speak to seniors in the dining hall of The Terrace, 1795 Ruby View Drive in Elko. Members of the public are welcome wel-come to attend on a first-come, JENSEN UTAH Chafee. Two years ago, when California had a referendum proposing that the state's taxpayers tax-payers spend $3 billion on stem-cell stem-cell research, lots of rich and famous liberals, including Bill Gates, said they were all for it. I thought: Why don't they just donate their own money? Many of America's best innovations inno-vations come from private research. Last year, a private ship reached space twice, inspired by a $10 million "X prize" offered by private investors. inves-tors. A private prize also inspired Charles Lindbergh to fly across the Atlantic. Government force isn't necessary neces-sary for stem-cell research. So I confronted the leader of the California campaign, a wealthy housing developer named Robert Klein: "Spend your own money. ... Gates wouldn't even notice it. It's $3 billion out of the - what - $40 billion he has?" Klein said, "What we're trying to do is bring the society together." Bringing society together sounds nice, but government is force. Voluntary contributions to a charity would bring people together for the public good. Klein added: "We have to provide this opportunity. If it's the will of the people." The will of the people can mean tyranny of the majority. Too bad neither liberals nor conservatives have scruples against forcing people to do things they don't wish to do. John Stossel is co-anchor of ABC News' "2020" and the author of "Myth, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel - Why Everything You Know is Wrong." To find out more about John Stossel and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www. creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2006 BY JFS PRODUCTIONS, INC Elko, Nev. first-seated basis. Members of the media should plan to arrive no later than 10:15 a.m. There will be space at the back of the dining room - about 30 feet from the podium - at which TV cameras can be set up for a clear vantage point for the President's remarks. Space for radio and print journalists will be reserved at tables on either side of the podium, at the front of the room. I |