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Show Vernal Express Wednesday, January 3, 2007 A7 i Public Forum 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. Appointments Dear Editor : Once again the Uintah County Commissioners (this time, in their role as members of the Special Service District SSD advisory boards) have failed to follow State law. They filled the vacant executive execu-tive director positions on the Economic Development and Animal ControlShelter Support SSDs without first advertising those jobs. The Utah SSD Act clearly requires all SSDs to implement merit principles of employment, employ-ment, including the specific mandate that SSDs give "open consideration to qualified applicants for initial appointment". appoint-ment". In personnel-speak, that means the SSD boards can not pre-select persons to fill vacant positions within the SSDs. More important than their ignorance of the SSD Act, 45ths of the members of the Best books of 2006 By Terri Schuchenmeyer Book Reviewer Okay. So you got a pile of book store gift certificates for the holidays this year and they're burning a hole in your pocket. I can identify with that. But you don't want to waste those precious EGCs on just any old book, do you? No, you don't, because you never know what you might get" , ,' That's okay. I did all the dirty work for you. I slogged through just over 200 books this year, and while I read some not-so-stellar books, I also read some that I raved about for months. Here, in no certain order, are those can't-miss titles of 2006. Top Five Fiction "Chasing the Wolf' by Nathan Singer - This quick-to-read novel is fast and furious, involving racism, time travel, and a bunch of quirky twists. You can read this book in less than 3 hours, but why would you? It's meant to savor. "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen - Part love story, part circus history, this novel is the story of a former elephant worker who revisits his memories memo-ries in the twilight of his life. Beautiful, wonderfully written, this story will yank you in on Page One. . "Rusty Nail" by J.A. Konrath - Jack is back in this third Jack Daniels novel. A killer is on the loose and Jacklyn is on the trail. That's the good news. The bad news is, the killer knows where Jack lives. If you love a mystery that turns you upside down so many times you get whiplash, this one is it I think this one is Konrath's best work so far. "Smonk" by Tom Franklin -A dark and nasty Western with a syphilitic alcoholic one-eyed hero and a fifteen-year-old prostitute pros-titute at its heart Not a book for Grandpa, but very, very enjoyable if you're tired of the same old shoot-em-up. "She Ain't the One" by Carl Weber and Mary B. Morrison -"Fatal Attraction", urban-style, this is the story of a man who falls in love with the wrong woman and pays for it Written alternately by the authors, this book showcases the talents of both. Top Five Non-Fiction "Answering 911" by Caroline Burau - Burau, a veteran of a Minnesota 911 call center, writes about her experiences working in the hot seat ... the calls she'd just as soon forget for-get and the ones shell always remember. This is another of those books you really don't want to end. "Final Exits" by Michael Largo - A quirky, fun (but never morbid) look at the ways we die. This book is a trivia buff's paradise and something you can buy for the person who claims he "never reads", because hell read this. SSD boards are elected officials - county commissioners or city council members. They operate, oper-ate, or should be operating, the county and cities according accord-ing to merit personnel principles. prin-ciples. They should know that every political entity in Utah - including SSDs - are obligated to advertise vacant positions before filling them! If they don't know that, and apparently appar-ently they don't, how are they going about hiring county and city employees? The "good 'ol boy" network? Initially, the Commissioners appointed members to the SSD boards without first soliciting applicants for those positions, in violation of State law. When their error was brought to their attention, the commissioners advertised the vacancies then (with one exception) appointed the folks they'd pre-selected in the first place. Will they do the same this time? Simply go through the "motions" of pre- "High School Confidential" by Jeremy Iversen - Iversen went undercover at a high school, masquerading as a teenager even though he was an adult and a college graduate. gradu-ate. Appalling and uplifting, this book will make you look at teenagers in a whole new light. "Kicked, Bitten and Scratched" by Amy Sutherland - In this book, Sutherland fol-lSWs fol-lSWs ' students through two ,, years' at a premiere California zookeeper's school. Not just another "animal" book, this will appeal to every pet lover and zoo-goer. "Every Contact Leaves a Trace" by Connie Fletcher - True crime, oral-history style. Fletcher interviewed dozens of forensic scientists about their favorite cases, the unsolved mysteries and the strange things that happened on the way to the morgue. This book is not for the faint-of-heart, but it's un-put-down-able if you're a true crime fan. "Truck: A Love Story" by Michael Perry - Yes, I can count. I know this makes six books on my Best of Five, but I couldn't resist adding this book to my list. It's a sweet, introspective intro-spective book about a man, a woman, and a truck. And it's a must-read. Top Three Kids Books "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" by Kate DiCamillo - A sweet, "Velveteen Rabbit" kind of story with a heartwarming twist. I loved this book because it made me nostalgic in the way that well-loved well-loved teddy bears and stuffed kitties do. A perfect book for 8-12 year old girls or little kids who need a read-aloud story at bedtime. "Escape from the Carnivale" by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, performed by Jim Dale - Peter Pan's friends are in trouble. One of them has been captured by bumbling pirates and she needs the Lost Boys' help. I listened to this book in audio form and found myself sitting in my car while the track ran out. Exciting adventure adven-ture for frto-10 year olds, but a great listen for parents, too. "Here, There Be Dragons" by James A. Owen - Another exciting adventure that mixes literature, history, mythology and fantasy into a story that I couldn't put down. Meant for 12-and-up, this one will appeal to grown-ups who love Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter, Zeus, and Tolkien. So there you are. A pile of the Best of 2006, perfect for reading in the waning days of winter, tucking in your suitcase suit-case for vacation, or enjoying - just because. Now, if you still have gift certificate money left, ask your local bookseller for his or her suggestions and you'll be directed to some great new books, too. Happy New (Reading) Year! tending to be a merit-based employer, only to appoint their pre-selected favorites to be the SSD executive directors after incurring the expense of advertising adver-tising the vacancies? If the Commissioners can not establish the SSDs in compliance com-pliance with State law (and so far they appear to have been unable or unwilling to do so), why should we taxpayers have any confidence that they will operate the SSDs in compliance compli-ance with State law? A year or two down the road, are Uintah County taxpayers going to wind up owing the federal government gov-ernment millions of dollars in unlawfully spent SSD funds - for unlawfully appointed executive directors' salaries and other unallowable expenditures? expen-ditures? I won't be surprised if that's the outcome of this poorly poor-ly planned, ignorantly implemented imple-mented experiment. Commissioner Jim Abegglen was right: while the new SSDs might be a good expenditure of the County's federal mineral lease money, they warranted more study before the commissioners commis-sioners rushed into creating them. Sandy Hansen Vernal Solutions to Resolutions, Part I By Dr Bjornson1 Ph.D. " Health Writer Here we are again as another year begins to unfold before us. The transition to a new year typically brings about a reflective reflec-tive and contemplative mindset and the desire to start anew, to make important life changes. Rest assured, the year will fly by whether we are ready or not. Will this finally be the year you will see your resolutions come to fruition? Or have you found yourself restating past unfulfilled unful-filled resolutions? Worse yet, have you given up hope in your ability to change? As a psychologist, psycholo-gist, I remain very optimistic in the capacity for human change and growth. It is difficult to see so many people struggle and feel like failures when they fall short of their desired outcomes. It doesn't have to be that way however. After many years of helping help-ing people change and reach desired goals, I am struck at the frequency at which people set themselves up for failure before they even get started. One classic clas-sic example is when someone utilizes previous unsuccessful methods while expecting a different dif-ferent outcome. The axiom that the same method leads to the same outcome really does hold true. If your methods have not worked previously, they likely will not work in the future. Yet human beings tend to be creatures crea-tures of habit doing and saying the same things, day after day, year after year, despite making efforts to change. People will frequently want the same thing each year on January 1st year after year, yet go about accomplishing it without an effective strategy. You must be willing to think and act innovatively, examine old familiar ways, and part with whichever ways do not work. If you use life change strategies that keep you in your "comfort "com-fort zone", they are likely to be ineffective. Genuine change necessitates some degree of discomfort and departure from familiar ways of doing things. In essence, we need to get off of our "auto pilot" way of existing. We are truly the only ones who can be in the driver's seat of our lives. As such, I encourage you to take control and map out a new route, filled with fresh perspectives per-spectives and abundant possibilities. possi-bilities. There are many other reasons rea-sons why people do not reach wmL their goals. The language one uses is very important. For instance, when someone says how they are going to exercise "daily", or "completely" eliminate elimi-nate their favorite unhealthy foods, to get "totally" organized, orga-nized, or to "always" act kind toward others, to not get upset, to always remain positive, they set themselves up for failure. fail-ure. When we use such absolute abso-lute words as always, never, must, completely, or totally, we establish a set of unrealistic standards or expectations that do not allow us to be human, to make mistakes, to sometimes say things we do not mean, to get tired or sick and miss a few days of exercise, to experience the natural ebb and flow in personal functioning, to have a -bad day or to have cravings for unhealthy tempting foods. Additional reasons why people often fall short of their desired resolutions or goals include having only vaguely defined goals and not writing their goals down. Obstacles or barriers to success also need to be considered. If someone does not have well thought through methods to deal with obstacles, they will likely not succeed. There are several things that will increase your likelihood likeli-hood of reaching your desired outcomes. For starters, I recommend rec-ommend reexamining how you go about defining success with a stated resolution or goal. Many people see success or goal attainment as an eitheror phenomenon. You are either successful or unsuccessful based on whether or not you reach your goal. This focus on the "outcome" as the only H&l .rtfe- JT2lfe sfSSfiZrx 1 Now ujou march back over there and tell them heq have five minutes io give me an opologij for calling me names AND THE ICfe "jS5m f measure of success sets people up for failure. When we dwell exclusively on the outcome, we compromise our ability to feel successful while striving for the goal. Keep in mind that genuine happiness lies in the journey, not the destination. I encourage people to reexamine what criteria they use for success. suc-cess. Many top performance experts have spent years or even careers seeking out a greater understanding of what factors contribute to a happy successful life. One widely held belief views success as "The progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal". When we allow ourselves to feel successful suc-cessful while pursuing a goal, we increase motivation and self-efficacy, or our perceived belief in our abilityto accom?,-plish accom?,-plish something. These internal inter-nal states keep us moving in the desired direction over an extended period of time, and further propel us toward our goal. Recommendations for Resolution Solutions this week include the following: Take the month of January or even February to define your resolutions and goals. The Holiday Season is simply sim-ply too busy to . adequately invest the proper amount of time and thought into a well-designed well-designed plan for personal change. ; Carefully consider what is important in the different differ-ent domains in your life, such as relationships, . parenting, career, finances, spirituality, education, physical and emotional emo-tional health, or recreation and leisure. Then let your resolutions reso-lutions and life change goals ft Dr. Michael J. Bjornson, Ph.D. ; ' ".. i.t evolve from whichever areas are most important to you. People are more likely to succeed suc-ceed over the long run if their goals are consistent with life areas of genuine importance, versus external and societal ideals. Lastly, remember that true happiness is a state of mind and perception. You have it within yourself to change your thinking, actions, and behaviors, which consequently will change your life. Stay tuned next week for additional thoughts and specific spe-cific ideas to help you reach you resolutions and goals. Free Goal Setting forms to get you started are available by contacting con-tacting this author. Dr. Michael Bjornson is a Health Psychologist practicing in Vernal Utah, (435) 781-8989. TalkDocubtanet.com. |