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Show by Terri Lynn Ruff I have been participating in various poverty-prevention programs pro-grams in the community for more than a year, and have made a commitment to help the poor, so Poverty Awareness was a natural theme for me to adopt for my Miss Springville program. I have learned a lot about poverty and its causes, and have also uncovered uncov-ered some of the myths surrounding surround-ing this subject. I have also learned what I can do-and what I cannot do-to help the poor. My purpose is to make the community aware that there is real poverty here in Happy Valley. Val-ley. I want to help you understand under-stand who the poor are, explain the real causes of poverty, burst some myths about why people are poor, identify which poor people we really can help, and to set up a national volunteer program of bright students to strike down poverty at its roots-in the schools-for the benefit of future generations. Poverty is defined as a lack of enough income and resources to live adequately by community standards.' In Utah alone there are 34,817 people officially defined as "poor," as noted in the current-population survey in March of 1998, and those numbers num-bers are growing. More than one billion of this World's population are so poor that their health and lives are endangered. Of those, 36 million people in the U.S. are below the official poverty level. Imagine a family of four living on $8,265 a year! Although we know poverty is real, some of the numbers may be exaggerated, as they do not take into account non-cash benefits bene-fits from state local and federal governments, sucn as weuare, food stamps, etc. Even so, it is still a very real problem. What are the causes of the real poverty? . Inability to find and keep a steady, well-paying job because of lack of education or necessary skills. Without a high school dinlnma. the averapes sav vnu would make, $16,124 a year, is not nearly enough to comfortably ' support a single person, let alone a family. Some people are simply too old or too sick to work, and j saved little or nothing for. their uiu age. Economic forces and chan-. chan-. ges in labor requirements have created a lot of unemployment. There are many single women with children who are widowed, divorced or separated. Many women cannot afford day care while they work. ' Unwed mothers have an 80 probability of joining the ranks of the poor. Alcoholism and drug addiction. ad-diction. So who are the poor people? Unwed mothers, divorcees, the handicapped, the elderly, high school dropouts, and people who are not technically up to speed and are unable to adapt to a changing job environment or have been laid off. POVERTY MYTHS A lot of generally unquestioned unques-tioned myths have grown up around the poverty culture, many perpetuated by those who have made a career of "fighting poverty,"' pover-ty,"' and have a vested interest in bigger and better state and federal feder-al programs to "fight poverty." This has in many instances blurred the distinction between the real poor and the "poverty establishment." I have made it my mission to sort out the useful programs that help the real needy from the bureaucratic poverty machines that mainly support the bureaucracy. ,Myth 1:. People are poor because of not enough govern- Factory Authorized Dealer &. Service Center Beat tho rush! Spring Service Lawn Mowers, String Trimmers, Edgers, Sharpening, etc. Carpenter Seed Co 1030 So. State, , Provo with ment programs. The ... Truth: Government programs may aggravate poverty, as literally trillions of dollars have been spent since President Lyndon Johnson "declared war on Poverty," and the number of. people dependant on government money has soared at a much faster rate than the population. Myth 2:. People are poor because they are "oppressed" by "the rich." The Truth: This is socialist nonsense. The money invested, saved and put at risk by the rich is the engine of job creation. If the rich were all destroyed overnight, over-night, unemployment would soar. Myth 3: The poor arc just lazy. The Truth: That is sometimes true; who wouldn't be tempted to lay around drinking beer and watching TV if they got a check and food stamps every month and their personal standards were low enough. But studies show that some of America's hardest-working people work for minimum wages, cleaning houses and hotels, ho-tels, picking crops, digging ditches, ditch-es, and doing America's dirtiest jobs, and many officially "poor" college students work as many as two full-time jobs while carrying a full college load. Myth 4. People who are now poor will always be poor. The Truth: Studies show that the poor are a .shifting population, popula-tion, including poverty-stricken students who may end up at the top of the income scale, divorcees divor-cees and widows who re-marry and prosper. Half of those who are now poor won't be ten years from now. Myth 5: Advances in technology tech-nology means we only need machines and less people to run them. The truth: During the hightech high-tech explosion of the '90s, 30-million 30-million new jobs were created. There are many deserving poor people that need helpright here in Utah County. We need to reach out to those poor that can be helped-the sick, the handicapped, handi-capped, those temporarily out of work, the under-educated, widows, wid-ows, and alcoholics who are willing to be helped. Charity truly begins at home. Although there are many organi-,, zations in the community you can . be involved with, your first priority is your family. Make sure close relatives are okay and have the essentials, then look outside your family circle. You can call the local Food Bank in Provo located on Freedom Free-dom Blvd. Ask what items they might need and then get some people together to donate them! You can always go there and volunteer; you do not even need to call. You, can serve food to the homeless at the Food Center Coalition in Provo. Habitat for Humanity in Provo, founded by ex-President Jimmy Carter, builds modest homes for poor families. You can contribute money or labor, helping help-ing to build these starter homes. The Boys and Girls Club and many of the families they serve are poor. They are dependant on donations of labor, money, equipment equip-ment and other goods. You can always look on the Internet and find different ways to help victims vic-tims of poverty. I am most interested in those whose future poverty can be - Spinal Rehab Specialists - O Auto AcddentTWhiplash" O Work Injuries O Neck PainHeadaches Low Back Pain O Numbness in Arma or Legs O Stiff and Painful Joints Have you been suffering from any of the above? Experience pain relief now! Dr. Mangum of Spinal Rehab Specialists would like to invite you to call today to schedule your FREE consultationexaminationand consultationexami-nationand x-ray of involved area to see if chriopractic can help you as it has helped millions of others suffering similar pains. Mention this ad and schedule your appointment for your no sost-no sost-no commitment visit today. tut wing prevented, such as future school dropouts and the illiterate. Education- is the closest thing to a sure ticket out of poverty. Education is a serious poverty issue, and the one I have chosen as my life's work! Millions of teenagers are dropping out of high school, and that means they will have to work much more than 40 hours a week at the minimum wage to try and support a family, or even themselves! There are ways to stop this problem prob-lem even before high school. Many children from grade one to 12 hate school because they do not think they are smart enough and they are behind in their work and discouraged. A lot of them are not getting adequate help from teachers and families. I have personally observed kids being put down by their teachers. How can children ask for help from their teachers if they are afraid they will be thought of as stupid and slow? ' I am creating an after-school National Tutoring Program to help children of all ages with their school work. Starting In Utah County, we will 'ccruit trscDDD Scoti (Dart at Read leaf FrL The Read Leaf is pleased to welcome best-selling author Orson Scott Card, who will be signing his books beginning at 7 p.m. on Fri., Mar. 30. Books can be purchased at The Read Leaf that evening, and you may feel free to bring any copies of his books you already own. If there is a particular title you want to be sure to get, you can call The Head Leaf ahead of time to reserve a copy. Winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel two years in a row, Orson Scott Card has earned an international reputation repu-tation for his science fiction writing. Card's most recent novel "Shadow of the Hegemon," a sequel to "Ender's Game." was; an instant New York Times and Book Sense bestseller. , .li ! i .But Card is not limited to one - genre or iorm ot storytelling. He has had success with writing plays, contemporary novels, historic novels and fantasy. Card has garnered national recognition for "Sarah," the first of three NATIONAL CORN r wis Harward Farms of Springville was recognized as a state winner in the 2000 National Corn Yield Contest sponsored by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). From left, Lynn Jensen, a grower from Lake Preston, SD, and NCGA Chairman, made the presentation to Jud Harward during the Commodity Classic held Feb. 25-27 in San Antonio, TX. . t Dr. Lance Mangum (Palmer Graduate) II program U ' " f y : - f. Terri Lynn Ruff, Miss Springville Spring-ville candidate and youngest of the thirteen children of Howard and Kay Ruff of Springville. dozens, then hundreds, and more--students who are willing to help kids in all subjects. This will be free. It will be a way to bring the community together, helping the next generation graduate from books planned in his Women of Genesis series, published by Shadow Mountain, an imprint of Deseret Book. He has even published pub-lished a children's picture book, "Magic Mirror." Born in Richland, Washington. Washing-ton. Card grew up in California, Arizona and Utah. He lived in Brazil for two years as a missionary mission-ary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He received degrees from Brigham Young University (1975) and the University of Utah (1981). He currently lives in Greensboro, Greens-boro, North Carolina. He and his wife Kristine. are the parents of five children: Geoffrey. Emily Charles, Zina Margaret and Erin Louisa (named for Chaucer. Bronte and Dickinson. Dickens. Mitchell and Alcott, respective-. i ty) The Read Leaf is located at 164 S. Main Street in Springville. Fore more information or to order books, please call The Read Leaf at 489-1390 or toll-free toll-free 1-877-287-1332. YIELD CONTEST Great American Restaurant 1460 North 1750 West-Springville at the Flying J Travel Center - 489-3625 r1 t P I in Steak Both potato, Limit t d;nn:r March 28, 2001 - The high school, having learned what they must to know to hold a job and function in a free-market society. This will help give them self esteem so they will not have to settle for the lowest common denominator-welfare. : fikL LSI Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there, State Farm Insurance Companies Home Offices: Bloomington, Illinois Aft $0 teEt$, all abCM iraQft!l2!3ir$. You know how It goes. Checking account number. Checking account balance. Savings account number. Savings account balance. Credit card number. Credit card balance. Payment due date. Debit card number. PIN number. Mortgage loan number. Mortgage loan balance. Payment due date. Social security number. Credit rating. Credit score. ' Arm you a person, or a body of numbers? Depends on your bank. At Central Bank, you have a face, and we recognize it. You have a name, and we know it. You have a business, and we're familiar with it. You have a family, and we ask about them. You live in a community, and we live there, too. You have interests, and we have the same interests. You have talent and potential, and we consider that more important than numbers. It's all C E That's how we do t rn 2 (g&MOfeOD M(D& wmmmwmmmmmMmmMmmm served with choice of, verpfebte, roll & salad. p:r coupon - net v;d with any ether offers. Springville Herald - Page Seven Lack of education is a major long-term cause of poverty. If we can come together and prepare the next generation for the world in which they must live, in one generation the world will be a finer place to live. W ' " E. Dean Brian 52 West 200 South Springville 489-9444 STAT I FARM INSURANCI V i 3 I oboutjou. MBM-' NTR A things at Central Bank. li )(. uip. t ft, rmj btm ran OPY |