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Show aflMWMWgMMl . B Page 2 Orem-Gencva Times Wednesday, January 8, 1992 Editorial Vaccines Fighting Against Disease in Orem In a world where the spectre of childhood disease was once relegated to history books, scourges such as measles, tuberculosis and cholera, are returning with a vengeance to some parts of the world, including the United States. Although it has been nearly 200 years, since the process of vaccination was developed to combat disease, mankind has yet to see the complete eradication of illnesses which have killed millions of people in the past 20 centuries. The scourge of smallpox was first addressed by Dr. William Jen-ner, Jen-ner, an English physician in 1796, when he discovered a vaccine that could be injected into the body to prevent the disease. He found that by the injection of dead or weakened germs into the body, bodily resistance to the disease could be developed. The vaccine worked by causing the body to develop antibodies which acted to prevent the disease. The word vaccination comes from the Latin word vaca, meaning cow. The term originally referred only to the injection of cowpox virus into the body to prevent smallpox. CAREFULLY PREPARED VACCINES Vaccines are carefully prepared to ensure that they will not carry infections into the body. They are tested so that they will be strong enough to cause the body to develop resistance to the disease, but weak enough so that they will not cause serious symptoms of the disease before the body develops its resistance. Orem school children were involved in testing the most dramatic development of a vaccine in modern times: the Salk vaccine which prevents poliomyelitis. Poliomyelitis, or infantile paralysis, is a disease caused by viruses which may attack the nerve centers in the brain and spinal cord, causing muscular paralysis. Usually a warm-weather disease, occurring occur-ring most frequently in August and September in the United States, Polio had reached epidemic proportions in the early 1950s, with 38,741 cases reported in 1954 in the United States. VICTORY OVER POLIO No chemical, antibiotic, or other type of drug had been discovered which could stop the Polio virus, once it had invaded the body. However, the year 1955 marked a major victory over Polio. Dr. Jonas E. Salk, of the University of Pittsburgh, developed a vaccine which was found safe and effective for the majority of persons infected with it. Salk, whose research was supported by grants by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, reported in 1953 that preliminary experiments with the Wlled-virus vaccine were hopeful. Then, in 1954, in the largest medical field trial in American history, 1,830,000 school children took part in a program to determine the effects of the Salk vaccine. In Orem, some of the school children were given the polio vaccine, while others were given a placebo which contained no vaccine. Only the medical personnel giving the vaccinations actually knew who received the true vaccine. Orem's Polio Pioneers, 38 years later, can look back on that experience as a milestone in their lives, as well as a milestone in the fight to conquer Polio. In earlier experiments, vaccination was found useful against other diseases, such as typhoid fever, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Influenza, In-fluenza, tuberculosis and cholera. VACCINE FOR MEASLES In the 1960s, a vaccine for measles was introduced, and the disease was believed to be on the way to eradication. However, the number of measles cases surged from fewer than 4,000 in 1988 to 27,672 last year (when 89 lives were claimed), the highest number in 30 years. Tuberculosis, once known as the white plague or consumption, was expected to be eliminated after the advent of effective antibiotics 40 years ago. Now, the highly-contagious disease has been declared a world-wide epidemic, causing an estimated three million deaths annually around the globe. It struck 23,000 people last year in the United States. Oyer the years, many Utahns have enjoyed a false sense of security, in the belief that the threat of disease should not be a concern, and that the Public Health agencies are keeping disease in check. The truth is that 63 percent of Utah children are under-immunized, leading to the recent outbreaks of whooping cough and measles. UNPROTECTED CHILDREN A recent survey of immunization levels of 875 two-year-olds in Utah revealed that only 36.5 percent of them had received proper doses of diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccine (DPT), oral polio vaccine (OPV), and measles and mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR). Health officials in utah are encouraging adults under the age of 35 to be re-immunized at this time, since vaccines produced prior to 1970 may not have been as effective as those produced today. Also, today's measles vaccine is about 95 percent effective, so if a person has been immunized twice, chances are very small that infection will occur. Utah State law requires that a child be immunized against eight diseases before attending any public, private or parochial school, day care center or Head Start program. However, the law provides that a child may be exempted if a doctor certifies that immunizations would endanger the child's health, or if a parent attests that vaccinations are contrary to their religious or personal belief. EXEMPTION PROVISION CONCERNS Thatexemption provision is the focus of Utah State Health officials who plan to lobby the Utah State Legislature to eliminate it in the interest of closing that loophole in wiping out disease. Last year, more than half of the children who contracted measles during the epidemic had been exempted from immunization due to the personal beliefs of their parents. The overwhelming consensus of the medical community is that mass immunization is the key to not only controlling many diseases, but virtually eliminating them. However, there are those citizens who for reasons of their own, oppose immunization. Like many controversial controver-sial issues in the world, today, there is no unanimity on this issue, and because of that fact, the hope for a world-wide eradication of disease may remain, forever, an unrealized dream. Meanwhile, those who do see immunization as the valid, effective means of preventing disease should take advantage of it and help to control the life-sapping scourge of disease. Ifireen 1 By Cbde. E. Weeks J For those who enjoy sporting a special license plate on their cars, the State of Utah will accommodate accom-modate them this year. The Utah State Prison is even now, fabricating fabri-cating blue, white, orange and yellow license plates which will go on sale later this month to commemorate com-memorate the state's 1996 Centennial. Cen-tennial. The colorful plates had quite a birthing process, as members mem-bers of the Utah Statehood Centennial Cen-tennial Commission agonized over both designs and colors of the proposed plate. The final design features a red-rock arch, blending into a desert de-sert floor, with a deep-blue sky and snow-white mountains in the background. Initially, the designer, de-signer, 3M Company, had difficulty diffi-culty in reproducing the proper colors, and members of the Centennial Cen-tennial Commission complained that early designs made the arch resemble McDonald's golden arches. 100,000 NEW PLATES The State is gearing up to produce pro-duce some 100,000 of the new plates, with 50,000 of them being distributed to the 35 motor vehicle vehi-cle division offices throughout Utah. Cost of the commemorative license plates will be $25 a set. Renewals will cost $10. Sales will finance state and county Centennial Centen-nial activities. The sale of 100,000 of the plates will be worth $2.5 million to festivities, and four years of renewals will add another an-other $4 million. Nineteen ninety-two is the year when we elect a President, Vice President, one-third of the U.S. Senators, and all of the Congress, Con-gress, and the political pot is boiling boil-ing with a vengeance. New candidates candi-dates are announcing almost weekly, and the 1992 election promises to be both a spirited and a crucial one. STASSEN FOR PRESIDENT I'm glad to see Harold Stassen in the race for President of the United States, again. He has run for President every four years for the past quarter of a century, and it does my heart good to see him in the race again this year. Who knows? Some day he just might win! Meanwhile, don't ever let it be said that your vote (or lack of it) determined the election of the wrong candidate. One vote is important, im-portant, as I learned in the recent re-cent Orem municipal election. Historically one vote has made a difference in many elections. elec-tions. In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England. In 1649, one vote caused Charles I of England to be executed. exe-cuted. In 1776, one vote gave America Amer-ica the English language, instead of German. In 1845, one vote brought Texas into the Union In 1868, one vote saved President Presi-dent Andrew Johnson from Impeachment. Im-peachment. In 1875, one vote changed France from a monarchy to a republic. re-public. In 1923, one vote gave Adolf Hitler leadership of the Nazi Party. In 1941, one vote saved Selective Selec-tive Service-just weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked. Never forget that in this year's election, and in every election, your vote might be the one which makes the difference! SERVICE TO OTHERS Part of the special joy of living in a community such as Orem is knowing the large number and variety of people who invest their lives in the service of others. According Ac-cording to a survey by the Gallup Organization, more and more Americans are giving the gift of self each year. In 1991, alone, approximately ap-proximately 90 million Americans Ameri-cans donated a significant portion of their time as volunteers. People volunteer for a variety of reasons. Some donate their time and energy to worthwhile causes and projects because they feel a need to help the less fortunate. fortu-nate. Others volunteer because they want to make a change in some aspect of society. Still others volunteer because they welcome the opportunity of being a contributing contrib-uting member of a group or a community. com-munity. MANY OPPORTUNITIES Local hospitals, rest homes, schools and United Way agencies provide many opportunities for volunteers to do a variety of productive pro-ductive jobs that can make a difference dif-ference in the lives of many people. peo-ple. I take my hat off to the many men, women and teenagers from Orem who volunteer to do the many things needing to be done in our community. It is an activity that benefits many causes, and especially many people who arekin need of help. Orem-Qmeva tfimes USPS 411-700 Published each Wednesday for $10.00 per year by the Orem-Geneva Orem-Geneva Times, 546 South State Street, Orem, Utah 84058. Second Class postage paid at Orem, Utah 84057 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the OremGeneva Times, P.O. Box 65, Orem, Utah 84059 Musings A "Good Buddy" Council By Harold McCown Well, the new mayor and council members have been sworn in. That's an interesting expression, "sworn in." Guess it gets them ready for the "swearin' at" which comes with unpopular decisions every council has to make. Each time major changes are made on the council, its personality per-sonality changes. No two councils react the same. Determining what secrets are to be kept from the public will be handled differently dif-ferently by each council; even citizens' access is handled differently. dif-ferently. Some councils loudly broadcast agendas, dreams, and plans. Other councils disseminate dissemi-nate the absolute legal minimum. I've attended quite a few council coun-cil meetings off and on since Mayor Mangum's day. I've seen council members who went out of their way to personally understand under-stand neighborhood concerns, and I've seen council members who appeared not to care. I've seen thorny issues thoroughly debated in council meetings, and I've seen thorny issues swept through council meetings so fast it made me wonder if the decisions were made behind closed doors. All in all, we've had good council coun-cil members who have done their level best to assure Orem's future. fu-ture. And, if the past is any measure of the future, we now also have a council dedicated to protecting Orem's future. I've been doing some thinking about this new council's personality, per-sonality, and would like to make a suggestion: let this council be know for openness and citizens access, a "Good Buddy" council. Don't split hairs when deciding whether a topic is to be excluded from public knowledge. If there is a question, err on the side of public knowledge. When making a decision regarding a thorny issue, don't debate issues in private and then use the council meeting to announce an-nounce the decision. Debate the issue openly in the council meeting. meet-ing. I remember a few council meetings where council members were adamantly opposed to each other. However, in these meetings meet-ings the council members stated their positions, explored possible compromises (at times taking potshots at each other), and came to a general understanding of how each member felt. With this understanding came the ability to make real progress. Did this weaken the council? No. It actually actual-ly served to strengthen it. More importantly, those in attendance, while they may not have agreed with the results, went away understanding un-derstanding why the council acted as it did. That wa3 a balm for many a sore wound - useful even today. Well, good luck Council and Mayor. May you keep your shinny shin-ny side up and your rubber side down!" 1IES CUM SCRABIT CRUM DABIT FFABIT " 1 r LDS leaders reaffirm church's stand against gambling The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued a statement reaffirming its longstanding long-standing opposition to gambling. The statement, which is from the Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Apos-tles, is as follows: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opposes gambling gam-bling in its various forms. Experience Experi-ence has clearly shown gambling to be harmful to the human spirit, financially destructive of individuals indi-viduals and families, and detrimental detri-mental to the moral climate of communities. The attitude of the Church on this matter has been consistent and clear over a period of more then a century. Starting with President Brigham Young and affirmed most recently by President Ezra Taft Benson, Latter-day Saints leaders have denounced de-nounced gambling as an evil that tends to break down the moral and spiritual strength of the people.' peo-ple.' 'Utah now faces renewed and vigorous attempts to legalize gambling, including a state-operi ated lottery, charitable gambling and pari-mutuel betting. We regard re-gard these efforts as a moral issue and unalterably oppose such proposals pro-posals on grounds of private and public morality, as well as a threat to the cultivation and maintenance of strong family and community values." The statement is being shared with members of the Utah State Legislature and with LDS regional re-gional representatives, stake presidents, and bishops throughout through-out the state. Letters to the Editor Voting districts would decrease campaign costs Editor: A recent article in the Deseret News indicated that campaign expenses for our Orem City Council and Mayor candidates, in the last election, ranged from $800.00 to $14,512.13. It seems to me that raising that kind of funding and feeling the necessity to spend thousands of dollars on a local municipal campaign would be enough to discourage some very fine citizens from running run-ning for office. In thinking back to the late 1970s, those of us who ran for public office at that time spent about $300.00 on publicity. Contributions Con-tributions were minimal. Times have changed and it does cost more money to cover a community com-munity with 70,000 people. As the City Council activates a citizens committee to study the form of government, essentially whether to have a full time Mayor or not, it would seem an appropriate time to also study organizing or-ganizing the city into voting districts dis-tricts or precincts. The Mayoral candidates would still need to be an at-large election. However, setting up six districts for council candidates would encourage, broader representation from all areas of the community, bring government closer to the .people in a given district and reduce campaign expenses. The SCERA organization has implemented an election process that provides broad representation repre-sentation from all geographical areas. They have nine election districts and represent us well, with a well run organization. Interested In-terested citizens shouldn't have to raise thousands of dollars in an effort to be of service to their community. Let's include the district dis-trict concept in any forthcoming study. Gareth Seastrand Orem City Council 1978-82 Wright thanks Orem City Council Dear Editor: I would like to publicly thank the Orem City Council for their decision last Saturday to put a hold on the speeded up politically motivated 1300 South zone change. There was entirely too much taxpayer money involved in this RDA project. There was a prior commitment of 3 acres of land which had not been resolved. There was not enough study made on the projected sales volume to guarantee repayment of the over $2 million Orem taxpayer tax-payer investment. The Orem City RDA (Council) has initiated 9 RDA projects, more than the rest of the county put together. Millions of dollars of taxpayer money has been diverted to purchasing property at an inflated rate, and donating or selling at half price or lower to attract developers or businesses to locate here. Most of those businesses busi-nesses would have located here anyway without the bribe. This use of taxpayer money to tilt the playing field against established businesses is wrong. I have not always agreed wiJi the actions of this City Council, especially in the area of tax increases, in-creases, and the use of tax money for RDA rebates. However, I would like to thank the outgoing members of the Council for the years they have spent as elected City officials. Hopefully this new City Council Coun-cil will be more conservative in the use of tax money. Hopefully they will restrict closed door meetings, and be more sensitive and receptive recep-tive to citizen input. Communication Communica-tion is the key to harmony. Bob Wright Orem, Utah |