OCR Text |
Show Citizen - Wednesday, November 16, 1983 - Page 2 editorial Laurels for cities who fight drugs The response of different communities to the nationwide effort sparked by "The Chemical People" to stop drug and alcohol abuse among our teen-agers is a study in contrasts. Both American Fork and Lehi had better-than-expected responses to a community meeting designed to watch the public television broadcast dealing with drug and alcohol abuse and then come up with a community response that would do something about it. The meetings were highlighted by the participation of . parents and "teen-agers alike, resulting in greater community com-munity awareness. Tomorrow night at the American Fork City Library, a task force of local citizens will hold it's first meeting as members work to mobilize the community. It's a response that takes a hard and realistic look at the problem and recognizes that drug and alcohol abuse are community problems, not school problems. The solution will also have to be a community effort. Whether the task force will reduce the level of drug and alcohol abuse remains to be seen. But both Lehi and American Fork have taken the first steps by recognizing the problem and deciding that just maybe the community can do something to help it's children avoid the pitfalls of becoming a chemical person. Pleasant Grove, on the other hand, took another approach ap-proach in determining that the problem could be better handled on a school-by-school basis, with minimal student involvement. Adopting a "We don't want the kids to know too much because it might hurt them" attitude, any response to the concerns raised by "The Chemical People" will not be handled on a community-wide basis. Nor will the students play an active part in working towards a solution for whatever drug problems those students might face. One of the main points of "The Chemical People" was to overcome the syndrome of denial that has hampered solutions to the drug problems from the beginning. That point seems to have bypassed the good citizens of Pleasant Grove altogether. Drugs are readily available in our communities to those who know where to get them. Alcohol abuse among our youths is much more prevalent. AnH nnvnnp whn thinks the kids don't know where to eet either-ls'refusing tp face the iocai urug anu aicoiioi piuuiem. Those kids can be a valuable resource in solving the problem. To keep them out on the pretext of preserving their innocence not only denies reality, but is an insult to the intelligence of our communities' youths. It also deprives the war against drug and alcohol abuse of some of its strongest soldiers. The citizens of American Fork and Lehi deserve a laurel for their efforts to find a grass-roots solution to drug and alcohol abuse. Pleasant Grove merits a dart for a head-in-the-sand approach to a problem that won't go away no matter how much it is ignored. B YU honors alumni who died in recent wars Three former American Fork residents killed during the Korean and Vietnam Wars were among 71 BYU alumni honored in special Veterans' Day ceremonies at BYU. Glen Roy Draper, a Sgt. USMC, Ralph Jim Chipman, a Capt. USMC, and Blair Logan Keown, a PFC USA, were recognized for their sacrifices. Elder Marion D. Hanks, a member of the Quorum of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Navy veteran of the second World War, dedicated bronze plaques SVSV5 reality and the scope of the listing the names of the 10 BYU. alumni killed in Korea and the 61 killed in Vietnam. Members of families and special representatives of the U.S. government and military services attended the ceremonies in the Memorial Hall of the Winkinson Center. The plaques, furnished by the Associated Students (ASBYU), are placed on walls in the center with similar plaques honoring alumni killed in the First and Second World Wars. On November 25 J. V Will Open A Mew Men's At 54 East Main St. - Downtown Asnsricai Fork An Id f riend Returns A Deceitful fieiv Store Aren't we By MARC HADDOCK Do not go gentle into ihnl girnil night: Old ape slum hi runt mul row ul rlitse of daw Huge, rage against lite th ing of the light. -Dylan Tlumuu It didn't happen. The world did not end Friday. The bomb did not drop. Orem was not vaporized. And boy, aren't we all glad! Not that I was worried, despite the dire predictions of the "Parowan Prophet" who predicted a nuclear blast would level west Orem and take a good part of Utah County with it. But even though I joked about the "end" with the best of them, playing the prediction for all the laughs it was. worth, maybe I laughed a little too hard. And while I look back at the day with the same amusement that I might the most recent issue of the National Enquirer, I have to admit that I kept looking at the sky throughout the day, listening for the blare of rusty civil defense sirens. Something in my subconscious put me "on alert" - just in case. Not that it would have done any good - but at least I would have known what hit me that split second before all the precious molecules that comprise me were blasted apart by the fury of the explosion Election was the voice of the people By TOM GRIFFITHS "The tumult and the shouting dies, the captains and the kings depart." So goes the old poem. Our municipal election is over. Once again the voice of the people has been heard. The signs telling us who to vote for can now be removed from lawns and trees, or wherever, and life can be returned to normal. Our citizens are wiser than our city leaders give them credit for. There were impassioned pleas in our newspaper and by word of mouth for the baseball proposition, and yet Proposition 2 went down to defeat. The protagonists are asking themselves, 'What did defeat us?' The answer is in the proposition itself. The bond was to be repaid in JfiffgE heads Those of us who have paid for a K home know what a cloud it has been . to have these monthly payments world's most valuable." In a con-over con-over a period of 20 years or longer. , densed form, this is what he wrote: It has been said many times in the "So here then is the secret; Let past years that there is no such motion equal emotion. It is the key thing as a free lunch, and this is as to health, happiness, wealth, power true today as it ever was. When it is success. Man is a transformer of said that a bond will not increase energy which plays through, and our taxes, this could be a dream the secret of being a good tran-that tran-that could turn into a nightmare, i smitter is to let Expression equal Who knows what the future may '; Impression. bring in the way of economic times? And I for one do not want my children to be saddled with a financial burden imposed by us. For a long time I have advocated Draper, a son of Terry and Flnrpnre Dranpr nnrl Lillian rtranor Iclnnninllurl rJt Amonxin ITWIr , was killed in Korea Soni iQRn He attended BYU in 1947. Chipman, killed in North Vietnam Dec. 27, 1972 is a son of Curtis and Faye Chipman of American Fork. A 1968 graduate of BYU, he was married to Susan Lee Smith. They had two children. Keown, a son of Bertol and Elsie Keown of American Fork was killed June 28, 1968 in Vietnam. He attended at-tended BYU from 1963 to 1964. . of American For'i glad world didn't end tlh editor's and then fried into a primordial-like soup by the intense heat of the fireball that would follow. How about you? Did you listen too, just in case? Some of us must have - otherwise bow do we account for our society's fascination with prophets of doom. I remember when it was predicted ' that - a gigantic earthquake ear-thquake would claim our country's most valuable piece of real estate, California, and turn it into ocean bottom. We were informed that we would soon be surfing in Pocatello, Idaho. The story was covered widely by newspapers, television and radio, always with the patronizing tone given to most crackpots. There was even a popular song about the anticipated disaster, I was a student at Idaho State University at the time and we had a great time with the prediction. But while I didn't start waxing up my surf board in anticipation of some great waves,. I listened more carefully that day, just in case the rumblings started and I needed to take cover. the abolition of the party system in our municipal election. This year the election has proved my point Very few of our citizens voted a straight ticket. The overwhelming majority scratched and voted for the person of their choice regardless regar-dless of their political affiliation. Henry J. Taylor, a thoughtful newspaper columnist, once wrote "A government is never an earner, only a spender. It can only provide the conditions. The people , must wovide the nrosnerity." ('-- Tbe late Hbert Hubbard,a great American writer, once wrote "The "If you study you must also create, write, teach, give out If great joy has come to you, pass it along and then you double it. Do not obstruct the divine current. Use letters to the editor 3 Thanks, Jimmy Editor: I wish to express special thanks to Jimmy E. Thompson, golf PTOfeSSlOnaL Slid his wife and of the Tri-City secretary, Helen, Golf Course. Their expertise in keeping up with changing demand and growth of the golf course is rewarding and requires a note of appreciation. The letter of thanks posted on the bulletin board they received from the Alpine School District in training, our youth should be publicized. . We all salute Mr. Thompson as the "Best Pro of the Year." -Irene Sowers c Store J Maybe I feel this way because all my life I've been told that these types of disasters are eminent - it's only a matter of time and no one knows how much time, at that What if one of these guys just happened to get it right? I'd want to be ready. Wouldn't you? Besides our world is none too stable. The bomb is pretty well everywhere. Our nation is embroiled em-broiled in civil struggles in several countries. And recent earthquakes show that the instability extends to the thin crusts of land we dwell on. Maybe my mind's also been affected af-fected by my favorite reading material. (My motto is "Reality is for people who can't cope with Science Fiction.") My personal paranoia is probably a result of all of these factors, and more - but at times when different individuals predict that the earth's end is forthcoming, it makes me think. Will I go gentle into that good night, with too much complacency and too little rage? Will I fry disheartened because, in the poet's terms, my "words have forked no your knowledge and use it quickly. Make Motion equal Emotion and you eliminate fear, will live long and will be efficient to the last. "This then is the key to real self development and how to master the tension at home and on the job." Recently a father asked his teenage teen-age daughter what she knew about World Warn. Win 2 FREE steak dinners i and 2 FREE tickets to Golden Corral Family Steakhouse draws for FREE tickets and FREE steak din ners to every BYU basketball game. You can enter the FREE drawing at Golden Corral. Drawing Friday, November 18, for the BYU-Utah game! You must be 16 years of age or older to enter. No purchase necessary. Enjoy our prime USDA steaks, cut fresh daily, FREE beverage refills, and famous 33-item all-you-can eat salad bar. All items available for takeout, 10 minute service, relaxed family atmosphere, banquet facilities for up to 100 people. K WINNER-Eldon Harward II No Friday lightening?" (Since lightening results from nuclear blasts, my disincorporated atoms might fork a few bolts, but somehow, I just don't think that would be enough.) And now, just when the questions raised by last week's non-disaster are subsiding, I learn that ABC is planning on treating us all to their version of nuclear war, "The Day After" will air Sunday night at 7 p.m., and will snow us the results of an atomic blast with a realism designed to knock our socks off. I'll be watching. But I have some friends who will probably pass. "Why worry about it," they tell me. "There's nothing you can do about it" And the very reason they use to ignore the possibility is what bothers me so much about nuclear war. The means and methods of our destructions are available, but completely out of our control. But I don't think that's a good reason to ignore the threat And if "The Day After" will make us look at the possibilities with a more realistic view, then I think everyone should see it. I can't imagine a more senseless way of going gently into the good night of global, destruction than apathy or hopelessness. I intend to "Rage against the dying of the light" any way I can. That way, when that good night does come, maybe I'll be ready rather than complacent. "Oh," she replied, "We're studying that under ancient history." Our youngsters have learned through the past years they don't have to worry about the future because the federal government has apparently put in a number of safeguards to level out the business cycles to prevent economic slumps. We know these safeguards have failed and we have been through an economic slump. Jobs are scarce and it is hard for many of our youngsters to understand that no longer will things come easy. But that work will answer many problems. nn home football and LAST WEEK'S WINNER Eldon Harward of American Fork won 2 free steak dinners and free tickets to the BYU-Colorado game! You could be next! i frozen steaks, no frigid service and a price Wat will definitely thaw joa out! 458 L State, Am. Fork 756-9221 - V 'periled te Men IFeee 4 |