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Show New Utah American Fork CitizenLone Peak New Utah - Thursday, May 23, 2002 - Page 2 Opinion Good citizens When Memorial Day approaches, approach-es, it's Urn customary to decorate family graves, fly the flag, maybe attend an early-morning ceremony in the local cemetery or memorial park, and then go on with the day pretty much as Americans do with most holidays - eating, shopping and recreating. Afler the events of 911, the mood may le a little different this year, and that may he a good thing. Though the entire world remains horrified at what occured that day to change things in this country, the kind of notice and gratitude our veterans and public safety servants have received since then was long overdue. Americans have always given increased honor to military veterans veter-ans and war dead whenever something some-thing caused a renewal of patriotism patriot-ism across the nation. What is different dif-ferent this time is that the efforts of police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel are receiving the same kind of acknowledgement that the other uniformed services always have. It used to le so easy in the course of our daily lives to forget how fortunate we are, to forget the price of the freedoms we enjoy, to forget these men and women whose sacrifices make the ordinary conduct con-duct of our lives possible. At least for a very long time, that will not be possible again. We can make a gcxxl case that they should never be overlooked, no matter how complacent we become w hen periods of relative quiet descend. Of course, we hope we're not through with those, though it May: a month of performances May is a busy month. As children end the school year, they become more excited, while their teachers try desperately to get last minute instructions in before they lose their students for the summer. sum-mer. May is also a month of performances. perform-ances. Choirs, dance groups and bands have end-of-the-year performances where they showcase the skills they've developed after months of daily work. The elementary schools also hold dance festivals, continuing traditions tradi-tions that were established long ago. Josh is doing the Maypole this year. He announced this with great disgust because "We have to hold a girl's hand!" I know I danced while I was in elementary school, but I have no idea what dances we did. All I remember about dancing is Mr. Stone desperately trying to teach us to square dance. I'm sure we did a square dance one year, but I have no idea what year it was. Somewhere in Mr. Stone's instruction I realized that dancing was kind of fun, but of course that's Historian seeking Paxman descenders Editor: A British authorhistorian wants to meet descendants of the English Suffolk ;and Colchester Paxman families. Professor Profes-sor Andrew Phillips of Colchester Insti-tuti Insti-tuti in England is completing a history of : the Paxman families of Colchester and their Suffolk ancestors, Robert and Mary ; Hudgson of Framlingham, Ashfield and Sweffling. James Noah Paxman stayed in Colch- ; ester, established a machine industry, and was Mayor of Colchester. His son, James Noah Paxman II, came to Utah and has descendants in the Salt Lake City area. Other family members settled in Ameri New Utah American Fork Citizen An edition of The Daily Herald (ISSN No. 1521-6845) (U.S.P.S. No. 018-580) 59 West Main American Fork, Utah S4003 show thanks would be hard to imagine anyone slipping into ease now with the ever-present threat of terrorism and the conflicts erupting in dozens of places across the world. Regardless of that, we ought to take some time this Monday to reflect on the efforts of all of those who help to keep us safe and free, especially the ones who have made the ultimate sacrifice in behalf of their fellow citizens. In addition, we ought to do a few things to help make their jobs easier. easi-er. It's been said that the price of freedom is vigilance, and what happened hap-pened on the aircraft that crashed in Pennsylvania underscores the continuing need for ordinary citizens citi-zens to get involved and have the courage to take responsibility for the things happening around them. If we become aware of dangerous danger-ous or threatening circumstances nearby, or see someone committing a crime, we should report it to the appropriate authorities. We should not stand by and tolerate abuse of the young, the weak or the indigent. indi-gent. When community leaders call for volunteers to help worthy causes, caus-es, we should step forward and donate whatever time and means we can spare. On an even more elemental level, we ought to fully participate partici-pate in the election process and the other opportunities afforded to us as citizens, since these are the things our public servants are sacrificing for. If we fail to do so, we make a mockery of everyone every-one who has ever stood in harm's way to preserve our freedoms and way of life. SMBQnffll) not something a fifth or sixth grade boy (or apparently a fourth grade boy) can ever admit, so I moaned about dancing just like my friends. I suspect Josh is moaning to his friends about their Maypole dance. The festival is important to parents, par-ents, as evidenced by the numbers that take off work to attend it. The crowds that circle the dancing danc-ing children intently watch for that one short number in which their child performs. Then, out come the video cameras, the cameras and rapid running around to get in the best spot to see their dancer. I suspect Josh will soon forget what dance he performed at this year's festival. However, he will remember the way the community supported the dance festival every year. The most important thing about the festival, after all, is not the dancing danc-ing but the continuing tradition of children performing and the looks of joy and pride on their paren's faces. can Fork and Nephi. William and Ann Rushen Keys Paxman settled in American Fork followed by Henry and Esther Emetine Eme-tine Paxman Cullum and Martha Paxman Cullum, and John and Eleanor Paxman Tracey. John and Elizabeth Paxman Thorpe Thor-pe settled in Boston, Mass. Cousins also came to Utah: David Paxman, George Paxman, Pax-man, and Arthur Paxman settled in St. George and Eureka. Rhoda Paxman Dye settled in Uintah, Weber County. Professor Phillips will be researching in Utah in late June and will share and receive information at a 3 p.m. meeting on June 22 at Wildwood Resort in Provo Canyon. Contacts can be made through Craig W. Paxman (801) 942-7857 or Monroe Paxman (80D 377-5311 - sbpmjpmymailstation.com -135 E. 200 North, Provo, UT 84606. -Monroe J. Paxman Telephone Numbers Circulation 756-7669 News & Advertising 756-7669 AF City Editor . .Barbara Christiansen Lone Peak Editor JJeky Beaton PG City Editor Jarli Poyfair Lehi City Editor lathy Allred Periodicals Postage Paid at American Fork, Utah ronmna i mm iiin h SIIM N, AmHcm Fat MM NEWSPAPER A member a Vacations are all Vacations can be all you expect -- and then some Our family recently returned from a much-needed vacation. We originally scheduled this time away from home to coincide with the conclusion of our daughter's daugh-ter's college finals. At the time, we anticipated that would be the major stress point in anyone's life. Were we wrong. But we were sure right with the date. We thought our two married sons would be established in their jobs enough so they could arrange to take a week of vacation at any time, so we could plan almost any week and they would be able to fit in. That worked well with our one son and his wife. The other one was a different story. He received a master's degree in accountancy a little over a year ago and has been working as an auditor for the state of Arizona. The job has worked well and he has enjoyed his tasks and assignments. assign-ments. It is not a requirement for advancement, but merely a good thing to become a Certified Public Accountant. With that advanced rank, he can progress perhaps faster or at a higher pay scale, so he decided to work toward that goal. He was already studying a thick manual when we visited him a few days in February. He already had his schedule planned to finish his in-depth review in time for the test Yellowstone We took a one-day detour from other commitments a couple of weeks ago to visit Yellowstone National Park. This is a place I've wanted to go for as long as I can remember, but I had never managed to get there until now. My husband spent a Scout trip there with our big boys some years ago, but our younger children hadn't been either, so we were all looking forward to it. We already knew we weren't going under ideal circumstances. The mild spring we'd been having had been interrupted by a cold snap right before we went, so we knew it would be chilly. In addition, we only had one day we could spend there. The park is a big place, so we knew we would only be able to see a small part of it. I also figured it might not be, as crowded when we went, and I was right about that. What I didn't know is that large parts of the park are inaccessible in the off-season, and many of the concessions aren't open either. In addition, they were doing some road construction which delayed traffic substantially - I can't even imagine what the wait will be like when ifs actually busy in the park, but it's not like they can really do it in the winter. Actually, given the amount of time we had, we really did quite well in what we were able to see, and all the inconveniences were well worth Reader's Forum Reader urges conservation Editor On Sep. 29, 1993, 1 wrote a letter to the editor, edi-tor, some of which went like this. The more lawns we plant the more water we use, because lawns need more water than any other crop. We are riding on a high this year for water. What happens down the road when we experience another drought of several sever-al years? We have got to start looking at other sources of beautification for our city rather than to plant lawns. We have got to start looking look-ing to use more indigenous plants that don't have the thirst for water that lawns do. We have got to start thinking like Arizona. We just don't have an unlimited water supply; nor do we have the potential at a reasonable price." Deadlines Classified Advertising Tuesday, noon Display Advertising . .Monday, 5 p.m. News .Monday, 2 p.m. Missionaries .Monday, 2 p.m. Weddings .Monday, 2 pm Sports .Monday. 10 a.m. Community CalendarMonday, 10 a.m. Letters to the Editor Monday, 10 a.m. Obituaries .Tuesday, 11 a.m. Subscription price $26 year you expect -- and then some QlnSlECEHD v in May. Our visit would limit his study time that week, so he had already worked ahead so he could give himself a little time off. Our vacation time coincided so well with his testing, you would have thought we planned it that way. The day after he finished the grueling two-day exam, he and his wife and daughter left to come to Utah. It fit in quite well, too, with their plans to purchase a home and move into it at the end of this month. A week earlier and he couldn't have come. A week later and they might easily have been too busy packing and planning. We were able to have the whole family together and visit Steamboat Steam-boat Springs, Colo. It was a delightful town, full of springs, waterfalls, forests and quaint shops. We had only briefly passed through the community previously and didn't really know what to expect. A friend had told us we would enjoy it and that there were lots of trails and walking paths we would like. She was right. What we hadn't anticipated, however, was the size of the condo we had rented nearly a year ago. is out of this it. Most people know that Yellowstone Yellow-stone was the first national park ever created, and it's not hard to see why. The president at the time recognized rec-ognized the unique nature of the place and acted to preserve it for all time. We can be grateful for his foresight. fore-sight. Even .though I had studied a great deal about the park and seen many photographs, I was still surprised sur-prised at the elevation. There are meadows in the park, but they are mountain ones, and the passes along the roads rise to nearly 9,000 feet in places. It's part of the Rocky Mountain system, but I'd always somehow pictured it more as part of the Great Plains. Of course, we knew about the thermal features in the park, but there isn't really any photo or text that could adequately prepare a visitor vis-itor for those. They are a total experience expe-rience of the senses. The first thing you see when approaching them is the vapor that drifts across the landscape like so much fog on a Hollywood movie set As soon as you open a window or We welcome letters to Ihe editor. All letters must include the author's name (printed AND signed) and a telephone number. num-ber. We reserve the right to edit letters for darity, punctuation, punctua-tion, taste and length. Letters are welcome on any topic. HOW By Mm. P.O. Box 7, American UT 84003 In Person 59 W. Main, American We paid the same price whether we asked for a one, two or three-bedroom three-bedroom place, so of course we went for the large size. That was the way we could accommodate everyone and make the trip worthwhile. worth-while. We were lucky enough to fall into a deal that gave us all these amenities at a reasonable price. At check-in, the front desk person per-son told us we would like our unit. In fact, he would live in it if he could. That gave us our first clue. It was a far cry from years we have slept (?) in a tent, complete with a leak at the very peak, and a downpour. That happened two years in a row in American Fork Canyon. You would think we would learn. This year's place had not only three bedrooms, but three full baths, two with jetted tubs. We had four TVs, two fireplaces and more stuff than you could shake a stick at. If it was not rustic enough we could even find a stick to shake, though. We had two pools and two hot tubs, indoor and outdoor. There were a couple of racquetball courts and an exercise room I never even saw. The amenities could keep us busy, even if we never left the site. One unplanned aerobic benefit, which we forgot to report to the front desk, was making the bed every day. The bedspread was heavy enough for us to qualify for weight lifting. Just think of the conditioning benefits. world door, there is also the smell. Since the chemicals involved in each area are different, the odors are varied too, as unique as the process that creates them. That same variety of chemicals also produces a veritable rainbow of colors in the superheated liquids and mud. Then, there were the sounds of the boiling or bubbling, the slapping of the heavy waves against the sides of the basins, and the trickling runoff We weren't able to stop at many of these places, but it was clear no two were alike. The geysers were another matter, though also technically a thermal feature. Little puffs of vapor were always coming from their spouts, but the actually eruption comes at irregular intervals that last a varying vary-ing length of time. We were fortunate fortu-nate enough to see Old Faithful go off without having to wait very long, and to see one other geyser spout off as well. Judging by the information we got at the entrance station, we were quite successful with our wildlife viewing, which was one of our primary pri-mary interests. We saw a variety of mammals both big and small, and were able to identify more than 30 species of birds. All in all, we only got a taste of the place ... but it was enough to know that we defintely want to go back for more. Doesn't look like we have learned much in the past nine years. Seven hundred years ago the Anasazi Indians ran out of water and their whole nation had to move. Are we looking at a similar fate? Some towns have restricted water use by raising rates to discourage excessive use. Then they raised the rates again because the cities were losing revenue. Looks like we could be in the same Catch 22. If they had taken my advice nine years ago, Tm sure the problem wouldn't have gotten this bad. Now the solution is to fine you as much as $700 and throw you in jail I suggest the city get actively involved in a program to encourage natural lanHarnpin rather than planting more lawns. Even to the point of reducing an individual's rates if they reduce their lawn area by a percentage. -Newell Tumer TO REACH JULS Fork, Fork By Fax 756-5274 BvE-Mal nuedrtornewutah.com H POOR |