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Show CBffQ2 Free Press Wednesday, January 18, 1995 - Page 2 Editorial The spirit and the letter Utah prepares for 1 00th birthday Anyone familiar with Utah history knows that Utah's path to statehood was not a simple one. For decades, Utah was isolated from the rest of the United States because of its geography and its religious demographics. Before the Civil War, United States Army troops were sent to Utah to quell a reported rebellion. After learning there was no rebellion, the army was able to establish a barracks at Fairfield and peacefully with the Mormons for city-sponsor- ed ed - - Mormon's practice of polygamy was responsible for delaying the approval of statehood for Utah for 45 years, as petitions for statehood were denied six times over those decades. common element public participation. According to Stephen Studdert, Chairman of the Utah Statehood Centennial Commission, when the telegraph arrived announcing stateOnce the Church officially hood, the news was "heralded first dropped the practice in 1890, stateby bursts of gunfire on the muddy hood was granted on Jan. 4, 1896. streets of Salt Lake City, and as the News of the successful petition for news spread, tearful celebrations statehood prompted spontaneous erupted in every farming communicelebrations from one end of the ty all alongthe Wasatch Front. Men state to the other, as the decades of and women, often complete strangers, danced in the streets, rejoiced waiting were fulfilled. No one is around who participat- at the new beginning statehood ofed in that first statehood celebrafered, and sent prayers of gratitude tion. But organizers ofUtah's State- heavenward." hood Centennial Celebration, which After a hundred years of enjoywill conclude Jan. 4, 1996 with,hope-fully.th- e ing our status as a state, the censame tennial might not generate this to much excitement. now are start attitude, trying Utah's 100th in interest But by participating in our state-hood- 's generating centennial, we can bring a birthday. The restoration of Lehi's Memoof bit Utah history home. Let's all rial Building (which will house the help Utah have a happy 100th birthHutchings Museum) has been iden day. four-and-a-h- dancing-in-the-stre- et Necessity generates another innovation As a boy in my native Wales, there was no such thing as an allowance. What spending money I had I worked for. My parents had all they could do to supply us with the necessities of life. As a result, I did some unusual jobs. Like the time that Mrs. Thomas the Clerk asked if I would take a large portmanteau to the railway station as the family was going on a holiday. Now, mind you, I didn't hesitate, for Mrs. Thomas was better off financially than most people on our street. So on Saturday morning I went across the street to pick up the portmanteau. I was surprised when i found it was so big I couldn't carry it the mile to the station. But there was one thing I could do. I could borrow my father's wheelbarrow. It was one he used around the garden and was homemade. It was made out of wood that my father had salvaged from various places. Even the wheel was made out of wood, and the worst of it was, the wheel was out of round, so when you wheeled it it made a sound like clippity-clop- . But that didn't matter to me. It was a way of getting that portmanteau to the railway station. I loaded it on the wheelbarrow and started down the street, making a loud clippity-clo- p sound. All went well until I came to the police station. As I passed, old Sgt. Smith came out and walked over to me. "It's sorry I am, my boy, but I must take you in for disturbing the peace." The sergeant was a big man and in his blue uniform he was a bit scary. When he saw how scared I was he started to laugh. He put his big hand on my shoulder and between fits of laughter said, "Go on now boy, it's sorry I am if I scared you, but that wheelbarrow is the funniest thing I ever 'yi d . 24-ho- - V p, newly-ratifie- Survey provides interesting comments Week after week we put our ideas out before the public in these columns in the newspaper's editorial. But we seldom hear back from our general readers. Most people aren't inclined to write letters to the editor. Others, if they say something to you, tell you in a setting where you can't be sure if they really like what you write, or they are just being polite. But a recent reader survey held by the newspaper gave people a lot of opportunity to speak back. In addition to asking general questions about what people like about the newspaper and what they don't, we left space on the survey for readers' comments. And we got several. Keep in mind, most of these are individual comments, and often one person's opinion contradicts another's. Several readers asked for more local news, especially more Alpine and Highland news. One even wanted more Pleasant Grove news in the American Fork Citizen. Another wanted more local, news. Unfortunately, when you publish weekly in a market with three daily newspapers (like ours), it's tough to print all the news andstay timely. Thatbig story last Wednesday is still a story for our newspaper, even though it's old news for the dailies. It's the only way we can create a record of all the events, even those that happened too late to make last week's paper and too soon to be timely for this week's newspaper. , Still another wants us to cover national issues. And we have a tough time with the local issues. A few readers want more letters to the editor, and one urged us to make "more room for colorful letters." Well, folks, you write them and m run them. Frankly, most weeks we have too much room for letters - and often we go weeks without more than a handful of letters. As a result, most of the letters we receive that meet our publication criteria make it to the editorial page. The exception is during elections or during particularly controversial issues, when we start getting more letters than we could put in a whole bunch of pages. In this case, we try to pick letters that best looking at pictures, the brass instruments, which are large and shiny and impressive, always seem to end up in the best photograph. I really don't plan that. As an old woodwind player myself (tenor saxophone), Fm rather partial to them. Fll try and get a good photo of them next year. One reader asks for more human interest stories. We are working on that. In Editor's American Fork, Rachel Nunes is turning out personality profiles on a weekly basis. And in Lehi, Cathy Allred has an eye for the interesting human interest story. We hope these new reporters are adding interest to the pages of our newspaper. One reader suggests better coverage of city events and says, "I think the city controls what news gets out. This has improved with the new group that's in office, howev- By MARC HADDOCK represent a variety of viewpoints, and still try to print as many as we can. One reader wants more complete coverage of the high school more than just the sports. And the survey shows that our sports pages only attract about 40 percent of our er." h readers consistently. But these 40 percent Another counters that we need "better are dedicated to those high school sports. coverage of local government activities and In fact, we have correspondents in each decisions but reporting rather than letof the high schools who are assigned to ting Mayor use accounts as soapbox." write about more than sports. We feel this City news is a staple ofour front page. It is an opportunity to give high school stu- is the engine that drives our news coverage. dents interested in journalism a chance to And we always try to be as fair as possible. do some real writing, and gives us direct Unfortunately, we are limited to reporting contact with high school happenings. what happens in meetings, what is said We recognize that the high school is one after meetings and what we can learn from of the most important unifying elements of the individuals involved. The mayor's opinour communities, and we try to make sure ion is usually a factor in these stories, so it our coverage reflects that. might seem like he gets more than his share Another asks us to cover little league of coverage but then you hear more about sports. We have tried. But there are so the quarterback of a football team than the many leagues, so many teams and so many left tackle. It's the nature of the position. ages that it becomes a logistical nightmare Most of the comments we received were to put all of the figures together on a consisvery positive from people who enjoy our tent basis. If someone would like to do this approach to community journalism. We for us, we are willing to work with them to appreciate that. And we'll keep trying to give little league sports some coverage. make our news product better. Here is another comment: "You cover the One Lehi reader had this suggestion: marching bands great, but just once could "Get rid of Marc Haddock. He is boring and we have a picture of the clarinets instead of biased." the brass or percussion? (Which is the only Ouch! Hey, that's my livelihood you are picture you ever take.) about. talking In fact, when I take pictures of a band On the other hand, this is a job that competition, I take pictures of theclarinets, requires a thick skin and the person who the flutes, the colorguard and the "pit in said "especially enjoy editorials and addition to the brass and the percussion. I Marc'sthey editor's column" makes it all better. take 60 to 100 pictures of the band during After all, we hope to provide something the performance, all of them trying to cap- for everyone once a week. Keep letting us ture the feel of the event. But when I start know how we are - , . - - - doing. saw." I made it to the station and deposited the portmanteau with the station master and d my way home. Mrs. Thomas was generous and gave me two shillings and asked me if I would bring the portmanteau back home when their holiday ended. With the shillings in my pocket, how could I refuse. clippety-cloppe- State's rights move threatens Constitution Editor: The Constitution faces a threat by our state governor who seems to think he is like one of our Founding Fathers endowed with the wisdom of George Washington, the per- convention. If the Congress receives petiof the states for a spective James Madison, and the depth of tions from Alexander Hamilton. then the Congress (not the governors) Our Utah Governor Michael Leavitt has must call one. At the state level, there is no two-thir- startedamovementthatispotentiallymore dangerous than legitimate calls for a The governor, it seems, has concocted a whole new strategy for making radical change to our form of government - a strategy that conflicts with the amendment procedures provided by ArticleVin the U.S. Constitution. Leavitt has teamed up with Nebraska Governor Ben Nelson to persuade the Council of State Governments to call a "Conference of the States" for the purpose of developing a package of statutes and constitutional amendments to "correct the balance" between the states and Washington. which Although the current balance tilts to the far left in favor of federal power - is in dire need of correction, no legislative or structural alterations can properly be obtained by any joint activity of state executives. Article V of the Constitution provides only for the state legislatures to apply for a con-co- Are we becoming a nation of suers? ' You remember the McDonald's customer who collected $2.7 million for spilling hot coffee on her lap. You remember the New Jersey gardener who was sued by his neighbor for killing a rat. d lady Andyou remember the who sued a movie theater because her "seat" was too small. But do you recall the University of Idaho student who sued the college after falling out of his dorm window while "mooning" fellow students? Or the murderer in Southern Michigan Prison, demandinghis old job back as a high school teacher? Or the New York city official who stole $200,000 dollars of public money, wanting $8,500 more for unused time off? According to the U.S. Department of Justice, incarcerated criminals alone filed 30,000 lawsuits last year against prison officials. And, among the many dubious claims, there was one filed over the type of peanut butter inmates received -creamy vs. crunchy. Another was filed' 360-poun- regularly-schedule- p, -- f f ile ht te By TOM GRIFFITHS the laws Then why the great need for secrecv? Remember when the United States SenCouldn't the matter have waited until the ate voted themselves a pay raise at a d council meeting, next session of Congress? took which eight only days later. place to later tried make the action sound They Instead of paying an employee overtime almost noble by saying that they had elimfor posting the notices on Sunday afterinated the ability to command honoraria for noon, couldn't they have made a phone call speaking engagements that they might othto the newspaper office to add the garbage erwise have collected. ByRUSSDALY issue to the agenda, which we printed just I don't know how you felt about that two days later? cover-ubut it didn't wash with attempted Was the garbage contract an emergency me for three reasons: asked I When council. that needed to be handled outside measure the First, they were already making four to approved by the regular council meeting? about their vote, one ofthe councilmembers six times the salary that I was making. If so, why did the council table the matSecond, their gain was the American smugly informed me that I "must not have taken. vote was several times in open meetings, particwhen the ter been there" loss the with additional burden taxpayer's it placed on an already Only later did I learn that I was not there ularly the ones labeled as "public hearings" and because the meeting had not been publiin order to get citizen input? soaring deficit. cized through the usual channels. Maybe we ought to look into whether the Third, and most likely the greatest atroccalleda"work is even allowed to vote in a "work council what Thecouncilheld in they was were so that they ity my viewpoint, session" or if all public matters must be session" on Monday, Dec. 5 at 4 p.m. sneaky about their vote. In order to satisfy state law that requires conducted where the public really has a Are these salaries really necessary to notification of meetings that canchance to be notified. carry out the wishes of one's constituents, Justifiable reasons for discussing issues or are these politicians so greedy that they not otherwise be published in a local newsare willing to overlook and justify their paper, someone would have had to post the in private (within the confines of an open notices in the appropriate places on Sunactions? meeting) include personnel matters, litigaHow can our representatives become so day, Dec. 4. (I certainly hope he or she was tion and the sale of real property. And justifiably, one issue on the agenda did, in corrupt that they take further advantage of paid overtime for this weekend work.) The other part ofthe law stipulates that fact, deal with a matter of personnel. the American citizen by usurpingtheir privBut I believe this garbage does not fall ileges in their bank and postal systems for they must notify a local media source. that no there is within requirement Although any of those three guidelines, and personal gain? I thus violates both "the spirit of the law and Unfortunately, I was recently reminded says the Free Press must be that source, that such actions require neither a ticket find it interesting that city officials have the letter of the law." One of the outcomes ofthe meetin- g- the nor a vote into Washington. The possibility lately turned to other sources such as the when providing new garbage contract may be necessary, of cover-uor even corruption, exists right Deseret News or KSL-Tinformation not given to the local paper and possibly even beneficial to the citizens here in our community. of Lehi. Did you know, citizens of Lehi, that you first. our of one In his d rhetoric, have a campaign However, like the Senate, the problem is contract? garbage I was informed at the last meeting of the junior statesmen promised that there would found in the method, where the end cannot justify the means. City Council that the measure had been be "no hidden agenda" from this council. late-nig- tified as a Centennial project. Establishment of an Earth Science museum for BYU's massive dinosaur bone collection is another. Othevents will surely er be promoted as part of the state's centennial celebration. Every Utah resident can get involved right now with the "Faces of Utah" Centennial project, in which Utahns are asked to write short essays describing their feelings about living in the state. The Centennial Commission hopes to collect thousands of these essays and years. Abraham Lincoln was elected then publish them in a book for President of the United States on a future generations to read and platform that called for abolishing study. the "twin relics of barbarism slaMany statehood activities are very and polygamy." In fact, the underway, but they all rely on a in muey ems ft j Paul Harvey Products Inc. 1995 over a criminal's ice cream that melted before he could eat it, a third over the temperature of a toilet seat, a fourth about the lack of salad bars, a fifth over the limit of Kool-Ai- d refills, a sixth over the texture of scrambled eggs and so on and on and on. Fully a fifth of the budget of the New York Attorney General's office is spent on prisoner lawsuits such as these. What business do inmates have, havand ing peanut butter, eggs, Kool-Ai- d toilet seats? What business do inmates - have, having the ability to sue the society they sinned against? And what business does society have, listening to these and other trivial cases? Contemptible people filing frivolous lawsuits with the help of unscrupulous lawyers are delaying legitimate lawsuits by up to 10 years! As part of the Republicans' Contract with America, Rep. Jim Ramstad has sponsored a bill called the Common Sense Legal Reform Act. It may not be all that we need, but it seems a good start. If enacted, the bill will limit the amount of money sued for and it will force losers of many suits to pay the winner's legal fees. That way, if some woman is foolish enough to hold hot coffee between her knees while riding in a car, or if some lady has eaten too many Milk Duds to fit into the standardized seats at a movie theater or if some fellow is so unbalanced as to worry about the killingof a rat - he or she will think twice before risking the cost of his and everyone else's legal fees on a frivolous suit with only nominal returns. -- -- n. con-co- n, other route to initiate changes to the federal Constitution. Put simply: The governors have no constitutional authority whatsoever to call a constitutional convention or to submit amendments to the states for ratification. Yet there are indications that the governors actually believe their Conference to the States will carry the clout of a In fact, their joint undertaking, if carried to fruition, could act as a The Council of State Governments endorsed Leavitt' s and Nelson's scheme for a Conference of the States just a few weeks ago. And the National Governors' Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures are expected to sign on soon. With that kind of clout we are inbigtrouble. Here is a case of a real problem (big government) serving as the impetus for constitutional suicide. -- VemonBaugh Orem con-co- con-co- n. n. Policy on letters to the editor We welcome letters to the editor. All letters should be typewritten and double spaced. Letters must also be signed, and must include the writer's name and telephone number. Please send letters to Editor, Newtah News Group, P.O. Box 7, American Fork, Utah, 84003. |