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Show Comflinriiinits Free Press - Wednesday, August Parents responsible for immunizing children the opening of school, many parents have found their thoughts turning to immunizations. One of the requirements for entrance into kindergarten is proof that a child is in his or her immunizations. Other grades provide checkpoints to make certain that immunizations are kept up. In some schools, seniors must demonstrate that they are properly immunized before they can be enrolled. Despite these efforts, many of Utah's children are not properly te immunized. And one group is not those too keeping up well at all young to be identified by public school programs. Statistics show that only 58 percent of Utah's are fully immunized. That's why Utah's First Lady, Jacalyn S. Leavitt, is chairing an immunization task force entitled "Every Child by Two." The goal of this group is to see that all children in Utah are fully immunized by the age of two. It is a significant goal. It is shooting for a 90 percent rate by the year 2000. But only direct action by parents can help Utah achieve the goal. The medical profession can help, but not enough to make the kind of difference that is needed. A recent survey of Utah physicians showed that doctors often overestimate parents' knowledge of required immunizations, and that, although most children who visit a doctor's office for routine well-chil- d care receive the needed immunizations, less than one in five physicians make immunization a routine practice for children who come in for acute illness. In addition, there is no way in children to Utah to track see if they are properly immunized. pre-scho- ol But immunizations are very important, and their effectiveness tends to create a false sense of security that actually hampers the goal of getting all of our children properly immunized. Immunizations have eliminated some of the world's most dread diseases. Small pox, once a devastating destroyer of human life, is virtually Polio, which terrorized our nation in the early 1950's is no longer a significant public health non-existe- threat. The incidence of many other diseases has lulled parents into believing that immunizations for other common childhood diseases are no longer needed. And there-i- n lies the danger. Many of these diseases are around, waiting for a host. And unfortunately, the 42 percent of Utah's two year olds who are not immunized create a population where some of these illnesses might break out. In fact, the large number of children create a population that is ripe for an epidemed ic. That's why proper, universal immunization of our children is imperative. The schools can help. Doctors and nurses can do their part to encourage parents to properly immunize their children. The state can establish programs to do the same. But in the end, parents must assume the responsibility for keeping their children properly immunized. Information on what is needed is widely available. Check with your family doctor. The Health Department in Provo offers immunizations for a minimal cost. Call them for schedules and availability of immunizations. City-Coun- ty Legal action getting out of hand We are ridiculous attention. facing a situation that is so that is getting world-wid- e Browsing It is the case of 0. J. Simpson. Instead of a trial of a man for murder it is turning but to be a conflict of lawyers. How can a I jury grant an honest verdict in the face of evidence that is torn apart and made use. kg I less? It reminds me of a story that we are all acquainted with. It is the story of Little Red Riding Hood. You all know the story of how the Wolf went ahead and went to flrflnmn'fl rntfaoro lrillorl Kar erA afa ar up. How Little Red Riding Hood was saved by a passing Woodsman who slew the wolf with his axe. A clean-cu- t case, but look what the defense came up with. "What the Wolf did may have been in bad taste, actually, the wolf was merely doing his thing, and thus did not deserve - , - the death penalty." Further, the group's lawyers contended that killing the Grandmother could be con- strued as self defense inasmuch as the wolfs intent was to make love, not war," and it could be reasonably assumed that the grandmother resisted overtly and might, given the opportunity, have killed him. Based on the considerations, the cor- oner concluded Page 2 Thanks for the memories throughout the years Editorial With 23, 1995 - that there was legal basis for the charges against the Wolf and that, in fact, the Woodcutter was guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and the wnnHnitt.pr wns an inHirt.erl arrested, arraigned, convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. unag-gravat- The Wednesday night following the sen- - By TOM GRIFFITHS tencing, the Woodcutter's cottage was burned to the ground. One year from the date of the "Incident at Grandma's," her cottage was dedicated as a shrine for the Wolf who had bled and died there. Village officials spoke at the dedication. Red Riding Hood, herself, gave a most touching tribute. She explained that Grandma may have been in bad taste, actually the Wolf was merely doing his thing, and thus did not deserve the death penalty. She explained that, while she was grateful for the Woodcutter's intervention, in retrospect she realized that he had over-reacte- As she knelt and placed a wreath in memory of the brave wolf, there was not a dry eye in the whole forest. chase would completely validate our park Isn't it amazing how the mind remembers both insignificant details as well as experiences we would like to forget? While the feelings of grief at the loss of a loved one can sometimes be overwhelming, I think we often find ourselves reflecting on the personal facets of their life have made an impact on our minds, even if we didn't think they had meaning at the time. As I have been thinking about the recent passing of a dear aunt, some of those details have been brought to the surface, and I now think of them fondly. My parents and I used to visit regularly at their home in Salt Lake, and occasionally I had the opportunity to sleep over with my cousins. It seems strange to talk about it as an adult, but I remember being amazed with the many different Tupperware items she had, such as sipper seals for drinking cups, or the official frozen ice set, complete with the little handles for holding the treat. But Aunt Lucille did have a major impact on my life for a number of reasons, one of which was introducing me to the gastronomical delight known as the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I don't know if I had ever had one before and just forgotten about it, or if I had never thought to make such a combination, but she was inducted into iny own personal Hall of Fame that day. My children, too, enjoyed visits to her house, because Aunt Lucille always had a bucket of toys in the bedroom that they were free to explore. And she always had a treat to offer them as well. The other day I saw tragedy strike as a truck hit a small dog. I was deeply moved by the scene, not only out of compassion for the dog, but also because it brought about the recollection of a similar experience with our own puppy. When our Conrad was hit, we made the decision to seek medical help. Soon he had a large metal pin in his bone and an oversized stretch bandage around his small Not being able to understand the man's " after accent, I thought he said examining our parking receipts, and I couldn't understand why he was not raising the arm on the gate. Repeating what I left me even still thought was more confused, and maybe a little exasperByRUSSDALY ated as well. Finally, enunciating very slowly and very clearly, as if I were a foreigner or for some other reason could not understand the hospital. and One time, I had to have bandages over the spoken word, he said for our hand out his held I change. for remember 24 can and hours, my eyes We still laugh whenever something trying to turn on the radio. When I didn't folcosts that particular amount of money, and cord I and the a get response, grasped lowed it to where the plug would have we always say On our return to Utah, I had another been; but instead of a plug, I only found bare wires, because Conrad had chewed interesting experience that I've never told to anyone and one I made my wife promise the cord. Later, we were forced to give him away not to tell, either. We had stopped for lunch somewhere in when we moved, but the Humane Society had given us a referral of a man who was the Texas panhandle and as we were going in, a family was coming out. The most seeking a small, housebroken dog. Unfortunately, the man was oxygen chronologically advanced woman of the dependent and had a lifeline from a tank group grabbed my hand, telling me she in the bedroom. We've worried for years was a gypsy and would tell my future. Between her smooth talking and her that Conrad bit through that cord, sending an ominous hissing throughout the apart- old age, she convinced me to shell out five dollars in return for her services. ment and changing the man's life forever. I do not remember much of what she Our move to Maryland was filled with many experiences along the way that have said, but if she had predicted I would be been a source of laughter through the out five bucks by the time she was through, I would have kept my hand to years. In Kanab, we stopped at a little drive-i- n myself. The "firsts" in our lives may be the for lunch and, if I remember correctly, had source of some of our deepest memories. fish and chips for lunch. We were very considerate in throwing our trash away, but With my first flying experience, for exam200 miles down the road started worrying ple, I thought we would have to carry our that we had also thrown away their conve- luggage directly to the plane, and every time I go to the airport today, I remember nient little plastic baskets as well. how the attendant at the counter had to The second night we stayed in Amarillo, Texas, and in the morning found ourselves explain the proper procedure. And it was nearly 30 years ago, while trying to cope with the onset of winter colds. Mistakenly believing to be the seeing my brother leave for his mission, restaurant's tea to be the innocuous herbal that I first encountered "those" magazines variety, we promptly down two pots each that were once displayed out in the open. and felt much better. Thinking we had The cover, which did not reveal as much as stumbled onto a cure, we did the same some things, was too much for my mind to handle. Airport newsstands thing the next morning in Joplin, Missouri. Only later did we find out that it still make me chuckle for that reason. was the real McCoy. So don't be surprised if someday, when When we went to a mall in the you least expect it, one of your memories Georgetown area of Washington, D.C., we suddenly comes back to you and makes assumed that our lunch and another pur you smile. The ocean-botto- Paul Harvey Products Inc. funding. This is significant: Neither the state local government was any help in retrieving the sunken treasure. Fisher, his family and his friends retrieved the gold and emeralds and conserved the artifacts in two museums in Florida for all of us to enjoy. Through all the years since then, our federal government has done everything possible to take away the rights of such salvagers to continue to search. Fisher took his case as far as the Supreme Court e" "toll-free- y" ." ; ld At times we questioned the outlay of the money for his medical needs, but he enriched our lives for the time we had him with us. He was our first "baby" and he acted almost like an older brother when we brought our first real baby home from Please hold it! The rest stop between American Fork and Orem is the most popular one in Utah. So, of course, the Utah Department of Transportation is going to close it. This is the way the government works. If people hate construction along the road, then UDOT will throw up barricades along the Point of the Mountain every year, with little or no action on the construction side of the barricades. If people use a rest stop, UDOT will dose it. j Okay, so it's not that simple; The rest stop on southbound simply can't be used anymore because of problems with the septic tanks. It is closed already and probably won't be a victim of its own success. The rest stop on northbound is still as busy as ever. But it may soon be closed as well. Ifs a matter of money, for one thing. Some $6 million would be needed to bring the rest stops up to snuff. And development along the freeway has provided restroom services other than public ones for travelers. The private sector can provide. Ifs also a matter of legal proprieties, although local law enforcement agencies aren't taking sides on the issue at hand. But these rest stops have been known as haunts of perverts and other bad guys at times, and closing them down will eliminate one troublesome stop for the Pleasant Grove Police Department. (The rest stops were annexed by London a few years ago.) Certainly, the rest stops are out of the way for the PGPD since access is only through American Fork or the extreme south end of London. All of this aside, I think Utah has its priorities all messed up. Instead of closing down rest stops, UDOT needs to build more public facilities along its roads. For a state that specializes in producing kids, Utah is notoriously chintzy in providing road-sid- e rest areas for harried parents drifull of kids who "have to go ving mini-vawell-travel- ns NOW!" We need that rest stop Th6 Editor's LtifM Column v By MARC HADDOCK late fishing, any other diving, vf ty anti-travel- er I've driven other states who have a lot more enlightened view of rest areas. Idaho, for example, provides a rest area about every 60 miles one an hour. That's a good comfort level for most drivers, who can gauge their state of need and take a break now, or in an hour. The same can be said for other neighboring states. But in Utah, you can't count on a public rest stop in the next two hours and just when you think you are going to get lucky, you find a sign that reads "View area only. No services." Ifs enough to make one cry. The London-are- a rest stops have been so popular because they are located just where they should be. If one is traveling from Salt Lake, the southbound rest stop is about away from home just about the time many youngsters decide they need a break. Judging from its use, the northbound rest stop is almost as popular. The rest stops are convenient, provide letters to the editor Lion's say Thank You' ' letter to the citizens of Lehi: Recently we saw a celebration of people willing to give of their time and talents to better the lives of others. Our congratulations go to the many members of the CIA., the city parade committee, special An open charter boating and recreation. They've drawn their line around all of Florida's keys, claiming "ownership" of all cultural and natural resources. Protesting residents of the area are ignored and betrayed. The agency of government usurping all this arbitrary authority is the National water-relate- d and Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration. After 125 years of forecasting weather and making nautical e charts, NOAA has now gone into the business of regulating anything "in the name of protecting environment," with no due process and no sound science to support the organization. easy access from the freeway and offer a perfect opportunity for a quick break that doesn't significantly interrupt travel and that is exactly what a freeway rest stop should do. If this important task is to be left to the private sector, where are people going to go? Is Ernst equipped to handle the overflow? Will Tri-CiFord's new building be flooded with folks who are just passing through and thought they would check out the new Mustangs for a minute or two? Public rest stops provide an important service. It seems very to close down the most popular ones in the state. A few years ago, UDOT made a proposal to turn these very rest stops into an expand-ed-servistop with service stations offering restaurant gas, food and, possibly, a fast-foo- d along with public restrooms available to customers and alike. At the time, businesses killed the idea because such a prime location would offer the chosen service station an advantage over other businesses. But maybe ifs time to resurrect the plan. Such a combination of public and private interests would provide the necessary funding to pay for the construction and upkeep of the rest stop without using public funds. Businesses could bid for the rights. If this is unworkable, then UDOT certainly ought to find another way to work out its problems and resurrect the existing rest areas. Ifs worth it to make our freeway system user friendly. And frankly, we need it. The past years of use prove that. events committee, and all the others who helped make floats, march in bands, etc., and to the people who sacrificed hours of family time to make Lehi a show place for volunteerism. As a newly organized Lions Club, we were fortunate enough to inherit a Saturday morning chuckwagon breakfast from the Longhorn Rodeo Club. They did a great job in establishing a tradition with this breakfast. We served an estimated 425 people. We thank everyone for their support in this effort where all proceeds will go back into our community in the form of service projects. A special thanks goes to Carl "Blackie" Harris for the traditional P.A systems waking everyone up to announce the breakfast. Thanks, Blackie! Also thanks goes to Lion Jeff Carpenter who was in charge of the breakfast. e Thanks again to all of you welresidents and new move-in- s alike come to a city full of people who care. long-tim- Lehi Lions Clubi Johnny Barnes full-tim- m million! All of Fisher's exploring was done with the money he had and the money friends invested. The government provided no nor 1995 "toll-fre- "two-fift- leg. What do we do about vicious dogs? Paul Harvey News VST "toll-free- y Editor: Spanish galleons, homebound 400 years ago from South America, were loaded with gold from Peru and emeralds from Colombia. As they headed homeward toward Spain, storms in the Caribbean sank many of their ships but not all at once or all in one place. Storm winds and tugging tides would move the wreckage while it was breaking up and going down so that ifs treasure could be spilled on the ocean bottom over a trail of several miles. Our century's most persistent and successful treasure hunter, Mel Fisher, foltrail to the trealowed the sure of the Atocha and harvested $400 .. ing- - and won. The High Court told government to keep its hands off and to allow our citizens to follow their dreams. But now, other agencies of our government claiming that salvage operations on the ocean bottom "damage the enviare practicing, in effect, ronment" "environmental McCarthyism." They .hope their accusations of "env- ironmental damage" will inflame the nation and blacklist the entrepreneurial explorers. In the name of creating "marine sanctuaries," these bureaucratic big brothers are setting up arbitrary boundaries around our coastlines, the Great Lakes and other waterways seeking to regu Policy on letters to the editor Congress ordered NOAA to hold public hearings before the end of this year, but salvagers are convinced that these public like previous ones will be hearings orchestrated by bureaucrats for their own We welcome letters to the editor. All letters should be self-intere- While Congress contemplates using the budget process to clip the wings of arrogant, arbitrary, overlapping, redundant' government agencies, your member of Congress needs you to remind him or her that one maligg, nant bureaucracy, NOAA is being overlooked. Or next, they could draw a line around your county! 6W0A .. .. I) W 9xtm (Mm kriu. Wt & uuimf fow and double typewritten 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, or at our at address Newtahaol.com. |