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Show V Comments Free Press - Wednesday, November 20, 1996 Page A May Day call for my birthday Editorial PSC should move ahead with county - wide EAS US West Communications is protesting the Utah Public Service Commission's ruling that the telephone provider expand the local calling area to include all of Utah County for all of Utah County's residents. This surprises no one. While the telephone company often touts new technological gimmicks for which it can increase its rates, it seems US West must be dragged into offering expanded service for which there is a demonstrated desire and need. The PSC's ruling came after extensive hearings and much consideration, and has been in the works for well over a year. However, US West claims the PSC forgot to consider the loss of toll revenues once it implements county-wlocal telephone service for ide Utah County residents. The company claims that will amount to a loss of $1 million a year and it is calling for more hearings and a "comprehensive review of the impact." In other words, more delay. The PSC figured in the cost to local teleimplement county-wid- e phone service and will charge north Utah County residents about 30 cents a month so that US West can make it a reality. But US West wants local telephone users to pay for the upgrades as well as making up for the revenues that will be lost. If the telephone company were successful, they would enjoy the benefits of both the money they would have received for long distance tolls, between $1 and $1.50 a month for north Utah County residents, as well as funding to implement local area calling throughout Utah County. Consumers, on the other hand, would be paying for both. More since they will fund the necessary upgrades to implement county-wid- e local service but also pay for the lost revenues. Part of the problem, of course, is that US West is a monopoly, albeit a long-distan- government-sanctione- d monopoly, which operates outside the open market system we rely on to establish fair market prices. Such monopolies don't have to deal with competition and thus can set their prices independently. The Public Service Commission exists to see that such prices are reasonable while the telephone company makes a fair profit. In this case, the PSC is doing its job well. If telephone service operated in a local competitive market, county-wid- e service probably would have been available years ago. Growth has created a demand for Extended Area Service throughout Utah and US West is being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the present. The Utah County EAS is one of three such local calling area expansion recently approved by the PSC. US West is protesting all three. In this case, the PSC should move ahead as planned. Utah County homes and businesses need county-wid- e local telephone service and the PSC ruling includes the necessary funding to get our existing system into shape to provide that, service. It is time to move ahead with this change. Drive to SLC takes too long tune of San Francisco: Sure to Wear Some Flowers in your Hair To be sung to the Be with apologies to Scott McKenzie. If you're going to Salt Lake City, Be sure to take provisions in your car. For the drive to Salt Lake City Can take hours, tho' it's not very far. When people ask me why I like living in north Utah County, I tell them about the advantages of living in a small town atmosphere but being only 30 minutes from Les The Editor's Column By MARC HADDOCK Miz. Lately .I've had to revise that. We may be only 30 utiles from Les Miz and the other benefits of the "big" city, but it's been a long time since I could get there in 30 minutes, unless it is on Sunday afternoon or very, very late at night. Any other time, you can count on a traffic jam somewhere between here and downtown Salt Lake. A few weeks ago we headed for Salt Lake on Saturday afternoon to see a movie that was playing only in a theater at Trolley Square. We wanted Lauren and Kari to see The Leopard Son, and we didn't think we could count on it ever being shown in Utah Valley. It is, after all, a family film. We left with an hour to spare, just in case something went wrong, but no sooner in Lehi than we found did we get on ourselves parked with no sign of movement. It took 30 minutes to inch half a mile. It turned out that a dog had strayed onto the freeway and caused a major accident just minutes before we got on the freeway. The following Friday I was coming home from the American football game. I pulled onto the freeway at 90th South hoping at that point to make a fast trip home, only to find myself moving at a slow crawl with no means of escape. I inched my way along for a mile or two looking for the police lights and the end of the jam. When I finally reached the spot of blockage where traffic was reduced to a single lane I was amazed to find four horse hooves pointing at me from the two left lanes. Some unfortunate animal had wandered onto the interstate and in front of an equally unfortunate driver. Usually the accidents that slow freeway d A few Does everyone wax philosophical around his or her own birthday, or that of one's children or other loved ones? November and December are relatively for my relabusy months, birthday-wistives, and it has made me ponder a little. I wonder what the big deal is about those birthdays that celebrate the end of a decade, but then, I haven't hit (nor will I for a few more years) the ones that seem to be the major milestones of life. Perhaps I will change my tune when I hit 40 and beyond, but for now I don't really think too much about the passing years. In some ways, I think I'm looking forward to getting older, because I will probably never be able to shake the stereotype of being the "baby" of the family, personal e, character traits notwithstanding. A couple of months ago I had the opportunity of meeting a man who I perceived was significantly older than me; when he happened to show me his passport, I was quite surprised to find that we were the same age. (Apparently I avoid mirrors.) I am amused by the people who say they want to start counting backwards after a certain age, or simply hold on a tolerable number. Maybe these are people who really enjoy celebrating their birthdays and so each annual occasion is a significant day. If it weren't for the fact that my wedding anniversary happens to fall on the same day, I probably wouldn't even notice when it was my birthday. Although my birthday (for the sake of just the birthday, not the anniversary) is not that vital, I always remember my cousin's birthday, which comes three days after mine. Actually, she is the daughter of my cousin, so she's once removed, but I treasure her birthday because she was the only relative about my age who was actually j' traffic are not this bizarre, but they are be happening with tremendous frequency. Only once in the past several months have I made the journey without coming across a traffic jam and that was on a Sunday afternoon. The effect is so common that I loathe going to Salt Lake because I know somewhere along the route there will be a major traffic blockage. I pity the commuter who must fight this battle daily. No wonder the powers that be are tr Iking about light rail and an alternative freeway that takes traffic along the west side of the Salt Lake Valley and down the west of Utah Lake. No wonder Olympic officials are in a hurry to get something done before 2002, when the world will come to Salt Lake Valley. The Olympics have the potential to cause a traffic jam across the Wasatch Front that won't clear out until a week after the Olympics are over. In the meantime, I hope to limit my visits to Salt Lake to essential travel only. Life is too short to waste it sitting in traffic jams. And I'll bet I'm not the only one. I'll bet folks will start using light rail, too, when it becomes apparent it is the only way to get into downtown Salt Lake without sitting through a series of excruciating delays on the interstate while the folks ahead of you across get a good look at the fender-bende- r the median strip. In the meantime, do you think they could bring Les Miz to Provo? I'd be happy to make that trip anytime, as long as it's not just before or after a BYU football game. We recently noticed a funny brown stain where the hall carpet met the bathroom floor. Upon further investigation, we were horrified to find that toilet water had been seeping under the entire floor. The nauseating fluid had corroded the carcarpet tacks, resulting in pet. When I pulled up the vinyl, the was saturated. Don't try to imagine how it smelled; I get sick just thinking about it. After tearing up the I noticed that part of the last layer of floor looked almost as bad. We opened the bathroom window, turned on the fan, closed the door and hoped it would dry up and recovrust-staine- d Boland 1996 te" - Creators Syndicate, Inc. some day we will not be receiving any election results until all the polls have closed throughout the nation. Of course, old Dan kept urging those people out West to vote if they hadn't made it to the polls. Al Gore seemed to be ready to explode with joy. The man has visions of gaining the presidency himself. If he really wants to be a president, he should run for the office of president of the Slow Talkers of America, with apologies to Bob and Ray. Ross Perot has so many good things to say, it is a shame he won't let someone else say them. I know it's his money, but if he is serious, he should realize that he looks and acts like everyone's boss. The Daly Planet By RUSS DALY younger than me. While serving a mission in Japan, I was assigned to a companion who had entered the field at the same time; we happened to have the same birthday. Almost by accident I found out the day of his birth, but wanted to keep silent about mine. When pressed for the information, I admitted mine was the day he had announced, but no one believed me. The other three missionaries would not believe my word, nor would they believe the Alien Registration (green card), so I had to get out incontrovertible Driver's License. Only then did they trust that our birthdays really were the same. Birthdays, especially those of the masses, must not be that sacrosanct because the really important ones have been moved around to fit the occasion. Look at Washington's birthday, or better yet, Lincoln's, which has been eradicated entirely in favor of one common birthday to be shared by both of them. Were their presidencies so mundane that they don't deserve to be noted on their own day? Worse yet, do we have to celebrate all of our presidents on that day? Fortunately, not even the holiday that has come to be known as President's Day is all that special, because it doesn't even really have its own day. Congress fiddled Looking over the Obvious By BRETT BEZZANT sub-flo- er. By the time you read this column, the insurance adjustor will be telling us how much of the floor we have to replace. After attending last Thursday's community meeting about the availability of and similar videos in the area, it seems there is even a worse kind of seepage right here in our own town. The effort response to this community clean-uhas drawn a surprising amount of attention especially from the broadcast media. Whenever a sensational issue involving "censorship," "prior restraint," "privacy," and other First Amendment issues comes up, the media often have a feeding frenzy. Unfortunately, this media hype usually serves as free advertising for the purveyors of such material. Instead of losing money, they do better than ever before ... at least for the short term. And with today's legal emphasis on personal liberty (read "license"), the chance of winning such a battle in the courts is pretty slim. However, in the face of such difficulty, a gutsy young couple in American Fork is organizing an effort to turn the tide (or at least clean up what has crept into our own communities). The petition you can find inserted into today's newspaper is a very important part of that effort. By signing it yourself, along with your neighbors and friends, it makes a strong statement about what our community standards are. And that goes a long way in legally defining what "pornography" is. The courts have made its definition relatively subjective based on contemporary community standards. It also sends a strong message to the local video establishments and other outlets about what is morally acceptable. Last Thursday's meeting also included a non-rate- d p other candidates for the Dick once-famou- sub-floo- rrj Actually, I think he is a closet Democrat who knew that a vote for him was a vote for Clinton. How about the voters of South Carolina? Strom Thurmond must have garnered the nursing home vote along with the Social Security vote as well as the entire AARP membership vote. We will finally get the answer to the quesman stay awake tion, "Can a long enough to do the job?" Of course, in the Senate, this only requires being awake for a couple of hours a day. If honesty, character and integrity mean nothing to the Democrats, think how easy it will be for them to produce s day and legaround with that islated the third Monday in February as the holiday to note Washington and Lincoln, and perhaps by association, any other president you may have liked. Congress has also fiddled around with Martin Luther King's birthday and made a convenient Monday holiday out of his special day, too. Somebody even changed the name to Human Rights Day, which lessens the birthday connection even more. Speaking of kings, I'm quite surprised that the powers that be (so to speak) haven't legislated a change for Christmas. Some people maintain that the holy birth took place in April rather than in December, but that it is noted during the winter solstice because a majority of people celebrate it at that time. Give somebody time, and even that birthday will be changed to make life more convenient, causing us to celebrate the Yuletide on a certain Monday in December. If we're going to be that callous over natal celebrations, let's simply designate the Third Monday of each month as a holiday. Even the names could be simplified: January Day, February Day, March Day, April Day, etc. You would know exactly when to celebrate the birthdays of Martin Luther King, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and the Messiah. You would also know when to wear green for St. Patrick's Day, when to hide the eggs, when to give mom and dad flowers and a tie, respectively, for Mother's and Father's Day, when to light the fireworks for Independence Day and exactly when to get stuffed for Thanksgiving. So with my birthday coming up, I've decided to move it to a more convenient day. I'm not sure when would be best, but with my schedule, I suppose May Day may be the most appropriate one of all. Pornography is seeping into the community thoughts after the election Now that it is over, we can get back to watching and reading news with some substance instead of the monstrous distortions we have been subjected to over the past year. The following are some thoughts on the election and what lies ahead. Newt Dan Rather mentioned Gingrich's name so many times during the first few hours of election coverage, I thought maybe I had missed voting for him. Could old Dan have been trying to influence West Coast voters? I am sure that 2 office of president. Washington is full of people with the same moral standards as the man the voters elected last week. Over the next four years, let's keep track of how many times we hear the phrase "The White House denies." The last four years set a new record, but that will be broken in two years. The good news is, there will be full employment for special prosecutors. With most of the president's old pals either serving time or under investigation, he will no doubt have to lower his standards in surrounding himself with trusted aides. This will result in even more scandal, and we should all be glad that this is the president's last term. When this president hears the words "pardon me," it has nothing to do with being polite. The president did not do well in the South. The reason is that the South has always had a higher moral standard than the rest of the country. It is not called the Bible Belt for nothing and, as a result, found itself unable to overlook his transgressions. While he did take Florida, you cannot consider Florida as part of the South. It is full of wrinkled old geezers from the North. sensitive and sensible presentation by Tom Young of Citizens for Positive Community Values.Who can question that pornographic material (regardless of whether it is "soft" or "hard") is really addictive and dangerous. It can eventually affect nearly every person in the community. By exploiting eroticism, it rapes relationships, abuses the innocent, strangles the spirit, and contributes to crime. Considering how prevalent it has become in the last 25 years, what will our children face? Pornography producers function much like drug dealers (and often they're the same people); only here they have a certain degree of legal protection. Initial targets are the youth, especially young men ages 11 to 17. " They start with a entry level sexual stimulant. After a certain period, the user becomes "hooked." Numbness or desensitization sets in with reality checking out. Courser material is needed and accepted to achieve the same sexual high. Before long the only thing left is to perform or "act out" the fantasies that have been played out hundreds or thousands of times in the mind. Though relatively few resort to acting out violent fantasies, even one such prospect is chilling enough. The closing of the Circle K store in Lehi and an adult bookstore in Mesquite, Nev., are two examples of what can be accomplished by concerted community coalitions even if it comes to outright boycotts and "soft-core- picketing. Tom Young's personal I recommend pledge against pornography: I PLEDGE not to partake of any form of pornography for my own best good and my family and those close to me. I PLEDGE to remove and destroy all pornographic materials from my home, my office, or any other place over which I have control. I PLEDGE if I have tendencies toward using pornography to substitute such materials with uplifting educational, spiritual or mind improvement resources and force myself upward to a higher plane of thinking. I PLEDGE if I am using or have become addicted to pornography, to stop these practices now and seek professional help to break my addiction. I PLEDGE to guard children and minors against the ever increasing and insidious intrusions of pornography into their lives from magazines, books, videos, movies, music, the internet, the telephone and other sources. I PLEDGE to educate myself to the public health hazard and major social illness pornography really is. I PLEDGE to quietly seek out and take advantage of opportunities to discuss with friends, associates, youth, and others the evils and dangers of pornography. I PLEDGE to involve my friends, family and neighbors to survey businesses in my neighborhood who sell or rent pornographic materials, and inform such "merchants of smut" to keep these materials out of sight and out of reach of our children and youth; or better yet, to dispose of their current stock and cease selling or renting such materials entirely. I PLEDGE to myself with all I hold sacred, that I will stand up and be counted among those who oppose pornography. You don't have to sign anything to take this pledge, but the petition enclosed with today's newspaper would be a good start. , Letters to the editor Seniors make Lehi a better place Editor: I would like to take a moment to commend a few of Lehi's citizens who make our community a better place to live. Through the years, I have always been aware of the many elder citizens who are up early each morning and enjoy a walk to start their days. It is just within the past few months though that I have noticed the service many of them provide for us, as they pick up the litter on the side of the roads along their way. I think sometimes we take such things for granted, not realizing that it is through the quiet, unselfish service of others that we have a fairly clean city in which to live. So, I would like to say "thank you" to these people and let them know that their efforts have not gone unnoticed. Dana Neth Lennie Jennings home and doing well Editor: The JenningsRobertson Family would like to publicly say "thank you." Thanksgiving will have a much broader meaning this season than in the past. Because of good people like you, Lennie Jennings was able to receive a double lung transplant on June 28 at Stanford Medical Center in California. She is at home now and doing remarkably well. g During the past two years, many fund-raisin- events have helped with her expenses. Churches, schools, fire departments, civic and youth organizations, and numerous businesses in Utah County have donated to her cause. We appreciate the many hours of service given on an individual and group basis. Think how it would be if your every breath was a struggle and an oxygen supply line was your constant companion. Many of us take for granted the activities this young mother can now do with her daughter which were not possible before. They include: swimming, playing tag, reading stories, going to the zoo, using playground equipment, singing songs, going shopping and wrestling on the floor. Again, thank you. - Lennie Jennings and Meirah Garth and Judy Robertson 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, We American Fork, Newtahaol.com. Utah, 84003 or through email at |