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Show Comments Free Press - Wednesday, February 5, 1997 Page Controversy brings out the biggest buts Editorial Rocky Mountain area primary is a good idea don't count for much in the numbers game that determines who will be president. Utah, for example, has a scant five Electoral College votes and the state sends a relative handful of delegates to the Republican and Democratic national conventions. Since those electoral college votes are automatically sent in support of the GOP candidate, is it any surprise that Pres. Clinton ignored Utah and its congressional delegation when he set aside 1.7 million acres of southern Utah land as the Grand Staircase-Escalant- e National Canyons Monument in the middle of last year's presidential campaign. Clinton lost nothing in the transaction, and gained the valuable support of environmental groups in more populous states like California. While its true that a Rocky Mountain Presidential Primary wouldn't increase Utah's standing with Democratic candidates, it would bring those candidates to our doorstep during the important early days of campaigning. As Gov. Mike Leavitt stated in his State of the State address, "Candidates would come. They would get to know us, and we would get to know them. Our issues would receive national atten- Would the proposed . Rocky Mountain Presidential Primary election give Utah a great voice in national presidential politics? It certainly couldn't hurt. The proposal is for a regional Primary Election held in several western states, including Utah, on a given day early in the presidential race, beginning with the next presidential election in the year 2000. The idea is that by banding together, our sparsely populated states could attract the attention of the major presidential candidates bringing them to our borders to meet with area residents and study local issues. After all, the western states share many important characteristics. All have vast areas of unpopulated tracts of land, much of it under the control of the federal government. We all want more say in the administration of that land. We also share transportation issues created by our wide open spaces and the long stretches of uninterrupted highways that traverse our states highways unlike anything witnessed in the more populous eastern states. Water, and the scarcity of water, is another issue that speaks to all Westerners, triggering controversy over conservation policies and environmental issues, not to mention agriculture and range land concerns. But because many of these issues are unique to the west, we often get short shrift in presidential campaigns aimed at capturing delegates for a national nominating convention or Electoral College votes for the general presidential election. Individually, our Western states tion." This is a great idea that would give the West more influence than it has ever exerted in presidential politics. Utah's leaders and those of her neighboring states should work out the details of a Rocky Mountain Presidential Primary election now, so that three years from now our voice will be heard as it never has been heard before as our nation prepares to elect a new chief executive. match-makin- g match-makin- g blind-dat- At this point, the only time I can honestly say that I had a hand in putting a couple together is the time that I accidentally stole my sister's date. (Really, it was an accident.) She had invited me along on a date so that I could entertain the friend of some really great guy that she'd met earlier in the day. When the guys showed up to pick us up, I didn't know who was who, so I climbed into the car next to the one that my sister had her eye on. I had a wonderful time. My sister didn't speak to me for a week. However, as it turned out, she married the guy that she did not want to go out with. They are extremely happy, and I have never heard a word of thanks. I like to think that it was some latent instinct that seated me next to the person that was more my type and put my sister next to her future husband. But, my success rate since then is making it seem as if Brynn's Beat By BRYNN BECK I fate isn't even remotely interested in my opinion about who belongs together. Of course, that hasn't slowed me down a bit. I have had friends fly in from out of state to meet men, that I assured them they were destined to fall head over heels for. Nothing. Once I started a phone conversation, at work, with a gentleman from California. By the time that I hung up the telephone, I had him convinced that I could introduce him to his future wife. Yes, he did come to Utah, and no, he did not meet his future wife. Remarkably enough he has not called me for further references. My current attempt at playing Cupid has been directed at my cousin and one of my husband's friends. My cousin has been through this with me before and she is a remarkably good sport. But this time has been a little different. She has been out with the person that I lined her up with five or six times now and I can't control my urges to keep "helping" their friendship along, If they would both just do and say everything that I tell them. I am sure that I would finally be able to boast a success.) If it works out, I am taking all the credit. If it doesn't work out, I'll have to t d remind them both that the hand of fate be forced. Either way, I am not about to give up my Cupid's bow and arrow although I may need to invest in some camouflage before I take aim again. just cannot Crime and punishment There is a move in some pans of the country for judges to dole out a different form of punishment to those convicted of minor crimes. Of course, if you are a victim, "minor" may not be the right word. It seems that in some cases, public shame and humiliation work just as good as incarceration, which we all know doesn't work worth a hoot. In one instance, a woman was forced to take out an ad proclaiming she bought drugs in front of her children. This eliminates any nomination for Mother of the Year as well as the expense of locking her up. and I doubt she will do it again. It is a great idea that am sure the bleeding hearts will leap on as being cruel and degrading. Pay no attention to them. Giving a convicted criminal community service as a punishment is degrading to the people we hire to perform community service. We even elect some of them. Imagine punishing a man by telling him he has to be mayor for six weekends a year. Community service should only be citizens who performed by respect the communities they live in. Some judges have been very creative in imposing sentences. In one such case, a woman was allowed to spit in her face after he harassed her. I When the members of the Utah Snowmobile Association called and invited me on a day-tri- p along the Skyline Drive to experience their sport, I was skeptical. As a skier, I've grown to love the mounbut I particularly tains in the winter treasure the quiet moments you can find on a snow covered hill, where Mother Nature's acoustics swallow up the extraneous sounds and produce the most pleasant blanket of quiet I've ever encountered. I also appreciate skiing because it is gravity powered. True, in alpine skiing, you are taken up the hill with a motor-drive- n lift that clinks and clanks, but the ride downhill is carried out unaided by anything but gravity. In my limited experience, you don't find any of that with snowmobiles. Instead, snowmobiles rely on noisy, motor-drive- n tracks to propel you over the snow. It is anything but quiet, and anything but natural. I had visions of wild snowmobilers chasing panting deer across the snowy landscape, tearing up the landscape, shattering sound the quiet solitude with the buzz-saof engines and filling the air with noxious fumes like Hell's Angels on motorized sleds. This is the image that the Utah Snowmobile Association is trying to overcome. And last Wednesday's experience did a pretty good job of educating me. I hadn't ridden on a snowmobile for decades, not since my friend took us on a trip up Montpelier Canyon in his family's We wore no helmets. I was not dressed properly and at one point I got off the track behind the rest of the group and bogged down in deep powder, where I was forced to wait for the rest to come back and rescue me. In the meantime, I got pretty Ski-do- cold. Wednesday's experience was an First, we were equipped with everything we would need to make the trip fun and safe warm, waterproof boots and snowmobile pants, as well as helmets with windshields to protect our faces. We drove the nine miles from Fairview to our take-of- f point along the Skyline Drive where our machines were waiting for us. The snowmobiles were r. Back to basics Dick Boland 1997 Perhaps some controversies are cut and dried, but more often than not, they leave some unanswered questions. There are usually two sides to every issue, and in many cases, one side cannot have its way except at some expense of the other, even if a friendly compromise can leave both parties a little less angry than they were at the outset. I watched just such a drama unfold last week as a group of concerned citizens called a meeting to raise questions and seek answers about a group home that is coming into Lehi. In the end, it appears that the whole scene merely brought out the biggest buts around. The director of the company that will be operating this home stated at the outset that he felt ambushed by the group, which he claimed he thought would be a handful of people. (It was standing room only in the city council chambers.) The news crew from a television station didn't really help his confidence level, either. BUT, the citizens themselves said they felt ambushed by this group, which gained approval to operate the home without any of the public meetings and bureaucratic red tape that other home businesses would have to follow in order to become established. Under the guidelines of federal legislation, real estate professionals may not discriminate against persons who fit into certain categories, and in that same vein, cities may not prohibit institutions for the elderly or the disabled from operating in any residential zone. Hence, the company did not have to hold a public hearing because it was not asking for anything that the law did not already allow. BUT, what happens when legislation actually creates a reverse discrimination scenario, and one group is protected by law at the expense of another. In employment issues, for example, the most qualified person may not be hired simply because they don't fit enough of the quota requirements. Perhaps there is Creators Syndicate, Inc. forced to walk around town in a sandwich board with O.J. Simpson's picture displayed on it. Shame and humiliation could be used to such an extent that the perpetrators would beg to be sent to jail. There are already some supposedly great minds at universities claiming that the approach won't work. That's OK because the system we have now isn't working either, and at least those of us who live by the rules would get some satisfaction out of seeing punishment. Forget rehabilitation. Prisons do not rehabilitate, but they do educate the inmate on how to become more proficient at whatever endeavor he is serving time for. I would recommend that pedophiles be tattooed on the forehead, which would eliminate all this business about publicizing where they live. Some crimes should take precedence over human dignity. Crooked stock brokers should be sent to work in flannel shirts and bib overalls. There is simply no end to the amount of fun a judge, can have in sentencing those convicted of a crime. It would also be much easier for us to understand the punishment rather than wonder w hy one person gels 10 to 20 years while another gets five to 10 for the same crime. first-han- Wouldn't that spice up the nightly news instead of watching the judge send another felon off to prison? If this thing catches on. hope victims will play a big part in I would like to handing out punishment. watch someone from the highway department spray paint a graffiti artist, who would be wearing his briefs and nothing else. Anyone who commits a crime wearing a ski mask should have his or her head dyed purple for a specific amount of time. A mugger should be forced to wear a striped prison suit at all times. Failure to do so should result in his incarceration. A wife beater should be 1 black-and-whi- te The Daly Planet By RUSS DALY some truth to the growing feeling that the American white male is destined to become the minority. The question is: will the measures stay in place long enough to protect his interest? Back to the home, and the concerns of the people about it being in their neighborhood, the director claimed that studies have shown that the type of clients they will serve are best served by being a part of a community. BUT, in practically the next breath, he said that they hoped to become "invisible" once they actually started the operation. How can you really become part of the community when you're trying to be invisible? On the other hand, the citizens questioned the type of youth that would be housed in this home. Would they have committed this type of crime, or that type of crime, and could the company guarantee that they would not commit crimes while under their care. BUT what about the kids who already live here children of even the most who are commitprominent of families ting crimes? Remember when a group of youth went on a spree and broke into the high school? Those were not kids from some other area who came into town to vandalize someone else's property. No, they committed the crime against themselves. The parents may not have even known they were gone. Despite the questions by the citizens about the number of staff members who would be on duty in this group home, these boys may be watched much more than the average Lehi youth in a traditional family. Okay, so let's say that being in the community and being a part of what appears to be a normal home is beneficial, a fact I'm not arguing. BUT why would one want to locate this facility in such a high profile place, especially near schools, where those that are inside will be subjected to seeing those who are outside come and go almost at their leisure. Some citizens asked the director about that incongruity and wondered if there weren't less populated areas that might be more suitable to such a program. BUT this man overreacted and said that "wilderness programs" don't work. I'm not sure that any area around Lehi really qualifies for the "wilderness" designation, and I, too, wonder why they couldn't have chosen a little quieter location, in order for the youth to be really focused on their regimen. The man kept waving his Ensign about an action I found highly offensive suggesting that the citizens adopt a more Christian attitude about this rehabilita- tion facility. BUT perhaps he forgot to read similar material that talks about wolves in sheep's clothing, or thieves that come in the middle of the night, which might be likened unto the way the citizens described the company's method of entering the community. I'm sure not everyone went away from the meeting completely satisfied in every respect, and the whole story might not be known for a long time. This home might be the means of molding men of great destiny, and to deny it might alter the course of history. Then again, this home might be the source of troubles and BUT we have to let it in, according to legal standards, and perhaps by those same standards, coupled with our collective charitable attitude, this facility may best serve its purpose. l. Snowmobile adventure was an eye opener Playing Cupid February is only a few days old and I am already attempting to play Cupid. all Actually, I like to play match-make- r year long. But, during the Valentine season I feel a bit more justified about meddling into other peoples lives and trying to give fate a helping hand. I have always had a fascination with the chemistry that causes some couples to click, while other seemingly appropriate match ups fail miserably. My theory once was that if I kept at this thing long enough I'd discover some sort of formula that always worked. More recently, my theory has become; if I keep at this thing long enough at least one of my carewill evolve into fully selected match-up- s something more than an unsuccessful 2 UUIUWIUMIMIWIUIUIUUU The Editor's Column By MARC HADDOCK untouched. You need to watch out for trees, and we were but our trail was careful. The animals for which I had feared had hills earlier abandoned these in the year, with the exception of a few rabbits and the like. The deer have moved to the valley floor, along with everything else that wasn't hibernating. Our machines were noisy; they were also pretty powerful. But they didn't release a lot of pollutants. And after about three miles we pulled over to look at the sights and talk, and everybody turned off their snowmobile, and that wonderful silence was right there. These folks use their snowmobiles to get away. The fact that their machines make getting away a lot of fun is one of the benefits of snowmobiling. All told, we probably traveled about 10 miles along Skyline Drive over various terrain. The novices stayed to the trail but our guides would take the small hills by the trail side. We hit some bumps and even caught some air, but our guides looked for jumps and put on a pretty good show for the photographers. On the return trip we were feeling a little more secure with our machines and at one point, I unintentionally got in front of the lead rider, with Sharon right behind me. I had finally caught up to her speed. I was merrily snowmobiling down a trail that looked very unfamiliar when one of our guides passed me by and signaled me to turn around and follow him back out. Apparently I was headed for disaster just over the next rise, but I was having so much fun, I didn't care. It was hard to give up the machine when our experience was over. The snowmobilers definitely left us wanting more. We also learned that there is a lot of unspoiled country out there that is available only to the snowmobilers or the cross country skier. And while there are some spoilsports, this organized group of snowmobilers is dedicated to making their sport safe, sane and environmentally responsible. No wonder they are hooked. The entire experience was a breath of d iff;i S;' - We were given a brief lesson in operating our machines, and told how to slow down and how to stop. We were to give the guy in front of us plenty of room. The leader taught us some rudimentary hand signals and told us that someone would be behind us as well to keep track of stragglers. And then we'were off. I followed my wife, Sharon, who works for the Deseret News and was covering the trip for her newspaper, down a small slope, across the road and up a steep but small hill, and then the relatively flat and, sometimes, wide-opeSkyline Drive lay before us. Sharon picked it up quickly, zooming ahead until I was forced to push my speed just to keep up. At first, the steering of the machine felt pretty mushy and I was a bit tentative until I figured out that snow is by its nature a pretty mushy surface. It had snowed the day before, and we had a cloudless sky and endless expanses of untracked snow before. Off in the distance we could see Mt. Nebo and then Mt. Timpanogos. Between the two we could see the dark clouds of the inversion we had left earlier that morning. It was good to be above the smog. Here's what I learned. While some snowmobilers are not responsible, the sport as practiced by these members of the Utah Snowmobile Association is not much like I had envisioned it. For one thing, snowmobiles don't tear up any landscape because they are riding six feet above it on the snow. Anything that is torn up will melt in the Spring. The land is n snow-covere- d fresh air. Letters to the editor Seeking Overlord veterans Editor: I am trying to find people who were involved with Operation Overlord, espeJune 6, 1944. 1 am working cially on a research project for my fifth grade class, and would greatly appreciate talk ing with people who were there, either on the beaches (Omaha and Utah) or paratroopers who dropped behind enemy lines, or anyone who was involved in any way. Please call me at d 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 or through email at Newtahaol.com. 785-459- Noelle Brough |