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Show Lehl " r."" -- JPV Free Press New Utah! - Wednesday, October 7. 1998 - Page 2 Opinion When the tyiir iiiiiuiyuiiijuuiiiiLiiiiiMiiiniaiiiiiiiiiiiuiuiiLioiiiMinuiiiii computer say s 'no it means it Honors for a good teacher After recent "debates" between Gov. Leavitt and the Utah Education Association about how school districts should deal with bad teachers, and whether there is such a thing as a bad teacher, it is refreshing to see a good teacher getting the kind of From the greatest to the least, I have been told "no" by some of the very best. Not counting the grundle of times my parents must have said it to me, the first one I really remember was received in the traumatic course of the first date. Two of my friends and I decided to go on a group date to see a special showing of a movie. When I called on a classmate of mine, and asked her if she would like to go to the premiere of Thus and Such, she responded by querying tastelessly, "With If you have had a child in the upper grades of elementary school in the past nine years, chances are they have had their lives touched by Williamson, who uses the Space Education Center to take school children on flights of fancy that teach them about social studies, math, science, language arts, leadership, teamwork and making decisions. More than 85,000 Utah students have visited the space center ard participated in a space mission. Some have been more than once. Using a space camp-typ- e atmosphere, Williamson also offers missions for students as well as adult groups who want to test their leadership skills, as well as overnight missions for adventuresome students. That's a lot of teaching, all of which would have never happened, if not for Williamson's personal vision and efforts. Any recognition which comes his way is well deserved. Positive reinforcement has long been recognized as an effective way to affect the behavior of children in the classroom. It's good to see the same principle at work for teachers, as well. And for Mr. Williamson, we offer our congratulations. This is the kind of right stuff that gives teachers a good name. attention he deserves. Victor Williamson, who teaches at Central Elementary in Pleasant Grove, recently received an award from the national Milken Foundation which included a $25,000 cash prize. The award was richly deserved. Williamson has spent the last 15 years dedicating himself to his students, and to the process of learning. In addition to his classroom duties, after-hou- Williamson conceived and then created the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center. Working with a vision and passion, Williamson solicited donations from corporate sponsors for the necessary computers, video and sound equip- ment and other hardware and software that would be needed to create a mock space vehicle which could transport children into a new kind of classroom. True to his vision, Williamson went on to make the Space Education Center one of the most popular field trips in Utah. you?" What does one say to a response like that? "Uh, well, urn, ah, yeah." If I had been thinking quickly enough, I would have responded much differently, perhaps letting her know that she wasn't my first choice either but I was forced to move down the list when the first six had other plans. No, five others didn't turn me down, but I think she was maybe third on the list. was slashed by that My time, and not only did I not take her, but I didn't go, either. A few years later, I had the responsibility of leading a group in attending a conference. It was my job to see that nearly 200 of us boarded a certain train at a certain time, got off at the right stop, then stay together for three days. One of our group decided he needed some time alone, so he went to the top of the hotel to meditate. Several other colleagues told me he was up there, and I in turn reported that to my supervisor, suggesting that since I knew where he was, perhaps I would be allowed to go to sleep. ' "You will find him, won't you?" corrected my boss, letting me know in a rs self-estee- m i, The future of Utah's wildlife It may well be one of the most important issues you haven't heard of yet. This election day, Utah voters will have the chance to indicate at the polls which, if any, of the six proposed amendments to the Utah Constitution they will support. The one I want to bring to your attention is Proposition 5. You're going to be hearing a lot about it as the time of choice gets nearer because both sides are vocal and vehement about their positions. I'm not going to suggest here which way you should vote, but I am asking you to examine this proposed amendment carefully and vote your conscience, because the results will impact every Utahn and could potentlnllvJ nrnfniinHlv. rViancro tVa nature nf? . our state literally and figuratively! To summarize, this proposition "seeks to adopt a requirement for any ballot initiative affecting the taking of wildlife or the season or methods for taking wildlife to receive a majority in order to become law," according to a press release from the Utah Wildlife Board; some members of that board recently endorsed the measure to wild howls of protest from the opposition. You may be thinking to yourself this is about hunting, and you're not a hunter so it doesn't affect you. Think again. Surveys show that 80 to 90 percent of Utah residents enjoy interaction with wildlife through camping, hiking, hunting, fishing and photography. I can't think of a single family I know personally that doesn't have someone involved in at least one of these activities, and most have several people involved in several of them. Also according to official figures, more than $500 million was spent on hunting, fishing and wildlife watching in Utah last year. Some $25 million is spent annually to protect Utah wildlife and Utah wildlife habitat. The Board said, "We want to emphasize that without this financial, dedication, there would be far less wildlife for Utah families to enjoy." And folks, like it or not, most of this revenue is generated by hunting and fishing fees. Originally, the state did not have an admirable history of wildlife conservation, even into fairly recent times. There were, however, a handful of sportsmen and conservationists who took steps to contain the damage before it was too late. To these and their successors, we owe results like those recently released by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources: Since the early 1900s, the mountain lion population has increased from less than 1,000 to more than 3,000 today. Deer have gone from rare sightings to more than 300,000. Elk, once hunted to the brink of extinction, now number more than f Our oldest daughter, Nattalie, is almost half way through her first semester at BYU Hawaii. Except for the first tearful weekend, she has caded home every Sunday to share her enthusiasm about life on her own in such a beautiful place. She enjoys her classes, especially hula dancing and self defense. We don't hear as much about sociology and anthropology except that she doesn't have time to do .all the required reading. We envy her descriptions of the jv ihae beach, snorkeling, cliff jumping, etc. - .However, lately she has always been accompanied by some fellow freshman by the name of Bob. Of course we really don't have to ask, but we do anyway, "What about Bob?" I told Nattalie that before she pairs off too much with this young man that I wanted him to fill out a brief questionnaire you know, since I can't meet (or interrogate) him here. Anyway, I thought this questionnaire might be useful to anyone whose daughter is dating someone far away. Bob is from Colorado and says he once drove through "Merican Fark." An LDS Father's Dating Questionnaire: What attracted you most to my fc two-thir- ds non-hunte- r, daughter? a. her gripping intellect b. her sweet spirit c. her engaging personality ' I Banks ofAF generous Editor: The Bank of American Fork is celebrating its 85th birthday. As part of their celebration, they have donated to nine different projects at Community Action, 257 E. Center, Provo. The $100 gift per day for these projects will help the 1,000 families and individuals who are in crisis and assisted each month at the agency. Thanks to the Bank's generosity, children will be fed for a week, there will be bus transportation for homeless individuals to and from work, homeless well-financ- (ISSN No. 1521-685(U.S.P.S. No. 309-50M"' A member ot .Tie iVwfaiiiews firoup -- m .tan. NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION families will have shelter, elderly will learn how to take advantage of reverse-equit- y mortgages, homeless families will receive nutritious meals, families will receive mortgage default counseling, elderly homebound individuals will receive tax counseling and three homeless families will receive shelter for one night. We thank the Bank ofAmerican Fork for their vision and generosity in working with Community Action to help those in need. Myla J. Dutton Executive Director low-inco- . Published weekly by NewUtah! Many of the word processing programs today allow the user to see the "hidden" instructions for making text centered, or bold or italic, or whatever. You may remember when that wasn't the case, and one just had to wonder why the printed word was appearing in strange places or in strange typefaces. Other programs that we use at the newspaper don't give us that opportunity to look into their insides and figure out why they are acting in a manner alien to us. All too often we just hear a prohibition "beep" that tells us we are attempting to do something the computer doesn't understand. If they can put a man on the moon, why can't they invent a computer that can read our minds? When the computer says "no way," I would like to be able to respond, "yes way" and force it to execute the type of move that I desire. Perhaps just changing the sound of the "no" would make it easier to swallow. Several years ago, when computers were just becoming available in the home arena, my sister and I watched a demonstration by a friend. This contraption he had could even synthesize human speech, and was quite good at recognizing English words. We decided to fool it, though, and force it to say the word "halfwit," with the same endearing inflection he used to use. Eventually we succeeded, and if I had my way today, I would at least like to change my prohibition "beep" or "buzz" to my brother's epithet whenever I try to do something the computer won't allow. most polite way that my plan to sleep was way down on the priority list. Which brings me to my most recent bout with the negative. Having enjoyed a particular computer game, Man Jongg, I decided to install it on another computer so that I could enjoy it in times of lull. In all of the times I had played it on other computers, I had absolutely no problem with it, but with this new installation, I was, in a way, told "no" when I tried to execute a certain move. Never had I encountered resistance with this move before. The object of the game is to match identical tiles, thus removing them both from the playing screen. I matched one yellow with another yellow and received a prohibition "buzz" informing me that I was attempting to make an illegal move. So I tried one of the yellow tiles with another available yellow tile and received the same answer. Finally, I matched the third tile with the first and the two vanished, as they should have done in the first place, according to the rules. How dare this computer tell me "no," especially when others had said, in effect, "yes." Scientists have been working on the concept of artificial intelligence for years, hoping that someday a computer will be thought processcapable of human-lik- e es, as opposed to just receiving input and acting on that, regardless of the correctness of the data. whvrU 59 West Main American Fork, Utah 84003 Deadlines Telephone Numbers Advertising & Classified Advertising Circulation News ...756-527- Publisher Managing Editor City Editor Subscription Do your hands flail like small butterfly wings when you talk? Do you have any Disney character or other tattoos? Do you have pierced ears, a pierced nose, tongue, navel or any other body part (including those that are unmentionable)? d. her body Have you ever been recruited by e. the picture she carries of her the circus? father and two older brothers. Are you terminally ugly? f. all of the above . Does your mother refer to you as. are your plans for the next her .. child? -, five years or at least through this week- " J problem did your parents Exactly why ... . end,? y i send you so far away from home? v ' Can you repeat the 13th Article of Do you have a family history of Faith, the Scout Oath, 1 Nephi 3:7 and STD's, baldness or down right orneri-ness- ? the Gettysburg Address without getting mixed up? Do you have a brother by the Have you ever had to wear an same name living in the attic of your orange jumpsuit? home? family Has your picture ever been on disIf you were in a canoe with your play at the post office? mother and my daughter and the canoe Do you sympathize with David capsized and you could only save one Koresh, Mark Hoffman or Bill Clinton? person, who would it be? Are you spiritually, mentally, Well, I guess that about covers it. physically, emotionally or socially Once Bob serves his LDS mission, we impaired, challenged or disabled? If so, may have a few more questions, but please include a 500 word essay until then: describing your greatest challenge. Please return this questionnaire, in Is English your second language? along with your complete triplicate, If not, do you speak and write as medical history, a picture of your immeif English were your second language? diate and a signed letter of recfamily Do you use the word "like" more ommendation from your bishop and than six times in any given sentence? stake president. " Reader's Forum far-sight- ; that can read our minds and understand what we really want it to do. Just a few questions before you date my daughter 2,500 are thriving. Moose, mountain goats, antelope, buffalo, bear and many other species continue to prosper under the state's system of wildlife management. Even without these figures, I know the claims are true. I get hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing forecasts across my desk on a weekly basis, and it is clear that management policies are succeeding in many areas. yrijtens iny myj .coknnnv bfce-ib6a- t my Interest in bird-- " an.d in neaj-l- a decade of patching, Residence in Utah, I have become . aware of the efforts of many groups and individuals dedicated to. habitat preservation. Two of my favorite spots, the Bear River Refuge and the Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area, are maintained almost entirely by sportsmen's dollars as hunting preserves. Though a I'm willing to share with them because I know without them, I couldn't enjoy what I do. These places are good models of Utah's wildlife policies. Nesting areas and activities are zealously protected in the interest of species survival, which serves both viewers and hunters. I sometimes wish I could pursue viewing opportunities in the restricted areas, but I mind a little less when I realize hunters can't go there either. The purchase contract for Adventure Park concluded last week by Highland officials also protects critical habitat that is vanishing throughout the county. Only if people contribute to and use the park, however, will this habitat continue to be preserved. Finding a balance between human activities and nature is never easy, but it must be done if we want to preserve both. I would encourage you to closely examine this proposition and choose what you believe will be best for the future of your family and all Utah residents. A "yes" vote is a vote in favor of Utah's current wildlife management policies, which are based on the needs of and financed primarily by sportsmen. A "no" vote would mean thtit special interest groups have a better chance to make substantive changes in the state's wildlife policies. There is already pressure in Utah from such groups to curtail or eliminate the hunting of bears and cougars, and some would like to see the elimination of hunting altogether. Both proponents and opponents of the proposition will claim to be on the side of wildlife. The question voters will have to decide is whether the pre60,000. Wild sheep were once reduced to a sent balancing of interests best serves scattered few, but now more than the majority of Utahns. - What we need more than a computer that can think for itself is a computer .Brett .. .Marc 3 Bezzant Haddock .Rust Daly price $24 per year V. : . . Periodicals Postage Paid at American Fork, Utah POSTMASTER: (end addran change to SSWtat Main, American Forte, Utah 14003 Display . Advertising News . .Tuesday, noon 5 p.m. 2 p.m. Monday, 2 p.m. .Monday, 2 p.m. Monday, Monday. Missionaries ..... Weddings . . . Community Calendar . .Monday. 10 a m. Letters to the Editor . . .Monday, 10 a.m. Obituaries Tuesday, 11 a.m. Purge Clinton Editor: Bill Clinton must b'e purged from the office of president of the United States of America. We, as a nation, need to wake up and see the awfulness of our situation. Who can sleep at night thinking that our liberties are secure when our President is willing to trade his soul for selfish gratification and political advantage. I believe we have witnessed the political prostitution as well as the physical prostitution of the Office of the Presidency. I urge you to root out this corruption wherever it may be found. As George Washington said, "Virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government." I am sad to say that I do not believe that the corruption in Washington is limited to the Office of the President. Recent reports have raised suspicions of widespread corruption and philosophies contrary to the Constitution of our Republic. Where are the great statesmen of our day? I call for them to stand up and b'e counted as those who stand for virtue, morality, love of country and the principles that made this nation great. Stand up above those weather-van- e politicians with their wetted fingers to the political wind? Root out this evil in our nation in all aspects and in all areas! If it leads to the staff or cabinet, root it out. If it leads to the vice president, root it out. If it leads to the Democratic National Committee, root it out. If it leads to Republicans or anyone holding political office, it must be rooted out. As long as man is given charge of government, those who administer it will be subject to foibles and temptations of vice and abuse of power. However, allowing those who have committed serious offenses or the unrepentant to remain in office will only bring on our own heads the judgements of God. Unprincipled leaders in our nation have destroyed our government's moral anchor. The time is well past to right it. Let your voice be heard in public, as well as to your Representative and Senators. Vincent Newmeyer Lindon We welcome letters to the editor. All letters must include the author's name (printed AND signed) and a telephone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, punctuation, taste and length. Letters are welcome on any topic. HOW TO By Mail P.O. Box 7, American Fork, UT In 59 W. Main, REACH ULS By Fax 84003 Person American Fork V 756-527- 4 By editor newutah.com POOR COPY |