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Show A-14 Wed/Thurs/Fri, May 3-5, 2017 The Park Record Student to Student Core Samples By Jessica Curley Goodbye junior, hello senior As this school year comes to a close, current seniors will be eager to leave for college, while juniors prepare to take their place as the new and improved senior class. The fact that I’m going to be a senior in less than two months is crazy to me. Just to think that 12 years ago, I walked through the doors at Trailside Elementary School ready to start my first day of kindergarten. With my frizzy curls and enthusiastic personality, I was eager to begin what would be the next 13 years of my life. Going into my final year of high school will be exciting yet emotional. I am ready for what the future holds, but at the same time, I will miss everything in Park City. This is where I grew up. All my best childhood memories were made here, and leaving that all behind will be difficult. Although it’s hard to think about leaving, it’s reassuring to know that I still have one more year in Park City, and I intend to make it a great one. Becoming a senior has many perks. For one, seniors rule the school. Everyone will be looking up to the class of 2018, so it’s our job as role models to set the example. And, of course, tease the underclassmen. Another advantage is that most of our pre-requisite classes are completed, so that gives us the opportunity to have more freedom when it comes to scheduling. You can either have a bunch of parent releases and spend more time out of school or you can take advantage of the many diverse class options and explore your interests. At Park City High School, junior Sabine Caplin shared her thoughts on becoming a senior next year. “I’m most looking forward to having more free time to do things outside of school that I currently don’t have the time to do,” Caplin said. Personally, I’m most excited about attending Homecoming week as a senior. Not only is Homecoming a fun week filled with activities and school spirit, but a tradition at Park City High School is that all the seniors get to wear camouflage on the day of the football game. Wearing camouflage as a senior is a big deal, and if underclassmen choose to wear camouflage, there will be consequences. Although senior year is a It’s our job as role models to set the example. And, of course, tease the underclassmen.” time of excitement, it’s not all fun and games. Senior year is a first look into adulthood and future plans. This is the year where students should start making choices on what they want to do with their lives, whether that is going to college or finding a job. Seniors start applying to colleges as early as September, and that is something that makes me nervous. The place you choose to go to college is going to be your home for the next four years or more, and the factors that must be considered before choosing a college are immense. My fear is that I will go to a college that is not right for me, so that’s why it’s important to take time senior year to make a good decision The stress of applying to college can be overwhelming. Nowadays, colleges have become more selective and that causes high school students to be more competitive when it comes to academics and extracurricular activities. So if you have your heart set on a certain school I suggest you work hard and do everything to make yourself diverse, also make sure you have backup schools. I asked my classmates Alex Lambries and Haley Pitou what they like most about being seniors and what they will miss when they leave high school. “I like being able to help the underclassmen because I’ve been through everything that they’re going through regarding school,” Lambries said. “I know the best strategies for test taking and I know the work methods of many teachers”. “I’m going to miss the friends that I’ve grown up with because next year half of them are going to college across the country, and it’ll be weird not seeing them every day,” Pitou said. Since next year will be our final year of high school, it is important that we make the most of it. After going to school with the same people for 13 years in the same small town, this will be it. I hope everyone will indulge themselves in the full high school experience, which includes: joining clubs, going to school dances, participating in spirit week and supporting our team at sports games. This will be our last chance to come together before we all go our separate ways. Questions for Political mainstay after surgery Rep. Jason Chaffetz gets criticism from some while in Utah MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON — Since arriving in Washington in 2009, Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz has been a political mainstay, doggedly investigating Democrats, frequently appearing on cable TV and regularly updating his legions of social media followers with photos of himself, his family and even his dog, Ruby. His Twitter handle reminds people that of the 435 members, he’s (at)jasoninthehouse. The Utah congressman underwent surgery Thursday to remove screws and pins from a foot he shattered 12 years ago. True to form, he posted X-ray images on Instagram and Twitter Wednesday showing the 14 screws and a metal plate in his foot, which he injured during a fall from a ladder at his home. A spokeswoman for the University of Utah Hospital said late Thursday that the surgery was successful and that Chaffetz was resting comfortably. Chaffetz said in his social media posts before the surgery that he will be away from the Capitol for up to four weeks. “I’m sorry to miss the important work we are doing in Washington, but medical emergencies are never convenient,” Chaffetz said. The representative’s recent moves have drawn scrutiny in Washington and back home, and left a few people wondering what’s next for the darkhaired, 50-year-old who kicked for Brigham Young’s football team. As chairman of the House Oversight Committee the past two years, Chaffetz gained a high-profile as an investigator — some would say antagonist — of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Chaffetz famously promised before the election to investigate Clinton “for years” even as he declined to go after President Donald Trump. Frequently mentioned as a possible candidate for Senate or governor, Chaffetz shocked the political world last week by announcing he will not seek election to any office in 2018. Chaffetz surprised Washington again last week when he appeared alongside Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings to criticize former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Chaffetz said he had seen no evidence that Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, had requested or received permission to accept tens of thousands of dollars from Russian organizations after a trip there in 2015. Chaffetz and Cummings asked the Army to investigate whether Flynn broke the law — the first hint of bipartisanship amid a flood of complaints by Democrats that Republicans have failed to scrutinize Trump and his associates. But two days after appearing alongside Cummings, Chaffetz again found himself a target of partisan criticism, as Cummings blasted him for failing to follow up on his initial criticism of Flynn. Cummings complained that despite requests from Democrats, Chaffetz has not pressured the White House to release documents or called Flynn to testify. “Republicans are not helping us — and they could help us,” Cummings said at a news conference Thursday, singling out Chaffetz and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. “You cannot allow situations where the Congress requests documents and basically the White House says, ‘Take a hike,’” he said. “That’s simply unacceptable, and it sets a very dangerous precedent.” Chaffetz said Tuesday that he did not believe the White House was acting in bad faith. “I don’t feel like they have withheld any information,” he said. “It really doesn’t involve the White House and, if it did, it would be the Obama White House,” where Flynn was a top intelligence adviser before being ousted in 2014. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a longtime friend, said he is sor- By Jay Meehan Negative mass ry to see Chaffetz leave Congress. “He’s got boundless energy,” said Lee, who worked with Chaffetz a decade ago when both were aides to then-Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman. “He never stops thinking, never stops wondering. It’s refreshing,” Chaffetz, who famously sleeps in a cot in his congressional office, has long talked about returning to Utah, Lee said. “I respect him for it,” Lee said. “He’s given the job everything he’s got. It’s time to go.” In Chaffetz’s congressional district, voters have mixed opinions on his motivations and whether he should push harder to investigate Trump. Patsy Jones, a 78-year-old retiree who voted for Chaffetz, said she thinks he performs well under pressure and is sad to see him leave Congress. Jones, an unaffiliated voter, said she thinks Chaffetz always intended to look into Trump’s business ties and is ramping up his efforts now because he might not have much time left in office. Chaffetz has said he may leave office early to pursue private interests but has not set a firm timetable. David Kliger, a 69-yearold retired dentist and selfdescribed “elite liberal,” said Chaffetz is finally investigating Trump because he needs to show he’s doing something. “He’s an opportunist, and basically, he was looking forward to just beating up on Hillary Clinton,” Kliger said. “And because Trump is president ... he’s sort of caught in a bind.” Kim Massey, 53, an unaffiliated voter who moved to suburban Salt Lake City last year, voted for Trump, but now regrets it and said she’s glad Chaffetz appears to be stepping up his investigation. “I think he feels liberated,” she said of Chaffetz. “I think he probably doesn’t feel the pressure. He’s probably like, ‘I don’t have anything to lose so might as well do what I intended to do.”’ Associated Press writer Michelle Price in Salt Lake City contributed to this story. So I’m leaning in to give my quite challenged auditory cone a better shot at picking up the college physics instructor’s end of our barroom conversation. Whatever topic is on the table with this guy, the rewards of participation are always offscale. So you want to be able to at least catch his narrative even if the digestion process arrives later. My main prerequisite courses up to this point in the evening involved more than a few samplings from the Speyside region of Scotland and, boy, were they yummy! But I digress. My friend is a renaissance man and we could just as easily have been dishing on Sidney Bechet or Charlie Byrd. Let’s just say he covers a lot of interesting ground. Who knows what brought us around to recent happenings in the subatomic sphere, but there we were. An offhand comment revisiting “string theory” might well have led up to it. Or, possibly, it may have been the recent goings-on at CERN with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the resultant discovery of the “Higg’s Bosun,” also known as the “God Particle.” I don’t mean to suggest that the trappings of a classroom dominated the landscape. We were in a honky-tonk saloon, for Hag’s sake — partaking of one of those Texas red-dirt bands from southern Idaho that are all the rage these days. And, to further embellish that thought, dance breaks and “another round over here, kind sir” interludes were almost mandatory. There did arrive a point in our somewhat slurred conversation, however, when I leaned in even closer and a conniving grin began to spread across my mug. It seemed that folks populating the physics lab up at Washing- ton State University had come up with a “superfluid” containing the properties of “negative mass.” I took another looong sip and let that sink in. A fluid that acted as if it possessed negative mass? Most interesting. I felt as if I had been chosen to expand its application menu. Why else would I be leaning against this particular tooled and polished section of western timber with this erudite gentleman at this specific moment? There were forces at work here larger than my own. I’m not saying it was like a “burning bush.” It was more like Richard Dreyfuss and a mound Theoretically, when pushed, negative mass vamooses in the opposite direction – toward the applied force rather than away from it. Now how could I best employ such a behavioral trait in my ongoing public lands war with the Trump administration?” of mashed potatoes. But epiphanies come and epiphanies go, as they say, and this one had my name all over it. Theoretically, when pushed, negative mass vamooses in the opposite direction – toward the applied force rather than away from it. Now how could I best employ such a behavioral trait in my ongoing public lands war with the Trump administration? I need something up-and-run- ning prior to when his National Monument attenuation posse shows up to clip the Bears Ears. I’m assuming of course that safe methods of transport are available for the superfluid in question. I don’t want this to turn out like a remake of “Flubber.” I wonder if it could be smuggled into a ball-wash at Mar-a-Lago in time for one of his daily rounds. That’s it. His fingers could then serve to deposit residuals in his nose the next time he is forced to ponder. From the nasal passages to the brain would be the next logistical puzzle. You don’t think this could backfire, do you? Like, say, completely derail a mindset that’s already off the tracks. Things can always get worse, of course, but in Trump’s case, it’s difficult to imagine a scenario with room for additional downside. I wonder if there are kits available. I’m certainly no Walter White but, as a first-grader with access to a Chemistry set, I was able to concoct the necessary components for gunpowder into a chemical reaction that charred much of my folk’s kitchen. Give me enough potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal and I can re-enact the Big Bang. From a bit of post honkytonk research, I figure all I’d need would be some more single malt and a laser to cool a fistful of rubidium atoms down to near absolute zero. Then all you have to do is alter their spin to the point where they begin to behave like “negative matter.” Sub-atomic behavior modification, you gotta love it! Don’t forget the Speyside. Jay Meehan is a culture junkie and has been an observer, participant, and chronicler of the Park City and Wasatch County social and political scenes for more than 40 years. Writers on the Range By Auden Schendler People power can still make democracy work If you parade several hundred thousand people through New York and coordinate simultaneous marches globally, the truth is … it might not matter all that much. Such was the lesson of the 2014 climate march in New York City, and probably of the Jan. 21 women’s marches, exhilarating as they were. It’s likely, too, to be the response to the upcoming People’s Climate March on April 29. I don’t mean to be a downer. I attended the 2014 event myself, and hoped it would change the world. But it did not. These gentle strolls don’t rise to the scale of the problem. What might? If marchers blocked Trump Tower for six months, caused commerce to stop, got arrested, then did it again and again, you might just get somewhere. Such has been the lesson of the battle over the Dakota Access Pipeline. After this year’s remarkable women’s march, President Trump tweeted: “Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy.” The event allowed Trump to preside over a society that tolerates dissent while ignoring that dissent. Indeed, just two days later, Trump signed an executive order reinstating Reagan-era restrictions on abortion. My wife and daughter participated in the women’s march, traveling to Denver with friends. They had a memorable experience in democracy and civic action. But compare their experience to a real revolution. In 1789, the Women’s March on Versailles broke into Louis XVI’s palace, killed two guards, and forced the king to walk with some 60,000 protesters. Or compare my pleasant experience in New York to that of the protesters at Standing Rock in North Dakota. There, officers destroyed a camp and fired tear gas, rubber bullets, Tasers and water cannons in sub-zero temperatures. But the protesters are using more than their bodies: Two Sioux tribes have filed lawsuits arguing that the Army Corps of Engineers violated environmental, historic preservation and religious freedom laws. Those cases are pending. I have never been shot with a rubber bullet. But we might have to endure some level of pain in the course of peaceful protest, more than the footsore feeling of a long walk down a wide avenue, if we want the kind of action we need on any number of pressing issues, from climate and clean energy to health care and immigration reform. We’re beginning to see that level of difficulty embraced by citizens beyond Standing Rock, with constitu- I have never been shot with a rubber bullet. But we might have to endure some level of pain in the course of peaceful protest.” ents mobbing local town hall meetings held by their congressional representatives — at least those legislators who are aren’t terrified to hold such meetings. For citizens, that kind of face-to-face work takes great courage, too, and is hugely stressful, but quite effective. After young people took to the streets in the risky and charged city of Birmingham, Alabama, in May 1963, President John F. Kennedy announced his intention to introduce civil rights legislation. He made his famous civil rights speech a month later in Washington, D.C., but it was effectively written on the streets of Birmingham. Photographs on the front page of national newspapers showing African-Americans like John Lewis being savagely beaten and attacked by dogs in Selma, Alabama, ultimately gave President Lyndon Johnson the push he needed to pass the Civil Rights Act. The Dakota Access Pipeline is the modern progeny of civic actions that made a difference. If that fight seems lost now, think again. Along with continued opposition to the pipeline close to the Standing Rock Sioux, other conflicts rage, like the one that killed the Piñon pipeline in New Mexico, or the fight over fracking near Chaco Canyon, where the Bureau of Land Management recently approved drilling leases. This nascent protest movement, started in North Dakota by Indigenous youth, explodes a subtle American myth — the one that contends that revolutions just happen. Schoolchildren have learned that Rosa Parks was a seamstress who got tired of it all, so she sat in the front of the bus. But Parks spent years training as a revolutionary, studying under Myles Horton, along with Martin Luther King Jr., at the Highlander School in Tennessee. She knew what she was doing when she put her life on the line. The gritty work of revolution may be the most difficult of all human tasks, because the path forward is always experimental and full of risk. It’s an open question whether we’ll choose to exchange our comfortable lives for the difficult acts of protest required to change the path of government. But one thing is certain: Any progress will be directly proportional to our suffering. The writer Cormac McCarthy said it best: “All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one’s heart have a common provenance in pain.” Auden Schendler is a contributor to Writers on the Range, the opinion service of High Country News (hcn. org). He serves on the boards of Conservation Colorado and Protect Our Winters, and is a vice president at Aspen Skiing Company. |