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Show Thursday IThe richer yew friends, the more they will cost you. " Elisabeth Marbury, American writer (1856-193- 3) Opinions back-to-scho- ol Cashing in on the fear of random D'An-drill- i, gunfire in New York City, Stephen is offering this unusual an outerwear line of security-conscioat a cost. Priced at up to $600, these coats are not tailored to the budgets of neighborpoor families in the inner-cit- y hood, where stray bullets occasionally fly. Nevertheless, D'Andrilli says he is deluged with orders and queries. Maybe. But will kids really feel safer ex-co- p, F. u Cloaked in paranoia Outfitting kids with a wardrobe is as seasonal as the gaudy turning of leaves from green to red and orange. But this year, a few children are making a fashion statement that is anything but traditional. They are arriving in their classrooms clad in bulletproof vests, parkas or blazers. Sept. 27, 1990 Herald comment p. v in their Kevlar 129 pads? Or will they feel as though they are going to school wrapped in Mom's and Dad's paranoia? Like autumn itself, fads pass. The bulletproof student blazer may well go the way of pants. Unfortunately, the thing that never seems to go out of style is the urban violence that inspired this silly fashion idea. The thought of children trundling off to school while fearing for their lives is repugnant and alien to the ideals of this country. It is painfully obvious the time has come for law abiding citizens to regain control of the mean streets. bell-botto- m Letters on all laws and regulations that prove to be for their own benefit and the wishes of the Towed away Editor: On Sept. 8, my son went to Provo to an apartment complex to watch the last half of the BYU-Miagame. When he got to the complex it was getting dark, all of the parking spaces were filled except one, with a red line ahead of it. He saw that other cars were parked in the same place, and it was just about dark, and it was a game evening, and all the parking places were taken, so he parked. Imagine his frustration at coming out after the game and finding that his car had been towed away. No other cars in that area were towed, just his. There was a paper on another car that said his car had been towed away and that it would cost him $45 to get it back. Because he is in high school, and he works after school, and the place closes at 5:30, he could not get his car until Thursday. The people charged him $60. I don't know what other apartment complexes do with overflow parking on BYU game days but it seems to me that it is very poor public relations to have cars towed away. After all it is the community which helps the apartment complex fill its rooms as it refers friends from out of town to apartments. I would choose to refer people to a cbmplex that would be sensitive to the guests pf the tenants. ;1 Betsy Baird Mapleton Likes Channel One Editor: This year at Orem High School, we watch Channel One News for 12 minutes each day. It is very informative and enjoyable. They informed us of the many gangs that exist in every state. They interviewed a few teenagers and they expressed their point of view about being part of these gangs. A couple of them said that they just do it for revenge and others because of their ancestors. We also watch on this channel, advertisements about various products, for example they show the Certs mints and Snickers commercials. I think it is good for companies to sponsor this, because, students learn more about what is going on in the world around them. As a student of the school, I am very thankful to those that had the idea of getting us more involved in the things that are happening around us. Personally, I enjoy knowing what the world is going through and like watching the news. Karla Vasquez Orem Higher and higher Editor: I have found that over the years the price of registering for school has gotten higher and higher. I always thought that the taxes my parents pay every year paid for school. This year they had to pay over $100 for me to register. Included in the registration fee is an activity fee which is $22. This activity fee gives you an activity card which allows you to get into games free and dances with a discount. Where does the rest of this money go? My question is, what does the money that my parents pay, in taxes and in registration, go to? Jennifer Llewellyn Orem special interest groups. Therefore, putting aside the interest and benefits for the people by dismissing or overlooking and disregarding the wishes of the people, with their judgement being the final discretion. I am against the policy to buy private land at a high price and then resell it at a low price to the benefit of a few special interest groups or private individuals such as happened for R.C. Willy, Smith's and ShopKo, along with the promise of being tax free for 20 years, with the understanding that the people would make up the difference in cost by having more jobs and they in turn would make up the tax differences by paying the lost taxes. The people lose both ways, by taxes that should have been paid by the companies and loss of revenue by having property sold at a lower price than what it was purchased for. I am against the using of HUD funds to give to private individuals in order for them to enlarge and improve their own private estate. Such as was the case of the Seven Peaks Resort. I am also against the use of public funds to enlarge and improve golf courses, mis only benefits a few individuals and in turn, are sold back to the special interest groups for private clubs at lower prices than what they were paid for. I would rather use the funds to help the homeless, the senior citizens and handicapped. Such public funds were set aside for their own use any way. Let us not forget the Timp scandal. In order for this to stop, we need to get involved in what is going on in our government and vote for a change to a Democrat government with more than one party rule.as we now have, in order to guarantee checks and balances for a true, free democracy. Louise Furile Orem semi-priva- Still waiting Editor: I am writing this letter because I am a retired military person who was taxed by the state of Utah and there was a class action suit filed to get a refund on these taxes. After almost a year, it seems that Judge Young has not made any decision on this matter! This same suit has been through federal courts and ruled against the states so, what takes this so long in this state? If I owed the state taxes, they would not have to wait to get their money back from me. We were required to send in a protective claim, however, this seems to be just another stall tactic in order to not pay this back to us. It appears that we can do nothing about these back taxes as everyone we ask tells us we will just have to wait for Judge Young to make his decision. Well, I would like to know what the delay is! SFC Martin L. Clements, Retired Orem Form a coalition Editor: Over the last few weeks, we as a nation have faced the grim economic outcome of a nation that is thousands of miles away. A simple act of aggression has affected the western nations and America faces possible economic recession for the result. I propose the creation of a coalition a coalition of nations along the sphere of North Atlantic Treaty Organization and territorial lines. This union of nations would serve as a united economic and militarily oriented sphere that would develop a network of oil development supplies, military and economic aid, and in a case of war via aggression invasion unit to defend ready to fight multi-natio- n each other's interests or concerns. Imagine American petro dollars helping to develop oil reserves in Brazil or Venezuela? Imagine exporting grain that is in six digit surplus figures to underdeveloped nations in exchange for sorely needed minerals? (You cannot eat gold if you are days away from starving.) it would be an alliance of Simply stated self preservation and to solidify relationships in this part of the world so we will never again be at the mercy of such crackpots as Saddam Husseim who thinks he can browbeat and bully the rest of the Earth simply by playing games with the world's gas pumps! Tony Marren Provo al Vote for change Editor: I believe the most important responsibility for our elected officials is not only to take the oath of office with a promise to serve the people and to uphold the laws and regulations of the Constitution of the United States but to obey and honor them as well. Our present elected officials have failed to do this by refusing a petition, signed by the people, to change the present form of to the government of a mayor-counc- il form of government with the claim that it was written 'on the wrong kind of paper and written incorrectly. I am appalled. A petition signed by the people should be honored no matter what kind of paper it is written on. Is this not the government of the people, for the people and by the people? Such restrictions are regulations on hew signed petitions should be handled is going against our constitutional rights and it gives the mayor and council members full authority to make all decisions ission te lnf --yu1 Drug alert: Watch medicine chest! Utah County teens are among the highest users of prescription drugs in the state, and officials are concerned about reports of kids getting high on them. But local teens' use of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana is the lowest in the state. This rather surprising information is from Bruce Burdick, directs of the Utah County Department of Substance Abuse. Moreover, the same trend holds for those in the 18 to 25 age group. Bui dick says one study shows that 10.9 percent of Utah County youths in the 7th through 12th grade had been using over the counter or prescription pain medications the previous 30 days compared with only 8 percent for the state as a whole. It would seem that these kids are seeing a lot of usage from their parents and may think it is okay. Kids are getting prescription drugs somehow, probably a lot of them from their parents' medicine chest, Burdick adds. Dr. Kaye Laursen, Provo School District superintendent, recently told the Provo Lions Club of cases where teens overdosed on pills from their parents' medicine cabinet, and were taken to the hospital to save their lives. Drew Bolander assistant principal at Timpview High, reports that there have been two or three occasions when they have picked up on students prescription drugs that belonged to their parents. "I think most of it is used on weekends when kids get together and have parties. They may get into the prescription cabinet and bring whatever they can find to the party and start passing it around. Kids have overdosed and had severe reactions to drugs they didn't even know they were taking." Kids looking for uppers and depressants Ed Haroldsen HERALD COLUMNIST can get a variety of drugs from the family medicine chest, including sleeping pills, mood elevators and tranquilizers especially Valium. However, Bolander thinks that drug use at Timpview is down tremendously even though it has not been completely eradicated. I think there are kids who are sophisticated drug abusers who have learned to take their drugs off campus. They're doing it on weekends or nights. One reason, perhaps, is that trained dogs from the Utah County Sheriff's office periodically cruise the hallways and parking lot sniffing for drugs. The exercise discourages students from trying to hide drugs at school. Another reason is that Timpview, like Provo High and other schools in the area, is involved in an extensive drug education program. For example, the effects of drug abuse are explained in health, driver education and American problems classes. Timpview was one of 42 high schools in the U.S. honored for excellence in drug prevention in ceremonies at the White House last year. Provo High officials haven't noted any cases of students overdosing from prescrip tion drugs this year, but in one incident a girl who had taken an over the counter, "NoDoz" type stimulant was found shaking. We got some food into her and got her parents to take her home and feed her,, reports assistant Principal Chuck Shackett. "I don't know if it was an innocent mistake or she was trying to get high. Like society, a certain percentage here take drugs. We try to keep it off campus." What should parents do? First, they should recognize that every family is vulnerable. Thus, parents should be alert to warning signs that their son or daughter may be hooked on drugs. Signs can include: a change in behavior and attitude, sluffmg school, and a sudden drop in grades. Next, parents suspecting drug abuse should confront their children, should tell that something's obviously wrong and should announce that the signs point to drugs. They'll be on the defensive. But at least it puts them on the alert that you suspect something, says Bolander. Finally, parents should not be afraid of having the child drug tested and of seeking counseling. There's a big denial in our valley, says Burdick. We live in a very nice place and we think these things just don't happen here. But they do. And it is not any indication of moral wrong doing to have a son or daughter who has experimented with drugs. They need professional help. It will strengthen the famiy as well as help the youth If we are intelligent, we will seek help when we've got a big, big problem like drugs in the family and not bury our head in the sand. We can start by calling Burdick's office for advice 370-842- 7. Should Keating take the ethical rap alone? - WASHINGTON Now that former Lincoln Savings and Loan owner Charles Keating has been indicted, booked, finger- printed and, at least temporarily, jailed, Congress ought to examine some possible "unindicted These are the government officials and private-secto- r professionals who contributed to keeping Keating in business. There is no evidence proving that they are guilty of criminal wrongdoing, but in the court of public opinion, they are guilty of contributing to the worst financial scandal of our time. Keating, the central figure in the savings and loan fiasco, was recently indicted on 42 counts of criminal fraud and was jailed in Los Angeles. As serious as the charges against Keating are, they may be just the tip of the iceberg for him. He also faces a $1.1 billion civil racketeering suit, and a federal grand jury in Los Angeles has been conducting a probe of him and others. But there are a few people involved with Keating who won't go on trial, won't pay any fines and won't do jail time. Former thrift regulator M. Danny Wall and current Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan are among them. At least Wall, the chief federal savings and loan regulator and the protegee of Sen. Jake Garn, lost his job, in part, for keeping Lincoln Savings and Loan open about 18 months after the point when its doors should have been nailed shut by Wall's regulators. During that time, Lincoln continued to foist junk bonds on elderly customers. In 1987. Keating complained about the regulators on Wall's regional staff in San Francisco who were supervising Lincoln Savings. Incredibly, Wall granted Keat-ing- 's wish in 1988 and took the San Francisco office off the case. Later Wall paid a visit to William Seidman, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Appalled at what Wall had done, Seidman told him, "Danny, nobody ever said that a test of a supervisor is whether the guy he's - C 'A) Jack Anderson a lit Dale Van Atta UNITED FEATURE LI SYNDICATE supervising agrees with him or not. ... You're responsible for Keating, you know that." for Greenspan was an expert-for-hiKeating. As a private financial consultant before he was appointed to the Fed, Greenspan wrote a letter on Keating 's behalf to the regulators in San Francisco in 1985. Greenspan sought permission for Lincoln to exceed the limit on "direct investments" forays by thrifts and risky investments. into Greenspan asserted that Lincoln was "devoting a large proportion of its assets" to the traditional job of savings and loans home construction and mortgages. And he warned that denial of Keating's request would put an "unfair hardship" on a re 'financially strong institution" that presented no forseeable risk to the depositor insurance fund. Boy, was he wrong. Even while Greenspan was singing the praises of Lincoln, Wall's examiners were being told by Lincoln officials that junk bonds would replace some of Lincoln's investments in home mortgages because they were "easier to process," because Lincoln was "better staffed" to handle junk bonds than mortgages and because junk bonds "offer greater liquidity than family home mortgages." Within a year of Greenspan's glowing letter, one thrift examiner wrote of Lincoln, "There is, in my estimation, a real risk of a major financial disaster in the making." And in the spring of 1987, government examiners said it was time to close Lincoln down. SMILING BILL FBI Director William Sessions is no J. Edgar Hoover. Those who know him describe him more as a likable puppy, eager to please and eager to be liked. He caters to Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, dutifully calling Thorn-burg- h before venturing up to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers. A class action suit, brought against the FBI by Hispanic agents who alleged discrimination, cut Sessions to the core. Lately he has been seen around the bureau and joking with Hispanic agents. Earlier this month he showed genuine excitement when promotions were approved for a dozen Hispanic agents. glad-handin- g - Mother Teresa's missionaries have run head-o- n into the American bureaucracy. They wanted to remodel a building for a homeless shelter in New York City, but the city insisted they put in an expensive elevator for the disabled. The sisters couldn't afford it. They had figured on carrying handicapped people up the stairs just like they do in Calcutta. But the city thought that wasn't dignified enough. So there will be no homeless shelter. Perhaps the disabled homeless people who might have lived there can roll out their blankets in handicapped parking spaces this winter. L Letters regulations Address letters to Letters to the Editor, PO Box 717, Provo, UT 84603. They should be typed, double-spaceand less than 400 words in length. Letters must be signed and include the writer's full name, address and a daytime phone number for verification. For answers to questions about Letter-scaeditorial page editor d, ll 373-505- 0. |