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Show Page A7 '(Efrg "Make a Difference Day" really Letters from the People The Editor: I almost hit your dog this morning - you know who you are! How can our residents blatantly ignore the leash law in Moab especially when it comes to the safety of your pet and the safety of others. I drive from my home to my office everyday and I cant recall a day that I have hot seen dogs off leash. Their owners walk ahead or behind allowing their pet to defecate and urinate on the properties of their neighbors, rim in the paths of vehicles, run up to strangers and their leashed pets. My dog is not friendly to other dogs and I really dont appreciate other dogs coming up to him to sniff. They may go away with more than they bargained for - and whose fault would that be - MINE - My leashed dog would be reported. He is ALWAYS on a leash and I carry a bag for anything he may leave behind. On the other hand I applaud those owners who do obey the leash law and carry their clean up supplies with them. Sincerely, your neighbor, -- Marion Bandle, Moab Student proposes Activities Club . . . Dear Editor: My name Aaron Montague. I have been going to Grand County High School for three years. I see a problem in this school. Too many people dont have anything to do after school, and most of them dont want to play football, soccer, tennis, etc. So most of them get into drugs and alcohol. I think we should have more activities after school in a club called Activities Club because the club activities can include swimming, hiking, snowboarding, skiing, snow shoeing, water skiing, chess, and rock climbing. With this program, the students would have more cross-countr- y, variety of things to do after school, and that could bring down the percentage of those who do drugs and drink alcohol. Some ways we can fund this program is and we could also take one though percent out of the local sales tax to help this program come alive. Its not that costly because all the club would need mostly is a bus or a Suburban. I want to thank you for taking some time and reading my letter. I hope you take this in considerations to help this program become a reality. --Aaron Montague, fund-raiser- s, Moab Excitement builds for Teen Center . . . Dear Editor: Im a student at Grand County High School. I heard there might be a Student Center a place where kids may go to hang out after school, do their homework, have an arcade, or another place where we could have dances. Those were some of the ideas for the Student Center. If the plans for the student center go through, we would probably put advertise ments in the newspaper to get the word out. Maybe we could write an article about where it could be. The location of the Student Center is a crucial factor. I think that it would a fun place to hang out. I know a lot of other teens that would enjoy the place. I know that I would hang out at the teen center. --Will Atcitty, Moab Change is coming in Iraq due to people like Russell Pierce . . . Letter to the Editor: Recently while reading the online version of your newspaper, I came across a letter from Russell Pierce in Iraq.l recently returned from Iraq where my mission was much different from Russells. I spent my time in Falluj ah fighting the insurgents and was witness to some of the tragedies that occurred such as the Blackwater murders. Several fellow Marines and friends were lost while I was there, and even more were injured. Their sacrifice is not in vain. Their sacrifice went to help the cause of fellow human beings, to help women and children. Russell highlighted in his letter the magnificence of the people of Iraq, the resilience they show, the steadfast devotion oftheir faith, and the yearning to experience just an ounce of the freedoms we enjoy in this country. I know this war is controversial, and I do not write this letter to gain support for it, we are in it, that wont change. But I am writing this letter to praise the positive outlook that Russell has. I am not sure if he truly understands the impact of what his selfless dedication will reap, but I can assure you, he will see it in his lifetime. By training new police officers he will allow the people of Iraq to govern themselves, he will allow a set system of law to be established that will be fair, not tyrannical and murderous. During my time in Iraq I conducted several combat patrols. During the early days, the lawlessness of the area was obvious, and as time progressed change became evident due to people like Russell. My job was to make the environment safe for the Iraqis, including the police force; they couldnt do their job if they were under constant attack. As we progressed in our job, we began to see the efforts of people like Russell pay off. I admit at first it was a bit humorous, an Iraqi police officer speeding through a town at 100 mph from one end to the other then declaring it safe and free of insurgents. But as time went on the training of the Ira qis paid off. They would arrest hostile citizens, enforce local laws, and keep the people of their communities safe. Eventually, phone service and the locals had emerwas gency numbers to call. One of the most startling realizations of progress I witnessed was on patrol late one night; my team identified a vehicle by the side of the road and one occupant. Suspecting at first that this might be an insurgent placing a roadside bomb, we moved in closer to better assess the situation. We could see the occupant on his cell phone talking to someone, still unsure of the situation, we continued to watch and a few minutes later a police officer showed up and helped the man change his tire. I know it sounds trivial to most, but I stood there that night and thought back to Moab. I wondered how many times the police officers of Moab had helped stranded motorists, an event to them that is unremarkable. But to me at that point, it signified that the Iraqi police force was being trained for the first time to do such a task. They were building confidence in themselves thanks to the efforts of Russell Pierce and his colleagues. A lot of people believe we shouldnt be in Iraq, that it is none of our business. Those d individuals people are selfish, who take so much for granted. We are there helping people. After all, when you call the police in your community, dont you like having them respond with professionalism? That is all the people of Iraq want, to live free, to express opinions, and enjoy life. I am not sure how long Russell will be there, but I hope he enjoys the experience of his selfless service. On a personal note, your newspaper has followed me for 13 years in my travels, from Washington D.C., to the Balkans, to the sands of the Middle East. It may be a bit overdue, but thank you for keeping connected to my hometown. close-minde- Sincerely, -- Steven Sarten SartenSAlMARDIV.USMC.MIL New Salmon Air schedule is a step in wrong direction . . . Letter: While preparing for a series of upcoming business flights, it has come to my attention that Salmon Air has changed flight service to from Moab and Salt Lake City making it a useless proposition. Flights now departing at 1 p.m. from Moab and 3 p.m. from Salt Lake City now make it literally useless to propose flying in and out of Moab for business purposes. Both the connecting flights and the time of day require wasting nearly a full day in airports during which time business meetings should be scheduled. The changes as now implemented - with very little warning - will now cost more in hotels and in time wasted. The change in contracts to Salmon Air were done with the promise that the level of service would be maintained and that the flying in and out of Moab would not be changed. While the level of personal service is fantastic, logistically it is now a nightmare. The logistics were already difficult from day one when Salmons schedules were implemented, but these new level. changes have taken the issue to another done be must Connections through Salt Lake the People: I want to thank all the wonderful people who participated in Make a Difference Day activities on Saturday, October 23. Make a Difference Day is a National Day of Service, set aside to help us remember the importance of helping others in our community. Its about friends and neighbors working together as a team. Whether an hour or a whole day is donated to helping someone else the fact is, it feels good to work with a committed group of people for the betterment of a cause. Zions Bank sponsored a Food Drive in the Grand County Schools each grade at each school was challenged as to who would bring in the most canned goods. Zions Bank is sponsoring a root beer float party for the winning grade at each school. Over 4,000 individual food items were donated. Friday night, the community came together at a Pasta Dinner fundraiser for the new Teen Center. Community Church housed the dinner and many wonderful businesses donated sauce and paper products while hungry folks with deep pockets came together to support our youth and their future. The RSVP and teen center volunteers had a great time, serving food and then in the cleanup. Swanny City Park was the site of the Visions and Voices of Children on Saturday, October 23. Melinda Snow, principal at the Middle School, along with Bruce Hucko, organized the painting of a mural on the Skate Park. Students participated by designing and painting the mural and by placing their handprints in cheerful colors on the cement walls. RSVP collected additional food items and winter clothing. Students from the Junior High sold hot dogs and burritos to raise funds for the teen center. To People need to obey our leash laws . . . To November 4, 2004 tCtmeg-ttftgpmfte- nt manually during the scheduling process, connecting flights do not coincide with Moab flight schedules, and now they are logistically a waste of time and money. It is now impossible to fly to Salt Lake for a full day of meetings and return the same day, much less tie it in to trips across the country and world. Now, instead of spending several thousand dollars in tickets locally through Salmon Air during the next 5 weeks, we will be forced to look for alternative methods of both travelling for business and in relocating critical meetings to another venue resulting in lost revenues for the hospitality industry. This email is not written to point the finger of blame in any one direction, but to bring this serious issue to the attention of those who can help make the necessaiy changes. We have continually fought for reasons why companies should be doing business in Moab, and arguing that logistically it is easy to do. These changes are one more step in the WRONG direction. -- Gregory Schem MOAB PAPER COMPANY Moab - did . . . Corky, TJ, and John from the Moab Fire Department provided a fun opportunity for young and old alike to rappel from their tallest ladder. Securely cinched in to the guide rope, folks were lifted and then allowed to rappel to the ground. Too scary for some of us but those who took the ride loved it! The River of Life Church winterized swamp coolers as their Make a Difference Day project. Elderly folks that can not afford to have their coolers winterized or that were too frail were pleased to have this service done for them. The church is permanently adopting a seniors yard to maintain year 'round. Solutions sponsored a litter pick-u- p around the bridge behind Hogi Yogi - the group picked up 12 pounds of trash, 32 pounds of recyclables in three hours. Much more is left to do on that section of trail. Grand County CERT members participated by donating mini 72 hour kits consisting of a jar of peanut butter - enough to keep a person alive - nutritionally for 72 hours. These went to the Grand County Food Bank as part of the food drive. I want to challenge everyone in the community to start planning for the 2005 Make a Difference Day, to be held the fourth Saturday in October. There are many ways for individuals and groups to participate. Start now by wheeling your elderly neighbors garbage can to the street andor back again. Or visit the extended care wing of the Allen Memorial Hospital and strike up a friendship with a resident. Or join RSVP and learn about the different nonprofits in Moab in need of volunteers. -- Kate Thompson, RSVP & Volunteer Center Director, Moab Solid Waste Board member complains; reporter responds . . . Dear Editor: I read your cover article concerning the Solid Waste District (SWD) in last weeks edition with a sense of disbelief. The article so poorly represented the discussion regarding an annual waste fee that took place at the SWD October 7 board meeting that I would have believed that the writer must have attended a different meeting were it not for the fact that I was quoted, albeit inaccurately. I take exception to the opening paragraphs of the article that make it seem as though Moab City is refusing to cooperate with SWD. This is completely untrue. Furthermore, this misinformation was attributed to me when in fact what I did say was that I had met with the city and that they do not seem willing to support an annual waste fee as they feel that it would result in an increased tax burden on city residents. Given that the County Council also seems unwillingly to support such a measure I suggested that we let the issue die. In fact the whole issue came up at the meeting because I questioned why the annual waste fee item was still on our agenda at all since the board had let the issue die in our August meeting. The ensuing discussion took place only for the benefit of some board members who were not in attendance at the August meeting and had not heard my report on my meeting with the city. To represent this action with such inflammatory statements as: . . .the Board was forced to table a discussion about a looming funding shortfall. . . and . . .Moab City representatives have been unwilling to meet with the board. . . is sensationalistic journalism at its worst and will only serve to stir up contro com- versy between the city and the county. Our munity has enough real controversies between the city and the county that we certainly dont need the 77 to create more. Please do not use your paper to lead our community into the divisive polarization that has afflicted our state and national political scene. In closing, I would like to acknowledge that the remainder of the article did include some accurate and informative material and the board certainly appreciates coverage by the 77. I make an effort to be available to answer any questions that your staff or any county residents might have concerning the operation of the Solid Waste District. mean-spirite- d, Sincerely, Daniel Stenta SWD Board member 259-775- 1 Reporter responds: The article was held for the next one issue and ran after at least three calls made to Dan Stenta were not returned. The TI did hear from Dan after the second deadline passed, and after the reporter used information from the Solid Waste boards own above-mentione- d budget to verify what was said at the I will be happy to share my notes meeting. with any member of the Solid Waste board or community. I have checked the story and quotes against my notes and see no discrepancies. Neither the TI nor I have any interest in creating unnecessary - and - riffs in the certainly not the same measure, as a community. By reporter I am not likely to ignore them when they emerge during a public meeting. Carrie Switzer mean-spirite- d Lower the speed limit on the river road for fewer deaths Dear Editor: I . . . one of the parked cars were also totaled. The woman was not driving under any influences; driving too fast caused the wreck. Luckily, no one was seriously injured; the woman was the only one taken to the hospital. This is one of the few accidents where death has not occurred. In conclusion, I think that someone should think that by lowering the speed limits on the River Road the number of accidents, and deaths would dramatically decrease. By lowering the speed limit from 55 to 30, it would make it less likely that people would lose control of their cars and crash. This summer my cousin, Amanda, and I were out at Six Mile Beach with some friends, and a woman who was speeding hit four out of the seven cars, parked cars. Two of the cars were totaled; the van she was driving and a take into serious consideration reducing the speed limits on the river road. I truly believe that the number of deaths will be cut in half. Respectfully submitted, Kyle Jacob Stocks Moab Idea for using education funds Dear Editor: Moab, Utah is not a bad place to attend school, but is very frustrating when I go into a class and there are not enough computers to use. Now, I know thats not really anyones fault, but I have an idea that would solve that problem. If freshman that enter the school would start off with laptops, which they take care of for four years, then they could have all their documents on the computer and would not have to leave to go to lab rooms. They would also . have to keep track of their laptop or pay for it them selves. After they graduate, they turn back in the computers, which then would be sold back and replaced with new ones. A few positive reasons for implementing the above mentioned idea are the following: 1) it would take students less time to log on to the computers; 2) all of the documents on the computer would belong to the student; 3) one could do hisher work anywhere. -- Tyler Montague, Moab Thanks for the speed limit on Spanish Valley Drive . . . Dear Moab, Sheriff Nyland deserves a great big THANK YOU for once again demonstrating that he has a heart of gold and the best interests of the community in his thoughts. I am referring to the article in last weeks T--I in which it was announced that the speed limit on Spanish Valley Drive would be set at 30 mph, per his instructions. Maybe Sheriff Nyland knows that the best Im things in life are enjoyed sure he wants to protect the children who walk and bicycle on our streets, and the animals, domesticated and otherwise who must brave the traffic. Maybe he knows that it saves gas to go slow and is so much quieter. Maybe hes learned what many of us start to realize the longer we have been around - going fast gets us nowhere! Sincerely, --Sara Melnicoff Moab |