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Show (The Page A7 Timfg-3nftrpcnhc- Thursday, October 19, 2000 nt Letters to the Editors Look $ at all side of the equation Dear Sam and Adrien, This is in response to several letters, which have appeared recently in the editorial section about changing the name attached to Negro Bill Canyon. At first glance the reaction seems valid and we all tend towards political correctness in such situations. A perfect example would be the recent removal of the term squaw from all landmarks in Montana. However, closer inspection might give us pause to reflect on the magnitude of the implication of such changes. How many men were honored members of Native American tribes, involved in the settling of the West, the cowboy era, the cavalry units, the mining towns? Dont you know? Why not?. Because names such as Beckwourth, Smith, Johnson, and yes- Granstaff tend to just blur out in our memories and become Americanized and faceless. The few who come readily to mind do so only because of some dramatic action on their part, which has come down to us through the historical records. Locally, men such as Charlie Glass, who shot a are remembered because of the publicity surrounding such cases. It seemed newsworthy at the time because the white cattlemen (such as his boss) staunchly defended him and his actions. African-America- n -- sheep-herde- r, The eighth season of the Moab Music Festival has recently concluded and we would like to send a huge thank you to the community of Moab for all their support and enthusiasm for the festival. Putting on the festival is a highlight of our year both musically and personally. It is a truly joyful experience for us to make music in such a by Leo Dutilly Seekhaven Shelter Assistant Director never thought would work in a Domestic Violence Shelter. It was the furthest thing from my mind when moved to the sleepy town of Moab in the fall of 1991. didnt even know there was a shelter here. It neer occurred to me that a town this small could be We hear a lot of griping about truck traffic whizzing through town and running red lights. Perhaps a worse problem is that those trucks draw followers through the light when it is even redder," so to speak. When you drive at a reasonable distance behind a big trailer, motor home, or large camper, you cannot see the traffic light. Moving the lights higher is probably not an acceptable solution, because they would be hard to see for other reasons. What we can see is the back side of the lights on the opposite traffic lanes. It would be a great help to have indicator lights on the back side of the amber and red lights (to include the green light I What's next? To the citizens of Moab: Has anybody noticed how it appears the tram keeps getting brighter and brighter, even though we were told that you wouldnt be able to see it? Is anybody else getting sick of being lied to by developers? Whats next? Lucy Wallingford Moab Boy was all those kind and caring people at Allen Memorial Hospital who made my stay there bearable. We should all be grateful that such warm and patient helpers are here to serve our community. A special thanks to Kris, who drove the lance to Grand Junction and to Matt, who made in a domestic violence situation, start askfriends. guarantee you will find someone. Women ing Seekhavens services are from all walks of life. using They are housewives, nurses, business owners, business partners. These women are your friends and neighbors. You have seen them but didnt know it. They wait on your table at dinner, treat your sons injuries when he falls out of a tree, sell your house, hire your daughter for that summer job. The second thing learned is that often the abuse is not physical. Sometime it consists of belittling your partner. Some abusers continually find fault with their partners. They control access to family, friends, transportation, money and often they control every aspect of the victim's life. They separate partners from family and friends so that they can have the victim alone, so she can provide for his every physical and emotional need. His needs and wants become paramount and he manipulates her until he gets exactly what he wants. After years of this treatment the victim has no feedback except that of the abuser and she begins to believe she is worthless. She becomes so emotionally damaged that she loses all self esteem. A once strong independent woman can become a vulnerable, shy, lifeless shadow of her former self. Third, learned that abuse usually starting with the belittling behavior often accelerates to pushing, shoving and hitting. Abusers use hands, fists, objects, knives and guns. Abusers cause bruises, wounds, cuts I Rusty Salmon Moab I wonderful place. We have already begun working on next season and look forward to returning to Moab often in the coming year to make the preparations. Thank you to everyone in the community who helped make this years festival a great success. Were looking forward to next season. Sincerely, Leslie Tomkins and Michael Barrett Moab Music Festival might confuse the public that it was a usable traffic lane). I realize that redesign of the signals is a frightening idea to agencies that buy them, but present lights might be retrofitted by clever use of mirrors, perhaps prisms, to show the light color from the back side. I spoke of this concern to a city councilman a few years ago when the Kane Creek light was being considered, but I was discouraged by the response that UDOT is in full command of state high- way signals. I dont know how to get to UDOT, but Sam, you are an expert in that area; maybe you i could stir the pot. t Ber Knight Moab tell you, it really helps to be able to communicate even slightly in a foreign language when dealing with the natives and languages are best learned early in life. If it hadnt been for foreign born Americans who had insisted and forced their American bom offspring to read and speak their native tongue, World War II would have lasted much longer than it did. American military intelligence depended on these people. German Jewish refugees made the best Cerman prisoner of war interrogators one could find, especially when they mentioned what had happened to relatives. On the other side Japanese-American- s who could read the highly obtuse Japanese ideographs were valuable enough that McArthur said they saved a million American lives and those of us associated with them protected them with ours. If these people had been forced into an English only situation we would have been up the proverbial creek for there were few Americans other than the Nisei who could cope with Japanese writing. Lastly, just what English are they talking about? Is it legal jargon, the Kings, Chaucers, Bobby Burns, southern Alabama dialect, rap music English or even northern Utah style? Or my broken version? Vote NO on English Only! Pierson Lloyd M. Moab sure I was safe and comfortable. I hope you both get your Junior Highway Patrol badges. In the midst of my own personal turmoil I found support from some wonderful people I might otherwise never have know and I count that a blessing. Betty C. Bly Moab Letters to the editor policy welcomes opinions from its readers concerning any subject pertinent to Southeastern Utah. Letters should be to the point and must include Die writers name, address and telephone number. Letters may not be used to replace advertisements, or to list and thank sponsors or participants to a particular event, letters to the editor will be not be accepted from any candidate who has filed for political office or from anyone writing in support of a filed candidate. Anything unsigned, of a libelous nature, or containing defamatory statements wil not be considered for publication. Afl letters must be typed or legibly written, and be 400 words or less. Letters are subject to editing. Mail to Letter to the Editor P.O. Box 129, Moab, Utah, 84532. Deadline is Monday, 5 p.m. Letters may also be sent via The )R COPY t I and sometimes death. For example: a year ago, not 75 miles from our little town of Moab in the City Market Parking lot on North Avenue in Grand Junction, Colo, a man shot and killed his wife and two men who tried to prevent him from hurting her. He then killed himself. Within the past weeks, Utah has seen a boy beaten to death by his step father, a moms boyfriend killed by her son as the boyfriend chased her while swinging a hammer, and another mom's daughter raped and shot by the mom's abusive boyfriend. Fourth, learned why women don't leave their abusers. The reasons are myriad. dont pretend to know them all. I'll list some of the reasons I've observed. Women dont leave an abusive man because she loves him, she respects him, she knows that he will stop his horrendously violent behavior because she believes" him when he says he will. She doesn't have any money. She doesn't have any friends. She has alienated family and is afraid to ask for help in leaving. She knows he will hurt or kill her if she leaves. It is safer to stay. Staying becomes protecting herself and the kids. She blames herself for the abuse. Its a vicious cycle. Its a deadly situation. Fifth, learned that women do leave their abusive situations. These women are the bravest people have ever met. They are true heroes who have taken a difficult step to protect their children and themselves from a life of abuse, stress and danger. These brave women want a better life for their children and themselves. They take advantage of services provided by Seekhaven and similar programs across the country. They slowly heal and grow and eventually become the people they were before they suffered the terrible abuses of a dysfunctional relationship. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. If you have a friend who verbally or physically abuses his partner, tell him it is WRONG to do so. Tell him to get help by calling Intermountain Specialized Abuse Treatment Center (ISAT) at If you have a friend in a domestic violence situation, tell her you love her and be supportive. Tell her she has a right to live her life free of fear and abuse. Tell her she can call Seekhaven any time of the day or night, every day of the year at I I I I 259-982- 259-222- Castle Valley Comments by Ron Drake ( Much of the annual qeneral meeting of the Castle Valley River Ranchos Property Owners Association, held last Saturday, was devoted to the Castle Rock Collaboration and Utah Open Lands. They presented an interesting program, outlining their goals and successes regarding the proposed sale of land around Castle Valley owned by the State and Institutional Trust Land Administration. Of particular interest was the announcement by Wendy Fisher, executive director of Utah Open Lands, of the purchase by UOL of the land under Parriott Mesa. The organization made an offer on the land and the closing documents have just been signed to seal the deal, according to Fisher. That was part of the first two pieces to go on the auction block by SITLA and caused concern to many people in the valley who feared commercial development at some of the valley's pristine landmarks. Those two pieces of land are what forced some of the valley's citizens to create the Castle Rock Collaboration and stall the scheduled sale of land at the base of Castle Rock. Fisher and Director of Conservation Planning Adair Bonsai gave a brief history of UOL, explaining its start ten years ago in saving an old family ranch in Park City from development. Other ranches, in- cluding The Mountain Island Ranch along the Colorado River and the Peaceful Valley Ranch in Summit County were purchased and allowed to operate as working ranches. They have protected 27,000 acres of land so far. The CRC is operating as a branch of Utah Open Lands and is able to t, take advantage of UOLs they spent for other matchinq funds with the town. He cited a section of the covenants that limits spending over $1,000 without a vote of the membership. Board Chairman Jack Campbell said that section is up to interpretation and a consensus cant be achieved among lawyers. On the subject of the new simplified set of covenants currently being pushed by the majority of the board, Board Member Merrill Brady made a motion to stop spending money on a dead horse," meaning the new covenants. He said they are not legal and referred to the existing covenants that state that they expired in 1998 unless a new signed document takes their place. If not, they remain in force another ten years. The interpretation was again cited in rejecting the motion. During the voting, property owners overwhelming supported the two questions: Shall the POA contribute $5,000 as matching funds with the Town of Castle Valley toward the cost of the Castle Valley Land Use Study?" The other question asked: If the town is unwilling to match the $5,000 from the POA for the Castle Valley Land Use Study, shall the POA contribute the full $10,000 to the planning effort to make up the anticipated short fall?" The first question passed 156 yes to 15 no and the second passed 136 to 35. Rebecca Martin received the majority of votes with 293 followed two years and will be the treasurer, Trish will act as the new secretary and Susan will be the n. Jack Campbell, the carry-ove- r from the previous board continue as chairman board. will of Y . P i fj' I tr : " f (mtiwmr ovi (HyatiUGR' i7T I I exempt status. Brook Williams spoke on behalf of Castle Rock Collaboration and explained that negotiations with SITLA have to be treated differently from other government agencies. The land is owned by the trust and must be treated like private land. SITLAs involvement in the planning process is unprecn edented and they see it as a situation. During the rest of the POA meeting, John Lucas wondered why the POA is asking for a vote to spend $5,000 toward the land-us- e study but didnt for a vote on the $2,500 win-wi- v' r if the The night in Castle Valley is on for Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the LDS Church. Scheduled to participate is Keele Johnson, state legislator, Bill Hedden, Jim Lewis and Al McLeod, county council candidates. Other dates to jot down with local interest are the Tom Till slide show, Utah Then and Now," scheduled for Oct. 28, the open meeting of Rock Collaboration on the Castle Nov. 30 and the CRC meeting with the planners set for Dec. 6. for by Trish Hawkins with 160, Rich- ard Stucki, 130, and Susan Ulery with 105. Rebecca will serve for Jim Salmon of Castleton found the article last week about bears interesting and thought it approori-at- e to elaborate a little on the subject. Even though we dont have grizzly bears here, he shared an email he received recently about them: In light of recent bear sightings, hunters are advised to carry pepper spray with them. Though not too effective, it does distract them and tends to slow them down. Outdoorsmen should also attach noisy little bells to their clothing so as not to startle the bears. It is also advisable to look for fresh signs of bears. The black bear, like we have in our area, has smaller droppings containing peaches, apples, berries and seeds. The grizzly bear dung contains little balls and smells like pepper." non-profi- tax- - Times-lndepende- nt to editor moafcfimes.com. The not accept letters from persons who write more frequently than once every four weeks. I has been than good. Hospital stay was made bearable by a caring staff Dear Editor My thanks to need of this kind of facility ever wrong. The only thing I knew about domestic violence was the fact that a couple of friends had suffered through it. After I started volunteering at Seekhavens shelter I learned a lot about domestic violence. The first thing I learned is that it affects everyone. I dont care if you are rich or poor, you or people you know have been victimized or have victimized someone. Think about it. If you dont know someone who in k Vote no on 'English Only' initiative Dear Sam and Adrien: Utah citizens should definitely vote NO on English Only. The proposition is racist, elitist and needless; a waste of time and money. The two major proponents of the proposition, Sr. Mujica and the late Senator Hayakawa, are both products of cultures (Chilian and Japanese) which are much more racist and elitist than ours and they seem to want our culture to emulate theirs. We have no real problem, only paranoia by some about immigrants - the same old bogeyman. Rather than intimidate and discourage our foreign born we should be encouraging them to teach their children their language and culture especially when they are young and learn easily. Americans are somewhat arrogant in that they expect people in foreign countries to speak English. Fortunately many of them do but, as Mormon missionaries can I I Stirring the pot on Main Street lights Dear Sam, guest editorial nt Domestic violence affects everyone This has nothing to do with bigotry or negative connotations of words, nor am I using the argument thats what he was called since we have obviously changed the more offensive name even he originally used for himself. Additionally, our perception of various words and names changes with the passage of time. At one point in the 1800s, being Irish was considered as lower on the rung than absolutely anyone else, regardless of race! If the suggested change to Granstaff Canyon (using his supposed American surname) is allowed to occur, his adventures and contribution to our history as a black American in a predominantly white West will be lort to the majority. Already we have conflicting versions about what nationality his companion was! Only those few scholars willing to delve into the dusty history books will ever know how extraordinary this little settlement of theirs was. All I would suggest is that before we rashly make changes in a knee-jerreaction to the inequities of the past, we should look at all sides of the equation and be sure we arent doing more harm Music Festival organizers look forward to next season Dear Sam and Adrien, Times-Independe- C.C.H.S. RED DEVILETTES welcome JflWLUNN STUDIOS portraitsmake-over- s Wednesday, October 25tb 259-383- 5 Call Rae Lynn for details i |