Show Standard-Examine- r Opinion Sunday October 2 1994 17A LETTERS TO THE EDITOR It is ! ' i ! ' ! i ! ! : always so: Many are indebtod to the few One wonders whether chiseled lips chanced a brief smile tonight for tonight it was ruled that there is no merit to the lawsuit against the conference center which is odd since only a few weeks before it was ruled there was enough merit for a trial No matter For briefly had the smile could not possibly disturb the silent stillness of the halls of the powerful For there even children's voices arc not but stilled by those paid to keep them out from under foot And as the pages of Financial publications wilt between fra-- ’ granced fingers the clock ticks ticks ticks as if with each second gone by the surrender to power and to money grows more irrevoca-- I bly complete We arc told that men of power seem not at all bad Yet do they ever? What would it profit anyone to appear evil? Yet do they not say and do whatever they have to to have their monuments? For do they not love above all else to pose Forcing Utahns to invest in Olympics wrong to preen and to commune with others of their ilk? And if commoners are forced to pay for their mingling places what does it matter? Thank heavens for the conference center lawsuit plaintiffs One wonders where they find their stamina Yet it is always so that the many are indebted to the few Always it seems when princes draw together to calculate spending the money of innocents there are those who stand against them Thank God for them literally For without them in time the innocent would have nothing at all Hopefully when they are elected to the county commission Glenn Donnelson and Bruce Anderson will be men who will stand with the people The pleasing people of Weber County deserve to be able to live for a time in freedom and in peace David Smith Ogden I was probably misunderstood on the TV news last Thursday Sept 22 in my attempts to explain the fact the Olympic Games are a reenactment of several ancient Greek pagan rituals As a p’esentation of pagan worship services the Olympics cannot be supported by taxation without violating the constitutional separation of church and state I thought that was a fun and creative reason for objecting to government sponsorship Now however I want to get deadly serious with two rhetorical questions First would you be willing to put a gun to my face and demand that I invest $50 in the Salt Lake Olympic bid? And if your answer to that question is “Of course not" then my second question is: How can you be willing to ask our elected officials to hire tax collectors to do just that? Let’s get real about taxation Like George Washington said government is not eloquence it is force Taxes are collected at the threat of gunpoint If you don’t believe that just refuse to pay your taxes and try to defend your property Very likely you will be confronted by the business ends of several powerful weapons wielded by professionals in bullet-provests When we discuss how to spend tax revenues wc must always keep in mind that this money is collected forcefully We must not allow our politicians to spend tax money frivolously on schemes or projects for which we would not be willing to threaten our neighbors I say let those who want the Olympics invest their own money Ask me I might contribute But I could never advocate forcing others to invest without violating my Libertarian Party membership pledge Ken Larsen Salt Lake County Libertarian Partv 856 E 100 South 2 Salt Lake City IT 84102 Writer has solution to America’s problems have the solution to America’s problems Since the liberals arc I talking about licensing all gun owners I think it’s only fair to also license all voters for the safety and g of America I suggest that before anyone can be a licensed voter they should have to pass a 100 question comprehensive lest (in English) on the well-bein- US Constitution I recommend Dr W Cleon Skousen’s “The Making of America" which outlines 286 principles of freedom contained in the Constitution (most of which arc currently being violated) as the required text Voters will have to know what the framers of the Constitution wrote and why they wrote it before voting Any citizen who isn't willing to put forth the time and cfTort in studying the Constitution certainly has no business voting Can you imagine the change that would take place all across America? Politicians would be scrambling Time to get control on gun range situation This letter is in response to two letters in the Standard-Examinon Thursday Sept 22 It is only fair to the readers to publish some facts about the gun range and some accurate information regarding the recent fire on er Aug 30 In the past five years there have been five fires started at the gun range All of these fires have been caused by tracer and bullets definitely shot by range users The fire that was started on August 30 was also witnessed by several people as being started by e users " According to the Weber County fire chief this fire cost Weber metal-jacket- ed gun-rang- County $80000 to fight There were 60 firefighters one of whom was injured and two who nearly lost their lives Fifty percent of the cost of fighting fires is paid for by the taxpayers It should be noted that on the night of Aug 30 several range users continued to fire after being asked to leave The fire chief con cerned for the safety of the crew was forced to rely on the sheriffs department to remove the range users After the fire was over signs were put up closing the gun range due to the extreme fire danger However the signs were removed gates pushed open day after day by range users The firing continued regardless of the extreme fire danger and the closure of the gun range According to the Weber Wildlife Federation 90 percent of gun-range users do not purchase permits Many range users haul in boxes targets water heaters bottles cans metal batteries TVs and anything else you can think of they shoot holes in it and then leave it In fairness to the homeowners property managers taxpayers and nature it is time to get control on a situation that is definitely out of control Kathy Jones Huntsville Patrolman protecting cows from honkers What has happened to the Utah Highway Patrol? My daughter was returning home from the new high school Free-moand on 4700 West and 12th Street she and two friends honked and waved to a friend they saw Trooper Simpson was hiding behind the Kwik Service store on the corner and quickly apprehended the three culprits who had honked the horn He made several uncalled for remarks to my daughter and then proceeded to give her a ticket for improper use of horn Being such a highly trained Utah Highway patrolman he saw that the kids were not wearing seat belts and cited them for that talked to Col Greenwood of the Highway Patrol he said that there is such a law but it should be used only on common-sens- e issues If my daughter was in a hospital zone or a school zone and was causing a nuisance or disturbing someone the ticket makes sense I think my daughter woke up Trooper Simpson behind the store so he got even I filed a harassment charge against Trooper Simpson and his supervisor told me that they handle the complaints within nt 1 Get things straight on the This letter is in response to the letters in last week’s paper concernfire” ing the infamous “gun-ranin Liberty All the things I am about to say arc not based on what I have heard second- - or third-han- d or just what but what I know I was there I am in my 10th year of service as a professional firefighter with Weber Fire District Also I am an avid hunter and shooter Now let’s get things straight As mentioned in the other people’s letters the gun range has been there for quite some time Both the Jones and the Montgomerys have been in Liberty for generations But ownership is not an issue here at all Mr Bradley this was not the first but the fifth such fire in this area in recent years all caused by careless users of the range This information has been verified and documented I have As for the term “riff-rafT-" been hunting and target shooting for 20 years and have never once left behind garbage and clutter the likes of which make me sick Shame on yob sportsmen No wonder there is so much anti ge ed the department So after they investigated my complaint for one day they called me to inform me that Trooper Simpson did no wrong Boy was I surprised when one cop investigates another and found nothing wrong Our laws were put together to protect everyone When I was a young man and saw a highway patrol car go by it made me feel protected Now when I see one I hope that they have filled their quota for the month The Utah Highway Patrol has become nothing but a money-makin- g machine for the state of Utah So don’t honk your horn — it will cost you $50 Ferris Goll deputy commissioner said that the highway patrol needs more troopers Yet they can put them out to protect the cows and the pigs from high school kids honking their horns When you see a fender-bendcount how many patrol cars are there when only two can handle the job or when traveling the freeways and they set up eight or 10 troopers to make their quota real quick er Ed DroUette Hooper gun-rang- issue e sentiment hunting and in this country today As for the college educated next time you feel the need to write to the paper try doing some research and finding some facts before you blunder into the public newspaper system Finally as an experienced emergency medical technician I may have found the answer to the whole problem It's called mountain sickr ness It's a condition known to the medical community and usually affects expedition mountain climbers In a nutshell the thin mountain air affects people who are not accustomed to the altitude and causes severe fatigue and irrational thinking among the other medical problems This may be why some people from lower elevations lack the energy to pick up after themselves and have such a problem making rational decisions while visiting the upper valley As to the dangers involved and the expense of fighting these fires well that’s something I could write volumes about But some don't seem to care about things like life and property — just recreation Douglas M Allen Capl Weber Eire District gun-contr- ol Alzheimer’s Memory Walk was a great “ It was a great day for the annual Alzheimer’s Memory Walk last Saturday Sept 24 And it was a great day for the Morrison family We were the high team earners with almost $1300 did meet my goal for $1000 and was the high individual earner This memory walk is the major fund-raisfor the Alzheimer’s Association Their Roal this year was $17000 over $20000 was turned in on Saturday and more pledges ‘are due Obviously we were so successful only because of support from so many special people Thank you family friends neighbors 1 co-wo- rk success ers and strangers who responded to my earlier letter for your contributions Thanks to my daughters Jody Sniggs and Sharon Seifert and my seven grandchildren who did the walk with me and for their continual support Thanks to GrayclifT Lodge Powder Mountain Ski Resort Mulli- gan’s Golf and Fitzgerald’s Bowling Center for donating gift drawcertificates for the door-priz- e ing I do so appreciate the support we received from everyone Thank you! Lit Dean Morrison Roy LI I I ow to do the jacket? Requirements has this timely suggestion for fall Take the classic and update it in a novelty wool blend weave and add the sheared velvet collar Then offer lots of pattern options like patchwork black textured and redblack tartan Or a simply wonderful solid hunter green For sizes 8 to 18 $70 in our Fashion Sportswear Also shown: wool skirt or black for sizes !Zj in black red or hunter $46 acrylic sweater in $26 C 3VT I white red hunter to find a copy of the Constitution most of them reading it for the first time The shccplcsocialists who indirectly cause most of the damage to our society through their uneducated vote would immediately be climt nated from the voting process ed America would quickly be on the track towards peace freedom and prosperity for all I have personally been able to trace the source of every major problem America faces to a depar- ture from Constitutional The voter-licensin- g principles requirement could be initiated at the county level of government because they arc the ones who issue the cards The idea could spread across the nation After all who is really responsible for safevoter-registrati- guarding the Constitution other than Wc the People?’ Bruce I dams Clearfield |