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ytfl UdfOC-X- ol IK KH wpu lVH I Letters & Columns To rrioa tLAt uu our Readers MAIL Coming up in the: StarJar3-Exarrre- r P0 Box 951 Ogden UT 844C2-C95- Please keep letters to 300 words or less and include your name address and daytme phone for venficaton Letters must be signed and may be edrted and condensed FAX (801)625-450- SATURDAY: A round-uLetters S standard ret death to make it I Teachers aides 5- 1 day lot more than playing guns did It's odd friends and I grew up with television religiously watched one shoot'em up Western and cops ’n robbers show after another went out and recreated all those acts of violence on a regular basis but none of us ever thought to get our fathers’ guns or look for real ammunition We had our problems in school and got mad at our friends and teachers But it never occurred to us to shoot them to A My death What's the difference? Why are children each other nowadays? And their parents? And their teachers? Child psychologists tell us these kids are affected by the media violence that pervades our lives but child psychologists have been saying that for 30 years If you watch the way death is portrayed on television and in the movies today compared Is to death scenes when I was a kid you might find a clue The graphic nature of the violence is the difference and the irony is that it took a graphic death in real life to change the way Hollywood portrayed death on the screen Find a good Bogart film from the '40s or any Western from the ’50s and watch the bad guys get shot by Bogie or Roy or Gene and even in the most serious of films w hat you will see is cinematic death that is almost comical There were no bloodstains We knew the actors would get back up again as soon as the director said “Cut” So while we played Guns and riddled each other mercilessly with “hot lead” we never took death seriously or the notion that we could cause death ourselves Violent death became very real to me in November 1963 On a Friday afternoon we learned that President Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas I can still remember the day and the way it felt and walking home from school and watching the story all weekend on television W e learned that an amateur photographer had filmed the assassination and that Life magazine would publish each frame of the film in its next issue When the magazine arrived my brother and I searched for and found the pictures We studied each frame as the limousine crept slowly down Elm Street disappeared briefly behind a highway sign and then in the bright Dallas sun It’s a matter of record that fluoride was a popular rat poison before it was a tooth treatment Fluoride was considered a very hazardous aluminum expensive for manufacturers to “get rid of’ because of the legal implications danger and deaths involved before it was “sold” to us Maybe someone w ill come up with a funny cartoon for that Unless I missed the joke I assume your editorial cartoon on fluoride was a reference to the Nazi and later Soviet experiments when they added fluoride to public food and water to “placate and pacify” because of its brain chemistry-alterin- g effects Yeah that’s just hilarious Come to think of it that “everybody’s doing it so it must be OK” ap Publicity of tragic shootings may few days I have been reading and it seems there have been numerous articles on the tragic shooting at the Littleton Colo high school Not only has it been overpublicized by the Standard-Examine- r but also by thousands of newspapers and news programs nationally As a teenager I feel that the oyerbroadcasting of this tragic affair w ill set ideas into For the past the newspaper And it was as we had alw ays imagined being shot was supposed to look You see the president clutching his throat slumping and falling slightly forward and toward his wife Just like in the movies Then we turned the page In frame 313 the president’s head was suddenly obscured by a bright red mass of color Jeff and I looked at each other was this some imperfection in quizzically the processing we wondered? It wasn’t It was John Kennedy’s head shot to pieces And it was our introduction to the real world of violent death Two days later the president’s accused assassin was shot to death on live television - the first nationally televised murder in history How could Hollywood top that? It has been trying ever since e violence is so Today’s incredibly realistic we no longer have any doubts about what real violence looks like In fact Hollywood has finally made real violence look tame Now children understand the reality of violent death what they cannot grasp is its permanence Except perhaps for those who experience violent death directly such as the Columbine High School students in Littleton Colo It’s a hard way to learn One can only hope that their grief seen by millions on television and in newspapers will seem more real than Hollywood make-believ- Jim Stiles is a contributor to Writers on the Range a service of High Country A 'enj He is the editor of the Canyon Zephyr in Moab Economic future must include historical past Is there any hope that this pa- per county and city government tourism and economic developers and the business community will ever work together for Ogden? The power and money of this community care more for personal agendas and power struggles than doing anything to preserve develop promote or enhance Ogden’s past or future The voice of the “Top of Utah” has again thrown its con- siderable verbal clout behind plans to move one of the largest and few remaining outdoor arena rodeos to the county fairgrounds Community and economic concerns are obvious However this is another attempt to destroy Ogden’s past and build new facilities to which we hope they w ill come The mall convention center and the new fairground facilities have all been built in the past 20 years or less We build them and no one comes Why don’t they come? Underdeveloped Union Station and Utah railroad history failure to link tourist sites Doonesbury eeAuy cant fSVPMTMS ZvcBtwArpnrieAaMS we ios ni mxps I ' " M3ii3rci Miimore — r-CoCi AftMti Colo shootings many in Utah are appropriately worried about the safety of Utah’s schools to all Gov Leavitt sent an V&XMti&TC-- teachers £j 77 kfjosrc Affixes? Karen Dewey president-elec- t of the Utah Nurses Association is a advaresident of Roy She is an nced-practice registered nurse coand works as the student-affair- s ordinator for Weber State University's Nursing Department The Standard-Examinwelcomes contributions to this column which features commentaries of about 600 words on any issue To have us consider your column please send it along with a photograph to Another Voice Editorial Page PO Box 951 Ogden UT 84402 fax 8 lettersta stanor dard net er 625-450- and trend that has been going on for many years Utah’s students are funded at less than 70 percent of the national average In a state where we emphasize children families and learning it is deplorable that we cannot even be average when it comes to putting our money behind those values However very few leaders seem to be concerned that Utah’s classrooms are the lowest-funde- d in the nation Our Legislature passed the smallest Weighted Pupil Unit (WPU) increase in many How long will we continue to expect Utah teachers to work miracles without providing adequate resources? Karl Powell Sunset Now is the time to eradicate dandelions have gathered the elongated nearly white sprouting dandelion shoots and used them as a delicacy in salads The control of this weed has been in effect for many years With the proper application of approved herbicides the dandelion hasn’t got a chance for survival Cutting off the root one inch below the ground level will partly control the dandelion This physical method is difficult and laborious so it is better to buy the proper herbicide and apply it for eradication Henry D ZobeB Ogden By Bruce Tinsley j wANP-t- KPS witu5oo£ ViACK 5 TARWfrzs 't administrators - A5AiteT Parents also homeschool their children Does this mean home health aides should be teaching our children? Of course not Nurses are trained to do procedures assess for complications and to intervene appropriately This is much different from being trained to do a skill In the past school nurses were available to give students emotional support and to listen to their problems Because this is no longer possible I believe it has impacted society in the area of children being more violent Children need to have support available to them at school - especially with fewer support people to be found in the homes Nurses have been trained to be nurses Teachers have been trained to teach Home health aides have been trained to do tasks that do not require years of education We each have our appropriate places Let’s get our priorities straight and stop compromising our children’s safety in the interest of money - or as it is now known - “cost containment” counselors in Utah’s schools asking them to do what they can to prevent violence Some advocacy groups are calling for stricter gun control Everyone seems to be concerned -- ore you? Where’s concern for inadequate school funding? In the wake of the Littleton years - continuing a downward y CO tfte $AT teT i flLj&fyiAvve (ie Hill Aerospace Museum) with downtown Ogden no organized development of 25th Street the Eccles Building crumbling county parks no clear plans for the DDO property and a business district with a vacancy rate of more than 50 percent offer some answers We continually tear down abandon and ignore Ogden's important past Our historic past has been all but forgotten yet we wonder why no one seems to come All the money spent and new buildings are premature and have limited usage We haven’t given a reason why anyone would spend more than an hour here It’s time to listen to the citizens those who do visit and those whose lives depend on developing our past to protect our future Our economic future must include preservation and development of our historical past Otherwise Ogden will surely become the largest urban blight center of Utah As spring merrily rolls along into summer many yards lawns and fence lines are literally covered with beautiful yellow-colore- d dandelions Sharon Sanders The dandelion is one of the Randy Thompson first plants to bloom in the spring Ogden North Ogden and it blooms until the fall frosts It is very prolific One plant can lead other troubled teens down the same path produce nearly 5000 seeds during the year It has but very little the minds of other troubled and sequestered or feelings use for mankind One use is that adolescents It might lead to the impression of making dandelion wine anothI believe that if w e cut down on the that if they cause superior destruction or vioer is loss The danit in or school their lence nearby public place of events like this it might also help de- delionteaisfor weight high in natural potassimight provide them with the attention they crease the occurrence of these mournful um vitamin A calcium and iron long for The root and the leaf are both Since similar affairs like this have occurred known to build and restore enerJennifer Raitt gy and aid digestion and have also been overly publicized I think Pleasant 1 icw it has caused more k'ds to get these thoughts Some folks of Italian descent BY GARRY TRUDEAU TKfOPS'xf-MA ThS Violence is not the only threat to our children's safety in the public schools In an effort to cut costs schools have been cutting their most resource: nurses In many schools nurses have been replaced by teachers - who may understand their liability but have not been given choices - and home health aides - who are not educated to be nurses School nurses are now considered to be adequate if there is one school nurse per every 5000 children What does this have to do with our children’s safety? Nursing procedures are now being administered by unqualified people in the interest of saving money School nurses are not in the schools to administer medication to the children who need it Sometimes medications are given by cafeteria workers or office personnel All medications may have severe side effects and contraindications for certain individuals and nurses aren't there to assess the children Nor are nurses available to monitor and care for school children who have physical illnesses such as diabetes and other physical disabilities It has come to my attention that nursing procedures such as suctioning tracheotomies and catheterizing children are being done by home health aides -and sometimes teachers - who are only trained in the skill but who have no assessment skills or nursing background This is very concerning to those of us who know what could happen to these children Who is going to take responsibility for any mistakes or complications of these procedures? The Supreme Court has ruled that if parents can be taught cost-effecti- Much scientific data questions the safety of fluoride as well as opportunistic use of statistics to “assume” credit for reduction in cavities when hygiene awareness is as likely a reason It’s unprecedented to medicate the public in an uncontrollable manner It is infuriating to witness controversial chemicals added to the public’s water without responsibility for plant human and animal poisoning factors true” these procedures anyone can do them Would you want “anybody” to perform these procedures on By KAREN DEWEY proach does have a certain Nazi-esqu- e ring to it too doesn't it? er all have their places and it’s not the sick room fluoridated water what we really want? Oh please Is the Standard-Examinreally trying to embarrass us into fluoridation (“Step up attempts to fluoridate water" April 23)? We’re notably not afraid to be “last” in teachers’ salaries but leading in air pollution Prozac teenage pregnancy and prescription drug abuse with a significant showing in child abuse as well Can we think for ourselves here? The fact that Utah hasn’t been bullied into jumping on the fluo-nd- e bandwagon is one thing I’m actually proud of Besides my mother always told me that “just because everybody’s doing something doesn’t make it right or of editorial Schools risk safety by reducing nurses red was 10 years old and my brother was just 7 hen we w atched my best friend Timmy Caldwell shoot his brother with a nfle With cold deliberate aim Timmy leveled the V mehester 3030 leveT action carbine at - ear-ol- d Brad Caldwell and calmly queeed the trigger Little Brad fell backward clutched his Lhest and crumpled to the ground his face a of agony and stunned disbelief He m twitched a couple of times and then lay still in our very own front yard Timmy stepped to his brother’s side not a hint of emotion on his face and bent down for a closer look Finally he said That w as the phoniest dying scene I've ever watched Get up Brad and we'll do it again Brad opened his eyes and started to giggle What d'ya mean Timmy? I thought I died pretty good When I was a kid w e shot each other all the time I cannot imagine the number of times I died of gunshot wounds between the ages of 8 and 2 We called it Guns We'd say “Hey you wanna go play guns?” Later you guys we'd decide which armed conflict to play guns in We went through phases: World War II worked well for a while The Alamo was always a winner Playing gangsters allowed us I to assume the roles of real crooks always got stuck playing Baby Face Nelson however which stigmatizes me to this very p cartoons from papers around the country ANOTHER VOICE it ust took JFK’s Opinion pages 1 3 Littleton: Violence more real than Hollywood’s avays had bloodshed I We’ve 1tA I Gy pGSZZ CAvt ffYfxrTAfO laxiviix v 1 K TRtyVt AST” V MJcH 15- K- tlrtg 5oPS OF feM Hap pOGHT I i jaiioir i |
