OCR Text |
Show 2 The Magna Times, Thursday, March 19, 199d Letter to the Editor In spite of the enormous amount of House press coverage the Bank episode has received, some of it very sensationalized, there are numerous misconceptions still being discussed. Here are some clarifications: so-call- Dear Editor: I find wolves beautiful and intriguing. I am so captivated by them that I have wolf artwork throughout my home and have given money to Wolf Haven. However, I question why anyone would want to reintroduce them to Yellowstone Park. My parents homestead is located in the Alaskan Denali Wolf Reserve. For 30 years I witnessed what wolves do to other animals. In winter, caribou migrated by the thousands across our frozen lake, and at night wolves howled as they followed. Normally, the wolves would go for the weaker caribou, but if they saw an advantage in deep snow, they would kill any animal, especially when hungry. One pack of wolves killed five of my brothers chained sled dogs. Wolves killed two of our house dogs when they e relief went out for their before bedtime. This was in our front yard. They also tore apart neighbors dogs. One dog escaped under a porch and lived after 250 stitches. When my father literally fenced in our goats from all sides, including the top, to protect them, the wolves jumped on top of the enclosure and paced back and forth trying to find a way in. Dad finally put the goats in three-minut- underground tunnels. Some say reintroduction of wolves would bring more tourism. I disagree. Wolves do not like people. They do most of their stalking at night when not around people. Very few tourists will ever see them. I am afraid that wolves are reintroduced to Yellowstone, predator control (what I consider torturous methods) will be implemented when wolf numbers increase and their predatory nature causes an abundant loss to neighbors of Yellowstone. I feel wolves should not be reintroduced to Yellowstone. What is the advantage? The money could be better spent. Sincerely, Alicia Loveland Casper, WY Have an opinion you want to share? Write a letter to the editor! 8980 West 2700 South Magna, Utah 84044 Letters MUST be signed but anonymity may be requested. MAGNA TIMES USPS 325-58- 0 8980 West 2700 South Magna, Utah 84044 J. HOWARD STAHLE Publisher BONNIE STAHLE Advertising Manager Office Manager NECIA PALMER Editor KENT GOBLE Sports Editor - Feature Writer DEANNA JONES Arts & Entertainment Editor Typesetter SHARON LINSCHOTEN Staff Writer NO TAXPAYER FUNDS WERE INVOLVED OR AT RISK AS A RESULT OF THE OVERDRAFTS. The House Bank was not a bank at 1. all, it was more like a private credit union, simply a cooperative pooling of the paychecks of members of Congress. If one member had an overdraft, the balance in other members accounts covered that overdraft. Members were permitted to draw against their next months salary; some abusers went beyond that limitation. While no one paid for this overdraft protection, neither was interest paid on a members positive balance. A few House employees managed the Bank, and their salaries were paid by the taxpayers. It was in this sense that the bank was a perk, one which I voted to abolish last fall. 2. CHECKS WERE NOT BOUNCED. I have recently learned that over the examination period, only five checks out of 20,000 were returned to payees for insufficient funds ... and none of these were mine. To my knowledge, every other check written against the House Bank was honored as presented. 3. THE BANK NEVER HAD A NEGATIVE BALANCE. The pooled resources of the members was always sufficient to cover the overdrafts. No federal funds have ever been used to provide overdraft protection. 4. THE HOUSE BANK DID NOT KEEP ADEQUATE OR ACCURATE RECORDS. It is difficult, if not impossible, to accurately reconstruct what a members balance was on any given day and this has led to false impressions. For example, if a member had $4,999 in his account, and wrote a check for $5,000, that has appeared by Dennis Hinkamp Consumer Information Writer Utah State University With the daily media barrage about environmental and chemical hazards associated with our food supply, its food easy to forget about in We our homes. still expose safety ourselves to easily avoidable food poisoning through our own Hie negligence. following are updates on three often neglected areas of food safety. Frozen canned foods: Extended periods of cold weather this winter may have been enough to freeze food stored in marginally heated areas of the house. to Dr. Georgia According Lauritzen, nutritionist in the Utah State University College of Family Life, frozen canned food is safe to eat, although freezing may have changed the foods texture. Make sure none of the seals on the cans have broken. If the food smells or looks bad when you open it, throw it away. Likewise, any cans that are bulging or have burst should be thrown away, Lauritzen advised. Cutting boards: One of the easiest things you can do to decrease the chance of food poisoning in your house is to replace wood cutting boards with day-to-d- TOWN Staff Writer DALE SIMONS J BEN CLARK Sports Photographer - Writer DANA JONES Layout Published each Thursday Subscription (15 per year $18 per year out of state Second class postage paid at Magna, Utah 84044 rdraft. In addition, members paychecks were automatically deposited in the House Bank. However, the Bank did not always record salary and other deposits immediately. So, a member could be in a position of writing checks on the very proper assumption the deposit had been credited. The Ethics Committee tells us that there is virtually no way to reconstruct this sequence of events from House Bank records. Now, with regard to my personal account with the House Bank there are also some points I would like to clarify: 1. 1 was probably the first member of Congress to come forward, voluntarily, and acknowledge that I had overdrafts, (hi the day the first report was released, I responded to a reporters question that ay I remembered two or three times the Bank had called to tell me I had overdrafts and needed to make a deposit. I have learned since then that they called members with such notices only infrequently. Last December I asked officials at a bank in Salt Lake City where I had earlier banked to analyze my account record for the year in question when the General Accounting Office had audited and made public. His analysis indicated that, had my account for that year been at his bank, in an interest-bearin- g account, after deducting normal charges for overdrafts, I would still have earned $127 in interest. I wish I had kept my account in Salt Lake City; I would have been better off financially and politically. 2. In February --released to the press the one-yeanalysis by the Salt Lake bank which showed that there were significantly more than the initial two or three overdrafts of which I had been personally notified. This was at a time when it was assumed that the records of other than the worst abusers of the Bank would not be made public. At this ar plastic or acrylic ones, said Dr. Charlotte Brennand, food scientist in the USU College of Family Life. Brennand said one of the most common causes of home food poisoning is foods on a from What board. usually happens cutting is that food such as raw chicken is sliced on a cutting board and then raw vegetables for a salad are cut on the same contaminated surface. Cooking kills any salmonella in the chicken, cross-contaminati- but the vegetable remains contaminated. Plastic or acrylic cutting boards can still contribute to crosscontamination, but they are in general easier to clean and thus less likely to be a problem. If you do use a wooden cutting board, remember to thoroughly clean the surface and cracks after each use, she says. Raw eggs: Sunny side up eggs are no longer on the menu in New Jersey restaurants; restaurants must warn you about the dangers of eating raw eggs, Lauritzen said. It is still a rare occurrence, but salmonella can be contracted from raw eggs. It was previously thought impossible for salmonella to pass from the chicken through the egg shell, but recent food poisoning cases have proved this wrong, she stated. TOPICS IS MISS TWINKLE SUCH Colorado point I dont know what the details of overdrafts will be but as the soon as I can locate all the relevant information I will release it immediately hopefully within a week or 10 days. As I promised on national television the morning before the House decided to allow full disclosure, when I have the facts the public will have the facts. I have always acted candidly and honestly with the press and the public on difficult matters. Let the chips fall where they may. 3. 1 used the House Bank but I did not abuse it. My name is not on any of the lists of those who have abused th Food safety updates STACEY T. CASE Sports Columnist on the disclosure lists as a $5,000 ove- the overdraft arrangement. I never, had overin any of the drafts which exceeded my overdraft protection limit, which was the amount of the next months salary. I regret that I have contributed to bringing ridicule upon the House of Representatives, or embarrassment to Salt Lake County. It is not surprising that many are upset with Congress, which has failed to deal effectively with the budget deficit, health care, energy policy, the trade imbalance, and many other important issues. My relationship with the citizens of Utah is strong. I am confident that my efforts and effectiveness in representing Utahs interests in the House of Representatives and in dealing with those complex national issues will be the premise on which I will be judged this November. Congressman Wayne Owens Check out collection agencies before assigning accounts cies are registered and bonded does it comes to selecting a collection agency, business managers and not mean that the state endorses owners shotdd exercise caution. them, said David Buhler, executive Cordirector of the Department of Comto Division of the According merce. The purpose for releasing in Code and Commercial porations the Department of Commerce, not all this list is to help business owners collection agencies in Utah comply avoid collection fraud. with the states registration laws. According to Buhler, too often a To help Utah businesses avoid business will assign its uncollected unscrupulous collection agencies, the accounts to a collection agency and division has released a list of all debt never receive payment on those accounts. collection agencies which are currentbonded To avoid this problem, Buhler sugthe with and ly registered state, as required by law. gests three things: always verify that The purpose of a bond, according to the collection agency is fully the division, is to protect the public. registered and bonded with the state; The bond indicates that a collection get all agreements and terms in in?fa checked heed' 'an' agency by "writihg afid Signed bygtfdfficefof the surance company, and has responsiagency; and ask for and verify the ble financial position to commence names of clients currently using the r with collection procedures. agency. In addition, if a client of a collection Responsible collection agencies been or has otherwise harmed be willing to provide should agency defrauded as a result of that agencys references or answer any questions for a business seeking its services, actions, the client has the right to collect against the bond. Buhler said. Collection agencies outside of Utah The list of collection agencies which must also be registered with the state are currently registered and bonded and bonded to pursue collections with the state can be obtained by callwithin state boundaries. ing the Division of Corporations at However, just because these agen- When 530-607- 8. New statistics from child abuse hotline show increase in calls Statistics released today from the Childhelp IOF Foresters Child Abuse Hotline show a 15 percent overall increase in calls in 1991 and a 30 percent increase in the number of calls from adult survivors of abuse. We received over 220,000 calls from across the nation last year, said Daniel Sexton, director of the hotline. We had a greater number of calls from parents and from adult survivors of abuse than weve ever had. The Childhelp IOF Foresters Hotline can be reached at e and is the only national child abuse crisis line of its access to type, providing counseling professionals, referral, and reporting services. Of the more than 220,000 calls answered in 1991, 65 toll-fre- 24-ho- ur from percent were adult and survivors children, parents, of abuse. We attribute the increase to two factors, said Sexton. First is a new phone system and additional staff made possible by funding from the crisis-oriente- d IOF Foresters which allows us to take more calls. The second factor, said Sexton, is that many adult survivors of child abuse such as Roseanne Barr, Oprah Winfrey, and former Miss America Marilyn Van Derber Atler, spoke openly last year about their childhood traumas and this gave others the courage to come forward. Sexton considers it a positive sign that there is a greater volume of parents and survivors calling the hotline. A trend he noted is parents now recognize that emotional abuse is child abuse and they are seeking help. More adults are reaching out for help, said Sexton. This gives us hope. Reaching these individuals will help break the cycle of abuse. The IOF Foresters, one of the worlds oldest and largest family fraternal benefit societies, offers a series of free, effective parenting tips and booklets on family stress. For more information, call THERE NEVER WAS A BUS |