Salt Lake Tribune | 1999-11-16 | Page 10

Page A10 The SaltLakeFribane OPINION TUESDAY, NOVEMBER16, 1999 OUR VIEW T he Salt Lake Tribune’s Editorial Position Snowrnobiles at Yellowstone When Yellows' tone becamethefirst Rational park in i872, surely nobody envisioned wintei - daysthere to include Sivisions of snov ymobiles producing a fontinuous, soli tude-breaking drone and stream of 5 solluted air more noxious than that oft he dirtiest urban area. Ratces the sac i reality at the end of century, and the National Park Service mustcorr ‘ectit. In an attempt to do so, the park serProposed a winter management plan for Yellowst ‘one and Grand Teton national parks,fo r whichitis accepting public comment until the end of this month. But, in see >kingto pacifyall sides in the snowmoi pile controversy, the Park service hzis only succeeded in them. It would do wellto reconsider its “pret erred alternative” and adopt a plan clos ier to an environmentalist proposal th at would banindivid- ual snowmobiles from thepark. The NPS'’s p referred alternative, from the seventh 1at were outlined in its draft environme) atal impact statement, is a half-a-loaf so]lution. Its chief feature is to plow the roa d from the park’s West P Yellowstone enti -ance to Old Faithful, thus making th: 3t route unusable for snowmobilers. So the tradeoff in this plan is this: It w ould discourage snowmobilers, since: their most popular route would now 1 be gone, but it would open regular mi:storized traffic to Old Faithful and th e likelihood that displaced snowmob jilers would simply go Yellowstone was not meantto be conditional on the periodic booms of gateway communities. The foremost responsibility is to preserve the park. And Yellowstone, which has already experienced a decade of controversy (wolf reintroduction, the proposed and scuttled New World Mine, the bison slaughters), is certainly threatened in the wintertime by snowmobiles. A recent NPSreport says that snowmobiles emit 100 times more carbon monoxide then do automobiles, and recent readings of particulate pollution at the park’s west entrance found levels far higher than those in the Los Angeles area. The environmentalists’ so-called “Citizens’ Solution,” which actually is fairly close to oneof the alternatives the park service could have chosen, would remove snowmobiles from the park but would offer winter accessto visitors via snowcoaches, van-type vehicles that could carry about 10 people into the park. Theypropose that this alternative be in placein three years. Preserving a national park’s pristine and quiet nature by banning snowmo- at Yellowstone. not happy; they / fear economiclosses if The park service's plan doesn’t satisfy any constituency. So,ifits intention is to address the pollution problem posed py snowmobiles, it might as weli do so head-on. After the commentperiod snowmobilers a park service sho weight to these a nent preservatio; re driven away. The uld not give too much irguments. The perman of a natural gem like ends Dec.1, the NPS should reconsider the one thatis closer to the Citizens’ Solution. its “preferred alternative” and select Tougher Requirements one wayto control growth. It was partof Brigham Yourig University’s strategy whentrustees; oofthe LDS Church-owned school opted| for an enrollment cap rather than continuing to allocate more and more mo n.eyto pay for expansion. Unlike the private Provo school, however, the 'U. of U., USU and SUU are supported by Utah taxpayers. While most Utahns do not particularly begrudgea por‘tion of their taxes going to support the state’s nine higher educa: tion institu tions, their attitude could quickly cha age if many of them wereto discoverthe it their daughters and sons weredenied access. Lettersfrom The Tribune’s readers be even more justification to ban them the park. eld six public hearings and the peoplein Yelway communities are boosttheir entr ance requirements. The idea deserves s tudy, but does not come withoutrisk. Greater selectivity in admissions is Servile Posturing I was dismayed to read Sen. Orrin Hatch’s Oct. 24 response in The Salt Lake Tribune to Janice Peterman's (Boise, Idaho) recentarticle (Juvenile Crime Bill Unconscionable, Sept. 16) about the juvenile crime legislation pending in Congress. I was saddened to see my senator publicly attack Mrs. Peterman without even acknowledging the devastating story she described of her17-year-old son ® Mail to Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake schools and their expensive physical plants, nor would they be too happy about payingfor schools in which there waslittle in the wayof academic rigor reviewing the three juvenile crimebills that passed this Congress, Sen. Hatch knows that he and his colleagues are consideringall the provisions Mrs. Pe- or whose degrees were laughablein the bigger academic world. Schools need admission standards to control enroliment numbers, especially in situations where demandis high and a decision against ongoing expansion has been made.They aiso are needed to maintain academicquality among students and even faculty. Public schools, however,haveto exercisefinesse in this endeavor, imposing tough enough stan- dards to meetgoals without goingsofar as to lose public support. This is not an easy task, but Utah's higher education system andthe three universitiesare uptoit. From The Washington Post too bad that the senator has mischaracterized his role in someof the more dan- crimebill. Aschair of the conference committee terman discussed in her article. Sen. Hatch knowsthat thebills he is marshaling through will make it easier to housekidsin adult jails before trial, will end the consent decrees that have re- moved manychildren from adult facilities, and will give prosecutors the nonreviewable powerto try kids as adults for a variety of less-seriousoffenses. Worstofall, Sen. Hatch hasoverstated the problem ofjuvenile crimein an effort to scare the public into thinking that we need to passhis legislation. Since 1993, the juvenile homicide rate has declined by more than 56 percent, and youth arrests forall violent offenses are down by 35 percent since 1993 (FBI Uniform CrimeReports 1993-99). Instead ofcele- tions and youth development strategies to enhance the safety of our kids, and hold them accountable, Sen. Hatch is victim ofthe kindof tragedies that might befall our children under the juvenile Between the Cracks aid, to wi aich welfare recipients areen. titled avitomatically. The legislation anticipat ed and sought to avert that side effect by extending the families’ Medic aid eligi bility. But as part of the shed. dingoffi deral responsibility that was a central t hemeoftheexercise, it wasleft tothestatesto see to the “delinking”of the two programs, whereby families wholeft the one would remain enrolled in the other. The loosely supervised states have donewhat at best could be described as an unevenjob. The reforr bill set aside a half-hillion dollars to help the states reprogram computers, retrain their employees and take other steps to make sure welfare “leavers” didn't lose Medicaid. As of June ofthis year, the states had drawn downonly about 10 percent ofthat. Congress, meanwhile, apparently has decided to extend the availability of the funds, which were in danger of lapsing. It's the right thing to do. Welfare reform, whatever it means, ought not mean increasing the number of households in the country without health insurance. The Salt LakeTribune UTAH'S INDEPENDENTVOICE SINCE 1871 PAST PUBLISHERS Joan F. F patrick (1924-1960) Jogo W, Gallivan (1960-1983) Jerry O'Brien(1983-1994) & Please type and doublespace. gerous provisions in the new juvenile On the other hand, taxpayerslikely playing politics. Rather than attack a lem is thiat, in leaving welfare, many families also have fallen out of Medic. youlive are kept confidential. & Keepit short. Conciseletters developing a single theme are more likely to be published. would be no more eager about additional spending to finance ever-waxing ANOTHER VIEW the welfa re rolls by stepping uppres: sure on 1 €cipients to work. The prob- than your nameandthecity in which beingkilled in an adult jail while being held for unpaid parking fines. It is also are finding local prevention, interven- the year t fore. ‘The goal of thelegislation wasto trim Where to Write @ When submittingletters to the Public Forum,please include yourfull name,signature, address and daytime telephone numbers.Information other Letters are condensed andedited. @ Becauseofthe volumeofmail received, not all submissions are brating thefact that states and counties The pe rcentage of children in the countrylzwking health insurancecon. tinues to rise. The increasehas lately been shar} pest among poorchildren. The trend per: jists despite a still-young program the |president and Congress cre. ated in 1{ 97 to reverse it. A principal culprit ap pearsto be the welfare crack down the president helped set in motion DEAINITELY BELONGS IN ove cup!” THE PUBLIC FORUM biles is not a revolutionary idea; the park service already doesit in Glacier and Yosemite. Given three decades of evidence of the disturbance these machines have caused,there would seem to to other areas of ‘The NPS hash on its proposal, Jowstone’s gate, A draft mastt 2r plan for higher education in Utah proposes that the University of Utah , Utah State University and possibly So uthern Utah University * GOMEONE & YOUR STATURE PUBLISHER Dominic Welch EDITOR James B. Shelledy RNS-TRIBUNE CORPORATION, 143 §, MAIN ST. SALT LAKE CITY, M4111 crime bill, our senator should assure Janice Peterman that no children will ever come to harm’s way in adult jails again. ROSALIND J. MCGEE Director, Utah Children Salt LakeCity published. City, Utah 84110 @ Our fax number is [phone]. Construction Residue It will come as no shock orsecret to anyone living in our city or along the Wasatch Frontthat we seem to be “under construction.” I for one am very happy aboutthe construction onI-15. We need the improvements andI am very anxious to see the completion of this huge undertaking. However, everywhere you drive, at intersections,streetcorners,etc., there is construction debrisleft. Broken wooden signs, orangeplastic bags (or what isleft of them), destroyed parts of orange traffic conesand thelike. Please,all you contractors,etc., clean up the area before youleaveit. It is causing such an eyesore and seems to be getting worse. Weall would appreciateit. VERNA VAN ETTEN Salt Lake City QO Good Decision Political Slam nearly empty buses drive back and forth statement, wouldMs. Stone run the same during rush hour. Lightrail isn’t needed. Tearing up 400 South and plugging up the main traffic artery to the east bench will make things worse. In addition, taxes will go up. Fortunately, this messy project has been put on hold and people will just have to continue to ride those empty buses along 400 South. BRIAN M. SMOOT Salt Lake City ad featuring Ronald Reagan, George Bush or Mike Leavitt? Everyonein life makes mistakes. I don't know of anyone whohasn't. Some mistakes are bigger than others. Hope- a fully, welearn from our mistakes, put Hobson’s Choice? Ms. Stone! Youarenot above making big mistakes yourself, Thefeeling of moral superiorityis only a feeling. Life can and Here is antitrust law in three easy lessons. Lesson one:If you charge more them behind us, and move on. Move on, does changein theblink of aneye. If you should ever find yourself ng gas someda Stone, I hope NewYork Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today show you the samerespect that they are showing to Bill Clinton, president of the United States and humanbeing. than everybody else,it’s price gouging. Lesson two;If you charge less than ev erybodyelse, it's unfair competition Lesson three: If you charge the same as everybodyelse, it’s collusion. Hereis antitrust law in two easyles: sons. Lesson one: You must compete, Lesson two; You must not win. DON HILL West Valley City Mostinterested parties recognize that Stewart, with no prior court experience, is not suitable to sit on the bench. Despite this fact, Orrin Hatch inferred that he would stop obstructing the overall nomination process in exchange for Stewart's nomination as a federal judge. President Clinton offered Stewart's nominationas a olive branch to Hatch. Hatch, in his immutable style, turned nation. Imaginethepresident having to endure Hatch’s obstinate, double-dealing behavior. a The Constitution dictates that the executive branch nominatejudges and the legislative branch vote those nominations up or down. Yet, Hatch seems determined to usurp the Constitution arid name individual judicial nominees or “take his ball and go home” when he doesn’t get what he wants. In the case of Stewart, Hatch got what he wanted andstill “took his ball.” Hatch forgot that the presidentstill had an ace up his sleeve. The president withheld Stewart's commission when Hatch went backon his word andblocked the voting on the other nominations. Let's call it likeit is, gentlemen: Hatch undermines our Constitution and the ju- dicial process while he (and his partners) orchestrate and personally profit from questionable federal land swaps and road projects. Hatch is proving to be a mean-spirited, small-town carpetbagger and cons‘ ‘utional blackmailer. Now that Gov. Mike Leavitt has in- jected himself into Hatch's sordid schemes, perhaps Heilprin and Harrie can explain Utah's lack of embarrass- mentas ourstate governorand senators ‘The Salt Lake City Council needs to be commended for opposing east-west light rail. This is a big government spending will help. I have a business along 400 South and for years have watched the havea question for Heather Stone, president of the Salt Lake-based company that wanted to runan adpicturing Pres: ident Clinton pumping gas. If the ad wasn't intendedtobea slam ora political sionofevents. the president forwarded Stewart’s nomi- project that will hurt much more than it After reading “Not in Our Paper: garding the delay of Ted Stewart’s commissionto the federal bench belonged in the Opinion Section. The piece, based on “apparent reasons,”provided readers a fairly accurate yet somewhat skewed vi- that olive branch into a club by abahdoning his position immediately after a Newspapers Reject Utah Company's Ad Featuring Clinton,” (Tribune, Nov.6), I Hatch Panegyric Reporters John Heilprin’s and Dan Harrie’s article (Tribune, Nov. 3) re- play therole of “the fool” on the national stage. BRADLEY ZANE Park City Q Church Is Accountable In response to Scott Steffensen’sletter (Forum, Nov, 2), what about the child? Doesthatsmall defenseless child account for any part of the family? If the LDS Church wants members to depend on it for advice, sometimes in the place of the law or regular counsel, then it must be held accountableforits judgments. Even if the abuse had stopped, does this mean that a law had not been broken? Did the bishop seek counseling for the child? The father was the perpetrator, not the victim. The letter suggests that the poorfather, bishop and the LDS Chureh were the victims, What hap. pened to the child?If the father had come to the bishop complaining of being cold, the bishop would give blankets; hunger, give food, What of sexual abuse? Is a blind eye acceptable? The lawyers are going after the LDS Church only because the church needs to change its policy of protecting the fathers or other abusers. ‘Theprotection of abuse affects society in so many ways. To hide behind repentance as a cure is a sin in itself, THANT TESSMAN Salt Lake City WENDY PECK Salt Lake City f \ POOR: