Salt Lake Tribune | 2000-01-22 | Page 8

‘? a OUR VIEW IV A STINKIN’ The Sait Lake Tribune’s Editorial Position LAND GRAB, | TELL YOU... Drive to Safety Newly licensed young drivers are and young drivers alike, particularly jamong the most accident-prone. In an those in rural areas where students car effort to reduce deaths, injuries and property damage, the Legislature last year instituted a graduated driver li- pool to make long trips to school. Besides, kids on farms or ranches probably have gained experience operating vehicles before they begin driver training. But the counterargumentis stronger: People on rural highways oftentravel at speeds higher than those oncity streets, and they are farther removed in time cense system that eases new motorists into driving privileges. But there's some unfinished business down this road that deserves completion. The Senate passed a bill Thursday that would prohibit drivers under the age of 16 years and six months from driving a vehicle with any passenger whois not an immediate family mem- ber. The idea is to prevent the greenest drivers from chauffeuring a carload of their friends until they have some sea| soning behind the wheel. It's a sound idea, and the House should addits blessing. A carload of teen-agers can be a distraction for an experienced driver,let alone one whois just starting out. Acci(dent statistics tell the tale. The Intermountain Injury Control Research ‘Centerreports that drivers 17 years old and youngerare five times more likely to havea fatal crash when driving with passengers than whendrivingalone. Somelawmakers objectthat this new law would place a hardship on parents and distance from emergency services in case of accidents. It's a fair trade-off to postpone a new driver from taking command ofa car with friends for a mere six months in exchange for the prospectof safer driving, notonly for the driver but for passengers. If parents have managed to get by for 16 years without another driver in the household, they can probably makeit for another six months. In the meantime, the bill makes an exception if passengeratleast 21 years old occupies the seat next to the driver. The proposed law also would not apply in emergencies. Similar laws haVe saved younglives in Utah,too. _ Education Budget-Buster The governor wants more support for education in Utah; certainly teachers suggestionis this: Utah cannotafford it. Apparently, there are no dollar esti- wantmore dollars to buy the books and other teaching aids they need. Those ipriorities should be the ones addressed assume would be this: All-day kinder- lin the legislative session, but limiting ithe scope of what lawmakers consider of providing kindergarten for children in Utah. ® ‘would be too muchto ask. Apparently, Senate Minority Leader Scott Howell believes there is an overflowing stream of revenue to support schoolprojects, because he has thrown another oneinto the hopper: Through Senate Bill 99, he intends to make kindergartenanall-dayaffair in the state. As support for the idea, he says 22 otherstates havefull-day kindergarten —and claims that fact may accountfor the dropping performance of Utah schoolchildrenon national tests. Interesting concept, but one he can prove. The other problem with the THE PUBLIC FORUM in otherstates.It’s a step worth taking mates ofthe costs, but an easy figure to garten would basically doublethe costs Even thehead of the Utah Education Letters from The Tribune’s readers Copious Support Senate Democratic leader Scott Howell for his responseletter (Forum, Jan.12) to the earlier Republican teacher's sad excuses for admitting in her letter that her own political party would do the lesser for education in our state. I am not an educator, but am astonished by the numberof teachers who actually em- Association opposesthe extra cost in a lean budget year. Educators are looking forwardto the 6 percentincreasein the state per-student funding formula that has been suggested by the governor. brace the Republican Party withits goals of poor to mediocre standards of educa- dren per household is higher than most other states, legislators need to be mindful of new program costs. Andperhapsit is timefor the parents who have more than two children to figure out howthey could enhance their children’s school experience by volunteering at ratio in the nation. We should have the Ina state where the numberofchil- the schools their little ones attend. ANOTHER VIEW tionfor our children. There is no excusefor Utah to be lagging in educational standards. We should have the lowest pupil-to-teacher finest and best-paid teachers in the nation. Weshould havethe most up-to-date teaching materials in the nation. We should have the highest educational funding per studentin the nation. Any teacher who does not believe these standards appropriate for our state should consider resignation to create room for qualified teachers willing to - aim high. Thanksagain, Scott, and good luck to education in the state and Utah Democrats in 2000. LAEL A. HEALEY Pleasant Grove From The Chicago Tribune A Century of Progress on Race * At the beginningofthe 20th century, jit was a matter of somesensitivity — and even controversy — when President Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington, the pre-eminent “Negro leader” of his day, to dine at the White House. By the end of the 20th century, few Americans foundit at all remarkable, much less objectionable, that President Clinton andhis family customarily had Christmas Eve dinner at the héme of family friend and Washington power broker Vernon Jordan,a black man. W.E.B. du Bois, in his prescient and oft-quoted line, declared in 1900 that “the problem of the 20th century is the problem ofthe colorline.” The U.S. Supreme Court had seen to that with its infamous 1896 decision in Plessy vs. Ferguson, enshrining as the law ofthe land the pernicious principle of “separate but equal” and ratifying a quarter-century effort by Southern whites to nullify the result of the Civil War and render meaningless the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution. Muchofthe history of race in 20th- century America is the story ofefforts to claw back human civil rights that African-Americans’ thought had al ready been won. Theright, for example, to attend decent schools and not be shunted into shabby, second-rateinsti- tutions. Or the right to have their money buy the same things a white person's money bought, whetherit was ahouse ina desirable neighborhood ora seat at the front of a municipal bus. Or the rights, most fundamentally, to vote and enjoy equal justice underlaw. Thevictories in this campaign came through the blood, sweat, courage — andintelligence — of thousands, most of whose names are unknown to most Americans. But the namesthat are enshrinedin ourcollective national memory embodythe struggleofall. There is, of course, the martyred apostle of non-violentdirect action, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Thereis the indefatigable legal genius Thurgood Mar- shall, Thereis Rosa Parks,the tiny lady of enormous courage whotriggered the Mentgomerybus boycott by refusing to moveto the back of the bus. There are thelikes of Ernest Green and Elizabeth. Eckford, James Meredith and Charlayne Hunter, who braved insults, violenceandisolationto be thefirst oftheir John W,Gallivan (1960-1983) Jerry O'Brien (1983-1994) and otherserviceshere in Utah,itis time to place a head tax/use tax on those large families that burden tax-supported ser- vices such as schools. A “use tax”is col- lected to use the roads and highways of the state. Whynotthe schools? The Leg- electoral future on the line by becoming an advocate for civil rights and voting rights. Atthe turn of this new century, many of the racial issues America confronts are less stark and more complex than in the past. But thanks to these 20thcentury heroes, the color line has been erased from the law books, if not yet from every humanheart. PUBLISHER Dominic Welch EDITOR James E. Shelledy KEARNS-TRIBUNE CORPORATION,1438, MAIN ST. SALT LAKE CITY, 84111 A young woman with the most beautiful red hair and freckles. His most impor- ® Mail to Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake I was in absolute awe. The phrase “and a child shall lead them” cameto City, Utah 84110 mind. It is time that Rev. King be hon- ored for his contributions to this coun- ‘@ Our fax numberis [phone]. try, and not by a tokendaythatour state legislators don’t even recognize or acpee: Anyonelistening on Capitol Spiteful Departure DAVID WINMILL Salt Lake City For those who will remember former Q Salt Lake City Mayor Deedee Corradini as arrogant and disreputable — let’s not forget she also had a nasty side. Corradini did whatever possible to make Mayor Rocky Anderson’stransition difrefused to vacate the mayor'soffice until the last minute, showed a contemptible lack of professional courtesy anda strident disregard for the community. W. B. BAGLEY Salt Lake City Rewarding Crime , I notice with disgust that in the southern part of the valley there has beena frenzy of naming landmarks after a local cold-blooded killer. Orrin Porter Rockwell wasa self-confessed murderer. Atthetimeof his death of acute alcoholism, Rockwell was under indictmentfor the murderof six innocenttravelers released into his custody. Rockwell’s record of back shootings, assassinations, dry gulchings and mur- Return Cuban Boy The Salt Lake Tribune is correct in stating that Elian Gonzalez should be returned to his father in Cuba (Editorial, Jan. 8). Elian has been cruelly trans- formed from a 6-year-old child into a po- litical football booted from oneperson to thenext. Byall accounts,his father Juan is a responsible and loving father who our far-sightedness we overlook the evil Salt Lake City sponse came spontaneously from a tant work, she said, “He taught us to makea better world.” published. was closely involved with his son on a We may look across the Florida ders of Mormons, gentiles and Indians far exceeded serial killers in this state or any other. This makes him the most pro- lific mass murderer of all time in the United States. Namingparks,trails and public roads in Utah after this murderousratis similar to a city in Germanyhaving a Hitler Street or Auschwitz trail. While O.P. Rockwell is a part of Utah’s early histor and cannotbe ignored in history books, any attempt to glorify his deadly dirty deeds is inextremely badtaste. ' In this age ofzero tolerance for crimi- nal behavior, I can’t understand why Straits and see nothing but evil, but in anyone would wantto plaster this vil- in keeping a child from a loving parent. noneof my tax money has been spentto Are weto believe that visits to Disney World and expensive toys can replace a parent? lain’s name on anything. Isure hope that do so. Whatwill comenext? Joseph Payl Franklin Park, Ted Bundy Canyon? TED THOMPSON of the armed forces. And there was Lyndon B. Johnson, a white southern president who put his and his party's then were asked to relate what accom- plishments he had-made. Thefirst re- § Letters are condensed andedited. @ Because of the volume of mail received, not all submissions are Eliminating the food tax should not be oneofthose options. schools andcolleges. There was Harry S dren were shown a picture of a man and asked to identify him. Of course mostof the children correctly identified him as the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. They @ Keep it short. Concise letters developing a-single theme are more likely to be published. 1 Please type and double space. daily basis. ‘Truman, whoordered the desegregation recentchildren’s sermon in my church. Onefrom which evena few adults in the state Legislature could learn. The chil- @ When submitting letters to the telephone numbers. Information other than your nameandthecity in which youlive are kept confidential. islature should take a serious look at where and howtaxes are collected and tax those individuals and families that place the greatest burden on the system. RICHARD D. MURANAKA UTAH’S INDEPENDENT VOICESINCE 1871 John F. Fitzpatrick (1924-1960) Keep Food Tax While the governor’s proposal to lessen the impact of the “food tax” is laudable, it is shortsighted. Large families in Utah already escape the burden of incometax (state and federal) due to a large numberof deductions and the food tax is oneofthe few taxes they do pay. By eliminating the food tax, large families will essentially pay for noneof the services supported by taxes. In orderto properly fund the schools I witnessed a powerful lesson during a Public Forum,please include your full name,signature, address and daytime ficult. Everything, from the way she terminatedcity employees to the way she race to enter previously segregated TheSalt LakeTribune PAST PUBLISHERS Honor Martin Luther King Where to Write I must express my appreciation to Incompetent Construction It is amazing that Wasatch Construc- tors can build and design the I-15 project and, most of the time, keep everything moving. At the sametimethetraffic be- tween Bountiful and Farmington, most of the time,is a virtual parking lot. This project is probably the mostill-planned and incompetent control of construction traffic ever conceived in the history of this state. I see milesof closed lanes, which are not used, and numerous lane changes, which make no sense whatsoever. And what good are scores of highway patrol troopers, who do nothing but watch the cars go by? I wonderif this is just simple incompetence or is there another explanation? Could Gov. Mike and his cronies be trying to convince us that we really need JIM VALENTINE Bountiful = a Salt Lake City Q Foolish Solution Question Mayor’s Critics In regards to the alleged charges Rep. Keele Johnson, R-Blanding, says that a test will bring better teachers to Utah. Hesays, “We've ended up, in some areas, getting teachers with skills so low they shouldn't be teaching” (Tribune, + Jan. 2). Perhaps it would be easier to re- cruit excellent teachers if they made more than $25,000 a year for 60-hour work weeks, enormousc! , and an embarrassinglackofsupplies. ‘Oh.wait, solving those problems makes sense and would actually improve education. Sorry, I know the Legislature would rather drive all the good teachers out of education and the state with more silly requirements and testing. Good luck re- a Legacy Highway project? Politics or incompetence? cruiting and keeping good teachers under current conditions. I hope your littl test solves the problem,butit won't. BARRY BURKINSHAW Sandy MEREDITH L. ELLIOTT Salt Lake City against the West Jordan mayor:Did they hire some scumbag to follow the mayor around or did they do it themselves? They have a lotof allegations, but are short of facts. There seems to have been a lot of time following her around that city problems that arose during their timeat city hall.