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Show Sun Advocate opnoioo 4A Wednesday, December 15, 1982 Utah doctors on edge of frontier The tired, worn-oheart that Barney Clark was born with recently gave out, but today he is still alive the first human being to have a permanent artificial heart implanted in his chest. Clark and his doctors are on the very edge of the medical frontier. The operation performed in Salt Lake City appears destined to rank in medical literature with the first transplant of a human heart in 1967. Indeed, it is not inconceivable that the implanting of artificial organs will hold more promise for extending life than the transplanting of organs from one body to another. Whatever the case, we are in an era of medical pioneering which is leading down paths which would have staggered the imagination a scant generation ago. Clark received a new lease on life, and the prayers of the world are that it will be a long one. The outcome of his dangerous adventure as the first recipient of a plastic heart will determine whether others with presumably fatal heart conditions can look forward to the possibility of similar lifesaving measures. A cumbersome compressed-ai- r system drives Clarks on his mobility. limitation a polyurethane heart, putting But many devices embodying a new technology become smaller and simpler with their refinement and perfection. We might expect that the device created by Dr. Robert Jarvik will have successors that are more compact. No one can say at this point what miracles may unfold in the realm of artificial organ implants, but a brilliant medical team and a courageous patient in Salt Lake City have brought them that much closer. ut Repayment plan they can't refuse We commend the decision of the Reagan administration to go after 46,860 current and retired federal workers who choose to ignore their student loan debts to the govern- ment. The student loan program is a good and necessary government program. But the deadbeats are 'giving it a bad name. It is right to give them a bad time, especially when they have the audacity to take pay or pension checks from the very government they are bilking. The total amount owed is $68 million, and thats not chicken feed. If it can be collected, it means that $68 million wont have to be borrowed by the government, adding to the national debt. Those who are in default will be given 60 days to work out a repayment plan. If they do not respond, the government will attach their pay or pension checks, taking out 15 percent each month. Thousands of Americans have used the federal loans to educate themselves. The great majority are grateful and honest, have obtained good jobs and repaid the government on time or ahead of time. Those who can pay and dont must be traced down and made to clean up their debt even if it means using the harsh methods of the Internal Revenue Service seizing property and bank deposits. A loan debt is just as clear an obligation to pay as a tax debt. These debtors are not children. They know what they are doing. There is no call for kid gloves in these cases. Tis the season for shoplifting These are troubled times for retailers. It is the season that brings on the heaviest waves of shoplifting, from both within and without. Losses through theft by potential customers and employees are astounding. They reached $26 billion last year, up from $24 billion in 1980. Shop owners figure for every $100 in gross sales, $7 is lost to shoplifters. The last three months of the year account for 45 percent of all shoplifting thefts and these times of recession multiply the losses. People are using their cash to pay for such necessities as food, rent and fuel and stealing to fill Christmas stockings. Thefts by work staffs also are on the increase during the inholiday season, when part-tim- e help must be hired cluding some workers with little sense of loyalty. Many major department stores have resorted to reward systems to stop their losses. Some pay as high as $1,000 to employees who provide information that leads to the recovery of stolen goods. Thefts by employees now account for about 40 percent of the nations merchandise losses, consumer shoplifting for about 30 percent and errors in the handling and recording of merchandise for the remaining 30 percent. The thievery is not confined to department and specialty stores. Fast-foo- d outlets, convenience stores and service stations also of their employees. victims are Juveniles have always been a shoplift problem, but more and more older adults on fixed incomes are being arrested for the crime. Many of them, who are in their 60s and 70s, offenders. are first-tim- e Shoplifting not only places a heavy economic burden on the merchant, it results in higher retail costs to the consumer. It is a crime we all must endeavor to stop. jack andersorCespear Cost cuts ax public health - The WASHINGTON is administration Reagan to cut back public preparing health services. But military wives will still be able to get cosmetic surgery at the taxpayers expense. White House working papers call for deep cuts in the budgets of the National Health Service Corps, the Food and Drug Administration and the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. But one medical facility will be the Bethesda Naval spared Hospital in suburban Washington. And it spends a bundle of money beautifying Navy wives. For years, the Navy wives have been lining up for such purely cosmetic operations as tummy tucks, breast lifts and face lifts. The ravages of the good life are apparently overwhelming; there is a long list of military wives who feel the need for such surgery. They pay only about $6 a day for their beautification. Anything over that amount is charged to the taxpayers. At that price, its difficult to blame an admirals wife for getting a face lift at Bethesda. The same surgical care would cost thousands of dollars at a private facility. In an average year, the Defense Department spends about $7 billion on health costs for military personnel and dependents. Most of this is for legitimate illnesses and injuries. But when government funds for public health are being cut back for everyone else, why should tax money be squandered on face lifts and tummy tucks? A Pentagon spokesman claimed that the Bethesda Naval Hospital performs plastic surgery only for the sake of the patients total psychological well being. What about the taxpayers psychological well being? PAKISTANS BOMB: During his recent visit to Washington, President Muhammed Zia met behind closed doors with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Some of the senators were waiting in ambush. The lawmakers had been provided with intelligence reports which suggested that Zia is building a nuclear bomb. Congress has stipulated that any country which detonates a nuclear device will be cut off from U.S. aid. So Pakistan would risk losing $3.2 billion in aid if Zia explodes a nuclear ul-H- aq castle country weapon. Zia stoutly denied as he has in the past that he is developing such devices. He insisted that Pakistans nuclear program is designed strictly for peaceful purposes. But Pakistan already has a reprocessing facility that can make weapons-grad- e plutonium. It also has a secret plant that can produce enriched uranium. These happen to be the raw materials for a nuclear bomb, and they are not needed for peaceful uses of nuclear technology. The only reason for producing either plutonium or enriched uranium is to build a bomb. The secret intelligence reports provided to the Foreign Relations Committee claimed that Pakistan is rushing ahead with a nuclear-weapon- s program; that Communist China has provided Pakistan with the raw materials and nuclear scientists; that Saudi Arabia and Libya have put up petrodollars to finance the program. The reports suggested that Pakistan will be able to put together a nuclear bomb next year. Then Zia will have to decide whether to test it. Our sources suggest Zia will finish building the bomb but stop short of Jesting it. Meanwhile, it will be available in case he ever needs it. And the United States is supplying him with 6 planes that are equipped to carry it. HEADLINES AND FOOTF-1- NOTES: President Zias arrival Washington put a severe strain on the employees at the Pakistan Embassy. Gardeners worked overtime to trim the bushes and lawn to please their leader. And the usually tarnished brass nameplate beside the front door was polished to a high gloss finish. President Zia could have used it as a mirror to trim his mustache. From a distance, the White House resembles a European palace. But up close, it has some of the problems of an inner-citslum dwelling. White House sources tell us that rats and cockroaches have infested the grounds. President Reagans living quarters have to be sprayed twice a week to keep the insects under control. Last year, the federal Center for Disease Control tested more than 1,000 new products for U.S. companies. Cost to the taxpayers: $438,000. Cost to the companies: nothing. in y OfoSOBSIT Morley needs to wake up By ECHO ROBERSON Sports Editor After reading last weeks Castle Country Observer written by guest columnist Richard Morley, I decided to take it upon myself to use this same space to give a different viewpoint. I believe it is time for someone to tell Mr. Morley that he had better wake up and smell the coffee. This is 1982, or at least it was the last time I checked. The situations Mr. Morley described remind one of Ieave It To Beaver. I applaud his accomplishments made in 1951, but nobody wins shut-ou- t state final football games anymore. The statement Morley made which really made me wonder about the whole column was the one where he said, Coaches who use tobacco and profanity seldom win ball games or mass public support." I guess he never stood on the side lines of a major college football game. Thats right Morley, even BYU players and coaches say nasty words. I always thought those guys had pretty high moral character, and they win games too. I seem to recall strong language coming from coaches like Jerry Tarkanian, Bobby Knight, Lee Corso, Don Simla, Frank Kush and even Woody Hayes. Those guys have won a lot of games. As far as using tobacco, let me say this: I never considered my grandmother a derelict for using the stuff. Mr. says it takes the Thymus to recover after a few a minutes gland been abused has by profanity. I person would like to see that study in which he got his information. I talked to my doctor about that one and he said that the Thymus gland is present at birth but atrophies quickly afterward. That doesn't make sense It doesnt Mr. Morley make sense that people who use tobacco have low moral character, and it doesnt make sense to me either that coaches who use profanity dont win games. Were you really on the 1951 state championship team, Mr. Morley? ODDS AND ENDS: It was quite a jolt when I picked up the phone the other day and an unfamiliar voice on the other end Hello Echo, this is Governor said, Matheson. After a few seconds of wondering what the heck the governor wanted to talk to ME about, I figured out that it was Jack Kobe, the assistant principal at Carbon High School. Jack is really great about calling me regularly and filling me in on the latest at the high school. I just have to get used to his voice, I guess. From now on, u hen I phone him, I will say its Nancy Reagan calling poop-scoo- p |