OCR Text |
Show p) Sun Advocate ED DODD 4A Wednesday, May BS, 1983 Keep grad night safe, trouble-fre- e Graduation and drinking dont mix. Thats the message a group of Carbon High School students are spreading in the hallways as commencement exercises near. But in another hallway, whispers can be heard of the traditional graduation keg parties. Seniors are making preparations for the after graduation bash that caters to teen-agercollege students and virtually anyone who will pay the price for admittance. The majority of the party-goes, rs will be minors. Alcohol abuse is the No. 1 drug problem of American teen-ageand children. At some point in growing up, alcohol becomes an in thing among many groups of kids. High school graduation is certainly an accomplishment worth celebrating. However, students who frequent the keggers should keep in mind a few points that make the difference between coming home alive or ending their life the same night they end their high school career. The effects of one can of beer can last for a few hours. Contrary to what most people think, the usual sobering up tactics such as drowning in black coffee, walking around or a cold shower dont bring a drunk into sober conrs sciousness. Students who plan to attend a keg party should note that eating before drinking slows down the drunk process. A coating of food keeps the alcohol from being absorbed quickly into the bloodstream. Serving high protein foods with liquor and waiting for a sufficient time to drive after drinking may just help save a few lives and keep the Class of 1983s graduation unmarred by careless accidents. For those who wish an alternative form of celebration, a Senior Spectacular has been organized. The party will include food, music, free video games, a disco dance presentation, free caricatures by a Salt Lake City artist and loads of door prizes. This is the second year an alternative bash has been scheduled for teens who wish to celebrate without using alcohol. Organizers expect at least 300 students to join in the fun. The completion of high school is an accomplishment worth recognizing and celebrating. But students should take precautions should they choose frequenting a kegger. Just remember, alcohol and gasoline do not 1983 Copley New Service castle country Is going mix. IRS has plan . ; for deadbeats Progress comes in many forms. A few years ago, we hauler whose heard about the case of the truck was seized by the Internal Revenue Service for nonor maybe it was $20. Of payment of $19 in back taxes his earn the money to pay without he truck couldnt course, the taxes, but that overlooked the principle, after all. Now, a more enlightened IRS is resorting to gentler means of getting deadbeats and, it hopes, more fruitful to pay up, with the help of the latest telephone technology. IRS computers have started dialing up delinquents at all 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., actually, Monday hours of the day to remind the dunnees they havent through Saturday been forgotten. The IRS insists this isnt harassment, and points out that its only laggards who already have had three written warnings who will get those computerized phonecalls. A live IRS agent will jump on the line as soon as the phone is answered, we are assured, so, grudgingly, we have to admit its fairer than some means of collection weve heard of. Not only that, it will probably be effective in collecting some of the $27 billion in back taxes owed. Anyone whos ever bought an insurance policy or an encyclopedia from an irrepressible salesperson will know what we mean. (Reprinted by permission of The Sacramento Bee) self-employ- ed on-li- ne i . ? Be ac ARTHUeGOOFREV REBECCA YEST r I The British think we are paranoid. They see our EPA emptying the whole town of Times Beach, Mo., because of dioxin in the soil there ... though the EPA still allows dioxin to be sprayed as a herbicide on rangelands and on rice crops. Indeed, dioxin has been sprayed for years on forests and crops and roadsides and home gardens and on the lawn of the warned Paul in time about Thalidomide, babies died and others were born malformed and bureaucrats lost their jobs. Since then, in such government agencies as EPA and FDA and OSHA and CPSC, officials have tended to cover themselves with a public warning, however flimsy the Evidence. The result is that Americans are bombarded with warnings and whole industries go broke trying to prove themselves innocent. The CPSC ban on the use of in home insulation is being challenged in J Tennessee William George Balanchine GLORIA 5WAM50N "EaclTathah'Uines. de SuUJVAtf . . - under-employe- - still have my steel-toe- d boots. British think we're paranoid 0E55TEUMAN eusie blake fimNT , I still earn less than 1 would at my old job, but the difference (and it is a big one in my book) is that I now look forward to coming to work. Another big difference is that I am not at .. the disadvantage of having to start all over should theppmpany I work for lay me off. I ; now have an education and a marketable skill. Even though I am not as well off materially as I would be had I kept plugging away at my old job (they dont pay journalists much) in the long run I will be way ahead in terms of job satisfaction and job security. Whats all this got to do with life in Carbon County? Im afraid it has more to do with life here than many unemployed d or, worse yet, people would like it to. Gov. Scott M. Matheson recently made paul harvey AUTUUR5&0WSTEJN JACkWEBS its been well worth it. an appeal to the Legislature for funds to those who start a program of have lost their jobs because of changes in technology or the economy. He estimates that fully a third of those laid off in the past year will never be able to return to their old jobs. Changes in technology and in the marketplace have wiped them out. The governors appeal was turned down flat. I was sorry to see this happen because it seems to me that it would be cheaper in the these people and long run to make them productive again than to support them and their families on public assistance. But the burden isnt the governments to bear alone. The individual must have the guts to change his life, and acquire the skills necessary to find a job that will support him and his family. Believe me, it is not easy but sometimes it must be done. I dont think I will ever regret my decision to complete my education and I ' White House. Then why the panic over Times Beach? British toxicologists believe that too many of Washington, D.C.s decisions are made by politicians to show they : are doing something to protect the whether the public public needs protecting or not. In fairness to the bureaucrats, because in the 60s we were not Posts1 and I known just how tough I doubt if we would have had the courage to do it. But . 1 OYCA By BRANDON FORD Staff Writer I cleaned out my closet last week. Buried in the back comer was a pair of steel-toe- d boots I wore when I worked for a chemical company. Even though I had not set foot in the plant since I left that job to go back to school nearly two years ago, they still smelled like the chemical we produced at the plant. The smell brought back a wave of memories not all of them were good.. I remembered the frustration I felt being stuck in a dead-en-d job. I remember solvents and my hands smelling organic from working with turning bright yellow those solvents. But most of all I remember the fear of losing my job when a newer, more advanced chemical plant that produced the same product came and the fear of being replaced by a robot or some other advance in technology. These are only a few of the things that prompted me to return to college and finish a degree. It was tough, and had my wife back to school worth court. Here again, British scientists think we are overrunning our headlights. The British Industrial Biological Research Association notes that formaldehyde can cause nasal cancers in lab animals after prolonged breathing of high con- concentrations so pungent that no human could stand even brief exposure. centrations The American Industrial Health Council has urged for years the establishment of a Central Science Panel to advise our governments regulatory agencies on alleged public health hazards. Such a panel could provide sound scientific judgment in such matters and relieve from responsibility the political regulators ... And shush the headline seekers.. . Scientific inexpert knowledge is changing so rapidly that the best judgment we can muster on health hazards will be imperfect. Certainly we cannot risk relying on less than the best. & 1983, Los Angeles Times Syndicate |