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Show Viewpoint nda Bun A7 CUPPER TODAY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1999 boundaries of what is appropriate. Somehow, societys tolerance of the mmfflDw ir. ,J inappropriate has encouraged to think the media decision-maker- s ethical rules do not exist Blame can be tossed back and forth between producers and their audiences, but the only real way to fight the negative influence of the media is to take a stand. What kind of society are we? What kind of society do we want to become? We laugh at cartoon char- - -- 50 volunteers ore needed to he!p Edds this Christmas Life is good in Davis County these days. Unemployment is low, the economy is doing well. The population is still growing. So theres no poverty to worry about, is there? Actually, despite the positive economic picture, there are thousands of people in Davis County who are still struggling and who especially need help at Christmas time. We dont know exactly why yet, but the number of people in need has increased dramatically this year. We first began to notice it at the Clipper and Clipper Today through our Santa's Helpers program. We began earlier and found families to help the needy sooner than before. It should have been a cakewalk. Although weve matched almost as many families with Santa's Helpers by the end of last week as we did during the entire Christmas season last year, we have dozens more families still in need. In fact, we have had a growth over 1998 in the number of families aid. Christmas requesting We first passed that off as just an aberration that we were experiencing. But it turns out that other organizations in Davis County are feeling it, too. The Family Connections Center in Clearfield reports that well in excess of 300 families have contacted them for assistance this year, compared to 200 last year. And the number of volunteers has declined from 150 last year to less than 100 this year. Weve seen the same phenomenon here at the Clipper: A big increase in families needing help coupled with a big decline in volunteers. Were researching to find out why this is happening. In the meantime, we are still greatly in need of people who are willing to provide Christmas for needy children in Davis County. Families are calling our offices anxiously each day, wondering if weve been able to match them with a Santa's Helper. Theyre worried that Christmas is getting closer and they still dont know what to tell their children. We match as many as we can each day, but frequently we have to tell families that theyll have to wait a little longer until we can find someone to help. So were counting on 50 volunteers to come forward. We need your supnot half a port and assistance to help bring Christmas to deserving children world away but right here in Davis County. If you can find it in your heart to provide Christmas presents and maybe a Christmas dinner for a family, please contact us at Well make sure that youll get a chance to be someones angel this Christmas. acters hitting each other, subtly communicating to youth that this behavior will solve problems. We are entertained by families with a warped sense of reality and ruled by rudeness. We do learn from the messages on television and in movies. We learn how to behave,1 how to relate with others, what to expect form life, etc. The programs tell us stories; we internalize the messages. Recent studies have found the average American home to have' more television sets than phones. The television is on seven hours a day. Even if you do not watch that' much, the impact is strong! Like' 30-4- 0 295-225- 1. For the price off a pizza, libraries can da better much-neede- rapidly-expandin- eral public meetings. What people said they want is what the library board is trying to deliver, more library services, closer to home, without creating any Taj Mahals; more computers and related services; more books; longer hours. Currently, the county receives library service for a real bargain, compared to neighboring areas. The average cost, per person, to run the library is $11.93 per year. That is barely half of w hat it costs in Weber County and about of the bill in Salt Lake County. d We also have the fewest books per capita, lowest tax rate (about that of other libraries), and yet see heavy use of our existing libraries. In the 11 years since a library has opened, the countys population has continued to skyrocket As with everything else, population would justify another library and one-four- th one-thir- continually improving services to keep up with technological and other changes. Even with the tax increase, Davis County will still operate a lean and mean library service, so to speak. But this will assure that the county's residents wont be left in the dust as far as having access to the latest in information technology, much less the space to actually access it when you do visit a library. the cost of a large pizza and garlic bread We believe this extra money is money very well spent. We applaud the library board, staff, public, and county commission for having the foresight to approve such a conservative, but necessary, increase. ClipperToday Complete North Davis coverage from Kaysville to Sunset Published by Clipper Publishing Co. 197 North Main Layton, Utah 84041 Monday thru Friday eztalkclippertoday.com Office hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. 547-980- Clipper Today residents of Fax: 0 is 547-137- 4 published every Thursday and distributed to Kaysville, Fruit Heights, Layton, Clearfield, Clinton. Syracuse, Sunset, West Point and South Weber. The views expressed in the letters and columns on this page are those of their authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the ownership, management or staff of Clipper Today. Total circulation in excess of 38,000 copies. PubSsher: R. Gail Stable Editors: RolfD.KoecherfTmBusselberg Sales: Martin Ehman, Aaron Glauscr, Judy Hammerschmidt Display advertising deadline: Friday, noon. Camera-read- y ad deadline: Monday, noon. Classified advertising deadline: Tuesday, 10 a.m. I second hand smoke, the stench seeps into every comer of society.! The inappropriate messages inad- vertently desensitize us, affecting our behavior, families and lifesty le. As individuals and parents we need to understand the risks of excessive exposure to television.-Wcan no longer silently approve which is packed of entertainment with violence, sex, warped reality and bad taste. The Halloween special of The Simpsons is a typical example of media gone bad. Homer, the father, deprived of his beer and television, is convinced that if he grossly murders his wife and children he will once more be happy and fulfilled. How sick is that? Hundred of programs are heavy with negative messages; we need to be more conscious' of what we are being fed. We need to become more critical viewers and become aware of the desensitizing influence of the media. In the recent September 1 6 J Family Section of the Deseret News.' an article appeared titled, TV fami- lies in the 9Js, describing the differences between TV families and real-- 1 life families. Ignorant, uncaring par- -' ents, crazy children, emotion-drive- n teenagers fill the plots of network programming. Now 1 ask, what Is! the entertainment value of showing teenage sex, parents and graphic violence even permeating cartoons? There are prescriptions for the e I Willing to fight for Qun rights I believe in freedom and the rights given me by the Constitutioa I believe that guns preserve free- Thanks to a proposed new tax increase, you can have your pizza and better library service, to boot. Monday afternoon, the county commission will hold a hearing prior to adoption of its budget for the Year 2000. Included with that will be time to which would raise taxes by comment on the librarys proposed tax increase $13.64 on a $157,000 (or average) home in the county. For that price, you could buy a large pizza and garlic bread. What will the county's residents get in return? Several hundred thousand dollars will be spent next year to create a larger, better childrens library in the basement of the South Branch Library in Bountiful. That is the countys d busiest library, and this will provide space upstairs to further " expand the collection and other services. By 2005, the library board hopes to have an expanded Central Branch library is now the countys Library in Layton also completed. That 1 second biggest, and is well beyond its current capacity when it comes to books and demand on services. In addition, smaller libraries are planned for the fastgrowing community of Syracuse, and the northwest quadrant; and for Centerville so seeing great growth. Beyond that, more computers will be services, such as a books on CD coladded, along with other lection, which should be under w ay by next month. The library has not proposed this increase to the county commission lightly. g The board has agonized over needs to meet the countys population for many years. It conducted a thorough study of those needs, complemented by a Dan Jones survey of residents, both library card holders and others, to see just w hat it is the public wants. That was augmented by sev- Phone: A dom and under the Constitution I have the right to own a gun. If you try to take away my freedom and or my rights, I will fight you. Drew Chamberlain, South Jordan Safety is real issue, not just feeing better Editor The December 2nd issue of the Clipper contained a letter from a PTA official that Was typical of the opinions.' depth of most anti-gu- ri Cindy Eulberg wrote a few vague sentences about safety, children, and the PTAs initiative, and then ended it with the quote: Federal gun laws requiring background checks are a necessity. Ahem. Perhaps Ms. Eulberg should go back and actually read the PTA petition, as it deals with prohibiting the carrying of legal congun-contr- cealed weapons in schools and churches, not Federal gun laws (which already require background checks for gun purchasers). But since she failed to mention any facts regarding concealed weapons in churches or schools, I will provide them for her. The facts are that no child in any school in Utah has been shot, either intentionally or accidentally, by a concealed-weapo- n not permittee one. No teacher in any school in Utah has been shot, either intentionally or accidentally, by a concealed not one. And weapon permittee claims the contrary to vague despite by the Utah Education Association, d there is not one incident of a concealed-weapo- n permittee threatening a principal or a school employee. This is interesting, since just a single unjustifiable threat by a concealed-weapo- n permittee would be sufficient to revoke his permit, as well as bring criminal charges. Indeed, nationwide, none of the school massacres of the past few years have been perpetrated by a concealed-weapo- n permittee not one. On the other hand, two of them were stopped by armed citizens: In Peart, Mississippi, an assistant principal retrieved a handgun from his car and halted the carnage, while in Edinburgh, Pennsylvania, a neighbor ended the killing with his shotgun. In both instances, the teenage killers immediately surrendered when confronted by a citizen with a gun. The PTAs proposed law would assuage the anti-gu- n paranoia of the PTA and UEA, but it would not officially-documente- make our schools demonstrably safer. Rather, there is a growing body of research that suggests otherwise. Criminals are rational persons, and they take choices based on the risks versus the benefits of their criminal behavior. Such was the case in Israel. After a few terrorist attacks involving school children, Israeli teachers began carrying guns. There have been virtually no such incidents since them For the terrorists, school children are no longer an easy target I suppose that if an overwhelming majority of Utahns wish to expose their children to such danger, then the PTA will be successful. I just wish the PTA, UEA and others who support this initiative would admit that they simply want to make themselves feel better, not to make our schools safer. Kevin M. Okleberry Mauser32aol.com Don't waste energies on phantom problem Editor Id like to tell the legislature to stop wasting time and money on a problem. Guns were outlawed in our public schools five or so years ago, except for concealed permit holders. Its a public that mistakenly views the concealed permit holder as a Rambo instead of a citizen who, to obtain the permit submitted his finger prints, three letters of character and $ 50 to the State of Utah and was background checked before given a permit The real problem we have today is non-existe- nt titled Road-Rag- Sometimes e. called aggressive driving. What we really have is a driving public with far to many drivers who routinely break the traffic laws. Vehicle accidents have a real possibility of killing or maiming our friends and the children of Utah. It seems that over the last few years there has been an attempt to bring up the strength of the Utah Highway Patrol by about a 100 officers. Lets not waste the time and money on a overstated, perceived threat of legal gun carriers harming someone. Lets take care of the real problem of dangerous drivers breaking the traffic laws. A good start would be putting a 100 more Utah Highway Patrol officers on the highway. Next we need to really enforce our traffic laws. Norm Pas key Ogden, formerly of West Point NPaskeyaol.com Looking for forum on fluoride on web site I was anxious to print out Dr. Saunders newest fluoridation article and cant seem to find it here on the web site. Do I not know where to look, or is it not on the web site yet? Thank you for publishing the Fluoride Forum. I have been especially pleased that he is addressing the questions that have arisen regarding fluoridation of the water supply. I have found your reporter, who has printed I believe two articles, to be obviously biased against fluoride. She quotes official names of people and organizations that are anti fluoride while only alluding with vague generalities to other organizations never saving: that support fluoride the American Cancer Society supports fluoridation of the w ater supply' or the American Medical Association supports fluoridation, the National Institute of Health supports fluoride, etc. I believe journalists have a responsibility to report truly balanced information, not personal opinions. Thank you again for publishing Dr. Saunders Fluoride Forum. Utah is last in an area that is critically important to all of us. Oral health is important to our general health as a w hole, even that of our hearts. Sheryl Stuewe sstuewegatewvy. ne Editor's note: The Fluoride Forum articles hate been on our web site but may have been a htrie hard to find. VV'e hae asked our web people to create a special hnk on the welcome page that now enables people to access all of the installments in one spot As far as our reporter is concerned, she has written articles both for and against fluoridation. She is completely on the fence on this issue and has an open mind to information from either which is exactly where you side want a reporter to be. Woods Cross musical was simply outstanding Editor I recently had the opportunity of attending Woods Cross High Schools production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat. It was simply stated outstanding. The costuming, staging, acting, choreography and singing were all spectacular. This production is a real credit to Woods Cross High School and our community as well. ' " Greg Gunn J Hf f ft 'l Relay service may be forced to dose early Editor I am writing in regard to a situation that all Utah residents need to be informed of, we all pay an 18 cent charge on each phone bill per month for the Utah Relay Service a service which allows hearing impaired people to communicate via the telephone to hearing people and vice versa. The Utah Relay Service employs over 50 people, mostly mothers helping or totally supporting their families, some have worked there five or more years. We have just recently been informed we could possibly be closing on December 21, 4 days before Christmas when just a week prior to that we w ere told our last day would be January 31, which would be ample time to prepare for the change. Sprint was awarded the contract as a big for the Utah Relay Service company our 18 cent fee will most definitely change to a much higher rate and the deaf community will also start paving for all of their long distance phone calls (right now any call made within the State of Utah using the relay is a free call). We have been told off and on for over a year many different dates that we would be closing we have been strung along but many of us have not quit we have stuck by our jobs to see them through until the very end and this is what we get I feel that the people in the State of Utah need to know these things it is their money and they need to know how it is being used and that some 50 Utah employees will be jobless in profit-oriente- d tolerate-iti- s virus! As media consumers concerned about the direction things are going, we can make a difference. We can write to the FCC, stop the inappro-- 1 priate messages from seeping into, our homes, by a V chip (violence controller for our computers, or monitor programs by rating them, just to name a few. The organiza- tion People for Better TV (PBTV) also has ideas. Or as mem- bers of society, we can voice an opposing opinion, telling the media that we will not accept this anymore. We will neither blindly accept NOR silently approve of the way things are done. I urge all concerned students, parents and children to be more critical consumers of what they see. read and hear. Much of the media does not represent truth, reality or what is truly important in society. By remaining quiet we allow the downward spiral to continue. See beyond the entertainment" to the often hidden message. If you wish to sign a letter to be sent to the FCC this week, send an to: handerson5weber.edu. Otherwise, please look at media with a new, more critical set of eyeglasses. with a deeper perspective and sense of responsibility. Heidi Anderson, WSU Student less than two weeks if the Utah Editor Public Service Commission has its I am writing this letter to you to acknowledge your grand public ser- way. I am wTiting in hopes that you may call attention to this situation. The Utah Relay Service wtnch relays for the entire state of Utah is kxated right here in Bountiful. Thank you for your help. Please let me know if you need any info to further research this daim. Anna FifieU, afifielduswesLnet we snoura not voverave trash' on television Editor As viewers, listeners, and readers of media, we have developed a deadly case of tolerate-itis.- " Continuously bombarded by inappropriate messages, we blindly accept and silently approve of what is being produced. As citizens of a free country, we proudly have the right to see, say and do within legal limits what we choose. Yet, there are moral vice in publishing something of exceptional value in your weekly newspaper. I live in Davis County and receive the Clipper at my home,' and look forw ard to reading it A few weeks ago I read about Utah's First District Congressman James V. Hansen's voting record and an article about privatizing the( social security system. It's too bad that our nation's leaders haven't thought of that it sounds like a very good idea, and I believe it would work, not to mention that those of us who pay into it would benefit greatly. By the way, I notice that Mr.1 1 Hansen has not spent our tax money wisely. It appears that he is I very uninformed on some issues. ' 3Mien you publish his next voting record, I want to see if he I think 1 will write him a ? has1! letter regarding the issues he voted on. 1 Bob Turner |