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Show THE WEST MOUNTAIN TIMES, JANUARY 7, 1982, PAGE TWO Opinion and commentary Times needs more local support a time for evaluating the past year and resolutions to improve during the coming making weeks and months. Although only 12 weeks have passed since the first issue of the West Mountain Times was published, we are encouraged by the progress the paper continues to January is make each week. Though small in size, our staff is comprised of professionals dedicated to making the West Mountain Times the best weekly newspaper in the state. Its a lofty goal, but realistic. We can achieve it with the support of the communities we serve West Valley City, Magna and Kearns. Increased advertising, circulation and editorial contributions will make it possible for us to increase the size of our staff and the number of pages we can publish, which will make it possible to provide more news and feature stories each week. As a community newspaper, we concentrate on community activities and events of local interest. FIRST HE WAS LAID OFF, news that is overlooked by daily newspapers and the electronic media. We intend to provide our readers with the news and information they want and need, but can do so only with their help) your help. Like any business, our newspaper needs to generate enough revenue to cover operating costs and make a THEFT THE CAR - BROKE PCWM, THElf THEY- REP055E55EP THE T.V JLT5T BEFORE THE FOWL 5AME5. THE LAST modest profit. Since the price of a subscription barely covers delivery, newspapers depend on advertising dollars to operate. Additional subscribers will make our paper even more attractive to potential advertisers. With more advertising we can produce a bigger, and better, I 5A.W OF HI K HE VJA5 WRlXiHfr OUT THE POOR. VtfTH A. 5UiTCA5E MUMfr-iMt- q "FOUL'D 0R.BU5T! newspaper. We appreciate the efforts of publicity chairmen and our correspondents, but we need additional news tips and feature story ideas from the public you. The future of the West Mountain Times, your community newspaper, depends on your support. Ethics guidelines discussed CONTINUED FROM PAGE by the member as a legislator. 1 The final phase is the vote by of the House or Senate to accept two-thir- or alter the recommendations of the committee. Rep. Farnsworth said the proposal grew out of the problems arising from the ethics hearings associated with the accusations against four legislators last summer, all of whom were cleared both by the Ethics Committee and the special panel of attorneys appointed by the at torney general. Those of us who were members of the Ethics Committee felt the need for more guidelines on conduct and better directions for providing a fair and just hearing. We hope that the guidelines are clear enough that there will never be a need to proceed to the hearing phases. Pot is driving danger Highway officials and police officers are finding a new ingredient in an mix: already murderou alcohol-drivin- g marijuana. Further, according to one study reported in the January issue of Families, driving impairments caused by pot plus alcohol are more than additive. Hugh Alcott, a California State Department of Corrections probation agent assigned to the special narcotics section, says this information is little understood by pot smokers: A lot of people whove had too much to drink and know their driving skill will be affected smoke a joint so they can drive better. They actually believe that marijuana acts as an antidote to the effects of alcohol. All the pot does, of course, is to make them feel that theyre driving better. In fact, their driving is far more im- paired than if theyd used alcohol alone. It is difficult to rid the system of marijuana, making the pot smoker a menace on the highway long after the is gone. While alcohol is high secreted from the body within a period of several hours, it takes about 2i days for half the cannabinoids in a single joint to leave the body. A police official can pull a car over if he suspects the driver is intoxicated. A roadside breath test can determine the level of intoxication. But there is no such roadside test for drug impairment, and until there is, no driver can be prosecuted for being high on marijuana. XThB jHatch SURepOrt by Senator Orrin Hatch I The Gam Report Congress, the Utahn proposed a fairness amendment which would have allowed states to rescind their previous ratification of ERA during the extended ratification period. The amendment was and Garn said the defeated, proponets of the extension were not interested in fairness, but in gaining more time to force their views down the throats of the American public. Thats the reason 1 am especially pleased that Judge Callister has ruled that states should have the right to rescind previous ratifications up until the have ratified an necessary three-fourtamendment, Garn said. The extension supporters wanted the debate to continue freely and vigorously in states which had not ratified. Thats like saying were going to extend the time of the football into overtime because were behind and only our team will be allowed to score. This flies in the face of reason and democracy, not to mention the Constitution itself, Garn said. Surely we wouldnt think much of the commitment to justice of a judge who refused to consider new evidence in a capital case before executing the accused. By the same token, each state should surely have been permitted to reconsider the case of the ERA in light of new thinking on the subject during the extension period. Garn also noted that the extension was allowed to pass the Congress by a simple majority, rather than by the majority required for Con54-4- 4, WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Jake Garn who led efforts in the Senate to block the extension of the Equal Rights Amendments ratification period, recently praised a ruling by an Idaho judge that Congress exceeded its authority in granting the extension. I said at the time the extension was being considered by the Senate that it was unfair and unconstitutional, and Judge (Marion J.) Callisters ruling vinsaid Garn. I dicates that assessment, applaud him for placing fairness and constitutional integrity ahead of political expediency. Garn also labeled as base religious bigotry" and an insult to Americans everywhere, suggestions that Judge Callisters decision was unduly influenced by his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints, which opposes the ERA and h excriticized the three-yea- r, tension of the ratification period. Such suggestions indicate the fanaticism and bigotry of some supporters of ERA and represent a slander against a very fine judge, he said. When it became apparent to Garn and other opponents of the extension that it would certainly be approved by three-mont- two-thir- stitutional I amendments. also an amendment to require a majority for passage of the extension resolution, but again, ERA proposed two-thir- Serving West Valley, Magna, Publisher JOHN RANDOLPHSENG Reporter REGINA COATS JR. Assistant Publisher DEBRA CURRY Advertising Manager RANDY PETERSEN Published weekly on Thursdays, with offices at 4140 West 5415 South in Kearns, Utah 84118. Telephone (801) 966-444- 4. All rights reserved. Application to mail at second class postage rates is pending at Salt Lake City, Utah and additional offices. POSTMASTER send change of address to 4140 West 5415 South, Kearns, Utah 84118. Yearly subscriptions are $8, S10 outside Utah. Advertising deadline: 5 p.m. Monday for the following Thursday edition. For rates call (801) Send correspondence to 4140 West 5415 South, Kearns, Utah 84118. 966-444- News items from clubs, churches, and other organizations are welcome. The deadline is 5 p.m. Monday for the following for freelance pay Thursday edition. Call (801) 966-444- 4 rates. Not responsible for unsolicited pictures ai.J news articles. I believe seven years is long issues. enough for the American people to accept or reject any Constitutional amenGarn said. But beyond that, dment, what is to become of our system of laws and justice if we change the rules every time an issue of interest and importance comes along. The extension established a very dangerous precedent, leading to political chaos, and I am glad Judge Callister ruled that Congress was out of line in authorizing it. Almost a year later, last Oct. 20, 4--y ear old Danny Davis disappeared from a State Street supermarket, where he was shopping with his grandfather. Police are still looking for Danny and two abductors. -- The common element of these two tragic crimes, children vanishing, is repeated time and again in Utah and across the nation. Two alleged kidnapping attempts were reported, for example, on the same day three weeks ago in Price. Estimates put the national number of child kidnappings at 1.8 million annually. The children face terrible fates: forced separation from their loved ones and possibly violence. Their parents face heartbreak and uncertainty, and the police, all too often, face cases without Sen. Hawkins bill, the Missing Children Act, establishes a national computerized information network to assist police agencies in locating and identifying missing children and to aid in the identification of the dead who are found without enough evidence to determine their next of kin. It also permits parents to enter data about their missing children directly into the system if local or state police departments fail to do so. Costs of such a system, according to FBI officials who testified at a recent Senate hearing, are relatively neglible. The system can be started for $40,000, they said, and maintained for $285,000 a year. Yet the results of such an information network could be priceless. It would give police a chance to share the circumstances of a local disappearance or the identity and appearance of a victim with the entire nation. It would alleviate the frustrations experienced by parents like Mr. and Mrs. John Welsh of Florida, who had to coordinate the search themselves for their missing son among many different agencies. The Welshes told a Senate panel that a country that can launch a space shuttle or allocate millions of dollars to save the snail darter should certainly establish a nationwide reporting or search system for its missing children. Numerous law enforcement and civic and 63 Senate coorganizations sponsors, including myself and Sen. Jake Garn, agree. The outlook for Sen. Hawkins bill is bright in the Senate and optimistic in the House, where hearings are planned on the measure early in 1982. When Kim Peterson and Danny Davis and numerous other children have been missing so long, the Missing Children Act cannot be implemented soon enough. clues. Records show that only 10 percent of children who are missing for an appreciable length of time enter the national missing persons file. The FBI collects information for that file on a voluntary, not an obligatory, basis from state law agencies. And most tragically, each year almost 2,000 cases involving the unidentified dead are closed, leaving 2,000 families in uncertainty. These bleak prospects for the resolution of cases involving missing children, and the terrible grief of the cases themselves, have resulted in support for a bill instrong troduced by Sen. Paula Hawkins of Florida. Your opinions matter Letters Dear Editor, I would like to thank the West Mountain Times for running the article concerning the high sodium content of Magnas drinking water. 1 feel the West Mountain Times did the community of Magna a real service by pointing out the problem, and more so by discovering that many doctors in the area do not seem to be aware of the problem. I am sure that your newspaper article will help remedy that situation. To be fair to the Magna Community Water Department, one should know that drinking water pollution is a nationwide problem-no- t just restricted to Magna. You could go almost anywhere and find problems, some much more serious than those found in Magna. 1 would like to clear up one minor error which appeared in the article, though. I do not sell water purifiers. Through my work with Magic Mill, which does market a reverse osmosis water purifier, I became aware of the problem and contacted the West Mountain Times. This experience at least showed me that advertising in the West Mountain Times would pay off I had a quite a few people call me for information about Magic Mills purifier, but could only refer them to the nearest Magic Mill dealer or distributor. Again, thank you for running the article. Ronald G. Peeleman Dear Reader: (USPS 325 SW) W. GLEN FAIRCLOUGH, anti-aborti- seen since. and Kearns WEST MOUNTAIN TIMES Editor supporters let their support for its substance override their commitment to the very kind of fair play they are seeking via the amendment, he said. This approach to justice and fairness on the part of ERA supporters has not been lost on the nation as a whole, Garn said. Not one state has ratified the ERA since the extension of the deadline, and there are five which have voted to rescind. The American people recognize the extension as a perversion of the Constitutional process. It would have been far better for ERA supporters to resubmit the amendment to Congress and begin the ratification process from the beginning, rather than resorting to a back-doapproach, he said. The Utah Republican said he would feel exactly the same way if an attempt were made to extend the ratification period for an amendment which I strongly support, such as an law. No one is more opposed to abortion than 1, but I simply cannot condone tampering with the law to achieve my own ends, Gam said. Garn said that while he personally opposes the ERA the issues involved in the Callister ruling went beyond specific Kim On Nov. 9, 1980, Peterson of South Salt Lake left his parents home to see a man who wanted to buy his roller skates. He hasnt been Dear Editor, This space has been reserved for you, since the letters section of a newspaper belongs to its readers. Tell us whats on your mind, and well help you tell the rest of the community. There are no restrictions on subject matter or length, only on taste. Type or print neatly on standard-size- d paper and send your letter to The Editor, West Mountain Times, 4140 West 5415 South, Kearns, Utah 84118. Included must be a telephone number for verification and a signature. Names will be withheld upon request if a reason is given. We hope that not only will the Times let you know whats going on, but that you will let each other know whats on your minds. Take advantage of the space weve provided for your thoughts. All it costs is the price of a stamp. The Editor The 1981 holiday season may remind many of us that some things haven't changed. This year, once again, we feasted upon a traditional (and probably lavish) turkey dinner, watched spectacular holiday parades, gathered around the television set to watch myriad football games and fought crowds in search of the perfect gift. Some things havent changed in other parts of the world either. This year, as in years past, people have been forced to flee their homelands, find shelter in crowded and unsanitary refugee camps and suffer the debilitating effects of malnutrition and disease. In the northeast African nation of Somalia, close to a million people are living in these camps. They are alive today because international relief agencies are providing them with the food, water and medical care they need to survive. But 1 am concerned about the dependency this assistance tends to create. The 1981 holiday season should remind many of us that it is time for some things to change. It is time to put an end to widespread hunger and to dependence upon daily shipments of food. Some voluntary agencies, such as Save the Children, have taken a giant step in this direction by providing the Somali refugees with the skills and resources they need and want to provide for themselves. Instead of just handing out food. Save the Children is handing out techniques for growing food and for planting seeds, trees and small-plot family gardens. The holiday season encourages us to share our love with family and friends. This season lets share our love, caring and concern with members of the human family by helping the Somali refugees regain Any contribution, no matter how small, can help. Please mail your check today to: Save the Children, Somalia Relief Fund, Westport, CT. 06880, attention Valerie Harper. Sincerely, Valerie Harper |
