OCR Text |
Show 1 0H The Salt Lake Tribune, Sunday, April 11, 1982 She owes heart to company store Continued From Page W-- 9 the dog. My husband taught me to shoot. I wasnt afraid of the gun. I was a good shot. I still am. Hurt in Accident Life in Clear Creek began changing when Mr. Dyches was hurt in a mine accident, had back surgery and suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. He quit mining at 47. Miner's disability was available for those 55 and over. Since he had worked at the mine for 18 years, not the required 20, there was no pension. He was a big strong healthy man until the accident. We lived on my salary. 1 think he felt that 47 was much too young for a man to quit working. People were starting to leave Clear Creek. Hie town was down to 72 families. The mine company wouldnt keep the doctor there any more. They decided to close the post office or to cut my wages. We couldnt live on any less. We decided to move to Salt Lake." Her memories of the mine companies There's a touch of admiration in her voice when she recalls Christmases when the mine officers used to deliver by horse-pulle- d sleighs the sacks of candy for every miners child. For those who complain about how slow the mail is, Mrs. Dyches suggests that the griper spend a week working in the post office. Ive worked for the public all my life. Not in Clear Creek so much because we all knew each other so well, but I think the public can be inconsiderate in what they expect workers to do. I keep in touch with friends Ive made working in the post office. I think are pleasant. At 55, Mrs. Dyches found herself trying to understand the Salt Lake post office system. It took months to learn the streets and which mail went where. Her husband died in 1969, five months after they moved. Drive the Streets was It really a hard time for me. I had to keep going to work even with Val as bad as he was. I had to deal with new surroundings, work and lifestyle. Sometimes, the only way I could learn was to get in my car after work and go to the area and drive the streets so I wouldnt forget them. By the time I was 60, I needed to retire. I couldnt stand the noise from those machines. There were too many changes. I didnt want to try to adjust. Mrs. Dyches, 68, enjoys good health, except for complaints shes a little bit too fat. She fancies herself a gypsy, ready and happy to go when she can. She recently traded in a drive that made it easy to get into the four-whe- mountains sedan. for a more economical As long as I can buy gas and get up into the mountains, I feel pretty lucky. I have my health, plenty of friends, a good family. And I'm not one to feel sorry for myself. If shes not busy crocheting an afghan for someone (Not one of those little skinny ones, either), she might be helping a grandson, 21, find a job or taking her granddaughter, 13, hiking over to the lake. Recreation Spot Clear Creek is a place for recreation now, not coal production. The old mine houses have become summer cottages. She can drive the 123 miles by getting up early in the morning and returning in the evening after spending the day. Save to 1 3 on springtime dress fashions el Victims of crime unfit to judge By Dorothy Storck Knight-Ridde- r Newspapers I PHILADELPHIA am sitting in a criminal court during die selection of the trial jury. A murdered al. Each time a prospective juror is called, the defense attorney asks, Have you ever been the victim of a crime? Each time the juror hesitates, obviously reluctant to discuss the thing that happened to him. Finally, softly, almost as if he is ashamed, the answer comes: Yes. Yes, he had been mugged, she had been assaulted, he had been burgled, she had been robbed. Each time the defense offers a preemp-tor- y challenge to prevent that person from serving. The judge allows this. The implications are clear, and unlovely. Unsuited For Judgment Victims of crimes are unsuited to pass judgment on the accused. Victims of crimes in some way have lost their logic and sense of fairness. All that is left to them is revenge, or fear. The most distressing thing about this theory is that part of it may be true. The way the American system of justice works, it is the victim who is punished more than the criminal. Out of this comes fright, hurt, frustration and rage. You can hear it, feel the undertones of it, at any citizens meeting on crime anywhere in the country. If we are United in anything these days, we are united in two fears over which we have little control: going broke and getting mugged. I have been the victim of crimes. Assault, battery, robbery, burglary. When I write this I can be sure from the statistics that half of you who will read it will also have been victims. In the cities it has come to that. Confront Attackers I have gone to court twice to confront my attackers. One got off with probation. One was sent away for 7 years and was out in 3. He had been polite in prison. The process of putting a criminal behind bars was abhorrent in every way. Nothing was made easy. I was left shaking and bruised in a room at the police station, offered neither a cup of coffee nor a call to a friend. I was informed of no rights of victim compensation. Meanwhile a public defender tended to the man who had hurt me. He was given his im- mediate one warned me that I would sit in court within 12 feet of the man who had attacked me. No one sat with me through what came afterward. No one called me up at the trials end to tell me of the sentencing. Certainly no one bothered to tell me when my attacker was paroled, carrying with him the knowledge of where I lived and worked. A Poor Risk Yes, I have the rage. I am probably a poor risk for tiie defense if I were to sit on a jury. But I am probably a poor risk for the prosecution as well. I feel that I was mugv ged as much by the system of justice as I was by the man who attacked me. I am not alone in feeling this. Robert Grayson, chairman of the New Jersey Council on Crime Victims, was in Philadelphia recently to talk to the Action Alliance of Senior Citizens. Bob Grayson is blind in one eye; he has nerve damage, headaches, and frequent pain it was time for me to leave the job. I think that the younger people are being encouraged in those jobs. Hie work seems harder on the older workers. It s I don t really automated and noisy. think anyone wanted to tolerate a feisty grandmother anymore. I think the reason I love driving up to Brighton is that it puts me in mind of Clear Creek. I expect to keep in touch. Ive thought about moving back, but theres nothing there for me now. I would love to help organize a Clear Creek Days celebration so that all the people who lived there could get together and talk about the old days. When the heat of summer comes, I can still hightail it to gear Creek." atat ZCMI 10 am. begins Reg. to $78 tomorrow sale in Fashion our big after-EastDresses at all eight ZCMI stores. You'll save to 13 on dress fashions that are still in season- dresses to take you right into summer, beautifully. Our selection includes chic, feminine styles in fresh spring colors for dress and office wear. But come in early for your best selection. ZCMI Fashion Dresses. er from a beating he received seven years ago when he stopped to help what he thought was a driver in trouble and was mugged by three other men in - hiding. A former reporter for the Paterson (N.J.) Evening News, he was out of work for a year. Three of the four men who beat him got off cn probation despite long criminal records. One went to jail after pleading guilty to armed assault. That man served a total of three months in prison. Shop 10--9, Monday-Frlda- y Saturday 10-Closed Sunday. It took me longer to get over the courtroom experience than the crime, Grayson says I knew those guys were out to hurt me, but the court system was supposed to help me. now. Grayson has spent the 3cV2 E last seven years campaigning for victims rights in New Jersey. Largely as a result of his efforts, New Jersey now has some of the most enlightened legislation in the country for the victims of crimes. Miranda warning not to incriminate himself. I was questioned by a detective while I was still in shock. My confused statement was later used in court by the defense. Never during the pretrial proceedings was I consulted on the plea bargainings going on between prosecution and defense, although the crime was a crime against me; although, indeed, I was a taxpayer paying for both lawyers. No one took me to the trial. No one told me what it wquld be like to face a grand jury. No 24 Hour 6. Toll-Fr- ee Direct Dial Shopping Salt Lake 321-666- 6. Utah (outstde SLC) Western US or write ZCMI. Salt Lake City, Utah 84137 |