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Show page A4 Tuesday, August o 0 22. 1995 0 M ur Opinion i Davis County Clipper o i Irresponsible adults, not tobacco, blamed for teen-ag- e smoking President Clinton has struck an historic blow against the tobacco companies that continue to pander their products to children. His suggestion that we stop the pushers of tobacco in the school yard, the tobacco industry, is dead right. Studies show that every day another 3,000 children start to smoke and 1,000 of these kids will become addicted to nicotine and eventually die from a tobacco-relate- d disease. far. But Clintons solution can go only so Sure its time to stop subsidizing an industry that kills 400,000 Americans each year and is costing the U.S. millions every year in health related costs, but the tobacco farmers cannot be blamed for teen smoking. Remember the adage there are three ways to teach a child; example, example and example. The real culprits in the teenage smoking dilemma are adults seeking profit and adults seeking validation for their bad habits. The Food and Drug Administration has proven that tobacco companies manipulate nicotine to hook children. FDA Commissioner David Kessler has aptly labeled nicotine addiction a pediatric disease. But the adults in the tobacco industry must turn a profit, even if it means destruction of youth. And they are not the only adults to blame. Look at the advertising industry. In order to serve their tobacco clients well, they seek to hook the younger generation. Studies show that 90 percent of adult smokers started before age 18, and many begin as early as eight to 12 years old. Advertising must target the youth if it is going to hook new smokers into a lifetime of support for the cigarette companies. Of course the ads use young, vibrant actors and actresses full of vigor, flashing million dollar smiles. It would be impossible to use real smokers, who after decades of smoking would show their nicotine stained fingers and teeth, and punctuate their speech with coughs. It would not look good to try and sell cigarettes with a spokesperson in a wheelchair, holding his portable oxygen as he gasps for every breath. That image would just not sell. And selling is what its all about. Besides, if they arent hooked early, the tobacco companies know the chances of getting Americans hooked are slim to none when they have finally made it through the uncertainty of youth. No, they cant wait. Youth is their market. And there are plenty of aspiring young actors and actresses hoping for their first break who will gladly portray a happy, young smoker. The next irresponsible adults are the owners of publications and other media that depend on advertising for revenue. Many seek out, and gladly serve the tobacco industry by publishing and broadcasting tobacco ads. They cannot be held blameless in the growing use of tobacco which is the chief preventable cause of death in the United States. For the good of the children, they should stop allowing a forum for tobacco advertising. In recent years Hollywood has once again entered the smoking market by producing movies which show stars smoking on screen. And other youth heroes in the sports world taint their image with the use of tobacco products. Spitting tobacco is now a big part of any baseball game. Do we have a smoke-fre- e Congress and Senate? How many elected officials, who rant and rave about the ills of smoking are smokers? The medical profession is also populated by smokers. There was a report from a young womans recent visit to a dying emphysema patients room. The window in the room looked out to a courtyard where nurses gathered to smoke. This newspaper conducted a recent survey of local teen , smokers. They admitted that they were easily able to obtain cigarettes. Most got their supply from their parents. Why would a parent want their child to follow ion such destructive footsteps? Does misery love company so much that it would kill its offspring? Example. Example. Example. What are we doing to our children? Its time for the adults who still have the breath to do it, to speak out against, and end their support of cigarette smoking. Our future depends on it. , ; body-wracki- life-savi- Garcia marched to a different drummer When Jerry Garcia died earlier this month, there was an outpouring of grief in cities throughout the song in an elevator unless youre taking a pharmaceutical product you shouldnt. Garcia was hardly the consummate showman; he dis- Front, I observed more puzzlement than tears. liked bantering with the crowd and he routinely forgot song lyrics. Yet Garcias death at age 53 county. But along the Wasatch ng . . received more national attention than any celebritys passing since that of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Neil Diamond is vastly more popu- lar than Jerry Garcia, but when Diamond dies 0 Oh, some Utahns said, sad A How few even stated they were absolutely devastated. But the reaction of most Utahns was, Who in the heck was Jerry Garcia? As a Baby Boomer, I knew the answer, but even I was perplexed by the massive publicity tagging his death. Jerry Garcia was a musician who never met a drug he didnt like. He was the leader of a rock band (Grateful Dead) that never came close to recording a Number One hit. His music a blend of jazz, rock and folk was never mainstream; as one reported noted, youll never hear a Grateful Dead 1370 South 500 West 267 Bountiful, Utah 8401 FAX (801) 295 3044 Teleohone- (801) 295 2251 J&L has improved its Barton Creek property Dear Editor and Ms. Maranda We are happy to see such a young person interested in the environment and surrounding landscapes of the community. Many young people do not take the time to enjoy nature and its beauty. In reply to the letter written to the editor in the Davis County Clipper August 8, 1995 we need to clarify two points. Meadowbrook Elementary School did not sell half of Barton Creek to J&L Garden Center. J&L 1. Garden Center bought the property from a private individual who had owned the property for years. The original property line was a straight line from property line to property line. Many years ago the property line was changed to the center of Barton Creek because the creeks channel had changed. 2. J&L Garden Center felt the concerns raised by students were important so we chose to answer their questions in person rather than writing to the editor, which we felt was more appropriate. $25.00 per year. Mailed; $35.00 per year. Subscription rati: 50 1 per copy on ) Publication No. (USPS ISSN: published Tuesday and Friday except the week of Christmas and New Years at Bountiful. Utah. Second class postage paid at Bountiful, Utah. Address all correspondence to . P. O. Box 267, Bountiful, Utah 149-180- 1061-122- 84011-0267- I semi-weekl- Brian Wilson and his Beach Boys sold ten times more recordings than the Grateful Dead, but 1 doubt Wilsons death will become the lead story of the CBS Evening News. In life, Garcia became more an icon than a singer or guitarist. And in death, some will elevate him to catered to disc jockeys, record companies or trends. Jerry Garcia simply played music he wanted to hear and if fans wanted to attend his private party, they were welcome. Millions did, of course. The Dead sold out three Delta Center shows earlier this year. With the exception of the Rolling Stones and Barbra Streisand, no other entertainer or music act could attract a higher concert gross. There hadnt been an empty seat at a Grateful Dead concert in years. In the past decade, it was estimated that Garcia and his band earned about $300 million, more than the Gross Doug Wright devoted an hour to listener reaction to the death, a Clearfield man telephoned to say that Garcias contributions were akin to those of Dr. Jonas Salk. On another radio station, a woman in Murray called to compare Garcia National Product of Puerto Rico. The Garcia bandwagon was profuel. pelled by a Garcia started out as a folk musician, formed a band with a guy named Pig Pen, consumed heroin and LSD like Mike Leavitt drinks milk. Yet upon his death, his fans included such luminaries as Vice President Gore, the U.S. Senator widespread appeal. Then again. Jennings. Even conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh had some nice things to say about Jerry. sainthood. When KSL Radios with Mother Theresa. This adulation is amazing considering the band never cultivated from Vermont and ABCs Peter Although Deadheads would disagree, it really wasnt about music. (What did one Deadhead who ran out of drugs say to another Deadhead who ran out of drugs? Hey, this music sucks!) Rather than music, it was about history. Unlike other bands that had a momentary flash of Top 40 fame, the Grateful Dead ignored the music charts and plugged along, weathering heavy metal music, disco and Ronald Reagan. While competing musicians disappeared from tha music scene, Garcia had an ice cream flavor named for him (Ben & Jerrys Cherry Garcia) and created designer ties on sale at pricy Nordstrom stores. Unlike Mickey Mantle, he never boy. aspired to be the Rather, his goal was simply to strum a few chords and, like Henry David Thoreau, live life on his own terms. So why all the publicity? Because for all of his flaws, Jerry Garcia lived a lifestyle many envy, and, in the process, he became Americas fortunate son. in Your Opinion! by Clipper Publishing Co., Inc P O Box doubt his photo will grace the cover of Newsweek. Blackburn: $emtweekly DAVIS COUNTY I thats exactly why Garcia and the Grateful Dead were held in such high esteem. The Dead never When J&L Garden Center bought the property next to Meadowbrook Elementary School we spent considerable time and effort making the area presentable. The property had been left without care for many years. Weeds had taken over the field, creating a sig nificant fire hazard for the neighbors. Streambank willows, box elder trees and many other varieties of native trees had been allowed to grow and reroute the stream from its original course. Consequently, flooding was a constant problem on the J&L side of the creek. We had to monitor the stream each time a major thunder shower was around to make sure no debris would cause the creek to overflow its banks. Since J&L bought the property we cleared the trees from our side of the creek and obtained permission to clear the trees from the center of the creek, to make the creek more safe in case of flooding. All of the work done so far has been done at the expense of J&L Garden Center. Davis County Flood control considers Barton Creek a major flood control channel through Bountiful, not just a small meandering stream. The creek handles a great deal of runoff from city streets during the spring runoff and during rainstorms. Davis County Flood control is ultimately responsible for the condition of the creek. The county flood control has a right of way on both sides of the creek, to be able to take care of any flooding problems that may occur. They could, at any time, move through the stream with heavy equipment to change the shape of the creek or even cement the sides of the creek as they have done in many parts of Bountiful. The school side of Barton Creek is fenced making access to the creek impractical. J&Ls side is very accessible. The east side of 325 West through Bountiful is all cemented to prevent flood damage. We at J&L do not want this to happen next to our property so we have tried to keep the creek as natural. m clean, and free of debris as possible. Since our original meeting with the students we have met with dif- ferent organizations regarding Barton Creek. Planning and designing takes time and money so it takes many years to decide on a plan. Everybody has ideas they would like to see implemented. Our original idea was to straighten the creek (to the original property line); to make it much more efficient as a flood control stream. Straightening Barton Creek would have involved removing some of the trees on the schools side of the creek and replanting them, which we were willing to do. We were also willing to make the stream into a nature area for the students use in their school work. We would furnish and plant some of the necessary plant materials. This original idea was agreed upon to a certain degree and may still be partially implemented in the future. We also met with one group from the state of Utah that was interested in having J&L and the Davis County School district give a complete right of way to the State of Utah for both sides of the creek so no development of the creek could be made without government approval. This plan was unacceptable to J&L because it would dramatically reduce the property value to J&L, and any other person, if J&L decided to sell the property in the future. The property owner would have no legal right to landscape their own backyard without state approval. The landscape architect for Davis County School District drew a design to divert the creek into a wildlife area for students to use and design. The school district fenced off an area of the school yard and just recently started to develop the area into a nature area. We eagerly await the completion of this project. We anticipate working with Meadowbrook Elementary and the school district in ways we can to make this area into a beautiful nature area. We hope this area will become an asset to the entire community. We also hope the school children will also take an interest in this project and keep it looking nice. We at J&L have chosen to install a sprinkler system and plant grass on our side of the creek bank. We feel this has helped make the creek more accessible and safe. If you have driven by the property in question you will notice J&L has greatly improved the appearance of the property since it was purchased. As the new nature area is developed we will support it as much as possible. We have not prevented people from using the creek as many other landowners have done from 325 West up to the mountain. We have also reduced the number of drug, alcohol and smoking parties that were held along the creek banks just by cleaning up the property. We have eliminated most of the vandalism along the creek but we still have a few kids break sprinkler heads or damage vehicles in the area. As you can see, many factors, some of which are not publicly known, will determine the eventual condition of Barton Creek. Thank you, to enjoy. The design finally met with approval, and the school John S. Smith Gary B. Smith Gordon J. Smith dis- trict started to implement this POOR COPY Ulm, 1 I |