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Show jage A4 Davis County Clipper December 17, 1996 In ur opinion ix Why is there always money in the budget after someone dies? c ' OUT Or CPflft u? in it that impossible tasks can be accomplished when pimlic outcry? Why do we always find money in the bud-- i g. t atici someone dies? Two Utah families would probably like to know ihe answer to that question. J As the Goodmans laid to rest th ree of their children last week. I tab Department of Transportation workers were busily installing a traffic signal at the deadly intersection which took their oiing li ee. The debate over who owned the problem of the Wh - tMe j k vTtv& $0 Hfc esfi in dnngeious roadway had raged for years. Sandy said it wasnt theirs, Diaper said it wasn't theirs and UDOT, in its own inim-- ! liable way had put the project into the hopper waiting for it to ' surface. did it lake such a tragic accident to bring the project to how did a project of this size get through all of the And light. bureaucratic red tape to be started and completed in less than one week? Maybe the, at times year-londelays on certain projects are not necessary. If we can respond quickly after children have died, why not respond quickly before a tragedy? The same scenario existed with the shelter which was built to house the homeless in Salt Lake and then denied permits to open based on a technicality. The debate over whether or not the building was meeting all of the city codes raged while angry neighbors who had not heard of the word chanty kept telling city officials they simply did not want these people" in their neighborhoods. As the verbal war homeless man quietly froze to death continued, a withm throwing distance of the closed doors that had they been opened would have saved his life. His young life was snuffed out as he huddled against the cold bricks of a nearby church. Miraculously, when the public outcry against the death of the homeless man drowned out the unfeeling clamor ol the neighbors, the shelter doors were opened and it is now filled to capacity with those who are down on their luck. Why did a young man have to die before the seemingly insurmountable task of opening a shelter could be accomplished? How J'd the red tape get cut so quickly? In yet another story, a young Davis County mother is today trying to heat her home for her toddler and herself by keeping her elec! lie oven on. She has no telephone. She has no gas. They have been turned off for What will she do? How d can she keep a warm agajnst the bitter Arctic air that is promised for the rest of the week? Her neighbor called the Clipper and asked for help. A call from the newspaper to Mountain Fuel resulted in a flurry of activity including a promised visit from a worker who can help the young mother till out the necessaiy forms to see if she can qualify kn assistance. What would have happened if the newspaper had not called. How many other families are living without heat this week .because they cannot afford to pay the bills? Ii indeed there are solutions to life threatening problems those ..volutions should be administered prior to death and suffering. No excuses are acceptable. The excuses for delay are as unacceptable before death and suffering as they are after. Are we all doing nothing because there is so much to do? Take a look around you. In your workplace, in your neighborhood in your heart. Charity never fuileth." h g, j Early bird walkers lied about morning If you are looking at me for any kind of encouragement to get up early in the morning and get that exercising in. you have really come to the wrong place. I have never been a morning person. States deserve right to iegaiize marijuana sni t.rh t p, an ins ol hio .'Mieai :.i he enthusiastic i tiled slate's rights soi a d.iv goes h that in mi Hoi 'o , oiiseivutive won't Jetiv ihe iiNi.vnc o stale powers by .nee h 1 i! go eminent. XinoiiL' ill.- eeneials in the move no,;i. i t ment is (ion Mike eavitt who has earned hoiioi.n liequent flyer status I'oiu his nmneious Western Slates mps t. inip.iigniiig lor more state eon- tiol hi i, mdeni wi'.h (iov. Leavitt is Si (!m,i (I Oe h who regularly tell s id'o .hidcKCN that country tolks t a w hole lot moie about the ne. 1, ol hen soinniMnny than Big Bad Bill an Hillaiy the Horrible. Ihe nolo ol that the locals should cimHioI then own destiny reached a jevei pitch seveial months ago when the ( liiiion Administration announced the tiea'ion ol the Escalante Grand Stui'cHNe Naiional Monument. To pel nbhed state's rights advocates life Congtcssmun Jim Hansen, the 'IimTi m a'.lion was illegal confiscation. I lie answei. he said, was to get the at train buieaucrats out of our lives iikI lei the common folk govern 'heir v. n communities. X ep. that all sounds great. I 'tin the common folk do something the vonscivatives don't like. On Nov s ( aldoi nia voters by 56 percent to pvmeni passed a measure lecuiiHig maiit'iana cultivation. Teapossession am! use toi medical s' ms. vnd "ii that same day. Arizona volets oiled hy an even larger margin ot 65 pencil! !o 35 percent to let doctors prescnK nianiuana. heroin. LSD and nieihai'ipheiamines for critically I , i i ; - . ; C ; - 'H. II' . All ol a sudden the state s rights supporters were strangely silent. I didn't hear Mike Leav itt schedule a press conference to say that the voters had expressed the will of the peo- ple...! didn't hear Congressman Hansen announce that the voters in Arizona and California were smarter than everyone who had ever lived in the 202 aiea code. Actually, not everyone was silent. Sen. Oirin Hatch quickly reversed track and criticized the voters. "We can't let this go without a response," lie said. To Hatch, the voters those people who were formerly the fountains of wisdom had been suckered. He appeared to agree with Drug Knlorcement Administration Thomas Constantine who blubbered that the Arizona and California voters had been snookered by ad campaign. and Well, even if true, that's something these state's rights guys should understand. Since when has a Utah conservative had a problem with a advertising campaign'.' In the past election, conservative Chris Cannon spent over SI. 7 million to defeat Democratic incumbent Bill Orton for a I 'tali congressional seat. In the past 12 years. Merrill Cook has spent $4 million in his quest for public office. Are they not in office today because of w ell orchestrated and -- campaigns? The voters in Arizona and California were spurred by compassion. The vote wasnt a validation of the hippie culture, but an attempt to ease the suffering of dying people, for Sen. Hatch to tell the voters of Arizona and California that they didn't know what they were doing is the height of arrogance. If Utah Republicans really worship at the altar of state's rights, they should be supporting the election results in Arizona and California. If not. they like Sen. Orrin Hatch are really not state's rights proponents. Iliey'ie me.c hypi K.1 JiCN. day looked like. Eric arrived two minutes late, after allowing me only a brief hope that he had chickened out. He looked very nice in his running pants and matching jacket. Off we went with the best of intentions. I had confessed to another friend that I was a little concerned that Eric might not be able to keep up the pace I was hoping to maintain. 1 had nothing three-year-ol- . even a little excited to see just exactly what The best part of the to fear. But I had heard great reviews about how wonderful, beautiful, and fulfilling it is to get up during "The best part of the day and take an aerobic walk around the neighborhood. 1 fell for this line. I was sitting in my office one day, minding my own business, and Eric slopped in to talk to me. My life changed at that moment. Since our homes are very close, he thought it would be a good idea to get up at 6:00 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and head out for a brisk four mile walk. Sitting in the comfort of my office, it almost sounded like a good idea. The next morning at 6:00 a.m.. it sounded (and felt) like a terrible idea. However, I had in a moment of weakness committed myself, so forced myself out of my 1 warm bed. After tossing on a cute pair of slacks and matching top, I donned my color coordinated sweater. I had to admit. I was After the first block, Eric took a look back over his shoulder and inquired as to the state of my health. Unable to breath or respond, I just smiled and acted like I had a chance of making it to the top of the hill. It was dark. It was cold. It was scary. At one point, in the mist of the early morning hours, a car passed us. It backfired. I took a dive toward the bushes, thinking that we had been victims of drive-b- y shooting. Eric, unfortunately, took my increase in speed as an indication that we should be walking faster. I had no energy to waste on explaining the situation. It was all I could do to breath. Miraculously, we survived the first day. Unfortunately, I had been concentrating so intently on surviving that I had failed to notice The best part of the day. As Eric departed, to my surprise, and horror, he said. I'll see you on Wednesday. He actually wanted to try it again!' I went into the house, pried frozen shoes off numb feet, and crawled into a hot tub. As some feeling returned, I concentrated on all of the benefits we had just n venreceived from this ture. We had exercised muscles that very seldom moved during my sit at my desk all day. We had made the old lungs expand to take in oxygen. And we had increased our metabolism rate In fact, we had increased out metabolism rate so much that, after 1 reluctantly extracted myself from the thawing process of my bath, I dressed and ran to the kitchen cupboard. pre-daw- 1 had previously sequestered By that time, I was running late for work. grabbed a few 1 more cookies to eat on the way to work. I got to my office where someone had been kind enough to bring in donuts. I ate two. Wednesday morning came so quickly, I had not had time to come up with a good excuse not to do this again. I consoled myself with the thought that The best part of the day was out there waiting for me. I slithered out of bed. forwent the cute outfit had worn the day before, and donned blue sweats, a sweat shirt, my husband's socks, a muffler around my ears, my ski gloves, a sweater and a coat. Eric obviously had suffered from the cold as 1 had on 1 1 1 1 1 something about getting a stair step and doing our exercises indoors at 6:00 a.m. Mondays, and Fridays. Wednesdays, Hopefully, 1 was hallucinating. Published semi weekly by in Your Opinion Whats behind a package of chocolate chip cookies. I tore open the package with the intent of having one, or two. I had six. Monday. He was in ear muffs, long pants and an overcoat. As Eric took off at a pace that only the young could handle, I began to count the years of difference in our ages. Not only must he be half my age but he had longer legs and only had to take one and a half steps to my two. Focusing my mind on these small details kept me from looswas ing control of my senses. determined though. I was going to see "The best part of the day, no matter what it took. I forced my watery eyes to stay alert. I ignored drive-b- y shootings. And missed it again! Nothing miraculous had happened. My feet had gotten colder, my nose began to run, and 1 was starving. I was very disappointed. Fortunately, by Friday 1 had sprained my back and was unable to continue our walks. I lay in my warm bed, the clock passed the 6:(X) a.m. hour, the 7:00 a.m. hour and the 8:00 a.m. hour. My electric blanket flooded we with warmth. I realized something. had not, after all, been missing The best part of the day. For me, this was it. When I told Eric I was unable to walk on Friday, I believe I heard a sigh of relief in his voice. had taken several pain pills for the spasms in by back and in my fog 1 think I heard Eric mention Clipper Publishing Co., Inc. 1370 South 500 West P 0. Box 267 Bountiful, Utah 84011-026- ADMINISTRATION Davis Countys cen- tralized emission testing? Editor, Regarding the projected centralized emissions testing in your some simple math and a simple question or two article of are in order. First the math: If 15,000 cars (first year) are to be inspected by two inspectors in one calendar year, given the authorized open hours from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., allowing for lunch periods, vacations, authorized holidays, (so many! didnt a lot of us do this on holidays?) and sick days, this leaves us 237,25 days for the proposed two inspectors to do the job. That is 3,796 man hours to do 15.000 cars in 1997, or by counting hours to minutes, 15.10 minutes per car from arrival to finish. This assumes the inspector will identify the vehicle, do the paperwork, test the car, print the results and or certificate, and deliver the car to the owner in 15 minutes, 10.8 seconds. Remember this is county government! About four cars per hours in two test lanes? Of course, it is given that no sick leave will be needed. The simple questions: A. Will this be possible in 1998 when the car count goes to 30.000?, B. Who'll keep the records? C. Has the county projected this cost? To include all personnel? D. What and how much exactly in terms of Federal money do we stand to lose, and when? Nobody likes to face rejection. Nobody likes to be made to spend money to fix a car. Are these the reasons that this loosely conceived program is being implemented? Ignore the public, risk their outrage, when they demand to know who was elected and who was appointed, and for goodness sakes who was out to lunch? Will the public be served by this, or sorely tried? Bill Carpenter Bountiful 6, To reach particular department dial in extension number immediately upon reaching main number: Subscription rath: 504 per copy $25 00 per year. 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