Show 'rv-- w rl- ' '"''V'P ‘f JF 'f ' - ff- jr 'xt"v-o'- - ?: ' M' VS1' - — m-- r rV-- - - rS£ Xi' T -- I floM conclusions are more likely to Be gathered out of a multitude of tongues than through any kind of authoritative selection " — Judge LMnwd Amrtcn mM Hand (1I7I-1B6- The Herald Journal Logan Utah Friday July 23 1999 Page 16 Our view Flying and floating L m week in tins spiuv wc iilkeil ilvuii thecnlleciiu1 in ittiuMi n liiewmks sHYllttts ill lik'iil pilots ciivlmg (Ik I tnntli nl Jul ilispli nci Koinik') Stuluun This week on tin1 local aviation trout we icpnil tho disuniting sighting of a private jet ooming thiough Logan I 'am on Ivlovv the actual canyon rim I A telephone call to the I ederal Avi- : j at ion Administra- lion offered little in j L A °y - the way of guid- - lrJPshero ance about whether this type of hehav ior is right or wrong FAA rules require that pilots maintain a minimum elevation of 500 feet above the ground in uncongested areas so quite possibly the local jet jockey in question was within legal limits But something about it ticks you olT anyway doesn't it? It must be jealousy — jealousy that while we toil aw ay on the ground the sky above is one big playground for those w ith the privilege to own their ow n priv ate jets Is it right to feel this way? Probably not But there you have it ' Typically in late spring and summer the North Logan-Hyd- c Canal Co has a problem with people tubing down from Second Dam clogging the waterway by rolling rocks into it It's no small problem since the rocks arc sometimes so big they have to be dynamited A big enough clog could cause a breach leading to a disaster like the recent — one in Riverdale Also the people maintaining the Park-Smilhflc- ld canal often find lots of beer cans and other evidence of wild parties including women's unmentionables in the tipivr reaches of the canal This vear however canal company repiesentatives say there haven't been as many problems and they speculate that's because Utah State University's sw itch to semesters sent most US 1 students home before the weather was warm enough for floating The canal company doesn't mind it when people float on the waterway but when they litter break branches and leave punctured flotation devices in the canal it clogs screens reduces water pressure for irrigators and causes a lot of unnecessary w ork for the maintenance people Besides even though the canal is a manmade waterway trashing it is still a form a water pollution and very uncool Other Cache Valley canal companies also report problems with people dumping yard trimmings construction debris and other junk — including dead animals — into canals Not only do these waterways provide summer recreation they are also important to the livelihoods of our farmers and their families and allow many people to use less expensive untreated water on their lawns yards and gardens President Clinton — he’s back By Dale McFeatters Scripps Howard News Service w And from the Cache Valley rumor mill comes this update: That local big wig who was rumored to be resigning Monday but obviously did not resign is still expected to resign any day now And with that we resign from paying any further attention to this particular piece of unsubstantiated gossip Your view Logan library fee far from realistic To Ilk editor: Every summer wc traveled from Arizona to Logan to spend the summer with my grandmother One way that we passed the summer days was hy visiting the laigan library We literally spent the summer with our noses buried in books We devoured hook after hook — never realizing that we were spending our summers ‘'learning" - we were just in it for the fun As time passed we grew up our grandma died and we no longer visited Logan each summer However due to my memories I maintain a heart-fe- lt affinity for Logan I was quite appalled to read about the proposed $157 library card fee (I was sure it had to be a misprint!) That's a steep fee to pay even if it is for knowledge Here in the “big city" of Mesa Ari I hav e a library card for the neighboring cities of Chandler and Tempe and these library cards were all FREE! If I want to have a library card for the Arizona Stale University library (and have access to virtually every book around the country) the fee is only $25 I'm sure readers will say that by living out of state I don’t have a vested interest in Logan and that my say in the library card increase doesn't matter After all I am just a “sunbird" who breezes into town on a whim and Logan owes nothing to me But Logan does owe something to those people who live in the surrounding communities year-roun-d There is talk of having "scholarships" for the needy Who would want to step forward swallow their pride and declare themselves indigent and in need of a library card? And why should someone have to do this anyway? How many poor people will these scholarships accommo- non-stude- nt date? Personally I feel that the majority of those in need will just stop using the Logan library and when this happens what will bored kids do for fun? I understand that Logan doesn't bring in as much tax revenue as my city does By living in a big city I am fortunate in many aspects and being pble to use the library and the sister libraries — at no charge — is one nice perk Although I agree that Logan should charge a nonresident fee I don't agree with the astronomically inflated proposed fee The fee should remain realistic and affordable to all so that it doesn't further the division between economic and social classes Wc all know that knowledge equals power so how do we expect the poor to get ahead in life? By charging a ludicrous amount for library cards it only sen es the purpose of widening the gap between the “haves" and the “have-not's- " Carolina Griffith Mesa Ariz ASHINGTON — President Clinton is back You perhaps weren't aware that Bill Clinton was gone because the White House has ways — the president waving from the steps of his helicopter the president bestowing an award the president addressing distinguished fellow Americans — of making it appear that the chief executive is on the job ‘ But these events are so tightly scripted and controlled that the president might as well be alone in a cabin in Montana The real test of whether a president is present and engaged is the presidential press conference For two years Clinton avoided press conferences except for the inevitable formal appearance with a foreign leader when he had to duck squirm-makin- g questions about Monica Lewinsky And they were indeed dark days: He was a judicially certified liar impeached amidst cries for his resignation who office My how times do change Monica Kenneth Starr Paula Jones Newt Gingrich Henry Hyde they've all sort of disappeared In just a few months cook-o- ut big fun To the editor: Members of The Parent Connection and their families had a wonderful time cooking and camping at Guinevah on July 9 and 10 We would like to thank Ralph Roskelley of Smithfield Implement for his generous donations for the Dutch oven cook-of- f prizes and also Common Ground for providing activities and popsicles for the children This extra support really helped make for an enjoyable time for all of us Michelle Robison The Parent Connection Chair Logan about his latest challenge: Getting Hillary Clinton elected senator from New York He claims he hasn't thought about what he will do after leaving office having just said he would divide CBEHfiOffi'SimU''’' X2 ground and passion packed into one place" The press can't help but be churlish and some of them noted that his endorsement of Vice President AI Gore was a lot less ringing: “A good man with a good record" And he praised the vice president for being the tallest midget in this circus: He's “gotten more done than any vice president in history" And he was hardly helpful in trying to make the point that vice presidents face a difficult time in emerging from a great president's shadow Indirectly comparing himself to Dwight Eisenhower he said “If you go back and look at where Richard Nixon was in 1959 you'll see the same sort of thing” That led older reporters to recall that when Eisenhower was asked about Nixon's accomplishments as vice president he said “Give me a week and I'll think of something" Churlish as we said since the president was in such good humor that he told the reporters “I'll even miss all of you believe it or not" Frankly no but the thought was nice and definitive evidence that the president is back S’ ValuJet crash sparks criminal charges T St Petersburg Times crash of Flight 592 They stored the he actions that led to the 1996 ValuJet crash in the Florida Everglades that killed 110 people were a tutorial on how to create the opportunity for a disaster — a criminal one The National Transportation Safety Board has pinned the blame primarily on the work of the aircraft maintenance company SabreTech It had mislabeled and improperly stored oxygen canisters in the cargo hold of the jet which the NTSB believes probably caused the deadly inferno But the maintenance company is not the only one who contributed to this tragedy The NTSB also said ValuJet was remiss in failing to properly superv ise the maintenance of its fleet and the Federal Aviation Administration was at fault for failing to require all airlines to install smoke detectors and systems in cargo holds But it was two SabreTech mechanics who have been charged with causing the oxy- gen canisters on the plane without mandatory safety caps that kept them from inadvertent firing Then pressured hy the maintenance supervisor they falsified work orders indicating that the caps had been installed The NTSB believes the canisters were bumping around and that one fell over causing the chemical reaction that resulted in the fire Tragically the canisters were not supposed to be in the caigo hold at all To drive the point home that this kind of stunning irresponsibility by corporate actors will be punished the Miami-Dad- e Slate Attorney's Office charged SabreTech with 110 felony counts of third-degrmurder and second-degre- e manslaughter It is somewhat curious that the state charges did not name a single officer or ee employee of SabreTech as culpable Instead the state attorney charged the company alone which is now out of business Even if it's found guilty and fines are imposed it’s unlikely that Mallard Fillmore Herald Journal X ZtoOUX'T l&etittWUsORy aomtei ov his time between New York and “home" in Arkansas where he would work on building his library and center And oh yes he would “happily" join the Senate spouse's club The president gave a ringing endorsement to his wife's candidacy: “it would be a great thing for the country It's very unusual to find somebody like that who has that much knowledge and back- Other views step-by-st- Parent Connection nar- rowly missed being removed from they've become answers to political trivia questions Clinton's 19 opponent Boh Dole is now in sales Clinton's nemeses the House Republicans have dug themselves into a hole and can't bring themselves to stop shoveling Fortunately for the Republicans the president won the war over Kosovo before they could fully enlist on the wrong side As for the press they can't avoid the president He's had three press conferences in six days the most recent on Wednesday ran 35 minutes over and it seemed that the president had more answers than the press had questions That happened to be the same day the House Republicans were beating themselves up over their own tax bill which even they hate and setting themselves up for' a budget confrontation with Clinton in September that they know they will lose As for Clinton he was being president: “I love this job I love it Even on bad days" Clearly this was not one of those days He took questions here he took questions there he took questions asked in impenetrable foreign accents he took questions from reporters so stunned to be called on that they became inarticulate The president likes challenges — sometimes he even appears to manufacture them — and he is clearly excited Editorial policy The Opinion page is intended to acquaint readers with a variety of viewpoints on matters of public importance and provide members of the community with a forum tor their views Personal columns cartoons and letters from readers reflect the opinions of their writers and creators Editorials under the heading Our VieW represent the views of tho Herald Journal editorial board Members of the editorial board: BRUCE SMITHpubksher CHARLES McCOLLUMmanaging editor MIKE WENNERGRENfcity editor CINDY YURTHfeaturss editor they'll ever be collected But there is some value to holding SabreTech up as an example to the industry It will signal for the future that deliberate violations of airline maintenance safety regulations may result in prosecution In addition to the state charges a federal grand jury has indicted the two SabreTech mechanics who packed the oxygen canisters and the vice president for operations on chaiges of improperly handling hazardous material conspiracy and making false statements If convicted they face up to five years in prison and $250000 in fines There is some danger to holding airplane maintenance employees criminally culpable after an airplane crash If employees know that by talking to inspectors they might be incriminating themselves in a future trial investigations into crashes may become more difficult to conduct But if ever there was a case in which criminal charges are warranted this is it It just shouldn't become a reflexive response to every air 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