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Show I T I Pape 2 - January 20. 1998 i Editorid Uintah Basin Standard Not A Minute Too Soon They have a job which requires them to bear the brunt of complaints far more often than compliments, but in light of their successful and dedicated efforts to organize a county wide water district we say hats are off to the Duchesne County Commissioners." They are to be thanked for continuing Duchesne County had a water district in place when the Central Utah Project discussions were taking shape in the 1960s we would have had a strong and unified voice in water discussions and negotiations; in all likelihood we would have far more to show than we do now when it comes to water projects and water storage for our county. The Duchesne County Water Conservancy District will finally give us the clout we need when dealing with other government entities in water matters. At the same time it will open doors for the county when it comes to opportunities to gain federal and state funding for water projects. Without the water district in place the county would continue to miss the chance for additional funding to ease the burden on local taxpayers. Yes, the creation of the county wide water district comes not a moment too soon. Thankfully, it does come at a time when there is still time. As water becomes a more precious commodity than ever, and as water to see efforts to form a countywide water conservancy district through to fruition. Late last year the water district was officially approved in a court of law. The task of forming the water district wasnt an easy one. There were many legal hoops to jump through, mounds of paper work (D compile and logistics to work out. Because the imple mentation of the water district will raise taxes, commissioners also had to deal with a concept that no one favors, but one that is often necessary if we plan to progress. There were complaints and some minor opposition. People were concerned about another layer of government being organized, about taxes rising and many questioned if the county really needed a water district. ' The answer to that question is an unqualified, yes! We should have had a countywidc water district 30 years ago. If deals are cropping up everywhere, Duchesne County is now ready to meet the challenge and protect the countys water resources while providing for its citizens. You tell me after youve had children come into your home at any age and any race under your care, how distant can you stay? When you get a call late at night and the social worker on the other end of the line is asking you if you would please take X number ofkids because of abuse in the home. The 10 month old baby cannot sit up or roll over, he hasn't been bathed or had his diaper changed for days. The 2 year old girl is very sick, rim has bums up and down her arms, is filthy, plus they both have lice. From the moment you agree to take these children and the social workers bring them to your home, BOOM!! YOU ARE CARING FOR THOSE CHILDREN 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Now you tell me, does $10.50 a day make you rich when you consider just the time alone you spend caring for them? Then in a few months when the parent (s) decide they want a visit with the kids, and we take them to DCFS, the parent has the gaul to complain that during a 12 hour visit we didn't bring the babys bottle, and why aren't my kids in brand name clothes? Do you know how gratifying that is? Are you getting my point? Foster care is the most thankless job youll ever have, and at the same time the most gratifying one, because in your heart you gave some children a home where there was security, trust, and just EDITOR'S NOTE: The Uintah Standard Basin and welcomes encourages opinions from readers int he form of letters to the editor. Letters may be utilized to express opinions or comments, to highlight outstanding service or of an individual organization, or any other worthwhile purpose. Letters may not be used to replace Cards of Thanks, or to list sponsors, participants or contributors to a particular event or purpose. LETTERS MUST CONTAIN 400 WORDS OR LESS. BE TYPED OR WRITTEN LEGIBLY, SIGNED, AND INCLUDE NAME, ADDRESS AND NUMBER PHONE OF THE AUTHOR. Letters will be published unless they . contain libelous or defamatory statements. We reserve the right to withould a name by request if the nature of the letter is positive, and to edit letters. Letters may be submitted to the Standard office at 268 S. 200 E.. Roosevelt, Utah, 84066 by the published deadline (normally Thursdays at 5:00 p.m.) All letters become property of the Uintah Basin Standard. Foster parents find job thankless but gratifying love. Dear Editor, And to those of you who are still In response to my sister in laws back saying, "That type of sitting letter in last weeks paper, I want abuse (and worse) doesn't happen those who don't understand what here I say, Try it, see it for youryou see and the headache and heart- self. break you go through being a foster Honie Bird parent. I dont think youd be so to her quick judge fury and helpless feelings that she's gone through and Utah Farm Bureau continues to go through. Babbitt Six years ago she received three small boys, in those six years, she Dear Editor, cared for those kids through every The recent ruling by a federal illness, broken bone, surgery, and judge that Interior Secretary Bruce heartache alone, with her husband Babbitt violated the Endangered and son, and there was NEVER a Species Act when he introduced family member there to check on wolves into Yellowstone Park is the boys, or thank her for taking another reminder to Utahns of the such good care of those children. way the Clinton Administration To those of you who might say, designated the Grand Staircase-Escalant- e (and we as foster parents are told) National Monument. Just "Don't get attached to the children." because Mr. Babbitt thinks the pub- - to court takes Th' Uintah Basin Standard Inc. faiodical postage paid at Roosevelt and Duchesne, Utah Published weekly at 268 S. 200 E.. Roosevelt. Utah 84066-310- 9 (USPS 616-90- POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Uintah Basin Standard at 268 S. 200 F... Roosevelt. Utah 84066-310- 9 OFFICE HOURS: 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday. 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday thru Friday. Fax: Phone 0 DEADLINES: For all News. Legal Notices. Classifieds A Advertising, the Deadline is Thursday at 5 p.m. EDITOR: Le.lee E. Whiling PUBLISHER: Craig Ashby OFFICE MANAGER: Tracy Womack ADVERTISING: Michelle Roberts PRODUCTION: Writers: Akion Rachele. Cheryl Mecham. Dixie Brown and Wass Chapooxe Production: Colette Ashby, Bonnie Parrish. Kaelyn Meyers and Kim Ames CORRESPONDENTS: ROOSEVELT - Tresa Harmston 722-2- 5 8; ALTAMONT -- : BLUEBELL - Shana Lee HANNA - Tracy Roberts LAPOINT - Marlene McClure Locrtxchcr 454-397MONTWELL - Nola Nelson MYTON -- ; TRIDELL - Loma McKee 8: 4; NEOLA - Zuia Spencer WHITEROCKS - Virginia Ferguson DUCHESNE - Orinda Gee 738-263-4. f Subscription Rates: Clip and Send to: I Uintah Basin Standard I 268 S. 200 E. Roosevelt, Utah 84066-310- 9 I Name. I Address. I City Vw I In the Uintah Basin 1 Yr. $22 2 Yr. $34 I Out ofthe Uintah Basin I 1 Yr. $36 2 Yr. $56 I - - Zip4 Catk or Check only. Sorry No Charge! lie supports his ideas is no justification for violating the law, as a feder- al judge says he did in the Yellowstone wolf transplant case. Three years ago. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt chose to ignore the valid concerns of ranchers and announced a program that would reintroduce the gray wolf population to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho. Babbitt also misinterpreted the law when he launched the initiative. U.S. District Court Judge William Downes, delivering a painful lesson, reminded Babbitt in December that the law must be his guide when it comes to doing his job. In Farm Bureau vs. Bruce Babbitt, Downes ruled Babbitt exceeded the authority of the Endangered Species Act when he launched the wolf reintroduction program in 1994. According to Ride Krause, assistant counsel for the American Farm Bureau Federation, this is a major decision in a sense that it tells die government and tells other people that you cannot do whatever you want to do under the Endangered Species Act. The gray wolf is not threatened by extinction. What is threatened, however, is the livestock of western ranchers. According to wildlife researchers at Utah State University, it is quite likely that Yellowstone wtdves will migrate to Utah. So this is an issue ofvalid concern to Utah ranchers as well. These wolves have already killed at least 105 sheep and 15 cattle outside of Yellowstone's boundaries. The gray wolfreintroduction program was approved on Nov. 22, 1994. Farm Bureau filed suit three days latfer. Wolves were brought into the park in Jan. 1995. Downes decision deemed the reintroduction program invalid, and he haa ordered all nonnative wolves and their offspring to be removed from Yellowstone and central Idaho. It is not Farm Bureau's wishes to have these wolves killed. Farm Bureau hopes the government backs up its assertion that it could easily capture and remove all Canadian wolves from the Yellowstone and Central Idaho region. Farm Bureau has never advocated killing the wolves aa a means of removal. This issue, however, goes beyond n animal rights issue. Its a matter of whats right and legal. Babbitt, ignoring the implications the plan would have on ranchers and the Endangered Species Act, moved forward with the wolf program. He turned a deaf ear toward Farm Bureau's concerns. For his efforts all he got was a dose of legal castor oil. Hopefully, it will cure him of his unwillingness to listen. C. Booth Wallentine Executive Vice President Utah Farm Bureau Federation newly-introduc- - BLM legislative authority questioned Dear Editor, The Bureau of Land Management has its own police force cruising the public lands of Utah citing citizens for "infractions such as driving on public lands without wearing their seat belts. The Bureau demands that counties request permission before they maintain their rural road networks. When it suits the Bureau, it cites counties for trespass or it demands that county roads be cut and abandoned. Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt recently tried to vastly expand BLM law enforcement activities even to include federal law enforcement on private land. He has been tempo-- rarily stayed because the public reacted with outrage. The federal government was never intended to have the vast legislative powers that it now imposes on the people on a daily basis. Writing in the Federalist papers (No. 45), James Madison described the respective roles of the federal and state governments. "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce..." The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which in the ordinary course of affairs: concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State." The U.S. Supreme Court violated the Constitution when it said that the federal government may exercise total legislative authority xwer the public lands ofthe State of Utah in the same manner that the State legislature exercises governance over private land. The federal government has managed to expand its powers from the "few and defined it was intended to have. Today, it acts like a state legislature destroying our own legislature in the process. Our State elected officials, from the Governor on down, have sworn an oath to defend the Constitution. One must wonder whether they understand that the federal government has no constitutional authority to control Utah the way that it does today or their obligation to do something about it Lilly Mae Noorlander will represent the irretrievable passage of the constitutional form from the American political body?" Could it be freedom of speech or freedom of the press and the moment before one or the other is lost to tyranny? Not likely. These rights are too close to, and too well understood by the people to be substantially diminished without engendering unacceptable levels of adverse public reaction. The existence of residual freedoms, however, does not obviate the question. It is entirely possible to irretrievably lose our constitutional form even while selected vestigial liberties, or the appearance thereof, remain. Returning to the question then, among the number oftreasured gifts that our Constitution has given us, what single attribute, once violated, will mark that point at which this union of sovereign states departs irretrievably from the governmental form created more than two hundred years ago launching us thereby into the indeterminate unknown? I submit that single most crucial attribute is divided government. Once we set upon a course of consolidation into a single national government, we are then upon the course ofirretrievable constitutional dissolution. This nation's founders used the instrument of the Constitution to divide governmental power because America would have no king. An enumerated portion of formerly imperial sovereignty was granted by "We the People" to the national government. All remaining elements of sovereignty, a "residuary and inviolable sovereignty in the words of James Madison, were retained by the people and the states. This constitutional "dual sovereignty" is foundational to our constitutional form. Within the larger realm of sovereign powers retained by the states and the people, there is no more essential power than the states govern the "soil within their borders. If, at the core ofour constitution-- , al form, we have divided sovereign powers, and if a most valuable and powerful appendage" ofstate sovereignty is the ability to govern the that "soil," then it stands usurpation of state governance over the soil constitutes a hostile attack upon state sovereignty and, ultimately, an attack upon our constitutional form. Today, the federal government regularly purchases private land upon which the state holds ultimate title and it does so without state concurrence as required by Article I. It then proceeds to exercise national sovereign jurisdiction over that land. It is not just state sovereign governance over the tract involved that ia destroyed. It is the foundational element of constitutional dual sovereignty that is de- if broken, . Dye thanked for devotion to Myton Dear Editor, As citizens of Myton City, we would like to take this opportunity to thank a man who doesnt get much recognition. As citizens we would like to thank him for his continued service for Myton City. We would like to thank him for getting our road project started and for seeing it become a reality - due to his dedicated effort the project was completed, he haa been great and he truly cares about the well being and welfare ofthe citizens ofMyton, and Myton city itself. He only wants the best for us. The man we would like to thank is Larry Dye. We want to say THANKS, Larry - because without you Myton City wouldn't be where it is today. Sincerely, Citizens ofMyton City Ignorance results in erosion of constitution Dear Editor,. There are many who believe that the time will come when the Constitution of the United States will "hang by a thread." This expression refers to that time when one further abuse, added to the accumulated erosion and neglect already heaped upon our constitutional form, will render that form irretrievably inoperable. It is well understood that the manner in which our Constitution is applied today differs substantially from the way its authors intended. The only dispute would be to what degree modern constitutional application is at variance with original intent If we assume general agreement that constitutional governance ia "evolving," the question becomes: "What IS this thread from which constitutional governance will hang in its eleventh hour which. stroyed. Three questions remain. First, why do the elected leaders of the states not defend the peoples' sovereignty as they have sworn to do? Second, why do "We the People not hold our sworn representatives to a higher standard of conformity to the dictates of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land? and third, why do we not do so before we pass over the irretrievable divide separating constitutionalism from post constitutional indeterminacy? William D. Howell Local representatives attend COPs workshop Dear Editor, Sheriffs Deputy Dale Johnson, South Myton; Deputy Ron Herbert, Fruitland; City Council man Ernest Martinez who is also Myton City of the city community neighborhood crime watch program, along with Don Sweat, Leslie Sweat, Bill Clark and Bob Smith from Fruit-lanVeil Tucker from Altamont , ' d, participated in a three day workshop in Ogden Utah. The community oriented policing programs supported by the Office of Justice. Its purpose is to build a partnership with the community and law enforcement, transform our community into a "community policing environment. Community policing is not a substitute for law enforcement but a partner with law enforcement to make our communities better and safer places to live in. Ernie Martinez Multi-cultur- al night organizer says thanks Dear Editor, A letter of appreciation for all who supported and helped to make our Multi-CultuNight a successful event. Many businesses gener- -' ously donated door prizes We want to thank the parents for their, involvement: Terry Avila, Bellon Silva, Barabra Richens, Mary Colorow, Pamela C. Martin, Alicia Evans, and everyone who attended. Purpose for our Night is to educate people about the different Cultures and Traditions we have at our school. Also to build better communications between parents, teachers and students at all levels. As well as our community. We need better understanding and unity in our community throughout the Uintah Basin. Thanks again Jacqueline A Martinez, re Multi-Cultu- J re The Sheila Bird who wrote a letter to the editor which appeared in the Jan. 13 edition of the Standard ia not the Sheila Bird who is employed by the ty Health Department Fervent prayers from different personality types: God, help me to relax about insignificant details beginning tomorrow at 11:41 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. God, help me to consider peoples feelings, even if most of them ARE hypersensitive. God, help me to take responsibility for my own actions, even though theyre usually NOT my fault. God, help me to not try to RUN everything. But, if You need some help, just ask. God, help me to be more laid back and help me to do it EXACTLY right. God, help me to stand up for my rights (if you dont mind my ask ing). God, help me to take things more seriously, especially parties and dancing. God, give me patience, and I mean right NOW. God, help me not be a perfectionist. (Did I spell that correctly?! J God, help me to finish everything God, help me to do only what I can and trust you for the rest. Do you mind putting that in writing? God, keep me be open to others ideas, WRONG though they may be. God, help me be less independent, but let me do it my way. God, help me follow established procedures today. On second thought. Ill settle for a few minutes. God, help me slow downandnotruahthroughwatldo Amen! POOR |