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Show wnirtWIirwA rf?. g "W: :r,';';-,-4- fciuijp T I iSwiS OPINION foge 2 - July 17.2001 Uintah Basin Standard Community Support Was a Moving Tribute to the Chief young man sat down and typed a letter to his City Council members, with the hopeofheing hired asapoliceofficer. Inthat letter, he wrote, I believe in myself and in this mixture of gratitude, respect, sorrow, and a sense of shock that something so brutal and senseless could happen in our town. The respect and reverence offered by the community ... I care enough to hclpand pay the price of bei ng a pol iceman . The young man was Cecil Ciurr, and the community was Roosevelt. What wash that Cecil Gurr believed about hiscommunily that motivated him toserveitfor 27 years? What is it about each community in the IJintah Basin that inspires people to sincerely care about their friends and neighbors? What is it that makes people want to live here, raise their families here, die here? It's difllcult to tlnd the right words for somethingso intangible, but we felt iton July 0 when hundreds of people left their jobs and daily routines to line the roads that ChicfGurr's funeral procession would travel, to pay homage to theirslain policcchief. ( hildren waiving American Hags stood with theirparents. Business people left thciroiTIces community went even further in a way perhaps that simple act offered many did not realize comfort and a reassurance to the Roosevelt City Policeollicers and theirfamilies. Throughout the funeral procession, tears of gratitude were shed by some very tough men inbluc who were inspired and reminded once again why thcychose to become policemen. We are usual ly not aware of how the little things we do can impact someone's li fe. but on J uly 0, we saw li rslhand how al of our i ves are entwined together. Those who took a few moments to si lently honorChiefGurrwcretaughta valuable lesson: life is precious, we should try in every way to spend it servingour fellow men. "What wedo in life, echos in eternity. It is a lesson that ChicfGurr lived, and it should not be forgotten. The intangible feeling captured that day helps us realize what it is about our town that makes us want to call it home. Something as simple as waving toyour ncighboras he passes on the road. The desire in us to help each other. A sense ofbclonging and the knowledge that we can count on each other, that we can make a difference in each other's lives. It is the essence of living in a place where people still take the time to care about each other. In 1974 a 1 to place theirhandsovertheirhearts. Passing motorists, aware only that trafllc had come to a standstill, paused in reverence as they witnessed a community coming together to honor the man who devoted almost three decades of his life to protecting and serving. lurch silent spectator had been touched in some way by Ccci I' s ki ndness, his goodness, and his hope for a brighter world and a safe haven to call liomc. We all felt that inexpressible Be done in by a dreg without A Tribute to 1 Cecil F. Gurr Roosevult reeled in disbelief Could it lie it lost its Chief. A man who served for so long, Dcfcndingright and fighting wrong. Quietly strong, benevolently brave, .We hardly noticed the service he gave. Always there, year after year A compassionate MfltVWhtfTttfw no ... ifeur. A bastion of strength to family und town, But suddenly an evil bullet took him down. .Its thought or care. A merciless act that saddened and shocked And lell empty theBtreets so often he walked. Dear Editor, ' 1 1 ironically unfair that a man so rare ) A family groans in serious pain A town convulsesin hate and disdain. The next morning, even the sun seemed reluctant to rise, Muted and hidden by dark, angry skies. The town wasquiet, the streets nearly bare' if divine respect, knowing that hed not be there. As Struggling for hope, fightingdeRpair. The only comfort coming from the unspoken prayer. And so we struggle and try to go on Trying to reconcile our minds to the fact that hes gone. Though he was taken from us in such a dastardly way. His memory will live on in the respects that we pay. His smile will be there as we close our 1 at his Bide. The suspect who shot him will stand Will be buried with him up in court, With counsel demanding his rights. While a young widowed mother must work for his kids And spend time along many long lonely nights. The beat that he walked was a battlefield too. Just as if hed gone ofT to war. Though the flog of our nation wont fly at half-mas-t, To his name, they will add a gold Btar. Yes, somebody killed a policeman today. It happened in your town or mine. While we slept in comfort behind our locked doors, A cop put his life on the line. Now his ghost walks a beat on a dark city street. And he stands at each new rookies side. He answered the call and gave us his all, And a part of America died. Submitted by Wayne Embleton eyes. fc ' EDITOR'S NOTE: The I 'intah Basin Standard welcomes amt encourages ofiimnns from readers in the Jorm of tellers to the editor. Letters may he ulili:ed to express opinions or comments, to highlight outstanding semeeofan individual ot organization, .or unr other worthwhile mrmse. Lett ets may not he used to replace I 'aids . ; t of Thanks, or to list sponsors, participants or contributors to a particular ewnt arpurmse. 1. OTTERS MUST CONTAIN 4H) WORDS OR LESS. BE TYPED OR BRITTEN LEGIBI.Y. SIGNED. AND INCLUDE NAME. ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER OE THE AUTHOR. letters ; will lw published unless they contain : libelous or dcfianaioiy statements 111 the right to edit letters and to ' withhold name a hy request if the nature 'of the letter is jtnsiiivc. letters may he .submitted to the Shoidanl oilier al 2M ,V. 200 E.. Roosevelt. I 'tah. S40M) hy the liruw His soft voice will comfort as a community cries. His family lives on, a tribute to his love And will be guided and blessed by a power from above. Roosevelt will remember and never forget The service he gave, the legacy he left He was there when needed, he answered the call. Hell always be remembered as the best of them all. Fred Brown part of A America died Dear Editor, ) deadline published t (normally Thursdays at S.00 p.m ) All letters become pmwi-tof the Uintah Basin Standard. Th Somebody killed a policeman today and purt of America died. A piece of our country he swore to protect Uintah Basin Standard Inc. (lists i) IlthkIh.'jI povtdgc paid at Roosevelt and Duchesne. Utah Published urctlv at 268 S 2IHI 1: , Roosevelt, Utah 84066-310-9 PON I'M.VSTKK: Send address dunces to the Uintah liasin Standard al 268 S (Hi I . Roosevelt. Utah 84066-310-9 OM-KT- : IIOI KS: 8 (Ml a in to I (Hi p in Mmid,n. 9 00 a in to 5 00 p in luesdav thru trntav. 0 Phone las 1)1. l)l. INKS: tor all N'cus. I e- -jl NnUces. Cljssil'nds& Adxcrtismg. llie Deadline T hufsdnv al 5 p m PI HI.IMIt K: Uniis EDITOR: I clcc I! Whiting' Al IK I ISINC: Mil (idle Roberts Donnie Parrish OmfE M Cecil Gurr Dear Editor, As I stood by the roadside Thu procession rolled by I saw nmny brave men With a tear in their eye OKKKSPOMII.NTS: ROOM I I I - Iciesj I laiiiisuin AITAMOM - . HI. mil'l l. - Shana I APOINT II.AW A - l'racv Roberts 848-541l.ec I .oert setter 454-397Marlene Mel line 247-- 7 ,75 MuMW IlI. - Nola Nelson MY TON . tKIDIII. MOIA - M.nnli las I, WII!li:K(X'k.S. nmil.SNI: -Ormda liec Subscription Kates: I In the Uintah Basin Yr.S24- -2 Yr.S37 1 Out of the Uintah Basin I 1 Yr.S36- -2 Yr.S56 I 1 Name I AJJiess Cnv ip 4 I jki i f Dtk Sttrry i ( ViiJrjtv At about 1 1 p.m. one weeknightin Chief Gu rr knocked on my door. He had just heard ofa fatal crash near Bottle Hollowandwentoulofhiswqy to help me get the story. Cecil Gurr was good to me when I was editor of the Standard. Once I earned his trust, he regularly called me with newsworthy information. He even went so far as to let me attend a drug bust with his detectives. The Cecil Gurr I knew was never really ofT duty. He was a dedicated cop who loved his community. He didnt Bmile much or talk much but when he did either, you knew he meant it. Though I spent a less than two years in Roosevelt back in 1980 and 1981, I met some truly exemplaiy people there. Chief Cecil Gurr was one of them. Please let me join with tlie entire Uintah Banin in honoring a fine man and a great cop Cecil Gurr. 1 98 1 A Tribute to IKOnUTIOV Clip and Saul to: Uintah Basin Standard 268 S. 200 E. Roosevelt, Utah 84066-310- 9 Editor, Sincerely, Ross Martin Winers. AKIon K'x-helKane Nelson. 'Iliervna Morrill Production. Colette Aslibs. Andica Harper. Amanda Jenkins, knn Marks and Phvllis fouler ( fine man and a great cop A j As I looked to the west The line stretched out of sight Each car rarried people WTio stand fur what's right To honor a man With a star by his name For him, much to early The grim reaper came. Now t!u? town will remember The man we have Inst To protect alt of us He paid the ultimate cost. Gunned down by a felon Released on parole But bis memory lives on In our heart und our soul. He stood for whats right And all that is good This world would be better V everyone would. let's give our support To the ones who fight crime Especially now! In this most trying time. So Remember the family Of the man who is gone For them in this world Life must go on. And to you, Cecil Gurr Youre respected and loved Not only by us But by God up above. For as He looked upon us In our grief and our pain God shed his own tears In a torrent of rain. Thank you, Cecil Gurr ByArvin Haslem Gurr family expresses their gratitude Dear Editor, Thq- times have been veiytfying ourusbtuid, father, son andlnend. We as a family have indeed been through hell this past week. How- ever, during these times our burden has been lightened by you as a community; of that we are eternally grateful. We cannot begin to express how we feel because ofyour actions, from the candlelight vigil to the crowds of people who lined the streets to pay respect as we drove to the cemetery. We have received so much from all of you, the use of your houses and vehicles, flowers, financial gifts, your kind word, and prayers. To say that your actions have touched our hearts would be a great understatement We would love to take the time to thank all of you for your actions personally. However, time will not allow for this. The simple fact is there is just too many kind deeds that have been done in our behalf to thank all ofyou. We fear that we would miss someone. We as a family, hope that you will accept this public note of appreciation. We are so sorry it could not be more. We will always remember the love and concern that you have shown in our behalf. Sincerely, The Gurr family In memory of Chief Gurr Dear Editor, As the song says, all gave some and some gave all. It is without saying that you truly gave all." It was a privilege having known and worked with you. I not only loved you likeabrotherbut I respected you like a father. Your endless compassion, caring and friendship will never be forgotten. May you rest in peace my dear friend. Sherrie Brokaw Bookmobile librarian says thanks to volunteers Dear Editor, Wc are blessed to live in the Basin where neighbors and surrounding coinmuniiy residents work and play together. Thank you to the many caring citizens who gave of their time to pack the bookmobile library and move it from Ballard to Duchesne. With over 50 volunteers, 23,000 books were packed into 380 boxes and 25 sets of steel shelves were dissembled in 1 'A days. Randall Em man , of Upalco, direc-lo- r of the Uintah Basin Volunteer Corp. got the word around and help appeared. Special thanks to Randall, Janet Lee and Bill Wardle for the use of their trailers. Others need mentioning are DC Jail inmates, Uintah County Librarian Evan Baker and seven of his stafT shelved books- - in proper order. Five from the Utah SluleLibrarvcame out to assist also. A few dedicated souls spent several days helping. Thanks so very much. Our new address is 130 South Center Street, west entrance of the old city building where the school district office is located. We are a state owned library by the threecoun-tie- s the bookmobile serves: Duchesne, Uintah, and Daggett. At this time we are very anxious for the unanimous vote of the Duchesne School Board to continue their financial support so the bookmobile can still serve the seven elementary schools. Please let the board member in your area know how you feel. We would like to see the west end of Duchesne City make good use of the library- - open to public. Call 738-262- 8. tor Sincerely, Uintah Basin Bookmobile Direc- Susan Wardle Technical Clerk Susan Metre!! Customer appreciates service at Perry Motor Dear Editor; ' I recently bought a used vehicle from Perry Motor in Vernal. After having test driven it twice, the deal was made and I took possession of the car. After dr iving it for several days I realized that the car was hesitating on long uphill pulls. I called Perry Motor and they said to bring it in. They checked the vehicle and made some adjustments but said that the adjustments may not fix the problem as it could be a bad transmission. Sure enough, by the time I had gotten home I could tell the problem was still there. Tomakealongstory short, they scheduled the car in and fixed the transmission at no cost to me. Due to the old caveat of Buyer Beware I dont believe Perry Motor was under any legal obligation to do any repairs, but they chose to do them anyway. I want to say thanks to the fine folks at Perry Motor. It was a pleasure to do business with them andlcan recommend them to anyone that is looking for a car dealer they can trust. Dan . Oil royalty payments could be diminished Dear Editor, A very critical meeting will be held July 25 at 10 a.m. in the Roosevelt Municipal Buildinghythe Utah Board of Oil, Gas, and Mining. Anyone owning mineral interests in Township 4 South, Range 2 East, UJS.B. andM. should be present Your voice must be heard because ElPaso Oil and Gas Company is petitioning the Board to change the entire Township to 640 acre spacing units from the 40 acre spacing it presently is aet for. This action will serve only the oil companies. The royalty owners will lose in a big way. Currently 576 wells can be drilled in a Township. With this change only 36 wells could hold the entire Township. Your royalty interest would be reduced to practically nothing. Asacompariaon,ifyDU were presently receiving 9100 per month, the same interest in a new well spaced at 640 acres wold payprou 96 a month. Competition among production companies and their integrity must be maintained and 40 acre s pacings assures continued leased and drilling activity Inf this area. We must be present to let the State Oil and Gas Board know our concerns and whatadevastatingblow this would be to all concerned. Not only will we the royalty owners lose, but out State, the Federal government and the Ute Indian Tribe will suffer losses in the thousands of dollars. The shallow oil and gas reserves in this area must remain at a 40 acre spacing. Mark B. Oberhansly Presently servingon the Board of Directors for the Utah Royalty Owners Thacker Thinking Out Loud All day last Wednesday I wasargu-ing- it wasThursday. I threw my friend into a complete panic, she was bound for Alabama on Friday and thought she had two days left to prepare before the flight. Youve just got to get through today then youre jetting, I said. Uh huh, she responded. Then dead calm. Not even a breath, then she asked timidly, Isnt today Wednesday? Her question took some thinking. I had to start with Monday. Now the silence was on my end while my brain stumbled through the events of the week. Lets see, Monday - watered the grass, went to work, grocery shopping, house cleaning, laundry ... Tuesday - watered the grass, went to work, afternoon thunder storm, hoQse cleaning . .. Wednesday watered the grass, went to work, called my friend Tammy ... Youre right! It is Wednesday! I said. Shesounded like aballoon deflating on the other end. We laughed. But, five minutes after the conversation ended it was Thursday again. 1 had stumbled into some kind of convoluted time warp that seized upon my senses with enough convincing power Id of bet the farm on it. I argued with my son that he should be on his camping trip and wondered where my husband was. He had Thursday oft didn't he? Did be get called out? Finally the cashier at the grocery store straightened me out. Our ad storied today, she said. Oh, that's right, its Wednesday today, not Thursday," I responded, my confusion lifting, Ive been in some kind of a time warp today. You think thats bad, she responded, leaning over the counter and lowering her voice, I wasnt scheduled until Tuesday, so all day it seemed like Monday and Ive been behind a day ever since. So, today isn't Wednesday to you, its Tuesday, and for me its Thursday, I answered in response. She nodded her head, adding, And we know t hat today is really Wednesday because the ad started. I went out ofthatstore, clutching my receipt and ponderingthe en igma of lime distortion. How does it happen? And right in the middle of the week? How can one wake up and be living a different day from everyone else? There wasnt any answer. All I could settle on was my gratitude for things in this life that are absolutely positively irrefutable, things we can count on every single week without fail like boringchurch meetings and grocery store ads. POOR C |