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Show Opinion fOoicje November 30 ,2001 The Summit County Bee Page A2 Tell Ale About it Been TIhere. . . Done TNat by Leon Slmlster strange recipe plus litigation. I mean. Looks kinda like two opposing It's a lolun-IciMis- water run-ol- f, they came from all over northern Utah -- led by Captain Billy Stokes of Summit County Search and Rescue. They were very lon.es. Makes you wonder which professional even though all of them were just that. volunteers. All were driving their own vehicles, on will when win out. It's like one cake. own time - in many cases, missing work. They their or a make lor pie you recipe used their own equipment: boats, scuba gear, oxygen, 'I tie mam ingredient used certainly isnt salt. . . or vinegar. No. when fuel. etc. - but mostly they supplied energy - and their own time. They worked tirelessly for hours and hours. you plan to cook something No. they didnt immediately find Peter. . . until it was delicious, appealing, satistying. too lute. Sure, we would have preferred that the first you use the proper ingredients, you know, like sweet things which please the palate. diver in would have come immediately up with him and him. pumped life into him. and we could SdiiicIiow. litigation like courtroom antics, tend to do said . . . all's well that ends well." and have alate. hut the (sigh). anything please I dont pretend to know the answers, hut some of gone home. But. you know, many limes search and rescue produces not a saving. . . hut always, a conclutny occupational endeavors brought me in to locus on and certainly not room court antics, lawyer talk, delays, delays, delays, sion. It's not the perfect blue-prin- t, tlte outcome that these tireless volunteers would prefer. and cost. cost. cost. Along with the unbelievable menBut it subtracts nothing from their desire to help, for tal stress and unsolvahlc pangs of anxiety, hard feelit tlieir the at incomparable inner drive to offer hope, to show system, ings. frustration, and downright disgust also takes years to heal Imm all the pressures brought they care. It's more than a cold, cold inner fear that to hear. And. ot course, in legal maneuvers, neither they help the grieving loved ones conquer, it is, rather, the fact that humankind truly cares about other humans. party thinks the other was blameless. Thu! fact is per-liatltc main stimulation for legal action sort of a Those of us who have been through this trauma, even side-ca- r accouterment. Im talking about the though our loss is great, and its memory stays with us forever, also retain another really, truly helpful reflecsaga of the (iage Waymcnl tragedy. I Id be accurate, perhaps, if said most everyone was tion of our tragedy; the knowledge that there are a great shocked when reading the newspapers about the many other wonderful, caring fcllowmen (and women) who will - and out there who are always "notice of claim filed against Summit County authordo immediately respond whenever tragedy threatens, ities. especially the (mostly volunteer) Search and Rescue group of our county over Gage's death. There and (lump they do truly care. I remains to he answered. If the was. probably, no one who wasnt personally shocked big question guess wlien young (iage was reported lost and found dead, (and I'm sure it will he) the million dollar claims now later, as the ultimate tragedy to this sad. sad occurlegally filed against Summit County in this latest case I oilier are rence. laving personally experienced (as many denied, will an ensuing law suit be sufficiently trauSummit County families have) a personal tragic loss of matic to cause a mass defection of eager, willing and able volunteers to dmp out, abstain, quit, thereby leava family lucinlvr. I feel somewhat qualified in coming a helluva quandary for others who (yet to happen) menting on this additional chapter in this will surely need their services? tale of sadness. Im aware of (he risk of appearing too ingratiating Thought Tor the day: "It is a perplexing and by those who have suffered losses such as the Waymcnl family has. Many of us have . . . been unpleasant truth that when men already have somethere. . . done that.'' and it takes a long time to heal up. thing worth fighting for, they do not feel like fightIt doesn't gel much easier too quickly. So. Id like to ing." -- Eric Hoffer. say this strictly as my own personal observation: in that drowned Wlien our grandson early spring high- these volunteers - ps Tin' llin ll (I,,,. -- . . Got To Be You've WYNN BY Wave Managing lUlilnr One of the first things the whi..y-whi- g professors teach you at any good journalism school is objectivity. In any news story you write, you must try and maintain an unbi- ased objectivity. Dont KiddiNtj! Needless to say, after much revision, (and three g other editors it) my news story hit the The Summit County front page of our sister-pape- r. Bee. Covering hard news stories is exciting, but I do love writing my column because I can throw unbiased. objective journalism" right out the window, and hopefully give our readership something to ponder. In this day and age legal actions often detract copy-editin- take sides. Don't interject opinion. Just the facts. Ma'am. had my Journalism 101 skills put to the test. How to write an unbiased news story when I am so angry at a situation I could spit nails! I began my Thursday morning like any other. As I read the morning paper with my toast, the Tribs lead story angered me to the point I could barely finish my juice. Due to a lawyer's advice, the family of Gage and Paul Waymcnl decided to file claim against the very people who risked their own lives to search for little Gage a year ago. The official Notice of Claim equals millions of dollars. To refresh your memory about the situation Gage's father. Paul, took the then Gage, spotting Jeer and left him alone in the truck. Gage subsequently got out of the truck, wandered off and froe to death. Nine months later, on the day Paul was due to begin serving 30 days in jail for negligence in Gage's death. Paul Waymcnl took his own life in the same mountainous location where Gage's body was found. It is truly sad that our society has digressed to a point that the actions of good Samaritans are scrutinized to a level that mere mortals would have a difficult lime attaining. In addition to the Wasatch County Search and Rescue team, three additional county search teams have been named in the claim. According to the Iist week. I two-year-o- ld claim. Weber. Salt Lake and Summit Counties Search and Rescue teams acted in "negligence." Now. if you ask me. this claim is just plain wrong! I've seen these teams first-hanThey are some of the most dedicated, competent and caring individuals that I have ever had the privlcdge of working with. The Wasatch County S & R team consists of an crew, who are and use their own equipment to help those in need. The Claim states that the search teams were negligent" because they didn't find Gage fast enough and didn't utilize the latest technology available to them. This family, along with countless others who have been helped by these teams, should be first in line to sing the praises of the crews who risk their own lives searching for their loved ones. In the Wayment search, weather conditions and the terrain made the search difficult. No, Gage wasn't found on the first day. but if his father had the foresight not to take a spotting deer and leave him alone in a truck for a couple of hours, this wouldn't be an issue. These two unfortunate deaths are tragic but the blame should be laid elsewhere. This family, along with count-less others ... should be first in line to sing the praises of the crews who risk their own lives searching for their loved ones. from the desire of people to engage in volunteer public service organizations such as Search and Rescue. The end result is that our society will degenerate into curious observers waiting for government to be our saviors. Is this what we have come to? I hope not. well-meani- d. self-fund- two-year-o- ld Got a News Tip? Callus today! 336-550- 1 waJfarrficartoomjum Pams PIace is It mish-mas- time h this week so just sit down, relax and get ready to be mixed conup. fused and just shake your head as I get rid of some of my thoughts. This week I get to extend Happy Birthday wishes to my daughter-in-laTori who celebrated her birthday Sunday the 23. Each year my kids" age they make me feel older but I guess thats life, huh? Anyway, hope you have many more. Wish I was just half as creative as she is. Well, it looks as if a lot of prayers were answered this week with the large amount of snow that we received. Travelers returned back to their Utah homes to find the weather was a lot different from when they left. Sweaters turned into warm coats, shoes to boots and hands welcomed gloves. Road crews were kept very busy as they hustled and bustled their plows on the roads to help make it safe for vehicles to travel to work, play or where ever the drives needed to go. Apparently the storm didn't stop many people from taking part in the big day after Thanksgiving" moment which was enjoyed by so many. It was interesting to talk to a number of persons taking part in that busy time to find out just why (?) they do it prices make it worth the trouble. the action and excitement. you gel some of your hostility out in a positive manner. As for myself, in days past I have gone through the motions of getting up extra early, traveling several miles in the dark, standing for a long period at time waiting for the doors to open, trying to keep smiling when others try to knock you down -- - But I must admit, it isn't my most favorite thing to do. There really are some pretty fantastic savings to be had-i- f you know what you want. My problem is, I just have to spend some time looking around before I buy a gift, so unless I want to go weeks ahead of time, mark down the location and areas I need to get to, well, shopping that day just doesn't work for me. Besides. I enjoy having the day off and the few extra minutes of sleep I get. Moving right along, it looks like the Olympics are getting closer every day now. The torch has been officially lit and is on its' way to Utah where' it will arrive on February 3. Planning sessions that have been ongoing for the past four years will be put to the test and Utah will welcome the world. How bout those new bright purple that are signs- - orange and sure to get people's attention? Did they get yours? People coming to our area should not miss where they need to be with those in place. Actually, I was thinking maybe after the games our road signs should be painted those colors instead of green and white. If you haven't lit the fire within" yet, you better hurry because the time is coming fast. Time to practice putting a smile on your Gage. To them, he wasn't a stranger, he was someone's little boy, one like so many of them strangers who may visit our area. Time to attend the local celebrations planned so you can tell future generations where you were during the Olympics. Sometimes, in my job as a reporter for the community, I find myself in very difficult positions. Even though as a person I have feelings, 1 have tried my best to report things fairly and right down the middle. There have been many times when I have had to bite my tongue when I hear things I greatly disagree with. But I have never weather changed from bad to face and saying welcome have. Facial expressions carried a somber look and their shoulders sunk a little lower, and when the to worse, the concern felt was evident in their faces and their demeanor. All they wanted was to be able to get one little boy off the mountain before the conditions made it impossible to do so before winter blanketed the area. I have been able to be at the command post for a number of searches, but in the years I have been a reporter I have never known a case to affect .so many people so deeply. I was in Alaska when I got word of Paul's death. I was devastated, to say the least. According to his family, I was one of the last people to talk with Paul before he left court that day, the day before he was scheduled to return to the jail the next morning to begin serving a 30 day sentence. This too will stay with me. tried to hide the admiration and respect I have for our EMTs, Firemen. Public Works, UDOT, Sheriff s Office, UHP, Tow companies and all others associated with making our lives better. I have had many opportunities to go behind the scenes and take part in a story ,lup close and personal. As I have To those of the Search and Rescue of our county and others stood along the highway taking photos of accident scenes I am aware of how dangerous this situa- named in the claim, I hope all goes well and things calm down. You know you did your best- - as you have done so many times in the past. Many lives have been saved because of your diligence and your willingness to give of yourself. Volunteerism is now at an all time high thanks to those who chose to strike our country. May we continue to give of ourselves, time tion can be. Drivers come so close sometimes you wonder if they are going to hit you. I have been to fires watched as people put themselves in some pretty dangerous places in order to save a home or land from bunting. I have attended court sessions where crime scenes were described in detail to the point my head hurt and my stomach got sick and I had to fight back tears. I and talent during this hectic but wonderful holiday season. See ya am becoming hardened to I cannot some things in life-thocontrol. At times, however, my feelings are so strong on a matter I just have to speak my mind. When I learned of tlte claim which surfaced from the attorney's of PadI Wayments family to say I was stunned just doesn't cut it For me personally, it just reopened a lot of hurt that was beginning to heal. October 26, 2000, a father took his little son up into the mountains above Coalville to take part in a time of scouting for deer. This was when the father (Paul) made a very tragic decision and left his son. Gage, inside the pickup for what was a lot longer than he had planned. As with stories of this nature, speculation from many sides wondered if the boy was hurt or harmed in some way, or on the other side of the coin, was he dead, which is how the scenario turned next time. se Thought for the week! There is nothing wrong with men possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men. -Billy Graham Jlte Summit County . &. Staff PUBLISHERS Managing EdNor LauriaWyim The Summit County 0 Bee (UPSP ) is published weekly for $16 per year 525-64- in Summit County, Senior Citizen Discount, $13 in counby Wave ty, $21 Publishing Inc., 165 South, 100 West, Heber City, UT out The timing a few days later just happened to be right as I was allowed to go to the search area where our (Summit County) Search and Rescue team members and so many others were looking for a lost little boy. At that time 1 also got to know some of Paul's family. My notebook and pen were placed inside my truck where h stayed during the time I was there on the mountain. What I saw however will remain in my heart forever. I watched as so many volunteers put their families, work, and the joy of life on the back burner as they spent many hours looking for little Dick Buys SuaBuyi . 84032. Periodicals Postage Paid at Coalville, UT 84017. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Summit County Bee, P.O. Box 7, Coalville, UT 84017. The entire contents of this newspaper rsGopyrightQ2000 The Summit County Bee andor Wave Publishing Inc AS rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the Managing EdiUx or Publisher. |