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Show Page The Ogden Valley news Volume XIV Issue XIX July 15, 007 The Ogden Valley news Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 745- 688 Fax: 745-006 Cell: 791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@att.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 745- 879 Fax: 745- 879 E-Mail: crwendell@att.net crwendell@msn.com Opinions expressed by advertisers, columnists or letters to the editor are not necessarily the opinions of the owners and staff of The Ogden Valley news. guidelines for Letters to the Editor Letters should be 300 words or less. Letters must be signed and the address of the writer submitted. The Ogden Valley news reserves the right to edit or decline printing of any submissions. Announcements Sought As a community service, The Ogden V alley n ews will print local birth, wedding, obituary, anniversary and missionary farewell & homecoming and Eagle Scout announcements free of charge. We invite residents to send their announcements to: The Ogden Valley news PO BOX 130 EDEN UT 84310 If you would like your submitted items returned, please send a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. The Ogden Valley news , while respecting all property received, will take no responsibility for lost or misplaced items. Please remember to keep a copy for yourself. Invitation for Articles The staff of The Ogden Valley news welcomes the submission of articles by our readership. We invite you to submit local historical accounts or biographies, articles pertaining to contemporary issues, and/or other material that may be of interest to our readers. We also invite you to submit to the paper, or notify the staff of local events. Awards that have been earned by the reader, family members, neighbors or friends are also sought. While the staff of The Ogden Valley news invites the submittal of information and articles, we reserve the right to select which material will be considered for publication. All material, to be considered, must be submitted with the full name, address and telephone number of the person submitting the material. The OgdenValley news’liability on account of errors in, or omissions of, advertising shall in no event exceed the amount of charges for the advertising omitted or the space occupied by the error. The Ogden Valley news does not endorse, promote or encourage the purchase or sale of any product or service advertised in this newspaper. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The Ogden Valley news hereby disclaims all liability for any damage suffered as the result of any advertisement in this newspaper. The Ogden Valley news is not responsible for any claims or representations made in advertisements in this newspaper. The Ogden Valley news has the sole authority to edit and locate any classified advertisement as deemed appropriate. It also reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Note: The contents of The Ogden Valley News are copyrighted. To protect this publication and its contributors from unlawful copying, written permission is required before any individual or company engages in the reproduction or distribution of its contents, by any means, without first obtaining written permission from the owners of this publication. The deadline for the OVN August 1 issue is July 16. Letters to the Editor Many Didn’t Notice 0,000 Rotarians Kudos for Putting Ogden on We did it! We invaded Utah with close the Map Heavy Trucks a Hazard on Canyon Roads to 20,000 people from the United States and 165 countries around the world. It wasn’t done in secret because many from India, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia wore their traditional clothing. They spent at least a week here, largely under the radar of the media. We brought 365 people in eight buses to Fort Buenaventura for a historical re-enactment, a Dutch oven cook-out and socialization with our volunteers. Since their departure, I have been troubled by the missed opportunity for our children and their parents to see and talk to the leaders from Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, the Congo, Pakistan, India, and more than 100 other countries. Thank goodness, it was not a terrorist group that came unnoticed; but it was the Rotary International service organization with the largest convention ever held in the state of Utah. Rotary International and local Rotarians will be involved in service projects throughout the world that should be worthy of the Top of Utah media. Please place radar on these projects. My daughter lives in New York City and was reading the June 22 New York Times when all of a sudden she came across a full-page article with several photos of little old Ogden, Utah. She couldn’t believe the story headlined, “Where outdoors is the way up— Ogden, Utah, wants to be America’s capital of extreme sports.” She immediately cut out the article and sent it to me. The photos showed the water-skiing lakes, the kayaking rivers, the hiking/bicycling trails, and the Salomon Recreation Center with the climbing wall, surf-rider pool, bowling alley, dance studio, and wind tunnel. There is even a picture of Historic 25 th Street, and Peery’s Egyptian Theater activities were mentioned. Hooray for all the work the Ogden administration has done to put Ogden on the map. Sadly, I’m starting to understand why Ogden Valley is beginning to look like Park City. We feel that all large multi-axle trucks, including tractor trailers, should use Trappers Loop to travel in and out of Ogden Valley. We had a narrow escape last week in the canyon with a large cement truck. The truck was going so fast that the rear carriage axle came across the double-yellow line and just missed our car. Part of the problem is the speed at which theses large trucks travel the canyon. It is significantly more dangerous when they are going downhill with heir large size and weight on the curves. Another advantage of having these vehicles use Trappers Loop is they would have to stop at the top of Trappers to check their brakes—as mandated for heavy trucks entering the valley on that road. That would not be a bad thing. We hope it will not take a terrible, fatal accident to galvanize the Utah Department of Transportation or the Weber County Commissioners to make some changes in the use of SR39. Doug Olson, Eden Marjorie Hilton, Eden Larry Zini, Huntsville Vouchers are a Win, Win, Win Program Choice After reading the guest commentary on vouchers in the July 1 edition, I would like to add my personal knowledge of those involved in school choice. They are not “a small group of very wealthy and powerful people” looking to pull money out of public education to start their own private schools. They are a group of parents who care deeply about the education of all children. Besides, how do you suppose any group could think of getting rich with the average voucher being $2,000 when the public education establishment complains that $7,500 is woefully inadequate? Vouchers are one way to empower families to make a choice about the education of their children. It is especially beneficial to low income families, who simply can’t move into a neighborhood with a better school. There is an organi- zation, Children First Utah (CFU), which has been giving half tuition scholarships, up to $1800, to low income families for the past seven years to attend a school of their choice. They are currently limited to serving only 360 students but have over 2000 applicants. This demonstrates the dedication and desire of these families to make the sacrifices necessary to ensure their children receive the education that is best for them. Vouchers are all about helping parents whose children simply need something different. The average K-8 private school tuition in the state is $3,800. Compare this to the $7,500 per pupil the public schools spend. The vouchers will range from $500 to $3000 depending on your income; lower income families receive the greater amount. The voucher program is not a program for the rich. This is a win, win, win solution—public schools have smaller class sizes and more money per pupil; the parent who chooses a voucher gets an education more suited for their child; and the tax payer educates a citizen for less than 1/3 the cost. Vouchers are not scary. The only thing to fear about vouchers is parents gaining more power in a system otherwise dominated by bureaucrats. To me, that is not a scary proposition at all. Please hear both sides before casting your vote. Becky Toone, Eden Inspirational Thought Change your thoughts and you change the world. -Norman Vincent Peale |