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Show Page The Ogden Valley news Volume XVII Issue X August 15, 009 The Ogden Valley news Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 801-745- 688 Fax: 801-745-006 Cell: 801-791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@att.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 801-745- 879 Fax: 801-745- 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 Ogden Valley 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 September 1 issue is August 15. Letters to the Editor Boycott Powder Mountain—Don’t buy a season pass! The new owners of Powder Mountain have made it very clear that they don’t care much for the folks of Ogden Valley . . . or their rights! The citizens of Ogden Valley overwhelmingly oppose the new owners’ agenda. They are even donating their own money to fight Powder Mountain. Yet some of the people who oppose what Powder Mountain is doing will buy a season pass from them. Those who do are the real enemy of the citizens of Ogden Valley. The money they spend on a pass will go directly towards fighting the citizens of Ogden Valley. Obviously that money is not going towards fixing up and repairing the resort! I’ve never actually met a person who believes in what Powder Mountain is doing, but if you do believe in what they’re doing, buy a pass from them. If not, please do not! Oh, and by the way, it’s only July and Powder Mountain is charging $690 for a season pass while Snowbasin is only charging $650 and giving free, six winter lift tickets to Sun Valley Idaho Ski resort and summer gondola/mountain bike access all summer at Snowbasin. Dennis Maher, Eden Heaven Forbid You Might Hear a Cow Moo Once in a While in Ogden Valley In response to “Developers Make Neighbors, Wildlife Suffer in Effort to Reduce Property Taxes,” I found the opinion interesting. Let’s look at the other side of the coin from the agricultural perspective. If it’s true that the taxes saved over the years a property is in the green belt program will be paid back, why does that mean everyone else has to make up the difference? That argument doesn’t stick. The writer said that “residents who live in the same development area, sometimes adjacent to the new “ranching/farming” operation will have to live with the sight, smell, and sounds of ag production outside their windows.” New ranching/farming operation? How about a “new house” surrounded by an existing “ranching/farming” area? There will never again be “high intensity” agriculture in the Valley. It’s too far from the interstate and processors. There are much better places to put those operations (mainly areas with no people). High-intensity operations are the ones that create the smells, i.e. dairies, feedlots, hog farms etc. Where you have many animals in an unnatural density is where you have the odors. Cattle in a pasture under normal density will not create a stink and I had no idea people were offended by the “sight” of cattle in a pasture. Personally, I find it nice. Heaven forbid, you might hear a cow moo once in a while. The writer said: “But start a ranching operation in the middle of an upscale housing area, and you’re good to go with a good-ol’boy handshake.” The assumption or suggestion that you need approval to graze your own land in an agricultural area (which is most of the Valley) should be reflected on, regardless of the situation. Maybe the whole problem is the writer’s “upscale housing area” is in the middle of an agricultural area? Get ready for more. As the Valley increases in density, more agriculture vs. homeowner disputes will pop up. The development in the Valley did not create the beauty of the Valley, which is what brings in the new citizens. If that was the draw, more people would be living in the sprawl on the Wasatch Front. What brought many, are the wide, open spaces and scenic views. Developments don’t help preserve those things—agriculture does, even though it’s hard to make much profit for a rancher/farmer these days. I don’t have a dog in this hunt, but will usually defend any agricultural activity in the Valley, sans a high density operation, because the longer it’s being grazed or farmed, the longer it will stay the place that draws so many here. Ron Lackey, Eden The Fuzzy Math of 47 Million By Robert Romano According the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2006 report, “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States,” 46.9 million people are uninsured in the U.S. There’s only one problem with this statistic: approximately 31.85 million of them do not actually exist. The numbers really cannot lie, although the report does. Out of a total population of 297.05 million, the report states on page 20 that the “number of people covered by private insurance was… 201.7 million in 2006” and the “number of people covered by government health programs was… 80.3 million in 2006.” Therefore, 282 million had insurance. Which means that out of a total population of 297.05 million, 15.05 million did not have insurance. Right? Not at the U.S. Census Bureau. There, 297.05 million minus 282 million equals 46.9 million Americans uninsured. How? Well, call it “fuzzy math.” In the above figure, taken from page 20 of Census’ report, the fine print reads, “The estimates by type of coverage are not mutually exclusive; people can be covered by more than one type of insurance during the year.” But, nobody can be covered by insurance and not covered by it. In other words, some 31.85 million people reported as uninsured in 2006 did have some coverage, and the Census included them in both categories. Why? They were probably between jobs at some point during the year, which is not abnormal. It doesn’t mean they do not have access to health care at all. They were simply temporarily uninsured. Only 15.05 million people fell into the category of being completely uninsured according to the Census’ own data. Of course, there’s an obvious problem with the use of the Census’ methodology. Nobody told the American people of this critical footnote. Instead, as recently as July 22nd, they were told by Barack Obama that “This is not just about the 47 million Americans who have no health insurance. Reform is about every American who has ever feared that they may lose their coverage if they become too sick, or lose their job or change their job.” He said it without any qualification. Without any footnote explaining the complex methodology that grossly overstates the amount of people without any health coverage at all. And certainly without explanation as to why he would propose offering health coverage to over 30 million people who actually have it. According to the data, 10.1 million of the 46.9 million of Census’ reported uninsured were unemployed for the entire year, and 5.6 million worked part-time, which can safely be said for the most part not to have had access to care. Of the other 31.2 million, 22 million worked full-time, 8.6 million were under 18, and 542 thousand were 65 or older. So, if we’re to believe Census’ report, every year, over 30 million Americans have coverage, subsequently lose that coverage, and then for most of the year fail to get new coverage. Only that’s impossible, since 22 million of them were working full-time according to the report. They didn’t lose their jobs. So, how is it possible that they lost their coverage? It isn’t. But, based upon the data, in the next year, roughly the same amount of people again had access to coverage, lost it, and then for most of the year failed to get new coverage—and yet did not lose their jobs. Remarkably, the number of individuals without any insurance at all has remained about the same, meaning that folks who did lose insurance regain it in less than a year’s time. In both 2005 and 2006, the number of absolutely uninsured was 15 million. In the more recent 2007 report the number decreased to 13.6 million who had no health coverage at all. 285 million did have coverage out of a total of 298.6 million. So, what gives? Simply put, the reports are wrong, and they have simply become the bureaucratic means of giving politicians the “proof” they want to fit their hypothesis of a “crisis.” It therefore makes no sense to screw over the 285 million who already have coverage by completely reorganizing the entire system to offer welfare to some 13.6-15.05 million without it. Because, it is not necessary for the government to take over the entire health care system, such as is proposed under ObamaCare, in order to offer health coverage to those people. And the politicians know it. This is why they are making use of gross exaggeration to concoct the crisis of 47 million “uninsured.” It’s not about providing health care at all. It’s about expanding bureaucracy. It’s about a takeover. It’s about control. Only, now you know. Note: Robert Romano is the ALG Senior News Editor. |