Show 11 THE R1C11F1KLD REAPER Wednesday March 2 2-- r l M’S f5 WesM enter lhc RivhliclJ Reaper " Si’S SMI) a'a and S2" (10 per iar out l area K Senmd CIjss INsuec paid at RuhfielJ u IK-- Ruhticld Reaper I’O f 730 nsn adccrti'in 1 1ndac Mark ( i (pm 76A-XX- 0 I Uh Richfield X4701 telephone n puhlohcJ cjvh Weincd fr S20HI (v ccar in The Reaper h' Wist Center RihlielJ I tih S4'’0 I 1 I lah S4 ’01 14 )S M S R Send jilress thankee Kiehlicld I uh "4il 12 V deadline Single p luellenbach Publisher : 5V - Hal t ' d wards I ditor Tragic Fire Brings Efforts Together As tragic and costly as the fire at Dode Dennis furniture and Appliance was last week one positive thing came from it: the working together of nearly every emergency service agency in the area Members of the Richfield Fire Dept received the first call then were backed up by an engine and crew from the Monroe Fire Dept Richfield City Police were on the scene almost immediately cordoning off the area so firemen could do their job emergency medical technicians and an ambulance stood by to administer oxygen and first aid to fire fighters and Sevier County Sheriff s Dept and Utah Highway Patrol officers worked with city policemen to keep crowds away from the tire area While the spirit of cooperation and the situation brought out the best in the highly trained emergency personnel we can't say that about many of the people who crowded into the area Firemen were hampered by people who ran over fire hoses which stretched from fire hydrants to the fire scene Others refused to move away from the burning structure giving cause for alarm of the possible toxic smoke and fumes coming from the blaze Police barricades were removed and persons moved their vehicles through the blocked off area at times putting themselves in danger and potentially hampering the efforts of firemen As bad as that was reports from firemen of criticism from several neighbors living in the area of the fire are almost unbelievable This from people who had no business being as close to the action as they were and who arc anything but savvy about how firemen fight a blaze Because water was not sprayed on the of the fire engine’s arrival many claimed there was a delay in fire within seconds efforts Firemen point out that their hundreds of hours of training indicate newer methods of fire fighting are now employed and are proven to be more efficient and effective Surveying the situation and determining the right way to go about their work is certainly the job of firemen and not for ignorant and uninformed critics to decide The lack of common sense from many who ran over fire hoses got in the way of emergency vehicles and personnel and then complained because officers had to invite them to get away from the scene both for their own good and the good of those working to quell the blaze show's something sadly lacking in many of our citizens The loss of the Dennis' business and home is tragic and devastating the efforts of firemen and back-u- p personnel was at a minimum heroic The show of support and cooperation from other agencies was heartening Unfortunately the lack of cooperation and seeming loss of common sense from a few citizens marred what was otherwise a great job in a public serv ice effort What it will take to correct the situation remains a mystery We can only hope that through a miracle some of the people will realize what is really going on and act accordingly We believe unequivocally that the Richfield City Fire Dept is the best small department in the state of Utah This is based on the continual upgrading of techniques and training firemen attitude ability fire fighting equipment and a general feeling of community spirit between the department and citizens We commend them for their efforts which can't be described as anything less than heroic Wow This week it's feast Some of the news has been good Some of the news has been bad But after a couple of weeks of what we call "fluff' stories all hell broke loose and as we approach deadline it still keeps coming The biggest story of the week of course was the tragic fire at the -- J Bert's Standard Thank you VcrrDon Durfcc for your spurs into Bert Lowry and threatening him with embarrassment if he didn't participate in the lion hunt As a result Bert met the challenge mightily harvested one of those deadly "ole toms" and supplied us in "The Reaper Realm" with an exciting count thereof (Reaper 223A4) ac- Once again Bert superb job color comI fell as though I were mentary right there in the thick of things with the play-by-pla- y could definitely hear the "sweet music" of the "ceric hound dog whine of the bay" the snowmobile in hot pursuit the "clamor of the hounds and the snarling growls of the lion" the eventual "coup dc grace" report of your rifle I high-pitche- d I could vividly visualize just as you said the cal's "huge in the snow as he leaped from one bank to a large rock and then to another rock and then to the other bank — never getting his feet wet" pug-mar- I could clearly sec the smile on ole tom's face as he "ran a merry chase over and around one mountain then circled back and crossed " the canyon I had a real sense of what houndsman Lawrence May saw when he came upon the ferocious cat "at bay on a ridge snarling a challenge to his barking pursuers" It is related that Mr May said it was one of the prettiest sights he had ever seen I can only imagine But hey don't "feel sorry" for me Bert there's still lime and plenty of toms to get after Who knows? I may add hunter orange and camo to my wardrobe tomorrow razor-backe- d Wow! With that lion measuring 6'9" long very fat with "fierce fangs and claws" it's no wonder you were forced to employ all the tools you had — Dodge Chevy snowmobile horse dogs shank ponies bow and arrow rifle number-one son blood cells and capillaries — in order to even things out make it fair — you know sporting But why no picture in the paper Bert? Didn't Kricg Rasmussen get a shot of you proudly with your beautiful trophy? The Reaper will be more than happy to print it and provide an appropriate caption as it has for others in the past: "Moose No Longer Loose" (92293) "Bear Rendered Rug Material" (92293) ct cetera You sec The Reaper's wise and insightful management not only secs the forest for the trees but the trees for the forest and would just as soon cut them down in the name of and for the sake of humanity (Editorial 2294) so it would be utterly over- joyed to caption your keepsake photo with something like: "Kitty Killed With Kindness" or "Funning With Putty Tat" A much better title though w eek The past couple of weeks it has been famine Letters To The Editor digging hat a This has been a newspaper "feast or famine" classic fire-fighti- is Your Opinion? This newspaper welcomes opinions from its readers concerning any subject to southern Utah While there is no restriction in length we request good judgment and letters which are pertinent to the point Anything of a lihelous nature or defamation of character will not be considered for publication I otters must be signed with the writer's name address and telephone numtier w hich must be published along with the letter Deadlines for letters to the editor is Friday at 12 noon WVmt w would be "Tough Love" and better still "Coup Dc Grace" which as you know Bert literally means "stroke of mercy" And by all means when you get your cat upholstered be sure that you bring it around to all the grade schools so that the kids can stare at it pet it become educated and get a real feel for what this "magnificent predator was all about The children will surely be thrilled and amazed You know today's taxidermist can make a dead animal e seem so Dode Dennis Furniture and Appliance which also included the couple’s home Those arc the kinds of stories we could do without But as with everything in the news business when they happen we cover them I think we did a pretty good was out of town when the fire struck but The Reaper had three people on the scene in a matter of minutes And as our excellent front page photo shows taken in color by Scott Christensen who usually sells ads the fire and its implications arc pretty vivid And job I Brchm Communications Inc during the annual business meeting in San Diego Hats off to Publisher Mark Fucllenbach who was named "Publisher Of The Year" for the company (and that includes a whole grundlc of papers and publishers) and also for his keeping the budget tight and coming closer than any other publisher in the chain in actually meeting the budget as it was set The Reaper also won some pretty prestigious awards for the past year's work You can sec it all on the front page What else? Well for the first time in a long time a southern Utahn has filed for the US House Banker Brent White who lives in Elsinore threw his hat in the ring and is prepared to take on Bill Orton and anybody else who is after the job White is both brave and qualified It would be great to have a real southern Utahn in Congress Then there's Richfield High School's boys basketball team After a season of miracles great the playing and a first year in Wildcats came within eleven points of showing the rest of the state how good they really arc Actually even loss Richfield with an eleven-poionce again has proven to be a powerhouse team to be reckoned with no matter which classification they arc given Then there was the helicopter crash between Capitol Reef National Park and Hanksvillc which happened Monday afternoon Luckily the pilot and a worker on a power pole where the accident happened were not critically injured 3-- A nt So why am I all worked up? Any one of these stories combined with a few more calm happenings would have made a great front page But when it rains it pours and we're happy to have it this week One story we didn’t even try to get is the Nancy Kcrrigan-Tony- a Harding flap Thank goodness that's over If you haven’t heard about that one you haven't watched TV or read the newspapers And if you have you've probably heard and seen more than you ever wanted to know life-lik- Once more I must thank VcrrDon Durfcc for kicking Mr Lowry in the butt thus preventing Bert from "sevier" embarrassment during this year’s lion hunt But hey w hat arc friends for? And thank you Bert for all that you do You set the standard Bruce Cater Monroe Opposes More Gun Control They say that a child Icams more in the first few years of his life than he will learn in the rest of his life combined I've come to the conclusion that parents learn more in the first few years of their first child's life than they ever did growing up I can't even begin to imagine the many things I will learn as a parent of a concealed weapon help reduce teenager since teenagers know crime In Florida since the passage control stricter to gun pass push everything! laws The gun control advocates of Florida's concealed carry law in While I am constantly amazed at must not look at statistics or 1987 over 175000 people have received to their (on permits the carry was many things my son is learnstudies The second amendment a concealed handgun An ing I'm also amazed at the many person) the so the constitution into pul report shows that the homicide things that I've learned as a mom citizen would be able to defend his FBI in Florida has actually fallen 21 rate and person property against in the five years following For instance I’ve learned that it's individual criminals groups of percent the next to impossible to keep the front criminals or against criminals in the law's passage while national rate has risen 12 percent of a toddler's shirt clean It’s even government The gun controllers same period Only 17 (or more difficult to gel it clean once arc steadily pushing to take away during the 01 percent) of the 175000 permit it’s dirty our ability to defend ourselves All holders have used their gun to in the name of fighting crime And most of the stain removers commit a crime according to the work about the same State of Kleck Florida Dr Studies done by Department Gary at of the University (criminologist I’ve learned that disposable diaIn Georgia in 1976 a law was Florida) show that in the United are the only way to go Cloth pers it for a citizen easier making Slates people use guns to defend passed make great rags And disdiapers a concealed gun From to carry against crime 24 million limes 1976 posable diapers don't flush 1992 Georgia's homicide to each year while guns arc used to 21 percent while the commit crimes 810000 limes each rate dropped I've found that baby food spinach national rate rose six percent during year and peas arc icky to say the least and I wouldn't cal them so why Continued On Page Laws allowing citizens to carry a I am concerned by the increased 3-- 4 So what else happened? The Richfield Reaper was signally honored by its parent company should I expect Devin to? And just because I don't like sliced cheese chili or hot dogs doesn't mean that Devin shouldn't be introduced to them (hard as that may be for me to accept!) He even likes them! I’ve learned that no matter how many Chcrrios you pick up off the floor there arc still more Raisins and chocolate chips look about the same when they’re squished in the carpet Red punch docs stain and mashed potatoes splat quite nicely when dropped from a high chair I've learned that a child won’t die from eating something off the floor (even if it's something unrecognizable) Candy that's been stuck to the baseboard in the closet still tastes good There's nothing quite like padding across the floor in nylons and stepping on a banana in the morning when you're getting ready for w ork Just because there's blood doesn't mean stitches are needed — Band Aids yes stitches no And Band Aids are necessary for bruises and bumps as well as scratches and cuts Kissing it better really does make a hurt feel better Kids are washable So are their clothes Houses are to be lived in which means living in what looks like a constant tornado zone And if things get picked up and put away they'll be back out again in a few minutes Just wait I didn't realize a person could get so wet giving something other than the dog a bath I've learned that little boys splash and bathroom walls can be wiped down So can bathroom floors And I've learned that putting pajamas on a toddler fresh out of the tub is like pulling a straight jacket on a flea There are many things in this world that I know I don’t know that I think about learning But I could go on for ages about the many th'ngs I've learned that I didn’t ever en think about knowing I've rlearned a lot from Devin and I learn more and more each day But the greatest thing he has taught me is just how very wonderful it is to be a mommy He's an excellent teacher I |