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Show c ommunity lews A2 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2007 Covering what matters most - N E W S - Letter to the Editor Spanish Fork 280 North Main St. Spanish Fork, UT 84660 Lane Henderson Publisher Namon Bills Editor Dana Robinson . . Assoc. Editor The Spanish Fork News is published each Wednesday for $37.50 per year in area and $41.50 out of area by J-Mart, 280 North Main St., Spanish Fork Utah 84660. Email stories to edito r@sp forknews. com Email ads to ads@spforknews.com Call us at 794-4964 POSTMASTER Send address changes 10 Spanish Fork News 280 North Main St. Spanish Fork, Utah 84660 The entire content of this newspaper is Copyright© 2007 Spanish Fork News. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the editor or publisher. DEADLINES Weddings, anniversaries, missionaries, 1st birthdays, articles, photos, letters to the editor Friday, 12 p.m. Display advertising and classified advertising Friday, 12 p.m. Let OICE HEARD In Response Ms. Wells, I write to you with first-hand experience in Rick Lunt's choir program. My experience includes involvement in Ambassadors during my sophomore, junior and senior years. I also participated in A Cappella and Encore during both my junior and senior years. At the time, I was as involved in his program as a student could be. This would make me one of those youth who, according to you, was out of balance, 'super-involved' and over-scheduled. According to your article, my grades should have suffered during high school because of my unbalanced life. However, I graduated with a 4.0 (nonweighted) GPAand a full academic scholarship to Brigham Young University. Also, consider that two of the three valedictorians from the 2004 graduating class were very involved members of Mr. Lunt's choir programs. Also from my graduating class, 14 Sterling Scholars were chosen based on grades, extracurricular activities, and excellence in individual disciplines. A student must be well-rounded to be chosen for such an award. Of the 14 students, half were involved in Mr. Lunt's programs. It doesn't seem these students' lives — academic or otherwise — suffered as a result of being involved in choir. That begs the question; how could these .students succeed if they were 9 so bogged down with "day-long rehearsals, three separate tours... and separate service projects and fundraisers"? My guess is you are getting your information from a disgruntled parent who is exaggerating small complaints. The out of classroom time put into Mr. Lunt's programs pales in comparison to that of being on any high school sports team or private club team. The few extra rehearsals help the groups attain the polish for which they are so widely known. Students have plenty of time to be involved in many other activities if desired, including other extracurricular activities, time with family, religious activities, personal relationships and academic studies. It has been my experience that life does not slow down when one graduates from high school, so a student would do well to learn to balance their life while in school. How can a student do that if they have no activities to balance? I write to you now from the 'real world' (as referenced in your first article). I am a college graduate, working to support my family in Pittsburgh, Penn. I learned important lessons from being involved in Mr. Lunt's programs — lessons I still lean on today. I learned the importance of the pursuit of perfection. Mr. Lunt's attention to detail taught me to work not just until I had finished something, but to work until it was done well. While working in the business world, that attention to detail has moved me quickly up the ranks within my company. Secondly, I carry with me a sense of accomplishment from the goals we were able to achieve. That sense of accomplishment carried me through my high school years, and it is a bright memory I often look back on. Consider the benefit of the boost in those students' selfesteem during the critical years of high school. Lastly, I learned teamwork. I learned to look out for someone else besides myself. I learned to be happy for others in their accomplishments. I learned that each small part is important in that it brings together a beautiful whole. These are lessons I will carry with me for years to come. I hope to pass them on to my children, but if I can't, I can only pray there will be someone like Mr. Lunt to teach them. Exceptional accomplishments take time. Mr. Lunt's program is exceptional. If our community is content to settle for mediocrity, then perhaps it's time to let Mr. Lunt go to a community where he will be embraced, and he can help other people's children flourish and grow, Ms. Wells, I appreciate your concerns, but feel they are completely unfounded. Those who have been touched by Mr. Lunt's efforts will agree, the time and effort students put into his program help them to learn and grow in ways they would not otherwise experience. Thank you, Libby Frandsen Jones SFHS 2004 Graduate Perfect Balance As we come upon this Thanksgiving season, I'd like to tell you about two people that our family will always be thankful to. I have a 10-year-old daughter named Abbi who suffers from depression. At the loss of her grandmother and then her grandfather she developed separation anxiety. It was very difficult for her to leave her family. School became a challenge as she strived to overcome this. We met with a wonderfully compassionate school psychologist that helped her a great deal. One day I was reading an article in the Daily Herald about a special kind of horse therapy. My daughter has a real love for horses and I thought this might really benefit her. I signed her up at The Perfect Balance horse therapy in Payson and saw a change in her immediately. Her grades improved and her anxiety was all but gone. She had a much better quality of life. The Perfect Balance horse therapy has been a wonderful experience for her. She developed a special companionship with a horse named Chester. Chester was an older horse who wasn't getting along well with the other horses. Abbi told me that she thought the other horses were "picking on him." Allison and Scott Hansen the owner/operators of The Perfect Balance taught her to saddle, feed and care for Chester as well as ride and lead him. She gained confidence as she was able to control and love her new four-legged friend. She was soon running barrels and is now preparing to compete with 4-H. Things were going well for my little girl, but as winter approached, we began to worry. The Perfect Balance uses an outdoor arena, so we were unsure how losing her weekly horse therapy sessions would affect her improved emotional state. That's when her amazing psychologist and horse trainer went way above and beyond the call of duty. Allison Hansen researched and learned that horses can be boarded at the Spanish Fork Fair Grounds. The Hansens said they thought that the best thing for both Chester and Abbi was to let them have time together. Abbi's birthday was in November and it was the perfect gift. We had been looking into purchasing a horse for her but it wasn't financially feasible. We are so grateful to the Hansens for their generosity. All of Abbi's anxiety about losing time with "her" horse was gone. Kathy Hatfield Spanish Fork Write a letter Gearing up for the holidays Prepare for the worst to the editor. Ready or Not Email editor@ spforknews. com or mail to The Spanish Fork News, 280 N Main St., Spanish Fork, UT 84660 There and Back Again Shirlene R. Ottesen Well, do you have your runnin' shoes on? Although many people have been shopping for the past few weeks, it will be almost non-stop from now on — unless you are one of those people who have your shopping done, everything wrapped, your baking and candy-making done and now you're just waiting for Christmas to come. I see a few Christmas trees up in some of the homes and many of you have your outside decorations in place. Members of our family have been on their annual trek of cutting down their Christmas trees. Our Christmas decorations will be scaled down somewhat, but it is still an exciting time of the year. I tried to get an early start this year and I have done pretty well, but every time I go to town it seems that I need to run in to this or that store and pick up a 'little something." I can usually decide on the "big" gift, but it's the little ones that I have a hard time getting. I'm a real basic gift-giver. It's usually clothes of some sort, but the little grandchildren like to have a toy, too and so I There will always be those have to look a little harder for who have plenty of money to those. spend, but I suspect that the Toys have changed so current economics may put much over the past few years, a curtailment on spending. especially since the electronic There just isn't the security age has been thrust upon or the confidence that we us. I'm not in tune to know are used to and that makes what's popular or the latest me nervous. News about big craze. Nowadays, it seems layoffs by some of the large that all toys need to bounce, manufacturers are sure to talk, jump up and down, have have an impact on circumblinking colored lights, play stances in future months. several songs etc. Many take I know that times have batteries and when they are changed, but when we were dead, then what? raising our children, they I have a few toys from my could ask Santa Claus for youth (which was a long time three things and then they got ago). I have a small electric a surprise. With gifts from stove, complete with kitchen grandparents, they still had utensils, including an egg a good Christmas. A cousin beater, a little muffin tin and a of mine made the comment teakettle. I remember baking that when he went to visit his in the muffin tin. It only took grandchildren, their family about a teaspoon of batter to room looked like a smaller fill the pan. Some of our little version of Toys-R-Us. granddaughters have had the One thing that I need is Easy Bake Oven and they snow to put me in the holiday have had fun with it. I also spirit. It's hard to get in the have a few pieces of my little spirit when everything is tea sets. Because they were brown. In fact, I would much made of ceramic, several rather have the snow than never survived the many these cold temperatures. tea parties that I had with I did a little more shopping my dolls, but I have them today, so I need to go over my displayed in a cupboard and list and check it twice to make each time I see them I think sure I'm getting done what I about Christmas and those need to do. Now, where did I days of long ago. put my list? Dawn Van Nosdol I just love how some of you are really getting into the Christmas spirit of giving preparedness gifts. My friend was telling me that one of the gifts that she is giving her kids for Christmas this year is a toilet seat! No kidding! Not just a regular run-of-the-mill toilet seat, but those really neat preparedness toilet seats that fit on the plastic five gallon buckets. I would bet that you could give that gift to most people and it would be something that they didn't already have. Brilliant! I just love that woman — she inspires me. Not to get off the subject of gifts, but if you are ever in a situation that you might need some privacy, to maybe use your Christmas gift, I have a really quick, easy and inexpensive solution. You only need three things: a large umbrella with a handle that has a crook in it, a shower curtain and something to hang the umbrella from. Hang the umbrella from the tree limb or a rope that has been strung up and then take the shower curtain, with the conveniently placed holes, and place the holes over the ends of each of the umbrella spines and — voila, an instant privacy shelter. This would also be good for a shower if you are out in the middle of nowhere — which brings us back to Christmas gifts. How about a solar, shower? One of the most: important things that you! need to do in a disaster is: to stay clean. This will help: control the spread of disease. It will also help you to keep a better frame of mind. I know^ that I always feel better after a refreshing shower. Of course, if you want to take a shower during an emergency you will need what? Let's; all say it together — water!; Two gallons, per person, per: day, for a two week period. And of course, that brings us to the next gift. Water. Okay, not really water, but the filter to make your water clean if necessary. I was watching the news last week and I saw a clip about the people in Bangladesh that are caught in the middle of a weather See PREPARE • A3 |
