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Show Page 2 The Ogden Valley News Volume XXX Issue VII June 15, 2023 The Ogden Valley News Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 801-745-2688 Fax: 801-745-2688 Cell: 801-791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@digis.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 801-745-2879 Fax: 801-745-2879 E-Mail: crwendell@digis.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 Valley News 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 522 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 July 1 issue is June 15. Letters to the Editor Be Mindful of Wildlife When Driving Today, a dead beaver was on the pavement, horribly mutilated near Liberty corners. It was very sad to see such an incredible creature extinguished at such an early age. Most likely, this beaver, exploring so far from his home in the waters coming off the mountains, was a youth recently turned out of his nest after three years of being well raised, because mom had a new litter to nurture. Beavers are incredible animals. When the first explorers came to the Plains and Rockies, the beavers were hunted to near extinction. It was the quest to obtain the rich beaver pelt that brought Europeans to Ogden Valley long ago in Utah’s history. Today, after a long process of protecting and supporting the beavers, it is now clear how essential they are to restoring lands that have dried out. By beavers building dams, and water diversions, many places, particularly Northern Arizona, have recorded amazing increases in plant and animal diversity. I must ask myself, when it comes to water supply creation and usage, am I as productive as a beaver? Sadly, the answer is no, and I feel diminished in knowing that the clever beaver is a better steward of water than I. Let’s all be a bit more careful in watching out for wildlife while driving. Janice Campbell, Liberty America Shouldn’t Be Looked at As the Most Exceptional Nation in the World I am writing regarding the June 1 issue of The Ogden Valley News. First, the article about the memorial services at the Valley cemeteries omitted the main reason for Memorial Day. The American Nationalism Editor’s View almost got it right. The main observance of Memorial Day (I believe anyway) is to acknowledge and remember those members of the Armed Forces that made that ultimate sacrifice, and their remains were not returned to this country. It’s much easier to remember someone when a grave is down the street. Not so when there is no grave. Not wrong to honor all veterans, but at least we should note the ones who the day was made for. Second, compliments to Dave Martin and his great article about the Shoshone. Very interesting and informative to me. Learned a little myself. I would have liked to have noted a little about who and when the photo was taken. Third, great “From the Past” photo. I was an acquaintance of both Haynes and Rex Fuller. Wonderful gentlemen and it was always a pleasure being around them. Fourth, I must comment on the Editor’s View regarding American Nationalism and Exceptionalism. In my opinion, the editor completely misses the point of what the real criticism is of progressives’ criticism of American exceptionalism. I believe there is a real difference between American progressives and what is referred to as Marxist progressives. I will not comment on the second but will on the first. America is exceptional but I don’t believe the county should be looked at as the most exceptional or the best in the world. I take exception at the statement that “there is nothing great or exceptional about America, they would also have you despise her and her legacy.” Never understood, being a firm believer and took the oath many times to support the 1st Amendment, why this kneeling is such a big issue. When one stands for the National Anthem (or flag) and kneels to pray, what is being paid the higher tribute? As a lover of history, I believe in the statement that “history is not about the past, it’s about the future.” Progressives believe that American history should not just be taught at the sixth-grade level. If you want to talk about our heroes and builders, you cannot help, honestly, to talk about slavery and how slaves built this country. Talk about our human rights, political rights, individualism, and democracy but you better also mention our shortcomings and times we did not get it right. The easy and lazy ones are slavery, our bias, bigotry, discrimination, and deliberate efforts to withhold rights from blacks and native Americans throughout our history as well as corrupt politics over the decades. You’re familiar with the saying that “those who don’t study history are condemned to repeat it.” That’s why these parts of our history should be honestly taught in our schools. Lincoln had his flaws, but he is still, in my opinion, our greatest president. He made a great effort to incorporate the Declaration (all men are created equal) into our interpretation of our Constitution and that slavery, since the Constitution, was always supposed to be ended. It would have been a great subject for historians to study how we dealt with this under Lincoln if he had lived. I could list numerous other examples of our history, but I hope my point is understood. Because it’s Memorial Day, let me end with this. It’s been 50 years since our POWs returned from Vietnam. In our commendation of this event, not one news show noted that because Nixon, during his 1968 campaign backdoored an agreement with North Vietnam to not agree to the peace talks then because he would get them a “better deal” if elected. Deliberately and on purpose, he allowed the war to continue for another five years. This is one of many exceptionalisms we should not be proud of and unless we remember them, we may repeat them. John H. Thompson, Ogden |
