Slam that Door Quietly

James L. Davis

I have come to the conclusion that when it comes to greeting a new day there are basically two types of people, those who greet it with a bang and those who greet it with a whisper. I believe all people who fit in the former category should be lined up and smacked repeatedly with a heavy, blunt instrument, preferably one that makes a satisfying bonging sound.

I say that because I am a firm believer that you should greet the new day with nothing more than soft whispers. I may feel this way because I am just enough of a dreamer that I think if I am quiet enough the stress of a new day may pass me by. I do not know if this is actually possible because I share a house with family members who do not truly understand that it is not only possible to be quiet in the morning, it might actually be desirable.

If it were possible for me to actually wake in time to go work without the assistance of an alarm clock, I would not even own one of those. Unfortunately, that is not possible. If it were not for an alarm clock I would have fallen asleep sometime in my mid 20s and still be asleep. But since I am the person that is supposed to get up first in the morning, I must rely on an alarm clock. Once the alarm clock goes off I turn it off as quickly and quietly as possible because the noise of an alarm clock is something I find obscene in the morning.

After I have turned off my alarm clock and taken the obligatory five minutes to whimper softly that I do not wish to get up, I will try to go about my morning as quietly as possible. I try not to prevent doors from closing too forcefully by guiding them slowly to the door frame. I try not to let a glass clink against another glass when removing one from the cupboard and I tiptoe from one room to the other. At least I use to tiptoe. That was before I developed heel spurs. Now I stumble from one room to the other as my feet scream that I should not be using them to support my weight. But I stumble as quietly as I possibly can. For me having heel spurs is an awful lot like trying to walk when you’ve had too much to drink, other than your feet are hurting instead of your head and you can usually remember where you are and how you got there.

When my children were young I would go to their room and awaken them once I had gone through my morning tiptoe ritual. And when I awakened them I did so as quietly as possible. I would sit on their bed and softly call their name until their eyes opened. I did this with the lights off, because the only thing worse than loud noises in the morning is the sudden appearance of light in what had seconds before been a dark room. Once they were awake enough to understand a complete sentence I would warn them that I was going to turn on the light and count down from three and then flick on the light.

Even with my children awake I prefer that the morning stay quiet and peaceful, which is of course impossible because my kids are awake, so peace and quiet is now little more than a sad little dream.

The reason why I no longer have any peacefully quiet mornings is because my children are older now and have their own alarm clocks and get themselves out of bed. And my children apparently believe the only way to deal with a morning is with as much noise as humanly possible.

Where I will try and guide a door to the door frame, my kids believe the door knows its own way to the door frame and will send it there as quickly and forcefully as possible. Glasses in cupboards are meant to be clinked together as often as possible without actually making them shatter, and sometimes that is not only permissible, but apparently desirable. And I do not believe any of my children have heel spurs, but they stumble quite frequently in the morning and quite loudly as well. I don’t think they have been drinking either, but I suppose it is possible.

As for be awakened in the morning, my kids have a far different philosophy than mine. When they get up earlier than I they will tiptoe to my bed just as I did to theirs, but that is where the similarity ends. Once they have reached my side of the bed they will begin to talk in their normal conversational voice, which are only a few decibels quieter than a low-flying jet.

Being awakened in such a manner usually results in my heart doing a quadruple somersault in my chest and a scream being ripped from my lips. But, since it’s morning, I try to scream quietly.

Preparing for Next Legislative Session

Representative Kay McIff

We are back in the Utah State Capital. It’s beautiful! It has always been, but now it’s fresh, clean and brightened. Among the state capital buildings of America, it has no peer. It is an enormous credit to the small population of the early 1900s, and to the generosity and foresight of a few benefactors. It is as safe from the whims of Mother Nature as we can reasonably make it; and with proper care it should serve as far down the road as we can see. Every Utahan should take pride in this magnificent and stately structure and should take the opportunity to visit it sometime in the near future.

While the legislative session formerly convenes on Jan. 21, we began holding budget-related meetings last week. I serve on the Higher Education Appropriation Committee. Higher Ed’s outreach to rural Utah is on the upswing. Partnerships with universities are bringing more offerings, and distance learning has been enhanced with the expansion of Utah’s Education Network under the direction of Emery County native Mike Peterson. Over the last two years the number of education network users throughout Utah has increased from some 100,000 to over 1.5 million. That’s really quite impressive.

Shortly after the Crandall Canyon disaster, the governor asked me to serve on the newly formed Mine Safety Commission along with Senator Dmitrich, Mayors Gordon and Piccalo from Huntington and Price and other prominent persons from the Wasatch front. The members were thoughtful and capable. We have tried to steer a reasonable course to enhance safety without saddling the coal industry with more unproductive regulation or red tape. Our final report will be out shortly.

The experience taught me something else. I tip my hat to the local response to this immensely challenging event in our lives. Of all those who had a role at any level in responding to the Crandall Canyon tragedy, federal, state, or local, none was better prepared or functioned more appropriately than did the local miners, public officials, communities, churches, and private citizens in Emery and Carbon Counties. If there’s a silver lining in all of this, it surfaced in the lives of people and institutions close to home.

Public Forum

Youth Facility
Concerns

In regards to your letter to the editor last week, I could not help but reply. First I do not know you. At the last town meeting I was unable to attend.

First let me say that personally I do not know if you are competent or not, I assume you are with your past experience, therefore I will tell you that my fear is not that I doubt that you are a professional. It is in the paper that I read of your enterprise. On page five you state that there is a high demand for both private pay youth and state funded youth. If the state places youth in your facility, will this bring delinquents with past involvement in gang activity from the big cities? I see in your brochure that this includes both boys and girls. Will it also involve youth with past histories of sexual abuse and other serious crimes?

I know Ferron already has crime, but if this is the case why add more problems? I feel there should be places where youth with troubled pasts or psychological needs can be brought to receive help, love, and compassion. But would it not be better to be placed near a town which could provide the needed services to help these youth? Price has a youth correctional facility.

If you had great success in Orangeville and could assure me that it would be the same environment as it was in your home, then I’m all for it. There is one more concern. If the sheriff department is concerned then please understand my fears. As a citizen of Ferron please understand that this is my opinion and in no way am I against helping youth. I have been involved in scouting for several years and also have four children of my own. I realize many children don’t have the same opportunities that mine do. I do feel children should have good homes where parents love and care for them. Should the need arise, I would like help available for my children. If your business is solely private then I’m all for it.

It is the mention of the state in your brochure that concerns me most. Something makes me real nervous when I hear that the “state” is involved in anything.

-Russ Oakeson,
Ferron

Enough is Enough

When is enough enough? Finally the citizens of Green River are speaking up in protest of Mayor Ed Bentley and his underhanded handling of city functions. At the Jan. 8 city council meeting the mayor tried to hide the dismissal of our city recorder in his mayoral appointment recommendations by purposely leaving her name off the list and submitting that of a recently hired clerk in her place.

The council rejected his recommendations and instead praised Conae Black for her dedication, honesty and services to the community and willingness to continue to serve in her position as city recorder.

The mayor sees this as a minor setback. He said he will be back next month with another effort to get his way or no way. His reputation is spreading because of the way he is dividing our community and representing our city.

- Tom Burr
Green River

Support Youth
Facility

In response to the letter in the last edition of The Emery County Review regarding the youth center for helping young girls 12 to 18, we have nothing like this in this county, and our cities are getting bigger. To have a facility like this to help our kids in this area or out of the area, so we don’t have to send our kids upstate or out-of-state. It was not long ago, that our sheriff office was recognized as being the most organized department in the state, so they can handle this.

I cannot believe that the cities can give an approval of going ahead and in another part of the city say no. They need to work better together to help our kids. As a business owner, we need diversification. We need many different businesses in order to make it in the county, and then something like this comes along, and we fight it. What’s wrong with us? There is not one of us that have not been given a second chance. The church tells us to help others and to forgive, and then we turn them down. So please let’s work together. These girls are not criminals; they are kids that need a second chance.

-Percy Mounteer
Huntington