Paintball Warriors

James L. Davis

Paintball is not a sport for everyone. For instance, if you are one of those people who prefer not to be in pain, then paintball is most definitely not for you. If you are one of those people who have an aversion to crawling through shrubbery or rolling across cactus, then paintball may not be for you. If you are one of those people that absolutely refuse to scream like a school girl, then paintball is probably not for you.

But for those of us who find no shame in pain, crawling through shrubbery, rolling across cacti and screaming like small children, then paintball is an awful lot of fun.

For those of you unfamiliar with the complexities of paintball, allow me to explain. Paintball is a sport where you take hundreds upon hundreds of small paintballs and you pour them into a hopper that you attach to the top of a paintball gun that is attached to a compressed air canister. The compressed air canister propels the paintballs through the barrel of your paintball gun at extremely high velocity to travel sometimes great distances to strike a friend or relative and explode, splattering them in paint and quite often leaving a nice size welt on their body, which is what causes the schoolgirl screams.

This is called fun.

I was introduced to the joys of paintball a few years back by my brother, who told me about the thrill of being stalked by paintball warriors and being shot 423 times at close range. He went to great lengths to show me all of the welts on his body and in showing me the paintball welts I observed parts of his body that I had absolutely no desire to see. But that is one of the requirements of being a paintball warrior. You must display for the world your paintball bruises, no matter where on your body they might be, even if they are in places that are illegal to show in public. Upon learning of the excruciating pain my brother had undergone I immediately volunteered myself and my entire family to go and play a game of paintball, because pain in the name of fun sounded great to me. When I said yes to the idea of paintball my brother grinned with an evil gleam in his eye. I have since learned this is only natural and is but another joyful part of the whole paintball experience. It is every paintball warrior’s dream to initiate someone new to the sport, because you are sure to hear a great many schoolgirl screams when there is someone new to the game, and this is of course how the fun of the day is judged, by screams per hour.

We went on our first paintball battle at the end of February in the mountains when there was several feet of snow on the ground. There were 14 of us, comprising most of my family and my two brothers and their families. We put on our paintball gear, which consisted of a face shield and gloves and divided into two teams of seven.

We were told the rules on how to leave the battlefield if we were shot and informed that for the purposes of the game, a leg or arm shot was not a “kill” shot, it had to be a head or torso shot and the paint splatter had to be larger than the size of a quarter for you to be out. I later learned these rules had been perfected because it increased the screams per hour for any given game.

Almost immediately after the game began I heard the thump, thump, thump of air rifles firing, followed closely by great screams and yelps of pain and I distinctly remember smiling and thinking to myself that this was a great deal of fun.

Not wanting to be shot myself, I crawled through shrubbery and rolled through cactus as I inched forward to find my first target. Of course, by the time I got there my two brothers had pretty much disposed of the rest of my team, leaving me as the only person on the field, being hunted by three or four bloodthirsty paintball warriors.

But I was determined not to be taken easily, so I ran here, there and everywhere trying to stay one step ahead of them. The only problem that I had not foreseen was that with all of that running my face shield began to fog, so now I was stumbling here, there and everywhere, pretty much blind in the wilderness as my brothers stalked me.

The other problem that I had not foreseen was that by hiding for so long the paintballs in my brothers’ guns had frozen, so when they caught me in a cross fire the paintballs came hurtling at me with great speed, but did not break. My brothers apparently did not realize that the paintballs were frozen, so they assumed the shots were bouncing harmlessly off my thick coat. So they switched to head shots. As the frozen paintballs began to bounce without breaking off of my skull I realized that there were depths to screaming that I had never before experienced and I was able to emit such screams as have in all likelihood never been heard in all of paintball history. I screamed great and powerful screams and then I ran away.

Sometime later we called it a day and gathered back at our vehicles to count welts. I am proud to say that I did not have any welts anywhere on my body. But I had approximately 325 knots on my head, only three of which were bleeding. And this is how I became convinced that paintball is the greatest sport ever.

An Example of Loyalty Sadly Missing

Jerry Stotler

I was reading the story of David and Goliath last week when I realized that David’s loyalty to Saul was exemplary. If you remember David slew Goliath and whacked off his head. The people were impressed. Then through a series of disobedient acts God rejects Saul as king and eventually chooses David to be king.

After David slew Goliath, he became a servant to Saul and fought valiantly for him and became head of the armies. After a particularly big victory, the people praised David more than Saul and Saul became jealous and angry and twice tried to kill David. He had David pursued relentlessly. Through all the persecutions and attempts to kill him, David remained loyal the king. David twice had an opportunity to kill Saul, but restrained himself. He remained loyal to his master even though he was constantly seeking David’s demise.

There is a great lesson to be learned from David:

Even though his master (his boss if you will) began to bad mouth him and persecute him David remained loyal. For12 years Saul sought after David, yet David remained loyal. What a tremendous example David is for us today. Over the years I have had occasion to notice that most people who have an issue with their supervisor almost always begin to bad mouth him and undermine his authority behind his back, yet they continue to collect a paycheck. What a poor character trait that is. An honorable person will obey graciously or quit his job, but will not undermine the authority of his superior, he will not disobey just because he has a problem with his supervisor. Of course, if that supervisor asks you to do something illegal or immoral we must respectfully decline.

I remember many years ago working with an older man who very often goofed off on the job. So, one day I asked him about it. His answer was one of the most absurd statements I have ever heard. He said, “I didn’t come here looking for work, I came here looking for a job. I was looking for a job when I got here and I’ll be looking for one when I leave.” How utterly absurd. Somehow he thought his paycheck was a gift, not a reward paid for work done.

During a recent Planning Commission meeting in Ferron one of the residents noted that the Emery County Care and Rehabilitation Center “has had a hard time getting quality individuals for employment.” What a shame. That is a poor comment on the available workforce. It is a reflection on their work ethic. Something like the man quoted above. A person of good character understands that value must be given for value received, that is doesn’t matter whether we are treated nicely or not. An honorable person would not accept the value of a paycheck without giving the value of an honest days’ work.

When we accept a job offer, we are agreeing to do a given job for a given cash reward. Anything less is dishonorable. Learn the lesson demonstrated by David. Be loyal to your employer. Be loyal to your good character. After all, character counts.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Stotler resides in Ferron.)

Bill would create significant change in water law

Representative Kay McIff

Water continues to be a major focus of the Utah Legislature. Last Thursday, the House Natural Resource Committee approved a bill which, if enacted, will result in a significant change in Utah water law. In essence, it authorizes public water suppliers, including cities and towns, to bank water for future growth.

The bill, sponsored by Representative Patrick Painter, grows out of administrative and legal rulings to the effect that water held by public bodies can be forfeited in whole or in part from failure to use. I undertook to help in the drafting effort and have agreed to be a co-sponsor. Under the bill’s language, forfeiture does not apply to “a water right conserved or held for the reasonable future water requirement of the public.” This exemption from forfeiture covers the amount of water reasonably required to meet public needs for the next 40 years.

Also of interest to private water owners, the proposed law makes clear that only the courts can adjudicate forfeiture issues, and that forfeiture will not occur from events or circumstances beyond the control of the appropriator or his successor in interest.

Finally, a “nonuse” application submitted to avoid forfeiture will no longer require inclusion of the date on which the water was last used. What this means is that the appropriator can file a nonuse application without furnishing the very information which may trigger an immediate effort by the State Engineer to seek forfeiture of the right. This provision has been warmly received by the agricultural community.

I must emphasize that the battle is not over on this bill. It must clear both the full House and the Senate and then survive a veto. However, it appears to have considerable momentum. I have given it major focus in this report because of its importance to virtually every citizen in Emery, Sanpete, and Sevier counties. I will keep you posted.

Now a personal note--I join family, friends and persons of good will everywhere in an expression of appreciation for the life and works of President Gordon B. Hinckley. Few there are who have or will cast a shadow that reaches so many in such far off places. His life exemplifies the best of which the human spirit is capable. He helped us seek a higher plain and to be a little better in all aspects of our lives – a little kinder, a little more understanding and tolerant, a little more respectful, a little better in our roles as husbands and wives, a little more of all that we ought to be. He truly left the world better than he found it. That is what he would wish for all of us.

Public Forum

Can’t Support Residential Center

I would like to express my feelings about the residential living center for girls that is proposed for Ferron. I attended the planning and zoning meeting that was held on Jan. 10 and listened to what was presented there. My opinion is that Charlotte Williams is a very capable foster parent, but at the same time I don’t think that putting level one youth in a residential home is the best situation for them. Living in a home environment with parents is totally different than living with a group of girls and having someone paid to supervise them.
One concern I have relates to Mrs. William’s statement that she had to write in her business plan; which states she would accept adjudicated youth to receive funding, even though it wasn’t her intention to place them in her facility. My questions are: Is this an honest business practice? Will she use the funding she receives in compliance with her requirements? If she does will she have to prove that she is housing that level of youth; and if not, then what?
Also, I have a concern referring to the zoning issue. I know a city plan is in the process of being put together, and that the particular area of town that is in question is not zoned for that type of business. We are allowing thousands of hours worth of work creating a plan to go to waste if we are willing to change it at the drop of a hat. Is it in the best interest of the city or only in the interest of a few to make this change?
Yet another concern I hold is that of the safety of our people. I contacted the sheriff’s department in Wayne County and asked them as to what their opinion was of this type of business; knowing they have a similar business in Loa, called Aspen Ranch. I was told that there are pros and cons. The pros given were the income and employment effects in the area. The cons were that they have a problem with the youth running and stealing vehicles. Recently an elderly couple bought a new minivan and had it stolen by two runners who totaled it. Also, the sheriff’s department responds regularly to the “Ranch” for assault charges. The other major con given was that they have a problem there with drugs. It was suggested to me that this be “carefully considered and all options weighed” before we, as a city, make this “big decision.” Aspen Ranch does house adjudicated youth, which therefore refers back to my first concern.
It is my feeling and opinion that the zoning should not be changed to allow this business, that we as a city seek out and entertain businesses that will operate with integrity and that will not put the safety of our citizens in jeopardy, or cause them to fear. I hope that the Ferron Zoning and Planning Commission and Ferron City Council don’t make a decision of this caliber without the consent of the citizens of Ferron.

- Suzanne Larsen
Ferron