I would like to respond to your letter to the editor about "Spug" and "Oddmanout". I am a tax payer and have worked in public service for many years. Unfortunelty having any opinion on political practices is Taboo. UVtalks provides a forum for those who must protect their identity. The "Whistle Blower" law will not protect you. It is important to expose questionable practices and behavior of our elected officials. Wasteful government spending is wide spread. Readers would welcome any oposing thoughts that you might have on the subject.

I hear with disgust and read with disgust about the increase in commissioners salaries set by yourselves.
To put it bluntly, if you had any sense of decency, any sense of honesty, or any sense of concern for the taxpayers of Fremont County, you would not have given yourselves a 20% pay increase last year and a proposed 18% raise for the coming year. What makes it worse, yet, is the fact that you advertized a 10% raise last year when in reality, it was 20%; you advertized a 5% increase for next year, when in reality it is 18%. Deceiving the taxpayers of Fremont County is certainly not in your best interests and is certainly unethical.
I realize that Fremont County is very fortunate in its tax base and tax money is readily available when the mill levy is set and approved by the commissioners. This does not mean, though, that you should escalate your wages at such exorbitant percentages. You are not entitled to any more than the rest of the county employees or no more than a cost of living increase that a great...

I am avid high schools sports fan in the upper valley. I love the Friday night football games and thought I would post my picks here for everyone to enjoy.

Madison at Bonneville
I'm sick and tired of the Bobcats fumbling games away in the final seconds. I would love to see them put a team away instead of letting them hang in there until the very end, giving them a chance to steal the game.
I know this game will reunite the Bobcats with former coach Mitch Buck and the emotions are going to be high on both sides. A win would be nice to give the players some confidence heading into the midway point of the season. With its only win having come on the road this season, perhaps, the Bobcats would be better off playing on the road following two close losses at home. My pick: Madison, 27-21.

North Fremont at American Falls
Salmon really took it to the Huskies last week. Whether that was a reality check for North Fremont or just a off night, no one is really sure of at this point? This game should answer that question one...

There is a cell tower going up behind the city building. Good move, the city can generate some income for the city. Oh but wait - it is unexceptable for government agancies to compete with private busness. Busnesses in the St. Anthony area struggle hard to keep the doors open. Now the city is moving in and taking income away from local busness. Don't seem to me the mayor really cares about private busness. I know the city counsel didn't have anything to say about it cause Bill Beck doesn't listen to them anyway. The voters need to clean house.

I love to read. It’s almost a compulsive thing. I read the covers of magazines in the checkout counter. In the car I edge up to the car in front of me to read the bumper stickers. I love almost all books. I plow through them as quick as I can. As a teenager my focus was on fiction, but after college, I found that I enjoyed learning about different issues with nonfiction books. I once worked in downtown Salt Lake City. On my breaks I would wander over to Sam Weller's and sit in the leather wingback chairs. I read a book or two in 10-minute segments in the window at that store. Today I thought I would share some of my favorites, in hopes they might get others reading. 'Les Miserables' My favorite book of all time is “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo. Maybe it’s because I spent two years in France. This book isn’t about Jean Valjean. If you read the unabridged version it’s about humanity, justice, mercy, social castes and the human condition. One of my favorite parts is when the convict Valjean, who has taken on...

Looks like the Commisioners voted them selves a very nice pay raise. Maybe no one noticed but property taxes went up considerably in Fremont County. Any idea where the money came from? I wonder who evaluates the work habits of the commisioners? Must be Bill Beck the mayor of St. Anthony. Beck likes to tax hell out of people and spend the tax dollars as fast as he can. The commisioners must have been watching him work. Not very thrifty elected officials we have in office right now. As far as the Commisioners go, we have one who don't know what the heck is going on cause he sleeps all the time. One who is againt everything except his pet projects, you know replacing perfectly good bridges and such. One who does all the work and gets beat up in the press for his trouble. Any ideas who fits the discriptions. Maybe the Commisioners should ask the voters if a pay raise is in order. Maybe the one who does all the work should get a pay raise at the expense of the others.

Last night a group of bikers (motorcycles) from Madison Memorial took a ride from MMH to Heise Pizza Parlor to eat and just have fun. On the way back to MMH (about 8:30 pm) my wife and I were the lead bike of 9 when an 80's model Small Chevrolet Blazer was swerving from shoulder to shoulder. He pulled off onto the left shoulder, stopped and then accelerated right at our bike. I stopped and the bike behind me swerved to avoid being hit by them. They ran into the back of us knocking us down and sending my wife to EIRMC with back injuries (she's home now).
The vehicle sped off and one of the bullet bikes chased after them trying to get their plate but couldn't follow them in the gravel. The biker said the blazer was swerving all the way.
We would like to ask the for the public's help in locating/identifying this vehicle.
The driver and passenger were both wearing green cammo and must have been hunting in the Kelly Canyon Area. Some of our 9 bikers said they were even eating at Heise between 7:30pm and...

Cheers to the Rexburg PD!!
(especially the officer who literally risked his life walking back and forth across the street)
They ran a sting today and nabbed 9 people for failing to yield to a pedestrian! And this was in just one hour!
The footage was on Channel 3 news and I've attached it to this post.
Kudos to Nate Eaton for his taping of this but as he said near the end, there's soon going to be a population increase of 13,000 in town. Let's hope all will be safe this year. Let's all do our part and watch closely at all crosswalks.
Thanks again for running this operation. Keep up the good work!

I would like to respond to a couple of the "blogger" comments that have been made the past couple of weeks. Kelly, What ever happened to "Good" police work? It certainly wasn't a coincidence that the Sheriff was there when the ex-mayor of Parker was arrested. It WAS a coincidence that he was finally caught after several attempts. Which also brings up the questions: Why does ex-mayor have a restraining order protecting his ex-wife and children in Utah, Why does he have outstanding warrants for his arrest in Utah, Why can't he "Face the music" and take responsibility for his actions, and Why are all his problems always someone else's fault ? Kelly, why do you think it's okay to drive suspended? Should those who drive intoxicated be ignored as well ? And just a note to David, I am certainly glad that you are not a friend of mine because with friends like you who needs enemies??? Sheriff Ralph Davis is doing a great job and I think most of the community knows it. Mary

I can't believe this city is going to spend $23,000.00 to repaint an old water tower that isn't even used to hold water.
Even if the $2,000.00 per year the city gets from renting space for telecommunication equipment it will take almost 12 years for this ridiculous expense to pay itself off.
What is it with this council that they feel everything over 50 feet tall, that has outlived it's usefullness and is a complete eyesore needs to be "preserved", made into a "landmark", then repainted at great expense? Can't they find more deserving uses for all this money? Use the money to tear the down thing down and save the money needed to repaint it in the future.
Spend the money more wisely. The area around the playground at Smith park is covered in weeds. There are holes there that can, and someday will, cause a child injury. Sprinklers at Smith park don't work properly and brown spots abound. There are tank traps in the road at the corner by the ball fields that have caused damage to many vehicles.
Crosswalks...

Maybe it’s the price of gas that has everyone thinking about alternative ways to get to work. Maybe it’s that people are becoming more civil. Whatever the reason, Drivers seem to be more courteous this biking season.
For the past two years, I’ll have enough close calls and instances of outright driver aggression that I write a column asking people to be civil.
But with one notable exception, people are being more cautious around bicycles of late. As one who bikes to work, I want to thank you. As one who worries about this issue, I’ll pass along the thanks of my wife.
That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement. If you’re pulling onto a roadway and you see a bike, stop and see how fast they’re traveling. It’s probably faster than you think. My average speed coming to work is 16 mph. I have reached 30 mph. Those speeds are enough that I have been next to a car at the red light on Main Street and Second East, and I have still been next to the car at the stop light on Second East at Wal-Mart.
I also appreciate...

Thank you to the St. A. garbage police for reminding me that I can be fined and jailed for not putting away my pretty blue garbage can. I will do my best, however, i'm not as young as I used to be, and my memory gets a little foggy at times and I tend to forget the important things. But, that's OK! To be on the safe side I may have to hide the can in the bushes behind my house and take my own garbage to the dump once in a while. Or I could paint it pink I suppose. Maybe no one will notice.

StarsAglow you hit the nail on the head. As this is an LDS dominant community we tend to take credit for everything, even the activites of our ancestors ,and fail to do much with our own lives-- except brag about them. We might begin with absolute honesty, integrity, and a good dose of humility. It took many nationalities and many ethnicities to found this nation and make it work-- this was the dream of our founding fathers. We would do well to include all who sufferred and toiled to turn this desert into a livable land. Thanks StarAglow for your timely reminder.

Editor's note: The Standard Journal will post Life in the Country, which appears in Friday's paper, on uvtalks.

Squirrel News
INES GARZ

Sympathy is extended to the family of Jim Griffin, his friend Nancy Pierce, and the staff at Aspen Acres in regards to his passing away this past week.
Sympathy is also sent to the families of Ted Martindale due to his passing in Idaho Falls and subsequent burial in Ashton. Ted lived in the Ashton area for many years and helped at the Grainville Elevators at harvest time.
Mr. and Mrs. Ken Garz attended the Eastern Idaho Technical College Practical Nursing Pinning Ceremony in Rexburg recently. The ceremony was held in honor of the 2008 graduating class, and the Garz' granddaughter, Kelli Garz Rogers, was pinned. Others attending the event to honor Kelli were Mr. and Mrs. Dave Garz, Andrew Rogers, Charles and Juniper, Kate Garz, and Gene and Pat Rogers.

West of Ashton
PHYLLIS JENKINS

Although we need rain, the dry weather has been giving people more time to stack the hay.
Mr. and Mrs. Elroy...

Who pays for the administrative and maintenance costs of "historical" sites such as the Sugar City grain elevator and water tower? Citizens.

According to Mark McNeese of the Idaho Transportation Department, the Sugar City grain elevator Transportation Enhancement application did not receive enough points to be considered for the grant program. Councilman Bruce King stated that he would vote to have the elevator torn down if the grant was not approved.

If the grain elevator is a "historic" landmark then it should be restored to its original state and not artistically embellished. (See photos)

My opinion, Mayor Dalling should have hired the demolition contractor who was doing work for the university to take down the elevator at a mere cost of $10,000 to $20,000. Just applying for the grant cost $9,000 and the total renovation project cost is calculated at $533,817.

Now city officials are weighing the costs of painting or dismatling the city water tower. I would encourage city council to spend more time assessing...

"A wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men, and to imitate those who have been supreme, so that if his ability does not equal theirs, at least it will savour of it. Let him act like the clever archers who, designing to hit the mark which yet appears too far distant, and knowing the limits to which the strength of their bow attains, take aim much higher than the mark, not to reach by their strength or arrow to so great a height, but to be able with the aid of so high an aim to hit the mark they wish to reach." The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli

When Jan Gallup posted the following letter to the editor she stated:
"Editor,
Quoting from Editor’s notes “It’s cowardly to send people anonymous election letters,” Mr. Flitton stated, “Someone sent residents of the town a letter attacking (a candidate) who was running for City Council. But rather than stand up and do so openly, this person anonymously sent a letter . . .”
Flitton then stated, “I challenge this person to correct my assessment. Come forward and put a face to your writing.”
Now the editor is encouraging and even printing anonymous letters by way of the Blogger’s Forum. Someone can use others’ full names at will and then sign a blog as “Sugardad” and send it out into cyberspace. The editor will even print part of the anonymous blog.
Your words Mr. Flitton, “This person came out of the darkness, attacked someone … and melted back into the ether. That doesn’t sound like the tactic of a freedomloving American to me.”
To “Sugardad” and others using the newspaper blog, please do not use...

I agree that crosswalks are dangerous, but I think both drivers and pedestrians are discourteous. In the video that Matthew Flitton posted, with the intersection at the front of the Snow building (I'm guessing), when should pedestrians not enter a crosswalk? Some of the pedestrians came much later, forcing cars to wait for several different groups of pedestrians, spread several feet apart. One group seemed to enter the crosswalk as one was just leaving.

I also am amazed at four way stops, when cars are trying to work out who should be going next, that pedestrians don't try to figure out the flow of traffic and accommodate it.

My biggest question is, what is the etiquette for when a driver is already in the intersection and a pedestrian enters the crosswalk? For example, I am driving on 1st south, heading west, and come to the intersection of 1st south and 1st east. I don't have a stop sign, but the cross traffic does. A pedestrian enters the crosswalk from the north-west corner, opposite me, after I have...

We lost a little girl at Porter Park on Tuesday night around 8 p.m. One mother was calling 911 on her cell phone and got a busy signal 3 times. We found the child before she got through to 911. This isn't the first time we have gotten a busy signal with 911 in Rexburg. Has anyone else had this experience? What can be done to change the system?

Paperboy,
I saw the pictures and videos you posted today. I hope you forwarded them to the police department! People in this area are insane when it comes to pedestrians in crosswalks.
One would think in light of all the recent accidents, correction, collisions in crosswalks, not to mention the front page articles, that people would be a bit more cautious. Not just for safety sake but for the possibility of a ticket due to increased patrols!
Are the police actively patroling crosswalks to send up some red flares? I would hope that there would be one officer with a couple of people using the crosswalks to bait these idiots! Something needs to be done before it's not just an out of town student but one of our kids!

I live in Sugar City and I'm embarrased. I'm ashamed by the way two people, one concerned citizen and one very public figure, use this forum to continulally bash and attempt to publicly humiliate one another. Mrs. Gallup, although personal in some of her attacks, is well within her rights to inform our community of what is happening within our city government. I for one appreciate her efforts. Sending "personal notes being sarcastic and very childish", if that truly be the case, are just that...personal, not meant for publication. Being sarcastic and childish is albeit unprofessional but also very subjective.
Mr. Harris, with all due respect to his position and contributions to this city, is also within his rights to defend himself. But to resort to name calling, belittling, or condecention ("she should take some headache medication and rest" 21June08 UVSJ) is beneath even the lowest politician. As an elected official I would think he would curtail his hitting below the belt in public. Personal attacks...

I already mentioned the worst. Now it's time for the best. I've seen a few quoted on resumes. You hear them all the time. You don't even have to see the movie to know the really good ones. Chances are you'll read a few on T-shirts.
So here's a list of my favorite movie lines:

10. "You never had a camera inside my head," Jim Carrey, Truman Show.
9. "...I'm a columnist." "You're not a columnist. You're a reporter who writes long," Randy Quaid and Michael Keaton in the paper.
8. "I want the truth!" "You can't handle the truth!" Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, A Few Good Men.
7. "Dear Wheeler: you provide the prose poems. I'll provide the war." Orson Wells Citizen Kane
6. "Luke, I am your father." James Earl Jones, Empire Strikes Back.
5. "You've got an overdeveloped sense of vengeance. It's going to get you in trouble someday." Christopher Guest, Princess Bride.
4. "I'm a ring-tailed roarer. I can draw faster, shoot straighter, ride harder and drink longer than any man alive. I ride cyclones and I wrestle –" "You got a name,...

Why is it that the Rex Theatre managers think that they can get another waiver of their taxes? They have already gotten more than anyone could have imagined. And in addition to that they want the assessed value of their property reduced based on the assumption of a future sale. When the sale goes through officially then you can use that as a basis for value.

If the Rex can't be profitable because of property taxes that they (and everyone else) have to pay. Then maybe we should let them go out of business. It wouldn't be long before an entrepreneur came in and opened a theatre that is profitable through good management.

I'll tell you what. I'm getting tired of almost being nailed by vehicles. Both on my bike and on foot. I think I'll start carrying a camera with me and posting videos here of cars who almost kill those who choose to move around by our own power.

How many times have you been sitting there, watching a movie, when you suddenly realize what's coming. Your stomach starts to churn. You whisper to yourself, "No, they wouldn't say it. It would turn the movie into cheese."
You whisper a prayer that the writer showed restraint. But no. It comes. The character says something that no one else would ever say. If they did say it, their friends would slap them.
It has ruined movies. Don't believe me? Go watch the '90's film "Batman and Robin." It ruined the franchise. On that note, here's my list of the Top 10 worst movie lines ever:
10. "That's OK, I don't shop here." Sylvester Stallone in Cobra, in response to a man who threatened to blow up a grocery store.
9. "Don't leave me. (CRASH! BOOM!) You didn't leave me!" "I had nowhere else to go." Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reaves in Speed during the final scene on the subway train.
8. "This isn't a hockey game, it's a circus." One of those tweeners on Mighty Ducks 2.
7. "Take two of these and call me in the morning." Arnold...