12/20/02

Economic Effects: Are we financially healthy?

December 20, 2002

By Marcie Young
NewsHour Extra

As economists and politicians try to figure out how to improve the sluggish economy, juniors at Eastern High School say they're feeling the effects of job insecurity and low consumer confidence.

President Bush this month replaced his economic advisers with a new group he hopes will help lure the economy out of its current sluggish growth.

With unemployment at its highest levels since 1994, a still-shaky stock market and low consumer confidence, the economy could become a key political issue as the nation gears up for the 2004 presidential election. President Bush is hoping to avoid the fate of his father, who lost to Bill Clinton in 1992 after the Democrats blamed the slowing economy on the Republican president.

At a press conference, Stephen Friedman, the president's new top economic adviser, said he will "address pressure on family budgets and savings, the need to create more jobs, slow growth in our overseas export markets, and disappointing business investment."

Is the economy healthy or not?

So far, the president's economic plan has focused on long-range tax cuts that give upper-income taxpayers and businesses the biggest benefits. The theory is that if businesses save money on taxes, they will buy more equipment and hire more workers.

Critics like Jeff Madrick, a contributing economics columnist for the New York Times and author of a new book, Why Economies Grow, say the government should extend unemployment benefits -- a policy President Bush has endorsed. Madrick also suggests giving money to state and local governments "who are going to start cutting back significantly on education and health care."

Meanwhile, statistics suggest that the economy is slowly recovering from a recession (period of negative growth). Consumer confidence increased slightly in November for the first time in almost half a year, but it is still low.

Unemployment is hovering around 6 percent, however economists note that the official figures only measures people who are actively looking for jobs; many people have dropped out of the job market because they believe they cannot find a suitable job.

The nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve, characterized the current period as a "soft spot" that the economy must work through.

Student Perspective:
Recently, students from Eastern High School in Washington, D.C. gathered to discuss their thoughts on the state of the economy.

Sixteen-year-old Cienai Wright said she worried a continuing economic slump could have long-term effects on how students live.

"If the economy doesn't get any better, it's really going to affect us, and not in a good way," she said.

Wright quit her job at a home furnishing store so she could concentrate more on school, but classmate Wendall Jefferson said he's concerned about what's going to happen once high school is over.

Jefferson, a 17-year-old senior currently applying to college and for scholarships, thinks getting financial aid for school is going to be tougher than in past years because of the recent downturn in the economy.

Jefferson said he thought that since companies and organizations aren't making as much money as they have in the past, contributions for scholarship programs are suffering, making it more difficult for students to get funding for a college education.

Job availability and employer requirements also weigh in as sources of student concern. Sixteen-year-old Maurice G. Brown III said he's worried that when it comes time for new high school graduates to look for permanent employment, those already in the work force will get hired over younger, less experienced workers.

Brown isn't the only high school student who's nervous about job security. Although Danielle Cosey, 16, has worked with kids at her church for three years, she's noticed the toll the economy is taking on others who work with her. She said many employees have been fired or have gone without pay raises because of financial issues.

"I watch people come and go; I guess I'm one of the lucky ones," she said.

Even though Cosey feels she is secure in her position, she agrees with her classmates that the economy is making it more difficult for teenagers to hold onto jobs. Often teenagers are dependent on a steady paycheck to pay for cell phone bills, school supplies, college applications and other items. Others even offer to help their families by paying the electric or phone bill.

"You'd be surprised how many kids have jobs…if they were to lose their jobs, it would have a negative impact on the whole family," history teacher Reynauld Smith said.

Students are also learning that in lean economic times, they can't necessarily count on pay raises to improve their finances. Brown, who has worked at the Ecological Society of America for more than a year and a half, said he hasn't received a raise in that time, nor does he expect to.

Even those high school students who, like Cosey, have maintained jobs are feeling the pinch.
"The money just isn't there anymore," Cosey said, "not like it used to be."


Copyright © 2002 MacNeil-Lehrer Productions. All Rights Reserved.

4/17/02

Celebration or riot?

Colleges party down after national sport wins

April 15, 2002

By Marcie Young
Statesman International Editor

Bonfires, looting, pepper spray and riot gear have been common occurrences across the nation lately, but not for reasons most people associate with rioting.

Instead, college sport teams have been winning national championships, and fans have celebrated with vandalism and violence.

At the beginning of the month, the University of Maryland won their first national basketball championship, and large crowds gathered on campus and in the city to celebrate, said Maj. Cathy Atwell, commander of the police services bureau at the university.

About 4,000 people gathered on the campus' fraternity row, where a bonfire was ignited and the flame was fed with furniture and mattresses, Atwell said.

The celebratory riots made national news, focusing on the people who responded to Maryland's win with vandalism and violence, she said. Atwell said the crowd gathered on the fraternity row wasn't a major obstacle for police because most had not been drinking or resorting to destruction beyond mattress burning.

Problematic situations started arising when the crowds started pouring out of bars located near campus, she said.

"People coming out of the bars had been drinking, and that's where the problems were," Atwell said.

These people congregated in the streets outside local bars, with some throwing bottles among other things at police. Police responded to the attacks with riot gear and pepper spray, Atwell said.

Although university officers were not armed with pepper spray, other squads were and used their resources to break up the crowd. Not unlike the student athletes, campus police departments had to train for the night of the big game, as well.

University of Maryland police teamed up with other police forces a week before the event to prepare for Maryland's expected NCAA basketball win April 1, Atwell said. Between the university police and the other local departments, the campus and surrounding areas were suited with more than 100 officers and an additional 20 mounted officers.

Even with the support of six departments on campus and in the city of College Park, five police cruisers were damaged by the celebrants. Two belonged to the university police and three were cars owned by the Prince George's County Sheriff's Office.

Although the University of Maryland police arrested eight people in all, Atwell said none were students. Between the six departments involved, only three Maryland students were arrested and charges were dropped in all three cases.

Even through much of the crowd participating in violence and destruction were not students, Atwell said Maryland reputations were still harmed.

"It taints people's image of the institution and makes the community bitter against the students whether they participated or not," she said.

Howard Clery III, executive director of Security on Campus Inc., agreed and said, "It's an embarrassment to [the students] because it's a reflection of their school ... It still rubs off on you a little bit even if you weren't involved."

Just because thousands gathered to celebrate the Terrapin's win, Tommy Ventre, a senior at Maryland, said many of the celebrants weren't even students. In addition, Ventre acknowledged a "vocal outcry from students against the behavior."

He said the majority of students think the destructive celebrations are ridiculous.

"I'm not sure what the connection is between winning and getting angry. In my experience, winning has always been a cause for joy and happiness, not anger and violence," he said. "I'm not sure what these people are trying to say or express when they behave like that."

Atwell said Maryland has great achievements in sports and academics, but it is celebratory riots that get the campus on the news.

But celebrations like Maryland's aren't limited to Maryland alone, Atwell said.

"This is a national phenomenon ... some campuses have almost been burnt to the ground," she said.

The most recent campus celebration resulting in looting and bonfires was in response to the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, hockey win for the national title on April 6.

With less than a week separating the Maryland and Minnesota celebrations, Steve Johnson, captain of the University of Minnesota Police Department, said Minnesota campus police only made one arrest the night of the game.

Other agencies, including the Minneapolis Police Department, made between 25 and 27 arrests.

Like Maryland police, Minnesota police forces were ready for a celebration after the game, which was held off-campus in a downtown St. Paul rink.

"St. Paul police were well-organized and ready for the championship game and any celebrations that came afterward," Johnson said.

Johnson said officers in his department prepared for the celebration by making their presence known to students and other celebrants by doing more rounds and being more visible than usual.

Even with the preparation, Johnson said windows were broken and quite a few cars were damaged, including one belonging to the University of Minnesota police.

Like Maryland, many people gathered on Minnesota's fraternity row and in "dinky town," where many of the student bars are located.

Although there was significant vandalism near the Minnesota campus, Johnson said he didn't want to minimize the result of the celebration. He also said he doesn't like to use the term "riot" in a situation like this.

"I'm not calling it a riot because I reserve the term, 'riot' for a much more serious event," he said.

Johnson said University of Minnesota police, in addition to looking at police tapes, are pursuing additional charges from people identified on video and from witness reports.

In addition to the threat of vandalism, a major concern across the nation is safety.

"How do you get the word out that it's not even safe to be a spectator at these things?" Johnson said.

Although Clery — who started Security on Campus Inc., to bring attention to safety issues on college campuses — said he didn't have an answer to Johnson's question, he said these celebratory riots may be minimized by limiting access to alcohol, especially to those underage.

Even though celebratory riots like these seem to be a new trend across the nation, Clery said students understand their personal safety is at risk when these celebrations occur.

"I think [students] do expect to be safe on campus, but I don't think enough is being done," he said.

Schools, including Indiana, the University of Northern Colorado, Kent State, Ohio State and the University of New Hampshire, among others, are on the list of colleges where celebrants have resorted to destructive behavior in the last year.


© Copyright 2002 The Statesman

3/22/02

End to overseas journalism?

Anderson, professors say international reporting is here to stay

March 22, 2002

By Marcie Young
Statesman International Editor

Daniel Pearl and Terry Anderson had a lot in common. Both were foreign correspondents, covering the news in violent and dangerous overseas regions. Both were settled, soon-to-be fathers, and both were kidnapped, held hostage and threatened by political extremists.

Anderson, however, survived."If you see pictures of me when I was taken, they'd be strikingly similar," said Anderson, a former Associated Press bureau chief in Beirut and seven-year hostage.

Still, even with the lives of reporters on the line, Anderson said the press won't back down from dangerous situations and sacrifice international coverage. At a Utah State University-sponsored lecture Monday, Anderson said Pearl was not a chance-taker, but a journalist doing his job.

"Danny Pearl ... was well aware it was a dangerous profession," he said. "He knew what he was doing, and he did it the best way he could."

Even though Pearl was kidnapped while working, Anderson said the situation won't put a halt on coverage in war zones and other dangerous areas of the world.

"It is a job that is inherently dangerous. We know that," Anderson said.

Michael S. Sweeney, professor of journalism at USU and a historian of wartime journalism, agreed with Anderson, and said journalists often take assignments in dangerous parts of the world because they think the issue is important.

"I don't think one act of violence against a journalist will sour a generation of journalists from doing their jobs," he said.

Even though Pearl's situation received mass amounts of coverage, violence against reporters has not been restricted to just one incident over the last six months.

Since Sept. 11, 10 reporters have died while covering international stories, Anderson said.

Sweeney said, "There was a while there that more journalists were dead than soldiers [in Afghanistan.]"

While some journalists might decide they don't want to take the risks involved with overseas reporting, Sweeney said others would find the risks appealing.

"A lot of them get a real rush out of danger," he said.

Anderson agreed and said it takes a particular breed to cover violence internationally.

"The people who do that are peculiar," he said. "Good journalism is taking chances for important information."

Jeannie Johnson, a political science instructor and former state department and political officer, also said journalists are known for the risks they take to report the news.

"People have died covering stories for a long time," she said. "I don't think [violence against reporters] dampens the journalistic spirit."

Sweeney said he doubts any newspaper or network would force a journalist to come home to avoid a dangerous situation, but a reporter's request to come home would probably be honored. Another journalist, however, would immediately fill the empty spot in a foreign bureau, Sweeney said.

He also said international journalism is dictated more by money than by threats of violence. If the domestic budget is weak, Sweeney said, newspapers don't feel like they can afford reporters overseas. More money means more foreign bureaus, he said.

According to the January/February 2002 edition of the Columbia Journalism Review, AP has 100 overseas bureaus and 150 overseas correspondents. Because of this, Sweeney said most American newspapers are relying on AP bureaus to cover international news.

The Sept. 11 attacks brought a flood of reporters to Central Asia, according to CJR, with big news organizations adding anywhere from six to 12 reporters to the bureaus.

As of Sept. 1, The New York Times staffed 26 bureaus; The Los Angeles Times had 21; and The Washington Post had 21 overseas bureaus. The Wall Street Journal depended on 40 bureaus with 119 correspondents, according to the Columbia Journalism Review.

Regardless of money, Sweeney said there will be a lot more journalists in Pakistan and Afghanistan than in other parts of the world because of the current high news element. In times of war journalists are often forced to depend on military information officers for details, Sweeney said. He said very few reporters get to go where they want and are able to ask the questions they want to ask.

Even with hundreds of American correspondents in overseas bureaus, Sweeney said the version of what is going on in Afghanistan is coming from military sources."

If someone is prevented from seeing something ... then I call that censorship by denial of access," he said.

Anderson said, "Whatever it is you think, it's more complicated than that."During World War II, Sen. Hiram Johnson of California said, "The first casualty when war comes is truth."

Sweeney and Anderson agree, and although Johnson said the military often spins the truth during times of war, she also said journalists need to take responsibility for the role they play.

"What's happening in Afghanistan is a war of political control," she said. "[It's] about who gets to shape foreign policy."

Johnson said although the balance between the military and journalists is a touchy subject during times of war, she said there is a positive side.

"There is no way to mobilize the American public except for putting pictures in the living room," she said.


© Copyright 2002 The Statesman

2/6/02

In Logan, myths about STDs dismissed

February 6, 2002

By Marcie Young
Statesman Internatonal Editor

There is fact and there is fiction. When it comes to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and infections, many people can't tell the two apart.

Health educators from organizations such as the Utah AIDS Foundation (UAF) and Planned Parenthood agree many myths are circulating about who is at risk for sexually transmitted diseases and infections and who isn't.

Myth: Sexually transmitted diseases aren't very common in Utah.

Fact: Virtually everyone who engages in any sort of sexual contact is at risk for contracting a sexually transmitted disease or infection, said Stan Penfold, director of the UAF.

According to a report from the Bureau of HIV/AIDS at the State of Utah Health Department, there were 50 new HIV infections and 114 AIDS cases reported in 2001 in Utah. But Tyler Fisher, youth HIV prevention specialist at the UAF, said these numbers probably aren't accurate.

"All of the information we have is gathered from tests," Fisher said.

Gay men are more likely to get tested than other groups because there is an awareness for HIV among homosexual males, Fisher said.

When the AIDS epidemic began appearing in the early 1980s, it was often seen in homosexual men, he said, and as a result, many people who had exposed themselves took action and were tested for the virus.Fisher said the trend continues today because there is a higher rate of men who have sex with men who are getting tested.

Although Hispanic, gay men were the predominant group testing positive for HIV in 2001, Fisher said the numbers are probably incorrect because other groups get tested much less frequently.

"The reason we see higher rates in one group over another is because some people get tested more [than other groups]," Fisher said.

For example, people under the age of 20 account for 4 percent of HIV infections in Utah, Fisher said. The numbers change drastically, however, in men and women between the ages of 20 and 29, who make up 43 percent of all HIV cases in the state.

Fisher said the huge gap in the statistics is because youth under 20 aren't getting tested for HIV and other STDs.

"They'd rather not know and aren't being tested until they're a little older," Fisher said.

He explained that many young adults don't see the problem as a real issue when they read about it in a health book. Discussions, he said, are a better way to educate people in their teens and 20s about infections and other uncomfortable topics.

"I make sure it's never a lecture. We're discussing," Fisher said. "It gives ownership. It cuts down on the complacency of 'it won't happen to me.'"

Myth: Men, especially gay men, are more at risk for AIDS and other infections.

Fact: Although myths, like AIDS being the gay man's disease, are commonly heard in smaller communities like Logan, Sara Reeves, health educator and nurse at Logan's Planned Parenthood, said such myths just aren't the case.

"I'm hesitant to give gender-specific information because it's misleading," Reeves said.

She said connecting infections to specific groups is dangerous because people might think only certain groups are at risk.

"If we told men they could get pregnant, they'd use birth control," Reeves said.

Although men are reporting more cases of chlamydia, women are also at risk for the infection, she said.

Penfold said, "I don't think anyone is confident that men are infected more."

Men generally show signs of chlamydia sooner than women because there are less places in a man's body for the infection to hide, Reeves said. Women, however, are absorptive and can contain sperm in many more areas than men, she said.

Because of this, Reeves said females show symptoms less often, even if they are carrying the infection.

Myth: People who are abstinent will never contract an infection.

Fact: One of the biggest STD-related myths is connected to the idea that abstinence will keep people safe, Reeves said.

This gets to the idea that people who don't engage in penetrative, vaginal sex will be safe, she said.

But Penfold, Fisher and Reeves agree there are other ways to contract dangerous infections and being sexually active isn't reserved to intercourse. Oral sex, anal sex or any other form of contact where bodily fluids are present increase a person's chances of contracting an STD, Penfold said.

"Anybody who is sexually active does increase their risk to any STD," Penfold said.

Fisher said, "Kids don't know the rate for [genital warts] is one in five."

And Herpes, Reeves said, can actually spread to a person's face and can be passed to another person by kissing.

Although abstinence is the best way to stay protected, Reeves said communication between a sexually active couple, whether they are engaging in intercourse or not, is important.

"The best protection is to know your partner," Reeves said.


© Copyright 2002 The Statesman

1/25/02

Union's Euro good for trade, travelers and U.S.

January 25, 2002

By Marcie Young
Statesman International Editor

When it comes to currency diversity, 12 countries in Europe will never be the same. No more are the days of the Lire, Guilder and Franc.

By Feb. 28 of this year, use of such currencies will be extinct in the European Union. The EU is the institutional framework to unite Europe. Like the federal government in the United States, the EU creates unified policy to apply toward the countries contained in the union.

Just like Utah and New York operate under the same federal regulations, Germany and Italy operate under policies created by the Brussels-based EU. One of the biggest policies implemented by the union came with the crossover from 2001 to 2002.

Beginning on Jan. 1, the Economic and Monetary Union of the EU made the change to one standard currency — the Euro. Although some nations, such as Great Britain, Denmark, Norway and Sweden are members of the EU, officials from these respective countries decided to forgo the switch to the Euro from a national currency, according to the EU's Web page at www.eurunion.org.

Countries who did see the change earlier this month include Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Finland, Luxembourg and Greece. This list of nations represents a large chunk of Western Europe that has been using one currency, rather than a dozen different forms.

The influence of the Euro, however, goes far beyond having the same bills and coins. Basudeb Biswas, professor of economics at Utah State University, said many pros and cons come with the conversion. Exchange rates, he said, are constantly changing from highs to lows across Europe.

The implementation of the Euro creates a more stable currency for the EU as a whole, rather than the separation caused by 12 currencies. The influence of the Euro across the EU is not unlike the dollar's influence in the United States, Biswas said.

Using Alan Greenspan's recent federal policy to reduce interest rates across this country as an example, Biswas said the EU and the United States now function similarly. Just as interest rates in the United States affect each state the same way, each of the nations in the EU follow the guidelines established for all the members of the union.

But this is a problem, Biswas said.

"One country may need a higher interest rate and another a lower interest rate to stimulate the economy," he said.

He also highlighted the concept of one central bank, located in the EU's headquarters of Belgium, as a potential problem. If one country were to go into a depression, he said, it would need stimulus from the central bank. But having one currency and one central bank may be appropriate for one country but not for another, he said.

Germany, Biswas used as a hypothetical example, could be in a depression stage, whereas France's economy could be booming. If this were to happen, he said, Germany would ease its money supply and France would tighten its supply.

In the past this type of monetary control would normally happen within the individual nation, he said, but the creation of the central bank would force each of the nations to look beyond the national boarders. Most of Western Europe using the same currency, however, makes for easier internal trade, Biswas said.

"The value of trade among these countries is increasing," he said.

Ronda Callister, assistant professor of management and human resources at USU, agreed. She said business transactions between the United States and the EU will become easier. Callister, who has talked with her classes about the EU's conversion to the Euro, said a U.S.-based company working with more than one EU nation will no longer have to worry about converting more than one currency.

Using a European manufactured Ford as an example in her classes, Callister said the switch-over is more economically effective. The Ford Escort produced in the EU has pieces from the Netherlands, France and Austria, to name a few. Because the car is assembled in Germany and sold all over the EU, there is almost no transition cost because all of the countries use the Euro, she said.

Biswas said the Euro creates a more stable trading environment among EU nations causing internal trade to go up. When this happens, the United States will also have to be more productive to compete with trade in the EU, he said.

The Euro, Biswas said, will not just affect the EU, but the world, because competition creates a better economy.

The Euro, however, isn't only good for businesses and the economics, Callister said.

"It's beneficial for both business and for retail consumers who travel between countries," Callister said.

Travelers, who typically hit more than one European country when they come abroad, will only have to worry about changing their own currency to the standard Euro, Callister said.

"It makes it a seamless effort from country to country," she said. Although the Euro originally started out a little higher than the U.S. dollar when it was created in January 1999, it has changed with the economy.

Now, the Euro is worth about 88 cents, but Callister said with economic fluctuations, its value could surpass the dollar, depending on each union's economic strength.




© Copyright 2002 The Statesman

1/14/02

Hay bales removed from Old Main Hill for liability

January 14, 2002

By Marcie Young
Statesman International Editor

LOGAN - Utah State University student Janessa Slatky wasn't sure if her car was going to stop on the icy road when she saw an 8-year-old boy fly down Old Main Hill, bump across the frozen gravel and land in a front yard across the street.

Last year, the sledder would have hit a rock-hard bale of frozen straw. With the disappearance of the straw bales from the bottom of Old Main Hill, sledders are forced to take responsibility for their own actions, USU landscape manager Ellen Newell said.

"Person after person would sail down that hill and hit that concrete wall," Craig Simper, member of the university counsel said. "[Not having bales] forces you to think about the options and the consequences."

The decision to remove the bales — the first time USU has gone without some sort of safety precaution for sledders in decades — did not come easy.

"We just went around and round," Newell said. "No one could come up with a decision."From a legal standpoint, USU was beginning to look toward the possibly of liability from the school-sponsored bales, Simper said.

"This is a case of darned if you do, darned if you don't," he said.

Although Simper said no one has held USU responsible for injuries caused by the bales, he said some of the accidents were getting bad enough to make the university nervous about potential liability. He said USU has posted signs on the hill, warning people that they use the hill at their own risk, but then they put up the bales.

"By saying people should sled at their own risk and then putting up bales was saying [USU] was taking responsibility," he said.

Although Newell collaborated with Simper and the University Counsel, USU Police and Landscape Operations and Maintenance, she was ultimately responsible. Newell decided to go without the bales this year because more people were being injured by the straw barricades.

"People were led into the false assumption that these were soft bales of straw," Simper said. In addition to the threat of hitting a frozen wall, Newell said snowboarders were taking the bales apart to make jumps, leaving metal wires poking out.

Steve Mecham, USU police chief, reported that seven people were injured while sledding on Old Main Hill last year, four of which were caused by hitting the straw bales.

"When the water freezes, hitting those bales is like hitting concrete," Mecham said.

The injuries caused by the bales ranged from broken bones and head injuries to scratches and bruises. One of the worst, Mecham said, was when a parent depended on the bales to stop the sledding children, leaving one child with a broken femur.

"Last year was an exceptional year [for accidents]," Mecham said. "And some thought the bales were there to stop them."

Although the 2000-2001 sledding season may have been a hazardous one, past years have actually reported less accidents on Old Main Hill than this year, without the bales. This winter Mecham reported three have been injured on Old Main Hill, but those injuries happened long before sledders hit the bottom of the hill.

One injury was caused by hitting a tree, another when someone fell off a sled and the third was caused when someone went over a jump, Mecham said.

After the winter of 1999-2000, two injuries were acquired on the hill, one of which was by the bales. The previous year produced a similar report.

Simper, however, said the injuries caused by the bales were actually much more serious than the accidents which have happened this year.

"It wasn't so much the accidents but the nature of the accidents," he said. "I guess we'll live with the cuts and bruises. We're tying to avoid the catastrophe."

David Harston, assistant chief over EMS for the Logan Fire Department, said he doesn't have an opinion about the bales being set up on Old Main Hill.

When an ambulance is dispatched to the hill, it is the Logan Police Department and Harston's EMS team that responds to the call.

"I think it's kind of a toss up," Harston said. "Between a [straw] bale and a car, a [straw] bale will probably be safer, but that's not to say it's the answer."

Mecham and Newell said they are happy people are being more careful when they take to the hill. Parents no longer use the hill as a baby sitter, Newell said, and are staying at the bottom of the hill, catching their children when they zoom down.

"What I see is that everyone knows the curbs are there and the cars are there and they should put on the brakes before they get there," Mecham said.

Most parents who bring their kids to play on the hill say they'd act no differently if the bales were still set up.

Natalie Wilcox, a parent of a 6-and 4-year-old, took her daughters sledding on Old Main Hill for the first time Saturday. Her daughter's first attempt down the hill shocked her.

"I had no idea she was going to keep on going," Wilcox said.

Even though her daughter's first run sent the inner tube nearly into the road, Wilcox said she's much more comfortable being responsible for her children than depending on a straw bale.

Marlan Smith, a father of a helmeted 6-year-old sledder, said having straw bales might be a nice thing to have as back-up, but even if the bales were there, he said he'd be ready to catch his child at the bottom of the hill.

"It's kind of nice to have the [straw] bales there, just in case," Smith said. "I saw one kid fly out into the road when I got here."


© Copyright 2002 The Statesman