The Gunlock Informer: May 2008

Intellectual Nourishment

The mother loves her child most divinely, not when she surrounds him with comfort and anticipates his wants, but when she resolutely holds him to the highest standards and is content with nothing less than his best.

_Hamilton Wright Mabie

GSSD Under Budget

By Sara Laub

The final bill has been assessed for the water system upgrade and it is $350 under budget. The system has a one year warranty that began in November 2007 when the project was finished. The GSSD will pay the water bill for the Town Hall beginning in February 2008 when it was voted for approval and previous unpaid bills and late fees for the structure were waived.

The park discussion was put on hold until the May meeting since Nadine Heaton, the member over the park, was ill. The Weeds submitted a proposal for their duties of the park including taking over the soda machine and then paying their own power bill. Odean Bowler said that the state does not like the water board to deal with cash at all and the soda machine is the only cash they handle. Kip Bowler was concerned if there was enough for caretaker compensation, then community members expressed that they were getting free rent and that could be enough compensation. It was left undecided to be discussed at the May meeting. The park has some broken sprinklers and other maintenance that will be taken care of, the contract for the caretakers will be redone, and the dumpster will also be considered. Gail Humphries wondered if the Rodeo Committee could take on the park.

Judy Leavitt was voted in to take the job opening of Water Operator and was employed immediately following the April Gunlock Special Service District meeting. She is prepared to take the necessary training required for the position.

Mother's Day: A Guide for Men

By Rachel Campbell

I was raised with boys. No sisters, no female cousins with in one hundred miles, and very few female friends. I know how hard it is for men to find the perfect gift for the special women in their life. I have seen the smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes when he gives her a bouquet of flowers. This scene, alone, has convinced me to write these tips for men looking for the perfect gift for Mother’s Day.

Tip 1. Do something unusual. Every woman likes to brag to her friends that her husband did xyz for her for mother’s day, anniversary, etc. So give her something to brag about. If you usually give her flowers, give her a rose bush. If you usually give her jewelry, give her a ring with the birthstones of all the children on it.

Tip 2. If you make her dinner, make sure it is something that she wants to eat. By now, you should know your spouses favorite food as well as your own. However, if that little bit of knowledge still eludes you, ask. She may be expecting dinner, but if you light some candles, pull out the stemware (wine glasses), and have the family come to the table in their nice clothes, I guarantee she is going to be impressed.

Tip 3. Never, ever, ever underestimate the power of a good foot massage. Or back massage, or scalp massage. Whether you do it yourself, or hire a professional, giving her a bit of muscle relaxation is a great gift.

Tip 4. Spend time on the card. Women analyze every word of a card. Take a little while at the store to find the card that best describes her. Don’t worry about looking macho in the card aisle, after all, it’s her you are trying to impress.

Check out the links in the side bar to the right for more great Mother's Day tips/ideas.

Speed Limit Dangers

By Rachel Campbell

Summer is almost here, bringing with it the longer hours and beautiful weather. With all this fine weather, it is no wonder families and children are finding themselves outside for more of their daily activities. Walks, bike rides, and playing in the yard has begun to take over like some sort of viral plague.

However, with all of these new activities, some citizens have become concerned about the safety of the community from the drivers on the road. At either end of town, the speed limit drops dramatically, from 40mph to 25mph.

At the end of town near the rodeo grounds, there is a rather mean cattle guard that causes a majority of cars to slow way down before entering town. But at the other end of town, there is no cattle guard to forewarn motorists of the town ahead and though the speed limit sign is placed well before the first residence, many drivers do not slow down to 25mph until the LDS church building. Several concerned citizens have suggested speed bumps to help this increasingly dangerous problem.

Family

By Sara Laub

This little town has a high percentage of family ties. Being a family group can be one of the most difficult things to deal with in life. You can pick your friends, but not your siblings or parents or even extended family. I have often wondered why we are subject to the family and then expected to get along. Even the best of families have their skirmishes and perhaps they have learned better how to deal with them.

The best part of family is the unconditional love factor because love is the glue that holds people together. Without love, the family would not survive. It is the thing that helps us to forgive each other for bad choices or differences of opinion. Unconditional love helps us overlook bad qualities and habits and see family members as special despite their follies.

In families we are forced to be taught things like tolerance, patience, responsibility, forgiveness, etc, and those come by our choice if we are willing to learn them productively. Families make mistakes so how do we cope with events, choices, or words that are harmful in our families? Lowering expectations, recovering communication, and educating ourselves, among other things, can help us make amends and bring us to the reality of the imperfection we all face. The unconditional love allows us to see what we need to see and do what we need to do to contribute to our family. It is like a continual group therapy in search for happiness and peace in unity.

Community Spotlight: The Harold Wallace Family

The Wallace family includes Harold, Annette, Melissa and Derek. The Wallaces have lived in Gunlock for about four years. They were originally from the Salt Lake area, lived in Pocatello, Idaho for seven years, then moved to St. George. Harold was born in Maine and moved to Salt Lake when he was nine.

Harold was driving from Gunlock Lake to Baker Lake and saw their current residence for rent and he knew that Annette would love it. Harold works for Wheeler Machinery and Annette works for Walmart.

Golfing, fishing, camping and sports are just a few of this families favorite pastimes.

Gunlock is special to them because everyone is like and extension of their family and in tough times, everyone sticks together. They have never felt so at home in any community they have ever lived in.

Harold and Annette just celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary and on the same day, their present to each other and their children was getting sealed in the St. George Temple. Annette said, “We want to thank everyone in the town for all of your support in getting there. In times of need, like around Christmas time and other times, we have been overwhelmed by kindness from this community.”