By Paul Rolly

| Tribune Columnist

Sometimes it takes a Smokey to bring an issue into focus.

Rep. Lee Perry is a Utah Highway Patrol lieutenant and used his expertise in that role to question the real motives of the Utah Eagle Forum’s opposition to opening some liquor stores on limited holidays.

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The issue was before the House Government Operations Committee on Friday, and Perry, a committee member, decided he needed to grill the Eagle Forum’s Dalane England about her fear that extending liquor store hours would endanger lives because it would encourage drunken driving.

After establishing with the witness that her concern was saving lives, Perry then asked why the Eagle Forum opposed a primary seat belt law, since that would save lives.

England answered that it is her choice to wear a seat belt and if she didn’t, she was endangering only herself and not others. But drunken drivers put others at risk.

Perry asked about the passengers. He said more people are killed by not wearing seat belts than by drunken drivers. He noted that if she were injured in a crash because she wasn’t wearing a seat belt, she might not be able to control the car’s movement after the crash and then would endanger others.

The liquor bill passed out of the committee with a favorable recommendation on an 8-2 vote.

Perry, now, might be wearing a bull’s-eye on his back, politically. The Eagle Forum has been known to go after Republicans who don’t toe their line. Because, after all, it’s not nice to anger Gayle Ruzicka.

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Speaking of holidays » Utah liquor stores received a last-minute edict from the Governor’s Office that their "closed" signs at the stores on Monday specify the closure is for Washington and Lincoln Day, and not Presidents Day. The official name for that national holiday was changed by the Utah Legislature, and officials don’t want the mistaken impression that we Utahns are honoring just any old president.

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Remembering the Great War » Utahns will get a chance to glimpse an important part of history this month when a traveling exhibit of World War I housed in a customized big rig will stop for a day at Fort Douglas Museum, on the University of Utah campus.

The exhibit, free to the public, will be on display Feb. 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sponsored by the national asset management firm Waddell & Reed, the traveling gallery is on a yearlong national tour honoring those who served in World War I. It was developed in partnership with the National World War I Museum and features myriad artifacts, including weapons, tools, equipment and uniforms. There is a walk-though trench simulating the war environment, videos and audio tracks.

Donations are accepted, and special "Honoring Our History" T-shirts will be available for a minimum $25 contribution.

Half of the proceeds from contributions will benefit the national World War I Museum in Kansas City, Mo. The other half will benefit the Fort Douglas Military Museum.

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