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Show mpimm&tm warn INNpiH T rL The Voice of Sanpete Coufity Vnhmie Kinaty-It- MT. PLEASANT, UTAH t 84647 December 26, 1990 Number Fifty Two In retrospect People, events shaped Sanpete in 1990 MT. PLEASANT We are reminded of the constancy of change as the world around us undergoes a transformation. As 1990 closes, we are faced with possible war in the Persian Gulf and some Sanpete residents, members pf specialized National Guard support units, are viewing the scenario from a front-ro- w seat. What few realize, however, is that it is not necessary to be on the front lines of an impending conflict to view change first hand. One needs only to look back to the first of the year to see that we are living in a different world from the one we started in January. Fire ravages ballroom Mt. Pleasant residents experienced a fjur-alarfire in February that destroyed the Queen City Ballroom and caused irreparable damage to the adjacent Kin- m 00 E ema Theatre just three days after demolition on the historic North Sanpete High School Building' began. As the buildings were razed, the historic Jacobs Mortuary was also demolished, erasing one of only six buildings statewide with that particular elaborate front facade. The facade was not salvaged prior to demolition. fire-ravag- ed ' High school razed Darrell W. Jex, Lehi, was the low bidder, $28,700, for the demolition of the old high school. The building, constructed in 1912, was vacated in 1985 when the new high school was built. Landmarks were coming down in Mt. Pleasant, but a new landmark was being completed in Gunnison. New plrison opens The Central Utah Correction Facility was dedicated BEST OS VET Aug. 27 and the first inmates arrived Sept. 26. All 600 inmates were expected to be transferred to the new facility by the end of the year. Gunnison was selected as the site of the new prison in 1987 and the 1988 Legislature appropriated $16.9 million to begin construction. The 1989 Legislature earmarked an additional $17,773 million to complete construction. Operating costs, $16 million, were budgeted in this years state bud- had been as high as 64 students, only 32 were enrolled at the end of the 1989-9- 0 school year. The students and programs of the districts alterna- . tive high school would be absorbed into the 1990-9- 1 regular high school curriculum. Richard Tree, Pleasant Valley principal was named counselor at North Sanpete Middle School and other alternative school staff members were transferred to North Sanpete High School. Avrin Brothersen replaced Arlea Howell, who retired, as Spring City Elementary Principal; Philip Johnson was named Mt. Pleasant Elementary School principal replacing Reed Miller who was named District Director of Federal and At Risk Programs, and Karen Kowalski was named North Sanpete High School Director of At Risk Programs, Principal resigns Changes were again in the news when high school pal Mark Bezzant announced his resignation in November. The North Sanpete School Board named middle school principal, Courtney Syme, to succeed Mr. Bezzant as North Sanpete High School. Newly named Mt. Pleasant Elementary principal Philip Johnson replaced Mr. Syme at North Sanpete Middle School principal. Karen Kowalski, who had been directing the At Risk programs at the high school was named Mt. Pleasant Ele- mentary School principal. Other new faces in 1990 included, new Mt. Pleasant City Police Chief, Kay Larsen, ! get. New faces New faces also changed our world in 1990. With retirements and the closure of North Sanpete School Districts Pleasant Valley High School, that had been operating since the.; 1987-8- 8 school year, administrative changes were announced in May. Although, enrollment at Pleasant Valley; TOD C0DGU3E a 10 year who replaced John Christensen in October after he veteran, resigned to take a position at the new prison in Gunnison. Wade Ivie was named Fountain Greens new marshal in November replacing Gary Larsen, Jr., who was hired by the Sanpete County Sheriffs Office as a deputy. Spring City got a new part-tipolice officer, Lance Graham, in January. Officer Graham also works part time ues but lowered the certified taxable rate. Still pending The fate of the former Doves Happy Service Market south of Mt. Pleasant on Highway 89 is still pending as 1990 ends, although a court litigation to determine how much of a $1.2 million trust deed is still owing on the building is being decided. Both William R. Jex, Inc., the first lienholder and Fleming Intermountain, Inc., me in Mt. Pleasant. Two former Sanpete resi- dents, both from Fairview, died during the year. Sanpetes most noted performer and founder of Utah Opera Company, Glade Peterson, 61 , died April 21. Golden Sanderson, 90, former founder and director of the Fairview Museum, died Sept. 3. have an investment Power rates drop Mt. Pleasant power users saw their utility bills drop during the year and Sanpete County raised taxes 6.6 percent. The historic $112,000 reduction in Mt. Pleasant power -- 1 out-of-ci- the building. The store opened in October 1981 and closed in March 1989 idling 35 employees after Deon Dove, the stores owner filed bankruptcy. Dove was later charged with 56 felony counts and accused of underpaying $5 million in sales taxes collected by his 11 store chain between 1983 and 1988. He was sentenced Aug. 1 3 to five terms of from one to 1 5 years and three terms of zero to 5 in the Utah State Prison and ordered to pay. the Utah State Tax Commission the taxes owned and to make restitution as he was able. 1 rates effective March dropped patrons electric costs from .07 to .0675 per kilowatt hour, and adopted a base charge of $5. The action followed public meetings and an attempt by some power users to subscribe to Utah Power and Light power to avoid the citys franchise tax and higher surcharges for me- in Crime The apparent murder of a Fairview girl, Shara Lee Church, Aug. 3 and the subsequent arrest of a juvenile charged in her death, stunned Fairview residents. The youth pleaded not guilty to second-degre- e murder charges during his Aug. 21 arraignment, but was convicted in Juvenile Court, Nov. 7. A Fairview couple, Blaine and Mary Mackay, were found not guilty of negligent homi- Continued on page 2 seven-year-o- ty ld old -- ter reading. The increase in county property taxes made up for estimated budget revenues that had overshot General Fund expenditures by $9,000. Revenues were estimated lower than needed due to a reappraisal which increased property val In retrospect Community projects make news in 90 MT. PLEASANT Sparkling like a jewel during the holiday season, Mt. Pleasant is the visible typification of things taking place in 1990. Its $500,000 Main Street project, dedicated Nov. 24, has been an example for not only other Sanpete cities, but throughout the state. Mt. Pleasant received funding approval for the first part of its ambitious revitalization project at the end of 1989. It would complete two-pha- se i Ring brand sxon of Carl and Diane Poulson, Provo, who celebrated his first jFbfftKday on December 23, 1990. He is the grandson of Steve and k Marilyn Poulson, Moroni; and Ross and Jeanette Terry, Fairview. Great grandparents are Allen and Ruby Christensen, Moroni; ; Alta Osborne, Fairview. Minnie Livingston, Moroni, is his great' J great grandmother. Time passes so quickly, and it's time once again to make way for a great new beginning. 2 lie off-stre- covered. Mt. Pleasant did not lose its grant in the process, though. As we look ahead to 1991, let's go forward with new dreams and new hopes. Let's strive to build a better way of piness and success! et construction of parking, landscaping, sidewalks, period lighting and amenities, and new curbs and gutters during the year. During the year, plans for the second phase, building restoration, also began, with designs for rear facades, painting schemes, and related amenities included with the initial Main Street project architectural drawings. An $80,000 Community Development Block Grant that would have provided "seed money" for business and property owners to renovate Main Street buildings, however, was voluntarily given up by city officials in March so that eight cities could have their dumps filled with hap were made Arrangements through the funding board to allow $5,000 of the grant money to Mt. Pleasant on a two-yefunding proposal for preliminary design work. The remainder of the funding will be allocated during' 1991 and used to renovate buildings. CooperRoberts Architects, of Salt Lake City, was awarded the Main Street architectural contract in February and Barney Inc., of Spanish Fork was ar FROM ALL OF US AT 54 named project contractor in June. The project was modified to omit an elaborate covered walkway and walking park across Pleasant Creek because of budget restraints. A bronze medallion recognizing the city as the center of Utah was added to original project plans. At the end of 1990, the eight municipal dumps that were the beneficiaries of Mt. Pleasants humanitarian gesture remain uncovered. Hydro project funding announcement for the first phase of the citys proposed $5.5 million hydroelectric project at the beginning of the year may have been premature, according to funding officials, but it was prophetic. Mt. Pleasant would receive a $2.8 million loan from Farmers Home Administration in May, to pay 80 percent of the estimated $3.15 million project cost. Only $9 million was available nationwide from FmHA making the citys loan an incredible award considering the number of other entities across the U.S. seeking project funding. The proposed ts first phase was to include construction of two new generating plants, a stream plant on the citys pressurized irrigation system on 500 West and a peaking plant and surge pond on Pleasant Creek below the flood dam diversion structure east of A percent decline in power usage (about $114,000 annually), Continued on page 2 Arraignment continued MANTI The arraignment four men charged in the Halloween bombing of the Mark Bezzant home was continued Friday to allow the defendants to contact the public defender. The men, Heath Cook, 18, Moroni; Jon L. Cook, 18, Fountain Green; Thomas M. Davis, 19, Wales, and Ricky R. Goble, 20, Mt. Pleasant, will appear Jan. 3 at 10 a.m. before Judge David Mower Sixth District Court. An acetylene bomb exploded Oct. 31 damaging a chain link fence and breaking a window at 15 East 300 South. The men face a Third-DegrFelony charge of construction or possession of an infernal machine and a Class A Misdemeanor, of conspiracy to construct or have possession of an oT 1 ee infernal machine. hydro-projec- run-of-t- he town. With work to begin as early as spring of 1991 and a bond-- : ing schedule to close the $2.74 Bond Anticipation Notes and ,$685,000supplemental funding Jan. 9, 1991, the city council decided to take another look at project feasibility. A 15 to 20 Deadline MT. PLEASANT Due to New Years holiday, The Pyramid will be closed Tues- the day, Jan. 1, 1991. Deadlines for advertising in both The Sanpete Shopper and The Pyramid will be noon Friday, Dec. 28. News items and pictures intended for publication in the Jan. 2 edition will be accepted until noon Friday, also. |