r Lehi Free Press New Utah! A f 15-2- 0 responsibilities towns. of our cities and lTlIVlHfMBwTlWnrmf Sometimes I feel like I'm the last one to know things. Several years ago, for example, a dear friend regaled me with tales of my youth, incidents that supposedly happened in my life. J personally cannot recollect them, but they sort of smack of water headed the opposite direction, toward your home. The treatment process is a simple one, really. Yet it's so effective that by the time treated water leaves the main part of the plant, it's cleaner than the water you've probably 6wam in at your favorite recreational lake. "Garland J. Mayne, District Manager of the plant for 20 years, says, We certainly don't recommend or encourage it. But the water leaving our plant is almost clean enough to drink.' "Water intended for drinking and other home use is first processed in an entirely different purification plant. 'The process of converting raw sewage into reasonably clean water involves a combination of friendly bacteria, settling and separating processes, and disinfecting with strong ultraviolet lights. Done correctly, and in the right order, it's a very effective way to transform objectionable materia into useful water. The process takes about 24 hours. "The amount of chemicals added to the procedure is surprisingly small. A minimal amount of chlorine is used, primarilv to control algae growth. "The overall treatment process is largely a natural, organic one, with the exception of the ultraviolet disin- fectant lights and the chlorine. And even the trace amounts of chlorine are eliminated by natural means before the water flows into Utah my personality. One time, as it were, I was sitting with my family in church, trying to maintain the proper atmosphere of reverence. Because my brothers and sister, not to mention my parents, were considerably older, I was treated like a miniature adult and expected to behave in adult manner, both at home and in var- 1 -- ' s Reader's Forum 1 Thanks to all who cared enough to vote and especially to those who got involved. We owe some effort if we want to maintain our "government of the people." Let us also be consider ate of those who did not see things our way and continue to work together for everyone's benefit. I plan to take all my signs down on Wednesday. If I miss one, please call me at and I will be happy to retrieve it. David N. Cox Candidate Utah House of Representatives 768-875- 9 m$ mouths!" J. Golden Kimball would have been proud. I think my parents became inactive at that point. Another one of the Youthful Tales of Yesteryear involved the saying of my bedtime prayers. Again, I caution you, dear reader, that I do not remember this event, but look back on it as a somewhat innocent bystander. voter-initiate- Published weekly by Now that I'm sending to my missionary son in Brazil and my daughter in Hawaii, I find that you get all kinds of information from who knows where. For example, one of my virus labeled "Badtimes." got an Not only does it mess up your computer but it erases disks sitting next to your computer. From there it also gets your credit cards, your VCR and your CD's. 'AftwC&ai.ii, will-hidyour car keys when' you're late for work "and leave socks out when company is jour dirty coming over. It will give your new phone number to your psychotic and then, no matter how many times you try, it will leave the toilet seat up and the hair dryer dangling dangerously close to a full e "BE AFRAID," it says, "BE VERY AFRAID." Well, I guess that was fitting for Halloween, but it sounds like a convenient scape goat to me. "Oh, you know, I opened that "Badtimes" virus and my life has never been the same since." Another (without naming the source, so take it for what it's worth) tells me about a young female attorney, who in 1974 helped draw up the rules under which Richard M. Nixon would be tried by the Congress for impeachment. She wrote that impeachment "did not have to be for criminal offenses, but only for a course of conduct that suggested an abuse of power or a disregard for the office of the President of the United States." She added that "a pres- - NewUtah! US.SNNo. (U.S.P.S. No. 1521-6853- A 1PM U Circulation Publisher Managing Brett Editor 59 West Main American Fork, Utah 84003 Deadlines Marc 9 Classified Advertising 3 Display Bezzant Haddock Advertising Missionaries Weddings Subscription price S24: per year Community Periodicals Postage Paid at American Fork, Utah Mnd addrtM crungt to Mala Amricn Fork, lit M003 POSTMASTER: WWMt . News Russ Daly City Editor member of NCWSPAPU ASSOCIATION & News ) 309-50- NATIONAL the voter's court of last resort. It allows the people to bypass a legislature and act as a body to make laws popular democracy at work in a land where representative democracy is the order of the day. And any time an issue comes through the process and ends up on the ballot, it is because our elected officials have refused to take action on an issue, forcing common folks to take the law into their own hands in the only legal way they can. Telephone Numbers Advertising And so the recitation began, with the child requesting blessings for mother, brother on a mission, brother and sister not on missions, aunts and uncles, friends, pets, friends' pets, pet's friends, etc. only child. Lest my adult siblings ques- tion my understanding of my situation, I will admit freely that I fully understand that I was spoiled. My parents would wheel me about in my stroller, beaming, yet a little embarrassed, that this little tyke was their im mediate offspring, not a grandchild. As a result, I was affectionately referred to as The Mistake ." What they failed to explain, however, that the child himself was not the mistake, only the doctor's reading of the pregnancy test my mother took to see what was happening. Of course, after finding out what was happening, she attempted to keep it a secret as long as possible. My sources tell me that colleagues and Young Women she worked with at Mutual Dell did not know for a long time; I also heard that one of my brothers did not know until the month before I was delivered. It was hardly a surprise then when I heard about the New Utah being created in England. I was surfing on the Internet the other night and entered the word 'Mormon" into the computer. Scores of pages and articles filled the screen, and I took the opportunity to browse through a few, including one for the British newspaper, The Guardian. Writer Rory Carroll claimed that Norfolk Farm, a 10 million, 3700 acre farm had recently been acquired by the IDS Church to facilitate the "Mormon colonisation of the new Utah, formerly known as East Anglia." I was afraid that I was again the last to know about some sort of immigration tD East Anglia, and I worried for a moment that I would not have my handcart ready in time. Farmers of the property assured the writer that they were not being coerced to convert and that the land was being purchased in order to expand the church's welfare program in that particular area. Given my history of being left in the dark until well after the lights were turned on, I wouldn't want to be the last one to arrive in East Anglia, if that's where we're supposed to be. is useful, useless, funny, etc... E-m- ail As it is, it's pretty tough to get an initiative petition on Utah's ballot. It takes 10 percent of the a lot of signatures number of people who voted in the last general election. And those signatures must come from 20 of Utah's 29 counties. Given those restrictions, it's unlikely anyone will get an initiative on the ballot that bans deer hunting in Utah. In fact, Utah has one of the toughest initiative petition processes in the United States. But when we vote to make it tougher, we are just taking power away from the people. I tried to explain this to one gentleman who called up to cancel his subscription because we editorialized against Proposition 5. I'm all for hunters' rights, I told him, but I'm even more in favor of voters' rights. Voter initiatives are laws that are generated from the grass roots up, instead of coming through Utah's political machine. The initiative petition is last word. 12-ye- ar Giving ourselves the government we deserve This is a column that's written too late. It's about an issue in yesterday's election, one that is past and done with. When you write for a weekly newspaper, you have to be a week ahead of at least some of the news especially those items that happen on the day before you publish. So by the time you read this, odds are pretty good that Utah voters will have voted away some of their own voting rights. After all. despite all the rhetoric about saving Utah's wildlife from assault from outside of the state, this is what Projwsition 5 was all about voters' rights, not hunters' rights. No wonder the state's big gun politicians iined up behind the proposition, d which changes the rules for with wildlife deal that petitions and hunting issues. By voting away our initiative petition rights, we give more power to the iwliticians and take it away from the eople. Having earned the wrath and the discipline of my father earlier in the day, I knelt to close that day in prayer, apparently fully intending to have the ious social situations. Knowing what the grand finale If I didn't act in my role of obedient would be, I probably extended the list child, 1 knew I could anticipate some to include just about everybody under sort of stern reprimand, either after we the sun. returned home or, worse, in the foyer of Then it was time for the big finish "But don't bless that the church. $ Jack," I Imagine, then, what my opinion was warned, smugly thinking that perhaps of two sweet little old ladies in the pew I was really making life bad for him as directly behind me who did not revere a result. Apparently kids really do say the time of meditation as much as this the darnedest things. I had never heard of J. Golden Kimprecocious child did, given the added motivation provided him by his par- ball, and until just a few years ago, had ents. never iieard these tales of my own According to my friend's story, I brand of spirituality turned around in my seat, hoisted It was also only a few short years myself on the back of the bench, and in ago that another misconception was a voice loud enough for these sisters cleared up for me. With a (and others, I'm sure) to hear, said, gap between my clos"Would vou two old ladies shut vour est sibling, I pretty much grew up as an bathtub. Candidate offers an early 'Thank You' Editor: 1 wanted to thank everyone who has helped my campaign in any way. There was much to do Now we can breathe a sigh of relief It has been a good campaign, one that I think none of the candidates for District 56 have anything to regret. As this is written before the vote is taken. I do not know the outcome. I hope everyone will support whomever the people elect and not seek to undermine that person. particularly want to commend George Tripp. I cannot view him as an "opponent." 1998 - Page 2 of being the last to know Twenty years ago, the communities of north Utah County banded together to form the Timpanogos District so they could build a wastewater treatment plant that would handle the needs of the enure area, rather than building six or seven smaller plants. At the time it was built, the plant could handle up to 7.3 million and gallons of wastewater a day that was more than enough. Over the years, it has served the local communities well, earning awards annually among wastewater treatment plants of similar size. Lake." But rapid growth in the area All in all, it's a process designed to threatened to inundate the facility. promote community health and pro- vide an absolutely essential service. A Currently the plant is treating 10.5 million gallons a day, and with rapid board of directors made up of local area residents oversees the operation growth planned lor the area, that number can be expected to grow. of the plant, under the direction of A press release from the district the Utah County Commission, describes the treatment plant's oper- That management makes the ation like this: plant responsive to the needs of the "First, the trip from the farthest various communities, and it's under this leadership that the recent plant point away from the plant 'Alpine) takes about two hours. No pumps are expansion was carried out, providing involved getting the wastewater to for our growing wastewater treat-tri- e plant. It's all gravity flow through ment needs for the next 15-2- 0 years, The Timpanogos Special Service city and district lines that grow pro- gressivejy larger until the pipes runjrjOifcyjijtJfrgg ning into the plant are up to 5 feet in 'tiseexampleafobop&atxv govern- diameter The pipe system is all jriertt operating at its best to serve 14 ' Underground, buried a safe ingrowing from the pipes that carry drinking north Utah County. distance-liieeds"ofesiiient- 4, Opinion The mistake Plant expansion benefits all A recently completed expansion of the water treatment plant operated by the Timpanogos Special Service District will keep north Utah County resident flushing comfortably for the next years, despite rapid growth in the area. The $37 million project doubled the size of the plant, which treats wastewater for the 67,000 residents of Pleasant Grove, American Fork, Alpine, Highland, Lehi. Cedar Hills and Eagle Mountain. The expansion was completed recently and celebrated at an Oct. 28 open house, where city officials from throughout the area were invited to come and see what local tax dollars had accomplished. It couldn't have come at a better time. While wastewater treatment isn't considered a topic for polite dinner conversation, it is one of the chief - Wednesday, November Letters 2 pm 2 pm Monday. 10 a m Monday. 10 a m. Monday. Monday. Calendar to the Editor Obituaries .Tuesday, noon .Monday. 5 pm. Monday. 2 p m . . Tuesday. 11 with, That's what YOU think." Leave the copy machine set to 99 copies, reduce 200, extra dark, 17 inch paper. In the memo field of all your checks write "for sensual massage." Practice making fax and modem noises. Highlight irrelevant information in scientific papers and copy them to your boss. Reply to everything anyone says Holler random numbers while someone is counting. Staple papers in the middle of the page. Buy a large quantity of orange traffic cones and the whole street. Ask people what gender they are. While making presentations occasionally bob your head like a parakeet. in Vour fipt yard and point 3 , .hair dryer at passing cars to see if they-- . slowdown. Sing along at the opera. If you have a glass eye, tap on it occasionally with your pen while talking to others. Insist on keeping your windshield wipers running in all weather conditions "to keep them tuned up." Adjust the tint on your TV so that all the people are green and insist to others that you "like it that way." Repeat the following conversation a dozen times: "Do you hear that?"... "What?"... "Never mind, it's gone now." While walking to the front to give your speech (which is in your pocket), pull out a bunch of useless cards and papers and drop them all over the ground. (I mention this one because that is exactly what I did the last time I had to speak.) Finally it says, "Send this via to everyone in your address book, even if they sent it to you or have asked you not to send them things like this." Good luck with all that Where do they get this stuff? Politicians hate these initiatives. The laws proposed by initiative petition have not gone through the refining process of laws created by the legislalaws that are revised tive process and fine tuned as they move through Utah's House of Representatives and Senate. They also hate them because they reflect the wishes of the public that are at odds with the wishes and personal interests of our elected representatives. Want to limit congressional terms, provide for the recall of elected officials or make a change in the way Utah's state legislators can behave? You'd better plan on doing it by initiative petition, because the legislators will never approve such measures by themselves. Utah Sen. Robert Bennett, who supported Proposition 5, went so far as to say that he believed that initiative petitions rights should be banned altogether. The country would be better off, he said, if lawmaking was left entirely up to elected lawmakers and the people were taken completely out of the process. It is an attitude that shows a remarkable lack of regard for Utah's voters and their ability to make good decisions at the ballot box. That's an odd attitude for people who were elected by those same voters. After all, if the voters are smart enough to elect them, aren't they also smart enough to vote wisely on initiative petitions? Apparently not, judging from those who supported Proposition 5. It is this kind of logic, plus an emotional appeal to Utah voters to respond to threats to Utah's wildlife laws, that fueled support for Proposition 5. By the time you read this, we will know whether the rhetoric worked or not. If we voted against Proposition 5, we have given ourselves a vote of confidence as far as our ability to make wise choices at the ballot box for future elections. If we voted for it, that sends the opposite message. Utah voters, by their own admission, will have said they don't trust themselves to make good choices in future elections. Either way, Utah voters will get the kind of government, or they deserve. te ident's course of conduct, while not particularly criminal could be of such a nature that it destroys trust, discour-,- , ages allegiance and demands action by-thCongress." She concluded by saying,' "The office of the President is such that it calls for a higher level of conduct than the average citizen in the United States." Of course you know who we have to thank for that insightful statement Hillary Rodham Clinton (at least according to my Another author unknown or unwilling to take responsibility for their statements tells us how to brighten our day by annoying others. They suggest: Stomp on little plastic ketchup packets. order Specify that your drive-thr-u is "to go." v non-existe- nt We welcome letters to the editor. All letters must include the author's name (printed AND signed) and a telephone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, punctuation, taste and length. Letters are welcome on any topic. HOW TO REACH By Mail P.O. Box 7, American Fork, UT 84003 am In Person 59 W. Main, American Fork US By Fax , editor 756-527- 4 By newutah.com POOR