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Show Pnqe 4 Monday January 14, 1985 The Tfainderbird IK. fl Extended cultural season is idea whose time has come Cedar City officials will soon be asking members of the Utah State Legislature to appropriate $4.25 million to build a pair of performing arts f'.itatres in the city. We hope legislators listen, and once they know the facts in the case, approve this wise request. It is, in short, a great idea that will pay for itself many times over in increased tax revenue and prestige for both the area and the entire state of Utah. The city hopes that with the two new theatres an outdoor amphitheatre at thq south edge of town and an indoor theatre just east of the existing SUSC Auditorium the Utah Shakespearean Festival will be able to extend its season to three months and double the number of plays produced. And other music, dancing and arts entertainment can be provided during the summer. The plan, in short, is to make Cedar City and Iron County the place to be for tourists during summer months. Not only will the city benefit, but so will the college and, indirectly, SUSC students. And while the tourists are in the area for the cultural activities, officials expect they will visit nearby state and national parks, as well as ski resorts. The possibilities are endless. It would be enough if Cedar City were doing this simply to enhance its image thats always a commendable goal. But moreover, the city needs to establish itself as a tourist center to make up for millions of tax dollars lost when three iron ore mines in the county closed in 1983. As it is, county residents have a significantly lower per capita average income than elsewhere in Utah, and Cedar Citys property tax mill levy is one of the highest among large cities in the state. Relief is needed, and soon! Opponents to this plan, if any exist, may say that expansion of the Shakespearean festival and other cultural offerings can be had without spending state money to build two new theatres. The T hunderbird strongly disagrees. For one thing, state money appropriated for this project will almost certainly be repaid, in the form of increased tax revenue from Iron County, within just a very few years. Moreover, experts who studied the feasibility of the project say it cannot be done on the scale envisioned unless the theatres are constructed. Also, as officials point out, the city is asking that the money come from mineral lease funds that the state has set aside to assist communities that are affected by expanding or dwindling mineral exploration. This is a fine idea, and the people behind it should be commended. It is also laudable that college officials, realizing that the areas economic growth is a mutual concern for themselves and city officials, have endorsed the plan and will help lobby for its approval. Che 'yt'Ef "It 'll ' Mi Cbunderbird WmilUMH V.M IHI KM IMI'IMI i i'IIII'I H'Vki III t U! J J.C4C&SS Roll over Jagger, tell Dylan the news is that Im continually turning approaching old-ag- e down what used to be called the stereo and is now called the box and that (young) people are clucking their tongues and shaking their heads disapprovingly, muttering under their collective breath something that sounds alarmingly like old geezer. I notice, however, that Im not as quick to reach for the knob when someone like, say, Crosby, Stills and Nash come on as I am when I have to be subjected to the likes of Billy Idol. When people first started talking about New Wave music, I thought surf music was coming back. Imagine my surprise when I heard not the pleasant strains of Beachboyish groups but the rock of Rolling Stonelike groups. It vas OK. I liked Devo, kind of. The Blasters were nice. New Wave was kinda OK with me. Theres a lot I can handle listening to now. I can take them all, but dont really get too excited not Access is a recurring column highlighting the issues and ideas important andor of interest to members of the campus community. Larry Baker is the director of publications at SUSC. You can often see him shuffling around campus, wearing a hearing aid. It is seldom that spaces such as this are used for laudatory comments. Columns of the My Turn ilk are most often used to vent frustrations, lambaste perceived wrongdoers or wrongsdone and generally raise hell (or heck, as they say around these parts). Far be it from me to buck the tide. Im going to be I dont have much to say in the laudatory vein. I didnt listen to my mother about many things and I guess the old if you cant say anything nice about someone dont say anything at all speech falls into the category of the ignored. There are a few things that bother me and I think that most of them can be traced to my growing older. Its not easy to accept the fact that I am getting up there relatively speaking. I am as someone who I normally consider a close friend all too often reminds me middle aged. I always tell her, No, no, middle ag:d is like 40. ..45, somewhere in there, and she always responds, No, no, 70 is your life expectancy, youre 35, thats right in the middle, thats middle-ageLike I say, I normally consider her a close friend. Now, please understand, I dont have a lime green leisure suit and I never talk about my prostate, but I do notice that when I walk through the gym and try to make a layup that I dont seem to get as close to the rim as I used to. At any rate, I think Ive just passed through midlife crisis. Its quite hard to take the total emphasis on youth; difficult to find that some things that once excited me no longer do so and, in fact, tend to irritate me. And, its really tough to find myself giving the same shocked and disgusted looks I once elicited from the older generation. Im afraid I look upon Boy George with something akin to the horror that my father looked upon Mick Jagger with in 1965. Yes, I now finally believejny old man when he told me those 20 years ago that shaving every morning would become drudgery. The capper to the constantly collecting dues pf pay, To me, Editor Lynn Nolan Senior Staff Writer Ralph Schriock , Assistant to the Editors Jim Knowlcon Production Manager Tracy Girdwood Advertising Representatives Laura Wearing Managing Editor Doug Christensen Copy Editor Paul Husselbce Photo Editors James Howells Derek Miller Brian Goettlich Sports Editor Stewart Smith Entertainment Editor Lanai Greenhalgh Faculty Adviser Larry Baker The Thunderbird is published each Monday of the academic year by and for the student body of Southern Utah State College. The views and opinions expressed in The Thunderbird are the opinions of the publications individual writers and do not nccosirily reflect the views and opinions of the institution, faculty, staff or student body in general. The unsigned editorial directly above is the opinion of The Thunderbird as a single entity. Letters to the editor must be typed and include the name, student number (if from a student) and phone number. Only the name will be printed. Names will not be withheld under any circumstances and the editor reserves the right to edit letters for length and to preclude libel. Letters must be submitted by nixm Friday for inclusion in the following weeks edition. The Thunderbird: editorial and advertising offices at 529 West 200 South, Cedar City, UT 84720. Mail at SUSC Box 384, Cedar City, UT 84720 (801) 7758. no big mystery as to why Def Leppard is deaf . d. VOLUME 79, NUMBER 15 its , . like I did whenever a new Stones album would come out. No, I havent even heard their last eight or so LPs and would be hard pressed to tell you who they are after Mick, Keith, Charlie and Bill. Brian, rest his soul, is long gone now. The music I dont like to get to the point (finally) of this piece, is Heavy Metal. This dislike, I think, is what affirms my age. If I forget for a moment the sexist, violence-lace- d world of rock videos and concentrate on the music alone; if I overlook the lipstick and mascara and metal armbands and listen to the sound, I still cant stomach Def Leppard or Motley Crue or ACDC or even Twisted Sister. Its just not me. My ears, head and psyche simply are too old for it or maybe its my lifestyle and philosophical bent. I dont want to hear this stuff. So, if youre into Black Sabbath and are dragging Main with your 5000 watt speakers seemingly mounted on your hood and you pull up alongside me, try to understand when I cringe and .roll qp, my window Im middle aged. |