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Show "1 UTAH STATE 46V EAST PRESS AZZ'.i, 300 SO. SALT LUtE CITY j UTAH ".I J'JL J UR W 84111 - uuuuuu. Tfr Cnm U Prort RotAt POMAft ULK HA If PA40 PiHMlT NO 4 LAV TON KAMI UTAH (USPS 1492 600 - 544-913- 3 NUMBER TWENTY-EIGH- VOLUME EIGHTY T Voice 25c 546-473- 5 Of Davis County WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1984 18 PAGES Cmd Lettm, 8mm0$ MwywAshd BY DONETA GATHERUM SUNSET - A group of Sunset citizens filled the council chambers last Tuesday night to ask Mayor Norman Sant to rescind two letters he had written the State Board of Pardons that appeared to be favorable to the release of Harold Giles, a convicted child molester who . serving a to 15 u.ar termfor viis crime at the Utah State Priso i. -- i.-- 1 MR. GILES wa a resident of Sunset at the time of his convic tion. He served on the Sunset volunteer fire department and represented Sunset City on the County industrial development committee. He was involved in youth programs and community prog- USING SUNSET City stationery, Mayor Sant wrote two letters to the Board of Pardons. One was dated July 19, 1983. The second letter was written August 2, 1983. Mayor Sant stated the letters were intended to be character references similar to many other letters he had written on behalf of rams. The original charges against Mr. Giles were four 1st degree felony of rape and two of sodomy. During the trial period, the charges were reduced to one count of forcible sodomy, a second degree felony. Two girls, cousins, were the victims. counts-tw- numerous Sunset residents. o .if THE SECOND letter staled.. paroled. Sunset has a position for him." Mayor Sant told the people gathered at the city council meeting that this position" would be of a volunteer nature as a good will and rehabilitation gesture. Mr. Giles would never be put on the payroll. He would never have the opportunity to work around children. Mrs. Cynthia Stevens, a Sunset resident and the spokesperson for a neighborhood group, read a petition to Mayor Sant and the city council members. The title of the document was Standards of Safety for Children. SHE REQUESTED four actions be taken by Mayor Sant; 1. total retraction of the letters; 2. no city job offer ever be given to Mr. Giles; 3. At the very least, an apology be given to the victims, 4. community support coddles molestors. The first step is to catch the problem early. Support has enabled him (Mr. Giles) to move from , A HEATED two hour discussion followed the reading of the petition by Mrs. Stevens. Several people spoke including family members of the two victims and Mrs. Kathryn Lund, the court watching chairman and spokeswoman for the Weber-Davi- s Chap- ter of SLAM (Societies League Against Molestation), a national organization established to educate people about child molestation and the child molester. SEVERAL points were made by the citizens. It was mentioned that three of the four medical evaluations given regarding Mr. Giles indicated he was not considered crui-blOther people said that no Sunset official should suggest that Mr. Giles be paroled early or that he We dont was a good citizen. want him back in our community. We dont want him out early. If anything, the city officials should e. write the Board of Pardons requesting Mr. Giles should serve out his entire sentence. As an individual, you have the right to support Mr. Giles any way you wish but as the Mayor or a member of the city council you dont have the right to speak for the citizens of Sunset when you write letters in his behalf. These comments were all made at the meeting. MRS. LUND informed the community tq community for.ts. .Mayor and council members that years without being punished.-Don'- 'statistics show 68 children are continue to give him this molested before the average child kind of support. molester is caught the first time. She also said one out of four children will be molested sometime by a repeat offender. Mayor Sant defended writing the letters by saying, "That is the way I knew Harold Giles. He told the people that menbers of the Giles family had requested him to write the letters. ion of the Board members, Mr. Giles had not "paid the penalty" for his acts and was not yet ready AFTER WRITING the first letter, Mayor Sant said he talked to some people about the influence a character reference letter could have on the outcome of a parole hearing. The Mayor stated the most important consideration at a pa ole hearing was the recommen-daiion- s of the doctors and the staff at the prison. Second in importance was family support. This was followed by community acceptance and then if there were a job waiting for the prisoner. The mayor asked, What are we going to do with offenders? Sooner or later they will all be released. Sooner or later Mr. Giles will be returning to our community. Do we turn our back on them and their families? Do we sent them to another community? when Councilman Lee Andersen made the motion that Mayor Sant rescind both letters. This motion COUNCILMAN Clifford Spend-lov- e indicated he was a childhood friend of Mr. Giles. He said as a private citizen he would support and help Mr. Giles in the rehabilitation process as much as he could. Mr. Spendlove attended the Board of Pardons hearing. He reported to the people that Mr- Giles has completed all the requirements for rehabilitation. He had gone through the programs. In the opin - for parole. COUNCILMAN Scott Mikesell indicated he supported the Mayor. He also said he was a relative of Mr. Giles. The discussion came to an end did not pass. COUNCILMAN Spendlove offered an alternate motion that the first letter be rescinded and the second letter be allowed. Before voting could take place on this position. Mayor Sant offered a third plan. He would not rescind the letters because he held to the character reference in principle. The Mayor would write a third letter to the Board of Pardons clarifying that he was speaking as Mayor only and that his thoughts were not shared by all residents of Sunset. The third letter would not include a job offer. Before the letter will be sent to the Board of it will receive council approval and citizens will have the opportunity to read it. Par-don- s, MAYOR SANTS plan was put in the form of a motion. It passed by a vote of four to one. Councilman Andersen cast the opposing vote. At the conclusion of the meeting, . Councilman Larry Ashmead stated, If and when Mr. Giles is released, I pledge we will keep things in check. To Garbage Plant Wannuts ILaytoim By DONETA GATHERUM - LAYTON Acting on the recommendation of Councilman Bob Safety first has always been not only a motto but a lifestyle for Floyd H. Hamblin, who hasnt had an accident on his daily school bus rounds for decades! At a recent awards dinner held at in Salt Lake City, the Tri-AFloyd H. Hamblin, 3260 W. 2700 rc S., Syracuse, was awarded The Outstanding Bus Driver of the year by the Utah School Employees Association. MR. HAMBLIN has driven a Davis County School Bus for nearly 44 years without a serious accident. With this remarkable record isnt it any wonder that he so greatly enjoys his daily drives and the hundreds of school children that he has the privilege of visiting with. A good mixer and a fun person, Mr. Hamblins life is centered around the many interests that the different ones have from day to day. The students that board his bus every school day can confide their various interests with their bus driver. THE SEVEN children of Mr. Hamblin cannot remember when their dad didnt drive a school bus. Each of his children had the opportunity to ride in his bus, as well as many of his grandchildren. His daily routine includes transporting school children to the Syracuse Elementary, North Davis Junior High School and Clearfield High School He makes runs early mornand again at the ing, conclusion of the school day. Mr. Hamblin has engaged in e farming and raising all of his life also. So with his busy schedule he has long awakening hours but maintains a happy person through it all. He has made e friends over lasting and the many years with the youth of the area, vsb . dairy-cattl- long-tim- Stevenson, the Layton City council Thursday evening voted unanimously to petition the solid waste management service district for Syracuse To Honor Retiring Fire Chief The Syracuse City Council announces that a new fire chief will be named as of Nov. 1. The present appointed chief, Roy Miya, has been a diligent worker for the past 20 years and will be honored after his retirement. IN A related matter, the council discussed adding new fire fighting equipment. In addition planning is underway for future additions, including enlarging of city shops and erection of a new city building, as the current one has long been outgrown officials indicate. PROJECTS that are already in the making include three parks and ball diamonds and standard softball fields. Also reviewed and approved was the federal 504Handicapped grievance procedure project where ramps will be installed prod facilities, vsb viding access to all city buildings and city-owne- membership. Part of the motion was to hold a public hearing about joining the district on Nov. 1. The cities of Bountiful and Clearfield will be contacted to get input about this decision. LAYTON, Bountiful and Clearfield were the only three cities in Davis County that declined to join this special service district when it was formed just one month ago. Councilman Stevenson stressed that the petition to become a member of the special service district did not necessarily mean the city council was supporting a burn plant. This is just one last look at Laytons position regarding dis- posal of solid waste and the role of this special service district, the councilman said. Iiro.2 will start selling bonds for the construction of a burn plant. If Layton is not part of the service district when the bonds are sold then there is a good chance that Layton will hav eto pay penaltities in the form of higher tipping fees and restricted use of the county land fill when the special service district assumes control over these solid waste disposal operations. LAYTON can withdraw their petition in two weeks if the public hearing proves to council members that residents are strongly opposed to joining the district and that the reasons of the citizens are valid. The latest site for the burn plant is on a piece of property currently owned by Glen and Ida Love. It is north and slightly west of the Smedley Storage Sheds on U.S. 193. BECAUSE LAYTON did not originally join the service district, a petition from the city, signed by the mayor with authorization from the city council is necessary if Layton is to be included in the district. Members of the district have a period in which to decide if they will accept Laytons petition. On Nov. 27, the service district 21-d- COUNCILMAN Stevenson said the burn plant has been redesigned. At this location, the plant would not be any more visible than a home. The special service district has taken an option to purchase the property from the Love family for the purpose of constructing a burn plant, dmg Sought By L&ytom By DONETA GATHERUM LAYTON - Layton City will advertize for a professional city manager or administrator to be hired as soon as resumes are turned in and the council has had time to define the duties that will be assigned to the person hired. systems that are being used elsewhere in Utah. Based on the imput that is being received, the council will decide on -- THIS DECISION was made last Thursday evening at the regular meeting of the Layton City Council. Advertising will be done in two professional magazines that have national circulation. THE COUNCIL will hold several work meetings to determine the responsibilities of the city manager and to decide on the fiscal accounting procedures and the structure of the administrative department of the city. At the recommendation of the state auditors office, several citizens have sent leaders to Layton to explain the organizational c structure of the city. changes within the administrative ONE POSSIBILITY is putting the question up to a vote of the people in the form of a special election to decide if the present mayor-counc- il form of government should be changed to a form of government. In response to questions asked by citizens at the Thursday council meeting, the council members explained that Layton City can hire a city manager under the present form of government. The duties would be assigned to this person by the council and the city manager would be directly responsible to the council. This individual would not necessarily replace Randall Heaps, city recorder and administrative assistant to the mayor, who has been suspended with pay until the outcome of the legal process that will determine if Mr. Heaps is guilty or innocent of five counts of Council-Ma- nager misuse of public funds and one count of neglect and misconduct is decided. IF MR. HEAPS is reinstated by Layton City to an employee status, his job responsibilities will be altered under the city manager system. form of government defines by law the The council-managduties and responsibilities of a city manager. The role of the mayor is deminished somewhat and many chief executive duties are assumed by the city manager. er UNDER THIS system, the mayor becomes a voting member of the city council. The city manager is responsible to the city council. ACTING MAYOR, Ann Harris, stated either way a city mana- ger would have to be hired to take care of th administrative duties basis if the of the city during a transition period or on a long-term city decides not to change government forms, dmg 1 |