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Show FT- - COT T - P 2 . Tar r iL.it 3. 1500 3 '2 GALT L r. L.b U. dkr LAIC f.ITN F.ti UT SLCCs soccer team .. - ..2 C. r ' Da.J 04112 No legacy is as rich as honesty Page5 -- Shciispcar 0 Thursday, September 7, 2000 Meth lab bust causes evacuation of Magna family Brockbank relieves overcrowding By JUDY WEEKS Special to The Time Due to overcrowding, Brockbank Junior High has started a one year trial of team teaching using the block i crowding at 4, Editor I Brockbank is a very real issue this year as enrollment topped 1,100 students. meihamphetamine -- N. tje- classes change every 90 minutes so the confusion in the halls is not happening as frequently. With the new schedule the Four people were arrested in have the same students in a team teaching atmosphere. Those teachers have a common planning time. With the team teaching, the classes. We now only have three passing times when all of the students are in the hallways are in the halls at the same time. Teachers have been through extensive training to leant dif- ferent teaching skills to keep the attention of the students. The core classes of English, math, science and social studies have smaller class sizes. It is our elective classes that are really big right now, Harris said, But with the new block schedule, the overcrowding in the Halls is better. When a hall pass is required, students are given an orange fluorescent vest to wear when outside the room. It has they napping on one, photo by Dsbbl Olson con- Shari ee Fora, above left, visits with Erin Furgeson, Chasta Deherrera and Zeidy Sharpies during the sec-en- d lunch period at Brockbank Junior High. Students who need to be excused from classes are given orange vests, as wom by Mindy Maynard, to identify them from students who are out wan- the teachers name on the back and very visible which allows administration to know immediately those students who are out in the. halls without permission. On Sept. 1 the faculty will learn about portfoliostratsgies. On Sept. 18, the will be on classroom management. 1 They work in teams and know the groups of youth they are instructing. Debriefing meetings between While city officials are anticipating a feasibility to indicate that there is enough of a tax base for the citys incorporation, a new study on 1999 sales tax revenue indicates that sales tax is decreasing. According to a report by Doug MacDonald, Salt Lake Countys chief economist, the citys taxable sales was down by $19 million in 1999. The report, titled 1999 Zip Code Sales Along the Wasatch Front, provides a detailed look at taxable sales by looking at the economic health of the community by zip code regions instead of as a whole city. The report breaks industry groups down into nearly 200 categories, versus the more broad-brus- h quarterly sales tax report, which review sales in 29 major industry categories, MacDonald said. MacDonald required that a city have at least four similar businesses to be included in a single category. With mining being one major contributors of the tax base, the category was not included in the current study due to lack of numbers to meet the criteria. In 1998 mental mining had $56.7 million in sales tax, MacDonald said. In 1999 it was probably negative. The fluctuation in mining may have been the cause of the overall citys tax going down. ' The mining has a lot to with the taxable sales. ? Grocery stores had a significant increase in 1 999 with a sales tax of $34 million. ' Prior to 1999 there wasnt enough grocery store, to create !ts own category MacDonald said. In diet case the stores nad been placed in a miscellare 3 us category." t r, a I in i, wti 5 19S3 to $5.3 rn.l'.ion in 1599 ar.d fast food tax increased from $2.6 million in 1998 to $3 million The Health Department will Meth labs are extremely Faulkner said. They had been taking the hazardous waste from the cooking process and ? the teachers are held to discuss what is working and what needs to be changed. Another change is the conduct in the lunch room verses what it was in previous years. The cafeteria is substantially more organized and cleaner. Students attend one of two lunch periods during the school day with only half the student body in the cafeteria at one time. in 1999. One of the largest sales tax income increase came from gift and novelty stores with an increase from $149,000 in 1998 to $644,000 thousand in 1999. The miscellaneous shopping goods sales tax also jumped from $256,000 in 1998 to $832,000. Those are very big areas of increases, MacDonald said. Another area that impacted the negative sales tax figures was decrease in special trade contracting. The tax decreased from $1 million in 1998 to $895,000 in 1999. computer sales were clso down by $74,000 and restaurants, not including fast food, was down from $766,000 in 1998 to $672,000 in 1999. Fast food sales tax revenues were increased from $2.6 million in 1998 to $3 million in 1999. But despite the drop in sales tax revenues, MacDonald said that the city may still have enough of a tax base to support its current incorporation attempt In other areas of the Salt Lake Valley, Salt Lake City saw direct sales tax rise by only 1 percent in the past year, Murrays tax sales grew by about 4 percent and Sandy was up overall by nearly 50 percent After four-yeof large volume retail tax growth throughout West Valley, taxable sales are starting to level off and even declining in some areas. MacDonald, indicated that West Valley retailers may be nearing the end of its huge growth spurt The west side of West Valley was down $16 million is taxable sales for 1999. Last year it was up, MacDonald said. Coming off of a huge growth like its had, I dont think this is unusual to see. In 1995 the west side had taxable sales of $407 million. The city experienced about a 10 percent increase each of the next three yetis going from $447 million in 1996 to $577 million in 1998. Figures for the most recent smdy indicated the west side tax income at $561 , a three percent decline From the previous year. ar Faulkner said. toxic, Retail sales tax decreasing By DEBBI OLSON Editor agents have found in the area. It was the second meth lab found by agents in the same neighborhood within the past six months. they found the meth lab. A family living in an upstairs apartment was evacuated from tjie home due to the amount of ardous waste that was" found1 in the meth operation. dering the halls to dumping it under the house. Typically, waste from a cook is dumped or buried outside of the cook area to avoid detection and because of its toxic nature. Approximately seven bags full of hazardous by products from the production of the methamphetamine were found in a crawl space by the Drug Enforcement Administrations agents after they began to break down and clean up the lab. Initial clean-u- p of the lab lasted into the evening Friday. A family of five people living above the lab told agents that they had suspected some kind of drug activity in the apartment So far things are going really well, Harris said. I am very pleased with the changes and we have some really good teachers here working with the students. Harris is encouraging parents and members of the community to visit the school and attest for themselves the mar- velous academic experiences that are happening Brockbank. then the apartment lab was one of the largest the Once they got into the house Eighth-grade- rs cant building may have to be demolished, Faulkner said. There was not a lot of cooked product found at the site, but a lot of waste products that we usually dont find in the same place as a cook. Faulkner said that in addition to the disturbing nature of finding the waste products on the site, the nection with the lab and possession of methamphetamine, said Peggy Faulkner, spokeswoman for the Sheriffs Department. The deputies went there to serve a felony warrant for a kid- every other day, said Principal Carole Harris. Four teachers quieter hallways between Because of the amount of waste that was found in the apartment, the owners will be given an opportunity to clean it up, but if the lab when they went to the home just after 10:30 a.m. Friday to serve two felony warrants. students have four periods how long each teacher has students in class. The schedules have students grouped in the-saarea of the building most' of 'the day, which has cteafeff meth production began. encountered was busted Friday in Magna. The lab, located in a basement apartment at 2992 S. 8850 West, had used a crawl space under the house as a dumping ground for of a meth waste cook. Sheriff's deputies stumbled on five minute passing time. team teachers can determine labs Salt Lake County Sheriffs agents has 0- With the new schedule, ing sick during the past two weeks, which police suspect the One of the most disturbing Last year, classes were in minutes. session for During passing time the halls were packed and it was difficult for students to walk to their next class in the allotted 45-5- According to Faulkner, family members had complained of feel- Bv DEBBI OLSON schedule. Over 50 determine whether the apartment will need to be destroyed due to the nature of the toxic chemicals found at the site. Chemicals used in meth production include iodine, red phosphorous, acetone and hydrochloric acid. Breathing iodine car. cause kidney and liver problems and red phosphorous has been linked to cancer. In an effort to try and discourage meth production in the city, local stores are refusing to sell over the counter products that are commonly used in meth labs in large quantities. Sheriffs Department Community Oriented Police are also working with apartment complex owners and managers and local businesses to help them be more aware of drug activity within the city. Among those arrested for operating a clandestine lab and possession of methamphetamine were Patty Price and Leslie Ensign. They were booked into Salt Lake County Jail. 4 Leavitt reveals plan for ew school textbooks Py PEg"t OLSON November will document the appropriations required to sold the textbook shortage. One Edior Gov. Mike Leavittannounced this week that this year's stare surplus will be used to solve the textbook problem vtithin the public school system. The last eight years have been a time of historic investment and result, Leavitt said. We have made serious investment and serious progress. But there is much to be done. And we are starting by using the surplus to provide current textbooks to Utah Students. Since 1993, spending on textbooks in the Granite School District has increased f.cm $1.6 million to $3.9 milllpn in 19' ?. Within tie past eight years, Leavitt has time surplus appropriations may also be applied toward computers, materials, supplies and technology training for teachers. On Tuesday, Leavitt outlines seven goals for the next four years that is expected to continue the momentum of improvement in Utah schools: Invest the surplus to solve the textbook problem Reduce elementary class sizes below 20 students D create teacher pay to be competitive with other col!:' professionals Enhance accountability for continuous made p J, he e Lcation in the Granite School District a high priority by encouraging a reduction in class sizes at De elementary school from 25 to 21 students per teacher, statrwi.de i p. ovemert Fund Technology, supplies and textbooks for Utah students Assure every chid reads at or above grade levtl by the third grade $ 10,000 per year and brought sehoos into the M chnelcgicd age by wiring ech school to the internet. The key to education fur.dg is a growing, vibrant economy, Leavitt said. New taxes should t ? used as a revert, r n as the first cptL'i. Improve graduation retrs among ethnic increased teacher salaries by more than kt minority students V With the projected increase in euvr.yret, even if our great economy continues as it has it will h? a k I chalk"-'tv provide education as in t - p" we 1 i h ' ; President Lyle I t ''re cf '"s to ? wniiMMiK aBfiiTMrraiiMiwrinf 'mmmmmmssmmmmmmmm'iaA |