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Show 3 Utah Stat a Press Ass. Inc. 467 Hast 3 Scnrth SLC 84111 lousing Market Should Improve Say Local Real Estate Agents nitfe, iV "' y ' ' I "'l'"'''1'"'T'nr"f'nn'''11'T"'''r'''"lw'""'il "l"'m"'H.iiwJ,i'-u Brent Sumner, Manager of Orem-Geneva Times, (left) accepts prize winning editorial award from Award Co-chairman Martin Conover. Sumner was also voted to serve a two-year term as a director on the Utah State Press Association Board at the 5 annual convention. Take Positive Steps To Welcome Refugees Prize winning editorial by Jonnie Wilkinson. Recent violence in Utah Valley involving members of our Southeast Asian community has sparked concern and controversy among many local residents. Two men were seriously injured and one killed in two separate incidents, one in Provo and another in Orem. The tendency of a majority population is to react with fear and anger at isolated acts by only a few members of a particular minority group. There are two important considerations conscientious .citizens musWstudy..before passing judgement upon our newest minority immigrants. First, we should accept responsibility for educating and training these displaced people. The best way to avert future bigotry is to make every effort to help them assimilate into our western society. They must be individually versed on our laws and customs. They must be taught to speak" our predominating language, in order to function in our high paced world. Laotian, Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees have been transplanted from war torn, chaotic environments to a more orderly, peaceful land. Many refugees have become desensitized to the act of killing and to destruction. They may have survived in their mother country only by stealing, scavanging and taking the responsibility for law and order into their own 1 il l W Jonnie Wilkinson of Orem-Geneva Times displays First Place Award he won from the Utah State Press Association for his recent editorial. The convention was held in Salt Lake City, Friday and Saturday. hands, for lack of stable civil authority. Now, they find themselves in a strange new world, populated by taller, affluent inhabitants who confusingly "all look alike". This brings us to our second consideration. Southeast Asian immigrants are undoubtedly frustrated and often bitter because of the tragic injustice they experienced prior to arriving in America. The government and our people seem to be doing little to ameliorate their plight, at least in terms of durable remedies,. The fact that-refugees that-refugees can qualify for food stamps and other subsidies does not solve the long term dilemmas facing them and all of us. Other, refugees still live in isolated worlds, crowded into tiny apartments and not associating with other groups. That government which permitted them to enter this country (and which has a clear responsibility to, because of its military involvement in their former lands) has an irrevocable duty to help them plan for a future here. It is urgent that we avoid the age old trap of emotional racism and, rather, take positive steps toward welcoming and assimilating each refugee for which we have assumed lawful and moral social responsibility. 1 J : , - Li 1 I have heard something said( about allegiance to the South: I know no South, no North, no East, no West, to which I owe any allegiance. Henry Clay Volume 53 Number 8 Fiery Crash' An Orem medical-attorney and four others died from burns and injuries sustained in the fiery crash of a Piper Aero Star twin-engined aircraft Thursday at 7:05 p.m. shortly after taking off from Montgomery Mon-tgomery Field, San Diego, bound for Provo. Owner-pilot Dr. Marden Dixon, 331 E. 1800 S., Orem, died Friday at 7 p.m. at Utah Medical Center In-termountain In-termountain Burn Unit where he had asked to be transferred from University Hospital at San Diego with burns over 91 percent of his body. Those who died earlier were Dixon's secretary Mrs. Daniel (Linda) Austin, 23, and her 3-month-old-son, Alex; two Brigham Young University students David Barry Jones, 27, of Silver Springs, Md. and Edward Hastings, 23, of Battle Mountain, Nev. Witnesses said the plane appeared ap-peared to climb about 100 feet after takeoff and apparently lost power and slammed onto Balboa Ave. and slid into the parking lot of the Gemco Department store in a ball of flames. Dixon and Hastings crawled from the burning wreckage with their clothing aflame. Hastings died at 4:30 a.m. Friday at University Hospital from burns over 88 percent of his body. Dixon was transferred to the Utah Hospital early Friday af- Orem Boosters Announce Plans For 1983 Miss Orem Sc!io!aihip Pageant At a recent meeting of the Board of Directors of the Orem Boosters, Inc., preliminary plans for the 1983 Miss Orem Scholarship Pageant were announced. Paulina Jolley has been named as the general director of the pageant, with Debi Spencer servng as co-chairman. Carol Ot-teson Ot-teson will serve with Mrs. Jolley and Mrs. Spencer on the production committee. The Miss Orem Pageant is recognized as one of the best in the entire state. "The Rainbow Connecton" is the theme of this year's production. It is scheduled for the auditorium at the Orem High School on Saturday, April 23rd. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. All seats are general admission. Jerry Elison, drama director at the Orem High School is involved in the staging of the pageant and is By Jon Wilkinson Although the housing market in this area has been depressed, as elsewhere in the country, real estate agents seem to feel there will be some improvement this year. As everyone knows, housing is expensive, whether one rents, or buys. Jim Wilbur of the Orem Planning Dept. estimates only 25 percent of households in the city could afford to purchase an average priced home with today's interest rales. With a five percent down payment, a $67,000 home would require a monthly payment of $728 and a household income of $35,000, Wilbur said. , Average income for Orem households hasn't risen sharply since 1970, but high interest and building costs have pushed the cost of single family homes beyond the' reach of most residents, he said. Government programs, such as HUD 235, reach some low to moderate income groups, but not the poor, Wilbur said. Alternatives, such as municipal subsidy of housing, aren't practical, nor likely here, due to the scope of free enterprise philosophy, he said. Realtors and financial institutions in-stitutions have developed various forms of financing to circumvent the real problem, Wilbur said, but these have not proven very successful in The Newspaper Published W eekly and Read Daily February .Claims' !l .ternoon. He had many professional friends there and spent the last hours of his life putting his affairs in , order and making arrangements for law cases he had been working on. The medical malpractice lawyer was nationally know. See obituary for further information. Sertoma Promotes Freedom Week Sertoma International, a civic service organization, the motto of which is "Service to Mankind," has adopted a Freedom Week program dedicated to the re-emphasis of the values and responsibilities of man in a free society. Mayor DeLance W. Squire signed a proclamation declaring the week of Feb. 20 as Sertoma's Freedom Week in Orem and urges citizens of the city to support the objectives of the declaration. For this purpose Sertoma International has promoted the distribution of copies of the Declaration of Independence throughout its entire membership of Clubs. In addition the Orem club is planning to carry out special patriotic and civic activities during the week. designing settings to follow the theme. Donna Richards is chairing the entries. The applications are available at the city manager's office or the Chamber of Commerce in the Orem City Center. The deadline dead-line for returning applications is 5 : 00 p.m. on Monday, February 28, 1983. Ernest "Ernie" Summers is the current president of the Booster organization. Winston Crawford is the immediate past president. H. Earl Farnworth is the representative represen-tative from the Orem City Council and Forrest Henderson is the liaison from the city manager's office on the board. Other members of the organization who will be involved in handling details of the pageant include in-clude Diane Brereton, Linda Farn-sworth, Farn-sworth, Katie Harris, Harold Mc- making home buying attainable for most would-be buyers. Wilnut said the answer probably lies in alternative types of housing, such as mobile and manufactured homes, twin homes, and condominiums. con-dominiums. "I don't think Utah has addressed ad-dressed the issue of affordable housing," Wilbur said, with reference to current zoning ordinances. or-dinances. A recent Utah County Commission Com-mission rejection of a proposal to permit mobile homes with permanent per-manent foundations on any lot allowing conventional homes focused on the problem. People are reluctant to accept this kind of housing, despite high quality of construction and design, especially in newer models, Wilbur said. Rents have risen sharply since 1980, he said, forcing poor families to spend an inordinately high proportion of total houshold income on shelter. If adequate programs are developed to help the poor purchase homes, many will need training in care and maintenance, Wilbur said. "We often forget that renters are used to the landlord making repairs and providing main tenance." Training could prevent or reduce the incidence of deterioration in government subsidized housing developments. 24, 1983 Planning For Use of CDi The Planning Department is requesting suggestions from residents for use of $646,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money alloted for 1983-84. Wally Baird, senior planner, said a citizens committee will be taking suggestons until the end of March. After review, the committee will make a recommendation to the city council. A public hearing will be held in April for final determination of how to use the money, Baird said the money may be used for street improvements, housing rehabilitation, park development, or other purposes improving blighted areas, or benefitting low income, single heads of households, or families with special needs. Some previous projects in which CDBG money was used include the purchase of 1000 smoke detectors for low income households, removal of certain architectural barriers to the handicapped throughout the city, and development of the Parent Education Resource Center (PERC) in the public library, Baird said. The money may not be used for the general conduct of government, or its buildings and equipment, Cown, Verl Morgan, Peggy Mower, Vera Nielsen, Jerry Ortiz, and Carl Waldvogel. Community leaders who will be. working in various assignments for this year's event will be Connie Barker, who is chair of the hostesses. They will be announced later. Jess Allen is the photographer with Clayton Bishop and Grant Butler helping with construction. Francine Christensen, Kelly Thayer, Kelli Johnson, and Nanci Jolley will conduct the workshops. RaLyn Richards is Responsible for badges. "The Rainbow Connection" on April 23rd is going to be an outstanding out-standing night you won't want to miss. Watch the Orem Geneva Times for future activities of the 1983 Miss Orem Scholarship Pageant. Stacey Lynn Benson is the Real estate agents are more optimistic, though still cautious. Fred Johnson of Johnson Real Estate said this is "a frustrating time with positive and negative sides." While interest rates and other factors are improving, potential buyers are not confident the improvement is permanent. Johnson said FHA and VA loan interest rates should drop from 12 to 11 percent soon. These programs are thriving at present, he said. Johnson said repossessions are selling well, due to lower interest rates offered with them. He said the existing market is forging upward slowly. Bill Brown of Bill Brown Realty said in general the market has turned up, but there is pressure now to raise interest rates. "The market has been stimulated, but not enough to see any real trends," Brown said. The average wage earner has been priced out of the market with $500 a month mortgage payments and two to three thousand dollar downpayments, he said. Brown also suggested a slight improvement will occur this year, with a short slump during the fall. Bruce Jeppson of Martensen Real Estate said the market has been up since December. He said he has noticed a definite upswing and an even bigger improvement should occur this spring. PRICE FIFTEEN CENTS maintenance, or operation, or for political activities of any kind, he said. Projects qualifying for the funds must meet at least one of three criteria, Baird said. These include a benefit to low, or moderate income persons; prevention, elimination, or improvement of slums or blighted areas; or the project must meet an urgent community development need. Baird said residents with useful suggestions may write "Block Grant Citizens Committee", 56 N. State, Orem, Utah 84057, or call 224-7058. SHIRLEY THOMAS Shirley Thomas To Speak At Orem Institute of Religion Friday, Feb. 25, 1983, at 12 noon, Shirley Thomas, Education Counselor in The Relief Society General Presidency, will be the speaker at the Orem Institute of Religion, located on the Utah Technical College, Orem campus, 788 West 1000 South, Orem. The public is invited. Graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Education and English, a minor in nutrition. She has taught in New York City, Oregon, and in the Department of Food and Nutrition at Dept. |