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Show i;'i 5 1' by REVA BOWEN City Editor Orem resident Lisa Deason decided de-cided years ago when she moved from California to Utah that she was not going to be just a "taker". "I am going to be a contributor," she resolved then. "I am going to be a builder." The diminutive former chairman chair-man of the Orem Planning Commission Com-mission has lived up to her resolution reso-lution in a big way as she has been Orem has queen in Natalie Hansen, who had been first attendant in the royalty since the 1997 Miss Orem Scholarship Schol-arship Pageant, has now been named Miss Orem. This change took place because Angela Hasson, who has reigned as queen in the Miss Orem royalty, decided to resign from the title for personal reasons. Natalie is the daughter of Dr. Kenneth and Barbara Hansen. She was a 1992 graduate of Orem High School. She has attended Utah Valley State College and is finishing a baccalaureate degree in psychology, with a minor in child development, from Southern South-ern Utah University. In her entry forms for the 1997 pageant, the new Miss Orem listed training for eight years in dance, five years on piano, and three years in vocal. In her college col-lege work, she was on the Dean's List and received a scholarship for cheerleading. Natalie said, "My family has been called "The Brady Bunch'. NATALIE :. '; v 1":'. . t V ) if "-"'J $" ? . , i rHlfii i i ill i ' irinin in Ti iiinnlininmmitililimlTI iiiiirir ..ii.i. . m , m i 11 n "i Subscribe to the Orem-Geneva Times by calling 225-1340 - Only $16' per Year! an outspoken and articulate voice on issues that she is passionate about in the city. Deason's service in the community commu-nity was recently steered in a new direction by City Manager Jim Reams. Reams decided to involve new individuals on the Planning Commission, and recommended Deason's appointment to the Board of Adjustments. Fellow commissioner ReNae Brereton, another vocal and active citizen, was also replaced on the Planning Commission and is now a mem a new its royalty Ill be getting involved with the Orem Youth Council that Mayor (Joe) Nelson has reinstated. I'm very excited to be involved in the community and I hope to make a good contribution." Natalie has taken for her platform plat-form "Strengthening the Family Unit". "I want to become a therapist," thera-pist," she said, "because I believe that it is the breakdown of the family unit that is the root of most of the problems that we have in our society. Through working with families as a therapist, thera-pist, I will be able to gain more knowledge of how we can strengthen the family." Those who work with the Miss Orem program thank Angela for her service during the past months and wish her success in her future plans. Natalie is welcomed wel-comed into her new role as she now prepares for the Miss Utah Pageant in June 1998, and assumes as-sumes the Miss Orem responsi-, bilities until a new queen is named April 4. HANSEN Vandalism t ber of the committee charged with making recommendations on how to form the proposed neighborhood neighbor-hood councils throughout the city. Deason was on the Planning Commission from March of 1993 to J anuary of 1998 a period just short of five years. "It was a good long time," she said. "And that's okay. I loved the Planning Commission, Com-mission, and I would have liked to continue serving." The Board of Adjustments is a Co""ciis!'s public hearings The Orem City Council set three future public hearings as part of its work February 10. The - hearing& We all held in the Cisy-; Council Chambers at the City . Center. Apublic hearing on March 24, 1998, at 6:30 p.m. will consider the creation of Special Improvement Improve-ment Lighting District No. 49, in the area from 300 South to 450 South and approximately 400 East to 650 East. After input from the residents, the proposed district was changed to include lighting on 35-foot poles throughout. through-out. A public hearing is slated for February 24, 1998, at 6:20 p.m. on the issue of repealing provisions provi-sions in the city's sign ordinance which relate to bus bench advertising. adver-tising. A hearing will be held February Febru-ary 24, 1998, at 6:40 p.m. to consider con-sider a request from developers EsNet Group to amend the city code on standards for the PC-3 -zone. The request asks for removing re-moving the requirement for an anchor tenant; reducing the maximum building height from 48 to 35 feet; increasing the required re-quired landscaping in parking areas; and adding uses to the current permitted uses in the zone. , Police investigate shooting At press time Tuesday, Orem jpolice were continuing their investigation in-vestigation of a Saturday night incident in which a 22-year-old Orem man was shot outside of the Miracle Bowl on State Street. The shooting victim was grazed in the head by a bullet fired from the gun of a man wearing wear-ing a mask who accosted the victim vic-tim as he was talking to friends outside the bowling alley. The victim was treated at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center and later released. Police spokesman Lt. Karl Hirst of the Major Crimes Division Divi-sion said law enforcement officers offic-ers have a possible suspect in the incident and are following up on leads as the investigation continues. incident.!. p(7 mmh(B! f . n ;; f - LISA DEASON "f oVhind-the-scenes assignment which Deason described as "very difficult" and requiring a great deal of knowledge of the law. "It will be a challenge to do a good job," she said. One of the things Deason finds Sale of surplus city property authorized The Orem City Council voted unanimously February 10 to declare de-clare a portion of city-owned hillside hill-side land in the vicinity of the Silverleaf Estates Subdivision (1300 North 1150 East) surplus, and to authorize its sale to subdivision sub-division residents. Public Works Director Richard Manning said there is no foreseeable foresee-able need the city would have for the property, which residents want to nave in order to increase their usable backyard space. The city does have a service road above the subdivision, and Captain John VanOrman (left) and Lieutenant Dean Schauerhamer were recently honored hon-ored by the City of Orem on the occasion of their retirement from the Fire Division of the Department of Public Safety. Vandals caused an estimated $20,000 in damage to landscaping at Mountain View High School Thursday night when 15 established trees were cut down. Police spokesman Lt. Karl Hirst confirmed that the school is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the damage. exciting about Orem is that the city has lots of boards and commissions, com-missions, and citizens have many opportunities to participate. "I love the fact that the average person per-son can be involved and make a difference in a small way," she said. "Anytime you get more people involved, it makes for a better process." Deason and her husband, Michael, married in 1984 and moved to Orem in 1987. Michael is employed with Ameritech and 1 the couple have three sons: Matthew, Mat-thew, 10; Eric, 7; and Glenn, 3. A college graduate in business management, Deason's interest in local politics and the workings of government was sparked when she and her family came back to Orem after a one-year stay in Australia. The year was 1991, and it was election tiiae. She was carefully care-fully reading the paper, trying to figure out whom to vote for. She decided to attend city council meetings to observe firsthand those who were making decisions. As Deason attending the meet- a water line along the edge of the road on the neighborhood side. Manning said the city will be able to have access for maintenance. The property sale involves the transfer of a total of 8,642 square feet of land to five different property prop-erty owners. Selling price is 57 cents a square foot -- a price that calculates 34 cents per square foot for the raw land cost, plus an additional $2,000 to cover the costs of the city's re-platting the subdivision. Orem will receive just over $4,900 for the land sale. ,'4 " - ings, she found them "fascinating" and discovered that there was "so much more going on than was being reported." She attended council meetings often enough to be asked if she was a reporter. In March of 1993, the person on the Planning Commission in Deason's area resigned, and someone suggested her name as a replacement. She did not personally per-sonally know the council members mem-bers or the city staff at the time. In accepting the appointment, Deason decided that if she was going to do the job, she was going to do it right. She read books, went to training conferences, and found that a lot of work and study was necessary for the task. During the years from 1993-1996, 1993-1996, the Planning Commission . meetings were long, often with 20-item agendas. In 1997, Deason said, the workload slowed as development de-velopment in the city eased a bit. But a typical schedule as a commission com-mission member required putting in eight or nine hours a week twice a month, plus time for extra ex-tra training sessions. During the nine-month period of time that the commission worked on the city's PRD (Planned Residential Development Develop-ment or multi-unit housing) ordinance, ordi-nance, they met four times a month. At one point, meeting times were changed so that instead of going from 5:30 p.m. to midnight, for example, the group would work from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Deason supported the change. "After 10 p.m.," she noted, "the quality of decisions goes down, and efficiency, too." The hard work done by the commission, com-mission, city council, and staff on the PRD ordinance paid off, PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 2 ft 4 .wMMV-w-m |