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Show -N E W S- Spanish Fork A6 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2008 Covering what matters most the first 50years SF Fire Department reaches century mark In the early years, firefighters were notified of a fire by a bell that continuously rang As we approach a mile- for five minutes. This system stone for our fire department, was later replaced by an elecit's good to share a little of the tric siren that could be heard history that has been made in all over town. The siren was replaced by electronic pagers the last 100 years. Spanish Fork Fire Depart- in 1976, and'the same system ment was organized on May is used to this day. 1 15,1908, as a volunteer force 1934 saw the department's of 20 men, four from each first specifically designed of the four wards and four at home. The "new" station large. Charles W. Booth was was built at 400 North Main elected as the first fire chief, and cost about $20,000, with and served in that capacity for handsome red brick and a over 20 years. Chief Booth maple dance floor on the secalso worked with and served ond floor. The "Barn Dance" as president of the Utah State became a popular fundraiser Fireman's Association. for over 60 years. 1937 brought the city its As training progressed, other officers were needed, second motorized fire truck, Clayton Beck and George a 1937 American LaFrance Ludlow served as assistants to with a 500 gallon-per-minute the chief with David R. Boy- pump. This beautiful truck is still on display at the Public ack as secretary /treasurer. Spanish Fork City con- Safety Building at 370 North tracted the purchase of the Main. first truck in 1920 at a cost In 1945 tragedy struck of a whopping $9,250. The SFFD, two volunteer fireAmerican LaFrance Engine fighters, responding to a call arrived in June and fought were in a collision. Ross its first structure fire that July Forsythe Beck died from his when the bakery caught fire. injuries, becoming the only Amy Baum STAFF WRITER firefighter Spanish Fork has lost in the line of duty. In 1947 we received our third engine. It was a Central Company from Missouri built on a Ford chassis, The founder and first Chief C.W. Booth passed away that same year. Ironically a fire call sounded during the funeral and several men had to run from the service to carry on the legacy he was so instrumental in starting. In 1950, the airport caught fire, consuming nine planes and 10 auxiliary engines at a cost of well over $100,000. In 1952 another American LaFrance engine was purchased. This beautiful truck is still operable and makes its home at the State Firefighters Museum in Grantsville. Next week we'll look at the second 50 years of history. Thank you to Marvin Banks for compiling the history. To read more, go to www.SpanishFork.org. Plan now to attend the centennial parade and celebration on May 10,2008. Courtesy photos READY FOR THE JOB: This picture was taken about 1910. Pictured are Thomas Moore, Austin Carter, Joseph Davis, Ralph Higginson, David Boyack, Henry O. Nelson, Wallace Beagley, Delbert Chappie, George Ludlow, Henry, Fernstein, Byron Tuttle, Dean Wilcox, Alonzo Thomas, Alfred Warner, Joseph Chappie, David R. Boyack, Chief Charles Booth, William Booth (mascot), Haswell Tuttle, John Thomas and Alvin Ludlow. VOLUNTEERING: This picture was taken in 1908 of the volunteer fire department. Pictured are, . Chief Charles "C.W." Booth, David Boyack, Ralph Higginson, Alvin Ludlow, Haswell Tuttle, Alfred Warner, Carl Corbett, Harry Davis, George Ludlow and Hyrum (possibly Tom) Patterson. WH Council considers roads Hilarie Orman STAFF WRITER Luxurious Townhomes in Salem starting at $184,900 Choose from many options • Fully landscaped • Stucco and stone exterior • Solid surface countertops and surrounds • Jetted tubs in master bath • Attached garages • Raised panel cabinets • Several floor plans Model now open! For information call: Sarah (801) 404-7186 or Yolanda (801) 404-1078 Financed by: i b R*al Estate LLC CENTRAL B A N K HOMES The receding snow reveals the ravages of winter, and none more unsightly than the crumbling asphalt of Woodland Hills. Council member Steve Lauritzen's report on the plans of the Roads Committee took some rocky turns as he presented them at the city council meeting on Thursday evening. The good news of was that the city will have more manpower for projects now that it has hired Jack Marshall for the dual role of water and road supervisor. A major project for the city will be the rebuilding of lower Woodland Hills Drive between the mailboxes and Oak/Maple. The city engineer believes that the road section is within two years of failure. This sparked animated discussion between Lauritzen and council members Bob Fisher and Steve Carter. The latter two advocated getting a design for rebuilding the whole length of the road within the city before embarking on any reconstruction. Lauritzen opined that there were no complex, issues about the lower road rebuild and that drainage was "pretty simple." Hilarie Orman / SF News ROUGH SHAPE: After the winter, some roads are in need of repair. • city could not borrow enough money for what the couciimen were suggesting, but later said that if they wanted to look at financing they were free to pursue that path. Lauritzen said that the committee was working on specific plans for crack and chip sealing along the newer roads and for pothole rilling along all roads. Some of this may be done at discount using an inter local agreement that provides trainees as Lauritzen also contractors. Councilman Jerry Johnson recommended building a retention pond and "salt asked about the prospects center" along Woodland Hills for repairing shoulders and Drive on property that the ditches. Lauritzen explained city currently uses for piles that the city would like to do this work themselves of road salt. As the discussion but needs a larger backhoe progressed, Fisher and Carter and a roller and skid loader. expressed more and more' The mayor, Toby Harding, disapproval of the planning suggested that the equipment process, calling the plans a might be borrowed from other "180 degree turn (or maybe county cities under an interonly 135 degrees) from last local sharing agreement. time we met." More heat was evident Financial considerations when the council discussed became intertwined with the the exterior lighting of argument. Harding siid the the new LDS church on Woodland Hills Drive. Johnson said that some residents were concerned about night time ambient light, especially because the lights were sometimes on all night. Milan Malkovich spoke about the church's plan to reduce the bulb wattage from 150 to 70 or 75 as a voluntary method to address concerns. However, he noted that the church might "revisit this issue if safety becomes a problem." Malkovich then said that he wanted the council to know that "the tone of this discussion is offensive" and asked if the council intended to- hold up a certificate of occupancy based on compliance with the city's lighting ordinances. Harding said that rather than confront the question he would like to wait until the building inspection was complete. Malkovich reiterated that the discussion was offensive and, said that he did not believe that the church needed the certificate from the city in order to use the building. Fisher reported on the water system and noted that a failed valve had resulted in .the loss of over 200K gallons of water in a subdivision. Because the city's water usage is monitored on a daily basis, the loss was evident in the readings, but the significance was not realized until the leaking water was visible. Fisher is planning to install equipment that, will monitor water usage more accurately and * will issue phone alarms "with higher quality information." He also noted that valuable tools had been stolen from the city recently, ,and that there may have been two separate thefts. Jack Marshall is planning better security at the city's fire station. |