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Show Utah Press Association 1521 East 3900 South Suite 100 Salt Lake City, UT 84124 AN E D I T I O N O F P R I D E & PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID SPANISH FORK, UTAH PERMIT NO. 2 The Soanish Fork News M I O C A L L Y O W N E D A N D O P E R A T E D WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2007 VOL. 2 / NO. 24 500 SPANISH FORK, UTAH Concerns with North Park plans Heather Campbell STAFF WRITER This is the second in our series on the issues and developments surrounding North Park. Steve Hardman / Spanish Fork News A HERO'S SEND-OFF: Members of Charlie Battery ride down Spanish Fork's Main Street during a parade in their honor Monday, June 1 1 . 145th responds to call to serve in Iraq Steve Hardman EDITOR Duty. Honor. Country. These three principles, immortalized in MacArthur's farewell address, mean a little more as south Utah County residents watched their sons, husbands and fathers leave for war. Spanish Fork's Charlie Battery, along with their sister units in the First Battalion, 145th Field Artillery began a 12-month deployment to Iraq on Tuesday, June 12. The 450 Utah National Guardsmen will travel to Fort Bliss, Texas for approximately twelve weeks of specialized training before heading to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. And though they are trained artillerymen, their big guns are to stay home. "Their assignment will be to fulfill military police duties at a yet-to-be-identified detention facility in their assigned area of operations," said Major Hank Mclntyre, the Utah National Guard Public Affairs Officer. This does not mean, however, that they are going in unprepared. While the primary focus of the 145th is artillery, their secondary mission is to manage civilian disturbances, i.e., riot control. "Artillery, traditionally, has the unique ability to adapt to different circumstances," said See 145th • B5 Brinkerhoff named Ail-American Chad Vest STAFF W R I T E R Jace Brinkerhoff s level of fierce competitiveness hasn't diminished in the least. Exactly a year ago the SFHS alum took home MVP honors at the 2006 state baseball tournament. This year the UVSC third baseman was recently named to the prestigious Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American team by collegiate baseball. Brinkerhoff said the honor came as a surprise to him. *i was really excited," he said. "I had no idea until one of my teammates called and told me. I was real excited, kind of in shock because I had no idea." Jace ranked second on the team with a .371 batting average. On the season he belted 12 doubles, one triple, four homeruns and totaled 26 RBI. He managed to carry two different 12-game hitting streaks throughout the year. He was also named as honorable mention allindependent at the D-l college level. As for what local die-hard fans witnessed, it was like dejavu as Brinkerhoff played another stellar season at the hot corner. He committed only five errors during the year, which gave him a glossy fielding percentage of .962. While starting 42 of 45 games played, Jace had an on-base percentage of . 4 2 ] , and also finished with Courtesy photo SF SLUGGER: Jace Brinkerhoff bats in the Wolverines' last game this season. Brinkerhoff was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team. an impressive .527 slugging percentage. So what did Brinkerhoff enjoy most about playing for the Wolverines this past spring? "I enjoyed meeting and making new friends and traveling with my teammates," he said. "I enjoyed working with good coaches. Coach Madsen is just an awesome guy. He taught me a ton this year." Any college student can tell you that the transition from high. school to college study life is quite demanding. But collegiate athletes must adhere to a higher standard by maintaining good grades and performing well on the field. Aside from the educational aspect, Jace talked about the transition from high school baseball to the college level. He said, "It was different in that we prepared well in the fall. I think the biggest difference in the game is the speed of the players. In high school you could hit a bal! in the gap for an easy double. But in college you really need to get a hold of it or they're going to catch it." Now that the baseball season is over, Jace will need to put his childhood dream on hold as he will be chasing another — only this dream will have the former SF star dressed in a different uniform. He'll be sporting a suit, tie and name tag as he embarks on a two-year LDS mission in July. \ A group of Spanish Fork residents are working together on a petition asking the city to reconsider plans for the North Park Development. The petition comes in an effort to convince the city to keep North Park as it is, and move the planned commercial developments to another location. The petition states that when you sign you are, "Giving your unanimous support to keep North Park in place as it is and for the retail stores that are planned to build on North Park to be relocated to another location in Spanish Fork." One of the group's organizers, Julie Ann Curtis, said she is, "not opposed to the development, just not in that spot." Curtis said she welcomes both new development and new business to Spanish Fork, but wants to see it in another location besides North Park. Curtis worries about the impact the development will have on nearby homes and traffic, and feels the new planned park will not maintain the same functionality as the current one. Another of the group's organizers is former city councilman Glenn James. James said the reason he got involved with the petition was that the park had been used and enjoyed by residents for years, and he felt that people had a moral obligation to maintain and preserve both the park and the surrounding community. "North Park is a legacy — not only to Ed Clark and his family, but to all Spanish Fork residents," said James. "It's a moral and ethical issue, and I am more concerned about the citizens, while council seems more concerned about economic development, r d feel better if 1 knew how the citizens felt about it. They are the ones who are going to have to deal with it." James also said he understood the economic benefits the city would receive from the new development. However, he also feels that the city has done a poor job of informing residents about the details of the development, and that therefore they could not be expected to give their support for something in which they were given little information. "We need more specifics and more facts about what's going on," said James. According to James, some residents feel like their complaints and comments have gone unnoticed by city council. James said people attending public hearings go away with the attitude that, "the city is going to do this [go through with the North Park Development] no matter what we say.'1 "We need to unite people so that we can talk about different issues and not be offended by what the other has said or done," he said. James said he would love to see the city hold another public meeting with the specific purpose of talking openly and hearing different viewpoints. "While the city is not legally obligated to keep the park." James said, "they are obligated to the people. ... It's our city, and we should be able to say what we want to do with it." Liver Transplant Fundraiser There will be a fundraiser Saturday, June 16 for Rylie Steele, greatgranddaughter of Coey and Jean Stickney of Spanish Fork, who is in need of a liver transplant. The event will include a 5K fun run at Nephi City Park at 7:30 a.m., and games, a raffle and dinner at Nephi's Orgil Park (by Wendy's), starting at 4 p.m. Donations can also be made to the Rylie Steele Liver Transplant Account at Far West Bank of Nephi. For account information, call (435) 623-0651. |