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Show Utah Press Association Arinda Guttierez 1521 E3900SSte 100 Salt Lake City UT 84124-1550 A N E D I T I O N O F P R I D E & I ll"l"l"l"«II"l'l'l<<Imll.lil..Uill..mI.l.l.lmll.l The Spanish Fork News M l VOL. 3 / NO. 29 O C A L L Y O W N E D A N D O WEDNESDAY, P E R AJULYT 16,E 2008 D 50d SPANISH FORK, UTAH Steve Hard man / Spanish Fork News PATRIOTISM: The tenth annual flag retirement ceremony will be held on Saturday, July 19, at 7 p.m. 10th annual flag retirement planned Jen Allen STAFF WRITER Celebrating its tenth year, the annual flag burning ceremony will take place at the Spanish Fork Fairgrounds Open Arena. Since the event has been an honored and cherished part of Fiesta Days for its tenth year in a row the event will be supported heavily by the National Guard. Apache helicopters are scheduled to fly over the area, from North to South at exactly 7 p.m. to kick start the ceremony. The speakers include Lane Beattie from the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce, a 21 -gun salute, and will also feature the local talent Jalon Watts. In addition to the help and support of the National Guard, children who are Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts or Girl Scouts are encouraged to come and help retire flags. They should be in full uniform to participate and can even start collecting old flags for the event. Citizens or local Boyscouts and their troops are encouraged to bring their flags to the City Office Building, the National Guard Building, or to die event half an hour early so they may be properly prepared. All citizens wishing to attend can do so free of charge by meeting at the Open Arena at the Spanish Fork Fairgrounds at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 19, 2008. Citizens may want to come early so that they will be able to see the Apache helicopters fly overhead. This ceremony has come a long way and has become one of Spanish Fork's most revered form of celebrating the festivities. Courtesy photo OPEN WIDE: Roberta Merrill tries some local cuisine with students at a Japanese elementary school. its Japan on Fulbright Marilyn Nielson STAFF WRITER Spanish Fork High School teacher Roberta Merrill has just returned from a trip to Japan as part of a Fulbright educational exchange program. The program, sponsored by the Japanese government, offers teachers the chance to go and learn firsthand about Japanese culture in order to pass this knowledge on to their students at home. The Fulbright program Merrill participated in was instituted for the 50 year anniversary of the original Fulbright Scholarship Program, which brought Japanese students to study in the U.S. after World War II. The Japanese government wanted to reciprocate, and Merrill was part of the thirteenth group of teachers to go to Japan. "I read about the grant program in the National Education Association magazine," Merrill said. "My husband served his mission in Japan, and I had Japanese roommates in college, so the ad caught my eye because it was about a chance to take a trip to Japan. It said you had to write up a proposal about what you would do if you were selected to go, and I thought, 'I can do that!'" Merrill's proposal included plans for several of her subject specialties (she teaches Family and Consumer Sciences at SFHS). For her Child Development course. she was interested in researching parenting and discipline issues in Japan, and learning more about how the country's small family sizes affect those things. Merrill also wanted to study Japanese architecture and design principles for her Interior Design classes. "The Japanese are very attuned to serenity in their spaces, and that's been a big influence on modern design," said Merrill. "They also have to deal with a country that is very crowded, so they are having to come up with creative solutions for making usable and pleasant public spaces." In addition, Merrill planned to research Japanese financial knowledge and ways that they manage their money for her Financial Literacy classes. Once Merrill was awarded the Fulbright grant, she and the other teachers selected — at least two from each state in the U.S. — met in San Francisco for an orientation. "Basically, they gave us a course in social etiquette; how to behave," said Merrill. "We learned about Japanese customs and things like that." In Tokyo, the program sponsors brought in several important government and educational figures to speak to the teachers. The Japanese Minister of Education, the senior member of Japan's House of RepSee MERRILL • A14 'ravelins to China as a Student Ambassad Marilyn Nielson STAFF WRITER Sonnett Davies Sharisa Nay Amanda Goodman Kassie Crook Attending Girls State Christene Choate STAFF WRITER Girls State was held at SUU in Cedar City in June. Five girls were chosen to represent Spanish Fork, Sonnett Davies, Sharisa Nay, Amanda Goodman, Kassie Crook and Jennifer Mills. Each girl had to first apply for the opportunity to compete in Girls State and then from the applicants Spanish Fork Junior High School student Kelsey Mecham recently returned from a trip to China as a student ambassador with People to People International. The group, a non-profit organization based in Missouri, describes their purpose as "to enhance international understanding and friendship through educational, cultural and humanitarian activities involving the exchange of ideas and experiences directly among peoples of different countries and diverse cultures." As a Student Ambassador, Mecham joined other students from Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Utah on the 17-day trip. Among the areas the students visited were Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong. The students visited various tourist and historical attractions, but also got to sec some more unconventional parts of the country. "We got to see schools See MECHAM • A14 See GIRLS STATE • A6 Jennifer Mills Courtesy photo NEW EXPERIENCES: Kelsey Mecham tries out some playground equipment in China. \ m |