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Show -NEWS- Covering what matters most Woodland Hills residents talk to candidate Hifarie Orman STAFF WRITER A recent non-political social event featured a local politician talking to Woodland Hills residents. The tradition of "Empty Nesters" potluck dinners is strong in the city, and the most recent event was hosted by long-time residents Lynn and Lynnette Poulter. Instead of having it at their own home, they partnered with their daughter Kristin and her husband, Utah House Representative Mike Morley. The group's trek from Woodland Hills to west Spanish Fork was rewarded with a spacious . dining area and the opportunity to talk to.Morley and hear his summary of state government activities. Despite the proximity of the election, Morley was happy to act in an informative and educational capacity for the after-dinner program. He began by telling the audience that, in his view, government was double-edged, "good when when used for the right purposes," but an unwieldy and dangerous machine when used improperly. Morley ran through some relevant highlights of the year's legislative actions. He noted that revenue projections have declined in the months since the state budget was approved, and the legislature had to reconvene for belt-tightening. Education, which takes the lion's share of the state's revenue, was spared reductions. Nonetheless, Morley pointed out, Utah is a young and fast-growing state, and this means that education costs will continue to put pressure on property taxes. Utah is an energy-rich state, said Morley, and there could be revenue from oil production on state trust lands. That could result in up to $200 million per year for education. Overall, he favors opening land to energy production. He pointed out the new Spanish Fork windmill farm as an indication that the state is pointed in the right direction to "get off foreign oil." Another bright sign for the state is job growth, described as "a beacon for the nation." The recently approved widening of 1-15 in Utah Qqunty will Jjie.an inconvenience for tjuite a white, but.'Morley noted that it may be even more disruptive than a similar project in Salt Lake City prior to the Olympics. There are few alternative routes for motorists in Utah County, so any work that diverts traffic onto surface streets could result in huge delays. Residents were not shy about asking questions. Gas prices, operational audits for ensuring that state projects achieve their goals and teacher pay scales came up immediately. Morley suggested that Utah teachers are well-paid if their benefits are included in comparisons to other states. Dr. Jim Rose, a family practitioner, expressed concern about limited medical services available to charter school students. He said that it was easy for him to work with the Nebo School District to get services, such as psychological evaluation, for students, but he had been surprised to find that charter schools, being independent of the school district, might not even have these services. He told Morley that he did not know how he was supposed to work with charter schools on behalf of students who needed special medical services. Morley replied that although charter schools must meet a minimum service level, each school decides individually whether or not to contract for additional services. We called American Leadership Academy to see if they arranged psychological evaluations for students whose primary care physician recommended them. We did not receive an answer in time for inclusion in this article. Spanish Fork 'Firecam' protects Woodland Hills WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2008 • A7 Hilarie Orman STAFF WRITER Some years ago Bert Cherry, a former fire chief living in Woodland Hills, put forth an idea inspired by his son. Why not have a birds-eye view of the city on the Internet so that volunteer observers could quickly spot fires in the city from the comfort of their homes? Because every minute counts in responding to a fire, the "firecam" could reduce response time significantly. That idea germinated slowly, but it came to fruition on Oct. 9 when a camera, the Internet, and a water tank combined to become a firecam website. The camera is a lightweight, high resolution digital imaging device, with a wideangle lens and an embedded computer for Internet communication. Getting it to work at the top of a water tank was a joint effort between the Woodland Hills Property Owners Association (WHPOA), wireless Internet provider Digis and the city's public works department, headed by Jack Marshall and city worker Mitch McMullin. WHPOA purchased the equipment. the city installed the camera mounting, Digis installed an antenna and this reporter spent a couple of hours sitting on the top of the tank with a laptop computer, configuring network parameters. When Bert Cherry first mentioned the firecam idea, it spread like wildfire, invoking quite a bit of enthusiasm. Fire chief Dorel Knyaston ex- Hilarie Orman / Spanish Fork News MAINTENANCE: Mitch McMullin adjusts the Woodland Hills fire watch camera. pressed support, but for quite some time it remained just an idea. Last year WHPOA allocated funds for the project. At the beginning of the summer the WHPOA board had a project plan in hand, but there was a glitch. The installation site, at the top of a water tank off Broadhollow Drive, had a power line, but it was an unreliable system. No one was sure if adding additional equipment would interfere with the crucial telemetry information that controls the water level in the tanks at the top of the neighborhood. Fortunately, a new power line was already in the works, due to former petroleum engineer and now councilman. Bob Fisher. He has been behind several improvements in the water system during the past year, despite a series of failures in the aging water mains. Through it all, the city has never run out of water, as it did in August of 2007, and that is largely due to Fisher's emphasis on reliable telemetry and regular visual monitoring and data collection. Once the power line was in place, and the telemetry data secured, all that remained for the project was to coordinate schedules with the Internet installers, and, finally, just as snow graced the top of Loafer Mountain, the firecam became a reality. The Utah Department of Natural Resources and the US Forest Service office in Spanish Fork have encouraged Woodland Hills with the project. In the future, other cameras could come online, providing more coverage. Campaign signs disappearing in WH Hilarie Orman STAFF WRITER Woodland Hills is festooned with an unprecedented number of campaign signs for candidates of all kinds, but the city's main drag, Woodland Hills Drive, has very little to suggest that a presidential election is imminent. This isn't due to lack of interest or effort on the part of households, but that the signs they put out have a very short lifespan. Signs emblazoned with the name of Democratic presidential candidate Obama disappear very quickly from homes along Woodland Hills Drive. The theft victims have submitted reports to the sheriff's department. We talked to Deputy Jim Tindall, and he told us that the thefts were being treated like any other. There are very few thefts in the city, so the repeated sign thefts must raise the city's crime statistics substantially. Floyd and Carole Cottam have had two signs taken, and they said, "we resent the interference with our free speech rights." On the other hand, Dan and Lita Alger find a silver lining. Dan told us that he is "happy to buy more signs and support the Obama campaign," and Lita said that she thought the thieves might be collectors who wanted souvenirs of this election year. Still, they have been surprised at the . determination of the thieves, who even carried off a log with a firmly attached sign. In other parts of Woodland Hills, campaign signs have stayed put. One sign for the house district 66 race suffered mysterious sparay apint graffiti recently. Each day brings out more signs, showing that this year there is tremendous interest in the political process. Hilarie Orman / Spanish Fork News SIGNS OF THE TIMES: Floyd and Carole Cottam stand next to one of their Obama signs. Davis Classic Detailing to hold antique car show Oct. 24-25 Davis Classic Detailing has been in Payson three years now, and along with their ten years previously in Spanish Fork and Salem, have built up a good relationship with the community. Kenion Davis says there's still a little bit of confusion about what "detailing" is. Well, "detailing" is a complete cleaning of the vehicle. It's what car dealers do when they want the car to look its complete best. Call it a deep cleaning, if you will. Kenion says once a person has a ear detailed it becomes a necessity. "People who take pride in their vehicles like to have them detailed," he said. On Friday and Saturday, Oct. 24-25, Davis Classic Detailing, located at 415 East 100 North, Payson, is featuring a car show as part of its customer appreciation celebration. Payson has a tradition of appreciation for Car Shows. One of the best is held in the early fall at Arnie B's Chevron, and features a drive over the Nebo Loop. Car shows are often part of the Payson Onion Days and Santaquin Orchard Days Celebrations, too. Courtesy photo IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS: The folks at Davis Classic Detailing will hold a Car Show Oct. 24-25. V |