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Show TOAH: PRESS 467 0CIATr2I 3RlTscrrH EAST .salt lake cr Retail Stores Display Opposition To Proposal Vm Beer Tax Remarks Opponents Put Beetr Tax On Table WEST VALLEY. Destructive, prospect; it would create record-keepinnightmarish problems; it would make prices for city stores less competitive with those of stores just outside West Valley's borders, at a time when businessmen are scrambling for every penny; it would make small operations more susceptible to from chain stores competition which could better afford to absorb the tax, rather than passing the increase on to consumers, they pensive discriminatory, burdensome, inflationary. Those were a few of the terms used by sellers of beer on the retail market to describe a proposed beer tax in this city. But its necessary, countered city officials supporting the tax, to raise the revenue needed by law enforcement officials to combat drunken driving and other alcohol-relateproblems which occupy much of their time and drain their budgets. Rather than making all city residents - beer drinkers and nondrinkers alike - pay for the problems stemming from alcohol consumption through an increase in the property tax levy, a more equitable tax would place the burden directly on alcohol users, thus a beer tax, city officials contended. But, returned the beer sellers, a beer tax is the wrong solution. It would place a significant burden on already businessmen, forcing them to modernize cash registers, an ex d hard-presse- d g argued. And, they added, it would penalize the person who buys a six-pac- k of beer and drinks it at home just as much as the person who drinks and drives. About 100 persons, including city attended Thursdays employes, public hearing on the proposed tax, which would add about 22 cents to the price of an average six-pac- k of beer. the representatives private sector - grocery stores, convenience stores, taverns against the tax. Outside of city employes who cited figures showing that four city Nearly all of of the departments (police, fire, court, attorneys offices) have spent $346,000 this year dealing solely with alcohol-relateoffenses, two persons spoke in favor of the tax . A third, State Rep. Duayne Johnson refused to take a stand on the proposal although he cited a litany of problems - drunk driving d deaths, murders, assaults, suicides, rising health care costs with alcohol consumption. Several businessmen said they were equally concerned by the problems arising from alcohol usage, but did not believe a beer tax would stem the problem, only create difficulties for themselves. Grocers pointed out repeatedly that beer is a high volume sales product and that customers would be driven away, to stores just outside the city, if the tax were imposed. John Hutchinson estimated that a tax would cost his grocery store at 4000 W. 4100 South 50 percent of its beer sales. Its only a five minute drive to Kearns, he said. Representatives of large stores like Bobcos and Harmons reiterated Hutchinsons point, contending they draw numerous customers from as far away as Wendover and would lose many if the price of beer rose. An employe of one of those stores contended, As a checker, I know that people who buy. beer know what it costs. Once they go to another store, they might stay. Several backers of the tax within the city administration dispute that argument, however, pointing out that although prices are considerably higher at convenience stores, beer sales are large there. After three hours of comments, the City Council tabled the proposal indefinitely. Action is expected on the matter sometime this summer, several council members indicated. The council is scheduled to adopt its 1982-8- 3 budget tonight (Thursday), a budget which includes $100,000 from a beer tax. Since it does not appear that the council will impose the beer tax at this time, an equal amount of revenue will be needed from another source TWo Sections We&t -- - or expenditures will have to be cut by $100,000. Several council members insisted that other taxes would not be raised to offset the loss of beer tax revenue if that tax is not imposed. Instead, several suggested that $100,000 would be trimmed from a budget which in- cludes payments for the lease which the city has for purchase of City Hall, the 6400 West fire station, large fire trucks and assorted items. Cuts, they indicated, would not be made in the police budget, which was the target of most of the money to be raised by the beer tax. City officials had planned to accelerate the lease payments, relieving the city of a financial burden caused by high interest on the debt. Money could be pumped back into the budget during the course of the year if revenue from other sources, such as sales tax, exceeds what city officials have called conservative projections, the council members said. 28 Pages Orffcy "Whereas, it is neither fair nor equitable that services of the police and fire departments, attorneys office and justice court necessitated sole. persons under the inly by fluence of alcoholic beverages be financed by all taxpayers . . . . . -- Preamble to Beer Tax Ordinance; "Ive never seen an issue that has aroused and united an industry that is so prone to com- Tom petition within itself -- Welch, Smith's Food King; "The small businessman is fighting for survival . This tax is one more thing to make it that much more difficult to do business" - Bob Johnson, . . Bob-co'- "I'm against people who drink and drive on roads that 1 do Eric Erickson, city resident; "Not everyone who buys a k is the person you're after - the one on the road -- six-pac- Donald Beck, Utah Licensed Club Assn.; "This tax will destroy, in part, the favorable business climate that exists in West alley City - John Hutchinson, grocery store owner ; "Anybody who has the power to tax has the obligation to put the tax where it belongs - Rep. Duayne Johnson, before citing profigures on alcohol-causeblems; "You cited a tale of horrors Keryone recognizes this tale of horrors But how can we deal with the problem these businessmen face We can't put a wall around West Valley CiCouncilman Pete Winder; ty Our survey shows competition is not as keen as some might lead you to believe - THE VOCf OF Wfsr VAtif Y CITY UTAH Keith Sioney, city attorney's office; USPS 656-38- "Your men dont know bunk about the grocery business They say we can raise our prices and still be competitive. I say bunk" - Lynn Sperry, Har- 0 . Published weekly at 155 E. 405 South, Salt Lake City. UT 84107. Second class postage paid at Salt Lake City, UT 84lit Subscrip hon rate. Sll SO per year. POSTMASTER : Send address changes to West Valley View. Box 7187, Salt Lake City, UT 84107 Thursday, June 10, 1982 PACKED HOUSE . . . City Council chambers were pocked Thursdoy for a public hearing on a proposal to establish a beer tax in West attended the Valley City. About 100 persons mostly opponents three-hou- r session. Hearing Tonight On Changes In Policy Borders WEST VALLEY. A proposal to West Valley Citys annexation policy declaration will be the subject of a public hearing here alter tonight (Thursday). The public hearing will be in conjunction with the regular City Council meeting at 6 p m. in City Hall, 2470 So. Redwood Road. The proposed amendments would reduce the amount of property which the city - if approached with petitions - would consider for annexation to the south and increase the amount of potential city territory In the west and north. Approval of the changes would pull back the citys potential southern border to 6200 South. Cuthe policy extends West Valleys potential area to West Jordans irregular boundary between 6200 and 6600 South. The western edge of the policy declaration would be extended from 9200 West to the west county border. The northern edge would be adjusted to follow 2100 South to the county line, rather than following 2400 South from the city's current western boundary. But include antique, displayed customs, stocks, classics, trucks and vans. Prizes donated by West Valley automobile merchants will be awarded in the five categories. A $10 fee will be charged for each entry, or $8 for any West Valley area student, according to Kevin Conde, chairman of the automobile showcase. Entries are to area near the be displayed in an park during the festivities. Persons inin entering the showcase three-da- terested may contact Mr. Conde at To Our Readers; The Green Sheet has learned of attempts being mode to collect f I per month for delivery of the paper. This Is not with our author- ization, nor Is the dollar amount Green Sheet correct. readers, as well os our authorized carriers whc hove credentials which Introduce them, know the proper amount. Long-tim- e Is o This misrepresentation criminal offense and we earnestly solicit your help In Identifying those Illegally seeking to collect so that we may prosecute. Used Truck Some refer to it as "thinking. Which isnt always true because Webster describes thought as, "The intellectual product or the organized views of a group or Individual." Writing isnt necessarily organized. Nor is it particularly intellectual, come to think of It. Weve read - even written -entire columns that were virtually devoid of Intellect. Probably "ponder is the correct word. Webster states that ponder implies a careful weigh ad -- 1 sold it Larry Pearson, 5983 RappahannCir., reporting what happened when he used a Green Sheet classified ad to sell a half-totruck. The Murray area man found, as most users of Green Sheet want ads do, that results are quick and ock n 70 FORD XLT inexpensive in Utahs most widely circulated weekly newspapers. the Dollar-for-dolla- Green Sheet offers the best classified ad buy in the valley. It's the marketcounty area place of the mid-sout- h youre buying, selling lookrenting, trading, ing for help, searching for a lost item or conveying a personal message. Dial to place your ad. You'll get results! by Jim anything. pondered before the typewriter this week, our pondering (not thinking) dodged haphazardly about in an inconclusive way. So as w e finally landed on the letters which come in contact with the paper and produce what is And termed typewriting. On second ponder (not thought), they aren't letters in that sense. Theyre the raised embossing on that little bouncing twists, squirms and turns when you depress a key. We've never understood how Its done, Number 21 All 262 6682 departments J - mon's employe; As I see it, youre in a tough Alike Hutchings, City position Prosecutor to the council. 10-1- 3 levels could be needed. Board member Richard Andrus said he didnt feel the board could deal with individual schools, which brought a retort from Joyce Higashi that in approving an extra police officer for Granger high several meetings ago, the board did deal with an individual situat- ion. problems that mainstreaming might be causing regular classroom teachers and that the elementary area might be the place to start. The superintendent suggested postponing a decision until the three elementary schools where the behaviorally handicapped are served can be contacted to see if the classroom burdens are comparable in terms of loads. Higashi and Sandstrom agreed to the postponement because they feared a 2 vote would bury the issue. Bruce Anderson, generally the key in Granites 2 votes, said he would like to hear an administrative recommendation. The board meets again on July 6. Following the meeting, the patrons expressed considerable in dealing with - 3-- 3-- frustration. In approving the budget, the board learned that school budgets are always in a state of flux because of incoming monies from various sources. The largest share of the budget, awarded a contract for phase two construction at Cyprus to Thorpe Bros. Construction with a $4,599 and operations. Budget director David Garrett said that 85 percent of that sum is for salaries and fringe benefits. The lions share of the capital outlay budget will be a $5 million expenditure for reconstruction of Cyprus high and for opening the new Thomas Bacchus elementary. There was no significant mill levy increase, which drew a favorable comment from the Utah Taxpayers Assn, in the form of a letter. Board members did suggest that additional monies be transferred into community relations areas. In other matters, the board wi! $122.4 million, is for maintenance million bid. All-Stat- Builders e gained a contract for energy conservation projects at 26 schools ha $684,000 bid. The board also agreed to support the County Commission in a resolution calling for removal of the Vitro tailings rather than stabilizing them on the current site. The board also sold $15 million in tax anticipation notes to continue operations until monies are received from the county. If you fail to receive your Green Sheet on Thursday morning, please call the Circulation Department, 262 6682, before 10:30 a.m Has No Uniformity Control Nears For Cable SALT LAKE. Cable televia road toward regulation at least of its installation and operation - but city officials are hesitant about forming a statewide agency to do the job. County officials note that the Salt Lake Valley is undergoing an explosion of applications for cable television franchises, but say uniformity is needed to govern its technical and fiscal aspects. Another way to deal with the problem, according to Riverton Mayor Dale F. Gardiner, would be to have each city form its own guidelines, then go to the State Legislature to seek some sort of common agreement. The subject was discussed Friday during a meeting of the County Council of Governments. The council voted unanimously to have SO. sion is on -- a subcommittee examine the options for uniform regulations. Salt Lake County legal counsel Alan Moll was also asked by COG to work on proposed minumum standards for the industry. Moll had suggested that the council create regulatory agency. a statewide Alta Mayor William' Levitt and Sandy Mayor Lawrence Smith were among COG members who expressed hesitation about putting control of cable television in the hands of the state. The council also voted in favor of West Valley City in a dispute the ci- See Housing Inside ty is having with the County Hous- ing Authority. TV In other action, the council approved an interlocal agreement between the cities and the county to maintain a special arson investigation task force. The agreement to provide $50,000 to fund a "bare bones version of the unit is subject to approval by the various councils and commissions involv- ed. The various entities concerned, according to the agreement, w ill be assessed the following to fund the unit: Murray, $2,304, Sandy, $3,492; West Jordan, $1,593; South Jordan, $567; South Salt Lake, $1,406; Riverton, $492; Midvale, S658; Draper, $434; Alta, $40; Bluffdale, $137; West Valley City, $3,873; Salt Lake City, $16,070; and the unincorporated areas of the county, $18,934. Cornwell or prolonged, thinking. That hits the nail on the head -particularly that word inconclusive. Columns often dodge all around a subject and come to a conclusion without concluding that assistant presented a report that caused some board members to want to take another look at the issue. Riches said additional teachers at all three Patricia Sandstrom said she felt the district had to start somewhere ing of alternatives often inconclusive, ball patrons were on hand concerning another matter. And they left feeling some frustrations. The issue concerned a request from parents at Hill View elementary, a cluster unit for behaviorally handicapped youngsters who are being mainstreamed into regular programs. The parents had requested that the district not reduce the staffing by one teacher at the school because of declining enrollments. Their contention is that class 6 loads which will be borderline - per class in grades four through six, are greatly affected by the mainstreaming. They brought their concerns to the board in May and the board asked the administration for a report on mainstreaming. The parents, who had also met with key administration officials, anticipated a favorable recommendation for their request. And indeed, Dr. Ted Peterson admitted that he intended to recommend that the teacher be retained. However, Dr. Ralf Riches, superintendents, costs whether GRANITE PARK. A $152 million budget built around a 45.25 mill levy gained approval from the Granite Board of Education here Tuesday night. The board scrutinized the budget before a large crowd, but the another of the Auto tram, half-to- Slttptr optional. here's a point Writers often sit for long periods of time at the typewriter without stroking a key. Sold It was a good want with just one run. Interest Is In Other Issue 33-3- rrently, 28, but we have vast admir . Crowd Turns Out For Budget Hearing Automobile Showcase Planned For Festival GRANGER. An Automobile showcase will be featured during the third annual West Valley City Fair and Arts Festival to be held at Granger park. July Categories of automobiles to be Volume . ation for the ingenious conceived it. mind that Probably that observation led - the one weve wasted three sheets of copy paper getting to. That the man who figured out movable type to begin with was a pretty smart cookie. If youre a student of history; you immediately groped into the recesses of your mind and came up with the name Johann Gutenberg. Right? Wrong. That wasnt his name. He was really Johann some public relatGansfleisch ions type suggested he take Gutenberg because it had a ring to it people would remember. to the other one -- - No, thats not true a flight of fancy. about the PR man name. its just The part not the He was born Gansfleisch. Along the way he took his mothers maiden name, Gutenberg. So the Gutenbergs became rich and famous and the Gansfleisches remained poor and obscure. Its absurd to think young Johann woke up one morning and said to the mirror, Today, Ill invent movable type. Fact is, he was a goldsmith and hadnt really paid much attention to the problem of printing books and flyers and such. Who knows? Maybe it was a topic of conversation at the beer hall or something and he began to put to use all the knowledge he had about various things. His father was a mint official, so Johann, the ungrateful clod who didnt want his Dads name, had learned to make the molds from which coins were created. And being a goldsmith, he knew something about handling soft metals. Some have observed, too, that he may have heard about the work of a Dutchman named Laurens Coster, who had also made progress on movable type. But man was thirsting for what Johann made possible. Within a couple decades, 110 printing presses were in use. In any event, Gansfleisch figured out how to create individual letters and then make a mold into which he poured pot metal which resulted in type. The press to put type on paper was a cinch he simply modified a device used to squeeze wine grapes. Ho, hum, you say? So what else is new? Hey - it wasnt as easy as it sounds and whether Johann was using his own ideas or stealing a bit from Laurens, he was doing a remarkable thing. At that time the few manuscripts in existence Today, sad but true, reading is becoming a lost art to some people. Theyre too busy watching the boob-tub- - -- were painstakingly Because there were so few of them, the populace was largely illiterate. Like some of todays college grads who did it on an athletic scholarship. hand-writte- e. But even those folks aren't immune from the printed word. TV is constantly changing the time of its programs and how can viewers find out when they'll get to see their favorite show if they cant read the schedule? Fact is, that may be the salvation of the printed word. Even when people have become knobtwisting robots constantly staring into rectangular screens, theyll have to know which number to turn to at what time. So theyll have to be able to read and tell time. Wed, back to pondering . . . |