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Show 2 THE GREEN SHEET Thursday, January 7,1988 U DO w City Governments Really Are For, By And Of The People and Editorial . . . Government of the people, by the peofor the people. ple Those hallowed words were on the minds, of many this week as new city councilmen, and in the case of two Green Sheet area cit- some responsibility for good government. Part of that was carried out when we went to ies, mayors, took the official oath of office. the polls in November, but it does not end Most delivered brief remarks, with several there. commenting on the importance of government being of, for and by the people. They If we are to give the input to our elected ofpledged their best efforts to meeting that ficials that insures government by, for and of lofty goal. At least one, a new Murray City council- man, gave a very realistic view of his new responsibilities. He told the assembly that he firmly believes in the government belonging to the people. He recognized that he was elected to represent not only those who supported him, but also those who did not. These new city councilmen and those who continue in their service face a sometimes thankless task. Many of the decisions they will be called upon to make will be unpopular with at least some of those they represent. Another Murray official, being sworn in for a second term, told the members of the public who had gathered that among the many things she owed residents was a listening ear. "I may not always agree with you, but it is my responsibility to listen to what you have to say, she stated. Finally, another Green Sheet area city councilman pointed out that the public bears the people, we must be adequately informed. We cannot deal in knee-jer- k reactions. We must make an effort to see the common need. It was clear in each of the Green Sheet area communities Monday and Tuesday that those who assumed office as well as those who continue in office are citizens who should be commended for their willingness to serve. Theirs is a thankless task. Monetary rewards are small. Theres always someone critical of their efforts. The Green Sheet salutes those who took that solemn oath this week to serve to the best of their ability, to uphold the Utah Constitution and to devote the time and energy necessary to accomplish the task. We also salute those who stepped aside for a variety of reasons. Murray, West Valley, Midvale, West Jordan, Sandy, Riverton and South' Jordan are all better places to live because of their efforts. Keep That Salt Coming, It Could Save Your Life been sanded, it didnt do one iota of good. The roadway was a white sheet of compacted snow and ice. The roadway went down and then closed. up onto the other freeway. Which was slicker than the local roads Two inches certainly wont do had been. I suddenly knew why the trick. A foot might not even be the television stations had been sufficient. showing so much footage of traffic Anyway, my uncle said we accidents and I fervently hoped should leave a few minutes Hughs wouldnt be the earlier than we had planned to. next one. At that point I didnt That did make sense. Since the even worry about the flight. It flight originated in Portland, was quite obvious that sand does there was little chance it would be not do the trick. It improves late. So I hadnt better be. I traction some, but docs nothing to That sounded pretty ridiculous to me. I can count on one No, no. Not on my meat and hand the number of times our potatoes-- .. Im a pepper freak-- . L local schools? have been Keep pouring on that salt. - leave the salt to those whose blood pressure is more ' stable than mine. But I love that salt on the roads. You dont know how good weve got it until you visit someplace where they dont do things the same way we do. Which is probably just about everywhere in the world. Now Ive become used to driving in the winter. Weve had some whoppers and Ive been caught in my share of them. Ive also been accident. I in one weather-relate- d wasnt hurt, but the car suffered. Although I feel some butterflies when I look out and see a winter wonderland, I worry more about getting stuck than I do about an accident. early-mornin- g flight the winds died down and there was a snow storm. There was no more than two inches on the ground and I thought nothing of it. Until I turned on the radio and heard the disc jockey comment that it was a good thing it was vacation time and the schools were closed, or they would be anyway. I must admit, after sitting through an hour or so of verbal assaults, I began wondering how this story could be written so the readers wouldn t think it was fiction. The general concensus of the reporters Davis and Hayward present was that if Newton, each other or have admire didnt down really deep each other, there might be some kind of fondness for a few physical attacks taking place. Statements like, "Hes just trying to protect his turf," "He changes his and position more often than I change my shirt, others were flying around with such frequency you didnt know whether to laugh or wonder if you were soon leaving the Twilight Zone for the real world. That brings me to West Valley City Planning Commission. If Roberts could see that, I thought a couple weeks ago, he would want to rewrite his own government meetings is fun, and interesting. Most of the time that is. Oh, there are the boring times, the interesting times, the humorous times and the downright hilarious times. This past year has been no exception. Sometimes you sit through hours' of talk and wonder how in the world youre going to get even three inches of copy out of it all. Sometimes you wonder how you can get too much good copy boiled down into a manageable story length. And then, as has happened many times during the last year, you find yourself wondering how youre going to make what you just heard understandable to your readers and at the same time youre sui;e they wont believe it anyway, because you can hardly believe it yourself. One of the most fascinating things Ive found in covering meetings this last year is the conduct, or in some cases the conduct, of the meetings. Now, there once was, as I understand it, a Covering gentleman whose last name was Roberts, who put down in written form the procedures he thought would make meetings more manageable. The book, as you may or may not be aware, is called "Roberts Rules Of Order. It contains the proper procedures for conducting meetings and such other things as how votes are to be taken, tallied and reported. Supposedly, meetings are to be conducted under these rules and everything will move along smoothly and civilly. Many of the government meetings in the valley are conducted under some form or other of these rules, but the varying methods have been something else. The conduct of meetings Fve witnessed this past year have ranged from those that would make Roberts roll over in his grave to conduct that, I have imagined, would make Roberts want to consider rewriting the book because the meeting has turned into an absolute hoot. During the Sandy City Council meetings, the style is very laid back. Oh, there is a chairman, but for the most part its "let it all hang out," you might say. You have something to say, audience or fellow councilman? Speak up, man. Tired of talking about the subject at hand or another train of thought enters your mind? Thats ok too. Just speak up. When everyone has reached verbal exhaustion, then well take action. Then somewhere in the middle (just where Im not sure) youll find the Council of Governments mv.i "meeting.'" I didnt have the pleasure of attending too many of those, but I must say; the ones I did attend were "something else." Slightly more order, except for the fact one was left wondering if war was going to break out at any moment. One particularly memorable meeting saw South Salt Lake Mayor Jim Davis, County Sheriff Pete Hayward and Sandy Mayor Steve Newton going the rounds about the new 911 emergency system and proposals to consolidate dispatching functions. Very few "Request to speak Mr. Chairman" or anything like it were heard. If you were to come into the room in the middle of the discussion, you might wonder what kind of war you had walked in on. all-o- . book. A fellow reporter and I were sitting there as the commission attempted to pass a motion. "I think I should add something to my motion," one said during the course of the commissioner discussion. "That means," the chairman said, "we will have to have a motion to amend the motion." Thereafter, the discussion went something like this, as far as I was able to reconstruct it afterward: "Is there a motion to amend the motion?" ' "Ill make that motion." "Is there a second?" "Second." "I can go along with the amendment if youll make a slight change," said another commissioner. We now have a motion to amend the amendment to the motion." "Ill second it." The original motion maker asked, "Cant I just wipe out my first motion and start over?" "No, we have to vote on the amendment, but first we have to vote on the amendment to the amendment." At this point in time, my fellow reporter and I were staring at each other with disbelief in our eyes, and questioning looks on our faces. "No one would ever believe this," I told him, "even if I managed to sort it all out and get it written." I decided to wait and see what the bottom fine was, if they ever got to it. Eventually, they must have, because I heard the chairman say something like, "The amendment to the amended motion has passed. Now well vote on the amended motion." After a few more minutes of this, the chairman said, "The motion has passed. Any questions?" My colleague and I Jooked at each other again, trying to restrain the laughter building up inside. Yes, we said to each other almost simultaneously, Just what in the world did they just do? and we could contain our laughter no longer. Now folks, its the holiday season. The preceeding, while it truly did take place, was designed to take a d little poke at some fine people in this valley, who sometimes take themselves a little too seriously and at other times not seriously enough. As I said, covering government is fun - most of the time. There is sure a lot of variety, though. light-hearte- -- -- Ray Friess Letters Good Samaritan Thanked I think one of the keys to successful winter driving might be confidence in our ability to do so. But youve got to tip your hat to those guys who go out in the snowplows and make our driving as safe as possible. To them and whoever recognized that salting the roadways would save lives and hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage. Last week I was due to return to Salt Lake from Portland, Ore. The previous day there had been one of those ice storms. Rain falls from the sky and because of the Columbia Rivers piercing winds, freezes immediately upon contact with the ground. As you might imagine, it creates a fearsome black ice situation. The night before my scheduled Roberts' Rules Are Getting Some Very Interesting Treatment Dear Editor: Sincerely, Harold & Alberta Henry certain age Christmas means West Valley When you reach a only three things. 1. A time of reflection on the goodness of God for his many blessings. 2. A remembrance of Christmases long ago when you were young. 3. And, the pleasure wasnt, but no thanks to the remove the problem. I suppose Oregon Highway Dept. That two theres road damage caused by inches of snow created tnore havoc than six times that much does here. The local roads were a bit slick, as ours often are. The freeway was even slicker. Now keep in mind the snow had stopped a couple of hours earlier. The roads had been sanded. Fortunately, my uncle, a former school bus driver, has lived in Montana and knew how to negotiate slick roads. But I still dont know how he made it through one area where several cars were stopped to put on chains and trucks were simply parked. It was where one freeway merges into another. If it had salt and its wise to have your car undersealed. But believe me, its worth it. Hugh put the car in neutral, it slid down one hill and somehow climbed the next and we were on the freeway. He crept between a few more of those people who are afraid to move on a slick road and suddenly we we"? in the clear. We arrived at the very unbusy airport right on time. So did the crew and I assume most of the other passengers. If not, we left without them, not one minute late. The only thing I could think of as I got into my own car, was a hearty salute to the Utah State Highway Dept, and our local road crews. Please pass the salt. This movie won an Emmy for the most repeats. Samaritan who gave two senior citizens a special Christmas gift of love. of watching new young childrens excitement and joy as they dream of Santas visit bringing them lots of toys. But this Christmas was different for my husband and I, when we received a Christmas gift that was a surprise and a blessing we shall never forget. A West Valley resident anonymously shoveled our large comer area sidewalks and our driveway after the largest snowstorm we have had this year. We had no idea of how we were to accomplish this job at our age. Our thanks and appreciation to that good The Green Sheet welcomes contributions to both Letters to the Editor and "As i See It. " Letters should be confined to a length of 250 words or less and not contain libelous comments. They must be but the writers name will be withheld for signed, adequate cause. We welcome lengthier correspondence for possible use as "As I See It commentaries. Primary consideration will be given to those submitted by people with expertise in the topic about which they write. A brief description of that expertise should accompany the submission. All submissions are subject to editing for space and clarity. They may be addressed to: The Green Sheet, P.O. Box 7 187, Murray, Utah 84107. |