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Show 'Get honest facts out' goal of bond opposition Opposition to the proposed bond election elec-tion by the Uintah School District was outlined at the Tuesday noon meeting of the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce as basically a desire not to increase taxes. According to school district officials, the proposed $17 million bond will increase in-crease tax about 2V2 cents for every $1,000 in assessed value. "OPEC is going to tip the world over and taxpayers are going to pick up the bill," said Charles Gray of Randlett, at the meeting. To bond for an auditorium on the westside of the county (proposed in bond issue) is "like selling the horse to buy the wagon," he said. "If anything, we need classrooms." Gray said that he had heard the school board had already negotiated to send the 9th grade in Ballard to Union High School, but Duchesne was the only thing stopping it. "I don't think the westside is getting a fair shake," Gray said. "There's no mistake why they built the elementary in Lapoint because they are going that way (sending 9th grade to Union)." Concerning the effect the bond will have in Ashley Valley, Fred Washburn, representing Citizens for Responsible Government, said the purpose of his small group of taxpayers was to make local leaders more responsible. "I don't think they (local leaders) are." He said it was the responsibility of the group to "get the honest facts and figures before the pubic." Some of their (school district's) statements are wild," he said. He said he had an accountant put a pencil to the interest and principal to be paid on the $17 million bond issue and came up with $42 million that taxpayers will have to saddle during the next 15 years, if the bond passes. Washburn didn't mention at what interest rate the bonds were figured nor a $4.3 million loan from the Community Impact Board. "We know that their enrollment figures are wrong. We have no more students than last year," Washburn said, elaborating no further on his statement. Washburn, who claimed that 60 people attended one of his group's meetings, said that since organized a lot of support has been shown to try to stir things up so people will stop and listen. Elaborating on some "off the cuff" statements by people interested in his group, Washburn said that a Vernal Express Ex-press photographer was told to stand on a chair and students at Uintah High School were alerted to crowd the halls for a picture in the paper to promote the bond. Another so-called patron of the group said his daughter was threatened to the point that she had to be taken out of school. "I find it hard to believe, some of the stories make you sick," Washburn said. Changing the subject, Washburn addressed ad-dressed the law enforcement agencies in the area another target of the group. He said there are 100 law enforcement officers of-ficers and four dispatch systems in the county which he said were too many. He urged patrolmen to walk rather than always patrol in a car. i |