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Show Jones: Church & state issue hurts Utah 4 . - lit"- '"" " " tZ, ; Association, for that group's efforts in rewarding $6,000 in teacher scholarships within the Davis School District. The scholarships are designed to help educators continue con-tinue their schooling. Gail Stahle, publisher of the Davis County Clipper, was also presented with a plaque by the Chamber honoring the paper for its recent first-place award from the Utah Press Association. The Clipper has won this award the last two times it has competed DAN JONES By TOM HARALDSEN Clipper Correspondent BOUNTIFUL The perception percep-tion that Utah still has a difficult time with the concept of separation of church and state is hurting the state's chances for expansion among the nation's top companies. So said pollster Dan Jones during an address to the Bountiful Area Chamber of Commerce last week. Dr. Jones, a former Bountiful resident who now heads one of the nation's largest survey companies, said in his interviews with top Fortune For-tune 500 CEO's, there remains the feeling that the LDS Church has an unduly large influence over decisions deci-sions made in Utah, from both the private and public sectors. "The latest debate over the abortion abor-tion issue has brought many old stereotypes of Utah back to life," Jones stated. "Both the CEOs and the general public that we surveyed are well aware of Utah's abortion laws, and after more or less breaking away from this provincial image Utah has had for many years, these latest developments de-velopments have caused the issue of church and state to reappear." Nevertheless, the pollster pointed out to chamber members that the study did reveal some very positive results as well. For instance, 70 percent per-cent of the 107 CEOs surveyed said they had a positive image of the West as a whole. Jones added, "Those who've actually ac-tually been here had a much more positive view than those who had not. This tells me that we need to encourage these decision-makers to visit our state and get rid of the fables about Utah." He added that Utah's productive work force, the fact that it is a right-to-work state without a lot of union hassles, and its highly educated populace are all known and viewed by CEOs as positive reasons to consider con-sider expansion or moving of an existing ex-isting business to the Beehive State. "The religion issue is still a factor," fac-tor," Jones said. "Particularly among the Southern Baptist states," the LDS Church is viewed as a liability in moving here. Yet the very values that are instilled in Utah-honesty, love of family, education, edu-cation, etc. , are all considered among our biggest assets. So it's a Catch-22 situation." Jones added that Utah's success in attracting new businesses can also be tied to the state's willingness willing-ness to provide tax incentives. While Ut ah ' s taxes aren t considered con-sidered a drawback among most CEOs surveyed, competing states are going to big corporations with major incentive offers, including tax breaks in many cases. "Among those industries most likely to consider moving here are manufacturing and the food industry. in-dustry. Ironically, Utah is now viewed as a high-tech state, even though much of Utah County is now a second Silicon Valley," Jones stated. The survey also showed that Utah's recreational facilities, tourism and quality of education are viewed as its best assets among CEOs, while the state ranked low in areas of career advancement and social opportunities. "Among the general public of 1,500 that we also surveyed, 44 percent had misgivings about being transferred or moving to Utah, 52 percent said they felt Utahns were open to other cultures, and 62 percent per-cent said Utah has a highly skilled labor force. All of those are more positive than in previous surveys," Jones said. What can the state do to further enhance its image? Jones said that first and foremost, efforts at promotion promo-tion need to be aimed away from CEO's and at "the site selectors of these corporations." He added that an improvement in Utah's high-tech image, efforts to show that Utahns are culturally-open culturally-open and provide social opportunities oppor-tunities for all backgrounds, overcoming over-coming the image of low wages and the taking of a very strong anti-gang image are all important factors in improving Utahs success at business busi-ness attraction. Jones took time to praise the state's system of education, which he has been a part of while teaching at Bountiful High School. He praised prais-ed former Bountiful High principal Don Perkins in particular for his dedication to education. In two other chamber business items, a plaque was presented to Dan Eastman, president of the Bountiful Automobile Dealers |