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Show Lowered dance hall age protested "The trouble starts when older high school students come to junior high dances to pick up junior high girls and the younger boys try to protect their turf and fights break out." Councilman Les Fov 4 ' By PAUL CHALLIS News Editor BOUNTIFUL A routine approval ap-proval for the mayor's signature for the amendment to an ordinance regulating age limits for public dance halls recently turned into a protest from two city councilmen. Councilman Leslie Foy, who voted against the proposed change ylarch 25, along with Harold Jter, said he was more against lowering the age of those attending public dances from 16 to 14 since being contacted by PTAs from several area schools. "We were hit with this change cold, two weeks ago," Foy said. "I don't think we had a chance to study the facts. I feel more opposed to it now than I did when I voted against it." Fov said school officials and PTA groups have gone on record as opposing the age being lowered for public dance halls. "These young businessmen have car at age 14, also that junior highs don't have night dances for students and school dances can be better controlled with teachers and chaperons. chap-erons. "The trouble starts when older high school students come to junior high dances to pick up junior high girls and the younger boys try to protect their turf and fights break out," Foy added Foy said that one area principal was concerned about easy access to the freeway and that Salt Lake area kids would come to Bountiful and cause trouble at the dance hall. "I think we were very premature in approving the lower age limit and that it should be changed back to 1 6 years of age," Foy said. Councilwoman Barbara Holt, acting ac-ting as mayor pro-tern with Mayor Bob Linnell out of town, said the issue had already been approved and it wasn't tabled two weeks ago. "The amendment just needs the mayor's signature, it's already been approved," she said. SEE DANCE ON A-4 r L good morals, but what about others who come along and open similar businesses? There are no guarantees it won't be different," he said. As part of his argument Foy listed the lack of ability to drive a Dance CONTINUED FROM A-l Shaft cr also spoke against the new lowered age for dance halls and asked that category one police officers be used in the Bountiful establishment es-tablishment for chaperons and not reserve officers that might lack the proper draining to handle explosive situations that could occur. City Prosecutor Rusty Mahan said the change could be added to the new amendment for the ordinance. or-dinance. "I see it as a clean and wholesome thing for the kids of this age to do, Councilwoman Renee Coon said. "Kids that young need something to do besides movies.' Coon asked if the establishment could be closed down if problems arose and was told the amendment could be easily changed back to 16 years of age. Councilman John Cushing stood by his original statement, saying the boys deserve to have a chance to make it go. "Parents need to be responsible for their kids, not the city. The council voted 3-2 to have the mayor sign the ordinance that includes in-cludes the same curfew for Bountiful Boun-tiful youths at midnight on nights when there is no school the following follow-ing day. Shafter and Foy opposed with Cushing, Holt and Coon voting in favor of the amendment. Jeff and Jeremy Reynolds sought to change the original ordinance with the amendment to the age ordinance or-dinance from 16 to 14 and plan to open a dancing establishment at Colonial Square in Bountiful in the near future. The men argued that by lowering the legal age by two years it would increase the size of the possible clientele for their business. The Reynoldses will be hiring off-duty police officers to act as chaperons for the establishment, as required in the ordinance governing public dance halls for minors. The young entrepreneurs said the hall would be opened from 8 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The brothers had reached an agreement with police officers for safety and other concerns from law enforcement |