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Show Gnfi)AA)AG Review Wednesday, April 22; 1992 Page 2 Editorial Vote Yes' for The Alpine School District cannot continue con-tinue to teach our ever-growing student population without enough classroom space in which to teach those students. After years of making do with available avail-able space, and creating space where none exists with portableunits and innovative inno-vative scheduling, he seams of our local schools are coming apart. New schools are desperately needed. And the proposal to build two new junior high schools - one in Orem and one in American Fork will probably do the most good to ease crowding on the junior high level throughout the district. That is why it is imperative that voters approve at the polls next Tuesday the proposed $30 million bond to build those schools. It is also imperative to approve the two mill voted leeway at that election to give the financial support needed for the new schools. Asking voters to support both of these election issues calls for a new approach to education by patrons of the Alpine School District. Patrons have not supported sup-ported previous bond elections when passing the bond meant an increase in Caucuses begin process Local voters will get their first opportunity to participate in the political process Monday night when Voting District Caucuses are held throughout Utah to select delegates for upcoming county and state party conventions. And maybe their last. The delegates selected Monday will determine who will and who won't be placed on the primary ballot in the state of Utah at both conventions. They will shape the political process in ways that are seldom witnessed by the general public - and yet they often determine who will hold office in a manner that is more decisive than the general election. The district caucuses are a significant part of Utah's political process and offer an opportunity to become involved at the "grass roots" level. Attend Monday night's caucuses (starting at 7 p.m.) and help make a difference in this year's general election for the county, state and national offices that will ultimately be determined in November. I may soar through sky, but only in my dreams I saw it as I rounded the corner. A bright blue and yellow tower of metal, a gigantic "T" bringing to mind launch pads and rockets rock-ets and things that fly. It was the new bungee tower I've heard talk of at the office. A few months ago, in Logan, my 16-year-old son dove off one of those, and flew, if only for seconds. I watched on the ground, as envious as I was paralyzed. He walked over to me breathlessly unbuckling un-buckling his gear. "Mom, it's so great," he said. I know, I thought. I can fly, too. Most people have recurring dreams of some kind. I am one of the lucky ones given to nocturnal flying. Every few months I am light, soaring, breezy, and free; I have no harness, no unwieldy wings, no confining airplane. With confidence and skill I swim through the air like a fish through water. It is a world of zeniths and zephyrs, so real I wake up light-headed and reckless. Too soon, I remember who I am. Not just a heavy, earth-bound creature, but a coward, cow-ard, a scaredy-cat, a wimp. It's not heights I'm afraid of. Just a year ago I stood serene on top of Empire State Building and admired the view. staircase and placidly looked out her crown. ' It's not flying, either. I took my first airplane ride cuddled in a sky cradle on a Pan Am prop, 22 hours across the Pacific Ocean. I've been a relatively calm, happy passenger on planes, large and small, ever since. ' .- " If s guts I lack. The boldness to barrel down an icy mountain, the fortitude to fling myself off the high-dive, even the chutzpah to step on a roller coaster. Like the cowardly lion, I ain't got the noive. My brother, who takes people parasailing at Lake Tahoe, says I should try it He says even people in wheel chairs can do it. Ladies in high heels and 2 inch fingernails go up. Depres sion continues to plague many You can't always tell -the person who seems most cheerful in your presence might be a "closet depressive." Doctors can be fooled when symptoms of depression are camouflaged by a smiling smil-ing face. Parents, who should be in the best position to recognize early symptoms of depression, often dent. The most recent study by the New York State Psychiatric Institute affirms that one in four Americans may have multiple symptoms of depression at some time in their lives and that most sH such are treatable before they become a life-threatening life-threatening disorder. Early symptoms include sleep or appetite appe-tite problems, guilt, fatigue, lack of interest inter-est in sex.' -1 And this is strange: Moat suicide attempts at-tempts eventuate from lesser symptoms: Lese-depreeaed patients account for 26 percent of suicide attempts; major-depression patients 23 percent, v . tfinor depression also accounts far most lost work days than dam mijor rtanreasiiin Ti Wf frm and rnrtfMTTi school bond taxes. Nor have Alpine patrons ever approved ap-proved a voted leeway. But Alpine patrons have continued to send their children to a public education system that spends less per pupil than any other district in the state -- and expected to get a quality education in the process. Tuesday's election gives Alpine patrons pa-trons the opportunity to give the school district, and the schools, the kind of support they are going to need if local public education is going to meet the growing demands of our youth. The small amount of money each family fam-ily will be asked to spend to pay bapk the bond and to support the voted leeway represents far less that what we spend every year on trivial things. A facility for the education of the next generation is not a trivial thing. In fact, there probably is nothing for which we pay taxes that is more important. impor-tant. Let's get out Tuesday and support both the bond election and the voted leeway to help build and support the schools our growing numbers of children are going to need. Squibs & CracExers By JANICE GRAHAM You don't even get wet. It sounds good over the phone, but I have a feeling there might be a certain amount of gumption involved. Too bad. . : Despite years of coaxing me down waterslides, my husband remains undaunted un-daunted in his efforts to instill in me a sense of adventure. If s always something along the line of, Tve signed up for hang gliding lessons! Wanna go? Get ready, weVe going river running. This is it, Jan. You're gonna love rappelling." Sure. Stephen's latest idea has me wishing more than ever I had enough moxie to join him. His secretary has friends who run a sky diving school. She says it's fantastic. For 50 bucks they teach you the fundamentals; fundamen-tals; not only how to pack and put on a chute, but how to control it and land. They train you with practice jumps from a platform, and then provide you with one safe, glorious sail through space. -. "Theyespeciallycatertopeoplelikeyou," my husband assured me. I said, "You mean the kind that won't even get out of the car?" "Go flying with me," Stephen pleaded, that unmistakablegleam of the thrill-seeker in his eyes. In your dreams, dear. Paul C 1M1 Los Angeles Times Syndicate bQlion a year. - The University of Oklahom a, in a separate sepa-rate study, determined that most physicians physi-cians do not recognize depression in their patients. 'Only about half of the patients who enter a primary care clinic suffering depression are accurately diagnosed by a physician." ' The physician should be alerted by any unusual increase in office visits. Also by such symptoms as headache, abdominal pain, backache, insomnia and fatigue. And smoking. v . - The National Institutes of Mental '4 A letter to my Here we are, just two days away from your wedding. Your eyes are shining, your excitement is catching, you have a little tension headache, and we both hope we have not forgotten something important. As each of your brothers and sisters have been married, you were there helping me out any way you could. You have always had a fine eye for detail antf enjoyed doing the little things which sometimes can be tedious te-dious for a mother. Now, here we are at the eve of your very own wedding, and you have taken care of the little details, and the big details, in such an organized way that it has been pretty . stressless to get ready for the big day. You are our baby. The last born and the last to leave the nest and go out into the big world, hand in hand with Lane, to begin your own traditions, your own family, and your own career and your own destiny. I remember the day you were born, the very last Saturday in January, and how the doctor hoped you would be born in time for him to go to the University of Utah basketball basket-ball game that night. You were. And ever since then you have cooperated in every way, just like you did with Dr. Smith that evening, and made life very pleasant whereever you went. You were such a good baby that I was convinced God had sent you to us with such a pleasant personality and such contentment content-ment because he knew I was a harried mother with four other little children to watch over, I believe that to this day. We watched you fight back from what could have been termed a tragedy, with a happy disposition, a love of life, and a smile on your face. .. You had to learn to walk all over again, Election may Monday night, April 27, the election will be all but over. Citizens all over the state will gather in schools, homes and civic buildings to select voting district officers . and delegates who will then face the voters this fall. Republicans in Pleasant Groye, Lindon, Manila and Cedar Hills will meet Monday night in the Pleasant Grove High School at 7 p.m. Democrats will meet in various homes in the community. i; - People who attend need only be a resi-dent resi-dent of the area and qualified to vote in the November election. You do not need to be a registered voter. It is hoped that citizens will turn out in mass to prevent any fecial interest group from dominating tnelkeetings, but more importantly because citizens have -a responsibility re-sponsibility to be a part of the process that makes the American system of government work. Republicans will have ah opportunity to respond to a series of questions on vital issues. ; John Valentine, who represents the southern half of Pleasant Grove, and Lindon, will run unopposed. Don LeBaron decided to run for the senate and a fellow from Highland filed for his house seat. David Harvey will be opposed in his bid to be reelected to the Alpine School Board. Every candidate is being inundated with questions about education. People are genuinely genu-inely concerned about the welfare of their children and the schools their children attend. at-tend. In a recent report given to the Board of Regents, grim statistics indicate that students in Utah are slipping. More than 50 percent of high school graduates who enter Utah Valley Community Commu-nity College must take remedial classes in one or more basic subjects. A recent survey taken by parents at American Fork High School claims the dropout rate is 25 times higher than that published by the district in January of this year. After receiving pressure from residents in Orem and American Fork, district officials offi-cials decided that junior high schools with 2,000 students are too big and decided to ask the people for more money to build two new junior high schools. Last year the district dis-trict purchased property near Pleasant Grove Junior High School and the superintendent superin-tendent began campaigning for what is called a "seventh grade center." . Registered voters will have an opportunity opportu-nity Tuesday, April 28, the day after political politi-cal caucuses are held, to vote yes or no on Alpine School District's special election for Health ascertainedarelationship between ' smoking and mental health. Among 704 patients diagnosed with depression, 472 were smokers and 232 were not. In multiple separate measurements, depressives, by a ratio of two-to-one, are most likely to be smokers. , ', Dr. Michael Parchman of the University Univer-sity of Oklahoma, says, "Depressed patients pa-tients need a ticket to get into the physician's office. They can't just call and say that they are blue' or that they are -'crying much of the time Also there is still a social stigma attached to going to a psychiatrist. So they go instead to a primary pri-mary eare physician to get help and those primary care physicians must learn to diagnose depression." -k - Depression is sometimes a chemical imbalance and it is just as valid a disease as diabetes or hypertension. Parents, teachers and trusted friends should be first to recognize a pattern or persistent complaints. Every day's news tells as) of tragic . endings of young lives whose friends did not listen or did not heed what they heard. .. daughter on IPG BDGOla) By MARCELLA WALKER but it was no battle for you, you took it in stride. You read before you went to kindergarten. kindergar-ten. I remember that we had told you that you could go to school when you were five. . The day you turned five you got up and got ready to go to school. Fll never forget the disappointment on your face when I had to tell you that you couldn't go to school until the fall after you turned five. That must have seemed forever to you. When you did start kindergarten, you were sometimes allowed to read a story to the children at the beginning of rest time. You loved that. A .. It was tough being "Little Sister" and .none of the other kids wanted you trailing along. Thank goodness, you had Laura and .Jennifer to play with. You were a good student in elementary, junior high and high school and I never had any teachers complain about your behavior All too soon you graduated from high school afterkeepingus well entertained for two years when all of your other siblings were married or away to college. We loved having your friends in the house, and watching the antics of the "Waterbed Gang," your troupe of best friends. You accepted the scholarship to Snow College and that began probably the funnest be over after PeopDe, PoDittiies & PoDicy By E. MARK BEZZANT a proposed $30 million bond and 2 mill tax increase. Nebo Schdbl District is asking its citizens for t$16 million. There are a lot of unanswered questions. Notmuchhasbeensaidabouthowtheextra $6 to $10 million will be spent with the money that is left over after building the two junior high schools. Nor has anyone said much about the kinds of schools that will be built. Pleasant Grove got burned once when the junior high was built with open classrooms. If the bond passes, Pleasant Grove and Lindon children will no longer attend the same junior high, Lindon students who have historically been associated with Pleasant Pleas-ant Grove kids will now attend with Orem students in the new junior high where, property has already been purchased. Pleasant Pleas-ant Grove Junior High School will be the largest junior high school in the district after the new schools are built, v Not much has been said about long-term growth. For example, planners estimate Pleasant trove will one day be a city of about 45 00 people, Would it be better to keep the. Lindon and Pleasant Grove kids together? ; It has been said that even though middle schools are a good idea, Alpine School District Dis-trict can't afford to build them. At the price NeboSchoolDistrictispaying.Alpinecould build four middle schools for $32 million. The sad part is that the overcrowding has been allowed to reach such a crisis stage at American Fork Junior High School and Canyon View Junior High School that children chil-dren at clearly at risk. The people in those communities have said that enough is enough. No more productivity pro-ductivity models. No more seventh grade centers. They want smaller, manageable ILGGGGFG G ttCDG GClOGOI? New schools are sorely needed Editor: To the parents of Alpine District I write this letter out of concern. Do we, you and L truly care about our children's , education? For the past eight years the parents of Alpine District have not passed a voted leeway. For eight yean the children in our district have gone without. - We are already one of the lowest funded districts in the state of Utah. How can we . " expect our children to keep up or even maintain? Thanks to great teachers, administrations ad-ministrations and great parents we have done OK, but our schools sorely lack many 'essentials that would give our children a ; fighting chance in gain ing a leading edge to compete in the challenging world ahead of them.- . - ; How many more students can we stuff in? One out of every five students is housed Policy on letters to the editor T7e welcome letters to the editor. All letters showld be typewritten and denble spaced. Letters anst also be signed, and nwst lae!i the writer1 name and telephone nei&ber. rieooe send letters to Ullior, NewUi I.rn Creep, P.O. Cox 7, Anericaa Fork, UUh, UZZZ. her wedding jj two years of your life so far. The novelty of getting your first apartment, your first roommates, your first college experience and all the rest, was very entertaining for us, to say the least. ' ; , We nearly split with laughter at you told of some of the things that happened in that apartment, the unknown green things grow ing in the fridge and the parties that went on forever. , You did things with mom and dad that other kids wouldn't have done because you . were waiting for a missionary and we really enjoyed having you with us. Your final decision on what you wanted , to do with your life career-wise pleased us and we are thrilled that one of our children chose to be a teacher. Youll be glad you did and you will be a great teacher. We are very pleased with your choice of a mate and feel like he is one of the family. Even though you are getting married and moving into your own tiny apartment, you will always be welcome to stop in for a visit and for a meal, especially when you are waiting for payday. As each of our children have gotten married, mar-ried, we did not feel like we had lost a child, but that we had gained a new child. We love our in-laws like our own. Our home will be quieter, and we will miss the laughter and' nojse of the young people, but it won'tbe for long spells. Everyone Every-one stops in regularly and the grandchildren grandchil-dren make life wonderful for us. We want you to do the same. . And so as you embark on life's newest adventure, remember how much we love you, how proud we are of what you stand for and what you have accomplished, and come home often. And, most of all, be happy. Love, Mom Monday schools period. Kids aren't just falling through the cracks. They are dropping out. One survey showed that only 25 percent of children who get off track in junior high graduate from high school on time. So how much is one of these kids worth? If it were your child or grandchild, what' price would you put on the child and his or her education, which often makes or breaks a child. One million? Five million? Thirty million? If it is your child, no price is too high. Alpine's business manager, Jack McKelvy, estimates that if the tax increase passes, a person with a $75,000 house will pay $18 more per year in property taxes. Ciie report indicated that, on the average, aver-age, every high school drop out costs the tax payersoveronemillionbucks.Even Alpine's drop out figures that is over $47 million. Multiply that by 25 if you use the statistics gathered by parents at American ForkHigh School. By any measure, education is an investment and ultimately a savings to the taxpayer, and taxpayers want the most for their investment.. Teachers like Bill Anderson, Rick Lewis, Kevin Pedersen and parents who testified at the district meetings had the real answers an-swers because they are the closest to the problems and the solutions. District officials offi-cials would do well to really listen to them and others like them. Give them time, lots of time, for input before one blueprint is approved or one brick is laid, shbuld the bond and tax increase pass. It might not hurt Alpine to boflSbw a quote that hangs on many walls in another smaller district. It goes like this, "Without vigil, an organization will tend to serve itself more and more, while servingless and less that purpose for which it was organized. orga-nized. This tendency increases with size..." The purpose for which Alpine District was organized is to serve all the children we have, not the ones we wish we had. With this in mind, districtofficials might remember that the two million dollars they spent on distric offices they called an education edu-cation center would have gone long way toward building the classroom wing at the. high school that was promised. In addition, students will be trying to learn in classrooms class-rooms where the temperature is ovej,90 degrees, while administrators sit in air conditioned offices. in trailers. The trailers are saving us welL If not one new student moved into our district and we had approximately 6000 students move out, we would be able to retire our trailers and be at the regular capacity of each school. To close school would require another 650 students to move out , ".; Do we need new schools? Yes, we need new schools. ;-. , I would hope that each parent would vote on Tuesday, April 28, for the Voted Leeway Bond Election. Let's put our differences aside and decide that the children in Alpine District need to see that education is a top priority in their lives. Let's show them we care. - - . -Marilyn Kofford . PTSA President and longtime mteer to cotes? soosgr seas |