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Show Twenty-Five Cents Park City's Only Locally Owned Newspaper Volume Four In a surprise move Tuesday, Alva Dearden, chairman of the Summit County Board of Commissioners, submitted his resignation. Dearden cited health problems, a desire to spend more time with his family and business and retirement plans as reasons for his decision. Commissioners Bill VVallin and Dale Leavitt, who serve on the three-man board with Dearden, learned of the resignation at the commission's weekly meeting held Tuesday. Dearden Dear-den was not present at the meeting but sent a letter informing the two remaining board members that the effective date of the resignation was Monday, December 5. Alva Dearden Wallin and Leavitt refused to accept the resignation', saying they want Dearden to remain on the commission at least until the newly elected members mem-bers take office in January. The new commission was to consist of Dearden, Dear-den, Wallin, who was re-elected, and Wendell "Dutch" Woolstenhulme. INSIDE Free Passes Page 3 Save Your Energy Page 9 D v V - ) ... 3 V r 1 j Night Cat ! j Page? I earden Quits The chairman reportedly expressed reluctance to serve the additional month but confirmation of a decision either way had not been received by press time. Dearden's letter read as follows : "Submitted herewith is my resignation as Summit County Commissioner Com-missioner effective December 5, 1978. "A number of factors have been considered in making this decision among which are personal health problems: the need to spend more time with my business; and family. I am also anxious to be able to realize some of the plans which I have made for my retirement. "I express my gratitude to all for the opportunity to have served you in this capacity." Third District Court Judge Dean Conder ruled Monday that the Park City School Board followed legal guidelines in firing former elementary elemen-tary school principal John Elwell. The decision thwarted a lawsuit brought against the school board by Elwell, who contended he had been unfairly dismissed and was seeking reinstatement and damages in excess of $50,000. "I have never tried a case where I thought I had won so overwhelmingly,'' over-whelmingly,'' Elwell's- attorney. Kathryn Collard, said Tuesday. "I was very surprised, but we intend to appeal the decision." . Ms. Collard said Judge Conder has only handed down a decision and has yet to issue a formal judgement. After the issuance, Collard has the opportunity oppor-tunity to argue the findings in the judgement. If her arguments do not bring favorable results, she has thirty days to appeal the case to the Utah Supreme Court. She said she cannot make an appeal until the judgement ' has been issued, which could take two to three weeks. The grounds for the appeal, Ms. Collard said, will be denial of constitutional rights. Ms. Collard said the school board's charges of insubordination against Elwell were upheld by Judge Conder, who cited instances that he considered con-sidered "substantial evidence" against the former principal. The judge found that Elwell had released information to the press after being ordered not to. But Collard said Elwell made statements to the media before being ordered not to. "Under the constitution, I don't think (school district superintendent) Goodworth can order him not to make statements," Ms. Collard commented. commen-ted. "He's protected by the First Am ndment They Last week The Newspaper "report ed on Resort Service's new IBM Series1 computer system. This week the local use of the more modest, but still impressive, hand calculator is examined. Pocket calculators first appeared years ago as expensive gadgets used by engineering students and businessmen. Technology has made the pocket calculator of today an ubiquitous tool affordable by anyone. Fred Stutsman, a salesman for a business machine store in Salt Lake City, says the basic four-function calculator of yesteryear costs between bet-ween $150 and $400, Today, a four-function four-function calculator with memory can be purchased for less than $15. Not only has the calculator become cheaper, it is also sleeker and smaller. '.'About 99 percent of the hardware needed in the older calculators have been eliminated with today's printed circuit board construction," says Stutsman. The first calculators used LED (light emitting diodes) readouts which drained batteries of power in 10 to 15 hours of use. Today's calculators use a liquid crystal display which can run up to 1,500 hours between battery changes. There are mini-card calculators the length and width of a credit card which can perform 26 scientific func Court Upholds School District In Elwell Case Thursday, December 7, 1978 Commission Dearden. who owns several movie theaters, said he recently acquired other out-of-state business interests but declined to elaborate on the new-business new-business or his reasons for leaving the commission. The life-long Henefer resident, whose age was given as 70, was appointed ap-pointed to the board of commissioners in July of 1973 to fill the unexpired term of Carlos Porter, w ho resigned for health reasons. Dearden was elected elec-ted to a four-year term in 197G. According to one source, the chairman chair-man had been contemplating resignation for some time due to his other interests. The source noted that serving as commissioner has been "pretty much a full time job for Alva." The judge further cited Elwell's philosophical differences with the school board and its policies. Ms. Collard said Elwell had made suggestions to the school board that apparently were not accepted, noting that this did not constitute grounds for dismissal. "These are clear First Amendment claims," Collard emphasized. Although Judge Conder determined that the school board had followed the guidelines set by the 1973 Orderly Termination Procedures Act in-firing Elwell, Collard said she was not in John Elwell agreement that the termination was orderly. She noted that the language used in the standard contract signed by Park City teachers and principals was "vague" since it stated a teacher could be fired for 'any other reason, after a full and Impartial hearing." "I think this decision shows that Utah educators have no more security than waitresses in a truck stop," Ms. ' X Lo.i 1 J Stop Using Their Own tions. Also on the market are calculators with changeable fingernail finger-nail size program cards and shirt-pocket shirt-pocket size models that give the time of day in several time zones, have four alarms, stop watch action and a lap counter besides doing the basic math functions. For all their technological beauty and labor saving advantages calculators can present a hazard. "It's unfortunate but many people rely on calculators to the point where they stop using their own heads," says Stutsman, who claims to resist the temptation of always doing his figui ing on the machines. The theme ot man losing his reasoning skills because of the availability of thinking computers has been a favorite of science-fiction writers for years. Echoing such futuristic predictions one Park City businessman says that he has become totally reliant on his Hewlett-Packard for business calculations. "It's destroyed my brain, I don't even remember my multiplication tables anymore,' he says. Probably the real danger lies not with adults interested in saving themselves them-selves from tedious math chores but youngsters who won't learn basic math skills because pushing buttons is easier. Park City's math teachers seem Pending a reconsideration by Dearden, Dear-den, Bill Wallin was appointed to serve as temporary chairman of the county commission. The Republican Central Committee now will have to submit a list of six candidates can-didates for consideration as replacements for the vacant post. The two remaining commissioners (either Wallin or Leavitt if the decision is made before January 1, or W;allin and Woolstenhulme if it comes after the first of the year) must then choose from these six. If the choice is not made within 30 days after receiving the list, the decision would be made by Gov. Scott Matheson. The appointed commissioner com-missioner would serve the unexpired two vears of Dearden's term . Collard said. "Obviously, if teachers and educators can be fired for any reason, why require school boards to adopt the orderly termination act?" Singer's Brother Talks To Governor The brother of polygamist John Singer met with Governor Scott Matheson Tuesday, November 28, in an effort to thwart future arrest attempts that could lead to violence or bloodshed. blood-shed. John Singer has been convicted of child neglect for refusing to send his seven children to public schools. He has successfully resisted arrest attempts at-tempts by sequestering himself and his family on their Marion farm for nearly a year. The most recent arrest attempt was botched by state law enforcement en-forcement agents posing as newsmen on October 19. During the incident, Singer was grabbed in his driveway by the men, but managed to wrestle himself free, allegedly drawing a pistol. That attempt has brought the possibility of violence closer to reality, and as a result, Harald Singer, John's younger brother, took it upon himself to discuss the matter with the governor. The thirty-minute meeting, held at Singer's request, included the governor, gover-nor, a lawyer friend of Singer's and Continued On Page 2 determined that their students won't substitute calculators for math skills. Says Winters School math teacher Debbie Black, "Students can use calculators for homework but on tests they have to demonstrate their ability to perform without them." Arlene Burgener, who teaches business math at Park City High School, was shocked to learn that many of her pupils didn't know their times tables. , Burgener doesn't allow students to use calculators until the third or fourth four-th quarter of her business classes. However, students in her bookkeeping and office classes do get instruction on calculator use because the instruments in-struments are now such a normal part of everyday business work. Once students have mastered the basic computational skills instructors are more lenient about calculator use. Park City High School's Don Sturges and Moose Smith both feel that use of the mini-computers by math students in trigonometry and calculus obviates the necessity of constant reference to math tables. Calculators are not necessarily a crutch for a student. Burgener points out that her seven-year-old niece has begun to learn math better, and like it, by using a "Little Professor" calculator which is programmed to test students in math. Hank Verrone enjoys some early December powder. Photo: Pat .McDowell Pass Sales Pass Last Year's Mark The Park City resort enthusiastically en-thusiastically reported Tuesday that sales of mid-week, full season and family ski passes to date have considerably con-siderably surpassed all of last year's sales. Assistant marketing manager Laura Thomas also said that between Monday and Sunday of last week, 4,900 day passes were sold, compared to 800 in the same week last year. That huge leap is attributable to the mounting moun-ting snow drifts that are inching their way skyward in Park City. Six new inches floated to the mountain moun-tain tops Monday night, bringing greater depths to Jupiter Bowl, which opened Monday. The ski patrol reported, report-ed, however, that electrical problems closed the lift to the public again Tuesday. There were no indications when the lift would be operational, but the use of auxiliary power was Businesses in Park City, like everywhere, use calculators in daily work. One of the most sophisticated desk calculators in town may be a programmable desk computer at the J.J. Johnson engineering offices. The computer transforms raw field survey sur-vey information into plotted points so that draftsmen can then trace a topographic map. Larry Eldridge, computer operations man at J.J. Johnson, says the desk-top computer can do in an hour what used to take all day for skilled draftsmen. Eldridge plans eventually to program a tape for the Number Twelve ' f ftt'.-. " -- ------ - ferrying maintenance crews to the rescue. The warm weather that brought rain to the slopes Monday night resulted in some loss of snow, and created snow conditions that caused a five-foot fracture line in one area of Scott's Bowl. The ski patrol reports that the area slid when blasted, removing fear of unstable conditions. "We are glad to see the, snow falling again today to replace what the rain washed away," Ms. Thomas said Tuesday. She added (that as conditions con-ditions permitted. Crescent chairlift and the Ski Team runs would be opened. Parkites apparently are not the only skiers aware of the good conditions on our slopes. Ms. Thomas said a tally of local lodges finds only six rooms available in the town for the Christmas Christ-mas week of December 23 to 30. Heads computer so that he can plot biorhythms. Bank employees, real estate agents and insurance agents in town use electronic elec-tronic calculators in day-to-day operations for speed and accuracybut ac-curacybut most say they are convenient, con-venient, not vital. State Farm Agent Tom Ligare says he could always do his business math computations by longhand instead of on the calculator. "It would probably take me four times as long. ..and then I would do each problem twice, just to- make sure. |