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Show TIMES - Submit a Guest Editorial or Opinion at our office, located at 538 South State in Orem. Deadlines are Monday 10:00 a.m. All submissions are subject to editing for length, and The Orem-Geneva Times reserves the right to publish or not to publish a submission. COMMENTARY O nion Page A2 Thursday, May 23, 2002 ( Editorial ) Kudos to Sio rem City Council and mys? k? mm meetings If you wanted to know more about what is going on in Orem, the place to be Tuesday night was at one of the town meetings held in neighborhoods neigh-borhoods throughout the city. The meetings, which are generally held quarterly, quar-terly, have the mayor and six councilmembers dividing up, and going out individually to meet with citizens in various locations usually schools. The mayor or councilmember is accompanied accom-panied by two city staff members normally one of the department heads, plus someone to take minutes of the meeting. , For an hour and a half, the city officials present pres-ent a slate of information on Orem and take questions and comments from the citizens. Notes are taken, and follow-up is done. The May 21, 2002 town meetings found Orem City with a full list of information to share. Topics featured in the update included the 800 North environmental study, the status of recreation recre-ation projects, Sandhill Road expansion, the Orem golf course, street light installation, and UTOPIA. The 800 North environmental study involves the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) looking at the possibility of expanding the street from a five-lane highway to seven lanes. At the town meeting he conducted at Orem High School, Mayor Jerry Washburn explained that the choice not to widen or improve the street could lead to eventual gridlock grid-lock on the thoroughfare, while the opposite choice could have equally negative effects, for area residents at least, in encouraging more interstate traffic on the highway. The mayor said bis position on the issue is to improve the road, but not widen it, and he said he has voiced that opinion with UDOT. UDOT is accepting comments until June 7 on a web site www.dot.state.ut.us800North. The city has a number of recreation projects underway at this time, including the much-publicized new outdoor pool to be built on the old SCERA pool site; the building of Canyon Park on 44 acres north of the Murdock Diversion Dam in Provo Canyon, destined to be the home of the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival; the construction of Nielsen's Grove, an historic park in southwest Orem; the completion of four new baseball fields, plus football fields at City Center Park; the skate park to be built at 1200 West and 400 North; additional facilities at Foothill Park; a shared project with Alpine School District at Orchard Park; and the Fitness Center renovation. The Sandhill Road area has had an intense history as development pressures have been brought to bear. The city has tried a number of ways to deal with the problem, including studies and a moratorium on development. Currently, an area traffic study is underway, and pre-mora-torium zoning standards are in place. Funding for improvement of Sandhill Road is expected to be available in the spring of 2005, with the federal fed-eral government picking up $2 million of an anticipated $5 million price tag. Golden Landscaping has contracted with the city to have the golf course open by spring of 2004. Some details continue to be worked out, including a wetlands exchange with the Army Corps of Engineers, and water and sewer agreements agree-ments with Vineyard. Construction of the course is expected to begin in early summer. Progress continues on the citywide street lighting program. Lights have been installed in the Cherry Hill, Scera Park, Westmore, Geneva, and Windsor neighborhoods. The Suncrest neighborhood is due to be completed by July 1 of this year. The following neighborhoods will then have the lights installed in this order. Vineyard, Orem, Bonneville North, Northridge, Sharon, Bonneville South, Hillcrest, Foothill, Cascade, Aspen, and Orchard. What is UTOPIA? UTOPIA was defined in city materials as "a cooperative organization of Utah cities designed to build a broadband fiber backbone to maximize telecommunication technology" tech-nology" Orem has committed to participating in the initial step a feasibility study. UTOPIA may be the means of bringing a fiber optic connection con-nection to every home and business in the city, and could open up broadband services to a competitive com-petitive market. In addition to touching on all of the above information, Mayor Washburn's meeting addressed a number of issues of neighborhood concern, large and small. A sheet was distributed distrib-uted outlining important water issues for the city and detailing conservation steps that can be taken. The Times believes that the mayor, council, and city staff deserve thanks for putting themselves them-selves on the line, in a sense, and being willing to meet with the public in the town meeting format. for-mat. There is much to be learned on both sides in the give-and-take exchange. Utah Valley Elder Quest of the Center for Lifelong Learning at Utah Valley State College is composed of some 200 local senior citizens, many of whom are involved in recalling and writing down their memories and life experiences, such as the one presented here. - Our Elder Quest Memories - By Richard Rasmussen Sparest tDiwde Captain, U.S. Navy, Retired We have heard of the Unspoken Divide: Sometimes, the Divide is Spoken. Back from Korea, many of my compatriots went homo for. two weeks of well earned leave. Gordon Sherwood, Commanding Officer of our Dive Bombing squadron, died tragically of Infectious Hepatitis, while on leave in his home town of Salt Lake City. Seventy-five pilots and crew flew by Navy Transport to Salt Lake City , in order to pay final respects and attend the funeral. funer-al. We were taken up to the NROTC Unit at the University of Utah for orientation, apparently appar-ently to be told to be circumspect circum-spect and to behave in this The Orcm-Ccneva Times 538 South State Street Orem, UT 84058 published by The Daily Herald, A I'ulit.tr Newspaper Subscriptions & Delivery Service 375-5103 News & Advertising 225-1340 Fax 225-1341 Email (rcmlinies((nclirld.ciiii USPS 41 1-711. Published Thursdays by Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc., 538 South State Street, Orem, Utah 84058. Periodicals postage paid at Orem, Utah 84059. Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 65, Orem, UT 84059. Member Audit Bureau of Circulations NEWSSTAND PRICE $0.50 SUBSCRIPTION RATE 1 year - $18 (in area) 1 year - $39 (out of area) NEWS We welcome news tips. Call 225-1 225-1 340 to report a news tip or if you have a comment or a question. We welcome letters to the editor. All letters must include the author's name (printed AND signed) and a telephone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, punctuation, taste and length. Letters are welcome on any topic. Utah Mormon Country. Hardly necessary, we thought, in view of our mood of mourning and because of the sad and solemn occasion. Thought, sometimes, to be boyish, bell-bottomed rogUesAve were, seriously and; sincerely, sefttimeTital sailors. : One need not be a cynic to; see the irony of one to survive air combat, with it's excitement, excite-ment, danger, courage and heroism and then to die, igno-miniously, igno-miniously, in a hospital bed. I was the only LDS member in the group and stayed, somewhat some-what incognito. The briefer, a young officer, had been in and acquainted with Utah for about a year. He spoke less of behavior behav-ior qualms, but mostly of the new Utah language we should learn. It was not too different from the way we had learned a new language, when we first joined the Navy. For example: "You hit the sack at night instead of going to bed and you hit the deck in the morning. You go up to the O three deck and not three floors up- by ladder lad-der and not by stairway. Likewise, you go below and not downstairs. You walk the gangway, gang-way, not the hall. You batten the hatch, not lock the door. Spit, if you must, to the leeward- never to the windward unless you close your eyes. "" You go to the head, when necessary, not to the toilet. You but your head against the bulkhead- not the wall. Go to the bow or the forecastle deck, not the front and to the stern, the fantail or the spudlocker- not behind." Our Salt Lake briefer was quite precise. "Commander Sherwood's funeral is at the Stake House. That is not a restaurant and don't try to get a drink there. Friends from his Ward are not those who were near him in the hospital or from nearby voting precinct. The Stake is the Diocese; the Ward is a Parish or Congregation Mormons testify when they have gone without food and are hungry; not, necessarily, neces-sarily, in court. Home teachers do not home teach the kids; the check up on the parents. The funeral speaker is Matthew Cowley. He works for the Church. He's not the Governor or the Mayor of the Chief of Police; and he's not really a general. The Relief Society manages the flowers and the food, but they are not a charity like the Salvation Army or the. . Red Cross." The briefer made his last point with emphasis, "The Meeting House is not where you go to pick up girls." The funeral was both sad and impressive. The Air Group Commander, Arthur Downing, said a few words. Unreligious, he spoke Navy Jargon, "After two combat tours, where he distinguished dis-tinguished himself by demonstrating demon-strating courage, skill and leadership, lead-ership, Commander Gordon Sherwood would have been ordered to some comfortable shore station- like the Pentagon or Naples or Miami, but, as we say in the Navy, 'His orders have been changed' - in this case, by the one who commands com-mands us all." Having grown up in Zion-but Zion-but not a Zionist- I thought how unique the languages are! Dear Editor: A British authorhistorian wants to meet descendants of the English Suffolk and Colchester Paxman families. Professor Andrew Phillips of Colchester Institute in England is competing a history of the Paxman families of Colchester and their Suffolk ancestors, Robert and Mary Hudgson of Framlingham, Ashfield, and Sweffling. James Noah Paxman stayed in Colchester, established a machine industry, and was Mayor of Colchester. His son, James Noah Paxman II came to Utah and has descendants in Salt Lake area. Other family members settled in American Fork and Nephi. William and Ann Rushen Keys Paxman settled set-tled in American Fork followed by Henry and Esther Emeline Paxman Cullum and Martha Paxman Cullum, and John and Eleanor Paxman Tracey. John and Elizabeth Paxman Thorpe settled in Boston, Massachusetts. Cousins also came to Utah: David Paxman, George Paxman, and Arthur Paxman settled in St. George and Eureka. Rhonda Paxman Dye settled in Uintah, Weber County. Professor Phillips will be researching in Utah in late June and will share and receive information at a 3:00 p.m. meeting on June 22, 2002 at Wildwood Resort in Provo Canyon. Contacts can be made through Craig W. Paxman (801) 942-7857 or Monroe Paxman (801) 377-5311; sbpmjpmymailstation.com 135 East 200 North, Provo Utah 84606. mm m Due to the Memorial Day holiday, our deadline for news & advertising has been changed to 9:00 a.m. Tuesday for the May 30th edition of the OremLindon Times. Items need to be brought to the OremLindon Times at 538 South State Street, Orem. Entries may be edited for length and content. If ycii have any questions please call our office at 225-1340 wuity and &uUng, Tl Uiioffi apanogos Green Clyde E. Weeks Jr. 2002 Memorial Day Memories Remembering those lives who bravely faced The future under Timpanogos Green, We garland every grave beneath the Mount. Memorial Day, we savor and we taste The memories we treasure, though unseen, " Of blooms and blessings: more than we can count. The precious people who have lived their lives Among us: their influence still survives! Remember Dean and Bertha for the food They served, along with hospitality. B.M. and Ruth who pioneered and blessed This town as civic leaders, wise and good. And Jack and Dona's geniality That tackled every journalistic test. n Timpanogos Green the graves are deep Enough to hold the tears of them that weep! Revere the teachers here: Parlell and Ruth; J. Ervel, Boyd and Chester; Sanky, too. Remembered for the lessons which they taught: The teachers who once lionized the truth. Moroni, Wilford, George and Roy who grew Their orchards, fair as any beauty-spot. This land proclaims the luster of their lives, As all the good they ever did survives! The city fathers: J. Will, Ike, LeGrand; And Ray, Luzell and Emil represent The ones who built a city from this town. How many times they gave a helping hand! In Nineteen forty-three, without dissent. This Timpanogos Green achieved renown. Secluded, just beneath the Mighty Mount, The graves are, now, too numerous to count! How many blossoms on the freshest mounds Were Chick and Mildred's lovely floral sprays? How many special songs did Helen sing? One wonders how the funeral service sounds To one deceased. Does everyone who prays Feel comforted, or wan and wondering? Few people seem to know just when or why The moment may arrive for them to die! For some, they give their all in war. The names Of Grant and Joe and Russ and Robert gleam From solemn slabs. Old Glory fans the breeze. Each year, as pride and patriotic flames Burn brightly. Ever, let us claim the dream They won for us, while fighting overseas! We garand every grave beneath the Mount With blooms and blessings: more than we can count! So, keep alive the memories, serene, , Enshrined here under Timpanogos Green! |