OCR Text |
Show OREM GENEVA TIMES Thursday. April 20, 2006 r J i the w i' -I f -1 , ; Page 2 NEWS AND NOTES TO" KEEP YOU INFORMED AND INVOLVED a emors to serve Reva Bowen One of the tx-autios ol the Retired and Senior Volunteer lYogram, believes director (iayla Muir, is that it allows senioi citizens oport unities to serve each other and the youth of the community com-munity RSVP is part of the National Senior Service Corps, which "provides programs pro-grams that help adults age 55 and older find volunteer opportunities that make a difference and help strengthen their communities, the public, and nonprofit agencies." according to a press release on the program Muir said that 1, 100-1. 500 volunteers serving in the Mountamland RSVP, which covers Utah. Summit, and Wasatch Wa-satch Counties, average about 150,000 hours a year at 120 volunteer stations. Many of the stations are schcxils. where the senior volunteers are grandparent grand-parent figures. Muir said, who perform tasks such as helping children to read. "About half of the RSVP volunteers are at the senior centers." Muir said. "They love to serve each other." Muir thinks that as more and more members of t he baby boom generation retire, the program will probably see an infusion of boomers who want to continue contin-ue their career activities and education, have fun, and provide leadership. "But I hope they don't abandon serving each other," she added. The balance of the volunteers serve at places such as museums, literacy centers, libraries, juvenile detention centers, hospitals, and" nursing homes. Some provide entertainment; some work at one-time events like (hem's Timpanogos Storytelling Festival or the county fair. Muir has been particularly busy the past lew weeks coordinating recognition recogni-tion events for the volunteers in the program, pro-gram, who earn categories of presidential presiden-tial pins, based on the number of hours of service given. The most recent annual statistics for ( )rcm alone show that a total of 183 volunteers vol-unteers gave 2X.432.75 hours of service, with an estimated value to the community commu-nity of S471.9S4. "As American As Apple Pie" has been the theme Muir has chosen for the 2006 recognitions, because, she believes, it reflects the idea that the greatness of the nation has been a direct result of citizens' citi-zens' volunteerism and "caring for each ot her." "The seniors are very unique," Muir said, "and bring a very unique perspective perspec-tive to volunteering, with their wisdom, values, and standards. And they are very dejiendablf it's incredible." . J ...A .. . "-J ITS J k-: C""' MATT SMITHNorth County Orem resident Chad Curtis is married, the father to five children, works two jobs, goes to school and is working to get the electoral college changed in Utah. For more information about RSVP, call 229-3810. CITY NOTES t Orem man want to change electoral college col-lege Orem resident Chad Curtis wants to change the way electoral votes are allotted. Instead of the current winner-take-all system, Curtis said, each state's votes should be divided based on the percentage of actual votes each candidate candi-date gets, "so the electoral coUege votes actually matches the vote of the people in the state." Curtis, a father of five and University of Utah graduate student, wantso get a citizen's initiative on the November ballot that divides Utah's five electoral votes based on the percentage of votes each candidate gets, and he needs 94,201 registered voters' signatures to do it or 10 percent of voters who cast ballots bal-lots in Utah during the last election for governor. He's gathered a few signatures so far. Right now he's focused on getting volunteers vol-unteers in different parts of the state to help him gather the thousands of signatures signa-tures he needs. I Orem man catches lunker Orem resident Sherm Holdaway, 66, hauled an enormous 18-pound, 2-ounce rainbow rain-bow trout through the ice at Strawberry Straw-berry Reservoir last week, according to state Division of Wildlife Resources officials. "My line started moving and I set the hook on what felt like a snag, but then the snag started to pull back," Holdaway said in a statement. "We had a tug-of-war for quite a while I would gain 10 feet and then the fish would take it right back." The fish eventually tired, and after wrestling it through an 8-inch diameter hole in the ice, Holdaway took it to the Strawberry Marina store where it was officially weighed. Holdaway said he was fishing with a frozen shiner minnow on the Soldier Creek portion of the reservoir when he caught the 33-inch trout. He landed a 9-pound 9-pound trout from almost the exact location loca-tion last month, he said. NorthCounty NEWSPAPERS 39 E Ploisam Grove Phone: 756-7669 Fax: 756-5274 Council, mayor in odd matrimony Kirk Parkinson m G69 Vh V Pt(ii.1 " ' '! 'irflfcs'ipf i i?i irisonifl'hi''rald''vtffj com Marc Haddock 7' 6 7669 North Cauntv tditoi mrwidoct Whoialdevtia com Cathy Allred 75G 7669 Lehi. Saratoga Springs. PI Grove callred&'Noralde'tra com Barbara Christiansen 756 76G9 American f-ori.. Alpine. Cedar Hills bchnstianseriheiai:le trii com Chris Peterson 344 2556 Orem, Vineyard cpetersorihfrHidt "tra.com Beky Beaton 756 7669 Sports bbeatonheraldextra com DAILY HERALD FUBLISHIKO CO. 8' T 'J't' "' ''mvrp,vmiifffm Jennette Esplin 756 7669 Office Manager Chris Peterson 344 2556 DesignerCopy Editor Casey Rogers 344 2570 DesignerCopy Editor Rachel Rybicki 344 2558 DesignerCopy Editor Jeremy Harmon 344 2545 Photographer Lane Dubois 756 7669 Advertising Account Executive lduboi:;heraldnxtra com NEWSSTAND PRICE SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS 1 year (in Utah County) Sunday, Thursday and holiday deliveries (which includes the week of Easter plus Memorial, Independence, Pioneer, Labor, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day). 1 year (outside Utah County) 1 year (in Utah County - Thursday only) USPS 411711 lik..',tK.iwla"0'l!"n UtI.B.!l9 Pwliwif : Send artiest. CtwfiOflMMpO Bit Otpin I! H.lov PuNishftO Thursday, bv l.H" HuNKtions vvnch is a dtvi on o 1 f ntprp'iw. !" Mmbr: Audit Hiffwu nl Oculattorv, think Betty Fowler would have been ashamed to see what is happening in her home town. Politics can be a messy business, busi-ness, but Betty, the long-time s editor of the Lehi Free Press, was particularly partial to Lehi, and took umbrage any time the city was the focus of bad press. If nothing else, the ongoing spitting contest between the city's new mayor and its old City Council is creating its share of negative attention in the newspapers news-papers and television news broadcasts. Harmony was much more to Betty's taste, although she never did hesitate to take up a fight when she thought her cause was just. The old saying is that politics makes strange bedfellows. Usually that line is used to describe some of the cxJd alliances that crop up in the political process take Ted Kennedy Ken-nedy and Orrin Hatch, for instance. Enemies in the Senate, these two polar opposites have become friends when they are off the Senate floor. But in the case of Lehi, the situation is a little more like a shotgun wedding, and the couple is still in the throes of a power struggle. Last November, Lehi voters made the odd choice of retaining its old City Council re-electing two incumbent council members but throwing throw-ing out two-term mayor. Ken Greenwood, in favor of Howard Johnson. The choice seems odd because Johnson was running run-ning with two other candidates on a reform ticket the men labeled "A Fresh Look," claiming that they would sweep away the status quo. By electing Johnson, voters seemed to hand the mayor a mandate to make changes and drastic ones at that. On the other hand, the voters endorsed the status quo by leaving the existing Council intact, returning Johnny Barnes and Steven Holbrook to the Council. This is a fairly homogeneous group which has learned to work together efficiently over the last few years. Now Johnson, as the city's executive power, finds himself in the awkward position of trying to effect change single-handedly. But, of course, a mayor can't act alone. He must proceed, to some extent with the advice and con- " M1FJ Marc Haddock THE EDITOR'S COLUMN sent of the legislative branch, the city council. Even if its the City Council who was on the opposite in the last election. So what you have here, folks, is a marriage made in Hell. And it shows. Johnson is in favor of shaking up City Hall and if that means getting rid of some long-time city employees, that's fine with him. The Council, on the other hand, has a long-term relationship with the city staff as it now stands having voted in the past to approve the former mayor's appointments. And they don't like someone telling them their baby is ugly. The battle is also causing havoc in City Hall, where morale is at an all time low. The city manager has resigned. More resignations are likely on the way. Try going to work each day not knowing if you will be fired by 5 p.m. and see what it does for your persona outlook. ' To resolve the situation, the Council attempted a power play that would have ended the argument by removing from the mayor the prerogative to appoint and fire city employees. That's a pretty elegant el-egant solution, if it works. In this case, it didn't in the first attempt, and that's probably a good thing. Because that's a bit like rewriting the wedding vows after the ceremony is over, and it deserves a careful look. The voters knew what kind of mayor they were voting for, and they clearly went into the polls expecting the man they elected as mayor to serve under the terms in place at the time of the election. Is the Council out of line when it pulls a bait-and-switch maneuver? Perhaps. But those same voters knew exactly what kind of a City Council they were getting, too the same one they had for the previous two years. It all makes for a difficult situation. Of course, most marriages go through an adjustment ad-justment period as the couples figure out their place in the relationship's power structure, but seldom is it as public as we nave witnessed with Lehi city . In politics, of course, compromise iyv)bvious solution. In the case of Lehi, however m advice from Dr. Phil might be in order if this Jiage is to be saved. Pipe Continued from Page 1 agreed. He said mitigating changes in water flow is not only possible, but standard practice. "We want to maintain that natural flow across the trench," he said. Quest ar representatives also said that investigating alternative routes would take them back to square one in researching the potential impact im-pact on wetlands, endangered species and archaeological resources time-consuming endeavors that are part of any development. White admonished the company for committing to-a single route instead of bringing two or three alternatives alterna-tives to the county commission. commis-sion. Though commissioners shared the concerns voiced by the Christensens, they said they also felt a responsibility not to hold up construction. The plant is scheduled for completion in May 2007. "Questar has painted us into a box," White said. "We need the energy from the power plant." Accident Continued from Page 1 Responders from Orem Department for Public Safety put up makeshift supports for the overhanging roof of the restaurant, which slumped after the impact. The jaws of life were used to remove the passenger side door and free the passenger from the Optima. The business stayed open for another hour after the accident, but then was closed by building inspectors, Murphy said. Burke said he and Metcalf were on their way to a job in Springville. "It was pretty interesting, that's for sure. I don't think the realization has set in yet." Muir Continued from Page 1 organizers of Orem's original senior center. Years ago, she helped him and Ephraim (Eph) Twitch-ell Twitch-ell write the first grant submitted, and traveled with her father as he participated in the center's harmonica band. "Our seniors today really have challenges health and medical costs, and often living on a fixed income," Muir said. She said it has been fun to be involved with the seniors who serve in RSVP, and to be able to witness wit-ness "the happy side of the aging process." Muir has been a member of the recently -established Cultural Arts Advisory Commission in Orem, and worked to win voter approval ap-proval of the city's Cultural Arts and Recreation Enhancement En-hancement (CARE) tax. She also serves on the board of the Women's Division of the Provo-Orem Chamber of Commerce. But it is probably Muir's work with the Miss Orem pageant that makes her name a familiar one in community com-munity service circles. Muir said she has been involved with the Miss America Pageant system for 20 years. For 10 years, she directed the Miss Orem program, and she acknowledged acknowl-edged that the pageant system sys-tem has very much affected her life. "I've always loved the part of helping girls prepare to go to Miss Utah," Muir said. "I learn something from every one of them that helps me be better." Muir's current "niche" in the system is working in a volunteer advisory capacity with young women from all over the state. Former Orem mayor Stella Welsh is one of those who have witnessed the quality of Muir's community service. "Her willingness to do things is outstanding," Welsh said of Muir. "She is so good at details, and organizing people. And she always has such a pleasant demeanor. It's inspiring." Muir's only child, Shauna Hoyt, and Hoyt's husband Doug live in Idaho with Muir's three grandchildren, but for now, the retiring director intends to stay put in Orem, the hometown that she loves. I POOR |