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Show Citizen - Thursday, September 22, 1983 - Page 3 Concerns about kids' safety aired By SHARON MORREY Children in American Fork walking back and forth to school are not safe, according to George Scott, planning commissioner and long-time city resident There are serious hazards existing in American Fork," said Scott in a blast to the commission Sept 7. "And it never gets any better. We never get to the long-range long-range solutions." Scott cited the children walking to Shelley Elementary as his primary example of children in danger, but assured the commissioners that other elementary school pupils are in just as much danger, if not more. "Just in the blocks around Shelley Elementary there are seven hazard areas including a blind intersection, obscured sidewalks or no sidewalks, a roadway without adequate shoulders, a blind angle curve, high vegetation, and high speed traffic" They can't see. You can't see them until they step right out in front of your automobile. It's serious," said Scott The school board is not picking up the responsibility to change things and the city council won't either." "It's a paradox," noted Scott "We insist developers provide sidewalks but we as a city don't provide them where they are most needed." Scott insisted that it is time for American Fork City and Alpine School District to get together and make some decisions to provide Training Whether the Office of Recovery Services will take over collection of fees for residents of the Utah State Training School from parents, Social Security and third party providers was made an administrative ad-ministrative decision Thursday by the Division of Services to the Handicapped board. Meeting at the training school, board members voted to let the decision on changing the fee collection from the present method up to officials of the Office of Recovery Service, the Director of Health Care Financing and the Director of Social Services. . Russell Gardner from the ORS met with the board, telling them the ORS would "do you a good job." He said the ORS employees are not always "looked upon with favor" but they are "bill collectors and bill collectors are just that, bill collectors." Leonard W. Lavis, training school superintendent, opposed the move saying he doesn't believe the change is needed because the school currently has a 95 percent average collection rate. 0 Police (Continued from page 1) to take care of other needs of their residents, we can start and finish fresh cases. It makes our work easier. We don't have to go back and start over." Chief Johnson noted that usually a case was reinvestigated anyway by the American Fork officers and work was duplicated. The training school has offered to expand its payments to $28,000 to pay for coverage full-time by the city policemen. Time end Money Savers from Grain Country PlumpX Juicy victorio Champion New Crop! Raisins J strainer f Juicer Baker's Blend 5J,b:g '3399 '199.00 Y m 7.47 50 lb. bag q Ti ,674 Apple ,,.,., j,,, ,u.u.i.M,l..lw.,tf V PeelerCorer M 12.5 sq.ft. j 40.00 iSg! I 2 year warranty y with purchase of Er-i J 24 hour timer ' dehydrator ynrj I A GhiradelliV . tSlSLJjl Cheese Chocolate V 9 Tray Food Dehydiator Blend ( Chips 459.00 5lb bag 5'bJ)IgCa,,f0r ChampioX 7.90 4.75 Fall Schedule juicer t hours CaUwi.3lri L t 756-951G Z 12:00-5:30 V 3 I Mon. Sat ? 95N.200E. American Fork, UT 84003 MHMm.,, . ' " - " "-IL IJ" 1 J"UI mu.v k.m j i , mm A 'k'1 I 0 .'A fi: 0 ' L Jp CH SAFELY TO SCHOOL? These boys are students at Shelley Elementary, following a foot-path along the cemetery walls on their way to classes. safe routes to and from schools. Commission chairman Tony Schofield acknowledged that it is well within the planning commission's scope to suggest some capita improvements in the city budgets. He suggested some temporary measures be recommended to school mulls fee collection "I would point out that there is a vast difference between the State Hospital (in Provo) and the State Training School," Mr. Lavis said, noting Mr. Gardner's referral to the high collection rate the department has at the state hospital. "You are discussing short term care at the State Hospital, with high costs per day. Here at our school, people who are here may be here for many, many years," he said, adding the parents or guardians of these residents look upon the monthly bill much as they "would a bill from Sears." He said the only place they would have need of the Office of Recovery Services is in some long overdue bills and in collecting from insurance in-surance companies. He noted the school collects over $1 million a year in resident fees. Mr. Lavis pointed out parents are charged on a sliding scale depending depen-ding on their income tax with $200 maximum. "We charge them on their income tax figure and if they don't give us the income tax amount, we charge them the maximum," he said. He Mayor Malcolm Beck said, "In order to accomplish this, we would assign a person to the training school, a person already employed part-time with the city that would be moved up to full-time status." Councilwoman Janice Mayne supported the contract concept but questioned promoting within the city employees framework without a public bid offered for the job of full-time officer. She suggested the job be advertised ad-vertised and a certified officer requested, rather than send an increase visibility and mobility on the routes in question. Jess Green suggested painting pedes train lanes. "We can do that," accepted Scott, "but the problem is we never get to the long-range solutions. The only way we'll ever accomplish that is to decide we are going to change it" added there is no maximum fee at the State Hospital. Mr. Lavis emphasized the only place he feels the training school needs help is with "true bad debt skips" and with "third party collections." Gary Nakao, Director of the Division of Services to the Handicapped, Han-dicapped, said there is only a "small group from whom we've not been able to collect." Mr. Gardner said he feels the ORC could "relieve you from collecting" the fees and "let you do what you do best while letting us do what we do best and that is collecting money." He said the ORS employees are "not money grabbers really" but do use "every legal tactic" they can to collect the money. Following the meeting, Mr. Lavis told reporters he feels he has to "fight for my parents (the parents of training school residents). "Our concern is with the more human relationship we have with the parents." He explained parents or guardians guar-dians of the residents of the training employee at city expense to the Police Academy. Beck answered that the cost of employing a certified officer full-time full-time would make it necessary to fire two part-time employees this coming July. Mayne held fast to her objections and it was decided the decision would be handled by the Public Safety Committee. The council unanimously favored the contract with the Utah State Training School and the motion to accept the contract passed. coming onto the roadway after "I say we involve the public, avoid costly mistakes, take a look at some of our needs and do something," declared Scott Schofield asked the commission to gather ideas and develop some plans to suggest when the item reappears on the agenda the next meeting. school pay the fees until the resident reaches the age of 18 when heshe is considered an adult. He said of the 750 residents of the school, approximately 300 are under 18 at the present time. mnmj mwtTft) mimm c browsing Property tax notice delivers quite a shock By TOM GRIFFITH As I sit down to write, I am in a state of shock. I have received my property tax notice and with a sinking feeling I note it has taken another husky raise. I also received my city bill. It, too, is considerably higher. With our utility rates soaring the question is being asked, "How much longer can this condition con-dition go on?" I notice also that almost 60 percent per-cent of my property tax is going for education. While the cry is going out for improved education, our educators are crying out for more money - more money for teachers salaries, more money for more schools, etc., etc., etc. All this while our schools are only being used part of the time. A private business could not possibly survive if they only used their buildings part of the time. A condition was recently brought to my attention. A couple who lives in a neighboring town purchased an old home over 20 years ago. Through the years they invested both money and labor to improve the property. Today they have listed the home for sale, the taxes have increased to the point they cannot afford to live in it any more. It's a shame that a penalty is imposed on industry and integrity. By the way, did you read in a Provo newspaper a few days ago that an Orem man has put on the robes of a prophet and prophesied that within a few days Orem will be destroyed by an atomic bomb. He claims he has been in communication com-munication with spirits on the other side and they have told him of the coming disaster. No, I do not intend to pack our suitcases and leave for some desert retreat and live with the sagebrush and jack rabbits. I think back a few years to when another man prophesied the coming of the end of the world He and some of his followers retired to a hilltop and waited for the end. Of course it never came and sadly those people returned to their homes. The end of the world may come in our lifetimes, but I am not preparing for it. I believe the end of this world comes everyday for someone. Someone asked me the other day how long it takes to write a column. Actually, it takes very little time to write it. Getting the idea what to write takes the time. Sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night with a real good idea, then comes morning and the idea doesn't seem so good. Reminds me of the reporter who was preparing an article on Mark Twain. To get some ideas he took a trip down the Mississippi River. At a little river landing he ran across an old-timer who had lived there for years. The reporter asked if he had known Mark Twain. The old man snorted, "Mark Twain - phooey." He said, "Course I knowed him. Can't see why folks make so much fuss about him. He didn't amount to nothin." "But," said the reporter. "Look at the stories he wrote." "Stories, bah." growled the old timer. "I knowed more stories than he ever knowed. Only difference is he writ em down." So, there is nothing to writing a column once you decide what to write. -mfi$ |
