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Show New Utah American Fork CitizenLone Peak New Utah - Thursday, May 8, 2003 - Page 2 Opinion Jazz trio was one for the ages Conservation should include tolerance In a good year, Utah is the second sec-ond driest state in the nation, right behind Nevada. We average 13 inches of rainfall for a year. During a multiple-year drought, times are obviously much worse. Hardly a day goes by that we do not hear pli'as for help with conservation con-servation efforts. There have been many success stories, with individuals individ-uals striving to meet both mandatory manda-tory and voluntary requests for water-saving practices. Communities in north Utah County have taken different stands on watering, in part depending on their supply. Some have made time-of-day restrictions restric-tions mandatory, following state guidelines which indicate watering water-ing is most efficient between 6 p.m. and 10 a m. Between those hours, the water lias a better chance to soak into the ground and not as much is lost to evaporation. evapo-ration. Those arguments make a lot of sense. We do not want to put a precious resource into the air instead of on the plants where it can do some good. Neither do we want to run it down the drive She's not my mother I'm not sure how tlie subject came up, but somehow I happened to mention to my willeague that I was going Mother's Day shopping during my lunch break. "I thought you said your mother had passed away," my colleague wondered. "She did," I said. "Twenty years ago." "Then who are you shopping for?" he wanted to know. I hesitated. Who else would I be shopping for on Mother's Day? Tor Anita," I said. I didn't add "duh!" - but I thought it. He looked at me with the same incredulous look that I was giving him. "But slie's your wife," he said. "Uh-huh," I said. "And the mother moth-er of my children." "Exactly," he said. "So they should get Mother's Day presents for her." They do," I responded. "And so do I." "But she's not your mother," he said. "I mean, I'm sure Hallmark loves it that you've bought into their fabricated little holiday so completely. com-pletely. But I don't understand why you would buy a Mother's Day present pres-ent for someone who isn't your mother." I squirmed a little. I had never thought much atxiut this. My father always gave Mother's Day presents to my mother, and I had always given them to Anita. It just seemed like the right thing to do. But suddenly sud-denly I wasn't sure why. And my colleague col-league could sense that. "I'm not being critical or anything," any-thing," he said. "If you want to give your wife a present on Mother's Day, you go right ahead. I just honestly hon-estly don't get it. Do you give her a present on Father's Day, too? I mean, she's the one who made you a father, isn't she?" He didn't add "duh!" but I'm sure he thought it. I mumbled something about stimulating the economy by taking s MTnttoYn) Should municipalities, churches and schools be allowed to water in the afternoon during drought conditions? HYcs ONo Additional comments: I UlMiami4idI!B!im..; I Is Judge Harding 's 120-day jail sentence too lenient? 85 Ya 13 Nc Comment!: "...He shows no respect for the law and has an attitude he Is above the law ... he hai earned a longer sentenced To respond, mail to P.O. Box 7, American Fork, UT 84043, or deliver to 39 W. Main, American Fork, or see www.newutah.com. way, sidewalk or gutter, or any number of other places it cannot be used. Common sense can give us a lot of direction about ways to conserve con-serve water and use it wisely. But there are other concerns which go a little beyond general knowledge and common sense. If everyone watered between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m., it is true there would be less water lost to evaporation. evapo-ration. However, the water levels would fluctuate too greatly during dur-ing a 24-hour period, creating a spike of too much water in the afternoons, while in the morning hours there would be too little available for an emergency such as fighting fires. Armed with that knowledge, we understand it makes sense for larger users such as cities and schools to go ahead and do some of their watering during the day. That is also when the staff is available to run the system. There is definitely room for allowance under these circumstances. circum-stances. See the Web site conservewa-ter.utah.gov conservewa-ter.utah.gov for more ideas about water conservation. !ms-' advantage of the Mother's Day sales and retreated to the relative safety of a nearby mall, where nobody asked me to explain why I was buying a Mother's Day present for my wife. But as I wandered from store to store I found myself wondering: "Why IK) I buy Mother's Day presents pres-ents for Anita?" Thankfully, it didn't take long to figure it out. It's because of the things she willingly sacrificed when she chose to be a stay-at-home mom for most of the first 20 years of our marriage. It's because of the things she willingly sacrificed when family finances finally prompted her to choose to take a job outside the home for most of the past five years. It's because she lias poured her heart and soul into loving, effective, creative mothering. It's because it's what my mother taught me to do. It's because of her patience with everything from potty training to driver's training. It's because of her fierce loyalty to our children and her eagerness to stand by them whether they were receiving a much-deserved honor or a much-deserved reprimand. It's because of two words: labor pains. It's because of the things she has taught me and my children and the ways in which she has helped us to grow during more than 25 years of living and loving together. That'B why I consider it an honor to honor her on Mother's Day. It isn't just about a present or flowers or a card in response to a great marketing mar-keting campaign. It's about 25 years of accumulated love, gratitude, appreciation and respect. Even if she's not my mother. Friday's retirement announcement announce-ment by John Stockton makes official the break-up of the Utah Jazz "terrific trio" - Jerry Sloan, Karl Malone and Stockton. One moment that is sure to become a part of Jazz video lore forever came with five minutes left in the season as Sloan pulled Stockton and Malone from the final loss at Sacramento, with the game hopelessly out of reach. A crowd widely reputed to be among the loudest and most enthusiastic in the NBA year after year stood as one and gave the exiting duo a standing ovation that continued well past the resumption of play, even though no one knew for sure at the time if that was going to be their last appearance together. Throughout the evening, the television cameras found many signs in the arena which blended tributes to the venerable Jazz stars with expressions of support for the home team. After the game unceremoniously unceremonious-ly ended, Kings players and coaches alike hugged Stockton particularly and expressed obvious obvi-ous words of appreciation as they went through the line - something some-thing I've never seen in 40 years of watching professional basketball, basket-ball, not even for Michael Jordan Residents shouldn't have to pay for poor planning Editor: Who is in on city plan ning? dents when Are future resi-ever resi-ever considered decisions are CEDAR FORT Cedar Valley Elementary students explored the wonders of engineering engineer-ing at the PTA-sponsored Junior Engineering Fair on April 25. The fourteen learning modules provided provid-ed by the Utah State University Extension Service allowed the students to experiment with sound waves, hydraulic and pneumatic power, bubbles, and a working model of the Panama Canal. CEDAR FORT Mayor Jeanine Cook and the Cedar Fort town council met with Curtis Ludvigson and Vern Steel of the Utah Rural Water Association Associa-tion on April 15 to review recommendations recom-mendations for the increase and restructuring of Cedar Fort's water rates. The town's water rates have not increased since June of 1992. CEDAR FORT Cedar Valley Elementary students stu-dents explored the dynamics of sound waves, bubbles, waterpow-er, waterpow-er, and many other feats of engineering engi-neering at the Junior Engineering Fair on April 25. The Cedar Valley Elementary PTA sponsored the event and manned the 14 learning modules. Utah State University Extension Service provided the equipment for the demonstrations. EAGLE MOUNTAIN Chrissy June Davidson, of Eagle Mountain, recently released a new country music single with Sonic Records. She describes her single, titled "Don't Send Him Back to Me," as "country pop - not real twangy." The single was recorded In Los Angeles back In September 2001. Sonic Records, a country label located in North Carolina, created the compilation CD called "Fast Track to Fame -Country Volume V," which includes Chrissy song as the first of 13 songs. LEHI Lehi City council members gave an informal consensus of approval for a $1.5 million, 30,000 during any of his three farewell tours. There are a few things which perhaps made the moment the more poignant beyond the simple fact that no other combination of players and coach have been together for so long. The most obvious is that despite the very best these three could offer, the Jazz have never won an NBA title, though they came tantalizingly close. Instead, their bitterest losses have contributed con-tributed to the Jordan legend. Another significant one is that Sloan has never been honored as coach of the year by his peers, even though many of them have been quoted as saying that he has deserved it more than once. He has been in the running numerous numer-ous times. In the world of Hollywood fantasy, fan-tasy, these three should have gone riding off into the sunset together with championship rings on their fingers and an even higher pile of awards than what they now possess pos-sess in their saddlebags. The real-world scenario turned Reader's Forum made? How often are residents asked to pay to fix a problem that should have been avoided with proper zoning and planning? plan-ning? We thought city officials were paid to plan proper and, more importantly, safe neighborhoods. neigh-borhoods. Our neighborhood lies south of Murdock Canal and a Cedar Hills resi dent has no access to his home but through our cul-de-sac. With that in mind, American Fork planned our street to include a gate for the sole use of the Cedar Hills resident, but never stipulated what kind of gate. The manual gate that the builder installed is completely unsuitable since the Cedar Hills square foot addition project at the April 8 work session. The city council has instructed the city staff to obtain responses from design build teams. The team will be selected and a budget established estab-lished The decision on how to finance the project will be addressed by the city at that time. LEHI With the present favorable low interest rates, the city fathers are in the process of refinancing one city loan and establishing another. They will be increasing the city's debt load by approximately $7.8 million. While the $7.8 million is not free money, it does not raise the debt payment for the city. LEHI Lehi City is planning to raise two utility rates - water and garbage. Before raising any utility rates, Lehi City must first hold public hearings on the issue and then it must be passed by resolution. resolu-tion. Rates haven't changed since 1989 with the establishment of the secondary irrigation water system. sys-tem. The new water rate changes for most residents is a total increase of $2.50 per month. The garbage rate has not been decided decid-ed yet. Once approved, the new rates would take effect on June 1 or the beginning of the fiscal year. LEHI The Lehi Civic Improvement Association has selected Lehi residents res-idents Alvin and Elaine Schow to represent the city as Grand Marshals Mar-shals for the annual Roundup Week during June 23 to 28. LINDON The house lights were dimmed and the stage was awash in color as the 2003 Little Miss Lindon court was announced. For the next year, Ashley Nixon will represent repre-sent the city as "Little Miss Lindon." Lin-don." The other members of her court will Include Lauren Brown, Kelly Coombs, Jennifer Nebeker and Megan Thomas. The girls out to be far different, though there seems to be no doubt that their achievements will land them in the NBA Hall of Fame in due time. The records they have amassed alone should ensure that For me, though, this unlikely threesome represents some genuine gen-uine American success stories, all grounded in hard work: a Midwestern Mid-western farm boy who rose through the ranks as a player and a coach with uncompromising grit; a poor Southerner who built upon his natural abilities to become the dominant power forward for-ward of his era; and an average-sized average-sized suburban kid from the Northwest whose savvy and fierce competitiveness made him both respected and feared in a big man's game. Their basketball lives may have been dull by today's NBA standards, stan-dards, both on and off the court, but perhaps the tribute that best captures the unique contributions they have made to the sport are the words I've heard so many opposing players and coaches use in some form over the years: "Even when you knew what they were going to do, you couldn't stop it We may never see their like again. Next week: A personal tribute to John Stockton. resident will not close the gate upon exiting and entering his property, proper-ty, creating an obvious hazard for our children. Now American Fork officials want us to help pay to upgrade the gate to an electric gate to solve a problem they created cre-ated by their lack of appropriate planning! - Keenan and Dana Adcock won based on a talent competition, competi-tion, interview and modeling and self-expression. LINDON A proposal was made last week to the Planning Commission to build an assisted living center, to be called Maple Manor, at Locust Avenue and 514 North. The Commissioners Com-missioners asked the owner to meet with residents and then appear at their next meeting in May. PLEASANT GROVE Pleasant GroveLindon Chamber Cham-ber of Commerce leaders and city officials from Pleasant Grove and Lindon met April 22 to work on fixing fix-ing a rocky relationship plagued with misunderstandings about what is expected of each party. The group will meet again May 13, each party with a list of expectations. expecta-tions. "We can edit into one agreement where the cities define what they want and can afford and what the chamber needs to commit com-mit to and come up with a reporting report-ing system for the chamber," said Pleasant Grove city council member mem-ber Keith Corry. PLEASANT GROVE The legacy of 30-year Pleasant Grove High School baseball coach Jon Hoover will be permanently perma-nently memorialized as the school field was renamed In his honor Thursday at the last Viking home contest of the year. Hoover announced on April 10 that he would retire following this season. SARATOGA SPRINGS According to Sergeant Darren Gilbert of the Utah County Sheriff Office, Saratoga Springs currently has a ratio of two officers per 5,000 residents. The desired ratio in order to offer citizens the best protection is one officer per 1,000 residents. Gilbert made a presentation presen-tation to the city council at their April 29 work session expressing a need for more man power in the Saratoga Springs area. UPOOR t i |