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Show American Fork Cilicn - Thursday. November 6, 2(X)3 - Page 2 Opinion Work together for good of all The elections are over, and voters have made their choices. A process that is the envy of the entire world will now see the peaceful transition of power from one administration to the next. Some of our local races were particularly acrimonious this year, however. If history is any indicator, some of the participants partici-pants involved in these hotly contested or congested battles will be slow to let go, but they need to. A basic principle of our form of government is that the will of the majority rules. The system is not perfect, but it has stood the test of time, and the checks and balances that are part of our laws do tend to even out competing interests in the long haul. For those who lost at the polls and their supporters, this system has to be trusted. You may feel that the majority majori-ty made a wrong choice, but it's been made. Be gracious about the defeat, and throw in your lot with the elected for the good of the community. As for those of you who won at the polls and your supporters, support-ers, take care not to read too A friend like Andrea isn't a wimp, exactly. She's just . . . nervous. Cautious. Skittish. Easily frightened. And she screams a lot. Let's just say that my adult daughter has the characteristics of wimpishness without actually being one. Exactly. She's afraid of clowns (blame Stephen King's "It"). She believes that any part of her body not covered by a blanket while she sleeps will be eaten by little green elves (I have no explanation for that one). She won't sleep in the big bedroom downstairs because she's nervous nerv-ous about sleeping down there alone. And to go outside - alone -after dark . . . well, that's unthinkable. Which isn't a bad thing, necessarily. neces-sarily. Bad things can happen to beautiful young women who are alone outside after dark, so we humor her on that one. But sometimes it isn't easy. Take last night, for example. We were all elbow deep in a family fam-ily project, one that involved brothers-in-law, uncles and cousins. It wasn't fun, exactly, but it was as much fun as you can have moving refrigerators. With cold pizza, refrigerator parts and 19-month-old granddaughter grand-daughter Samantha all feckless-ly feckless-ly Hying every which way, the house was less "humble abode" and more "rock concert mosh pit." Suddenly in the middle of all this, Andrea had to make deliveries deliv-eries to several different neighbors neigh-bors - and it was after dark. She asked Jon to go with her, but he didn't want to go. Neither did Elizabeth. Neither did cousin Jake. I would have gone with her, but we were at the point in the project where my expertise was going to be needed (nobody can tear duct tape off the roll like I can). And Anita . . . well, there was a CPA, a journalist and a college student tearing things apart in her kitchen. Would YOU be willing will-ing to leave at a time like that? Finally Andrea put on a brave face and boldly announced that she would make the trip around the neighborhood unaccompa- 3 many mandates into your election. elec-tion. With low voter turnouts in most locations, it's a fact that a minority of residents elect the candidates in virtually any local community. What you can be sure of is that you were elected to represent repre-sent the interests of all your constituents, not just those who voted for you. In keeping with the finest traditions of public service in this country, you will be expected expect-ed to act accordingly. While individual opinions on how to achieve these goals may vary, it's a sure bet that most people want to live in safe, attractive communities where property values and personal rights are respected and protected. pro-tected. Residents also want public business to be conducted in a civil and professional manner, with consideration and courtesy shown for all persons involved in any dispute, no matter what their ideas may be. That is what all residents rightly expect from those who are remaining in office, those who have just been elected, and all of the people who work for them on the public payroll. Ben nied. She looked around the room one last time, taking it all in just in case she was abducted by little green elves wearing clown masks. Then she heaved a heavy sigh, wrapped her jacket around her (actually, it was her mother's jacket, which she could get away with because her mother moth-er was busy trying to get the duct tape out of Jon's hair - and honestly, I have NO idea how it got there) and went out to face the cold, dark night - alone. In less time than it took us to figure out that we needed to remove the hallway thermostat from the wall BEFORE we tried to squeeze the refrigerator past it, Andrea was home. Smiling. "So you made it!" I said while rubbing what I was sure was the world's first elbow hernia. "Yep!" she said happily. "Ben took care of me!" Ben is the big yellow dog who lives with one of our neighbors. Loveable, playful and gentle as a lamb, Ben is the neighborhood mascot, drifting from house to house trf play in every game and sample every barbecue. He goes on walks with us and patiently allows pawing and petting from our granddaughters, all of whom could say "Ben" before they could say "Poppa." "It was like he could tell I was nervous," Andrea said. "He'd go up to each door before me and then look back as if to say, "It's OK.' As long as Ben was there I knew I was fine." Now, I can't say that I really understand that. I mean, I like Ben and everything, but I've never really been a pet person. But millions of people are, and each one of them has a story like that. And the way I see it, there must be something to it if that big yellow dog could give Andrea all the courage she needed to face the cold, dark night. Clowns and little green elves notwithstanding. 1 can be warm now that winter is here First of all, you have to understand under-stand I am not a warm-blooded person. I say that, not in the biological sense. I can't remember whether a warm-blooded being is the kind that takes on the temperature of his surroundings, or whether it is one who is warm all the time. I know the difference, but I can't remember which is which. What I do know is that I don't like to be cold. Which is why I can see light at the end of the tunnel, now that the cold days of winter are rapidly approaching. I also understand that the season sea-son is still technically autumn, for quite a few more weeks. Winter will not officially be here until December, and near the end of that month at that. However, once snow flies and sticks to the ground, for at least a few hours, that is a sure sign of the shivery season. Despite our desire to be energy-conscientious, energy-conscientious, it seems that people peo-ple and organizations seem to surpass sur-pass their desired results. ASD math program doesn't work Editor: My neighbor asked me why I support the petition to divide Lehi from the Alpine School District. Here is one of my reasons. InvestigationsConnected InvestigationsCon-nected Math. I have done some online research into others' experiences and professional reviews of the program. In all the information I read from the Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org) there was not one positive posi-tive article, evaluation or research paper from mathematicians. There is an open letter to the United States Secretary of Education from over 200 college mathematics ALPINE Lone Peak animal control officer Stephanie Hyden recently advised local residents not to handle or approach wildlife in the area, and noted that the animals can be dangerous dan-gerous when injured or scared. Residents could be exposed to diseases dis-eases such as rabies plus different parasites if scratched or bitten. Hyden asked that anyone coming in contact with any wildlife or having any problems call the police department depart-ment at 756-9800 to report the incident. inci-dent. She added that local children should be taught to stay away from strange animals whether they are wild or domestic. Any bites need to be reported immediately, and a doctor doc-tor should be seen right away for treatment. CEDAR HILLS The Cedar Hills Parks and Trails Committee will discuss the possibility possibil-ity of placing one or more skate parks in Cedar Hills at its next meeting, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. in the Public Safety Building. The committee commit-tee has located some potential sites and. materials. The public is welcome wel-come to attend and comment on this issue. EAGLE MOUNTAIN Next week, volunteers, city workers work-ers and Eagle Mountain Council members will be knocking on every door in Town Center to conduct a survey. The survey is part of the requirement for a Federal Community Commu-nity Development Grant the city hopes to obtain to improve and connect con-nect trails within Town Center to give students a safe passage' to the new elementary school. The trails will be connected; cross walks will It has become the norm to demonstrate that one has air conditioning con-ditioning by cranking it down to about 40 degrees. No one would be comfortable at those temperatures tempera-tures during the winter, but in the summertime, it seems to be the way to show everyone that your air conditioning really functions well. Just blast those frigid icicles out of the vents and your friends, neighbors and visitors are aware that you have that modem convenience. con-venience. For the first few minutes of a visit to that person's house, or at a restaurant or even at church services, serv-ices, the person who just came in from the outside feels good. After all, they have been at temperatures tempera-tures around 80, 90 or higher. It feels good to be relieved of that. Reader's Forum and science professors who 'expressed opposition' opposi-tion' and 'pointed out serious mathematical shortcomings' to the Connected Mathematics Program. There is no student text. There are no algorithmic homework home-work sheets. One parent, Mark Schwartz, from New York in testimony before the House Education Educa-tion Committee stated: "If medical doctors experimented with our kids in the same way districts dis-tricts do they would be in jail." In looking over the school district's statement state-ment on math curriculum curricu-lum it looks heavily weighted in a prejudicial viewpoint, with administrators adminis-trators and teachers influenced by questionable question-able national standards that are currently under revision. When it was implemented at local schools parents asked for options, asked for basic facts to be taught, asked for classes with traditional tradi-tional math programs. The district refused to respond to parents who felt their children's education edu-cation was being 'dumbed 'dumb-ed down.' In Alpine District there is no choice. All schools are implementing InvestigationsConnected Math. Anywhere InvestigationsConnected Investi-gationsConnected Math is taught private tutoring is big business. The Lehi community has stepped in and provided pro-vided a literacy center because our schools are failing at teaching our students to read with the whole language approach. So our students spend extra time and money to get an education which should be had in their be added and curb cuts will be put in along Eagle Mountain Boulevard for the safety of the students. LEHI A little bit of culture was brought into the community recently when the Lehi Arts Council, with the help of the Timpanogos Singers and Songwriters Association's JaNae Kotter, started their performing arts series, First Friday Folk Night. Joey Dempster, a regional folk musician, will be the artist on Nov. 7. First Friday Fri-day Folk Nights are scheduled on the first Friday of each month at the Lehi Arts Building, 685 N. Center Street. The concerts start at 7 and run till about 8:30 p.m. The cost is $1 per person. LEHI Musician Jon Schmidt will be entertaining at Lehi High School in . a benefit concert for the LHS music department on Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. Just as his audience thinks it has a reflective New Age pianist, he'll do a back flip off of the piano bench, throw himself under the keyboard and play ragtime with his hands crossed. Schmidt has published several CDs including "August End," "Walk in the Woods," "A Day in the Sunset," "Jon Schmidt Christmas" Christ-mas" and "To the Summit." Concert admission will be presold for $5 per ticket at the LHS finance office or from a Jazz Band, Encore, Bravo or Orchestra member or tickets can be purchased for $8 on the night of the concert. LINDON Lindon's City Council further considered con-sidered the single-family housing ordinance amendment Oct. 21 and After a little while, however, it begins to catch up. You begin to get goose bumps, then you start shivering, then your knees knock, which is followed fol-lowed by the good old-fashioned teeth chattering. The only way the person who lives there can survive is because his or her heart is warmed by watching your suffering, knowing that you are impressed that they have the latest technology for cooling. For some reason the opposite technique does not seem to be applied very often. I guess it's because central heating has been around long enough that most people don't feel the need to show off and heat their homes to 80 in order to prove they are modern enough to have that technology. In the meantime, I will just be able to know there is one plus to the winter months for cold-blooded people like me. Because people quit showing off their air conditioning, condi-tioning, I can actually be warm for a change. It's enough to warm your heart. local school. The Rippy Literacy Center is in high demand because the school curriculum is failing to teach reading. They have expanded to space in the Legacy Center Cen-ter and math classes are available now at the Rippy Literacy Center.. I predict an increase in demand for math classes as parents find students don't have the basic skills needed to be fluent in mathematics. The Alpine District has stated it will not review its decision on implementing InvestigationsConnected Investiga-tionsConnected Math for five years. It will only take two years to get Lehi out of the district through the petition, study and voting vot-ing process. Look at your students' 'homework theh sign the petition. . ! - Wendy Shoop voted to table the amendment until December, pending more research from planning director Kevin Smith. Bayless moved to approve the ordinance ordi-nance pending further work, with Smith reviewing problems with measuring residential height and bringing back suggestions by the last meeting in December. Smith will also move one paragraph to a different section and review the accessory building section, bringing it back with suggestions for a public hearing in December. PLEASANT GROVE Following on the heels of the enormous success of last spring's musical, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," which played to sold-out audiences, Pleasant Grove High has put together another ambitious production. produc-tion. Romeo and Juliet is open to the general public. The show runs Nov. 5 to 8, 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the school auditorium. Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for students and senior citizens are $4. Children under 12 are also $4 and families can purchase a group admission for $25. SARATOGA'SPRINGS Saratoga Springs has added a second city planner to their staff. Mike Black, who graduated from the University of Utah, was introduced at the City Council's meeting, on Oct. 28. He will work with the current cur-rent city planner, Dave Anderson. In addition to Black, veteran Police Officer Terry Orton, who has worked in Ogden, Morgan and Salt Lake County, came out of retirement, retire-ment, to join Saratoga Spring's Deputy Susan Earl. POOR J 3 |