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Show Pleasant Grove ReviewLindon New Utah! - Wednesday, March 7, 2001 - Page 2 Opinion : X- v'.Vr We need $200M school bond The Alpine School District is looking at a May election to ask patrons to approve a record $200 million building bond. That's an astounding request, but a look at the draft list of $205 million in needs shows that the district is presenting a proposal that would meet the escalating demands of the rapidly growing district for the next five to 10 years depending on how fast that growth is. The initial list will be pared down by $5 million to fit within the available bonding funds. Patrons should support this i ; necessary piece of public financ- ! ; ing. The Alpine District is already : playing catch up after being hit ! with dramatic growth. Should the ' bond fail, our local school system j could fall dangerously behind in t I the race to keep up with the bur- j geoning numbers of new students. i The district's list of proposed t ! building projects includes two new junior high schools and eight elementary schools. The district has also thoughtfully included additions or improvements in almost every other school in the district. While the extensive wish list released by the district is designed to elicit support from the district's broad range of patrons, it is greatly needed now to meet the demands of growth, particularly in north Utah County, Coun-ty, where the district could have used a new elementary school this year. The upgrades for existing schools will help to solve problems of wear and tear on existing buildings build-ings in areas where growth has leveled lev-eled out. These schools have suffered suf-fered while the Board of Education has been forced to meet new building build-ing needs in other areas of the A trip on the Saturday we did something for the first time that most of you have probably already done. We rode the light rail, TRAX, from Sandy to downtown Salt Lake City and back. It was a fun experience expe-rience and all of us, including the children, want to do it again soon. This is a wonderful way of getting get-ting into Salt Lake without the hassle of traffic on the freeway and trying to find a parking place. Our trip was part of an outing our family tries to take once a month to different places in the area. We specifically went up to visit the new Conference Center, which we had not seen in real life, and the new movie at the Joseph Smith Building, "The Testament." Tes-tament." The Conference Center is very beautiful, even in late winter when the flowers are not in bloom yet. There is a waterfall which is as lovely from the inside of the building as it is from the outside. The wood on the walls is gorgeous as are all the decorations in the building. There is another fountain foun-tain inside where water flows over a rounded green-colored decoration. decora-tion. In the large conference hall itself, I was immediately awestruck by the size of the room. It seemed much larger than it did on television during conference. In contrast to the historic tabernacle on Temple Square, this hall has soft seats, more leg space, a good view from every angle, and no posts holding the roof up. The lighting and the sound systems are state of the art. After our tour of the new conference con-ference center we walked back to the Joseph Smith Building and saw the movie called "The Testament." Testa-ment." It is very difficult to get tickets for the show unless you reserve them far in advance. We actually were going to take this trip to Salt Lake back in January but we had to wait until now to get tickets at a time when all of us could attend. There were many people there standing in line to acquire any tickets that might not be used. The movie depicts incidents from the life of Jesus Christ and Pleasant Grove Review NewUtah! (ISSN No. 1521-6861) (U.S.P.S. No. 435-780) . A member of NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION -fr 'If state's fourth largest school district. The bond total $200 million is staggering, but that's because it is designed to meet the long-term needs of the district. That means it will be implemented implement-ed gradually, with bonds sold and building taking place as needed. That also means that assessments assess-ments on property taxes to pay for the bond will be added gradually gradu-ally as well, to ease the burden on the taxpayer. That doesn't mean it won't hurt, it just won't hurt as much as if it were all assessed the first year. But this bond is absolutely necessary, nec-essary, and it is necessary now. If the bond fails, the district will be forced to find other ways to teach this growing number of students.. That will mean more trailers and more extended day schedules, which are the. district's current method of dealing with overcrowding. When the situation becomes more severe, the district will be forced to resort to double sessions to find necessary classroom space. Approval of this bond will require an extraordinary effort of voters from Orem to Fairfield. Some will benefit much more from the bond than others, because in some areas the need is much greater than others. Public education, however, is about more than what's in it for the individual. It's based on the idea that everyone in society benefits ben-efits when children are literate and educated. This May the Alpine School 1 District will be asking us to invest $200 million in a building plan for schools that will educate ' local children for decades to come. It's an investment we can't afford not to make. TRAX also from the lives of the people living on the American Continent at the time of His birth. They had been foretold about the coming birth and life of the Savior and awaited his visit to them. The movie is very well photographed pho-tographed and produced. The performers per-formers do a fine job as they act out the scenes which are full of drama, a touch of romance, and heartwarming stories from the Bible and Book of Mormon. I was told to "bring a whole lot of Kleenexes" and I am glad I did. I used them all and I doubt if there were many dry eyes in the place as the final scene faded from the screen. In fact, the lights do not come up right away. The audience audi-ence is allowed to spend a few moments thinking about what they have seen, wiping the tears from their eyes, and listening to some soothing music. This seems like a thoughtful gesture on the part pf those who present the movie because the audience needs a moment of quiet rather than being immediately jolted into bright lights and reality reali-ty once more. Quietly, everyone left the theater the-ater and went their ways. Our "way" led back to the TRAX station sta-tion a short distance away and a brief wait until the train arrived and we boarded to return to Sandy. Oh, yes! One other great thing happened. I took my radio with me so that I could listen to the BYU game. While the others went into the food court at Crossroads Mall, I stood near the front door so I could still hear the broadcast as it was in the closing seconds. BYU held on to win and I was ecstatic. I hustled into the food court in time to see a large screen TV just closing out the BYU win over Air Force Academy. Published weekly by 59 West Main American Fork, Utah 84003 Seniors get new, beautiful ' ssssssssssS I had a chance to tour the new Jacobs Senior Center today. I've been hearing about the new building for months now, ever since ground was first broken last September. I heard people talking about it, but it was quite different to go see it for myself. The building is gorgeous, both inside and out. Special care has obviously been taken to make the senior center look attractive. One feature I especially liked is all the windows, which bring in so much light to the building. This is one of the first major differences I noticed from the previous location of the senior center, which was on the lower level of the library. There weren't too many windows there. Inside the new Jacobs Senior Center, you immediately notice of course, how nice and new it is. The main room, which includes a large dining room, kitchen and a raised platform stage area, is big and spacious. The vaulted ceiling enhances the feeling of spacious- Boundary issue touches a The first draft of this column was a diatribe against some comments com-ments made by the mayor of Pleasant Pleas-ant Grove when he spoke to the Alpine School District last week about the proposed boundary changes for American Fork High School. The proposals would take a few students who now live in the boundaries of Pleasant Grove High School kids who live in Pleasant Grove and transplant them to American Fork High School. No current PGHS students would be moved, but new high school students stu-dents who in the past would have attended PGHS now would attend AFHS. My first reaction to the remarks was that they were intemperate and inappropriate to appear in a letter signed by the entire Pleas-' ant Grove city council. This is what the letter said and what Mayor Ed Sanderson read to the members of the board of education: "I asked my children how they would have handled an effort to be moved to Am. Fork High School in the manner that is being proposed, and each one responded that they would rather have dropped out of High School and finished their GED anywhere but American Fork." I wrote a whole column taking issue with this comment. Then, on reflection, I threw it away. People should feel passionate about their high schools. After all, for decades these schools have served as the focal point of our communities the place where all our hopes and aspirations, represented by our Scouting for food Editor: . The Scouting for Food bags failed to arrive on the promised date. They will be here March 6 and we will be passing them out at the Grove Ward Primary Room, 455 E. 200 South, . Pleasant Grove, from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sat-urday, March 10. We absolutely must have a representative from each ward and stake to pick up the bags as we simply cannot deliver them to this number of people. The cities involved in Timpanogos District Dis-trict are Pleasant Grove, Manila, Lindon and Cedar Hills. The empty bags are to be passed out Saturday, March 17, door-to-door by the Cub Scouts after 9 a.m. It is highly recommended that the boys knock on each door and give a short explanation about Scouting for Food. Then the full bags are to be picked up on Saturday, March 24, after 9 a.m. by the Boy Scouts and delivered to the Jose Valdez Army Reserve Building at 635 S. Locust Ave., Pleasant Grove, by noon. There will be a sign. . All types of food and dry goods are asked for during this drive with the exception of glass bottles, home canned food or open containers. An example of desired items are: Spam, corn, tuna, beans, soup, diapers, Telephone Numbers Advertising & Circulation 756-7669 News 756-5273 Publisher Brett Bezzant Managing Editor Marc Haddock City Editor Karli Poyfair Subscription price S24:- per year Periodicals Postage Paid at American Fork. Utah POSTMASTER: send address change to 59 West Main, American Fork. Utah 84003 Deadlines Classified Advertising . . .Tuesday, noon Display Advertising Monday. 5 p.m. News Monday. 2 p.m. Missionaries .Monday. 2 p.m. Weddings Monday. 2 p.m. Letters to the Editor . . .Monday, 10 a.m. Sports Monday. 10 a.m. Community Calendar . Monday. 10 a.m. Obituaries Tuesday. 1 1 a.m. ness. At the front of the building is a nice big office and a reception area. There- is also an exercise area, a craft room and a TV room, complete with a fireplace. Another wonderful feature of the new center, is that there is a full unfinished basement just ready and waiting for future expansion. This is the kind of good planning that should take place when new city buildings are constructed. Too often, buildings are only made to meet current needs, then as the needs grow and change, a new building is needed. . The new Jacobs Senior Center has been built to last and will serve the community well tor many years to come. It is also conveniently con-veniently located next to the children come together. Their role in unifying our communities com-munities is dynamic and vital, and high school loyalties are as cherished cher-ished by some of our community members as their religion, although changing ward boundaries bound-aries is much simpler than this. I can understand the angst many are experiencing over the proposed changes, even though I won't be personally affected by the changes. My youngest child is a sophomore at American Fork High School. I also have a step-daughter who will graduate from American Fork High this spring, and a daughter who will graduate from Lone Peak High at the same time. - She's a member of the ballroom dance team, which is a combined effort by students at both American Ameri-can Fork and Lone Peak. They will compete together at the National Dancesport Competition at BYU this weekend. Good for them. Also for the record I have, at different dif-ferent times, been on the field and cheered for Pleasant Grove as it won the state football championship, champi-onship, Lone Peak High as it won the state girls basketball championship, champi-onship, and Lehi High School as it won at least two state basketball titles and a state football champi Reader's Forum toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant. deodor-ant. Remember this food stays in the area. The majority of this food is given out to single parent families. In one month the Community Action Agency helped 1,900 people. These people would have not eaten if it hadn't been for you. We wish to thank all of the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, National Guardsmen and Army Reservists for their help. It's truly a wonderful thing about people helping people. If you are in the Timpanogos District Dis-trict and have questions, please call Kent or Nadine Johnson, 374-6564. Kent and Nadine Johnson Timpanogos District Scouting For Food School board was rude Editor: Tuesday night's School Board hearing was very interesting since there were many viewpoints expressed and the audience was very courteous from my point of view. There was little or no dissension dissen-sion among the patrons, but the School Board Members were another anoth-er thing. They would interrupt and disrupt dis-rupt those speaking when they disagreed dis-agreed but the audience was not given that prerogative and were hushed if there was a vocal dis We welcome letters to the editor. All letters must include J authors name (printed AND signed) and a telephone n J ber. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, p"3 "on, taste and length. Letters are welcome on any topic How By Mail P.O. Box 7, American UT 84003 In Pfrsom building TVinrnpberrv Atrium co. TVinrnpbprrvAtriiim cor,;. .1. j uor ana ' ' ments. Seniors living there easily walk over to the center 'l spend time with other senior,,511 The Jacobs family dese . 1 many thanks for donating building of the new center. TV ' generosity will benefit map,,6.1 the community. Tony Onofrietti also desen pat on the back for his tirele-work tirele-work in obtaining a Comrnuri Block Grant from the governrne : and for complying with all l requirements given for the grani' A community open house vpfl be held April 20, however the SeL ft iors have almost completed i I' move from the old center to tV9' new one. Lunch was served Mon':-;;3'ie'1' day. The Senior Center nornrf,?' serves around 20 to 23 luncC;pP'c each day. Volunteers hope with the new center, more senii'" citizens will come and taii advantage or me programs are offered. And after seeing tHlLl , u,,;i 1,0 u -l, ? H V imtely think they will come. lot of nerve .1 I ":";d wen onship. I haven't personally witness American Fork win a sports titk but I've cheered for a fair share their band competitions andha photographed over 90 percent their football games, home an away, over the past 18 years, not I-mention I-mention a fair number of basket ball games, soccer games, basebal games, track meets and so on. I've learned that, for the moj part, our kids are good kids d our high schools are good schoo all of them. The board of educ tion is struggling with some touj issues as it tries to maintain qui ity programs in all the district high schools. j; In the process, the district ha decided that aligning scho( boundaries with cities' politic! borders is no longer compatibi: with the goal of giving our kids tl best education possible. That kind of decision is going); upset a lot of people, mostly thoj patrons whose children are beii ; forced to move from one school : another. It's hard to take offense, intemperate remarks when em tional issues like these ar involved. The goal here, of course, is tod what's best for the students - i, of the students. That's what elect school board members to do.- Not everyone will agree with th final decision, of course. Many w3 disagree passionately. On the other hand, the schoo district is telling us it's time to sep arate civic pride from school spirit It's a painful change for a grovifl community, but a necessary one. i-tnt Sod' s!ya ;;j c ::eff ;$;8. the ... I: lit 02 aid th 3D. 2 pre ;dH. d to ::.:!in. k a wen :Mh agreement with what the Schoo Board said. ;'.'; I can honestly say that it was constructive con-structive until the final five or a. -minutes when the School Boaii members gave their views. Insteal of going into a closed session review of the comments which . ,j f been made they made cornmentN"i2 which made you realize that tbw would be no discussion now or ever What was most disheartning me was the way the Mayor Edwari -. Sanderson of Pleasant Grove ir-:, j' treated. He came with a leWK:.?,;, signed by the city council and too self as Mayor. This was an offioa.. document of the city formulated."1! city council meeting with c'tlZj.;--; input. He represented the city a;' :?,;;': not himself. . The way he was treated wasd picable, rude, and without regard for his position. He was uw rupted, challenged, then askeJ-':"i stop talking because he exceed the three minutes because his co ,.- ments were a credible challenge.-,;-; the School Board and would undj.; cut their decision. It was disgrace ; : for one elected group to treat ano er in the fashion they did. J ':; C It is sad how the School m has been able to pit coning against, community because ot ti poor judgement now and in thevs Lowi ell n-1"" I,' TO REATH U S Fork By Fax 756-5274 By E-Mail editornewutah.com 59 W. Main, American Fork |