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Show 1 en: -1 380 T ? ' LfiKE SOUTH ClTy ,.T 64: ii Mm JIT Wednesday, March 2, 1988 Vol. 10. No. 9 50 cents a single copy grant will help remodel new library $100,000 Members of the local library board heaved a collective sigh of gratitude when they received word that the library had received a $100,000 federal grant administered through the state library board. The application for the grant had been prepared by Neil Young, chairman, and other members of the Lehi Library Board. The application, plus several interviews state advisory committee members had with with Lehi board members, including Lehi City Librarian Janean Watkins and Young, resulted in the decision to give $100,000 to Lehi, although the competition for the money was keen. "We were competing with Salt Lake City, Murray, Salt Lake County and the Orem Libraries. We're very thrilled to get the grant. It was a lot of work, but it paid off," said Watkins. The grant will be used to remodel and make a library out of the old Lehi Junior High cafeteria and bandroom. The building will also house a senior citizen center complete with a conference room, multipurpose room and a historical archives room. Plans are to add on more space (if needed) at the back of the cafeteria. The area will include a covered walkway and handicap ramps. Watkins said that building costs would require the entire amount of grant money, plus an equal amount of matching funds from the city. "We'll have to have other funds to purchase more books," Watkins said. "The plans are drawn and ready to go," she continued saying that they hope to be moved in by September. Mayor Tripp told library board members that bids for the project would be let in June, according to Watkins. Members of the library board who have worked diligently to get the grant are: Neil Young, chairman; Geniece Thornton; Gary Christiansen; Michelle Holbrook; Vickie Nelson and Ray Madsen. Guy Cash is city council representative to the library board. Janean Lehi Watkins, librarian, looks over plans to remodel new library. feast mJa! to Hearing air training school laundry plan Employees at the Utah State Training School laundry see an upcoming public hearing and a meeting with the American Fork City Council as the last two chances to save their jobs. But a spokesman for Utah Correctional Industries (UCI), the government agency that has offered to operate the laundry with inmate labor, said his organization has been assured there are job opportunities for each of the 23 people who will be replaced if the proposal goes through. Laundry employees have asked for a place on the American Fork City Council agenda for their March 8 meeting. Also a public hearing is scheduled March 17 on the proposal. Directed by the Utah Corrections Industries, the hearing will be at 7 p.m. in the auditorium on the campus of the training school. The board of the Utah Division of Services to the Handicapped voted unanimously at their Feb. 24 meeting to approve a plan to use inmates from the prison to operate the laundry - the first step towards carrying out the plan. Officials said the public hearing was not scheduled prior to the DSH decision because if the board turned it down, there would be no need for the hearing. Jerry Dandoy, training school superintendent, told board members the state can save some $177,000 by having the laundry operated by UCI. He said it costs 20 cents per pound to do laundry at the training school now. This would be reduced to 13.7 cents under the proposal. e Dandoy said that 23.5 positions at the laundry would be cut. Five of those could be hired by UCI to help continue operating the laundry, but they will have to become certified correctional officers. None of the laundry employees, from the director down, are eligible full-tim- t) ' J fT - r. vw- - m I Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.iMrmi8fiiTiitiTOfraMT-r- Employees at Utah State Training School laundry press and fold towels with machine. The facility is the center of controversy as Utah Corrections Industries has proposed using inmate labor to operate facility. to "bump" anyone else in the state since they are classified employees, he said. Ten of the employees are 56 years of age and older, he said, and two are 65 or older and are probably eligible for retirement. Dandoy said there are always at the inopenings in direct-car- e and stitution, laundry personnel could apply for these if they desire. "They probably would want to take those positions," he said. He said he would like to see if "reduction in force" regulations could be open statewide so these people might have an opportunity for other jobs in the state system in their line of work. "These employees do not have the right to a job, but we could have positions for all 23 in direct-car- e jobs." Richard Clasby, with UCI, said in a telephone interview, "We have been assured that there are jobs for all the people who will be replaced, and at comparable pay." Dandoy said Monday he expects the proposal to be in place July 1 "unless there are some significant changes. "We are going ahead with starting to draft up the memo of agreement," he said. But the signing of the memo will wait until after the March 17 public Comments from the hearing. will go to the director of the hearing Department of Corrections and the director of the Department of Social Services, who will make the final decision on the change. Clasby said once the agreement is formalized, he expects it will take 60 days to work out the transition. In addition to moving in UCI personnel to operate the laundry fence will be facility, a 10- - to erected around the laundry - "to keep clients and staff from mingling with the inmates," Clasby said. Inmates will be bused to and from the laundry, and kept inside the laundry throughout the day. "It will be as secure a compound as you can find anywhere in the country for this type of operation," Clasby said. "Actually, we are overkilling the security. Level 5 inmates (the type which would be used in the laundry) don't need the kind of security we would be putting in." Clasby said Level 5 inmates already have home visit status for the weekends. But are laundry employees skeptical about how much the state will save by using inmate labor to operate the facility. Jack Wise, a member of the laundry staff, read a letter for the DSH board dated Feb. 5 in which the employees questioned the amount of savings that could be realized. Wise pointed out that costs to operate the laundry are about $400,000 a year. He said this seems high compared to the projected prison labor cost of $150,000 but the prison does not have matching funds like the training school has. For every dollar spent, the training school supplies 26 cents and the federal government 74 cents. Of the $400,000 labor cost, the state provides approximately $104,000. Wise said actually this is much less than the prison proposal. Wise also questioned security, and asked what would happen if there is a lockdown at the prison. He also noted there are 10 individuals with handicaps from the Northern Utah Training Center who now work at the laundry and earn small salaries. These jobs will be eliminated if UCI takes over the laundry because the individuals with handicaps could not with prisoners. "These workshop people are learning skills," Wise said. Training school employees and the Utah Public Employees Association protested the move, saying there that were security problems, savings would not be as high as the proposal indicated, and that 23 training school employees would be put out of work. Board members agreed to have the program evaluated after six months and after a year, with an accounting of the savings made. Women prisoners Save been use-in several buildings at the training school for the past several years, according to Ora Peterson, a former employee of the training school. Mrs. Peterson, who was over the inmate program nearly from it's beginning until she retired last year, said the prisoners were closely supervised and they hari iery little behavior problems. "You had to be on your toes all the time, however," she said. Women in the program were those who had nearly completed their prison term. The big problem, she said, was they were not dependable, and buildings where the women worked found themselves short handed. "If they had a lockdown at the prison, or there weren't enough guards to bring them, or they would get sick, or something else would come up, then we ended up - and we didn't have any shor-thande- -- notice. "Sometimes only one out of 15 would show up," Mrs. Peterson said. But Clasby said that in the five years he had been with UCI, "we have not had a single day when we have had to shut an operation down." Clasby said UCI would meet its contractual agreements, even if it See LAUNDRY on page 3 Chamber to meet Mar. Berl Peterson to retire after 27 years on streets '7 ::-fS "Sl x who recently Berl Peterson, retired after 27 years with the Lehi Police Department, will be honored at an open house on Friday, March 4. The open house is under the direction of the Lehi Police Department and will be in the old junior high lunch room on First North and Center, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend and visit with him and his family. Berl went to work as a regular officer on the police force Feb. 1, 1961. II ( Berl Peterson is retiring after 27 years with Lehi Police. .1 He trained and graduated from the Police Academy at Camp Williams and through the years has completed additional training in every phase of law enforcement Before joining the police department, Berl was a member of lehi's Auxiliary Police, joining shortly after it was organized and remaining until becoming a regular officer. After serving three years as a regular officer, he was appointed of Police to replace Tony Ferkovich, who resigned. He served in that capacity for 18 years. For the past years, he officer has served as a under Chief William Gibbs. At the time Berl was appointed chief, there were only five men on the force - Berl, Clemn Turner, Ray Edwards, Karl Zimmerman and Ashley Nelson. Now - 25 years later - there are nine men on the force. Over the years, he has spent much of his free time in serving the community - speaking to club school classes, organizations, church groups, etc. He is known for going to the extra mile to help people - whether it be to help individuals who had locked their keys in the car, or people who were stranded when their cars broke down or they had a flat tire. Many times people would call him on the telephone for advise or to ask Chief full-tim- e -- him to come to the house for help. He answered hundreds of calls in the middle of the night which required him to get out of bed, get dressed in his uniform and go out -regardless of the weather - to check on a robbery, an accident, a death, or a homicide. He served on the board of direc- tors for the Utah Peace Officers Association (UPOA) for four years, and was an active member of the Utah Chief's Association. His wife also served on the State Women's Auxiliary Board for four years. He has been (and still is) a member of U'hi's Volunteer Fire Department for the past 26 years. Born and raised in Lehi, Berl is the son of Ellis Alonzo and Emma Abigail Lott Peterson. He is the youngest of 11 children and was raised in the family home on Lake Street. He attended school in Ihi and alter graduating from Lehi High Sec PKTF.HSON on page 3 9 Board members of the Chamber of Commerce will meet at Porter's Place, Wednesday, March 9, at noon. All board members are encouraged to attend because this year's assignments will be made at the meeting. Float workshop to be April 9 A Miniature and Mammoth Float Workshop will be held Saturday, April 9, from 10 a.m. until noon, announced Janet Willes, a member of the Parade and Special Events Committee. The theme of the parade will be given, and float and costume ideas will be presented to help participants in selecting and making their entries. Willes said that Modern Display will make a presentation which will help float builders with some good ideas. The workshop will also provide participants with information on renting floats and renting the floats they make to others. This event is being offered through Community School. For enrollment information, call Fawn or Janet Willes, Pett, 768-980- |