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Show Free Press - Wednesday, August 11, 1993 - Page Editorial Was weather just created for conversation? It's a poor way to raise our taxes Question: When is a tax increase not a tax increase? Answer: When your taxes go up, but your tax rate doesn't. This is the situation individuals who live in the Alpine School District will be facing t his year as the district maintains its current tax rate and realized a dollar tax increase as part of the bargain. And while your tax rate for the Alpine School District will remain the same, your taxes will be more because your house is being taxed at a higher value Voila! Instant tax increase. For 1993, the Utah County Assessor has increased the value at which homes are taxed by an average 9 percent. Since property taxes are based on those values, unless tax rates are adjusted, property taxes go up as well. While there are other factors in the tax situation, the fact is that the school district is taking advantage of the increase in property valuations by leaving the tax rate at its current level effectively netting an extra quarter of a million dollars to fund the start-ucosts of a Life and Learning Center, a new concept alternative high school for the Alpine School District. Utah law is designed to handle this situation by requiring a "truth in taxation" hearing when actual tax rates are increased or when taxes are increased because of a reappraisal of property values. The school district was scheduled to hold that hearing last night. But there are problems inherent in quarter-of-a-millio- n - p this form of increasing taxes. In the first place, it required the taxing entity to change nothing in order to receive more funds. It is doubtful the school district would be calling for a tax increase to "start up" the Life and Learning Center if there were no change this year in property valuations - especially in light of the fact that last year Alpine patrons voted in a leeway tax as well as a bond issue to -- build two new junior high schools. Nevertheless, this is a tax increase, not maintenance of the current tax amount. In the second place, taxpayers can be assured that once the tax increase is in place, it will not be rescinded. "Temporary" taxes never are. Any entity that relies on public funds especan always cially school districts find plenty of ways to use any tax windfall that comes their way. True, they may need it. Our schools always need it. But there is something insidious about increasing our taxes and labeling the increase as maintaining the status quo. Finally, the tax increase is not a large one. Figured for homes from $50,000 to $150,000, district officials say the increase will amount to from $4 to $10 a year. But in a year when taxpayers are expected to take a hit in energy taxes and funding for an undisclosed health care reform bill, not to mention the deficit reduction plan passed last week by Congress, any tax increase is too great. - - as-y- et How much stress before we reach breaking point Some time ago I stood in that spot known as Mountain Meadows. It was here that a massacre took place that has been a stain on the history of the LDS Church. I had read several reports of this incident but hardly knew how to judge them. As I looked over this lonely place I wondered just how much taunting and persecution a man or men can take before they retaliate. My thoughts went back to an incident that happened when I was working at Geneva Steel. I was the personnel man at the Blast Furnace department. World War II was on and manpower was a real problem. Anyone who could walk could be hired. A young man from Orem applied and was hired immediately. He owned a fruit farm but during the summer months this did not create any problem and he was a good worker. Then came the fall and the fruit crop ripened and our farmer started to take a week off of unauthorized time to harvest his but fruit. The first time was after two or three times it could not be tolerated and he was terminated. In those days, the War Manpower Commission had an office at Geneva and every man leaving Geneva had to pass through this office and, if they did not have a good reason for leaving, an official release would not be granted and the man was in danger of being drafted into the Armed Forces. It was decided that harvesting fruit was not a reason for a release and my terminated man was so notified. Later that afternoon, Dave (that wasn't his real name) came to my office and demanded I give him a release. I told him in a nice, quiet way that I could not issue a release, that the War Manpower Commis- over-looke- If Browsing The old cliche says that, "Everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it." I think the reason no one does anything is because we would have nothing to do if we couldn't complain about the weather. Weather must have been created for that very purpose. This summer, for example, the cool weather during June made me forget that I usually hate summer. When the climate was pleasant, I was pleasant. Then the hotter, summer weather set in, warming up day by day until my complain-o-sta- t kicked on and I started becoming uncomfortable with the heat. Even with our showers during the last week, I keep thinking about how much more I enjoy winter than summer. I may not like the inconvenience of the snow or the costs associated with heating a home, but my philosophy about the winter has kept me quite satisfied. My outlook says th at "you can always get warmer in the winter, but you can only take off so much to get cool during the summer." I'm perfectly happy adding a sweater, socks or even thermal underwear to my attire, and I really enjoy adding extra blankets to the bedding. But a fan only circulates hot air, and one must wear a dignified amount of clothing out in public. Should I feel guilty about all of this complaining? No, because someone else surely must love the heat, and I know plenty of people who berate the winter climate. as to who had the better It was a toss-ufireworks show last Saturday night - Highland City or Mother Nature. Oh, Highland had some fine displays of pyrotechnical prowess, as therockets soared into the sky and burst into a variety of shapes and colors and bangs and booms. Oh, the show wasn't paced as well as the Lagoon Fourth of July show, which had musical accompaniment and impeccable timing. But it moved quicker than the Steel Days fireworks show. And it had the added accompaniment of brilliant flashes of lightning in the background - sheet lightening that illuminated the clouds like the backlighting of the angels and forked lightning that lit up the sky with jagged streaks carved from the clouds to the earth. At times theexplodingfireworks and the flashes of lighting coincided in a wonderful e of display of the and nature-mad- e brilliance that delighted the eye. The thunder was carriecf away with the wind, but the overall display was tremendous fun. It was a unique combination of events which created this wonderful display - and another unique combination of events is in the making for tonight for another "fireworks" display, a meteor shower the likes of which may not be seen again for decades. It's called a meteor storm-- - if it happens. And frankly it's like other storms that are predicted and then either do or don't come about. You just can't tell. This is the week of the Perseid meteor shower - when usually you can spot a meteor a minute as it crashes into the earth's atmosphere and burns itself up in the brilliant flash we call a shooting star. Like stellar clockwork, each August our planet passes through a part of space that sioners were the only ones empowered to do this. Dave left, but was very angry. It was quitting time when Dave showed up again. He had had a drink or two to bolster his courage. He demanded I give him a release. His language was threatening with some pretty strong swear words. Again I told him I could not give him a release. With that he said, "I will see you off the job." By now my Welsh blood was beginning to warm up and I felt my hair beginning to curl. "Very well, Dave, if you want to see me off the job, now is the time." I took my coat off and hung it up. "Come on," I said. "We will go out the west gate which is off the job and we will settle our problem." I took off for the west gate. About halfway there, I turned around to see where Dave was. He was nowhere in sight. Needless to say, he was drafted into the Army. During indoor exercising three days a week, I tune the TV set to a ballgame or to the public TV channel. When there is no ballgame scheduled and no Nova program to watch, I am sometimes reduced to watchingoneof the several TV talk shows. . -- be on TV. Surely they can't be serious. Most plead that "they have a right in this free country to be different." Paul Harvey's mother was Danish ; his father was French and German. I am what Homer McKee once described as "an boy - mean' else." something 'mostly ing so was proud and Our family always Amerithe of be to now "great part happy can family" that it would never have occurred to us to display any other flag in our home, literally or figuratively. Such divided allegiance would have -- 3gujs Paul Harvey Products Inc. been tantamount to keeping your first wife's picture in your second wife's bedroom. Yet on TV, I am hearing and seeing Americans who appear to be strainingfor some other identity. I felt alone in my dismay until I read a scholar with such impeccable credentials as Daniel Boorstin on the subject. This esteemed author of 20 history books; former librarian of Congress, believes "the greatest danger our nation faces is the present emphasis on what separates us than wh at pulls us together." Boorstin writes, "I think the notion of hyphenated Americans is Polish-American- s, Italian-American- s, Our different climatic preferences are one of the things that make life interesting. Life would be too easy if we all had the same temperature level. If other husbands and wives are like Diane and me, the fan speed enjoyed by one spouse is most likely not to agree with the other spouse's proposed fan speed. How do couples adjust their differences? Some may use the "I'm on the side with the fan"method, setting the velocity so that the fan cools the person closest to the machine, many times blocking the flow of air to the other side, hence, the other spouse. Personally, we end up with the "I just turned it up while I was reading" method, coupled with my explanation that I forget to turn it back down before I turned out the light. During the winter, on the other hand, we have no problem. Well, not much of a problem. When I'm cold, I add more blankets; since Diane has already added several layers of clothing to her person before getting into bed, she doesn't require as many extra blankets. man-mad- -- . . . , . . , Now, there are no guarantees that we will see anything. Patrick Wiggins ofHansen Planetarium told me that the meteor storm is expected to put on its best show for' Southern Europe or the East Coast of the United States and the show may be over by the time it gets dark enough in Utah to see anything beyond your regular meteor '. shower (which should peak around Thurs- - -- By MARC HADDOCK is full of tiny pieces of dust and debris that become meteors. The shower is named after the constellation Perseus. That's where the meteor showers seem to originate when looking at them from the earth. The dust particles that create the Persieds are left behind by the Comet which only passed through our solar system once every 130 years - and after many years they wear down noticeably to the rate we have become accustomed to. But the comet reappeared this year, circuit around the sun making its before it headed off again towards the far reaches of space, leaving in its wake a lot of new debris so much debris that a space shuttle launch has been postponed to eliminate the chanceof a space pebble that might be traveling at 160,000 mph from cracking the Discovery's windshield. But there is no way to prevent the earth from passing through this debris, and the potential for what is called a "Meteor Storm" is the greatest it has been since 1966. Talk about a show. Instead of the an hour, in some places on earth they could see some 400 to 500 meteors per hour or more. Swift-Tuttl- e, meteor-a-minut- e 130-ye- - ' day morning). Ifyou see one before it gets dark, Wiggins said, head for cover. He is also wary about making any prom-- ' ' ises. There is no guarantee at all that anything will happen," he said. "But we are"; " hoping it is going to happen." He also gave the following instructions to help make the most out of this year's Perseids. Go outside, get away from the city lights and find a place that has a broad northern horizon, since that is a likely place for the meteors to appear. Take a lawn chair or a sleeping bag, the . basic equipment for this kind of exercise, ' and lie down and watch the northern sky early the night, shifting to the northeast as ' the evening progressing. He also advises taking some munchies, your favorite beverage, and some good com, pany. Don't take a telescope or binoculars. This is not the kind of astronomical display that looks better close up, since the instruments limit the amount of sky you can watch. Look everywhere, and keep your eyes wide open. The meteors should come either thick or thin. Unless, of course, the sky is cloudy. In that case, look for lightning. Nature has lots of way to put on a good .' show. Letters to the editor Men helpless? Give us a break Editor: This letter is in response to Rachel C. Murdock's letter which appeared in the Lehi Free Press 72893, entitled "Are Men More Helpless Nowadays or What?" Give us a break! First, let me say I am not the perfect husband. I make mistakes and sometimes I can't get to everything that needs to be done around the house, and sometimes I don't want to get to everything. However, I feel that I accomplish the most important items African-America- 1993 By RUSS DALY p -- By TOM GRIFFITHS The Daly Planet We no longer have an electric blanket for our bed, but we're probably wise, because. the one we used to have only had one control. I would imagine that dual controls, are necessary in most households. Offices provide another interesting fo- rum for weather preference observations. Our American Fork office seems to have a broad range of temperature pockets, many of which are not suited to the person work-- . ing at that location. The darkroom, for example, not only doesn't seem to receive the benefits of the air conditioning, but is actually hindered in the process due to some of the equipment that must be used in the confined quarters. When I worked for the government, our. office had windows that had no openings., During the spring, I longed to open those panes in order to enjoy the blossoming, weather. All week, we looked longingly out the glass, mad with spring fever, anxiously waiting for Saturday. Almost without fail, those Saturdays brought rain. We were so glad to have the freedom to be out in the open air, we piled in the car and drove around anyway, never goinginto stores or malls, but driving in the open air, keep-- , ing the windows open as much as possible. Now summer is here again, and I've started complaining, although I'm thankful that I didn't have to start as early as usual. And with the way time seems to fly by, autumn is just around the corner, promis-- . ing a wave of emotions that are practically inexpressible, but allowing no justifiable complaints. Nature puts on fireworks shows, too The Editor's Column our ancestors had stayed put Each host, seeking to the other, showcases mostly the weirdest of weirdos. Surely someday a scandalous expose will reveal that many of these aberrant characters are phonies who invent their craziness for the hundreds of dollars they receive for appearing - or perhaps just to 2 emphasize diversity when what built our country was community." If the melting pot does not melt, we face the ultimate evolution of polarization, which is confrontation. They are experiencing this anguish now in the "ethnic cleansing" in Bosnia, in the tribal wars in Africa, in the painful fragmenting of what once was the U.S.S.R. Boorstin notes that teaching children of immigrants in their own language in our public schools "restricts their opportunities for entering the mainstream of American life." Boorstin believes everybody who adopts our country as his own is entitled to a fresh start. "For us to try to disappear into our roots is a Bunyan step backward." Now I feel more comfortable with my own resentment of those adopted Americans who are so disrespectful of their new homeland that they prefer confrontation to assimilation. Not one of us whose ancestors lived elsewhere in the world - not one of us would be better off today - if those ancestors had stayed put. -- -- each day before going to bed. Now if this seems to put some little project on hold for a while so be it. Mrs. Murdock compared her husband to her father. This is a comparison which should have been forgotten the moment she said I do. Trying to make her husband into her father can only lead to trouble, her article should never have been published. Can you imagine what the response would be to a letter written by a man entitled "Are Women More Helpless Nowadays or What?" This guy would have the ACLU, 60 Minutes and 48 Hours on his front porch the next morn- never happen. Why? Because the American male is too busy. He works six days a week to make ' ends meet, comes home to a list of honejf do's from a loving wife who constantly com pares him to her father, knowing well ahead ; of time "because a women just knows these things" that hell never do them as well as Z her dad did. Mrs. Murdock, could this be the reason your husband is afraid to hook up the washing machine? Then after this is all; done, have time to go to a Men's Center to learn how to cope. I don't think so! In reality we live in a rush here rush' ing. This "Women" issue, as well as other there world for both women and men. Usu: social issues in America are getting way out ally it takes both husband and wife working of line. Let me explain. I am a "European part or full time just to make ends meet. American," not just a white American, so What this requires, Mrs. Murdock, is paplease don't call me a white male, or tell me tience from both women and men, not a 1 can't jump or I will be offended. How many comparison of generations past. times a day do you see a hospital advertisMarriage is a partnership that takes not ing a "Men's Health Center," for the special 50 percent but each person must give 100 problems that only men have. None! Now I percent to the relationship. If this does not ; know there is a special need for women that happen, then I guess you will just have to be is why they have "Women's Centers" which disappointed with a leaky faucet until your help them cope. But what about a Men's father comes from the farm to fix it. ' Center to help them cope with the women who go to the Women's Centers. That will Jensen '. '. Censorship still alive Editor: I read (in the Salt Lake Tribune) about the Steel Days Art Contest and Betty Listen's "Best of Show" painting. I am sorry to hear that censorship is still alive and well in Utah County. I applaud your editor's decision to run a in Utah County photo of the winning painting in your excel-- , lent paper. I have picked up copies from-- ; time to time while visiting your area and '' have enjoyed reading it. . on letters to the editor Policy We welcome letters to the editor. All letters should be Thalle Salt Lake City, typewritten and double spaced. Letters must also be signed, and must include the writer's name and telephone number. Please send letters to Editor, Newtah News Group, P.O. Box 7, American Fork, Utah, 84003. |