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Show Comments Free Press - Wednesday, January 8, 1997 - Page 2 View is nicer when the kids are in school Editorial Communities are all suffering growth pains Growth. That's the common theme through all the news stories about what lies ahead for north Utah County, and Utah itself, in 1997. And that means growing pains because no community can meet the challenges of growth without paying the costs of growth. For example, take American Fork's most recent run-iwith the Home Builders Association of Utah, who filed suit to challenge the city's impact fees and ended up bringing a moratorium on home building. The city is working out its probn lems and the General Plan will play a major role in determining impact fees that will stand up to legal challenges. In the meantime, the city has set up a mechanism to allow construction to continue. Pleasant Grove has worked through a controversial transit zone adoption that will give the city more options in configuring its downtown area. But the change didn't come without plenty of over the ramifications of high density housing near a major transportation terminus one of the interpretations of what the new zone might allow. Lehi has seen growth but not the growth it was anticipating a year ago. Micron is on hold, but that hasn't stopped the people almost-complete- hand-wringin- d g coming, coming and coming. With proposals for Saratoga Springs on and the massive Deerfield on the north, Lehi is well on its way to becoming the third largest community in Utah Valley. Just keeping up is going to be a challenge. Growth has created such a stir in Alpine that residents have petitioned to bring one controversial annexation back before the public for a vote. You don't see that often. And while Alpine and Highland have responded to the growth with the creation of a public safety district that includes joint fire and ambulance service for the communities, they can't find a location to build a home for the new fire trucks and ambulances they will need to provide those services. Highland also faces the painful e experience of putting in a sewer system and a secondary irrigation system at considerable expense. Cedar Hills, which must grow to survive, has generated a lot of animosity with plans for a sewer line that has required the extraordinary step of condemning property never a popular option for a city. But while the growth may be painful, it is also inevitable. And the inconveniences we suffer now will pay off in the long run with better planning, improved infrastructure and superior services. the south city-wid- Resolving to be kind Brynn's Beat This year I've really struggled to come up with a list of New Year's Resolutions. Not because I am so perfect that I could- n't think of anything I needed to work on. But, because it was too depressing to compile a list that was made completely of old resolutions that were never accom- By BRYNN BECK plished. Believe me, it is difficult to get motivated about a list that reminds you that most of your good intentions have gone nowhere. The last thing that I needed was anoth- ning a wonderful chain of events. In this case, the book proved to be correct, my friend's random act of kindness has sparked a desire in me to give an act of kindness whenever an opportunity presents itself. That is my simple New Year's weekly meetings, buying expensive equipment, or vowing to avoid things that I like. What I was looking for was a simple resolution, one that didn't require a lot of planning or forethought; something that could even be done on a spontaneous or erratic basis. Giving myself some credit, I am really good at doing things erratically. Then an interesting thing happened, something out of the ordinary that made my one single resolution for the New Year as clear as my new calendar. A friend gave me an old computer. His family wasn't using it anymore, they had upgraded their equipment several times and this particular computer was sitting in storage. So, he just gave it to me, because he knew I wanted one and couldn't afford it. Don't jump to any grandiose conclusions. My resolution isn't to write a best selling novel so that I can, in turn, buy computer equipment to repay my friend. (Although, writing a novel has been on my list of resolutions a time or two.) His gesture did make me think about a book that I read several years ago about Random Acts of Kindness. This book suggested that even the smallest acts of kindness can have a huge impact on the receiver. Of course, the person who does the act of kindness gets a boost too, but the receiver inevitably feels compelled to do something kind for someone else. Thus, begin- - I can't pay for the computer and who knows, I may never be able to return the favor to this friend with one of equal value. But I believe in that old adage, "what goes around comes around." Many good things should be in store for this guy. Meanwhile, I will attempt to follow through with this resolution any time that I can. Maybe just by letting the person in the grocery line, with only three items, go ahead of me; or by holding the door for someone; paying for a complete stranger's diet cola when it is obvious that we are both on a desperate quest for caffeine late at night. (The true act of kindness in the last scenario is that I didn't make my husband go for me.) Hey, do you think donating that torture contraption, that I bought last New Year's to "sculpt" my abs, to charity qualifies as kindness? If so, the possibilities are without limit! The best thing about this resolution is that it seems like it will be easy and painless to accomplish. (Even fun.) It may be the first New Year's resolution that I could legitimately cross off my list and say that I have completed. But something tells me that this is one resolution that I wouldn't mind seeing on my list year after year. Yes, I would definitely say that this resolution is going to permanently replace the ab sculpting thing, especially now that I have given away my equipment. er resolution that required attending state-of-the-a- rt Resolution. Winning the war on fat? that eats fat, or at least stops your body from absorbing it. This is great news for a man who was born with enough fat cells for twins. Over the years, I have contributed enough money to my tailor to keep him in luxury in his old age. Let the pants out, take the pants battle. in. It has been a Researchers are closing in on the fat problem. The day is coming when we can eat whatever we feel like eating without worrying about putting on pounds. We are told that we spend over $30 billion a year fighting the fat problem. Will those who have been living off the fat of the land be going out of business? No more expensive weight-los- s programs. We will simply swallow a pill that will take care of the fat problem. This will be bad news for all of those e who manufacture those products that are crowding real food off the shelf at the supermarket. I imagine they are hiring their own scientists to expound on e the side effects caused by a pill. What we need now is a pill that will tone our muscles. Going for long walks or working out on one of those exercise machines is a total bore. I am sure that if the researchers put their minds to it. Finally, a pill never-endin- g fat-fre- fat-fre- Dick Boland 1997 Creators Syndicate, Inc. they can come up with a pill that will firm up our flab. Of course, we won't have any flab if the fat pill works. Just the same, a pill that will keep the muscles in shape would be a great boon to all of those who have developed sedentary habits due to their obese condition. Once a person drops 50 to 100 pounds, it is very easy for him to overdo because he feels so good. The fat pill will most likely come with a warning that too much exercise can be dangerous to your health, hence the need for the muscle pill. I suppose we are looking at a time when we will be able to exist solely on No amount of money in the world could convince a teacher friend of mine to shorten (by any considerable length) the number of days in the Christmas break. I had told him that, given the gross lack chilof brain activity among my school-ag- e dren, I would be willing to pay to have my children go to school during the holidays next Christmas. When I was a child, I enjoyed the same vacation arrangements, but even those memories have become clouded by the fruse urchins. tration with I tell them just as I have explained that in my day, one walked several miles to and from school in the most miserable weather conditions that we attended school up until the day before Christmas and returned the day after New Year's. Perhaps I exaggerate, but it has shown me how we tend to remember things differently as we change stations in life. While we're on the subject of education, I can also remember a time when I enjoyed the three month summer vacation period as much as the next kid. In fact, I almost made a ritual of sleeping in until noon on that first day out, a practice which brought extreme disapproval from my father. But "sleeping in," which actually consisted not so much of sleeping as it did of merely lounging in bed, was somehow like a dog leaving its mark, a symbol of freedom from the rigors of the school day. The annual lounging eventually had to stop, and even the idea of frittering away three months of time became anathema to me after I had the opportunity to observe some of the workings of the Japanese educational system. Students in that country attend school throughout the year, with short breaks at certain times; they also have some sort of structured work for half a day on Saturday. They have some other ideas that may seem quite radical to American students, such as wearing school uniforms and cleaning up their schools each day. The students must not only wear a regulation uniform, but cannot change to vari- - The Daly S2 Planet By RUSS DALY ations, such as removing the coat, until a certain day of the year. Some schools even require the students to wear the uniform when they go outside their own neighborhood, even in settings. In addition, the students are responsible for cleaning up both the inside and outside of the school building and grounds. I would imagine that young people who are required to clean thoir surroundings would be very wise to keep their environment clean in the first place. And if one person chooses not to take preventive steps on his or her own accord, I bet his or her peers could provide the necessary motivation. Although I would not have wished such a grueling schedule for my own use at that age, I can see some real advantages from a parental perspective, and not just to get my kids out of the house. Having looked at both methods, I wonder if we couldn't help our young people get farther ahead, while providing an outlet for some real discipline in their lives. hamlet of Growing up in the Lehi, I always thought I wanted to get out when I had the chance. After graduating from BYU, that opportunity was given to me, and we moved across the country to Maryland. Although we enjoyed the cross country trip and the historical sites and sights of the Washington, D.C. area, we soon came to famirealize that what we had in Utah was completely unavailable on the ly east coast. non-scho- once-sma- ll So we moved back, despite my earlier attempts to rid myself of small town life. And ever since, the number of people who want to move to just such a town have instead forever changed that atmosphere. While it is likely that the true nature of Lehi will not change, there are some new face. perspectives that we must all At one time, many of us knew the majority of people we would meet at the post office, the bank (especially when there was only one) or one of the markets. I have heard a great number of people remark that they no longer recognize a significant percentage of their fellow townspeople. Even telephone numbers are becoming unrecognizable, and where we once could simply recite the last four digits of the phone number, we must now specify which prefix is involved in the process. Addresses, too, are becoming more sophisticated as developers choose to name streets rather than number them. Airport Drive is fairly easy to understand, but Mesa Avenue sounds so foreign. Especially because the word mesa conjures up images of a high plateau, when in reality the area is more of a ridge than a big butte. (Of course, the residents of that vista might have a different perspective.) I was fascinated by a comment made by a councilmember of Eagle Mountain, who said they wanted to move to the new town because Highland was getting too big. As a child of this area, I can remember when Highland was little more than farmland. Highland was discovered and the people started moving in. I wonder what will happen with Eagle Mountain as potential residents see it as a way to get out of the big city. When California becomes deserted, thanks to the people who are moving here in an attempt to get away from the hustle and bustle of life in the fast lane, the people in the metropolitan area of Lehi may want to consider moving there. Perhaps they will have a change of perspective. We couldn't have danced all night When I told Sharon I was going to take her dancing for New Year's Eve, she just laughed. It was something I'd been threatening to do for years, but I don't recall that we actually ever really danced or anything like that. In my earlier days, I was a noted dancer. That is because I grew up in a time when abandon was one of the best things a dancer could have going for him, or her. Pardon me if I age myself here, but in the sixth grade I could do the Twist better than anyone else in my elementary school. It was a small school, but, hey, I was a good twister, too. In fact, I was so good that I developed a kind of reputation that followed me through junior high and high school, not to mention through the jerk and the swim and whatever else the craze happened to be in a given year. One of my most vivid high school memories comes from a dance in my sophomore year. I had broken my arm in wrestling practice a few weeks before the dance and was sporting a short cast, but that didn't stop me from dancing wildly on the floor, waving both arms in a way that threatened my fellow dancers' I got a warning from one of the teachers chaperoning the dance that I was a safety concern on the dance floor. It was a proud well-bein- day. 1 don't know much about Sharon's high school dance experiences, but she tends to be more reserved than I. Still I'm certain she could hold her own on the dance floor. When my daughters were young, I used to dance them around the living room all the time, sweeping them off their feet and spinning them around so that it left them unsteady when they were placed back on their feet. Or else they would put their little feet on top of mine and we would waltz across the floor. But as they grew, so did their feet, and we can't do that last maneuver any more without causing me serious damage. My experiences in community theater have convinced me that any grace with which I was blessed in high school has long since abandoned me. I've had to dance on the stage now and then, but my efforts have always produced more comic relief than artistic refinement. pills. I realize some people do this now but they don't last long. We will most likely be doing our grocery shopping at the drug store. The new drug has been given to mice without any adverse results. We all know that when it comes to scientific research, whatever is good for a mouse is good for us. When you stop and think about it, there are probably as many mice in this world as there are people. They are also a lot easier to use in the laboratory, as anyone who has ever cleaned up a monkey cage will tell you. Not only that, a dead mouse can be dise posed of without a bunch of animal nuts interfering. It seems most of the diet drugs work on the brain. I suppose I could object to the fact that a mouse brain, which is the size of a pea, works just like mine. However, if I am going to be able to down milkshakes and Big Mai s without having to count fat grams, i will go along with the comparison. Scienct is still at a loss for curing or preventing the common cold, but if we are going to be spending money on research, I can live with an occasional cold to be able to eat all the fat I can hold. right-to-lif- hadn't been there for years, not since the Traverse Mountain controversy. Finally we found our way to the dance and dinner. Dinner resembled what you would expect from an LDS Ward dinner, but not bad, considering. We sat across from a couple from Draper. The man just happened to work with our neighbor, so we had some common ground. And both served on the Draper Arts Council, so we had some common ground there, as well. We learned a bit about the community and the dance. Things got a little dicey when we reached the dance floor. For one thing, they weren't kidding when they talked about big band music. The joint wasjumpin'. And the few couples who braved the dance floor were not novices. Sharon and I sat and waited for things to slow down a bit before we joined the fray. It gave us a good chance to people watch, and we were amazed at the agility and ability of some of the older couples on the We ThG Editors Column By MARC HADDOCK fTi ( Nevertheless, I was willing to give it a try when New Year's Eve came around this year, for a number of reasons. For one, the kids no longer rely on the parents to help provide New Year's Eve activities. They are all old enough to have their own plans on Dec. 31. And that frees Sharon and me up to pursue our own entertainment. For another, I recently read that men can gain points if they do all the planning for an evening out. Women consider this a romantic thing for a man to do. And I need all the points I can get. Unfortunately, most of the New Year's Eve activities I could find were pretty expensive. So when I read about this dance an sponsored by the Draper Arts Council evening that included dinner and dancing until midnight to the sounds of live big I thought here band music for $12 each was a chance to make good on the promise. After all, Draper is practically next door, with city limits adjacent to Alpine and Lehi. And my wife was excited and pleased that I had made all the arrangements which consisted of one telephone call. You don't make points any easier than that. So on New Year's Eve we got dressed up and about 8:30 p.m. we headed for the Point of the Mountain. It took us a while to find the dance, which was held in the same old school that houses Draper's city offices. floor. And then we danced. For my part, I'm certain I lacked grace and flair, and Sharon found that she still had a tendency to want to lead on the dance floor. But we worked our way through all that. We even tried to join the line dance that one guy started during New York, New York. And we had a lot of fun. But before the night was over we realized there is a lot about dancing that we've forgotten, and a lot more that we never learned. The end result was a resolution of sorts. The Dancing Friends meet on Jan. 24, with an hour of instruction before the actual dancing begins, and I believe we'll be there. Maybe by next New Year's Eve, we won't be so awkward out there on the dance floor. And just for safety's sake, I'll leave my cast at home, too. Letters to the editor To the kids who stole my Christmas Editor: I hope the kids who stole my Christmas presents off my front porch enjoyed them and I hope I never find out who they are and lose my respect for them. I have lived here for more than 20 years and have never had anything like this happen before. To my good neighbors who may have left presents, I thank you, although I have no way of knowing what you gave. Even so, I appreciate your thoughtfulness much. very It is getting pretty low when you can't trust people. I guess we cannot leave gifts on our porches anymore and run the risk of ruining the spirit of giving. Ruth A. Thomas Thanks to Marilyn Nielson Editor: I would like to publicly express my appreciation to a lovely lady in Lehi. Her name is Marilyn Nielson. She has been the director at the Senior Citizen Center for the past several years. I have only been able to really watch her the past four years. At this time, my mother became involved in going there. I know how much she enjoyed going there and mingling with-- . the other senior participants. Everyone haSTfiade many good friends there. It is really a neat place for all the seniors to meet every day. Marilyn has worked very hard to have fun, exciting and interesting places for them to go. A few include: attendance at the Hale Theatre, an overnight trip to Logan, outings to the canyon to experience the beauty of the fall colors, outdoor cooking at the park, entertainment pro vided by doggers and fiddlers, and most recently, Marilyn had planned a wagon ride at Thanksgiving Point with an accompanying catered dinner. One of the places Marilyn has set up for the seniors to eat is Mellor Banquets right here in Lehi. They have always served the seniors for special occasions. They all enjoyed these get togethers. Marilyn has also asked several ladies to help make party favors to help decorate the tables for the holidays throughout the year. They have added a lovely touch, and all have enjoyed them. She always has the Wellness Clinics at the center and expresses concern to help those in need or assistance. Marilyn, you have done an exceptional job and I as a daughter of a Senior Citizen am expressing my sincere appreciation for a job very well done. Lynda Beal |