OCR Text |
Show Press New Utah! - Wednesday, September 16, 1998 - Page 2 Lehi Fre Opinion Even Murphy would come to a standstill in Utah A failure to communicate The dysfunctional relationship between sister cities Pleasant Grove and Cedar Hills is an object lesson in how to not carry out negotiations between communities that share a common border. And much of the existing problem can be chalked up to communication. Everybody is talking, but nobody is listening. Both Pleasant Grove and Cedar Hills can articulate their points of view in this dispute with calm reason, but neither seems able or willing to listen to the other side, and the views are so disparate that the issue has degenerated into a battle of words that threatens to break out into a legal war at any moment. The losers in this struggle, of course, are the residents of the respective communities, who will have to bear the financial burden of any diplomatic blunders made by their elected city officials. The costs are real. Pleasant Grove, for example, is looking at magnified costs to install d utility lines into the Manila area unless the city can reach an amicable working agreement with Cedar Hills to share lines, cross boundaries, etc. The Manila Annexation has put Cedar Hills in an equally difficult position, because the annexation intrudes physically into the geographical boundaries of the community, making it impossible to tie utility lines together without going through Pleasant Grove to do it. Cooperation is the logical answer. But until these two communities learn to communicate, they will never be able to cooperate. For example, Pleasant Grove recently made overtures for a cooperation agreement between the two communities to share sewer lines, and save costs. But city officials ignored the fact that Cedar Hills had been seeking such an agreement for years on-goi- on-goi- newly-annexe- without a positive response from Pleasant Grove. In that context, Cedar Hills officials balked at the request. Their response was a lengthy letter offering several options, but mainly asking for a little respect. In turn, Pleasant Grove Mayor Ed Sanderson responded by tabling action on several requests by Manila homeowners who have asked to be disconnected from Pleasant Grove so they can be annexed to Cedar Hills. Sanderson says he is simply protecting the interests of his community and that appears to be the case. But in Cedar Hills, and among the Manila home owners in question, Sanderson's actions are seen as playing politics with individuals' private property. The continued delays are particularly grating for these individuals since at the time of the Manila annexation, Pleasant Grove vowed to see that people who wanted their property disconnected from Pleasant Grove and annexed to Cedar Hills could do so as quickly as possible. Such a move does little to further the discussions of mutual benefit, while it feeds the fires of mistrust and acrimony which have been building for years. Perhaps it's time to involve the services of a professional mediator, who can cut through the emotions and hard feelings of past events to arrive at a solution that best serves the residents of both Pleasant Grove and Cedar Hills. Certainly it is time to replace retaliation with reconciliation, and to do some acts of good faith to restore some trust between the governments of the sister cities. Consider the alternative if these communities can't overcome their own blind spots and resolve this dispute in a reasonable and mutually beneficial manner, the results will be more years of added costs and growing animosity between residents of both towns. Let's let George do it By Zig Ziglar 1997 Creators Syndicate, Inc. The phrase "let George do it" has long been popular with Americans. A few years ago, "George" was identified by many people as "legalized gambling." They honestly believed that if we would promote and legalize the lottery the profits could be used to educate our children. Unfortunately, since the lottery became popular, gambling addicts have more than doubled. The lottery, for most gamblers, is the first step into the gambling habit that later turns into addiction. The excitement generated by the slim chance of instant profit has increased the popularity of casinos as well as the number of gambling addicts. People become addicted very quickly. In addition, the casinos are now heavily advertising themselves as a family activity, providing supervised child-car- e with games and entertainment while they strip the parents of their future in the casino. It doesn't take much imagination to know that when Mom and Dad return to their kids and talk with them, the major Believe it or not, the biggest questions of the day are not "Did he do it?" or "Should he be impeached?' Far, far too much newsprint, news time, news space, cyberspace, man-hourwomanhours and childrenhours has already been wasted on the whole sordid affair, so to speak, and for what? The only thing I will say here is that I firmly believe that Clinton should neither be impeached nor even prosecuted for his actions, alleged or otherwise, because any truly decent person caught with his or her pants down should have done the honorable thing months ago and either resigned (at the least) or committed harakiri on live television (preferred). So what is the looming question of the day? May I suggest the following: Why has every government entity chosen to pursue major road construction- destruction-reconstructio- n projects simultaneously? As for me and my house, I think we could have tolerated the mess fairly well by avoiding trips to Salt Lake as much as possible IF that had been the only project being done during this time. Murphy, and his buddies must have been behind the planning, or lack thereof, on this one, because it seems to me that "Any street tnat can be torn up, should be torn up," and "The chances of getting stuck in construction traffic are in direct proportion to the degree to which you do not wish to get stuck." And this mentality has extended beyond the borders of Salt Lake County and beyond the jurisdictions of the Utah Department of Transportation. Traffic on through Utah County has been impeded by resurfacing losing are dramatically higher than the chances of winning, but kids who are raised in that environment and who see the "fun" their parents are having will be far more likely to end up as gamblers themselves. The kids want to be like adults, and if the adult "thing" is to buy lottery tickets and play the slots, they simply are emulating what they've seen. They want to grow up faster so they can "have fun like Mom and Dad." The message is clear: Parents, the next time you buy a lottery ticket or head for the casino, remember that the example you are setting is not one that will produce the kinds of leaders our families, our businesses and our country need. Think about it, and I'll see you at the top! d s, between American Fork and Orem, as well as the University Avenue interchange, and my wife noticed that work on the freeway in Beaver County has had no progress since she traveled that way several weeks ago. But don't think that one can take alternate routes to avoid the problems faced on the freeway. I keep hearing traffic announcers tell us to take State Street or Seventh East instead. Folks, tell me why you think you can believe someone who is watching the stagnant traffic while hovering hundreds of feet above all of the mess? Last week, I offered to help a friend conduct auditions for a musical production he is directing at Brighton High School. In the morning, I was warned about oil tanker accident that had immobilized the freeway, but I thought I would have no problems because I intended to run an errand in Draper, then proceed up 13th East. Silly me. I exited the freeway at Bluffdale, then went on the Frontage Road into Draper. I already knew about the construction around the new Bangerter interchange, but was slowed slightly with some additional work on one of Draper's back roads. Contrary to my assumptions, 13th East was not a bed of roses, either, because they were doing construction near 94th South, the road where I had planned to turn. Impatiently, I turned before my pre the modate. Nor is our own community immune from the pitfalls of construction. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 years ago, all of our roads were systematically torn up as the city installed the pressurized irrigation system. There w(ire a few times that I was forced to take a detour here and there during that summer, but even when the construction was on my street of residence, I did not feel overly burdened by the work. (I certainly cannot say the same for the road construction caused by development, however.) For some reason, though, road work that is being done now somehow seems to be almost like a conspiracy, a sinister plot to drive me nuts instead of drive me places, because everywhere I want to go, I happen upon some sort of construction project. It has happened to me so many times in the past that I wouldn't be surprised if the hearse that transports my body to my grave has to either take a detour or come to a dead stop along the way. If Bill needs to get his mind off his troubles, he ought to come to Utah and drive around for a while; if he could do anything about the situation, he might even get Learning from the parable of the taco Kari taught us the Parable of the Taco one day after hearing it in her LDS Seminary class. It went some- thing like this, although I have added a few embellishments. There was a man who had worked all morning without a break. At noon he found he was very hungry so he went to a local fast food restaurant of the Mexican persuasion to enjoy one of his favorite meals. The man ordered a double-size- d super-delux- e taco, filled;, with spicy meat, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, onions, sour cream and other good things to eat. When his taco was made and delivered, he worked his way to a booth and sat down. The man knew from experience that his taco would taste better if he added some of the hot sauce offered in small packets by the restaurant. He also know the sauce should be added before he ate the taco. Although the man was very hungry, and the sights and smells of the taco had increased his desire to consume his meal, he decided a little extra time would be worth the effort when he started to eat. The man opened a packet of the hottest hot sauce the little restaurant offered, and then he delicately unfolded the flour tortilla that contained his delicious lunch. When the contents of the taco were finally before him, the man noticed with a great deal of discomfort that right there, in the middle of all that delicious taco meat, was a large, dead soft-shell- topic will not be how much fun the kids had, but how much money Mom and Dad won or lost. Statistically speaking, the odds of ferred street, and found myself driving through a subdivision and finding or two along the myself on a dead-enway. After backtracking, I found a way onto 94th South, where I wanted to proceed east to Highland Drive. "Proceed" is far too progressive a word to use in connection with driving in Utah, for no sooner did I turn onto 94th South than I faced more construction, which stressed me out because of the time frame I was trying to accom- which had somehow cockroach, slipped past the watchful eyes of the restaurant employees. Did the hungry man throw away the cockroach and eat the rest of the taco, or did he throw away the whole taco? It is a haunting parable, isn't it? Since hearing this parable, I, for one, have never bitten into a fast-foo- d taco without first taking a peek to make certain that my meal is cockroach-less- . Of course, as with all parables, this story is about more than tacos. Right now, a small American Fork video store is making national headlines because it has agreed to remove cockroaches from a video "taco" titled "Titanic." I know teens who would attend this popular film and close their eyes during the questionable scenes, thus eliminating the cockroach from their mental meal. But the fact is that by attending the film, or by purchasing the video in the first place, didn't these same people financially support the studio that very carefully placed the cockroach in the "taco." In fact, that very studio is even now threatening to sue the tiny video store because they want that cockroach left right where it is. There are other applications for this parable. Even as you read this, the country is deciding whether it can keep a Commander in Chief who has demonstrated a huge insect in the "taco" of his personal character. Will we learn from the parable of the taco and throw out the whole taco? Or will we be satisfied with the promise that the cockroach has been eradicated, and let the taco remain? Of course, people aren't like tacos. But flaws of character of this nature cannot be overcome overnight. This type of repentance is a rigorous and lengthy process. It takes time and effort, soul searching and contemplation, and sometimes years of continual effort. It is a very personal journey. In the meantime, we are left with this very public cockroach and ... Well, you get the point. We're served up a lot of tacos in life. Some are very edible. Some are filled with cockroaches, and it's easy to decide to throw those out. But some just have a little cockroach in them. I guess it's up to everyone to decide what he or she will do with those tacos. Do we throw out the whole taco, or just the cockroach? And why is this decision so tough sometimes? Many Americans are having trouble with the truth It seems to me that Americans are exhibiting more and more a peculiar kind of schizophrenia that I find very threatening. On the national level, we have President Bill Clinton, who has managed to survive wave after wave of scandal and political firestorm because "he's doing a good job as president," the people declared. A master campaigner. Clinton wooed his way into office the first time, but when we returned him four years later, knowing exactly this time what we were getting, it gave me pause to wonder at our reasoning. All through the Lewinsky revelations, polls snowed that a majority of Americans thought the president's sex life was his own affair and didn't affect his ability to govern. Now that the sordid details of this tawdry business and the president's appalling lack of judgment are open for all to see, a few more are beginning to question his fitness for office. I'm long past that. In the first place, if a man (or woman, for that matter) can't keep the most sacred promise they ever make, the one to their spouse, one has to wonder whether they can be trusted with anything, let alone leading the most complex society in the world. Being human of course, we are all subject to our moments of weakness, but the Starr report doesn't depict a man who momentarily lost his mind. Instead, we find a calculating tomcat who used the power and influence of his office to take advantage of an infatuated young woman. It isn't as if this should surprise anyone, especially his wife. His rap sheet of sexual misconduct is longer than your arm. It's perhaps a sad commentary on our society that we have been indifferent to this glaring charac- ter flaw for so long. Some folks are even trying to excuse Clinton's behavior by explaining that he's a "sex addict." Translation: he lacks the personal to control his most basic well-meani- e Published weekly by NewUtah! (ISSN No. (U.S.P.S. No. 8750-4669- A 1 309-500- 1 TieT AewfahiXews member of NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION NATIONAL 59 West Main American Fork, Utah 84003 double-mindednes- s, Deadlines Telephone Numbers Advertising News & Classified Advertising Circulation Publisher Managing Editor City Editor Subscription ItrtMMI impulses. And this is who we want to lead our country? On the local level, people exhibit the same kind of though the topics have nothing to do with infidelity. Two recent examples will suffice. A group of neighbors who bought lots with a drainage ditch running through them came to the Alpine City Council trying to get the city to take responsibility for their problem. The arguments were basically two. The first was that the city has an ordinance requiring ditches that are part of an irrigation system to be piped when new development comes in, if the city says they have to. In this case, the city didn't require it, so the neighbors declared the city was violating their own ordinance, making them responsible for the fact that when some of the new homeowners filled in the ditch, they diverted water that flooded somebody's basement. The second argument boiled down Bezzant .Monday. 5 p.m. Monday. Marc Haddock 2 p.m. Missionaries Monday. Russ Daly 2 Weddings Monday. 2 p.m. price S24 per year Periodicals Postage Paid at American Fork, Utah POSTMASTER: end nMrett clung to 59 Wnt Main, Amirican Fork. Utah 84003 Advertising Community Calendar Letters to the Editor Obituaries et property. Here again, the city doesn't own the property or the animals, so how people expect them to take responsibility for this kind of problem is beyond me. Many who buy in our three cities are attracted by the "rural" lifestyle they promise, but their idyllic fantasies are shattered when they find out having agricultural areas as neighbors means manure and animal smells, flies, irrigation ditches, pesticide and fertilizer sprays, dust during plowing, smoke during and so on. Expecting the government to take responsibility for our own errors in judgment is nearly the most thing I can think of. Freedom of choice also means we can't avoid accepting the consequences of our actions. That regular citizens seem to be losing their grip on this basic truth is a troubling trend that we ought to fight with every resource we have. ditch-clearin- a.m. .Monday. 10 a.m. Tuesday. 11 a.m. g, All letters must include the author's name (printed AND signed) and a telephone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, punctuation, taste and length. Letters are welcome on any topic. p m. 10 .Monday. free-mark- We welcome letters to the editor. noon .Tuesday, News Display Brett . to the city being responsible, in their minds, for whatever claims and representations were made to them, by the seller. The absurdity of this in a society ought to be evident to anyone. The city neither owns the ditch nor the land the neighbors bought. City officials have no control over what selling points property owners use, and can't be held liable for what transpires in a private transaction just because they issue a required building permit. It ought to be sobering to remember that there are places in the world where the government does control and in those, complaints property fall on deaf state ears. Here, the neighbors do have a court system they can use to obtain redress, but city officials aren't the ones they should be suing, if they have any grounds for legal action. In the second example, neighbors have gone to both Highland and Alpine city councils during the past few months to complain about the flies generated by stock kept on adjacent HOW TO REACH US By Mail P.O. Box 7, American Fork, UT 84003 In 59 W. Main, Person American Fork By Fax 756-527- 4 By editornewutah.com |