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Show 2 THE y-- GREEN SHEET Thursday, Oct. 27, 1988 rrs ir aBEfesflhN OUR READERS WRITE Urges Opposition More On Mills Vote for taxes. Sounds out of character for a ehnlrmnn flrwun't it? Well rm here to tell you I'm against high taxes as much as anyone, but we need to understand tnai tome taxes 1. to Mffle Crenihiw W a SaLK radioed I hm dhowm fton: expert on everything. He is en expert he ig the use of public unu, row "r" are very necessary to support community services, protection, teacher salaries, professors' salaries, district's budget, legislative procedure, such as the police and fire departments, schools, gVery ana road maintenance, etc. the State Office of Education's management Some of us were fortunate to attend seminars at budget, consolidation, property valuation, tax Utah State University and hear analysis by Maeggment, paving of roads, all the colleges at the experienced leaders (Warren Pugh, for example) on University of Utah, the management of all nctais, these tax rollback issues and the unanimous the management of all the utilities, every bond conclusion is that they cut too deep. They would, if jagu the Interconnect, the UTA. passed, be devastating to education, our library system, programs for. the handicapped, the states on: all, handiwd wmws, rfl bonding capacity, not to mention local necessary ; He's an expert corrections and J"h.. road service health and service! such as snow removal maintenance. dty As a realtor, I'm aware that taxes on real estate for every county are not excessive compared to other states. There county services, the states are, however, taxes that appear to be out of line with Constitution, world history and politics other states, such as state income tax, sales tax on history. . food and drugs and so on. Also Utah law: what violates it and how The board of directors recently voted to oppose the tax rollback initiatives on the November ballot, not individuals should be punished, the census for Utah without some controversy, I might add. Hopefully and the United States, all boards of directors of any this controversy over taxes will send a message to organization, who should be sued and for what they our politicians that we need to address more equity should be sued, big and small mismess in revenue gathering. Maybe we need to look management, wno is a cn& an wuoi u seriously at some variation of a head tax, perhaps guilty of, the bylaws of all private orgajuzanons, ail some form of lottery on bonding for economic journalistic enorts, au leveis 01 uuraaon ior mi states, classroom management, class, size,, tne (Wf.lnrmonf It is surelv a comnlicated issue but initiatives A. B effectiveness of testing, the effectiveness of private & C are not the answer in my opinion. I urge you to schools, all curriculum, all hiring practices, study all the issues and positions of the various local candidates and don't forget to vote for the Why, most important, he is an expert on wnat candidate of your choice. qualifies as evil, wicked ad pronographic. ' This man is a genius. about Jan Christensen anything, lets Since he knows everything of can run the entire Chamber Commerce he Then Utah. of him make Sandy king state of Utah all by himself. Which if given the opportunity, he will do anyway. god f Pcal '1?JK.U5SSl J?.! , . Status Quo Is U nacceptable - But Initiatives Go Too Far Tm getting weary of being lumped with "those teachers and politicians." . ' Volunteer Board Speaks Many of those who favor the tax initiatives would have you believe two things. That educators and politicians are all dirty bounders and that they and those who work alongside them are the only ones who oppose the initiatives. Actually, they'd also have you believe that everyone in the media is pretty rotten, too. I am reasonably sure that should Initiative B (the only one that is actually a rollback) pass, life in Utah would continue without too much disruption. I 1 really don't buy all of the facts and figures being brandished accurate. I just don't buy the about as to how many jobs would Everything is not rosy. Our tax that the foundation has charge be lost in the public sector. does need some work, "sold out.". system i. rf I personally might even gain a 1here;'iS"Some-ittmmingto be little if Initiative A were to pass. believe a xn., -democratic, done, Someone said .once, jmwi ft I'm single, in a middle tax no free lunch. .fgtf t; form of government and as bad as bracket, own a home and am it seems sometimes, that s what to not be overly young enough That's correct we've got. We elect oeonle to But absolutely concerned about needing to tap we have to determine when we go represent us. There are ways we fund. Medicaid states into the that voting booth what we can be involved. Sometimes we Yet. I don't have any. kids in into want to give up. If I truly believed simply have to trust them, school. Or anywhere else for that it was just the dessert, I'd because we just Can't agree with matter. , probably be inclined to do it. I'd each other on what should be even throw in the vegetables. done. If enough of Us don't like So why don't I favor the tax I think we might be But the way they do things, we can rid initiatives? . tampering with the meat and ourselves of them. If we fail to do that, then we must accept .. the Because I subscribe to the belief potatoes. We might be bringing ourselves into a position we don't consequences. a have indeed would that they I think the outcome of the Nov. want to be in in terms of user major negative impact on our fees, more hidden taxes and a 8 vote is simply too close to call. school system and public higher school vote is critcal. If the will that Every system ed. I received my schooling in deteriorate initiatives to detriment of the well all have to pass, state. schools in another public make the best of it, but if they that is everything good about came at education a My higher should fail let's hope that those an institution I Utah. private school I don't think it's worth the risk. responsible for representing us don't believe I could afford to still get the message, because attend at today's prices. By the game token, I hope there's one there. It seems pretty I believe that a our government leaders are clear that status quo is society benefits us all, single, unacceptable. listening. old and young. married, Although the Utah Education Assn. gets slapped with the blame for the 1987 tax increase, the fact You remains that teachers have seen virtually no pay hikes for three years. Supplies and textbooks are tragically lacking. Many teachers spend their own money on by JIM CAMPBELL classroom needs. Utah Education Association President Class size is embarrassingly high. To those of you who say Most teachers will tell you that story are green dinosaurs. "Harumph, I was in a class with divorce of a student's parents can The very first sentence in this 40 kids," you need to go inside cause severe difficulties in the book is: g we're see schools and what today's emotional stability youngster's 'Divorce takes place between asking our teachers to deal with. and school performance. mothers and fathers. You are not the do not have Students today With divorces far more common to blame if your parents , get respect for their elders (parents or that they were a generation ago, divorced." social teachers) we had. Our is there anything parents can do It goes on to tell the little problems (single parent families, to lessen the pain for their readers the kinds of feelings they i working mothers, drugs, etc.) children? may experience when, their have an impact on kids. Add to Yes, there are books on the are divorcing, how to deal that the demands on the system. subject books that tell parents parents with them, what happens to kids The things I learned in high what kinds of reactions to expect after their parents divorce, and school are being taught in middle from the children, how the lets kids know it isn't fair to pit schools and even elementary children may feel, things that one parent against the other. may be said to them, and The School Library Journal, in approaches that mav be taken to For many years I sat in city deal with the youngsters' commenting on the book, confusion. predicted that it would become a budget hearings. One such book is entitled real 'security blanket' for those The relatively few dollars I pay "Dinosaurs Divorce, A Guide for young readers in need. to Murray City each year sure Changing Families:" by Laurene Actually, it's much more than buys a lot of things I'd hate to do Krasny Brown and Marc Brown. ; that. It, or some other book on the It's brief, written so that young subject, can spare children a lot of without. I've watched how dollars are readers easily understand what mental anguish and loss of drive carefully ' those budgeted and I don't think the it's saying, illustrated in cartoon in school when both divorcing people who do it are a "bunch of form, and the characters in this parents read it. pigs feeding at the public trough." The extra taxes we pay on gasoline buy new roads and fix the old ones. You need only drive the freeway at 7:30 a.m. to know that we need to do something about transportation. The aged and infirmed need assistance more than I need the $159 dollars the Utah Foundation says I might save on my taxes. Long experience ' in this business has taught me that the Utah Foundation is very careful with UTAH DEPARTMENT OP HEALTH its research and its figures are . Bofttc8S t ... r""t J s2 - - well-educat- and Your Child: Success in School award-winnin- , ; - till M IMi! IF"! r Kathryn Harris West Jordan As unpaid volunteer members of the Citizens Advisory Board of the Salt Lake Detention Center, community. We feel a responsibility to inform the ADDclllinQw ADatHV public about the likely impact of the proposed tax limitation initiatives on the juvenile justice system I attended an EMPAC (Emergency Preparedness) and particularly on the Salt Lake Detention Center, conference in Sandy on Saturday, Oct. 15. 1 cannot to whom we provide advice and direction. say enough about the organization and the quality of Services provided by the Salt Lake Detention the lecturers that were there. The expertise that Center and similar youth correction agencies each had in their field(s) was wonderful. exemplify the values and philosophies of our citizens toward youth. The Detention Center is a secure facility that provides short term detention of I understand that the organizers expected 0 people. It was my estimation that from and ensures community juvenile offenders 0 attended. I know that advertising people court For detained adjudication. protection pending done I listened to Jay Hemming on Ch. because was center also provides a positive youth, the environment consisting of activities and guidance 13 and again with Lt. Gary Clayton (from the Utah that teach socially acceptable behavior and County Sheriff's Dept) on KSL. strengthen the capacity of youth to", deal with their ' .tfwvmiln rrnnnifl t nnt at anv imiuvtaniii ta I problems. to attend conferences such 5as these. There was a Like most human service agencies, the center has wide variety of subjects to choose from (over 100 . cuts over several years. experienced budget classes). Certainly there was enough to interest Efficiently operated, the center extensively, uses Not only that, it was free. services volunteer to provide quality care. Despite anyone. the tax initiative proponents' claims to the contrary, ' was a wonderful day of learning. My thanks to there is simply no "fat" to be cut from the facility's allIt those who organized it, and who lectured. I think budget. that if people will just go to conferences like this The services provided by the Detention Center are to. find they're not they may be very of an nature; youth are either "painful," but rather surprised informative. very detained or not. Therefore, should the proposed tax Thariks again Sandy City. Keep up the good work. initiatives be approved by the voters, the necessary cuts would curtail the center's capacity. Two wings Karen Johnson would be closed, cutting the available beds from the current 56 to 31 and eliminating at least 15 staff. That would result in either dangerous overcrowding and potential liability problems or limiting ciuiuioBiuiia cuiu vicauiig a puuiu; oaicujr uo&. Hauler As a private citizen I have been heavily involved option would negatively impact young people by as a volunteer in the operation of the Murray diminishing the quality of care provided. We believe that the service of detention centers schools. On my own time I have attended school benefit all citizens, and we encourage voters to board meetings for over three years and have become informed of related consequences of the volunteered countless hours every day for the public initiatives., Our intent is to inform voters, not to schools. I have made my voice heard through the scare them, although we confess we are scared about proper channels by phoning or writing my elected the destructive impacts on services to our representatives. I have been present where possible at budget hearings and served on planning community should the initiatives pass. committees. To the tax initiative supports I ask "Where were you when it counted the most?" Dean Hepworth, Ph.D., Chairperson Salt Lake Detention Center Citizens Advisory Board There is some intense irony to this situation. Many of the tax initiative supports have not had any Members: involvement in government. I would be willing to Sister M. Joan Allem, wager that most have never set foot in a scnool Phyllis White budget hearing or taken the time to assist in the W. Dean Belnap classroom. I would be willing to wager that most Bob Prince have never called their legislator and may not even Ross Van Vranken know who their representative is. And yet they are Richard Winters the first to criticize and tell g leaders Jeanne DePaulis and workers how to budget and run their programs. Gaines-Jone- s Betty Lynn Kenley In three years of attending school board meetings, Jim Jensen I have not seen nor heard one individual give a Irene Fisher concrete presentation on programs to eliminate or areas of waste that could be cut. Instead, I large Wilkinson have seen many needs and concerns of individuals . .1 ,1 J lU.l MA J i. L J J At the time I was in the Utah State PTA as safety 0rage T and' welfare commissioner, one of our greatest "AmR education, counseling, computer concerns was the increase of oornooraohv which wM literac- y- even beautifying our schools. a our tolerated and becoming accepted part of society. Because we were advocates for children, we looked for ways they could be protected from this The legislative process, whether it be at the local or state level, is a unique process that takes time to merciless assault to their safety and well being, When we asked our state leaders to helD Us orotect become informed, evaluate individual nAHa and the children, they responded to us and thousands of weigh the ability to provide for services. Our elected other citizens with the Cable TV Decency Act and representatives have that heavy responsibility, with David Wilkinson's courageous subsequent These decisions are built on a highly complex set of details and funding mechanisms, appeal to the UA Supreme Court. This was an This process is in place with more than ample time expression of the traditional commitment Utohns for citizen input. The tax initiatives completely have to the family and to protecting our children, bypass this process with a quick fix approach to Yes, it did cost us precious tax dollars, but how government spending with, no responsibility much is decency worth? attached to signing your name or checking a box To his eternal credit, Mr. Wilkinson gave it his Citizens should not be fooled or tricked into such an "olution without realizing all choices have beTst,; . I have also been impressed with the careful and consequences, . , , courageous commitment of the Attorney General's After all is said and done and the vote is taken- -a office to tackle the monster of child sexual abuse. As mother of eight children and grandmother of eight whether it be for or against-- 1 can almost guarantee same people will be involved, the same grandchildren (with a potential of that the precious I want Utah to be a safe palace for people will make the decisions of what services to - ,. r- iamiues ana i manK mr. miiuuauii turn mo sum iw . ocners lor matting decision they were too busy to be their tireless efforts to keep it that way. informed about. Faerber Kathy Mary Ann Kirk Murray Murray 1 4,000-5,00300-40- ' 5 .' Where Were IheVr . ' hard-workin- - Supports 2J . L 1 1 T 5??.M sixty-four?- ?) r"c ... |