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Show 2 THE GREEN SHEET Thursday, Dec. 8, 1988 r our readers write" Granite District Doesn't Deserve Finger Pointing On Food Matters We respectfully choose to differ with our esteemed colleagues to the north. A newspaper's responsibilities are to inform and enlighten, create a marketplace of ideas, foster public discussion and facilitate the democratic consensus which has guided this nation since the days of the Founding Fathers. A newspaper must guard the public's First Amendment rights and its need to know, serving as a surrogate of the governed in their relationship with those who the selfish interests of its members. Get The Facts during contract discussions. Contract negotiations are always a touchy business. Tribune editorial writers know that if such discussions which might impact jobs became common knowledge prior to any management decision, possible union action might follow. Is it in the public interest to create such a situation in Granite for the sake of a headline? In addition, Marriott Corp. should be given a bouquet of thanks instead of a snide insincollusion. Taking time to uation of back-doprepare estimates for Granite is not only costly to Marriott, it in no way guarantees Marriott would be given a contract to provide such services ... In fact, it might put the company at a competitive disadvantage because other companies could have Marriott's figures on which to base their own (presumably lower) cost estimates when and if the bidding process opens on privatization. One of the nation's largest food service companies would have much better things to do than cut sleazy deals behind closed doors for such a relatively small contract - a fact the Tribune should have known before pointing fingers at the Granite board. - Rather than pointing fingers, Granite should be congratulated for exploring options for saving tax dollars. The key words here, though, are "exploring" and "options" .. no decision has been made to privatize, and Marriott has certainly not been "dubbed for a contract" as the Tribune implies. The Granite board has historically been far more open with both the press and the public than other government agencies. The press is routinely invited to sit in on executive sessions. The Tribune, however, chose not take advantage of that invitation, basing its news coverage on second-han- d sources, rumor and inuendo. If Marriott's figures make privatization an economically feasible option which has yet to be determined the board will undoubtedly debate the issue in an open meeting ... . the proper time in which to involve the public - govern. law. The editorial calls the Granite Board of Education to task for inviting Marriott Corp. to supply cost estimates for feeding school lunch to the district's 70,000-plu-s students a first step to what might eventually become the privatization of the district's school lunch program. Saying Granite "misunderstood" the law and "undermined the public bidding process," Tribune editorial writers asserted the Granite board "would lose a measure of public confidence" for the "secrecy" which cloaked the proceedings. We respectfully choose to differ with the Tribune's assessment cf the situation, its assertions and its conclusions. To make an informed decision, Granite board members need somewhere to start, k Asking for rough figures from an acknowledged leader in the food industry gives board members a baseline from which to ' weigh possible policy changes. Paul Warner, associate deputy attorney for the state, called the district's actions "a generous interpretation of the law" --- which the Tribune apparently chose ; to regard as an indication of "a direct violation" of that law. Considering that the Utah code permits discussions not only for person-- : j closed-doo- r nel matters (which the Tribune acknowledge ' es) but also for collective bargaining (which ; the editorial virtually ignores), it is reason- able to assume a major shift in policy affect-- f ing scores of employees would of necessity become part of the negotiation process '. . open-meetin- gs in process. To air every possible direction which could be taken without at least getting some background information (especially when it could mean the loss of jobs) would truly be an irresponsible way for the board to act possibly as irresponsible as the Tribune's editorial - - - - the decision-makin- g stand. We Can't Be Too Rich Or Too Thin; But Can Be Too Poor And Too Fat ; ', Ton can never be too rich or too thin. " J Sandy City was at its finest this morning, (Dec. 2). The dtys quick response to what could have been a real tragedy deserves recognition and appreciation. The police and the fire departments' concern on the scene is an example that many cities attempt to emulate but few achieve. The city should be proud of its performance. As you know, the Christmas season is a critical success or period, often determining the yearly and retailers almost of our fifty failure of many service businesses. Major fire damage would have massively disrupted what we hope will be a record year for the Sandy Mall. The alert and quick case. response of the police and fire departments literally It is unfortunate that the "silent majority" doesn't saved the day. make its voice heard more often than just at election You may not have the facts. The fire was reported time. There are many times between election years at 1:27 a.m. by Officer Chris Rngree. Police were on when decisions are being made that affect our lives the scene immediately, and the firo department was when elected or appointed officials need to hear the on the scene by 1:31 a.m, a response time of four facts representing the best interests of the majority. minutes! Our personnel were notified minutes later. It concerns me greatly to know iHat public decisions Acting Fire Chief Andy Glad went far beyond the on such issues are zoning, V school curriculum, call of normal duty to contain and put out the fire. budgeting, taxes, teacher hiring and firing, etc. are Byron Jorgensen, along with many police and fire being influenced by a few very vociferous citizens personnel assisted in relocating Quality Cleaners' that do not have the facts to back their positions. clothes to prevent possible smoke damage. This They rely only on clamor to try to influence our represents an outstanding performance! officials and to incite other citizens to join their The City has our heartfelt thanks. - factless protest V A person's or group's position on a public, issue either as an opponent or proponent should be based on the facts. The favorable decision should be reserved for the side that presents the facts that best supports its position and is in the best interest of the ..majority. This is the way the system is supposed to work. Our public 'officials must make their decisions based on the facts and not let mere emotion or local unsubstantiated opinion influence their decision-makinIf our officials will do this, then I am confident that the best interests of the majority will be served. , g. Correct Course Urqed -- Sandy MallMariemont Corp Millford Managers A Great Job My wife and I took a moment to enjoy the play "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers" put on by Alta high school students last month. Everyone there (sold out) enjoyed a great acting job and felt that they deserved a standing ovation at the end. The scenery crew and the cast deserve notice that we who came got a night of remembrance. . Thanks to Alta cast and teacher. Brent H. Scott With Salt Lake County's decision to recognize the Magna Area Council as the official body representing Magna, the time has come for Magna Community Council also to make a decision. Briefly stated, Magna Community Council must decide whether to disband or to hang on. Clearly, the correct course would be to disband. By acknowledging that the Magna Area Council is the legitimate, elected voice of Magna, the Magna Community Council could do much to restore harmony to the community. This does not mean that former members of a defunct Magna Community Council would have to fade into the woodwork or get out of town. On the contrary, perhaps the Magna Area Council could appoint many of them to positions on its standing committees or otherwise extend opportunities, for service. Eventually, former Magna Community Council members could even seek to be elected to the Magna Area Council. Not only would dissolving the Magna Community Council resolve a potential legal snarl over similarity in the names of the groups, it would also enable Magna Community Council to torpedo accusations that its reason for existence is to further Bill &Nyla Walton Sandy The Green Sheet welcomes contributions from readers for either Letters to the Editor or As I See It Letters should be confined to a length of about 250 words and not contain libelous comments. They must be signed and must be received in our office no later than 10 am. Tuesday for publication that week. Longer correspondence may be used as As I See It commentaries on a space avail able basis. Primary consideration will be giv en to those submitted by people with expertise in the'toDic about which thev write. A brief description of that 'wpertise may ac company the submission., j;;, All submissions are subject to editing for space and clarity. They may be. addressed to: The Green Sheet, P.O. Box' 71 87, Mur: ray. Ut 84107. r s awii T's z-mA- I Heartfelt Thanks y . -- - TrvilUT to make decisions on nuhliV ionium tfcnf. un'll best benefit the majority is extremely difficult at best My respect and appreciation go to those who try. My concern is, all too often our appointed and elected officials make decisions on public issues based on the loud expressions of protest coming from a few very vocal g individuals or groups who don't take the time to get facts on an issue before they voice their opinions. Their reasons for opposition are for the most part without any factual basis. :...."; These few vocal individuals or groups also think they represent the majority of those people whose lives will be impacted the most from a particular public decision. This, howeveris generally never the hard-workin- or The Salt Lake Tribune, both in an article Nov. 29 and an editorial Dec. 2, apparently failed to meet those responsibilities. Instead, the Tribune chose to sit as judge, jury and executioner in finding fault with Granite district in relation to the state's public meetings Steve Warren Truer words were never spoken. Unfortunately for me, Pve never -- s. had enough of either. Thinking of ;that old saw, started my thought i process on some of those other ; t oo8 in our lives. Too, when used in that context, indicates excess, I guess. Have you ever known a woman who thought she had too many I havent. We cupboards? don't come close to certainly ' having enough at our house. Let . alone too many. ; How about electrical outlets. Again there never seem. to be a sufficient number. And those you do have are invariably behind a the heavy piece of furniture couch, the waterbed, the piano. No kidding. To walk into our home, you'd think we didn't have any, because you can't see them. - ' ;' Could it be that we actually have too much of something; -furniture? Name me a basketball coach who thinks he has too much size. Or talent. Back to the woman. Anyone have too many clothes? Shoes? We can't get (or give) too much love or affection, can we? We rarely have too many friends. I only know one person who has too many bedrooms 'in her home. And since she just moved in, HI bet she finds a way to use them. .Without getting pregnant. We don't very often have too much room in our paper. Usually it's a case of not enough. Well never have too many ads. Because for every inch of advertising, we s should have about of an inch of space. two-third- where there' a negative. there's positive, Naturally ," a " Since few of us consider ourselves too rich, we probably think we have too many bills. We're not too thin, so we're probably too fat. too ; Everyone is overworked much to do. Especially at this time of year. That usually translates to too much stress and being too bred to function well. - Then there's lazy. Are we too lethargic to start an exercise program so we might enjoy ''-ft- by . Bottt3c0 I is not yet done. the what No matter circumstances, it's always too hot certain health benefits? Too out of control to stop smoking, eating or whatever vice we resent in ourselves? We all have them. or too cold. There's too much smog or too much snow. We get too much junk mail and far, far, far too many of that variety of phone calls. - Name me one --just one Utah school teacher who doesn't have too many kids in hisher class. Are you too crabby to enjoy Cmon. I dare ya. I guess that life as you should? means we have too few teachers Fm limiting myself to' only or our families are too big. Or three bah humbugs for the entire something. Christmas season. That may be And this column is getting too too few, considering my shopping long. 0-. -3- You . and Your Child: 1 r X A mJi Jl A Succcso in School by JIM CAMPBELL Utah Education Association President One day Kevin's father came home with a box from a toy store, but it didn't contain toys. In that box were brightly-colore- d h plastic letters all 26 letters of the alphabet. Attached to each letter was a magnet. Kevin's dad stuck the letters on the metal door of the family refrigerator. Then he sat on the floor with Kevin and began pulling letters off the door, and naming each letter as he removed . inch-hig- . it. The father held each letter so Kevin cAild plainly see it and pronounced each letter distinctly. After he thought Kevin had seen and heard enough, he would say: "Kevin, give me a V. Soon Kevin was giving his Dad the letters he requested. Then Kevin's mother, a teacher, showed . the two males in her life how to reverse the procedure. She would display a letter and ask Kevin to name it. After a few of those drills, Kevin could recognize and name every letter in the alphabet Kevin is only 19 months old. He loves those red, yellowf blue, green and lavender letters as much as anji toy he owns. There's a lesson in that. This is a season for selecting gifts, and we should do it mm Vcrloty of Colors ; carefully. Do we buy only Barbie Dolls, Hot Wheels, G.I. Joe and stuffed items that may be toys - discarded within a month? Or do we add an educational item that could give a child something to last a lifetime like Kevin's lesson from the plastic letters? - Trcn ST f & Patterns A ill ; i- - 2 |