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Show I'aec lili At: Y ill RALD. .HarkThcHoraid com). Provo. Utah, Wednesday. January 31, 2001 i owns Alpine keeps student council program alive v n Bv JENNIFER PAYNE Alpine Correspondent J IN ! ALPINE "We represent the future, but we can also represent the present," Cathy Tibbitts told a group of students at last week's installation of Alpine Elementary School's new student council. The ceremony included words of ' encouragement I 4 ' i U from Principal Karl Bowman; as well as a speech from Mayor Don Watkins, f who urged the students to practice true citizenship by being "good and helpful to each other;" and new student j council president Jillian Rose, who expressed gratitude for public education and democracy. e Tibbitts, a teacher who also serves as the adviser to the student sixth-grad- s I ourtesy washes some 220 blankets he and volunteers collected for the Salt City homeless shelter as part of Tichy 's Eagle project. Load of love: Jeffrey Tichy, 18, of Orem, .of ( licrn Correspondent OREM When Jeffrey Tichy, 18, of" Orem, was planning his Eagle Scout project, he had one goal: he wanted to immediately impact someone in need. "I wanted to do something that would get immediate results," Tichy said. "I wanted to have an impact now." Watching the local news with his mother one evening, Tichy heard that the homeless shelter in Salt Lake City was facing a crisis with winter coming, there was a shortage of blankets. Tichy immediately decided he could help. Tichy set a goal of collecting 75 blankets for the shelter. To get started, he contacted all of the bishops in his LDS stake and .asked them to announce theproj-- . ect in their wards. He also created a flyer about the project, which he passed out to members of the community. Everyone who could donate money or a used blanket in good condition Lake By CALEB WARNOCK Orem Correspondent was asked to add their name to a list so volunteers could pick up the donations. "I was very surprised by the response," said Tichy, who, with the help of 10 volunteers, collected the donations. "The number of people who wanted to help was more than we had expected. Nearly 150 people responded in total, and we were able to collect 220 blankets for the homeless shelter." The Tichy contacted Soapbox, a local laundromat, and the business agreed to let Tichy wash the blankets free of charge. "We took the blankets to the Salt Lake shelter on a Monday morning before school," Tichy said. "When we got there, the staff was very surprised that we had so many blankets to donate. They had; hoped we could blancollect between kets for them, and they were overwhelmed to have 220 blankets to give away. For 16 years, OREM members of "The Responsible Women" book club in Orem have met together to share books and personal renewal. The club was named for a painting by renowned artist and Utah County resChrisident James tiansen. Christiansen's wife is a member of the club. "We feel the name of the painting reflects our creed," said Carol Ellertson, who has been a member of the club for the past six years. "We are more than a book club; we are a group of women who come together to talk about our "responsibilities, our lives and our favorite books," Ellertson said. All the members of the club are married and moth Caleb Warnock can be contacted at Crematorium to operate in Linden's industrial district and don't smell. Asked what they do with Lindon Correspondent the ashes, Susan Turpen said, they scatter them. LINDON The AlternaThe building is big enough tive Society of Utah has to accommodate a second received a permit from the retort (cremation oven), city planning commission to. which they hope to have operate a crematorium in "within a year," Susan the industrial district at 236 Turpen said. She said there S. 1250 West. are only about eight retorts and Susan Larry in the state, but as much as Turpen, both funeral direc- 30 percent of those who die tors, appeared before the in the state are cremated; so commission Jan. 10 to make much of the society's busithe request. ness is from funeral homes Some of the. commissionthat do not have a retort. ers thought the facility The Alternative Society of would be an animal crematoUtah is not a membership rium, but as the business organization, Susan Turpen name suggests, it's an altersaid, but their business. native to land- - burial for "We named it such to humans. The crematorium show that there are other will also serve other mortualternatives besides what's aries in the area. available," she Susan Turpen said it normally said. The Turpen's also do would be a work facility, not "traditional funerals with a display center or chapel. ground burial and a casket." Turpen said she and her The Turpens said they husband will also conduct also arrange for people to funerals, but they meet with donate their bodies for medpeople in their homes to ical research. "And we've make arrangements, leave a even helped a few people catalog (so no showroom is who wanted to be buried at needed) and conduct funersea, because that has some als in local churches or other different rules attached to buildings. it," she said. To illustrate the facility's For more information public safety, she said they about the Alternative Socialso own a mortuary and creety of Utah, call (877) matorium in Moab, which is (toll free) or 50 feet from a residence, 50 (cell). feet from a restaurant and 100 feet from a city park. Harlow Clark can be conShe said the ovens burn at tacted at 1,600 degrees, don't pollute harlowclarkjuno.com. By HARLOW CLARK - 259-398- ! - ' , u i .rf JtiYMfLK FAIMlUut loons Student leaders: New members of Alpine Elementary School's Student Council include: (front row, left to right) Jillian Rose, Berit Green, secrepresident; Jessica Madson, Holly Hunter, treasurer; (back row) Justin Stucki, parliamentarian; Casey Rhoton, representative; Ryan Stephan, representative; Hayden Murdock, representative; Cristie Carpenter, representative; Bradley Gregory (not shown), representative. taryhistorian; bitts. "Students are making decisions on everything from the size and shape of the new playground to what day of the week they will get to come to school in their pajamas, and for every spirit day the students planned, choose, plan and carry out a service project." Jennifer Payne can be contacted at klpaynejuno.com. 0 ers. Some are moms and others are career women, including a judge, a law professor, the manager of a vacation lodge and several small business owners. The group meets once a month in the home of a member, who is also in charge of choosing a book for that month and providing a light dinner. Each member purchases a copy of the book, which is chosen in advance of the meeting, and reads it before the meeting. Currently the women are reading the children's book stay-at-ho- "Holes," by Louis Sachar. "If a book has value, we are not afraid to read it," Ellertson said. "We concentrate on books for adults, but we also read children's books or young adult books on occasion." As members have developed close friendships over the years, the club has come SUGGESTED READING Editor's note: The following are three book recommended by The Responsible Women. "Poisonwood Bible," by Barbara Kingsolver, the fictional" story of a Christian missionary family who travels to the Belgian Congo in Africa to bring salvation to members of a remote village accessible only by airplane. to represent more than just a chance to talk about books, Ellertson said. "Meeting as a group like this fills a need for women to get together and talk about issues in their lives. Women today are very busy with family and careers, and this book club gives us a chance to share problems, give advice and strengthen and support each other. "Midwives," by the Bohjalian, Chris fictional story of a midwife who performs a cesarean section on a woman she believes to be dead. "Paradise Lost," by John Milton, the classic work of poetry written in 1667, chronicles man's journey through hell on his way to paradise. "We have become very attached to each other as a group," continues Ellertson. "We have a certain dynamic that is very fulfilling for most of us. This book club has given us a chance to get close and bond with one another." Caleb Warnock can be contacted at caleb- warnockmyfamily.com. Program teaches good behavior in schools 50-6- 0 376-949- 4 v- r , look club in Orem unifies women pllolo the Scout gathers blankets for homeless shelter by CALEB WARNOCK council, has been a key element in its after its demise last year. "When they split our elementary school, we lost the assistant principal, who was also the student council adviser. Without the adviser, the program fell by the wayside," Tibbitts said. "But, as a faculty and PTA, we couldn't let the program die." The student body elected members of the fourth, fifth and sixth grades to represent the entire school. The candidates were required to have at least a 3.0 GPA and submit two or three reasons why they would make a good representative. The new student council works directly with the PTA in representing the students' wants and needs. "Problems are worked out by the kids for the kids," explained Tib- - Special to Our Towns PROVO Advocates of a character education program that has been teaching values and reinforcing positive social behavior in schools here for the past four years now want to take the program's message to neighborhoods, clubs, social organizations and churches. They believe the informa- tion in Provo Advancing Excellence Character (PACE) can be valuable throughout the community. "It is so important children are taught values and said Kathy character," Larsen, commissioner of the Provo Parent Teacher Association. PACE was created in 1996 by parents who wanted the schools and community to assist in teaching youth what it means to have good character. Rather than adopting a national character program, PACE was created from input received from Provo educators, officials, business people and parents. According to Carol WaPACE lters, president, research on national charac- ter education programs indicates the programs that have the most effect involve a between partnership fami- lies, schools and the community. "PACE is a local product with local support," Walters - said. Larsen agrees with the idea that Provo citizens can make a difference through the program. "I went to an area confer ence on character education and what programs other schools are embracing," Larsen said. "Most other areas are on the ground level of character education, and I was impressed with how much further Provo and PACE are." The Provo PTA initiated PACE as a preventive approach to the encroachment of gang activity and other problems. Dan Burgess, PACE vice president, said he became involved because PACE uses positive thinking and responsible "behavior to work together with the community. "I grew up in an increasingly violent area. I want my children to have better," Burgess said. PACE's approach to character education focuses on one character theme each month, such as integrity, respect, hard work, fairness, caring Or service, which is incorporated into the curriculum in public schools. "PACE has helped our school by giving a focus for parents and teachers to discuss topics about respect and other things that PACE encourages," said Don Dow-dlJoaquin Elementary principal. "By doing the weekly PACE announcements, not only do we get the messages into the minds of the students, but their actions seem to follow," said Drew Daniels, Grandview Elementary principal. If you would like PACE to give a presentation, contact the Provo School District e, Office at 374-480- 0. Local neuj Jacobs Senior Center nears completion vfrl online By D. KEALII ELMER Pleasant Grove Correspondent PLEASANT GROVE The Jacobs Senior Center, located behind the post office, will be completed by Monday. According to the contractors working on the project, they are about two to three weeks ahead of schedule. The remaining interior work includes laying carpet and installing baseboards. The building houses a kitchen and three activity rooms. The largest room will serve as a dining area as well as a meeting place. The second room, equipped with a fireplace, will be used as the quilting room or to hold smaller classes. The third room will be used for exercise equipment and a television. The center has a basement that for now is unused space. As for the outside, the site work has commenced. The city Parks Department will be designing and implementing the landscaping plan, which includes the driveway leading to the entrance of the building, sidewalks surrounding the area, as well as a sprinkler system and grass. "The landscaping, sidewalks and driveways are forecasted to be completed sometime this spring, weather permitting," said Tony Onofrietti, director of leisure services for the city. In addition to supplying the landscaping, the city is working with UTA to provide a facility in the area south of the center near the tracks, with the knowledge that in the years to come, a TRAX station will be added. A task this large came with a hefty price tag, rough-- , The ly . Park-and-Ri- $500,000-$600,00- 0. project was given $200,000 from the Community Development Block Grant from the State of Utah, $100,000 in landscaping and property was put up by the city, and e the Jacobs family, long-tim- Pleasant Grove residents, gave a large, generous donation. When moving day arrives, it will free up the space below the library. The Library Children's Program .and the Arts Council will share this space. "It will provide a great environment for kids' reading programs and space for the Arts' rehearsals, dressings, and staging area," Onofrietti said. It is not known when Jacobs Senior Center will be available for occupancy. D. Kealii Elmer can be contacted at kealiiqwest.net. 1 Srf ''i'ii |