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Show I i III iriTn i ?1 ledford addre IYU students Threats abound in Senate budget fight Dan a 3 A 1 ii mn Mug: T Defense may be key to BYU this weekend Aspiring farmer finally tills fields 5 Fags Bl I I Page C6 Page E1 ' Jl fP"'''" rll 1 pill 1 Card replaces welfa checks and coupons By SHEILA SANCHEZ The Daily Herald Utah County welfare recipi- ents began receiving cash grants and food stamps electronically this month with a new plastic card aimed at curtailing fraud, high operating costs and embarrassment to women. On Thursday, Gov. Mike Leavitt was on hand at Food 4 Less in Provo to demonstrate how the "Utah Horizon" card will be used by more than 5,000 welfare recipients in Utah, Wasatch and Summit counties. Welfare recipients will no longer receive an Aid to Families with Dependent Chilmagnetic-stripe- dren d check or food coupons in the mail. The stamp Department of Human Services and the Office of Family Support awarded Zions First National Bank a contract to operate the Utah Horizon Electronic Benefits Transfer program. The system will operate the DHS's Food Assistance program, AFDC program, General Assistance program and the Child Support Enforcement program. "It will streamline the delivery of human services and other state benefits," Leavitt said. "Everyone wins using this card." The governor said the program is expected to go statewide by April of 1996, and it will eventually include other benefits for the poor, such as Medicaid. o 0 wwwww Juii Daily Herald discusses the benefits of the new "Utah Horizon" card at Provo's Food 4 Less Thursday. More than 5,000 welfare recipients in Utah. Wasatch and Summit counties will be issued Gov. Mike Leavitt Utah PhotosJason Olson the card, which replaces Aid to Families with Dependent Children checks and food stamp coupons. The card will eventually include other benefits for the poor. Approximately 49,000 Utah households receive at least one Cynthia Giles, Provo, shows how to use the "Utah Horizon" card with help from Food 4 Less employee Andrea England. Giles is the first person in the state to recieve the card for welfare recipients. form of public assistance. About months. The company operates similar programs in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Maryland. Harris H. Simmons, Zions Bank president and chief executive officer, said, "Zions Bank is proud to be a part of providing benefits to Utah citizens in a manner which is safer and more efficient for recipients, merchants, and the Utah Department of Human Services." Ralph W. Merrill, electronic benefit project manager for the Food and Consumer Service in the Mountain Plains Region in Denver, Colo., said the cards will help welfare recipients purchase their food more efficiently. Officials also hope the new system will help eliminate wel- - 19,000 receive cash benefits. "The thing that excites me is the program's capacity to eliminate paper work. I hope our whole system will soon work this way," Leavitt said. The system will allow welfare recipients to withdraw money from a Zions Bank Reddi-AcceAutomatic Teller Machine. Food stamp benefits will be accessed terminals at through point-of-sal- e retail outlets. The Wisconsin-base- d company Deluxe Data, hired by Zions Bank, trained recipients, state agency caseworkers and staff in the area which includes DHS offices in Provo, ss pilot-progra- m Payson, American Fork, Park City and Heber City. The pilot program is expected to last three , (See CARD, Page A 2) Gingrich consults peers on run for president Stewart Weld also spoke with Gingrich; the second could not confirm this. By JOHN KING AP Political Writer Gingrich, they said, made the calls because a combination of recent developments left him uneasy about the status of the WASHINGTON Concerned about Bob Dole's standing and the prospect of Colin Powell winning the GOP nomination. House Speaker Newt Gingrich recently asked several leading Republicans whether he should enter the 1996 presidential race, party sources say. Two Republican sources familiar with the discussions over the past week said they believed the end result was that Gingrich wastill unlikely to enter the race. Gingrich GOP race. For starters, Gingrich was dismayed when Dole, in a weekend television interview 10 days ago, left open the possibility that the Senate would not go along with the House in passing a $245 billion, seven-yetax cut this year. Gingrich also voiced concern with recent polls showing that Dole has lost his lead over President Clinton in trial runs of a those familiar with potential 1996 match-up- , the conversations said. At the same time, Gingrich told the governors and other top advisers he was worried the polls, Powell that, given Dole's klip'-iar haslsaid he will decide by November. GOP Govs. Steve Merrill of New Hampshire and John Engler of Michigan were amgng those consulted by Gingrich, according;- the. GOP; sources, who spoke Thurs-dayoground? they not be. identified said Massachusetts Gov. Wllliafn n' z By Travis Jacobsen The Daily Herald Find it Arts Business Classified Ads. Comics Crossword Cegals Lifestyle Movies Obituaries Opinions Sports State Television World .. Dl B5 .......El D7 El 2', El C6 Dl B2 B4 CI B3 1)2 A3 Weather Tonight fair and continto ued cool. Lows mid-20- s 30s. Saturday sunny upper and a .little warmer. See Page A4. '.j.:. aW ' Quality Today's air quality was good for bll areas along the Wasatch Front. See Page " Powell, in interviews related to his book tour, has said he supports abortion rights, affirmative action and gun control, and has criticized the Republican Party for being insensitive to racial issues and too quick to make immigrants and welfare recipients scapegoats for social problems. Yet Powell has said that if he decides to run for president, the most likely route would be as a Republican, and his economic views are largely in sync with GOP policy. Polls have suggested Powell immediate ly would become the top challenger to Dole, the Senate majority leader. Since the TV comment that disturbed Gingrich, Dole has made several public statements committing himself to the $245 billion tax cut. Dole and Gingrich also appeared together Thursday to announce a House-Senat- e steering committee to work on a balanced budget plan. Believing a smooth relationship with Gingrich is critical to his presidential bid. Dole has repeatedly instructed aides not to criticize the House or Gingrich personally. And he long ago tapped campaign manager Scott Reed to work with Gingrich adviser Joseph Gaylord in hopes of maintaining a smooth relationship. But the relationship took a sour turn after Dole's apparent wavering on tax cuts, one source said. : , ,' '., .. SUNDANCE Everyone' is it that, awkward, experiencing often challenging advancement into the future known as grbwth. And Utah County is no exception. Growth was the topic of conversation by each of the 15 speakers at the ProvoOrem Chamber of Commerce Seventh Annual Utah Valley Leadership Conference in Sundance Thursday. Business, education and civic leaders from across the valley converged at the scenic establishRobert Redford-owne- d ment to discuss the area's future and to share a common vision of managed and controlled growth in Utah County. Sneakers were each 0 minutes to answer the given 10. top questions presented to them 15-2- by Chamber President "Steve Dens-le- y, ' v " The conference opened with the remarks of Utah Valley's newest muhihillion-dolla- r neighbor.. Yes, that's right, multibillion. " t Micron Technology Inc. representative Susan Roe distributed to the audience of more than 200 the latest figures on Micron's semi BYU's advancement vice president, stated that BYU currently is involved in the most construction in its history. BYU has plans to remodel the Smith Fieldhouse, the Eyring Science Center, the Ernest L. Wilkinwe son Center and the Harold B. -uy inyii-fjayinjwuo Lee Library. conductor manufacturing plant in Lehi, Roe stated that the plant's construction costs have now reached $2 billion that's an increase of $700 million in just the eight mnnthc since Micron announced Lehi as its choice for expansion. Next came comments Utah of House of "In order to keep our youth jn the county after high school graduation, must, as community leaders, create -- u- WrUinpcHiuvc, u:u that will keep them here. -- Gary R. Herbert, Speak- er Melvin R Brown, who stated quite clearly that the biggest issue facing Utah's Legislature is growth, which affects local infrastructure, property taxes and technology. Brown expects that the advancement of technology will diminish many of our problems. Growth is also the buzzword needed to describe Brigham Young University's current aggressive construction phase. R.J. Snow, growth-relate- d i- commissioner comple- tion stage of the Ezra Taft. Benson Science Com- plex, due to be dedicated Oct. 20, and in the construction phase of the new J. Reuben Clark Law Library. Representing Utah County at the conference was County Commission Chairman Gary R. Herbert. Herbert indicated that the unincorporated land in Utah County represents a significant asset to each of the 21 cities in the county because that is where future 7 seeks funding Police would live in all growth will come from. "Growth is here to stay," stated Herbert. "We must plan for growth in the areas of transportation, budgeting and affordable housing. In order to keep our youth in the county after high school graduation, we must, as community leadg ers, create competitive, them will that here," keep jobs concluded Herbert. Orem city, which has attracted the most retail growth of all of Utah Ccjnty's cities in the past year, was represented by Orem Mayor Stella Welsh. Welsh praised the businesses which are locating in Orem and commended city leaders for making Orem attractive to national restaurants and retail chains. Although business is the machine that runs the economy,, education and Utah County's children are going to operate that machine. Those sentiments were expressed by both Michael Jacob-sesuperintendent of schools for Provo School District, and Steve Baugh. superintendent for Alpine School District. Schools in Utah high-payin- n, -- communities By MARK EDD'NGTON The Daily Herald Mayor George Stewart wants to deter crime by having a police officer living in every neighborhood in Provo, and he thinks he might have found a way to do it. The U.S. Department of Hous- -' ing and Urban Development's HOME program Area growth tops conference agenda Inside . could make a late entry into the GOP field and sweep to the nomination, the sources said. They said such a prospect worries Gingrich because he believes Powell is not committed to his House GOP agenda and would try to lead the Republican Party away from Gingrich's conservatism, particularly on social issues. offers cities funds that can be used to help elihome buyers with gible first-tim- e down payments and closing costs.! Brent Bluth, a management analyst for the city's Redevelop-- : ment Agency, said the city's alio--: cation of HUD money cniild be: put into a revolving fund part, of which would be specifically, earmarked to assist police officers; in buying homes. The balance of the funds would be used for and closing cost assis' tance for other citizens. Under the HOME program, eli-- " gible Provo police officers wanti-- : ng to live in the city would qualify for a low interest loan of up to, $5,000 money that could be' used to buy a home. Officers; would be expected to repay the; loan to the revolving fund over a down-paymen- period, so the money could be loaned out again to other 10-ye- ar officers. Stewart's interest in the HUD funds stems from a city program: approved last year that allows: police officers living in Provo to: be assigned a patrol car for per-- ; Sbnal use within city limits and for other police duties. He said studies' show that crime is reduced in neighborhoods where police officers reside and park their patrol ' (Sec GROWTH, PageA2) (See POLICE, Page A2) i7ianiiHfo(iiiCTg Sfrgri) |