OCR Text |
Show B Obituaries A10 & Utah News A11 1 Opinions A12 The Daily Herald Informing the public a crime? A letter to the editor printed Oct. 10 from Bob Wright contained so men misinformation, it deserves a response. The letter stated that I chastised citizens for the low voter turnout that sank the "personnel bond issue" (to staff the new county jail). Mr. Wright stated it was a "bond" election. Not so. It was an election required by the legislature for any taxing entity proposing to raise its tax rate above the Jossphme Child support bill tough By SHEILA SANCHEZ The Daily Herald The SALT LAKE CITY director of Utah's Office of Recovery Services strongly endorsed child support legislation studied by the Legislature's Human Sen ices Committee Wednesday. Emma Chacon said it has been difficult to enforce child support collection because many fathers who ignore their financial obligations to their children frequently change places of employment to avoid their responsibilities. e "The whole idea behind new-hir- reporting is to expedite this information so that we know where the individuals are employed and we can create some stability for the children." Chacon said. "No welfare reform is complete without vigorous chiid support enforcement," said Rep. Doyle M. after the bills Mortimer, were discussed. Chacon said 25 states in the country have implemented income withholding. Ten of those have mandatory reporting of new employees hired. Federal legislation approved this year by Congress requires states to restrict or revoke licenses, including drivers and professional licenses, for parents who don't pay child support. It also requires states to track new hires. The committee is considering the same issues. Chacon said that although Utah won't becin enforcing federal leg n .1 islation until October of IW. ORS wants to begin ne? vem" get a head start on the prohi, "We need, at least, that much t: to notifv all the empiover-.- " The committee reviewed h e child support collection of them would a!! Utah's Industrial Commi-sio- i establish a centralied hire reei database to receive and main' information on ne.vlv id red rehired employees or contract Information in the regi-ii- v will to match the employee's he sit ever, erv new kisi- - l! his WOulvl : to end bill-On- -- of P,;v. ( "Oltlli!- !- u tii.it v.e 'e-a'i''-c u-- cd adfvJCV ! contractor's employment other database- - to cnd child support order- - and vcrdi tion of employment status. Another bill would occupational and profes-- .1 rcc-wit- ,i. Jiild 'torn: c i' poum W - -p, .j 8? 'I :IC ism 3i 1 1 iebated LCDiNGTON certified tax rate set by the Utah State Tax Commission. Previously, the requirement was to publish notices in the newspapers and to conduct a public hearing. My column did not chastise voters for not turning out; it stated, rather, that the June 27 date f"r the election, mandated by the h Legislature, was a poor time for a special election and virtually assured a low turnout. County officials would have preferred the regular November date to save the cost of a special election. County officials can hardly be accused of "trying to slip one over on the voters" when they were given no choice by the legislature. This column has on several occasions criticized Sheriff David Bateman and his staff for not letting the public know from the beginning that the new jail would require many more employees. In many ways their present piight but that doesn't was solve the problem. Because special elections rarely draw a large turnout, voting districts are usually consolidated to save money on the number of election judges w ho must be hired. Wright claims that I should have done my research concerning the county's sources of income, but Mr. Wright turns out to be Mr. Wrong. The property tax is the county's primary source of income. The county does receive some sales tax (around $800,000) now that the state divides it according to point of origin, rather than just sales generated in the unincorporated areas. The state, not the county, " receives gasoline taxes and auto license taxes collected in the .county. We do get some money jback from the gasoline tax in the form of Class B road funds. Recording fees (set by the "state) go for operation of the County Recorder's Office. Inspection fees and subdivision (building) fees go for operation of the Planning and Building Department. And state and federal money for health services must go for health services. None can be used for jail staffing. The county receives money from the transient room tax collected by the state, but that is earmarked strictly for tourism promotion. The one percent restaurant tax is also mandated by state law for "brick and mortar" projects or community celebrations. It cannot be used for jail staffing. County officials propose to use $2 million of the restaurant tax to pay the county's share of an Olympic ice sheet. Mayors have endorsed the plan, even though it will mean they won't get the money for their own projects. Judges and bailiffs are under the state court system, not county. As for money to house state prisoners, the county is reimbursed only half the cost of housing felons who must serve some jail time as a condition of their probation. Just for the record, the county has used up its reserve accounts and no longer has investment programs. Wright labels me "a very liberal Democrat." whatever that means, and in the same sentence says I am in the pocket of Sheriff Bateman, a conservative Republican. I can't be both. If being a "very liberal Democrat" means informing the public of pending lawsuits against the county or criticizing county officials for their failures, then 1 plead guilty. I.'.-- . '. Back at the Desk iiiiniiiiieaiion-'- ' M i I im ; :.icUit Hk .' :';.!in Yoime .v in print and - draw in.!: lournalisin " men; dv mc:ger last '.vhnd the move .. new ! toni thai filers ol !' .'. and v Ihnh. "(, i.m a 'ra-.:!- ! learn A lone firefighter checks out a hallway at Pleas- ant Grove High School after the students were evacuated during a mock fire drill Wednesday, Smoke was simulated by a machine planted by and encompass mi. media." the fire depr.u through the buii 1 'Fire' fakes out Pleasant Grove s By ED CARTER d, state-sentenc- 19, 1995 :jcer The Daily Herald PLEASANT GROVE Many students dream about the day their school catches on fire and they are treated to an unex- pected vacation. That dream came true here Wednesday for .5 9 high school students 1 but only for 45 minutes. At 9:45 a.m., smoke filled Pleasant Grove High School and the school's alarms blared, causing students and faculty to evacuate the building. Two engines from the citv's fire department pulled in later and the volunteer moments crew geared up to firefighting enter the school. "Where do you think it started?" one faculty member asked a firefighter. Most of the students seemed concerned, but several couldn't hide the joy they felt at their good fortune. '"I'm missing a test for this, so it's not all had." said senior Jared Allred. the school's student body president. Several students said they heard the fire ignited in a janitor's closet. Someone had probably dropped a lit cigarette in the closet, they said. But after about 20 minutes, the hoses hooked to a nearby fire hydrant were not charged and some students became suspicious. By 10:30 a.m.. the students' hopes of freedom were dashed and school was back in session. There hadn't been a fire, just a smoke machine planted by the fire department that circulated vapor through the building's air vents. Why would firefighters give the school such a scare1.' "Training for us and a wj.i :.! up call for the school." Darold llenrv. a volunteer IW fighter and teacher at the Inen school. "'Whether it's a drill there .ae certain things vo. need to do." The firefighters said the dik was successful: their respon time was under five minutes and no one was found inside the building. "Our first concern is to gei people out." llenrv said. "On drill like this vou tr to mvoiu all the firefighting teams in cooi dination." The Pleasant (irov e I i. Department, with two full-iistaffers and 27 part-tim- e vohm teers. tiains twice a month. Bui it's usual not this much fun. I 1 from Que. can point politics watchers to thousands of interest- he v: m,i. . ing sites. In the late 1960s, the U.S. Defense of developed Department protocols to allow computers to talk to each other. Then on Sept. I, 1969, the first transmission went from the University of California at Los Angeles to the University of '.:i.es n ;sw a er ha- - C! I" sihdent ol ' , .:. i'ii , . eieiioiiiv I engaged m in'.' tor snnie li t ;m Hit s!u-- . mate! ia' n ."."i i'., V id Wide : ' Mailt n Inghv a . v v' niHial ai n.d ' i' : ion pi neet nd the placing .i;U me campus news :'k pievitius on '. reea-- t c also K" . ''!': !.' poris. iudeiil.:'!'.! illi'dl ,.ni o; -' ofli- icn ' '.; d s- -- e'di. :el .' p. w ; -- - room ,!. tl'om oil via.te I'rolessor pimi lournalisin he depailinent i'le-- e two pio-- . n so that can bene ( H!ht , ms 'lie eommit'ee a si i Iruadcast m - Ison. lor--iemphasis leader: eleeiionie media v.de; and John Ghold-v'- s ,, Doily I J... m in handy. On the World Wide Web. you can access the White House (http:vv wvv.whitehouse.gov) where you can see photos of the first family, get a visual and sound tour and even sign a presidential guest book. Like Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich or not. he believes we are entering the information age and was one of the first in Congress to establish his own home page A 10) aid k'P1,i;- comes (Sec BOOK, Papi' -- v.e'ie e . ' of people w ith personal computers and modems with access to the Internet, the list of government and (http:wwvv.l10use.g0vn1hrdirG A06.html). And you can him (georgia6(,hr.hoiise.gov). Like Gingrich? There's the GinClub Fan grich (http:wvvw.clark.iictpubieffdmr newt.html.) and there's also a news group fan club (alt. fan. new en been e ,! :.:dv.' . Utah, and the Internet was born. Today, political and campaign information has advanced-ligh- t years from the time politicians rode the rails and spoke to Americans from the platform of a railroad car. More than a million people belong to political news groups on the Internet and for the thousands political issue information is long. But how do you locate it? Just like for a sporting event, vou need a program to follow the game. That's where Politics on the Set ot h.:!.'' 'veil sll!'i. V o Book takes poSitical junkies into c Program! Get your program nki! .v. ;' here. You can't identify the players without a program! As the whistle blows on America's greatest sport politics those who want to follow the action of Campaign '96 have got to know the plays and players. And those who want to have real fun will want to know the trivia like which two '96 presidential candidates hail from the same tiny rural tow n of 5,000? The town Russell. Kansas. The candidates Bob Dole and Al len Specter. When the space shuttle landed in Salt Lake recently, one witness said that as a young child she had been at Salt Lake International when Charles Lindbergh landed there on a national tour. Now that's w itnessing astronomical change. The emergence of the Internet has led to a similar astounding change in the availability of information, ai much of it is about politics. For the game of politics. Bill Mann's new guide. Politics on the Net. $24.99. 382 pages, released depari- a :' .p- By PAT CHRISTIAN The Daily Herald Da! ... professor .'ampns and nic! 'can .loii.Tiai i's - ihe plan - a ". . km' k ; n . luoe been '. until sull'icicnl .' unv I niil then, the m !vi w een print ami 'udei'ts - limited to .' :!. io.v'i:ige ot news m ,sgl atteinling each g i ' , ; (th-iinm- i imeiings iiem's goal lventual-!ep.- is to bet-i;- . r stiidciiN lor the "media 'u" b I'.'il; - to. iepo.it ' The new computer book. Politics on n guide for finding lots of information o spots, the economy, political parties .me It brings a new meaning to "surling USA - g in a.ll mediums: P' .'. and We want to give e on-lin- e students an imtv to not be locked into now specialties that they ecu m the past. We want to Mi tho-- e walls that have , 'POOR C V cross-trainin- (SceOVU, PageAlO) |