OCR Text |
Show Form City Department Or Not? UTAH - PRESS ASSOCIATION 467 EAST 3RD SOUTH SALT LAKE CITY, UT 04111 Outcome Of Talks To Clarify Question Of Fire Protection depends on who can provide the best service for the least amount of money. Indictations are strong at city hall, however, that West Valley will form its own department on Jan. 1. Mayor Henry Price has long been a staunch fire protecadvocate of tion, and Lukens said he feels the city commission as a whole is leaning in that direction. For the next few weeks negotiations will be conducted to decide if that is the most advantageous route for the city, both economically and in terms of fire protection. If city officials opt to establish their own department, Lukens said the decision should be made by the end of the month in order to acquire the needed stations, equipment and manpower. West Valley also is required to notify the county by Oct. 1 if it plans to terminate the fire protection pact WEST VALLEY. On Sept. 1, West Valley City will officially have a fire chief. By then, it should be determined whether he will head a department or not. West Valley officials Tuesday appointed William J. Lukens, a deputy State Fire Marshall for the past 64 years, as city fire chief effective Sept. 1. But in the next month Lukens will be involved in negotiations aimed at determining .whether West Valley will form its own fire department or continue to contract fire protection services from the county. Commissioner Renee Mackay, who has responsibility for the fire department, said no options have been ruled out and that the final decision on Jan. 1. County Fire Chief David Barrett said Tuesday he is sure West Valley will form a fire department of its own to some degree, adding that he expects talks to resume shortly. Lukens and Barrett have discussed the fire situation on at least three oc: casions already, the city fire chief said. In future talks, Barrett said he will do his best to convince them (West Valley officials) to stay with us. He feels it will save money for West Valley residents as well as those in the unincorporated county. Forming a large fire department has definite advantages over a series of smaller forces because it cuts down on duplication of training and dispatch services and requires fewer administrators, Barrett contended. Like Barrett, Lukens said he favors creation of a fire district, which he called a good concept if properly organized and ad- ministered. But until special legislation can be passed and reluctance to the concept overcome, a fire district could be several years away down the road, he said. Improved fire protection is needed in the West Valley City area, Lukens stated flatly. He believes service can be bettered now that tax revenue generated within the area will be staying in the area. Economically, the county can afford to operate only two stations South and Beaver Street - when at least three and probably more are needed, said Lukens, pointing out that the Beaver Street station is obsolete. More stations will have to be built in the next six months, some with assistance from the private sector, if the city decides to form its own force, he said. A West Valley force would probably have about 36 men, all trained as emergency medical technicians. Paramedic service would continue to be provided by the county, he added. Lukens was one of two fire chief candidates highly recommended by the State Fire Marshalls office, Commissioner Mackay said. He will be paid $27,500 annually. .'"''Vi L I EXCHANGE . . . West Valley Planning Commission Chairman Budd Rich discusses zoning policy Tuesday with Elaine Andrus, louesa Pearce. At Meeting Today Planners To Consider 37 Bids Nine conditional use applications and 13 rezoning requests are on todays agenda. Requests for conditional use permit include: - Twin homes in an zone at 3650 So. 4000 West; - Auto parts store, 1809 W. 3500 South; - Car wash, 3530 So. 4400 West; - Home occupation drapery business, 4358 So. 4625 West and - Office building, 2614 So. 1935 THE VOICE OF WEST VALLEY CITY UTAH Went VaPdey 3 -- t The. Green : Sheet ; West USPS To City 656-38- 0 Published weekly at - , District al Sail 1SS L F 4905 ake City Thursday, Aug. Soulh Salt Lake City UT 84107 Second class postaqe paid UT 81119 Subscription rate, $!? 50 per year 7, 1980 Volume 26, Number 31 3 Will Sell Alternative Park Land Is Proposed - 8 Jail Accord Gained, At Least For Now GRANITE PARK. Action taken by the Granite Board of Education here Tuesday night is expected to result in West Valley City having a new park. The board agreed to sell 14.75 acres of surplus property at 4400 West and 3500 South to the city. Originally the property was to be traded to Salt Lake County for Granger Park property to provide additional parking for Granger high, but a federal blockage of that effort stymied the project. West Valley officials determined that they did not wish to discontinue use of Granger Park and asked the district to explore other possibilities concerning solving of serious parking problems at the high school. City officials appeared greatly concerned that the frontage property on 3500 South was to be zoned for commercial use by the county. The district previously had entered into condemnation proceedings on 14 acres of property south of the school with an eye toward parking facilities and an agricultural program. The board instructed the administration to reopen negotiations with the property owner, but for only, four acres of the property. Unwillingness to sell the property city-count- establishing a jail for cities in the southern portion of the county. The alternative jail, council members reportedly indicated, could either hold prisoners arrested by city police departments or could supplement existing facilities as a minimum security jail for misdemeanants. West Valley City Mayor Henry (Hank) Price said yesterday idea was well (Wednesday) the worth looking at, although he agreed the currently overcrowded jail should be funded through a county mill levy. that a work program accompany the establishment of an alternate jail for misdemeanants. A facility for persons convicted of He suggested misdemeanor crimes, many for alcohol-relateouenses, repeated would not require heavy security allowing prisoners to do jobs that need to be done rather than sit- idiv liuino off tav d issi"-3 Wait Vallay City Mayor Hank Price ayes agenda during COG meeting where (all situation was mulled. NEW MEMBER . . . here's a point as the media has exhaustingly reminded us, marked the 35th anniversary of the atomic bomb. Yesterday, When it exploded in the skies above the Japanese coastal city of Hiroshima, wholesale death became a Be- did, the world changed for all of us. In the succeeding three-and-a-ha- lf de- cades, debate has raged over the right I I Murray Mayor LaRell D. Muir called the imposition of one mill, which would add $10 to the tax bill of the owner of a $50,000 home, the fairest solution available. There was no alternative. It had to be done. Speaking prior to the South Jordan meeting Tuesday night Muir said I donT believe Murray Ci y wants to get into the jail business Muir pointed out that no new jail cells had been added since the facilities were first built, while the countys population has increased dramatically From talks Ive had, and Ive had quite a few, with county attorneys, the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and others, Im fully convinc- ed this mill levy will cost less than serious lawsuits and payments that could result if conditions aren t im- proved, the Murray mayor said. While Price sees validity in placing jail maintenance and operation costs on a county mill levy, he feels the loss of the West Valley area from the County Sheriffs jurisdiction should negate the need for a mill increase. West Valley City has made such an impact on the Sheriffs budget. ShUltl ' - Jordans plan. Either the county moves with quick dispatch, or the cities should take action. the West Valley mayor said At a Friday Council of Govern- ments (COG ) meeting the first at- tended by Pr.ce since West Valley s incorporation, local mayors praised the compromise jail solution, which apparently ended county threats to sue cities for detaining or wrong of the United States employing so devastating a weapon in warfare. And, in our mind, Uncle Sam has unjustly emerged from too many of those debates looking cruel and inhuman. Certainly the bomb that by Price sees some merit in the South Jordan proposal, particularly if other plans are not forthcoming in the near future. their prisoners. South Salt Lake Mayor Jim Davis proposed a resolution congratulating county commissioners for the con- cern they showed on the issue. 'Right Qff The Bat! The carpeting was sold right off the bat - the day the ad came out in the Green Sheet. R- E. Cristenson, a Holladay area resident, relating what happened 8i sq. yds. of nylon orange tweed carpet, very good condition. when he used Utah's most widely ""sPV'rs ; C-- (commercial) on one acre at l 6400 W. 3500 South; If the county drags its feet, Im in- terested in hearing more of South Pricesaid10 The new park property purchase is contingent upon receipt of funds from the federal government and the board allowed the city until Feb. 1 to complete the purchase. In other action the board appointed Dr. John Larsen principal of Granite high to replace A. Earl Catmull, who will become principal of Taylorsville high, scheduled to open in 1981. A new elementary report card format also gained approval of the board, designed to streamline Sept. 2 will be the bid opening for a new school in the Magna area. reality. cause it West -- LAKE. County Commissioners and mayors from a majority of the valleys cities reached agreement on a means of solving the county jail problem, but the accord may be tenuous. Concluding that problems at the jail were the concern of all county residents, the commissioners and mayors of eight local cities agreed to a plan adding one mill to the countywide levy. y But the harmony apparent in that agreement was shaken by the South Jordan City Councils decision Tuesday to look into SALT would result in probable condemnation proceedings. r Hearings will be held on rezoning requests for: - A combination of industrial, commercial and residential development by Westlake Investment, 3600 to 5600 West lrom 2400 to 3300 South; - R-- (multiple units, offices t, seven acres at 4650 W. 4100 South; 19 acres at 3150 So. 6450 West; (twin homes) on 44 acres at 3820 So. 3100 West; 15 acres at 3250 So. 6400 West, 20 acres at 6600 W. 3500 South; (duplexes) at 3240 So. 3600 - M-- at l (manufacturing) on 2471 So. 7200 West; on five 7186 Gates Ave. Innilt IlipUl On vII bej Qn '.fwaThapp'S the results and the man who bought it was phased with his excellent buy. said Mr. Cristenson. r.rppn Shppt classified ads reach v homes every over 50,000 over Thats morning, inursaay 210.000 potential readers of your ad and thats wn.v vou'll 6cl results' Dial to place your ad. Save rUnS Ask us mid-valle- 2 Youll eet results! Pl?n C Pat-IIxO I Bks aBnd .... Pubiic comment 0ficials here bv city recreation. . .. , . a e prov' ime ,5' 7 commission mee ing a uring ugus to receive public requests and recom- ndations for parks and recreation programs, accor ing o on ay, 0 cmmis- minis ro "e ass's an ac enee sioner ay. Publ,c lnPl 15 ,retluired cm: e a submitted aPP AgenSV the city Rren Persons unable attend a to mission meeting but desirous of menting may call Day, com- corn- - Commission Meeting . TllTIGS EStd Dl iShGCi U eir- - s''11 OUClht IQ WEST VALLEY acres acres at 1.2 missioVniMlngsisbegiminl6,lo "" ' Cake C1 prceeds Th commission meetins todav (Thursday) will be held at 9 a m , but Mayor Henry (Hank) Prim said future Thursday meetings likely will i,P held ai lua.ni. Tuesday meetings will be schedul-whil- e Pdfnr5nm Sessions will take place n a room which doub es as commslon chambers and city court. Today's commission meeting was moved up an hour because the City Planning Commission is scheduled to meet at 10 a m , officials noted. Jim Cornwell destroyed Hiroshima was horrible. Of course it was tragic that so many civilian lives were taken and so many survivors maimed. But its simpler to charge cruelty today than it wouldve been on Aug. 6, 1945. And its easy to imply that the Japanese or Germans wouldnt have resorted to such a weapon had the situation been reversed. But deep down we all know that isnt true. Some contend that simply fire bombing of Tokyo and other centers of Japanese population by our island-basewould've forced a surrender. d Others argue that the submarine net wed thrown around the home islands was choking the Japanese into submission by depriving them of both food and raw materials. Still others say the threat of a Russian invasion from the north was convincing the Japanese that they couldnt continue to resist. In combination, those factors undoubtedly were influencing the leaders of the Rising Sun. Nevertheless, the Japanese had shown no disposition to surrender. Plans were being made for a seaborne invasion and casualties of our armed forces were estimated in hundreds of thousands. If that invasion had occurred and the Japanese had so furiously defended their homeland as to claim that many Americans, how high would the civilian death toll have soared behind the front lines? Its reasonable that even the maximum estimate of Hiroshimas dead, 200,000, is a far lower toll than the invasion wouldve taken. And while a life is a life, to Americans it was understandably preferable to cause the death of an enemy, military or civilian, rather than that of one of our own fighting men. Japanese tenacity had been displayed on Okinawa and Iwo Jima, where every foot of ground was paid for at a frightful cost in blood. Certainly Japanese fighting men wouldve resisted with equal ferocity on their home island. It should merit the thanks of that Japanese leaders capitulated before atomic warfare resumed. all human beings They stalled after the bombing of on the 6th. The bomb dropped on Nagasaki three days later didnt bring surrender although death estimates ranged from 39,000 to Hiroshima plutonium 74,000. However, at that moment wed exhausted our atomic arsenal. Three or four more bombs wouldve been made in September; that many more in October and a dozen each in November and December. So respite for the Japanese wouldve been temporary at best and while awaiting more atomic weapons, our aircraft wouldve continued to rain death on their in targets. Not only were vading Japanese skies in clusters of 200 or more, but massive raids were also being conducted by from nearer islands. Nevertheless, it wouldve taken 2,000 armed with conventional weapons to equal the destructive force of one atomic bomb. So it was the atomic bomb that concluded the war, arguments to the contrary notwithstanding. At Hiroshima, its estimated 80,000 civilians and soldiers were killed or mortally wounded in a few moments after the bomb exploded 1,890 feet in the air. The temperature at the center was 50 million degrees centigrade. Directly below, on the ground, it was several thousand degrees. Fires were started a mile away and skin was burned two miles away. Over 60,000 buildings collapsed; more than 70,000 breaks occurred in the water mains. All but three of the citys 55 hospitals were destroyed. 180 of Hiroshimas 200 doctors and all but 124 of its 1,780 nurses were dead or injured. Stone walls, steel doors and asphalt pavement glowed red-ho- t. More than a mile from the explosion center, caps were etched onto people's scalps, patterns of kimonos were imprinted on bodies and stockings were burned onto legs. A whirlwind of glass roared through the area as thousands of windows exploded into flying fragments. Air was sucked at express-traispeed into the base of the atomic mushroom, instantly reaching super-heatetemperatures and igniting everything combustible. Some critics burden the United States with total responsibility for the atomic weapon. In truth, our scientists, aided by those of various allied European countries, created the bomb in self defense. Germany was near to discovering it. Had Hitler had it, is there any question what hed have used it for? n d i |