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Show City lobbies for signal at intersect bon Three hazardous dragstrips - two on residential streets and one at a downtown intersection - are the targets of police and city council corrective action. Payson City officials are trying to convince state traffic engineers to install a four-wa- y stop light at the intersection of Highway 91 and Main Street. increases the possibility of accidents side streets, he claimed. on According to Mayor Harmer, the state is -- reluctant to install the stop signal because engineers say the 30 m.p.h. speed limit is too slow to warrant it. Safety engineers also claim the signal would encourage speeding through the intersection. "Its matter of putting the pressure Mayor Richard Harmer said Its not easy to let them know just how unsafe that intersection is. The mayor said he has been discussing the problem with safety engineers at the state capitol in Salt Lake. do not make sense," These views He insisted the stop Harmer declared. light would regulate traffic flow and stop the dash across the highway. It would also stop the diversion of traffic through residential side streets, he maintained. The mayor, the city council and police Box maintain that the flashing semaphore at the intersection now creates a hazardous bottleneck. Meanwhile, the city has intensified its efforts to stop speeding on 800 South and 700 South Streets near Hillman Field. Residents of a housing development near a on them, Monday. top-lev- el chief Jim South petitioned the council to post stop signs along 800 South to force speed- A ing cars to slow down. delegation of residents from the 700 South area voiced a similar plea at the April 7 council meeting. 800 Floorboarding to cross The semaphore stops Main Street traffic and flashes an amber caution light for through traffic on the highway. Chief Box explained that Main Street A market proposed is not economical Paysons tourist trade could blossom along with the orchards this spring, local farmer Craig Wayman said Monday. farmers Wayman told the Chamber of Commerce board of directors that area merchants should promote the seasonal tourist attraction of fruit trees in bloom. He also advised the board to consider posting a farm directory downtown to tell shoppers what fruit is available at area farms. have to bring their produce to market and also pay people to sell it there, he explained. It would be less expensive to direct people to the farms to buy the fruit there, Way-msaid. by chamber president Holly Broad-hea- replied that $500 worth of the way for signs are on However, he noted that nearly half the speeding tickets issued on 800 South since January have been charged to residents of the development. Chief drivers heading into downtown Payson must race through the intersection at the first break in highway traffic. This is unsafe because cars speeding across the highway risk smashing into other cars pulling out from perpendicular parking slots in front of the First Security Bank on the opposite corner, the chief said. In any case, he added, drivers must slow down abruptly as soon as they cross the intersection because the shopping parks 10 m.p.h. speed limit begins there. thing of beauty is a tourist attraction... d The chief also said many drivers familiar with the situation on Main Street take detours through narrower side streets. This causes congestion and Farmers would an ' Box new stop 800 South. He then told the 700 South represen- tatives that stop signs can also cause accidents in some circumstances. People who live in a neighborhood . may become accustomed to which streets are through streets and which ones must stop, he But when a sign gets knocked explained. down, someone unfamiliar with the area could breeze through the intersection and smash into another driver who expected him to stop, Box said. Wayman predicted the orchards will be in full blossom in early A campaign to bring tourists into the area could benefit local merchants by increasing the number of potential shoppers in the town, he said. May. Wayman said fruit farmers are enthusiastic about plugging the orchard hills of Utah. However, he added, the downtown Economy looks good, repotl claims The outlook for Utahs economy in the second quarter of 1976 is excellent. Further employment growth is anticipated in the manufacturing and construction A sectors. stronger demand for steel and possibly copper in the second naif of the year will benefit local producers. Substantial real growth in retail sales is expected to continue. These were the highlights of the quarterly First Security Bank News Letter, being distributed this week, according to Roy Broadbent, Payson branch Dr. Kelly K. Matthews, vice manager. president and economist, is edtor of the News Letter. Business activity in Utah accelerated the first quarter as measured in terms of employment, retail sales, production and construction. The rapid growth in manufacturing, mining and construction employment is positive indication of a growing and healing economy. Retail sales and residential construction activity were both significantly higher than last year. in Employment growth inUtan accelerated in March, reaching a total of 485,500, am increase of 19,500 employees, or 4.2 percent over a year ago. Jobs in manufacturing, fabricated metals, electrical equipment, chemical and petroleum and apparel manufacturing were up, while employment in primary metals, ordinance and transportation manufacturing remains below a year ago. In the fourth quarter of 1975 retail trade and services totaled $1,344 billion of 17.5 percent above the corresponding Sales and use tax period a year ago. collections reflecting sales made generally in January were 28 percent above Automobile sales in the last yeaa. January - March period were up approximately 25 percent over a year ago. construction dropped last year. Total construction contracts awarded for the first two months of 1976 were valued at $63.4 million, 2.9 percent below last year. Residential construction contracts, however, increased 32.5 percent, to $43.6 million. Copper production in Utah in January, was 18 percent below that of a year earlier. Nationally, output was down 14 percent. Outlook is generally good for a slow increase in demand because of favorable changes in the automobile and building industries. in Utah Clubs, committees keep Saturdays busy Clubs and community service com- mittees have scheduled three straight Saturdays of activities for Payson residents. The Kiwanis Club will sponsor its annual Easter Egg Hunt in the Community Park Saturday at 10 a.m. Town Meeting 76, a city-wi- intro- duced by the Kiwanis Club and endorsed is by Payson clubs and city council, scheduled for April 24. On May 1, an auction to raise funds for the Bicentennial Swimming Pool will be held tn the Community Park. Kiwanians invite all area youngsters under the age of eight to search for eggs Club members are already busy coloring the eggs which local businesses and individuals have donated. Payson Mayor Richard Karmer has proclaimed April 24 Town Meeting 76 Day. In the proclamation (printed on page 2), the mayor lauds the idea of bringing the citizens of Payson together to establish goals for the city. The Bicentennial Pool committee will try to raise a large chunk of the $40,000 still needed to complete the pool project at the auction, according to spokesman Betty Lindsay. 50 percent below Steel output in Utah County continues show some increase in output and currently is at 80 percent of rated capacity. There is some increase in employment with almost all those released a year ago being called back. Prices have remained relatively stable, with some increase in scrap prices. to The report goes on to point out that cash receipts from farm marketing inUtah in January decreased 8.7 percent below the same month a year ago. Although receipts from livestockandlivestockpro-duct- s were up 19 percent, crop receipts had fallen 48 percent. Loans outstanding at Utah Federal serve reporting member banks in totaled $1,536 billion, Remid-Mar- ch up 1.4 percent from a year ago. Commercial borrowing is expected to pick up in the r. Demand depositstotaled second $747 million, up 7.2 percent, while time and savings deposits, at $1,427 billion were up 16.6 percent. half-yea- 'Disastrous impact on farmers Utah Farm Bureau leader blasts UP&L rate increases The Utah Farm Bureau Federation says consumers would be hurt most if the Utah Public Service Commission approves a proposed 45 percent increase in rates charged to Farmers by Utah Power and Light Company. The Comission recently utility an overall 19 granted the percent increase. Hearings begin April 12 on a UP and L proposal to divide that increase among users. Under the UP and L proposal, irrigation pumping rates would go up 45 percent. A Farm Bureau spokesman said the recently approved 19 percent rate increase would bring farm electricity costs up a total of 63 percent in the last year and a half. Farm Bureau says farmers will pay the same increase other users face but farmers vigorously oppose the 45 percent hike UP and L is asking. In testimony before the hearing, C. Booth Wallentine, Farm Bureau executive vice president said the amount of money UP and L could gain from the new farm But pumping rates would be minimal. he said the impact on individual farmers would be disastrous. He said the increase! alone would average $833 per farm irrigator in one year. The role of irrigated agriculture in our nations food supply is increasing. Over time, these massive increases in farm electricity costs could have a serious impact on food prices and the overall food supply. With Midwestern land back into production, Western state Irrigated agriculture will increasingly be called upon to meet food needs, Wallentine said. Wallentine also criticized a proposal before the Commission to reduce power rates for elderly and poor people by forcing higher costs and industrial users. We predict on farm, A crane dredges mud from Spring Lake. business great difficulty in years to come if the Public Service Commission becomes a welfare agency by using utility companies as a device to take from those who have to give to those who have not, he said. The Farm Bureau executive officer, said farmers are sensitive to legitimate needs of the poor but he said established public assistance agencies should be used rather than public utilities to provide this assistance. Draglining deepens lake A draglining crane and crew scooped nearly 100 'truckloads of mud from the bottom of Spring Lake last weekend. The operation, part of the Spring Lake Beautification Project, is expected to improve fishing by deepening the north end of the lake. Project director Keith Holman said and $800 grant from Utah County and in Becentennial funds financed the The county furnished the draglining. crane and Payson City and Santaquin donated dump trucks to haul away the mud, Holman added. $200 Holman also said the project will top the $100,000 mark by July. The money labor comes from federal, and state and local grants. |