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Show 2 The Magna Times, Thursday, March 8, 1990 tothe Editor Dear Editor, Are you sensitive about Magnas negative image? We know we have a good community! We want to improve that image. On Tuesday, March 20, a group of concerned citizens are planning on attending Granite Districts board meeting. We want a chance to voice our concerns and show the board that we deserve equal educational opportunities for our children. You can show your support by attending the meeting with us. The board meets at 340 East 3545 South. If you have any questions, call Terri Furrow at 250-920- 1. Open house to be held for older workers Editorial Opimion Large school population creates high tax burden Utahs abnormally large school population has resulted in a state and local tax burden that is well above regional and national averages. This point was made in a series of charts prepared by Utah Foundation, the private tax research organization, that show tax and expenditure comparisons in Utah, the Mountain States, and the United States. of Utahs total population According to the analysis, approximately 25.4 This percentage was conwas enrolled in the public schools during and the U.S. average 19.2 siderably higher than the Mountain States average of of 16.4 last year. Foundation analysts observe that the extremely large school burden has caused many of Utahs taxes to be higher than those imposed in other states. Overall, state and local taxes in Utah were equal to $120 per $1 ,000 of personal income. This compares with an average of $1 10 per $1,000 of personal income in the eight Mountain States and $107 in the nation as a whole. Utah appears Among the three major taxes income, sales, and property income about tax and to be high in its use of the sales tax and individual average in its use of the property tax. The study also notes that two of the Mountain States (Nevada and Wyoming) do not impose an income tax and one state (Montana) has no general sales tax. Utahs cigarette tax of 23 cents per pack is second highest in the eight Mountain States. It compares with a Mountain States average of 19.5 cents per pack and a U.S. average of 21.7 cents per pack. The Utah gasoline tax of 19 cents per gallon (which was raised to 19.5 cents by the 1990 Legislature) also is well above the Mountain States average of 16.9 per gallon and the U.S. average of 15.9 cents per gallon. Other facts disclosed by the Utah Foundation chart series including the An open house will be held to observe the 3 1 st anniversary of the Title V program, the federal Older Americans Act, and Job Training Partnership Act. During the second week in March, from the 11th through the 16th, the Employ the Older Worker Open House will be held. Employers as well as older workers seeking employment assistance are welcome. Anna Dresel, Senior Employment Program manager, said, Salt Lake County Aging Services recognizes the difficulties the over-5-5 worker has in finding employment. We hold special training sessions to provide personalized assistance to the job seeker on how to put their best foot forward. We also alert employers to the need to give serious consideration to the' older worker. We want to dispel the myths that older workers cant keep up and are unable to leam new skills. Refreshments as well as information will be served at the open house, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The open house will be held at Salt Lake County Aging Services, South Building Room S1500, County Government Center, 2001 South State Street, Salt Lake City. 1988-198- 9. following: 1. Utah has the lowest per capita income in the Mountain States. During 1988, it was 16 below the Mountain States average and 26 under the average for the nation as a whole. 2. A major factor accounting for Utahs low ranking in per capita income, Federal retirees wishing to take ad- vantage of the Legislatures extension of the 1985 amended return filing deadline for Davis v. Michigan tax appellants now have an option of two ways to file protective claims. Federal retirees still may file an amended return for each applicable year (1985 to 1988) or complete and file aT simplified .Protective, .Claim, Form: This formonlyreutresretireeS foptOVidfe tffSTr fRtnJeST'SdfciaTSeduri-t- y numbers, addresses, and signatures. Filing this form can provide protection for all of the years in question. However, the Tax Commission emphasizes that protective claims for tax years 1985 and 1986 must be filed by April 16, 1990. If only filing protective claims for 1987 or 1988, the taxpayer may file later than that date, but statute of within the three-yea- r However, if refunds are ordered by the courts, retirees who filed only the Protective Claim Forms will have to file accurate amended returns to determine their refunds. Copies of the new form will be available after Monday, February 26 at the Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo, and Cedar City offices of the Tax Commission; and at the. Internal Revpnue Ser vice offices' im Salt; ake; City and Ogden. Taxpayers Thay also Call the 8 within Tax Commission at the Salt Lake metro area or toll free within Utah to order forms. Copies also are being distributed to tax preparers. Federal retirees who have filed claims with the Tax Commission for 1985 or 1986 are encouraged to call die agency to determine whether their claims were properly completed. 530-484- limitations. Dear Parents of Cyprus High Drivers: We, the residents of 8600 West, are ing down the road with others sitting MAGNA TIMES USPS 325-58- 0 8980 West 2700 South MAGNA, UTAH 84044 J. HOWARD STAHLE Editor Publisher-Managin- g and laying on the hood of the car. A few days ago, we lost another beloved family pet. Next time, it may be a child on the road, dead. This letter is to request your assistance. PLEASE talk to your teenagers and explain to them the consequences involved in this type of behavior. If they feel the only way to release the tension of being in school all day is to romp on the gas pedal, please send them down to 2100 South Subscribe to the Magna Times where the speed limit is 55 and children are not present. We have the support of all the residents of our street, the school administration, and the sheriffs office. All we need now is the support of you and our teenage drivers. We will not stop the pressure until we have complete traffic control on our street. We are prepared to take any and all measures legally possible to reach our goal. The Residents of Magnas 8600 West. American Heart Association BONNIE STAHLE Advertising-Offic- Foundation analysts caution that while they believe that these comparisons pro- vide much useful comparative information, no single measure can give a complete and final answer as to where Utah stands among the states. They point out that sometimes a special situation, such as Utahs abnormally high school population, can distort the picture resulting from such comparisons. In addition, some states with extensive natural resources (such as Wyoming) or states with an abnormal amount of tourism (such as Nevada) may be able to export, or transfer, a great deal of their tax burden to individual and businesses located in other states. Editorial Parenting today KIM FOLSOM Magna Times Assistant Editor When I was young, my parents didnt seem to have the problems to deal with that we do now. Life seems so much more serious now for a young teenager. It is almost if they are continually going from one crisis to another. I dont remember having crises when I was that age. Now we have drugs, depression, gangs, AIDS, and a thousand other things that we didnt have to worry about twenty years ago. Kids seem to be so much older now as well, or at least physically. At thirteen, I just started to realize there was a difference between girls and boys. Today, they are talking about safe sex at thirteen. world events, fashion, etc. The general Everything changes so fast now instability of life seems to be affecting todays youth, adding to their uncertainty, ' Life i hard gn the parents of today, especially if you are a single pairerit,but it's hard because today is a much harder time for youth as well. Its hard to be a parent nowadays. r Straight Talk by Albert D. Hattis I was driving to a meeting on a four lane highway. The directional lanes were separated, in the middle of the highway, by some planting or concrete. I came to an intersecting highway where everyone had to stop because of traffic signals. Just after the intersection light had changed, and had become red or stop for those entering the big highway, a car loaded with people drove out and made a turn to the north, right in front of a heavily loaded lumber truck. It appeared that the two vehicles were going to crash, and that meant real trouble for the car occupants, who would have been crushed. The truck driver swerved into the ditch to avoid hitting the car. His load smashed forward. I later discovered that he had died instantly. He had heroically saved the lives of the car occupants, who sped away, but not before I had their license plate number. I stopped at an office building, called the local police and sheriff, reported and an that ambulance was needed immediately. eveiything, suggested The story reported in the local newspaper implied that the truck driver had lost control of his truck in a accident. I waited a couple of days for the police to call me. I had provided my name and work or home telephone numbers. When nothing happened, I felt that the truth should come out because the accident stoiy had mentioned the truck drivers wife and kids. So I called the states attorney, indicated what had been reported and what had been omitted in the public press account of the incident. The truck driver had been a hero. The car driver who went through a red light, with no turn on red authorized, and cause the accident that killed, wasnt mentioned. I wrote a letter to the lumber company relating all of the facts. They contacted their insurance carrier, their employees family, and local press. The truth became available. The drivers wife thanked me, as did the employer. The police and the states attorney, who had not followed up, never contacted me. At one point, I did receive an anonymous phone call from some people who felt that I should not have gotten involved. They called me a troublemaker. The letter from the truck drivers family, thanking me for the correct information and telling me about his three little kids, more than offset the troublemaker call. What I still dont understand is why the police and states attorney never callone-vehic- le ed me. The carelessness and irresponsibility of the car driver who caused the accident is something I will always remember. I suspect that driver will never forget what happened. I hope he doesnt. Manager e KIM FOLSOM Assistant 1 Tax commission offers simplified form for federal retiree claims Residents of 8600 West greatly concerned about Cyprus High traffic concerned about reckless drivers. Cyprus is one of a very few high schools in the valley where the students exit onto a residential street. Many of the students are speeding and acting recklessly before, during, and after school. The bell rings, we become concerned for the lives of our children, pets, the elderly, and those students who are walking. Daily we have students doing 35 mph or more in a posted 25 mph zone and drivers weav however, is the extremely large percentage ot nonworking children in the population. In fact, Utah has the highest dependency ratio in the nation. When personal income is related to households rather than total population, Utah is only under the U.S. average. about 1 below the Mountain States average and 1 3. Because of Utahs huge school-ag- e population, it spends considerably more for education than most other states. Approximately 42.7 of total state and local expenditures in Utah go for education, compared with an average of 37.3 in the U.S. as a whole. Furthermore, in the eight Mountain States and 34.4 the percentage of personal income going for education in Utah is 21 higher than the Mountain States average and 48 greater than the U.S. average. 4. The proportion of total state and local expenditures going for welfare in Utah is slightly higher than the Mountain States average, but is significandy below the U.S. average. 5. On the other hand, the percentage of total state and local spending going for highway purposes in Utah is below the Mountain States average, but is above the U.S. average. 6. State and local general debt in Utah as a percentage of total general revenue is slightly below the Mountain States and the United States averages. Editor-Writ- KENT GOBLE Writer Features-Sport- s BUSINESS WOULD BE GOOO 1 ONLY FOR ONE THING DEANNA JONES e Help Typesetter-Offic- Published each Thursday Subscription $12 per year $14 per year out of slate Second class postage paid at Magna, Utah 84044 f |