OCR Text |
Show 2 Thg Magna TlmeaWeat Valley News, Thursday, July 31, 1997 Viewpoint Oquirrh County by RAY HEIDT CONTRIBUTOR With the excitement of Pioneer Day behind us and Magna's Copper Days just ahead, the euphoria of new beginnings and West Valley regionalism is truly stimulating. Almost every time I watch television, read local commentators, or talk to people in the street, I hear about problems in and of our Salt Lake County government. These take various forms and have a varied focus - the commissioners and the county attorney, which form of government is better or worse, the of tax monies, and so on. I have been collecting information on the various aspects of the problem and was becoming thoroughly depressed when struck by one of those genuinely eureka strokes of genius. We, the people of the west side, in order to form a more perfect union and to rid ourselves of the bossism, cronyism and inequities of shadow government, do hereby form and incorporate ourselves into a new county, to be called Oquirrh County, said county to be described as everything west of to the Tooele County line. Pros and Cons What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of such a move? Let's consider some of the recurring complaints. I 'The Advantages has been plaint of west-sidethat, too often, county commissioners live on the east side or, if they live in the West Valley when elected, they move to the east side. A notable exception is Brent Overson, raised in Magna, This living in West Jordan. problem of misrepresentation would be automatically cured since all commissioners would be required to live on the west side. rs MAGNA TIMES 325-58- by GEARLD WRIGHT honor their contribution and Secondly, what form of govMayor ernment to adopt? Let the peoWest Valley place in the unwritten history of Also, the name ple decide in the first organizing the area. City election. Oquirrh means, in the Indian The next complaint is that language, Shining Mountains, The past year and a half our state has been involved in so many more of the west side's property which certainly describes the wonderful ' is projects celebrating the centennial of Utahs becoming a side tax money dominant geologicalgeographi-ca- l spent on east schools than west side schools. feature of the new county. state. This year our celebrations continue as our .Sesquicentennial Celebration continues to commemorate 150 years since the pioneers Under a new county organizaThe name is fitting, appropriate, entered the Salt Lake Valley. tion we would have a new and distinctive. The most recent event was held worldwide in July 19 with an effort school district, the Oquirrh The second objection is that rekindle the spirit of pioneering. Pioneering will never be outto School District. All taxes raised our taxes will go up. So, what on the west side would be spent else is new? Surely, you didn't dated, whether it is in settling new lands, building new technology, on west side schools. think they were not going to go or some other activity which helps our society to take a leap forward. It may be some small quiet event which elicits a renewed Also, we would no longer have up? commitment by dedicated people to push the world ahead. will build have east siders or west siders pointwe to Next, Some of the great successes of the Sesquicentennial work day, and accuseach other but new at True, fingers buildings. ing county Michael Leavitts Take Pride in Utah Day, were great Governor there are going to be new building them of being against us. A few observations, neither for ings anyway and the boost to family activities, a cleaner environment, peoples labor replacing nor against. the local building trades and taxes, giving recipients something good to remember years from Where would the county seat merchants would arrive, as a now, teaching through service, creating new permanent communibe? West Valley City would matter of timing, as the present ty benefits such as parks, etc., and teaching family members through seem logical as the biggest city construction boom would be positive actions rather than ineffective platitudes. to me because so The entire cleanup day was very in the new county and I'm not tapering off thereby extending The objective for were wonderful accomplished. I objectives many but West in would the boom here or Valley, opposed, suggest citizens of all persuasions, religions or not, was to improve the qualstrong consideration be given should I say Oquirrh County. Then there is the objection that ity of life for all of us. It was eminently successful as a whole. Some Coon Canyon on the hillside at 4200 South and 8500 West. there are too many ethnic projects may not have gone as well as desired, but the totality was a fantastic benefit to the local governmental units as well as needy Why? For the obvious reason -- groups who contend with each people receiving a helping hand. the real estate is cheaper and other to allow such a governIn total, over three million hours of community service was given Coonville work ment to besides, historically smoothly. worldwide, with nearly half being in the state of Utah. This unselfish was one of the oldest settleActually, this is one of the beauties of the proposal. By outpouring of selfless service to others will create many legacy proments in the state The cultural center of the new bringing under the umbrella of jects which will warm hearts for many years. Some of those projects could have been one much more quickly county would of course be West democracy the many first generthrough the use of power equipment, but that was not the objective! Valley City. With apologies to ation citizens in WVC, we The use of power equipment does not build our families, individuculWVC and the New York City the fabric our of strengthen als, or improve our interpersonal relations. The end result of using would become the Big ture. knows that Everyone At the confluence of cement by itself is relatively power rather than people is about as effective in strengthening our two major freeway systems there weak, but if you add aggregate families as a kiss over the telephone. These types of activities build people r, people build things. Our would be little traffic congestion. and you can build a will be limited as as we look at outward effisuccess long always With all the construction twenty-stor- y building. real objective of unifying and building people. the instead of will the ciency that sounds Lastly, presently going on, staJegisJuis The acid test is, How did the day affect you! family and'tommtihi-ty- ? never pass the enabling legislgood. ' 1 heart-warmi- - - .i. ation."" Firstly, a long standing com- USPS - why not? The Disadvantages Why not Are there any disadvantages to this modest proposal? You betcha! Anyone who has been around long enough to remember the battle to incorporate West Valley City knows that all kinds of controversy comes out of the woodwork, both pro and con. For instance, one reason why WVC is not called Oquirrh City is because one arguer said people would call it City. That, of course, is not politically correct today, but you see what Oh-que- er I mean? 0 The West Valley News 8980 West 2700 South Magna, Utah 84044 The first objection we might encounter: I don't like the name Oquirrh County, it sounds too much like County. Answer, the name Oquirrh was given to the mountains by the Native Americans who lived in and around this valley for some eleven thousand years before the first Europeans set foot here. In giving that place name to the new county, we recognize and Oh-Que- er J. HOWARD STAHLE Publisher BONNIE STAHLE Advertising Manager Office Manager GARY R. BLODGETT Editor KENT GOBLE SportsFeature Writer DEANNA JONES Arts & Entertainment Editor Production Manager DALE SIMONS It would require no redrawing of boundaries for any present house or senate seats any future boundary changes would be based on population growth, e.g., south west Salt Lake Valley, and would be redrawn regardless. There would be no change in the balance of power at the state level because there would be no changes in boundaries. and The Future The prospects for the newborn county would be excellent. With west and south west parts of the valley the only available area for expansion, Oquirrh County could only grow. In ten years, Oquirrh County and WVC would house the largest population in the state and we could start a movement to transfer the state capitol to West Valley City. Remember, you read it here first! Send letters to the editor to: Editor Magna Times West Valley News 8980 West 2700 South Sports Columnist ALAN BLAIN Staff Writer Magna, Utah 84044 SHARON UNSCHOTEN Staff Writer o) i until tfiuiuloc ,(TLA) j imj Workplace safety is a growing need in Utah by STEVE RICHINS SECRETARYTKEASURER AND BUSINESS MANAGER UTAH BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADES COUNCIL Workplace safety is a growing need in Utah. Take a look around. Cranes dot the downtown skyline, above high-ris- e office towers and housing projects. Orange pylons, construction crews, and heavy equipment line the interstate freeway and other major roadways New schools, supermarkets, subdivisions, and sports venues are also taking shape. Construction fuels the Utah economy, as stated in Governor Economic Growth Leavitts Report. The evidence is ail around us. Those of us in the construction trades realize how vital our jobs are to the current economic growth. The number of people working in our industry has doubled to more than 60,000 within the past five years alone. Construction projects usually involve a general contractor and subcontractors several who complete their own particular phase of the work and are then replaced by other subcontractors. The continuing turnover of workers at construction sites makes maintaining jobsite safety an ongoing challenge. Thats why the State of Utah has provided funding for a Awareness Safety Program which supplies safety training opportunities, and is improving the overall awareness of safe working practices The, Safety Awareness Program is an cooperative effort between government, industry, and labor, sponsored by the Utah Labor Commission, Utah Building and Construction Trades Council, Utah Mechanical Contractors Association, and The Summit d Group, a Salt Lake advertising, marketing, and public relations agency. The focus of the program is to plant the seeds of ongoing safety improvements in Utahs workplace through: See SAFETY on page 9 City-base- Published each Ttwradsy Subscription tit per year t2l per year out of state AMBROSE Second daes poetage paid at Magna, Utah S4044 PoctmMter 8nd otunji of otfdrooo lo: 960 W. 2700 8a Magna, UT 84044 8 (001) or FAX (801) 2508685 Tha Magna 71mm It a OonMaO ttatapapat Mambarat tht Ulah Pram AaaoMaban 4, pool |