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Show SEPTEMBER 29, 1987 '(CycBflaDfps By Brian Gray NORTH SALT LAKE Travel around Davis County and you wont find a much nicer man than Mel Melcomiam, the genial and gentlemanly owner of the popular Casa Melinda Restaurant. But Mel has a problem. ..Though not born in this country, he subscribes to the George Washington theory of honesty. If our first president couldnt tell a lie, then neither can Mel and he feels that North Salt Lake City officials are encouraging him to tell a fib. "1 love working with this community, says Mel. I received an award from the North Salt Lake Police force and the restaurant received the mayors recognition for the landscaping. But now Im darn angry, His anger involves city taxes. The restaurant was first opened in an unincorporated portion of the county, but in 1978 it along with a Circle K and the Educated Carpet and Drapery building was annexed by North Salt Lake. The late owner of the y firm, Quentin Nelson, fought the annexation and eventually won. But Mel didnt put up a fight, figuring that "a business should get involved with the community and give back something to the people. Then Mel received his first business fee. He was astounded by the increase. I had only been paying a fiat $50 to the county, he said, but the city fee was based on a business volume schedule. When I questioned the former mayor he told me that the schedule wasnt applicable to businesses of my type and he told me to send in $50 to North Salt Lake instead. Ive been doing that ever since. And he did it this year, too. But the new city administration wasnt happy. The $50 didn't satisfy the requirements, they told him; he would have to pay a higher fee based on his business volume. But how did they know what his business volume was? Thats when Mel received a letter from city manager Collin Wood. And what Wood wrote intrigued Mel. The letter read: The figure (you put down) is not normally challenged. The accuracy of the gross revenue figure is your responsibility. It is up to each business to provide its own gross revenue and pay the business license accordingly. What this meant to Mel is that he should lie. If I write down that the restaurant only does $200 per day, theyll accept it and Ill pay a small amount, said Mel. But I dont want to lie about it. So Mel responded by filling in a dollar amount and, in parenthesis, he wrote the words partial sales, attaching a check for $50. Once again he received a response from the city. Mels honesty was admirable, but the term partial sales did not satisfy the requirements. The honest Mel has since mailed a check for $224. Hes paying under protest but hes paying. The fee is unreasonable, he says. If I were located one block away. Id be in Bountiful City and Id pay a lot less. If I were located across the street, Id be in the unincorporated area and Id pay a lot less. And its the same for property taxes. One block away in Bountiful Id pay $170 less. Across the street in the county Id pay $430 less. And what do I get for this extra money? South Davis provides my water and sewer, Utah Power and Light supplies my electricity and even though the city police are nearby I get as quick a response from the county sheriff unit. All I see is high taxes and no services. The irony of it is that Id be happy to help the city if they showed me a need. If city officials came up and said they needed an extra $300 to help the poor, balance the budget or help the police department, Id write them a check right on the spot. But Ill continue to fight an unreasonable tax based on an old schedule passed when the city didnt have a business community. Mel is hot hotter than one of his tacos and hes meeting from North Salt Lake. If with attorneys about asked why he wants to make the move, he'll be very honest about his reasons. Mel cant stand to tell a whopper. Furniture was carried to high ground by volunteers who, like the John Daugherty family of Taylorsville, remained friends over the years. 1983 flood tragedy carpet-draper- CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE in their car, parked down the street out of the path of the slide. But they were advised to go to the new Farmington Junior High School where most of the evacuees were being housed. "We stayed there a few days and finally were allowed to board a flatbed truck and return to our homes to survey the damage and to pick up valuables. We had only 10 minutes inside the house and were able to retrieve our television set, money, medicine and a few valuables, she remembers. Shortly thereafter, volunteers began to arrive in Farmington to some as far away help the needy as Alaska and California. Many were from neighboring communiand the Doughertys were ties from Taylorsville. Mr. Dougherty is employed at the Chevron Refinery in North Salt Lake. He borrowed a front-en- d loader from the company and spent several days helping the Casterlines and their neighbors. At one time, there were more than 200 volunteers who formed a bucket brigade to remove the mud from the homes. There were neighbors, friends, ward members, relatives and those just interested in helping others, like the Doughertys who gave up vacation time to clean up and later fix up homes damaged in the Rudd Canyon slide. fLttlns TT(n IEdlnitapii0 Where do you stand. Dear Editor: Let me relate something I witnessed recently, that I am very of upset about. A Constitution assembly honoring the birthday our Constitution and our freedoms was put on at Kaysville Junior High School. For the most part, it was very enjoyable and the student council did an outstanding job. However, the 521 of West flag ceremony was a little different matter. Troop Kaysville had prepared an outstanding flag ceremony with the entire troop carrying American flags and around the gym to the Olympiad music. The troop was in full uniform complete with a red beret on each head. They looked very nice. cross-marchin- g Well, when the troop began their march into the gym, the hecklers started. By the time they had made one pass around, the heckling and jeering was so bad that Paul Christensen, the vice principal, quickly made it up to the podium and with everything he could muster without visibly losing his cool, told the color guard to stop. He then told the students to be quiet! He asked them what kind of students heckle and make fun of our flag (and their fellow students) when they were all there to celebrate the founding of our Constitution and our freedom. The teachers, the parents that were present, and about 70 percent of the students who were not doing the heckling truly appreciated him taking this stand. Obviously, the boys in the troop were also upset, and many of them wondered if they should have participated at all in the flag ceremony. DEADLINES News Thursday 5 P.M. Display Ads ....Thursday 5 P.M. Classifieds Friday 5 P.M. The rest of the ceremony then went on. It was very well done and impressive seeing all those American flags waving by. I personally get tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat when I or whatever see our flag go by (call me corny or fit this country to set forth saw God our Lord the but you want), above all the rest in the world to receive our special kind of government and the freedoms and the wonderful opportunities we enjoy. What Im wondering, parents out there, where do you stand? Do you love and honor our country and our freedoms, or do you take them for granted? Was your boy or girl one of the hecklers or was he or she one of the ones showing and reverence and respect for our flag and our country? Talk it over with your child. Where do you stand? Reflex-Journ- al fun-make- Published weekly by Clipper Publishing Co. Inc. 96 South Main, Bountiful, Utah 84010 Laraine D. Saunders President Kaysville Junior High PTA (and a very concerned parent) in the Weekly newspaper published at Layton, Utah every Tuesday, residents. former formed colonies Davis by of and interest County Address all correspondence to 197 North Main, Layton, Utah 84041. in Subscription rate. 25c per copy, $6.50 per year, mailed county, $7 50 per year outside Patriotism. Is there any of that stuff still around, these days? It makes one wonder after reading the letter to the editor that appears in this weeks Reflex about the actions of students at one junior high school in the county. I realize junior high is a tough age I would never want to relive those years, believe me! Its just a little more than sad when students make so much fun and mockery of the flag and the Constitution, and all that. I can only hope it wasnt as bad as the letter portrayed. But on a more positive note, I want to give a royal salute no disrespect for the American way intended to the good people of Syracuse. That city of 5,000 really did it up big, last week, as part of the national Bicentennial Constitution observance. In their groundswell effort, citizens had the chance to particiblue as the pate in a Constitution Ball, with red, white, and breakfast by the staged an of course; early morning colors, Lions Club; a parade, demolition derby, park dedication and patriotic service. When Doneta Gatherum came back from shooting parade in attendpictures, she commented on the enthusiasm of those than 100 More there! ance. And there were a lot of people School Clearfield but wards High LDS not included entries only and the Air Force Reserve marching units and bands, Clearfield High royalty float and floats from surrounding communities. A demolition derby drew more than ,000, reports Pam Kent, of the event with her husband, Ricky. Founders Park was rededicated as Constitution Park. But it was more than changing a name. A botanical garden and amphitheater are in the seeding stages for years of future programs and enjoyment. Some 1 ,000 balloons were sent skyward during that part of the observance making for quite a sight. There was obvious pride as Pam talked about the choir of 45 who sang at the concluding program. lly-formed than the Tabernacle Choir, she enthused. were better They That program included a slide presentation for and about Syracuse and its people. Perhaps it was part of what drew the people closer together. It s all been a community effort and we feel it did a lot to pull the people together. r She notes that the people who provided rides for were the over residents very complementary when they city said the people here have by far been the most courteous. Its been amazing to see what people have been willing to do to make a success of the observance, Pam goes on, noting seven anonymous residents paid $100 each so the rest of the town could ride free in the hot air balloon. Before the weeks observance, residents had a chance to get more feel for the Constitution and the freedoms it affords. A former. Soviet subject was able to talk about what freedom means to her as an American; Senator Orrin Hatch and Attorney General David Wilkinson spoke in August while former Prisoner-of-WLt. Col. Jay Hess spoke Sept. 17. What a refreshing story to see a community working and playing together in celebration of something as wonderful as the Constitution. Theres talk this observance may evolve into a regular event. If it can go off like this years, more power to the good people of Syracuse! 1 specia- hot-ai- ar Jail proposal CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE high as an estimated $32 million but would include a complex for public safety departments, district court facilities, county clerk and county attorney offices, Utah Highway Patrol, etc. These would be nice to have, but the scaled down version will be more acceptable to the public. Its going to take a good public relations program to get the proposal approved, he said. There is some skepticism among public officials, however, because of the recent tax hikes which have soured and angered many taxpayers. And selling a jail proposal to the public is not the easiest task under favorable conditions. Vet aid offered A field service officer from the American Legion, Department Service Office in Salt Lake City, will be in the area to assist veterans in understanding and applying for rightful VA benefits, preparing and documenting applications for compensation, pension, hospitalization, education and other benefits. This is a free service and veter ans need not be a member of the American Legion to qualify for assistance. The American Legion service officer will be at the Ogden Job Service Friday, Oct. 9 from 9:30-- 1 1:30 a.m. For further information, contact Brenda Jensen, secretary for the Utah American Legion, 524-594- 3. OwnerPublisher Vice President John Stahle, Jr. Lucile S. Stahle J. Howard Stahle Tom Busselberg Abigideafor little feet from Reebok. Manager Editor 544 9133 2Aein Limited Warrant 7.9 Chiropractic for Headache Sufferers ? ? ? 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