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Show Page Two The Pyramid June 4, School gives children head start 1986 IPDMDOIl Pyramid Editorials Comments Letters to the Editor Enforce ordinances Is there low-inco- honor in a promise? Spring has finally arrived in the Sanpete Valley and summer will officially be here in a few weeks. Many residents of the valley have planted gardens and lawns and put in flowers to make their homes and yards a lovely place they can enjoy until the frost strikes next fall. Dear Editor: Is there honor or value in a Several communities have sponsored cleanup campaigns and made or your word? have helped residents haul away the debris which ac- promise I hope this letter may be read by cumulated throughout the winter. the lady who a couple of years ago The efforts made by city councils and the citizens of our asked to borrow my wedding dress towns and county to make Sanpete more beautiful are to be en- as her daughter was overseeing a fashion show and wanted to use it. couraged and commended. I let her take it with the promise However, many of our city officials could do more by en- that she would be very careful with forcing laws they already have on their books to see that it and return it as soon as possible. residents with vacant lots, abandoned homes, corrals and As of today, I have never heard from her nor do I have the dress. barns, etc., do their job, too. Many of the eyesores in our comThe sad thing is Ive forgotten her munities are there because absentee landowners dont live name. However, through clubs, Relief Society and other avenues, here and dont care how their property looks. Some of the abandoned homes are causing law enforce- Ive tried to contact her with no ment problems with juveniles and others who use them for success. To me for her to keep it is a dens and satanic worship. This may or may not be dishonest act and if she drug-us- e reads this known by the property owners, but these things are creating letter, I hope her conscience will prompt her to realize the hazards for the citizens in our communities. seriousness of this promise and to difficult next when also live maintain a It is you yard return my dress to me at this addoor to uncared-fo- r property which is overgrown with weeds dress as I am now living out of town. Or it may be returned to Inez or littered with unuseable vehicles and parts, etc. We believe our city councils should enforce the laws on Monsen, 430 South 500 West No. 65, Mt. their books by contacting property owners and working with MyPleasant. dress was a beautiful wedding them to cleanup problem sites. If all this fails then the cities creation pale blue georgette should cleanup the eyesores and add the cost to the property crepe, popular material at that time, over a satin-likdress, so to tax bill. speak, the georgette or overdrape to to not who those work hard their is fair It keep property being beaded in tiny white beads. looking nice to not enforce these ordinances. My sister, Dorcas, spent weeks e beading it and it was beautiful. Maybe you can see why I would like it. back again. Sincerely, Ruth M. Jones 6364 W. 3500 South West Valley City, UT 84120 Parent disagrees with high school dress code Dear Editor: I am writing this letter because of a discriminatory policy that exists at North Sanpete High School. Like many other parents of high school students, I have accepted the unfair treatment towards certain students by the principal, Mr. Thornton, as a fact of life that I would just have to put up with. However, now things have gone too far. On Friday, May 16, Mr. Thornton suspended five boys from school for jackets. All of the wearing boys were wearing denim jackets that they had tied and bleached to create a patterned effect on the material. These are the same type of jackets that are currently selling in the shopping centers in Provo and Salt Lake. The North Sanpete School District dress code reads: Grubby attire is not permissable. Grubby clothing is faded to exdefined as worn-outremes, patched, holey clothing. These jackets were clean, not torn or patched and they certainly werent faded. They were intentionally bleached. When the boys returned to school to see if they could get their book fees refunded, Mr. Thornton had them arrested for trespassing. At this point, some of the boys got very angry and shouted obscenities and made obscene gestures at Mr. Thornton. He also had them charged with obscene language. It is possible to arrest someone for trespassing on public property? I know of three other instances where Mr. Thornton has suspended a student and almost immediately had them arrested for trespassing on the school grounds. I also know of three other boys that Mr. Thornton suspended or tried to suspend for wearing patched jeans, bib overalls, and an earring. Some of these kids dont have anything better to wear than patched clothes, or work clothes. Does what they wear have any bearing on their ability to learn? Can they be denied an education simply because of their clothes? Is this constitutional? On Monday, May 19 one of the boys parents went to the school in the morning to speak to Mr. Thornton. This parent was told by Mr. Thornton that as far as he knew, none of the boys were suspended from school. 'In the afternoon, I went to the high school to find out, since my son was one of the boys suspended. I told Mr. Thornton that I was there to find out if the boys were suspended or not. He told me they were out of school for the rest of the year and he tie-dye- d t, denied ever telling anyone that they were not suspended. At this point, Mr. Thornton told me that my son had been suspended because he is immature and has a bad attitude. My son admitted to Mr. Thornton that his attitude had been bad ever since January when he was assaulted by a teacher in front of a library full of students, another teacher, and a teachers aide. The school refused to do anything about it. The county attorney refused to prosecute the teacher. My son told Mr. Thornton it made him angry that he could be arrested and obscene for trespassing language, but nothing happened to a teacher who beats up a student in front of a room full of witnesses. At this point Mr. Thornton changed his story again and said my son had d been suspended for wearing the I to me him asked make jacket. a copy of the dress code, which he tie-dye- did. When I asked him if there was any way the boys could get back in school to finish the year out, he told me there was no way, that they were all out for the remainder of the school year. I asked him if they were going to get credit for their classes and his reply was, Well, youll just have to wait and see when report cards come out, wont you? Then he tried to tell me that my son had been walking down the hall screaming obscenities at him and making obscene gestures on Thursday, May 15 and that was why he had been suspended. My son and I both tried to tell Mr. Thornton that he had not been in school at all on Thursday. He had been home all day. I then asked him if we could get my sons book fees back since we were there. He told me he was too busy that I would have to call and make an appointment with him to get the refund. I saw Mr. Thornton leave to go home five minutes later thats how busy he was. He was abusive and rude throughout the entire conversation. On Tuesday, May 20 my fiance took time off of work to got to the high school with my son to attempt to get his fees and find out if he could turn in some of his homework. My fiance, Glen Justesen, was told by Mr. Thornton that my son had been suspended for obscene language. Again, Mr. Thornton said he didnt have time to get my son checked out of school. After my fiances insistance, he finally relented and let Mr. Bean take my son to his locker for his books so he could get his work turned in and his fees returned. On Thursday, May 22, 1 received a letter from Mr. Thornton advising me that my son had been suspended from school for shouted vulgarities and obscene gestures. There were no vulgarities shouted or obscene gestures made until after Mr. Thornton had suspended the boys and told them he was going to have them arrested. The letter went on to say that at the request of Glen Justesen your son, Jason, was checked out of school early. No one requested Jason be checked out, Mr. Thornton had thrown him out. The letter also invited me to make an appointment with Mr. Thornton to discuss the dress code. If the dress code wasnt the issue, why is he so anxious to discuss it? By this time, according to Mr. Thornton my son had been suspended for wearing his jacket, not suspended for being immature and having bad attitude, suspended for wearing his jacket, (again) and in Sanpete County. DECA says thanks Sherrys brothers and sisters could be going to the summer Head Start School which is held from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. each day at the old North Sanpete High School building. The Head Start program is the to assist designated economically disadvantaged and the children of migrant farm workers. Its services are free of charge to e families who meet to according eligibility guidelines May Covington Whiting, one of the regular kindergarten, and the program is geared to helping parents become involved in their childs early education. Programs are structured to provide bilingual education to help the areas Spanish children learn English. It is geared to helping children who may be disadvantaged because of their backgrounds to overcome speech problems and be mainstreamed into the educational system. directors. The summer program starts on Monday, June 9, and is open to children from infants up to age five. The summer schedule ends in August and is followed by a winter school. The staff can care for up to 50 children. Bus service is provided to all communities and the children are given breakfast, lunch and snacks. If you know of a child who could use the help the Head Start program provides you are welcome to visit the cheerful educational facilities or contact Mrs. Whiting or Larry Koons, at 462-241- Dear Editor: The end of the school year at Snow College is nearing and the members of DECA are taking this opportunity to do those things that should have been done before. One of "those things is extending a very big thank you to all the businessmen and residents of the Sanpete County area who participated in the Turkey Days celebration on campus last fall to raise donations for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Without the many items donated for the auction, all the food, and the turkeys, our club would not have enjoyed the success of raising $1,500 for DMA and been able to present the project in National competition the first of this month. As stated before, Turkey Days was a success; and, much of the credit for this success must go to those businessmen and residents of Sanpete County who were so generous. This is a late, but very sincere, thank you! Betty Robbins, Chairman Snow College Chapter, Delta Epsilon Chi EPHRAIM MANTI Tryouts for the annual Mormon Miracle Pageant will be held today, June 4, in the Manti Seminary Building, 500 West 200 North, at 7 p.m. A broad spectrum of ages are encouraged to participate in the cast for the renowned production which will be presented July 10, 11, 12 and July 15 through July 19. Special emphasis to fulfill casting needs is being placed on young men ages 14 to 19 and older although some boys ages 12 and 13 are also needed. The committee is also looking for a large number of girls 12 years old and beyond. Adults are encouraged to attend the tryouts. Those with families and without families are needed. It was pointed out, however, that children should be old enough to adjust to the displine and rigors of rehearsal and performance. suspended for obscene language and gestures. This practice of pushing kids out of school for whatever reason has gone on for far too long. The issue of dress codes was fought to the Supreme Court of the United States, when I was in high school. The justices of the highest court in our nation have ruled that the manner in which a student is dressed has no bearing on whether they can attend school or not, unless they are indecently Furthermore, families low-inco- Health, social, nutrition and special services are provided. There are also special services for handicapped children. Head Start education programs are designed to prepare the child for But it doesnt have to be that way. Shakespearean class offered Tryouts set for pageant exposed. MT. PLEASAN- T- Sherry, not her is only seven years old. But when school let out she suddenly had a lot of growing up to do. You see, Sherry, being the oldest child in a family with four younger children who lived in a small, cramped trailer home, became the baby sitter while both of her parents struggle to make ends meet at jobs. But not only does Sherry take care of her four siblings, she is also and a tending a for neighbors in similar circumstances. Similar incidents are happening to real name, no school can deny a minor child his right to education because of the way they dress. Some of these kids are different, and Mr. Thornton has always had a problem coping with different kids. Quite often people with different minds are the most creative, imaginative, and intelligent. These are the children who are being forced out of school system. If anyone else feels they have been discriminated against by the school system, please let me know. It's time we took action to end this destruction of our childrens education. Sheila R. Behunin P.O. Box 276 Spring City, UT Glen Justesen Beginning Tuesday, p.m., at the Ephraim Public Library, a review class will be offered on the three plays scheduled for this summer at the Utah Shakespearean Festival. Local Shakespeare buff, Diana Major Spencer, will conduct the class. There will be a fee charged. The Silver Jubilee season of the festival will open July 10 and continue through August 30 in Cedar City. Besides teaching at ldffst ' one Shakespeare class every year since 1978, Dr. Spencer is a regular contributor to the publications of the Shakespearean Festival. Her approach to the plays is to reveal the delight that has kept them so popular for 400 years. June 10 at 7 The summer program will start next Monday. Commodity distribution There will be a FAIRVIEW commodities distribution on Friday,' June 13, at 2 p.m. at the Fairview Senior Citizens Center. Fountain Green Mrs. Hazel Bailey, Mr. and Mrs. Warren Bailey and Mr. and Mrs. Alan Bailey joined other family members at a missionary farewell for Ernest Andrew Bailey in Holden. A family dinner was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Bailey on May 25. Children in the Head Start School are given learning experiences to help them prepare for kindergarten. Here teacher, Pat Foote, reads to Stevie Open letter policy Letters to the editor are welcome and give the people a chance to share their opinions on various issues in our community. All letters for publication must be signed, but appear at the discression of the editor. Letters may be edited for clarity, length, or libel content. Letters to the editor express the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper. The newspapers views are expressed in the editorial columns of the paper. Stewart. Meir's Crf 70 North State Mt. Pleasant SUNDAY, JUNE 8 SPECIAL CHICKEN FRIED STEAK Complete with your choice of drink and dessert NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given that the Mt. Pleasant Redevelopment Agency will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, June 10, 1986. The meeting will be held in the City Council Chambers in City Hall. The purpose of this hearing will be to open the 1985-198- 6 City Recorder Published in The re- Redevelopment Budget. Dixie Brunger Pyramid June 4, 1986. Dining Room for large and small groups Try Our DAILY SPECIALS . . 462-232- 8 Rodger & Velma Johansen Owners |