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Show mm mwR Maanor-Entrprl- $, The Rationale We Invite Letters to the Editor from our readers. Letters must be brief (we reserve the right to edit to 500 words), not libelous, and in good taste. Letten must be signed and names will be withheld only for justifiable reason. Any one writer may not submit a letter more than once a month. Letten must be submitted to the Messenger-Enterpris- e exclusively. Answers last weeks letter the Editor: The legend is told of a child who, in anger, told an untruth about his friend. In due course of time, the child felt badly about what he had done and asked his mother what he could do to make things right with his friend. They talked about all of the people who had heard and believed the story and about how the friends life had been affected. Then mother said, Bring that pillow and lets walk outside. She then instructed the child to cut a hole in the pillow. When he did, the feathers fell out and were picked up on the soft breeze and scattered far and wide. This delighted the child and it was great fun to see people confused and wondering what had happened. Then Mother said, Put the feathers back into the pillow." The child realized that this was impossible. The mother then sadly Your words are like admonished, these feathers. They cannot be recalled. They have been sent far and wide by the voices of others and. like the feathers, they will always be around. From time to time in our community, small feather pillows of misinformation are opened and scattered about. It is unfortunate that human nature is such that the fallacies are much more interesting, perhaps because they suggest a baseness of human behavior. Although correct and factual information is presented and feathers" of the available, the fallacies remain with us, and a letter to the editor last week contained many. The letter invited ", . . an honest response from the Mayor and the City Fathers to come out in print . . . and if 1 have misunderstood the facts, now is the time for them to come forth with some accurate reporting . , ." On at least two occasions, this information was given to the writer verbally and one of those occasions was at the Republican mass meeting. In the August 20 issue of the Messenger, Councilman Max Call authored the "Rationale" article. He carefully addressed, point by point, the allegations which were made in the letter. In the event you did not read his article, I have requested that it be published again this week. See elsewhere on this page Ed. Because Mr. Call has already responded, I see no point in reiterating the same facts in my reply. I will, however, briefly respond once again to three points as follows: we are on ( 1 ) Manti City is not broke a tight budget and we are staying within that budget; (2) Our sewer system is not antiquated. It is an excellent system installed under the supervision of the State Board of Health. The contractor left the job unfinished and we could not get him back to complete the necessary work. A legal battle ensued and we ended up settling out of court rather than to incur large additional expenses. We applied for an received a $24,000 grant to complete the work which the contractor left undone; (3) No man (or property) has been assessed $19,000 for the 5th North project. In fact, the largest individual assessment is less d than of this amount. When a Council takes action, it is done after much deliberation based on information and facts. I feel certain that most of the citizens are aware of the dedication and thoughtful consideration given by Council members to all matters. We thank you for your confidence in our efforts to do the best we can for our City. Some officials continue to serve, some withdraw from public office because of the abuse to which officials are subjected, and some refuse to serve at all, either because of exposure to such criticism or for lack of commitment. An statement by elected officials is, I think everyone should be required to serve at least one term on the Council." We w ill continue to serve you to the best of our abilities and, as has always been our policy, if you have questions, please get in touch with one or more of us and we will provide honest and direct answers. This is your government and ultimately you are responsible for the representation you have and for the type of people who serve as elected officials. It is a tribute to democracy that the good judgment and will of the majority continue to guide us. To one-thir- May Peterson, Manti City Mayor Constitution Contest as part of Fair a good idea Sanpete County residents have suddenly become avid students of the U.S. Constitution. "We cant keep up requests for copies Constitution." mented. with of one librarian the the com- Credit the Sanpete County fairbook bicentennial contest for the instant interest in Americas basic document. That contest requires answers to 40 questions contained on pages 166 and 167 of the fairbook. Some of the questions ("What are the first lOamcndments known as?") have obvious answers. Some require more study: "This amendment was repealed 14 years after ratification . . . which one?" The questions sometimes involve more than an intense examination of the Constitution. They may also require some special knowledge of the nations history. The answers to the 40 questions should be deposited in a box at the exhibition building by 12 noon Saturday, according to Kris Christiansen, fairbook editor. Theyll be judged for correctness and completeness by a committee. And the winner will get a free weekend vacation for two no questions asked at one of Salt Lake Citys top hotels. Mrs. Christiansen will announce the winnerof the bicentennial contest and the mystery personalities contest during Saturday nights rodeo. She said there are eight clues and eight pictures identifying these mystery people and the winner of this contest w ill get a $25 check from the fair board. The entries in this contest should also be deposited in the box at the exhibition building by noon Saturday. BY COUNCILMAN MAX E. CALL Apparently some confusion, sparked by unfounded rumors, exists concerning the 5th North Special Improvement Project which has been approved by the City Council. Rumor No. 1: The City Council intends to force curb and gutter and road construction in the whole city. This misunderstanding probably comes about because of the fact that when the legal advertising was done it did indeed make the whole city a Special Improvement Project. This was done subsequent to advice from our financial and legal advisers that in the event at some years in the future if citizens were to want another project, it could be done without the big expense of doing the legal work and advertising for each project. It was a decision to save taxpayer dollars down the road. It was never the intention of the City Council to do any other project, other than the possibility that 1st South in front of the Manti Tabernacle might possibly be done If negotiations with the school, church and property owners could be worked out. The City Council has never discussed any other project, and the possibility of doing the whole town is the figment of someones misguided imagination. In future years, if the economic climate has improved, it may very well be that groups of citizens will want to improve their properties. If they should so desire, the legal umbrella would be in place. However, the same procedure of holding public hearings, and obtaining the consent of more than 50 of the property owners would still be required. Rumor No. 2: The City Council intends to assess every property owner in Manti for the improvements on 5th North. This concept has never at any time been discussed in Council meeting. In fact, such action would probably be illegal. Rumor No. 3i The Council has not considered the economic plight of its citizens. The Council is extremely sensitive to the economic plight of its citizens. Every action that has been taken has been done only after considering what the economic impact of that action would be. The 5th North project is being done with saving money in mind. The two blocks in the project are extremely important to every member of the community. Fronting the high school, the Sanpete County fairgrounds and the LDS Seminary, the street is of crucial importance to every citizen in the community. One of the greatest considerations was the safety factors for students walking in the road. With the situation as it is, it could only be a matter of time before a serious accident occurred. Although there still will not be sidewalks for the students to walk on, the street will now be wide enough so that they can walk on the side of the road and wont have to compete with the heavy traffic now existing on the road. Still another important consideration was the heavy traffic that occurs when school, church, or county activities are held. Considering these factors, the Council agreed that the project would be worthwhile at this time. Now, what about the economics? Given the importance of the street, as pointed out above, it was a virtual certainty that before too long, the project would need to be done. The present price of asphalt is the lowest it has been in many years. By next summer, economists predict, gasoline and oil prices (and thus asphalt prices) will take a significant jump. It could easily cost twice as much just a year from now. The Council therefore felt that doing it now made economic hard-presse- (Yes, its that time of the year) NOW AVAILABLE at your doctor's office. Please call for an appointment: Manti Ephraim Moroni d injuries in ATV accident 283-407- 6 Bob was riding the ATV back to the shop when he hit a small bump, throwing him and the ATV about 20 feet. The ATV landed on Bobs back, causing severe internal injuries. After about 15 minutes, Bob decided that if he didn't go for help it would be a long time before anyone found him. 436-827- 2 Mt. Pleasant 462-347- 1 I bottomed out. We have begun an upswing, they said. That, coupled with the fact that Sanpetes economy is about to get a tremendous boost from the construction of the satellite prison near Gunnison, means that in a few years, property values could jump tremendously. For the property owners affected by the 5th North project, having the improvements in front of their property will certainly increase the value of that property even more. To mitigate the immediate impact of the assessments, property owners may choose to spread the payments over a ten-yeperiod. And in the extreme case that even these terms cannot be met, a property owner may decide to delay the payment by placing a lien on the property which would be settled only at the time of the sale of that property. The Council did consider all these, factors. And they concluded that the advantages more than offset the disadvantages and inconveniences to be caused. We think that a majority of Manti residents would agree with us, when all the ramifications are considered. Rumor No. 4: Citizens should vote on a project such as this. Citizens do in fact vote on a Special Improvement project. Only when of the affected property over 50 owners favor a project can it be accomplished. Considerably more of the property owners than 50 5th North project. the approved all citizens cannot vote on Legally, a project which does not spend any of their money. The law provides that only those who are to pay the bill may make the decision. Thus a governing body cannot force any project on citizens which a majority of those affected do not approve. It is a fact of society that all decisions cannot be unanimous. Thats why democracy dictates that the majority rules in other words, a majority decision takes precedence over the minority who oppose. I doubt anyone would have it otherwise. To do so would be to abandon the principles of democracy upon which this country was founded. Thus, a majority decision takes precedence even though at times it imposes hardships on a minority. A governing body is bound to follow the decisions of the majority. Rumor No. 5 (although not relevant to the above subject): Manti City has an antiquated and inefficient sewer system. Mantis sewer system is a modem, efficient system, completely approved by the Utah Board of Health and functioning exactly as planned. It is true that the Council recently expended an additional $24,000 to complete the system. As explained previously, that action was necessary because sewer lagoons No. 2 and 3 were not completed by the original contractor. However, lagoon No. 1, which has been in use up until now, was tentatively approved and functioning properly. The additional money, which was furnished by a grant from the Community Impact Board, has completed Nos. 2 and 3, and the entire system is now approved, with the proviso that some additional work may be necessary in lagoon No. 1 when it is empty. The deficiencies were not the result of improper engineering, but rather a result of not being completed by the original contractor. In conclusion, I reiterate that your Council really does try its level best to accomplish those things which will be for the good of Manti. We have been characterized as culprits who are lying to the citizenry, foolishly spending their money, and not considering all the facts before making a decision. In speaking for the Council Id like to say that we are not appreciative of being accused of dishonesty or deceitfulness. We have been open and honest in every action we have taken. We have lied to Nor have we deceived nobody. anyone. If those people who start and promulgate unfounded rumors would take the time to investigate and get all the facts before they start such rumors, there would be far fewer of them. Bob Foote sustains serious Robert (Bob) Foote is recuperating from injuries he suffered in an ATV accident July 30, 30 miles east of Wendover. 835-334- 4 W F8 . . . by Max E. Call It is recognized that some of the property owners will be to meet their obligation. However, there are some bright spots. Bankers in Salt Lake City this week reported that the economy in the state has Shots! Trivia to unfounded rumors sense. Flu I . . . City Council responds Letters, Thursday, August 27, .somehow he was able to crawl the 20 feet to the ATV and get it started. Then he draped himself over the seat and handlebars and drove in for help. He was flown by Life Flight helicopter to the University of Utah Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen. He also sustained broken ribs, bruised kidney and liver, and back and neck trauma. He is at his parents home in Ephraim until he is able to go back to work. 4 3rd place In Nation for Editors Column in 1981 Five times Best Editors Column by Utah Press Association, including 1985 and 1986! Not so trivial One of the most pleasant experiences on our recent trip was a visit with some Canadian friends whom we met last year on Vancouver Island, B.C. One night (last year) Beth and I waited too long in the evening to look for a motel. What with the Worlds Fair in Vancouver, Washington, all the motels were full. At the last place we inquired, the lady said she was sorry they were filled up, but would we like to stay at a bed and breakfast place? Wed never had that experience, but were well aware of the great reputation for hospitality enjoyed by the Manti House Inn. So we said "Sure," and soon the owner of the home, Peter Snell, was leading us to his home. There his wife Irene escorted us to an immaculately clean and lovely room. We went out to see the Butchart Gardens, one of the most beautiful attractions to be seen anywhere. When we returned about 1 1 p.m. we sat in the Snell's living room and talked for a long time. It was a choice experience and was a highlight of our trip. We even had a chance to discuss religion when they expressed an interest in "learning more about your church. You can guess what Beth and I did as soon as we got home. We sent word to the mission president to have the missionaries call on them. We also sent them a Book of Mormon with our testimony and family picture. So this year we were anxious to not only visit with them but to find out if they'd had the missionary discussions. We didnt notify them in advance that we were coming this year, but called them on the phone and asked if they had a vacancy for that night. Luckily they did and we spent another choice evening with them. They are the kind of people you immediately like. In fact, in the two short evenings weve spent together, weve really learned to love them. Had the missionaries been there? Indeed, they had. Had they held all the discussions? Not all, but they were looking forward to having them back. The Snells expressed amazement when I told them that nearly all young LDS men, and some young women, go on missions at their own expense. As we were getting ready to leave, I asked Irene (Peter had gone off to work) if she would object to having a prayer with us, explaining that Beth and I always have a prayer together before setting out for the day. Irene gladly accepted, saying Thats what the missionaries would have asked. As we left I looked her right in the eye and said, Irene, 1 want you to know that the things the missionaries are teaching you are true. I also want you to know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. a tear in my eye as she know! "I said, Were going to try our best to I got get them to the Pageant next year. Only thing is, 1 cant offer them nearly as nice a room at our place as they gave us at theirs. So next summer, if you see Beth and me in the company of a handsome couple with a distinct British accent (they originally came from England), please be nice to them. They are two of our dearest friends. Trivia A motorist began to check under the hood after his car suddenly stopped on a country road. A horse going by quietly said, "Better check the gas line. This frightened the motorist so that he ran to a nearby farmhouse and told what had happened. Was it an old grey horse with a black tail? asked the farmer. cried the "Yes, it was, motorist. Well, dont pay any attention to him," said the farmer. "That horse doesnt know a thing about cars. Sanpete Theatre holds workshops The Sanpete Community Theatre announces a series of workshops for all those interested in learning the art of directing and producing plays. These workshops will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. every Wednesday night during September at the Manti City Center. They are being presented free of charge as a community service. The workshops will deal with, among other things, directing the actor, interpretation and characterization, how to conduct rehearsals, and production and technical aspects. Shirley Lauritzen of Mt. Pleasant and Ron Hall of Sterling, along with other experienced directors, will teach these workshops. Sanpete Historical Contest winners named this week Winners of the Sanpete Historical Contest were announed this week at the conclusion of the Farm Bureau Talent Find Tuesday evening in the Manti High School. First place winners received a cash prize of $10, with second and third place winners and those receiving honorable mention each receiving a copy of Volume 19 of the Saga of the Sanpltch. Books were on sale at the conclusion of the evening and will be sold during the Sanpete County Fair They may also be August purchased from the historical contest committee and in various stores in the Sanpete communities. Winners were as follows: 27-2- Division First Place Anecdote, Ruth D. Scow; Historical Essay, James L. Jacobs; Personal Recollection, Lola P. Adams; Short Story, Ruth D. Scow. Second Place Anecdote, Cleon Fox; Historical Essay, Mary Louise Seamons; Personal Recollection, Talula Nelson; Short Story, Lillian H. Fox. Third Place Anecdote, Glenn Thomas; Historical Essay, Vic Frandsen; Personal Recollection, Glenn Thomas; Short Story, Lois S. Brown. Honorable Mention-Anecd- ote, Vernon F. Larsen, Leo C. Larsen, Unice McCurdy, Roxie T. Johnson; Historical Essay, Esther Coombs Durfey, Leo C. Larsen, George C. Whitlock, Lowell Brady, Norma W . Barton; Personal Recollection, Gladys G. Allred, Leo C. Larsen, Katie D. Maylctt, Mae Paulsen, Jan C. Wells, George C. Whitlock; Poetry, Pearl Hall, Martha Olsen, Norma Vance; Short Story, Talula F. Nelson. Professional Division First Place Anecdote, Halbert S. Greaves; Historical Essay, Yulcne A. Rushton; Personal Recollection, Halbert S. Greaves; Poetry, June B. Jensen. Second Place Anecdote, June B. Jensen; Historical Essay, Reva T. Jensen; Personal Recollection, Eleanor P. Madsen; Poetry, Dorothy J. Buchanan. Third Place Historical Essay, Jenny Lind Brown; Personal Recollection, Briant S. Jacobs; Poetry, Wilbur Braith-wait- e. Honorable Mention Historical Essay, Eleanor P. Madsen; Short Story, Linnie M. Findlay; Poetry, Eleanor P. Madsen. |