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Show Massengar P8 Entarprisa, Thursday, April 2, 1987 2 9 y Cl V 4 Mother s Day " 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. Letters 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. Letters must be submitted to the Messenger-Enterpris- e exclusively. by Pal Mellor Look at the facts To the Editor: No one is saying that a correctional facility in Sanpete County is the pot of Out there in TV land . . . Almost as exasperating as the Terrible Twos is the "why stage four and five year olds go through. Were there now, and Im sure this boy was held back to be Kid No. 6 so that all the rest of us would be available to answer his questions. Brigham is a perfect example of the value of educating a mother, because a mother without years of higher learning would have throttled him long ago. Television fascinates him: not only the cartoon characters and Alf, but the system whereby the picture gets onto the screen. One night at dinner I mentioned that 20 years ago, I occasionally did commercials while I was working at KUTV. Brigham picked up on that like sonar bouncing off a submarine. How did you get into he asked. I said. "1 was sitting "Easy, at the front desk in the TV station, and they were too cheap to hire somebody else to make the commercial. We were a outfit in those days. "No, I mean, how did you get into that little box . . . Over the next half hour his father, his older brother and I explained in great detail about radio waves and receptors and how the TV picture gets into the box. He was impressed. At the end of what we considered a highly successful learning experience, Brigham seemed to understand the whole process. Then he looked up at me and said, "What about the static? How did you get around the static? "Im not the parent, our high school senior and Sterling Scholar said with obvious glee. "I'm going to bed now. The mental image of me, nine inches high, trapped in a mahogany box in a black, white and grey world dodging lighting bolts of static, totally stupefied me. We started once again with the general construction of a te. 'sion studio, and progressed, to how the picture gets si. into : box in the house. television? low-budg- "But how did you get INTO the box?" Brig asked again. At that point I left him to his father, and found other things to occupy my time. We were picking up out in the yard a few days later when Brig asked, yVhat do frogs eat? Warning bells rang in my head. "You dont happen to have a frog on you, do you? "No. I just wondered. They eat flies. He thought this over for awhile. "Do they eat butterflies, too? Standing in the yard, rake in hand, boots muddy, I thought wistfully of the two sets of encyclopedias in the house. "I I enunciated dont know, cautiously. "Maybe, Brig said, youll have to ask YOUR mother. "I dont think she knows, either, I snapped. Brig was not to be put off in his quest for knowledge. "She can ask Grandpa." Ill write and tell her that, I promised. Brig worked in silence for a few minutes, then said, I sure love my Grandpa. You do? Hes the only person this family that KNOWS anything. I decided thats what grandpas are for, and held my tongue. After we went back into the house, Brig wanted to see Sesame Street. Im going to move the TV, I told him. I'm going to put it up where AJ cant get the knobs off it. At least, I thought, I did explain the workings of television to him successfully. Good idea, Brig said manfully. But you better wait till Dad or Manny comes home. It's too heavy for you to move. Its not heavy, I said. Its only a little portable . . Hah! Brig said with great authority. YOU dont know how many people there are in therel And cars! And Big Birdl And Cookie Monster! And Magnum P.I.! And . . . You bet. in Refunds coming Energy consumers will benefit from UP&L pact Olson said, but will increase several fold with the runoff. BY BRUCE JENNINGS Most if not all Sanpete County electricity consumers will benefit from the settlement negotiated by the states Division of Public Utilities and Utah Power & Light that will have UP&L reduce rates to its retail consumer by $60 million over the next seven years. UP&L delivery power directly to consumers in most Sanpete towns, among them Sterling, and a typical residential customer will get a reduction in monthly electrical bills, or about $5 per year, for seven years, beginning in April. Ephraim will fare differently, since Ephraim is a member of the Utah Association of Municipal Power Systems, which Is a part owner of Hunter II, a coal fired generating plant in Carbon County that has UP&L as its main owner. As a result Ephraim is scheduled to receive in round numbers $100,000 in seven equal annual payments. Ted L. Olson, chairman of the Ephraim Power Board, a member of the UMPA board and recently reelected vice president of the Intermountain Consumer Power Assn., said that the settlement, while it will benefit Ephraim, probably wont result in a reduction of the rates the city charges its residents. But the power situation in Ephraim is also looking up in other ways, said d Mr. Olson, with the now damages to the new hydro-plain and back unit that repaired production. The electricity generated by the two hydros is but a small fraction of Ephraims total consumption, Mr. 43-ce- nt flood-cause- Manti is in a different situation that either Sterling or Ephraim so far as its relationship with UP&L is concerned. We've drawn very little electricity from UP&L during the last two Galen Christiansen, city years, councilman and chairman of the Utah Municipal Power Agency board, said. Even before then, Manti purchased only a minor quantity of UP&L power. UMPA and the Western Area Power Assn, are meeting in Spanish Fork Thursday, Mr. Christiansen said. Until then, he explained, we wont know to what extent, if any, well share in the settlement. That settlement had its origin in 1982 with charges that UP&L had overcharged both its retail and wholesale customers because of mismanagement, waste and corruption. The mismanagement, it was alleged, included overpricing the coal it was obtaining from its captive mines whereas it could have been purchasing coal several dollars a ton cheaper from independent mines.'n The results of the charges was a hearing before the Public Service Commission that ended with the state ordering UP&L to make a refund of $103 million to its Utahs customers. The negotiated settlement recently concluded reduced that amount to $60,000,000. The settlement is considered advantageous to both UP&L and to its customers since it will avoid years of hearings and appeals over the allegations made against UP&L. 4 gold at the end of the rainbow, but lets look at the facts. Sanpete County has a present unemployment rate of over Another 20 of Sanpete residents currently cannot pay their property taxes. Over 3,000 people in our county rely on Social Services for all or part of their needs. Over 600 homes are for sale in Sanpete. Thirty-on- e hundred people in our county live below poverty levels. The State Planning Commission estimates that 10 of rural Utahn will move, most out of the state, to seek employment in 1987. That figures out to about 1500 people for Sanpete. In 1986, 105 families left Sanpete. Averaging three school-ag- e children per family, schools alone lose $379,260.00 in state aid. Six to eight families a month are served foreclosure notices. Last year our cities lost an estimated $240,000.00 due to our decrease in population. What industry weve had is leaving our area. Weve had mobile home plants close, restaurants close, Sperry left 500 unemployed, clothing plants have closed, the railroad is gone, Crystal Specialties in Ephraim left 50 jobless, and the list goes on. Foreign competition, high costs and low profits have most of our farmers struggling. I believe that we can help ease some of these problems. The initial construction phase of the correctional facility is estimated at 25 million dollars and a second phase estimated at 15 million to be awarded by bid. This facility will employ 250 full time employees. Another 250 jobs will be created through suppliers, maintenance, etc. Our cities would earn an estimated $240,000.00 in sales tax revenues. It would generate approximately $1,000,000.00 for eduction, including Snow College. Studies 15. nationwide conclude that in communities where a similar facility has been built, crime rates drop and property values go up. The Sheriffs office and Chief of Police in Cedar City say, All aspects are good. The registrars office at SUSC does not forsee any enrollment problems due to their new prison. B YU and the U of U are both within 35 miles of the Point of the Mountain and have, no enrollment problems due to their close proximity to the prison. The LDS Church built a temple within three miles of the prison. There has never been an injury or death caused by an escaped prisoner in Utah. Only one escapee in the last two years has been out over 24 hours. Very importantly, this facility would not be built in the confines of a city, nor would there be any additional funding required by Sanpete residents. It would cost nothing extra to build. No one is saying a correctional facility in Sanpete will solve all of our problems. No one is saying that it is perfect or risk free, but when all the facts, pro and con, are carefully weighed I believe that it would be good for us now and also for our future. One county in Utah will reap the benefits of this correctional facility. Lets have it be Sanpete. Our local cities, towns and law enforcement all support it. A lot of local businesses have voiced their support. Let us make an educated and not emotional decision. If you want to know more, read all the facts for yourself and contact a member of the Sanpete County Coalition of Concerned Citizens. Lets do something positive for ourselves, our county and our future. Support the correctional facility in Sanpete. Rick Howe Manti, Utah Will impact life style To the Editor: Having a prison in or near our community will have a very significant impact on it. The impact will touch every life in the community in a significant way either economically, socially, culturally or environmentally. Therefore, each citizen has a responsibility to himself and his family to determine his personal position relative to the prison. For each of us to objectively determine our personal position on the proposed prison we must ask ourselves in a very critical way, Why do we choose to live in this community? For many who choose to live here in an economically depressed area and ignore the pull of the cities and their greater promise of economic well being and affluency, our choice most probably has a foundation in a perceived quality of life that exists here and not there. To determine our stand on the prison issue we must then ask ourselves what is it that contributes to this quality of life we cherish. I believe that most of us who live in Sanpete believe the quality of life is its greatest asset. At the core of this is the solid sense of neighborhood and community, the closeness and beauties of the natural surroundings, clean air and yes, a great sense of security and freedom. Those of us who have lived in or near large cities greatly appreciate these last two factors. The feeling of security, a freedom from fear generated by unknowns, such as people, institutions, cultures, etc. is very valuable to us. I ask each of my fellow citizens to carefully question their reasons for living here. Will a prison support those reasons or not? That is the essential question. If your reasons for supporting the prison are purely economic, and you are willing to sacrifice quality of life factors for economics, think again, it most likely is not worth it. I say this from experience, having lived within two miles of a prison in rural Michigan and then essentially losing all the quality of life aspects important to any home, when a prison expansion was to be built across the road from our house. Not only did the quality of life aspect deteriorate totally, a significant financial impact resulted as well. Try to see a house across the road from a proposed prison. Both my wife and I are natives of Sanpete and we are grateful to be here with our children. We have lived several different places and believe Ephraim has the highest quality of life aspects we have ever experienced. I firmly believe that the world is sadly in need of places like Ephraim where the quality of life is higher than the economic advantages. I realize some will say, You cant feed a and I family on aesthetics, appreciate that. Years ago I had to take low paying jobs to hang on in Sanpete and finally had to leave. But we're back and I'm glad Sanpete is still high on quality of life factors. We do need jobs for those who truly want to live here. But I firmly believe that we can have our cake and eat it too, if we are objective, careful, and put forth the necessary effort. We can have employment that does not have negative aspects of a prison, and will provide support for the quality of life factors many of us hold so dear. The turkey industry and Snow College are sound examples of this, as was Sperry. I suggest that as a start our city and county officials spend the time and money being spent on getting the prison here, researching industries and businesses more supportive of our culture and society. If they would do this, they would save themselves and us many problems in the future that will surely come as the quality of life changes in our community from the economic, social and cultural impacts a prison will definitely have. Gary Faatz Ephraim, Utah holds aloft Stephen Prott, speaker at Farm Bureau Banquet, 200th commemorate Anniversary of the birthday cake to Constitution. F arm Bureau speaker lauds Constitution BY BRUCE JENNINGS Can you pass this test on the founding of the nation? The easiest question: Who is called the Father of our country? A little harder: who was the author of the Declaration of Independence? Still harder: who was the author of the final draft of the Constitution? And hardest of all: Several delegates to the constitutional convention refused to sign the Constitution until certain additions had been adopted. What are these additions called? These were some of the questions in a quiz that Stephen Pratt, educator, writer, lecturer and keynote speaker at the Sanpete County Farm Bureaus annual banquet, put to his audience during his presentation. "Throughout the land we are commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Constitution, Mr. Pratt said, adding that it is a document that expresses some of our basic beliefs. The belief," Mr. Pratt said, "that the freedom and dignity of the individual is based on religious and moral principles that these values are the foundation of a free people. "We also believe, he added, "in a representative form of government a republic. Our Constitution, Mr. Pratt continued, "is a great document and a heaven inspired charter of freedom. And to cap off his address, he taught the audience a dramatic rendition of its Preamble. During the program, which had enrollment is April 14 in Ephraim 4-- H enrollment for Ephraim will be held Tuesday, April 14 at the Ephraim Elementary School from 3 to 5 p.m. Youth are encouraged to decide with their parents what projects they want to take and if possible recruit a leader for the club. In 1986 had over 1,000 members in Sanpete County, ages 9 4-- 4-- Republicans call for May caucus Sanpete County Republicans will hold a nominating convention on Friday, May 15, at 8 p.m. in the Sanpete County Courthouse, chairman Nancy Jensen has announced. Mrs. Jensen is the current Sanpete County Republican Party Chairman, but says she does not intend to run for to that post in May. Mrs. Jensen has served several terms as County Republican Chairman and was in that post when her party was called upon to suggest an appointed replacement for County Commissioner Keith Jorgensen, who died in office several years ago. More recently, she has directed her partys efforts to nominate three possible appointees to the post recently vacated by Sheriff Dave Bailey. Mrs. Jensen said that as one of her last acts in office she will encourage those members of her party gathering at the May 15 meeting to develop an active central committee. 4 Leonard Blackham, vice president of the Sanpete County Farm Bureau, as its emces, Lisa Bawden, Talent Find winner, performed a dance number, and JoAnn Turpin, Sanpete Farm Bureau womens chairman, announced the winners of this years essay contest on "The Enterprising American Farmer. The winners: Debbie Cutler, Ephraim, first, adult division; Derek Bond, Gunnison Valley High School, first; Shane Young, Manti High School, second; Becky Brock, Gunnison High School, third, high school division; Kasey Jean Frischknecht, Ephraim Middle School, first; Maija Towne, Ephraim' Middle School second; Carl Sanderson, Gunnison Valley Middle School, third, junior high school division. First place winners received $25; second place, $15, and third place, $10. Boyd Sunderland, Sanpete County Farm Bureau president, conducted the meeting. The Farm Bureau, he commented, is a family organization that unites farmers in activities that are not only beneficial to the people engaged in agriculture but also to the nations consumers. And he referred specifically to one of the years major projects: the hay lift that saw thousands of tons of Sanpete hay shipped to farmers in drought stricken areas. Special guests at the banquet included Senator Gary Peterson, Nephi, and several state Farm roast Bureau officers. The meal beef, potatoes, salad, rolls and pie was served by the Spring City First Ward. Richard Nielson, Ephraim, offered the blessing on the food. beautiful Se clancRo Motor Lodge 640 West North Temple Street Salt Lake City 4' Blocks West ot Temple Grounds to 19. All youth in that age group are invited to join and participate in the and social, many educational, recreational activities provided through the program. For more information, call your community supervisors: Aileen AnAnn Barton, derson, Darlene Stevens, Sharon Larsen, 4-- 283-421- 283-411- 283-406- 8; 283-432- 9. |