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Show f VEEKLY REFLEX-DA- VIS I NEWS JOURNAL, NORTH DAVIS LEADER, SEPTEMBER 17, 1981 To Closer iep Off Policy By MARK D. MICKEI.SEN doesnt have to be that much water." he - said. CLEARFIELD While a handful of local farmers continue to fight drainage problems along 300 North, the Clearfield City Council appears to be one step closer to adopting a "hands ofT" approach to the issue. THE THING that interests me is that the city doesnt have any responsibility." Councilman H. Kay Chandler said. "The problem is still there. he argued, whether anyone wants to take responsibility or not. ONE MONTH ago, farmers living adjacent to the Green Pastures area approached the council and asked if anything could be done to decrease the accumulation of runoff water in a nearby drainage ditch. Robert Lovell, a property owner in the area, told councilmembers landowners with homes surrounding the pasture area face possible flooding if water ever breaks out of the ditch. It was a dream come true for bookworms, Saturday, as they could let themselves go during the annual book fair at the South Branch library in Bountiful that drew readers from all over the county. BOOKWORM'S DELIGHT By TOM BUSSELBERG Growth FARMINGTON will continue to be the name of the game for the Davis County School District. , THAT IN spite of the recession was the re- sounding word for school board members Tuesday night from Asst. Supt. Gayle . Stevenson, as he gave an enrollment projections report indicating there will be 9.000 more students in the district within the next five years above the current 40,000-plu- s enrollment. Centering remarks around the elementary grades, he said at current growth rates, kindergarten students will number 5,685 up sharply from this years 3,869. BUT EVEN more telling is the difference between kindergarten and current 6th grade or a totals, listed at 3,256 difference that enrollmeans ments. The district has aver- 600-stude- nt ever-great- aged more than .000 new students a year over the last several years and that is projected to jump from 1,125 between 1 now and 1982 to 2,453 by 1986 or enough for four elementary schools. To meet that growth need, the district has been opening new schools or building major additions each year, as was noted in a later report to the board that night. Additions to Stewart, West Bountiful, Lincoln and Cook elementaries were completed for schools start earlier this month and the district's 10th junior high Mueller Park, was opened. MEANWHILE, construction speeds forward on the Farmington Junior High project, shooting for an August, 1982 opening, with ground just broken or nearing that stage for additions at West Point and Clinton elementaries and the new Columbia Elementary near Kaysville Junior High. The new year was started with 40 elementaries thats two short of last year due to closures of Stoker in Bountiful and Hilltop in Layton. The two facilities were closed largely because of their small size and a need for major modifications if they were to meet current building codes. THE DISTRICT has followed a policy of larger elementary schools, in the past few years, as a means of largeley. The largest school enrollment is at Lincoln, with 807 students, while South Weber, due to its isolated location, is the smallest in size and enrollment. The average school enrollment stands at 58 this year, up by 50 students from last year, Mr. Stevenson explained, noting the average class load, including kindergarten where students attend one-haday, is 28 students per teacher. 1 lf BUT THAT varies consider- ably according to the situation, some he said, noting, teachers have 37 and 22. Where it hasn't been feasible to divide large classes, teacher aides have been placed, such as at Morgan, where large loads will be relieved with opening of the new Columbia School. combination clasForty-si- x ses have been set up, probably the most weve had for Mr. Stevenson some time, said, located in 23 or 24 schools. TO HELP ease the load, 28 portable classrooms are inshifted where needed. They clude three at South Davis Junior, two at Millcreek Junior and a like number at Centerville Junior with three at Kaysville Junior. On the elementary level, three are located at West Point, four at Clinton, two each at Boulton and Hill Field and one each at Sunset, South Weber, Wasatch, Centerville and the Alternative High School. Two are also located at the Davis Area Vocational Center. . IN OTHER reports, Supt. Lawrence Welling related action of his recent Washington, D.C. trip where he met with congressional leaders and other district officials in an effort to buoy up impact aid funding. Those monies have been provided by the federal government to school districts where students parents live and-o- r work on federal installations, such as HAFB. The districts share of that has dropped steadily each year and could see total elimination. "I wish I could report 874 , (impact aid) money will be delivered on time in the fall. No one knows at this time, the superintendent said. SOME ARE advocating further cuts from the $435 million currently planned. If the President decides to just cut (overall) we could lose everything, Dr. Welling said. Under the latest possibilities, Davis could receive just over$l million, just half of last total, while other districts, such as Ogden, would receive nothing for the first time in many years. years THE superintendent met with officials in an attempt to get backing for funding continuance in districts where 10 percent or more of their students are That involves about 15 percent in Davis County. One thing discouraging to all of us (superintendents) the line (percentage amount) will be drawn meaning some wont get any additional funding. He said all districts should be treated equally with the federally-connecte- money following the It WHAT IT boils down to is we have a mess down there." Councilman Chandler said, and nobody wants to say there is a mess down there." The council asked Mr. McMillan why a pipeline was installed after city engineers approved a pipe. McMillan said the city's former building and zoning h h director authorized the installation. McMillan did not say why. DRAINAGE WATER in the 300 North ditch reaches near overflow levels during certain times of the year due to a pipeline which cannot handle all the drainage water being emptied into the ditch. Lovell explained. Following a lengthy discussion, the city council agreed to investigate issue. COUNCILMAN Chandler recommended careful study of drainage plans the next time developers request permission to construct subdivisions in Clearfield. Mayor Donal Townlcy said "There are some places in the city where we did not get our bucks worth from the engineers." TUESDAY NIGHT however, chief building inspector Howard McMillan informed the council that he had talked to the city NOBODY'S CARING about the problem, Councilman Chandler told urging some action on the issue. council-member- attorney and was told Clearfield would be setting "a precedent" by participating in irrigation ditch problems. Mr. McMillan blamed farmers in the area for most of the problems, saying residents there fill the ditches to capacity.' "There The obvious answer, according to McMillan, is to replace the with a line. By DONETA GATHERUM After nearly three hours of questioning, discussing and negotiating, the Fruit Heights City Council invited representatives from two cable television companies to come back again in two weeks. CABLE television com- panies have been working w ith Fruit Heights council members for about eight months to formulate some sort of work- able cable television franchise agreement or city ordinance. Two weeks ago. the Fruit Heights City Council presented Wasatch Community TV and M1SCO Cable TV with a proposed city ordinance governing cable television. Both companies were invited to respond to the ordinance at Tuesday's meeting. BRYAN L. McDougal. attorney for Wasatch Community TV, presented the council with a letter that stated. After a lengthy review, it is the opinion of management that the most recent franchise ordinance is unacceptable. The numerous provisions of your proposal which deviate from a standard industry franchise necessitate our conclusion that acceptance of the franchise as pre- sently drafted would result in future conflicts between any franchise and the city. The letter went on to say the provisions of the ordinance were so burdensome that they outweighted the economic advantages of establishing a franchise in the city. ADDRESSING the council, Mr. McDougal stated he could have submitted a 60 page brief to the council on the faults of the ordinance. Most of his complaints centered around the legality of parts of the ordinance with respect to its compliance to FCC regulations. antitrust laws and Utah State laws. He also complained that the ordinance was totally uninfo rceabl.f MISCO's spokesman said his company could live with the ordinance but the company would like to negotiate on some points. The areas he bought to the attention of the ported the problems other cities had with cable television were physical effects on the community. One person contacted stated, They tore up the area but they are getting better. council were mechanical rather than legal in nature. For example, the ordinace asked for a five percent return to the city. M1SCO wanted this changed to a three percent return. The ordinance said this payment would be made quarterly. M1SCO felt this should be changed to annually. BOTH COMPANIES had serious reservations about the bonding requirements set up in the proposed ordinance. The city council members stood firm on this section of the propsed ordinance. Be- cause of bad experiences with developers in the past, the city wants to require a 150 percent performance bond and another security bond that would be held for the life of the franchise. The performance bond would be returned to the company as work was completed. The final 50 percent of the original 150 percent would be retained until two years after the completion date. CITY MANAGER T.J. Burns, reported that he had contacted most cities in Utah that have caljle television to get their feeling about allowing a franchise in the city. The overwhelming response was forget cable if you can. Fruit Heights can't. Mr. Bums went on to say other cities advised to hold public hearings before you do anything. By law, this must be done before an ordinance can be adopted. FINALLY, MR. Bums re clear that they would make no attempt to dictate program- it ming to the cable TV company receiving the franchise. Programming would be ledt up to the company, the viewers and the current state law. line BUT, THE council took no formal action on the matter Tuesday night. Reminder To South Weber Residents Bill Water-Garba- ge SOUTH WEBER You better not rely on that second notice before paying that garbage-water bill. ITLL BE a long wait thanks to a new South Weber city policy starting this month. Instead of the second notice, residents will have 45 days to pay. If that isn't long enough, a "courtesy letter" noting an added $3 charge will be sent. In addition, the newly ad- justed 25 cent garbage rate, up to $6.50, will be noted, the city council newsletter says, tb Public Hearings Set For County Zoning Requirements Change FARMINGTON A public hearing to determine whether or not setback requirements for accessory buildings in county A-- 3 zones should be changed has been set for Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. in the Davis County Commission chambers. HE SAID the existing zone requires setback to the rear of the only a property. The planning commission has recommended that a stipulation be tagged onto the A-- zone for frontyard reas is the case in and A-quirements zones. A-- 3 six-fo- 65-fo- 3 A-- 1 THE DAVIS County Planning Commission has recommended changing (agricultural) setback requirements to read the same as those in l and A-- 2 zones. zones require that Existing l and accessory buildings such as garages, storage sheds and barns be set back 65 feet from the street on the frorit of the property and six feet on the back of the property, according to assistant Davis County planning Albert Cole. A-- 2 We think there is an inconsistency there, Mr. Cole told county commissioners last week. A-- 3 A-- Other cities contacted said nothing about problems encountered because of the television programs that were being offered. NEAR THE conclusion of the meeting, the council made h A-- 2 IF THE ordinance amendment passe1-- , zones also may accessory buildings in be no higher than three stories. Residents for, or opposed to the amendment are invited to air their views at the public hearing, mdm A-- 3 Reading And Writing Stressed By TOM BUSSELBERG BOUNTIFUL Mary Louise Bean is one English teacher whose sold on a solid reading and writing combination to the point most of her students are shocked at the amount of work required. BUT THE majority of those students end up doing a lot more than the minimum once they discover what its all about, the Mueller Park Jr. High School instructor told the Davis Board of Education. A recent participant in the third annual Utah Writers Conference, where teachers-hava chance to critique each others work and put on the hat of a student, she came away with an enthusiasm that she compared with a new convert to a religious faith. THAT ENTHUSIASM came through as she explained the case of one student, who was seemingly just coasting through school, who, after a reading assignment based on reflections from a song by Olivia Newton John, changed his life to one of more direction and purpose. Students get a chance at a variety of writing types and are expected to write at least ten minutes daily in class and at home .while combining that with reading that can correlate into writing. writing L comes first where stimulus response is encouraged, she explained. Thats where students write about something based on music, a picture, current events, quotes and even student suggestions related by the teacher. The aim is for students to do a great deal of writing in the style of and thus be- come fluent, she said, noting p students write for ten minutes. non-sto- Those first papers aren't graded but lead to a more polished product that is evaluated. SQUEEZE AND stretch writing finds students squeezing out of their minds what they already know (about a subject) and writing it down, stretching to full in dubious areas by using their imagination. Mrs. Bean said some professional writers claim that writing is sometimes part of their incubation stage, that they write to find out what they have to say. And as one editor said, squeezing and stretching helps to discover in advance where the holes are; and when it isnt written down, its so hard to hold in your head. it all FURTHER STRESSING that form of writing she used a quote from Eldredge Cleaver, I write to untangle the snarled web of my mind. With a learning lob students write down what theyve learned. Its not a summar per se, but his reaction. "A teacher should provide immediate response; reward his (student's) involvement, questioning, wondering." SUCH WORK is never graded or shared for peer consideration and allows the stu- dent to monitor his own learning better, she added. In another writing phase, students can make a list of what they already know about a subject or area to be studied. Then they compose two questions for which theyd like answers. Each student volunteers a known item with challenged items going on the board along with questions. IN THIS way, the mind is engaged, real learning w ill happen. They move from function to form. Students then discover with purpose before writing a report, rather than preparing a report or assignment by merely copying from the en cyclopedia, writing comes, crucial for ated within the context of a students own writing. That student with acute us- age or mechanical problems is given the chance to practice using programmed materials under close teacher supervi sion and is able to practice oral and written sentence combining in print or game format. STUDENTS WRITINGS may be published m the classroom or school setting with trying out and coming to terms with new ideas. amounts" of material written the educator said. Within autobiographical writing, a student selects a personal incident or memorable episode. As part of prewriting, brief responses are called for on separate days in relation to remembering and discovery of a students feelings at the time of the incident, discovery and exploring students present feelings and dis- covery of the sequence of events within the incident and remembering details of the scene. THE SECOND stage finds them composing the first draft, followed by evaluation where groups of five students work with a teacher-prepare- d guide. Each student writes written responses based on the evaluation sheet as the writer reads his paper. Those responses, meant as suggestions, are used by the student in revision of that first draft. Mrs. Bean says, with the group again meeting to review that version. Its then back to the pencil and paper for a final revision, with the writer evaluating changes from the first draft to revision, helping him gain insight into the writing process. Thats important because it is training the student for self- - nicuncT often used writ- - schools is where It is taken for granted the writer ing in means what he says and can be challenged for its (papers) truthfulness to public knowledge." Expressive writing is that form closest to speech, the matrix from which all other POETIC WRITING is an end in itself. The writer takes it for granted the reader will experience what is presented. The w riter shows aw areness of symbolic, moral or visual qualities when shaping the verbai construct," she explains. Good writing means stu- - dents write often, get a lot of immediate response, both oral and written from the teacher and peers, Mrs. Bean empha- sized noting that covers the material presented and students reading large by students of their own age r level. They also read a great deal of material of the same kind as they are writing, she added. Speaking of factors playing a major role in affecting the program, Mrs. Bean said class size makes a different with the assignment quality related to the quality of writing. "Prep ration time is enormous" w i a need for more writing in cla and at home along with mu reading, and-o- W E NEED to correlate tl kind of w riling w ith the readi STUDENTS SHOULD do a students are doing. We ne lot of different writing, for school-wid- e (grade level) coi ndmittment M a teacher can pu 0n yr knowledge." She said addi X,senrXriX i We need more recogm. leaP,'eC0,f X nTwX fnr q i as a chance to learn and - enSdSnXT - T pre- truing |