OCR Text |
Show 4 T SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS - Thursday, March 19, 1937 - Paga Two Southern Utah The Southern Utah News is published every Thursday at 40 East Center Street in Kanab, Utah S474I. The News proudly serves Kane County, Utah, and the Arizona Strip. Address all communications to P.O. Box 90, AdverKanab, Utah 84741, or telephone (801) tising rates available upon request. Second class postage paid at Kanab, Utah 84741. Newsstand price 23 cents per copy. Yearly subscriptions available. Rates to Kane 644-233- 9. QU)5 County addresses and F redonia and Moccasin, Arizona, J 12.00; others 118.00. The News reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement or submitted items. Deadline for display ads and news copy is NOON MONDAY; Classified ads. 10 a.m. TUESDAY. Marlia B. Brown, publisher. Member Utah Press Association and National 9 ISSN No. Newspaper Association. 0049-163- I) Thanks for Exposure Explains Error Of Last Week Mr. Editor: Editor, Southern Utah News Kanab, Utah 84741 In your edition of Thursday, March 12, 1987, a front page story reported that the condemnation case brought by Kanab City against Utah Power & Light Company was in fact dismissed March 6th. This is not true. Court proceedings are often difficult to understand but your report is exactly the opposite of what happened. UP&L lost on March 6th, not Kanab City. On March 6, 1987, the Court heard a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings filed by UP&L. The motion asked that the case be dismissed because, according to UP&L, the laws of the State of Utah would not allow Kanab City to condemn the utility system. Kanab City prepared an extensive to the Motion, showing that the case should not be dismissed. Many of these same objections had been raised by Utah Power & Light previously and already considered Kanab City's by the Court. Memorandum (which is on file for anyone interested to read in the County Clerks office) showed that the statutes of the State of Utah provide a fair procedure for Utah Power & Light, and that the condemnation lawsuit is proper. Kanab pointed out that it had information obtained extensive from UP&L about the system, including their valuation, and noted that Kanab would be filing its inventory and appraisal of the system shortly. The Judge stated he felt that the procedure was fair and proper. After hearing the methods proposed by the Judge to deal with some of the problems raised, UP&Ls attorney stated that those methods would substantially resolve the concerns of the company management about proper compensation. Judge Tibbs then denied the motion for dismissal. He repeated his determination that Kanab City had the authority under its franchise to take the electric system and that the case should go forward to value the system and award it to Kanab City, with proper payment to UP&L. After the hearing, the parties met to discuss the possibility of settlement of the case. Kanab City repeated that it is filing an inventory, appraisal and plan for operation of the electric system. Kanab suggested that this comprehensive material might provide the basis for settlement discussions. UP&L responded that it would like the opportunity of reviewing the material submitted, and that a settlement meeting might then be scheduled. In summary, the results of the March 6, 1987, hearing were in fact the opposite of the report in the newspaper that the case had been denied The Judge dismissed. UP&L's motion to dismiss the case. The day was not only a success for Kanab, however. UP&L felt somewhat assured by the Judge's methods of resolving the suit, and most importantly the parties are now discussing settlement. Thank you for this opportunity of presenting the actual events of March 6th. Very truly yours, SNOW, NUFFER, ENGSTROM DRAKE (Sgd. David bluffer 'm It j-- tm , & , Why Won't Council Listen to People Dear Editor: Despite requests to allow the citizens of Kanab to vote on the municipal power issue, the city council has pushed through the sale of the bonds, signed contracts without public input and the council tries to assure the people that there will be lower rates under a municipal power system. Lower rates sound good on the surface, but lets examine a few of the facts behind the story. The city council stated they wanted to wait to sell the bonds to help get a better interest rate. Does a rate that is 1.8 higher than Fredonia's bond rate sound like a better interest rate? When asked why the interest rate was so high for Kanab, the city attorney stated that it was due to two factors. One, the special recall provision in the bonds states that money can be turned back at no penalty. The second was that the city did not actually have the power system to bond for, so because of the greater risk involved to the bondholder, higher interest rates resulted. When spread over 20 years of the life of the bond, this amounts to a staggering added burden of debt. At present, the average rate for Kanab is 8.1c per kilowatt hour. Since Fredonia has gone municipal, the bondholder requires that an average of 8.8c per kilowatt hour be charged to insure repayment of the bond. With the same contractor for and maintenance as operation Fredonia, with the same contractor for wheeling as Fredonia, with the same basic elements in place and yet almost two and one-hatimes the debt bonded for, does it seem logical that lower rates will be a part of our future. Lower rates were not the case for Fredonia or Page. Rates may be lower initially. We look forward any day to hearing what the rates have been set at for Kanab. We anticipate that the rates lf 'When I will be artificially low ana here is why. For the first two years, there is NO principal or interest payments. In December of 1988, only a minimum payment is all that is required to be paid. The payments on the bond do not really start until 1989. Sound good? Not to me! At the end of the first two years, the interest rate starts out at Yes, this includes the accrued interest for the first two years of no payment. This amount compounds itself when you think of the bond in terms of repayment over 20 years. 9. The city is trying to fund the project prematurely. They were not able to get the bonds sold, so the issuing agents purchased the bonds themselves-BUT-- at a premium payback on interest. In addition, the city has pledged $100,000 of sewer and water funds as collateral. If the city would do things in the proper order, these funds would not have to be tied up. The city still does not know the final cost. The court has not set the award, so how can the city purchase something until they know the price tag? How much will Judge Tibbs award as severance damages when he makes his ruling on the condemnation award? These costs have not been added in. It appears that the mayor and council's bias on the power issue is like blinders to reality and they continue to go forward with no input from the citizens. We have asked for a vote. We would like to know how much liability we are being saddled for before it is a foregone reality. Why does the mayor and council continue to go ahead without listening to the people? How much is it going to cost? Why do they continue to ignore the people? hear somebody sigh that 'Life is hard ask, 'Compared to what?' ' Sincerely, A.D. Findlay I am always tempted to Yes, there is a spark of town and school spirit in Fredonia. On behalf of the Fredonia Boosters Club, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people in the 38 vehicles and those that stood in their yards and welcomed the 1987 Boys Gass C State Basketball champs into town. It was very heartwarming and greatly appreciated by the players, coaches and especially those loyal fans that have followed the team all year long. I would also like to thank you for the excellent front page cover exposure you gave the team in your last issue of the Southern Utah News. Respectfully, Jim Kimball, President Boosters Club Why File Taxes? Rewarding Experience FREDONIA LYNX To all of those people who spent time and money to support our and super ball team at the play-off- s State tournament: We can all say it was a very rewarding experience. What a thrill to see Allen make the long shots. And Shawn all those points he made. And Danny, what a super ball player, who, in our opinion, has not received the credit he should; Orlando, Scott, John, Andy, Russell and all the rest who helped make our team 1. They all knew they had spectator support and we all know that helps. You folks who think you dont have the time, well, you better think again. Show them how much you ive them your support, at home an away. They are all very goodHboys and deserving of this honor. And who knows, if we all give them our support this could happen every year. Lets help them make it true. Thanks boys and Coach McCormick, you are all great! From two people who give our support, both now and in the future. cr Lucille and Knell Parker Thanks Kerry Black People of Fredonia: There is a man in this town who should be recognized. He has donated many hours of his time, effort and energy. It takes a lot to organize the Little League basketball games and tournaments. The ones who benefit from his work are our children. We think he has done a great job. We want to thank him for it. We appreciate everything he has done. This man is Kerry Black. The people of Fredonia should say thank you and give him a big round of applause. Mr. and Mrs. Gary W. Pitt . Thanks From The Heart On behalf of the American Heart Association, I would like to thank all of the region chairmen and the volunteers who .helped with the annual drive to reduce premature death and disability due to cardiovascular disease. Heart disease remains Utahs number one killer. Anyone wishing to contribute to the American Heart Association may still do so by sending your contribution to the American Heart Association, 645 East Fourth South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84102. , , Thanks again' to all of the and to those who volunteers contributed for this worthwhile drive. fJ'. Carol Penney 1987 Kanab Heart Fund Chairman Sydney Harris American Heart JJ Association Why should I file my tax return now? Ive got til April 15th dont I? These questions in answer to questions on why a taxpayer hasnt yet filed his or her tax return are easily answered and still people are procrastinating in filing their 1986 tax return. Each year for the last several years, we have seen more people until April before filing their Federal tax returns, Salt Lake City District IRS Public Affairs Officer Bill Craig stated. Craig noted that already Utahns are five percent behind in filing their returns when compared to last year at the same time which was also behind the previous years filings. Since more than 65 percent of Utah taxpayers received a refund last year, it just doesnt make sense for them to wait to file, Craig said, He added, 'l VThpy J are hprtmgf themselves ill three wiyk iTy waiting to file: First, the longer they wait the more returns will have been filed so it will take longer to process their return. If they file now they will have their refund in about four weeks. If they wait, it could be six weeks or longer. Secondly, by waiting they dont have use of their money to spend or waiting , k f - . or Have to pay additional tax, if there is an error on their return or they wind up having to pay penalties or interest, the sooner it is taken care of the less costly for them. It just makes Sense that people should file earlier, and why not Now?, Craig concluded. 2-- 1 people of this area really blew the top off our thermometer. If finance the construction of jail facilities. An example of the mixed bag is the area of tort reform, Zabriskie said. There was a series of bills on tort reform that our members very strongly supported, but none of them passed. However, there was also an effort to dilute the tort reform victory of the previous year by changing the joint and several liability statutes. We were part of the team that defeated this effort, Zabriskie said. Spurred by member interest, NFIB initiated the introduction of a bill that would allow collection of triple damages for bad checks that y are not made good after a waiting period. However, we experienced major frustration with this bill, Zabriskie said. The bills introduction was delayed while we worked out some language changes with the Senate sponsor. When we finally got to hearings we discovered a technical error in the language that caused additional delay. On the last Friday of the session, the bill was next in line for a vote in the House, but the House adjourned before taking a vote and all bills under consideration were sent back to the sifting committee. The triple damage check bill is scheduled for interim study consideration, and should be ready for early action during the next general legislative session. Another disappointment was the area of privitization. Several bills and resolutions were introduced, but no significant measure was passed. 30-da- The original St. Nicholas was a 4th'centroy Turkish bishop. According to legend ha droppad a bag of gold coins down a chimnay into a stocking a poor girl had hung up by the fireplace to dry. you didnt get a chance to contribute to the City Library's new set of Encyclopedia Americana, let this be a fA warning. You've got to act fast to get in on a good '3 'ft. ir thing. And 'i n jeveryone we talked with agreed that it 2 I v 9- 8- - i , was a good 7- - thing. 6- 5- 4- - 3- - The Friends of . 2- - 1987 Session "Mixed Bag for Small Business The 1987 General Session of the Utah State Legislature was a mixed bag for small businesses in Utah, according to Dale Zabriskie, Utah state director of the National Federation of Independent Business. The nearly 4,000 NFIB members in Utah had indicated in their to the organizations response annual ballot which issues they supported and opposed prior to the legislative session. The major disappointment for these small business owners was the large tax increase approved by the Legislators. NFIB members had voted against a tax increase in their ballot responses. If there can be any bright side to the tax increase, it is in the fact that the major increases were in sales tax and income tax, Zabriskie said. The NFIB members strongly preferred a sales tax increase if there were to be one. Most of the NFIB success during the session came on bills its members opposed rather than those they supported. Working with other related lobbying groups NFIB was successful in defeating several bills. These included a measure that would have given municipalities the power to regulate truck sizes and weights on city streets, creating a wide variety of regulations that would increase shipping costs. Also defeated,. was a bill that would have , extended sales tax to professional services, a bill that would have mandated mental health benefits as part of any employee disability coverage, and a measure that would have allowed counties to impose a 4 mill property tax to Talk about a volcano! The invest it. If they invest it, they will reap the interest, not Uncle Sam. Thirdly, they save as taxpayers since the IRS will save on staff hours by spreading the workload over a longer period. Currently the majority of the tax returns are filed between April 1 and 15. We have 45 days after April 15 to process the returns or we start paying interest-th- at comes out of useable tax dollars. In addition, it means we have to pay some overtime-th-at also comes out of useable tax dollars. So it just makes sense, Craig that people save emphasized, themselves and the government money. He further commented that when a person files a return early and it has an error, that error can be corrected faster and they will still " n get'theirtefirtd earlier. SVho dont get'4'rftfundlJ For those THANKING FRIEi 1- the Library thank the following - contributors: Mayor Jenkins M. W. & Donna Beard Stan & Caroline Lippencot Meta & Adam Bocek Madge & Lester Little & family Jeannie Lippencot KCR Ladies Handcraft Frederick & Vaydes Brueck Kanab Lions Club Kanab Women's Civic Club Mark & Dena Corry Robert & Katherine Hubbard Bates & Eleanor Huffman Ladies Literary League Thomas & Jane Haycock Marlin & Delores Brown in memory of Thomas Hamblin Energy Fuels Energy Fuels Zion's First National Bank State Bank of So. Utah Calvin & Anna Johnson Duke's Clothing Coldwell Banker, Corry -- Realty & Creative Cuts & Anonymous Brownie Troop 235 Business & Professional Women Kane County Zion Pharmacy, Stewart Sherman & Phyllis Billy & Murial Swapp, Walter & Jean Kerr, Althea Frida) Geneve Bradley, Ca-o-l Peters, Jean Kerr & friend, anonymous Kanab Drug Doves Happy Service Althea Friday, Doves Happy Service, Anonymous To the Southern Utah News and our local radio station, we 6we our gratitude for their help in pulidzing this project This effort again points up the fact that people can and do indeed cooperate. It has made the Friend first project a huge success. |