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Show r 4 The Magna TimesWest Valley News, Thursday, August 30, 2001 . i Editorial Letters to the Editor Security full-tim- our Sept. 4, Granite BoarJ of education meeting we will discuss boundary options for the 2002-2(K)- 3 school year. By Aug. 31, school community councils in the schools involved will have had an opportunity to provide input into this early part of the process. In our meeting we will hear' the administrative recommendations regarding what appear to be the most viable options for new junior high boundaries. With the opening of the new Scott M. Matheson Junior High in the fall of 2002. the adjustments could affect six junior high schools: Brockhank, Hunter, Thomas Jefferson. John F. Kennedy, Valley and West lake Junior Highs. This board session will share preliminary information with the board and the public. No official action will take place at the meeting. Open houses will be held to get public input before the board makes decisions on 2002-2(X)school boundaries in our November meetings. As soon as the meetings are scheduled, I w ill write about it in this column. In our Sept. meeting we will received administrative recommendations regarding the most v iable options for the 2002-200- 3 elementary school boundaries. recommended elementary changes could affect as many as 32 elementary schools throughout the district a jear from now. Contact your local school to see how you may be affected. The Granite District makes every attempt to get the information regarding boundary changes to the public, but sometimes individuals do not get the necessary data. One of the best ways to get the news out is by word of mouth, so pass the information At 3 1 The onto your neighbors. Tracy Aviary offers a variety of classes for students in preschool through high school. Each month, the focus is on a different topic. For information on available classes and costs, contact Amber or visit the Davis at 596-850- 0 website, aviary's www.tra-cyaviary.or- "History of The Wild West," a live performance utilizing fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar and vocals is available for PTA and school assemblies. than 200 slides of paintings and phofrom museums secured tographs and galleries across the west are also presented. The program is based on the state curriculum. It is presented by William Frederick Boycott as "Buffalo Bill." I had the opportunity of seeing one of his performances and it was wonderful. His program enriches the history of the wild west through the arts. He even uses Native American Sign Language during the assem- More bly. For more information contact or email: The web site is www.buffalobillboycott.com. Whittier Elementary will host their Back to School Night on Sept. 6, at 6:30 p.m. UEA will be held Sept. 27 and 28. There will be no school. Teachers are encouraged to attend the meetings. My email is judyweeksqwest.net or phone 7 is you have conme at cerns or questions that I can help you with regarding the schools. Let's make this a great school year! 966-557- this year, the two PTA Councils met Aug. 14 with Police Chief Alan Kerstein and City Manager John Patterson. PTA members were disappointed when the City agreed to staff al secondary schools for only the first two and one-ha- lf weeks of school. After that time, another meeting will determine whether or not the four police officers will remain at the junior highs. Money form the federal government for a "COPS Grant Proposal" is the major determining factor in this issue. If the West Valley City Police Department receives the Grant, the officers will be placed in the schools, if not, then the officers will be pulled. The biggest issue seems to revolve around who has the responsibility of securing the schools, as indicated by Chief Kerstein in the West Valley New, Aug. 16 issue. "It's the responsibly of the Granite Police to deal with crime on school property." At present. Granite School District has 17 police officers who are responsible 24 hours a day in securing all district News, Aug. 16 issue, there were 2,719 police responses in the six secondary schools during a 180-da- y school year. 1 ,638 of these responses, which averages over eight incidents a day, came form the four junior high schools where 165 know gang members were reported attending. Concerned ever these statistics and recent information that West Valley Police Department would be pulling two of its officers out of the secondary schools again Editor, The Granger and Hunter Parent Teacher Association Councils are struggling for a e third year to keep a West Valley City police officer in each of its four junior high schools: West Lake, Va'.ley, Kennedy and Hunter. According to the 2000-200- 1 West Valley City police records, which has been quoted in the "ABC Comer" of the West Valley Sight eye screening for students taking drivers education classes. There are 40,000 students in Editor, The eyes really are the windows of the world. Eighty percent of what we learn is learned visually, but 90 percent of driving is visual. Since July of 2000, individuals who renew their drivers license and license plate tag have been invited to add $1 to Prevent Blindness, to help fund vision screening for children and adults. Established in 1958, Prevent Blindness has screened 420,000 children, that 840,00 eyes for blindness), Amblyopia (lazy-ey- e and over 250,00 adults for Glaucoma. In addition we provide eye safety and educational information, touching over 300,000 individuals in fiscal year 2000. Thousands of Utahns have mad the Drive For Sight program a tremendous success. When we looked for a way to give back to the communities, we found a need to provide an 250 schools. With the encouragement and support of Gail Johnson of the State Office of Education and Bart Blackstock Bureau Chief of the Department of Public Safety, Driver's License division we purchased vision testing equipment. Since March 15, over 6,000 high school students from Logan to St. George have been screened for visual acuity, color blindness, depth perception and peripheral vision. The next time you see high school student drivers you can say "thanks" to Utahns and Prevent Blindness, they can see. We are grateful to all who support this program. It's a win-wiKeep checking because when you do we can offer these vision screenings free. School Fees Mark Shurtlejf Utah Attorney General Editor, If you have older children who attend a public middle or high school, then it is time for you to pay your registration fees. Wouldn't it be great if you didn't have to. Well you don't. School registration fees are just another form of double taxation. You don't have to pay these registration fees if you follow a simple procedure as I did last year and will do again every year from now on. First, fill out a fee waver form instead of fee payment when you register your child (the office will provide this form). Also get a copy of the school fee law from the office, it may come in handy. Second, turn in the form as payment so your child can go to school. causing pain, muscle spasm, andor a headache? How would that same athlete perform if they were taking NSAIDS or something stronger to reduce that pain? Definitely not at their very best. We believe that the Utah Chiropractic Physicians Association, the strongest representative of Utah Chiropractors, needs to be involved. Many UCPA Chiropractors are prepared to donate their time and services to the Olympic Athletes. We are also prepared to provide necessary chiropractic equipment, diagnostic equipment, and a facility if needed. We are also willing to lend out diagnostic equipment, portable tables, and services to the scheduled physicians. What I am asking for is suggestions on a facility. There are three locations, we as an association, would like to be involved. 1 . Park City, 2. Snowbasin. 3. n! Colleen Malouf President & CEO Prevent Blindness Utah Suazo voiceless, a champion for the underdog and a man of honor. He did not weigh issues based on race, religion, or political affiliation. He would take on any case he thought was right. The state of Utah has lgst a . great leader;'"5 Editor, "I am heartbroken over the loss of Pete Suazo. Pete will be deeply missed for his courage . and his willingness to never give up. No one should forget how he would keep fighting for what he believed in even after others had lost hope. Pete was a voice for the , , schools which include: 88 tradiseveral special tional, six needs, evening community schools and other building facilities. Kerstein also stated that his department lacks the resources to place six of the force's 177 police officers in each of the secondary schools throughout the year to assist the principals. PTA has asked parents and community members to sign a petition requesting West Valley City provide police officers permanently in the secondary schools to eliminate the yearly uncertainty with this issue. PTA encourages members of the community to voice their opinions by calling West Valley or their West City at Valley City Council members. Margaret Peterson Barbara Thomas Duane Carolynn Burt Russ Brooks Moss 1 and Janice Fisher k, 963-322- 0, 963-337- 5, 963-337- 963-337- 963-337- 0, 4, 963-337- Diana Bevan Granger Council PTA Legislative V.P. Third, if you are turned down after a waver review, you can appeal the decision to the school district. Fourth, if you lose that appeal, the principal is required by law to furnish your child with some small job to do in place of the fee (they hat to do this and probably won't bother.) This whole process takes months and ties those beauro-crat- s up in knots. By following these simple steps, you'll save thousands of dollars that you can use to pay for college educations. Remember if we all unite to fight these fees then perhaps next year they will discontinue this shameful practice. Either of way you'll save th&iisands' ' 1 dollars. ' Drew Chamberlain South Jordan CHIROPRACTOR lid i tor. Several Chiropractors and I have made numerous contacts with people directly or indirectly involved with the Olympics. This includes the heads of the Olympic committee, national Olympic committees, politicians, athletes, trainers, National Chiropractic Associations, etc. We informed them about the Utah Chiropractic Physicians Associations' strong will to be involved with the Olympics. We represent the largest and strongest chiropractic association in the state of Utah. Many members of the association are upset with the Olympic Committee's decision to exclusively utilize medical services and not chiropractic. We believe that there is a strong need for both chiropractic and medical services. Chiropractic is the only way to restore normal n of joints, normal non-invasi- ve juxta-positio- biomechanics, increase range of motion, improve proprioreception and reduce headaches and pain without the use of performance deterring medications. We believe as a chiropractic association, that top athletes need to be 1. Medication Free, 2. sound, 3. Pain free, to perform at there very best. How would an athlete perform if they had a misaligned carpal bone causing wrist pain, or a misaligned cervical vertebrate on-si- te Salt Lake City. If there is any shared space available for any number of positions, we would like to know about it. If there is no such space, the association would be thrilled to providerent such a facility (trailertenrented space.) Please provide us with some suggestions. The association and myself truly appreciate any assistance you can provide. Dr. Patrick C. Conlin Ogden, Ut Neighbors in action against Crime Coalition An open letter to Mayor Gerald Wright, West Valley City Council, John Patterson, Chief Alan Kerstein and the West Valley News. It is an has always been the position of the Neighbors In Action Against Crime Coalition that we want police officers in the junior high schools and High schools in West Valley City. In fact, we have wanted those officers to be left in the schools for as long as possible without them being reassigned. The school resource officer at Granger High averted disaster last year when a student brought several weapons to school. Because he had gained the trust of the students, associates of this student let the resource officer know and violence was prevented. The intelligence gained through having an officer at the schools would probably lead to more solved cases in the area of property crime, theft, and drug dealing. Having officers assigned to the schools is an important part of our Weed and Seed Strategy. Our position is that the protection of our children in West Valley City should fall under the jurisdiction of the West Valley Police Department and not the Granite School District. If our tax dollars go to Granite School District to fund their police force, we have little confidence that our students will get their fair share of the pie or that their force will receive training at the same standard as the WVC Police Department. As taxpayers, we get taxed regardless of who provides the services. West Valley is a city because we as residents decided that we wanted local control. If it were legal to split a school district, we probably would have our own district by now. We want local control of the safety and security of our schools and school children. We have more confidence that our police department will deliver the services and be honest about the issues of school safety violations, gang activity, and drug arrests. The high rates of child abuse and family conflict mean many kids are in danger even in their own homes but as a community we can mandate that everyone be safe at school. School success is a protective factor that can help break the cycle of child abuse and drugs. Positive police involvement in our schools is essential to stop juvenile delinquency and community crime it its infancy and that well save us money in the long run. Page 103 of the West Valley City General Plan: Vision 2020 states that the goal is to have 2 officers for every 1000 persons. According to the 2000 Census there are 36,647 children in West Valley City. 25,123 persons are school age. We aren't asking for 50 officers or even 25, just enough to make sure these kids are safe during their school day. Page 14 under Economic Development "Issue: How education effects economic development." Lets just add the educated parents don't let their kids attend unsafe schools. The best teachers don't gravitate toward schools perceived as being unsafe. Volunteers don't come in to tutor and help raise the SAT scores in schools they feel are dangerous or where kids are out of control. page 15 'Goal: Improve education levels in West Valley City. Action: Work with Granite School District to isolate West Valley City Schools for special analyses and programs. Action: Research alternatives such as West Valley City School District, charter schools, business partnerships, etc... Action: Establish and support continuing education and ESL programs." This shows education is already a priority goal and the city is willing to go above and beyond to insure the success of West Valley Schools to make major economic improvements. As a side note, local businesses have expressed to our committee that they appreciate the police department responding to calls about truants gathering in their establishments during school hours. Weed and Seed Best Practices show the truancy is an issue best addressed by the community, the school, the police and the courts in cooperations. Page 16 Marketing West Valley City 'Goal: Put West Valley City on the Map" - we don't want to put it on the map as the location of a second 'Columbine" or because after our great success in getting gang clothing and activity out of our schools it returned when funds dried up for School Resource Officers. Let's put West Valley City on the map for its commitment to safe schools and innovative cooperation between schools and police. Page 20 Issue Self Determination - "West . Valley City's top priority should be to evaluate its policies and statutes to make certain that it has Control over its own destiny as much as possible. The following are some of the important resources to control or influence: education, water and sewer and transportation." Education was listed first. School safety is a big factor in whether children can leam without being distracted by other worries. Page 21 "Goal: Control or influence how important resources are used. - Action: Interact with... Granite School District... on a regular basis. Action: Research the feasibility andor desirability of West Valley City forming its own water and school districts." Page 30 "The City, in turn is looking more carefully at development patterns that affect the schools, this is an issue where the City and School District can work together for the welfare of the children." The county's lack of proper planing has left us with a legacy of problem neighborhoods where density is too high and gang problems have flourished. Until we can "fix the past development", the schools serving this area will be plagued by the problems of the neighborhood unless there is a sense of law and order that stops those influences at the door. We applaud West Valley City's General Plan and the community driven governing style of West Valley City, That's what makes this such a great place to live, where we as a community can take responsibility and change our future. M ichelle A Higham, President Johanna Hall, Adrian Birkett, Secretary The Neighbors in Action Against Crime. CoalitionWeed and Seed Executive Committee. : ' ! Vice-Preside- |