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Show Loc gait ak t ribunr n O 01 iL Sunday Morning Section R UP&L Plan May Cut Rates 21 Bob Ottum, His Beat Proposal by PUC Has Wide Effect By Guy Boulton Tribune Staff Writer Electric bills could drop a whopping 21 percent for more than 27,200 small businesses under a plan to restructure Utah Power & Light Co. rates for its different classes of customers. Here's a civic issue that tiptoes right up and whispers in your ear: Darling, it asks: Could we? And then it asks: IfI Should we? Good questions. y The issue involved or I is could we should we stage the 1996 Winter Games here in Salt Lake City? I mean, assuming that you jrfr Residential customers without tional Olympic Families from the Great Westside Ownerbuilt Project free-spendi- traveling, Olympic Feasibility Follies that hit a series of pubthe road this week lic hearings around the Wasatch Front to gather opinions and reactions to the Olympic bidding big-bor- e highway tunnel drilled through between Big and Little Cottonwood canyons: You drive up one and come down the other. Picture the U. of U. as an Olympic Village and the State Fairgrounds as a press and media center. . The Olympic idea has got class. Its bold and more than a little brash, in the Utah pioneer spirit, and I think we ought to bid for the Games. Well. With just a couple of reservations. In their eagerness not to offend anybody, the feasibility folks have considered such nutball options as conducting opening ceremonies at BYUs stadium in Provo and Nordic events as far off as Ogden's Trappers Loop, wherever that is. Wrong. If the 96 Olympics are awarded to Salt Lake City, they doggone well ought to be staged here. Listen: Lake Placid didnt build its ski jumps in Buffalo, or run its biath-alo- n in Niagara Falls. Nor did Sarajevo put its skating rink in Dubrovnik and commit spectators to endless bus trips over questionable roads in winter storms. Indeed, if its going to be Salt Lake City, then let's make it just that with venues close enough so that we can practically lurch from event to event. The secret of a successful Olympics is in its size; intimacy is everything. That way, an Olympic community spirit develops. So lets make a run for it After all, I've covered every Winter Olympics since Grenoble in 1968 and I'd like to do this one here at home in my bedroom slippers. Advance Clock? 1X0? Void re Late Well, did you remember to set your clocks ahead one hour0 Daylight-savintime took effect across the county at 2 a m. g Sunday. The change, instituted during World War I to save energy used for lighting in the evening, now has the effect of providing extra daylight for golf, tennis, barbe- cues and other recreational suits 1 pur- i and other community officials celebrated the completion I of a neighborhood Saturday while standing around (and on) one of 14 houses the homeowners constructed themselves. New Neighbors Pitch In to Build Homes By Steve Eaton Tribune Staff Writer There are no new kids on the block in the Great Westside Subdivision," even though all the families there just moved in. When city officials and others showed up Saturday morning for an official ribbon-cuttin- g ceremony, at 1000 S. Navajo (1350 West), they spoke to a group of homeowners who acted as if they were old friends. Almost nine months ago, 14 qualified" families were selected for the owner-buihousing project. Each lt attended Thursday morning's breakfast presentation to the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau. (Breakfast? It was $5 for a Danish and coffee, with a fruit cup on the side). And I must ray, these people didnt exactly come roaring to their feet and throwing their hats into the air. Perhaps its because some of the Olympic figures make your kneecaps jump: Everything comes in millions. Like $15 million to build two ski jumps. Or was it $i9 million? No matter. More millions to build bobsled, luge and Nordic stuff. But not to worry, because the committee hopes that TV and broadcast rights will bring in maybe $385 million and well all end up wallowing in a sinful surplus, a la Los Angeles. Other statistics are just as staggering. Try to picture 850 (eight hundred and fifty!) leased or rented buses to carry spectators and athletes to and from competition sites. Think of a I electric heat also could expect a decline in their power bills, but how much is still an issue. The Division of Public Utilities, the state agency that monitors investor-owne- d utilities, proposes a 3.5 percent decrease for residential customers without electric heat. The Committee of Consumer Services, the state agency that represents residential customers and small businesses, proposes a 9.7 percent cut. UP&L rates, which are set by the PSC, differ among such groups as residential customers, residential customers with electric heat, commercial customers and large industrial customers. The rates are based on the cost of providing electricity to each class of customers. The goal behind revamping UP&L's rates is to bring them more in line with the actual costs, UP&Ls total revenues, would be unscathed by restructuring its rates. The lower rates for small businesses and residential customers without electric heat would be offset by higher rates for UP&Ls large industrial customers. The division and the committee agree UP&Ls rates need to be restructured. They contend small businesses and residential customers without electric heat are subsidizing what UP&Ls largefinddstrial customers pay for electricity: ( For example, studies by UP&L and See B-- Column 4 ; and your neighbors and the Interna- Committee all agree that this is, indeed, the place. Imagine it! The parade of nations right here in town. Balloons and bunting and banners and the heady thump of big bass drums. Flags of all countries and those giant Olympic rings and the Russians marching about in their sable hats. And wave upon wave of visitors scattering money as they go. Ahh, big bucks. The sum of $138 million in Olympic tourist spending has been mentioned. And soberly, too. Thatll buy an awful lot of souvenirs. You know: Brightly colored Angel Moroni sweatshirts and those cunning little copper ashtrays made to look like the Bingham open-pi- t mine. But the final choice is up to you. To Olympic or not to Olympic? No, really, were serious. My two opening questions, Could we and Should we, make up the theme of the April 28, 1985 Page 1 programs success family put $1,000 down and signed a contract stipulating they pitch in 40 hours a week until everyones house in the neighborhood was completed, said Kathy Sheaffer, executive director of Salt Lake Neighborhood Housing Services. to Mr. Caulfield, who is a carpenter. that followed, the group went through good and bad times while building the homes. Dennis Caulfield, the project manager, helped by providing some direction and advice to the novice carpenters. One homeowner, Robert Asker-lungave much of the credit for the In the months While the buildings were constructed, some friendships also came together. Neighbors know each other in the "Great Westside Subdivision, they said. "It will be kind of like living in a dorm, Ms. Askerlund said when talking of life in the friendly new neighborhood. After most of the officials and the press left, neighbors could be seen going from house to house as if boundary lines had been erased. We have all got a stake in each other's house," Mr. Askerlund said. The construction loan on the project came through a community development block grant fund, the ad- ministration funds came from Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation and several local financial institutions provided the permanant financing, Ms. Sheaffer said. City property the homes are on will belong to the homeowners if they live there for more than five years. Each building is appraised at See B-- Column 5 Guilty? Sure , But What Could One Do As Chaos Gripped Ravaged Saigon? By Cathy Free Tribune Staff Writer Dick Mitchell felt guilty, sitting on the last helicopter to fly out of the d city of Saigon. As he looked from his window at fires raging from bombings below, he could only think of one thing. He was supposed to meet his South Vietnamese friends at the embassy gate. He was supposed to get them out. He didnt. But, what more could he do? What more could anybody do? It was too late. Saigon was falling. Mr. Mitchell was offered a swig of Jim Beam whisky from a Marine, sitting next to him in the crowded chopper. He took two swigs. He needed it. After nearly two years in Saigon, he was on his way home to the land of g the free. The red, white and blue. champagne and all the apple pie he could eat. But he was not pleased. The former assistant Air Force attache at the United States Embassy in Saigon was angry. Free-flowin- How Could They? How could my government let the South Vietnamese down? asked Mr. Mitchell. How would we leave them behind, to die in the dust? To be taken as prisoners and put to work digging ditches? Today, he still asks these questions, but there is no one answer. There are many answers. Perhaps too many. And, none of them tell me what I wish I could hear, said Mr. Mitchell. I want to hear that it wasnt our fault, that there wasnt anything we could do. But, it was our fault. We could, and should, have helped our South Vietnamese allies get out of Saigon. We shouldnt have waited until the last minute to try and get them out. We left too many behind. He is now in the real estate business in Park City, but to Mr. Mitchell, an Ogden native, it seems like yesterday, not 10 years ago, that he was running to catch the last lift out of Saigon. He watched the city crumble like a box of old cookies. He ran from the cries of those left at the gates; from those who would soon have North Vietnamese soldiers marching through their streets and sitting in their nightclubs instead of Americans. He ran, and he felt sick to his stomach. He felt guilty. On April 29, 1975, U.S. Marines only expected a few hundred South Vietnamese to show up at the embassy for evacuation. Instead, thousands were waiting outside the gates, all fighting for the same thing: a ticket out of Saigon. The embassy tennis court was turned into a landing pad and Mr. Mitchell spent the next 12 hours dodging gunfire and loading refugees into choppers, which flew to aircraft carriers in the gulf. But, there were too many people, not enough helicopters. And time was running out. The last helicopter was about to take off and the Vietnamese behind the gates knew it. Grabbed at Embassy Officials They desperately grabbed at the shirts and pant legs of embassy officials leaving the compound. Many scaled the embassy gates in a frantic last attempt to escape the approaching North Vietnamese Army. Many managed to hold onto the bottom of the freedom flight choppers, but later, fell to their deaths in the ocean. To some, death in the pursuit of freedom was deemed a better fate than living under the torturous conditions brought to Saigon when the opposition rolled their tanks and new laws into South Vietnam. Women offered their daughters in marriage to See B-- Column 1 Dick Mitchell briefly pauses after 12 hours of loading South Vietnamese refugees onto evacuating helicopters in 1975. LDS Church Publishes Controversial 1830 Letter Editors Note: This Is the first of a series examining early Mormon documents that hove come to light. two-po- By Dawn Tracy Tribune Staff Writer A letter suggesting magic played a the founding of Mormonism has been donated to the Church of JeSaints. sus Christ of Latter-da- y Church officials have now made the entire contents of the document available to the public. The letter reportedly was written by Martin Harris, revered by Mormons as a special witness" to heavenly origins and truth of Mormonism. Mr. Harris said in the 1830 letter to newspaper editor W.W. Phelps that church founder Joseph Smith was at first prevented from obtaining sacred golden plates by an "old spirit" that had transfigured itself into a while salamander " role in Casts Doubt? Some say the letter casts doubt on the traditional, idealized portrait of Mr. Smith and on official stories of the founding of the LDS Church Others contend the letter can never be traced to Mr. Hams with certainty, while still others maintain the ment is a reflection of folk magic of the time. In a First Presidency statement being issued to Mormons Sunday, Second Counselor Gordon B. Hinckley said he accepts the judgments of an examiner that there are no indications the letter is a forgery, although, no one can be certain that Martin Harris wrote the document." This does not preclude the possibility that it may have been forged at a time when the Church had many enemies," said Mr. Hinckley in the statement. It is, however, an interesting document of the times" that has nothing to do with the authenticity of Mormonism Steve Christensen, Mormon bishop and businessman, donated the white salamander" letter to the LDS Church April 12. He said he purchased the letter last year from LDS collectors Mark Hoffman and Lyn Jacobs. The document had been part of a stamp collection in New England Lives Gave Real Test The real test of the faith which both Martin Harris and W W Phelps had in Joseph Smith and his work is found in their lives," said Mr Hinckley, in the sacrifices they made for See 1 B-- Column Tbe following is a text of the original letter Martin Harris sent to W. H. Phelps Palmyra. Oct 23d Dear Sir 1830 Your letter of yesterday is received & I hasten to answer as fully as I can Joseph Smith Jr first come to my notice in the year 1824. in the summer of that year I contracted with his father to build a fence on my property! in the corse of that work I aproach Joseph & ask how it is in a half day you put up what requires your father & 2 brothers a full day working together0 he says I have not been with out assistance but can not say more only you better find out. the next day I take the older Smith by the arm & he says Joseph can see any thing he wishes by looking at a stone Joseph often sees Spirits here with great kettles of coin money it was Spirits who brought up rock because Joseph made no attempt on their money I latter dream I converse with spirits which let me count their money when I awake I have in my hand a dollar coin which I take for a sign Joseph describes what I seen in every parti-clar- j says he the spirits are greived so I through bark the dollar In the fall of the year 1827 I hear Joseph found a gold bible I take Joseph aside & he says it is true I found it 4 years ago with my stone but only just the old spirit come got it because of the enchantment to me 3 times in the same dream & says dig up the gold but when I take it up the next morning the spirit transfigured himself from a white salamander in the bottom of the hole and struck me 3 times & held the treasure & would not let me have it because I lav it down to cover over the hole when the spirit says do not Joseph says when can I have it0 the lay it down spirit says one year from today if you obay me. look to the stone after a few days he looks the spirit says bring your brother Alvin. Joseph says he is dead. shall I bring what remains0 but the spirit is gone. Joseph goes to get the gold bible but the spirit says you did not bring your brothe- r- you can not have look to the stone Joseph looks but can not see who to bring the spirit says I tricked you agai- n- look to the stone. Joseph looks & sees his wife. on the 22d day of I give Joseph $50 to Sept 1827 they get the gold bible move him down to Pa Joseph says when you visit me I win give vou a sign. he gives me some hirogly phics I take them to Utica Albany & New York. in the last place Dr Mitchel gives me a introduction to Professor Anthon says he. they are short hand Egyption the same what was used in ancent times bring me the old book & I will translate! says I. it is made of precious I can not read a gold & is sealed from view says he. scaled book - Joseph found some giant silver specti-clewith the plates he puts them in a old hat & in the darkness reads the words & in this way it is all translated & written down - about the middle of June 1829 & DaJoseph takes me together with Oliver Cowdrey our names vid Whitmer to have a view of the plates are appended to the book of Mormon which I had printed with my own money - space & time both prevent me from writing mote at presant if there is any thing further you w ish to inquire 1 shall attend to it Yours respectfully Martin Harris itl - s 1 T f. |
