Show m m wifmm mmm The Herald Journal Logan Utah Monday August 3 1 998 52 5 Page Utah'S In brief A test of religious tolerance? Court turns to new mediation plan to settle child visitation disputes Polygamy issue becomes a headache for Leavitt SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — With the busiest divorce docket in the Mate the3rd District Court is using a new mediation program focus- SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Carrying out his sworn duty to uphold the Utah Constitution is becoming a public relations hot potato for Gov Mike Leavitt ing on child visitation to help resolve more cases out of court Thepikn Visitation Mediation Program passed into law by the 1997 Utah Legislature kicked off in January The program is funded by $20000 from the state and $73000 from federal grants It is now offered only in the 3rd District but several legislators hope to expand it statewide m 1999 According to a study presented to lawmakers earlier this month 61 of the 82 cases referred to the program since January were successfully mediated The notion of mediating divorces is hardly a new concept In Utah trained mediators most of them also lawyers have been sitting down with estranged couples for at least two decades as they divide possessions and work out finances With still more than half of die nation’s marriages ending in divorce die mediation business is booming But in Utah the concept of mediating child visitation problems is in its infancy The majority of disputes are still going to court said Heidi NesteL an attorney and director of the 3rd District Court's Visitation Mediation Program She hopes the pilot will change that The 3rd District program applies only to cases in which one parent hasi complained of a visitation 'order violation When the complaining parent files an order to prove why visitation should be prevented the case is referred to Nestel’s office Airport suffers radar The sticking point is Article III which mandates religious tolerance but adds this caveat: “Polygamous or plural marriages arc forever prohibited” The early Mormons’ practice of plural marriage renounced by the church in 1890 has persisted among religious splinter groups and hasn’t been prosecuted in more than 43 years Today there are an estimated 30000 polygamists in the West But an accusation of child abuse against a prominent member of a wealthy polygamist clan has brought that tolerance into question and caught the Republican governor in the middle The issue is a political religious and cultural mine field in a state where 70 percent of the governor's constituents are Mormon Leavitt a descendant of Mormon polyga mists appeared to stumble when asked about die chi! abuse case at a July 23 news confer- t wink-and-a-n- Leavitt's comments brought condemnation from a fledgling organization of women who have fled polygamy Members of Tapestry of Polygamy say the practice of men having more than one wife is inherently abusive “As it is practiced it degrades women" said Roweena Erickson a former polygamist wife and a board member of the self-hel- p group “Many women in these relationships struggle with isolation emotional abuse and poverty" she said Tapestry's stand was countered last week by the newly formed Women's Religious Liberties Union which called on Ixavitt and the Utah Legislature to repeal the ban on plural marriage On Friday the governor backpedaled front his religious freedom statement although he stresses that he docs not condone polygamy Polygamy within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints began in secret among its leaders — founder Joseph Smith had 33 wives — hut was openly practiced after the Mormons fled to the future site of Utah to escape persecution y laws Congress passed tough and the church under threat of having its assets confiscated abandoned the practice in anti-bigam- system shutdown SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Salt Lake City International Air- port's radar system crashed on Friday but no planes did during the six hourioutage Airport officials said die radar outage between 8:30 am and 2:30 pm did not put die public in danger and no flights were canceled but air traffic in and out of the airport was slowed “(The radar units) were scheduled for shutdown later that night for but it didn’t wait for them” said airfield operations managrepairs er Frank Ratliff "There was no jeopardy (to passengers) involved" Ratliff said such unexpected shutdowns are rare but die airport can continue to operate safely for short periods without its radar “It just takes a little bit longer to depart” he said “They have to have a larger separation" between planes taking off he suggestedhat it may be protected as a religious freedom despite a century of case law to the contrary “It's clear to me in this state and many others they have chosen not to aggressively prosecute it" he said “I assume there is a legal reason for that I think it goes well beyond tradition” “What needs to be cracked down on if there is to be such a crackdown is any abuses of peoples’ civil and human rights” he said 1890 Then Congress insisted the antipolygamy clause he included in the Utah Constitution when statehood was granted in 18 Modern polygamists continue to observe Mormon doctrine and arc convinced the church was wrong to abandon plural mar- riage The church disagrees polygamists are summarily excommunicated Colorado mad fell to his death Friday while hiking in Hidden Canyon Shawn Riell of Palisade Colo was scrambling up a slickrock face in canyon when he fell 30 feet suffering serious head injuries TtaeU’s unde who was hiking wife him at die time walked for 90 minutes to report the incident Puk rangers arrived and began life support A helicopter was en route to lift Tuell from the canyon when he went into cardiac arrest After an hour of CPR failed to revive 13iell the helicopter turned around and headed back to Knells Air Force Base in Las Vegas and rescue effort the body was carried out by park rangers The involved 23 people and ended at about midnight federal authority SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Gov Mike Leavitt attending a meeting of governors in Milwaukee claimed a victory in a battle with the White House over the powers that can be exercised by the federal government The White House said late Friday that it would rescind an exec- Bombing case may soon end SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A man accused in die 1991 bombing death of an boy faces sentencing next month After seven yean and three trips to the Utah Supreme Court attorneys on both sides hope the hearing will resolve die murder case against Steven Douglas Thurman Thurman 39 has pleaded guilty to intte deaths AP photo fireman puts the finishing touches on a e d fire that shut down all the lanes of Interstate 80 between Skit LakkCity ahd Park City on' Saturday afternoon Nobody was Injured but traffic was backed up for miles A motor-hom- Lake Stopper fitter fftrtatd ex-wi- fe east-boun- utive order that would have allowed Washington to assume control over' programs when its Study finds Mormons more progressive SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mormons are more progressive their community teach at a nearby college or have a published minority and religious issues but library study of social attitudes “A lot of people would be surprised by this Brigham Young When asked whether African-Americashould have the freedom to live in any neighborhood they choose or many someone who is not also African-AmericIDS members again showed greater tolerance than the national norm than the average American on less so on women’s rights and personal behavior according to university sociology professor Larry Young told an audiences at the Sunstone Symposium an nnnnal think tank discussing issues related to The Church of Jesus Ctrist of Latter-da- Saints y “They think Mormons are backwater conservatives that are intolerant Mormons score sub- stantially higher than people assume they do” with regard to civil and minority tolerance he said The study by Young and gradu- ate student Sara Jo Brown ana- lyzed 23 years of surveys on social issues They found that when subjects were asked whether an atheist communist or homosexual should be allowed to give a speech in book available in the local IDS attitudes were more progressive compared to other ns an The study was based on the General Social Surveys conducted between 1972 and 19 The National Opinion Research Center affiliated with die University of Chicago conducts die nationwide poll nearly every year Bnt Young said the trenda probably don't specifically reflect the attitudes of Utah Mormons since only about 40 and 80 Mormons were among die 1300 to 200 citizens polled and only an somewhat dated bnt cannot be changed without losing validity for historical comparison When it comes to women’s rights Young found LDS attitudes are less progressive than the rest of America and have stayed that way for 23 years The survey asked whether women should only work as homemakers if they should work when their husband can support die family whether they would vote for a woman president if abortion should be allowed in cases of rape and if abortion should be permitted for married women who do not want more too may seem LEARNINGJCFSURVIVE 1" ADOLESCENCE are comparatively less tolerant of personal moral behavior like extramarital sex premarital sex and homosexuality Also considered was a question asking Whether divorces should be easier to obtain and another asking if marijuana should be legalized Depending on the exact five-year time frame LDS Church members have been less open to these social concepts than even the most conservative Protestants Young discovered As a whole Young said the nation is becoming more socially tolerant of all the issues studied agencies disagreed with state and local governments about money individual rights federal property tribal governments and other disputed policies The news came as The National Governors Association's 90th annual meeting opened in Milwaukee Leavitt requested the change last week when he testified on behalf of the governor's organization to a US House of Representatives subcommittee “I'm very relieved they have essentially withdrawn it” Leavitt told The Salt Lake Tribune “It means wo can go hack to the beginning start again and do it right" The battle began on Max 4 when the White House published the executive order in Washing1 ton's continual!) updated rule book the Federal Register Stale and local officials xxere stunned because it seemed to reverse a decade-lon- g trend toward giving state and local governments more power and decentralizing government The order never actually took effect It was scheduled to he enacted Aug 12 Last week Leavitt testified against the order on behalf of the National Governor s Assviation — along with representatives from the US Conferenee of Mayors the National League of Cities the National Conference of State Legislatures and other organizations On Tticsday the Utah governor told the House Subcommittee on National Economic Growth Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs that the new federalism policy was “wrongheaded and unacceptable" children Finally Young found Mormons Cache County Fair Amusement Rides All-Da- C Pam y 10— estimated 40 percent of those were from Utah The questions i The felony child abuse saw involves John Daniel Kingston a piommcnt mcmhci o a polygamist clan that rcxoiiill has as many as 1 000 members and business holdings worth up to SI 30 million Kingston 43 is accused of whipping his daughter with a belt alicr she rebelled against an arranged marriage to his brother Kingston has pleaded inmvem rescinds order on 12-ho- ur County boy was killed with ettar:bomb mdMflarldl Cook who was having an affair with Thurman's arrival of the Mormons to the valley on July ?4 White House ep first-degse- e Plural woes? Utah Gov Michael Lcmvii holds the state flag as he and his wife Jaralyn wave during the Days of '47 parade ce'cbiatmg the Governor says he forced fed change Colorado hiker falls to his death ZION NATIONAL PARK (AP) — A I'lii tv Cterk’s & Treasurers Office until Aug 5" CO Valley Montessori School ' kx M Skill Building Croup for Teenage Girls 7th tr 8th GRADE GIRLS Thursday MO pm 20 27 Sept 3 10 Place: Cache Valley Medical Cflnk Aug ust 6 13 MS North Mai Fm: OPEN HOUSE Tuesday August1 4 J Ufa 15:00 - 7:00 pnr - $15 per session or $75 for block of six Cheating an opportunity for chiildren to fulfill their potential Low StudentTeacher Ratio t' KINDERGARTEN REGISTER NOW AGE ART LANGUAGE MATH MOVEMENT MUSIC PRACTICAL LIFE SCIENCE SENSORIAL ZOOLOGY Virginia Anderson Director AAiS Certified 17 Years Experience AM and PM Sessions Available ISSN 100 W loans 75M60I a copy i ' BALDWIN OPTICAL "DOCTOR RECOMMENDED OPTICIANS” Cache Valley Mall 0 MON - SAT 10 AM - 9 PM 752-611- 7SL76SS iw V m |