Show t mm Local Local theater state and regional news sees ups downs By Jsramlah SMUer in old Main Street theater through the Michael Ballam waited in checkered shorts and suspenders a Mickey Mouse hat on his head The theater stank of popcorn and rancid off-sta-ge blitter Ballam awaited As die his turn on die Capitol Theatre stage he marveled The theater was rich in gold leafing and decorative plaster-wor- k Ballam fell in love with the theater that day He still remembers the routine: Mickey Mouse’s Birthday Party: What a Holiday of the Capitol But the y Theatre had ended By the late 1950s the stage was hoarded up with a massive plywood wall to conserve heat the murals and plaster were covered in burlap and olive drab paint replaced the ornate on the theater walls Decades of disrepair haunted the hey-da- HLucsraHeraJd Journal Youth from Cache Valley rehearse for "Lea Miserabtes on March 10 in the EBen Ecdes Theatre The theater has been a part of the valley landscape for 8d yean A3 color-schem- es 80 years ’60s and ’70s It wasn’t until 1988 that the dilapidated playhouse received a second chance on life It would come from none other-thadie little boy in Mickey Mouse ears Michael Ballam whose love affair with the theater transformed a sticky movie bouse into a cultural icon of Cache Valley The Ellen Eccles Theatre renamed after the early Logan resident and philanthropist Ellen Stoddard Eccles is celebrating its 80th anniversary The theater parted its curtains for the first time on March 29 1923 Since then the floral carpets gold leafing and murals of the mythological Phoenix have all been restored “This is exactly what I had in mind” Ballam said “My dream was that the lights would never go off” That dream has beeo realized A theater is bom Editor's note: The following story was printed In The Herald Journal on March 28 1923 one day before the Capitol Theatre’s grand opening - -- The opening of the Capitol Theatre is one of the big events in die history of Cache Valley because of die intense interest being shown in this wonderful playhouse It will doubtless be impossible to care for aQ who want to attend the opening in one night -- The place wiUbein complete readiness for the openingThe beautiful carpets ate downthedis-tinctiVe drapes are hung the of war artistic lighting fixtures have been See THEATER on A14 1 Dennis M By Darrell Edward Ehriick staff writer Kohler for The Herald Journal 1 Retired officer aims to educate Utahns on dangers ills of methamphetamine Arab Street center view SMITHFIELD — What do two KUWAIT CITY Kuwait — A phrase that we have been hearing a lot about in the newspapers and on television is “The Arab Street” I can tell you about my Arab street It’s paved with bricks and a sandy wind blows a nonalcoholic 'malt beverage can across it alternating from one label printed to the other in Arabic The term “Arab Street” means what the people on the ground in the Middle East feel at any given time I can only speak about the Kuwaiti Street Hie Kuwaiti street has two lanes On one side are the people who feel that the link that was formed with the US and her allies after the invasion in 1991 is still strong This is the lane that is bring traveled by die current administration The Emir remembers the help he got in the ’ 90s as do many of the people The opinion columns are full of letters reminding the Kuwaiti people about their debt Just this week thousands of Kuwaitis took to the streets in a pro-wmarch In the other lane is a growing population that supports one fundamental view of Islam The “Arabia for the Arabs” crowd the ones who oppose women’s suffrage and supar classrooms port At the extreme side of this lane are die people responsible for the death of Michael Rene Pouliot a software engineer who was shot dead as he drove his car on Jan 21 near Doha north of Kuwait City He was killed in protest to a possible war and his name will be forgotten as die coverage war drives on This is die lane of the ‘writer of the headline from today’s paper reading “Blood trail to Baghdad” It doesn’t take an astute student of history to see die implication between the bad guys in the siege of Stalingrad and who’s seen as the bad guys now Walking down the center of the opinions speeding along the two lanes is a long line of expatriated “guest” workers who prop up the country They are more than half of dip population ami make up 81 percent of the work force They are the Phillimna maids the Bengali construction workers and the Sri Lankan tea boys for whom die cost of a single gas mask would be die equivalent of a month’s pay They are the people who just like me need to have an emergency exit visa granted under the auspices of their employers to exit die country in case of trouble These are the pev pie whose growing numbers appear daily in the newspaper as being deported for not having the proper papers in place gender-segregat- ed tle See STREET on AS machine guns 144 disposable diaand pers a parrot one Rolls-Roy511 sticks of dynamite have in ce common? Methamphetamine and Charles " ' Dlsley Illsley is a recently retired West Valley City policeman who spent die bulk of his career trying to cleanup Utah’s methamphetamiiie problem All of those items from die parrot to the Rolls-Roywere items that were seized from people involved with the drug known as ce glass ice speed 13 and crank Illsley was on hand on Thursday night to speak to a small group ' gathered at Sky View His purpose for the (Presentation was part of hisr mission: To educate Utah about the dangers of methampheta-min- e on-goi- ng “It is the No Mitch MascaroHeraid Journal Retired West Valley City police officer Charles Illsley displays a bag containing ephedrine an ingredient used in ing methamphetamine during a presentation about the drug Thursday night at Sky View High School 1 public safety threat” Illsley said He brought with him a quarter-century of his experiences and stories and he lined the auditorium stage with glass chemistry toxic chemicals guns and drugs With a wry sense of humor and Hawaiian print shirt he spoke to the audience for two hours about his life battling adrug that has its roots in World War II when many Axis countries gave their soldiers mak- gangs and confined to the West Coast now methamphetamine has become a nationwide product Children are targeted at a younger age and Illsley has seen meth addicts as young as 10 Information about die drag has also skyrocketed Uncle Fester’s “Secrets ' of Methamphetamine Manufac- ture” is now in it’s fifth edition and Web sites abound with ways to make the drag “If I wanted to be a crook the first thing I’d So is buy a computer” Illsley said But there are a lot of things that the Web sites and how-t- o books aren't telling people Methamphetamine use is highly addictive and highly destructive “It’s not particularly physically addictive but psychologically it is extremely addictive Most meth users are hooked within two methamphetamine to make them march longer eat less and have more energy “There was a time when I thought ‘Just take diem (meth users) ail to jaU and that’ll take care of the problem’” Illsley said '“Boy was I naive” In 1993 13 different meth labs were bustedin Utah Now Utah has averaged between 200 and 300 lab busts per year Illsley said thanks to many “methamphetamirie cdoks” setting up smaller labs — usually in motel rooms or on rental properties Hie drug has also spread in popularity Once thought to be strictly adrug associated with motorcycle weeks” Illsley said Illsley described the often addicts “These are folks that would cause you to grab a child and pull it close to you" Illsley said “It is almost like they have no soul” anemic- -looking Projected Utah budget surplus disappears SALT LAKE OTYfAP) — Hopes a month ago that the state would have more than a $20 million surplus in its two main accounts — the Uniform School Fund and the General Fund — have been dashed State budget officials on Friday said that differences in “economic models’’ used in tracking the state’s rillion tax collecting and rending plans really mean the state is just brdridng even And feat was right after the state Hut Commission mi Friday issued a monthly report showing the state running a $2055 million surplus Unfortunately the Tax Commission model did not include two revenue adjustments said Lynne Ward Gov Mike Leavitt’s budget director The adjustments — one of $10 million another of $7 million — mean the $2055' million surplus is really juA $355 million inessence said Ward “we don’t have a surplus Things are even They aren’t getting worse but they aren’t getting better either” Just a month ago Tax Commission 5 chief economist-Dou- g Macdonald said the state was running a $26 mil- lion surplus good news for Leavitt and legislators who’ve had to make up a $700 million revenue shortfall spread over the past two fiscal years Some legislators were so upbeat that they hoped to reopen the current budget in a June special session Oh well Wind said the state still has about $20 million sitting in its rainy day reserve fond a separate cash account that can be used to balance out the current fiscal year come June 30 if Y ynstalledIhe delightful harmony) Sk IM© r But legislators were hoping not to touch that should the state dip slightly into the red The state wants to issue millions of dollars in general obligation bonds in early summer An untouched rainy day fund would help keep Utah's top AAA bond rat- ing Should the state have to taji into that fund New York City bond rat- ing agencies could lower the state’s rating causing the state to pay more in interest on the bonds and sullying its perfect credit rating |