Show Despite win Aggies have work left to do — B1 'aHi'c-ji-iii JjMSa VoL 93’ No?259 1 Monday September! Weather Partly cloudy with chance of showers — PageAlO 01 — A3 1 6 2002 iHealthtcoverdge) Superintendents hard nnrrffirrftn J lyJ UIJLl j! n to find for Utah schools mmm SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah school boards once got more applications than they could shake a stick at when hiring a superintendent Now they’re out beating the bush- Districts here are feeling the effects of a national superintendents shortage It can be a thankless job “It’s a meat grinder" Granite Superintendent Stephen told the Deseret News in a story published Sunday “You can Ron-nenka- Study: Workers losing out on health benefits Logan? Utahl© 2002f$50 Bridgerland’s Daily Newspaper es Update Cache County schools have kids on strings VOTT get ground up in this business pretty tors The finding indicates more open- ings for the top jobs across the country But research shows fewer people aregroomed to fill them The nation's schools face a critical shortage applicants for principal-ship- s particularly in junior high and high schools according to a 2001 report issued through the Educational Resources Information Center Utah is starting to feel the pain In 1986 the Granite Board of Education took more than 25 superinten fast” Local and national officials are looking for ways to entice more educators into leadership positions But some say the solution lies in society politics and attitude The national shortage is partly attributed to age In 2000 80 percent of the nation’s superintendents were at or nearing retirement age according to “Career Crisis in the Superintendency” issued by the American Association of School Administra dent applications board president Lynn Davidson said Ten years later they had about 15 “I think the quality (of applicants) is still good” Davidson said “It's just the numbers are down” Two school districts are conducting national superintendent searches Salt Lake City's hired firm has taken 12 inquiries with months left in the process spokesman Jason Olsen said jf See SCHOOLS on A10 Regents OK higher ed status for technical ed WASHINGTON (AP) — Future retirees should expect to coyer substantially more if not all of the costs of their health care not covered by Medicare as employers increasingly reduce retirement medical benefits Few workers today are getting ready for this significant change and may have to consider putting off retirement says an author of a new ' study on the issue By 2031 companies are expected to pay less than 10 percent of total medical expenses for retirees as part of actions already taken says the report being released Monday by Watson Wyatt Worldwide a human resources consulting firm that works with employers1 Large employers now typically pay more than half of total retiree medical expensesBut increasing health care costs are forcing companies to scale back how much they are willing to offer “The burden on future retirees to pay for their own medical costs is increasing dramatically and far too few employees are prepared for r " Utah’s State Board of Regents approved it series pf proposals Friday that will pro-- " pel technical education ' squarely intothe realm of higher education Since the Utah College of Applied Technology became operational under HB 1003 one year ago questions have abounded about the institution’s place in Utah’s System of Higher Education Prior to the formation of the UCAT the state's 10 technology cen- ters were administered by the State Office of Education along with Utah elementary ' middle and high schools Friday at tire group’s annual meeting at Utah State University in Logan the Regents approved three competency- based associate degrees of Applied Technology to be offered by the UCAT The degrees are in Comput- -' er Aided Drafting and Design these looming changes” said Sylvester J Schieber Watson Wyatt vice president and an author of the study “Retirees will have no choice but to assume greater responsibility for ‘planning for medical costs during their retirement including consideration of increased personal savings and even delayed retirement" Schieber said About 20 percent of employers studied have eliminated retiree medical plans for new hires and 17 percent will require new hires to pay the full premium for coverage the report said Other companies are capping their contributions linking them to die retiree’s length of service or imposing stricter minimum-servic- e requirements It found 45 percent of employers cap contributions for new hires while 39 percent do so for current employees Only one in four employers cap contributions for current retirees The median employer contribution cap of $2000 for current post-6-5 retirees — that is those who have Medicare coverage — drops to $1740 for future retires The median of $4450 for current retirees drops to $3900 for pre-6- 5 future retirees The study says employers face a particular problem in providing health benefits for post-6- 5 retirees because of how their plans wrap around Medicare and says Medicare itself should be reformed to provide better coverage The study is based on benefit plans of 56 large employers with at least 5000 employees The growing population of retirees rising life expectancies and uncertain business profitability also are contributing to the trend But workers are being confronted EE LucenVHerald Janice and LaMar Spademan stand outside their home in and have lived in Richmond all their lives They have lived in that house for some 70 years and started planting t the flowers some time in the Richmond couple’s yard pleases many By Tiffany Erickson staff writer C6 Obituaries C4 Opinion C2 Sports wwwhjnewscom v A8 A4 B1 Richmond mid-198- 0s he house is beautiful the flowers are stunning and the smells in the air are as sweet as a florist’s shop It’s the result of a dedicated Richmond man who likes to keep things looking nice and isn’t afraid of hard work Janice and LaMar Spademan are the owners of the house with all the flowers right on the west side of US Hwy 1 in Richmond The couple were high school sweethearts 89-9- Good Neighbors when the Spackmans’ sons took over the farm work and LaMar - retired “He (LaMar) said he was going to retire and I said ‘No he's not” said Janice “He’s been planting the flowers ever since” LaMar' who has just celebrated his 85th birthday said that he’s had three loves in his life: his horses Janice and his flowers Years ago he had a draft team and his main hobby was horse pulling at fairs He has a room full of trophies to show for it although after having back and neck problems he had to quit and turned to planting flowers and beautifying his yard But that still didn’t stop him from winning contests About five years ago the S packmans entered a contest in which they took pictures of their flowers and Were judged After hot hearing any results for months Janice had all but forgotten about it when a letter See YARD on A10 - Information Technology and Medical Assisting These will be the first complete competency-base- d dates degrees offered by the Utah System of Higher Education and among the first such degrees offered in the nation according to David Buhler of ' the Utah System of Higher Education Cecelia Foxley commissioner of Higher Education for Utah said the Regents had ample information in advance of the Friday meeting to make their decision: The new degrees will fill a niche in the state without detracting from the other institutions of higher education Foxley said The degrees serve areas separate from Utah State’s mission and role Foxley said and it the competency- based technology training non-cred- See TECII on A8 aim in Iraq: Altering Mideast politics By Peter Grier The Christian Science Monitor Most in Utah ready for war WASHINGTON— Any US effort to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein could end up changing much more than one nation’s gov erning regime In net some administration V Indox Classifieds Comics Movies Journal Helping make valley beautiful See HEALTH on A8 4 i By Arrin Brunson staff writer Saudi bases open to US — Page9 v officials believe that a successful operation could tip Robert Zirgulis holds a sign calling for the assasthe geopolitical balance of the sination of Iraqi leader Saddam Husseiri while Ns son Erik 17 left and others urge passing entire Middle East in the US-favo- r It might spread democracy motorists to take “symbolic" shots at the Iraqi leader in west Los Angeles on Sept 11 throughout a region that has sel- anti-Husse- in '' SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Most in Utah say they’re ready for war with Iraq according to a new public opinion poll The Salt Lake Tribune spoke to 1358 registered voters two i out of three said they favored military intervention in Iraq if necessary to oust Saddam Hus- sein Another 14 percent did not I rule out military action but said not at this point Only 12 per "'w IJ s X"- dom experienced it before optimists say while easing violence and lowering the price of oiL in the baigain In contrast pessimists hold that a move against Hussein could light fires throughout (me of the Israeli-Palestini- V an cent were against it period' Eight percent were unsure Nearly the same percentage of people — 67jpercent — said they do not view opposing or1 criticizing Bush’s war rhetoric or other policies £ as unpatriotic And only 3 per-- : cent were unsure about their m 'stand See SURVEY on A10 wfrr most flammable areas of the world threatening autocrats in Jordan and Saudi ' Arabia while turning ordinary Arabs against America for years pro-Weste- rn See IRAQ on A10 |