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Show CNN WEST, CORF. 3322 SO. 3RD. EAST SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84115 The Utah Senate, by a vote of 15 to 12, killed the controversial School Reorganization Bill on Feb. 19. The vote was taken on the floor of the Senate before packed galleries. The bill would have made mandatory the consolidation of North and South Sanpete School Districts and the Summit County School Di- MANTI MESSP Volume 89 Number 34 MANTI, UTAH 84642, THURSDAY, stricts. FEBRUARY 27, 1975 15? A large majority of local school patrons had been strongly opposed to the measure contending that the consolidation would not be to the best educational advantage of students, and maintaining that such an issue should be determined by local determination, rather than at the state level. The bill was supported by the Utah Education Association Executive Committee. The Utah Legislature in its first session on January 13, 1975 began a discussion of reorganization of Sanpete and Summit County School Districts. The legislature soon after its opening date began to work on Senate Bill 85 which forced the reorganization of North and South Sanpete School Districts, along with South Summit, Park City and North Summit School Districts. At this time both Summit and Sanpete Counties began to organize to fight the reorganization issue. The superintendents in each of these districts were told that this was going to be a real issue and that the State Board of Education had already voted in a meeting held on October 17, 1974 at Bottle Hollow in Duchesne County to support the reorganization issue. Sanpete County had two committees which functioned very well in alerting the people as to what was taking place with Senate Bill 85 on a local level. The SPEARS Committee in North Sanpete did a great deal of leg work in getting resolutions of local civic clubs and businesses to oppose reorganization. They organized each community into a unit to inform the people on the issue. South Sanpete, along with members of the North Sanpete District and local PTAs, met in a committee under the direction of Dr. LaMar Stewart to inform the people of what was happening and whom to write to to oppose reorganization. Under the direction of these two committees many local citizens wrote to and communicated with members of both the Senate and House of Representatives of the Utah State Legislature. During this whole reorganization issue the local boards of education in both North and South Sanpete School Districts were very active. This issue required a good deal of extra time and effort on the part of each per copy Patriarch Vernon Kunz Is Mystery Personality Vice President and cashier of the Manti Branch of the First State Bank, Vernon Kunz was the Mystery Personality last week. Born in Bern, Idaho, Mr. Kunz has been a resident of Sanpete County since 1946. Of swiss ancestry, he attended Utah State University, where he majored in economics. He was invited to go into the banking business, which profession he entered in 1946 and has made it his career. He is a World War II veteran, having served for 26 months in the South Pacific Theatre. He served as South Sanpete Stake President for 14 years, being released in 1972. Since then he has been appointed as a Stake Patriarch, a position he shares with Glen J. Nielson of Shelly Pouheii Is Lucky Ephraim, Reading is one of his hobbies, but he admittedly doesnt have as much time to devote to it as hed like. Last year he and his wife, Edna, were able to take a trip to the Caribbean, which the enjoyed very much. Weeks Winner Shelly Poulsen of Manti was the winner of this weeks Mystery Personality contest. Her name was drawn at a drawing held in Doyles Hardware Monday morning. Shelly had correctly identified the personality for the week as Patriarch Vernon Kunz. Shelly had 13 out of 14 clues listed correctly, thus she won a $7.50 merchandise certificate. If all clues had been listed she would have richer by $29.00. That $29.00 will be added to the $14.50 bonus for this week, making the total bonus for all clues $43.50. Adding the bonus to the $7.50 which can be won by correctly identifying the personality and having your name drawn means that a winner Mail bankers are characterized as hard-nose- d businessmen. Vernon is a businessman all right. He takes good care of his job -- - but he is so pleasant and affable that its truly a pleasure to do business with him. A credit to his community, his church and himself is Vernon Kunz. Fiddler on the Roof n Scheduled for Re-ru- Fiddler on the of Snow College Roof--on- e Theaters ing? come For after a four years absence. The popular musical, still a favorite on both the stage and television, will play March of our major successess--wil- l back 19, 20, 21, 22 in the newly renovated Snow Auditorium. Fiddler is Why one thing, e long-tim- return- its was one big suc- can argue with suc- Vernon Kunz John Open In Ephraim A new business will be opensoon. The in Ephraim Montgomery Ward Catalog Sales Agency, formerly at Nephi has been purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Fred H. Officer and will be moved to Ephraim. Mr. Officer said that a survey conducted by Montgomery Ward had indicated that there was greater potential in Ephraim than where the agency has been located and therefore it would be moved to Ephraim. The business will be located at 19 North Main, the location formerly occupied by the IGA ing store. Similar to other of the Wards agencies, the store will handle lines of major appliances, name brands of TV, stereo, radios, kitchen appliances, etc., as well as seasonal clothing, lawn and garden equipment, tires and bat- teries. Mr. Officer said that the agency would also be a service center for those products sold. He said all kinds of major appliances would be serviced. Watch for further announcement of the formal opening. Mr. Officer comes from Oklahoma and his wife is from Salt Lake City. He recently retired from the U.S. Army. His family has been living in Ephraim since August. S. cess? For another thing, Fidseems to fit the present e mood. It portrays some values, like family life and loyalty and love, and people are hungry for those val- ues. Theyve been asking for n a of the Fiddler. Joseph W. Crane and Mr. Haslam are co - directing Fiddler. McLoyd Ericksen is the musical director. Marlene Johnson, Moab, is student director, and Leanne Tucker, Salt Lake City, choreographer. The cast has been selected and is now rehearshing. And full, gray youre right--thbeard Richard Haslam is growing has significance. Hes again going to', play Tevyee, re-ru- at the Fiddler. His wife, Golde, will be played by Kristin Kelly, Portland. Others having major roles in the cast are Barbara Olsen, Ephraim, as Tzeitel; Ruth Hart, Preston, Hodel; LeAnn Chava; Porter, Mt. Pleasant, Peggy King, Ephraim, Sprintze; Mary Freedman, Salt Lake City, Bielke; Annette Anderson, Moroni, Jon Clark, Magna, Yenta; Model; Roger Barton, Ferron, Perchik, and Doug Vander-grif- t, Bountiful, Lazar Wolf. Fiddler audiences will find Snow Auditorium carpeting, an orchestra pit. And they will hear some ites like Matchmaker, SunMiracle of Miracles, rise, Sunset and If I Were a Rich Man. Staley Will Speak Institute Forum Date Changed to Thursday dler old-tim- New Business Will walk off with $51.00. Remember easy to enter. Just write down the name of who you think the Mystery Personality is and list as many clues as you can find. Clues are hidden in participating merchants ads throughout the paper. Shelly will tell you that you have to read all the ads and look closely. Drop your entry in one of the boxes either in Ephraim or Manti. This week boxes will be at Manti Messenger office, it Richard Haslam, cesses, Snow Theater chairman, said. And who could LDS Institute Forum will be held on THURSDAY, February 27th instead of Friday. The this week Mumps Vaccine Available at Health Clinics The Central Utah District Health Department will offer mumps vaccine at the regular immunization clinics during March and April. This vaccine is especially recommended for boys over 12 years of age who have not had the disease nor been immunized. The regular clinic schedule is as follows: Ephraim: March 5 at the City Building 10:00 to 12:00; Ephraim: April 2, City Building, 10:00-12:0Manti: March 12, is, A Looks Former at 0; 10:00-12:0- 0. Gunnison: March 19, Stake GunniChapel, 10:00-12:0son: April 16, Stake Chapel, 0; 10:00-12:0- 0. For further please call 5 p.m. 3-- 835-21- the of Manti: basement, 10:00-12:0April 9, Library basement, information between Priest-Mon- k Restored Gospel. Staley was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and received his schooling there, graduating from the University of Pittsburg with a Ph.D. degree. He has served as a deacons advisor, and at present is an elders quorum counselor. He has served on the Presidents Poverty Board, and at present is the President of the Board of the Utah Institute for Neurological Development. He is serving in the ASA and the Pacific Association. Staley served in the military service in the Monastery. He spent 25 years as a Catholic priest and 32 years as a Benedictine Monk. He is the 0. Library Hardware, John S. Staley,, professor of Sociology at the Brigham Young University, will be the speaker. The title of his talk CLASP pro- is the author of gram. Interracial Marriage, and No More Strangers. He is married and the father of five children. Everyone is reminded that the Forum addresses will be broadcast over KSVC radio, 980 on your dial. These will be on the air at 3:10 each Sunday afternoon. He a popularized View from the Red Point, account of the beginnings of Utah, by Albert Antrei, is being published serially in the Manti Messenger and Ephraim Enterprise. A significant historical document, View from the Red Point is fascinating reading. Readers will likely want to clip each installment and combine them at the completion of publication into a complete narrative.) (Editors Note: South-Centr- al Foreword In 1940 I settled with my wife at the foot of a ridge which culminates in the Red Point, a place where many much earlier settlers dug out the clay from which building dobies were made. One can get a good view of Manti from the Red Point, but for nearly thirty years it hardly ever occurred to me that this quiet history, or site, my wifes hometown, had a that it had any kind of history at all, for that matter. The unexpected drawing power of the local pageant in Manti called The Mormon Miracle led to a need to entertain visitors during the daylight hours of the Pageant week, and this need struck a spark of some kind. Thus developed an effort to write a popular account of the settlement of the community of Manti and its sister settlements in Sanpete County for reading to tourists at morning and afternoon getherings. The narrative grew like Topsy, from a brief outline of 1500 words to something now of novella size. Corrections of fact and fancy had to be made as soon as discovered, and the narrative was extended as both knowledge and interest increased. (To my surprise, a number of listeners asked me for a copy, even after listening to me read it for two hours, but the only copy I had was the one in my hand. There was not even a carbon copy. Such continued requests prompted me to seek some kind of publication for it.) By no means all of the interesting human events that filled Manti have been the colorful lives of the pioneers of early-da- y included. It was never the intent of the writer to make a lifes work of this, as such inclusions might require, and this is still not my intent. I will leave that, and any necessary revisions, to somebody else. south-centr- al 15 to 12. The South Sanpete Board of Education acknowledged the help from many involved citizens who contributed to the defeat of Senate Bill 85. It would have been impossible to kill this measure without the support of the local people and their determination to keep their childrens education close to home. A special thanks was given to all of the newspapers in Sanpete County who were so willing to disseminate information and editorial comment vital to this issue. Sterling Scholar Program Needs Financial Support Har- mons Western Wear, Embers Cafe, Tamis Boutique and and Country Motors. may make an entry in each one of the boxes but if there are two entries in the same box for one person, that person will be disqualified. Children as well as adults may enSalon You Sterling Scholars of Central Utah is not a school-create- d program, but a program initiated by private citizens with cooperation from the schools. To survive it needs the support of private businesses and individuals who support its ob- the Deseret News and KSL sponsor and support that program in its entirety, the local program is supported by private donation and by county and school appropriations. ter. To support Sterling Scholars There were 14 clues desfor 1975, $900 is needed from Vernon Kunz last cribing explains Demont H. the South Sanpete area. To jectives, week. They were: released Howell and Woodrow Beck, meet these needs, donations are 1972, notary public, born in Scholar representasolicited from private businesSterling Idaho, Swiss ancestry, served tives from South Sanpete. ses, service clubs, and indiin South Pacific and World The program exists to enviduals. War II vet, enjoys reading, Such institutions as the First courage a higher level of performer stake president, formance among high school State Bank at Manti and the 155 E. cashier, students by giving status and Gunnison Valley Bank have been 2nd So. (his address, which we consistent recognition to their academic supporters. The hid at the bottom of Stubbs and artistic accomplishments. Commissioners County Sanpete is is the one thatShelly It is felt that the high level and the South Sanpete School USU missed, gets interest, of secondary school athletic Board have also voted a specgrad, took Caribbean trip. e achievement is largely stimuial appropriation to Get your entries in by Satlated by the recognition athletes the program healthy. But keep The boxes are urday evening. receive in spectator sports. such a project needs and depicked up early Monday mornWhile achievement in lanserves a broader base of coning for the drawing. tribution according to memguage, science, business, art and eight other areas is no bers of the committee. opportunEach of the six school disDies less important, little ity is afforded in our present tricts included in the program Alfred Farrel Funk, Manti, school structure to give reare represented by one high 83, died February 22, 1975. cognition in these areas. school principal and one lay Funeral services were held For this purpose, the Sterling citizen. There is also one repFebruary 26, 1975 in the Manti Scholars of Central Utah was resentative of school superinSouth Ward. Burial was in the created. It was patterned after tendents. Manti City Cemetery. A comIn each of the past two years, the Deseret News-KSSterling plete obituary will be published Scholar program. But whereas the winner in the area of gen next week. ad)--th- one-tim- Farrel Funk L A View from the Red Point" Although all efforts have been made in accordance with facts as known to the writer, the tone of the writing itself is personal. It was not aimed at professional historians, but at ordinary people who either do not usually read much history, or else may be of that variety called buffs. I have described Mantis history as but if anybody is looking for a hype of TV walkdown tale in front of saloons, he had better look elsewhere. The type at Manti was more realistic than the hackneyed TV western, although the motives for coming to this place were much more concerned with idealism. The stories of Mormon settlement, in or out of the Salt Lake Valley, have never really made it yet in the literature of western Americana. I am sure that Americans in general have a clearer concept of Dodge City, Tombstone, and the two Virginia Cities than of Manti, Parowan, or St. George. This may even be largely true of Mormons of this day, for too many of them are far more apt to relate to their TV sets than to their own historical backgrounds. It is usual for historians to feel that the pioneer isolation of Utah ended in 1869, but the following narrative is carried forth to 1888, the year of the dedication of the Manti Temple. After that the history of Manti becomes more involved with worldly things, and I feel that the Temple was the whole raison detre for Brother Brighams people to settle specifically at this spot, at the foot of a very dry and gravelly spur of some sparse foothills of the Wasatch Plateau. In 1849, most of the westering Americans were heading for the diggins in California, and lacking the Mormon rationale I do feel that central and southern Utah might very well not have been settled for many, many years later than 1849, and then possibly only by livestock interests approaching the Sanpete and Sevier Valleys from Colorado and New Mexico. So far as the Manti site is concerned, without the motivation of religious faith attached to the place, it is no different from any other alluvium along the Wasatch frontalong Highway 89 from Provo to the high plateaulands that overlook the Grand Canyon and the Great Basin. That Manti was intended by Brigham Young as an outpost beginning, a nucleus town, for the further settlement of all central and Deseret, there can be no doubt. He visited it often and stressed its religious significance early. The Settlement had hardly taken its shoes off before Parley P. Pratt showed up to confirm the site and to take a number of men with him from there to help him and his crew locate the Little Salt Lake Valley school board member. Meetings for the board members on this matter began early in the fall when the boards made an appeal to Darld Long of the Utah State School Boards Association to help organize to oppose the reorganization issue. Several of the small school districts got together and developed a study on the value and academic achievement of small schools as compared to large schools. This study indicated that the small schools are competitive with the larger schools in the state. This study was presented to the State School Board of Education in Bottle Hollow on October 17, 1974. The State Board of Education did not vote on the issue that night, but postponed it until the next regular school board meeting. On November 14, 1974 the 11 members voted 6 to 5 recommending to the legislature that Sanpete County be reorganized into one school district. After the State School Board went on record as being in favor of reorganization, the SPEARS group, Dr. Stewarts committee and the local PTAs decided to run a survey to find out how the people of the county felt about this issue. The result of the survey showed that 87 of the people in the county were not in favor of reorganization. This information was given to all members of the Utah State Legislature. The local school boards and concerned citizens then met with a combined committee from the House and the Senate to express their views on reorganization. The combined Education Committee gave the recommendation that this issue go before the Senate as a whole. Again the local boards and leaders of the community met with the Senate Education Committee to oppose reorganization. This committee voted to send the bill to the floor of the Senate with no recommendation. On February 19th on the floor of the Senate the vote was taken before packed galleries and the measure was defeated by a vote of eral scholarship, citizenship, and leadership has been from South Sanpete. In these two years, 18 students from South Sanpete have won scholarships prizes. Donations of$25ormoremay and cash be mailed to Mr. Demont Howell at Ephraim, Mr. Woodrow Beck at Gunnison, or to Mr. Dee Severson of Richfield, Finance Chairman. Correspondent Named for Manti North Mrs. Harmon (Orpha) Parry has accepted the position of correspondent for the Manti North Ward effective immediately. Orpha can be reached at the following number, All residents of the Manti North Ward area are encouraged to report their news to Mrs. Parry. Deadline is Sunday for items appearing in the Thursday issue. All correspondents are required to have their news into the Messenger office by Monday morning for publication that 835-225- 2. week. popularized account of the beginnings of South-Centr- al Utah with comments by Albert Antrei "From experience, I find that writing history is a perilous occupation. One gets letters when one errs, and sometimes learned people use learned language to refer one to unlearned places. My courage amazes me that I should even risk it from time to time. On some days I would rather have stood eye to eye with Isaac Morley and challenged his theocratic authority than have written any history at all Albert Antrei farther later. south for the settlement of Parowan just a year or two Saint hierarchy also had a pretty-welSomebody in the Latter-da- y developed concept of geostrategy, for once the outpost in Sanpetes Valley had rooted, its lines of communications and its logistics with respect to the Salt Lake Valley were secured by the establishment of settlements at two strategic points. The same leadership that settled Manti was employed to consolidate its communications in the field by founding Nephi in 1851 at the mouth of Salt Creek Canyon and Moroni in 1859 at the head of the same gateway. I have enjoyed doing this little Saga of settlement of my adopted hometown. Since starting it, I even feel that maybe the town has begun to adopt me. If there are any errors in this View From the Red Point, I will have to bear the l blame for them. From experience, I find that writing history is a perilous occupation. One gets letters when one errs, and sometimes learned people use learned language to refer one to unlearned places. My courage amazes me that I should even risk it from time to time. On some days I would rather have stood eye to eye with Isaac Morley and challenged his theocratic authority than have written any history at all. May the reader bear in mind that Faith, Hope and Charity are the greatest of the virtues, and that of these, Charity is the noblest. Albert Antrei Manti, Utah November 19, 1973 the 124th anniversary of the Big Snow (Continued next week) |