Sanpete Messenger Gunnison Valley Edition | 2005-01-26 | Page 7

Cyan Magenta Yellow Black Wednesday, January 26, 2005 A7 Sanpete Messenger / Sanpete Messenger-Gunnison Valley Edition In the Interest of Children A New Year thank you I want to thank the Sanpete Messenger editor for the opportunity to contribute my thoughts to this publication. I don’t particularly enjoy writing, and the time required makes the effort more difficult. The Messenger editor has been patient with me. I appreciate being able to express my passion and commitment to the public education system and the children we serve. Individuals across the county have commented about the articles. I appreciate those who read and care enough about educational issues to make those comments. A few years ago the American Association of School Administrators conducted a poll to determine how the public hears about education and what’s happening in school today. Interestingly, most people (72 percent) said they saw education in the news. However, not everyone is conscious about education news. People who are not parents reported getting education news almost accidentally, that is, they did not always notice such stories. Where did people get their news? Newspapers (46 percent) and television (38 percent) ranked first and second with radio and the Internet a distant third and fourth. The Internet is becoming a more used source of education news as it becomes more accessible to more people. When asked whether local or national news outlets were the primary source of educational news, the answer was overwhelmingly local. Eighty-six percent of the respondents who cited newspapers as the source of the latest education story they saw said they saw the story in a local newspaper. DARLENE AGREN / MESSENGER PHOTO Gunnison Elementary faculty get ready for kissing a live pig at a school-wide function Feb. 16. Front (L-R) are Karen Donaldson, Elizabeth Jensen (wearing pig costume), Sylvia Duke and Loreen Sorensen. In middle row (L-R) are Virginia Brown and Paul Childs. Back row (L-R) are Pam Larsen, MerriLynn Sorensen, Kirk James and principal Grant Hansen. Not pictured are Kenna Marrelli and Robyn Hendrickson. Pig kissers practice puckers G U N N I S O N — Tw e l v e Gunnison Valley Elementary teachers are competing for the dubious honor of kissing a live pig. The face of each brave competitor has been placed on several collection cans and the cans placed around the valley. The teacher who collects the most money in his or her cans will kiss a pig at the annual Family Reader Night at the school Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. So far, Paul Childs, Sylvia Duke and Karen Donaldson are tied for first in the competition. Besides observing the pig kissing, students and parents attending the Family Reader Night will rotate from room to room to hear stories and watch costumed characters. Money raised from the kissa-pig competition will help build a digital marquee at the elementary school. How to submit school items for publication School-related articles may be submitted for publication by emailing material to [e-mail], faxing them to [phone] or mailing them to 35 S. Main St. Manti, UT 84642. You may also drop off material at Gunnison Implement, our Manti office at 35 S. Main in Manti or at our North Sanpete office at 68 S. State in Mt. Pleasant (beginning in February, the Mt. Pleasant office will be open Thursday and Friday afternoons). The submission deadline is 5 p.m. the Friday before publication. For questions or information, phone [phone] or our toll-free number 1-800-8661935. Spring City geography bee winners Dustin Allred (right) is the winner of Spring City Elementary’s Geography Bee. He will compete at the state level this spring. Rhett Davenport (left) was runner-up. You’re reading... The Sanpete Messenger The Voice of Sanpete County since 1893 Unfortunately, 60 percent of those polled saw the stories as negative with 34 percent viewing the news as positive. It is not clear if positive and negative Courtney Syme percentages would be North Sanpete School different for any topic, District Superintendent but the public perception is that education news is negative. I often wonder if the negative is just more interesting and eye-catching. Also, perhaps not all news the public thinks of as negative is viewed as negative to school administrators and teachers. For example, a news story about the amount and impact of potential or actual budget cuts by the legislature may be viewed as negative by the public, but school leaders might view such a story as positive if the public response to the story leads to the restoration of the budget cutbacks. Our local newspapers can be a tool of advocacy for the public education system. I want to provide information about educational issues on a regular basis through the Sanpete Messenger. If the polls are correct, this is an effective way to inform both parents and adults who do not have children in school. The service provided to our children by the public education system is the key to our future as a nation of self-governing people. This is an important message that must be continually placed before the people. I wish all the readers a happy and prosperous new year and again thank the Sanpete Messenger editor for allowing the message to be printed. Top Templars named for second quarter MANTI—Two Manti High seniors have been named Top Templars for second quarter. Jessica Peterson is the daughter of David and Jennifer Peterson of Manti. She has earned a high grade point average all through high school and has three academic letters. She also has an ACT composite score of 30. Last summer she attended Girls State and participated in the Brigham Young University Summer Scholars program. Jessica was a member of the women’s choir and is currently involved with the speech team, drama club and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). She enjoys participating in plays and musicals, and has served as a student director. One of her highlights was playing the role of Kate in “The Taming of the Shrew.” Very active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jessica has served in sa a h r e Moth Austin Pieper presidencies throughout Young Women and has received her Young Womanhood Recognition Award. She attended girls camp for six years and was a youth camp leader for two of them. In her spare time, Jessica loves reading, hanging out with wild side You never know exactly when Mother Nature will show up for her winter visit, but you know she will. And she’ll probably bring surprises. Be prepared. We’re taking steps to make sure we’re ready in case she’s especially fierce and knocks out power, and you should, too. Make an outage kit. Have these items in a bag or backpack: flashlight, battery-operated radio, battery-operated or wind up clock, extra batteries, manual can opener, canned ready-to-eat foods and bottled water. Keep this important number near your phone: 1-877-LITESOUT (1-877-548-3768) to report an outage and help us pinpoint your location. We’re ready, too. We’ve been pruning trees and investing in our system to cut down on problems before they start. But if a storm does knock out power or cause a major outage, we have teams from all over our service area standing by to help. For your copy of Getting Ready for Mother Nature, our booklet with tips to help you prepare for an outage, and to see what we do to get the lights back on, visit utahpower.net/outage. Still have questions? Call us anytime at 1-888-221-7070. You can’t outwit Mother Nature. But we’re working on it. Jessica Peterson family and friends, and keeping up with politics. Through Ednet, she has completed half the requirements for an associate’s degree and plans to attend Snow College in the fall. Austin Pieper is the son of Charles and Wendy Pieper of Ephraim. He has three brothers and five sisters. Austin is very active in his church and school. He serves as president of the Future Farmers of America, is a member of the LDS Seminary Council, serves as first counselor in his priest quorum and is Manti’s Sterling Scholar candidate in Trade and Technical Education. He recently received his Eagle Scout award. Last summer he attended the Governor’s Honors Academy, where he received the “Rock Award” and a four-year scholarship to Southern Utah University. Austin enjoys wrestling and cross-country. He is involved with his brothers in raising and selling calves. After high school graduation, Austin plans to work while preparing to serve an LDS mission. His parents say he is very conscientious about his various responsibilities, enjoys learning, likes being outdoors with his friends and is grateful for all the opportunities he has been given. They thank all his friends, teachers and others who have helped him along the way.