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Show Review -- Wednesday, September 17, 1986 -- Page 2 j Leeway vote deserves support of Alpine patrons l The question local voters need to ask themselves before they go to the polls next Tuesday to vote in the special leeway tax election is whether or not the Alpine School District needs the money. If the leeway is approved in Tuesday's election, it will raise an additional $2.5 million for education each year over the next 10 years - $1.6 million of that coming from local property taxes, and $870,000 from state matching funds for the first two mills. The leeway would add about $40 a year to the property taxes on an $80,000 home. Taxes would also go up slightly on other personal property. The tax would net about $70 for each student in the district - money which can only be used for purchasing textbooks, purchasing equipment and supplies, maintaining existing buildings and paying for aides for teachers of large classes. Opponents to the leeway have noted several points about the proposed tax which, for the most part, are foundless. For example, the accusation has been made that the additional funds will be used simply to raise teachers' salaries. That's' false. In fact, the district is bound by law and practice to use the funds raised from the tax for the four purposes stated in the public notice calling for the election and mandated by a unanimously approved district policy statement. Others accuse the district of being top heavy in its administrative offices, and say the district should cut back administrators' salaries and pare down the number of administrators throughout the district. In fact, the Alpine School District has one of the lowest ratios of administrators per student of any district in Utah. State Office of Education data shows that the district ranks 39th out of 40 in the number of classified em-ployees per students and 38th out of 40 in the number of certified personnel (teachers and administrators) per student. Those figures make Alpine one of the most efficiently-ru- n school districts in Utah. Another claim being thrown around this year is that all students in Utah are guaranteed the same amount of funding by the state legislature. This fallacy is spread by the Utah Taxpayers Association -- - despite the fact that UTA executive director Jack Olsen admitted the allegation is false when he met with the Alpine School District last year, and was chided for using similar accusations against the last failed leeway vote. In fact, district expenditures per student vary widely throughout the state, and the Alpine School District ranks last in expenditures per student in the state -- spending $1,887 per student during the 1984-8- 5 school year. Neighboring Provo School District spent $2,109 per student over the same period. Even the voted leeway, adding $70 per stude not bring local expenditures up to par with neiehh a districts. Clearly, the Alpine School District ' derfunded. ls t aii if But the biggest complaint about the leeway is that b a poor time to raise taxes. Utah County's f suffering from the shutdown of Geneva Steel anin '' steel plant's imminent demise. And Utahns have 1 tually been promised a tax increase when 7i legislature meets in January - a tax increase that & largely be spent for education. i In fact, there is no good time to raise taxes R ' Tuesday's election is a question of need, not venience. The Alpine District can't afford to buy eno 1 T text books, or to pay for the materials and equiprr; needed to continue the task of teaching our children Ecl The remedy for that will have to come from ! sources, since state funding is likely to rem? inadequate in years to come. The advancement of our civilization depends on i continued good education which focuses on the basic coupled with developing the knowledge required in on- " technically-oriente- d society. " A vote for the leeway tax Tuesday will be a statement e of support for good education --- the kind our childrer ' deserve. att ' a No fair without hot dog on stick i dis Once a year I like to have a It is at the State Fair. Hotdogs are not my favorite food. After hearing what hotdogs may be made of, I went several months once without even tasting one. But deep fried in that good batter at the State Fair those hotdogs taste pretty good. I have a craving for one every year when it is fair time. We went to the State Fair last Thursday. As soon as I was there I began to locate the booths that sold the hotdogs-on-a-stic- k but I did not buy one. Not yet. I made my mouth water a long time, two or three hours, before I finally succumbed to the temptation and had one. We all had one. . ... It was delicious. I will want to go ''.back next .year and have another one. - Now. you can get them in regular or in jumbo size. We got the jumbo size and it was good. Some folks eat their's with mustard. I cannot stand mustard on anything except mixed into Miracle . Whip on potato salad, so I used ketchup. It was wonderful. The entire fair was nice. Going on a weekday is good because it is not quite as crowded as on other days. We carefully examined the 200 pound pumpkin (did you know the record for a pumpkin was 612 pounds?) and the humongous hubbard squashes. We watched the Mountain Fuel baking contest. How would it be to be able to make a pie look like those did? My favorite part of the show is always the flowers. They are p.g. blab V ;o - - By Xif WALKER gorgeous and I always wonder why mine don't look like those do. But you have to admit that the big squashes and shiny apples, and golden pears have a beauty all their own. , , ... Lena Wilson has taught me to have an appreciation for the haiidcrafted items shown in the Extension Division building. Now, I look for the sweepstakes quilt and the ones considered for sweepstakes. I didn't used to, before I knew her. In fact, the display with all the handiwork sweepstakes entries is one which attracts my attention for a long time. Another thing which amazes me is the accomplishments of the 4-- kids and the FFA. Sometime during the summer the little girls learn to twist bread dough around a stick and cook it in a fire. They make yummy cookies. They make a dress or an apron and one girl made a wedding dress. At their age I could do little but eat and sleep and give my mother fits in the summer time. We sort of skidded through the cow barns, the sheep barns, and the horse barns. I guess everyone sort of "skids" through those locations and you know why. The FFA had an exhibit of various animals including baby chicks, Navajo sheep, African steer, piggies, and other cute things. It was fun. The girls saw some cute boys in the sheep shearing demonstration. The boys evidently saw them, too. At the girl's urging I later had to take a stroll with them over to the sheep barns. I told them I had already been there but they told me I wanted to go again. So I did, being a cooperative mother and not wanting my daughters to miss opportunities to meet fine upstanding FFA.. members.' It worked. When we go to the Fair, now that the kids are older, they leave us shortly after we enter the fair and we tell them we will meet them in some special location at a certain time. That is the way they like it, not us. However, they always manage to find us if they need money. We had given them each some money. One spent it on goo-gaw- s and the other on food for both her and the sister that had already spent her money on goo-gaw- I was called on to make up the difference a short time later. I hate to admit this but I only give a token glance to the commercial exhibits at the fair. I used to look at them all but they are all trying to sell you something. f I used to get excited and I" for all the free drawings. I w enter a one anymore because lb, 1 that if I do in October and Noveii 'lf I will get a lot of junk mailt? ' them wanting to set up an $ pointment to sell me somethiij ,a never win a sewing machine f food processor outright. t I like the crafts exhibit and i:f ej good to see Pleasant Grove wire f in there. The photography sto j.. grand and I always wish thatltt m take photos like those the prs L photographers do that exhibit thert J I like the wildlife exhibit anc pjS was good to see the fishes thai .; replace the trash fish in Stair in the years tq come. p . : Have .you. evernoticed tap .( all the hamburgers and foodasS .r at the fair? Have you noticed good free entertainment they ts1 all day? Do you know why a walking horses have their to. j hooves built up? m We loved the Fair and especi the hotdog-on-a-stic- I can k: wait till next year. As a postcript, I would like toil note of the passing of one olfe Street's longtime business Elwood Freeman died this f week.' His barbershop has bee' mainstay of the community It: long time and he will surely missed. The Chamber of Commerc grateful that he was here amc ' for such a long time. Ourhatsat; to the memory of this man. Candidates' bring stories to mind There is something about politians that I dislike. Mainly it is because they campaign for our support and when they get it and get into office they sell their contituents down the old river. It seems the main thing they think about is raising taxes. Here is a little example. My September city bill in 1981 was $15.15. In September of 1986 it was $43.20. This does not include the utility franchise tax. Did you read in the Salt Lake newspaper that certain politicians are going to ask for ten cents a gallon gasoline tax at the n ext meeting of the politicians? Next week there will be a vote called Leeway, this is for education, and if approved our property tax will be increased. Now, mind you, I am not com-plaining, we senior citizens are not a complaining lot. Every few months Uncle Sam gives out free cheese and butter, that is if your earnings are below the poverty level. Politicians are a strange lot. Take this care as an example. "Dear Editor: 'T am sorry that you asked the question as I had not intended to raise such a controversial subject at this particular time. "However, I want you to know that I do not shun a controversy. To the contrary - I'll take a stand on any issue anywhere and anytime regardless of how fraught with controvery it may be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. Well, brother, here's how I stand on this matter. "If when you say whiskey, or demon rum, you mean the Devil's brew, the Poison scrouge, the Bloody Monster; that defiles in-nocence, dethrones reason, creates misery and povery, yea literally, takes the bread out of the mouth of babies. If you mean that evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from pinnacles or righteous and gracious living into the bot-tomless pit of despair and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it with all my power, might and main. "But if you say whiskey you mean the oil that lubricates conversation, the philosophic wine and ale that is browsing ByTOM (hui consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their -- hearts ' and laughter von their lips and the warm glow "at contentment in their eyes. If you mean Christ-mas Cheer? If you mean that stimulating drink that puts springiness in an old m an's steps on a frosty morning? If you mean the drink that enables man to magnify his joy and happiness and to forget, if only for a moment, life's great tragedies, heart breaks and . sorrows? If you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into the treasury untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender-car-for our little crippled children, the deaf, dumb, blind and our pitifully aged and infirm. That builds highways, hospitals and schools. Then brother, I am for it. "This is my stand Mr. Editor. I will not retract nor compromise." Does this sound normal to you? The office seeker makes all kinds of promises while seeking office but when he has achieved his goal he forgets the people that gave him his job. This reminds me of the young ladies who were talking. One girl said to the other, "What I'm looking for is a man who will treat me as if I was a voter and he was a can-didate." Let me conclude this diatribe by telling this story. "Once upon a time a lion ate a bull and he felt so good he roared and roared. A hunter heard him and killed him with one shot." The moral is - When you are full of bull, keep your mouth shut. Cartoon bring battle to living room My kids probably think I f; and two together when I hear: sound of gunfire and beheld disaster area in the family $ But if they do, they are wrongj; more like the pounding hammer. After all, the partially ; stadium that was standing corner of the room was a away. It was the pounding of a hammer and sounds of gunfire coming from the family room that woke me up. My feet hit the floor with a thud and as I walked down the hall I heard someone say "Quick she's coming." The rapid changing of the t.v. channels began. As I entered the room it was apparent to me that my kids had been watching one of the . violent cartoons that some child psychologists suggest we strike from the family viewing schedule. Now, when I say violent cartoons, that is exactly what I mean. Car-toons are not what they used to be. In the old cartoons, Wiley Coyote fell off cliffs while pursuing the Road Runner. Elmer Fudd shot at Bugs Bunny and hit Daffy Duck instead. Popeye ate spinach and punched out Bluto. Even the Three Stooges poked eyes, tweaked noses and bumped heads. Some kinds of violence have always been with us. But now the cartoons are filled with menacing robots, evil space lords and weird creatures who throw bombs, shoot laser beams and threaten each other with torture and grassroots jC'jf' Copyright J 'I 1986 - X I Becky j5 I " Grass J Johnson by BECKI GRASS JOHNSON annihilation. To top it off, there is a new cartoon that depicts some sort of futuristic, spectator game where opponents challenge each other with laser guns. Toy manufacturers jumped on the band wagon and have produced a Laser Tag game which will be ' available in toy stores everywhere, just in time for Christmas. It will be interesting to see if Laser Tag is a number one seller at a time of year when we're all talking about peace on earth. The toy manufacturer boasts in their commercials that the only thing Laser Tag doesn't come with is a stadium. Darn! We'll probably have to wait until next year for that ! Child psychologists say there are indications that children who see violence on t.v. often mimic the violent behavior they watch. I have evidence to back that one up. I looked around the family room at the shredded coloring book strewn across the carpet. A planter had been knocked over, the toss cushions were thrown from the couch and the cat lay under the piano looking frazzled. It looked as if we had hosted the Battle of Armageddon. "You were watching those violent cartoons, this morning, weren't you!" I remarked. Five angelic faces innocently looked up from the Smurf show. "Don't deny it," I said. "If that show is turned on again, the t.v. is off for the rest of the morning." As I walked out of the room I heard one of them exclaim, "Gee, how did she know what we were watching?" (letters to J Vote against leeway, no time to raise taxes Editor: I can't believe that the people in Alpine School District would like a rise in their taxes by four mils during these preecarious times. Consider: --Banks are closing --Geneva is all but gone. -- Farmers are being foreclosed on. --Businesses are carrying their highest, taxes. --New unknown federal taxes are upon us all. This certainly is not the time for a "yes" vote on Leeway taxes. The Alpine School District wanted a 3 mill rise until Ray Graham started the ball rolling for a four mill rise This rise translates to $29 to $79 per household. But that isn't all. It hits all businesses un-mercifully. The Alpine School District heeds to clean house. Don't take it from the children and teachers, but get into, their own office and look at how that part has grown over the years. Our administration salaries could be lowered. Look at the supplies we could buy. We have all cleaned our houses many times in order to stay in business. It's your move. I hope all Senior Citizens will get out and help defeat this unfair leeway tax. --Leila Chadwick peasant (&rouf fori ISSN No. ' U.S.P.S. No. Published weekly except for Thanksgiving and Christmas by Newlah.W South Main Pleasant Grove. Utah St! Telephone Numbers Advertisings Circulation. 7 News...- '.J Publisher BrellB.8. E Subscription price $16" Per' Second class postage at Pleasant Grove Post 0W( ) lto7.AmcTK-anKrk.- More letters on p Need is critical. Support leeway tax vote Editor: For the past two and one-ha- lf years I have been involved in the Alpine District Public Involvement Council. Through this service I have become aware of the effort the Alpine School District is making to educate our children and the needs it has in doing it. The district has less money to work with than any other district in the state. If the district just had the same funds as the state average there would be about $300 more per child to work with. The work is being accomplished for less money by innovation (ex-tended day, extended year, year round school, etc.) by larger classes, by lower administration costs (less than one-ha- lf state average) and by going without. The children are short of supplies, textbooks, media materials and maintenance on buildings is behind. falling Only through a voted leeway do we have the opportunity to raise the funds necessary to cover some things the children are now going without. I believe the need is. that the leeway shoul (f, None of us are very ar0 additional taxes. though we must d and be a priorities are, them. Let us vote for theyareourUjJ |