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Show Review - Wednesday, .Jnnunry 11, 1987 - Page .5 ( letters to V the editor J , N "i ' Lame duck officials shouldn't be able to vote Kditor: There ought to he a law against out going defeated elected officials from enacting, or acting on, any legislation which affects future government, without getting the input and recommendations of the newly elected officials who are going to replace them. It used to be common courtesy to invite the newly elected officials to sit in and become acquainted with Iheir new position, so that a smooth transition could take place. Two of our county commissioners were defeated this past year, but they were very active and in-fluent ia1 in enacting laws before they left office. Right after the election in November, they hurriedly pushed through the Traverse Ridge agreement and service district. They rushed into completing plans and bonding for the new state-count- y building complex. They worked on the 1987 budget, ignoring any outside suggestions. The public meeting was a farce. They voted to raise the salary of Dr. Miner, a cousin of Commissioner Miner, to $69,000 per year. A last minute agreement with Mountain Bell for an enhanced 911 emergency service took place just one hour before the new com-missioners were sworn into office. Orem City is already providing a 911 emergency service for Utah County. There is now a new enhanced system which will provide the address and telephone number of the person making the emergency call so that the accuracy and response time can be shor-tened. Mountain Bell is proposing five stations throughout the county, manned by personnel on a seven-da-basis. This new system evidently cannot be put into service for two years, but we will be paying Mountain Bell 50 cents per month now to ensure that the money will be there when needed. I believe this is probably a needed improvement which we should have, but I do not see the necessity of manning five stations with personnel, salaries and benefits. The present system in Orem is doing a very commendable job and I believe with the new enhanced feature it would be an even belter and workable system for our county. It would be a lot less ex pensive to the taxpayer, but very much improved and adequate. I hope that our new com-missioners will review all the ac-tions of our past commissioners with a view to reducing county expenses and eliminate the necessity of raising property taxes any higher. This all points up to me the necessity for a change in county government so that we have more representation on the commission. Two people should not have the power to control decisions of a three-memb- commission. We should have a five or seven member council representing the whole county. Wright Orem . 'J ' ' r ,r. . v -- v " . r , i i. i 1.. , i-- ' ' J 1 .Jl s, - f"'' Police Chief Mike Ferre looks over a large, healthy marijuana plant his department confiscated from a Pleasant Grove residence. Packaged marijuana was also located in the home. People, Politics and Policy in PI. Grove By E. MARK BEZZANT Things just are not the same anymore .. That especially holds true down in the county building where they swore in two new county commissioners this past week. Instead of commissioners voting in pay raises for themselves and their friends they are actually talking about pay cuts. Along with that, each commissioner will not have a personal administrative assistant, as did the former commissioners. In addition you are seeing these two new commissioners record the meetings and provide a room for the public to listen to the tapes which wil be on file for one year. In addition to that, participants at county meetings will face the public, if Malcolmm Beck has his way. The hearing process will begin much earlier for the budgets and be more open. It wouldn't hurt the com-missioners to take a chapter out of the Alpine School District's book and move the meetings to the evening when the average citizen can attend in person without having to m iss work. I know the professionals will argue that few if any of the public would attend the meetings and they would have to attend when they are not being payed. The point is who is serving who? Whether a lot of citizens attend evening meetings is not the point. The point is are we going to make meetings accessible to the average man or to the professional govern-ment workers? My vote is with the people. It would not even hurt for the commissioners to move the meetings around the county a little bit like the local board of education does. If I could use several words to describe this new commission, they would be hard work, frankness and openess.. I called Malcolm Beck to congratulate him on how good he looked in the paper. Before I knew it he was rattling off statistics on various issues 1 ike he had been in office 25 years. I asked him if we couldn't use the dredge the county had over here in Pleasant Grove to clean out a few irrigation ditches. Malcolm Beck was accused during the election of being a turn coat Republican because he sup-ported Ted Wilson for the Senate race. Nonsense. Malcolm Beck just believes in good government. While most government officials were moaning about the reduction of federal dollars, and particularly revenue sharing, Mayor Malcolm Beck was telling his congressional representative to cut the strings on many of these programs. He knew full well how much it cost to take a local dollar and run in back to Washington and then get back the scraps when the beaurocrats were done with it. No, things won't be perfect, but you can at least count on a style of leadership that will be like a breath of fresh air and speaking of fresh air have you noticed that things are starting to warm up and it won't be long before you can plant your spring peas. Maybe I am mistaken, but I thought I saw Keith James out planting some early sweet corn. I could be wrong. Maybe he was putting in some early tomatoes. I see. He was just hunting for some worms to go ice fishing with his boys. UDOT doesn't want your snow Private citizens who own property along state highways in Utah are unknowingly breaking the law when they plow snow from their own driveways and parking lots and push it onto state highways. The Utah Department of Tran-sportation has been issuing en-croachment notices to violators which results in a fine each day until the situation is corrected. People often clear their own driveways and parking lots of snow and then push the snow out onto state roads or even onto the islands in the roads in the belief that crews from UDOT will remove it. However, UDOT snowplows simply push snow off the highway and oftentimes the snow ends up back in the driveway when the trucks go by. Property owners, particularly those with parking lots such as apartment complexes and shopping centers, should find a place on their own property to push the snow. Aside from adding to UDOT's considerable burden of snow removal, putting snow from privately owned driveways and parking lots onto state highways and islands also creates a dangerous road condition. The extra snow makes the highway that much more slick and unsafe for travel. The snow placed in the islands is packed, which takes it longer to melt. As it does melt the water continually runs across the high-way, creating icy spots. peasant (Sroue ffieuteiu ISSN No. 8755-907- 2 U.S.P.S. No. 4357-800- 0 Published weekly except semi-weekl- y for Thanksgiving and Christmas by Newtah, Inc. South Main Pleasant Grove, Utah Telephone Numbers Advertising & Circulation. 75t News Publisher Brett R. Bczzant Editors Marc Haddock Marcella Walker Subscription price $16"" per year . Second class postage paid at Pleasant Grove Post Office Hipslmaslor: Send address changes ti P.O. Box 7. American r'ork. Wall MOCK Hayes heirs donate $1500 nai to library The heirs to the estate of Margaret j Hayes have donated $1,500 this past jja month to the Pleasant Grove City ' Library in memory of Margaret. 'Jj Drucilla Smith, Pleasant Grove City Librarian, said that the family has donated a considerable sum of a money since Margaret passed away, in addition to the repent con-tribution. She stated that the heirs have y specified that the money is to be used to purchase children's books for the library. ',. The family had asked Mrs. Smith to be sure the public was made aware of the donations in hopes that other families will also donate to the library in memory of their loved .' ones who have passed away. Margaret Hayes was a school ' teacher in Pleasant Grove for many years. As such she was in contact with many, many children. She was ' a good influence on them and showed great love for the children, rc according to Mrs. Smith. The librarian , recalled that Margaret was known for buying a child a pair of shoes when she saw a m need, and doing similar acts of kindness throughout her life. 1 "She did much more than just teach school," Mrs. Smith added. 'a: Eleroy West has stated that since Margaret had no children of her m own, the children in the schools were her children. She loved them all. I- - . -- i toe f - ; 1-- edt Jpa I: v - 5 Nxl ont ; , s1 Uri Vs ' $V1 til"' deli Margaret Hayes Hurry in today before ifs all gone forever! 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