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Show .SSoB6ETWi Vol. 10, No. 11 Wednesday, March Hi, 19K8 50 cents a single copy PGHS accreditation suffers ; due to high student-counsel- or ratio I Principal Neil Christensen of Pleasant Grove High School ad- - dressed the PTSA board meeting I last week regarding the school's ' status in regards to accreditation. He noted that Pleasant Grove, I Orem and Mountain View High Schools have been downgraded one step by the Northwest Accreditation I Association of which they are i members. i The Association has told the schools that they do not meet the student-counsel- ratio required in the standards of the organization. One counselor is required for every 400 students. Pleasant Grove now has about 1,050 students (it had about 1,100 students at the first of the year) and only two counselors. ! The Association first gives a school a notice and if improvement does not come in two years the school is then put on "advise" for two years. Pleasant Grove High School has just been put on "ad-vise." Christensen said that American Fork High School will join the ranks of the other high schools next fall with its accreditation given notice. If nothing has improved within two years after the "advise" is given a school then it is put on "warning." Then if nothing is done within two years after that a school can lose its accreditation. When this happens, Christensen noted, students graduating from that school may find it difficult to be accepted into certain colleges and universities or other academic programs. Christensen stated that he did not believe that the Northwest Ac-creditation Association would lower its standards to accommodate these problems. He said that it is a money issue and the district has put a freeze on hiring counselors, but hopefully they will soon do something about this problem. He said that another concern is the Media Center where PGHS has a director and one aide. They need one more aide. He stated that this is only a minor deviation, however, and should be easy to remedy. He added that with Geneva Steel being on line along with other large companies in the state, such as Morton-Thioko- l, Kennecott, and others, that it should help the financial situation of the schools. The principal also told the PTSA group that he will become the vocational director for the school district next year which means that the school will be assigned a new principal for next year. He said that he felt the move was a good one for him career-wis- e but was sorry that the students who will be seniors next year will have had a different principal each of their three years in high school. He said that he feels continuity is a real asset to students. Christensen also informed the PTSA of the resignation of Superintendent Clark Cox which becomes effective in June. Cox announces June retirement J ' 4 S v . "t j ; V) , Dr. Clark L. Cox, superintendent of the Alpine School District, would like to put his keys on the desk, leave a note and go out with "little fan-fare" when he retires June 30. Cox announced his retirement last week after turning in his resignation to members of the district board of education at their regular monthly ) business meeting March 8. With his retirement, he will end 37 years of service to public education - ,, five of them as superintendent in 11 the Alpine District. In an interview Friday, he said both board members and members of his staff were "shocked" by his W decision but that the decision was a ors, "Pfsonal decision." "I just decided the timing was right. I've been in education 37 years. I'll be 61 years old this year. I jenust feel this is the time." had6; Cox said he and his wife have been f0rC discussing his retiring over the past ,0tdf-fe- months. "It isn't a sudden ifuif'aecison." at's'f Cox. s.aid he has good health and 'l 's time 'to close one chapter isfr book open another cnaPter in my e!' "f feel that the experiences in Alpine have been outstanding and iat ''most enjoyable. At the present time, vif the district is financially sound, well organized, and has an excellent educational program. faj "I have learned that the tation of this excellence here is the fa landing teachers, ad- - ministrators, and support personnel who are so dedicated and professional. "Add to this, the concern and support offered by parents and the high caliber of students who attend the Alpine schools, and you have one of the finest districts anywhere, bar none. "There are good people here," he said. 'Too many times I've talked with people who have retired and asked them if they were going to do this or that and they said they couldn't because their health wouldn't allow it, or their spouses' health wouldn't allow it. I don't want that to happen to us." Cox came to the Alpine School District five years ago following the resignation of then superindent Max Welcker, taking office on Aug. 1, 1983. Since then, the district has been one of the leaders in the state in going to yearround or extended day schedules because of g in the classrooms. With 11 schools now on one or other of the schedules, and five more expected to come on board this year, they are ahead of the majority of districts in this area. "We did it even before the state mandated it," Cox said, with parents, teachers, and ad-ministration working together to try and find the best schedule for the See COX on page 3 Dr. Clark Cox prepares his last budget proposal for Alpine School District. Cox will retire in June. Illlll ftp':: B1IP1S:P r:i: r ;iiiw 1 ;llCP I ' ' '' ' j . . ' - s -- v , - ' I - -- I I - - ;'!--. -- v ' ' 'J Edward Bennett, Lehi, flanked by American Fork police officers, walks to 8th Circuit Court for extradition hearing. j Suspect to spend ; 19th birthday in Las Vegas jail - Edward G. Bennett will spend his 19th birthday in the Clark County jail in Las Vegas, Nev. j Bennett, who will turn 19 on March 19, waived extradition March 9 before Orem 8th Circuit Court Judge Robert J. Sumsion and, along with a old companion from Orem, was transported to Nevada later the same afternoon. "l The juvenile similarly waived I extradition- - Tuesday in -- Juvenile Court in Provo, according to police. They entered pleas of not guilty to the charges later in the week in a Las Vegas courtroom. Both Bennett and the juvenile are suspects in the Feb. 9 slaying of ar old Michelle Moore at a Stop & Go mini-ma- rt in Las Vegas and the wounding of a store patron. They were arrested by American Fork Police on March 7 after in- - ri formation was developed by police during a separate investigation, M according to Police Chief John iDurrant. Det. David Hatch, Homicide 2LDetective with the Las Vegas .Metropolitan Police Department, gsaid charges against the young men include first degree murder, at-tempted murder, robbery, and the iise of a deadly weapon in the commission of a crime, j The juvenile will face charges as an adult, he said, because under jNevada law, a suspect over 14 is automatically charged as an adult in h a crime like this. Bennett appeared before Judge Sumsion in the orange prison suit of the Utah County Prison. He was emotionless as he stood beside his lawyer and heard Judge Sumsion question whether he understood the charges against him and the ex-tradition process. Bennett replied he did. The Judge then asked if he was willing to sign - that waiver in open court today, and the youth said he was. "You will be returned to the state of Nevada to answer to these charges," Judge Sumsion then said. Family members and friends were in the courtroom during the procedure. Det. Hatch, during a press con-ference March 8, told the media the crime was a high profile crime in Las Vegas because of its nature. The killing of Mrs. Moore received a lot of publicity, he said, because it was "such a senseless crime." He said police feel robbery was an afterthought - that the killers "went shopping for a victim and found one." Police recovered a .45 calibre automatic handgun believed used in the crime from a Provo pawnbroker. Mrs. Moore had been married six months. Originally from Roosevelt, her family resides in Utah. She had only recently moved to Las Vegas, and had worked at the convenience store for two weeks prior to the 10 p.m. shooting. i Good drivers will be pulled over I ? ' " 4 ' "". . ; . . . ' ' ! j , - . " i J H . . . - ...... - -- h v y j i 'I: .. .. : A . I . ' When you get pulled over the next time in Pleasant Grove or Lindon it may not be because you have done something wrong. It could be because you did something right. Det. Cody Cullimore of the Pleasant Grove Police Dept. reported that the department has begun a Good Driver Program in which they will watch for people who show exemplary driving habits or go out of their way to be safe. He said they would like to com-mend drivers for obeying laws and for showing extra effort. Det. Cullimore gave a recent example where a man who was driving on 100 East saw some children trying to cross the road and stopped and helped them safely across. The officers will pull drivers over when they see them do something outstanding and they will receive a citation commending them for '.heir safety and a coupon good for a drink at " '' ', The detective said that they will be ' handing out the citations during the next few months. They will try to highlight some of the outstanding drivers with an article in the newspaper. Of course, the officers will still be giving out the other type of citations, the kind people don't want, as they continue to enforce the traffic laws in the community. He said that one of the things they will be watching for is children fastened in their seat belts. They would like to commend those drivers who make sure all the children are safely strapped in. Lt. Tom Paul also reported that the state peace officers association will be doing a similar program just for juveniles. They will give a coupon good for a McDonald's Big Mac to juveniles who do something good in the community. The officers will be watching for young people who do things above and beyond the norm in service. This will be a state-wid- e program. Detective Cody Cullimore writes out a "good driver" citation for his wife, Debbie, as the new program begins. PTA concerned about safety By KALYN SECRETAN The local schools are concerned because safety is a problem, the Pleasant Grove PTA Council learned on March 3 at the Pleasant Grove High School, where local principals and PTA presidents met for their March meeting. The schools are continually working on safety issues, the council was told. A flyer was sent home to the parents from Central School just before an accident happened and a young student was hit by a car. Fortunately, the driver was going slow, but cars are going fast. They are not necessarily speeding but they would not be able to stop soon enough if something happened. The schools would like to alert the whole community to use caution as they travel during the time students are on their way to or from school. People should use extreme caution as they drive around buses. Principal Harwood of Grovecrest expressed concern for the students coming and leaving the school. He noted that they can't control safety when the kids leave. A few dart across the street or run down the road. He stated that the roads around the school are narrow. Cars travel fast, too fast to stop in case of emergency. The traffic is congested as school begins and as parents return to pick up their children. The school held two or three assemblies on safety and have tried all year to train students coming from and going to school. The teachers discuss safety and Har-wood has visited each class to ex-press concern. He would like all to work together as parents, school and a city on safety measures. Dave Vickers, emergency medical director, came to the school where he stepped on a potato and related it to a car running over a body. Children don't realize how heavy a car can be. The city is working to do what it can and plans to redo lines across the road and post school crossing signs. Central PTA president, Debbie Bullock, is working with the state in the hope of having flashing lights placed on 100 East. Harwood is working with the district on the possibility of making a better parking and student drop-off area. Money is so tight right now and he doesn't know how soon something can be done. Carolyn Jacob, the Community Involvement commissioner, ex-pressed concern with sa ty and stated they will keep working on safety within the schools. She also brought up an issue concerning physical fitness. Junk food and TV over the past 30 years contribute to fitness problems among our youth, she said. Fewer than one percent of all children can earn the Presidential Physical Fitness Award, she noted from an article in the March "Better Homes and Gardens." Too many children feel they can't do it and they simply give up, she stated. Too much emphasis is placed on who can run the fastest or jump the highest. Children who mature early get better grades than kids who do regular exercise. The article offered four suggestions: a fitness test, health standards which allow all children to succeed, a customized fitness report with suggestions for parents to help, and rewarding children who participate in regular physical activity. Carolyn would like to see parents become involved with physical fitness. Many parents are "couch potatoes" at home. Parents need to become involved in fitness programs as an example to their children. Marilyn Patch from the nominating committee announced the president and president-elec- t for 1988-8- Mariam Tomlinson will serve as president of the council, with Vicki Young as president-elect- . Gary Keetch will serve as ad-ministrator representative and Gene Maag as principal representative, with Bruce Bushnell as teacher representative. Mariam has taught aerobics for six years. She married Richard Tomlinson, owner of Tomlinson Auto Body. She graduated from Pleasant Grove High School and served as PTA president at Grovecrest School for one and one-ha- lf years. Other PTA positions she has held include secretary, In-dividual Development com-missioner and room mother. A positive person, she has many interests and hobbies. She has been tole painting for 15 years and serves as a counselor in the Primary. Vicki Young has touched the lives of many through her role as Education and Family Life com-missioner. Her husband, Dell, See PTA Page 3 |