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Show Comment Review - Wednesday, October 1 1, 1989 - Page 2 V Utahns should support referendum on Olympic Games Also, the United States will be in a good position to gPt tu "i for 1998, and even better for 2002, since the last winter 4 f held in the country were in 1980 at Lake Placid, N.Y i The big question is can the state turn the dlympics profit-makin- g arrangement, as was done in Los Anol lnta ' Calgary? a We think it can. ' Utah has everything going for it to make its Winter Olv bid a success -- - if Utahns will back the bid. ympiCi :: The state has so much to offer the Olympics - excel m locations for the games, featuring the "Greatest Snow on Earth' ' a good location, excellent lodging facilities, friendly '' ' peop e :'. breath-takin- g scenery. And the Olympics has so much to offer Utah -- - especially opportunity to change the national perception of the state"1' backwards and unfriendly to outsiders. In two weeks, the ObV' pics can showcase our state - which is much more than "Prett Great." Y' Utah could not buy at any price the kind of advertising that itV could get from a successful Winter Olympic Games wit), benefits to the state in terms of dollars and image for years to come. True, the proposal to fund for the Olympic' Games in Utah is a gamble. But Utah is up to the gamble. Let's demonstrate faith in ourselves and our state by voting in favor of the state's efforts to host the Winter Olympic Games or 2002. ' i: " r Is Utah ready for the Olympics? That's what voters from throughout the state will decide next month during the municipal election, when they vote on the referendum ballot whether Utah should continue its efforts to host the Winter Olympic Games, either in 1998 or 2002. The Olympics questions is not a simple one. There is no proposal here to increase taxes. And there is no promise that a favorable vote will bring the Olympics to the state, either. The issue is this: In order for the state to continue its bid to host the Winter Olympics, construction must begin on some of the facilities soon - even before the International Olympic Commit-tee decides which of seven locations throughout the world will host the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. The state is asking its residents if, over the next 10 years, we are willing to earmark a small portion of the sales tax we already pay to help fund the construction of bobsled and luge runs, a speed skating facility and ski jumps. Construction must begin within a year-and-a-ha- lf and should cost around $40 million. The sales tax diversion will raise about $56 million, all of which is to be repaid if the 1998 Winter Olympics should come to Utah and if they should turn a profit. It is the pre-gam- e construction, and the use of public funds for the construction, that is at the heart of the referendum. Everyone involved in the issue admits that public funding for the facilities is a gamble. In the first place, there is a chance Salt Lake won't be selected for either the 1998 or the 2002 Olympics. In that case, Salt Lake will be the home of world-clas- s sports facilities with no forum to showcase them or the state. While it's true that as the home of the facilities, Salt Lake could attract other sports competitions, none of them are likely to generate anywhere near the dollars that accompany the Winter Olympics. In the second place, not all Olympic Games turn a profit. And a 1998 Winter Games in Salt Lake with a poor turnout and a low television bid could cost Utah millions. But Utah has a lot going for it in its bid to host the Winter Olympics which reduce the nature of the gamble. For one, Salt Lake City is one of the few places in the world where a major metropolitan area is so near world class ski facilities. That would make it an attractive location to host the international competition if the facilities were in place. In the past, the winter Olympics have been held often in cities that were little more than villages before and after the Games. The towns are often hard to reach and inhospitable to large numbers of tourists. But that isn't true in Utah. Salt Lake City is easily accessible, and already geared to the tourist trade. Another factor favoring Utah is the time zone. Television rights play a crucial role in the modern Olympics -- - and the American audience is the largest and most profitable. Our Mountain Standard Time is ideal for the American viewing audience, and the television contract is expected to sell for $423 million - with most of it going to the Salt Lake Winter Games Organizing Committee. Lasting contributions found in scrapbooks In this business of community newspapers, it's easy to get so wrapped up in late breaking news that you forget what will probably endure from each week's edition. A few weeks ago, we produced what I thought was one of our best newspapers in the eight years I've been managing editor. The paper was full of fresh stories from new angles. Many of the stories had not yet been picked up by the daily papers - and that's unusual for us. And the issues included a long story about a bank robbery trial which I had written and with which I was quite pleased. It is one of the advantages of the weekly press that we can take complicated stories and put them in perspective. Day-to-da- y cover-age of a trial, for example, never gives the readers a chance to fit all of the pieces together. But with the trial completed and a verdict entered, the weekly news-paper can present the completed puzzle, and I felt I had done that with the Hatch trial. Mrs. Hatch's attorney even dropped by to pick up extra issues of the paper, although I doubt the story will find an honored place in the family scrapbook. Which brings me to my subject. This week Phebe Innes was clean-ing out some of the items that had been collected by her mother-in-la- -- - including a scrapbook with news clippings about people Mrs. Innes had known in her life. It is a little known fact that the editor's column By MARC HADDOCK Russell Innes, Phebe's late hus-band and the one-tim- e owner, publisher and editor of the Lehi Free Press and the American Fork Citizen, and I have common roots. Both of us hail from the Idaho side of the same small valley on the Idaho-Uta- h border - Bear Lake Valley. My mother grew up in Paris, Idaho, a small town about two miles from the even-small- er town of Bloomington, where my father grew up. They eventually married and moved to Montpelier, about 10 miles on the other side of Paris, where they spent the rest of their lives. There is a story about how Russ and Phebe knew my parents before they were in a position to become parents I've never been told the story. But the family connections go back further, because while thumbing through her mother-in-law'- s scrapbook, Phebe came across two news clippings - one of the golden wedding anniversary of my grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. James Dunn, in 1942 and another of my grandfather's obituary printed two years later. Apparently these people had made enough of an impression on Mrs. Innes that she had kept these remembrances. Phebe passed the page on to me. And here I sit at my desk look-ing at the photos of two strangers -- - a grandfather who died seven years before I was born and the grandmother who, I am told, doted on me until she died when I was about four. And I think about con-nections. Grandma Dunn was the only grandparent I ever knew. By the time I came along, arthritis had confined her to a wheelchair. When I was born, she lived with us but not long enough for me to have any memories of it. Eva Hoff Dunn was born in Pleas-ant Grove, according to the story about her golden wedding. I al-ready knew that. It's my only claim to a Utah County connection. The story also relates that she moved to Utah County when she was a small child something I had never known. My mother's father, like both of my father's parents, was born in Bear Lake valley. Is it any wonder that I am fascinated by that barren valley with its miserable climate and jewel of a lake? So what's the point of these rambling musings? Just this: Some 47 years ago a newspaper was published with the notice of the golden wedding of two people I didn't know, but who are very important to me. Today, they reach out to me from time and I know them a little better than I ever did before. What did the editor of that newspaper think was the big news of the day? I'll never know. Only this clipping from that paper has made it to my desk and that was accomplished through a complicated series of events. Only this story has touched my life. And some 47 years from now, some portion of that paper we pro-duced two weeks ago, of which I was so proud, may make its way into the life of someone else with an announcement of a wedding, or a birth, or a death, or a golden anniversary. We don't publish our newspa-pers with scrapbooks in mind. But it is sometimes humbling to be reminded that the precious parts of our newspaper are not necessar-ily the front page stories over which we slave and sweat, but the notices of the benchmarks of life that fill the inside pages of our publication. And it is there my lasting contri-butions are likely to be found, no matter how much I thought of my report on the robbery trial. r Students selected t to represent peers t' on school board Five senior high students one for each of Alpine School District's high schools have been chosen by members of the district board of education to represent their respec-tive schools at board meetings. According to Richard Gappmayer, board president, the students will attend board meet-ings on a periodic basis to report on school happenings and to provide input to the board on topics of con-cern or interest to students. "We value and count on the input from these students," said Gappmayer. "They help us keep in touch with the feelings and views of the students we serve." Christopher Alan Bailey will represent Lehi High School; Amy Christine Burton, American Fork High School; Becky Thurgood, Pleas-ant Grove High School; Christo-pher O. Higbee, Orem High School; and Taj Rowland, Mountain View High School. ' Bailey is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Bailey, and is pres-ently serving as the studentbody president of Lehi High School. He served as junior class presi-dent, and on several school committees. He is on the hono-rol- l and was named to the Aq demic All State Football Team. has served in a peer counseliij group, and on Qrrin Hatch's Yoi Advisory Committee. Amy Burton is the daughter Dianne W. Burton. She is servii as public relations director for th; studentbody at American Fork ( Active in choir, she was a men, ber of .the All State Choir, and j very involved in art and music. Sk loves drawing, writing music, an skiing. ' ' '"H Becky Thurgood is the daughW of David and Marily Thurgood. Sb is presently serving as th studentbody president atPleasail Grove High School. j Becky has had various rolls student government all through h years in high school. She is a honor roll student with honors i accounting. She is involved with cappella choir and the Futui Business Leaders of America an has entered state competition. She has also been involved wit FHA and has served as a cand striper. She enjoys sports, craft music and art. Band boosters seek trailer ers, vans, pickups or whatever they couldfind to secure transportation, but it has become more difficult each year with the increased space needed. For this reason, it has become necessary to secure a cargo trailer to carry the band's equipment. The Band Boosters are asking for any donations that individuals, businesses or organizations ma wish to make. All donations ai welcome and appreciated. An person, business or organizatio which donates $100 or more wi have their name or logo printed o the back of the trailer. Ifyou wish to donate, callDonn Woodward at 785-019- or Brend Rose, 785-221- The Pleasant Grove High School Band Boosters are seeking dona-tions to help purchase a cargo trailer to carry the band's large equip-ment to performances. Four years ago, the Pleasant Grove High School Music Depart-ment, under the direction of David Fullmer, began competition march-ing for the high school students. Students who have wished to be involved with the marching band have made a great commitment. This commitment includes rising early each morning and being at the high school by 6:30 a.m., march-ing in the dark and sometimes muddy field and often playing their instruments when their fingers are so cold that they are hard to move. David Fullmer has also commit-ted himself to many extra hours in behalf of his students. With these commitments, the band is deter-mined to be number one for Pleas-ant Grove. Fullmer has found great success in his students' diligence. Not only are they one of the top marching bands in the area, but they have also had a growing number of band members. Because of this growth, more equipment is needed for each per-formance. In the past, parents of band students have shared their trail- - Congress needs good men I have heard that he was laughed at for thinking that the senate could work that way. They play the game of "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours," or what is more commonly known as blackmail, "Ifyou want a defense contract for Thiokol then you better support me in my five billion dollar boondoggle in my state." Sometimes I get so aggravated with the entire mess that I think, "Boy, I'd like to go back there and get these folks straightened out. I'd get rid of the graft, the payoffs, the overspending, the bureaucracy, the humongous waste." Sure I would! Just like Jake Garn or any other senator who thinks they can buck the system. It is too ingrained and some have become too powerful. I used to think President Ken-nedy was a pretty neat guy. Then lately I heard about all the woman-izing and stuff. What a way to burst a bubble. No one is perfect. Yet we have the most wonderful government plan in the world, and those in seats of power abuse that power and fall far from perfect, it would appear. All this rambling leads to one idea: When will the officials in of-fice forget about getting themselves and get around to help-ing America? We could use a few good men, just like the Marines. By MARCELLA WALKER Wouldn't you like to see just one thing happen in Washington D.C. that was done for the benefit of the American people as a whole with-out the entire congress and senate breaking up on party lines? I keep wondering if this will ever happen. Of course, it is very unlikely, but wouldn't it be nice? If the president gives a talk or a news conference or a State of the Union address, then the "other" party must be heard from. They must contradict everything that was said, no matter what. I would like to see the parties come out in support of each other once in a while. I'd like to see them do the American people a favor and consider the best interests of the country and not what will get them next time around. What really set me off this time was the flap about the unsuccess-ful coup in Panama. The govern-ment has been eager to get rid of Noriega and I can understand that. The government tries to do things diplomatically, I am sure. The Secretary of Defense seemed to be very sincere when he explained what had happened and why theU. S. did not kidnap Noriega and solve the entire matter right there. It seemed like a good explana-tion and I felt that we should just learn from the experience. Well, right off the bat we had some contrary opinions in Wash-ington and they dive right in with all kinds of accusations that the explanation is untrue and that the U.S. muffed it. Some of them sound like they have a red flag that goes up in their brains as soon as one party takes a stand which means that they have to be loud in their opposing view. It is almost like they are pro-grammed to automatically disap-prove. And it doesn't matter which party p.g. blab is in office. It always happens and it happens to whoever is in office. The other day there was a vote on something or other, I have for-gotten right now what issue it was, and 60 Democrats actually thought for themselves and voted with the Republicans. What a wonderful happening. Here in Utah we have two rep-resentatives who are Republicans and one who is a Democrat. Fre-quently these reps are at odds with the Republicans on one side aTid the Democrat on the other. What is at question here is the state of Utah. It does not matter what a man's philosophy is, his desire should be to do what is best for the people in the state. Wouldn't it be wonderful if our representatives and senators could forget they belonged to any party at all and just vote the way their constituents want them to? But I am told that is naive think-ing. Senator Jake Garn went back to Washington when he was first elected andhadbigdreamsof doing just that. 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