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Show Bountiful teens chastise council By GARY R. BLODGETT BOUNTIFUL A small group of teenaged girls "set the Bountiful City Council on its heels" during last week's city council meeting. The Bountiful High School students were attending council meeting in preparation for Girls' State Convention later this spring. After hearing two major issues on the council agenda, 'tRachael Mabey, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Mabey, asked Of she could speak to the council. Mayor Dean S. Stahle granted ler request. She noted that a proposal to revise the city's curfew ordinance ordi-nance would create an extreme hardship on teenagers. The proposed ordinance would restrict teenagers 16 and under from staying out at night without being in the presence of an adult between 1 1 p.m. and 5 a.m.. Persons 17 to 18 years of age would have a curfew of between midnight and 5 a.m. The existing ordinance forbids persons under 18 years of age to be out between midnight and daylight on weekdays during school, and 1 a.m. until daylight on weekends. (Daylight is considered to be one-half hour before sunup.) "I'm a 16-year-old junior at Bountiful High and to revise the present curfew ordinance would force me into becoming a lawbreaker," law-breaker," Rachael told the council. "On nights of special high school activities it is difficult to get home before 1 a.m. and would be nearly impossible to be home before midnight." "With an 1 1 p.m. curfew, most of the sophomore students in the Bountiful area would be forced to leave dances and other activities early, or end up being in violation of the curfew ordinance. We don't want that, so please reconsider and do not change the existing ordinance," she pleaded with the council. She then cited three reasons she felt the council was wrong in attempting to amend the curfew ordinance: 1. It would be placing an unfair distinction between ages of kids within the same school or community, and would create an extreme hardship on sophomore students 16 years of age and under. 2. There is a need for a curfew, but there is also a need for individual freedom. 3. Curfew is too strict and should be controlled by conditions. The revised ordinance would place too much restraint on most teenagers, especially 16-year-old sophomores. City Manager Tom Hardy said the curfew ordinance is not meant to be a harassment law but should provide for "probable cause" to legally stop suspicious persons. City Atty. Layne B. Forbes said the revision proposal was prepared in an attempt to make the curfew ordinance more uniform with neighboring cities. Councilman Bob Gramoll made a motion that the proposal be given further study with an attempt to make some concessions with other cities. Bountiful Council will review the proposal again before making mak-ing a final decision. |
