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Show Board eyes world friendship lints assist the city of Bethlehem in the preliminary development of a new soccer field and sports complex. Speakers familiar with that area are being invited to speak to local groups, and a speakers bureau is planned to foster community interest in-terest in its Sister City. The prospects are bright for an ongoing interchange of ideas and influences which will bring growth and enrichment to both communities communi-ties as the Sister City bond is strengthened across the sea. .-. - --js WkLmmmmmmmmmimmmmmmmmad. i 11 t mmmmmmamimmm. BOUNTIFUL BETHLEHEM COMMITTEE to coordinate plans and ideas for Bountiful and its new "Sister City" of Bethlehem are seated left to right, Chris-' tine Nielson, schools and youth; Sister Cecilia Yanzandt, schools and youth; Board Chairman David C. Racker, service club speakers' bureau and fact-finding; Mayor Dean S. Stahle; and Jean Crowther, schools and youth. Back row, John Covey, information and speakers' bureau; Lewis V. Nord, publicity; Councilman Richard Sharp, service clubs; Haven Burningham fund raising; J. Dean Hill, secretary; se-cretary; James A. Boyd, fund raising; and Duane S. Crowther; publicity. International links of friendship are being forged as Bountiful enters en-ters into u sister-city relationship with the Middle Hast city of Bethlehem. Beth-lehem. The relationship is being established through the international interna-tional Sister Cities program, which links cities of many countries together in activities which promote prom-ote peace, understanding and cultural cul-tural exchanges. A Bountiful-Bethlehem Sister-City Sister-City committee has been formed, with fourteen residents of the city volunteering their services. The committee, while organized under the direction of Mayor Dean Stahle. is an independent citizens' group which represents the city but which functions without city funding. fund-ing. Several elected city officials are serving among the committee membership. Mayor Stahle initiated the Sister City relationship during a trip to Israel in 1983. During his visit he had the opportunity to discuss the Sister City tie with Bethlehem's mayor. Elias M. Freij. The formal relationship was finalized last Christmas eve. when the two mayors again met in Bethlehem. Prior clearance had been obtained through the Israeli embassy and through U.S. officials in Israel. With the two-city relationship approaching formalization, an invitation in-vitation was issued through this newspaper inviting interested residents resi-dents of the city to volunteer to serve on a committee charged with furthering mutual efforts with Bethlehem representatives through the Sister City program. After several get-acquainted sessions, ses-sions, an organizational meeting was held in February to formally establish the committee. Dave Racker was elected committee chairman, Jean Crowther was chosen as vice chairman. Dean Hill as secretary-treasurer and Duane Crowther as Historian. These four together serve as the Executive Board for the local Sister Cities group. As committee organization has progressed, five sub-committees have been formed and are now operating and involved in several projects. John Covey was named head of the Factfinding and Speakers Speak-ers Bureau group; Lew Nord was selected as chairman of the Publicity Public-ity committee; and Sister Cecelia Van Zant was tapped to be head of the Schools and Youth Relations committee. Fund raising responsibility responsi-bility was given to a committee headed by James Boyd, and part, is neither Christian nor Jewish. Jew-ish. Several of the committee members mem-bers have visited Bethlehem and Israel on several occasions, and have a good understanding of the conditions there, as well as strong ties and affinities for the peoples who live there. What similarities tie Bountiful to Bethlehem? There are several. First, the two cities have names which mean almost the same thing: "abundance." Bethlehem means "house of wheat" or "house of bread." Both are relatively small cities, facing similar challenges in terms of community development. And certainly, the rich historical background of Bethlehem is a matter mat-ter of considerable interest to many local residents, as well as to people everywhere. Already, children from several Bountiful schools have exchanged letters with school children in Bethlehem through the auspices of the committee. Plans are being projected pro-jected for a variety of cultural exchanges ex-changes through school projects and correspondence. Plans also are being discussed for bringing one or more representatives from Bethlehem Beth-lehem to visit in Bountiful, and the committee is considering ways to Richard Sharp is responsible for the committee which will be making mak-ing contacts with the various Service Ser-vice Clubs in the area and state. A temporary committee under the direction of Cheryl Okubo fulfilled ful-filled the assignment of drafting a basic declaration of purpose for the Bountiful-Bethlehem Sister City Committee. This declaration focuses fo-cuses on major goals of the relationship, re-lationship, which include the promotion of peace, mutual understanding under-standing and goodwill; the sharing of resources pertaining to community com-munity development; the exchange ex-change of information concerning the two cultures, lifestyles, mores and environments; and the mutual rendering of assistance in the accomplishing of community projects. pro-jects. The committee has set strict guidelines for itself, calling for the use of particular care not to attempt to impose political, cultural, cultu-ral, economic nor religious values on its Middle East counterpart, nor to allow its activities to become involved in-volved in the controversies and entanglements en-tanglements of the Arab-Israeli conflicts which are common to that area. Bethlehem, though the palce where Jesus Christ was born and thus the birthplace of Christianity, is primarily an Arab City, with a population which, for the most |
