UVSC College Times, 2000-12-07

              mrwnatr-iM'iK!r'UMtiiiiwrmi m m mm I'm p m.r-ur- . w na. ,-gii EL BUEN PANO EN EL AP" SE VENDE VOLUME 29 ISSUE 33 WHAT'S INSIDE in mi i in mini i i in in World Nation: One of "Little Rock Nine" to be keynote speaker at UVSC's MLK commemoration Opinion: Stress levels greater in pre-finals week Life lines: Stars of Hollywood shine at Deer Valley to raise money for Olympics Sports: It's official Crowton named BYU football coach 'Marketplace: Classifieds with class. TP I U J l l i J fO i "-w .- ,T.- 0 BY AND FOR THE STUoi NTS OF UTAH VALLEY STATE COLLEGE 30 READY TO HUMBLE Region 18 braces for ths return of UVSC basketball this weekend pg. 3 1 u HOLLYWOOD STARS SHINE AT DEER VALLEY Celebrities raise money December 7, 2000 -VJwkslTAi! "V - Mr. Beldina 1 1 l ... ' I V NETXNEWS Tired of having your car towed or booted? Tell us on page 1 1 and win a free box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts VALLEY WEATHER T.: partly cloudy ; Hijti47Low26 . 'S Frtdar: mostly doudy High 48 Low 29 shovrs (Sat.) snow (Sun.) Hifh 32 Low 12 "Hey. (Iiat's mv car!" looting, towing laws reviewed in Provo, Orem Provo Council watching and listeiting as students propose lower towing fees atid enforcement of city ordinances By DEREK M. BROWN OF THE NETXNEWS STAFF The scene seems so familiar to many of you. Either the orange oval rests comfortably on your tire, a tow truck lowers it grips to latch onto your vehicle or a piece of paper warning you of your violation is held conveniently beneath your windshield wiper. Without fail, one out of every five UVSC students has heard, seen or been involved in a booting andor towing incident according to preliminary research by Student housing. Chris Kirkland, member of the Student Advisory Committee at BYU and former UVSC OMBUDSMAN, is heading the investigation of whether towing companies are abusing students when towing or booting their vehicles in Provo. "Everyone's got a friend who has had a problem with towing or booting or their own personal horror story," said Kirkland, "That leads us to believe that it is pretty predominant and widespread."The BYU Student Advisory Committee has brought a bill before Provo City Council proposing that the amount of money you have to pay to get your car back, after it is booted or towed, be cut in half. This means prices in towing would go from S80 to $40 and booting prices would drop from $40 to $20. If the Provo city council can find enough evidence that booting and towing is a problem at student housing the fight for lower prices will succeed. They, along with Orem City, are seeking this proof through student surveys. To have your story heard see student survey concerning 'towing & booting' on page 11 Kirkland added, "It's hard when students don't make complaints to the city." Complaints have been made to Orem officials and acknowledged. In a sting operation last month, Orem detectives followed up on numerous complaints against employees of Park Rite Towing-a company holding towing contracts with over 25 major Utah County apartment complexes. Voices against the company claimed that Park Rite employees were stealing items from the cars they towed. Detectives purposefully parked a car illegally on 1080 N. State and left $25 cash, expensive stereo equipment and a hidden video camera inside. When they picked up the car the next day detectives observed that the cash was gone, the stereo speakers had been ripped out and the video camera was broken and the tape erased. The missing items were found in an employee's vehicle. The employees involved were reprimanded and fired. rir. -rri' 7'xtk'kfl The incident was proof that there are abuses THE C0UE6E TIMEt.TILE PK0T0 Complaints have been made by students ot Orem and Provo, and acknowledged by city officials. The BYU Student Advisory Committee has taken a bill to Provo City Council to cut towing fees by half price going on," said UVSC OMBUDSMAN Kyle Duncan, "It's coming out that, number one: Yes, there are some problems and two: it does need to be watched and regulated a lot better." Incidents such as this definitely favor those proposing the cut in towing and booting rates. Occurrences such as this offer proof that there are cases of abuse. According to officials, Park Rite is continued pg. 3 see "Towing" Over 100 families benefit from Institute student service By SOPHIA WILSON OF THE NETXNEWS STAFF Early on December 2, at 5:45 a.m. to be exact, UVSC LDS Institute students gathered together at the Eastbay K-mart on University Ave. to shop for "'Tute for Tots." , The Institute has collected money from a month of donations to help struggling families from all over Utah Valley. "It's such a great opportunity to serve others," said J. D. Christensen, a student and class leader for the institute. The activity lasted all day starting with shopping for toys, clothes, food, and basic supplies for every family. Each present was then wrapped back at the Orem Institute building where each individual family members' names were placed on the presents. The gifts were then delivered to the families. "We try to do a lot for these families and have raised enough money in years past to provide a really good Christmas for the children." said Brother Kauffman, a teacher at the LDS Orem Institute. This year, he said, was no different."UVSC Students have a history of rising to the aid of others in need, especially when it comes to the holiday season." said Ovilla Wilson of UVSC. "Each year us as students devote all we can in aiding our fellow men, that is what the true meaning of the holidays are for, and more importantly, what a true wolverine represents. 1 TJ rSr i : Board of Education says a tax hike may be needed V':'-":--.' -J;k. i" - V" ri .... t TAMMY SWAHKTHE COLLEGE TIMES UVSC students donate money for at the 'Tute for Tots Eatery, set up just inside the Orem Institute building front doors. Students baked goods and donated them for the service project to help raise money to provide Christmas to needy Utah Valley families. By ASSOCIATED PRESS SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The state Board of Education has asked both sides in Tuesday's teacher walkout to put asidc bruised egos and work together "N,f the sake of Utah's children. t its monthly meeting Tuesday, the boird also urged creation of a five-year education-funding plan possibly including tax increases. "As a board, we need to make a strong statement in terms of educating our students," Chairman Jill Kennedy said. The statement empathized with the financial conditions in public schools leading to the walkout. The Utah Education Association said the job action was intended to draw attention to long-term education needs. At the same time, the board said, "many fine legislators" have worked to increase education funding within the limitations of existing revenue. "The real culprit is neither frustrated teachers nor legislators who work to improve educational quality and support," the board said. "The obvious culprit is a set of circumstances." The circumstances include the highest birth rate in the nation, coupled with the desire to keep tax burdens reasonable. Yet, the large number of students to be educated requires a higher tax burden than most states, according to the board. The priority is to make sure children are educated, said member Denis R. Morrill. "It may be uncomfortable raising taxes," Morrill said. "But waiting to fund all this out of growth I just don't think it's going to happen." Board member Lynn Haslem introduced a motion, which passed, to add language that the board favors finding revenue sources other than tax hikes. "Other areas could be tapped that could be less abrasive," Haslem said. Board member Greg Haws wanted the record to reflect that the position of the UEA and the board are not the same. He said he opposed the teachers' action. "I do not think it is in the best interests of the children to flex their union muscles in this way," he said. State Sen. Dave Steele, R-West Point, who attended the board meeting, said he has yet to receive one phone call from the public supporting the teacher walkout.He said the funding task force was set an impossible task from the start. It lacked the power to bind future legislation or to alter the budget in isolation from other budget considerations, Steele said. He suggested more could have been accomplished had the committee been organized under the Executive Appropriations Committee. Steele is co-chairman of that committee as well as the Education Interim Committee. UEA Executive Director Susan Kuziak said most members of the public back the teachers. She said she did receive some negative calls. "We've had some people who want to send us their child care bill." Net Spot THE HOTTEST SPOTS IN: News:Polrtks youthwte20!W.orjnews www.lapdofiline.com cnn.comAliPOUTlGnisn.com netxnews.netnews msnk.comnewsdfault.asp Entertainment: utahvalleymall.com music.utah.edupagessche dules utahvalleymusic.com moviefone.com Olympics Online: www.saltlake2002.com www.olympic-usa.org www.olympic.org Student helps: makingcollegecount.com edu.com (astweb.com firetalk.com lycos.com Sports; uvsc.eduathletics nflfans.com nhl.com nfltalk.com espn.go.com nba.com I320kfan.com Service: unitedwayuc.org volunteer-unitedwayuc.org uvsc.eduldssa Gore: Votes needed to win were thrown away in Seminole County By VICKIE CHACHERE ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) Badly in need of a legal victory, Democratic attorneys went back into court Wednesday seeking to overturn presidential election results in two counties where they say Republicans cheated. And no one is more interested in the outcome than Vice President Al Gore, whose string of courtroom losses in recent days threatens his viability to continue his vote challenge in Florida. Leon County Circuit Judge Terry Lewis listened to motions Wednesday morning in a case challenging nearly 10,000 absentee ballots in Martin County. He took a break after 90 minutes to let Republican lawyers participate in another case brought by Democrats in the same courthouse challenging more than 15,000 Seminole County absentee ballots. P,P I Jm.. i U .t I . J t lAL C0UBTIST PN0T0 Al Gore argues that Republican Party workers affixed voter-ID numbers to applications Democrats claim Republicans illegally added voter-IDs to incomplete continued pg. 5 see "G ore Utah Sports Newzz: Salt Lake Buzz to rename team Due to the new affiliation with the Anaheim Angels, the Salt Lake Buzz will rename their team. New name will be needed when Helena Brewers move to Provo PROVO, Utah (AP) When Provo's new professional baseball team takes the field next summer, there will be no beer, coffee or caf-feinated sodas in the stands. Sunday home games will be out, and the team now the Helena Brewers will need a new nickname. Salt Lake organizers reveal elaborate Olympic torch run By PAUL F0Y ASSOCIATED PRESS SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The Olympic torch will take a serpentine 65-day course through America, going through 46 states by the time it arrives in Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Games. It will be the most elaborate U.S. torch run, with a price tag to match: $25 million, paid for almost entirely by Olympic sponsors. The torch will start its U.S. journey a year from Monday in Atlanta, site of the 1996 Summer Games. The flame will arrive in a special container aboard a plane from the Olympic birthplace of Athens, Greece. In all the flame will travel 13,500 miles by air, train, ship, dog sled, snowmobile, horse-drawn sleigh and other modes of transport, including runners. It will make a loop to Alaska from Washington state. The only states the torch won't visit are Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Hawaii. Organizers hope the torch run will be a defining moment for the Salt Lake Games, finally burying the Olympic vote-buying scandal that has its own milestone to run: the federal bribery trial of two Salt Lake bid executives, scheduled to start in June. "All of the mistakes of the organizers, all of the management weaknesses that will become a separate issue," Mitt Romney, president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, said Monday. Romney, who was hired to clean up the Salt Lake Games, envisions an inspiring run unmarrcd by the controversy at the Summer Games in Sydney, Australia, where the daughter of IOC vice president Kcvan Gosper became the first Australian to run with the torch. Neither International Olympic Committee delegates, their relatives nor elected officials will carry the torch. Romney plans to solicit nominations over a SLOC Web site for torch runners who come recommended as a special inspiration to others. The runners will be selected by a board of officials from SLOC plus corporate sponsors. The run- contjnued po- 3 see "Torch"