Lead Freedom Pledge, Scout leaders told
PROVO — Utah County leaders of Boy and Girl Scout troops are being asked to lead their charges in a "Freedom Pledge" as part of America's Freedom Festival at Provo.
The route of the Grand Parade on July 4 will be flanked with hundreds of Boy and Girl Scouts. They will lead a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance prior to the start of the parade.
All participating Scouts will receive a Freedom Pledge patch for their uniform and each participating unit will receive an America's Freedom Festival 2003 ribbon to hang with their troop flag.
Call Brandon Savage at 375-7874 or the Boy Scout office at 373-4185 for more information.
Orem is seeking festival volunteers
OREM — Looking for a hot summer job?
Orem officials seek volunteers to help at the city's annual Summer Festival June 13-14.
Organizers need information booth attendants, parking lot attendants, parade safety monitors and hospitality tent monitors.
Volunteers must be at least 18. To sign up, contact Elias Akinaka, 229-7292 or Peni Basalusalu, 687-6063, by Friday.
Saratoga Springs to host a yard sale
SARATOGA SPRINGS — One man's trash is another man's treasure.
Saratoga Springs will put that theory to the test on Saturday when it hosts a citywide yard sale.
The sale will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 7676 N. Redwood Road.
For more information, contact Allana Fagergren at 768-4083.
Orem Council OKs next year's budget
OREM — The Orem City Council unanimously approved a $62 million budget Tuesday night for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
Officials avoided raising taxes, but the budget includes increases in business license fees, cemetery burial fees and recreation fees.
Faced with a multimillion-dollar money crunch, city officials scrambled to find a way to bridge the $2.2 million gap between projected revenue and spending.
The budget features $25,000 for a tuition assistance program for city employees and $334,000 for the acquisition and development of park space.
BYU will receive a $162,319 gift
PROVO — Brigham Young University has generous friends at ExxonMobil Corp.
Forty-six current and retired employees of ExxonMobil are donating $34,684.
The company will match the gifts at a ratio of 3-to-1, bringing the total to $138,734 — the largest employee-corporate gift ever received by the LDS Church-owned school.
In addition, the BYU President's Leadership Council is also kicking in $23,585, bringing the final total to $162,319.
ExxonMobil will give a check to BYU President Cecil O. Samuelson on Monday.
Some of the donors told the school how they wanted the money to be used. Others left the designation to the discretion of BYU.
Kyrgyzstan envoy will visit UVSC
OREM — The foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan will visit Utah Valley State College Friday and Saturday.
UVSC's relationship with Kyrgyzstan began in 1989, when officials at then-Utah Valley Community College became one of the first community colleges to coordinate an exchange program with the Soviet Union.
In 1993, UYSC initiated the Utah-Russia Institute on campus and became the first U.S. institution to receive accreditation for programs offered in the former Soviet Union.
Askar Aitmatov, the foreign minister, will be busy during his trip to Utah. In addition to meetings with state and local officials, he will meet with religious leaders and tour various points of interest, such as Olympic venues and historical sites.
Aitmatov also will speak Friday at 2 p.m. in Room 204 of the administration building.