By Dara Blanchette
Transportation, education and economic development are the sources of many issues plaguing Orem and Provo residents, according to a representative of the Utah State Legislature.
Rep. Lorie Fowlke, R-Orem, spoke at the Women in Leadership and Utah County Women Lawyers meeting Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006.
Many of the upcoming issues in the Orem and Provo area have to do with the growing population. Transportation is one significant problem as the rate of growth in the Orem and Provo area continues to increase, Fowlke said.
The dynamics of Utah also create an awkward situation for education, she said. Utah has a both a higher birth rate and a higher number of children in public schools than other states.
The money spent per child for education is lower in Utah than in other states, but the state has the largest amount of money for education taken out of its budget , Fowlke said.
The third corner of the triangle of issues is economic development, she said. There is a large amount of energy consumed, and no one thinks about where it comes from or the fact that it will run out if residents don”t change something both locally and internationally.
Other issues facing the state of Utah include taxes, sex offenders and methamphetamine problems.
