Rolly: Students will take ACT test amid GOP convention

About 1,500 delegates and supporters for numerous legislative candidates will converge at Salem Hills High School for the Utah County Republican Convention on April 14, at the same time 300 high school students will be taking the ACT test to determine their readiness for college.

Parents are concerned enough about distractions for students taking the intense test over several hours that they have asked local police to patrol the halls and parking lots to deter excessive noise and make sure the students have access to the building.

Bonnie Morrow, the Utah County GOP vice chair, sent an email to delegates requesting they be respectful of the students taking the test and reminding them of police presence. And Salem Hills principal Bart Peery said every step has been taken to accommodate both groups and ensure the students will be taking the test with little distraction.

The tests will be conducted on the upper level of the school, and the convention will be confined to the lower level at the other end of the building, Peery said.

But one member of the Utah County Republican executive committee said at its recent meeting there are concerns that the convention will be right below where students will be taking the test.

Utah County GOP Chair David Acheson said a Boy Scout troop has volunteered to direct convention delegates to one door and the ACT test takers to another door, so they are kept separate. The scouts also will make sure the delegates and students are parked in different lots, which also will be patrolled by police.

Acheson said the convention originally was scheduled for Timpview High School, but the school's power system is being upgraded that day and the heat will be turned off.

"We tried to comb every possible venue with the short notice we had, and this was the only viable site," he said.

So, good luck to the students taking the test that could determine what colleges accept them, all while frenzied political fans extoll the virtues of their candidates to the delegate throng.

Utahn's trip to Santorum World: Presidential candidate Rick Santorum and/or his campaign staff seem to be getting more and more confused as the primary season slogs toward its ultimate conclusion.

Santorum famously told a friendly crowd most of the campuses of the University of California don't offer classes on American history, a claim so utterly false and easily debunked it is stunning.

Earlier, he said in an interview that senior citizens in The Netherlands wear wrist bands that say, "Please don't euthanize me" because that country euthanizes so many elderly people against their will.

When an Amsterdam news anchor confronted a Santorum campaign aide about that ridiculously false claim, all she could say was "Rick is pro-life."

Now, Murray resident Christopher Katis is wondering if Santorum staffers suffer from a severe reading disability.

Katis was outraged at a Santorum ad that flashed a photo of President Obama at about the same time the words "sworn American enemy" appeared.

So he posted a comment in the "Contact Us" section of Santorum's campaign Web site, calling the ad the "lowest of low in political advertising" and that Santorum owes Obama an apology.

How did Santorum's campaign respond to those comments?

They sent a reply welcoming his support and asking for campaign contribution.

Collateral damage? Remember those wonderful free parking gift bags tied to the tops of the parking meters during the holidays, allowing folks to park for two hours with no cost for their shopping excursions.

That was a present to shoppers from the leaders of Salt Lake City.

But in the weeks following the end of the holidays, those little black zip-ties used to secure the bags over the meters could still be found littering the gutters in some parts of town.

prolly@sltrib.com