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Charity Play gives back
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Design nearing completion
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August 19, 2022 | Vol. 3 Iss. 33
NEWS BREAK Majority of Americans say bag the Electoral College
MANY OF THE CLIENTS using the Bountiful Wellness therapy pool have been coming for years. The pool is set to close on Sept. 1.
Therapy pool provides healing and friendship
Photo by Roger V. Tuttle
By Becky Ginos becky.g@davisjournal.com BOUNTIFUL—The Bountiful Wellness therapy pool has done more than help people heal – it’s given them a sense of belonging. That’s all coming to an end on Sept. 1 when the space will be converted into a cancer clinic. Those who are using the pool don’t know where they’ll go when it’s gone. The pool is kept at 92 degrees, said Della Mae Keil, a veteran who uses the pool for therapy and teaches classes there. “The warm water helps. I spent 22 years in the
Navy Reserve and went to Desert Storm. Now I should be on 24/7 oxygen. In the water I don’t need oxygen. I alone with dozens of others don’t know what to do. We need warm water to exercise.” Keil said they’ve tried to find another therapy pool but haven’t been successful. “They’re all too cold.” Myrna Johnson comes from Rose Park to use the pool. “I have a pool right next to me but it’s too cold. I’ve been coming for 20 years, it’s the best thing I can do for my back.” “The warmer temperature is vital to healing muscles as opposed to a regular pool,” said Colleen Jones. “It’s not only
physical but mental. I don’t feel safe anywhere else.” The Boyer Company manages the building at 520 Medical Drive but the owner is out of Nashville, said Ron Craven who handles leasing. “Lakeview Hospital used the pool for therapy. After multiple years they chose to close it down and the physical therapy business vacated the area.” The pool and the physical therapy space became vacant and the owners tried to get a physical therapy group to go in and maintain it but no one wanted to, he said. “A doctor has leased it for a cancer treatPlease see POOL: pg. 2
No bonding initiative for Rec Center on ballot this year
Medical costs in Utah 3rd highest in nation
The average medical debt in Utah for an individual is $3,128, sixth highest in the U.S. Wyoming ranks first at $6,516, while Massachusetts is lowest at $975. The survey was done by NiceRx, an online prescription company. Total cost of medical debt in Utah is around $1.136 million, 26th highest in the country. Texas has the highest total of medical debt at $14.608 million. Americans age 75 and over have the highest level of medical debt, averaging $15,510, but the age group with the most prevalent debt is 45-54 year olds, who have 20 percent of the nation’s medical debt.
Postal rates going up for the holidays
The U.S. Postal Service will raise rates for its delivery service starting Oct. 2, with higher rates extending until Jan. 22, 2023 for individuals and businesses on mailing that include Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express and FirstClass Package Service. The USPS said in a statement the temporary rates “will keep USPS competitive while providing the agency with the revenue to cover extra costs in anticipation of peak-season volume.” The Postal Regulatory Commission still has to approve the higher rates.
Century of calm ends in one Nebraska town
Police in Laurel, Nebraska have arrested a man on suspicion of killing four people, the first time in 100 years that the small community had seen violence. Police arrested Jason Jones, 42, after barging into his home that sat across the street from one of two homes where victims were shot and their homes set on fire. Jones was so badly burned that he was flown to a hospital in Lincoln instead of being booked into jail. He will be charged with four counts of first-degree murder.
By Tom Haraldsen tom.h@davisjournal.com BOUNTIFUL—In an emotional meeting on Aug. 9, the South Davis Recreation District Board of Directors voted not to put a bonding initiative on this year’s November election ballot. The vote was 5-3 from the board to table the bond for about a year. Board chairman Todd Meyers told the Bountiful City Council that the decision came after the board discussed proposing General Obligation Bonds to finance “in whole or in part the acquisition (including of land as required), construction, renovation and equipping of recreational facilities and field space” for improvements within the district. Last year, the District began studying improvements for the center, including a proposed second site in Woods Cross or North Salt Lake, and perhaps construction of a 50-meter pool. It was part of the SDRC’s Master Plan concept that it began in 2019 to address some restraints to the current building, pinch points of super high use, and the
Research from the Pew Research Center said 63 percent of Americans feel it’s time to ditch the Electoral College, the system used to select the U.S. President. Those surveyed feel the presidential election should go to the candidate receiving the most votes – like every other election of any type. Pew said the 63% figure is the highest it’s seen since polling began in 2000. About 35% are in support of keeping the Electoral College system. Not surprisingly, Democrats support scrapping the system (80% said to change it) while only 42% of Republicans favor a change. The Electoral College is written into Article II of the Constitution, and has been altered twice by amendments. The 12th Amendment ended the practice of runners-up being elected Vice President and the 23rd Amendment gave Washington, D.C. electors.
Inflation Reduction Act won’t crush corporate profits
THE OUTSIDE POOL AT THE SOUTH Davis Recreation Center is highly popular every summer.
Photo courtesy of SDRC website
need for a new pool. Meyer said the District is still trying to recover financially from the devastation that the COVID-19 epidemic caused for almost two years. In addition to revenues dropping dramatically while people stayed at home, the roof of the center had to be replaced. SDRC was closed for a period of time in 2020, and even when it reopened, many people did not return for months to the pre-COVID levels of participation. The center has a cash reserve, kind of like a rainy day fund, which was earmarked largely for
repairs if needed, but much of that cash was used for maintenance and operations, leaving a negative balance in the reserve fund. Bountiful City Councilmember Kate Bradshaw was appointed as the city’s representative on the board by new mayor Kendalyn Harris, and she has served since January. In her monthly newsletter to constituents, she posted numbers and graphs related to the SDRC operations, stating that “the current budget trajectory is just not sustainable and Please see SDR: pg. 2
Following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, economists at Goldman Sachs said the effect will be minuscule for most corporate profits. To pay for historic climate investments, the legislation that passed the Senate on Sunday imposes a 15% minimum corporate tax and a 1% tax on stock buybacks. But the fallout from these tax provisions will be minimal, according to Goldman Sachs (GS). The buyback tax and minimum corporate tax will lower per-share profits next year among S&P 500 companies by just 1.5%, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis published early Sunday. Companies that pay low effective tax rates – such as health care and technology firms – would see a bigger hit, the bank said.