Vol. 2 Iss. 25
Dec. 2023
ournals J THE
C IT Y
Centerville/Farmington
YOUR C O M M U N I T Y N E WS PA P E R
WHO YOU GONNA CALL? ‘UTAH GHOSTBUSTERS’ By Ariel Harmer | a.harmer@davisjournal.com
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f there’s something strange in your neighborhood, don’t worry – Davis County has its very own crew of Ghostbusters. Marcelo Ponce, Samuel Torres and Caleb Knight recently started “Utah Ghostbusters,” a cosplay group that attends events around the state dressed as characters from the popular “Ghostbusters” franchise. With their realistic costumes, a life-size green “Slimer” ghost and a detailed replica of the iconic Ecto-1 vehicle, they’ve brought the Ghostbusters out of the big screen and into the community. Ponce, Slimer and the Ecto-1 made an appearance at the North Salt Lake Hispanic Heritage Night in Davis County in September, and the rest of the group joined them for an event at Valley Fair Mall in West Valley in November. They hope to continue to make appearances at local events. “We want to be able to go to events to help the community, raise funds for different things, and just for fun as well,” Ponce said. Ponce said he’s been a fan of “Ghostbusters” his whole life, and it inspired him to convert his car into the Ecto-1 about a year ago. Although he said he was unable to replicate it perfectly – the movie’s car is a 1959 Cadillac, which Ponce says is hard to come by – it looks very true to the original. Ponce said people love taking pictures and videos of it as he drives around town, and that’s what gave him the idea to start bringing it to events. “Now, this has grown more into get-
ting it out there to businesses, events, collecting money for charities and their communities,” he said. Torres, who lives just north of Davis County in West Haven, works as an EMT when he isn’t participating in the group. He said he enjoys how both roles allow him to make a positive impact on his community. “I always like to put a smile on people's faces,” he said. Torres also has additional experience in the ghost-busting world, as he was previously a member of a Ghostbusters cosplay group in New York that became certified as a non-profit charity organization. He said he’s loved participating in both groups because it makes people happy to see them, and his own family especially appreciates his entertainment. “I love kids, I have a bunch of nieces and nephews,” he said. “They see me as the ‘funcle,’ you know?” He said he’d like to see the Utah Ghostbusters grow as much as his old group did, and Ponce said they’re hoping to start attending more events soon. A new Ghostbusters movie is being released in 2024, and the Utah Ghostbusters are looking forward to the buzz it will create. To stay updated on their endeavors, you can follow the Utah Ghostbusters on their Facebook page or on Instagram at @ utah.ghostbusters. l Marcelo Ponce, Samuel Torres and Caleb Knight, members of “Utah Ghostbusters,” pose with Slimer the ghost and the Ecto-1 vehicle outside a showing of a Ghostbusters film. (Photo courtesy of Samuel Torres)
CENTERVILLE PD COULD BE TELEVISED – IN GERMANY By Linda Petersen | l.petersen@mycityjournals.com
CENTERVILLE—Centerville Police Department may shortly be part of a German documentary program highlighting law enforcement in the U.S. And perhaps surprisingly, it’s members of the city council who are not sure it’s the best idea, rather than Police Chief Paul Child or his officers. In fact, Child and his officers are very supportive of the idea, he told the city council at a Nov. 7 work session. “I've talked with our officers about it, to see what kind of interest level there is for us,” he said. “So I was a little bit surprised that there was a lot of positive feedback from my officers. They were very positive about the idea.” Child first learned of the documentary being produced by a company in Germany called Fabiola through the Utah Chiefs of Police Association. He was interested and began looking into the company and found nothing but positive reviews, he said. Fabiola’s contract is with the Discovery Channel for 30 episodes, eight of which would be filmed in Centerville if city leaders approve the idea. “What the idea is they are kind of
showcasing law enforcement in Utah and trying to show the good of what's going on in America,” Child said. “They tend to get a steady dose of something that is maybe not exemplary for what we would want to show the world as far as law enforcement goes.” Child met with two Fabiola representatives last July who toured the police department and spoke with some officers along with touring the city. In October, Fabiola representative Uwe Bohler contacted Child to see if Centerville PD would be interested in participating in late-November/early December 2023 or April 2024. On Nov. 7 he took the proposal to the city council to get their feedback. At that meeting various members of the city council expressed concern that people, both officers and those they interact with, might view it as an invasion of their privacy, even though anyone used on film would have to give their written consent. There were also concerns based on past U.S. reality TV shows that have highlighted police departments. “The only concern I have, and there was a lot of backlash on the live PD pro-
gram that was out for a long time, that the policing was not the same when the camera was on and the camera was off,” Councilmember George McEwan said. “I think that we hopefully as a profession, we move past that, because we recognize we're on camera all the time,” Child responded. “We have body cameras on us, we understand that that could go the media on any given situation. People are out with cell phones. I mean, it's a given that we're going to be being recorded anytime of the day.” “The spin can be great; it can be terrible,” Councilmember Spencer Summerhays said. “Now, if it's a morale booster for our officers, and they want to be on TV, and they think it's kind of fun and cool, well ...” With Centerville being more representative of law enforcement in a smaller town than what is often portrayed in the media, the exposure could be a positive thing, Child said. “That's one thing that they [came up] in our discussions. It's like, we're not like some crazy town with all kinds of action going on. That's what we want to show: it's a human story. We want
to tell the story. It doesn't matter if you're writing a ticket, if you pull someone over for speeding, or you're helping a kid get across the road.” In addition to the ordinary day-to-day policing, Fabiola would highlight some interesting cases the police department has been involved in without sensationalizing them, Child said. “They're not after just whatever happens during that period of time when they're here if there's an interesting story that they can highlight and draw from body cameras or dash cameras or whatever and put that into an episode. They're definitely interested in doing that as well.” The police department and city would not be compensated financially in any way for their participation so any benefits would be non tangible. One might be its effect on morale, Child said. “You might ask why even be interested in such a such a deal, especially where it's not even aired here; it's aired in Germany,” Child said. “And I asked that to my officers. And the response that I got, Continued page 2
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