Cottonwood Journal | October 2022

GONDOLA RECEIVES UDOT APPROVAL

By Cassie Goff | c.goff@mycityjournals.com

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) announced their preference for a gondola as a viable alternative solution to canyon traffic con gestion within Little Cottonwood Canyon. They published their Final Environmental Impact Study (EIS) on Aug. 31 as a continuation of the EIS that began in 2018.

“Based on the analysis of the environmental impacts and considering public input, UDOT has identified Gondola B as the preferred alternative for providing the best overall reliability and mobil ity while improving safety,” said UDOT’s Project Manager Josh Van Jura.

Gondola B would include a base station with 2,500 parking spaces near the mouth of Little Cot tonwood Canyon. Each gondola cabin would hold up to 35 people and depart every two minutes. (Gondola A was a suggested solution but was ulti mately decided against because of too many trans fers and stops increasing travel time in the canyon.)

Even though Gondola B is the preferred al ternative, it may take years to construct as UDOT will need to secure federal, state or private funding for full implementation. This preferred alternative is estimated to cost $550 million. Out of that total cost, $159 million will go toward tolling infrastruc ture, transit and trailhead parking, snowsheds, and widening Wasatch Boulevard. The winter opera tions maintenance cost will be $4 million per year. If summer access were to be included, it would be

Gondola B visualization from the Gate Buttress Trailhead. (Appendix 17A: Key Observation Points/Final LCC EIS/Utah Department of Transportation)

“Dozens of doctors told me that there was nothing more that they could do to expect to be in a wheel chair. I went from the top 1% in the army Special Forces to being in so much pain that I could not tie my shoe or hold my new daughter. I did physical therapy and pain killers for years, but nothing worked. Finally, I went to Dr. Smith and I improved exactly as he told me I would. I couldn’t believe it! My wife cried, “I have my husband back.”

Matthew

Cottonwood music students tour Southern Utah for this year’s motivation

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

It wasn’t a music tour jammed packed with performances and competitions.

Last spring, Cottonwood High’s choir and instrumentalists packed their bags for Southern Utah, leaving their instruments behind.

“We did clinics with professors at three colleges which was a very unusual tour for us,” instrumental teacher Amber Tuckness said. “We did not perform anywhere. We just were doing clinics because it was in May, at the end of the school year.”

The four-day tour, partially financed by GearUp, allowed students to learn about per forming arts departments at Utah colleges. In addition to attending a jazz, instrumental and choral workshops, the 90 students got to see “Mary Poppins” at Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Ivins as well as explore the red rocks of Southern Utah in several state and national parks.

“We had decided not to go to California for tour because of COVID; they hadn’t really decided the protocol,” Tuckness said. “These workshops were really good. Every director was so different, and they learned about work ing together as an ensemble, listening and knowing your part and role in the ensemble and creating music together. There were broad top ics because, we weren't going to be playing that music again, but it will definitely move over to this year.”

Choir director Cecil Sullivan said that one of the directors focused on articulation; another focused on vocal technique and another on the emotion.

“It was all very different from each direc tor,” he said. “It was fascinating.”

Sullivan said that the directors all listened to them and focused on what they thought the groups needed.

Students also had a sound lesson at Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks where Tuck ness played an alpenhorn.

Sullivan said it was “fascinating because it echoed really well in Zion because it’s a harder sandstone and it didn't echo at all in Bryce be cause it’s a softer, younger sandstone.

They even learned from seeing performing art professionals at the dress rehearsal of “Mary Poppins.”

“It was a performance with profession als and a live orchestra, and they had actual ly canceled the night before because of some technical issues,” Tuckness said. “So, the night we went they stopped the show and fixed some things because it is a very technical show. It was really good for the kids to see that even professionals have problems and struggles and need to fix things.”

She said the concepts they learned from the tour are being applied this year.

“The lessons that were learned are really important and our students who were on the tour are being good leaders and showing good musicianship through what they learned. Quite a few of them carried what they learned from the clinics into this summer with Granite Youth Symphony performances,” Tuckness said.

The directors hope it will help with school performances. The choir’s fall concert is set for Oct. 25 while the band will perform their annu al Halloween concert with the theme of “Vil lains” on Oct. 27. Tickets are available online.

Weeks later, the concert choir will com bine with other school choirs in Granite School District to perform a free Veterans’ Day concert Nov. 11 at the Salt Lake Tabernacle. December concerts also are planned.

In February, after the school musical “The Little Mermaid” that many students will par ticipate in, the music students will go on a tour that will combine both a workshop at a south ern Utah college as well as participate in a re cording clinic in Disneyland before ending the school year with their spring concerts. l

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Cottonwood High instrumental teacher Amber Tuckness played an alpenhorn at both Bryce Can yon and Zion national parks so students could measure the difference in sound. (Photo courtesy of Cottonwood High music department)

How high school students learned about school district’s energy efficiency

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

Many of Canyons School District’s schools and campuses are as energy and water efficient as possible, that’s what a group of Hillcrest High students recently learned.

During a recent Earth Club meeting, student members learned about the school district’s water and energy management pro gram, subtitled, “The Business of Saving Taxpayer’s Dollars and Leaving an Impres sive Legacy for Future Generations.” Then, they had a hands-on opportunity to discover if there were ways it could be better.

“What I would like is for you to measure how we can retain heat or more efficiently re duce our need for heat in this (STEM) build ing and then, identify the cheapest upgrades and start finding grants that we can start mod ifying this building to meet some improved level of efficiency,” Hillcrest Earth Club ad viser Jake Flanigan challenged students.

Hillcrest High senior Sofia Moeinvaziri was one of those students.

“It’s been really eye-opening and bene ficial to learn not only what we’re doing to become more efficient in our water and en ergy use, but the why’s and how’s behind it and how we can become more proactive,” she said.

During the presentation, students learned that Canyons’ water efficiency program be gan in 2016, when District Energy Specialist Chris Eppler introduced the Cal Poly’s audit ing water and analyzing precipitation rates program. He predicted, with the help of his staff and student interns, the school district could save about 25 million gallons of water.

“We ended up saving a documented 20 million gallons,” he said. “Our meter was out at a school so we couldn’t document all the water we saved, but I’m very confident we ended up saving more than what we project ed.”

The program is designed to water the area to meet plants’ needs, but not waste wa ter through runoff or overspray.

“It’s very straightforward and it’s actu ally very simple,” Eppler said. “What we do is go out and document how many sprinkler heads we have, what type of heads they are and what is the precipitation rate and the zone precipitation rate. Then, we’re able to calcu late how to operate as efficiently as we possi bly can. I would venture to say we may be the only school district doing this and one of the few in the state of Utah. We can predict, based on the summer, how much water we need and show how much we actually use.”

The program began with a grant from a water conservancy district, he said.

“Now the thing people say is ‘How much do you save now?’ The savings aren’t as great anymore because we’re watering the way we’re supposed to, so it’s more of a maintenance level and the savings is just put right back into the program,” he said, adding that there have been circumstances such as

rebuilds of schools and an increase of water fees by Sandy City that have factored into the equation.

Even with that, his handful of summer student interns projected water usage in 202021 would total more than 113 million gallons for the middle schools alone; however, they were still able to consume less, at 88.5 mil lion. During that same time period, elemen tary schools used 4 million gallons less than projected as well.

While the high school playing fields are preferred to be green, Eppler said they have reduced water consumption to 65% in other areas, such as the non-playing areas.

“The grounds for children stay in a healthy condition, but we’re sacrificing in other areas to stay within the governor’s pa rameters,” he said. “We know those big fields consume huge amounts of water and there’s no way of getting around that. But what we try to do is put the correct amount of water in the ground and do that during the less hot times. The amount of watering stays the same, but maybe it’s the frequency and the time of year that change.”

Canyons has been recognized as a Utah Energy Pioneer in 2015 for its leadership and commitment to energy conservation by the Utah Association of Energy Engineers and again in 2017, by Gov. Gary Herbert’s Office of Energy Development as a Utah Energy Pi oneer.

Eppler, who is a certified irrigation de signer, contractor and auditor as well as an energy engineer, said that his team, including Brandon Wolf, Daniel Bray and Robynn Le fler, have helped Canyons save money in its gas and electricity usage as well.

At a recorded high in 2013-14, Canyons paid $1.29 per square foot for natural gas, electricity, sewer and water. During the 201920 (mostly pre-pandemic) year, that same cost was down to 93 cents.

“This doesn’t take into consideration that we’ve increased the size of our buildings by 600,000 square feet (excluding the recent re builds of Brighton and Hillcrest high schools, which weren’t completed at that time) or 12% or that Rocky Mountain Power has increased their rates by about 10%,” Eppler said.

He added overall there also has been more usage with climate change resulting in warmer temperatures and less rain and snow.

“We actually did really well through 2019, then with COVID, we had to run our fans all the time and that changed our effi ciency,” Eppler said, although the rates still are only a few cents up from pre-pandemic periods.

He said that with newer, upgraded equip ment, the schools are more efficient.

With the recent rebuild of Hillcrest, stu dents learned that 10 new condensing boilers, which are only heated up to 120 degrees, re placed two larger steam boilers that heated

water to 160 degrees.

“What this means is that now all the wa ter goes into a main line and the temperature of the return water that comes back dictates whether we need to bring on another boiler,” he said. “By using one boiler to heat instead of two, it has saved Canyons HVAC dollars and energy. When we inherited the schools back from Jordan School District, it was ter rible. Our usage looked like it was a runaway freight train.”

Sometimes, when a building is modified, Eppler said, it can throw the systems off.

“What ruins it is when they start sub dividing the rooms, knocking down walls, adding walls. Technically, then they need a rebalance in rooms so that the air matches what is required. But instead, people start getting creative. At Bell View (Elementary) last year, where the principal’s office was once much larger, it was subdivided, but they didn’t move the ducts; so the principal was getting blown to death and was getting twice as much air and freezing, while everyone else was hot,” he said.

In some cases, adjustments can be made to help with the usage. Eppler illustrated the improvements at Park Lane, an elementary that has not been rebuilt.

“There has been a 70% improvement at Park Lane,” he said. “When I came here, we recommissioned the programming of the HVAC system. In a nutshell, buildings were probably running 24/7 and we basically start ed running it when people are there and set a temperature range and that allowed for it not to be constantly cooling and heating. Now with the new schools, we can control the tem

perature in rooms, and in some schools, we have zones we can cool or heat. As those old systems are being replaced, we’ve become smarter and more efficient about the way we are heating and cooling the buildings.”

Eppler has seen marked improvement with newer buildings, such as Butler Elemen tary improving 44%, Alta View Elementa ry at 43%, and Midvale Middle at 71% and Mt. Jordan Middle at 70% from their former buildings.

In addition, he said Canyons has saved energy and money by putting intelligent HVAC programming into the buildings’ au tomated systems, installing LED lighting and educating staff to become more conscien tious.

“We’ve reduced cost substantially. It helps the environment because these build ings pollute less. It helps because we’re using less water,” Eppler said. “Our job, we’re in the background, trying to keep our water us age and our energy use down for essentially 50 buildings throughout the district. We’re creating energy-smart and efficient schools that will create an environment to supports student learning through improvements in site selection options, daylighting, roof design and replacement, indoor air quality, lighting, ther mal comfort, acoustics and classroom design. These all influence a child’s ability to learn and a teacher’s ability to teach. The reason I left the private sector was because I wanted to change the world and make this difference in the school system.” l

Canyons School District Energy Specialist Chris Eppler shares with Hillcrest High Earth Club about how the school district is saving money by regulating water and energy use. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

Dogs splash, socialize, run the agility course at annual Bark in the Park event

By Jolene Croasmun | j.croasmun@mycityjournals.com

Mountview Park in Cottonwood Heights was busy on Sept. 17 hosting the annual Bark in the Park event. Four-legged friends and their owners enjoyed the early part of the day running in the fenced off-leash area, getting wet in the splash pad and trying out the K9 obstacle course.

Bark in the Park is a yearly city event that has been going on since 2009. Ann Eatch el, the Cottonwood Heights culture manager said, “Bark in the Park is a great social event for people to get out with their dogs.” Eatchel added, “It is probably the best social event that I have because people interact more when you have your pet with you. You start talking and you start petting someone else’s dog and then the dogs interact.”

Eatchel stated that the fenced-off area in the park has been part of Bark in the Park since 2019 and “It is a big success. This is the only area for dogs to be off leash in the park.” Many dogs and owners were enjoying the splash pad, too.

Besides having fun in the park, there are prizes awarded to dogs, including a top dog award. Eatchel had just given out an award for the most curious dog. The prizes were donated from Healthy Pet, a pet store in Cottonwood Heights.

Cottonwood Heights resident Angie Wil liams was with Morgan Schleidt and their 8-year-old basset hound named Porter. “We come here every year,” Williams said. Schleidt trains Porter at home on an obstacle course and Williams noted that “it is unusual for a basset hound to do some of the agility training.” Por ter was comfortable on the obstacle course and Williams said that “Porter is always a crowd pleaser.”

Porter looked quite dapper in his floral shirt and appeared to be full of confidence while running the agility course since he has won best in show and top dog at previous Bark in the Park events.

Cottonwood Heights police department set up their K9 obstacle course that they use to

train their police dogs. Sgt. Ken Eatchel with the K9 division said, “We allow the citizen dogs to come and use the obstacles that we use for our dogs training.” Once the citizen dogs all had an opportunity to play on the obstacles, officers then did an agility demonstration with the police dogs. They also did a regular K9 demonstration.

Sgt. Eatchel posed with his K9 partner, Odin. Odin is a Dutch shepherd trained for pa trol and narcotics detection.

Bailey Synder brought her young Austra lian shepherd named Finley to the Bark in the Park. This was the first time for Finley at the event. “We just stopped by to say hi,” Synder said.

The city council helped manage the booths and gave out free hotdogs for the humans at the event. l

Cottonwood Heights resident Morgan Schleidt and her basset hound, Porter, run the agility course during Bark in the Park. (Jolene Croasmun/City Journals)

Cottonwood Heights police Sgt. Ken Eatchel and K9 partner Odin pose for photos at the Bark in the Park event. (Jolene Croasmun/City Journals)

The police K9 agility training course was available for all dogs at the Bark in the Park event at Mountview Park. (Jolene Croasmun/City Journals)

Bailey Synder and her Aussie pup, Finley, enjoy the Bark in the Park event on Sept. 17 at Mountview Park. (Jolene Croasmun/City Journals)

Plans for future growth within Cottonwood Heights are in the works

The City of Cottonwood Heights has been working to develop a new General Plan document. The last time future visioning for the city was documented was in 2005, so the city council determined it was time to update the document. A General Plan document out lines a broad vision for the future of the com munity it serves.

“A general plan is an overarching vision ing document,” said Community and Econom ic Development Director Mike Johnson. “It’s a tool city leaders can use to make decisions about the city.”

The State of Utah requires all municipali ties to have a general plan document outlining plans related to elements of transportation, wa ter use, and moderate-income housing, at the very least. The Cottonwood Heights General Plan will also include plans related to land use, sustainability, and parks, trails, and open space.

Preparing a new or updated general plan document is a lengthy and involved process. Members of the Cottonwood Heights planning staff begin reviewing all current plans and rec ommendations for the city in early 2021. Then, they met with various focus groups and city committees for their input. Once feedback was incorporated into the drafted materials, infor mation was shared over social media within the Cottonwood Heights Tomorrow planning project. On March 8, 2022, an open house was held with residents to gather public input where four different visions for the city emerged.

On July 20, members of the Planning Commission and City Council discussed their vision for the city in relation to the public com ment.

“We need to temper listening with the im portant gift of foresight. We need to not be par alyzed by the fear of upsetting the residents,” said Commissioner Dan Mills.

Johnson shared with the group that about 85% of the public feedback collected previous ly related to land use and housing. This opened an important conversation related to growth and development, especially as it related to housing affordability and accessibility within the city. All city leaders agreed that they need to be focused on smart and sustainable growth.

“Utah is growing. According to the 2020 Census, we are the fastest growing state,” Johnson said. “The population will double by 2040 or 2050.”

“The city will die if we do not include any more growth,” said Councilmember Doug Pe terson.

“How do we grow with neighborhoods who don’t want five-story buildings right next to them? The purpose is to maintain Cotton wood Heights as a suburb and not an urban ex tension of Salt Lake. We want to maintain the community we live in while at the same time looking for sustainable growth,” said Mayor Mike Weichers.

“We have to get over being changeaverse,” Mills said. “Some of us are going to

By Cassie Goff | c.goff@mycityjournals.com

have to sacrifice some uncomfortableness for the greater good.”

Within Cottonwood Heights, the 2020 Census identified 7,329 members of the pop ulation being under 18 years old. In addition, 52,000 students are educated within the city between all the elementary schools, Butler Middle School and Brighton High School.

“We should plan for the kids who are here today,” Johnson said. “It’s important to plan for future generations to be able to live here. We don’t want all our kids to grow up and have to move out.”

Many commissioners and councilmem bers mentioned how affordability in housing and rental costs was a concern.

“The affordability of people entering the housing market is important to me. We need to focus on smart, intentional growth that pre serves the community for future generations,” said Commission Jessica Chappell.

“I am concerned about the health of the community. The idea that you can’t find any place to live in Cottonwood Heights as a new college graduate is a tragedy,” Mills echoed.

“A three bedroom or four bedroom is $2,700 per month. That’s more than my mort gage,” said Commissioner Sean Steinmann.

Peterson commented that density has not allowed for upward mobility. He mentioned how “affordable” homes go for $2,300 per month within the city.

The State of Utah tasks municipalities to accommodate for all housing types within their communities but allows for individual leader ship to determine what that looks like for them.

“The ‘how’ is up to us,” Johnson elabo rated.

“Cities are required to plan for future growth for all,” said Commissioner Jonathan Ebbeler. “Mixed-use has to make sense as an overall strategy. The highest cost to the city is single-family homes and the lowest cost to the city is mixed-use.”

“We are talking about the concept of how we can take care of people in the middle. The missing middle. What if there’s one or two things that we can sprinkle throughout our city,” Mills said.

The Cottonwood Heights planning staff narrowed in on two possible scenarios based on differentiating visions for incorporating growth and housing into the city for the future. These scenarios were based on public input from residents suggesting ideas for town cen ters, transportation, and parks, trails, and open spaces.

“Scenario one would focus on appropriate redevelopment within key city center areas. It would allow for the creation of a town center, which we have heard loud and clear as a com munity value,” Johnson said.

This scenario would focus on placing higher density in areas such as the gravel pit and properties along the Fort Union Boulevard corridor, where development wouldn’t impact

current residents.

“Scenario two spreads the growth out even more so it’s a less of an impact on any one place in the city,” Johnson said.

This scenario focuses on maintaining the vibrance of single-family neighborhoods by looking at pocket areas for growth. Examples of pocket growth would include areas along Park Center Drive, Bengal Boulevard, and within the Old Mill community. This allows growth and development to be considered dis trict by district.

“If development is done right, you can do it without disrupting single-family areas,” said Johnson.

“Both of these scenarios are based on adding 11,000 additional households within the next 28 years. That affects sustainability and transportation. We currently have approx imately 12,000 households in Cottonwood Heights,” said Councilmember Ellen Birrell.

“No one here wants to see double the growth,” said Peterson. “We could tax our selves out of our homes.”

“ADUs are allowed in every single hous ing area,” Johnson reminded the city leaders of the decision set forth by the Utah State Legisla ture. “It’s a tool we can use to provide housing. If done right, we can do that without disrupting single-family areas.”

Ebbeler suggested looking at the 10 basic guidelines for smart growth set forth by Unit ed Smart Cities (USC) including: creating a range of housing opportunities, creating walk able communities, reserving open space and critical environment areas, directing develop ment toward existing communities, providing a range of transportation choices, and making development choices predictable, fair and cost effective.

After hours of discussion, Johnson took the group’s feedback to the planning staff to

start preparing early materials for a drafted gen eral plan document. He hopes to get those early materials in front of the planning commission as soon as possible. Then, the commissioners will discuss the plan for as many meetings as needed before making a recommendation to the city council. The council hopes to take pub lic comment on the General Plan early in 2023 before making a final decision before summer of 2023.

“We are tentatively thinking about host ing four different district-related town hall meetings,” Johnson said.

Mills cautioned Johnson to prepare spe cific options for residents before hosting those town hall meetings. “It’s like your kids. You tell them you get ‘this’ or ‘that’ and they’ll say they want ice cream for dinner. Well, that wasn’t one of your choices.”

“Can we call them the ‘No Ice Cream for Dinner Town Halls?’” laughed Birrell.

In addition to the town halls and public comment sessions, Johnson will be accounting for alternative means for participation from residents. Notices will be sent out through var ious channels, including the city’s newsletter and social media channels, for further public input to be collected.

“Public input is critical to the success of any general plan. We’ve been trying to listen very closely,” Johnson said. “We keep track of and review all the public comments and are doing our best to incorporate those. They are thoughtful comments, and we appreciate ev eryone’s input in sharing those.”

To view all information regarding the Cottonwood Heights General Plan (including verbatim previous public comments, previous planning documents, and tentative timelines): visit the city’s Cottonwood Heights Tomorrow page under the “City Services” tab on the city’s website (www.ch.utah.gov). l

The Gravel Pit is a singular redevelopment site in the Wasatch Front region, where a nearly ideal site for a Wasatch canyons base meets the chance to create an intense, walkable mix of uses. (Photo courtesy of General Plan Working Draft/Cottonwood Heights)

What’s on residents’ minds? Housing affordability, water usage and growth

By Cassie Goff | c.goff@mycityjournals.com

Over 767 residents shared their opinions about Cottonwood Heights when they responded to a general survey over the sum mer. The City of Cottonwood Heights con tracted with Y2 Analytics to draft the survey questions and collect resident data. City lead ers will use the results of the survey to help guide their decisions. Since Y2 Analytics be gan surveying Cottonwood Heights residents in 2016, researchers can now compare resi

is the high-level topic on everyone’s minds along the Wasatch Front,” Gibb said.

Cottonwood Heights residents identi fied a strong preference for single-family homes and mixed-use development. There was also an evenly distributed appetite for a small shopping center or town center amen ity. Even though residents would like to see more of these types of developments within the city, they specified that they do not want those developments in their backyard.

“Twenty-seven percent of residents would like to see more mixed-use (de velopment). A comparable percentage would like to see townhomes with large yards,” Gibb reported. However, “an overwhelming majority was in favor of preserving the skyline and neighborhood views.”

dent responses and attitudes over time.

On Sept. 6, Y2 Analytics Partner and Vice President of Research Kyrene Gibb pre sented the key findings from the 2022 gener al survey with the city council. The primary concerns residents identified revolved around growth, housing affordability and water con servation.

“Housing affordability and availability

From previous years, there was a slight decline in approval ratings for the city’s plan ning, zoning and building services. “Those services tend to take the bad rap for growth,” Gibb said.

The 2022 survey asked residents to con sider if the city needed their own senior cen ter. The result was nearly equally divided.

“A city-sponsored senior center was not seen as a high priority area next to small shop ping centers and missing middle housing de velopments,” Gibb said.

Residents were asked to allocate money from a hypothetical budget to various city in vestments or improvement areas. The biggest allocation (42% to 48%) was to parks and recreation along with preservation of open spaces and trail development. Residents also allocated a significant portion of their hypo thetical budget (34% to 38%) to the improve ment and maintenance of city streets, along with police services.

The overall perception of the city’s street maintenance and public attitudes toward the conditions of those city streets had improved relative to previous years. However, residents reported problems with traffic congestion and the way in which city streets are utilized.

“On average, more residents think city streets are in good condition,” Gibb said.

Residents did indicate that they are in terested in seeing improvements in sidewalk availability and walkability throughout the community. In addition to pedestrian-friendly city streets, residents identified storm water, snow removal, and animal control as areas where there is room for improvement.

Even though residents were polarized in their attitudes regarding the Cottonwood Heights Police Department (CHPD), attitudes related to public safety within the city had slightly declined. Gibb reported that this is consistent with the statewide trends.

Responding to open-ended questions, residents commented that they would like to

see police officers making more of an effort to be a part of the community instead of sit ting in their cars. In addition, residents believe ordinance enforcement is too assertive. How ever, 60% of residents believe CHPD officers are professional and responsive.

In addition to city services, residents were asked to rate a variety of contracted ser vices. All contracted services, including fire and emergency services, garbage collection, drinking water, recreation programs, city parks and open spaces, and emergency pre paredness, received high ratings of satisfac tion.

Residents noted specific appreciation for the responsiveness of the emergency pre paredness services.

Communication preferences were also surveyed. Residents were asked about their communication preferences in regards to city-related events and news. Forty percent of residents prefer to receive city communi cation through the Cottonwood Heights Jour nal. The survey concluded that communica tion from the city’s newsletter and Journal are meeting residents needs relatively well.

However, residents expressed a desire for city emails to be utilized more as they wished to receive more communication di rectly from the city. In addition, one out of every four residents would like to participate in more open houses and city meetings.

“It’s clear residents continue to be satis fied with how the city is being run and their overall quality of life in the city,” Gibb said. l

“In your opinion, what is the most important issue facing Cottonwood Heights today?” (Photo courtesy of Y2 Analytics)

With the release of the annual U.S. News & World Report of best high schools, which reviews nearly 24,000 U.S. public high schools, AMES tops the list in Utah.

Since 2016, AMES has achieved high marks, placing it in the top 10. This year, the public charter school ranked fourth of the 163 Utah schools that made their ratings. AMES stands for Academy for Math, En gineering and Science and is located on the Cottonwood High School campus.

AMES Principal Brett Wilson said the school’s mission is supported by students, parents, teachers and staff and the school’s Board of Trustees.

“We try to build a culture where stu dents can be successful at and above the lev el that they come to us with,” he said.

The scorecard included evaluating AMES graduation rate, at 92%; mathematics and reading proficiency; as well as the num ber of students taking at least one Advanced Placement exam and passing at least one AP exam.

AMES also ranked in the state’s top 10 in college readiness index rank as well as state assessment proficiency and perfor mance ranks.

The school has received other outstand ing recognition, such as in 2020, AMES was

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

named as a National Elementary and Sec ondary Education Act Distinguished School for its outstanding academic achievement.

“We don’t handpick our students. We take kids in a blind lottery across the valley and almost all graduate and take some kind of concurrent class while in high school. That’s the rigor we offer and expect of our students,” Wilson said.

Forty-seven percent of AMES students are identified as minority with Asian and Hispanic comprising of the majority. The male to female ratio is 52 to 48.

Other area schools that were ranked in the Utah top 10 include Beehive Science and Technology Academy in Sandy at first; Itineris Early College High School in West Jordan at fifth; Corner Canyon High in Drap er at seventh; and Skyline High in Salt Lake City at eighth. l

AMES ranked No. 4 this year in the U.S. News & World Report of Utah best high schools, continuing be amongst the top 10 since 2016. (Julie Slama/ City Journals)

Cottonwood theatre season to open with Broadway revue, melodrama this fall

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6965 Union Park Center, #430 Building no. 7 Cottonwood Heights, Utah 84047

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

This month, Cottonwood High students will step on their stage not to perform a fall musical, but rather to open their theatre season with a Broadway revue and melodrama.

The production, which will be at 7 p.m., Oct. 3-7, will begin with an old-fashioned melodrama that will be performed in the school’s black box theatre as Act I, followed by the Broadway re vue for Act II in the auditorium, 5715 S. 1300 East. Tickets, which are $8 and include both shows, are available at cwoodtheatre.com.

The melodrama, “You Can’t Stamp Out Love,” was selected for its concept.

“The oldest type of theater harkens back to those vaudeville days of classic heroes and classic villains, and love and mischief,” theatre director Adam Wilkins said. “What’s great about it is it just pushes up the level so our villains are extra villainous, our heroes are extra heroic. The love, it takes place in a hotel where there are so much fun quirky characters roaming around, and the set is going to be fun. It’s full of love and joy, and it’s just a good way to start the year.”

While he expects about 20 students to perform the melodra ma, the Broadway revue will attract more students.

“We’ll be able to cast a lot of our kids in these two shows, which is wonderful, as it will give more students opportunities to perform,” Wilkins said.

The melodrama will be directed by the improv team captains and seniors Trinity Medina and Conrad Carter.

“They really know what it takes to make comedy great come dy,” Wilkins said. “They’re able to work with people and are really good at getting the cast to become better. So, we’re really excited.”

The Broadway revue is called, “How to Make a Musical” and the storyline is about a group of friends deciding to write their own musical. It was created by drama coach Madison Howell.

“She incorporates a variety of singers that perform different songs from different genres that are threaded by a simple story. The songs just stand out in this show; there are some classical songs all the way up to modern musicals,” Wilkins said.

Show pieces come from “Sound of Music,” “Something Rot ten,” “Once,” West Side Story,” “A Chorus Line,” “Cats” and oth er musicals.

Following these shows, students will create a spooky expe rience for Halloween-goers with their annual Haunted Hallway from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Oct. 21. Scary or not-so-scary tours will be $5 or food donations for the school’s pantry.

In January, students will attend workshops at the Utah Theater Association’s conference at Utah Valley University.

At the same time, at least 65 student-actors plus the pit or chestra and tech crew will be in rehearsals for “The Little Mer maid,” which they will perform at 7 p.m., Feb. 1-4, 2023 in their auditorium. There also will be a noon matinee on Saturday. Tickets are $10.

“I’m loving getting shows based on literature. It's a lot deeper than people give it credit for. I’m always about stories being the heart of what I do. I love the story of the little mermaid, of some body who doesn't belong, of somebody who feels like she’s an outsider, who doesn't quite know where they belong, and then, that she’s willing to trade everything just to be a part of that world. I think that this is a telling story, which I love,” he said, admitting that he and Howell also are Disney fans. “And let's be honest, the music is amazing. The music itself is beautiful, fun, lively, diverse, has a wide range of different music styles. Yeah, it was an easy sell for me because I just love it so much.”

Wilkins expects the set to be memorable.

“I’m hoping to create is the two different worlds for the Little Mermaid, the sea and the land through the setting, lighting and perspective. I want to make them so different because I want to

show she is searching for something different and that’s got to be important. My ultimate goal is to truly create an immersive underthe-sea environment and use all the space,” he said.

Amber Tuckness, who directs the pit orchestra, is excited for the musical to be performed in February.

“We are getting a new sound system at our school and it should be working by then, so it will really help our performanc es,” she said.

Following the musical, the Colts will put on William Shake speare’s “King Lear” in March. Those dates are yet to be an nounced.

At the same time, they will be readying to perform their oneact play called “The Trench” at region and state competitions. The play, which was inspired by a true story, is about a miner who became entombed in a tunnel during World War I.

“It’s about a man’s story coming from despair to redemption, not only through acting, but through puppetry, lights and music. It’s incredible,” Wilkins said, adding that they will have a commu nity performance in the spring of their competition pieces as well.

The year will conclude with “The Drowsy Chaperone” in May.

“‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ is a perfect message for theater-go ers, for the many people who love musical theater, knowing the story, and understanding, it truly is what keeps him going. Our main character’s love of theater and art is his salvation. Art, the atre, music — it’s powerful knowing what art can do,” Wilkins said.

Intermixed in the shows will be performances from the 16-member improv team. The next show will be Nov. 18 and tick ets for the black box theater performances will be $5. l

Cottonwood High senior Quenton Schroader practices for the school’s upcom ing Broadway revue. (Amber Tuckness/Cottonwood High)

theme

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

In September, Brighton High thespi ans could be found in rehearsals for both the Utah’s 46th annual high school Shakespearean competition as well as for “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical.”

Set to compete Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 in Cedar City, the students plan to present “The Tempest” as their ensemble piece. Students also will compete in scenes and monologues as well as in dance and in the Tech Olympics.

“At the end of the school year, my kids actually do what we call a Shake speare Super Bowl where they look at the plays to choose to perform,” Brighton theatre director Makayla Conner said. “I want them to rotate through the different categories of plays, so I let them pick a history, a drama, a comedy, or what we call ‘weirdos.’ They're the plays that don't really fit into a category. Then I give them a list of plays from the category, and this past spring, they all voted on ‘The Tem pest’ from that.”

The thespians will return from the fes tival to present their pieces for the commu nity at 7 p.m., Oct. 3 on the school stage, 2220 E. Bengal Blvd. Admission is free.

After this performance, the Bengals will put on “SpongeBob” at 7 p.m., Dec. 1-3. There also is a 2 p.m. matinee on Dec. 3. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for stu dents and seniors.

“I like it because it has a very good overall message about inclusion and mak ing sure that everyone feels capable of what they can do. I thought that after a hiatus of performance with a whole lot of things being canceled, it sent a nice mes sage of you can still do what you want to do and have all of the competence in the world doing it. It also has an ability to cast any person in any role so that gives us a little bit of flexibility with who we cast,” she said.

Brighton students, as well as Butler Middle, can audition for the roles.

“We’re hoping to help build the the atre programs and give the Butler kids more opportunities to perform because they don't have a musical that they do ev ery year,” Conner said.

The following week, at 7 p.m., Dec. 10, there will be an improv night, where the 10-member team will put on a show of improv games. Traditionally, the theme in December is “flannel night.” A spring show on May 5, 2023 also is planned. Tickets are $4 for the Little Theatre pro duction.

In January, students will attend the Utah Theater Association workshops at Utah Valley University.

On March 2-4, 2023, Brighton will put on “Night Witches,” named after the all-female Soviet Air Forces World War II aviators whose biplanes the Germans said sounded like broomsticks. The show will begin at 7 p.m. nightly and will have a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee. Tickets will be $8 for adults and $5 for seniors and students.

“It’s about this women bomber regi ment in Russia that would attack planes at night at bases so the Nazis couldn't sleep, which could lead to their demise,” she said. “Because they were women, their planes weren’t the best; they were built out of just wood and canvas. So, when they got attacked, they would go down very quickly. It’s based off of a true group of women and it’s written by a local play wright, Rachel Bulitz, who has a freshman attending Brighton.”

Conner hopes to set up a time for Bu litz to talk to her students about the play as well as the process of writing it.

“Night Witches” also will double as their region and state one-act competition piece, she said, adding that the school will host the region one-act competition on March 8, 2023. Individual competitions will also take place in March and then state will be April 20-22, 2023 at View mont High.

The season will end April 27-29, 2023

with a devised one-act piece.

“The production company will write a play later in the year and then perform it. It's usually a 40-minute play and then, they’ll also perform their individual events from state,” Conner said. “We’ve done it for two years, so this is the third time my students will be writing their original oneact play.”

Previous plays include a murder-mys tery farce called “Postmortem” that cen tered around who killed the town mayor “with kooky characters very much like ‘Clue’ and it ended up being fun” and a more serious play named “Detached,” where a character has a fight with his best friend, but when he tries to apologize, he discovers he can’t because they’re actually characters in a play and the writer wrote them out “so it was really dark, but actu

audiences

ally cool because it was a story of grief and they went through those stages in their story.”

Tickets will be limited, with only 80 seats per performance, and will cost $5. This also will serve as a fundraiser for the theatre department.

Students also are involved in the school theatre club, under the leadership of a nine-member council. This year’s kickoff began with a water balloon fight social to match the theme, “Turning the Tide” which tied into this season’s shows, and “that they want to keep making change in waves throughout the community with the shows we do, so ‘Turning the Tide’ means they changed lives with what they're put ting out in the world,” Conner said. l

The theatre club presidency lead students in gatherings such as the opening social water balloon fight as well as provides service throughout the Brighton High community. (Photo courtesy of Brighton High theatre department)

Real-life learning comes alive at Butler’s Mining Town

Butler Elementary’s fourth-graders may be eagerly awaiting the end of the school year, seven months away.

They know it’s been a tradition, for eight years now, that once end-of-year testing is completed in May, they get to participate in Mining Town.

It’s a culminating activity that allows small groups of fourth-graders to come up with a business, write a busi ness plan and hold a booth at Mining Town, said Tarryn Heath, who was watching more than 100 students last spring interact with different services and businesses

“We have everything from a bakery to a pet shop, from a yoga studio to various amusement activities,” she said. “The goal is for this modern-day mining town to learn how it was back then, how people came together and worked together to provide services and goods for one another.”

Ellie Palmer, who with three of her classmates, creat ed a nail service business, providing nail painting for their peers, teachers and even Principal Jeff Nalwalker.

“We thought it would be fun to design and paint nails, and we’re all good at it so it was a good fit,” she said. “It’s fun to see everyone’s ideas become businesses. I like learning about everyone’s talents and deciding how I should spend my money.”

Heath said that the students take turns holding down their business and being a townsperson, who has $40 in Central Mining Company cash to spend. The town bank also tracks how much the businesses make during the ac tivity.

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

“There’s a lot of learning and practicing math skills during this and students are absorbing some marketing by coming up with a business plan and advertising their products and services,” Heath said.

While it was Heath’s first year helping with Mining Town, Parys Lightel has overseen it for eight years at But ler after being part of it for four years at Sunrise Elemen tary.

“It was my colleague’s idea at Sunrise, but it has evolved every year with new ideas and what we’re able to do with the number of kids,” she said. “It’s always fun and they’re always learning.”

The name, Mining Town, comes from the fourthgrade study of the people of Utah, where students learn about Native Americans, the transcontinental railroad bringing immigrants, and the mining boom in Park City and Alta.

Nalwalker said that students are not only learning their social studies curriculum, but also how to build a budget and track expenses and profits, and learn about supply and demand.

“The teachers always give me a little bit of money, so I go in and inject a little stimulus into their economy,” he said. “I generally pick a few things to do; this year, I picked something more outrageous and colored my hair and had my fingernails painted. The kids get a kick out of it and it’s a fun way I can be there and involved with them. I really appreciate the creativity of our teachers who take the time to make the learning fun and meaningful and have it come alive.”

At Butler Elementary’s Mining Days, fourth-graders took turns posed at a photo booth. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

Lightel agreed that while the principles are tied to the fourth-grade core curriculum, students like it because it brings in real-life applications.

“They like tracking how much money they make, or how they can market their product and get a sale,” she said. “It works well as an introduction to prepare them for (Junior Achievement) biz town in fifth grade. Although really, it’s learning that comes to life and it’s something they will remember more than a worksheet.” l

Election officials address claims of mail-in voter fraud

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

Following widespread allegations of voter fraud after the 2020 presidential election, Salt Lake County election officials want resi dents to know the mail-in-ballot system is safe and secure.

During a voting rights discussion, hosted by the League of Women Voters, panelists ad dressed voting concerns and invited the public to be involved with the process.

Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen has been administering county elections for 32 years. She said her office is dedicated to ensur ing elections are run efficiently and smoothly, and that every eligible vote is counted.

“I’m so glad we have a vote-by-mail sys tem in Salt Lake and the State of Utah,” she said. “It has been a wonderful system. It’s served the voters so well.”

Since 2016, all elections in Utah have been conducted by mail, with ballot drop-off boxes and Election Day voting booths available as alternate options. During the 2020 presidential election, Salt Lake County had a 90.1% voter turnout, with 498,000 residents voting by mail, 100,000 more active registered voters than the 2016 election.

Residents were encouraged to vote by mail in 2020 because of COVID, but misinformation spread that the voting system had been compro mised. Swensen said allegations of voter fraud in the county are absolutely not true.

“We heard people could print ballots in their living room, foreign countries could print ballots and insert them into our system, but they would never make it through our system,” she said. “Every single ballot that is sent to a voter is correlated to a record of an active registered voter with a unique nine-digit number.”

During the last legislative session, Rep. Phil Lyman (R-Blanding) tried to pass a bill that would dismantle the state’s mail-in voting process, claiming the system was vulnerable to fraud. The bill failed but election officials are worried a similar proposal will come up again.

“It is a secure system, we have total confi dence in it,” Swensen said. “It is disheartening to me to hear all this rhetoric about the vote-bymail system not being safe and secure. I really believe that it’s an attempt to suppress voter turnout.”

She invites voters to attend tours of ballot centers to witness the transparent and secure process, and to address misinformation and false claims.

“We love to conduct tours and we have done so many tours, I can’t even count them all. Everyone walks away feeling very confident. They are impressed after they come to see it in person,” Swensen said. “It’s best when process ing ballots so you can actually see what’s hap pening when it’s being done.”

Deputy Director of Elections for the State

of Utah Shelly Jackson said election officials are constantly culling lists to make sure voter information is accurate and up-to-date. Sever al security elements are in place to stop voter fraud, including signature verification and unique voter IDs on every ballot.

Ballots are not mailed to every person in the state, only voters who are actively regis tered receive a mail-in ballot. For information about the election process, visit slco.org/clerk/ elections.

“I love that people are now paying atten tion to elections,” Jackson said. “I love that people are wanting to come see our logic and accuracy tests. When I worked at the county we would beg people to come, we would beg city recorders to come, we’d beg friends and family to come. I don’t think I ever had anyone come.”

Nathaniel Brown, 24th Navajo Nation council person, and Nikila Venugopal, director of campaigns for the ACLU of Utah, expressed concerns that bills like Lyman’s proposal would disenfranchise thousands of voters.

In 1962, Utah was the last state in the country to give Native Americans voting rights. Brown said members of the Navajo Nation still face obstacles to voting, including remoteness and language barriers. Doing away with the mail-in ballot system would further restrict vot ing access to this population.

“I think we need to remove the classism

Utah’s mail-in voting system has been in place since 2016, and Salt Lake County’s election offi cials say the process is secure and accessible. (Stock photo)

mentality and think about who we are at the soul level,” Brown said.

Venugopal said sometimes the vote-bymail system isn’t feasible, like for voters with disabilities who need to sign a ballot when their signature could change over time. She said the ACLU is working to create greater access for voters with disabilities and works with the dis ability law center to make continued changes to the process. She’s also keeping an eye out for legislation that could suppress the vote through out the state, like Lyman’s bill in February 2022.

“Claims of voter fraud are rooted in trying to stoke fear, and our elections are in fact secure. But maybe there are areas of improvement,” Venugopal said. “This bill essentially would have gutted our vote-by-mail system and really caused a disenfranchisement crisis in our state if it had passed.” l

USA Wheelchair Football League to highlight amazing athletes

Move United is the largest grassroots adaptive sports pro gram in the world. Based in Maryland, the nonprofit part nered with the National Football League and the Bob Woodruff Foundation to create the USA Wheelchair Football League, the first-of-its-kind league for adults with disabilities.

Working with Salt Lake County, the league will host a wheelchair football tournament Oct. 22-23 at the Salt Palace Convention Center (100 S. West Temple St.) with nine teams, 20 games and dozens of athletes. Games will be held on three fields from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. Admission is free.

“We use adaptive sports to push what’s possible for peo ple with disabilities and show all the ways that people with dis abilities can integrate into society, just like everyone else,” said Karalyn Stott, Move United senior program manager. “We’re excited to be coming to Salt Lake to spotlight all of our athletes and highlight the amazing things they’re able to do on the foot ball field.”

Salt Lake County adaptive recreation manager Taylor Smith has been an official with the league since they announced the program in May 2020. As the only female official, she’s worked at tournaments in Tampa and Chicago, and is excited to help bring the USA Wheelchair Football League to Utah.

“The NFL and the Bob Woodruff Foundation donated funds to make this program start happening for those veterans who wanted to stay competitive and continue doing things they love, even after they were injured,” Smith said. “[Being an of ficial] is stressful but it’s really fun and amazing. These guys try so hard and they really want to be there. You can’t ask for anything more of people who just want to play.”

Many athletes participating in the tournament are military

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

veterans, excited to participate in a team sport. This event high lights the athleticism of the sport which is competitive and fastpaced.

“So many of them lost that team feeling when they were injured overseas so they’re excited to feel that brotherhood and family again,” Stott said. “Others played the sport as a kid and got injured and now get to get back to a sport that they didn’t think they’d be able to play again.”

The wheelchair football tournament is one of the ways Salt Lake County is bringing adaptive sport programs to the state. Other adaptive recreation opportunities offered through the county attract people from all over Utah, and even Idaho and Wyoming, to take part in the athletic events.

With the popularity of pickleball, the county just an nounced an adaptive pickleball program that will run from Oct. 29-Nov. 19 at the Copperview Recreation Center (8446 Harri son St.) in Midvale.

The six-week program includes 90 minutes of instruc tional-based practice along with scrimmages and matches. For more information, visit slco.org/adaptive.

“This will be a new sport that we’re bringing in,” Smith said. “We haven’t done adaptive or wheelchair pickleball in the past. It will be our first one and we’re really excited about it because most of the population have really gotten involved in pickleball and we want to bring it that to the adaptive world.”

Salt Lake County has offered its para programs for 20 years and Smith said no one else in county recreation is offer ing adaptive programs, although several private companies do wheelchair sports.

The county has two groups, one for intellectual disabili

ties and one for physical disabilities because sports are played differently based on the population. Adaptive sports are open to all ages, but most wheelchair programs are geared to ages 5-15.

“It’s available for anyone who is open to playing, we’ll bring them in with open arms,” Smith said. “I think sports is valuable to anyone in the world. You learn communication skills, learn how to calm yourself down, you’re learning how to work hard and persevere through challenges in your life, so I think sports are vital in how you’re dealing with everyday sit uations.” l

Members of the USA Wheelchair Football League will compete at the Salt Palace Convention Center Oct. 22-23. (Photos courtesy of Move United)

League of Women Voters dedicated to educating, registering voters

Many voters have paged through a book let of candidates and chances are, it came from the League of Women Voters. Perhaps a great number of voters also signed up to vote with the help of one of the League’s volunteers.

“The League of Women Voters has been around for more than 100 years; we came into being around women's suffrage when the founders of the League of Women Voters fought hard to get women the right to vote,” said Shauna Bona, Salt Lake County’s chap ter president. “We take the rights and the need of all people to vote very seriously. Our biggest issue is access to the vote. We want to educate voters, register voters and moti vate voters. Our mission is really about em powering voters and defending democracy.”

While those early suffragists paved the way for women today to vote, Bona said that their mission isn’t over.

“We look at issues and study them, and it can be a local study or a state study or a national study. Then we lay the information out for our members, and we discuss it in small groups until we reach consensus on the issues, if this is a good issue for us to support. We do have positions around hav ing a clean, healthy environment to live in and to raise children and definitely we think women should be in the Constitution with the Equal Rights Amendment. When we do take a stance, we really work hard to help ed ucate the public and our lawmakers in hopes of really doing things that are right by the people,” Bona said.

She also pointed out that while their main message is to empower voters to make a better democracy, the League isn’t restrict ed to women members.

“We’ve had men in the League for de cades. In fact, we were going to change our name to not be the League of Women Vot ers, but the problem was that if we would have let go of the name of League of Women Voters, that we would have lost our history,” Bona said. “We have members of every sex ual orientation, of every background. What’s important is that we have this history to our nonpartisan commitment of voting rights.”

Among the issues the local chapter has reviewed are voting by mail, health care, census and immigration.

“Our members hold an annual meeting, and they say, for example, ‘Hey, we think that we should study abortion.’ So, we did a study recently about abortion laws and it wasn't taking a stand particularly, but it was a study just to understand the abortion laws in Utah. Sometimes those studies are to educate our members and then, they come up with their own personal opinions on it. Sometimes the study is a consensus study, when we're really trying to come up with a position. We're cautious and we're careful. We really want to make sure that we're not

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

making rash positions, but have our posi tions based on study,” she said.

While more than 300 local members gather annually, smaller groups study the issues monthly. “We also have our commit tees, such as the voting committee, and those committees might meet weekly because we have so much work we do. We work to reg ister voters; they go out to educate voters.

In the past, we have taught high schoolers about the importance of voters and register them; we have gone to naturalization cere monies and helped them register as new citi zens,” Bona said.

Currently, they’re updating Vote411 (vote411.org), a personalized voting web site, which after entering a residential ad dress, voters can explore their candidates’ information, learn about upcoming elections and how to register and find out polling loca tions. The site covers local, state and nation al election information.

For example, currently the website states that voters need to be registered by Oct. 28 for the next general election on Nov. 8.

“We have groups of people, men and women, all over the country, including here in Salt Lake, formulating questions for our candidates for every race and every elec tion,” she said. “It’s one of the only places that candidates can answer these questions. We do not edit what they write. It’s com pletely nonpartisan. There's no ‘gotcha’ questions. Every candidate has the opportu nity in their own words to answer questions. You can pick a question and put the candi dates’ views side by side to compare their answers. They can put in YouTube videos so it’s educating voters and it’s completely fair to the candidates. It’s really just to inform the voters.”

The League of Women Voters also sponsors debates or candidate forums “so that voters can hear from the candidates,” Bona added.

As part of the League, some members called Observer Corps attend local city meetings.

“Our goal is that we have a League of Women Voters observer at every city coun cil meeting, at the racial equity and policing commission meeting and at the planning meetings just to hear what's going on and to take notes and report back to our members what is happening because local govern ment is incredibly important,” she said. “Of tentimes, people are busy in their lives and things get overlooked so our Observer Corps is doing that work for us. We’ve done a lot of great things like finding out ranked choice voting and about the gravel pit in the canyon and letting people know when the council was going to be discussing issues and en couraging people to contact their council members. Our Observer Corps believes in

transparency and accessible government, so we go and find out what they’re doing and report back so our members can follow their own conscience and reach out to their lead ers and let them know what they think.”

Many issues are shared on their website and in their weekly email briefings.

Education is an issue “what our mem bers are passionate about,” Bona said. “We cover every single school board race and make sure that we’ve researched it and have good questions to ask the candidate. We cov er the school board races and make sure all citizens are educated about the issues, par ticularly in K-12 education in Utah. There

are serious issues related to inclusion, issues related to all kinds of things in education. We’re focusing on educating to make sure people know who the different candidates are on the local school boards, what’s moti vating them, why they’re running and what their intentions are. That is incredibly im portant right now. We’re not saying, vote for this candidate or that candidate. We believe in empowering voters. We ask questions. We have candidates answer those questions, and the voters read those and how they decide who is the best to represent them and their options. It doesn’t matter to us how they vote. It’s not our business. We just want

Salt Lake League of Women Voter Services Director Helen Moser registers a new citizen at a naturaliza tion ceremony Aug. 25 at Bryce Canyon National Park. (Photo courtesy of Peter Densmore/National Park Service)

Norma Wills, the natural resources director for the League of Women Voters of Utah, volunteered at the recent Salt Lake festival at 9th and 9th to register voters. (Shauna Bona/League of Women Voters)

Margie McCloy, a Salt Lake League of Women Vot ers member and volunteer, talks to the community about the League and the importance of voting. (Shauna Bona/League of Women Voters)

them to be educated and to vote.”

She said voting is critical.

“Our entire system is predicated on an educated populace exercising the right to vote. We pick our leaders, our leaders don’t pick the voters, and the better educated and inspired and energized our voting and voting populace is, the better a country our demo cratic republic will be,” she said.

Lori Jones, a former longtime educator, said educated voting is critical to elections, including the local school board.

“Voters need to review candidates’ platforms, then they can make educated de cisions about who wants to support schools and make them better,” she said.

While her longtime passion has been education, Jones, who recently joined the League of Women Voters, said she has con cerns about redistricting and environmental issues, both of which Bona said are hot top ics right now.

“I joined the League because I read that they filed a lawsuit against the legislature about gerrymandering of the congressional districts, which I was furious about, and I’m also really interested in trying to do things to make sure that the Great Salt Lake doesn’t die because that would be a huge disaster for our children. I'm an advocate for children and a lot of people blow off the Great Salt Lake because they don’t realize everything that it does. I just thought, ‘OK, I don't have a right to complain unless I volunteer’ so I’m

taking a look to learn more about these is sues,” she said.

After attending a couple meetings, Jones plans to get more involved.

“I like how the League gets people in volved in nonpartisan politics and how they also take an active role in what’s going on in the state. The great thing about it is you don’t have to run for office to have to see if you can have an impact on something and you can get involved in as little or as much as you want. They’ve got a climate group that’s looking at problems with water in Utah. They have a legislative group that goes to the legislative sessions to find out what they’re doing, and they have an observer group who are trained to be an observer at city meetings and report back what's going on,” she said.

Bona’s involvement with the League started after the 2016 election.

“I wanted to get involved with educating voters and helping voters understand the im portance of going to the ballot in an informed way,” she said. “I saw what the League was doing and that they were empowering vot ers and registering people to vote, not asking them how they were going to vote, but just making sure that they were informed citizens who did vote. To me, that felt like a way of making the world a better place.” l

Nature’s Virus Killer

Copper can stop a virus before it starts

By Priscilla Schnarr www.copperzap.com

Scientists have discovered a natural way to kill germs fast.

Now thousands of people are using it against viruses and bacteria that cause illness.

Colds and many other illnesses start when viruses get in your nose and multiply. If you don’t stop them early, they spread and cause misery.

Hundreds of studies confirm copper kills viruses and bacteria almost instantly just by touch.

That’s why ancient Greeks and Egyptians used copper to purify water and heal wounds. They didn’t know about viruses and bacteria, but now we do.

“The antimicrobial activity of copper is well established.”

National Institutes of Health.

Scientists say copper’s high conductance disrupts the electrical balance in a microbe cell and destroys it in seconds.

CopperZap® and put it on the market.

Soon hundreds of people had tried it. 99% said copper worked if they used it right away at the first sign of bad germs, like a tickle in the nose or a scratchy throat.

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The kids all got sick, but not me.”

The EPA recommended hospitals use copper for touch surfaces like faucets and doorknobs. This cut the spread of MRSA and other illnesses by over half, and saved lives.

“I am shocked! My sinus cleared, no more headache, no more congestion.”

“Best sleep I’ve had in years!”

The strong scientific evidence gave inventor Doug Cornell an idea. He made a smooth copper probe with a tip to fit in the bottom of the nostril, where viruses collect.

When he felt a tickle in his nose like a cold about to start, he rubbed the copper gently in his nose for 60 seconds.

“It worked!” he exclaimed. “The cold never happened. I used to get 2-3 bad colds every year. Now I use my device whenever I feel a sign I am about to get sick.”

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After his first success with it, he asked relatives and friends to try it. They all said it worked, so he patented

As thousands more tried it, some found other things they could use it against, including: Colds, flu, new viruses and variants, sinus trouble, cold sores, canker sores, strep throat, nighttime stuffiness, morning congestion, nasal drip, skin infections, thrush, warts, styes, and ringworm.

The handle is curved and textured to increase contact.

Copper can kill germs picked up on fingers and hands after you touch things other people have touched.

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an additional $3 million per year.

Within the final EIS document, Gondola B is described as being able to operate inde pendently of the roadway. This would help travelers avoid traffic delays up the roadway caused by adverse weather, vehicle crashes, slide-offs, and slow moving traffic.

UDOT does recognize that implement ing a gondola within Little Cottonwood Can yon will be a visual change, but it provides continued access for the watershed, air quali ty, noise reduction and wildlife.

Many elected officials and communi ty organizations have spoken out against UDOT’s decision.

“We believe UDOT’s proposed solutions will poorly affect tourism, as the construction will cause many years delay in mitigating traf fic, an issue that demands an immediate solu tion. The construction period will increase traffic for years and the canyon’s reputation as a ‘red snake’ will worsen and drive away customers,” wrote Students for the Wasatch, a group of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Utah, in their petition.

“An agency that builds highways should not be the decision maker on safe mobility for all users,” said Cottonwood Heights City Councilmember Ellen Birrell. “Fracturing the foothill gateway to Big and Little Cottonwood canyons with another huge, high-speed arteri al when commuters currently have no viable transit alternatives is opposed by the citizenry.

Thoughtful and financially practical alterna tives that move commuters on existing arte rials would lessen injuries, fatalities, and air pollution.”

“This constitutes the greatest threat to climbing in the Wasatch region in decades,” wrote the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance after hearing of the decision. “UDOT’s proposal threatens iconic roadside bouldering resourc es and will impact the overall historic climb ing experience in the Little Cottonwood Can yon.”

“I continue to believe a gondola is not the right direction for our canyon,” wrote State Representative for Utah House District 32 Suzanna Harrison on social media. “Tax payer-funded transportation projects should benefit all residents, not just the ski resorts.”

“A gondola system will scar Little Cot tonwood Canyon forever. It will be pervasive and permanent,” wrote Friends of Little Cot tonwood Canyon.

Instead of sending all their resources to Gondola B, UDOT plans to phase in various transportation alternatives. UDOT would like to enhance bus service up the canyon, im pose tolling restrictions on single occupancy vehicles, and construct mobility hubs in the meantime. In addition, UDOT plans to move forward with the construction of snow sheds, making improvements to trailhead and road side parking, and the widening of Wasatch Boulevard.

“During the public comment period,

many people suggested that UDOT start with increased bussing, more parking, and tolling before moving to alternatives that have a larger footprint and larger environmental im pacts,” Van Jura said. “These improvements will protect the watershed, improve air quali ty, and increase the quality of life for residents and canyon users by reducing traffic conges tion as private vehicles shift to transit.”

A 45-day public comment period ad dressing the Final EIS alternative began on Sept. 2 and will run through Oct. 17. Paper

copies of the Final EIS are available at vari ous locations including UDOT’s Central Of fice (4501 S. 2700 West, Taylorsville), Virid ian West Jordan Library (8030 S. 1825 West, West Jordan), Anderson-Foothill Library (1135 S. 2100 East, Salt Lake City), Whit more Library (2197 Fort Union Blvd., Cot tonwood Heights) and Cottonwood Heights City Hall (2277 Bengal Blvd.).

UDOT will accept public comments through the project website (www.littlecot townwoodeis.udot.utah.gov/), emails (little

cottonwoodEIS@utah.gov), voice mails, text messages (801-200-3465), and written letters (2825 E. Cottonwood Parkway, Suite 250, Cottonwood Heights, UT, 84121) until Oct. 17. All public comments will be used to help them decide on the final alternative for imple mentation. The Record of Decision (ROD) is scheduled to be announced during the winter of 2022/23.

To learn more about the process of

tonwoodheightsjournal.com: Salt Lake County leaders stand firm against construction of the canyon gondola Canyon transportation draft plans com ing this summer: with or without local munic ipality feedback

Gondolas or rapid bus service? UDOT narrows options for Little Cottonwood

•

Visualization of the transportation alternatives of a snow shed in conjunction with a gondola looking southwest toward Tanners Flat. (Appendix 17A: Key Observation Points/Final LCC EIS/Utah Depart ment of Transportation)

Visualization of the transportation alternatives of a snow shed in conjunction with a gondola looking southwest toward Tanners Flat. (Appendix 17A: Key Observation Points/Final LCC EIS/Utah Depart ment of Transportation)

“

Peripheral Neuropathy Breakthrough!

My feet feel like they're on fire.” “Each step feels like I'm walking through wet paint. ” “I live in constant fear that I’ll fall.” “I can't sleep, my hands and feet tingle all night.”

What do all of these people have in common? They suffer from peripheral neuropathy. It's estimated that more than 20 million people in the United States have peripheral neuropathy. Unfortunately this figure may be significantly higher as the disease is often misdiagnosed because of its wide array of symptoms.

Dr. Stephanie Scott of Salt Lake Acupuncture Clinic in Sandy shares this belief. “I’ve been treating neuropathy, in all its various forms, for over five years and so often my patients come to me because of the symptoms, not because of a diagnosis. They saw one of my print ads, or read the testimonial of another patient and say to themselves, ‘hey, I feel the same thing’.”

Frankie M. of Draper testified to this. “I remember my husband driving me to my consultation and I saw a woman running just outside our neighborhood. I was so envious I just kept thinking ‘I would give anything just to walk again’. My primary care doctor told me my troubles with pain and balance were just symptoms of old age and gave me a prescription. I was so depressed."

Fortunately Frankie would eventually hear from a friend, who was experiencing similar symptoms, about Dr. Scott and how she offers a real solution at Salt Lake Acupuncture Clinic. "I just knew I had to see her. She was my last hope.”

“Almost all of our patients come to us with a story similar to Frankie's. They've been everywhere else. They've been told there's no hope. They've been told 'it's just part of getting older’,” shares Dallin, a Patient Care Coordinator at Salt Lake Acupuncture Clinic. “It just breaks my heart but I know how much we can help people like Frankie, so I'm always so happy when they walk through our door. ”

Those diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy often face a very grim reality; Western medicine declares that there is no solution while most alternative therapies carry large price tags and offer little to no resolve. Which is why Dr. Scott and the staff at Salt Lake Acupuncture Clinic pride themselves on being ‘the last resort with the best results’.

Peripheral neuropathy is a result of damage to the nerves and this damage is commonly caused by lack of blood flow in the hands and feet. A lack of blood flow results in a lack of nutrients; the nerves then begin to degenerate and die which causes pain ranging from discomfort to debilitating. Because neuropathy is a degenerative condition, once those nerves begin to deteriorate they will continue to do so until they are completely expired, leaving those suffering with crippling balance issues. “In this case, the absence of pain is not necessarily a good thing," shares Dr. Scott. “This usually indicates that your nerves are hanging on by a fragile thread.”

So how exactly is Dr. Scott able to reverse the effects of this degenerative disease? “Acupuncture has been used to increase blood flow for thousands of years which helps to get the necessary nutrients to the affected nerves. But the real magic happens when I integrate ATP Resonance BioTherapy™. This is tech that was originally developed by NASA to expedite recovering and healing."

“I just can't say enough about Salt Lake Acupuncture Clinic,” Frankie shared through tears of joy. “My husband and I moved here three years ago and he's gone hiking almost everyday. I always stayed home because of the pain and discomfort. Yesterday I went hiking with him! And next week we're starting ballroom dance lessons. I am truly living life these days.”

According to Frankie’s test results, she has seen a 74% improvement in pain and functionality, which is on par with a majority of our patients,” shares Dallin. “But more important than those test results

is the joy she's expressed being here and hearing about all the amazing things she's able to do because she feels great!”

By seamlessly blending the ancient science of acupuncture with modern medical solutions, Dr. Scott has achieved a 90% success rate in reversing the effects of neuropathy. She starts each patient with an initial consultation, during which a sensory exam is performed.

“This not only aids in making a proper diagnosis but it helps to define just how much nerve damage has occurred,” explains Dr. Scott. “This is important because if a patient has suffered more than 95% damage, there is little that I can do to help them. I'm familiar with the medical miracle but I know my limits as a practitioner and the limits of my medicine.”

When it comes to treating peripheral neuropathy, regardless of its origin, early detection greatly improves your chances of a full recovery.

If you or someone you love is suffering from chronic pain that presents as burning, tingling or ‘pins and needles’ or you've recently been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, it's important to know that there are options.

There is hope!

Call (801) 477 7966 to schedule an initial consultation or visit SLCacu.com.

OF

Freshman tennis phenom takes training and the game seriously

By Jerry Christensen | j.christensen@mycityjournals.com

Brighton tennis has produced many tal ented athletes over its 52-year history. It has claimed dozens of state championships in both boys and girls tennis. Even among the many excellent Brighton tennis play ers, every once in a while a bright young star emerges. Such is the case Avery Olsen, a freshman playing in the No. 1 spot, first varsity, who bested all the other first varsity players in Region 6 and earned the title of region champion.

“I have known about Avery and her tennis talent since was about 10 years old. I have been waiting for years for her to be come old enough to attend Brighton High School and play for our team,” said Brighton tennis coach Natalie Meyer.

Olsen just turned 14 in June and has become Brighton’s freshman phenom on the tennis courts.

Her mother, Kristy, recounts Olsen’s migration toward and embrace of tennis. “From an early age Avery’s passion was dancing with her sister Kalli. They danced 15-20 hours a week and loved doing it. When

Avery was about 8 years old she started tak ing one tennis lesson a week in addition to her dance. She soon started looking forward to that one hour a week and loved it so much! When she was 9 she decided she wanted to do half of her week doing dance and the oth er half of her week doing tennis. By the time she was 10 all she wanted to do was play ten nis and she couldn’t get enough of it, so she quit dancing and devoted all her time to ten nis. Since then she trains at least 20 hours a week in tennis and travels all over the coun try playing tournaments. She is focused, de termined and loves training, competing and all things tennis.”

Olsen has had the opportunity to com pete in many of the biggest tournaments in the country. All require a high national rank ing to enter. Some of the noteworthy tour naments include the Orange Bowl in Miami and the Easter Bowl.

The 5A Utah State Tennis Tournament becomes her next focus with her favorable seeding as Region 6 champion. l

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Brighton’s Avery Olsen competing at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. (Kristy Avery)

In the 11 years Utah Cycling League has offered high school athletes a chance to compete, more Cottonwood-AMESIntermountain Christian-Hillcrest mountain bikers have joined the composite team, ded icating themselves to year-round training for a four-race season in addition to state.

“We’re bigger every year,” said Cotton Crest coach Anthony Stowe. “We have 41 on the team this year and they're having tons of fun.”

This year, the majority, 26 riders, come from Hillcrest. Nine of the student-athletes are seniors.

“We know that the best advertising to get team members is word of mouth, but I’ve been able to snag a couple of girls at fresh man orientation night like Josie Paul, who is a team captain and a Hillcrest senior this year. She’s told me several times she’d never even thought about racing on mountain bikes until then,” Stowe said.

Joining Paul as captain is Hillcrest se nior Kenna Stowe, who is the first female racing varsity in five years.

“She’s been working really hard be cause racing varsity is a big deal,” he said.

In her first race, she placed 12th for the team.

The third captain is Hillcrest senior Kolby Butler, who had a goal to improve from JV-A to varsity this year.

“He’s right on the edge to riding varsity. There are four boys that want to move into varsity, but they all have to petition up. They did well last year, but not well enough to au tomatically qualify. It’s hard because it’s a pretty deep category. Those varsity boys are pulling the same lap times that a profession al athlete would, just incredibly fast. On any race day, you can see a plume of dust before you see them. It’s insane,” Stowe said.

In addition to his returners, he’s expect ing promise from first-year rider, Intermoun tain Christian junior Micah Autry.

“He is a rocket ship, but since this is his first year, he was starting somewhere in the middle of the pack in the lowest category, but with his race resume, we were able to pe tition him up to JV-A. Now he has to prove that he can get into varsity,” Stowe said.

The season began with races in Price and at Snowbasin, which Stowe said the latter is “a climbers’ course; it’s really steep right from the starting line.”

At Price, CottonCrest’s Alex Fisher won the freshman-B race, with Seth Fill more placing fourth and Graham Carlson, taking fifth.

At Snowbasin, CottonCrest podium fin ishers in their divisions were Carlson, first; Josie Paul, first; Fisher, second; and Sabrina Miner, fourth place.

In both races, the team finished sixth overall in their division.

CottonCrest was expected to race Sept.

CottonCrest mountain bikers off to fast start

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

24 in Moab, on a “wide open fast course that has some technical sections on the slick rock,” followed by Oct. 8 race in Vernal, which Stowe described as a “fast-pedaler course.”

“The wonderful thing for Kolby, Porter Bach and Braxton Little is that they're all Hillcrest seniors, and they want to go out having raced in the hardest category. They know they’re not going to win first place, but they want to do hard things. In this day and age, it’s cool to see these kids have that desire, which will help them in life as they move on into the workplace. That's really what I try and instill with these kids. We climb mountains, which is super hard, right? We look at it and ask, how do you make it harder? So, our kids practice on difficult trails in hot weather, and we prepare them for the worst days. We do everything from intervals to hard courses on hot days where there are a couple of trails that are fully ex posed to the sun and they have an 800- or 900-foot climb in full sun, so they have to learn how to hydrate and eat properly before

practice. Because we train in these condi tions, we have a decent balance of aerobic output for Price and Vernal, and we have good climbers, technical riders and technical defenders for Snowbird and Moab.”

Preparing them for the races also means anything from mental toughness to bike re pair.

“When I send my athletes out, they’re gone, sometimes as much as four miles away. When they’re out there, they're out there, and that can be intimidating for a lot of kids. That’s what this sport is all about teaching them how to work hard, teach ing them sustainability, teaching them how to take care of themselves,” Stowe said.

State is Oct. 21-22 in St. George.

“The St. George course is a balance of all of the courses,” said Stowe who antici pates taking about 40% of his team to the championships. “You have half of the course that is wide open, smooth, easy trail, where you can put down the power and sustain it, and you’ll fly. The first half though is really difficult because you start out fast and you get right into this really rough terrain, so you need good technical skill. It’s the perfect bal ance of speed and technical prowess on the bike to test and challenge our riders.”l

Cottonwood freshman Sophia Arlen rides in a JV-B race. (Anthony Stowe/CottonCrest)

Cottonwood junior Ethan Luker races for Cotton Crest. (Anthony Stowe/CottonCrest)

We’re bigger every year. We have 41 on the team this year and they’re having tons of fun. Anthony Stowe

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Brighton volleyball sponsors Pink Night, raising funds for breast cancer patients

By Jerry Christensen | j.christensen@mycityjournals.com

Brighton girls volleyball is now under the capable guidance of Brighton alumnus coach Jenna Markey. Besides a tradition of producing deep competitive teams from freshman to varsity, Brighton volleyball has a decades-long tra dition of giving back to the com munity through Pink Night. Markey participated in this annual fundraiser as a student-ath lete and she now continues the community outreach as head coach. Other Brighton volleyball alumni have taken the concept of using their sport as a means to give back to the next level. Elise Christensen (BHS 2015) played collegiate volleyball for four years at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Recalling her experi ence with Pink Night at Brighton, she founded a “sitting volleyball” league aimed at giving physical and social outlet to less able-bod ied individuals. The university men’s and women’s volleyball teams rallied around the effort and reached into the community to provide service.

“Pink Night is Tuesday, Oct. 11 beginning with our first fresh man games at 3:30 and continuing through the varsity game ending at 7 p.m.,” said Regina Morrill, who is heading up this year’s ef fort. “The money is being raised for the Image Reborn Foundation which is a local community foun dation that sends breast cancer patients and survivors on wellness retreats.”

Morrill is asking for any do nations of services or products from the community. There will be a donation of $5 per person at the door to enter. All concession and entry fees as well as raffle proceeds and donations from the night will go directly to the Image Reborn Foundation.

Contact Morrill at regina. morrill@comcast.net for dona tions and information.l

Brighton freshman, sophomore,

and varsity volleyball teams. (Kassie Feinga)

Brighton’s new sports announcer also innovating the automotive program

By Jerry Christensen | j.christensen@mycityjournals.com

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High School has several pro grams, teams and even classes that seem to excel year after year. These could be called “Brighton specialties.” There’s Brighton’s nationally ranked Model United Nations team, Brighton’s AP (Advanced Placement) offerings, and the state-ranked marching band. Some Brighton gems are even brands unto themselves like Brighton Tennis and Brighton Swimming. Each of these tradition al Brighton strengths can be traced to inno vative teachers and coaches who went above and beyond to establish a movement.

Canyons School District has created a means to give innovative school leaders the tools needed to establish such long-lasting programs. It’s called the Canyons Education Foundation and it grants funds to all sides of the district including Brighton’s own innova tive teachers. Innovation Grants are awarded annually thanks to generous donations, com munity partnerships, and support of donors via the Education Foundation’s annual golf tournament at Wasatch Mountain State Park. This year’s tournament raised $98,000.

“Foundation Grant delivery day is the absolute best day of the year,” External Relations Public Engagement Coordinator Susan Edwards said. “It’s neat seeing when the money that the Foundation board raises makes it to the classroom and allows inno vative teachers to do extra special things for their students.”

Tyler Perkins, the new “voice” of Brigh ton football and basketball, was granted

nearly $10,000 for Brighton’s CTE (Career and Technical Education) automotive pro gram. Perkins, who built similar programs at Hunter High School, said, “These funds will help us bring automotive education into the new century.”

Many tools and much of the infra structure in the auto shop are designed to service and rebuild vehicles pre-2000. The auto technology has become more computer based and now becomes less about internal combustion engines and is trending toward electric vehicles (EV). These innovation funds will be used to acquire state-of-the-art diagnostic and repair tools.

“We will now have scan tools for cars as new as 2022. We’ll replace our battery sys tems testers that are from the 1970s. We’ll have a FLIR (forward looking infrared) ray gun that allows students to troubleshoot elec trical systems and even suspension issues. We will have a high voltage tool kit that will enable us to safely work on newer cars.”

Fully enabled, the Brighton CTE au tomotive program with a visionary teacher is poised to be another in the pantheon of Brighton’s innovative specialty programs.

For community members looking to help contribute to the CTE automotive pro gram, Perkins sends out a request to the Brighton community for car donations 2000 and newer. The cars do not need to be in working order. Donations are tax deductible.

Contact Tyler.Perkins@canyonsdistrict.org l

Tyler Perkins, Brighton’s automotive teacher and new sports announcer. (Jerry Christensen/City Jour nals)

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T here are lots of people in this world who scare me, like toddlers, Christian nationalists and the barista who always compliments my shirt, even when I’m wearing a blood-stained hoodie.

But dentists! Dentists are a higher level of fear. I'm sure they get tired of being compared to the sadistic den tist in “Little Shop of Horrors” but if the tooth fits…

My dentophobia is rooted in an experience when I was 5 where many of the details are still slumbering in my subconscious, waiting to burst when I’m least expecting it. The only thing I remember was the dentist was not my friend.

Peri Kinder Life and Laughter

I start ed dreading my annual checkup.

Mom would write our dentist’s name on the bathroom mirror in red lipstick, so she’d remember to schedule the appointment. But every time she wrote it, I’d take a wet washcloth and wipe it off. I’m sure she never noticed the smeared lipstick or the dripping-wet mirror.

Now that I’m older, I should be braver, right? I should be grateful I don’t have a medieval dentist who also works as the village butcher, barber and blacksmith. I’m lucky I’m not Tom Hanks in “Castaway” when he uses an ice skate to knock out his abscessed molar. Modern dentistry

It’s like pulling teeth

is a privilege.

My rational mind knows all those things, but I’ve never left a dentist’s office thinking, “Hmmm. That wasn’t too bad.”

I recently had my first root canal, which didn’t ease my fears. At all. I was upfront with the endodontist and told him I didn’t like him very much.

“I understand,” he said.

“No, really. I loathe you,” I said.

“Yeah, I get that a lot.”

We went from there. He offered me nitrous oxide be cause if I’m going to be root-canaled, I’d rather be float ing somewhere near Venus. After I was nice and drifty, he told me I’d feel a little pinch as he numbed my mouth. Then he proceeded to nail my face to the chair while the nurse handed him a Black & Decker drill. He laughed ma niacally, donned a hockey mask ala Jason Voorhees and started excavating my back teeth.

At least, that’s how I remember it.

After the root canal, I had to make an appointment with my dentist to put a crown on my tooth. I called the receptionist who said I could schedule time on Sept. 12 at 2:30 a.m. or wait until June 2023. Typical.

I don’t know why I’m still terrified of all things den tal. The smell of a dentist’s office makes my stomach roll. The sound of a drill makes my jaw clench, which makes it really hard to work on my teeth. When it was time for my crown appointment, I sat in my car for a good 15 minutes, giving myself a pep talk.

“You’ve got this,” I said. “You’re a big girl.”

“Nope. I’m going to Starbucks,” I responded. “No, you’re not. You’re going to act like an adult

and walk in that office.”

I stuck my tongue out at myself and went to get my crown. Not a cool crown like a Dutch sapphire tiara but a porcelain crown that I’m afraid to chew with. I’m pretty sure my dentist has a hook for a hand and he proceeded to stab my gums repeatedly, probably just for the fun of it. And then it was over. For now.

I’d rather face a zillion zombies, a multitude of mum mies, a van full of vampires or a ton of toddlers before seeing the dentist again. He’s the scariest monster I know.