Herriman Journal | January 2024

January 2024 | Vol. 34 Iss. 1

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INTELLIGENT ANSWERS TO CONCERNS ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE CLASSROOM

By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

Editor’s note: this is part of a series of articles about artificial intelligence in schools.

W

hile many express concerns about how AI will affect their job or their way of life, Jordan School District employees are already using AI to improve their jobs and the way they teach.

During their Nov. 28 meeting, members of the Jordan School District Board of Education approved a five year contract with SchoolAI, an artificial intelligence platform created specifically for schools and developed with input from Jordan District teachers who piloted it.

“AI is here,” board member Darrell Robinson said. “No matter what, it's going to be our reality, so we felt that we needed to take control of it and figure out how to use it instead of banning it and fearing it.”

Jordan School District is leading out among other districts with their early adoption of AI tools, while some other districts have banned AI, Robinson said. Jordan District representatives have been asked to share their approach to AI at a school board convention this month.

Those educators who have been using AI tools for several months are excited to share the benefits of—and to address common concerns about—AI. Concern: AI is not safe Answer: Closed AI systems and cautious teachers keep stu Valley High School teacher Graham Bany demonstrates the AI he uses in his classroom to Congressman Burgess Owens. (Photo courtesy of Continued page 4

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Darrell Robinson.)

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Continued from front page dents safe Amber Saffen, an engineering and robotics teacher at Jordan Academy for Technology and Careers, said caution, not fear, is a reasonable response to AI. “I think there's a lot of value in approaching any new tool with caution,” she said. “I would alleviate people’s fears by saying schools are aware. Just like we protect students from certain websites but encourage the use of others, we're protecting students from certain AIs. There are plenty of teachers and administrators who are excited about AI, who see the value but understand the risks, and are working so hard so that it is being implemented and that we’re teaching AI literacy, as well.”

Jordan School District is committed to using AI and other technologies ethically and to providing guidance and support within the framework of being: Conscientious, Collaborative, Critical and Creative, as described on their website.

The SchoolAI tool, which is being implemented district-wide, provides safeguards, data security and privacy protections that comply with federal student privacy laws.

“It's a technology that we're just starting to use on a broad scale, and we'll continue to watch to make sure that we're getting all of the benefit and that we're mitigating and eliminating the risks that are associated with any new program,” Jordan School District Superintendent Dr. Anthony Godfrey said. “SchoolAI put a fence around artificial intelligence so that our information doesn't get out and we only let in the information that we want. So we have safeguards in place. We have a lot of training in place, and I'm really optimistic about the way SchoolAI is going to be used.”

Graham Bany, a teacher at Valley High School, said SchoolAI is a closed system, unlike popular public AI interfaces.

“Since the SchoolAI is trained on education content, it's a lot cleaner and easier than an alternative artificial intelligence,” he said.

Journals T H E

to-one feedback from the machine that's more consistent than a human,” he said. Unlike a human, SchoolAI’s feedback to students is always positive and it redirects them when they get off-topic or behave inappropriately, he said.

One of his high school students typed a negative comment about another student and the chatbot’s response impressed Bany.

“It said, ‘Hey, you probably should consider not calling someone by rude names, but you should also still be sure to explain the things that they're doing that are making you want to call them that word,’ so even the feedback that it gives when kids are speaking in ways that they shouldn't, it still tries to redirect them positively,” he said.

An example of a SchoolAI chatbot interaction. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Morrill)

“So, when I create a rubric using SchoolAI, and a rubric using Chat GPT, I get really, really different responses from both of them, because SchoolAI is actually made to help us meet our goals with students.”

Concern: AI will replace teachers Answer: AI will make better teachers “The teacher is not getting replaced by AI,” Kevin Morrill of SchoolAI explained.

“They're just leveraging AI to be a better teacher, to be more prepared when they go in front of the class. They use our platform to do a lot of the heavy lifting. They get about 80% down the road using the platform on any given thing and then they can put on their creative hats, their experience, and then bake that into it. So we're seeing more prepared lessons, more prepared courses and units. We actually think that AI has the potential to increase humanity in the classroom by giving teachers more time to connect more deeply with students.”

West Jordan Middle School teacher Andrew Holmes said using AI tools to accelerate productivity and reduce time spent on lesson planning allows him to have more time to be a

teacher and interact with his students.

“I don’t think this is going to replace me—this is helping the overworked teacher do what they want to do,” he said.

Many teachers save time by using AI tools for monotonous, time-consuming or complex tasks.

“I regularly use the AI to help me draft an email to respond if I have a very upset parent,” District Math Consultant Amy Kinder said. “I still want to show parents that I care, but it takes so long to craft it, because you know someone's going to pick it apart. AI helps me draft great emails really fast.”

She said AI only generates the first draft.

“I look at it and re-edit it until it feels like a quality educator response with my flair on it—it's never just a copy/paste or anything like that,” Kinder said.

AI is sometimes better than humans at responding appropriately and consistently to students’ behavior, too, Bany said.

“Everyone's so scared of AI and language models and machine learning, but they also forget that the safeguards that are required to be put in place are actually helping with the ways the kids are getting direct one-

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Concern: Using AI is cheating Answer: It can be, so teachers are adapting Within SchoolAI, teachers have control and can set parameters for what the chatbot can and can’t do for students. It cannot be tricked into writing a student’s essay but will act more as a writing coach.

However, students have access to AI tools without these kinds of constraints outside of school. They can find AI tools on the internet to help them study or organize their thoughts, but they can also find answers to cheat on their homework.

“I think the tech has caused many pains for many math teachers,” Kinder said. “Because you can take pictures of math problems or you can Google any math problem and it will tell the answer, so it's like they're taking away the joy of solving it. So I think many of them don't see it as a tool just yet.”

There are AI detectors teachers can use to identify AI generated content, which Saffen said aren’t even always necessary, because she can often tell when a student tries to pass off AI writing as their own.

“ChatGPT does have a very particular voice to it,” she said.

However, sometimes Saffen lets her students use AI-generated content, such as

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to write a paper explaining their engineering project.

“I was not grading them on their ability to present the idea in writing,” Saffen said.

“The writing was just a medium for them to get their idea into my head.”

But she reminded her students that in other classes, using AI to write a paper is cheating.

“I would totally 100% support and understand any English teacher who said you can't use AI, because what they're assessing is the person's ability to write,” Saffen said.

To prevent students from using AI to cheat, Saffen said teachers will change the way they assess learning, just as teachers did when they realized they couldn’t keep calculators or the internet out of the classroom.

“Teachers don't let you use spell check on a spelling test, but they let you use spell check on your essays, and that's AI or machine learning,” Saffen said. “I totally think it will come down to teachers adapting and figuring out and asking the question, ‘What am I assessing?’ And if the AI is not counteracting what you're trying to assess, then I don't think we as teachers need to be afraid of it.”

Jordan District is already changing the way teachers assess students’ math skills.

Nearly all of the district’s middle schools are currently piloting a new interactive method of teaching secondary math skills through rich problem-solving. There is less opportunity to cheat because students solve math problems collaboratively instead of filling out worksheets on their own.

“People think that AI is going to change how everything is done to such a degree that people won't be able to adapt,” Saffen said.

“But teachers care about their students, and they care about knowing that their students learned the content. And so if we think that we are no longer able to do that, we will find a way. I’ve known some fantastic teachers and I know they’ll figure it out. It will just take a while. But I don't think AI is going to break everyone, I guess is what I'm saying.”

Concern: AI can’t be trusted Answer: That’s true, so we make sure students understand that Kinder was initially distrustful of AI. “I did have trepidations about it— How

West Jordan Middle School science teacher Andrew Holmes loves using AI tools in his classroom. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Homes)

is it creating this? Is this from a meaningful place? Can I trust it all the time to do that?”

Kinder said.

The solution to the problem of mistrust has been education.

Kinder attended training sessions and webinars to learn to use and understand AI, which helped her feel more comfortable using it. Now she uses it to develop engaging math activities, to collect and organize information for presentations and to craft emails.

Saffen, who uses AI for many tasks, always double-checks its work.

“There's some forms of machine learning that we use, and as teachers we understand what it is we're trying to do, so we're able to identify the weaknesses in that,” Saffen said.

When she introduces students to a new tech tool, there is always a conversation about the potential impacts and weaknesses in its capabilities.

“The students are aware that AI is going to be helpful, but also has potential concerns,” Saffen said. “I had a student ask the chatbot, ‘Is this information I need to cite

and how would I cite it?’ I was actually really impressed that my students are already thinking along the conversation line of ‘How do I make sure that just because I'm using an AI, I'm not plagiarizing any ideas?’”

Teachers have been given the opportunity to get ahead of students on AI tools. Before

SchoolAI was released district-wide, 100 Jordan District educators piloted SchoolAI and provided feedback that helped designers customize features according to teachers’ needs.

For the first few months of the school year, only teachers had direct access to SchoolAI. “Having teachers on-board early on and engaging with it helps them understand the benefits of SchoolAI,” Godfrey said. “It also helps them help students be good digital citizens, and to use AI effectively and in a way that helps support their learning, instead of using it as a substitute for learning.”

Saffen was impressed that the district offered AI training even before SchoolAI was in use in most classrooms. The Teaching and Learning Department provides regular training, as well as tips and support through their Instagram account and podcast.

“There are a lot of very smart, very capable people who have been at the forefront of this and have been ready for it for a while,” Saffen said.

Jordan School District has prioritized educating stakeholders to ease their concerns about AI in the classroom.

“We'll continue to inform parents and the community about how SchoolAI is being used,” Godfrey said. “Ongoing training is available for teachers to help make sure that we're making the most of artificial intelligence in the classroom.” l

JORDAN SCHOOL DISTRICT - Public Notices

SPECIAL EDUCATION CHILD FUND Every child is entitled to a public education regardless of disability. Children with disabilities may go without services because families are not fully aware of their options.

If you know of a child, birth to age 22, who is not receiving any education services or feel that your child may be in need of special education services, please contact your local school or call the Special Education Department in Jordan School District at (801) 567-8176.

SPECIAL EDUCATION RECORDS DESTRUCTION On January 31, 2024, Jordan School District will destroy special education records of students born prior to September, 1996. Former special education students who are 27 years old may request their records from the school last attended; otherwise, the records will be destroyed.

CARSON SMITH SCHOLARSHIP Public school students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) may be eligible for a scholarship to attend a private school through the Carson Smith Scholarship program.

Further information is available at http://www.schools.utah.gov/sars/Scholarships.aspx

HerrimanJ ournal.com

January 2024 | Page 5

Herriman 2023

A Herriman High unified soccer player kicks the ball away from Orem High at the state unified soccer championships. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

Representatives from the University of Utah and Salt Lake Community College celebrate the opening of Juniper Building, their collaboration campus. (Photo courtesy of Peta Liston/SLCC)

The Herriman High girls lacrosse team celebrates its road victory over Corner Canyon where a postponed second half due to weather led to a back-and-forth game with the Mustangs squeezing out a victory in the end. It was the regular season finale for Herriman in a season where it finished 13-4 (5-1 in region), earned the No. 4 seed for the 6A playoffs and lost to Mountain Ridge in the quarterfinals.

Tony Campos rips a free kick into the top corner to complete the scoring in the first round of playoffs. Mountain Ridge would finish the year 12-7 and 7-3 in region capturing the Region 3 title and earning the No. 9 seed.

Cream pies, what a prize! Rocky Peak Elementary students met a school literacy goal and were rewarded with the opportunity to throw pies into teachers’ and administrators’ faces. (Photo courtesy of Ami Anderson)

Page 6 | January 2024

Herriman City Journal

Jaxson Allen held a toy drive to benefit his younger brother Evan and kids like him who spend time at Primary Children’s Hospital.

(Photo courtesy Chelsie Carter)

Alpacas were a highlight amongst Jordan School District’s annual agriculture day for seventh-grade students. (Julie Slama/ City Journals)

6A Player of the Year Kiaira Smith led the Mustangs from both the circle and the plate as Herriman went 23-6 and returned to the state championship game for the first time since its second of back-to-back state titles in 2019.

Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and Rio Tinto Copper COO Clayton Walker joined with local mayors, council members, mountain bike enthusiasts and community members to open Butterfield Trailhead Regional Park. (City Journals)

The Mountain Ridge and Herriman High wrestling teams met on Jan. 11 for a cross-town duel. The Sentinels got off to a large lead early after their first several wrestlers won their respective matchups. But the Mustangs fought back and narrowed the gap. They ultimately fell short though, losing to Mountain Ridge by a final score of 42-38.

Herriman maternity nurse, Ashley Rawlins, was honored as the 300,000th graduate of Western Governors University. She gave birth to her son two months before her graduation. (Photo courtesy of WGU)

Jaxon Reiser was one of Mountain Ridge’s primary offensive threats on the year as he led the Sentinels in home runs, stolen bases, runs scored, RBIs and slugging percentage.

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January 2024 | Page 7

Herriman districts reelect city council members

I

n the only two races on the ballot, residents of Herriman Districts 1 and 4 reelected their respective city council members, Jared Henderson and Steven Shields, on Nov. 21, 2023. The incumbents faced off against challengers Chris Roberts for District 1 and Matt Bello for District 4. Henderson garnered 834 votes (54.44%) compared to Roberts’ 698 votes (45.56%), and Shields earned 904 votes (65.55%) against Bello’s 475 (34.45%). Just shy of a quarter—24.33%—of the 6,337 registered voters in District 1 cast their ballots while only 21.07% of 6,570 registered voters in District 4 weighed in. “I am grateful for everyone that turned out to vote in the district,” Bello commented. Election results were certified Dec. 5.

The 2023 Salt Lake County General Election was conducted primarily by mail. Ballots were mailed to all registered voters in or around October. Ballots could be returned via drop boxes or by mail if postmarked no later than Nov. 20. Early and in-person election-day voting options were also available. Herriman City used social media and other platforms to encourage residents to vote, directing them to the city website’s election page. This page provided general information, including ballot drop box locations, election-day voting locations, candidate information, voter registra-

By Elisa Eames | e.eames@mycityjournals.com

Steven Shields retained his city council seat in District 4. (Herriman City)

Jared Henderson remains the city council member for District 1. (Jared Henderson)

tion details, sample ballots and helpful links.

The city also hosted a “Meet the Candidates” night on Oct. 24 to allow constituents to hear from the contenders themselves. For those who missed it, a video of this event was also avail-

able on the city’s elections page.

After the election, Roberts and Bello each recognized their supporters. “I was happy to see so many people in the 18-30 age group [vote] as well. Probably thanks to Taylor Swift,” Bello joked. He acknowledged, “We have a great mayor now… It would’ve been great working with [the mayor and Councilmember Hodges].” Bello is undecided about running again in 2027. Roberts offered his own praise. “I would like to give my deep appreciation to my wife, children, family and everyone who supported me along the way. This last year was a great experience… I am also very grateful… for all those who voted for me…,” he stated. “Looking forward, I plan to be involved wherever I can serve… Our future is bright… I encourage everyone to continue to support our city by attending community events, volunteering…, supporting our local businesses and watching out for all of our neighbors.”

Shields expressed gratitude for his victo-

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Page 8 | January 2024

ry. “I am incredibly honored to represent my friends and neighbors for the next four years,” he said. So far, he is most proud of housing and business improvements. “We’ve been able to lower densities, prioritize infrastructure ahead of development and improve the housing mixes... We’ve made progress in growing business and services…,” he said.

During his upcoming term, he has pledged to “...support responsible growth and decisions that respect landowners' rights to develop while also maintaining our quality of life.” Shields has also committed to fostering diplomacy. “I will continue to advocate for collaboration and cooperation with all of the parties in our city to reach mutually beneficial outcomes,” he added.

Likewise, Henderson offered his appreciation. “I love helping my friends and neighbors. I have been able to help many people with issues that affect their daily lives. It has been difficult… but very rewarding in the end,” he said. Henderson believes that his most significant contribution has been his involvement in the inception of the Herriman Police Department. “The biggest [accomplishment] has to be figuring out the finances of UPD and finding the legal path to get out from under them…,” he said. “It took more than two years just to figure out the financial labyrinth and the legal constraints…”

One of his biggest concerns for the future also pertains to city finances. “...My focus is squarely on the long-term financial well-being of the city and the essential services it provides,” he explained. “[Including] balancing land use (tax base and service requirements) and working with surrounding municipalities, entities, etc. to improve recreational and employment opportunities in this area…”

One thing the four candidates would agree on is that local involvement is critical.

“The best way to make things better is to engage in the process,” Henderson said. “Please, please, please, contact me with any needs, concerns or questions.” Each member of the City Council encourages constituents to reach out to them and get involved in the community. l

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Herriman City Journal

Early success for Mountain Ridge girls basketball coming courtesy of young sophomore

By Josh McFadden | j.mcfadden@mycityjournals.com

T

he Mountain Ridge girls basketball team has gotten off to a strong start in the 2023– 24 season. Sophomore Jessica Maynard is a big reason why.

Through the team’s first eight games, and a 6-2 record, Maynard was second on the team in scoring at 14.1 points per game. She also led the Sentinels in rebounding with 8.6 an outing. After scoring nine points in the season opener against Lehi on Nov. 16, 2023, Maynard reached double figures in points the seven games that followed. She pulled down a season-high 15 rebounds while scoring 17 points in game two at Highland Nov. 21. In that same game, she also blocked a season-best four shots.

Mountain Ridge head coach Kenzie Newton couldn’t be more pleased with Maynard’s play. She also praises Maynard for what she does away from the game and for the type of person she is. “[Mayard] is not only an amazing young lady but a very talented basketball player,” Newton said. “She has a contagious smile and is someone that is admired by all of her teammates. Jess is very competitive on the court and makes us all laugh off the court.”

Maynard started playing at the young age of 5. You could say basketball is in her blood.

“I grew up around it,” she said. “Both of

my parents played in college, and most my siblings played. I lived and breathed basketball.”

Though she has experienced some difficult times playing the game, Maynard said her experience has been mostly positive and has included some memorable moments. She loves competing with her teammates, who are girls she has grown to love. It’s that team camaraderie that makes Mountain Ridge such a successful team and an enjoyable program to be a part of. Maynard said no one has a big ego, and it doesn’t matter who scores or puts up big numbers. The players are all in it together.

“We have really good coaches and good culture,” she said. “We have a very unselfish environment, and we are all in it for the win and not stats. We have good chemistry and it’s really cool to be part of a team like that.”

As a player, Maynard believes rebounding is one of her biggest strengths. She’s also a strong player inside and difficult for other teams to defend. Her prowess in the paint makes it difficult for the opposition to score on and shut down the Sentinels.

“I do well at getting myself to the basket inside the paint,” she said. “I bring an inside presence to the team.”

Maynard acknowledges she has things to work on, and she’s always striving to improve and develop. With still two more seasons after

Mountain Ridge center Jessica Maynard is averaging nearly a double-double this season, leading the Sentinels to a nice start. (Photo courtesy of L1quid Studios)

this one to play for Mountain Ridge, Maynard is already focusing on being a leader and an example on and off the court.

“I am working on my leadership skills and being more aggressive offensively,” she said.

Last season as a freshman, Maynard had more of a supporting role. She averaged 4.2

points and 2.8 rebounds a game for the Sentinels. Mountain Ridge tied for the Region 3 title with Herriman, going 8-2. The Sentinels were 19-6 overall and lost in the state tournament to Fremont in the Class 6A quarterfinals.

Maynard and her teammates want to repeat as league champions. To help accomplish this, she has set some lofty goals for herself.

“I want to average a double-double and for our team to work as a team and win region,” she said. “Individually, I need to be a scorer and get rebounds. For our team, we need to work as a team and move the ball.”

Maynard isn’t far away from averaging double figures in both points and rebounds.

She posted a double-double in those categories twice in the first eight games and nearly achieved it in two others when she had double figures in points and added eight rebounds. A great all-around player, she also had four steals against Cottonwood on Dec. 12 and had a season-high four assists against American Fork on Nov. 30.

Being just a sophomore, Maynard hasn’t mapped out her future just quite yet. Still, she doesn’t plan on walking away from the game after high school.

“I do see basketball in my future,” she said. l

Mountain Ridge girls wrestling continuing to progress, Fulks leading the way

By Josh McFadden | j.mcfadden@mycityjournals.com

W

ith a sport as new as girls wrestling, teams are bound to have inexperienced competitors. At Mountain Ridge, there are some newcomers, but it’s nice that wrestlers like Maddi Fulks has some matches under her belt.

Fulks is one of the top wrestlers on the Sentinels’ team, having started as a freshman. Now a junior, Fulks has emerged as a team leader and steady performer on the team.

It was largely thanks to someone else that Fulks got involved in the sport and joined the Mountain Ridge squad.

“I got interested because I had a friend who wrestled, and she convinced me to join,” Fulks said.

Prior to the 2020–21 season, girls who wanted to wrestler could join their schools’ boys team. But the Utah High School Activities Association sanctioned girls wrestling in 2020. This gave Fulks and high school girls like her more opportunities to participate. She loves competing and overcoming challenging obstacles.

“I like winning,” she said. “I also like knowing that I participate in a hard sport. It's hard but super rewarding.”

Head coach Brandon Birch is thrilled to have Fulks and counts on her not only for results on the mat but to help the other girls on the team. He also appreciates her daily efforts inside and outside of the wrestling room. “[Fulks] is a valuable addition to our team,” he said.

“Ever since her first year as a freshman, she has demonstrated strong leadership abilities, and they've gotten stronger every year. She works hard every day in practice and in the classroom.”

During her first two seasons with Mountain Ridge, Fulks qualified for the state tournament. Last season, she

HerrimanJ ournal.com

placed third in Class 6A in the 170-pound class.

“She is poised and ready to make another run in the state tournament,” Birch said. “She is one of the captains on our team and is a great example in every aspect a coach would want. She is an awesome person as well. She is well-liked by everyone and is a friend to all. Our team wouldn't be the same without her.”

Fulks echoes what her coach said. She wants to perform well at state once again and find herself at the top of the podium this year or next. For her team, Fulks is hoping the Sentinels can put together a strong season.

“My goal is to place in state again and get first place at least once,” she said. “My goals for the team are getting past the second round of state with more wins than losses. We need to work even better as a team and work as a unit and not for individual successes alone.”

As a wrestler, Fulks said she has good stamina and can continue to give her best and produce even during long, grueling matches. She sees herself as a good motivator too— someone who can inspire and lift up her teammates to be at their best when their best is required.

Still, Fulks is learning, developing and improving. She said there are aspects of the sport she is still working on.

“I need to improve my overall technique and thinking in my matches,” she said. “I feel like I would do even better once I learn how to chain multiple moves together.”

With another year left at Mountain Ridge, Fulks is unsure what the future holds for her in the sport and in life in general. She has a laid-back approach in this regard but is confident that good things are in store. l

“I'm not sure what my plans are after high school,” she said. “I'll just go with the flow and see where that takes me.” l

Maddi Fulks, in the center with the white shirt, placed second at the 6A state girls wrestling tournament a season ago. The junior has high hopes this season as she works to compete for top honors once again. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Birch)

January 2024 | Page 9

New Herriman education center will help refugees and immigrants

I

n 1957, Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” Sonia and Jeff Henkel of Salt Lake City embodied this principle of selflessness while they served Myanmaran refugees for seven years as inner-city missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The refugees belonged to a congregation called the Columbus Branch in South Salt Lake. Recognizing that refugees from all countries need support as they learn English, find jobs and integrate into society, the Henkels founded the Columbus Adult Education Center and Youth Programs in 2016. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to help refugees and immigrants become self-reliant members of their communities by helping them develop English skills and find employment. The interfaith organization offers online options and has physical locations in Salt Lake, Ogden and now Herriman.

The Herriman campus will help meet the needs of the growing population of refugee families and other nonnative English speakers in southern Salt Lake County while also providing community service opportunities. As with Salt Lake and Ogden, all classes and services offered by the CAEC in Herriman will be absolutely free and open to teens and adults.

“We will be offering English classes for 120 students at a time, a nursery for those parents taking the English classes, [and] a teen and youth program to help children 6-18 improve their English and become better socialized into our community,” CAEC volunteer Shandra Madsen said.

Additionally, the Herriman location will provide continuing education classes for those who graduate from the English program along with citizenship classes.

“There will also be weekly classes to help refugees in our area with seemingly simple tasks (how to cross streets safely, buckling car seats, how to set up a business license, etc.),” Madsen added.

Each quarter, CAEC will organize service projects to give students and community members opportunities to get involved. Herriman students may also take advantage of employment assistance. A volunteer will help match them with potential employers and opportunities in the area. Coordinators anticipate welcoming people from adjacent cities as well and will provide monthly community education classes for anyone. These classes will cover a variety of subjects, such as budgeting and finances.

The group’s plans are impressive under any circumstances, but even more so considering that the centers are run com-

Page 10 | January 2024

By Elisa Eames | e.eames@mycityjournals.com

Herriman volunteers meet at City Hall for a training session. (Columbus Adult Education Center) Scan the QR code for more information about volunteering. (Columbus Adult Education Center)

pletely by volunteers.

“Not a single person in this entire organization is paid a penny,” Madsen revealed—including the board of directors.

For the Herriman Campus to get off the ground, the center will need over 100 volunteers.

“We need anyone and everyone willing to give of their time to this amazing cause,” Madsen said enthusiastically. One resident who has committed to serve is Herriman’s own Mayor Lorin Palmer, who will be the liaison with the city, helping to coordinate efforts and providing information about the needs within the Herriman community. The center will not use any city resources. Though some community members have already stepped forward to help, many more are required for the center to be operational.

Among the volunteers needed are translators who will help non-English speaking students with the registration process, which must be done in person. “…We will need translators to sit with the incoming students and help them through this process on a computer,” Madsen explained. “We have students registered so far that speak Pashto, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese and many others. If you speak a language other than English, we would love to have you volunteer!”

Opportunities are available for as much or as little time as volunteers have.

“Every bit helps,” Madsen said. Coordinators are also collecting nursery books, toys, snacks, school supplies, cleaning supplies, disinfecting wipes, diapers and baby wipes for the center.

Administrators hope to begin courses Jan. 30 with two morning classes and two evening classes each week. Because

The Salt Lake City Campus offers in-person and Zoom classes. (Columbus Adult Education Center)

they can only serve 120 students at a time, Madsen ruefully acknowledged they expect to have a waiting list.

“With the thousands of people in our community who could benefit from this service, we know there will be hundreds waiting for an open spot. We will help people as quickly as we can,” she said.

With the aid of software, the center will use registration information to determine student proficiency for placement within the program.

“There are five levels of English classes with the lowest being the student is illiterate in their own language, up to nearly fluent [English] speakers who are ready to graduate and move on to higher education,” clarified Madsen. How quickly students complete the program will depend on their abilities, motivation and current English proficiency.

Zoom classes will not be available from the Herriman location, but the Salt Lake City Center currently offers them.

“Anyone can access those classes if they

go through the Columbus website and register. They have people from all over the world that log in to their Zoom classes each week,” Madsen said.

“The best way to find yourself,” Mahatma Gandhi declared, “is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Echoing his words, Madsen asserted, “This will be a program and community center that will benefit those who are attending as well as those who are serving.”

Details about the location of the center within Herriman were being finalized at the time of publication. Visit columbusaec.org/herriman-campus/ for location information, or visit columbusaec.org/ for general information, including details for volunteers and prospective students.

CAEC is working to create a website in Spanish. For any questions or to volunteer or donate items, email Shandra Madsen at shandramadsen@gmail.com. l

Herriman City Journal

El nuevo centro educativo de Herriman ayudará a refugiados e inmigrantes

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n 1957, Martin Luther King, Jr. proclamó: “La pregunta más persistente y urgente de la vida es: '¿Qué estás haciendo por los demás?'”. Sonia y Jeff Henkel, de Salt Lake City, adoptaron este principio de altruismo cuando sirvieron a refugiados birmanos durante siete años, como misioneros para La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días.

Los refugiados pertenecían a una congregación llamada Rama Columbus en South Salt Lake.

Al reconocer que los refugiados de todos los países necesitan apoyo para aprender inglés, encontrar trabajo e integrarse a la sociedad, los Henkel fundaron en 2016 el “Columbus Adult Education Center and Youth Programs (CAEC) [Centro de Educación para Adultos Columbus y Programas Juveniles]. Esta es una organización sin fines de lucro 501(c)(3) cuya misión es ayudar a refugiados e inmigrantes a convertirse en miembros autosuficientes de sus comunidades, ayudándoles a desarrollar habilidades en inglés. La organización interreligiosa ofrece opciones en línea y tiene ubicaciones físicas en Salt Lake, Ogden y ahora Herriman.

El campus de Herriman ayudará a satisfacer las necesidades de la creciente población de familias de refugiados y otros hablantes nativos de otros idiomas en el área y, al mismo tiempo, brindará oportunidades de servicio comunitario. Al igual que con Salt Lake y Ogden, todas las clases y servicios ofrecidos por CAEC en Herriman serán absolutamente gratuitos y estarán abiertos para adolescentes y adultos. “Ofreceremos clases de inglés para 120 estudiantes a la vez, una guardería para los padres que toman clases de inglés y un programa para adolescentes y jóvenes para ayudar a los niños de 6 a 18 años a mejorar su inglés y socializar mejor en nuestra comunidad”; dijo Shandra Madsen, voluntaria del CAEC. Además, la ubicación de Herriman brindará clases de educación continua para quienes se gradúen del programa de inglés junto con clases de ciudadanía. “También habrá clases semanales para ayudar a los refugiados en nuestra área con tareas aparentemente simples (cómo cruzar las calles de manera segura, abrochar los asientos del automóvil, cómo obtener una licencia comercial, etc.)”, añadió Madsen.

Cada trimestre, CAEC organizará proyectos de servicio para brindar a los estudiantes y miembros de la comunidad oportunidades de participar. Los estudiantes de Herriman también pueden aprovechar la asistencia laboral.

Un voluntario los ayudará a encontrar posibles empleadores y oportunidades en el área. Los coordinadores también anticipan recibir a personas de ciudades adyacentes y brindarán clases mensuales de educación comunitaria para todos. Estas clases cubrirán una variedad de temas, como presupuestos y finanzas.

Los planes del grupo son impresionantes bajo cualquier circunstancia, y aún más, teniendo en cuenta que los centros funcionan íntegramente por voluntarios. “Ni una sola

HerrimanJ ournal.com

Por Elisa Eames (Traducido por Sarai Childers) | e.eames@mycityjournals.com

Voluntarios de Herriman se reúnen en el ayuntamiento para una sesión de capacitación. (Columbus Adult Education Center) [Centro de Educación para Adultos Columbus] Escanee el código QR para obtener más información sobre cómo ser voluntario. (Columbus Adult Education Center) [Centro de Educación para Adultos Columbus]

persona en toda esta organización recibe un centavo”, reveló Madsen, incluida la junta directiva. Para que el Campus de Herriman inicie funciones, el centro necesitará más de 100 voluntarios. “Necesitamos a todos los que estén dispuestos a dedicar su tiempo a esta increíble causa”, dijo Madsen con entusiasmo. Un residente que se ha comprometido a ayudar es el propio alcalde de Herriman, Lorin Palmer, quien será el vínculo con la ciudad, ayudando a coordinar esfuerzos y brindando información sobre las necesidades dentro de la comunidad de Herriman. El centro no utilizará ningún recurso de la Ciudad. Aunque algunos miembros de la comunidad ya han dado un paso al frente para ayudar, se necesitan muchos más para que el centro esté en funciones.

Entre los voluntarios necesarios se encuentran los traductores que ayudarán a los estudiantes que no hablan inglés con el proceso de inscripción, que debe realizarse en persona. “... Necesitamos traductores que se sienten con los estudiantes entrantes y los ayuden en este proceso en una computadora”, aclaró Madsen.

“Hasta ahora tenemos estudiantes registrados que hablan pastún, portugués, español, vietnamita y muchos otros. Si hablas otro idioma además del inglés, ¡nos encantaría que fueras voluntario! Las oportunidades están disponibles según el tiempo que tengan los voluntarios. “¡Todo es de ayuda!” declaró Madsen.

Los coordinadores también están recolectando libros infantiles, juguetes, refrigerios, útiles escolares, artículos de limpieza, toallitas desinfectantes, pañales y toallitas para bebés para el centro.

Los administradores esperan comenzar los cursos el 30 de enero con dos clases matutinas y dos clases nocturnas cada semana.

Debido a que solo pueden atender a 120 es-

El campus de Salt Lake City ofrece clases presenciales y por Zoom. (Columbus Adult Education Center) [Centro de Educación para Adultos Columbus]

tudiantes a la vez, Madsen reconoció con pesar que esperan tener una lista de espera. “Con los miles de personas en nuestra comunidad que podrían beneficiarse de este servicio, sabemos que habrá cientos esperando por un lugar disponible. Ayudaremos a la gente lo más rápido que podamos…”, afirmó.

Con la ayuda de un software, el centro utilizará la información de inscripción para determinar el dominio del estudiante para su ubicación dentro del programa. “Hay cinco niveles de clases de inglés, siendo el más bajo el de estudiantes analfabetos en su propio idioma, hasta hablantes de inglés casi fluidos que están listos para graduarse y pasar a la educación superior”, explicó Madsen. La rapidez con la que los estudiantes completen el programa depende de sus habilidades, motivación y dominio actual del inglés.

Las clases por Zoom no estarán disponibles en la ubicación de Herriman, pero el Centro de Salt Lake las ofrece actualmente.

“Cualquiera puede acceder a esas clases si visita el sitio web de Columbus y se registra.

Tienen personas de todo el mundo que inician sesión en sus clases por Zoom cada semana”, comentó Madsen.

“La mejor manera de encontrarte a ti mismo”, declaró Mahatma Gandhi, “es perderte en el servicio de los demás”. Haciendo eco de sus palabras, Madsen afirmó: “Este será un programa y un centro comunitario que beneficiará tanto a quienes asisten como a quienes prestan servicio”.

Los detalles sobre la ubicación del centro de Herriman se estaban ultimando al momento de esta publicación. Visite https://columbusaec.org/herriman-campus/ para obtener información sobre la ubicación o https://columbusaec.org/ para obtener información general, incluyendo detalles para voluntarios y futuros estudiantes. La organización está trabajando para crear un sitio web en español. Si tiene alguna pregunta, si desea ser voluntario o donar artículos, envíe un correo electrónico a Shandra Madsen a shandramadsen@gmail.com. l

January 2024 | Page 11

Herriman veterans remembered in wreath-laying ceremony

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he City of Herriman hosted a wreath-laying ceremony at the Herriman City Cemetery on Dec. 16 to honor U.S. military veterans interred there.

“In many homes across the U.S., every day there is an empty seat for one who is serving, or one who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” Herriman’s website observes.

“To honor that sacrifice, Herriman City and its Veterans and Military Advisory Committee proudly sponsor the Wreaths Across America program at the Herriman City Cemetery.”

Kimberly Lambert, a liaison to Herriman’s Veterans and Military Advisory Committee, marked this year as her third assisting with the ceremony. “I very quickly became a big fan of this event. It feels like such a privilege to participate,” she said. “I get a little emotional each year as the wreaths are placed and I think of the sacrifices made by those who have served in our country.”

As part of National Wreaths Across America Day, over two million advocates and volunteers assembled on Dec. 16 to place wreaths on the graves of veterans at over 4,000 locations across the country.

Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is threefold: “Remember the fallen. Honor those who serve. Teach the next generation the value of

By Elisa Eames | e.eames@mycityjournals.com

Nearly 170 veterans have been laid to rest in the Herriman City Cemetery. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

freedom.” WAA offers a number of programs supporting veterans. The first wreath-laying ceremony began over 25 years ago at Arlington National Cemetery, including an individualized ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In 2005, the practice began to spread across the nation and WAA was founded in 2007. Wreath-laying ceremonies take place before Christmas and aim to remember and recognize veterans as well as raise awareness about issues they face.

“This is one of our best events,” Mayor

The Herriman City and Utah State flags flank the American flag at the Herriman City Cemetery. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

Page 12 | January 2024

Lorin Palmer said. “It’s a great chance to recognize our veterans and honor them and reflect back on our history of the original residents in Herriman who served our country.”

During wreath-laying ceremonies, attendees are reverent as they recall memories of their loved ones. “When a volunteer places a wreath on a veteran's grave on National Wreaths Across America Day, it is encouraged that they speak that veteran's name aloud, thank them for their service and sacrifice, and reflect on that person and their life,” the WAA website

states. On Dec. 16, the commemoration in Herriman began at 10 a.m. with a flag ceremony and the singing of the National Anthem, after which Herriman City Councilmember Steven Shields offered a few words. Visitors then began laying their wreaths.

“This [is] my second opportunity to participate…,” Shields said. “There are few things that in life give me more satisfaction than to… honor and remember our veterans and military members. As the son and grandson of military servicemen, I have the utmost respect and reverence for the service that our military members render on our behalf.”

Every year, residents are encouraged to sponsor a wreath for one of the 167 veterans laid to rest in the city cemetery. Sponsorships began at $17. Money raised is first applied to the cost of the wreath and then goes toward funding for WAA programs and administrative expenses.

Anthony Teuscher, deputy director of Parks, Recreation and Events, appreciates the city’s efforts to recognize its veterans. “I feel like the Wreaths Across America ceremony has been an amazing addition to our cemetery,” he commented. “It gives the community another opportunity to commemorate and honor the brave men and women who served our country.” l

The first wreath-laying ceremony took place at Arlington National Cemetery. (Wreaths Across America)

Herriman City Journal

Development agreement signed for The Point’s Phase One, infrastructure will start this spring

By Mimi Darley Dutton | m.dutton@mycityjournals.com

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he Point will start taking shape this spring after a development agreement was signed for Phase One. Leaders attribute that progress to fewer regulations in Utah allowing for innovation and people working collaboratively.

Phase One is approximately 100 acres centrally located among the 600 acres at the Point of the Mountain where the prison once stood. It will include more than 3,300 multi-family residential units (400 deemed affordable), 16 acres of parks including a Central Green for activities like concerts and skating, six miles of roads and more than 12,000 parking stalls, 10 miles of sidewalks and trails, more than 2 million square feet of office space, 540 hotel rooms, an event center with 2,000 seats, shopping, restaurants and grocery stores, and a large hall for facilitating relationships among universities, businesses and entrepreneurs. The Point’s officials anticipate the eventual creation of 14,000 local jobs.

“The entire Point is in Draper City. It’s been a long time coming…it’s very innovative. In a few months, you’ll see this place transform into the future,” Draper Mayor Troy Walker said.

Walker serves on The Point of the Mountain State Land Authority (POMSLA), a board that selected Innovation Point Partners (IPP) for the project. IPP is comprised of international firm Lincoln Property Company and Utah’s Colmena Group and Wadsworth Development Group.

The Point’s Executive Director Alan Matheson said input from 16,000 Utahns has shaped development because it is taxpayer owned land. Renderings of Phase One were on display at the ceremonial signing. “The public picked the most-dense development,” Walker said.

South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey credits “Utah’s secret sauce” of collaboration, a phrase she heard from Gov. Spencer Cox, as the reason The Point is progressing.

“We’re kind of weird here in Utah…we collaborate,” Ramsey said.

The Point falls within the district of Congressman Burgess Owens who said taking away regulations for the sake of innovation “gives people in Utah the best life.”

Owens noted that Utah is the fastest growing state in the union. “I’ve never seen a state that is as innovative and forward thinking.

What we’ve done here is going to attract so many people. Knowing we’re going to grow, let’s do it smart. Making sure our kids can afford to stay—that’s the end goal,” Owens said.

Patrick Gilligan, executive vice president of Lincoln Property Company, echoed Ramsey’s and Owens’ statements. “This collaboration with the state wouldn’t happen in

HerrimanJ ournal.com

Washington or California. It’s easier to do things in the private sector normally,” Gilligan said.

IPP will invest more than $2.3 billion in private sector financing to construct buildings and amenities. The Utah State Legislature has invested $165 million toward the creation of infrastructure, a loan that will be paid back with interest through revenues from future ground lease payments. “Over time, it will generate enough revenue to cover the cost of the new prison. It’s paid for but this is a way to backfill the budget,” Walker said. The Legislature also invested in a new FrontRunner station for the purpose of connecting to regional transit.

Walker anticipates The Point will likely contract with Draper City for public safety, emergency services and road maintenance.

“We’ll strike a price that works,” he said.

And he projects Draper property values to rise. “It’s certainly not going to impact values in a negative sense…that place is going to be desirable.”

Draper’s current population hovers around 55,000. Walker thinks it will rise to A rendering of the River to Range Courtyard at The Point. A Phase One development agreement was 80,000 when The Point is fully built, but signed in November and Draper’s Wadsworth Development Group is one of three companies working together as “Innovation Point Partners” on the project. (Courtesy The Point) slowly over time.

Since he first took office 10 years ago, Walker envisioned high-rises at The Point, now he thinks they’ll be 10 or 12 stories tall.

Because it’s state-owned, none of the property development will go through Draper’s planning commission, but “our city staff will get input.” He doesn’t think the growth will FOR negatively affect his city. “It’s pretty unique for Draper residents. Our established community is quiet and then right across the We are the bridge between freeway we’re going to have a vibrant downbusinesses and the community in town. It’s the best of both worlds.”

Walker continues to hope to attract an Bluffdale, Herriman, and Riverton.

NFL or NHL team to have a stadium at The Point.

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WWW.MOUNTAINWESTCHAMBER.ORG January 2024 | Page 13

Trails, tourism among 2023 highlights for Salt Lake County

By Ella Joy Olsen | e.olsen@mycityjournals.com

T

he Salt Lake County Council just wrapped up the budget for 2024, and now is a good time to look back over the highlights and lowlights of 2023.

A reminder: budgeting is one of the primary jobs of the county council, providing ongoing funding for the many diverse, existing county programs. “Salt Lake County is proud to be one of only 29 counties in the entire country (there are 3,143 counties in the United States) that has a AAA bond rating,” Aimee Winder Newton District 3 county councilwoman and council chair said. “It means we run a good budget and rating agencies believe we will pay our debts.”

County services include health and human services, county parks and recreation centers, tourism and culture, libraries, aging and adult services, mental health and criminal justice.

A big snow year After a big snow year and a snowpack over 200% of normal, on April 13, 2023 County Mayor Jenny Wilson declared a state of emergency in anticipation of potentially devastating flooding. Affected were over 600 miles of creeks and canals within Salt Lake County.

The county provided enough sand to fill 500,000 sandbags, and who can forget the community showing up to fill bags for themselves, and for their neighbors?

The state emergency ended July 10, 2023, with much of the potential damage mitigated.

“We were able to manage the runoff from such an incredible, record-breaking snowpack because of a combination of early planning, improved infrastructure, cutting-edge data, around-the-clock debris clearing, and a [spring] season of perfect weather,” said Wilson.

Decades of infrastructure improvements since 1983 (year of the last major flood) greatly improved the ability of Salt Lake County Flood Control to control water flows and manage debris, as creeks, culverts and pipes were equipped to carry more water than they could in 1983.

Flood control costs are an annual county budget line item and include personnel costs, ongoing maintenance, and annual dredging of sediment and debris from retention ponds and creek beds and run about $6.9 million annually. The cost for the flood emergency of 2023, itself, was approximately $1.8 million.

New and improved trails “County residents have told us trail development is their number one priority over the past decade, based on needs our assessment surveys,” Patrick Leary, associate director for Parks, Trails & Open Space for Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation, said. “Desire for new and improved trails has consistently floated to the top of the list.”

So in August 2023, Phase One of the Butterfield Trailhead Regional Park opened to the

Page 14 | January 2024

community.

“The Butterfield trail system is located in the Oquirrh Mountains in the southwest corner of Salt Lake County and is a game changer for the region,” Leary said. “Now residents in this growing party of the county won’t have to cut across the valley to get to an easily accessible hillside trail system.”

Butterfield includes over 13 miles of multiuse trails for hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians within the Southwest Canyon Trails Network, and also provides a connector to Yellow Fork and Rose Canyon trails.

Phases Two and Three (to be completed in the next couple of years) will include improved parking for 500 cars and equestrian vehicles, kiosks, improved restrooms and a maintenance facility.

Uniquely, the Butterfield trail system is situated on reclaimed land which was once a mining site. It was created in collaboration with the county, Rio Tinto and the Bureau of Land Management.

Another big trail milestone, the final phase of the Parley’s Trail, was completed in 2023. Parley’s Trail is an 8-mile east-west walking and biking trail connecting the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and the Jordan River Parkway, providing a corridor through neighborhoods to parks, schools, churches and rural areas and running through portions of West Valley, South Salt Lake, Millcreek and Salt Lake City.

“We’re lucky because this is a trail system that has been consistently funded with bonds, grants, federal, state and county dollars since about 2004, so construction has been ongoing” said Walt Gilmore, associate division director of Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation, and who has also worked on the trail project for 21 years. “This final phase was expensive, about $6 million dollars, and included two bridge structures to get over the Jordan River, but we can celebrate that it’s finally complete.”

Mental healthcare access Currently, a new Huntsman Mental Health facility is under construction in South Salt Lake on 3300 S. 1000 West, a centralized location with access to major transportation corridors.

“On one side is the jail and one side is a homeless shelter,” said Mark Rapaport, CEO of Huntsman Mental Health Institute. “And as we know jails right now are one of the largest inpatient mental health facilities in the country.

And we also know the majority of the people who are homeless have an underlying mental health disorder. So this facility will allow us to be near where some of the people with the greatest needs are.”

This new center, the Kem and Carolyn Gardner Mental Health Crisis Care Center, will be completed in late 2024 or early 2025, but in the meantime there is an ongoing mental health and homelessness crisis.

So to bridge the gap in care, in 2023 the

Six members of the Salt Lake County Council after their meeting to deliberate on the 2024 budget on Nov. 21, 2023. L-R: Suzanne Harrison, Arlyn Bradshaw, Aimee Winder Newton, David Alvord, Dea Theodore, Laurie Stringham. (Photo Aimee Winder Newton)

Flooding on 1700 South on the evening of April 13, 2023 following a record snow season. (Salt Lake County)

county appropriated $2.5 million from federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to retrofit the existing Huntsman Mental Health facilities (near the University Hospital) to create a receiving center, giving those in crisis a place to go that isn’t a jail or an emergency room.

At the receiving center, mental health professionals have 24 hours to get patients settled and stable, to get them connected to community resources, and to figure out a path for recovery.

“The center has 12 beds, and though occupancy varies from day to day, utilization has

been high at about an average of nine beds occupied,” Kevin Curtis, crisis services director at Huntsman Mental Health Institute, said.

“And the average length of stay is about 10 hours.”

2023 funding also covers 17 months of staffing until the new center is finished. The temporary adult receiving center is located at 501 Chipeta Way and is open 24/7. After the new center in South Salt Lake opens, the renovated adult receiving center will likely be focused on mental healthcare for juveniles and children.

“The receiving center is a place where

Herriman City Journal

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LOCAL FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED Ribbon cutting for the Huntsman Mental Health Institute receiving center. At the receiving center, mental health professionals have 24 hours to get patients settled and stable, to get them connected to community resources, and to figure out a path for recovery. (Aimee Winder Newton)

police officers can bring those who are struggling with a mental health crisis to get immediate help,” County Councilwoman Winder Newton said. “It’s less costly than care in an emergency room and a better place to get help for minor offenses than in jail.”

Conventions and Tourism Tourism is a big part of county government as tourists and convention attendees generate tax revenue, thereby saving Salt Lake County residents (taxpayers) money. Visit Salt Lake www.visitsaltlake.com is a private, nonprofit corporation responsible for the promotion of Salt Lake as a convention and travel destination. In partnership with Salt Lake County, it is the marketing arm tasked with attracting and providing support for conventions and leisure travelers.

A couple of successful conventions of 2023 illustrate the diverse groups courted by Visit Salt Lake for their convention needs. As an additional perk, business travelers, after being impressed with Salt Lake, will often return for leisure travel.

The first is the Society of Child Research & Development Convention. Salt Lake competed against Denver, Atlanta, St. Louis, Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Toronto to secure this convention. The organization anticipated their convention in Salt Lake would attract 4,100 attendees, but it far exceeded expectations, and 6,400 attendees attended the event. These visitors spent $6.2 million while in the community.

Another of note is the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. This convention attracted nearly 12,000 attendees who spent approximately $11.6 million. The SHPE leadership was so pleased that Salt Lake has been selected to host this convention again in 2027, 2030, and 2034.

County Library Services In a tight budget year the county was still able to put an additional $280,000 into digital library resources such as audio and e-reader materials, in an effort to reduce wait times for these popular items.

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Additionally, late fees will be waived for children. This program was piloted during the summer of 2023, based on the concern that late fees are a barrier to lower income families coming to the library to borrow books and other learning materials and was deemed a success.

After three months, if the materials are still not returned to the library, the cost will be charged to the cardholder. The 2024 library budget contains $115,000 from the Library Fund to replace the potential lost revenue from fees collected.

County Rec Centers free pass for youth In an effort to improve mental and physical health for youth, the county has provided budget dollars to provide a free annual rec pass to all youth (ages 3-17). The program, called My County Recs Pass, will likely be rolling in early summer 2024, to give the centers time to staff and prepare additional programming.

“We’re seeing a rise in mental health issues for teens and youth, and according the U.S. Surgeon General, something that can help is social connection, getting out there and doing something active with other people,” Newton said. “This is a great program because the county is in the business of improving mental and physical health to residents.”

There are age limits, in that children under the age of 10 cannot attend without a parent, and in that case only the parents would pay, but the county is hoping this will provide more active family time.

The My County Recs Pass program is projected to cost $2.3 million annually. This cost represents the personnel and operational costs, in addition to the reduction in revenue from youth pass sales.

“However, we are expecting some new revenues from adult passes purchased by parents and increased sign-ups for programs,” said Robin Chalhoub, director of community services for Salt Lake County. “We did not add that [increased revenue] to the proposal and we are excited to see how it increases.” l

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Coaching is an important part of the success of youth sports participants. A good coach helps teach each participant the skills to become better. (Greg James/City Journals) Youth sports teams like Hunter Cyprus baseball teams can get the opportunity to travel to championship tournaments, the cost of those opportunities can be immense for its families. (Greg James/City Journals)

The cost of youth sports has skyrocketed—can your kids still play?

By Greg James | g.james@mycityjournals.com

T

here are many opportunities for families that can afford to pay for sports, but the costs are climbing. The gap between those who can afford to pay-to-play and those who cannot is growing wider.

“The cost for everything this year, including team fees, equipment, travel, lodging and tournament fees is up. I probably spend $10k,” Kenny Hart said about his daughter's travel softball team experience.

“Next year we are going to Canada in the summer. I will spend $3,000 just for that one tournament with travel and lodging for 10 days.”

Hart’s 15-year-old daughter Kira plays accelerated softball in the summer and fall.

She also plays with Grantsville High School in the spring. In the late summer, Stephanie, Kira’s mom, posted on Facebook: “Six hours in the office, five hours driving, four new mosquito bites, three hours watching games, two girls in the back seat and one smile on my kid’s face when she hit the ball over the fence and hit the scoreboard.”

Playing youth sports can be a satisfying experience, but some families have to choose to play or pay the bills. The fees for accelerated sports have become extreme.

“My sixth-grade son tried out and made a seventh-grade AAU basketball team,” said an irate parent who wished to remain anonymous. “The program fees are $1,000, because of the steep cost I approached the team principal and asked if the playing time

Page 16 | January 2024

was going to be even. I was assured on two separate occasions that because the team was not elite and only competed locally everyone gets essentially even minutes. Come the first tournament my son played four minutes in the first game and six minutes in the second game. I asked the coach and he got offensive and asked me not to approach him about playing time.”

Accelerated teams are not the only ones with high costs. High school teams can be just as expensive.

“In high school, she (Kira) wrestles that is about $500. Her high school softball fees were about $1,000,” Hart said. “I couldn’t do it if I had more than one kid.”

The choices families have to make to provide activities for their children can be enormously difficult. Some choose to stop playing because of the cost, try to work second jobs, or fundraise enough to lessen the burden.

“We have absolutely had to tell the kids they can’t do everything they wanted to because of the cost,” said Stephanie Taylor, a parent of two cross country runners at Hunter High. “We have several kids and it is impossible to afford it with all of them.

Our kids have done sport in shifts.”

Advisors on money.com suggest choosing your children's sports wisely.

According to a playgroundequipment. com study, 61% of families say youth sports cause a financial strain. They suggest

The Outliers are a junior league hockey team that plays several seasons at the Accord Center in West Valley. The junior hockey league focuses on developing players to be drafted into the NHL. (Greg James/ City Journals)

knowing ahead of time the probable cost.

According to their study ice hockey, skiing, field hockey, gymnastics and lacrosse are the most expensive.

The UHSAA only supports lacrosse in that group and Cyprus, Granger, and Hunter do not currently have teams. The others are considered club sports, but the local schools do not have a direct affiliation with any of them. The cost could be part of the reason, but diversity may be another. West Valley residents tend to gravitate to football and soccer rather than lacrosse and skiing.

A former Granger High School sophomore transferred to Bingham to play hockey.

“That is where Ed’s friends from his travel team all go to school,” said parent Ed

Rappalye. “We went through open enrollment to give him the chance to play.”

The cheapest sports to be involved in according to the website are track and field, cross country and skateboarding.

West Valley has built a locally renowned skate park near the fitness center.

The park is full on any given weeknight and weekend with adults and kids.

There are other ideas to help control sports costs: stay and play locally; resist the urge to join an expensive travel team; skip the brand new equipment; volunteer to coach it may come with a discount; research ways to pay; and set realistic goals.

Less than 2% of high school students get a scholarship for college at the Division 1 or 2 level. Most players earn scholarships and

Herriman City Journal

college playing opportunities by earning good grades.

There are many companies like All Kids Play and Every Kids Sports that offer individual and organizational grants to help more youth play.

These organizations encourage players to keep playing citing the countless benefits playtime, exercise, competition and teamwork can have.

According to health.gov, 73% of parents believe sports improve their children's mental health. The benefits of playing children's sports include lower rates of anxiety and depression, lower stress and higher confidence. A University of Kansas study showed that students who participated in high school sports were 10% more likely to graduate than their peers who did not.

West Valley City offers youth and adult sporting activities. They include volleyball, pickleball, basketball, flag football and tennis. The city also maintains 27 parks. The largest city park is Centennial Park with 77.6 acres. Salt Lake County also has Decker Lake and Hunter Park in the city boundaries for residents.

The City Parks Alliance maintains that parks help residents maintain a healthy weight and can save them an average of $1,800 per person in healthcare costs. Many experts also claim that a well-maintained park can increase home values nearby.

There are still good reasons to play

sports in accelerated or AAU-type programs.

The competition is better and teams are organized to play against similar-skilled opponents. Applying the skills learned in practice over multiple tournaments and games is beneficial.

Certified coaches can help your players get better by teaching them the skills they need. Playing time is not guaranteed but by learning and earning their place the players become better.

Playing sports is fun and advanced-level teams can give players the chance to be seen by collegiate coaches and organizations. Players earn opportunities to play at the next level by performing in high-level games. The high school teams are not the place colleges are shopping for talent anymore.

As kids lose opportunities to play with elite teams it also impacts the opportunities to play in city recreation leagues. The number of participants has diminished in recent years. This impacts the communities. The children lose physical activity and social development chances and have a lack of healthy lifestyles.

“I love to watch my grandkids wrestle.

I would pay the cost no matter what,” Dennis Johns said.l

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January 2024 | Page 17

Hollie Warner knows food scarcity, so she started serving kindness every Friday

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

H

ollie Warner knows what it’s like to experience food scarcity. When she was a child, she knew if she didn’t get school lunch, she was out of luck because dinner and breakfast weren’t guaranteed. At age 10 she started babysitting and cleaning salons so she could have enough money to buy food.

So, even when she was a single mom with four boys, making less than $30,000 per year, Warner knew she needed to help others. She looked for volunteer opportunities that her children could be involved with, but many of the organizations had minimum age requirements.

“My children couldn’t do it because they were too young, so I decided to do it myself,” she said. “It’s not like I made a lot of money, but I figured out how to utilize what I had. We kind of get caught up in ourselves but it’s our job to serve each other.”

Warner made an effort 10 years ago to take food, clothes and other supplies to downtown Salt Lake. She and her sons did it sporadically until about seven years ago when they formally created Friday Friends. Every Friday, they take warm food and clothes, and human connection, to the unsheltered population.

Along the way, friends and businesses have jumped in to help, pitching in with money, time and donations. She credits Mike and Lisa Neibaur and Cathy Jorgensen with helping her

to keep the project afloat. “I don’t know if I’d have been able to keep it going this far without them,” she said.

Before the pandemic, Friday Friends would set up a mobile soup kitchen where they distributed warm soup, fresh fruits and snacks.

Now, the group puts together nearly 150 food packages each week that they give to those in need. Every Friday morning, Warner loads up her SUV and takes donations downtown near the Rio Grande Depot.

She’s often asked if she’s afraid to be around unsheltered people or if she’s worried about her safety when interacting with them.

“As a society we’ve been taught that they’re all addicts, or they’re crazy or we’re going to be stabbed,” Warner said. “But they’re just people and the reality of life is, we’re all one paycheck away from being in the same position.”

Over the last decade, she’s made many friends with the people she serves. When her son turned 9, he wanted to take cupcakes downtown to share his birthday with the people he’d grown to love. So they made 100 cupcakes and distributed the treats. As people realized it was his birthday, the whole crowd began singing “Happy Birthday.” That memory still makes Warner emotional.

“I think people have forgotten in today’s world what it’s like to show love. It can come

Every Friday, Hollie Warner and members of her group Friday Friends bring food and friendship to the unsheltered population in Salt Lake. (Photo courtesy of Warner)

in any form. Maybe a bag of apples or a box of granola or sending $5,” Warner said. “I think we get caught up in the idea that the problem is so big, we don’t know what to do, so we’re going to do nothing. But every small contribution makes a difference.”

Friday Friends goes through several cases of water each week, plus fresh fruit and vegetables, tortillas, granola bars and other food items.

There is also a need for warm clothes, underwear, socks, gloves and tarps. During Halloween, she reached out to her Facebook community to gather leftover candy to take to youth living on the streets.

Warner accepts donations at her home in South Jordan where she lives with her partner and their blended family of seven children, plus an exchange student. Anyone interested in donating or getting involved can reach out to her on Facebook for more information. For those who’d like to donate money to Friday Friends, Warner’s Venmo is @Hollie-Warner-1. “This little village of people have come together, and because of that little village, over the last 10 years we have fed over 30,000 people,” she said.

“It’s not because of me, it’s because I’ve had people who believed in what I believed in.”l

Home prices up, sales down in Salt Lake County

By Darrell Kirby | d.kirby@mycityjournals.com

D

espite the headwinds of high mortgage rates and housing prices that have pushed many potential buyers to the sidelines, homes in Salt Lake County saw slight uptick in prices in the third quarter.

Figures released by the Salt Lake Board of Realtors show the median price of a single-family home in Salt Lake County increased slightly to $594,125 during the period of July through September. That’s up 1% from $589,900 in the third quarter of 2022. The increase in prices came amid mortgage rates that hovered around 7% for much of the period.

“This is why we have seen home sales decline across the Wasatch Front over the past 18 months,” Salt Lake Board of Realtors chief economist Dejan Eskic said in a press release.

Single-family home sales totaled 2,103 units in the third quarter, a decline of 11% from a year earlier. Weber, Davis, Utah and Tooele also saw a drop in homes sold during the third quarter.

The average time single-family dwellings were on the market during the quarter was 27 days, up from 22 days in 2022.

Condominiums in Salt Lake County saw a 1% decrease in median prices to $410,000 but, again, pesky mortgage rates on top of the high asking prices pushed sales down 4% during the third quarter.

Page 18 | January 2024

In West Valley City, for example, the slowdown in home sales was more pronounced than in the county in general.

In ZIP code 84119, which encompasses the eastern third of the city, single-family home sales went from 100 in the third quarter of 2022 to 73 in the same quarter of this year for a decline of 27%. The media price also fell 5% from $420,500 to $400,000.

ZIP code 84120 in the central part of the city saw a 15% drop in sales—92 units to 78— as the median price went from $450,000 to $447,450. ZIP code 84128 covering the northwestern part of the city also trended downward in home prices and sales.

The good news for buyers is that mortgage rates were at their lowest level in early December than they were for a number of weeks. After pushing 8% in late October, they had dropped to 6.625% to 6.875% in early December for a fixed rate on a 30-year loan at some of the larger local financial institutions, giving potential buyers the opportunity to see a significant savings in their monthly payments than just weeks earlier.

“We’re starting to see more potential buyers interested,” said Austin Roberts, a loan officer at City Creek Mortgage. He added that with a decline in rates approaching 1.5%, buyers of a home around $500,000 would see their

Homes are sitting on the market longer in West Valley City because of high prices and interest rates.

(Darrell Kirby/City Journals)

payments drop by around $500 a month. “It is absolutely a material change and increases affordability for home buyers.”

Lower rates could attract more people back to the housing market. Conversely, that additional competition for housing could help push up prices and negate the savings of lower rates.

According to a recent report in U.S. News

& World Report, economists expect home loan rates to stay at 6% or higher through 2024.

Rates below 6% could return in 2025. Roberts concurs with the near-term forecast for rates.

“I think (mortgage) rates will steadily decline as the Federal Reserve cuts rates next year,” he said. “I think we will definitely have lower rates within the next year.” l

Herriman City Journal

Herriman teacher finds healing and hope through the Mrs. Utah America pageant

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

I

t took less than a year for Amanda McCombs’ life to turn upside down. Following a stressful winter where she processed past trauma, she developed a debilitating case of shingles in her sinuses in February 2023. Later that month, her mother and stepfather’s home in Idaho burned to the ground. Her mother lost her dog, her farm animals and her Steinway piano.

Six months after the fire, McCombs’ mother unexpectedly passed away, leaving the family devastated, and sending McCombs spiraling into depression. She recalls the last conversation she had with her mom when she talked about her job as a first grade teacher at Advantage Arts Academy in Herriman.

“I was so exhausted because it was the first week of school and I was sitting in the bathtub and telling her how hard it was to be working with all those cute little kids because they just suck all your energy out,” McCombs said. “She talked about how she wasn’t feeling very good and kept telling me to remember to take care of myself. And that was the last phone call I had with her. I had planned to go visit her that weekend. Instead, I ended up going to her funeral.”

McCombs said her physical and mental health continued to deteriorate. She couldn’t eat, she couldn’t sleep and she had no hope for what the future would hold. She would put on a happy face and pretend everything was okay, even when she was suffering.

But then, she received a surprising lifeline. Jessica Stelling, a local realtor and organizer with Mrs. Utah America, suggested that McCombs apply to be part of the pageant.

“She sent me the application and I don’t know if she knows it or not, but she might have saved my life,” McCombs said.

“It’s been this healing journey. I have people supporting me, just

incredibly supportive, and things are falling into place. She told me anyone with a voice should be a part of the pageant because it amplifies the voice you have.”

McCombs got word that she’ll represent her community as Mrs. Daybreak in the upcoming Mrs. Utah America pageant.

To prepare for the pageant in March, McCombs hired a personal trainer, which she never would have done if it wasn’t for the competition. Moving her body and seeing its transformation has helped pull her out of her deep depression.

It’s also been a way for her to connect with her mother, who modeled and competed in pageants many years before McCombs was born. She’s working on her platform for the event which will be “Take care of yourself - Love, Mom.” It will include information about processing trauma and PTSD and valuing self-care.

McCombs said she’s not going to be quiet anymore and wants people to see they aren’t alone in their suffering or their pain, that it’s okay to ask for help.

“Since I started this pageant, there’s been this incredible community, it’s like us against the world,” she said. “We’re showing you can go through these things and still be a capable, amazing person. You can’t let it stop you.”

McCombs and her husband Leigh have a blended family with five children. They’ve lived in Daybreak since 2019. The Mrs. Utah America pageant will be held at Murray High School on March 22-23. For information, visit MrsUtahAmerica.com.

“We’re showing that it’s okay to be vulnerable,” she said.

“Don’t wait to start setting goals for yourself and start making yourself better.” l

Mrs. Daybreak Amanda McCombs poses for her first Mrs. Utah America photo shoot. She credits the pageant with helping her work through trauma, loss and grief. (Photo courtesy of McCombs/Whitney Faith Media)

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HerrimanJ ournal.com

January 2024 | Page 19

Eight ways to combat change fatigue this new year

By Holly Curby | hello@hollycurby.com

W

e all are no strangers to change.

Whether it’s a New Year’s resolution, a shift in our career, alterations in our physical appearance, or even the family dynamics morphing as families grow— children go off to college, loved ones move, and parents age—change is a constant factor in our lives.

Instincts might be to resist the change or simply feel overwhelmed by it, both of which may be leading indicators of change fatigue.

According to an article by Dr. Lydia Moussa on LinkedIn, change fatigue includes the following symptoms: apathy (disengagement), negativity (cynical or complaining), stress (anxious) and burnout.

Change fatigue can have a significant impact on our lives, from personal disappointments like unrealized dreams to professional challenges like unmet career goals. It's an exhausting experience that can lead to questioning our purpose and identity. However, it's during these times of change that self-reflection becomes vital. The following resources can help us take a look at our lives in hopes of beginning to understand our passions, needs, and ultimately, our unique purpose.

1. The love language test. This is a concept of Gary Chapman’s where in his book “The 5 Love Languages” he helps us understand how we receive love (physical touch, quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, or even acts of service). This tool helps us understand how we feel appreciated and loved, as well as how we tend to show appreciation and love to others.

This test is helpful in any relationship from coworkers and friends, to children and spouses. Learn more about the love languages on Holly’s Highlights podcast Season 3 Episode 3.

2. Personality tests. Personality tests such as 5 Voices, Strength Finders, Myers-Briggs, and Disc help us put a name to our behaviors and inherit traits and passions. This could be understanding you are an introvert and therefore help give you some ideas on how to engage at a social gathering, to even the importance of setting boundaries in balancing such socials with much-needed alone time to refresh and recharge. Personality tests can also help you identify your strengths and how to use them in careers, teams and personal goal setting.

3. Spiritual gifts. From administration, giving, and leadership to service, ministry or teaching, if you are a person of faith this can be a valuable tool in every aspect of your life, career and volunteer work. Keep in mind this is not the fortune teller of what you need to do—it is more of a guide as to what comes naturally to

Page 20 | January 2024

Fulfilling a goal, Holly Curby’s book “Face-Lift: embracing hope through your heartaches” was published April 28, 2023. (Holly Curby)

you. Local churches will often offer spiritual tests, or you can visit giftstest.com or sdrock.com.

4. Bucket list. According to a study from Stanford, bucket lists can help you “live a life with hopes and aspirations.”

They identify values, goals, milestones and experiences as all having significance in both reflection and identification as to what your lifetime will include. When making a bucket list you might see a common theme that can help you create focus in pushing forward toward what you want in life whether it be job-related, relationship-wise or simply helping motivate you to identify “What’s next?”

5. Dreams. As we navigate the changes in life, it’s essential to reignite some of our childhood dreams. Have you wanted to travel? Take part in certain activities or accomplishments? Be in a certain profession? Permit yourself to tap into your inner child and dream. What part of those dreams can you start implementing or pursuing today, and what’s stopping you now from pursuing them?

6. Goals. When we get in a rut of change we can find ourselves going down a spiraling path, but if we have a goal set before us—something to achieve, to work toward, to look forward to reaching—we are more apt to make progress in living a more authentic and fulfilling existence.

In five years you can either look back and see you are still in the same spot, or you can look back and see even a few things accomplished that got you a step further to reaching your goals. Write down some goals that are specific and attainable as well as dates to reach them by—then go for it. Download my free “Get it Done Goal Planner” on hollycurby.com/resourc-

Fulfilling something on his bucket list, Peyton Curby traveled to Alaska with his family. (Holly Curby)

es or check out Holly’s Highlights podcast Season 2 Episode 1 regarding goal setting in a new year.

7. Value/priorities. What is important to you? And where does that rank in your priorities? Once we identify our values and our priorities, it can help us ensure our actions align with our authentic selves. This can help us understand what boundaries should be placed and therefore help us live a more fulfilled life of purpose. Season 3 Episode 26 on Holly’s Highlights podcast can help us unpack more on boundary setting to protect these values and priorities.

8. Personal Mission statement. After you’ve looked at the results from your love language, your personality, your spiritual gifts, your bucket list, dreams, goals, values, and priorities then you can better answer questions such as: Who am I? What’s my purpose? What’s next? Check out Holly’s Highlights podcast Season 3 Episode

15 for assistance on how to do a family mission statement. Next time change fatigue hits, this personal mission statement can help you navigate through the changes so that you keep in alignment with what matters to you.

Amidst life’s constant changes, these resources help us align our actions with our true selves all while embracing a growth mindset, trying new things, challenging our perspectives, exploring our passions, forgiving ourselves of any regrets, having a grateful heart, turning our pain into purpose, accepting our flaws, and believing in ourselves so that we can combat succumbing to the fatigue of change.

Learn more on Holly’s Highlights podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Tune-In, and at www.hollycurby.com.l

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January 2024 | Page 21

The City Journals is recognized for its pay equity and women-friendly practices

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

T

he City Journals has been named as one of the 100 Companies Championing Women. The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, the CoxHenderson Administration and the Utah Women & Leadership Project created the initiative in 2022, as part of the Inspire InUtah program, to recognize businesses that offer family-friendly policies and women-specific practices that advance women as managers and leaders.

Listed in the 2024 cohort of 100 Companies Championing Women, The City Journals joins other organizations like Davis Technical College, Women of the World, Bennett Communications and Saprea. The City Journals publishes 18 community newspapers each month, along with the weekly Davis Journal. It also creates the Value Pages coupon magazine.

“Women are imperative to our business at the Journals,” said Bryan Scott, City Journals owner and publisher. “Women make up the majority of our readership. Women make up the majority of our employees, particularly our writers. And if most homes are like mine, most of our shopping decisions are made by women, which makes it important to our advertisers.”

State leaders believe when businesses unite in their mission to champion women, it creates a force that can reshape the corporate landscape, and change the lives of women as it paves the way for equality and empowerment.

While Utah continues to rank as the worst state for women’s equality, the governor’s office and Inspire InUtah hopes to create a business community where women are supported, whether that’s through pay equity and childcare support, or professional development and leadership programs.

Elizabeth Sweat, people leader at The City Journals, said the company has focused on women-friendly practices, including pay equity for all female employees.

“We are transparent about our pay,” Sweat said. “We have the same pay for all of our beat writer contractors based on their length of service and we pay our commissioned sales reps the same, based on the amount they sell. Women and men are paid the exact same for the exact position.”

The City Journals also implements recruitment strategies, focused on increasing the number of women employees, with

City Journals staff members include (from left) Brialee Nelson, Kayla Palmer, Elizabeth Sweat, Bryan Scott, Rachael Roberts and Mieka Sawatzki. They join Alderman Properties Managing Partner Trish Alderman (third from right), at the Chamber West Fall Conference. The City Journals was recently named as a 100 Companies Championing Women organization. (City Journals)

flexible work schedules that accommodate work-from-home situations.

“Some were hesitant to say they had school drop-off or such, but I let them know that we love working moms,” she said. “Prior to COVID, we had a program

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Page 22 | January 2024

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called Project Homemaker where we specifically targeted stay-at-home parents.

They were appointment setters that worked approximately 12 hours a week based on their children’s school schedules. That is a program that we hope to bring back soon.”

The Women’s Evolution group at The City Journals used to meet in person every month, but with so many remote workers, Sweat sends out a calendar of community and business events that women can choose to attend. The calendar also includes community resources geared toward women.

Female employees are encouraged to find a Women in Business group based on their personal interests and schedules, although they are not required to attend because many have limited time for networking.

The City Journals supports women in leadership positions. Currently, the sales manager is a woman, as is one of the three community newspaper editors. Full-time employees include nine women and seven men.

“It became very evident to me a few years ago that the success of our company will be dependent on our ability to have women work for us,” Scott said.

“Our journey started with our staff making sure we were building a company where women would be comfortable working.

We still have a long road to go, but I think this award demonstrates the strides that we have made.”

The 2024 cohort of 100 Companies Championing Women joins the inaugural 2023 group that includes organizations like Clearfield City, Cotopaxi, Goldman Sachs and the Women’s Leadership Institute. For more information, visit InUtah.org. l

Herriman City Journal

A Bitter Pill

I

’m at the point where each doctor visit starts with “Well, at your age…”. I need to get my liver rotated, my heart valves oiled, my lung filters changed and I need a lot of bodywork done. Nips and tucks won’t do it, I need parts replaced and a complete undercarriage overhaul.

I’ve got 99 problems and the cost of health insurance counts for at least 90.

When I found myself without health insurance at the end of last year, I jumped on Healthcare.gov to explore my “affordable” options. The site states that four out of five people can find a plan for $10 or less a month, after tax subsidies.

What they don’t tell you is that the fifth person has to get a third job, sell organs on the black market or start printing money in the basement to afford a healthcare plan.

As I scrolled through my health insurance options, I got irrationally angry. Plans started at around $500 per month, with deductibles ranging from $7,500 to Lamborghini. Keep in mind, this was for one person, not an entire family with pets and farm animals.

Since I had to register by the middle of December, my email was flooded with reminders from the site. Have I registered?

Why not? Did I forget? Did I become independently wealthy? Did I decide to use the money for something fun instead?

Peri Kinder Life and Laughter

No. On the day before the deadline, I put on my adulting hat and signed up for health insurance. I’m still irrationally angry.

I am seriously considering Alternate Healthcare Plan B, which is file for bankruptcy in the event of a major medical emergency.

Still haven’t ruled that option out.

I also have Healthcare Plan C: try not to get sick or need a blood transfusion or get concussed or go for an ambulance ride or break a bone. No emergency room visits.

Just good old-fashioned stubbornness and denial.

There are also herbal remedies and a variety of healing crystals that don’t actually solve my internal issues (there’s only so much power in a rose quartz) but it’s cheaper than an MRI. Or there’s always my mom’s answer to any illness when I was a kid: a spoonful of paregoric. The opium-based medicine made me feel very sleepy and hazy.

But, for now, I’ll end up paying at least

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I’m just one more person complaining about the high cost of insurance, but when medical expenses are one of the leading causes of bankruptcies in Utah, shouldn’t we start looking at the root cause?

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