Holladay Journal | January 2022

January 2022 | Vol. 19 Iss. 13

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By Zak Sonntag | z.sonntag@mycityjournals.com

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abrina Petersen, the longest serving member of the Holladay City Council, whose tenacious opinions and meticulous eye for policy shaped all aspects of the city during her 12-year tenure, has stepped down after three terms representing Holladay’s District 1.

A rigorous debater unafraid to dig her heals in on positions of interests, Petersen was a formidable center of gravity and key decision maker rarely on the losing side of a vote, leaving a larger tangible stamp than perhaps any leader in the city’s 22-year history.

“All the big stuff [in the city] has Sabrina all over it. She departs with an enviable legacy. All of us on the dais would be proud to have a legacy as weighty,” said colleague Paul Fotheringham, during a December event held to commemorate Petersen’s service.

Her positions were known to flirt with stubbornness, but she was admired for her transparency and directness, which never hesitated to cut straight into an issue’s meat. From her first term she established herself as a decisive fulcrum of the six-member body.

“Sabrina is not bashful about her opinions. And you learn the best way to get something done is to get Sabrina on your side, which often meant that I had to come around to her way of thinking because she is a force to be reckoned with,” explained former councilmember Lynn Pace.

Much of her work focused on redevelopment, where she pushed for balance between functionality and aesthetics, unContinued page 13

Councilmember Sabrina Petersen receives a symbolic street sign in commemoration of her service to the city of Holladay. (Courtesy Stephanie Carlson)

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January 2022 | Page 3

Holla Dollars wraps up with lackluster numbers

By Zak Sonntag | z.sonntag@mycityjournals.com

H

olla Dollars, a stimulus effort that made cash-equivalent vouchers available to residents for use at participating local businesses as part of the city’s effort to mitigate recession hardships, ended in December with lackluster figures as early data suggests the initiative vastly undershot its potential.

Though final figures remain to be tallied, numbers from Dec. 6 were unimpressive, showing that only 1,000 households amounting to 8% of eligible residents had registered for their Holla Dollars, a puzzlingly small figure for a presumably easy sell—free money—raising questions about the city’s follow-through on a program with high potential to ease financial pressure on both local business and consumers.

Drawing from reactions of residents interviewed by the Holladay Journal, who expressed feeling left in the dark, the biggest factor of the programs underwhelming participation likely stems from a less than robust outreach effort.

“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” explained Stephanie, a checkout clerk working the register at the Village Harmons. “Sounds like something worth investigating, though.

I hope it isn’t too late. I don’t have a problem with a little extra cash.”

Holla Dollars is the latest, and possibly the last, coronavirus-related stimulus initiative to come out of the city. The voucher program came on the heels of another city measure called the Small Business Grant Program, which got $214,000 to local business across the city to help with marketing and long-term technological improvements.

The success and popularity of the grant program encouraged leaders to follow up with additional initiatives by tapping unused dollars from the city’s own federal stimulus allotment.

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Peggy McVae delivers fresh bread to the racks at Great Harvest. (Zak Sonntag/City Journals)

Different from the grant program, Holla Dollars sought to provide relief from the bottom up with direct to consumer voucher payments, an approach favored by residents who covet support amid what they see as prolonged uncertainty.

“I think stimulus is smart because I

know plenty of people still need help. My federal stimulus allowed me to repair my car. That was a relief. And even when people say it’s getting better, I have no idea what things will look like in the near future because every [economic] prediction I’ve heard has been wrong. Just when we think

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we’re coming out, we have more trouble,” said Mason Graham, a Holladay resident who works from home as a copy editor.

Graham, like many who spoke with the Holladay Journal, said they had not heard about the Holla Dollars program, leaving the city to ponder what it might have done

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differently to get the message out.

The city identified ways in which the program may have been more effective.

Development Director LaNiece Davenport, who oversaw the program, explained that in hindsight they would not have gone through a third party vendor to send postcards, while also boosting the postcard dissemination, with the thought that the single round of informational mailers did not sufficiently catch the attention of residents. In addition, they would have increased the program’s social media presence and prodded businesses to join in the outreach effort more aggressively.

“We would engage the businesses earlier in the process to ensure their understanding and active engagement and participation

in the program, and use them to help spread the word,” said Davenport, who, despite such holes in the outreach effort, was nonetheless caught off guard by the data.

“I have been handing out Holla Dollars stickers for business to put up in their windows, and we made the voucher website really easy to use. So I’m not totally sure why we haven’t seen bigger numbers,” Davenport said.

Holla Dollars, nonetheless, has had an impact, according to local businesses who’ve noticed small upticks in consumption.

According to December data, the program’s big winners appear to be local restaurants. Local businesses that collected the highest number of Holla Dollars in-

clude: My Pie Pizza, Tony Burgers, 3 Cups, Real Taqueria, Tosh’s Ramen, Tandoor, Fav Bistro, Pizzeria Tasso, Snider Brothers Meats and Great Harvest.

“We’ve had at least a few customers a day using Holla Dollars on sandwiches, bread, cookies. We love it, especially because it keeps everything local. We’ve been here in Holladay for 30 years and that type of local support is why,” said Peggy McVae, co-owner of Great Harvest in Holladay.

A local resident named Sawyer, a clinical-rotation nurse, says there are some things you can’t live without, and those are where additional dollars inevitably go. “When I get my Holla Dollars, I will probably spend it on food. And if I get other stimulus money I will use it for gasoline. Those are the

things I can’t get by without,” Sawyer said.

Holla Dollars have been used at retail stores as well, including: Amy Boutique, The Store, Wild Birds Unlimited, Parry’s Office Supplies, Kid to Kid, Ace Hardware, Pet Spawt, Knot+Spool, Relics Frame Makers and Gallery and All the Raige Dog Salon. These are amongst the 72 Holladay businesses who’ve opted into the program.

The programs enrollment ended on Dec. 17—however, members of the city council have expressed interest in extending Holla Dollars because the money has already been budgeted, and discussions about the programs possible continuation will take place once the all the data on the program is in. l

Peggy McVae takes bread inventory at Great Harvest. (Zak Sonntag/City Journals)

HolladayJournal .com

January 2022 | Page 5

Fundraiser will give Crestview student in wheelchair access to same recess fun as his friends

By Heather Lawrence | h.lawrence@mycityjournals.com

C

restview Elementary in Holladay is set on a hilly campus with a beautiful view of Mt. Olympus. The community is great, but at 60 years old, the building is showing its age— especially the playground.

Chelsy Johnson is part of the Crestview community, and she’s leading the effort to rebuild the playground. Johnson’s own kids will benefit—three of them are at Crestview right now. But the new playground is really about her son’s friend, Mike Suarez, a fourth grader who often spends recess on the sidelines.

“We love Mike so much—everyone at the school does. We want him to be able to have as much fun on the playground as his friends do,” Johnson said.

The exclusion isn’t the fault of the kids—it’s the fault of the playground. Mike uses a wheelchair, and the playground is not wheelchair accessible. Mike’s mom Amber Suarez saw this challenge play out during school a few months ago.

“I was inside the school for a meeting and recess time came. I watched through the window at kids playing, and there was Mike, in his wheelchair, sitting on the sidelines.

He was watching his friends play, but was unable to join in,” Suarez said in a news interview Dec. 1.

Suarez continued her feelings in a Facebook post. “Until you’ve seen your child sit on the sidelines and watch other kids play, year after year, because he can’t join them, you don’t know the heartbreak.”

Johnson had also noticed Mike on the sidelines. She’d thought for a long time about how to help him. She knew that an ADA compliant playground was the answer.

Johnson worked with other parents and organized a committee. They looked into costs and had plans drawn up. They invited Suarez to see what they were working on.

“When I showed Amber the work we’d already done, she was in tears. She didn’t realize what had been going on. She didn’t know that other parents at the school knew Mike and cared enough to get this done,” Johnson said.

The price tag for a new playground came in at over $400,000. That bid includes the right kind of groundcover. Right now the playground’s base is pebbles, which a wheelchair can’t navigate.

So with all the leg work done, the next step seemed simple—hand it over to the school and get it built. Mike has a right to an accessible playground under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals

with Disabilities Education Act, right?

But when the committee approached Granite School District, they were told that while they support the idea, they couldn’t pay for it.

Ben Horsley, spokesperson for GSD, said that it raises the obvious question: Why doesn’t the district pay for a new playground? But construction costs, taxes and school needs are all part of the equation.

Mike Suarez is in fourth grade at Crestview Elementary. His mom Amber and her friend Karina Perez are working along with a school committee to raise $300,000 to build an ADA accessible playground. (Crestview Playground Project/GoFundMe)

With plans drawn up, fundraising efforts are under way for the $300,000 ADA compliant playground at Crestview Elementary. Granite School District approved the plans, but is unable to fund the rebuild. (www. crestviewplaygroundproject.com/Crestview Playground Project)

Page 6 | January 2022

Holladay City Journal

“We’re in a tough situation. We have some of the oldest school buildings in Utah.

And [building] costs have skyrocketed,” Horsley said.

There are 60 elementary schools in the district. Most of the schools were built before 2008 and 2012 when updates to the ADA laws made an accessible playground a requirement.

Nate Crippes is the Public Affairs Supervising Attorney at the Disability Law Center in Salt Lake City. Crippes is not involved directly with the project at Crestview, but has seen the story in local news. He says that from a legal standpoint the issue of who pays for the playground isn’t straightforward.

“The playground is fairly old, and there’s this idea that anything built prior to updates on ADA laws should be grandfathered in, and it doesn’t have to be accessible. But it’s a little more complicated than that,” Crippes said.

“There’s a legal term, ‘readily achievable.’ If the playground was built before the law covered it, if it’s readily achievable for the entity—in this case the school district— to make it compliant, then they need to do it.

“So is it something the district can do?

Yes. But it sounds like they are saying that the cost is excessive, and so from their side it’s not readily achievable,” Crippes said.

Crestview opened in 1961. If the school were built any time after 2012 when the law was updated, or if the campus were renovated, Crippes said it would need to be in compliance.

“Legally it’s difficult to say that [the district has to pay for it] under the updated law,” Crippes said.

Horsley said GSD is in favor of the new playground and has approved the plans. But unless the committee can wait 10-15 years for the funds to be available from GSD, the

only way to get it built is to raise the funds themselves.

“This committee is a very motivated group…who are very impassioned over this issue. I’ve seen some of these requests take several years...to plan. This one’s taken maybe two weeks,” Horsley said.

Johnson and her committee understand the district’s position, so instead of fighting with them over getting it paid for, they’re moving ahead with fundraisers.

“We started this process about three months ago and want to do it appropriately.

We want to collaborate, so the district’s position is our official position,” Johnson said.

As Johnson contacted companies telling them about her plan, she said many of them discounted their prices or donated shipping or installation costs in an effort to make the goal more attainable. The price has come down more than $100,000 because of these discounts, but $300,000 is still a big price tag.

“It’s not just Mike who will benefit from a new playground. We were here recently on a Sunday afternoon—this is a neighborhood playground. We saw a huge gaping hole in the equipment. The pebbles are choking hazards and kick up a lot of dust. A new playground will help everyone,” Johnson said.

Johnsons’ committee set up a website, www.crestviewplaygroundproject.com.

They got 501(c)(3) tax deductible status.

They’re offering incentives like personalized bricks and plaques for donors. And they’ve involved new Crestview principal Andrea Winn.

“I am so grateful to work in such a supportive and inclusive school and community who will go the extra mile to ensure that good things happen for their children,” Winn wrote in a letter on the committee’s website.

Winn also noted that some of the equipment, like a slide with duct tape, is in the

The pebble-based playground at Crestview Elementary is impossible for a wheelchair to navigate, but an ADA-friendly playground just isn’t in the budget for Granite School District, which administers 60 elementary schools. (Heather Lawrence/City Journals)

HolladayJournal .com

Crestview Elementary fourth-grader Kellan Ruefenacht says Mike Suarez is his favorite friend. He gives the playground idea a big thumbs up, and said it will be great to get a wheelchair-accessible playground so Mike can play tag with him at recess. (Heather Lawrence/City Journals)

process of being repaired.

The best way to donate to Crestview’s playground project is to go to the school in person, or send a check directly to them at 2100 E. Lincoln Lane, Holladay, UT 84124.

There is also a GoFundMe set up by one of Suarez’s friends, Karina Perez, under Crestview Playground Project.

“The GoFundMe is a great way to contribute, but they do take a percentage of what we raise, so if people can donate directly to the school, that’s better,” Johnson said.

One donor is Mike’s fourth-grade teacher, Emma Boormann. Boormann commented on GoFundMe that “Mike is a ray of sun-

shine in our classroom. I want him and his classmates to be able to laugh, grow, play, and learn together! Students of all abilities will be able to play together at Crestview for years to come!!”

Suarez is still overwhelmed by the fact that other parents are looking out for her son.

She’s been happy to let Mike be interviewed to give a face to the project. But with Mike in fourth grade, time is of the essence for him to benefit from the funds being raised in his name.

“His childhood is rapidly passing by as he misses out on these moments with his friends,” Suarez said. l

The playground at Crestview Elementary has needed attention for a while. The part to fix this slide is waiting to be installed, but until then the slide is covered with a board at the top and duct tape at the bottom. (Heather Lawrence/City Journals)

January 2022 | Page 7

Different flora and fauna flourish in Big Cottonwood East Regional Park. Located near the Holladay Lions Fitness and Recreation center, Big Cottonwood East Regional Park provides a respite in summer. (Sona Schmidt-Harris/City Journals)

Holladay’s best photos of 2021

Artist Linda Etherington paints bold colors that evoke whimsy and happiness. (Photo courtesy of Linda Etherington)

Cottonwood High Principal Terri Roylance shows a full pantry, thanks in part to students who raised funds to help stock the shelves for their peers who are in need. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

Katrin Mead proudly promotes a xeriscape aesthetic during a year when the state’s drought condition came front and center. (Zak Sonntag/City Journals)

Fans from the O-zone turned out in droves for the white-out homecoming game. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Page 8 | January 2022

Olympus’ Josh Vandenakker pitches against West Jordan holding them to two runs. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Holladay City Journal

Holladay’s Spanky Ward discusses frame size during the filming of “The Santa Box.” (Photo courtesy Chase Lewis)

The Titans celebrate a big goal early in the second half from Sarah Lunt during their come-from-behind victory over Waterford. After falling behind 10-2 early, the Titans rallied for a 13-12 win. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Holladay patrol helps control traffic to accommodate a professional bicycle event through Holladay streets. (Zak Sonntag/City Journals)

Colleen MacWilliams accepts the award for 5A swimmer of the year after winning the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle in addition to swimming in the 200 medley relay and an amazing anchor leg in the 400 freestyle relay. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

The Orchesis Dance Company performs at halftime of the Olympus-Hillcrest girls basketball game. The Orchesis Dance Company is an audition group and class open to sophomores through seniors, with a focus on choreography, rehearsal and performance. Dancers have a strong, technical and performance background as well as significant prior training and understanding of dance elements, according to the course catalog. Both the Orchesis and Olympus Dance Company perform in concerts and performances throughout the school year. (Julie Slama/ City Journals)

HolladayJournal .com

Holladay Mayor Robert Dahle works in his office as he ran unopposed for mayor. (Zak Sonntag/City Journals)

The skies were hazy due to the fires in Oregon and California, but a breeze blew through later, and it became downright pleasant on The Commons behind City Hall during a July free concert. (Sona Schmidt-Harris/City Journals)

Olympus senior Carson Bennion carries the ball downfield for the Titans during the team’s 13-5 win over Skyline. (Justin Adams/City Journals)

January 2022 | Page 9

Holladay’s best photos of 2021

“Felicidades” (Spanish for congratulations) to Mike Kraniski (blue shirt) who teaches five different Spanish courses at Olympus and was selected as an Excel Award winner. (Photo Granite School District)

Retiring principal Tod Cracroft of Oakwood Elementary School was given a memory book by the PTA to thank him for his years at the school. (Oakwood Elementary PTA)

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Holladay City Journal

Holladay Artist of the Month creates art every day to stay interested and involved

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@davisjournal.com

E

ileen Collins Vestal taught art to children across the country for more than three decades. From upstate New York to detention centers for at-risk youth in Salt Lake County, the 70-year-old New York native, and Holladay resident since 1984, is inspired by the bright colors of the American Southwest.

“I grew up in New York and the sky is always white,” she said. “The landscape is grays and greens and blues. You go to Southern Utah and there’s that cobalt blue sky against the orange rocks and the purple shadows. It’s just a feast for the eyes.”

Vestal has been interested in art since she was a child, eventually earning an arts education degree from SUNY College at Buffalo, and a master’s degree in education from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Her paintings are influenced by Maynard Dixon’s big depictions of the American West, Georgia O’Keeffe’s large-format flowers and Emily Carr, a Canadian artist whose work depicts Indigenous people from the Pacific Northwest.

“The way they all see nature is astounding. It was a different way than anyone who came before them,” Vestal said.

Although Vestal taught art in New York,

at Salt Lake Community College and Granite School District, she misses the challenges of teaching at-risk students.

“Some kids are pretty surly and hard to like, but others are just teenagers,” she said.

“They’re enthusiastic and energetic. A lot of them had a lot of anger issues and art was an outlet. It was a way to express themselves.

There was never any boredom. It was constant problem-solving.

“Once the kids asked which [correctional] programs my own children were in. I told them they were just in public school. It blew their minds. They had a hard time putting that together.”

Vestal’s medium of choice is watercolors or acrylics, mostly selected out of necessity. As a young mother with little children, she didn’t want to have easels, oil paints, solvents or other tools necessary for oil paintings laying around the house. Watercolors were much easier to use, with little set-up and mess.

Vestal is now retired, after 33 years of teaching art, and she spends time gardening, hiking, biking or skiing. She is proud of her three children and has five grandchildren she adores. To see Vestal’s art pieces, visit eileencollinsvestal.com

Holladay Artist of the Month, Eileen Vestal, takes time to paint or sketch every day. (Photo courtesy Eileen Vestal)

“Every day I paint and draw, even just a little,” Vestal said. “It keeps me interested and involved. I’m always doing something.

I love the land and nature and how people fit into it.” To nominate a Holladay resident for artist of the month, visit holladayarts.org.l

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January 2022 | Page 11

Auto pedestrian accidents at Olympus high raise concerns about jaywalking culture

A

uto-pedestrian accidents near Olympus High School this autumn have prompted city leaders and school administrators to consider new measures to improve safety around the high school, whose 5A student body produce high levels of foot traffic on some of the city’s busiest thoroughfares.

One of the accidents involved students who were hit by a motor vehicle while crossing the street at 3900 S. and 2300 East when returning to school from an off-campus break.

The students sustained no major injuries.

Two weeks later, another auto pedestrian

By Zak Sonntag | z.sonntag@mycityjournals.com accident occurred less than a block south on 2300 East when students darted into the road without the use of a crosswalk, causing the driver of a vehicle to swerve and collide with the driver of another car. No injuries were reported from the event.

The accidents have put pressure on leaders to allay community worry and improve safety for the 1,585 students who attend the school along with community members who traffic its surrounding roads.

Holladay Precinct Chief Justin Hoyal will meet with school principal Jennifer Chris-

tensen and city council delegate Sabrina Petersen this month to discuss potential changes to parking policy and the possibility of additional infrastructure to improve safety. The discussions will be guided by the results of a November monitoring effort by UPD officers, who observed pedestrian activity around the high school at peak hours on various dates.

Officers identified several risk factors and targets for improvement, Chief Hoyal explained to the Holladay Journal. Hoyal believes safety may be improved by infrastructure enhancements, including additional lighting to increase visibility; the installation of a pedestrian safety island on 2300 East; and new crosswalk paint to augment light reflectivity.

Albeit the most significant factor of auto-pedestrian risk cannot be addressed by new infrastructure, according to Hoyal, who witnessed numerous students jaywalking between the school and a church used for parking on the west side of 2300 E. “The biggest concern we saw was kids crossing from the church parking lot, running right out into traffic.”

The practice is so engrained that even police officer admonitions did little to influence the students.

“There were times when our traffic officers asked students to use the crosswalk, but they kept on trucking across the street and didn’t listen to them,” Hoyal said.

Students are occasionally slapped with jaywalking tickets, but Hoyal’s team is focusing on “positive reinforcement” measures, like handing out pens and pencils to students using the crosswalk, which they did on different days in November. Nonetheless, the practice continues, according to those familiar with the issue, suggesting pens and pencils may not suffice to rewrite the long-standing habit.

Olympus High principal Jennifer Christensen plans to tackle the issue with education.

“I think the biggest part of this is education. We need to reinforce crosswalks in a positive way. For some students maybe it feels like [using the crosswalk] is a long way away and a big hassle when your late from class.

But it really is not,” said Christensen. “The thing that’s hard with jaywalking is that there is not a school policy consequence,” leaving the only deterrent force to the school officer who has the authority to issue citations, she explained.

Besides asking faculty to regularly remind students to use the crosswalks, Christensen’s administration has not yet come up with a concerted strategy for overturning the student body’s jaywalking habits.

If push comes to shove, however, both Christensen and Hoyal say that the additional church parking space will have to be revoked.

“That parking could go away if they don’t start using the crosswalk,” Hoyal said.

Eliminating the church parking lot, which is utilized often by sophomores who are not allowed to purchase parking permits on campus, would create additional issues as cars may stretch further into the adjacent neighborhoods, lining community streets and adding greater distances for students to travel from car to class.

“It’s especially tough at a school like Olympus where almost every student has their own car,” explained assistant principal Ryan Shaw, whose been with the school for six years.

Chief Hoyal reiterated that whatever leaders decide to do, the reason is safety.

“We don’t want to punish anybody or make things harder for students. But we’re worried that someone might get hurt, or even killed,” Hoyal said. l

Olympus high school parking lot stands packed on a weekday (Zak Sonntag/City Journals)

Page 12 | January 2022

Holladay City Journal

Continued from front page derscoring her philosophy that space and design are inexorable to a community’s quality of life. She built a reputation as a legislator with a granular eye for detail; fine-combing the budget with line-by-line scrutiny; or holding the council late to extend discussions over the merits of bollards and pavers in public space. Not everyone initially took to her relentless precision, though they seemed to concede in the end.

“In our discussions about [the Holladay Village] and whether we were going to put pavement, pavers, or a laminate in, I remember thinking: ‘This is one of the most boring conversations I’ve ever had,’” said former colleague Mark Stewart, eliciting laughter from the attendees at the December event.

“But to Sabrina it was the biggest deal ever.

Now when I go through the Village I realize it was the right decision to pick the pavers, and that’s the type of dedication she put into all the issues we worked on.”

Petersen did not demure from her reputation.

“I had a lot of battles to fight. I am opinionated. I am vocal. But one of things about me is that you will know where I stand,” she said.

She won staunch support from the city’s police and fire departments, and she finds resounding praise for her work on the Holladay fire station, whose tasteful design is described by Holladay Fire Chief Dan

Brown as “the envy of the UFA community,” and whose image is a fixture of local newscasts which show the Holladay precinct in all UFA-related news stories, “whether the news is in our city or not,” Brown said.

The station was one of many decisive redevelopments in Petersen’s District 1, smack in the center of Holladay, where she found herself at the heart of many large— and controversial—projects, including the Village center, the food court, myriad zoning issues on Kentucky Avenue, and the former Cottonwood Mall site. She often felt pinched between difficult decisions bound to upset her constituency.

Despite casting some unpopular votes, she maintained support and cinched up her re-election campaigns with aplomb, winning on the strength of her rigorous engagement and reputation as an advocate for family-friendly public space.

“We didn’t always agree. But looking back, I always knew that I had been heard by her and that my voice had an impact,” said Ron Hilton, a famously vocal District 1 constituent. “[Nevertheless] things always turned out better and benefited from Sabrina’s thoughtful consideration.”

The meeting was attended by city dignitaries, whose glowing remarks underscored the often unsung impact of local leaders like Petersen, whose work, undertaken with little fanfare and minor recognition, is pursued out of a genuine public-service motive, a

Councilmember Sabrina Petersen offers her final council address expressing gratitude for her colleagues.

(Courtesy Stephanie Carlson)

stark and refreshing contrast to the polarized, power-driven politics of higher office.

Her service was honored with a council resolution recognizing Petersen for “upholding the standard of excellence.”

Over 12 years since Petersen first campaigned for office with a 4-year-old son in tow, she expressed gratitude and pride in the legacy she now leaves behind.

“I have been honored,” Petersen said.

“My family has seen a mom that is passionate about her community, and about where her children grow up, and the schools they attend, and the parks they play in, and the place they call their city. I’m proud to have a small piece of that.” l

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MAYOR’S MESSAGE I’ve received a number of inquiries regarding Holladay Hills, formerly The Cottonwood Mall. The developers provided the following press release: With Block D under construction and well over half of the project infrastructure complete, Holladay Hills will really start taking shape in the coming year. Block D includes living and office space, dining, shopping, entertainment options and a central park gathering area. We anticipate occupancy in the summer of 2023.

Two-thirds of the underground infrastructure for the 58-acre project area is now complete.

Curb, gutter and asphalt are scheduled to be installed in the spring of 2022. Six half-acre lots at the southern end of Holladay Hills will act as a buffer between the residents to the east of the development. They will be accessed from Arbor and Memory Lane and available for sale to individual lot owners. Adjacent to these lots, another 38 townhomes will start being built in spring of 2022.

Commercial and retail interest is high, with many letters of intent having already been signed.

As early as spring of 2022 announcements could be made regarding incoming retailers that will locate in new buildings, or in the former Macy’s building that will be re-purposed.

Woodbury Corporation, Millrock Capital, LLC and Ball Ventures are the developers of Holladay Hills. Nelsen Partners is the architect of the master plan with Beecher and Walker Architects the lead for Block D. Jacobsen Construction is the contractor.

For more information and updates, visit holladayhills.com.

Congratulations to Paul Fotheringham, re-elected to represent Council District 3 and Ty Brewer, selected by District 1 residents to replace outgoing Council Representative, Sabrina Petersen. Sabrina proudly served the residents of her district for 12 years. She was integral in transforming Holladay in to what it is today.

Remember the blighted downtown area, a lack of commercial/retail base, aging schools and infrastructure and a general lack of a “sense of place”? Sabrina has been directly involved with: • Completion of the improvements to City Hall Park, to include: the gazebo, bathrooms, renovated stone bleachers, new pavilion, pickle ball and basketball courts, playground facility, and a new skate park that is open.

• Re-build of Olympus High School.

• Re-development of the Holladay downtown area.

• Re-development of the gravel pit on the south end of the city in to the Millrock Commercial development.

• Preservation, protection and construction of Knudsen Park and The Cotton Bottom, establishing a south node entry to the city.

• Construction of Unified Fire Station #104 These are just a few of the more noticeable changes during her tenure. Her vision and leadership helped shepherd Holladay in to the 21st century while at the same time preserving the unique character of our city. We thank her and her family for their dedicated service to the City of Holladay and wish them well as they transition to a new and exciting phase in their life.

With Gratitude, —Rob Dahle, Mayor

Thank You Sabrina Petersen Sabrina Petersen began serving on the Holladay City Council in January of 2010. Over the last 12 years, Sabrina worked tirelessly to enhance the sense of community and quality of life in Holladay. Sabrina’s vision as well as attention to detail resulted in beautiful updates to our City. From Holladay Village Plaza, to her work on the thoughtful design of the Holladay Fire Station, and Holladay City Park’s swings and trellis, sport courts and skatepark, Sabrina’s dedicated service will be visible for a long time to come.

We sincerely thank you Sabrina for your service to Holladay residents over the last 12 years.

The Holladay Tree Committee: WHO, WHAT, WHY?

By Wendy Frank WHO are we?

Established by the Holladay City Council, the Tree Committee is a committee of seven City Manager appointed members, with the advice and consent of the Council joined by several non-voting members who participate in our events and contribute valuable ideas. Certified Arborist Travis Jones is the Chairperson.

Our common threads are our love and appreciation for trees, and passion for protecting and preserving them while promoting a sustainable urban forest.

WHAT do we do?

We meet the first Thursday of each month at 4:00 P.M. in Holladay City Hall. In addition to being significant contributors and supporting the passage of two major tree ordinances, the Committee holds an Arbor Day Celebration in April, leads a Tree Giveaway event, sponsors a Tree Voucher Program, organizes on-site work projects (pruning, cleaning up trees, etc.) and encourages the maintenance and preservation of the City’s tree canopy.

WHY do we do it?

We value the power of trees to filter pollutants from the air, mitigate summer heat, provide shade from solar radiation, prevent soil erosion, reduce noise, provide shelter for birds and other animals, beautify our city, increase property values— even help reduce heart rate, blood pressure, and stress levels.

We do it because Holladay’s trees are vulnerable, invaluable, and deserving recipients of our unshakeable and steadfast stewardship.

For more Tree Committee information, visit the City of Holladay website.

JANUARY 2022

CITY INFORMATION

Fun Facts About Your Local Animal Shelter

CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS: Rob Dahle, Mayor rdahle@cityofholladay.com 801-580-3056 Ty Brewer, District 1 tbrewer@cityofholladay.com 801-550-8747 Matt Durham, District 2 mdurham@cityofholladay.com 801-999-0781 Paul Fotheringham, District 3 pfotheringham@cityofholladay.com 801-424-3058 Drew Quinn, District 4 dquinn@cityofholladay.com 801-272-6526 Dan Gibbons, District 5 dgibbons@cityofholladay.com 385-215-0622 Gina Chamness, City Manager gchamness@cityofholladay.com

Salt Lake County Animal Services

PUBLIC MEETINGS:

As the largest, no-kill, municipal animal shelter in Utah, Salt Lake County Animal Services is an extremely busy place. The staff see a variety of animals throughout the year from big to small: horses, goats, cows, pigs, snakes, pet spiders, turtles and obviously the traditional, dogs, cats, guinea pigs and rabbits. Here are just some Fun Facts from this year.

City Council – first and third Thursday of the month at 6 p.m.

Animals We Cared For and Helped 14,000 Pets Provided Care & Assistance 1,500 Pets Reunited with their Owners 1,600 Pets Adopted 650 Pets Sent to Rescues Animal Control Calls 17,200 Animal Related calls Responded to by 12 Animal Control Officers Pet Food 15,000 lbs of Food for Pets in the Shelter 32,000 lbs of Donated Food Distributed at Pet Pantry to 4,000 Pets in Need Vet Services by In-House Clinic 3,700 Spay/Neuter Surgeries 4,000 Pets Microchipped Volunteer & Foster Hours 3,000 In Shelter Volunteer Hours 700 Pets to Foster Homes = 71,000 Foster Hours For more on how to get involved, adopt, license, microchip, or donate, visit AdoptUtahPets. *All numbers were from 1/1/2021-11/5/2021

Planning Commission – first and third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m.

CITY OFFICES: Mon-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. • 801-272-9450 4580 South 2300 East • Holladay, UT 84117 Community Development Finance Justice Court Code Enforcement

NUMBERS TO KNOW:

801-527-3890 801-527-2455 801-273-9731 801-527-3890

Emergency 911 UPD Dispatch (Police) 801-743-7000 UFA Dispatch (Fire) 801-840-4000 Animal Control 385-468-7387 Garbage/Sanitation 385-468-6325 Holladay Library 801-944-7627 Holladay Lions Club 385-468-1700 Mt. Olympus Sr. Center 385-468-3130 Holladay Post Office 801-278-9947 Cottonwood Post Office 801-453-1991 Holliday Water 801-277-2893 Watermaster - Big Cottonwood Tanner Ditch system - Art Quayle 801 867-1247

Curbside Christmas Tree Collection Wasatch Front Waste & Recyling will be collecting Christmas trees during the month of January. For collection, place your undecorated tree on your curb. The trees will be collected the day after your regular collection day during the month of January. If we don’t get your tree one week, we will be back the following week. Please call our office at 385-468-6325, or chat with us on our website www.wasatchfrontwaste.org for additional information.

LIBRARY HAPPENINGS These are just a few the events happening at the Holladay Library. For a complete list, please visit: events.slcolibrary.org/events and specify Holladay Branch.

• Monday, January 10th: Family Game Night 6pm-8pm o Board games are a great way for kids to learn strategy, planning and social skills. Bring the whole family to play.

Derrek from Game Night will be supporting the fun.

• Saturday, January 22nd: Grow Microgreens at Home Program 11:30am o This class teaches you how to grow your own microgreens in as little as 6 days and bring green into your kitchen during the winter months. Attendants will receive a starter kit for growing microgreens at home.

• Closed: Monday, January 17th for Martin Luther King Jr Day

• Please remove all snow off the tree • We cannot accept trees with decorations, lights, tree stands, or flocking.

• Do not place the tree in your garbage, recycling, or green waste can.

• If the tree is over eight feet tall, please cut it into smaller sections.

• We cannot accept artificial trees

SKATE PARK

Location: Holladay City Park, 4580 South 2300 East Hours: every day from sunrise to sunset, weather permitting

Refugee women gain access to service and support through local organization

By Lindsey Baxter | l.baxter@mycityjournals.com

C

an you imagine what life would be like if you were forcibly displaced from your home and country? Where would you get support? Who would you turn to? or many refugee women here in Utah, that answer is with WoW, or Women of the World. Their mission is to empower forcibly displaced women from all nations to achieve independence, economic success, and a voice in the community. WoW has been in Utah since 2010 and is currently located at 415 E. 3900 South in Millcreek.

According to Samira Harnish, founder and executive director, WoW’s activities are broken down into three programs: • Customized Service and Advocacy.

“Displacement from home and community is hard, most of our ladies do not even know who to turn to. Women of the World’s customized approach assures that our new neighbors have a fighting chance. We try to ensure that our ladies understand that insurance or other services are available to offset

F

expense and the outcome of this program is to reduce our clients’ out-of-pocket expense,” Harnish said.

• Community Building. “Women of the World strives to be the ‘third place’ (after home and work) for our women. Beyond being a safe space, we provide an environment in which women can learn English— the most essential skill in their integration into American society—by making mistakes and developing their English in those domains most important to their skills,” Harnish said.

• Economic Empowerment. “Finally, displaced women have unique skills and value propositions to share within American society. WoW works closely with our women to ensure they are progressing in the workplace, getting promoted into careers, and educating themselves and their children,” Harnish said.

On the afternoon of Dec. 4, over 150 people attended “The Annual Celebration of Women’s Success” held by WoW. “With the exception of 2020 for the pandemic, we have handed our certificates of appreciation each of our 12 years,” Harnish said. “This event recognizes the milestones of self-reliance achieved by our clients through intelligence, hard work, and perseverance. Everything meaningful to our women’s custom view of self-reliance, from learning to drive to getting a Ph.D. is recognized.”

Pictures of the event were taken and shared by Heidi Baxter and can be viewed at photos.app.goo.gl/PF4y5XuVGgTrJnSQ8.

“Attending the ceremony for Women of the World at the county building has been exhilarating,” said participant Dauphanie Daniels. “Seeing women from so many corners of the world celebrate, honor and respect each other's successes and share their love made me realize having a world

Women of the World Annual Celebration of Success recognized women for their achievements. (Photos courtesy Heidi Baxter)

Page 18 | January 2022

Women of the World Annual Celebration of Success recognized women for their achievements, including Leila Abdul seen here. (Photo courtesy Heidi Baxter)

that works for everyone is within reach if we all just do the same. My favorite aspect of the ceremony was watching women perform dances to music from their part of the world. Some participants wore gorgeous clothing native to their countries which added to the specialness of the event. A deep felt thank you to all in the community that helped to make this happen."

The impact that WoW has made on the community and for the women it helps is noteworthy. According to Harnish, in 2021, WoW has: • Helped in 700 different service and advocacy cases, resulting in $159,000 of expense savings (like healthcare and housing).

• Secured new employment for 30 women, resulting in $853,000 in annual earnings growth available to their family’s budgets.

• Even with the ongoing efforts to reduce the spread of the pandemic and maintain social distance, WoW conducted over 150 hours of training both virtually and in-person, mostly English Language Learning courses for all levels of language learners.

• For every $1 invested in WoW, they

produce a $2.81 return through job assistance and expense reduction in women’s lives.

The next event hosted by WoW is their Annual Fashion Show and Cultural Gala on March 9. Harnish said it is their largest fundraiser. “Our event is designed to help connect our cultures and provide you with an excellent opportunity to meet many of your amazing neighbors,” she said.

“The fashion show gives women that are connected to Women of the World a chance to show off the parts of their homeland they love and teach you about their beautiful cultures. You will also be able to meet and interact with these women, hear their stories firsthand, and share yours with them. These personal exchanges increase understanding and will empower you to help others overcome their misplaced fear of our amazing neighbors.”

Tickets are available at: www.womenofworld.org/events-1/2022FashionShowTickets. If you want to get involved, support, or donate to WoW, visit www. womenofworld.org. l

Holladay City Journal

Measuring the impact of ranked choice voting

T

his election cycle, multiple cities in the Salt Lake valley opted to take advantage of a pilot program for ranked choice voting, made possible by the state legislature. As opposed to a traditional election, where voters must select one candidate, RCV allows voters to rank any number of candidates according to their preference.

Proponents of the method point to the benefits of making the switch, from encouraging more candidates to run and increasing voter turnout, to making elections more fair and less antagonistic. While some of these benefits aren’t easily measured, some of them can be.

So, how did this round of RCV experimentation turn out?

To get a sense of how much RCV impacted local elections this year, The City Journals took a look at the numbers for a few key metrics. First reporters compared the number of candidates and voter turnout to the same races held in 2017. Then reporters asked the question: did RCV actually change any of the election results?

Number of Candidates There were eight cities which took part in the RCV pilot: Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Millcreek, Cottonwood Heights, Sandy, Draper, Midvale and Bluffdale. Riverton would have but only had one candidate for each election. Within those cities, there were 17 races that utilized RCV. (A couple races would have used RCV, but it ended up not being necessary because there were only two candidates.)

There were 73 combined candidates who ran in those 17 races, an increase from 63 candidates who ran for those same positions in the primary stage in 2017. However, that increase is almost completely accounted for by one city, Sandy, which saw an increase of three to eight candidates in its mayoral race and from two to six candidates in its race for an at-large seat on the city council.

Cottonwood Heights was another city that saw an increase in candidates, with five candidates competing in both its mayoral race and one of its city council races (compared to three in each race from 2017).

Salt Lake City saw the biggest decrease in its number of candidates, with two fewer candidates vying for its second district seat and three fewer candidates vying for its seventh district.

Voter Turnout How about voter turnout? Does giving people the chance to rank multiple candidates encourage more people to participate? Not according to this year’s races.

Of the 17 races we looked at, there was a total voter turnout of 115,851. That’s up just a little bit from 2017’s turnout of 115,008.

Recognizing that there are a number of possible variables that can impact turnout for a given race, here are a few of the outliers in this category. Remember, this is comparing 2017

HolladayJournal .com

By Justin Adams | justin.a@thecityjournals.com to 2021.

A Bluffdale race for two seats on its council increased from 1,418 ballots counted to 3,344.

Salt Lake City’s first district race saw an increase from 1,621 to 3,381.

Despite having seven candidates vying for two at-large seats, Draper’s voter turnout dropped 20%, from 10,853 to 8,610.

Even in Sandy City, which had a hotly contested and crowded mayoral race, turnout decreased from 23,007 to 21,246.

Did it impact results?

Under RCV, the ballot counting process takes place over several rounds. After the first round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their ballots then revert to those voters’ second choices. This creates the possibility that whichever candidate receives the most first-place ballots, won’t actually win the election. You might have a candidate who receives the third-most votes in the first round end up winning the election because they built a broad base of support and was able to win the majority of the second place votes. So, did that happen in any of these elections?

For the most part, no. In almost all the races, the candidate who received the most first-place votes went on to win the election.

The one exception being Millcreek’s District 2 race, in which Jeremiah Clark held a narrow lead after the first round of votes, but ended up losing to Thom Desirant by nine percentage points.

So what?

Based on this initial look at some of these metrics, it might seem like RCV made a huge impact on this year’s elections. But Stan Lockhart, a spokesman for Utah Ranked Choice Voting, said that it’s too early to draw long-term conclusions about the effectiveness of RCV. “Twenty-three cities in Utah used ranked choice voting this year, and it was the first time for 21 of those 23 cities. We need to be careful in extrapolating too much,” he said.

In regards to measurables like number of candidates and voter turnout, Lockhart said those have always been driven more by local issues. If there’s something controversial that’s taken place at the city level, like a tax increase or a land use decision, that’s more likely to drum up interest in an election than a change to RCV. A better measure of RCV’s success, according to Lockhart, is how voters felt about the process…a question that Utah RCV teamed up with Y2 Analytics to help answer.

“I think the most important metric that we should focus on is voter satisfaction. How did the voter feel about the experience of ranking their vote. And the survey vote shows as high as 90% of the voters thought it was easy to use,” Lockhart said.

Additionally, 62% of poll respondents said they liked voting with a ranked choice

Election assistant Becky Overacker helps first-time voter Zyon Bruce in Draper where they held ranked choice voting for the first time. (Mimi Darley Dutton/City Journals)

ballot.

Learning curve Lockhart acknowledged that there can be a little bit of a learning curve when it comes to RCV, both for candidates and voters.

For candidates, the implementation of RCV opens up another component of campaign strategy that they normally wouldn’t think about: coordinating with other candidates and forming coalitions. For example, a group of two or more like-minded candidates can encourage their voters to rank them in the top three spots. Lockhart said he didn’t see a whole lot of such coordination in the races which used RCV. One exception was for one of the council races in Salt Lake City, where two candidates jointly paid for a postcard advertisement, where one candidate was featured on one side, and the other candidate on the flipside.

There’s also a learning curve for voters,

who might not realize the power they have by taking advantage of the ranked choice feature.

If a voter only ranks one or two candidates and those candidates get eliminated, that voters’ ballot becomes “inactive.”

In a close election, a large number of inactive ballots represents voters who could have potentially swung the election one way or another. That’s exactly what happened in Sandy, where the top two candidates for mayor were separated by just 21 votes. However, there were over 4,000 inactive ballots (voters who had chosen to not rank either of the two finalists). If voting is all about using one’s voice, Lockhart suggested that fully ranking every candidate on the ballot is voters’ best way to maximize that voice.

“If those voters had ranked more candidates, they would have been more relevant in that round,” he said about that Sandy mayoral race. l

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January 2022 | Page 19

Help wanted: Officials for youth sports

By Greg James | g.james@mycityjournals.com

T

he number of high school referees and sports officials is declining rapidly across the country. Until recently, Utah had not experienced much of a decline, but this season it has finally hit home. Why is this happening and what can be done to make sure athletes don’t miss games because of it?

“If high school is in session I am doing a sport,” Harley Gold said. “I have officiated since 1967. I started because I was invited to a little league umpires clinic then and I became an umpire. I enjoy all of the sports and picking a favorite is like picking my favorite child.”

Gold is not alone, many of the officials started young and have continued for years.

Former USA Hockey Supervisor of Officials Jim Mckenna started officiating youth and adult recreation hockey games in 1994.

He continues working collegiate and junior league games as well as games in the ECHL. “I was looking for a way to earn some extra money back then,” Mckenna said. “I dealt with the assignment of officials and contracts with leagues and organizations and helped with training. It was a lot of work, but it was fun.”

Both of these longtime arbiters enjoy what they do.

“I like being around the game and with

the kids,” Gold said.

According to an Ohio University study many states are reporting a decrease in officials. Oregon alone saw a 12% drop in registered football referees this fall.

The shortage has finally hit Utah. Two weeks before the boys basketball season began the Utah High School Activities Association had 450 people registered for the job, nearly 250 less than what they need to complete the season.

In northern California they have seen a decrease of nearly 30%.

Utah has also increased the number of schools therefore increasing the number of games. Making this a two-headed problem for officials.

The lack of officials has forced postponement and cancellation of many sub-varsity games in the state. Some schools are moving games to make it easier to find people to help.

“Every year in the last five or six years we have seen a decline in the number of officials,” McKenna said. “The abuse from parents and players contributes. The younger officials wonder why they would want to go and get yelled at for two hours.”

Sportsmanship, specifically the lack thereof, has become a key factor in the decline of officials. Sportsmanship refers to virtues

Lone Peak’s girls basketball coach shouts instructions to her players and the officials in a recent game.

(Greg James/City Journals)

such as fairness, self-control and courage. In today’s sporting culture those virtues can take a back seat to winning at all costs.

“We have really lost the sense of what is appropriate. It seems OK to scream at some official and tell them how crappy they are.

Society is a lot less accepting and willing to come to an understanding,” McKenna said.

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In a National Association of Sporting Officials survey, adult recreation and youth competitive sports had the worst sportsmanship and 47% of officials surveyed feared for their safety because of a fan, player, coach or administrator.

According to UHSAA assistant director Jeff Cluff, poor sportsmanship is “probably the No. 1 reason an official does not return.

We lose about 75% of first-year officials. It is hard if you don't have the personality to handle it. There is no place for bad sportsmanship.”

In early November, at a 13-14-year-old division hockey tournament in Colorado, Ron Groothedde, a 25-year veteran referee, was sprayed in the face with a large can of Lysol by an angry parent. The suspect was arrested for harassment.

Incidents of poor sportsmanship are numerous.

“I think it takes communication. I see a lot of officials that get yelled at and they yell right back and all that does is fuel the fire.

Talking to a coach and explaining what you saw in a conversation and come to an agreement,” McKenna said. “Some of the younger officials are intimidated by the coaches.”

The extra money of a part-time job like officiating was a big draw to begin with, but many potential officials have found other jobs that also pay well.

In March of 2020, when the pandemic started many games and competitions were canceled. For six to eight months officials sat at home. Many have not returned, citing COVID concerns and also a lack of interest.

“We have tried a few different things,” United States Specialty Sports Association’s Utah Director Jerry Ong said. “We work hard on having good compensation, umpire treatment and fan control. I know as an industry we have suffered with the loss of referees.”

The UHSAA pay scale for officials var-

Holladay City Journal

ies by sport and level. A varsity football referee can take home $74 whereas a volleyball official makes $59. Some schools offer dinner and food stipends to help with travel expenses.

The current pay rates have increased nearly 10% across the board. Some officials can get paid mileage to travel to an event.

“Basketball and softball have been affected the most,” Cluff said. “We have games in rural areas that need to have officials. We are paying more to get guys to travel to those places. We are looking for ways to recruit new help.”

The athletes and coaches of today are the officials of tomorrow. Cluff said getting them involved when they are young could help increase numbers.

“Our coaches make the best officials,” Cluff said. “A basketball coach can be a great baseball umpire or football referee. They have great relationships with kids and know how to work positively with them. It also gives kids a better understanding of the game.”

The UHSAA encourages its athletes to participate in little leagues and youth sports programs. Its older referees also attempt to persuade friends to join the organization.

“You can never find a more fulfilling part-time job,” Gold said. “I get to set my own hours, work when I want to work. There is also plenty of help available. Training every year and other mentors to keep you straight.”

According to a recent NASO survey,

48% of all current officials started because of an invitation from a friend.

There are also numerous other reasons why many people get involved. They include extra money, the love of sports, a way to stay active, and giving back to a game they love.

“I get to work the ECHL games and there are times that I think ‘why do I still do this.’ I just got berated for the entire game, but there are times when the action is intense and the game is back and forth. It is awesome to be involved in a game that is back and forth and the guys are playing well,” McKenna said.

“I have also worked with other officials that have gone on and had great careers in the NHL.” The hard work of officials does not go unnoticed.

“I definitely think officials have the hardest job to do. No matter what they do it will upset one side or the other,” West Jordan boys basketball head coach Christian Wouden said.

“We have some great officials and they work extremely hard.”

In 2021, Tammy Spencer and Lance Nielsen were awarded officials of the year by UHSAA. Many leagues offer training for new officials. The UHSAA has set up official associations and they provide constant training and are always looking for new hires to try it out. l

Hockey officials like DeOrr Wight stand right in the line of fire, coaches and players have direct access to them throughout the game. (Greg James/City Journals)

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Utah organization celebrates 10 years of empowering local women

By Hannah LaFond | h.lafond@mycityjournals.com

G

uests gathered at Venue 6SIX9 in downtown Salt Lake City in November for a black-tie gala to honor nine outstanding women. Those celebrated women were the 2021 graduates from WoWUtah.

“WoW” stands for “Women of Worth,” and the Utah-based nonprofit works to help women who have overcome difficult circumstances such as addiction, abuse or disease. The women selected for the program go through a year of workshops and training to help them gain self-worth and give them the tools they need for a fresh start.

Each of the women is paired with a mentor, a volunteer who is there to help through the entire journey.

Along with teaching them valuable life skills, each participant is given a makeover. According to WoWUtah’s Facebook page, they are gifted a collection of business attire and casual clothing selected by a team of stylists. “So she can feel confident and beautiful in her personal and professional life.” They also give each graduate formal wear and shoes for the gala event.

While the program usually spans a year, the graduates at Friday’s event had been with WoWUtah for two years. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, workshops and classes that usually would have taken

Page 22 | January 2022

place in person switched to online. As a result, WoWUtah decided to keep the same participants for another year so they could better experience the program.

Gala attendees enjoyed WoWUtah gala venue. watching vid- (Courtesy of WoWUtah) eos made by the 2021 graduates to highlight their achievements. Following their video, each graduate walked across the stage, just like in a classic school graduation. Then they were invited to say a few words about their experience, all of them finishing with the proclamation of “I am a woman of worth.”

Barbara Moeller, who graduated from the program in 2012, now sits on WoW’s Chair of Mentees. Speaking about her experience, she said, “WoW helped me to find out how amazing it is to be myself. I had gotten lost under the pressures and circumstances in life. The program gave me the

Members of WoWUtah’s board with founder Judee Guay and husband, Lewie Guay, at the center. (Courtesy of WoWUtah)

tools to defend myself against challenges that eroded my self-worth. The magic is being paired with a mentor for a journey of self-discovery. I not only found my worth again but learned to be responsible and accountable for how I comport myself.”

Along with honoring the 2021 graduates, the gala also celebrated the 10 years WoWUtah has been in operation. Judee Guay, who founded WoW and now works alongside COO Marie Jess to keep it running, spoke about the organization’s beginnings.

She started WoW after she got a second chance at life. Guay recalled her years spent in an abusive marriage and how hopeless she’d felt. Hopelessness, only made worse by autoimmune diseases she was suffering from at the time. But, slowly, she was able to put the pieces back together. She left the abusive marriage, lost 100 pounds, and started to heal.

Going through such a life-changing experience made Guay want to help other women overcome their struggles. So, she started WoWUtah in 2011. Though she had a vision, Guay said their first gala was nothing like the event that evening. “If anybody had told me that 10 years later this would be here, I wouldn’t have believed them,” she said, looking out at the crowd.

The guests were also invited to participate in a silent auction to raise money for WoW’s continuation. The auction included prizes such as theater tickets, gift baskets, romantic getaways and several cakes. The evening presenter and a member of WoW’s advisory board, Ty Bennett, joked that he’d won several cakes that his children had bid on for him.

Speaking of how WoWUtah has operated and will continue to operate on donations, Guay said, “[WoW] has been supported by volunteers, including the directors, executive board and advisory board. No one has received remuneration, and it will stay that way with all donations going toward the women being served now and in the future.”

After presenting the graduates, Guay and Jess took turns presenting awards to those who’d helped WoWUtah throughout its 10 years. One of the award recipients included Chad Hymas, a highly respected international speaker who is also on WoW’s advisory board. Hymas was given the Inspiration Award.

Sheri Thompson, who’d come all the way from Arizona for the event, was given the Soul Sister Award. Guay told The City Journals, “Sheri's incredible connection with her WoW sisters and the mentees is why she is so deserving of this award.”

They also surprised Bennett, the presenter, with the Legacy Award, for being with WoW from the beginning.

Guay finished by surprising her COO Jess, and her husband, Lewie Guay, with the Founder’s Awards.

After the awards, they finished the evening by inviting the women of WoW to perform a special musical number. They stood on the stage to sing “Breaking Free; Becoming My Best Me,” WoW’s official theme song, written by Nina Angela Lee, the president of Wow’s Executive Board.

WoWUtah will be helping another group of women in 2022. l

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January 2022 | Page 23

After two near-.500 seasons, Cottonwood football needs more players

By Brian Shaw | b.shaw@mycityjournals.com

T

wo 4-5 seasons, their best finishes in back to back years in more than a decade have the Cottonwood Colts football team thinking ahead to even bigger things in what will be year four under head coach Casey Miller.

But, as the coach stressed, Cottonwood is still in dire need of one thing in particular as it will begin its third season, and possibly its last, as a football independent: more kids.

“We don’t have enough players to really get a good practice during the [season during] the week,” Miller said. “Kids who are linemen have had to play wide receiver or running back at a skill position, so we get used to slower kids than we face in games at practice.”

The necessity to have to play players both ways has also had other adverse effects on the program: simulated practices, fewer healthy bodies and more turnovers and penalties.

“We can’t afford injuries so we do very little full contact at practice to help keep kids [healthy],” Miller said. “In games, things are faster and harder than we are used to so kids make more mistakes.”

The Colts finished the past season with about 30 healthy players, added Miller, the former Hillcrest High coach who has been coaching at Cottonwood in some football capacity for seven years. He spent several years

After two 4-5 seasons, the Colts are looking to level up with more players. (Photo courtesy Casey Miller)

as a Colts offensive coordinator under former coach Bart Bowen, and then Miller took over the top job after Bowen left to take a head coaching position at Logan High School.

But when Bowen was at Cottonwood, he had the same issues as Miller in getting players to come out for the football team. Numbers were low for Bowen’s teams as well, to the point that after a 1-9 season, and after completely rebuilding the program’s inventory, the roster numbers to a degree and team standards

said he’d had enough, according to Miller.

“He ended up burning himself out and decided that his sanity depended on being somewhere that was not in as bad of shape as Cottonwood,” said Miller, who then said players in the program begged him to apply for the vacant head coaching job, and added they went so far as to ask the Cottonwood administration to hire the Colts’ then-offensive coordinator.

Like Bowen, Miller was handed the thankless task out of the gate of trying to mo-

tivate the 17 kids he did have on his varsity roster to finish games. As a member of a brutal Region 6 that included Highland, Skyline and Brighton, this was a tall order for Miller in his first year as head coach: all were blowout losses.

“We went 0-10, got shut out nine times, and only scored 13 against West on a fluke KOR [kickoff return] where they over-ran a squib-kick, and then we scored on their third or fourth string late in the game,” Miller said.

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In Cottonwood’s first year under Miller almost every region game the Colts played in had a running clock by the third quarter, so he asked Cottonwood athletic director Greg Southwick to petition the Utah High School Athletics Activities Association, or UHSAA, to move the Colts football program to independent status.

After reviewing Cottonwood’s body of work in football over several years the move to independence was granted two years ago

by Utah’s high school sports governing body, and so the Cottonwood program under the new coach Miller was given a lifeline when it was near its death.

“Instead of having to play Corner Canyon, Olympus, Brighton, we were able to schedule more 2A and 3A schools to level the playing field,” said Miller, who added that scheduling JV teams from larger schools also helped hone the Colts’ competitive nature in his second season as they began their climb back up the ladder.

For a program that had a tradition of winning in the 1990s and 2000s but has never won a state title, nobody in the program including Miller wanted to see Cottonwood football cease its operations for the first time in school history.

Data collection As a football independent, the Cottonwood football program is by no means out of the woods yet, but there have been signs of a resurgence under Miller. As an independent, the Colts have begun to show that they can again compete for four quarters against high school programs in Utah. A narrow loss to 2A power Summit Academy coupled with a signature win over 5A rival Murray this past season have given Miller and Southwick cause for hope.

But in order to make a successful move from independent status back to Class 5A membership and complete the cycle back to football prominence, this Cottonwood program still has work to do in several areas, noted Miller.

“We still have a long way to go if we are going to be put back in a region after next season,” he said. “We would be an average 2A program as it sits now.”

To that end, Miller said he has devised several strategies to attract junior-high aged players.

First, the Cottonwood Ute Conference little league program restarted three years ago after an absence, and sixth to eighth graders will begin to infuse more life into the Colts football program, Miller predicts. Seeds of that have already begun sprouting into the freshman/sophomore team. But the growth in this area is minimal: Cottonwood still doesn’t have enough players to field a JV team—something Miller said that almost every 5A program has.

Second is a tool Miller has already implemented the past two summers: a weeklong, college-style football camp. Because the ma-

HolladayJournal .com

After two 4-5 seasons, the Colts are looking to level up with more players. (Photo courtesy Casey Miller)

jority of potential players in the Cottonwood area cannot afford to attend summer camps on college campuses, Miller—who coached at the NAIA college level at Benedictine and was a quarterback there as well as at Cyprus High where he was a Region 5 MVP—has brought this much-needed college camp experience to these kids.

Miller estimates that these summer camps alone could bring in at least 10, if not more, kids from the seventh and eighth grades in the next two years. But this is a slow play that could take years to bear any fruit.

The third and final strategy was to have Miller, and his coaches and players, start walking through Cottonwood’s hallways and talk to kids who might want to give football a try. If it sounds easy enough, it actually isn’t according to Miller who said this strategy usually yields between three to five new players every year.

These are kids who, before having gone to this camp, had either never played football or were kids who were students at Cottonwood’s renowned accelerated AMES school who weren’t already on some other high school’s team—Miller said several play at Kearns and Bingham, and started on their little league youth teams. Or they were kids who had played soccer or another school-sanctioned sport before trying some American football for a change.

Because kids are also on social media frequently these days, Miller and his staff also put out messages on Twitter and Snapchat reminding kids about things going on in the football program. But there’s only so much the Cottonwood coach and his staff can do.

Drawing conclusions Year three will likely be the last for the Colts as a football independent, Miller believes. With all of Cottonwood’s other athletic

programs now participating in Class 5A’s Region 7—enjoying success it hasn’t had in many years—Miller is still a bit resistant having his team travel as far as 300 miles round-trip for one game to Uintah in Vernal, for example.

That said, his Colts have taken road trips as far as Carbon in Price this past year—losing in a 41-34 barnburner classic—so in Miller’s view his team is capable of competing week in and week out on the road as well as at home.

Their record in away games during Miller’s tenure has shown this to be true, however, the Colts just aren’t at a 5A level because of the low number of players that are currently on the roster, he said.

“When we do face a 2A or 3A school [Carbon is in 3A] and the numbers are even, you can feel a different vibe,” he said. In order for that to change, Miller said the Colts need more bodies on the field.

“For varsity [in 2021] we had between 30 and 35 [players] depending on injury. We dressed five sophomores,” Miller said. “We also had 13 seniors this year which is most since I got here…but most schools have 20plus if they are 5A.” If you were to count up all of Cottonwood’s players on the varsity and freshman/sophomore teams, the Colts would have 60 total bodies available—if the school were to be called back up to 5A right now.

And so to keep up with the Cedar Valleys, Stansburys and Hillcrests in the new Class 5A Region 7, this Cottonwood football program buttressed by an open enrollment policy that already draws students from all corners of the valley must find a way to find more players. The program already reaches out into the school’s accelerated programs in engineering, drama and the sciences—Miller is a biology teacher by trade. These strategies have unearthed some diamonds in the rough, including

kids who never played the sport.

“We had two of those [13] seniors who didn’t play [football] until this year, so really we had 11 [experienced players],” Miller said.

“Today in class we were watching our first draft of the team’s highlight video and my students all were saying things like, ‘Where is the rest of our team?’ or ‘Is that all the people we have?’—because of how few players they see on the sideline.”

That said, Logan had 24 seniors under Bowen this past year, said Miller. At Cottonwood, the kids are getting accustomed to not having as many kids as the teams they face, added Miller, but he would like find at least 10 to 15 more players for next year.

Twenty more players would make the Colts even more competitive right now, Miller said, but if Miller wants to put Cottonwood back at the level of a 5A or 6A program he needs to double his numbers to 120.

The final message the Cottonwood head coach wants to send to prospective players, and their parents, is that the program is doing things the right way. A 3.17 first-term team GPA, a focus on academics over athletics—the team doesn’t hold practices from October to the end of the school year—and a team on the rise are all reasons Miller believes prospective students should choose Cottonwood Colts football after two near-.500 seasons.

“We have a great staff that really love the kids,” he said. “We know football and have a fun atmosphere in the program. We are looking for kids who want to work hard and get early playing time on the varsity level.”

For more information about Cottonwood’s football program, contact coach Miller at: mrmiller-science.weebly.com/football. html. l

January 2022 | Page 25

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South Jordan’s Amanda Brown revels in the snow with her son, 8-year-old Eli. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Brown.

Sequoia loves winter and playing in the snow. (Photo courtesy of Bree Mooers)

Find joy in winter by embracing outdoor activities

I

n just a few weeks, Punxsutawney Phil, the famous groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, will emerge to predict when winter will end. For many people who hate the cold days, grey skies, and treacherous icy roads, they hope Phil does not see his shadow and predicts an early spring.

When Herriman residents were polled about how they feel about winter, 25% replied that they absolutely hate winter and are already counting down the days until spring.

The cold and darkness are some of the factors why winter months trigger the onset of seasonal affective disorder or SAD, a type of depression that is related to a change in seasons.

Herriman’s Celeste Barrow Bruening said, “About mid-October I start to notice a drastic change in my attitude and outlook on life. I get an overwhelming feeling of dread just thinking about the cold. I hate everything about it. Not necessarily the snow, just the cold. The short dark days are a struggle and the grey, cloudy atmosphere is depressing.”

According to Mental Health America, Bruening is not alone as SAD affects over 10 million Americans a year. If you experience symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, please consult a mental health provider.

With the milder Utah winters in recent years, even winter haters admit that the snow is necessary for summer water levels. Herriman’s Katie Jo Stratton said, “I don’t love the snow like I did when I skied. But I want it to snow like it did in the ‘90s so we can have all the water we need in the lakes to play!”

Page 28 | January 2022

By Karmel Harper | k.harper@mycityjournals.com Although most Utahns recognize snow is necessary for our desert state, the darkness, the cold, and the dangerous driving conditions incite a teeth-chattering, snow-shoveling, white-knuckle-driving tolerance of the season.

However, many Utahns absolutely love winter and all of the beauty and outdoor recreation it brings. The Brown family from South Jordan look forward to winter every year as they are avid skiers. Amanda Brown even works at Park City Mountain Resort every season for the sole purpose of providing ski lessons for her four children who range in age from six to 12. Brown said, “Winter can be long and dreary if you allow it to be. We wanted to instill a love of the season in our children at an early age by enrolling them in ski lessons since they were very young. Now we look forward to it every year as we can get outside as a family and enjoy something active together.”

Kaysville’s Margot Marrs Pauni said, “I absolutely hated winter and counted the days until it was over, and then I learned to ski. It made a huge difference in my attitude and mental well-being. Now I look forward to winter.” Pauni has been skiing for over 3 years.

If gliding downhill at 20+ mph while dodging other people and trees is not your thing, there are a multitude of other winter activities to try to experience Utah’s famous “Greatest Snow on Earth.”. Exploring our spectacular mountains is extremely popular during the spring, summer and fall, but winter hiking is in a class of its own. A trail that you have hiked many times during other

seasons will look completely different when it is covered with snow and provides a new experience. Creeks will have frozen sections with icicles adorning rocky edges. Waterfalls will be partially or completely frozen, giving you a breathtaking and magical view. Trails such as Ogden’s Waterfall Canyon and Layton’s Adam’s Canyon offer awesome winter adventures with picture perfect vistas that Jack Frost will be proud of.

Herriman’s Rachel Dekker Moody said, “There is something magical about going for a ‘snow globe’ run early in the morning and hearing the crunch of snow under your feet and knowing you are the first footprints out for the day!”

Though cycling is typically a warm weather sport, winter riding has become popular since fat bikes emerged on the market. While standard mountain bikes have tire widths anywhere between 1.6” and 2.6”, a fat bike’s tires are 3.7” to 5”, allowing the rider to cruise through on snow-packed trails with greater traction and better handling.

Various local bike dealers rent fat bikes so you can give it a try. Visit www.cyclingutah. com for suggestions on the best fat biking trails.

Sledding or inner tubing is another popular winter activity, and you don’t even have to go up into the mountains to enjoy it. Even a local park or neighborhood with a good slope can serve as a decent sledding hill. Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City and Eaglewood Golf Course in North Salt Lake have awesome hills that are free to sled and tube on. Or visit a designated sledding park such as Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in

Midway or Woodward in Park City.

Avid fishermen don’t need to pack up their poles for the season as ice fishing is popular in Utah. Frozen lakes such as Strawberry Reservoir and even local ponds such as Farmington Pond and Bountiful Pond attract anglers of all ages once the ice is thick enough. The website Best Fishing in America said, “The season typically starts in mid to late December in Utah, depending on the weather. There are years when the hard water doesn’t set in until mid-January, while other years, it can happen in late November.

A good rule of thumb is that 4 inches is thick enough for an average person, 5-6 inches is suitable for a snowmobile or 4-wheeler, and 8-12 inches will support a truck.”

Ice anglers use an ice auger with a 6-8” bit to drill a hole in the ice large enough to pull caught fish through. In addition to the appropriate fishing equipment, other gear such as ice tents and tent heaters can be used for additional warmth and comfort. The Watkins family from Davis County look forward to ice fishing every winter. Kaysville’s Shaylee Watkins said, “I love ice fishing because it’s fun to sit and snack out in a heated tent on the ice and get nice and comfy and kick your boots off.” North Salt Lake’s Challis Watkins said, “Ice fishing is like fishing but way better.”

It is important to be prepared before venturing outside during the winter months.

Tolerating the cold is much easier with proper clothing and gear. Dressing in layers is a good practice because you will warm up as your activity level increases and you will be much more comfortable removing or adding

Holladay City Journal

layers as needed.

REI’s website suggests three basic layers: “1) Base layer (underwear layer): wicks sweat off your skin, 2) Middle layer (insulating layer): retains body heat to protect you from the cold, and 3) Outer layer (shell layer): shields you from wind and rain. Even if you don’t wear all three layers at the outset, it’s a good idea to take all layers on every outing. You can peel off layers if things heat up, but you can’t put on layers that you didn’t bring along.”

Other important gear includes warm head and ear coverings such as beanies and ear muffs, scarves, and waterproof gloves.

Proper shoes such as waterproof boots that provide warmth and traction are a necessity.

For additional traction, particularly on steep icy terrain, use crampons or microspikes, a mechanism that typically consists of spikes and chains that fit over your shoes and can be easily slipped off and on the trails as needed.

Driving during the winter is a big reason why many people hate the season so pre-

paring your vehicle for the cooler months is important. Tips for winterizing your vehicle include testing your battery and tire pressure as battery power and tire pressure drop when the air temperature drops, changing to winter tires, checking wiper blades and replacing if needed, and always keeping at least a half tank of gas. Tips for winter driving include driving slower, increasing your following distance, and accelerating and decelerating slowly. But if it is snowing heavily, the best practice is to stay home if you can and avoid unnecessary risks.

Someone once said, “If you choose not to find joy in snow, you will have less joy in your life but the same amount of snow.”

With proper gear, clothing, and other preparations to keep you warm along with an adventurous spirit to try something new, perhaps the multitude of winter activities Utah offers can coax your inner Elsa out as you declare, “The cold never bothered me anyway.” l Priempr

Shaylee Watkins and Cody Carter show off their ice fishing catches at Utah Lake. (Photo courtesy of Teal Anderson.)

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Holladay City Journal

Home Makeover: COVID edition

Life

Laughter AND

by

PERI KINDER

One morning I woke up and I’d had enough. The pandemic had forced us to look at our walls and carpet 24/7 and every day the chips in the paint got bigger and the stains on the carpet got wider. Was that blood or pudding? I couldn’t tell anymore.

It was time to take action.

My husband tends to overthink in a death-spiral sort of way, so our conversation went from “What kind of paint/flooring should we get?” to “What if we spend two weeks with our dog in a tent in a blizzard?” I let him ruminate for a while before moving to the next phase.

We talked about painting the rooms ourselves and laughed hysterically for a couple of hours. We are not the DIY kind of people.

We once assembled a bookshelf together so I knew we needed to hire a professional; either a professional painter or a professional divorce attorney.

We reached out to our friend, Rick Hepner, who was delighted to paint our home, plus he got to enjoy our 4-year-old granddaughter following him around asking him what he was doing, why he was doing it, how long he’d be doing it and if he wanted to play Barbies.

While preparing the walls, Rick discovered ecosystems behind our furniture where sentient beings lived in and breathed only dust.

He waded through chest-deep dust like we were living in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl era, or

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maybe the sequel to Dune.

Once the dust was hauled away and the walls were beautifully painted, we turned our attention to the floors. Our carpet crossed the prairie in the back of a handcart, survived nuclear testing in Southern Utah and was definitely sprouting tentacles. Time to toss it before it murdered us in our sleep.

Then came the discussion of wood versus carpet. My husband is old school and likes soft carpeting, probably so he doesn’t break a hip if he falls. I like the clean line of wood. We compromised with me getting wood flooring in my office, and carpet everywhere else; except the bathroom. We’re not animals.

When it came time to move furniture out of the house, I threw things away willy-nilly.

I took bags of clothes and shoes and children to Goodwill. My husband followed behind me, taking things out of donation bags and hiding them. He has sentimental attachments to items like water bottles and lanyards and the blouse I wore when we saw the Blue Man Group in 2008.

Finally, the walls were painted, flooring was complete, furniture was moved back and everything was right with the world. But our dog was hyperventilating.

Before renovation (BR), she’d nap under the guest bed, which is now in another home.

She wandered the halls, forlorn and lost, carrying her bone from room to room, trying to navigate her apocalyptic new world.

Not only that, but the wood floor distressed her and she refused to walk on it. She slept on the couch until midnight. Then I heard her toenails clicking as she walked across the floor and threw herself onto her bed, sighing loudly, so we’d know she’d been inconvenienced.

For a while, we played The Floor is Lava to keep the carpet looking bright and new. But walls get scratched and carpet gets stained because life is a messy, dirty, grimy experiment where sometimes you don’t know if the stain on the carpet is blood or pudding, and your dog needs therapy, and your husband unpacks the donation bags. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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January 2022 | Page 31