Holladay Journal | June 2023

GENERATIONS BID FAREWELL TO SPRING LANE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AT OPEN HOUSE

Walking through the halls of Spring Lane Elementary on May 11 was surreal for the Carpenter family. Siblings Zeland, Xerafina and Zenli loved their time as students there. They came to the farewell open house with their mom to see the school one last time before it closed at the end of the school year.

“It’s sad that it’s getting torn down. It’s weird to come back here and walk through the halls and smell the smells. It seems so small now. When you’re in elementary school, all you really know is your own school, and it seems so big,” said Zeland, who is a student at Cottonwood High.

Zeland’s mom Sisa Carpenter was nostalgic, too. “We like how this school is tucked back inside a neighborhood and not right off a freeway. It feels like it’s surrounded by homes and is being hugged by the neighborhood,” Carpenter said.

Granite District decided to close Spring Lane along with Millcreek and Twin Peaks af-

By Heather Lawrence | h.lawrence@mycityjournals.com

ter several population studies and rounds of town hall meetings. Most of Spring Lane’s students will now be in Oakwood’s boundaries. It’s been an emotional decision for the community.

Carpenter’s daughter Xerafina has only been out of Spring Lane a couple years, so the memories are still fresh.

“I have a lot of memories of the computer lab for some reason. It’s a special place to me. And I loved going to the library. The librarian had a very mesmerizing voice, and I remember sitting there and listening to stories,” Xerafina said.

The library was a favorite stop for lots of people. Vassi Maritsas is the librarian at Spring Lane. At the open house she rem-

Continued page 4

The Carpenter family was nostalgic walking through the school at Spring Lane’s farewell open house. L to R: Zeland, Xerafina, Zenli and Sisa Carpenter. (Heather Lawrence/City Journals)

Ambulatory Surgical Center

GRAND OPENING

Open House

Sports Performance

Open House on

Thursday, June 15 from 6-8:00 p.m.

Entrance 2

Grand Opening

Friday, June 16 from 2-4:00 p.m.

Ribbon-cutting, tours, lunch and more!

Sports Performance

Continued from front page

inisced with her sister Tia Athens and other friends and colleagues.

“It’s a special place for me. I call the books ‘my babies,’” Maritsas said. Maritsas and Athens both attended Spring Lane—which was originally known as Meadow Moor—as students, and then came back to work there.

“There are a lot of people whose families came here for two or more generations,” Maritsas said. Her daughter also attended Spring Lane.

Amy Calara of Sugar House hadn’t been back since she finished elementary school in 1993. She was surprised at how tactile and visual the memories were for her as she walked the halls and took pictures.

“I remember running my hands along

Jou r nals

HOLLADAY TEAM

The Holladay Journal is a monthly publication distributed directly to residents via the USPS as well as locations throughout Cottonwood Heights.

For information about distribution please email hello@thecityjournals.com or call our offices. Rack locations are also available on our website. The views and opinions expressed in display advertisements do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions held by Loyal Perch Media or the City Journals. This publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of the owner. © 2019 Loyal Perch Media, Inc.

these smooth green tiles whenever I walked down the hallway. It’s very surreal to see it in person again. The seats are so small and short!”

Calara remembered learning about history in fun ways, like the 50’s dance where the girls all wore poodle skirts, and a unit about the Middle Ages where the boys dressed as knights and had to be “very chivalrous” to the girls.

Calara remembered all her teachers’ names. She loved the atria where ducklings come each spring and where she helped plant things in the garden.

Over in the gym, current principal Kip Carlsen and his band, The Superintendents of Rock, played live music while people wandered the school, shared memories and ran into old friends.

This was Carlsen’s only year as principal at Spring Lane, but it was an event-

ful one. Granite District spent the fall introducing ideas about possible school closures. Since then, Carlsen has fielded questions and comments—some very passionate—from the community.

“We knew they were doing population studies, but all of the proposals about the possible closure and then the final decision were done at the district level. We got the news the same time as the rest of the community,” Carlsen said.

Carlsen will go to Fox Hills Elementary this fall. But until then, helping the student body transition to Oakwood has been his focus. The PTA and community meetings for Oakwood and Spring Lane have been combined since January.

“I’ve worked closely with Eric Bailey (the principal at Oakwood) since we found out that Spring Lane would close. We’re trying to make the transition as smooth as

social media

PUBLISHER

Bryan Scott | bryan.s@thecityjournals.com

EDITOR

Travis Barton | travis.b@thecityjournals.com

ADVERTISING EXECUTIVES

Mieka Sawatzki | mieka.s@thecityjournals.com

Jason Corbridge | jason.c@thecityjournals.com

Ryan Casper | ryan.c@thecityjournals.com

Kayla Palmer | kayla.p@thecityjournals.com

Greg Tanner | greg.t@valuepagesutah.com

CIRCULATION COORDINATOR

Lydia Rice | lydia.r@thecityjournals.com 385-557-1022

Rack locations are also available on our website.

EDITORIAL & AD DESIGN

Anna Pro

Ty Gorton

Amanda Luker

Stacy Bronson

HOLLADAY CITY JOURNAL 9500 South 500 West, Suite 205 Sandy, UT 84070

PHONE: 801-254-5974

possible and help our students all feel like Oakwood is their school,” Carlsen said.

Even those not currently in the school have noticed the effort to merge the two schools. “My kids are all done with Spring Lane, but I stay in touch with the community and the Facebook page. It looks like they’ve been combining their PTA and activities,” Carpenter said.

The school district plans to retain the land, but the school itself will likely be torn down. It will be hard for those in the neighborhood to drive by and not see it anymore.

“We’ve loved it here,” Carpenter said. “It’s a great community and it will be missed.” l

MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to inform and entertain our community while promoting a strong local economy via relevant content presented across a synergetic network of print and digital media.

PUBLISHER

Designed, Published, & Distributed by

|

The Spring Lane library is a special place for current and former staff and parents. L to R: Afton Lambson, Jill Cox, Mary Meyers, Carlie Lowe, Tia Athens, Vassi Maritsas and Marcie Pauole. (Heather Lawrence/City Journals)

Principal Kip Carlsen brought his band Superintendents of Rock to play at the Spring Lane farewell open house on May 11. (Heather Lawrence/City Journals)

Museum exhibits scale models and super-realism paintings of local artist of the month Richard Engar

TheR.C. Engar Scale Model Museum and Studio opened its doors in Bountiful to the public in January 2021. Founded by Holladay resident Richard Engar, an accomplished scale model building artist and super-realism painter, the 900-square-foot museum exhibits more than 300 scale model airplanes and cars primarily crafted by Engar. The walls of the museum are covered with over 400 national, regional and state model-building awards in addition to local awards for Engar’s highly illusionistic landscape paintings.

Selected by the Holladay Arts Council as Holladay Artist of the Month, Engar was a highly esteemed dentist in the Sugar House area, retired CEO of the Professional Insurance Exchange, a mutual insurance company for local dentists, and currently is the founder and curator of the R.C. Engar Scale Model Museum and Studio. Scale models are continually being added to the exhibit by Engar, and with few exceptions, the impressive collection is his work. A number of ceiling murals and historic posters from World War I and World War II are on display in the museum, and reference materials are on hand in each display case to provide a history and model specifics.

“The museum has been a project since 1982,” Engar said. “I displayed my airplane models in an extra room at my dental office. My patients enjoyed looking at them, and it was their interest that gave me the idea at some point to create a museum.”

The first model airplane Engar built was the Supermarine S.6B racer. Engar’s brother, Bill Engar, who is eight years younger, talks of how when they were young, he would frequently try to sneak into Engar’s bedroom to play with all of the irresistible gadgets and dangerous treasures available for exploration scattered throughout the room as well as sus-

By Collette Hayes | c.hayes@mycityjournals.com

pended from the acoustic tiled ceiling. Engar’s collection of scale model airplanes included dozens of 1/72 scale aircraft from World War II. It became necessary for Engar to install an expensive lock on his bedroom door to keep his little brother out of his bedroom.

Apparently, Engar’s big Lionel trains with three-rail tracks used to draw approximately enough current to light a sizeable portion of the Las Vegas Strip. “I don’t specifically recall plugging the massive transformer from Dick’s set into the wall terminals together,” Bill Engar states in his small-scale modeling blog, “but I’m told that the resulting arc of electricity would have made Ben Franklin jealous. Everyone seems to recollect that one of the first words I learned to say was ‘shock.’”

At age 19, Engar cleaned up his room of all the hazardous paints, tiny model parts and dangerous voltage, packed it away and left for Japan to fill a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Returning from his mission, Engar earned a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Utah, and then went on to complete a degree in Dentistry from the University of Washington School of Dentistry. After completing dental school, Engar opened his general dentistry practice in Sugar House and then was head hunted away from his highly successful practice to work for Professional Insurance Exchange Inc. and retired as CEO in 2020.

Engar has enjoyed drawing since childhood. Continually encouraged to pursue his artistic interests by his parents, his dad started him building scale models at age 8. He enjoyed his art classes in junior high school from Dale Gibbs, who encouraged Engar to create something original and not to copy. Engar completed linoleum and wood block cuts under Gibbs’ instruction that hang on the wall in his studio.

At the University of Utah Engar studied basic drawing and learned shadowing technique from Don Shepherd, who encouraged Engar to pursue a degree in art. Engar had been interested in dentistry since age 13, and he was loaded down with his pre-dental classes so he had to decline the recommendation. Until his retirement, Engar limited his artistic interest to the spare moments of time he could find for

creating, building and painting. Now, Engar is at his museum and art studio three days a week as curator and to pursue his interest in super-realism painting. Engar spends many hours in his studio using a combination of watercolor and acrylics to complete his paintings.

“The whole thing about painting is fooling the eye with brush strokes,” Engar said. “One little area on a painting may take me two to three hours to complete. The way I paint is to use photographs on my computer. My rule is, in order to have a feeling for what I’m painting, I have to have visited the place I’m going to paint. I particularly enjoy landscapes. The 12-by-18 Wasatch Peaks painting took me 42 hours to complete. The 8-by-10 paintings take about 80 hours.”

Engar began writing and illustrating a children’s book in pen and ink in high school. Just recently, he completed the final editing and is in the process of having it published. The children’s book titled “The Adventure of Harry the Worm” is about what it means to be a true adventurer—a book sure to make any toddler smile.

“I encourage everyone to live their creative dream,” Engar said. “Create something that is worthwhile and that others will enjoy looking at whether it’s clay sculpting, figure drawing, painting pictures or building scale models.”

The R.C. Engar Scale Model Museum and Studio is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment. It’s located at 535 E. 500 South, Suite 8, in Bountiful. The museum is on the ground floor of the Liberty Place Building near Lakeview Hospital and Bountiful High School.l

Selected by the Holladay Arts Council as Holladay Artist of the Month, Richard Engar was a highly esteemed dentist in the Sugar House area, retired CEO of the Professional Insurance Exchange, a mutual insurance company for local dentists, and currently is the founder and curator of the R.C. Engar Scale Model Museum and Studio. (Photo credit Richard Engar)

The R.C. Engar Scale Model Museum and Studio walls display over 400 national, regional and state model-building awards in addition to local awards for Richard Engar’s highly illusionistic, landscape paintings. (Collette Hayes/City Journals)

Richard Engar is at his museum and art studio three days a week as curator and to pursue his interest in super-realism painting. Engar spends many hours in his studio using a combination of watercolor and acrylics to complete his paintings. (Collette Hayes/City Journals)

‘Little things’ propel Olympus to first outright region title in 15 years

Four years ago, before Covid canceled the season, the Olympus High softball team only got one out in six games.

Today the Titans are region champions, winning the Region 6 title outright for the first time in 15 years.

The four seniors on this year’s team were freshmen starters that Covid-shortened season, making this championship all the sweeter.

“It’s freaking awesome,” deadpanned senior Sofia Conlon after the region-clinching win at Murray.

“It was hard cause we had to be patient for a long time,” added fellow senior Rylee Rice. “But finally getting here feels really good. I just enjoy being here with my teammates, either way it’d be fun.”

That attitude perhaps best sums up the mindset of a Titan softball squad that went 18-2 in the regular season and undefeated in region. An impressive turnaround for a team that went 2-15 in 2021, but showed significant signs of progress in 2022 finishing 9-13.

A perfect storm of a quality roster, senior leadership and a mentality that focuses on the little things has made 2023 one to remember.

Mentality

Head coach Jackson White has been with the program for 11 years with the last five serving as its head coach when he took over after his sister stepped down. This year, he said, is all about the “little things,” the finer details and fundamentals.

For the team’s excellent defense, it means being sound in fielding grounders like making sure you have the ball first before coming up for the throw.

For the early part of the season when games were canceled or postponed and the team spent most practices inside, it meant sharpening the mental side of the game.

March saw the team practice mostly indoors hitting in the “dark quarters” (batting cages) or catching as many realistic fly balls as possible in the gym. But White said they had a psychologist speak with the team about ways to resolve conflict, would spend Fridays talking about articles that concentrated on team building or mental toughness and even practiced their dugout cheering.

“We were able to get a lot of growth mentally without having to see it physically inside,” he said. “It was a game changer to just kind of teach them how to be good teammates and do drills that was about talking to each other or listening to each other rather than catching a fly ball inside for the 100th time.”

White credited the girls for embracing that process as the players developed their own team culture, rules and expectations allowing them to take ownership of the program.

Conlon, the team’s catcher, said they learned how to work, live and grow with each other.

“Being inside is really hard, it’s not the same as being on a field so working together as a team mentally made us tighter,” she said. “It pulls us closer and helps us outside for sure.”

It laid the foundation for an enthusiastic and cohesive group, made evident by the dugout’s constant cheering or a collective ability to laugh off their mistakes.

“My dugout has embraced their role,” White said. “It is our job to provide energy. Man they do a good job, they absolutely do a good job. I would dare argue that our dugout plays as big of a role as the girls on the field and our girls on the field feed off of our dugout.”

Even if a batter swings so hard their helmet falls over the eyes, the coaches and teammates are laughing it off.

“Messing up isn’t the end of the world,” Conlon said.

By Travis Barton | travis.b@thecityjournals.com

“You can laugh it off and recover, find the next play. It really benefits all of us. Once we hit our stride with the cheering or on the field, we carry it through all the innings so it snowballs

into a good thing.”

Senior Hannah Gregory noted the varsity and junior varsity practice together, adding to the family atmosphere. Then almost as if on cue, mid-interview during the JV game, two of

The dugout cheers regularly during games, the team even had cheering practices at one point during its weather-altered season. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Jackson White and pitcher Charlie Turner do their customary handshake at the end of every inning. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Sofia Conlon leads off from second base and would eventually score. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

the seniors turned to congratulate a JV teammate for catching a flyball.

“At Olympus we haven’t had moments that are this big for the program in a long time,” White said. “We pull girls that don’t have a lot of softball experience…they’ve embraced the excitement. So when there’s something to cheer about, man, they freaking cheer about it and it’s genuine.”

Senior leadership

Having started all four years, the four seniors of Conlon, Rice, Gregory and Zoie Addington have experienced it all, possibly making them the perfect leaders for this team.

“It’s hard losing games and that was our first three years, but as people and seniors come and go, you learn to adapt and grow with each other. It’s important to step up yourself as you grow older,” Conlon said.

For them it means having a team-oriented culture that looks out for each other and celebrates moments regardless of results.

“You learn to celebrate every success, even if we don’t win games just everything that goes well,” Rice said. “It just helps us grow from there.”

Added Gregory, “We lost so many times, it mattered when we won. But now that we’re winning, it’s not something we focus on, it was just about getting better every time.”

White called his leaders “special” noting he’s happy to win region, but it’s the seniors journeys that makes him more excited for them to earn that championship.

“I can tell you stories of when they were freshmen or sophomores and then how they acted as juniors…I’m proud of my leaders, they deserved it. I’m the constant here.

They’re the ones that come in and make the change, it’s pretty cool for them,” he said.

Winning region at a school like Olympus where athletic success seems almost automatic has signaled a different experience for the girls. Teachers compliment them, there’s another level of respect from classmates and they’re included in school announcements.

“It’s exciting, it’s cool when people talk to you about it,” said Addington, the second baseman. “People compliment us, it’s different and fun.”

In previous years they would tell people not to come to their games, Conlon said, but now they want people to watch them play.

“It’s been a big change from years past,” she said.

Quality roster

While the seniors have embraced their roles and taken ownership of the team culture, the special sauce is complete with a skilled squad.

Conlon leads from the catcher position and is second on the team in fielding percentage right behind Rice, a vacuum at first base (even using her non-dominant hand for her glove one inning after being stepped on sliding into third). Addington takes second base while Gregory holds down third base.

But a large chunk of the talent comes from the underclassmen. Sophomore Charlie Turner is the team’s primary pitcher holding teams to a 2.50 ERA pitching 81 of the 94 innings possible. Sophomore Eliza Johnson played shortstop until breaking her foot midway through the season with another sophomore Adison Comer filling the role and her younger sister, freshman Charlotte Comer rounding out an all-freshmen outfield.

When the Titans beat Murray the first

time 7-5, they were up 5-0 in the fifth inning when three dropped balls in the outfield allowed the Spartans to tie the game. But in the second matchup with Murray, a game Olympus would win 8-1, those deep fly balls were instead being caught in right field by Jaedin Mugleston.

“It’s that mental approach to get better every day, it’s fun to make plays,” White said.

The defense has been one of Olympus’ strengths featuring a .929 fielding percentage.

The offense is balanced with eight different hitters all having double digit hits and RBIs as the Titans finished region outscoring its opponents 161-25.

Conlon was quick to point to the coaching staff as the glue of the team. “Our coaches are the main motivators for us to push ourselves and be the way we look out there.”

For White and his coaching staff, the

most important aspect about the program is ensuring the quality of the person over any stat on the field.

“We care about being a good teammate. We care about making sacrifices. We care about getting better each day and we care about hard work. That’s what we focus on,” he said. “The wins and the losses come and go. It’s the experience that these girls graduate high school that really means the most.”

Focusing on that mutual growth over results is what White believes will bring a sustainability to the program.

“When you do that, over time, you will attract a sort of individual that’s drawn to that hard work, to that fun, and that acceptance and love from a team. Eventually the pieces are going to fall into place. Eventually you’re going to find one of those puzzles that just fit together and lots of good things happen.”l

Sophomore Charlie Turner, affectionately known as Chuck, leads Olympus from the mound going 16-1 in the regular season. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Rylee Rice slides into second base during the region-clinching win over Murray. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Hannah Gregory throws out the runner at first. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Olympus High artists accepted into Springville Art Museum’s student show

For the past 51 years, the Springville Museum of Art has hosted an annual student art competition. This year, 976 works of art from across Utah were entered. Of those, 336 were chosen for display.

Six student entries from five Olympus High School students were accepted. In addition to being displayed in the museum, student artwork is professionally adjudicated and often sold to private buyers. It’s a prestigious addition to students’ portfolios and resumes.

The artwork in the show is also eligible for selection in a traveling art exhibit. The traveling exhibition is sponsored by the Utah Division of Arts & Museums, and happens immediately following the Springville show. This year’s selection includes a work by Olympus student Sophia Santos.

The museum’s website explains what it means to be accepted to the show. “It will travel during the 2023-24 school year to museums, galleries, libraries and schools throughout Utah.

“This is a very prestigious show, consisting of less than 10% of works accepted into the High School Show. The traveling show is a great opportunity for student artists who are looking to expand their audience and build their resume.”

Awards were also given to two other Olympus High works, both by Katherine Carlston. “Color” was given the Jurors’ Choice Award. “Her Calling (Joan of Arc)” was awarded a Lyon Arts Studio Scholarship.

The following is each Olympus artist’s statement describing their work. All works are available to view on the Springville Museum of Art’s online gallery.

LilyKate Jones, senior “East of the Sun, West of the Moon”

Mixed media

This piece is based off of one of my favorite fairytales from when I was younger, “East of the Sun, West of the Moon.” I wanted to include elements of the story in the border. It takes place in a land “east of the sun and west of the moon,” so I placed the sun in the top left corner and the moon in the top right. I also drew the four winds around the center border.

It is a Norwegian folktale so I based the patterns in the border on Norwegian folk art. I created it with watercolor and digital details and overlay.

Sophia Santos, senior “Relative Darkness”

Oil on board

Selected for Utah Division of Arts & Museums Traveling Exhibition

In “Relative Darkness” I wanted to explore creating a visual language that connects all the pieces I created this year. Bright, warm colors represent connection, cool colors are peace, and expanses of darkness symbolize isolation.

[The subject] is a close friend of mine; it was the first night we had been together after a year apart. She expresses interest in spending time together, but she spends a lot of time by herself, I don’t know if it’s by choice.

The reference for this painting was a photo I took the night our friendship was rekindled. Her face is bright, contrasted with the dark background, is the spark of our connection; I want it to feel almost like she’s approaching out of the blackness.

Ellie Robison, senior “Vitiligo”

Oil on canvas

My work is about underappreciated beauty. My piece

By Heather Lawrence | h.lawrence@mycityjournals.com

shows a representation of the skin condition vitiligo, and how beautiful it is. I believe that people with this condition are underrepresented for their beauty.

People with vitiligo have these intricate patterns and beautiful organic shapes that make their skin the way it is, and they deserve more credit for their uniqueness. Understanding this beauty is just one piece of truly understanding beauty in all forms.

Elsa Campbell, senior “Ideal Consumer”

Acrylic on canvas

This piece explores the identity of teenage girls through the eyes of advertisers. With Gen Z making up 40% of the world’s consumer population, the fight for relevance within the younger population has intensified. Through the popularization of social media, edited and fabricated images have become standardized thus pushing the beauty standard to a place of impossibility.

This unachievable new expectation has not only created feelings of inadequacy in young women, but also capitalism’s dream customer. The more inferior the consumer feels and the more idealized the goal, the larger and more consistent the

profit.

Katherine Carlston, senior “Color”

Colored pencil

Jurors’ Choice Award

This piece is a tribute to and an expression of my appreciation for color. I attempted to portray this appreciation with the use of bright colors and multiple mediums, as well as putting a colorful design on almost every surface. It may seem a trivial gratitude but as an artist, color is very meaningful to me. It brings brightness and beauty into my life when I can’t find it anywhere else.

Katherine Carlston, senior “Her Calling (Joan of Arc)”

Oil on canvas

Lyon Arts Studio Scholarship

When Joan of Arc was 13 she started having visions of angels (St. Catherine is featured in this work). They called her to fight for France’s freedom, but she did not act until she was 17. Joan later led the French army to victory.

I greatly admire her determination, especially since I feel

LilyKate Jones, senior, “East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” mixed media. (Springville Museum of Art Online Gallery)

Elsa Campbell, senior, “Ideal Consumer,” acrylic on canvas. (Springville Museum of Art Online Gallery)

Katherine Carlston, senior, “Color,” colored pencil. Jurors’ Choice Award. (Springville Museum of Art Online Gallery)

apprehensive about my own journey. I chose myself as the model for Joan, relating her experience to my own. I used my face for the angel, as well, because I thought that Joan would have been especially inspired by someone in whom she could see herself.

This piece is meaningful to me because it felt like the start of fulfilling my calling, just like Joan of Arc in this moment.l

A tree isn’t just a tree. For many homeowners, a tree is almost part of the family. That’s why you shouldn’t trust your tree care to anyone but the best. Diamond Tree Experts has decades of experience in tree trimming, pruning, stump removal, and plant health care.

“I grew up in this business, and have been doing it my whole life,” says Diamond Tree Experts’ President Trent VanDam. “My dad was the original owner. The company has been around for 54 years, and I’ve been here for 28 of those years.”

Spring is a time to take inventory of the trees in your yard to see if they need trimming for the upcoming season. Fast-growing trees, like Chinese elms or willows, should be trimmed every three years, while slower-growing trees, like maples and oaks, just need an evaluation every 15 years. “The more you can leave them natural, the better they’ll be,” Trent says.

Some homeowners like to plant trees in the spring, and that’s fine as long as the temperatures are cool, but for best results and tree health, waiting until fall will usually produce the best chance for a tree to establish its roots.

As trees start to bud and bloom, healthy color in the bark and bud is a good indication the tree is healthy. Ensuring trees are proportionate, well-maintained and have room to grow will keep them in your yard for many years. One mistake that’s common in Utah is overwatering trees. People see curled or yellow leaves and panic, thinking they need to water more but it actually drowns the

tree. “I tell them to dig down into the soil four inches. If it’s moist, the tree is getting enough water,” Trent says.

One way to help your trees stay moist is with mulch, and spring is a perfect time to add mulch to your yard. Mulch improves soil moisture and prevents soil from drying out too quickly. Customers might not know that Diamond Tree has a vibrant green waste-to-mulch program. All tree branches, stumps and trunks are converted into mulch; they have colored mulch in red, dark brown, chocolate brown, black and a natural color for decorating your yard. They also have a fine mulch product that’s good for gardens

to break up the soil. They have an organic mulch or soil product to fit any of your needs.

Diamond Tree also excels in tree trimming and removal, so if you have a dead or damaged tree, they can grind the stump and roots so another tree can be planted in the same location. If you have damaged branches, they can come and remove those for you and trim your tree for optimal growth and health.

Damage to trees and shrubbery can come from pests, diseases, or pollution, but the experts at Diamond Tree can identify the problem and create solutions for long-term

health. They provide soil testing, tree spraying and deep-root injections to promote viability.

“We’ll come out and take a look at it and let you know what’s going on with your tree,” says Diamond Tree CFO Elvin Serrano. “If anyone ever calls for tree work, we always send an estimator to provide a free expert evaluation of the tree and estimate for any work needed.”

That personal service is one reason Diamond Tree Experts is a leader in the industry. Building long lasting relationships is a big factor in the success of the company. Hiring professionals who are hardworking and trustworthy is a must for Diamond Tree and has helped establish its legacy of excellent customer service.

“When I’m taking care of customers, I’m making sure I’m treating everybody’s yard like it’s my own backyard,” Trent says.

In addition to their many tree services, Diamond Tree recently opened a green waste and production facility in Magna. They have over 13 acres of space to welcome your green waste, giving you the option of dumping it in either Salt Lake City or Magna. Come visit their Magna yard at 7774 W SR 201, Magna, UT 84044, even if just to see the large machinery they use to turn your green waste into colored mulch. Their hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the Diamond Tree team is looking forward to serving you in their new facility!

For more information or to have an expert check out your trees, call 801-938-4345 or visit DiamondTreeExperts.com.

(Left) Ellie Robison, senior, “Vitiligo,” oil on canvas. (Springville Museum of Art Online Gallery)

(Above) Sophia Santos, senior, “Relative Darkness,” oil on board. Selected for Utah Division of Arts & Museums Traveling Exhibition. (Springville Museum of Art Online Gallery)

Katherine Carlston, senior, “Her Calling (Joan of Arc),” oil on canvas. Lyon Arts Studio Scholarship. (Springville Museum of Art Online Gallery)

Olympus boys volleyball prove to be state’s best

The Olympus High boys volleyball team entered the state tournament May 5 as the No. 1 seed and they proved the rankings correct as the Titans hoisted the trophy at the end.

“It was an incredible feeling to win state and so special to share that moment with such a dedicated group of coaches and athletes,” said head coach Brett Peterson.

Olympus began the tournament with a 25-20, 25-12 win over Spanish Fork thanks to some big blocks and aggressive serving. In its quarterfinal match against Mountain Ridge, the Titans won 25-14, 25-16 with efficient hitting, including timely kills from senior middle blocker Eli “Bill” Stark and senior outside hitter JR Seiuli, and plan from the front line to shut down the Sentinels’ offense. In the semifinals against Copper Hills, Olympus won the first set 25-12 and fought through a tight second set with two aces each in the late stages by Stark and Seiuli to pull out a 25-23 victory and a spot in the championship match.

In the title game against Provo/Timpview T-Dawgs, the Titans showed its range of offensive options and won the first set 25-1. In set 2, Olympus started strong and then got down midway through before Stark “absolutely took over the match,” according to Peterson. Stark’s eight straight serves turned the momentum and gave the Titans a five-point lead. Three consecutive aces by the senior setter helped seal a 25-17 win and the state championship.

“Our middles [Stark and junior Soren Jepsen] were absolutely unstoppable, combining for 12 kills on a .688 hitting percentage,” Peterson said.

At state, Seiuli led the team with 35 kills and 11 aces with Kade Crayk running the offense with 61 assists. Stark and senior opposite hitter Miles Burningham did a little bit of ev-

By Catherine Garrett | c.garrett@mycityjournals.com

erything on both ends while senior Libero Eli Nelson recorded 25 digs and Jepsen dominated at the net with 12 blocks.

“This year, we worked harder than we ever have before with this goal in mind, knowing that there was some incredible competition out there that we would have to measure up against,” Peterson said. “Winning the state title is a validation of all that effort, and it’s been so incredibly rewarding as a coach to see our boys push themselves and grow throughout the season on their way to an amazing finish. We’ve come so close a number of times over the last decade, but this year I can confidently state that we put more intentional effort behind it than any other team in Utah. We practiced harder, we played more matches, we put more effort into our game plans for each opponent, and ultimately, I think we wanted it a little more.”

Olympus came into the state tournament having defeated several of the top teams including Bingham, Syracuse, Skyridge, Farmington, Snow Canyon and Mountain Ridge. Its only loss was to No. 2 seed Pleasant Grove.

“There is something to be said for starting off a tournament knowing you can and have beat any of the teams out there as long as we play the way we know we’re capable of, which helped give us a lot of confidence,” Peterson said. “The last month of the season we also ran a unique lineup that let our best players play to their strengths. It was a different look than most teams are used to seeing, which helped us attack teams in ways that they aren’t used to defending. It did confuse a couple referees as well, but thankfully that didn’t end up costing us too many points.”

Also on the 32-1 team this season, that finished 25th nationally in the USA Today/AVCA boys high school rankings, were seniors Sam-

uel Janzen, Reef Smylie and Damon Vasic; junior Torin Stewart; sophomores Yuse Jones and Tanner Nelson; and freshman Gabe Lincoln.

“We had a wealth of talent across the board this year that played fantastic volleyball all season long,” Peterson said. “We were lucky to have the full support of the Olympus administration this year as we move into sanctioned status, including the usage of the school gym for practices and a number of matches that we hosted at the school as well. In many ways it felt like this year was the transition year, as we got accustomed to practicing and playing at the school, and we also stepped up in a big way in terms of the amount of effort and energy that went into preparing for every match in front of us.”

Peterson, who was honored as one of this

year’s American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Thirty Under 30 award winners, was assisted on the coaching staff by Ben Chamberlain, Taran Hall, Aaron Molesi, Stefen Lee San Diego, Jack Swain and Adrianna Labounty along with team managers Erianna Brown and Tiara Faletoi.

“One of the most important parts of the shift to sanctioned status is the importance of building a great pipeline of local talent,” Peterson said. “We’ll try to get a little more involved with the junior high programs and with youth volleyball in the area to see if we can increase the excitement around volleyball in the Olympus area and get some of the younger students excited about preparing for the newly sanctioned high school volleyball team.”l

The Olympus High boys volleyball team won more than 30 matches this season on their way to the state volleyball title in Heber May 6. (Photos courtesy Brett Peterson)

COUNCIL CORNER

Summer Concerts!

Summer in Holladay! It’s on our doorstep. Get out your calendars and book your Saturday nights in July and August. The 2023 Free Summer Concert Series from your Holladay Arts Council has scheduled another slate of excellent musician performers - some new acts and some favorites we have seen before! The Arts Council has also taken charge of the July 4th concert and will bring back popular country crooner, Charlie Jenkins, to be followed by our traditional City of Holladay big fireworks show.

Starting off our Saturday night concert series on July 8th, the Joe Muscolino Band returns. Holladayans may remember their high-energy performance at the opening of our parking lot “Uncommon Concerts” series in the covid year 2020. Welcome back Joe!

Here’s the full list of concerts for this summer:

• July 4 - Charlie Jenkins (Cowboy hat torch & twang)

• July 8 - Joe Muscolino (Little Big Band - rock/blues/swing)

• July 15 - Mary Kaye Holt (Think Linda Ronstadt sings Country Western - silky smooth!)

• July 22 - Soulistics (High energy soul and Motown)

• July 29 - Rumbe Libra (Salsa, latin jazz, merengue - your hips won’t lie!)

• Aug 5 - Peter Breinholt (Local favorite - feel good folk, pop)

• Aug 12 - Will Baxter Band (Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute)

• Aug 19 - Randal Clark (Pop, Jazz Saxophone)

• Aug 26 Blue Moon Festival

○ Discographers - (Pink Floyd tribute)

○ Strawberry Fields (Beatles tribute)

Concerts start at 8pm at Holladay City Park. Bring a blanket or low rise lawn chairs and some gazpacho. I’ll bring my spoon - be prepared to share!

FLOOD RISK

Right now, we are likely at the very height of the risk window for flooding. Above all else, stay safe! Keep your

kids, dogs, and thrill-seeking kayaker friends well away from the banks of Big Cottonwood Creek. The speed and power of the creek is beautiful but treacherous. Keep your distance. Tragedy can evolve very quickly. If fl ooding is occurring today in Holladay or in our nearby sister cities, find a way to help. Whether through your church group or service club, step upyour neighbors may be in need. Don’t be shy. Push through that feeling of “they will be alright,” to “what can I do to help.” Donate those clothes you rarely wear. If the Red Cross has set up shop, offer your spare empty nested rooms to a neighbor in need. Hopefully, our preparations have been adequate, but if Mother Nature is humbling us, let’s respond with generosity and caring. After all, we’re from Holladay. Who is luckier than us?

By Council Member Paul Fotheringham, District 3

Tips for A Safe Summer

By Brad Jewett, Emergency Planner

With longer days, sunny skies, and numerous outdoor activities, it is essential to prioritize summer safety to ensure a memorable and incident-free experience for all.

1. Stay Hydrated and Beat the Heat:

As temperatures rise, it becomes crucial to stay hydrated and protect oneself from the scorching sun. Make it a habit to carry a water bottle and drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. Opt for lightweight, breathable clothing, and wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses to shield yourself from harmful UV rays. Additionally, remember to apply sunscreen with a high SPF regularly.

2. Pool and Water Safety:

With summer comes the desire to cool off in swimming pools, lakes, and other bodies of water. Ensure the safety of yourself and others by following these guidelines:

• Never leave children unattended near water, even for a moment.

• Enroll children in swimming lessons to enhance their water skills.

• Install appropriate barriers and safety measures, such as fences and alarms, around private pools.

• Always swim with a buddy and be aware of your surroundings.

• Avoid alcohol consumption while swimming or boating, as it impairs judgment and coordination.

3. Outdoor Recreation and Adventure:

Holladay boasts numerous parks, hiking trails, and recreational areas perfect for outdoor activities. Here are some safety tips to keep in mind:

• Plan your outdoor adventures in advance and inform someone of your plans.

• Carry a first aid kit, insect repellent, and a map of the area you’re exploring.

• Wear appropriate footwear and clothing suitable for the activity.

• Stay on designated trails and be mindful of potential hazards.

• Familiarize yourself with local wildlife and take precautions to avoid encounters.

Hot Weather Do’s & Don’ts to Keep Your Dog Safe

Salt Lake County Animal Services

Be the best pet owner and keep your dog cool this summer! Both of you are too cool for the heat.

Hot Cars: A 70-degree day might seem mild, but at that temperature, the inside of a car can exceed 116-degrees within 10 minutes. Cracking a window in your car or parking in the shade doesn’t make a difference. High temperatures inside a vehicle can be deadly. Dogs can suffer from heatstroke, irreparable brain damage, or even death.

If you see a pet inside a vehicle, excessively panting, nonresponsive, drooling, or listless, call Salt Lake County Animal Service’s Dispatch number immediately: 801-840-4000. Never break a window of a vehicle on your own to pull out a pet; you could be liable for damages. Take a photo of the pet, the license plate, and give that information to Animal Control Officers.

Hot Pavement: Dogs can burn their paws on the sidewalk in the summer. When in doubt test the surface yourself: place the back of your hand on the pavement. If you CAN’T stand the heat

for five seconds, it’s too hot for you to walk your dog. Walk your dog early in the morning or later in the evening and leave them at home when heading to festivals or farmers’ markets.

Hot Balconies: Despite being covered, a balcony can get very hot, VERY fast. A dog left on a balcony may try to escape and injure themselves when they’re left alone and hot. A bowl of water is easily overturned, and the pet is left anxious, dehydrated, and in similar conditions to a hot car. If you see or hear a pet on a balcony that’s in distress call Animal Control: 801-840-4000.

Exercising in Heat: Exercising your dog in temperatures above 70-degrees puts your pup at risk for developing heat stroke. This means that activities such as hiking, playing at the dog park, or running the agility course can be harmful to your dog’s health and safety in summer temperatures. Always carry plenty of water for your dog, even in milder temperatures.

For additional information, visit AdoptUtahPets.org or email animal@slco.org.

2023 Construction Season

By Jared Bunch, Director of Public Services/City Engineer

Holladay’s repaving program began in May on Holladay Blvd, then moving to Murray Holladay Road and then residential streets. The program will continue through the end of July or early August.

The contractor will begin by lowering the manholes and water valve boxes located in the asphalt. They will also be trimming vegetation adjacent to the roadways up to a height of 12’ high above the asphalt. The next step is milling off 2 to 3 inches of the asphalt. The contractor will then add a new layer of asphalt on the surface within 4 days of the milling. Finally, new pavement markings will be added and the buried manholes and water valves will be raised to the surface.

Temporary restrictions to driveways may last up to 30 minutes after paving. Speeds in the construction zones will be lowered to 25 MPH. Please carefully follow the traffic control set up by the contractor to safely travel through the construction zones.

Visit the City webpage under ‘Current Topics’ to see which roads are scheduled for this year.

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

PUBLIC MEETINGS:

HOLLADAY LIBRARY ONLINE SAFETY AND SEARCHING FOR SENIORS

Guard your privacy and Don’t get Scammed

June 10th @ 11:30am

Holladay Library

Ben Clapp from Wasatch IT will teach you how to guard your privacy, not get scammed, find good information, stay safe on the internet, and find all the best resources available to you. Come have a snack and learn with us.

TAP INTO A NEW POSSIBILITY for depression

Depression Isolates.

NeuroStar® Connects.

• NOT medicine

• NOT shock therapy

• NOT invasive

• IS safe and effective

• IS COVERED by most insurance

“I had taken 11 different medications without any relief… NeuroStar treatment has helped me bring my life back…with a happiness that I’ve never experienced before” ~TODD

NeuroStar is like physical therapy for the brain. It uses magnetic pulses, similar in strength to MRI, to reignite dormant connections in the brain and give you control of your depression. With NeuroStar, you can live on your terms.

JAMES R. CRAIG, MD Urology

Dr. Craig is from New Orleans, Louisiana, and trained at the University of Utah. He joins Granger Medical Clinic from his practice with Southern California Permanente Medical Group.

Urologists specialize in the male and female urinary tract and male reproductive organs. Urologic organs include the kidneys, adrenal glands, bladder, ureters, urethra, testes, epididymis, and prostate. Patients may have bladder or prostate cancer, kidney stones, urinary tract infections, and other genitourinary disorders. Urologists may have additional sub disciplinary training as well.

SERVICES OFFERED:

• Overactive Urinary Bladder

• Prostate Cancer

• Urologic Emergencies

• Prostatitis

801.993.1800

PRACTICING AT 4252 S. HIGHLAND DR., STE. 200 HOLLADAY, UT 84124

• Erectile Dysfunction (ED)

• Male Infertility

• Genitalia Reconstruction

• Male Sexual Health

Drug bust restores peace to Holladay neighborhood after years of unease

Armed with a ballistic shield, breaching ram and non-lethal 40mm direct impact weapon system, a team of UPD officers on Feb. 2 announced their presence on the doorstep of 4825 S. Brooks Way, a townhome on a quiet cul-de-sac a block east of the popular Creekside Park in Holladay.

“Unified Police search warrant come to the door,” said the officers, who were accompanied by burly armored SWAT vehicle known as a Bear Cat, according to an affidavit obtained by the City Journals through a government records request.

It was an uncommon sight in the relatively low-crime municipality, but even more surprising is what the officers found: a clandestine crack-cocaine lab.

Officers discovered drug precursors and cutting agents, “white powder over several makeshift shelves and desks…and in the microwave and work-station,” along with solutions stored in baby food bottles that field tested positive for cocaine, according to descriptions in the affidavit.

“Only a few times in my career have I come across a cocaine clandestine lab,” said Holladay Precinct Chief Justin Hoyal, who served the knock and announce warrant. “To find a clandestine lab that’s cutting cocaine and [making crack rocks] is just not common. So this was a very unique situation.”

According to Hoyal and others, crack labs declined dramatically in 1990s, as underground drug markets shifted toward labs for the production of methamphetamine. Hoyal has no reason to believe crack is trending on the street, but nonetheless found the Feb. 2 incident cause for concern.

Though jarred by the dramatic search, Brooks Way residents were unsurprised by the findings.

“We have known about all of that for a long time. Everyone was aware of what was going on. For years people were coming in and getting drugs,” said Hal Timmons, board member of the Brooks Way HOA, who explained that community members were commonly accosted by visitors he described as dazed and impaired when arriving and departing from the neighborhood.

In addition to serving as drug lab, the home was also being used for sex work, where one tenant operated as an escort and was “often making upwards of $2,000 a day from her clients,” according to testimony from the home’s occupants who spoke with police after being informed of their Miranda rights, the report states.

Even as the bust came as a relief to residents, households on Brooks Way say the removal was painfully slow in coming, and at times they felt powerless as they watched the character of their neighborhood degrade in real time.

“My kids wouldn’t even play outside until they were gone. They were terrified,”

By Zak Sonntag | z.sonntag@mycityjournals.com

said a woman named Sammy, one Brooks Way parent who was regularly told by UPD officers that high foot traffic and suspicious activity could not justify a search warrant.

Challenges obtaining a warrant

Hoyal of the Holladay Precinct explained rigorous due process procedures are required in search warrants and that the process is a critical component in the overall hope of securing prosecution.

“Sometimes the process goes a little quicker, but this one took a while to gather enough evidence to establish and articulate probable cause showing we believed drug trafficking going on in the house,” he said.

Another reason for the investigation’s relative slowness relates to the level of precinct resources available.

The warrant effort was headed by UPD Officer Mario Widdowson, who investigated Brooks Way in addition to his existing duties as a patrol officer, using available time to survey the street, clock short term traffic, and obtain evidence from traffic stops as part of the evidence gathering process.

‘It changed everyone’s love for the neighborhood’

Meanwhile, households on Brooks Way grew anxious as the neighborhood fabric de-

graded.

“It changed everyone’s love for the neighborhood. There was enormous amounts of traffic. Sometimes 50 cars a day. People who were obviously high and didn’t care about kids on the street. They even got irritated that the kids didn’t yield to them,” said a resident named Tatiana, whose lived on the street for a decade, and believes porch piracy and tampering with parked cars increased as a result of the tenants.

“Even when we had to take our dog out late at night it was not pleasant because you never knew who would be in the parking lot waiting.”

Eventually a caucus of families on Brooks Way began seeking other solutions. First they asked the property manager to initiate an eviction request. However, Mike Treo of Treo Properties explained that neither the HOA nor the property management had strong legal standing to pursue eviction, which might have been a costly and unsuccessful battle.

“We decided not to go that route right at the start,” Treo said.

Instead Treo and the HOA attempted to persuade the homeowner to take eviction action against his tenants—albeit to no avail.

“The homeowner had a stronger relationship with his renter than with us, so he believed her over us,” Treo said.

Brooks Way residents were aghast by the homeowner’s position.

“We told him shocking things, but he was absolutely reluctant to do anything about it. He used legal language to tell us off,” Tatiana said.

The charges

Over a year after residents had flagged the house for law enforcement, Widdowson procured a warrant. Three weeks following the search, the tenants were evicted. On March 15, Lisa Bangerter was charged with drug possession with the intent to distribute.

Residents helped document the comings and goings by taking photos and writing down license plate numbers to share with investigators. For them the eventual search warrant and later eviction is a testament to law enforcement as much as their own persistence and collaborative efforts.

“Many people were working together, and it took so much effort. Writing down license plates. Sending pictures,” explained Tatiana, who also expressed worry that other families may lack the time, resources, or nerve to pursue solutions to troublesome situations. “What do other people do, in smaller communities? They might not have the resources if it happens to their neighborhood.”l

Brooks Way returned to its quiet self after drug bust removes criminal element. (Zak Sonntag/City Journals)

How some high school teams handled a stormy spring season

When the end of February arrived and tryouts started for spring sports, most took place inside with snow still covering the infields, tracks and pitches.

Not really out of the ordinary as winter can occasionally linger.

Then as March plowed on and players looked at their weather app, they continued to see snow in the forecast, postponing games, forcing them inside. And forcing athletic directors to play a scheduling jigsaw puzzle with gym space to ensure soccer, lacrosse, softball, baseball and track and field all had practice time inside.

Even when April arrived, spring was put on hold as snow accumulated so much it canceled in-person school, let alone a baseball game.

With teams shuttered indoors, coaches had to find ways to make practice time productive. The first objective: shaping the attitude.

Riverton High softball coach Katelyn Elliott said they focused on how they can use their time in the gym to get better, that part is within their control.

Everyone from Santaquin to Logan was in the same situation, she told the team, so instead of throwing a pity party or complaining about practicing in the gym, how can they develop themselves.

“You can’t control that there’s 4 feet of snow outside,” she said. “Let’s just take what we have. We have two hours in the gym each day, and we’re going to make the best of it.”

Elliott and her team focused on realistic game scenarios they could practice like leadoffs, tags, signs or bunt scenarios.

“If we have our signs down, things like that the controllable things we can work on in a gym, and we don’t have to work on that in April, we can go out and work on ground balls and flyballs,” she said.

While the Olympus softball team still spent hours in the batting cages, it also utilized time by drilling down on the mental side of the sport.

Head coach Jackson White said they brought in a team psychologist to speak about conflict resolution. The team would read articles every Friday as a group about team building or mental toughness. One article was called the Champions Mindset, he said, that focused on giving your best every play, and if your mind is still on a previous mistake, then you can’t give your best on that play.

“We were able to get a lot of growth mentally without having to see it physically inside,” he said. “It was a game changer to just kind of teach them how to be good teammates and do drills that was about talking to each other or listening to each other rather than catching a fly ball inside for the 100th time.”

White said that mental preparation was important when their shortstop broke her foot forcing them to retool their defense.

By Travis Barton | travis.b@thecityjournals.com

Olympus senior catcher Sofia Conlon said the mental work inside unified them in way as they learned how to grow together.

“Being inside is really hard, it’s not the same as being on a field so working together as a team mentally made us tighter,” she said. “It pulls us closer and helps us outside for sure.”

Many baseball and softball teams traveled to St. George in March for tournaments while others traveled to Nevada (Riverton baseball) or California (Alta boys lacrosse and Jordan baseball) during spring breaks.

Skyline and Olympus baseball teams are located high on the east bench with snow on their fields slower to melt. They chose to relocate their three-game series to Dixie High School in St. George. Skyline didn’t have its first outdoor practice until the second week in April.

Golf’s season was essentially shortened to several weeks from mid-April to May 9. Riverton High golf coach Trish Marshall said they practiced outside when they could—layered up with coats, jackets, hats and gloves—but were often just hitting off mats at Mulligan’s covered driving range. They even practiced in her classroom, putting on the carpet or chipping over boxes and books into garbage bins.

“We had to get creative,” she said.

Scheduling affected the season as well with the Alta High boys soccer team opening its season with a region game against Lehi, a rematch of last year’s 5A state title game before eventually playing its nonregion opponents later. Other regions saw soccer teams play a region opponent in back-to-back games like Brighton had to do with both Olympus and Skyline.

Murray High boys soccer coach Bryan DeMann said at one point they spent a whole week practicing inside playing small-sided games or futsal tournaments focused on getting touches.

“It is hard to simulate soccer on a basketball floor with 30 boys,” he said.

Though Murray had the unique situation of its field being cleared quicker than any other in their region (all are located closer to the mountains, including Park City). They only had one region game rescheduled, but had to reverse some fixtures which meant they

played most of their home games during the first round of region play. Only one home game (senior night) was played in the second round of region.

“We were lucky,” he said. l

Even in mid-April games were still being affected by rain, snow or some mixture such as this Murray Olympus baseball game. (City Journals)

Track meets were also postponed due to the weather. (City Journals)

Skyline and Bingham girls lacrosse play a rescheduled game on Saturday, April 29. (City Journals)

Read, create and connect through county library summer reading program

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

Remember those lazy days of summer?

When there was nothing to do but stretch out on the hammock with a good book and read? Well, summer is coming and the Salt Lake County Library System wants to encourage kids to stretch out with a good book, to keep those reading skills fresh throughout the summer. But summer is for more than reading. And this year the summer reading challenge encourages much more than that.

The program runs June 1 to July 31, and it isn’t just for kids. “Everyone can participate and everyone can win,” said Paula Burgon, Youth Services librarian at the West Jordan Library. “Adult, teen or child, everyone loves a reward. And the best reward is a book.”

The theme for this year is All Together

Now and focuses on bringing families, friends and community together to read, create, learn, play and connect. It is a library sponsored reading program, so of course there are prizes for reading, but the program also encourages other types of activities which can be logged toward redeeming a reward. Participants can reach out to a new friend (connect), try a new game (play), paint a picture for a neighbor (create), eat a food they’ve never tried before (learn), or even write a nice note to the mail carrier (connect). Ultimately, it’s about creating unity and kindness in the local commu-

nity.

To get the party started there will be a Summer Reading Kickoff at three different branch libraries: Daybreak, West Jordan and the newest library in the system, the Granite Library. Look for food trucks, live music and crafts varying from branch to branch, such as making kindness rocks, blowing monster bubbles and beading bracelets. The kickoff will be on June 2, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Often parents will challenge their children to curl up with a good book by logging their own reading time, so the reading program creates connection within the whole family. And everyone who participates gets a prize: a new book of their choosing.

Kids (and parents) can pick up materials at any branch library starting now. Or participants can simply create an account and start recording their activities and reading online. However, the reading and activity log will eventually need to be returned in person to a branch library to redeem the prize. Finishers will also be entered into a drawing for passes to one of several local fun spots like the aquarium, zoo, fun centers and museums.

Historically, the program has been very popular. According to Laura Renshaw, manager at the Millcreek Library, “Last year, systemwide we had about 17,000 kids who fin-

ished and took home a free book. Plus there were 8,000 adults, 3,000 pre-readers and over 2,000 teens.”

The county library system consists of 18 branch libraries located from as far south as

Herriman, west to Magna and east to Millcreek. For more information, visit your local branch or visit online at www.slcolibrary.org/ summer-reading/srp. l

The colorful children’s section at the Millcreek Library is ready for early readers. (Ella Joy Olsen/City Journals)

Mammograms are vitally important in detecting breast cancer and saving women’s lives. At Salt Lake Regional Medical Center, we take great pride in offering advanced technologies like 3D mammograms in a comfortable environment run by caring, well-trained specialists. So whether you have a family history of breast cancer or simply want the peace of mind that early detection provides, you can rely on our personalized treatment and expert services, as well as our easy, convenient online booking.

City gets recommendation for funding Highland Drive makeover

Rep. John Curtis, representative for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, recommended funding one of Holladay’s major infrastructure projects to the House Appropriations Committee, paving the way for potentially millions in federal dollars to overhaul one of the city’s main thoroughfares.

The recommendation follows Curtis’ visit in March, when the congressmen and local leaders took an abbreviated tour of the city as city officials pitched the third-term representative on a Highland Drive reconstruction project.

If approved, the award would fast track a long anticipated revamp of a 1.4-mile stretch of Highland Drive from Arbor Lane to Van Winkle Expressway, a critical commercial corridor connecting two of the city’s largest economic hubs: Holladay Hills and Holladay Crossroads.

With an estimated price tag of $3.6 million, the Highland Drive Reconstruction and Complete Street Project aims to enhance multimodal transportation with the addition of buffered bike lanes and sidewalks; the project would also relocate roadway utilities and add a middle turning lane.

The project is amongst the city’s $75 million in unfunded liabilities, described in the Holladay@20 report as “old bones,” and

By Zak Sonntag | z.sonntag@mycityjournals.com

is part of a much wider need across the state and nation for rehabilitating sub-par infrastructure, which the American Association of Civil Engineers say is chipping away from GDP through diminished productivity.

In addition to addressing problematic utility and stormwater issues, planners say the reconstruction will reduce pollution by encouraging multi-modal transit while creating safe, walkable routes for students attending nearby public and private schools, including Oakwood Elementary and Bonneville Junior High.

The project would also advance the community interest in active transportation, which ranked highly in the most recent Community Priorities Survey.

For now the city stands by as the House Appropriations Committee deliberates its final list of infrastructure initiatives, which will be disclosed in the fall.l

Highland Drive is due for makeover. (City Journals)

“ Robert and Mark were great! We had pipes burst at night and they were right there to help us get the water shut off and to help us get all the water out and dried. They were both professional, communication was great and they were thorough.I would recommend them to anyone!

EVENING SERIES

Season Tickets: $49 Adult, $45 Senior, $29 Child

Amphitheater Parking: 495 East 5300 South

Ticket Info: 801-264-2614 or www.murray.utah.gov

Amphitheater Parking: 495 East 5300 South

Ticket Information: 801-264-2614 or www.murray.utah.gov/1959/Tickets

JUNE

June 3 Murray Concert Band

June 9-10, Disney’s High School Musical 12, 15-17

June 19 The Bonner Family with special guest David Archuleta

June 24 Murray Symphony Pops

JULY

July 7-8, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella 10, 13-15

July 21 Peter Breinholt

July 28-29, Seussical the Musical 31, Aug 3-5

AUGUST

Aug 12 “Music for the Soul” with Thurl Bailey, Vanessa Joy and Marvin Goldstein

Aug 18-19 A Celtic Summer’s Night

Aug 25 Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband

Aug 26 Jenny Oaks Baker & Family Four

SEPTEMBER

Sept 1 4 HIMS

Sept 9 Grupo Folklorico Sapichu & Karlysue y Los Trios Charros

This program has received funding support from residents of Salt Lake County, SL County Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP), Utah Division of Arts & Museums, Utah Department of Cultural & Community Engagement, Utah Humanities, and National Endowment for the Arts.

the ElevateHERTM Challenge

Take

Are you a business leader?

At no cost, the ElevateHERTM Challenge is easy to accept and will benefit your company. Join businesses across Utah in our mission to elevate the stature of women’s leadership. Take the ElevateHERTM Challenge and stand with other businesses as we pledge to elevate women in senior leadership positions, in boardrooms, on management teams and on politcal ballots.

LEARN MORE: www.wliut.com/elevateher-challenge www.letsreadfunbooks.com

People say they wish they’d had their grandkids first, but you can’t appreciate the ease of grandchildren without first swimming through the shark-infested sewer that is parenthood. The sleepless nights, the face-wrinkling worry and the gut-clenching idea that you’ve messed your kids up forever is all forgotten when you become a grandparent.

Most Wednesdays, my four youngest grandkids come over after school to play games, make crafts, eat Popsicles and cause random chaos. At 11, 7, 6 and 2, they’re young enough to still find me entertaining, but they also expect me to die at any moment because, at 54, I’m unbelievably old.

The 7- and 6-year-old granddaughters team up immediately, take their usual blood oath (“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good”), then disappear for a while.

My 11-year-old grandson tries to teach me his newest Kung Fu moves while the 2-year-old crawls out the doggie door into the backyard.

As I practice my jabs and leg sweeps, and corral the 2yo back into the house, the 6yo and 7yo discuss how to creep into the attic through an opening in the pantry ceiling. They opt for Plan A which has them scaling pantry shelves to get into the crawl space. When I foil that idea, it’s back to the drawing board.

A second chance

Peri Kinder Life and Laughter

Now, the 2yo is missing. I send the girls to look outside and the grandson to hunt downstairs. Earlier, I’d closed my office door so she couldn’t get in, but I find her hiding under my desk, happily listening to us search for her.

While the 11yo beats me at Rack-O, I see the two girls mosey into the garage for Plan B. They look suspicious, so I follow and listen to them figure out how to carry the ladder into the pantry.

“Nope,” I say, as they jump 20 feet into the air.

“We’re just getting Popsicles,” one of them says. They scurry to the freezer and make a big show of picking out the perfect Popsicle before going back inside to resume planning.

The 2yo is missing. After a brief search, I find her sitting behind the recliner, eating Milk-Bones with our dog Jedi.

While the 11-year-old wins Yahtzee for

the third time in a row, I notice the two girls whispering on the couch. They’re on to Plan C: looking for materials to build a ladder since I foiled their earlier strategies. I get out the paints, rubber stamps and crayons and distract them with a craft project.

The 2yo is missing. I find her in the backyard, throwing Jedi’s balls down the window well. Jedi stares down at her favorite ball and looks at me like, “I guess you’re climbing into that spider-infested hole to get my squeaky ball.”

I gather everyone for dinner (only the 11yo eats) before realizing the 2yo is missing. I don’t have to look far. She’s in the hall, coloring the wall with a purple crayon. About this time, my husband gets home from

work to find me washing crayon off the wall.

“Why weren’t you watching her?” he asks, like I’d encouraged the toddler to create a lavender mural in the hall. I respond by pouring a tablespoon of antifreeze in his Diet Coke.

Although my Wednesday nights are a bit scattered, I’m in no rush for these kids to get older. I’ve learned how fast children grow up and I don’t want to waste a single minute with them. Even better, these evenings are a lifeline to my daughters who are swimming that shark-infested sewer of parenthood.

DRUM