100 years of DHS Band

By Becky Ginos | becky.g@davisjournal.com

KAYSVILLE—Davis High has had a long tradition of strong marching bands and this year was no different. The band placed in both state and the national Bands of America (BOA) competitions Nov. 5-6 in St. George. Davis took third at state and fifth overall in BOA.

“Shows are well thought out and designed,” said Band Director Michael Crookston. “It takes about a year for the music writers and for ordering backdrops, etc. We have band camp to work on all of our drills. It's a really slow boulder that gets going. It’s amazing.”

The band practices six to eight hours a week leading up to competitions, traveling to several different schools throughout the fall. “Then we hit that (state) in November and it’s all over,” said Crookston. “It’s cool. It encompasses a lot of lives. There’s a lot of happy tears at the end. It clearly means a lot to the kids.”

Crookston has been at Davis High for five years and has his own history with the marching band. “I was in the band in 2004,” he said. “I met my wife in band. She was a drum major and I was in the drumline.”

The activity of putting a show together has grown exponentially in the last 10 years, said Crookston. “They’re far better than when I was in it.”

The coordinator, drill writer and music writer all work together designing it and communicating with each other, he said. “We have to think about what will work well for the community.”

The community has embraced the band, Crookston said. “We have multi generational families. It’s fun. It helps with recruiting. People want to be a part of it. A little bit of that plays into students joining the band.”

The band dates back to the 1920s, he said. “There are pictures of the band going down the street. We’re marching in the exact same spot. There’s 100 years of tradition there.”

Crookston said they marched 145 students total. “Our highest ever was 300 but that’s too many. We’re a healthy size. I want to keep it that way hopefully.” l

Band Director Michael Crookston talks to the band before a performance. Courtesy photos

Connext breaks ground on Kaysville City Fiber Project

Last September, Kaysville officials authorized an agreement with Connext for the 2021 Fiber Ring Facility Connection Project to construct improvements to its existing city facilities. An Advertisement for Bids was issued, bids reviewed, and it was found to be in the best interest of the city and its residents to select Connext as the contractor for this project (as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder).

On December 2, Connext commenced a groundbreaking celebration for construction on the awaited internet service upgrade for Kaysville residents. The Kaysville City Fiber Project will bring fiber optics to over 8,700 households across the city. This is only a part of a much larger initiative that Connext is embarking on that will ultimately connect residents to fiber internet from Willard south through the Salt Lake Valley.

Connext is deploying a private fiber opportunity and because of its uniqueness, it would allow the city to have improvements constructed to the City’s fiber ring at a much-reduced cost. This agreement is not to connect fiber to homes through the city but only to extend the city’s existing fiber ring. However, the vendor has shown that they are interested in extending fiber to homes privately and tout they are installing an open network that is open to all service providers. Because the system will be an open network, users will have lots of options when this project is finished.

“We are beyond excited to see a private company using private money to make fiber available to all of our residents,” said Mayor Katie Witt. “This service will help families have job flexibility, educational opportunities, and connection with loved ones. We appreciate Connext making this investment in Kaysville.”

Connext CEO David Brown said “We are looking forward to connecting the families of Kaysville and all of Northern Utah to provide the best internet experience available. Connectivity is growing more important every day as so many of us have transitioned to education and working from home. Our timeline for completion on the Kaysville City Fiber Project is between 18 to 24 months.” Connext will initially begin construction in the neighborhoods on the west side of I-15 and is on-schedule to be completed citywide by Spring 2023. These areas were selected for the infrastructure construction to begin first as the residents showed the highest level of interest. Residents are encouraged to visit Connext’s website at connextbroadband. com/kaysville-fiber so their team can gauge the level of interest in each neighborhood, as construction will break ground next in the area where residents are most interested.

Brown said this advanced, long-lasting fiber infrastructure will reduce the overall cost of meeting the City’s internal communication needs; provide a more secure, more resilient infrastructure to support critical public services; and provide far greater functionality and capacity to enable advanced governmental services and maximize efficiencies across a wide range of governmental functions that the city could not otherwise afford.

Connext plans to provide regular progress reporting and will closely coordinate its construction schedule with the city. l

By Cindi Mansell | c.mansell@mycityjournals.com

Participants in the groundbreaking were Connext founders Matthew, Craig and David Brown, far left, along with Kaysville City Mayor Katie Witt and city council members; and Davis Chamber of Commerce President Angie Osguthorpe. Photo courtesy of Connext.

Written and compiled by Becky Ginos and Tom Haraldsen

Bountiful High School has a new mascot

After 70 years as the Bountiful Braves, starting in the 2021/2022 school year, they became the Redhawks. After some former students raised concern over the use of the name Braves, the process to determine if a mascot change was warranted started in August 2020.

A 25 member committee made up of parents, students, faculty, district officials, the Northwest band of the Shoshone Nation and a professor over Indian Education from the State Board of Education was formed to research the issue. The committee also held two listening sessions that were open to the public to share their thoughts.

Although there was some pushback from former Braves who wanted to keep with that tradition, last spring Bountiful High Principal Aaron Hogge unveiled the new Redhawks mascot and logo. Signage throughout the school started with the new school year.

“The Redhawk is a majestic bird that has keen eyesight and powerful talons,” Hogge said. “We love the symbolism it represents. Our goal was to create a mascot and logo that would encourage unity in the community. Something they could feel wonderful about and rally around.”

Big changes take place in the county

Memorial Courthouse comes down

A portion of the Memorial Courthouse in Farmington was demolished in January as part of a plan to redesign the campus surrounding the county administration building and Headquarters Library. The county will retrofit and keep the historical part from the 1920s. The restoration is anticipated to be completed in 2022.

DCSO breaks ground for new medical wing

A new Medical Observation Unit at the Davis County Correctional Facility is underway after four years of preparation. The unit replaces the current medical wing at the facility that opened in 1991 with six medical cells that are used primarily for taking care of minor medical needs only. The unit will have the capacity to serve 23 to 26 individuals, nearly four times the capacity of the existing medical wing, according to the Davis County Sheriff’s Office. Estimated completion is next month.

Buildings razed to make room for new development

The old Brooks Fabric store at 206 North Main Street in Bountiful was torn down in February to make way for a mixeduse project. The store was part of the city’s historic district, and dated back to 1890.

The Rice and Strand building along Hwy 89 in North Salt Lake was also demolished last February. A multi-family residential housing development will take its place. The city had ordered the old building to be torn down because it had become a blighted area.

Construction begins on the West Davis Corridor

It’s been in the planning stage for some time but the West Davis Corridor started construction in April. The new 16 mile highway has four lanes, two in each direction. It starts south of Glovers Lane in Farmington and goes out west from there, then heads north all the way up to West Point and ends at SR193. The route also includes 10 miles of trails and continues all the way from Salt Lake to the west trail system.

Davis Technical College launches new state-of-the-art facility

The Michael J. Bouwhuis Allied Health Building on the Davis Technical College (DTC) campus opened in May. The 85,000 square foot building is named for retired Davis Tech President Michael J. Bouwhuis who served for 24 years. Students are already training in the healthcare field through the 11 programs offered at the facility.

Receiving Center moves to permanent location

Not everyone who is arrested for a crime should be in jail. That’s why the Receiving Center was created, to give law enforcement options when they take someone into custody for a misdemeanor charge. The facility allows those people to go through treatment instead of the court system. Run by Davis Behavioral Health, the center opened in 2019. The pilot program was temporarily housed at the Davis County Jail and moved in July to its new location at 380 S. 200 West in Farmington.

Bountiful Food Pantry

There were some changes at the Bountiful Food Pantry during 2021, as the pantry continued to serve the needs of communities throughout Davis County and part of north Salt Lake County.

When the year began, Maresha Bosgieter was serving as Executive Director. She left to become Development Director for Catholic Community Services of Utah. She had previously been director for Northern Utah with CCS.

In March, Terry Foust took over the helm of the Pantry as Executive Director, and hired Rebekah Anderson as the Director of Operations, where she served until October. She became Executive Director after Foust left, and now manages a staff of seven full-time employees and more than 200 volunteers.

In March, friends and family mourned the passing of Chuck Swallow, a long-time volunteer at the Pantry who was instrumental in getting the building that houses it today. Former director Lorna Koci referred to the facility as “the house that Chuck built. He had a big heart and a huge commitment to the mission of the food pantry and a desire to help people wherever he could.” She said Swallow helped with the grocery rescue every Wednesday at the Pantry.

The Pantry continues to expand its reach, running a mobile food pantry in Sunset and working with the city of North Salt Lake for a monthly pantry at Spectrum Academy. Before year’s end, the Pantry gave out over 2 million pounds of food to an estimated 11,000 households. Anderson hopes to continue the Pantry’s growth into the new year.

Cannabis pharmacy helping patients find relief

Medical cannabis has been a source of controversy for several years. After lawmakers passed legislation to legalize it in Utah, carefully licensed pharmacies started to open. WholesomeCo Cannabis was the first one in Davis County and opened its doors in the old Carr printing building at 580 W. 100 North on Aug. 12, 2020.

Now the pharmacy is in full swing, serving more than 200 patients a day. The shop carries a wide variety of products and as of last spring had three full-time and one remote pharmacist on staff. “First-time patients have a consultation with the pharmacist,” said General Manager Richard Maloney. “They help patients into the program and are our resident expert in dosing and the type of products for the condition they have.”

Conditions range from stage four cancer to Multiple Sclerosis and potentially an 8-year-old child with autism, Maloney said. “There is a wide array of conditions but most are for chronic pain. That is one of 16 qualifying conditions.”

Davis School District works through accusations of racial discrimination and bullying

DOJ investigation

At the end of October, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a two-year investigation into the Davis School District found serious racial harassment and discrimination of Black and Asian-American students. In a settlement agreement with the DOJ, the district must comply with several requirements over the next five years.

“The investigation revealed persistent failures to respond to reports of race-based harassment of Black and Asian-American students by district staff and other students,” according to a DOJ release. “The department’s review, which focused on 2015-2020, found hundreds of documented uses of the N-word, among other racial epithets, derogatory racial comments and physical assaults targeting district students at dozens of schools.”

As part of the agreement, the district must create a new department that will take the responsibility to look into any type of report of racial discrimination. “It will be headed by a director that the DOJ has vetted and three coordinators,” said Chris Williams, Davis School District Director of Communication & Operations. “The structure of the department will also have 30 school level administrators to assist in any sort of work, training and investigating of incidents.”

People may say that we’re just going through the motions, said Williams. “We’re not going to just go through the motions. There needs to be a change and we need to do the hard work. We’re grateful that the DOJ gave us an outside review. Otherwise we might not have seen the challenges they found.”

Foxboro Elementary fifth grader takes her own life

A 10-year-old North Salt Lake girl committed suicide on Nov. 6 and her family believes it was a result of bullying.

Izabelle (Izzy) Tichenor, a fifth grader at Foxboro Elementary was autistic and her mother Brittany Tichenor-Cox said she was often bullied at school because she was different. Tichenor-Cox alleged she asked for help from the school and district but felt like nothing had been done.

Following the allegations, the district determined an independent investigation should take place to review the case. The team is made up of individuals outside of the district.

Members of the Review Team include Brian Garlock, an expert in interviewing children about trauma, Michelle Love-Day, an expert in educational practices and Abby Dizon-Maughan, a lawyer.

New Assistant Superintendent will work with DOJ

The Davis School District announced the appointment of Dr. Jacqueline Thompson as an assistant superintendent. As part of her role she will help oversee the work needed to meet the requirements set by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Thompson retired as the Director of Educational Equity in 2018.

A new department, the Office of Equal Opportunity, will be created, said Thompson. “It used to be the Educational Equity department. That will stay in place until we get the new department. We’re planning to have that by the spring of this school year in accordance with the DOJ timeline.”

The department will help resolve racebased complaints. “The goal is to partner with the community,” she said. “We want them to know they are valuable and needed. There will be a parent equity committee so that parents’ voices can be heard.”

Communication is key, said Thompson. “It makes us all stronger. It’s better for the students and that’s what we’re here for, to make sure every student feels safe, loved, valued and respected so they can be productive citizens. We can do this if we move forward together.”

Davis Elections

For the 2021 municipal elections in Davis County, voter turnout was 36.54 percent, as a little over 69,000 ballots were submitted. Compare that to the general election in 2020, when a whopping 90.51 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

There are some new occupants coming to the mayor’s offices in South Davis County, as well as a few incumbents who were reelected.

In Bountiful, councilwoman Kendalyn Harris will take her seat as mayor, having beaten two-term incumbent Randy Lewis. Harris had served two terms as a member of the council. She is also the first woman ever elected to mayor in the city.

Incumbent Clark Wilkinson will serve another four-year term as mayor in Centerville. He defeated Lawrence Wright in the general election. Fruit Heights incumbent John Pohlman also earned another four-year term by defeating Laura Hubrich in the general election. Two other incumbents will also be serving four more years as mayors – Joy Petro in Layton and Kenneth Romney in West Bountiful.

There will be four additional new mayors. In Farmington, Brett Anderson defeated Rebecca Wayment for the post. He replaced Jim Talbot who served two terms and did not seek reelection. Talbot and his wife Karen are currently serving a Latter-day Saint mission in Hawaii.

Kaysville councilwoman Tamara Tran defeated Jay Welk for the mayor’s post. She replaces Katie Witt, who did not seek reelection.

In North Salt Lake, councilman Brian Horrocks will take the post after defeating Gary Widders. He replaces Lynn Arave, who did not seek reelection. And in Woods Cross, Ryan Westergard ran unopposed and will take over the mayor’s seat from Rick Earnshaw, who did not seek reelection.

These new mayors and new city council members will be sworn into office this month.

New park opens in Woods Cross, city plans improvements to existing park

Hogan Park

Woods Cross City is making plans to improve Hogan Park that would increase the size of the bowery, add an amphitheater and other amenities. The newly designed park will accommodate performances, farmers markets and food trucks. It will have one continuous path around it with a few places to sit down and playground equipment will be updated to include all access for wheelchairs, etc.

Wildcat Park

The city converted the retention basin at 1950 S. Wildcat Way (625 W.) into a park that opened in June. The new Wildcat Park has a bowery and two play structures with a walkway around the entire park.

Written and compiled by Becky Ginos and Tom Haraldsen

Things looked different in 2021 Legislative Session

To say 2020 was a tough year would be an understatement, but there was hope and optimism for the coming year as the 2021 Legislative session got underway last January. Even as lawmakers wore masks and were separated by plexiglass.

“2020 was a tragic year for the world, for our country and for our state,” said House Speaker Brad Wilson in his opening remarks. “More than a thousand Utah families – including several in this body – have lost loved ones. Thousands more have faced serious health challenges due to COVID-19. But in the midst of all this tragedy, we have seen Utahns facing adversity with determination, overcoming challenges with innovation and lifting others with compassion.”

Forty-five days and hundreds of bills later, the 2021 legislative session concluded March 5. Funding for education, infrastruc-

ture and affordable housing were among the highlights as lawmakers dealt with COVID protocols and pandemic related bills. “I never thought we’d do this when I looked at the last year and a blended session,” said Senate President J. Stuart Adams. “You can call this the year for education, infrastructure and tax cuts. It’s been a very productive session.”

Sports standouts from 2021

Former Brave Aaron Roderick nabs national honor

Bountiful High School graduate Aaron Roderick, Offensive Coordinator for the BYU football program, was named 2020 Quarterbacks Coach of the Year by Football Scoop. The award is given following voting by previous winners of the award.

Roderick, who starred as a member of the Braves’ football program, has coached for 21 years, the past 10 seasons as a coordinator. He previously worked with University of Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham.

Ironically, Roderick beat out a former BYU quarterback, Alabama’s Stee Sarkisian, for the award, along with Willy Korn of Coastal Carolina, former U of U QB Brian Johnson who is a coach at Florida, and Eric Evans of Western Michigan.

The publication said Roderick was instrumental in the success of BYU quarterback Zach Wilson this past season, who was the second overall pick by the New York Jets in last spring’s NFL Draft.

Davis High grad wins two NCAA titles

Former Davis High runner Courtney Wayment won the 3,000 meters in 9:01.67 Page 8 | DeCember 2021

at the 2021 NCAA Division 1 Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 13. The BYU senior took the lead with 400 meters to go in crossing the line ahead of Arkansas’ Lauren Gregory.

She also ran the anchor leg on the Cougars’ distance medley relay that also won a national title a day earlier with a BYU record time of 10:52.96. That finish is also the sixth fastest time in NCAA history and proved to be an upset in the event as BYU’s four-member team had just the eighth-fastest time in the country leading up to the championships.

Wayment pulled ahead of Arkansas’ Krissy Gear a couple of laps into her 1,600-meter leg and ran away with the race.

Hansen finishes WX career with more state titles

Woods Cross senior Carlee Hansen had been running away from the competition, and at the 5A Utah State Track and Field meet May 18-19 at Davis High School, she closed out her high school career with three more state championships.

Hansen claimed state titles in 3200, 1600 and 800 meter runs, as she helped Woods Cross to a second place finish in the 5A girls standings.

“Considering all things,” Hansen said, “I was pretty happy with how it went. I was hoping for a 4:45 (in the 1600), but I was proud of how fast I ran.”

Hansen says the 1600 was the focus of her attention going into the state meet. And she did not disappoint. She won the race with a time of 4:49.18, which was 16 seconds better than second-place finisher Timpanogos’s Raygan Peterson. It was the second fastest 1600 meters in state history, and broke the existing record for the Davis High track.

Woods Cross finished with 51 points to finish second in the 5A girls standings, finishing four points ahead of Farmington, who was third with 47 points. Timpanogos won the 5A team title with 68 points.

Hansen is now running at the University of North Carolina, where she competed in the varsity division this past cross country season.

Also at the state meet:

Viewmont’s Sarah Spangenberg won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.57, while Farmington’s Jayne Packer claimed the title in the high jump with a mark of 5 feet and 3 inches.

Farmington’s Marianne Barber was second in both the 200 and 400. She posted a time of 25.04 in the 200, while finishing in a time of 56.40 in the 400. Barber was also third in the 100 at 12.51.

On the 5A boys side, Woods Cross finished fourth in the team standings with 50 points, while Farmington was fourth with 27. Woods Cross’s Landon Bott won the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.78. His teammate Caleb White was second at 49.15. Viewmont’s Devin Naea was second in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.40.

At the 6A level, Lone Peak won the girls team title with 118 points, while Layton was second with 63 and Davis came in third with 58. Davis’ Aniston Haycock won the state title in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 44.00. She was also second in the 100-meter hurdles at 15.02.

Haycock’s teammate Hope Preston also had a strong showing for the Darts, finished fourth in the 1600, while coming in fifth in the 3200. Layton’s Lia Katoa won state titles in both the shot put (38-10) and the discus (129-3).

On the 6A boys side, Corner Canyon won the team title with 99 points, Layton was 12th with 18 points, while Davis came in 15th with 15 points. Layton’s Tyler Poole recorded a mark of 154-2 to win the state title in the discus, while Davis’ Parker Sagers came in third in the pole vault at 15-2.

Bountiful High grad part of NBA champion Bucks

Sam Merrill has earned a lot of honors and awards in his basketball career, and now he has perhaps the most memorable one so far – NBA Champion. The Milwaukee Bucks captured their second title in team history by defeating the Phoenix Suns in July. Merrill was one of the Bucks’ selections in last year’s NBA draft and finished the season on the Milwaukee roster. He’ll get a coveted NBA Champion ring and eventually a trip to the White House in the months ahead.

Lauded for his ability to hit the three-pointer, his contributions during the season helped the Bucks earn a playoff berth, capture the Eastern Conference title and now the NBA crown, the first for Milwaukee in 50 years.

Bountiful High grad Christensen drafted by NFL’s Panthers

Bountiful High graduate and star offensive tackle for Brigham Young University was chosen in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers in May. He was the 70th player chosen overall in this year’s NFL Draft, and the first BYU offensive lineman drafted since Scott Young was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005.

It was a whirlwind of a week for the 25-year-old Bountiful native, who became a new father when his wife Jordynn gave birth to their son Ledger on March 16. At his first press event in Charlotte, after taking a 6 a.m. flight to meet the media at his new home, Christensen joked that Ledger “has ginormous feet! We got a lot of baby socks for him but they’re all too small, and the next size up is a little baggie on him. Guess that’s not the biggest news here today.”

Following his graduation from Bountiful High, he served a two-year church mission to New Zealand before attending BYU. It’s a well known story that for some time, he wasn’t sure he was good enough to play for the Cougars. That story is long gone by now. Last season, he was BYU’s first consensus All-American since 2001.

Woods Cross grad throwing her way through college

Sports have always been a part of Lauren Olsen’s life and all that hard work is paying off as she was named the Big Sky Women’s Field Athlete of the Week for her performance in javelin for Weber State University in August.

Olsen started throwing in junior high. “I did discus and shot put then I continued to throw in high school and added in javelin. I wanted to do track but didn’t want to run. I looked at a thrower and that looked more fun than what the distance kids were doing.”

Olsen was recruited by Weber State out of Woods Cross High School. “My coach Sam Wood had a big impact on my career,” she said. “He opened up the door to me throwing at a higher level of competition.”

Track and field is not the only thing Olsen is good at, she’s also an artist. “I enjoy throwing ceramics as well as throwing javelin,” she said. “I won the Congressional Award at the Springville Art Show in 2018. It was a vase that featured Utah’s beauty. It had the arches etched into it, the Capitol building, Bryce and the temple. I don’t like to limit myself to one thing.”

Utah Championship crowns new winner at Oakridge

Joshua Creek, a 31-year-old golfer from Cheyenne, Wyoming, returned to Oakridge Country Club in Farmington in August to accomplish something he should have and could have done two years ago – win the Utah Championship tournament on the PGA’s Korn Ferry Tour.

“I’ve got some pretty good memories here; just one bad one that I think about daily,” he said in an interview after day one of this year’s tournament. That memory was in 2019, when he lost a playoff to Kris Ventura after making bogey from eight feet on No. 18 on the first playoff hole. Ventura eventually won with a par on the next hole, No. 10, forcing Creel to think about what could have been on that 600 yard walk back to the clubhouse.

This year’s tourney started hot for Creel, who shot a 63 in round one and was in the hunt the rest of the weekend with four others who are close to getting onto the regular PGA Tour. Entering Sunday’s final round, Creel was in a battle with Peter Uihlein, who has played in several regular tour events this year, and both Taylor Montgomery and Hayden Buckley.

Creel, playing one group ahead of Uihlein and Montgomery, took the lead after he birdied 15 to move to 23 under par. He held that one shot lead as he came to No. 18, the site of his 2019 debacle. But history would not repeat itself. Even as Uihlein and a fast-finishing Montgomery were hanging close and just one shot back, Creel wedged his second shot onto the green, then sank a 30-foot birdie putt to clinch the title, erase the memories and earn the $108,000 first-place check.

The Farmington event was the 42nd stop on Korn Ferry’s wrap-around 43 event season, extended because of the pandemic. Next year’s schedule will be much shorter, and the Utah Championship is locked in to Oakridge at least through 2023.

Teen Centers create a safe place for students in need State champions abounded in Davis County in 2021

There are more than 1,200 students in the Davis School District experiencing homelessness. Many young people are living in cars, abandoned buildings, couch surfing or on their own. The Davis Education Foundation is removing the barriers to learning by opening teen centers to give kids a place to go.

The first one opened at Clearfield High in April and a groundbreaking for a new center at Woods Cross High was held in December. In addition to Woods Cross, four other centers are under construction at Northridge, Layton, Mountain High and Renaissance Academy.

Each center provides a safe place for teens in crisis to shower, launder their clothes, have access to hygiene items and have a quiet place to study. “Every student deserves a hot shower and clean clothes,” said Davis Education Foundation Director Jodi Lunt. “We know if we meet those needs we can keep young people in school and hopefully break that cycle of poverty and homelessness.”

County forms Public Order Unit to help keep the peace

Over the past year, there has been a rise in protests resulting in violence across the country. With that in mind, the Davis County Sheriff’s Office created the Public Order Unit (POU) to deal with those situations.

“We started the discussion following the summer of civil unrest in Salt Lake and throughout the country,” said Sheriff Kelly V. Sparks. “We decided it would be wise for Davis County law enforcement to be prepared for those events.”

The DCSO sent officers down in response to the riot in Salt Lake City in 2020. “We saw the need to have the ability to respond to other situations in an organized, coordinated and prepared way,” he said. “We want the public to realize that the unit is trained to keep peaceful protests peaceful. They’re trained on how to deescalate the situation. That is always our goal. We want to ensure that those who want to protest peacefully can do that without any kind of violence.”

Farmington repeats as state drill champs

On Feb. 4, the Farmington High Nixelles won the state 5A drill team title, defending the championship they took in 2020. They placed first in Dance and Show and took second in Military to wrap up the gold trophy.

“It feels good to have won again,” head coach Marci Hartvigsen said. “Once you know how to do it, it gets a little bit easier since it’s easier for the girls to wrap their head around the possibility of winning.”

Viewmont placed second just as the Vykelles did a year ago, with a top showing in Military and runners-up placements in Dance and Show. Bountiful’s fourth place finish in Military and Dance put the Mandonelles in fourth overall.

In the 6A state championships the Davis D’Ettes placed fifth by taking fifth in Dance and Show.

For first-place Farmington, they came into state riding high off their region performance but felt they did less than their best during the semifinal round, particularly with their Military set.

“It just felt off,” Hartvigsen said. “So, after semis that night, we went back to the school and straight into the gym to work. You have to really lock all three categories down to have a chance.”

Not only did Farmington work overtime, but they also visited Bountiful’s team at their practice that night with treats and encouragement after one of the Mandonelles broke her foot during their semifinal performance.

All-State dancers Evi Hartvigsen and McKenna Dickamaore helped lead the Nixelles this year. Additionally, president Halle Larsen, along with captains Evi Hartvigsen and Mylee Terr, were also credited by coach Hartvigsen for their “amazing leadership” the past several months.

Also on the 2020-21 Nixelles “Dream Team” squad were Mikelle Bagley, Asia Bennett, Lainey Boulton, Emma Brophy, Hannah Clark, Rylee Egbert, Calyn Erickson, Shaylee Ford, Annie Garlick, Savannah Glassey, Emma Hammond, Grace Holladay, Avery Jensen, Kisley Johnson, Abby Lloyd, Annie Lodder, Ava McPherson, Ryanne Mitchell, Aliyah Montoya, Annalise Mortensen, Ainsley Painter, Marina Perovich, Lauren Rencher, Lacey Rigby, Brynlee Sanders, Hailey Shipley, Avery

Short, Lily Short, Emma Smith, Megan Wall, Maren Williams, ShaeLynn Wilson and Bailee Yeates. Marci Hartvigsen was assisted on the coaching staff by Shalice Larsen, Sue Bagley and Ashley Dayton.

Darts capture 6A boys basketball crown

During Region 1 play, the Davis boys basketball team wasn’t accustomed to being the underdog. But the Darts were not favored in any of the final three games of the Class 6A state basketball tournament. It didn’t matter.

Davis, seeded seventh in the tournament, defeated second-seeded Pleasant Grove in the quarterfinals, third-seeded Corner Canyon in the semifinals and top-seeded Westlake in the championship game to earn the program’s first state title since the Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City – 2002. In the finals, held March 6 at Salt Lake Community College, Davis took down Westlake 60-55. Westlake entered the matchup with a 21-3 record. Davis started out strong, building an 18-10 advantage after one quarter. The margin remained eight at halftime – 31-23 – before Westlake cut the Darts’ lead to 42-37 heading into the fourth quarter. Both teams scored 18 points in the final six minutes, as Davis stayed ahead, claiming the first-place trophy.

Chance Trujillo was the big star of the game. The senior paced the team with 19 points, including five three-pointers. He also had six rebounds, two assists and two steals. He had plenty of help in upsetting Westlake. Rex Sunderland and Colby Sims each had 14 points. Max Painter led the Darts with seven rebounds.

The Darts finished the season with a 22-4 record.

Farmington’s boys and girls teams both finished second in their respective 5A tournaments to bring home the silver trophies. Farmington’s girls lost a heartbreaker 39-38 to Springville when the Red Devils hit a shot at the buzzer.

Davis girls golf best in state

The Davis High girls golf team has been consistently at the top of the state over the past decade and it was looking like another top-three finish with four holes to go at the 6A state tournament at The Ridge May 11. That is, until the Darts made a charge at Corner Canyon and Lone Peak – who were up by four and two strokes, respectively – behind birdies on the 17th hole by junior Cheyenne Hansen and senior Victoria Castro and a 39 on the back nine by junior Quinn Shupe. Davis came out on top with the team title, winning by one stroke over the Chargers with a score of 648.

“Our girls battled so tough,” said Davis head coach Lori Salvo. “It was so much fun!”

Hansen, daughter of Scott and Shelly Hansen of Kaysville, has been playing golf since she was 6 years old and has her sights set on college golf. She credits the sport for the life lessons she is learning on the course. “God has taught me to never give up, be mentally strong and to just stay in the moment,” she said.

Castro, daughter of Victor and Alma Castro of Fruit Heights, was just a few months old in Hawaii when her father introduced her to golf. She has been playing in junior golf tournaments since she was 9 years old and has been a mainstay for Davis at state and region the past four years. “Golf has taught me to trust myself that I have put in the work and that it will all pay off,” she said, as she noted her intention to play college golf “where I will play my heart out.”

Also on the Darts 2021 squad were sophomore Abby Lewis, Sophie Seeley and Emma Smith; and freshman Mia Schimmer.

WXHS girls tennis is best in state

For the first time in its history, the Woods Cross High girls tennis team won the 5A state title, sharing the honor with co-champion Highland after the two-day tournament at Liberty Park Oct. 7 and 9. The Wildcats, who won their fifth consecutive Region 5 championship, were led by freshman cousins Sage Bergeson and Emmy Richards who won titles at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively.

“I’m thrilled, of course!” said head coach Molly Richards. “The first state tennis championship in Woods Cross history is a big deal and I couldn’t be more happy for them. The very first week of the season, I sat down with the girls and asked them to extend their goals this season to include not only a region championship but also a state title.”

Bergeson, playing at No. 1 singles, defeated Stansbury’s Anna Jones 6-0, 6-0 in the first round before beating Olympus’ Elisabeth Carter 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semifinal round where she defeated Timpview’s Sofie Thompson 6-0, 6-1. In the finals, the freshman defeated senior Dylan Lolofie, of Highland, 6-4, 6-4.

Emmy Richards, at No. 2 singles, defeated Spanish Fork’s Gaby Trejo 6-0, 6-0 and then Highland’s Gabrielle Dooling 6-2, 6-3 to reach the semis against Park City’s Olivia Tamina who she beat 6-2, 6-1. The freshman defeated Olympus’ Savannah Rosenhan, also a freshman, in the finals 7-6 (1), 6-4.

Farmington High boys team captures 6A XC title

The Farmington High boys cross country team has run on three different state championship courses over the past three years, but one thing hasn’t changed. The Phoenix haven’t been beaten.

Again this year, at the new venue (the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park), Farmington’s boys dominated to bring home the gold. In the school’s four years of existence, the boys team has taken third place once and now three consecutive first-place titles. Along with their success at state, the Phoenix became the fourth ranked team in the nation following the season.

This year, the Phoenix were moved up to the 6A classification from 5A due to high enrollment. It didn’t matter. Led by four top 10 finishes from seniors Matthew Neuenschwander, Britton Austin, Ethan Peterson and Isaac Halverson, Farmington clinched the title when senior Ryan Bennett came in 17th, giving them a team score of 49. That easily beat the talented Cavemen from American Fork who took second at 68 points.

Farmington lost only one race this year. That was at the Border Wars race in September at Sugar House where they finished second to Cheyenne High School from Colorado Springs, a team currently ranked number 2 in the nation.

In 6A girls, Farmington finished in 7th place and Davis in 10th. Davis junior Kenedy Maudsley was the top local finisher, coming in 11th at 18:17.4, with teammate Ellie Zaugg, a senior, finishing 12th at 18:18.49. Addi Bruening of Herriman won the race at 17:28.3.

Farmington was led by senior Chloe Christy with a 16th place finish at 18:44.9, and freshman Skye Siddoway, who took 23rd at 18:54.5.

Bountiful volleyball takes 5A state title

The top-ranked Bountiful High volleyball team swept through the 5A state tournament – literally – in taking home the championship without dropping a set in its four matches. The Redhawks brought the school its first state trophy with the new mascot Nov. 6 at Utah Valley University after defeating No. 2 Mountain View 25-13, 29-27, 25-19.

“All season we were searching for the team that showed up together on Saturday,” said head coach Sarah Chism. “Every single girl had their moment to shine and they all brought it at the same time for their common vision and for each other. It was so rewarding to witness. At times throughout the championship match, I found myself just sitting back and thinking, ‘Wow, this is so fun.’ Our bench was amazing! They embraced how important their role was as well and made every point truly a celebration. As a coach, you work so hard for these moments of bringing a group of individuals together and watching them sync into one and it was just simply wonderful to be a part of.”

Jordyn Harvey led the way offensively for Bountiful with 67 kills in the four matches and six aces from the serving line. Evalyn Chism ran the offense with 150 assists in just 12 sets. Emrie Satuala had 10 blocks at the net for the tournament while Evi Chism and Taylor Harvey both recorded nine blocks each. Also defensively, Elle Burleson was tops with 28 digs in the four matches with Jordyn Harvey and Mia Ruy adding 26 each.

Also on the championship team were senior Ashlee Rasmussen; juniors Claire Cook, Jane Lewis, Ashlie Simon and Ana Taulanga; sophomores Eliza Alley, Matty Anthon, , Misha Eberhardt, Hailie Hewlett, Macie Johnson, Kaylee Simon, Kaloklaine Taulanga and Megan Youngberg; and freshmen Elsie Breinholt, Ellen Davis, Audrey Derrick, Darcy Hayes, Lethe Pututau, Hannah White and Rynn Willard.

Sarah Chism was assisted by Kelsie White, Sydnee Stringfellow and Taylor Jordan on the coaching staff along with team managers Smith Alley, Dresden Bowman and Ashlyn Jorgensen.

Written and compiled by Becky Ginos and Tom Haraldsen

Even as the COVID pandemic continued to plague the county, public events slowly began to come back on line after almost a complete washout in 2020.

In June, the highly-popular Bountiful Davis Arts Center’s Summerfest returned in a somewhat new format called “Conversations in Culture” – with events scheduled on four consecutive Saturdays at the Bountiful Town Square. Themes were Pacific Islands night, Black Culture night, India Night and United Kingdom and Ireland Night. Each had the traditional live performances, booths, food and visual arts. Attendance was great, and so many visitors expressed appreciation for having a chance to celebrate publicly again.

Though the Davis County Fair missed a second straight summer, it was announced in July that starting this new year, the fair will be replaced with the new Davis Heritage Festival, a partnership between Davis County and the Utah State University Botanical Center. The new family-friendly event will be held in May to coincide with Baby Animal Days (tentatively set for May 19-21).

One of the most anticipated events each year is the Coats for Kids car show put on by the Bountiful Rotary Club. Traditionally held on Father’s Day weekend, the 2021 event was moved to Aug. 20, and the crowds were larger than ever. With food booths and events at Bountiful Town Square, and the ever popular Burt Brothers Burnout held adjacent to the square, it was a huge success as a fundraiser for the program that provides warm clothing to needy students in Davis County. The cars and parade and food and fun were plentiful, with record attendance and monies donated.

In mid-September, the annual Freedom’s Light Festival was held in Bountiful City Park, three days of live performances, demonstrations and presentations from personalities from the American Revolution. Put on each year by the Freedom’s Light Foundation, the event brings history to life for both young and old.

Two other events were not held in 2021. The Handcart Days parade and festival in Bountiful was cancelled by organizers, as was the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah cycle race. No word on what plans are for 2022, but hopefully they’ll both be back.l

Kaysville named the best place to live in Utah

By Cindi Mansell | c.mansell@mycityjournals.com

Everyone has their own idea of an ideal town and what that includes. For some, items like recreation, parks or hiking trails, lakes, beaches, schools, sports, museums, nightlife, or walkability are important.

ABC4 news recently reported that Kaysville was named as the Number One City to live in Utah by Stacker. That company combines data analysis with rich editorial content, drawing on authoritative sources and subject matter experts. They considered data from Niche (this website connects people to their future schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces). Niche ranks places to live based on factors such as jobs, housing, affordability, diversity, safety, amenities, education and commute.

Kaysville already has the motto “Utah’s Home Town,” and it now appears that others are starting to agree. The community has a population of 31,494; 88% of residents are homeowners, with 12% being rentals. The median home value is $339,500 while the median rent is $948. In the current housing market, those are very agreeable numbers and particularly for such a rural feel and for such wonderful amenities. Kaysville boasts a median household income of $99,597 and offers top public schools that are highly rated. Crime in Kaysville is 63% below the national average. The city has top ranking police and fire departments, and Utah overall is one of the top 10 least dangerous states in the country.

“My family and I have always felt like Kaysville is the best place to live,” current city council member and soon-to-be Mayor Tamara Tran said. “We feel safe walking on the streets, biking on our trails and gathering in our award-winning parks. Now others are recognizing what we have known. I’m proud to live in Kaysville and look forward to serving the city as mayor. l”

During the excavation of the site in 1984, two original grist mill stones were uncovered. The mill sits on the corner of Orchard Drive and Mill Street in Bountiful. Photo by Becky Ginos

Old grist mill holds history of the pioneers

By Becky Ginos | becky.g@davisjournal.com

BOUNTIFUL—On the corner of Orchard Drive and Mill Street in Bountiful stands the remnants of a piece of history. The Kimball Mill, built in 1853 after Heber C. Kimball saw a need for a flour mill, played a significant role in the lives of the early pioneers who settled Bountiful.

“Bountiful was settled just weeks after the pioneers’ arrival to Salt Lake,” said Ron Andersen, Bountiful Chapter Sons of the Utah Pioneers (SUP) President Elect. “Peregrine Session came and planted wheat, so they needed a grist mill. The first year it operated, farmers produced 20,000 bushels of wheat in the area and they would grind it and take it home.”

The mill was three stories high, he said. “East of the ruins the south wall is still standing. It was made of millstone so it was pretty sturdy.”

A pond was created on the south side of the mill where the catch basin is now located, said Andersen. “That’s where the paddle turned to grind the wheat. They used the water that came down a ditch from Millstream in the mountains.”

They would harvest the ice and put it in the basement and cover it with straw to preserve food, he said. “It was also the favorite place to hold baptisms (for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). There are stories of people cutting the ice in freezing ponds.”

Sandy Inman, Bountiful Museum & Learning Center director, spoke to the SUP about the mill’s history at a recent meeting. Inman shared information from the book The City Bountiful by Les Foy.

According to Inman, when roller mills came along the grist mill became obsolete. “The building was then used for recreation activities. For a time in the mill George McNeil trained bears that he had captured in the mountains above Bountiful.”

He wanted to take the bears through Bountiful and into the United States in a circus type act, said Inman. “The bears were trained to pull NcNeil’s wagon. The bears, wagon and McNeil were not too far from Bountiful when the bears misbehaved, and the act was abandoned.”

The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers erected a replica of the old mill at the site in 1937, she said. In 1950 the property was sold to the Thomas L. Kane Camp of the SUP for $2,500.

“Sixteen years later on June 1, 1966 the Thomas L. Kane Camp signed a 25 year lease with Bountiful City, allowing the city to use the mill property for public purposes, such as improving streets bordering the property,” Inman said. “The lease would terminate on May 31, 1991.”

Plans were made to build catch basins after Bountiful was hit by the floods of 1983, she said. “So in 1984 the Thomas L. Kane Camp sold the property to Davis County in cooperation with Bountiful City and a debris catch basin was built. During the excavation of the site, two original grist mill stones were uncovered, which were in surprisingly good condition.”

A monument was constructed displaying the two millstones and dedicated in 1990. Metal plaques were later mounted on three stone pillars commemorating those involved in the old mill.

Andersen would like to see the mill site made into a place where visitors can come and learn about the history. “That’s a big mountain to move,” he said. “But I’d like to rebuild it.”

For more information about the SUP, contact Ron Andersen at 801-718-0080. The group meets on the third Wednesday of every month. The next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 19, 2022. l

DeCember 2021 | Page 11

Looking back at 2021

Photos by Roger V. Tuttle

A little helper joins her dad mopping up after heavy rains hit the county.

A DWR employee handles a goose for tagging at Farmington Bay. Bountiful High School 2021 graduates celebrate.

Volunteers clean up debris at Lagoon as part of a Day of Service project in honor of 911.

An aerial view of the burned area after a brush fire along Legacy Parkway.

A future driver takes the wheel at the Car Show.

Emilie Larsen surrounded by her family after being named School Psychologist of the Year by the Utah Association of School Psychologists. Courtesy photo

School psychologists play a vital role in helping kids reach their full potential

By Becky Ginos | becky.g@davisjournal.com

FARMINGTON—The past year and a half has been a challenging one. In addition to the physical effects, COVID has also taken an emotional toll. Feelings of anxiety, stress and depression are hard for adults to navigate but maybe more so for children.

School psychologists are specifically equipped to help children and their parents cope with those problems as well as give them the tools needed to be successful. Emilie Larsen, who works in the Davis School District, was recently named School Psychologist of the Year by the Utah Association of School Psychologists (UASP).

“I love being able to build relationships in the communities,” said Larsen. “Intervening when they’re young is so important. It’s something I love to do.”

Larsen covers two schools, Ellison Park Elementary and South Clearfield Elementary. “We work primarily under the umbrella of special education,” she said. “But we work with the whole school population. I do evaluations, social emotional behavioral needs, accommodations if they need an IEP and counseling for individuals or small groups. Also friendshipping, anxiety, depression and expected behavior for school.”

It’s a collaboration with parents and teachers to support them, said Larsen. “I work closely with school counselors. We want to help the whole child at home and school to make sure their needs are met.”

The best place for kids is in the classroom, she said. “But if they need more we want to give them that. I work closely with Davis Behavioral Health if a child needs outside help and a therapist will come into our school and we work together on who does what.”

The ratio of psychologists to students in Utah is lower than the national recommendation, Larsen said. “They recommend an average of one for every 500-700 students. In Utah it is closer to one in every 2,300 students. We’re spread a little thin. There’s a big need for more of us.”

Kids overall are very resilient but they still need help, she said. “One in five kids will have a significant mental health concern. In Utah it’s one in four. The need is still there. They’re often feeling the stress from the adults around them. Out of that number, only about 20 percent of those kids are getting the resources they need.”

Larsen said she’s always happy to work with parents. “They should reach out to the teacher or administration if they’re worried about their child. We want to have an open line of communication with parents. They know their kids best.”

Most of the kids she works with move on and she doesn’t always hear the outcome. “One parent told me that I saved her daughter’s life,” said Larsen. It’s wonderful to see them be successful and like going to school. Just knowing that what I’m doing is helping them build those strong resiliency skills and that what I’m doing is helping any kid is amazing.”

Larsen is humbled by the award. “I feel like in our field we’re not ones who want attention,” she said. “We’re here for the kids but the recognition is very validating and very special.”l

By Tom Haraldsen | tom.h@davisjournal.com

(Editor’s note: This is a story about Fatimah Salleh, a 1993 graduate of Davis High School, on her own experience as a black person living in Davis County and the prejudice and racism she experienced while here.)

It should have been the highlight of her senior year, among the most memorable moments of her life. But for Fatimah Salleh, Davis High class of 1993, Homecoming Queen in the fall of 1992, many of those memories are unpleasant and still painful.

Today, the Rev. Dr. Fatimah Salleh lives in Durham, North Carolina with her husband Eric and their four children. She stays in touch with friends in Utah and with news in the state, and the loss of 10-year-old Izzy Tichenor by suicide, who family members said was bullied because of her race and autism while attending Foxboro Elementary in North Salt Lake, brought back Salleh’s own memories of racism. She shared her experiences on a Facebook post shortly after news of Izzy’s death was made public, resharing thoughts she’d first posted in 2016. It went viral overnight.

In our telephone interview from Durham, Salleh said she and her family moved to Kaysville during her junior year, after the family was converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“We loved our ward, we loved our neighborhood,” she said. “My sister and I were two of only three black kids at Davis, and having come from Texas where we were around a lot of people of color, it was a cultural shock for us. I recall some people kind of staring at us a lot.”

In her Facebook post, she talked about the reaction when her peers chose her as Homecoming Queen, and gave her a standing ovation at the school’s pep rally.

“Days after you elected me your homecoming queen, our principal called me into his office,” she wrote. “It seems that there were numerous complaints that a black girl was the school’s homecoming queen. The question he raised was whether I still wanted to go through the town in a convertible at the homecoming parade or did I want to step down due to the calls. He wanted to know if I felt safe considering the upset of some within the community.”

She did, in fact, ride in the parade along with her attendants Stacey Walker Mansell and Celia Bell (their married names). Her mother ran beside the car the entire parade to ensure her safety, “something mothers do,” Salleh said. Despite having lived in Kaysville for two years at that point, and actively attending her Latter-day Saint ward (she later served a church mission in Brazil), Salleh found she wasn’t allowed to come inside some of her friends’ homes because of her race.

“I just knew that I loved my peers. I loved Seminary and I loved to dance. My fellow students received me, but I was just never them. I didn’t feel like I fit, and felt scrutinized.”

She wrote that her Young Women’s president “let my Mom know she didn’t approve of interracial dating and marriage. She kindly asked my Mom to have us understand her sentiments in regards to her children. My Mom then asked us to honor her wishes and we did.”

At the Homecoming football game at Davis High, she was escorted onto the field by her brothers Dyson and Kage. One young man did ask her to the Homecoming Dance, for which she was grateful. She thought, or hoped, that those feelings of racism and prejudice might disappear after the Homecoming experience, but they did not. What happened later that school year only embellished her pain, and sent her life in a different direction.

What came next

As she was finishing her senior year at Davis High School in 1993, Fatimah Salleh learned that she’d received the Presidential Leadership Scholarship from Utah State University. It’s a four-year scholarship awarded to student leaders and is one of the school’s most prestigious honors. She had served as a student body officer at Davis and was chosen as Homecoming Queen earlier that school year.

It should have brought nothing but moments of joy to Salleh and her family. It did not.

“The (Utah State) scholarship office received calls from Davis High parents who disagreed with their decision,” Salleh said in a Facebook post in 2016 as part of a letter she wrote to her Davis classmates. “These parents told USU that the only reason they gave me the scholarship was because I was black. It was the scholarship director who would pull me aside and say he had never in all his years heading the office seen the DHS community act so cruel.”

In light of the recent well publicized death of 10-year-old Izzy Tichenor by suicide, who family members said was bullied because of her race and autism while attending Foxboro Elementary in North Salt Lake, Salleh is reflecting back and speaking out about her own experiences. She recently reposted part of that 2016 message as the discussion of prejudice and racism in Davis County has risen again.

“At that time, I wanted to leave Utah,” she said during our telephone conversation from Durham, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband Eric and their four children. “I was done trying to be a good example for black people living in Utah – the mantel was too heavy. But I did go to Utah State, where I met my husband who is from Hyrum, and I studied history. Still, the pain was strong, and I said to myself, ‘You can’t hold on to that. You have to speak out.’ USU encouraged me to do that.”

Her years in Logan gave her room to “awaken the activist in me. My teachers and professors encouraged me to find my voice and use it. They asked me to speak about injustice and racism, and I did, and still do.”

Her family had moved to Kaysville from Texas during her junior year at Davis High after they converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served an LDS mission in Brazil, graduated from USU and married Eric, had two children and moved to New York for her Master’s degree in public communications from Syracuse University. She worked as a reporter for two years, then moved to North Carolina in 2005 for her doctorate in Mass Communications from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

“We had two more children while I was in the doctorate program,” she said with a smile in her voice. “We were plenty busy.”

A friend then recommended she study for a Masters in Divinity from the Duke Divinity School. It was a three year program the nowRev. Dr. Fatimah Salleh started in 2016, and it led to founding her own company called “A Certain Work.”

“I loved teaching in the (LDS) church – Gospel Doctrine and Institute,” she said, “and now, I’m a pastor’s pastor. My whole business plan is to teach how not to be a racist. I have an anti-racism theology. I walk alongside clergy to help with their sermons, their teachings, their congregations. It’s been a lovely journey.”

She says to proactively fight racism takes action, in the way people vote and the need for “the necessary examination of their own whiteness. You have to build your bravery through your humanity.”

From her experience here in Davis County, where she still has many friends and much support for her efforts to fight bigotry and prejudice, she’s learned that people need to “talk about these hard topics, to move and analyze systematically and institutionally how to begin to make this a safer world for those who are vulnerable.” She concluded with this:

“As the great civil rights activist Audre Lorde once said, ‘In our work and in our living, we must recognize that difference is a reason for celebration and growth, rather than a reason for destruction.’ That’s my hope, and that’s what I’m working for every day.” l

Fatimah Salleh was elected Homecoming Queen in 1992 for Davis High School.

Fatimah Salleh

By Becky Ginos | becky.g@davisjournal.com

SALT LAKE CITY—Paul Ray has served in the Utah House of Representatives for 20 years. During that time he has been a passionate advocate for health and human services. Now he is going to have the opportunity to champion that same cause from a different vantage point as he takes a post with the Department of Human Services as Assistant Legislative Affairs Director. Ray resigned from the legislature last month to take the position.

“I will work with the executive director and governor on policy and budget issues, mental health, Medicaid, DCFS and COVID related issues and work directly with the legislature,” said Ray. “A lot of what I’m doing now, just on the other side of the fence.”

Ray became a legislator because of his desire to serve. “I grew up in extreme poverty,” he said. “My father couldn’t read or write and my mother only had an eighth grade education. I was the first person to graduate from high school and the first one on either side to go to college.”

His experience with intergenerational poverty prompted him to find a way to make a difference. “I thought that would be in the military but because I had open heart surgeries as a child the physical disqualified me,” said Ray. “So I found another way to serve and have an impact on families and their health. It’s important to break that cycle.”

Ray was elected to represent District 13 and has been there ever since. “As a freshman legislator I asked to be on the Health and Human Services Committee,” he said. “They were surprised because no one usually requested that. I’ve been on it the entire time. I’ve enjoyed it.”

During his service on that committee, Ray has pushed hard to put the tobacco industry out of business. “The reason I have had a heart condition is because my mother smoked two packs a day while she was pregnant with me,” he said. “I had open heart surgery when I was 10, 14 and 16 years old.”

Then in 2007, following the legislative session, Ray went in for an echocardiogram. “I was healthy and had no symptoms,” he said. “I had an aortic aneurysm. The doctor said I would have had three to four days to live because the aneurysm was about to rupture. The heart valve I got when I was 16 had been recalled so they were going to replace that. They also discovered a five millimeter slit in the carotid artery that we didn’t know about.”

A fall during a circus act when he was in high school caused the split, he said. “Where I grew up in Indiana there was a youth circus that I participated in. I slipped off of the bar and landed on my back. We had spotters who would hold the net but it doesn’t really catch you – it just breaks your fall. I felt fine and climbed back up the pole and finished the act. It’s a miracle that I didn’t bleed out. That’s the artery with all the blood flow.”

In addition to Health and Human Services, Ray has also served on the Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Committee all 20 years he’s been in the legislature. He was instrumental in passing the “move over” law and getting death benefits for the families of officers killed in the line of duty.

Ray said he will miss those he has served with in the legislature. “The lawmakers on the Hill are some of the most dedicated, wonderful people you’ll ever meet. The great thing about this job is that I’ll still be on the Hill making an impact – just from the other side of the fence.”

He has also appreciated the opportunity to represent his constituents in his district. “It’s been an honor to serve for 20 years for the people who elected me,” he said. “I’ve loved serving them. Now it will just be in a different capacity.” l

The Davis County Republican Party elected Karen Peterson to replace Ray in House District 13. Peterson is a former Clinton City Council member and advisor to the administration of Gov. Spencer Cox. Courtesy photo

Slower Economic Growth Expected in 2022

By Robert Spendlove, Zions Bank Senior Economist

The last year brought both economic highs and lows, from record unemployment here in the Beehive State to soaring inflation nationwide. For better and worse, we’ll see many of these economic currents carry over into 2022. With a new year upon us, here’s what to expect in 2022:

Uncertainty will linger. In early 2021, it appeared the pandemic was coming to an end. However, the rise of new COVID-19 variants has shown that the virus is still causing uncertainty around the world. This will continue into 2022 and pose potential risk to the economy.

Economic growth will continue. One of the interesting dynamics of the current recovery is the strength of the economy. After the initial shock of the pandemic, many economists thought it could take years for the gross domestic product to return to pre-pandemic levels. However, by the second quarter of 2021, the GDP had surpassed its level at the fourth quarter of 2019. This economic growth will continue into 2022, although it will be slower than in 2021.

The labor market will continue to tighten. The number of job openings hit an all-time high in 2021, while the unemployment rate also dropped significantly. The strong labor market enticed a record number of people to quit their jobs, which is forcing employers to increase wages to remain competitive. But labor force participation remains much lower than before the pandemic started, with nearly four million fewer people participating in the job market. The labor market is expected to remain very tight into 2022, with the unemployment rate expected to continue falling.

Inflation will surge. Price increases began to grow at the beginning of 2021. For most of the year, analysts, including those at the Federal Reserve, thought this inflation would only be temporary and isolated to a few items. However, inflation has proven to be much higher and more persistent than expected — rising to levels not seen in nearly 40 years. Inflation will continue to build in 2022 as COVID disruptions cause further price pressure.

Housing price inflation will pressure the market. Shifting consumer preferences caused the demand for housing to rise in 2021. This trend was exacerbated in Utah because of a jump in in-migration. The result was the highest housing price appreciation in many years, even surpassing levels seen during the housing boom before the Great Recession a decade ago. This housing price appreciation is unsustainable and will likely slow in 2022. But Utah will remain a hot housing market in the next year because of strong natural population growth and continued in-migration.

Interest rates will increase. The Federal Reserve has a dual mandate to focus on achieving full employment and stable prices. During most of 2021, the Fed primarily focused on the employment side of the equation, maintaining a monetary policy designed to encourage economic growth to strengthen the labor market. But the emergence of high inflation forced the Fed to pivot in late 2021. Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, announced that the Fed will quickly pull back from its accommodative policies in the next few months, paving the way for a series of interest rate increases. The goal of this new policy is to address the asset bubbles that have emerged, but it will also cause the economy to slow in the next year.

The ongoing effects of the pandemic — including economic uncertainty, the labor shortage and upward price pressure — complicate the economic outlook for 2022. Even with these unknowns, the economy will grow in 2022, though growth is expected to slow compared to 2021.

Robert Spendlove is senior economist for Zions Bank, a division of Zions Bancorporation, N.A l