Midvale Journal | July 2021

July 2021 | Vol. 18 Iss. 07

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‘WE HELP EACH OTHER’—A STORY OF KINDNESS IN THE MIDVALE COMMUNITY

By Sarah Morton Taggart | s.taggart@mycityjournals.com

O

ne day Wendi Hatfield stopped to help a family in need and ended up being touched by someone else’s kindness.

Hatfield was walking her dogs in Midvale City Park in late April when she saw a car with a broken wheel. She thought the car might be stolen so she called Midvale City Police and quickly got a call back from someone at The Road Home Midvale Family Resource Center.

“They informed me the vehicle was not stolen,” Hatfield said. “It belongs to a shelter resident who drives it just a short distance to stay at the park for the day. I looked around and saw a man with a child about six years old on a blanket under the tree. They were sleeping.”

Hatfield returned home, but couldn’t stop thinking about the little boy.

“I had to go back,” Hatfield said. “I got a bunch of food, water, snacks and asked if I could chat.”

She confirmed that the car belonged to the man and offered to help him get it fixed. She posted on the Midvale Residents Facebook group page and someone recommended a mechanic named Don (who wishes to keep his last name anonymous).

“He came over within moments,” Hatfield said. “He was the sweetest guy. He said the wheel needed to be fixed because it was destroying the car every time it was driven.”

Don started calling around, looking for the part he needed, and Hatfield went back to work. The mechanic spent the entire afternoon searching for the part and finally found it in Salt Lake City.

Continued page 3

Don, the “Nomadic Mechanic,” got stranded in Utah but found work fixing cars with help from the Nomad Alliance. (Photo courtesy Nomad Alliance)

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Page 2 | July 2021

Midvale City Journal

Hillcrest alumni remotely co-write a mystery novel during pandemic

By Sarah Morton Taggart | s.taggart@mycityjournals.com

W

hen faced with the boredom of quarantine, two lifelong friends from Midvale started writing a novel together. To their surprise, they completed the book just nine months later.

Ron Cisneros decided to make the leap from penning short stories to writing a novel in April 2020.

“I thought I would tell people I started writing a book during quarantine,” Cisneros said. “I didn’t think I’d finish it.”

He knew that his good friend, Michael Padjen, had also been writing and decided to let him in on the fun. Cisneros sent Padjen chapter one and challenged him to write chapter two.

Padjen replied, moving the story forward, and they continued taking turns for another 10 chapters.

“We hadn’t been talking, just writing back and forth and it was very disjoined,” Cisneros said with a laugh. “I developed a character that Mike ended up killing in the next chapter.

We realized we really need to be serious about this.”

Creative writing is not part of either man’s day job. Cisneros is a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma and works as a human resource manager. He lives in Oklahoma with his wife, Linda.

Padjen graduated with a degree in engineering from the University of Utah and now lives in North Carolina with his wife, Sue. He built a career in international manufacturing and sales that was cut short when he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and became an advocate for blood cancer and immunodeficient communities through blogging, coaching and founding a nonprofit organization.

Blogging gave Padjen confidence as a writer, but taking on a novel was a whole new challenge.

“I started researching how many words a novel needs to be,” Padjen said. “It turns out you need around 60,000 words.”

The resulting book, “Untruthful Speech,” is around 50 chapters and 83,000 words and is available for purchase in paperback or e-book from Amazon and several other booksellers.

The plot centers on Nick Griego, a young man struggling with the loss of his brother to leukemia who finds himself caught in a global adventure of espionage. Both men drew on their own experiences and research to craft the story.

“Ron took stateside, I took overseas,” Padjen said. “I was in the furniture industry in international production and sales in 35 different countries. I spent time in Thailand and China. Those portions of the book are straight out of my memory and knowledge.”

Cisneros had the idea to write about a young man having adventures on a lobster boat.

“I didn’t have experience with that, so I researched where people fish for lobster,” Cis-

MidvaleJournal.com

Michael Padjen (left) and Ron Cisneros remotely co-wrote a novel during 2020. (Photo courtesy Ron Cisneros)

neros said. “I learned about Bar Harbor, Maine and called the local chamber of commerce. I talked to local restaurants. It’s the backdrop of the story and a destination I want to visit.”

Padjen did his own research on Bar Harbor and learned that it is home to one of the top genetic laboratories in the world.

“I’m interested in new technologies that can vaccinate people from viruses and do cool genetic things,” Padjen said. “I started introducing medical and technical aspects to the story.”

The story came together organically, but due to the linear way they wrote it, the two friends had to go back and make extensive edits. They sent their draft to friends and family asking them to read the novel and point out flaws in the story.

“You can take courses from writers and they all say you should start with an outline.

Maybe we should have read that first,” Padjen said. “In reality, it seemed to work out pretty good.”

Many months later, the friends had co-written a book but still hadn’t seen each other in person for years.

They had met while attending Midvale Junior High and quickly became friends.

“I have great memories of Midvale. Fond memories,” Cisneros said. “We would hang out in Mike’s basement. Other friends, too. We’d go from house to house.”

The two stayed in touch over the years, but Padjen’s cancer diagnosis in 2017 made their friendship more vital.

“We spoke weekly when he was diagnosed,” Cisneros said. “He has a great appreciation for life and its blessings. Mike is in my prayers all the time. He’s very inspirational.”

“Ron was a blessing to me when I was at my worst,” Padjen replied. “He actually called me more than once a week to check up on me.”

The pair is already working on the next book in what they hope becomes a series. Like the first one, they want to tell a good story that reflects current events but isn’t politically divisive.

“We have different religions now, different affiliations,” Cisneros said. “But writing the book really brought us together.” l

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July 2021 | Page 3

Midvale City Park cuts ribbon on new disc golf course

By Heather Lawrence | h.lawrence@mycityjournals.com

M

idvale City held a ribbon cutting May 22 for a new nine-hole disc golf course in Midvale Park. But the course is about more than just a hobby. Like the game itself, the more you learn about the story behind the course, the more you appreciate it.

The sport’s basic premise is easy to understand. Disc golf is one of the fastest-growing sports in America. It’s played much like traditional golf, but instead of a ball and clubs, players use a flying disc or Frisbee. “[The disc] is thrown from a tee to a basket, which is the ‘hole.’ The object is to throw the disc from the tee area to the target basket in the fewest number of throws,” explained Midvale City’s website. The city ran clinics for beginners and gave out free disc starter sets at the ribbon cutting.

The course was several months in the making. At a Nov. 10, 2020 meeting, the Midvale City Council discussed the course as one of the ways to use CARES Act funds.

The CARES Act was part of the federal pandemic economic relief plan, and a disc golf course fell within the qualifying projects.

The city worked with Midvale business Grip6, a local manufacturing company which is committed to an entirely U.S.-made product. For the past four years they’ve sold belts, wallets and socks with a disc golf flair.

Grip6 made donations to the course in the form of baskets for holes, posts, signage, and guidance on installation, design and labor.

The planning, funding and local collaborations have paid off. Since the ribbon cutting, the growing community of disc golf players has teed up to enjoy the course.

“We heard about it on the Facebook page, SLC Tunnel Runners, which is the local club. We came today because of the chunk of time we had. This was the best available course for us. We play at courses all around the valley,” said Byron McMurtry

Journals T H E

Dave Jessop of Herriman preps his throw on the Midvale Park disc golf course, while his faithful companion Stella looks on. (Heather Lawrence/City Journals)

of Riverton.

McMurtry also plays traditional golf and kayaks. But because it’s inexpensive and courses can be played through in an hour or less, disc golf is nearly an everyday event for him and his friend Dave Jessop of Herriman.

“I’ve played disc golf since 2007. This is a big part of our lives, and we play several times a week. We’ve played here [in Midvale] every couple weeks since it opened.

It’s a good, quick turn. It takes about half an hour to play it once, so we can play it twice in an hour,” Jessop said.

The Midvale course is located on the northwest side of the park. There are no fees or reservations, but players need to bring their own discs (Frisbees don’t work as well) and be mindful of others playing through.

Most courses are set up in public parks, so they’re free to play. Courses that charge are reasonable—$3 or $5. And, in many cases, you can bring your canine companion.

Jessop brought his dog Stella.

Both McMurtry and Jessop praised disc golf as something that’s fun for beginners and more advanced players. “It’s a good family sport because different skill levels can play on the same course, and both sides will have fun.

“The Midvale course is particularly good for beginners because it’s short. It’s a nice introduction for people, and it’s manicured, where other courses can be rough,” McMurtry said.

McMurtry and Jessop were also excited about the PDGA Pro World Championship

C I T Y

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competition in Ogden June 22-26. “There are local tournaments every weekend, but this is like the Super Bowl of disc golf, and it’s right here in Utah at Fort Buenaventura. We’ve played that course before—it’s a whole other animal. It’s tough,” Jessop said.

McMurtry and Jessop encourage beginners to go to the SLC Tunnel Runners Facebook page if they have questions or want to find disc golf friends. “Get a disc starter kit, watch some YouTube videos on how to play, and join the fun,” McMurtry said.

When you play the course in Midvale you’ll know that you’re benefitting from pandemic relief funds and supporting local business Grip6 which helped make the course a reality. l

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Continued from front page Salt Lake City.

Hatfield paid for the part over the phone and met Don at The Road Home, where the man had returned with his son. He was shocked that two strangers had worked so hard to help him.

“He looked at me and said, ‘You spent the whole day looking for this?’” Hatfield said.

“The guy went to his knees, crying his eyes out because he was so grateful.”

Then it was Hatfield’s turn to be amazed.

“Sweet Don walked over to the shelter personnel and asked if they had a place for him to stay that night as he, too, is homeless,” Hatfield said. “I said, Don, you are homeless, yet you asked for nothing from me to spend your day and fix this vehicle. He said he understood the situation and just wanted to help.”

Don is also known as the Nomadic Mechanic, an unsheltered mechanic with 40 years of experience who can repair a car onsite. The word “nomadic” refers both to Don’s ability to travel anywhere to fix a car and his status as an individual without permanent shelter.

Hatfield shared the story of her interaction with the two men on Facebook, and several people joined in to vouch for Don. “Don just fixed our brakes and signal a few days ago,” LopiNlana Schwalger Toleafoa posted. “He really is a great mechanic. We are grateful to phenomenal human beings like him who literally make this world a better place.”

Brock Besner from Premier Complete Auto Care was also following Hatfield’s post

and offered to help out. Since the other man’s car part was already paid for, Besner ended up fixing Don’s car. Besner has been helping Midvale families with free auto repairs over the last year and a half.

That spirit of helping where you can with what you have is a driving principal behind the Nomad Alliance, a group of individuals working to help unsheltered people in the Salt Lake area.

Kelly Michelle, a founding member of the Nomad Alliance, met Don just a day or two after he’d begun living on the streets.

“His car broke down when he was driving through Salt Lake and he got stuck here,” Michelle said. “We found out he was a mechanic and started promoting him on our Facebook page. He ended up getting work and a vehicle.

Got some stability for himself.”

The Nomad Alliance is a brand-new organization, but has already accomplished a great deal.

“It was originally just a supply drive,” Michelle said. “The city comes in, forces people to move out, throws their tents away. My friend (Kseniya Kniazeva) wanted to do a supply drive. It was supposed to be 14 degrees and we knew people were going to be without necessities.”

This was December 2020, and the group has gone out every two weeks since then. The Alliance cooks meals, distributes supplies and offers any other support that is needed, from detox support to trips to the DMV to replace lost IDs.

“We do empowerment workshops once a week where we talk about different traumas,” Michelle said. “We try to work through some of that stuff to help them get off the streets.

Oftentimes they’re out there because of a surgery or injury got them addicted to pain killers. Sometimes it’s a divorce and an injury… something as simple as that and you end up on the streets. The majority of people don’t have a massive bank account and they’re one emergency, one lost paycheck away from being in that type of situation themselves.”

Anyone wishing to get involved can go to nomadalliance.org for more information.

Volunteers and donations, especially tents and men’s clothing, are greatly appreciated.

“We’re interested in helping the people who want to help themselves,” Michelle said.

“It’s something we have a calling to do.”

As for Don, Michelle believes he’s currently in Washington State but she hopes he’ll be back.

Hatfield continues to walk her dogs, stopping to talk with anyone who seems down on their luck.

Hatfield grew up in Midvale and returned after 25 years in California. She misses the small town feeling of her childhood and is doing her best to keep a sense of neighborliness.

“I very much want to make everyone feel like they’re part of the community, it doesn’t matter if they’re homeless,” Hatfield said. “I have the time, and I will talk to everybody and anybody. I’ll get their story. If there’s a need, I will reach out to Midvale [residents]. We help each other.” l

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July 2021 | Page 5

Midvale incentives for affordable housing on Main Street

By Erin Dixon | e.dixon@mycityjournals.com

M

idvale’s Main Street is being overhauled and part of the change will be adding affordable housing.

On June 1, Midvale staff and city council discussed what it will take to get contractors to make the upper floors affordable housing.

Through the Midvale’s Redevelopment Agency (RDA), an incentive program was made to encourage developers to build second and third story housing units on top of the ground floor commercial.

The RDA is a separate budgeting entity from the general budget, but the board is made of the same members as the city council.

“The goal is to bring more affordable housing to the area and...[d]ecrease the crime rate through passive surveillance,” Patrick O’Brien, RDA housing manager, said.

“Up to 50% of total development cost of the residential component of the project. The maximum agency assistance may be modified at the agent’s sole discretion,” O’Brien said.

Where is the money coming from? The RDA has partnered with other local taxing entities to fund the redevelopment of the area. The RDA has money set aside from those agreements for the affordable housing program.

“All funding will be provided in accordance with the agency’s forgivable loan,”

Midvale is opening opportunities for developers to start improving Main Street in a big way. (Erin Dixon/City Journals)

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Midvale City Journal

O’Brien said.

“Agency funding will be secured by a deed restriction on the property. The loan will be forgiven in its entirety if the property remains in compliance as moderate-income housing for 60-80% Alternative Mortgage Instrument (AMI) for a period of 15 years or another agreed upon timeframe.”

The council discussed potential pitfalls of the program.

“I don’t really like giving $5 million that comes from tax increments in a forgivable loan in hopes that at the 16-year mark they don’t go to market rates,” Councilmember Bryant Brown said. “It feels good for 15 years and then it’s not. We don’t give money to residents for these kinds of things.”

“It’s something that I’ll probably vote yes for but I’ll hold my nose while doing it,” Councilmember Dustin Gettel said. “We have an affordable housing crisis...a statewide issue.

We could expect developers to step up. [But], we’ve seen that doesn’t happen unless there’s some incentive.”

When a developer takes advantage of the program, they are required to rent the residential units below market price for at least 15 years.

“I think it’s going to be really hard even with all of these incentives because of...small lot sizes, the utilities are a mess,” Nate Rockwood, Community Development director, said.

“If you want low-cost housing,” Councilmember Paul Glover said, “you have to put

money in it. A developer is not going to put it in through his good graces.”

“It’s hard for me in the same meeting to say to the 70-year-old fixed-income lady that we’re going to raise your water rates 15%,” Brown said. “And turn around and give a million dollars to a millionaire.”

The city will continue to have control of the money after the agreement. If agreements are not kept, then the money must be paid back. The rent for the housing will be cut and dry, with no additional fees.

“They’re not really a partner,” Brown said. “They’re trying to get the biggest ROI (Return On Investment). I need it to be as strict as possible.”

“It’s the tax increment that we want,” Glover said. “The better and bigger they put in there the bigger tax increment we get back.”

“The onus will be on the investor to show the city they’re going to bring back at least a million dollars for the city,” Cody Hill, RDA manager, said. “And a benefit to the residents.”

Ultimately, the plan was approved with a vote 4 to 1. Brown was the dissenting vote.

Months ago, the city council approved a form-based plan for Main Street, which allowed them to mix residential and commercial in the same area, as opposed to single zoning. For more details on the area project, see www.midvalejournal.com l

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July 2021 | Page 7

What’s your legacy?

Westside Cougars win girls tackle football championship

By Greg James | g.james@mycityjournals.com

I

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n two years’ time, the Kearns area girls tackle football team has gone from winless to undefeated state champions.

“I feel these girls accomplished everything they wanted,” Cougars’ head coach Crys Sacco said.

With a few minor changes for last season’s runner-up, the team seemed more focused on its goal and its experience helped them over the edge. It changed its name this season to the Kearns Cougars to reflect the school its team members represented.

“We had girls from Kearns, Granger and Hunter,” Sacco said. “The championship trophy is going in the Kearns trophy case.”

Kearns won the championship 28-7 over the Herriman Sting. The Sting scored in the final quarter to tighten the game but not before the Cougars had taken charge.

“The game was back and forth until we wore them down,” Sacco said. “As the game went along, we started to dominate them. We played them early in the season, and they are a tough team.”

The Cougars played in their first season three years ago. They did not score one touchdown. Last year, they improved and made it to the championship game, losing to Valkyrie 12-0.

“This year we said, ‘We are going to do it,’” Sacco said. “Our seniors have gotten experience. Some of them have started playing rugby, and I think that has really helped them become better players.”

Essence Charles started at quarterback; she comes from a family that loves football.

“That is a football family, and she has played boys football,” Sacco said. “[Charles] makes everything look flawless.

She is a true leader. I know she learned a lot as a leader on this team.”

The Cougars made it look easy. They won all six of their regular season games.

That included a 14-7 victory over Sam Gordon and the Herriman Mustangs. Gordon is one of the inaugural members of the league and a leader on and off the field.

In the playoff semifinals, the Cougars avenged last season’s championship loss by defeating Utah Valley Valkyrie 21-0.

The Utah Girls Tackle Football League is a place where many girls experience contact sports for the first time.

“We had girls playing rugby too this spring,” Sacco said. “Jasmine [Roth] came from Idaho, and this was her first year. We wanted to give her a chance, and it has changed her life. She might try out for the Falcons (women’s team) next season.

Naliyah Rueckert is a player we couldn’t have done it without. She played in the Pro Bowl last season with us.”

Senior Jasmine Roth (#69) had never played football before this season and now has a chance to try out for the Falcons. (Photo courtesy of Crys Sacco.)

Sacco and HeaNisi Kinikini were the head coaches. Nephi Toafe was the team’s offensive coordinator, and Renica Lese Rueckert ran the defense.

“We had such good support, dinners the night before games; it was fun,” Sacco said.

The Cougars team included Alyssa Burnside, Angie Chapman, Essence Charles, Brianna Fowler, Ashley Hawkins, Hiva Kinikini, Lili Kinikini, Rian Kornik-Neebling, Kiona Lole, Samahra Lopez, Lionala Mayorga, Riley Moreno Hillman, Paris Ott, Jasmine Roth, Naliyah Rueckert, Karma Soaia, Leneja Toafe, Raven Toki-Mauigoa, Nakaiya Wiley, Monalani Siliga and Tusisoloa Siaia.

The League played its first game on April 7, 2015. Since then it has grown.

This season it fielded 32 teams over four divisions and included 650 girls. The high school division had 14 teams. The league recently lost its court case against the Utah High School Activities Association for girls-only football teams to be a sanctioned sport.

“Girls and women are now breaking barriers in football, as referees, coaches and players. The Utah Girls Tackle Football League is thriving and participation is exploding,” league officials said in a statement.

The UGTFL offers football for girls in the spring and is currently a club sport in Utah. The league is the first of its kind in the country. l

Midvale City Journal

Government 101: The budget process

By Erin Dixon | e.dixon@mycityjournals.com

Y

ou (or your landlord) pays property tax every year, whether on residential or commercial property. There are several taxing entities that collect from what you pay, from the mosquito abatement, to the local school district.

The city only collects a small portion of that tax.

Residential properties pay only 45% of their property tax value, while commercial pays 100% of the value.

In Utah, a city’s yearly property tax income is a fixed number. This means that unless the city changes its tax rate, the city will only receive the dollar amount that it received the previous year. If a city receives $20 million in 2019, it will receive $20 million in 2020, even if property values increase. This requires a city to consistently communicate with its residents its financial needs.

“The county auditor takes the previous year’s revenue we received, adds any new growth, and they divide that by the assessed property tax value. If the assessed value goes up the tax rate goes down,” Midvale Assistant City Manager Kyle Maurer said. “When the assessed value goes down, the tax rate goes up.

This provides a steady income for the city.”

Budget information is public and available on every city website. The budget contains the cost for everything a city pays for, from road salt for plow trucks, employee salary, computers, website maintenance, first responder salary and ambulances, and much more.

The budget is prepared by the city’s finance department, and, depending on the form of government, either the mayor or the city

manager.

Each department asks for what they need, but the mayor/city manager makes the final decision on who gets what.

Some cities involve the city council in the budget process, asking for council priorities in budget retreats or workshops in council meetings. Some cities prepare the budget and ask for council opinion when they present the tentative budget. The tentative budget is posted to the city website and presented to the council in May, which gives council and the public a chance to comment and suggest alternatives.

A budget must be finalized and accepted by the city council by June 30 before the new fiscal year begins. (A city’s year runs from July 1 to June 30, known as a fiscal, i.e., financial, year.)

“If the council does not adopt a final budget by June 30, then the tentative budget would become the budget,” West Jordan communications officer Tauni Barker said. “If they had not adopted a tentative budget, then it would default to the mayor’s proposed budget.”

If the mayor does not approve of the budget that council passes, they can veto. Sandy’s Mayor Bradburn vetoed a line item in 2020.

If a city decided to change its property tax percentage, a Truth in Taxation meeting is required. Salt Lake County decides the date of the Truth in Taxation so no two taxation meetings fall on the same date. The Truth in Taxation is a public meeting, all residents are invited to read the proposed budget and give comments before a final decision is made by the council. l

CITY BUDGET TIMELINE Prioritize and Predict Finance and head of staff (Mayor or CIty Manager) identify highest needs and make financial predictions for the coming fiscal year (July 1- June 30).

City head review The Mayor or City Manager reviews department requests and prioritize the needs for the city as a whole.

Public Hearings Tentative budget is published for the public.

Public hearings are held to hear residents thoughts and ideas about the budget from residents.

Budget adopted

Department heads requests The head of each city department submits spending requests. This can be employee cost, supplies, etc.

Tentative Budget A tentative budget is presented to City Council and is discussed. Council can request changes.

Changes are made Final budget is presented in June. Council has another chance to discuss.

Final budget must be adopted by the council by June 30 for the coming year.

Truth in Taxation as needed (

)

If city council decides to raise property tax, a public meeting is held in August.

Tentative budget is adopted until that date.

Above: This is a sample property tax bill with all the taxing entities. Midvale City only collects a small portion of the tax residents pay. (image/SLCo Assessor)

MidvaleJournal.com

July 2021 | Page 9

End of season shows improvement, records fall for young HHS track team

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

Hillcrest High sophomore Naoto Robinson, who finished second at region, vaulted his best at 10 feet at the 5A state track and field meet at Davis High and finished behind teammates junior Lucas Bolster, who vaulted 11 feet to finish seventh and junior Jack Nielson, who won the regional title, vaulted 10-feet-6-inches. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

M

ost track and field coaches would be pleased to see improvement, with the end of a season, posting some of their fastest times, best throws and record jumps.

Hillcrest High School track and field athletes didn’t disappoint, despite the fact “we’re young, outside of distance and some male throwers and almost zero depth, especially female sprinters.”

At the 5A region 6 track meet, the girls 4x800 relay (junior Erin Atkinson, seniors Megan Liddiard, Faith Amos and Paris Snow) broke the school record with a 10:23.77 and the boys 4x800 (juniors Charles Hooper and Derek Croft, seniors Caleb Conlon and Anthony Davis) recorded the school’s best with 8:17.97 and won the regional title.

“The girls just really wanted the record,” head coach Scott Stucki said. “They were six seconds away and I figured they could get it if they ran well, but they all ran well on the same day and got it by 18 seconds. The boys 4x800, I was surprised.

I knew if they ran well, they had a chance and beat it by one or two seconds. I didn’t think they’d do what they did as fast and

Page 10 | July 2021

get it by 12 seconds.”

Throughout the season, the girls 4x200 relay (sophomore Olivia Backus, junior Keira Sweet, seniors Alaina Stonebraker and Ellie Walker) improved that school record, ending the season with a 1:49.22.

“These are races that we haven’t run a lot, but they’re now in the schedule, so those records will change quite a bit. The sprint relay kept getting faster, faster and faster pretty much every time they ran,” he said adding that their handoffs also improved.

Another season highlight was near the end of spring when senior Anthony Davis broke the 30-year-old 3200 meters record by six seconds with a time of 9:21.21. He was able to meet the former school record holder Dave Griffin at the state meet.

At the state meet, Davis, who won region in both the 1600 and 3200, finished fourth in the 3200. Stonebraker, who placed second in region, finished fourth with a time of 12.8 in the 100-meter dash.

Senior Meg Standiford, who won region discus and placed third in shot, finished

sixth at state with her best throw at 100 feet in the discus.

Those three are planning to compete in track at college: Davies at Utah State, Stonebraker for the U.S. Coast Guard and Standiford may try to throw at Dixie State University, Stucki said. Senior sprinter Anthony Vail, who raced at state, plans to play football at Pacific Lutheran University and may run track there as well, he added.

Hillcrest also had a strong showing in the pole vault with freshman Anna Ames, who lead the Hillcrest sweep at region, placed fifth at state with a vault of 9 feet and junior Lucas Bolster vaulted to 11 feet to finish seventh.

“All three boys in the pole vault PRed,” Stucki said about junior Jack Nielson, who won the regional title, vaulting 10-feet-6-inches and sophomore Naoto Robinson, who finished second at region, vaulting 10 feet.

A thrill-turned-disappointment at state was the boys 110 meter hurdles where senior Spencer Holladay, who won the race at region, finished first in what looked like

the first state champion for the Huskies before Stucki began coaching the team 15 years ago.

“He hit the ninth hurdle hard, got himself off balance, then hit his hurdle and took out the hurdle in the next lane,” Stucki said. “That kid got through it OK, and it didn’t impede his finish or result, but it’s a textbook DQ, so yeah, pretty disappointing.”

Stucki said it was a season that was like no other he coached. Last year, the team had one home meet before the soft closure of schools for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This was a weird season. I had no clue what we had (as far as athletes); everyone basically had two classes of freshmen or two new groups of unknown because we didn’t have a season last year,” he said, but ended up OK as he was figuring out his traditional baton distribution to record-holders. “I’m needing to order more.” l

Midvale City Journal

Utah Food Bank to distribute 200,000 meals this summer

By Bill Hardesty | b.hardesty@mycityjournals.com

W

hat fits in a 10-inch by 8-inch by 7-inch box?

If you said 14 meals for a Utah child, you would be right.

As part of their Summer Food Service program, the Utah Food Bank provides meal boxes to individuals 18 and younger each week throughout Utah. The boxes are free and are design for one person for seven days— seven breakfasts and seven dinners. If a family has four children, they get four boxes.

Each box includes a sample menu. For example, breakfast one is a cereal bowl and regular applesauce. For dinner two, the menu is cheddar cheese cup, sunflower kernels, MJM Pizza Crackers, flavored applesauce and vegetable juice. Other items on the menu are Pop-Tarts, barbecue chicken salad, breakfast bar, Jack Link’s Original Chicken Tender Bites, and beef sticks. The kids are given 14 small cartons of milk with their box.

These boxes are distributed in eight Utah counties, including Salt Lake County.

Salt Lake County

In Salt Lake County, the Utah Food Bank provides hot meals at various locations Monday through Friday. The meals are prepared in the Utah Food Bank kitchen and delivered in electric hot boxes, which keep the food warm for up to four hours.

The Utah Food Bank can provide these 200,000 meals because they are partnering with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This partnership extends the Kids Café program throughout the summer. The 200,000 meals are served at 40 sites across the state.

Some programs are open sites meaning first come, first served. Other sites are enrolled programs that have specific requirements.

There are 16 sites across the valley, including Boys & Girls Clubs, community centers and libraries. Libraries are included because the Utah Food Bank found that many children spend their days at the library but never had food.

A complete list and details like times, locations, and dates is available at www.utahfoodbank.org/SummerMeals/.

Utah Food Bank

“Most people, when they come home, they wonder what they are having for dinner.

I drive home wondering if every child in Utah has a dinner,” Ginette Bott, president and CEO of Utah Food Bank, said.

The Utah Food Bank partners with 205 agencies across the state. In 2020, they distributed 62.5 million pounds of food at no cost to the receivers or the agencies. Utah Food Bank is the largest food distributor in the state.

Since 1904, the Utah Food Bank has tried to learn more efficient ways to obtain products and meet the needs of the people of Utah.

With the increase in the refugee population, the Utah Food Bank has learned how to meet

MidvaleJournal.com

“Most people, when they come home, they wonder what they are having for dinner. I drive home wondering if every child in Utah has a dinner.”

– Ginette Bott their dietary needs.

Utah Food Bank does not consider itself a transportation company nor a human need company.

“We just quietly go about feeding kids,” Bott said.

Bott mentioned that sometimes they are Contents of a meal box given to kids by the Utah Food Bank this summer. (Bill Hardesty/City Journals) criticized for giving out ramen noodles. Her response is she would rather have a child’s belly full of noodles than having them cry because they are hungry.

Bott pointed out that the Utah Food Bank always needs food, time and money.

She also said if a person ever needs help, call 211 or go to the Utah Food Bank website.

Grocery Rescue program

The Grocery Rescuer program is a partnership with 270 grocery retailers. Retailers provide food that is nearing the expiration date but is still healthy and wholesome to eat.

Refrigerated trucks provided by the Utah Food Bank and partner agencies operate six days a week throughout the state, picking up the food donations. The food goes directly to food pantries to be distributed within 24 hours.

The donations primarily are daily consumables, including fresh produce, dairy and meat. Without this program, such items would end up in the landfill. In 2020, 16 million pounds of food was distributed to help end hunger.

Walt May, a program director, offered a way anyone can help with this program. May suggested that they will give you the freshest meat or cheese when you go to the deli at the grocery store. This allows the retailer to freeze the older meat and cheese and donate it to the program.

“Buying sliced deli meat or cheese helps feed people of Utah,” May said. l The Utah Food Bank does much more than collect food. (Bill Hardesty/City Journals)

July 2021 | Page 11

What is the Mosquito Abatement District?

By Erin Dixon | e.dixon@mycityjournals.com

H

ave you noticed a line on your property tax bill that says Mosquito Abatement?

What is that? Why do they get your tax money?

There are three mosquito abatement districts in Salt Lake County. Each of them serves their area, performing similar functions: Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement, Magna Mosquito Abatement, South Salt Lake Valley Mosquito Abatement.

“Mosquitos are definitely a nuisance,” Brian Hougaard, manager for South Salt Lake Valley Mosquito Abatement District, said. “They have the potential to carry diseases.”

A mosquito abatement focuses heavily on mosquitos that carry West Nile Virus, a disease that can cause severe inflammation to the brain and spinal cord.

“We have 52 different trap sites, using three different types of traps. We use these traps not only to monitor the number of mosquitos in the area...we also use those to catch [and] test for West Nile virus,” Hougaard said.

Each district employs full-time, yearround experts, but then hires seasonal workers for the summer. The staff spends their time checking traps, testing mosquitoes for potential viruses and responding to resident

Memory loss that disrupts daily life may be a symptom of Alzheimmillion people are living er’s 6.2 or another dementia.

Alzheimer’s is a brainwith disease that causes 6.2 million people are living with a slow decline in memory, thinking and reasoning skills. There are Alzheimer’s diseaseEvery in the United 10 warning signs and symptoms. individual may experience Alzheimer’s disease in the United one States. or more ofOver these signs in a different degree.

If you notice any 34,000 people in Utah of them in yourself or a34,000 loved one,people please see in a doctor.

States.

Over Utah

alone. This disease kills more people

10 SIGNS OF This disease kills more people alone. each year than breast cancer and ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

eachloss year 1. Memory that than disruptsbreast cancer and prostate cancer combined, and is the daily life prostate cancer combined, and is the 2. Challenges in planning or 4th leading cause of death in Utah. problem solving 4th leading cause of death in Utah.

3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, More than 104,000 people in Utah More than 104,000 people in Utah work or at leisure 6.2for millionsomeone people are living with Alzheimer’s provide living 4. Confusion withunpaid time or care disease in the United States.

Over provide unpaid carepeople for insomeone living34,000 place Utah alone. This disease kills withunderstanding Alzheimer’s disease.

The impact is 5. Trouble more people each year than breast cancer with Alzheimer’s disease.

The impact is visual images and special and prostate cancer combined, and is the widespread and can be devastating to 4th leading cause of death in Utah. relationships widespread and can be devastating to 6. New problems with words families.

More than 104,000 people in Utah proin speaking or writing families. vide unpaid care for someone living with 7. Misplacing things and Alzheimer’s disease. The impact is widelosing ability to Forthemore information, aboutto families. spreadto and learn can be devastating For more information, to learn about retrace steps Together we can work to findor a cure support groups or other resources, 8. Decreased or poor and ultimately have our first survivor! support groups or other resources, or judgment Join the fight and lend your to to get from helpwork immediately contact thevoice 9. Withdrawal or this critical cause by attending the to get help immediately contact the social activities Walk to End Alzheimer’s this fall. There Alzheimer’s Association’s free 24/7 are eight Walks throughout the state 10. Changes in mood Association’s Alzheimer’s free 24/7 of Utah: and personality Helpline at:

Helpline at:

calls.

Residents can call for an inspection.

They will inspect horse troughs, residential ponds, tree holes and catch basins.

If there are mosquito larvae, the district can put in mosquito fish, an aggressive eater of mosquitos, or briquettes that prevent larvae from hatching into adults. l

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Be a part of your community news by donating to City Journals today!

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Mosquito abatement: The Salt Lake Valley is split into three districtsw. Each district helps contain the mosquito population within its borders to prevent spread of disease. (Pixabay)

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Midvale City Journal

Alta dance teacher captures Canyons District’s teacher of the year title at pinnacle of 30-year career

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

W

hen Traci Raymond was in high school, she went through a very traumatic experience—so traumatic, she doesn’t want to talk about it. But what she does want to share with others is that her parents stood by her, insisting she go to school and graduate.

Raymond not only went to school, but she got involved and became a cheerleader—both in her high school days and now.

She didn’t realize the lesson her parents’ instilled in her until she went to college, where she faced other difficult circumstances. Instead of bailing, she decided, “I need to graduate and make a difference for those kids who go through hard situations and think of quitting, I want to be their advocate, to tell them not to quit. They can do hard things and rise above.”

That inspiration has guided Raymond into 30 years of teaching and coaching dance and helping high school students believe in themselves and achieve their goals.

That attitude was part of Raymond’s nomination for Canyons School District’s teacher of the year award.

“Traci Raymond is the epitome of just a phenomenal educator, leader, and mentor of her students,” said Alta High Principal Brian McGill, who performed with the A-town dance company for a school assembly in 2018. “She is a great example of the kind of teacher who should be in the classroom, as well as a mentor for students outside of the classroom.”

Raymond’s colleague, ballroom teacher Diana Hunt, said her friend “has a true genuine love for teaching. I know what she can do, and I know what she offers to students. She genuinely cares about them, and she’ll hold them to a higher standard. She encourages them to grow and become a better person, besides a better dancer. She encourages them to do hard things, to buck up and they realize later on, how much they’re grown. So many girls have graduated, and they’ll come back and thank her for understanding, for making them accountable and they’re grateful for making them stronger people.”

Raymond, who has taught at Alta High for 27 years and was the school’s nomination for the district award, learned shortly before the announcement that she was a district finalist.

“I actually was shocked because typically dance teachers don’t teach the core subjects, so I was actually shocked at it and had no idea that I would be in the top three,” said the one-time recipient of the prestigious Sorenson Legacy Awards for Excellence in Arts Education.

At Alta High’s new performing arts center on May 4, the Canyons Board of Ed-

MidvaleJournal.com

ucation presented all 48 school and program teachers of the year with crystal awards.

Then, Raymond was announced the District’s teacher of the year; the other two finalists were Albion Middle math teacher Dan Croshaw, the CSD Middle School Teacher of the Year, and Maria Teresa Gallo, a Silver Mesa Elementary dual-language immersion teacher. She received $1,000 from the Jordan Credit Union for being announced as district’s top teacher. The other two finalists each both received $500.

“It’s definitely a surprise. I started sobbing because that was a true shock to me,” Raymond said.

Raymond began at Alta as a single mom, teaching drill team for her first six years.

“The community, all the drill team parents, would take care of my daughter and watch her when she was about five years old. We had night practices and weekend competitions and they just took me in and loved me like I was part of the community.

I think that just started my love for this high school,” she said.

But it was that little girl who got her mother’s attention by asking “Mommy, when are you going to spend as much time with me as you do your dancers?” that got Raymond to shift from drill team to dance company, a non-competition team.

That little girl, Jerica, who now is 30 and has two young daughters, was by her mother’s side at the awards night.

“We’ve been through a lot together,” Raymond said. “If I could say something to my younger self, I would say, allow people to help you. Delegation is probably one of the teacher’s best friends. You do the best job you can, but to the point, if it starts stressing you out too much and it’s affecting you, then you’re doing too much.”

To boost positivity with students and herself, Raymond annually includes a theme as a life lesson with her curriculum.

“I started out my school year with a theme whether it was resiliency, or you can do hard things or stand up for yourself. I always did an introduction to my class, whether it’s health, aerobics, yoga, dance, dance company. I talk about what my theme for the year is and to have courage, have integrity and just try to teach my students how to be better adults and to trust themselves to get through hard things without shutting down,” she said.

This past year’s theme was “you can do hard things” and last year’s was “still I rise,” which came as inspiration during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last March’s soft closure of schools in response to the pandemic hit Alta High’s dance company hard.

“On Friday the 13th, we were doing a mock dress rehearsal and I thought, ‘I should probably invite some parents.’ Then, I actually had a parent that was coming say, ‘Hey, do you want me to record it. I can bring my camera.’ It ended up that was our concert video,” she said. “For the first two weeks, I kind of let the girls, just breathe. I would check in with them and make sure they were all OK because they were devastated. During our first Zoom meeting about two weeks after that, when we all saw everybody’s faces, everybody started crying. We’d been with each other 24-7 and then, all of a sudden, we’re cut off and told to stay home. I tried to give them hope, but I remember the day when I finally had to say, ‘I’m sorry dancers, we’re not going to do our concert.’”

When they returned this year, Raymond acknowledged the difficult ending with her dancers, but she said, “We keep going forward and we remember how we got through that hard time so when we have further

expressive vocabulary words that go along with that picture, and they would come up with what they thought the artist was thinking and seeing in this painting or statue. Then, my dancers would start creating movement and they choreograph about two minutes,” she said. “When we’re ready, the art class will come in and they’re going to say how true they think the movement was to the descriptive words and the theme. After my dancers have said what they thought the theme was, the artist actually gets up and talks about that piece of art.”

Raymond also is known to talk to her students individually, offering additional help or time to listen to any concerns. Or if it’s difficulty with a certain move, she has paired beginners or struggling students with those who have more experience.

“I’m always trying to find different ways to connect with them and also have them connect with one of my dance company girls because I’m 54 years old and I am

Alta High dance teacher Traci Raymond, seen here helping one of her students, recently was named Canyons School District’s teacher of the year. (Photo courtesy of Traci Raymond/Alta High School)

hard times, we can rely on that strength that we used for that,” playing right off of her themes for last year and this year.

This year, in the school year’s final weeks, she oversaw the dance company show and awards night, which she said was especially rewarding after not holding one last year.

The show serves as a fundraiser for the program, typically raising $10,000 during the three performance nights, she said, which has helped when she has taken her company through the years to New York City, Disneyworld and Disneyland.

The school-year themes also played into her own learning as she reached out to others to help her understand how to put her classes on Canvas online teaching platform.

“This was my 30th year and I struggled. I thought, how can I make it through this year?’” she said, then reached out to the girls basketball coach, who helped her learn it. “The biggest things that I truly had to learn was that I had to change my mindset. When I got really flustered, I had to say, ‘no, you can do this and just take it one day at a time.’”

Another aspect of her teaching she is proud of is cross-curriculum teaching with Advanced Placement art teacher, Katie Campbell. Campbell’s art students would come into Raymond’s Dance Academy class, which is considered an understudy dance class for dance company, and they bring their top artwork for small groups of dancers to interpret.

“We start talking about what are some

not going to do a leap,” she said. “I know these kids are going through so much that I want to help them be successful, but at the same time, I’m not a cuddler. I want them to learn that they have to work and communicate with me to make up a task. I’m more than willing, if you come communicate with me.”

Raymond has shared some of her teaching strategies and ideas with Daylin Williams, who recently was hired to teach and advise the dance company and dance academy.

Now, at the pinnacle of her career and after seeing the success of her former students who have graduated and become Rockettes or performed in Broadway, Raymond wants to quietly retire and watch her granddaughters’ dance. However, that will have to wait until she has completed her last assignment—completing an application, writing essays and explaining her teaching philosophy—as a contender for the state teacher of the year.

“I love my students; I’m going to just miss their happiness,” she said. “I’m going to miss teaching with some of my best friends and the camaraderie here. I just love all of them. We laugh and sometimes, we cry. I’m a very social person and that’s probably going to be the hardest thing.

Maybe having this award is good because it will keep me doing something, this application, so I don’t realize that I’m in retirement right off the bat. But first, I’m going to sleep in and not get up to a 5:15 alarm clock.” l

July 2021 | Page 13

With no daily papers, statewide noticing changes

Treating you like family for over 35 years.

By Erin Dixon| e.dixon@mycityjournals.com

B

efore 2021, cities were required to post public notices in daily newspapers. This is no longer.

This year, Utah Senate Bill 201 changed that. Newspaper readership has plummeted in recent years.

In 2018, “U.S. newspaper circulation fell in 2018 to its lowest level since 1940,” an article on Pew Research said.

Because of low subscription rates, the two major newspapers in Utah, Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune, dropped daily delivery.

The new requirement is that taxing entities, including city governments, must post their notices on the state website, www.utah.gov/pmn/. It is an online portal

With rates at an all-time LOW, there is no time like the present to buy or sell a home.

• Personalized Service • Local Market Knowledge • Top Quality Representation

that allows you to search for any taxing entity updates. And, you can sign up for email notifications to get announcements on a regular basis.

Each city government is planning other posting locations. The number of posting locations depends on the population.

Midvale will be posting on the city’s website, the City Hall lobby, Midvale City Justice Court, the Public Works lobby and on the Utah Public Notice website.

West Jordan will also place notices in similar locations in addition to libraries, fire stations, parks, and grocery store community boards, etc.

Other cities will be posting in similar locations. l

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Public noticing: Newspapers in Utah are no longer delivered daily, so city notice requirements have changed. (photo/pixabay)

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JULY 2021 CITY NEWSLETTER

By Mayor Robert Hale

The beauty of summer can also be its have access to walking and biking paths and lanes, public big detractor — sun and heat! And yet re- transportation on buses and TRAX, nearby freeways, and strong, cordings over time give us a prognostica- inexpensive Internet connectivity, 5G signals for phones, and tion that in just three months the heat will best of all, the friendliest neighborhoods and city staff to be break, fall will begin, snow will once again found anywhere!

Let’s celebrate while the sun stays up for such long hours. Let’s grace the mountain tops.

Focusing back on the here and now get out and be with not only those we know, but also greet others though, individuals, families and friends will be out and about for along our street, in our complex, in the parks and byways, and at summer activities, outings, hikes, bike rides, sports and just being the stores of our city. Greet each with a smile and, if needed, a helpful hand. with — or away from — people.

Safety needs to be the primary focus of all outdoor activiHave a joyful and safe July! ties, especially those in which we find ourselves in a different environment. We mountain-valley folk find beaches to be entrancing, but the water is as dangerous, or as fun, as it ever has been. Skills and preparation are the best preventatives of accident and injuries. Hikes in the mountains are so refreshing as elevation is gained and the view becomes panoramic. The exertion of hiking is good for properly toned and conditioned bodies and minds. So, my message for summer and autumn is preparation.

July 27 and August 2 & 3 Our city also enjoys stretching, growing, and having fun in the summer.

Neighborhood Block Parties Public Works and contractors will also be busy during this construction season.

Wednesday, August 4 (After all, this is the season when orange Midvale Arts Council Hall of Honors & Art Show barrels grow right out of the ground!)

Speaking of summer fun, Midvale’s time-honored Harvest Days is returning Thursday, August 5 this year! For more than 80 years, MidBingo Night at Midvale City Park vale City has come together to celebrate the harvest of friendship and communiFriday, August 6 ty found “in the middle of everything”.

We missed our celebrations last year Music on Main - Free concert featuring Exit Strategy due to the pandemic, so this year will be extra special! Neighborhood Block Saturday, August 7 Parties, the Midvale Arts Council Hall of Honors & Art Show, Free Bingo in the Harvest Days Parade, Festival, Concerts, & Fireworks Park, and the Harvest Days Parade and Festival (including baby goat yoga!) will all return this year. We are adding a new Featuring event that promises to be an evening of celebration. On Friday, August 6, we will Dance Doctors at 8:00 p.m. close down historic Main Street to enjoy live music by Exit Strategy, fun games Sonio Lo at 7:00 p.m. (cornhole, giant Jenga, and more) and delicious food trucks. If you haven’t Coco's Rumba Libre Band at 5:30 p.m. seen Main Street lately, you are in for a great surprise!

The blessings of living in our city of Midvale are so numerous! We

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In The Middle of Everything

WWW . MIDVALECITY . ORG

Resolve to be More Prepared for Extreme Heat

By Julie Harvey Municipal Emergency Management Planner (Adapted from https://www.ready.gov/heat) In extreme heat your body works extra hard to maintain a normal temperature, which can lead to illness and in severe cases, death. In fact, extreme heat is responsible for the highest number of annual deaths among all weather-related hazards.

REMEMBER: • Extreme heat can occur quickly and without warning.

• Older adults, children and sick or overweight individuals are at greater risk from extreme heat.

• Humidity increases the feeling of heat as measured by a heat index.

IF YOU’RE UNDER AN EXTREME HEAT WARNING: • Find air conditioning.

• Avoid strenuous activities.

• Wear light clothing.

• Check on family members and neighbors.

• Drink plenty of fluids.

• Watch for heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

• Never leave people or pets in a closed car.

PREPARE NOW: • Find places with air conditioning. Libraries, shopping malls, and community centers can be a cool place to beat the heat. Stay informed and check with local authorities about possible closures prior to going to cooling centers.

• Salt Lake County Aging & Adult Services is helping seniors stay cool this summer. Salt Lake County is offering Cool Zones, located throughout the valley at County Senior Centers, Libraries, and Recreational Facilities. Cool Zones are air-conditioned indoor spaces open to the public. Anyone seeking a break from summer temperatures can drop by a Cool Zone to cool off, hydrate, and stay safe from heat-related illness.

An interactive map is available to help residents

identify the cool zones in their neighborhoods: slco.org/aging-adult-services/cool-zone/.

Cool Zones are open now through October 15th.

(If you don’t have access to the internet call Salt Lake County Aging & Adult Services 385.468.3200 for more information or for list of Cool Zone locations near you.)

• Avoid high-energy activities outdoors. Avoid working outdoors during the midday heat, if possible.

RECOGNIZE AND RESPOND: • Heat Cramps o Signs: Muscle pains or spasms in the stomach, arms or legs o Actions: Go to a cooler location. Remove excess clothing. Take sips of cool sports drinks with salt and sugar. If you are sick and need medical attention, call your healthcare provider first. Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions about whether you should go to the hospital or cooler location yourself, as you may be putting others or yourself in greater risk for contracting COVID-19. If cramps last more than an hour, seek medical attention. If possible, put on a mask before medical help arrives.

• Heat Exhaustion o Signs: Heavy sweating, paleness, muscle cramps, tiredness, weakness, dizziness, headache, fainting, nausea, vomiting o Actions: Go to an air-conditioned place and lie down. Loosen or remove clothing. Take a cool bath. Take sips of cool sports drinks with salt and sugar. Call your healthcare provider if symptoms get worse or last more than an hour.

• Heat Stroke o Signs: Extremely high body temperature (above 103 degrees) taken orally. Red, hot and dry skin with no sweat. Rapid, strong pulse.

Dizziness, confusion or unconsciousness. o Actions: Call 9-1-1 or get the person to a hospital immediately. Cool down with whatever methods are available until medical help arrives.

JULY 2021 CITY NEWSLETTER WWW . MIDVALECITY . ORG

Midvale City Council Prohibits Fireworks Citywide On June 22, 2021, during a Special City Council meeting, the Midvale City Council voted unanimously to prohibit fireworks citywide. The action does not constitute a permanent citywide fireworks prohibition, but an emergency ordinance due to the elevated fire dangers posed by the area’s existing drought conditions. The prohibition will remain in effect until October 15, 2021.

Unified Fire Authority Fire Marshall Brad Larson attended the meeting and expressed concerns about the dry conditions and fire dangers. “The extreme hazardous environmental conditions this season are very concerning,” stated Fire Marshall Brad Larson. “The extended forecast shows a combination of low relative humidity and hot temperatures which can contribute to extreme fire behavior. And there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.”

The fire marshal indicated that the potential for mul-

tiple incidents related to fireworks is significantly higher than previous years. “We are in a critical situation. Police and fire resources work in concert during a major fire. Resources could be used up quickly if there are multiple fires,” stated Police Chief Randy Thomas. “We are prepared to flex our resources to enforce this important ordinance.”

Mayor Hale and the council members agreed that prohibiting fireworks citywide is in the best interest of the health and safety of residents, businesses, and first responders. “Leaders from the state, county, and cities are very concerned about public safety in the midst of our current hot, dry summer with extreme drought conditions,” said Mayor Robert Hale. “There is clearly a need for a ban on fireworks this year.”

The city’s Harvest Days professional fireworks show at Midvale City Park on August 7 will still be held this year

with firefighters present. If, at any time, Fire Marshall Larson deems the fireworks show would be unsafe, the show would be cancelled; and the city would explore options to provide the professional fireworks show when conditions have improved.

Violation of the citywide fireworks prohibition ordinance can constitute an infraction. However, the personal liability issues may be more damaging. If you are using fireworks that are illegal in your city and an accident happens, like a house fire or an injury to a guest, you may face criminal charges and significant financial costs.

The COVID pandemic has caused many challenges. We all want life to get back to normal and prohibiting fireworks citywide is another disappointment. But the current conditions present a very real threat. Visit www.MidvaleCity.org/Fireworks for fun alternatives to fireworks and more information.

Hillcrest alumni reunite, reminisce during ceremony before demolition

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

B

rent and Sue Burgon looked at the stage fondly one late Saturday in May. Sixty-one years ago, during their senior year at Hillcrest High, they began dating.

(The school opened their sophomore year.)

“We were in acapella and Madrigals—it was 61 years ago,” Sue Burgon said. “The very first assembly, the auditorium wasn’t done yet. There weren’t chairs in place, so we sat on the floor in dresses with the 2-inch riser between the rows.”

They recalled the highlights—performing the entire “Messiah” with the choir— and the lowlights including the time in class during their sophomore year, when a student came in and told them that President John Kennedy was shot. In their senior year, Brent Burgon served as vice president of the Key Club and his wife was involved in the pep club. They danced together at the senior hop.

“We were the first Hillcrest graduating class which attended the school all three years,” he remembered.

They went on to celebrate their five kids’ graduations from Hillcrest as well.

“There are lots of memories here,” Sue Burgon said as she stood in the auditorium for the last time.

Hillcrest High, which opened in 1962, is being torn down this summer as a new

building is being constructed on the eastern part of the same campus.

The new school building will open to students this fall, but before the doors were closed to current and former students, the Hillcrest High Alumni Association hosted a final good-bye walk-through on May 22, and invited alumni choir to perform the school song, “Through All the Seasons of the Year”

by Jay E. Welch, and “Peace Be with You” arranged by former choir director Leo Dean.

They were directed by former student and choir teacher Brian Bentley and current choir director RaNae Dalgleish.

Bentley addressed the gathering that reached beyond 1,000 alumni that day, reminding them of Hillcrest’s diverse community with students coming from affluent neighborhoods to students who live in shelters for those experiencing homelessness.

“Hillcrest had a very, and has still, an extremely unique atmosphere,” he said.

“There weren’t powerful cliques in this school. Instead, there were groups of interest…and they worked together and were friends, best friends. It created an atmosphere in this school that I hadn’t seen in any other school. The community and that way of working together was so powerful and so strong, I never wanted to leave.”

And he really hasn’t.

After serving as the choir director, Bentley became the school’s International Baccalaureate director. Once he retired, he still has continued to return to help with the school musical—even virtually—and played a leading role earlier that May when Hillcrest held its final musical on the stage, featuring both alumni and current students in Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies,” a show that parallels their own with the auditorium being demolished.

Ben Hansen, class of ’95, was there watching his son, Bridger, who graduated this year.

“I sang in vocal ensemble,” Ben Hansen said. “I enjoyed singing and going to California every year.”

He also performed on the stage as Reuben, one of the brothers, in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and in the chorus of “Bye, Bye, Birdie.”

But one of Ben Hansen’s favorite memories was of watching his son play sophomore basketball in the old gym for the Huskies. The gymnasium, once considered the jewel of the valley, was torn down earlier to make room for the school building; the new gym is north of the classrooms.

Bridger Hansen also was amongst the

Class of 2021, who walked across the Husky stage at this year’s graduation, which was a social-distancing affair because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those were the final moments for the famed auditorium.

In the nearby band room, Carolyn Harward Heaton, class of ’88, sat down in the seat in the approximate place she played the flute years ago as a Husky. The room looked different, having the risers removed, and the instrument storage moved, but she still remembered playing for band director Ernie Northway both in the instrumental room and on the field with marching band.

“I’d practice four hours on my own,” she said. “We played for sporting events, concerts, pep assemblies and in all the musicals.”

She also played the piano for jazz band, which practiced an hour before school.

Heaton drove with her family from Roosevelt, Utah, to show them the band and choir rooms, her locker and the senior bench, which will be moved into the new school.

“I remember walking senior hall and we could always smell what the teachers were eating in the faculty room,” she said.

Julie Bell Davidse, class of ’87, also walked the hallways of her alma mater, noticing the “updated” look with a cut-through

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Midvale City Journal

in the middle of the hallways. She was in the first vocal ensemble known as a swing choir back in the 1986-87 school year under the direction of Bentley, who was in his first year teaching after Dean retired.

“We performed in churches, colleges and a lot of different venues,” she recalled.

“We took a bus to California and stayed with families down there. Choir was my jam. It kept me going to school.”

Davidse still sings, performing solos at her church.

“Brian Bentley was a hard teacher. He wasn’t much older than us, so we naturally gave him a hard time, teased him as a newbie teacher. Swing choir was my favorite class, and he was absolutely one of my main reasons. He was someone I could talk to; he was kind and understanding,” she said. “This was the first time I’ve sang the school song and “Peace Be With You” since I was here. I still remembered almost all the words 35 year later.”

Algebra, however, she remembered was her least favorite class. Maybe it was then that a classmate decided to count the 512 holes in one ceiling tile or calculate 5% of the people who take chemistry each year, failed it—things that were included in her yearbook.

Davidse also remembered getting in trouble when she stood in the back of Don McLeish’s Bronco as he drove around the school parking lot at lunchtime.

“Mr. (Ted) Lovata—the assistant principal then—didn’t suspend us, but he did say it was a stupid thing to do,” she said.

She remembered driving some “old beat-up crappy car” as well as the simulator for the driver’s ed teacher and athletic director, Don Gust.

“I tried to drive around the cones making a circle and I cranked the wheel as far as I could, and I still couldn’t get it to move. I remember him coming over and getting in, but he couldn’t do it either,” she said before they realized the Ford sedan needed more power steering fluid.

She remembered her class naming the stadium after their principal, DelMar Schick, to honor him during the 25th anniversary of the school.

“He was hard, but he really cared.

He’d be like a big teddy bear and be emotional and cry. He used to say, ‘these are my kids,’” she said.

At graduation, she wore a white polyester-blend robe while the boys wore green.

“They were so thick and hot, and we sat in the sun on the football field; it was kind of miserable,” she said. “We had some fun times with school activities.

There are some good memories and some people, some teachers, helped me through my struggles and helped me graduate. I’ll be forever grateful.” l

Alumni came back to Hillcrest High May 22 to have a final walk-through of their school before demolition began on the 59-year-old school in mid-June as crews finished the new school building on the eastern portion of the campus. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

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East Midvale students finish school year with fun run

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

F

ifth-grader Avery Baer said she will miss having all her friends in the same class and has appreciated her teachers at her elementary school, East Midvale.

“The best thing are the teachers who are so supportive of the students and are happy and willing to teach us,” she said.

“They’re caring…and give us so much.”

Avery also will miss the annual fun run she had completed earlier that day. She had participated in the fun run every year since kindergarten, with last year on hiatus because of the soft closure of schools during COVID-19 pandemic last spring.

“The fun run is really fun. We can see all our friends, we get pumped up during the warm-ups and everyone cheers us on as we run,” she said. “The fifth grade all ran together. It’s a fun way to end the school year, almost the end of the end of our elementary school.”

Avery said that the fifth grade prepared themselves for the fun run, running one mile every week called the Midvale Mile on the school grounds. After the run, fifth-graders continued the tradition of holding a dance party on the grass.

This year’s fun run was different, said Lesley Baer, who originated the idea and after seven years is stepping down.

This year’s course was around the school campus. Previously, students raced throughout the neighborhood, often with current Principal Matt Nelson or former principals Sally Sansom and Justin Pitcher joining them and Unified Police directing traffic.

Baer said the changes in the course were good: “It works better, the flow is better with the start and finish in different locations. Now, they finish on the grass and can chill out there.”

It traditionally also is a fundraiser; this year it was just for fun.

“When things started opening up more during COVID, we knew we wanted to still hold a fun run; the kids look forward to it,” she said, adding that the fund-

And they’re off — East Midvale students run for fun around their school campus, resuming the annual event after soft closure of schools because of COVID-19 canceled it last spring. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

raiser this year was purely donations. “We didn’t have much time once we got the OK to hold it. Typically, we book the police one year ahead so this year, we decided to just hold it as an event and change it up.”

Also different was not holding the Family Fitness Night the night prior to the run, which traditionally is held in May. “We couldn’t make that happen, but I hope it comes back after COVID. The whole idea of this is to promote health and physical fitness awareness and get the kids more involved,” she said.

Baer came up with the idea for the fun

run fundraiser when she said she’d head the fundraiser as long as students wouldn’t sell cookie dough or wrapping paper.

“This way, every one dollar went to the school and it mostly went to the next year’s field trips,” she said.

She has appreciated the support of the community from Unified Police DARE officer Ryan Jonkman to Rob from “Life of the Party,” who is a deejay for the warmups and run. New Balance also donates running bibs, Sam’s Club donated granola bars and water and Winco provided $500 for the school, which was used in part to

fund the fifth-grade post-race ice cream party, Baer said.

Through the years, neighbors also have sat alongside the route to cheer on the students, she added.

“This year, we added some different kind of fun along the route. There were stations where students would get silly stringed, squirted with water, run through bubbles and then, snacks at the end,” she said, adding that fruit was provided at the finish as well. “We do this for the kids.

They have such a good time and have fun.” l

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Midvale City Journal

Husky girls golf players to dedicate summer to practice

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

T

his summer, Hillcrest High girls golf team isn’t sitting idle.

With enthusiasm coming from their spring season, the players are on the links practicing for next season, which will be in a new region.

“We have some athletic girls who have talent,” coach Dave Richardson said. “If we practice over the summer, we are going to improve and have some players.”

While this season’s “claim to fame” was beating Brighton late season in a duel, winning 12.5 points to 7.5, the Huskies finished eighth in 5A region 6, he said.

The 12-member team was led by the strong play of graduating senior captain Paris Freebairn, who “shot some of her best scores” this season, and Jenna Riddle, another graduating senior captain, added in solid playing, Richardson said.

The coach already is looking forward to competing in region 7 that will include Stansbury, Tooele, Cedar Valley, Payson, Uintah and Cottonwood high schools instead of its current region.

Next season, Zoe Welch, who played golf for the first time this past spring and will be a senior, “should really be playing strong” and with the dedication of next-year junior Ava Perkins, “we should be better,” Richard-

Hillcrest High girls golf team players Lola Nielsen, Paris Freebairn, Amelya Scherschligt, Kylie Powell, Mia Caraballo, Ava Perkins and Zoe Welch smile with their coach Dave Richardson at the region tournament. (Photo courtesy of Hillcrest High girls golf team)

son said.

He also is looking forward to seeing improvement in upcoming sophomores Lola Nielsen, Kylie Powell and Sarah Pruden.

“Lola has gotten a lot better and she’s competitive; she wants to get better and plans to play this summer. Kylie is going to be a

player too if she practices this summer. Both of them are on the drill team, and that takes a lot of time, so it’s just how much time they’ll be able to play. Sarah is athletic and wants to get better, but she plays other sports so again, it’s finding the time to get out and practice,” Richardson said in late May.

However, he remains upbeat and hopeful.

“I’ve already been out on the course with Ava and Zoe; they’re already playing,” Richardson said. “All the girls learned a lot, got better and got along. Now that it’s summer and not miserable and cold, they can get out and play and have even more fun.” l

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Midvale City Journal

Hillcrest tennis players compete at state, next season means new region, new coach

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

S

tate was a sweet farewell for two Hillcrest seniors and their coach.

Senior Alex Qi, who played first singles, and senior Anthony Elbel, who played second doubles with sophomore Brian Yu, had their farewell tennis matches at the 5A state tournament.

“It’s the first time we went to state in this region,” said their coach, Robert James, who also is stepping away from coaching. “They went all out.”

Freshman Aarav Parikh also competed at state in second singles losing in the first round to the eventual state champion.

While the foursome played well, James said, none advanced.

“We play in the toughest region. Three teams we play against, were first, second, and third in state,” he said, referring to Skyline, Brighton and Olympus respectively.

In non-region, the Huskies beat Jordan, Juan Diego, Taylorsville, West Jordan, Granger, Herriman and were tied with Riverton before snowfall forced the rest of the matches to be canceled.

In region play, they beat Cottonwood 5-0, pulled out a close one, 3-2, to Murray and came up short 2-3 against East. They also lost to Highland, Brighton, Skyline and Olympus.

“From the beginning to the end, we played very well. The newcomers improved

Hillcrest Huskies boys tennis team graduated seven seniors, leaving two returning varsity starters to a new coach next spring. (Photo courtesy of Hillcrest High boys tennis)

and came along. Eight members of the team graduated, and five seniors lettered. We are losing five of our seven varsity players so Brian and Aarav will need to step up to lead the team,” he said.

After eight years, James is stepping down as both boys’ and girls’ head tennis coach because of Hillcrest’s assignment in the new aligned region. With travel to play almost every match an hour to three or more hours, he said his health couldn’t take the long bus rides.

“I’ll let the new coaches handle the long

bus trips to these teams that are more on our level. My back can handle only so much. We won’t have home courts for another year (because of construction at the school) so every match is away, and this coming year, it really will be extended travel,” James said.

But, he isn’t stepping away from the sport he loves.

James, who started hitting tennis balls against a wall for hours every day starting at age eight or nine, went to state all three years of his high school career—twice with

Skyline High and one year with Mountain Crest High.

While he has never played on grass, he played on a clay court in Argentina, saying the play was “slow, dusty and slippery.” Once back in the states, he regularly watched the U.S. Open having appreciated the greats such as Jimmy Conner, Chris Evert, Björn Borg and Martina Navratilova.

“I’ll hit balls once in a while,” James said. “Tennis is a lifelong sport. I hope my players will continue to play.” l

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July 2021 | Page 23

Hillcrest’s ‘young’ boys soccer falls to eventual state champion, expected to return strong next year

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

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illcrest High senior Hilario Cruz led the 5A regular season in goals—18—on the soccer field this past spring.

The Deseret News’ first team all-state player even got some looks from college scouts, despite having a thigh muscle injury that hampered his mobility, coach Brett Davis said.

“We dealt with it with a trainer, but it didn’t allow him to have the flexibility in his movement to be able to collect balls and distribute balls as well as he could have…that probably reduced his goal count, I’m sure, but he still ended up on top; that’s amazing,” he said, adding that Cruz “never played in his position as a center fullback; we put him up as an attacking midfield role, because that’s what we needed.”

Along with junior Jose “Chito” Cortez, who led the team in nine assists and was named Deseret News’ 5A all-state honorable mention, and the play of defensive specialist junior Nate Collard, the three helped the Huskies to a 8-6 region record, finishing in fourth place and hosting a first-round 5A state tournament game.

The three also were voted by team members for top awards: Cruz as overall player of the year, Cortez as offensive player of the year

and Collard as defensive player of the year. Senior Gavin Ladle received the coaches’ award for making a significant impact, and sophomore CJ Poulsen was given the unsung hero award for “saving our bacon a bunch of times,” Davis said.

“I’m pleased with how we played; we did really well and at some point in time, we beat everyone in region at least once,” the coach said. “That’s very impressive for a young team and they learned a lot through the course of the season.”

The team’s early big win was Olympus in their first home region game, winning two goals to none. They followed that up the following week with a 2-1 win over East at home.

Brighton was the next to fall on the Huskies home field with a score of 3-1.

Hillcrest lost to Murray, Skyline and Highland, only to come back with wins against the Murray as well as East and Cottonwood.

In their final regular home season game, they upset Skyline 1-0 and were put in the position to host Highland in the playoffs.

“You play so many games against your region, that your ranking or your RPI is compared mostly to all the other teams in your region as opposed to other regions. In our region, it was very, very close and the standings were very, very close. That means there were a lot of us really clumped up in the middle,” he said about the first season using the Rating Percentage Index system. “We finished high enough that we were able to host Highland (even though) Highland beat us twice in region.”

However, the 16th-ranked Huskies “took

care of business” with an early lead to beat the 17th-ranked Rams, 3-2.

That win meant Hillcrest had to face the No. 1-seed, Wasatch Bees, on their home field in Heber City. “(We) outplayed them for 60 minutes.

(It’s) tough to play against 12 seniors with only three (playing for the Huskies). Their physical maturity took its toll on us in the end,” Davis said.

Wasatch went on to win the state title. Of the four teams in the semifinals, Hillcrest had played three of them and beaten two, Skyline and Brighton, which are in its region.

However, as a young team—“we’ve got a number of sophomores who played well”— and a promising incoming freshman class, Davis feels that the team will play well in their new region next year.

“It’s time for a change and we need something a little different. We want to create some opportunities for our student-athletes that aren’t the same old thing, every single year,” he said. “(This is) such a strong group. They’re such a united, unified group of boys that like each other and hang out together and play club soccer as much as they can together. They know how to interact and play so it doesn’t take just a Chito or Jose or Nate Collard. They’re learning at this point, to play at a level where they don’t always have to worry about things because they know where people are going to be and where they’re going to run because they’re just used to it and because they’re such a tight group.” l

* Thursday at 2 p.m. in Murray Park Gazebo, FREE

July 8 - 1520 Arts ............................................. Hip Hop Dance July 15 - Trash Panda ............................................. Drumming July 22 - The Puppet Players .............................. Puppet Show July 29 - Happy Hula .................................... Polynesian Dance

FAMILY NIGHT S ERI ES Bring the Whole Family Young and Old! The 2nd Monday of every month at 7 p.m., FREE Murray Senior Recreation Center (#10 E 6150 S – 1/2 block west of State) July 12 – Company B. ..................................................... Oldies Aug 9 – Flashback Brothers ................................... Classic Rock

STOP IN FOR STORIES * Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday at 11 a.m. in Murray Park White Gazebo, FREE Murray City Library sponsored outdoor story time full of books, songs and action rhymes for kids ages 2-7 and their families. Bring your blanket or lawn chair.

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

Page 24 | July 2021

On senior night, the last home game of the regular season, senior Gavin Ladle goes after the ball in the Huskies 1-0 win over Skyline that gave them home field advantage in the first round of state playoffs. (Photo courtesy of Heidi Burri)

Midvale City Journal

Hillcrest softball, baseball compete in region, state

H

illcrest High junior pitcher Maddie Sluga wants to play Box Elder High next season.

That despite being shutout in back-toback games by them in the second-round of state softball playoffs this past spring.

“It did end, not as we hoped,” she said.

“Box Elder was in a very hard region, so they were ranked way higher than us. They are a really good team.”

The playoffs did hit during finals and many of the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams at the end of the school year, but Sluga didn’t take that as an excuse.

“I don’t know why. I feel like we could have had more energy during them (the playoffs); there wasn’t as much as we have had like the whole season…and that was like a big reason why we didn’t do better. We did try our hardest,” she said. “I would want to play them again.”

Hillcrest’s first-year coach Ashley Anjewierden agrees that the Bees are strong.

“They have a lot of good teams in their region, and ours isn’t in the same strength as that.

We haven’t seen pitching like that before,” she said. “It was awesome to see the girls step up their play this year and play in the second round of playoffs.”

This year, the former five-year Husky assistant coach gave the team a different feel to their season.

“The schedule was designed to build confidence. We played teams of a similar level. In the past, teams would pound us, and we’d get washed out, and that’s just the mentality of the past few years. Now we have more confidence after our first three wins of the season, so we can play more competitive teams,” Anjewierden said adding that the team focused more on base running and game situations in their practices than in previous years.

Those early wins of 16-1 over Juan Diego Catholic High, 12-11 over Green Canyon in North Logan and a 21-11 over Providence Hall set the Huskies up for two wins against Brighton, Highland and Skyline and splitting games against Cottonwood. The team finished fourth in region, just ahead of Cottonwood.

“We came in with a different mentality, one that holds them to higher expectations. We weren’t there to play, but to compete and the kids were pushed harder. We’ve come away with seasons of only a couple wins previously and this year, we went 12-9, 7-5 in region.

We’re rebranding Hillcrest athletics and it’s a good start for softball,” she said.

Sluga agreed there was much improvement.

“I felt like it went really well; we definitely did much better than in the past,” she said. “I just think there was a lot of talent on the team this year.”

That includes freshman Brooklyn Ricci, who plays catcher and pitcher; and pitcher Lilly Hutchings; and seniors shortstop and pitch-

MidvaleJournal.com

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

Above: One of the baseball team’s best performances came at home against Highland where the Huskies won 10-2. (Travis Barton/City Journals) Below: Hillcrest High junior Maddie Sluga unleashes a pitch to Cottonwood Colts in their home game on April 28. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

er Shay Thomas; outfielder Shay Minoughan, and outfielder Haley Chapman.

“We just had a better team dynamic this year; everyone got along. Everyone always had positive attitudes,” Sluga said about the full season of play after only getting in three games last year because of the cancellation of spring sports with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Huskies are losing seven seniors (including their entire outfield) who all lettered,

but Anjewierden expects the team to be able to compete in their new region that will include Tooele “who competes well and is a solid team,” Payson “who has a large team that can compete” and Uintah, where “they play softball there.”

This summer, many of the players are practicing on club teams, but Anjewierden expects to have some open practices occasionally in the summer, fall and winter leading up to the season.

“A lot of them are playing club ball and that’s good,” she said. “They can bring what they learn there to the team and we can all learn from each other.”

In baseball, the Huskies placed sixth in region, with a record of 4-10.

The boys won both games against East and Highland. They played Bonneville in the first round, falling 8-16. l

July 2021 | Page 25

A crash course on Salt Lake Valley’s water supply

W

ater is one of those things that people take for granted. We don’t really talk about it much until it becomes an issue. So now that Utah and the rest of the southwest are experiencing historic levels of drought, some Salt Lake valley residents might be realizing how little they know about the topic. So here’s a crash course lesson on the valley’s water supply.

Who manages the valley’s water supply?

The answer to this question depends on where you live.

If you live on the west side of the valley, then most of your water comes from the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. They collect water from Jordanelle and Deer Creek reservoirs, as well as a collection of reservoirs in the Uinta Mountains. Twenty percent of its water also comes from groundwater, pumped from wells scattered around the valley.

The District then sells this water wholesale to cities including Draper, Herriman, Bluffdale, Riverton, South Jordan, South Salt Lake, Taylorsville, Midvale and West Jordan.

It also counts among its customers a few intermediary districts such as the Granger Hunter Improvement District, the Kearns Improvement District and the Magna Water Improvement District. While these smaller districts purchase as much as 90% of their water from Jordan Valley, they also supplement that with their own water supply from wells in the area.

The other big player when it comes to providing water to the Salt Lake Valley is the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake & Sandy.

As its name suggests, this district provides water to Salt Lake City and Sandy City, the first and sixth most populous cities in the state. But wait, there’s more!

Salt Lake City’s Public Utilities department is responsible for more than just its own residents. They also provide drinking water for Cottonwood Heights, Millcreek, Holladay and parts of South Salt Lake and Murray.

More than 60% of all that water comes from the streams of Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon. That water is filtered by facilities owned by either the Metropolitan Water District or SLC. For example, the treatment facility at the mouth of Big Cottonwood is owned

by SLC, while the treatment facility for Little Cottonwood is owned by Metropolitan Water District.

Additionally, some cities own and operate their own water infrastructure to supplement what they purchase from their respective districts. Sandy City, for example, collects and treats water from the Bell Canyon Reservoir. Many cities also rely on various canals throughout the valley as a source of secondary water.

How much does our water cost?

It can be quite expensive to collect, treat, transport and deliver water to the over 1 million people who live, work or play in the Salt

Page 26 | July 2021

By Justin Adams | justin.a@thecityjournals.com

(Justin Adams/City Journals)

Lake Valley.

The Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District operates on an operations budget of about $79 million per year, while the Metropolitan Water District has a budget of about $48 million.

Where does that money come from? The largest revenue source ($48 million) for the Jordan Valley is from its wholesale contracts with its various member agencies. An additional $7 million comes from retail customers, usually homeowners in unincorporated areas that purchase water from the district directly.

The second-largest source of revenue for the district is property taxes, which comes in at about $20 million per year. As a special district with taxing authority, water districts are able to levy a property tax on residents within the district boundaries. The property tax rate for the Jordan Valley is .0004%. The Metro District is below .0003%.

While residents around the valley have likely seen their rates increase over the years due to inflation, they’re still paying much lower rates than many people around the country, according to Linda Townes, public information manager for Jordan Valley. That’s because Utah’s mountainous landscape allows gravity to move our water for us, rather than paying for pump stations which use a huge amount of costly electricity.

Who is running these districts?

Between such large budgets and the task of managing a resource as crucial as water, it bodes asking who’s in charge of these districts.

Special districts are typically run by a

The Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District maintains a Conservation Garden Park in West Jordan, as an example to residents of how yards can be re-landscaped to be more water efficient without sacrificing aesthetics. (Wikimedia)

board of trustees. The Jordan Valley operates under a board of nine members. While the Metro District has a seven-member board.

Members of the board aren’t elected. Instead they are appointed by various legislative bodies from within the district’s boundaries.

Appointees can be elected officials themselves (such as South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey or Herriman City Councilmember Sherrie Ohrn who serve on the Jordan Valley board) or

they can be city employees or even private residents—whatever the nominating body thinks will best represent their interests.

As a governmental body, districts are required to hold regular public meetings. They also publish their budgets and other reports each year to keep residents informed.

Are we in danger of running out of water?

Between the state’s historic drought and rapid population growth, some residents may

Midvale City Journal

wonder if we’re running out of water in the Salt Lake valley.

In short, the answer is no, residents of the Salt Lake valley don’t need to worry about rationing water anytime soon.

When it comes to growth, Townes said that water consumption hasn’t increased at the same rate as the population, suggesting that the District’s water conservancy efforts and efficiency standards have been effective.

“The good thing we’ve seen with growth is that we really expected our water use to skyrocket with the population growth and it hasn’t,” she said. “It’s stayed pretty steady, which means conservation is working. It’s happening. We are seeing a change.”

There are also still untapped sources of water which could come into play down the road. According to Townes, the Jordan Valley expected to begin developing the Bear River in 2015. However, a combination of other new sources and increased water efficiency made that unnecessary. Now, they may not have to dam the Bear River until 2060.

“It’s a pretty cool river and one of the last ones that’s not damned. We don’t want to develop it. It’d be great if we didn’t have to, but it’s our job to make sure there’s enough water for people,” Townes said.

The Metro District is also in good shape when it comes to water supply. Speaking to the Sandy City Council last month, general manager Mike DeVries said there’s no need to worry.

“Despite poor precipitation and snow pack conditions, because of storage and Metro’s various water supplies, we’re in a healthy state when it comes to supply for our member cities. We’re not anticipating any sort of shortages for our metro at this point,” he said.

It’s also important to know that most of the state’s water systems are self-contained.

For example, the systems that supply water throughout Salt Lake County aren’t connected to systems for other nearby counties. So if there are water shortages in other parts of the state, it wouldn’t be possible for them to dip into the supplies of the Jordan Valley or Metropolitan Districts, even if they were willing to share.

How can we conserve more water?

Whether from continued growth or continued droughts, water conservation will be increasingly important for residents of the Salt Lake valley. From the water districts themselves, to municipal governments to residents’ households, there’s a lot that can be done.

At the district level, the Jordan Valley has set a good example by relandscaping all of their facilities to be water efficient by replacing turf with vegetation that’s more at home in Utah’s desert climate.

The District also provides a number of programs, rebates and incentives for residents to improve their water efficiency. Those can be found at www.utahwatersavers.com.

City governments are also getting in on the conservation effort by requiring new de-

Nearby reservoirs like Jordanelle and Deer Creek play a critical role in the Salt Lake Valley’s water supply chain. (Wikimedia)

velopments to meet certain water efficiency standards. Many cities have also taken proactive measures during our current drought. Cottonwood Heights, for example, announced that its popular splash pad at Mountain View Park would remain closed throughout the summer.

Herriman City paused a requirement for developers to install landscaping on new projects, allowing them to delay the addition of extra vegetation until after the summer months.

Residents, meanwhile, have many options

for conserving water. They can do small things like take shorter showers or turn off the faucet while they brush their teeth. They can take advantage of the previously mentioned programs and get a more water-efficient toilet or relandscape their yards. But the most effective and easy thing they can do, according to Townes, is simply water their lawns less. If everyone adjusted to watering their lawns just one less day per week, it would have a huge impact on the region’s water supply outlook. l

Psych 101: Narcissistic abuse centers on control and manipulation

By Cassie Goff | c.goff@mycityjournal.com

“

Narcissism next!” requested a reader after reviewing the previous article covering gaslighting. OK—let’s do it!

(This is where I feel obliged to share a warning. The following article discusses topics of abuse and may be triggering to some.)

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), narcissism is categorized as a Personality Disorder.

Narcissistic personality disorder has been primarily recognized through behavioral patterns steeped in a need for admiration and a lack of empathy. Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder tend to have a grandiose sense of self-importance, believing they are special and unique. In turn, they frequently have a lack of empathy and tend to be envious of others or believe others are envious of them. They may also be preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty and ideal love.

Conversations around recognizing narcissistic traits and managing relationships with narcissistic individuals have gained more popular attention in the last few years.

Now, there are two types of narcissism widely recognized. Overt or grandiose narcissism is primarily described above. Individuals may be arrogant and preoccupied with suc-

MidvaleJournal.com

cess, wealth, attractiveness and power. However, there’s a less explicit type of narcissism.

Covert or vulnerable narcissism may be identified through self-absorbed and/or passive-aggressive behaviors. Individuals with covert narcissistic traits may be highly sensitive and have a history of impersonal and difficult relationships.

Narcissistic abuse has been recognized as a type of interpersonal abuse (and/or domestic abuse) and is beginning to be formally recognized in various governmental and legal documents and policies. On the surface, it may be difficult to differentiate narcissistic abuse from typified interpersonal abuse.

This tends to make narcissistic abuse more complicated and harder to prove. Some of the key reported differences include increase frequency and explicit intentionality. “The idea is that they totally know what they are doing,” reported an anonymous survivor.

Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder tend to exhibit numerous abusive behaviors. They may make attempts at isolation in order to maintain control and attention in the relationship, driving away friends and family relations of the other person. They tend to control finances, monitoring money closely, and only allowing limited access to

certain funds.

In abusive relationships, including those involving individuals with narcissistic personality disorder, there’s frequently a cycle of abuse involved. Psychologists have deemed the phases of abuse as idealization, devaluation and discarding. In idealization, otherwise known as “lovebombing,” the individual may shower the other with praise and gifts. This builds a sense of safety and trust.

In devaluation, the individual may use what was disclosed during the idealization phase as ammo to instill emotional responses and a sense of worthlessness. Then, the individual discards the other before starting the cycle over again.

Additionally, abusive relationships commonly involve manipulation tactics such as being overly critical and controlling, manufacturing situations to elicit emotional distress, engaging in hot and cold behavior, stonewalling, triangulating, blaming, shaming, deflecting and projecting.

Narcissistic abuse can occur in any relationship. While some of the focus above is on abuse in romantic relationships, it’s important to remember narcissistic abuse can be prevalent in friendships, familial relationships and working relationships. Those with

narcissistic personality disorder tend to be interpersonally exploitative as they take advantage of others to achieve their own ends. For example, friendships may only be maintained on a superficial level.

If you, or someone you know is experiencing abuse, some steps of recovery to enact right now may include: validating the survivors experience, identifying abusive traits, breaking habits of empathizing with the abuser, validating one’s own reality, creating or relying on a solid support network, grieving the good parts of the relationship, resolving trauma, improving self-love, and learning to recognize red flags and set boundaries.

In Utah, resources for domestic violence and interpersonal abuse include: the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition, Utah Community Action, Utah Association of Family Support Centers, YWCA Utah’s Domestic Violence Shelter Programs and the Statewide Domestic Violence Info-line LINKline.

Research from Shahida Arabi, Sandra Brown, Thomas Crawford, Ramani Durvasula, Harold Koenigsberg, Kristian Markon, Kati Morton, Rebecca Shiner, Jennifer Tackett, and David Watson. l

July 2021 | Page 27

Willow Canyon second-grader wins national Reflections, wants to win ‘America’s Got Talent’

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

A

Willow Canyon second-grader has big dreams.

“I want to be on ‘America’s Got Talent’ so badly. I hope to get the Golden Buzzer when I go.”

Don’t count out India Boyé to accomplish that goal. The second-grader recently won the national Reflections award in music for her entry, “Indi-rap;” it was her first time entering the PTA contest that has more than 300,000 students in pre-K through grade 12 annually create original works of art in response to a student-selected theme.

“My dad said (maybe I can be on it) when I’m older,” she added about the TV show that scouts for talent.

Her dad, Alex Boyé, is an accomplished British-American musician of his own right and performed on the show, but India wrote and performed this song on her own; it’s a rap about herself and her family.

“I made this song actually up and it was really fun. It’s what my whole life is about. It says my mom is white and my dad is brown, so I might talk to you about my family and how my life and everything like that and I’m doing compliments and I matter because I matter,” she said, tying the song into the Reflections theme: “I matter because….” “I just love making stuff up. It’s really fun to make up a song.”

Her mother, Julie, who also sings in a harmony group, adds: “India always beatboxes around the house. She raps all the time with things on YouTube and things she sees on, well, just bloggers she watches and commercials she hears. She loves the rhyme and makes harmony. It’s a little skill that not many her age have. This girl is a spitfire and has a huge personality and is just not afraid to talk about it.”

India wasn’t alone in her talent as one brother entered visual art and another made a film to enter in the school Reflections contest. However, India is the only Willow Canyon state winner, her principal Marilyn Williams said.

“We had a celebration in her class; her parents participated virtually,” Williams said. “Our PTA gave her flowers, a treat and a trophy. She performed the rap for us in class when we were celebrating. It’s a very inspirational rap about equity and family— amazing insight for a second-grade student.

We are very proud of India.”

India said she was excited, yet uneasy about performing her song in front of her class.

“It was kind of embarrassing, but really fun. It was scary; I was just kind of nervous.

I’ve only done it in front of my grandpa and grandma and my family before,” she said, adding, “But I sing it every day.”

However, she has cherished her award.

Page 28 | July 2021

Willow Canyon second-grader India Boyé (center) doesn’t need “America’s Got Talent;” she recently was awarded the top prize at the national Reflections award in music for her entry, “Indi-rap.” (Photo courtesy of Julie Boyé)

“It’s my first trophy. I just think what happy memories it’s given me, and I was like, ‘oh my gosh’ when they came in to school and everything was so much fun,” India said.

She also was honored in the Old Dome Meeting Hall in Riverton on May 11 along with other state award winners.

Along with India, Canyons School District had several students honored at state including Hillcrest High’s Haley Fries, who won the photography category and Amber Parker, who received an honorable mention for literature; Corner Canyon’s Isablla Pulley, who received an award of merit in photography; Brighton High’s Andrew Jensen received an honorable mention for 3D art; Butler Middle’s Makella Wright, who received an award of merit for dance; Draper Park’s Max Stephens, who received an honorable mention for music and Asia Olcott, who received an award of merit for visual arts and for 3D art; Midvale Middle’s Ava Townsend who received an award of merit for visual arts; Altara Elementary’s Nazareth Diaz received an honorable mention for dance; Quail Hollow’s Evelyn Boardman received an honorable mention for music; Butler Elementary’s Lydia Jensen received an honorable mention for photography and Dakota Brown received an honorable men-

tion for 3D art; Brookwood’s Judd Pohlman received an award of merit for 3D art; Oak Hollow’s Adalyn Olcott received an honorable mention for 3D art; Lone Peak’s Sawyer Arnold received an award of merit for visual arts; and Sunrise’s Scarlett De Agostini received an honorable mention for visual arts.

PTA Region 17 director Terri Francis said that typically Canyons District does well in Reflections.

“I’m always extremely impressed with the originality of ideas students come up with that tie into the theme,” she said. “We have some pretty talented kids, and the number of entries was 19% higher than usual. I think the online submission made it easier for students to do it on their own and families to submit them.”

Haley’s state-winning photograph is of a row of green chrysalises, with one black, ready to emerge into a butterfly, she said.

The Hillcrest High student compared that chrysalis with herself: “There was only one and that only one is of me.”

Haley said that she and her mother were walking around a garden when she saw it and thought it would make a good Reflections entry.

“I really like to play with perspective in my photo and I saw it and I was like, that would be a really good photo and a really

good representation,” she said.

This was Haley’s first time entering Reflections; she studied online this past year.

It was through a PTA email as well as the school website posting results that she found out that she won.

“I think it’s crazy; I didn’t think I’d make it this far,” she said. “It was like really unexpected.”

India placed her state trophy alongside some medals she received in gymnastics— and now, her silver medal for winning national Reflections.

For winning nationals, she also will receive a certificate, a $200 Young Artist Scholarship, and have her work featured in the traveling exhibition.

Singing for a talent show isn’t the only thing India wants to do so maybe television baking contestants should be wary.

“I want to bake at my house, but not actually as a job—and I want to sing,” she said.

Then, she continued.

“I’m wanting to do Reflections again for sure. I really like to sing, and I do it a lot. I’m wanting to do another rap. My dad, I like doing harmonies with him too,” India said, adding that she may ask him to record with her next as they recently sang a song together. “I don’t know what it’s called, but it goes: ‘We like to cherish these days.’ l

Midvale City Journal

City Journals Economic Overview Economic recovery brings inflation concerns

By Robert Spendlove | Zions Bank Senior Economist

T

he Utah economy continues to improve.

Job growth is accelerating, unemployment is dropping, and wages are increasing.

However, the emerging trend of inflation is causing some struggles in the economic recovery.

Inflation essentially describes the principle that prices rise over time. It’s actually good to have inflation; it encourages investment and

overall growth. However, if inflation grows too much it erodes the value of cash and can cause asset bubbles, which then can crash.

An example of this is lumber prices, which nearly tripled in price from July 2020 to May 2021, but have dropped nearly 50% in the last few weeks.

Inflation has been increasing nationally and locally for the past few months. The national Consumer Price Index rose in May by 5% from a year before. This is the highest inflation since the summer of 2008. Prices regionally were also up significantly in May, increasing 4.7% over the past year.

A primary cause of this recent inflation is the economic reopening. A year ago, as the pandemic spread and as the economy shut down, demand for many goods and services evaporated. This caused prices for things like gasoline, hotel rooms, and airfare to collapse.

With many people now returning to work and going on trips, demand has surged for these products. Gasoline prices alone are up 56.2% in the last 12 months, and the price of used cars and trucks has surged 29.7% over the same period. Airfares are up 24.1% in the last year and increased 12.2% in the last month.

The big question now is how long this

high inflation will last. Is this a temporary surge or is it the beginning of a prolonged period of price pressures? No one knows for sure and this is a topic of intense debate. The Federal Reserve, which sets interest rates, has said they are concerned about unexpected high inflation but they want to wait and see what the future brings over the next several months before pulling back on monetary policy that encourages growth.

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

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MidvaleJournal.com

July 2021 | Page 29

Drought and fireworks… a bad combination

Aimee Winder Newton Salt Lake County Council | District 3

When Governor Cox asked all of us to pray for rain several weeks ago, my family and I talked about additional ways we could do our part. We made the decision to turn off the water while brushing our teeth, shorten our showers, and only water our lawn twice per week. We also made the decision not to do fireworks this year because of all the dry brush and potential impact on resources should something go awry.

Most of Utah is experiencing extreme or exceptional drought. As Governor Cox explained recently, this is either the worst drought since 1956 or the worst drought ever. We have seen our reservoirs and lakes at record lows. In addition to the little precipitation over the last year to refill our lake and rivers, we also have more people than ever consuming water in this state. Luckily Utah has done a great job of planning for the future; but if we don’t cut back on water usage this year, we may find ourselves in a position where we will need to ration water in future years.

Little things make a big difference when it comes to water conservation.

There are things you can do like not letting the water run full blast while brushing your teeth or washing your pets near vegetation to get a secondary benefit. Utah’s slowtheflow.org has great advice for how to act during a drought. I found very help-

ful their tips on lawn management, namely: 1) water your lawn twice a week, 2) don’t water if it’s windy, 3) water in the evening or before 10 a.m., 4) prioritize your watering in the following order: trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, grass, and 5) raise your mower to leave your grass longer. You should also check out utahwatersavers.com, where you can find details on rebate programs for taking all sorts of water wise steps. While I can understand the desire to have the greenest lawn in the neighborhood, this year it’s cool to have yellow or brown lawn. You are showing your neighbors that you care about them and are conscientious water consumers during the drought.

Paired with being water wise is being fire smart this summer. This includes the small things, like discarding of cigarettes in the proper receptacle and not driving over or parking your car on dry vegetation.

It also includes the more mindful things, like only starting campfires in cement or metal firepits, never leaving them unattended, and fulling drowning them until cool to the touch. Utahfireinfo.gov has even more information to consider for your summer plans. Lastly, consider going to a planned city fireworks show for the holidays rather than having your own fireworks. It saves money, and it’s much safer

since local fire departments are onsite at those planned fireworks shows.

Usually on the 4th and 24th of July we get together with neighbors and light fireworks in our circle. Not this year. Due to the high risks that fireworks pose, we will be having a barbecue and playing games to celebrate the holidays. I’m a big fan of liberty and freedom, but I’m also a big fan of personal responsibility, so join me in watching your water usage and forgoing fireworks this year. Let’s be smart and be part of the solution!

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Page 30 | July 2021

Midvale City Journal

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Life

Laughter AND

by

PERI KINDER

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It’s been said that when we make plans, God laughs. Do you think that’s a silly giggle or a maniacal James Bond villain laugh?

The last few weeks brought a string of first-world irritations that felt like a game of Whac-a-Mole. I hit one problem and another one popped up. I pound that problem but end up hitting myself in the face with a rubber mallet. I can hear God LOLing from here.

Despite our daily devotion to it, our TV stopped working. We shook the remote and pushed buttons as hard as we could, but there was still no picture. Just a dark, mocking abyss.

We decided to run away from our responsibilities by driving to Idaho and checking-in at an Airbnb. (The room was nice, but the bed was shaped like a taco. I slept on the couch so I didn’t roll over in the night and suffocate my spouse.)

Every 50 years, my husband likes to visit Yellowstone, so we left our Airbnb and drove to the national park to snap pictures of the bison, tiptoe around the geysers and marvel at the wondrous number of people who had the same idea. #HelloCOVID After getting lost in Yellowstone and stopping for Mexican food so we didn’t starve to death, we crossed the Teton Pass just as the sun was setting. Deer lined the road, waiting for the right moment to lunge in front of our car. We’d see their eyes glow-

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ing in the dark, then hit the brakes before driving on. It took us 245 years to get back to our Airbnb.

The drive back to Salt Lake the next day was pleasant, except when I had to give my husband the silent treatment because he wouldn’t take me to the Potato Museum (#PotatoIceCream). After we crossed back into Utah, the truck in front of us kicked up a rock that hit the car’s windshield, leaving an extensive and expensive crack across the glass.

Used to be, when you broke a windshield, you’d call the junkyard and they’d take a windshield out of a car in their backyard to replace the broken one. Today’s windshield has monitors, antenna and tracking devices, so it’s worth half-a-million dollars, according to the windshield repair shop.

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We made it back home, picked up the dog and gave everyone their Yellowstone golf balls and Idaho potholders. I looked forward to a nice hot shower but (joke’s on us) the hot water heater stopped working and was chuckling with God and the TV. They all had a good laugh together.

We forked out more cash so we could have hot water, collapsed into our non-taco bed and slept.

A few days later, my husband said, “We have a gas leak in the basement.” It took me a minute to understand what he was saying because he was so calm. My husband is notoriously terrible under stress.

“Why are we still in the house?” I asked.

“Where else would we be?” He responded.

“Not in a house that could explode if we make toast.”

We hustled everyone to the neighbor’s lawn until the gas company gave us the okay.

The water heater had been installed incorrectly but our house wasn’t going to blow up. Today, at least.

I rarely look at the dark side of life and by the end of the week I was chortling right along with God, the TV and the water heater. Sometimes, LOLing is the only thing you can do.

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July 2021 | Page 31

1

work, play and pay with salt lake County Parks & Recreation this summer!

2

Apply: jobs.slco.org

Join our team

4

3

Work and have fun

AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’

SOMETHING ROTTEN!

SEPT 10 - 25, 2021

FEB 25 - MAR 12, 2022

ASS

FIREFLIES

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OCT 22 - NOV 6, 2021 WORLD PREMIERE!

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NEW PLAY READINGS JUN 9 - 18, 2022

July 2021 | Vol. 18 Iss. 07

FREE

‘WE HELP EACH OTHER’—A STORY OF KINDNESS IN THE MIDVALE COMMUNITY

By Sarah Morton Taggart | s.taggart@mycityjournals.com

O

ne day Wendi Hatfield stopped to help a family in need and ended up being touched by someone else’s kindness.

Hatfield was walking her dogs in Midvale City Park in late April when she saw a car with a broken wheel. She thought the car might be stolen so she called Midvale City Police and quickly got a call back from someone at The Road Home Midvale Family Resource Center.

“They informed me the vehicle was not stolen,” Hatfield said. “It belongs to a shelter resident who drives it just a short distance to stay at the park for the day. I looked around and saw a man with a child about six years old on a blanket under the tree. They were sleeping.”

Hatfield returned home, but couldn’t stop thinking about the little boy.

“I had to go back,” Hatfield said. “I got a bunch of food, water, snacks and asked if I could chat.”

She confirmed that the car belonged to the man and offered to help him get it fixed. She posted on the Midvale Residents Facebook group page and someone recommended a mechanic named Don (who wishes to keep his last name anonymous).

“He came over within moments,” Hatfield said. “He was the sweetest guy. He said the wheel needed to be fixed because it was destroying the car every time it was driven.”

Don started calling around, looking for the part he needed, and Hatfield went back to work. The mechanic spent the entire afternoon searching for the part and finally found it in Salt Lake City.

Continued page 3

Don, the “Nomadic Mechanic,” got stranded in Utah but found work fixing cars with help from the Nomad Alliance. (Photo courtesy Nomad Alliance)

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