South Jordan City Journal | July 2020

July 2020 | Vol. 7 Iss. 07

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s schools remained closed through the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic, many high school seniors had a different graduation experience than what they expected.

One of those graduates is student and dancer Tiffany Hipple of South Jordan. With the honor of valedictorian, Hipple was asked to give a speech to her fellow graduates for a virtual ceremony May 27.

“It was not what I expected,” she said. “But at the end of the day it’s about relaying that important message that we’re all in this together. We have what it takes to become successful adults, and that’s what’s most important.”

Hipple said she learned that being valedictorian was a possibility during her sophomore year, but she tried not to get too fixated on it.

“My main goal was just to work hard and get the best grades I can,” she said. “If I get valedictorian great; if I don’t, I did my best. I try not to compare myself to others. Everyone has their own struggles. If I’m doing what I can, that’s the best I can do. That’s all I can ask for.”

Hipple strove to take at least one honors class a year, whether it be English, world government or biology. She graduated from the online school Utah Connections Academy, which she began attending after seventh grade to have more time for training in dance.

“The reason I started to do online school was so I could have more time to live out my dream and train as much as I can,” she said. “So, by the time I graduated, I’d be more ready and prepared to become a professional dancer. That’s really my dream in life.”

Hipple was originally planning on moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in dance, until the coronavirus pandemic. Now she plans to attend Utah Valley University, a plan with definite upsides, she said.

“This can be good; I’ll still be training where my family is,” she said. “I can train at my studio and work and do all that really fun stuff.”

Hipple typically trains at Pointe Academy in Highland, although she trains at home more now. She trains in all styles, but her favorites are jazz, ballroom and contemporary.

“They make it so personal; they make it feel like a second home,” she said of the studio. “Before COVID happened, I was there probably 20 to 30 hours a week. Now, I train around 40 hours a week because I’m home, and I’m not doing school.

I’m training all day. It’s been great, although I do miss it.”

Hipple said that seeing her friends from the studio less is difficult, but they find ways to keep in touch, including chatting on Zoom.

She said it’s important for young people to know that while the situation is not ideal, with uncertain futures and upended plans, it’s important to still have motivation and confidence.

“We’re all in the same boat, dealing with the same thing,” she said. “There’s a lot that is going on but because we are going through this, it gives us a little edge and grit that we can really push past any challenge that we’re given and fight for our future.” l

Tiffany Hipple of South Jordan throws her cap in the air in celebration.

Hipple graduated as valedictorian of her class at Utah Connections Academy and provided the speech for a virtual ceremony. (Courtesy of Tiffany Hipple)

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July 2020 | Page 3

Bingham lacrosse team made most of short spring season

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.co

In the first UHSAA-sanctioned lacrosse season, Bingham Miners beat Lone Peak High in their second game.

(Caleb Keller/Bingham High)

S

itting proudly at Bingham High is the ball from the first goal of the first sanctioned boys’ lacrosse game in Utah history.

That game, played at Bingham’s stadium, was the first game this year where the Miners beat Olympus, 13-11 in the first year of Utah High School Activities Association sanctioned play. The Miners went on to defeat Lone Peak 6-5 in overtime before falling to Brighton in their third and final game of the abbreviated spring season.

“I think we would have finished fourth in state,” first-year head coach Brett Everill said.

“Brighton, Park City and Corner Canyon are the top three teams. Last year (in club play), it was those three and Lone Peak and Olympus, and we beat those two schools.”

The lacrosse season was cut short by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which first put spring sports and school on a two-week “soft closure” in mid-March before ultimately canceling all spring sports and putting classes online until the end of the school year.

“We highly encouraged our team to go out-

ournals

side, work on skills on their own, and many of them did,” he said. “I met on Google Hangouts with the captains, and they shared information with their groups of boys. I received lots and lots of emails forwarded from administration about the season and how it was continuously changing. Even now, we’re on a wait-and-see on what sports will look like this school year.”

Everill said coaches are uncertain what the upcoming year will look like, although school districts have begun to allow for summer training. He said rules could vary depending if there is contact play, sharing a ball with hands, team busses and meals with social distancing and more.

Safety precautions such as taking temperature checks, sanitizing equipment and players bringing their own water bottles already are expected, he added.

Aside from how COVID-19 may impact sports and upcoming seasons, Everill said that because Bingham has been a club team, there are players starting as early as second grade and growing up gaining experience.

“We have good depth and tons of potential, but we have (nine) seniors graduating and they’re amazing,” he said. “I’m really going to miss those seniors. They’re really good athletes, but they’re also good boys, grateful young men.”

While 17 of the 42 members of the varsity and JV lettered in its first sanctioned season, Everill and other coaches are finding ways to allow those seniors and teams one last playing opportunity. This summer, as a club team— South Valley Lacrosse—they will play a fivegame season against Highland, Park City, Corner Canyon, Alta and Westlake.

“We’re doing everything we can to give our seniors one last chance to play,” he said.

“The kids have worked so long and so hard.”

Their final non-sanctioned game opponent, Westlake, will serve as a sort of senior night since the team members also are on the school team.

The summer season also replaces a proposed Jordan School District Lacrosse Cup that was hoped to be played in early June, but did not receive approval from the Jordan Board of Education.

It is shorter than the 16-game UHSAA season, where the Miners were to play other teams based on the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index system) as well as within their region, which included Copper Hills, Jordan, West Jordan, West, Herriman and Riverton.

Everill, who took the head coaching position from his offense coordinator post when coach JD Barnes stepped down this winter, began playing in seventh grade on the Bingham club team, which began in the late 1990s. He continued to play through high school.

“The [UHSAA] hasn’t opened up a sport in a long time—I’d bet in over 30 years,” he said. “There was talk when I was playing two decades ago about making lacrosse a sanctioned sport. In the long run, it will level out the playing field. Lacrosse is an expensive sport,

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and a lot of kids can’t afford to play. By being sanctioned, schools will be helping out picking up the gear costs.”

He said Bingham administration has been coordinating payments and forms—things parents did on the club team—and travel arrangements, from excusing students from class for a game to arranging transportation. The coaches and administration also emphasis good grades and citizenship, focusing on the student part of student-athlete.

“It’s been fun having this be part of the school,” Everill said. “We thought we’d get one season under our belt this year, but we’ll have to restart in a lot of ways, and there will likely be brand-new rules, a new landscape carrying over from the coronavirus. We likely won’t be able to hold our camp for younger players, and we’d like to do a team service project, but we just don’t know what that will look like. We’re hoping to add spots on our roster (at February tryouts), so we’d have 52 players, but we’re just jumping through hoops in our first year while facing all this. It’s just a wait-and-see approach while we plan ahead.”. l

Bingham Miners celebrate their play although their spring season was shortened as the UHSAA cut spring sports seasons in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo courtesy of Conner Green)

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Herriman and Draper cancel, Riverton and South Jordan continue with front-line salute

By Stephanie Yrungaray | s.yrungaray@mycityjournals.com

Fireworks went off on May 30 as Riverton and South Jordan hold front-line salute. (Photo by Kew Li Wen on Unsplash)

H

igh winds, fire danger and downtown protests may have reduced the number of cities participating in a firework show to celebrate front-line workers, but the show still went on.

The Frontline Salute fireworks show was scheduled to take place May 30 and encouraged residents of Riverton, South Jordan, Draper and Herriman to #stayhomelookup.

Each city purchased fireworks to shoot off from a city park that coordinated with the other participating cities. iHeartRadio was one of the sponsors for the event and broadcasted a playlist and special messages from

town mayors that synced with the fireworks show. However, on the day of the event both officials from Draper and Herriman made the decision to pull out.

The weather was the first hurdle that the nonparticipating cities faced. A day filled with high temperatures and strong, gusty winds meant an increased chance of fire danger.

“Both Herriman and Draper have wildland interfaces,” said Draper Mayor Troy Walker. “We could burn mountains down so we need to err on side of caution.”

The next issue cities faced was safety concerns stemming from a decreased police presence. May 30 was the first night of the downtown Salt Lake City protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

“Our police chief had to go downtown, and our resources were too thin,” said Herriman City Councilmember Sherrie Ohrn. “We never want to jeopardize the safety of residents, so we made the decision to pull out. We were disappointed because we really wanted to participate.”

“The entire Draper Park was a fallout zone [for fireworks], and we had to have a police presence to keep people out of it,” said Walker. “We sent officers down to the protests

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in Salt Lake, which meant we didn’t have enough of a police presence to keep people out of [the park].”

South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey said her city’s leaders considered the weather and protests but ultimately decided to continue with the show.

“We spoke with the police chief and fire chief, our city manager and our city council and got their input,” Ramsey said. “There were no concerns in our city for public safety since it wasn’t a gathering event. We didn’t have officers scheduled to be at a specific place.”

Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, who was the originator of the front-line salute idea, also made the decision to continue with the fireworks show, with a last-minute change to his mayor’s message.

“An hour or so before the show started, we changed some of the sound-bites to include a call for civility,” Staggs said.

Both Staggs and Ramsey said they had overwhelmingly positive feedback from residents of Riverton and South Jordan.

Riverton resident Andy Wade and his family were able to see both fireworks shows from their car. He said the unusual events of

the day made it even more meaningful.

“That was almost exactly why we needed [the fireworks show] even more,” Wade said. “As soon as we close things down in the face of adversity, it shows we are giving in.

The front-line salute was a great way to show our strength as a city and community.”

Margaret Cowley has many family members who are front-line responders. She especially loved the recorded messages included with the broadcast music.

“The messages and expressions were exactly what we needed at that time,” Cowley said. “[The mayors] felt it was even more important to continue with the plans in face of what was happening to encourage unity and community. I really appreciated that there are leaders here on a grassroots level that are upholding those really important values in our society.”

Both Draper and Herriman have plans to reschedule the front-line salute for their cities.

“Everybody was disappointed that we had to cancel,” said Draper City councilmember Tasha Lowery. “We are absolutely going to reschedule for the fall once the fire risk goes down. We 100% want to honor all frontline workers.” l

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Jordan Ridge ALPS program to move, South Jordan Elementary can move to traditional calendar

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

Patron Kyle Anderson spoke to the Jordan Board of Education June 9 about an option of reducing overcrowding at South Jordan Elementary by moving about 200 students to Jordan Ridge Elementary in fall 2021. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

I

t was a room divided.

South Jordan Elementary parents pointed out their school has eight portables because it’s overcrowded with 1,060 students. They were promised a traditional schedule as yearround conflicted with other children’s schools as well as day care and summer camp options.

A proposal, among many, on the table was to move about 200 South Jordan Elementary students to Jordan Ridge. Jordan Ridge’s 180 ALPS (Advanced Learning Placement for Students, a gifted and talented magnet program that serves high-ability students) students then would be moved to a school within the Jordan School District that has space. The move would take place for the 2021–22 school year and allow South Jordan Elementary to switch to a traditional school calendar.

Jordan Ridge parents said their ALPS children are woven into the fabric of that school and helped to shape many of the extra-curriculum learning opportunities. Some pointed out they bought their homes in South Jordan to allow their children to attend the ALPS school.

On June 9, Jordan Board of Education voted 4-3 in favor of that proposal, which they hope will end this recent three-month divide.

“That made it tough,” said Board Vice President Tracy Miller, who voted in favor of the proposal. “It’s not what we wanted to do.

My heart goes out to everybody who will be changing schools. We just had to look at it reasonably versus emotionally.”

South Jordan Elementary falls within Miller’s district. Jordan Ridge is under Board member Marilyn Richards, who voted against it.

“I can see the wisdom in moving ALPS; it is the most fiscally responsible option, but I liked the option of phasing out the Jordan

Page 6 | July 2020

Ridge ALPS program and transitioning to another school,” Richards said. “I hated the idea of dismantling a good program. It’s a hard decision all the way around.”

Third grade ALPS teacher Kimberly Sanders said before the decision that it would be “heartbreaking” if the ALPS program moved.

“It’s such a big part of Jordan Ridge,” she said about the program that has been at the school for more than 20 years. “ALPS is the pulse, the heartbeat of our school. It’s an emotional and tough decision for the Board, and I hope the community can accept whatever decision is made.”

South Jordan parent Carlie Barrus believed the Board made the right decision.

“It’s better to rip the Band-Aid off quickly than to remove it slowly,” she told the Board.

While the school that will host the new ALPS program has yet to be identified, many believe it could be Jordan Hills, approximately 4 miles west of Jordan Ridge. Miller said the district administration will make recommendations, which then the board will decide.

A timeline for that was not established at the meeting.

Miller said the board also will realign boundaries to move the approximate 200 students and will be taking patron and community input.

During the meeting, many patrons said they were upset that the options the board was reviewing weren’t the same as what was posted.

“We felt bad they felt blindsided,” Richards said. “Those were just talking points for us, and we were brainstorming different options besides moving ALPS.” Some other options included adding more portables to South Jordan Elementary, turning

the school’s computer labs into classrooms and moving the students with special needs to another location. Last month’s board meeting even explored the possibility of constructing a new school in the east South Jordan boundaries, but Miller said although all South Jordan elementary schools are full, at this time there were other areas of the district that needed the resources more.

Ultimately, those weren’t on the table. In addition to the two possible moves, the board also proposed not moving ALPS at all but revoking permits at South Jordan Elementary and changing boundaries for about 100 students. The final option was to have a phaseout of the ALPS program, but it would leave a cluster of the program behind for those students who live in the Jordan Ridge boundary.

By putting South Jordan Elementary— the last elementary school in the state on a year-round calendar—to a traditional calendar, Miller said it would give teachers more support on their curriculum and they would be able to attend trainings and professional development as well as collaborate with others that would be difficult as they otherwise would be teaching or off-track. It also would streamline bus and nutrition services and allow custodial staff more time to deep-clean the school in the summer months.

However, not everyone was happy with the way it was decided.

“I feel like the whole situation could have been avoidable,” said Emily Evershed, who, along with Robyn Wilson and Rachel Hardy, represented 46 Jordan Ridge families.

“This greatly impacts dozens of families and about 200 students at each school. It has been a constant issue for the school board for years; they’ve been kicking the can and now, finally made a decision with a lack of vision. Families are looking to the future, and there is no clarity, no plan. It seems like they are no longer wanted at a school where they have given so much.

If there was a plan in place, this all could have been avoided.”

Evershed said she will wait to see where ALPS will be moved to before she decides whether her two younger children will continue in the ALPS program. In addition to the new ALPS school, patrons have the option of having their children attend Riverton or Westland elementary schools’ ALPS programs.

Revoking permits at both schools is still on the table, Miller said. She said that there are 23 permits at Jordan Ridge, all for ALPS siblings or children of employees. There are 39 at South Jordan Elementary.

Parent Lynel Miller pointed out that those ALPS students who live within the Jordan Ridge boundary weren’t surveyed if they would move to a new school for the accelerated program or remain in their boundary school

and join the neighborhood classrooms. However, the board vice president said that they made allowances for those 44 students in the Board’s decision.

Also on the table is introducing some sort of accelerated learning program in each school, although board members said they didn’t yet have a plan as to what it would look like or when that would happen.

Lynel Miller isn’t sure that will give enough of a faster-paced and more challenging curriculum for her twin second graders enrolled in the ALPS program at Jordan Ridge.

“Many students test into it, but not all want the challenge,” she said. “I had an older daughter who wanted and did ALPS—to read two hours per week, work on math a grade ahead of her peers, spend time on science and history projects and book reports. I also have a son, who tested in, but he didn’t want that challenge. If the board decides to water down ALPS and take it into all the schools, it will be the very first thing to be cut in the budget.”

Evershed is glad the board plans to talk about accelerated learning in a future meeting.

“I’m grateful it’s not the end of the discussion about ALPS,” she said. “It’s a big decision they made, and it opens a lot more questions than closing concerns. Now it’s time to move forward to address those around the program.

Every student deserves to grow, wherever they are and can get the push to learn farther.”

South Jordan Elementary Parent Heather Van Leeuwen also was glad the board made a decision.

“We needed to move forward,” she said.

“It will likely be my neighborhood that will move with a boundary change, and it will be sad to say good-bye to friends and teachers and start over, but the school is overcrowded.

If there was somehow in an ideal world, a way to stay, we would. South Jordan Elementary is a great school, and we love the school. I’ve only heard good things about Jordan Ridge, so it will be a little easier going from one good school to another.”

Tracy Miller also questioned the timing of this discussion over the past few months during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The board vice president said it was because of the school being year-round and the need to look at it to safely open on the yearround calendar that made it “more urgent.”

The board did decide to have the school open with the traditional school calendar date and shorten its off-track time by three weeks to meet the required days of school.

South Jordan Elementary parent Megan Stohl agreed that change for any student is hard.

“If we’ve learned anything these last few months, it is that our children are resilient,” she said. l

S outh Jordan City Journal

Local student-artists honored as state Reflection winners—virtually

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

Koda Brady, with his principal, Nick Hansen, smiled as a double winner at Golden Fields Reflections contest. (Photo courtesy of Jillian Brady.)

A

junior high boy is smitten by a girl and is desperately trying to impress her. Instead, on more than one occasion, he trips and even loses all his notes before an entire class.

“The Crush,” which ends with the girl falling for the boy when he is taking care of his baby sister, is the film that captured the state PTA Reflections title

by Hillcrest Jr. High filmmaker and student Leif Larson.

Leif was to be one of several area students to be honored at the state Reflections awards night, but instead, he watched from afar as the ceremony was aired virtually in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The theme for entries was “Look Within.”

“I was still surprised I won,” Leif said about the Award of Excellence in film. “I got the idea after we were throwing around ideas at dinner. I thought sure, I’d try to do a rom com (romantic comedy) and got some friends to help.”

The Murray teen estimates that he spent 25 hours on the project, beginning last September. He created sketches and a storyboard, learned how to edit from his older brother, and found music, as the entire story was delivered without dialogue—until the parting shot after the credits rolled—when the boy and girl learned they were second cousins.

S outh JordanJ ournal.com

“I had done Reflections when I was younger and won at region, but this is the first time I had won at state,” the eighth grader said. “I had a lot of fun doing it, and I learned new things while doing it.

It’s a way we can express ourselves and still have fun.”

In fact, Leif was a double award-winner, as his photo of the night sky at Capitol Reef National Park took the state’s Award of Merit.

Now with summer ahead of him, he already is brainstorming ideas to the theme, “I Matter” for this upcoming year.

“I want to win nationals someday,” he said. “I think if I put enough work into it, I can do it.”

Leif isn’t the only student set on working on Reflections entries this summer.

Crescent second grader Carter Rasmussen in Sandy plans on “making up melodies every day for an hour” while he plays piano this summer.

Carter was the Utah’s primary division Award of Excellence winner in music in his first time entering Reflections. He composed and played a piece he titled, “I Found my Groove.”

“I liked the tune of it and named it because I like playing piano,” Carter said. “I tried playing soccer and all

sorts of sports, but I didn’t like it. Then, I started playing on my grandma’s piano, and I found I really like it.”

His mother, Taran, said that Carter can hear a song and is able to play it.

He immediately started writing his own music and has been encouraged by his piano teacher.

“He is our musician,” she said.

“We’re athletes, and when we put him in sports, he didn’t like it. My mom had a piano, and he sat down and played. He has an ear for music. His grandma on the other side plays as well.”

Carter sets up his own practicing.

“I practice an hour every day after I’m ready for school,” he said. “On Fridays, I go to my piano lessons, and on Sundays, I compose my own songs.

When I grow up, I want to be an organist for the Tabernacle Choir (at Temple Square). I like the Tabernacle’s giant pipes.”

Like Carter, Golden Fields fifth grader Koda Brady in South Jordan regularly practices his passion—dance.

Koda was the special artists Award of Excellence winner in dance for the state.

In his performance, “This is Me,” he dances moves he learned from a special needs dance class at a studio, ones he watched from TikToks and some he originated, said his mother, Jillian.

“He has a really cute heart and he dances all the time—in the hallways, the sidewalk, at recess,” she said.

Koda added that he dances on his trampoline and is working on perfecting a back-flip as well.

While Koda’s teacher was encouraging him to enter a photograph he took of kids in a heart, which he did, Koda also wanted to enter in the dance category.

“I can feel it; I just like to keep dancing,” he said. “I can feel the music.”

Koda performed his routine at his house and his sister edited the video submission.

Both Koda’s dance and photo entries won at his school level and at district and advanced to region. At the regional level, his dance entry received the Award of Excellence and advanced to state.

Koda’s medals from the earlier rounds and his state acrylic plaque are on a shelf in their kitchen. His teacher and principal were excited and congratulated him on his success, his mother said.

“I’m proud of myself,” Koda said.

“I like watching the video of me dancing again and again.”l

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Live Life Vibrantly July 2020 | Page 7

What’s your legacy?

Local bakery pitches in during the pandemic, two bread loaves at a time

By Carl Fauver | c.fauver@mycityjournals.com

Steve and Lucy Borg started Schmidt’s Pastry Cottage nearly a half century ago. The longest running of their three current locations is in Taylorsville. (Brett Borg)

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When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

Those were among the wise words of advice Fred Rogers offered his preschool-age television audience on his long-running PBS program, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” And they are the same words the Borg family has included on the message of hope they have been putting on the plastic bags they’re using to seal and donate loaves of bread, two at a time.

The Borgs own and operate Schmidt’s Pastry Cottage stores in three Salt Lake Valley locations, including Taylorsville.

For three months, they have been donating bread to anyone who asks for it.

“My mom would kill me if she saw the numbers; we are inching toward 50,000 loaves of bread (given away)—which normally cost $2 to $3,” said Brett Borg. “We are accepting donations for the bread, but are only spending that money on ingredients. Our stores are covering employee costs.”

Brett’s parents, Steve and Lucy Borg, own Schmidt’s stores in Taylorsville, Sugar House and South Jordan. Their Crossroads of Taylorsville shopping location (5664 S. Redwood Road) has been open the longest of the three, since the “mid1980s.” Chelsea Pacheco is that store’s assistant manager.

“Our manager will be out until mid-July so, for now, I am our only fulltime employee at this location, along with about 10 part-timers,” Pacheco said. “We make about 180 loaves of the free bread each day. Sometimes there are a few loaves left over the next day, but most of the time it all goes. Some people make donations;

some people buy other things while getting their free bread; and some just grab their two loaves and go, which is fine.”

So why are the sourdough, French and Italian loaves given in pairs?

“My dad said if we only give one loaf of bread, then we are the only people who get to feel good about helping during this [pandemic] crisis,” Brett said. “But if we give two loaves and tell people one is for them, and one is to give to another person then others also get to feel good about what they are doing.”

The bread giveaway has also allowed the Borgs to retain their entire 45-person staff (at all three locations), without any reduction of work hours. A Paycheck Protection Program PPP loan also assisted the Borgs in covering a couple of pay periods.

“I have heard many emotional stories from our customers who are giving bread to others,” Pacheco said. “It makes me feel so good to work for Schmidt’s. Steve [Borg] is just a really great guy.”

In addition to the in-store bread giveaways, Schmidt’s has also taken their show on the road a couple of times.

“On May 17, we gave away 900 loaves of bread outside Cyprus High School in Magna, and two weeks later we gave out another 650 loaves at Kearns High,” Brett said. “Several members of our family were involved, particularly in that second giveaway.”

In addition to both his parents still working full time for the stores, Brett’s wife, Jenny, is a cake decorator for them.

His twin sister, April, also works for Schmidt’s, along with a younger sister (Kristi), an uncle (Ralph), and nieces and nephews.

The stores’ flour providers—Ardent Mills and Honeyville—have each donated about 5,000 pounds of flour to the bread giveaway effort.

In addition to accepting cash donations for their bread giveaways at their store locations, Schmidt’s is also accepting online donations through the mobile payment service Venmo.

“Some of our tweets about the bread giveaways have been retweeted, even by national journalists,” Brett said. “We have received about $4,000 in Venmo donations from all over—New York, Florida, Canada. Another $2,000 to $3,000 have been dropped off at our stores.”

As Fred Rogers’ mother would be quick to tell the former TV host, that’s a lot of “people who are helping.” l

S outh Jordan City Journal

South Jordan trails offering Story Walks

By Susan Palmer | s.palmer@mycityjournals.com

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COME TRY OUR NEW MENU IN THE 19TH & MOOR CAFE. NEW IMPROVED DRIVING RANGE! The walking path has stories from popular children’s books posted along the trail. (Susan Palmer/City Journals)

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ooking for a pleasant place to walk, run or ride your bike? Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, South Jordan officials turned the Jordan River Trail into a Story Walk.

The walking path has stories from popular children’s books posted along the trail to help keep young and young-at-heart readers interested while they are getting some much-needed freedom and exercise outdoors.

The Story Walks began on April 10 and will continue until Aug. 30.

This has been successful in attracting people to the Jordan River Trail, so now there is a second option. The Bingham Creek trail has also been turned into a Story Walk.

These trails are a welcome change to walking on the city streets of South Jordan dodging traffic and road construction. The traffic with the return to work for many people in the state of Utah has also meant a return of traffic to SoJo streets. This means more noise, more pollution and also more interruptions while walking and running.

The South Jordan River Trail Story Walk offers a park-like atmosphere along the Jordan River. The tree-lined trail along the river is a welcome return to nature with birds and butterflies and the calming effect of the meandering water of the Jordan River. People are walking, running and riding bicycles.

Dogs on leashes are also welcome. There is even an equestrian trail for horseback riding.

The traffic noise is minimized in most of the park. Now, there is the added attraction of

S outh JordanJ ournal.com

children’s stories posted along the trail for interested people. The trailhead for the River Story Walk is 947 West Shields Lane.

The Bingham Creek Trail Story Walk is also removed from traffic and follows the Bingham Creek dry wash in South Jordan.

This trail will be part of the new Bingham Creek Regional Park that is now under construction as a joint venture between South Jordan and Salt Lake County. This trail has a park-like atmosphere also and an asphalt trail and a welcome change from the ever-increasing traffic noise and pollution. The entrance to the Trail is at 4500 West Skye Drive.

Participants can submit photos to South Jordan with their favorite pages and send them in for a chance to win prizes. Instructions can be found for photo submissions at www.sjc.utah.gov/event/sojo-story-walks/.

“It is important to keep offering recreation programs to residents during these uncertain times to help improve our resident’s mental well-being and reduce stress,” said Janell Payne, South Jordan’s associate director of recreation. “South Jordan City has a group of amazing coordinators that have been able to think out of the box and come up with these fun and exciting activities.

When taking part in these activities, be sure to use social distancing and also be careful and safe with children and pets along the Jordan River waterway. l

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S outh Jordan City Journal

Rotary Club assembles, donates 200 medical face shields

By Libby Allnatt | l.allnatt@mycityjournals.com

T

he South Jordan Rotary Club assembled and donated 200 medical face shields for the Jordan Valley Medical Center.

Sharon Haupt is the current president of the South Jordan Rotary Club and has been a member of the club for 20 years. She said the idea for the donation came from a rotary club in California, that coordinated the project to help get the equipment to first responders and health care workers. Materials were provided from an FDA-approved supplier associated with the rotary district in Southern California.

“They found the supplies and gave us the information so that we could order some,” she said.

Many different rotary clubs were involved, with the opportunity to donate the face shields to an organization of their choice.

Haupt said that the South Jordan Rotary Club wanted to give back to the Jordan Valley Medical Center because that is where the club has held meetings.

“We used to meet there weekly and have a breakfast there,” she said. “We wanted to do something for them.”

A member of the rotary club contacted the Jordan Valley Medical Center, who said they could use the medical face shields. The club On June 2, the South Jordan Rotary Club presented the Jordan Valley Medical Center with the 200 medical assembled the medical face shields themselves face shields they assembled. (Courtesy of Sharon Haupt) and presented them to the center on June 2.

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Face shields can help protect the wearer’s eyes, nose and mouth from exposure to the coronavirus.

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit Utah in March, the South Jordan Rotary Club has found other ways to help the community as well. The group has connections to the Hopi Reservation in southeastern Utah, where Haupt said they used to make annual trips. When the pandemic started, a member of the South Jordan Rotary Club went to the Hopi Reservation to help bring necessary supplies that had been difficult to find.

“He went down with a truck and a trailer full of supplies, formula, diapers, water, dried rice—he took so much,” she said.

The South Jordan Rotary Club has 18 members. The club is a nonprofit organization dedicated to service. Haupt said the club focuses on one goal each year. This year’s theme being literacy, the group gave books to elementary school students and also read with them weekly through February.

The South Jordan Rotary Club was also involved in the development of the inclusive, all-abilities playground at East Riverfront Park in South Jordan in 2019. Annually, the club helps provide for Thanksgiving food boxes for families in conjunction with Knights in Columbus in Taylorsville. l

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July 2020 | Page 11

City approves final budget, will revisit every two months

By Susan Palmer | s.palmer@mycityjournals.com

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South Jordan City Council approved the final budget on June 2. (City Journals)

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he South Jordan City Council approved The General Fund is the operating fund the final budget to start July 1 at the elec- of the city for general service departments tronic city council meeting on June 2. and detailed here.

The budget for the year 2020–2021 does Function Percent Description not increase property taxes for South Jordan.

Public Safety 42% Police/Animal The city’s total appropriated operating bud Control/Fire get of $118.7 million is made up of the genPublic Works 9% Fleet/Streets/ eral, special revenue, debt service, enterprise, Streetlighting/ internal service, and trust and agency funds.

Cemetery The city’s adopted budget provides esPlanning & timated revenues and expenditures for proEngineering 11% Planning/ grams and services to be provided during the Engineering/ fiscal year from July 1, 2020, through June

Building 30, 2021. A separate capital budget includes Admin.Services 23% Parks/ appropriations for infrastructure related to Recreation/ projects, such as roads, buildings and equip Communicament that may require more than one fiscal tions/ year to complete or to acquire.

Facilities General Fund $49,050,172 Class C Road Funds $3,022,000 General Special Revenue Fund $17,144,558 Government 15% Manager/ Transportation Tax $1,300,000 ACM/ Debt Service Fund

$6,451,782 HR/Finance/ General Capital $3,000,000 CityComEnterprise Fund $33,389,625 merce/ Capital Equipment $1,043,000 Attorney Special Revenue Funds have an operating budget of $17 million. Special revenue funds are used to account for specific revenues that are legally restricted to expenditure for particular purposes.

Debt Service Fund is used to account for

the accumulation of cash and for the disbursement of debt payments. It has an operating budget of $6.4 million. Transfers to the general service fund are made from other city funds.

Regular payments are then made to the city’s creditors, such as bond holders, according to the requirements of each individual debt.

Enterprise Funds are expected to be self-supporting and funded entirely from user fees for services. No tax revenues are used for these activities in the FY 2021 budget. Administrative fees are charged to enterprise fund for general government services. Administrative fees charged for FY 2021 to support general government services total $2,876,198.

More detailed information is available on the South Jordan City website.

There are issues with the new budget related to the COVID-19 shutdown. SoJo budget is mostly funded, about 42%, by sales taxes collected by the city. However, because of the statewide shut-down for the pandemic, sales taxes are likely to not be as robust as they have been in other years, according to Chief Financial Officer Sunil Naidu. Because of this issue, South Jordan leaders have decided to revisit the budget about every two months. The accounting department will continue to monitor the budget for any shortfalls.

“Those projects that are ongoing could be delayed, and we will be watching them closely,” Naidu said. .l

S outh Jordan City Journal

Virtual middle school art show has more participants, more viewers than ever

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

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This year, more viewers could appreciate Jordan School District middle school art show because entries can be seen virtually on Instagram. (Screenshot)

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his year’s Jordan School District middle school art show perhaps has reached more viewers from all over the world than ever before.

That’s because the show went viral—virtually.

“We had a Zoom meeting with art teachers in our district, and we put the idea out there to hold it virtually,” Mountain Creek Middle art teacher Jodie Milad said. “The teachers wanted to try to do it, to hold some normalcy. We’ve put up as many students’ pieces as possible, to showcase their hard work.”

Milad teaches ceramics and painting but said she was impressed by entries from all the middle schools.

There were entries using different techniques, drawn in pencil or pen, painted in acrylics or watercolors, items made from cardboard and other recycled materials as well as created in wood and clay.

“I’m so proud of kids from all the schools,” she said. “The work is beyond what is expected from many for this age group. Some students already had their work submitted by mid-March; some teachers selected from what they did during the year. Art is therapeutic, and kids can express themselves. This is a traumatic time; their anxiety can spike, but the work they do can showcase how they’re feeling and given them a way to express their talent. They should be proud of what they created and accomplished.”

The show has no theme, so students could enter any classwork or artwork on their own.

Posting students’ names were optional.

Organizers said there were positive aspects in hosting an online show: more students’ work could be submitted since there wasn’t a

S outh JordanJ ournal.com

restriction on physical space; visitors could view the art at any time that was convenient; and everyone got to be part of the show instead of only those that were selected.

There are 170 middle school art submissions.

While the teachers didn’t know if the different venue or avenue would attract attention, the initial feedback was great, said Norman Emerson, Jordan School District’s fine arts consultant.

“The show has grown over the past few weeks, and it has captured what we want to do—to showcase our students’ artwork,” he said. “I hope any student, not just art students, have worked with teachers to submit their work.”

Originally, the middle school art show was scheduled for two weeks, April 24–May 8, at the Viridian Center.

The high school art show, which featured 105 submissions, also was done virtually.

“Some students may be disappointed as they work toward the art show and want their work to be judged top notch, but this has opened it up to a much larger audience; there are comments worldwide,” he said. “We’ve probably had more people see the art shows than those who stroll by it at the Viridian Center.”

Emerson said he would like to return to the library venue in upcoming years, but he won’t look past keeping a virtual show as well.

“The virtual show is a good thing,” he said.

“It really has been positive with a lot of great, insightful posts. People are supportive and are amazed at the work of our students. Having this platform and those words of encouragement can be powerful in a students’ lives.” l

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July 2020 | Page 13

Donor pays students’ outstanding lunch balance with work bonus

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

An anonymous donor, who got a bonus at work, paid for every one of the 1,200 students’ outstanding lunch balances. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

S

hortly before Elk Ridge Middle went on soft closure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, an anonymous donor paid for every one of the 1,200 students’ outstanding lunch balances.

“He came in and told Angie (Whitney, head administration assistant) that he wanted to do that,” Principal Curtis Jenson said. “He didn’t know how much it would be.”

The total came to about $350, less than

the $1,000 he expected to pay, Curtis said.

Assistant Principal Spencer Campbell said that is because the school provides regular alerts to families about negative balances.

Whitney said he has a connection with the school.

“He said he got a bonus and just wanted to help out,” she said.

Donations aren’t uncommon to Elk Ridge Middle administration, saying they

may receive a couple per year.

“We recently had a donation from another person connected to the school,” Jenson said. “That donation was made specifically for technology, which has been helpful this spring with online learning.”

Campbell added that other donations in the past have ranged from the theater department to aid in the musical production to helping provide crisis counseling assistance for students.

Donations are coordinated with the Jordan Education Foundation.

“Every once in a while, we have people who do something like that, pay for lunches, and it’s fantastic,” Foundation Director Steven Hall said. “It helps pay for kids’ balances on lunches that the families may not be able to pay.”

Hall also said that through generous donors, grab-and-go meals during the nine days surrounding spring break this year were paid—and not just to the cost of $6,500 but an additional $1,500 to help with further meals for students.

“Within 24 hours or close to it, we had people donating $20, $50, $100 and even a couple $1,000 so we could put food into the hands of families who needed it,” he said.

“They were so grateful, especially during this time of COVID-19. We put it out there on social media and our citizens and good people around just responded to the need.”

Hall said at another time, “a random guy with no kids in the district” donated $2,500 to the Jordan Education Foundation earmarked to help stock principals’ pantries.

“He said, ‘Use this to help feed the hungry kids,’” Hall said. “It’s great how people are responding and making a difference. I think with now, we’ll see a greater need and donating to the foundation is an easy way to help, and it goes straight to the children.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Hall said Jordan District officials were helping feed one out of every four kids, which he said is about the national average. He expects that number to rise, so the need for help feed those children is more.

Hall said individuals, businesses and community, service, church and civic groups and organizations can volunteer and contribute by going to the Foundation website, https://www.jordaneducationfoundation.org, and click on “get involved.” l

we are open

model trains | outdoor exhibits scavenger hunts | take home activity sheets

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Page 14 | July 2020

S outh Jordan City Journal

Bingham baseball gets Last Chance to play as a team

By Josh McFadden | josh@mycityjournals.com

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core a win for the Bingham baseball team over COVID-19.

After the pandemic wiped out the high school baseball season, along with all other spring sports, it looked as though senior athletes all over Utah would never get to represent their schools again.

During the final week of May and first week of June, 18 prep baseball teams took to the diamond again in the Last Chance Baseball Tournament. Though the Utah High School Activities Association didn’t sponsor or sanction the tournament, the games were meaningful to those who took part. Bingham was among the participants, as the Miners got back in action after a more than two-month hiatus.

The coronavirus may have halted the official season, but the Miners and their nine seniors made the most of their return to play.

Eight class 6A teams participated in the tournament, which began May 29 with pool play. The Miners faced three other teams in a round-robin format before advancing to the double-elimination championship bracket. In

Head coach Joey Sato talks to the umpires during Bingham’s final game in the Last Chance Tournament at Lone Peak High School. (Photo by Pat McDonald)

S outh JordanJ ournal.com

its pool, Bingham went 2-1, defeating Jordan (6-4) and American Fork (9-3), while losing to Riverton (9-8).

In the championship bracket, the Miners scored a big win over Pleasant Grove, 12-1, on June 2. Bingham advanced to the next round where it had a rematch with American Fork on June 3. Unfortunately for the Miners, this game didn’t go nearly as well as the previous meeting. American Fork pounded

Bingham 15-1, sending the Miners to the one-loss bracket.

After dispatching Syracuse, Bingham narrowly lost to Copper Hills in extra innings, 3-2, knocking the team out of the tournament.

Bingham played just one game in the 2020 season before the UHSAA suspended play for two weeks. That decision then expanded to a May 1 return to action before the

governing body announced a season cancelation. In its lone official game, Bingham lost to Spanish Fork by the score of 4-3.

While there is still some uncertainty about what the 2020–21 school year will look like and whether sports will return in their full capacity, the Miners look tough on paper for next season. This past season’s roster listed nearly 30 underclassmen. l

Joey Dixon was one of nine seniors on the Miners baseball team to play in the Last Chance Tournament. Dixon is committed to pitch for Stanford next year. (Photo by Pat McDonald)

Joey Dixon unleashes an guttural roar after striking out the side to get out of a late-inning jam against Copper Hills. (Photo by Pat McDonald)

The Miners played some excellent defense during the tournament. In its pool, Bingham went 2-1, defeating Jordan (6-4) and American Fork (9-3), while losing to Riverton (9-8). (Photo by Pat McDonald)

Owen Mortensen was one of nine seniors on the Miners baseball team to play in the Last Chance Tournament. Mortensen picked off several Copper Hills baserunners from behind the plate as a catcher. (Photo by Pat McDonald)

July 2020 | Page 15

Diversity in literature a potential answer for minority students, antidote to racism

By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

West Jordan Middle School literacy specialist and language arts teacher Tara Pearce visits Raj Ghat, a Gandhi memorial, while promoting empathy through diversity in literature. (Photo courtesy of Tara Pearce)

Many books that teach cultural empathy are not approved for use in the school classrooms. (Photo courtesy of Tara Pearce)

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f the 700 books on the approved booklist for middle schoolers and high schoolers in Jordan District, only 8% are written by authors of color.

“All of the books tend to cater toward a certain type of student,” said West Jordan Middle School literacy specialist and language arts teacher Tara Pearce. She is pushing for a booklist that reflects the minority students who make up 25% of the district demographic.

“Stories change people’s lives,” Pearce said. “And having a role model that you can actually identify with also changes lives. I just want all of my students to have a really great mix of role models of characters or people that they can look up to, to help to find who they want to be.”

The lack of diverse books is a stumbling block to literacy for students who don’t fit into a traditional white American family mold, said Pearce.

“Students can read at a higher level and read and comprehend at deeper levels when the book is engaging to them, when it’s interesting and relevant to them,” Pearce said. “My goal is to find real-world, relevant texts for my low readers.”

The problem is, these books often contain profanity or sensitive subjects that raise red

Page 16 | July 2020

flags with the booklist approval committee.

Pearce respects that many parents don’t want their students exposed to that kind of content but believes those books should be available as an option to those with differing values.

She wants parents to trust teachers to handle the sensitive topics responsibly and not as an excuse to push their own personal or political agendas.

“I’m not trying to push sketchy books on some sweet little girl,” she said. “My goal is to be able to give some books to kids that actually do talk like that and look like that.”

She also believes diversity in literature benefits all students.

“It’s good for all students to have perspectives outside of their own—that’s how we learn,” she said.

Herriman High School AP English teacher Whitney Borup agrees.

“I teach that every writer comes from a political point of view,” she said. “And so, to have this reading list that we have that is dominated by white voices is, I think, really problematic.”

She points to the example of “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, which has been studied by high school students for decades.

“That’s the way that we’ve often been introducing students to issues of race in America, but that’s written by a white woman,” Borup said. “They never get a book in high school that’s written by a black writer on the same issues. And so, they get a really skewed kind of one-voice perspective.”

To get a new book added to the district booklist, a teacher submits a request to the committee, which reviews it and votes to approve or reject the book. Pearce regularly submits requests; the majority are rejected.

Borup served on the committee for two

years and said, in general, the committee tries to be open-minded. However, she said the teachers and parent representatives from each school that served on the committee with her represented the same majority community.

She said they rely on teachers to bring alternative books to their attention, but not enough of these types of books are being submitted for review.

Pearce continues to encourage her colleagues to submit books that reflect diversity.

She also encouraged a Latinx parent to represent WJMS on the booklist committee this year and hopes her presence will provide an enriching perspective.

Pearce believes there is also a need for books representing different cultures, backgrounds, religions, sexual orientations, etc.

This diversity in literature is imperative for developing empathy for those who are different and for creating a culture where everyone feels safe and accepted.

Fortunately, at WJMS, Pearce’s students have access to books not on the booklist—not in the classroom but in the after-school meetings of The Empathy Project. With the full support of administration and parents, students read and discuss books about topics such as discrimination, poverty and gender identity.

Parents are required to sign off on every topic and every book category before their student

participates. Trained teachers lead the discussions, often with contributions from community leaders, such as Lex Scott from the Utah chapter of Black Lives Matter, who met with the group earlier this year.

“We felt like it was our duty to give a place for discussion about topics that really heavily affect their school experience and their lives,” said WJMS Principal Dixe Garrison.

As educators realize the need to teach empathy to combat bullying, suicide and racism, the Empathy Project has gained international attention. Pearce, Garrison and their colleagues have presented to packed rooms at numerous conferences around the country.

Many educators have requested the Empathy Project booklist and curriculum.

This spring, Pearce was invited to India to teach a weeklong empathy training at a school in Mumbai. While there, Pearce visited Raj Ghat, a memorial for Gandhi, where she was again inspired by his call to “be the change you wish to see in the world.” It reminded her of her role as a student advocate.

“It is my job to value my students for what they bring to our community,” she said.

“It’s my job to make sure they are represented in our community and that they have voices that are heard in our community.” l

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Jordan School District sack meals scheduled through early August

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Thyme Meleisea-Vea Elk Meadows ordan Education Foundation honored Elementary 61 teachers—one from every school in Jody Herzog South Jordan Jordan District—as this year’s Outstanding

Elementary Educators. JEF members were joined by School proud principals, colleagues, family memBryan Mineer Elk Ridge bers and even neighbors to surprise the ed Middle ucators with balloons, yard signs, gift bags, Amanda Davis South Jordan honking and cheering outside their homes Middle and schools.

Matt Walker Bingham High “I think the timing could not have been School better,” said JEF Executive Director Steven Hall, who acknowledged teachers have Local recipients of JEF student scholarworked extra hard this year. “I think it was an ships: Aniuska Semprun Copper Hills absolute morale boost for all of our teachers,

High School not just the ones who were recognized, but all Jacquelinne Bolanos West Jordan of the teachers that we’re able to celebrate.

High School They don’t expect pats on the back but they Emily Rhodes Valley High deserve them.”

The 2020 JEF Outstanding Educators School from this area are: Mitchelle Vallejo Bingham High Linzi Pettey Daybreak School School Ezra McFarland Riverton High Andrea Utley Eastlake School School

S outh Jordan City Journal

Bingham soccer gets final few games with Graduation Cup Photos by Travis Barton Bingham High takes on Skyridge during the Graduation Cup in Farmington. Independently organized outside of the Utah High School Athletics Association, the tournament featured 28 teams split into two divisions. Bingham participated in the “Pomp” division where they played Skyridge, Farmington and Roy.

The tournament was played across one week with Bingham playing three games in three days. The boys would fall in each game to Farmington, Skyridge and Roy. Bingham High takes on Skyridge during the Graduation Cup in Farmington. Independently organized outside of the Utah High School Athletics Association, the tournament featured 28 teams split into two divisions. Bingham participated in the “Pomp” division where they played Skyridge, Farmington and Roy.

Bingham would take an early lead against Skyridge before succumbing to a 5-2 defeat.

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July 2020 | Page 19

For senior track athletes, a lost season means ‘goals destroyed’

By Justin Adams | justin.a@thecityjournals.com

S

eth Robertson first learned about the possibility of school getting canceled in anatomy class. At the time he thought, “That’s not going to happen. Stuff like that never happens.”

Of course, we all know what happened next.

Herriman High track and field coach Jonathan Haag thought the precautionary closing of schools and canceling of spring sport competition would be temporary.

“There was so much stuff happening with the NBA shutting down, that I really figured it would get shut down, but I really didn’t think it was going to last this long,” Haag said. “I thought we would still have a shortened season.”

Just before schools closed, Haag had his team get-together and told them there was a good chance they would have to start training on their own, something that is much more difficult than training as a team.

“It’s just so much easier when you have your pack,” Haag said. “You have the social interaction before the workout. When you have the whole team together, they can’t help it. But when you’re all on your own, the motivation is just so much harder to come up with.”

“You need the people around you to push you and help motivate you. It’s a whole

different game,” said Robertson, who lost his senior season because of the pandemic.

Robertson had high hopes entering this season. His top time from the mile run last year was 4:19, just four seconds slower than the school record. He set goals to break that record, and translate that improvement into a scholarship and a spot on BYU’s track team.

But without the guidance of coaches and the advantage of training with his teammates, Robertson said he just got slower and slower this spring. (Even if he had gotten faster, there were no UHSAA-sanctioned events in which he could have proved it.)

“It’s kind of like, goals destroyed,” he said.

Haag understands the frustrations and anger.

“It just makes me sick—four years of work and getting there, and then it’s out of their control,” he said about the multiple seniors whose chance to accomplish their goals was taken away from them. “We had multiple seniors who really put in lots of work and who had made huge jumps and were going to be contending to win state individual. I felt the worst because they had chances to break school records, to become state champs and then also get interest from colleges.”

While it definitely hurt to lose his senior season, Robertson said there may be some

Due to the lost track season, Seth Robertson missed out on a chance to break school records and earn a scholarship to BYU. (Justin Adams/City Journals)

positives to come out of the experience, such as being forced to figure out how to draw inspiration and motivation from within himself instead of relying on coaches and teammates.

“Now that I have to run on my own, it’s different,” he said. “It’s helped me be more independent so I don’t always have to rely on the coach.”

That skill will prove important as Robertson heads on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he’ll try to keep in shape and stay ready for a place

on Utah Valley University’s track team that will be waiting for him when he returns.

As for the Herriman Track team, Haag is a little worried about the future of the program, even if COVID-19 concerns go away by next spring.

“When next year’s season rolls around, will they have the motivation to come back and give it another go?” he said. “We, as coaches, will have to work hard to keep building those relationships with the kids.” l

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S outh Jordan City Journal

Logistics still need tweaking, but girls wrestling officially sanctioned

By Greg James and Julie Slama | g.james@mycityjournals.com

T

he Utah High School Activities Association has sanctioned girls wrestling .

“Yes, I voted to sanction it,” UHSAA board of trustees member Marilyn Richards said. “I’m a fan of making an opportunity where the interest lies.”

The UHSAA currently supports 14 sports and activities for 155 member schools.

Utah is the 20th state to sanction girls wrestling.

The sanctioning laid the groundwork for an official state championship tournament to be held in February 2021. In the meantime, there are many obstacles to overcome, including classifications, weight classes, regions and logistics. Some schools still need practice times and coaches.

Girls will no longer wrestle against boys, which has been a huge sticking point.

In 2016, Davis County student-athlete Kathleen Janis, and her family, sued the

school district to allow her to join the junior high wrestling team. After the suit was settled, Janis was allowed to try out for her school’s team. As a graduating senior, she wrestled for three years at Layton High School.

Sage Mortimer, from Spanish Fork, is the No. 1-ranked female wrestler in the country at 100 pounds, and yet she still finds boys who refuse to compete against her.

As a non-sanctioned sport, the athletes were forced to participate in coed teams throughout their high school seasons. Coed wrestling can be difficult for the girls. Boys of the same weight class are generally stronger, and boys did not want to wrestle against their female counterparts.

“It’s a boys only team,” they were told by many league organizers.

The national organization, USA Wrestling, has sponsored several girls only meets to help promote the sport.

In February, there was a fifth girls state

championship at Telos High School in Orem.

Westlake High School won the title, Fremont placed second and Cyprus was third. In 2019, Kearns took home the championship.

The number of girls participating in wrestling has increased steadily. In 2019, 78 girls participated in the state tournament; this past season 117 did. Cyprus had a team of 16. According to the National Federation of High School Associations, the number of female wrestlers has nearly doubled the last three years.

“Girls are already wrestling in schools, so this way they can put things in place,” Richards said.

“We have had girls every year,” Hillcrest Athletic Director Sally Williams said. “We have not had enough to hire a separate coach.

Being sanctioned will give girls an equal playing field.”

Being sanctioned allows girls to wrestle other girls but does not solve all the sports problems. Finding coaches and organizing into regions and classifications is going to be a big job.

Hunter High School is currently looking for a coach for its girls team. Athletic Director Pam Olson said they have posted the position three times and have had no applicants.

Cyprus recently hired Jhonny Carrero to take over the program from former head coach Cara Romeike who moved on to become the women’s wrestling head coach at Hastings College.

“I met the right people at the right time,” Carrero said. “I think we have a great team returning. We have two state placers and a returning state champion. The girls are spreading the word. When school starts, I think more girls will be interested, especially when they see the environment. We are a team; we want to win a title this year.”

The Pirates have had 18 girls attend summer conditioning. Carrero expects 25–30 to join the team by the time the season starts.

“I have scheduled a couple of duels alGirls will be wrestling girls next season Caption: Girls wrestlers such as Angie Magana will no longer compete ready,” Carrero said. “I know Westlake and against boys as the Utah High School Activities Association has sanctioned girls wrestling. (Greg James/City Fremont want to get together, and there are Journals)

a few smaller schools that are trying to start programs. We are trying to work together as a wrestling community to build the sport.”

Schools in the Midwest often offer women’s wrestling as a competitive sport.

“Sanctioning is a great thing,” Carrero said. “Wrestling could give these girls opportunities after high school. There are many places for these ladies. The sport is growing and growing fast. Ladies should join the ride.

The bonds they can build with teammates is what can last forever.” l

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S outh Jordan City Journal

First month of sales tax numbers show uneven impacts of COVID-19

By Justin Adams | justin.a@thecityjournals.com

T

he forced closure of many businesses in the Salt Lake Valley because of COVID-19 precautions was not only a concern for business owners, but also city governments whose monthly revenue is heavily dependent on sales tax distribution. However, there is a two month delay from the time the sales tax is collected to the time it gets deposited into a city’s account.

That meant that city leaders around the valley weren’t able to see the initial economic impact of COVID-19 on their city budget until the month of May, when the Utah State Tax Commission released its report for the month of March.

The report surprisingly showed that many cities in Salt Lake County saw increases in taxable sales relative to the same month in 2019 meaning people actually spent more money in spite of all the store closures. How could that be?

Interestingly, it seems that the smaller a cities’ economy is, the better they have fared so far during the pandemic. Of all the municipalities in Salt Lake County, the nine smallest economies all experienced increases in sales from March 2019 to March 2020.

Of the six largest, four experienced decreases (Salt Lake City, Sandy, Draper and Murray).

Herriman City, for example, had less taxable sales than any other city in the county in March 2019, with just over $18 million.

However, in March 2020, that number grew to $26 million. That’s a growth of 43%, the

S outh JordanJ ournal.com

highest in the valley. (Of a city’s taxable sales, 1% of the sales tax goes toward local government, with half being allocated based on where the purchase occurred and the rest being allocated to cities based on population.

Because of this, the amount of sales tax funds a city receives isn’t exactly proportional to the amount of taxable sales in that city.)

So what has caused cities with smaller economies to fare better during the pandemic? Basically, smaller cities have a higher proportion of “essential” businesses. In a smaller and younger city like Herriman, a larger portion of its businesses are things like grocery stores and fast food, which were able to not only stay open, but to even see record sales.

Herriman Assistant City Manager Tami Moody told the City Journals that what many consider a weakness of Herriman (it only has fast food and grocery stores) turned out to be a strength during this time.

“Herriman obviously has fast food and grocery industry. Those two have actually been the industries that have fared better than most. Fast food is already set up to have a drive-up window. When this all started, people were heading to the grocery store to make sure they had everything they needed,” she said.

On the other hand, cities which saw the biggest decreases in taxable sales had a few things in common. One, large shopping malls that were forced to close. With the closures

Cities with smaller economies were more likely to see an increase in their taxable sales this March, relative to their sales from March of 2019.

of The Shops at South Town and Fashion Place Mall, Sandy and Murray saw -5.9% and -16.6% drops in taxable sales. Two, a couple of cities lost sales from the closure of venues for professional sports and other entertainment, such as Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy and the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City. Interestingly though, West Valley City which has both a shopping mall and a major sports/entertainment venue, yet was still able to produce more sales tax than

it had in 2019.

Of course, all these numbers come from March, the first month that the virus began to seriously impact the United States and people bought so much that they literally emptied grocery store shelves. The sales tax report numbers for April and May will likely yield more insights into the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on city budgets. l

July 2020 | Page 23

Even with online school, teachers appreciate students with awards

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

A

lthough the end of this school year may have looked different than any before, Jordan Ridge third-grade teacher Kimberly Sanders knew it was important to give all 22 students in her class their year-end awards.

Since she couldn’t do it in person, because of schools transitioning to online learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sanders announced the awards over the last Zoom session with her students, June 3.

“Their faces lit up on the screen and were excited,” she said. “I shared the slides on the screen so they could see them, but they’ll have to come see me before the backto-school night to pick it up.”

The awards ranged from the “computer whiz” in the class to the “bunny lover” award.

The latter, she said, really touched her.

“She said, ‘I can’t believe it. I’m proud of myself.’ They were so cute and happy. I just looked at their strengths and tried to make it meaningful and fun. It was sad to say goodbye this way, but it gave them a lift at the same time.”

The school’s teachers also selected two citizenship awards for their class and then, students who worked to earn their Soaring Leader awards received them when technology items were turned in at the end of the school year.

Mountain Creek Middle School, like many schools across the area, presented its year-end awards virtually in light of the “soft closure” of schools because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Screenshot)

Jordan Ridge wasn’t the only school to present end-of-the-year awards.

At Mountain Creek Middle School, Assistant Principal Tim Brooks said administration and teachers worked together to nominate and deliver awards for each grade level on a recorded video, available on their website.

Since the school is in its first year, they looked at other schools’ awards before deciding on their own.

“The kids don’t know about the awards other than attendance or high GPA (grade-

point average),” he said before the video was posted. “So, there will be surprised faces.”

The video was posted in early June, after year-end drop-off of Chromebooks, textbooks, library books and picking up the memory book, filled with highlights from the school’s ribbon-cutting with South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey and the first school assembly to their abrupt end of in-person classes because of COVID-19, Brooks said.

The yearbook’s theme, “Your Future is Bright,” is what teachers and administrators have tried to maintain during the last months

of the school year as ninth-grade teachers posted a fun video saying goodbye to their students and the dance teacher edited together the last performance to share. Even Instagram posts have kept an upbeat message.

“We’ll be mailing out the award certificates and medallions, so the kids feel a sense of the end of the school year and everything is fresh in their memories. By doing this, we can start next year anew; we don’t know what that will look like, but we can be ready. In the meantime, we’ll keep posting messages to the students saying, ‘hey, you’re OK; you’re buoyant, resilient’ and we’ll keep adding some humor.”

Cottonwood High instrumental instructor Amber Tuckness also wanted to ensure her 150 students received their awards.

Together with the music council, they awarded instrumental students awards from most improved to excellence in music. In a virtual award ceremony, the music council announced the awards before distributing them to students.

“I didn’t want this to be dropped or have anything taken away from the awards,” Tuckness said. “We gave every single one of our students an award and clapped and cheered for them. I even got sentimental and cried because I didn’t get to give them a hug and tell them how much I appreciated them.” l

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S outh Jordan City Journal

Long-term educators appreciate farewells—even at a distance

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

I

nstead of worrying about her own retirement in the last days of the school year, 29-year educator Shauna Maughan was coming up with a virtual fieldtrip to replace the one she had planned to the Natural History Museum of Utah and Red Butte Garden since the response to COVID-19 closed schools and many places around the Salt Lake Valley.

Even though Maughan was coming up with other activities, she was still sad that her first-and second-grade gifted and talented class at McMillan Elementary didn’t get to participate in making cardboard cars for the youngsters’ traditional movie drive-in held annually in the school multipurpose room.

“Some have been creative and instead of making cars, they created a bus, a jeep, even a spaceship,” Maughan said. “It was sad that it just had to end abruptly like this. I had some fun things planned and didn’t get to say goodbye like I usually do.”

Maughan and others at her school who retired had a reverse parade, where families drove by the retirees at the school. She received some sweet notes and small gifts and got elbow bumps instead of hugs.

“I missed the hugs, but it was an end of year with a different look,” she said. “I had said, ‘I’m going out with a bang, but instead it kind of fizzled.”

Many educators had similar exits—a virtual classroom goodbye, a parade, notes dropped at the school, or a sign or a banner.

“I love what I do and having the interaction with children, but this (end of the school

year) wasn’t the same. I wouldn’t want to do it again. I can’t imagine not being here with the kids (in the fall if the pandemic continues),” Maughan said.

Education has changed with the times.

There are fewer teddy bear picnics or dinosaur days and instead of relying on teacher experience in the classroom, teaching comes from analyzing student data that’s gathered to better focus on improving students’ academic success, she said.

Her principal, Joy Sanford, also is retiring after 25 years in both Murray and Canyons school districts and was sad that she, too, wasn’t “going to get that last hug I had hoped for.” In fact, Sanford had yet to reach out to students and their families to tell them she was retiring when the school went into “soft closure” that extended through the end of the school year.

Sanford backs Maughan’s assessment on education. When Sanford was an instructional coach, she would research the best practices of instruction and share those with teachers. Now, she’s hoping she will be able to do that as a mentor for principals after retirement.

Sanford also said that there’s more of a social-emotional look at education as “life looks very different than what it did.” While she acknowledges technology brought a lot of changes, she said that it changed the culture of knowledge to students and along with it, “a whole different way to communicate and socialize.”

After 29 years as an educator, Shauna Maughan was sad the school year ended abruptly in her classroom without carrying on her year-end traditions one last time before retirement. (Teresa Bigelow/McMillan Elementary)

The social-emotion part of education is something Oakdale Principal Lori Jones pointed out in Canyons District. With years teaching and serving as a counselor, Jones recognizes the power of emphasing positive behavior as a preventative measure.

“When students are focused on being kind, they do things that make a difference in the world,” she said. “It helps the world and it helps them. When they’re mean and bullying, it causes social-emotional problems.”

Students also tend to be greeted by teachers with a time to share and outline the goals for the day.

“Students know what is expected and they’re being recognized and awarded for meeting expectations. They feel good about school and it’s a happy and safe place,” Jones said.

And there’s a change in technology— from film strips to flip grids, from overheads to digital storyboards. Coding is replacing cursive in many classrooms as is a teacher lecture.

“Kids are more engaged in their own learning and doing more partner sharing.

Teachers are now the guide and navigating student learning and knowledge,” Jones said.

After 36 years in education, Jones said it’s time to tackle her reading list, look at a memory book that was given to her, and McMillan Principal Joy Sanford hadn’t yet announced to her student and families that she would be retiring eventually travel once it’s safe to do so. when COVID-19 hit and she realized she wasn’t “going to get that last hug I had hoped for.” (Teresa Bigelow/ “It hasn’t been a bad retirement, just a McMillan Elementary) different retirement,” she said.

S outh JordanJ ournal.com

Jones joined other Canyons principals Christie Webb and Sandra Dahl-Houlihan in saying goodbye to students at a reverse parade at Sandy Elementary, where Webb served her final year.

Webb, who like Jones isn’t one for the spotlight, said she will miss her community of kids and teachers, but has a list of things she’d like to do—starting with sleeping in.

Dahl-Houlihan was principal at Sandy Elementary for several years, but her final year of her 30-year education career was at Bella Vista in Cottonwood Heights. She has several retirement goals: mastering baking with yeast by making cinnamon rolls, reading romance books on her porch and interacting with locals while traveling.

“We didn’t end the year in the usual way,” she said. “Bella Vista always has an egg drop, but this year, we challenged families to do the event. We usually have a field day and the PTA gave directions how to do it together. We usually have an end-of-theyear slide show and a fifth-grade clap-out, and those were done virtually. But I was able to see and thank so many families who came to the parade and tell my faculty 6 feet apart how much I appreciate them, so there was some closure, just not hugs. I’m going to miss the kids, their funny stories, their quirky ways, their jokes and laughter. Kids are the best part of education. It’s where the magic is.” l

July 2020 | Page 25

State parks offer social distancing with a view

By Joshua Wood | j.wood@mycityjournals.com

U

tah’s State Parks welcomed more visi- itation was on the rise this spring. East Can- more people in April than in years past, acIn Southern Utah, campgrounds in state tors than normal this spring as residents yon, Deer Creek and Willard Bay all saw cording to Swalberg. parks have been full, while day use has also sought a safe escape from COVID-19 quarincreased. Kodachrome Basin State Park antine. With restrictions easing throughout reported full campgrounds in spring once much of the state and people looking for safe county-level restrictions were eased for state ways to get out, officials anticipate that visiparks. The appeal of open spaces has contintation to continue. To keep people safe during ued to attract visitors. peak seasons, officials encourage visitors to “Once you hit the trails, you’ve got room practice responsible recreation in state parks. to spread out and practice social distancing,” “We didn’t close any doors,” said Eusaid Nathan Martinez, park manager at Kogene Swalberg, public information officer dachrome Basin State Park. “I think people with the Utah Division of Parks and Recrewere tired of being cooped up. They wanted ation. “Many of the parks saw greater than to get outside and do some hiking, and this is normal seasonal visitation.” a great place to do your social distancing.”

Initial lockdown measures restricted visUtah has 44 state parks and museums itation to Utah State Parks to county residents and over 2,300 campsites. Visitors can hike only in April. Then, as restrictions eased in or bike 324 miles of trails in state parks. The May, park visitation took off. The four state parks reflect the diverse landscape of Utah parks near St. George, for example, all saw and offer visitors the opportunity to get out. higher than normal attendance this spring A list of parks and COVID-related updates even with limitations in place. In fact, some can be found at stateparks.utah.gov. parks had to limit visitors on busy days as For those who journey to the parks, the parks like Quail Creek State Park filled up.

Utah Division of Parks and Recreation en“Many reservations were canceled due courages visitors to be safe when visiting. to COVID for a period early on,” Swalberg “The buzz word is responsible recreation,” said. Reservations and day use then increased Swalberg said. “We encourage social disas restrictions eased and people looked for tancing, and for people to not congregate at ways to practice social distancing in the great trailheads, clean up after themselves, and to outdoors. stay home if they’re sick.” l Utah has 44 state parks and museums. (Joshua Wood/City Journals) Even in cooler Northern Utah, park vis-

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S outh Jordan City Journal

Relief available to Salt Lake County small businesses

By Erin Dixon | e.dixon@mycityjournals.com

S

alt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson announced in June there would be more money available from the federal government for COVID-19 business impacts.

“It’s been a rough, rough several months.

We knew that our economy tanked,” Wilson said.

After all “non-essential” businesses were shuttered in Utah, and many other states in March of this year, the federal government scrambled to send aid to businesses across the county. Not all business have qualified for loans or grants.

Businesses that have not yet qualified for federal grant money will have a chance to apply for money from the SBIG, Small Business Impact Grant.

At first, the county focused on addressing the immediate health needs of the residents. Now that many issues have been resolved, the county is able to reach out to help businesses.

“The county has set aside $40 million (from the federal government) for businesses specifically impacted by closures. That means restaurants, hair salons, tattoo parlors, businesses that were not eligible to receive the Paycheck Protection Program funds or

By Brian Synan, President/CEO southjordanchamber.org / 801-253-5200

other grants,” Wilson said.

“The ceiling for the most a business can have is $35,000. We expect these funds to be given to more than 1,300 businesses in our community.”

Teresa Lechtenberg, co-owner of Personal Mastery, a taekwondo and kickboxing facility in Sandy, was not eligible for SBIG because her business had already received funds from the PPP. “We fit the qualifications for the SBIG other than we have already received funds,” Lechtenberg said.

The $20,000 PPP was given to help with the immediate need of keeping employees on, so they wouldn’t lose their jobs.

“I’m not sure yet if it will save the business. It certainly helped for the last few months,” Lechtenberg said.

How long will that money last them, if that is all the money they will get to help the business through the crisis?

“I think because of our modified schedule, three months. I think we will feel the effects on the economy for a very long time.

We made 50% this March of what we made in 2019,” Lechtenberg said. l

For more information or to make a positive comment for one of these businesses go to: www.southjordanchamber.org/pledge If you have any questions feel free to email or call Brian Synan with the South Jordan Chamber. briansynan@southjordanchamber.org 801-253-5200.

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The South Jordan Chamber of Commerce welcomed the following new and returning members in the last month: The Gunn Group at KW South Valley Keller Williams 4020 W. Daybreak Parkway, Suite 210 South Jordan, UT 84009

Jenkins-Soffe Funeral Home 1007 West South Jordan Parkway South Jordan, UT 84095

Roseman University of Health Sciences 10920 South River Front Parkway South Jordan, UT 84095

Godfather’s Pizza 10949 S Redwood Road #200 South Jordan, UT 84095

S A V E T H E D AT E

Scholarship Golf Tournament – August 27, 2020 more info at southjordanchamber.org Salt Lake County SBIG: County Mayor Jenny Wilson announces additional federals funds that are available as of June 16, 2020 for businesses affected by the health-mandated closures. (image/Erin Dixon)

S outh JordanJ ournal.com

For more information about these events visit our website at www.southjordanchamberorg July 2020 | Page 27

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STEP STEP2 2 STEP STEP 2 2 2 STEP STEP 2 STEP 2

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1 MONTH

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Life

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PERI KINDER

SOUTH JORDAN

This stupid pandemic has changed our relationship with food. With most restaurants and bars closed, people are looking for new ways to stay nourished and inebriated.

Working from home for several weeks, we prepared three meals a day, plus snacks, for five people and a needy puppy. And by “snacks” I mean we pretty much ate all day long. We wore a groove in the tile from the living room to the pantry.

When the lock-down started, I innocently said, “Think of the money we’ll save by not eating at restaurants. We’re going to lose so much weight not eating fast food!”

Things went downhill fast.

Not only do we spend a dump truck load of money for groceries each week, but we’re stress-eating 24 hours a day. I’ve baked cookies, cakes, muffins and brownies – and that was just this morning.

My daughter and I take turns making meals. We try to find things everyone will enjoy, which is absolutely impossible.

We have lots of pasta and rice dishes, fish sticks and take-out pizza. My daughter is a vegetarian, so her meals are full of veggies, chickpeas and quinoa, or

what my husband calls “sadness foods.”

One vegetarian dinner started the “Things I would never eat, even if I was going to die” conversation. My husband’s list is basically vegetables, but I have a bounty of foods I would never want to eat again. Things I was forced to eat as a child top my list.

mashed potatoes and my dad said, “Those are just the eyes of the potato” which gave me a potato phobia for several decades as I envisioned eating little potato eyeballs.

My grandma made lima beans to spite me. She’d serve a big bowl of pale-green mushiness mixed with greasy, globular pork fat, then shame me for not

For not growing up in the Great Depression, my mom was adept at whipping up meals that could have been served in a Dickensian orphanage. She’d buy things at the grocery store and I’d cry because I knew what was coming.

Jars of dried beef? Creamed chipped beef on toast. Sour cream? “Beef” stroganoff made with noodles, sour cream gravy and textured vegetable protein.

Once I complained about lumpy

eating it.

“When I was a little girl, I’d be happy and grateful for lima beans,” she’d say. “I wasn’t spoiled.”

“Were lima beans invented when you were a little girl?” I’d ask, which usually got me another spoonful of the vile stuff.

Stewed tomatoes, tapioca pudding (eyeballs again), my dad’s flour pudding (don’t ask), deviled eggs (obviously) and potato salad (eww) round out my

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list of things I’ll never eat again.

But back to today, where my food choices are substantially subpar. If I’m going to die from a ridiculous coronavirus, I might as well eat what I want.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. And it’s not some murderous chef with a flamethrower.

Following COVID-19 restrictions, some restaurants are opening again. The hubbie and I donned our face masks, took a swig of hand sanitizer, put on some plastic gloves and hit a Mexican restaurant for the first time in months. The chile verde almost brought me to tears. The margarita definitely did.

It will be an interesting summer as picnics, BBQs, family reunions and vacations are being reimagined. So many of our celebrations revolve around food and sharing it with the people we love. The trick is finding the balance to do it safely.

Our dishwasher runs nonstop. The grandkids (and husband) complain about eating asparagus. But we’re creating new recipes, experimenting with flavors and planting a garden.

We’re finding new ways to stay nourished and inebriated. l

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By Libby Allnatt | l.allnatt@mycityjournals

A

s schools remained closed through the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic, many high school seniors had a different graduation experience than what they expected.

One of those graduates is student and dancer Tiffany Hipple of South Jordan. With the honor of valedictorian, Hipple was asked to give a speech to her fellow graduates for a virtual ceremony May 27.

“It was not what I expected,” she said. “But at the end of the day it’s about relaying that important message that we’re all in this together. We have what it takes to become successful adults, and that’s what’s most important.”

Hipple said she learned that being valedictorian was a possibility during her sophomore year, but she tried not to get too fixated on it.

“My main goal was just to work hard and get the best grades I can,” she said. “If I get valedictorian great; if I don’t, I did my best. I try not to compare myself to others. Everyone has their own struggles. If I’m doing what I can, that’s the best I can do. That’s all I can ask for.”

Hipple strove to take at least one honors class a year, whether it be English, world government or biology. She graduated from the online school Utah Connections Academy, which she began attending after seventh grade to have more time for training in dance.

“The reason I started to do online school was so I could have more time to live out my dream and train as much as I can,” she said. “So, by the time I graduated, I’d be more ready and prepared to become a professional dancer. That’s really my dream in life.”

Hipple was originally planning on moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in dance, until the coronavirus pandemic. Now she plans to attend Utah Valley University, a plan with definite upsides, she said.

“This can be good; I’ll still be training where my family is,” she said. “I can train at my studio and work and do all that really fun stuff.”

Hipple typically trains at Pointe Academy in Highland, although she trains at home more now. She trains in all styles, but her favorites are jazz, ballroom and contemporary.

“They make it so personal; they make it feel like a second home,” she said of the studio. “Before COVID happened, I was there probably 20 to 30 hours a week. Now, I train around 40 hours a week because I’m home, and I’m not doing school.

I’m training all day. It’s been great, although I do miss it.”

Hipple said that seeing her friends from the studio less is difficult, but they find ways to keep in touch, including chatting on Zoom.

She said it’s important for young people to know that while the situation is not ideal, with uncertain futures and upended plans, it’s important to still have motivation and confidence.

“We’re all in the same boat, dealing with the same thing,” she said. “There’s a lot that is going on but because we are going through this, it gives us a little edge and grit that we can really push past any challenge that we’re given and fight for our future.” l

Tiffany Hipple of South Jordan throws her cap in the air in celebration.

Hipple graduated as valedictorian of her class at Utah Connections Academy and provided the speech for a virtual ceremony. (Courtesy of Tiffany Hipple)

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