South Jordan Journal | October 2023

BINGHAM HIGH GRAD CREATES

By Peri Kinder |

As a kid, Judd King remembers playing outside with friends until it was too dark to see. Games like Ghosts in the Graveyard, Hide and Seek, and Capture the Flag were staples for King as he was growing up.

King went on to graduate from Bingham High School in 1997 and is the founder of Starlux Games, creating updated, nostalgic games. His company was just nominated by the American Specialty Toy Retailers Association for Best Outdoor Toy of the Year. Its “intergalactic upgrade” to a timeless classic, Cosmic Kick the Can, replaces rusty tin cans with a kickable and luminous spaceship that lights up on impact.

“With kids in the U.S. spending an average of four to six hours a day glued to their screens, and with the intense focus on competitive sports, play as an enjoyable, creative and physical engagement is more important than ever,” he said. “We strive to create thrilling games that bring people together and do so in a way that’s active, social and imaginative.”

This isn’t the first time Starlux Games has been nominated for Best Outdoor Toy. The company was recognized for its Seek & Hide Sardines game, which includes a wriggling fish that randomly bursts into song while hiding. The Ghosts in the Graveyard REDUX is a spooky game of tag and Capture the Flag REDUX is a glow-in-the-dark game of stealth and speed. Both games were past nominees.

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Cosmic Kick the Can, created by Starlux Games, has been nominated for Best Outdoor Toy of the Year by the American Specialty Toy Retailers Association. Starlux Games founder, Judd King, is a Bingham High graduate. (Photo courtesy of Starlux Games)

Community prepares for Bangerter Highway construction impacts

By Rachel Aubrey | r.aubrey@mycityjournals.com

An

Representatives from Ralph L. Wadsworth/ WWClyde, a joint venture, were on site as well as representatives from the Utah Department of Transportation. The most urgent question on most attendees minds: when will the traffic start and what will the impact be?

open house was held at South Hills Middle School on Sept. 7 to answer questions from members of the public about the impact that the Bangerter Highway project will have on traffic in the coming months.According to the UDOT website: “This project will construct four new freeway-style interchanges with on- and off-ramps at 2700 West, 13400 South, 9800 South and 4700 South, eliminating stoplights at four more intersections for drivers on Bangerter Highway.”

The students and faculty at Elk Ridge Middle School and nearby Elk Meadows Elementary School in South Jordan will see impact starting in January 2024. According to Elk Ridge Principal Bryan Leggat, the pedestrian bridge that crosses Bangerter Highway at 9800 South will be taken down for an estimated 300 days. In addition to the loss of the pedestrian bridge, parking lot changes will be happening for Elk Ridge’s parents, students and staff.

“We are asking our parents to be extra patient with the school and with each other,” Leggat said. “It’s bound to be messy.”

Derek Harames, the project manager from Ralph L. Wadsworth, will be overseeing the 4700 South and 9800 South phase of the construction. He and his team are aware that in between the start and end of a project of this magnitude there will be some headache and frustration. But being in the business for more than 15 years, Harames knows first-hand how vital these projects are to the communities they serve once completed.

Attendees to the contractor open house had lots of maps and graphs to pour over to try to get answers about how the upcoming construction will impact the nearby communities. (Photo by Rachel Aubrey/ The City Journals)

“We’re excited to be in the cities, to build these projects,” Harames said. “We know what it’s going to do for the cities when we’re done…the end game is totally worth it.”

The end game will be hard to focus on for Herriman residents Mandy and David Smith who have lived through the 11400 South and the 12600 South interchange construction in previous years. They attended the open house event in anticipation of traffic becoming a “nightmare,” and wanted to know when they could expect it to start.

“Once this starts, it’s going to be 10 months of horrible traffic,” Mandy Smith said. “And that’s going to suck.”

Beginning in the fall of 2024 and lasting until late summer of 2025, the eastbound and westbound lanes at 9800 South will be

closed.

Smith said that they are not looking forward to the surrounding surface streets being packed with cars as drivers will look for alternate routes, and it may cause their family to avoid shopping at certain stores once construction starts.

Physician and business owner Dr. Mary Tipton attended the open house wanting answers, too. As part owner of the Copperview Medical Center located on the east side of 9800 South and Bangerter, she and her team have been following the updates and plans very closely.

The medical practice is open to patients 365 days a year, seven days a week, seeing patients of all ages by way of primary care, chronic care and urgent care. Tipton’s priority is to maintain access for her patients, even

as the construction phases are implemented.

“We never closed a day for the whole pandemic,” Tipton said. “We are not going to close for this.”

Tipton said that despite the plan not to close during construction, she and her team are already making patients aware of the problems they may encounter with access to the parking lot that sits right at the corner of 9800 South and Bangerter Highway. Tipton manages the practice’s social media accounts and wants to get the word out to patients to leave early to get to appointments and schedule appointments appropriately.

For the most up-to-date information, including updates to the existing traffic plans and phases, and environmental studies, members of the public are encouraged to visit udot.utah.gov/bangerter/#/. l

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South Jordan senior housing project includes a new senior

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

For seniors moving into their golden years on a budget, the new affordable housing project in South Jordan, located at 3788 W. 10200 South, could be the answer to a prayer.

The City of South Jordan, in collaboration with Ivory Innovations, announced the construction of the transformative community that will include a 17,000 square-foot senior center and 138 housing units that includes 104 affordable units. Designed with input from seniors, the center will provide activity space, a well-equipped kitchen and convenient parking facilities.

“Our thriving senior community has been asking for a dedicated space for years. There has been high demand to support our seniors and expand our services and this project allows us to do that,” South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey said.

The Redevelopment Agency Affordable Housing Fund will cover approximately $10 million for the housing aspect of the project, with the Ivory Innovations Operating Foundation covering the remaining funding as part of the proposed agreement with the City of South Jordan.

Ivory Innovations is a 501c3 nonprofit with a mission to provide affordable housing. Its goal is to help fund groundbreaking projects that create solutions to the country’s housing challenges. The organization has worked with the City of South Jordan in the past, creating workforce housing for school teachers, firefighters and police officers.

“I would say it’s a partnership that’s been developed over time with the relationship of trust,” Ivory Innovations COO Darin Haskell said. “If you look at the demographic, South Jordan has a population that’s aging, so they have a need there.”

To qualify for affordable housing, at least one member of the household must be 65 years of age or older. For families who qualify at 80% of the Area Median Income,

48 housing units will be leased at approximately $1,600-$2,000 per month. Those who qualify at 60% AMI will have the opportunity to rent one of 56 units at $1,200-$1,653 per month.

The community was invited to an open house on Sept. 27 so city leaders and representatives from Ivory Innovations could an-

swer questions and residents could provide feedback regarding the senior housing project.

Once plans are approved by the city, construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2024. For more information, visit sjc.utah.gov/638/South-Jordan-Senior-Center-Project.

“Our city council has long been dedicated to finding a project that makes our seniors’ lives better,” Ramsey said. “This project aims to be a low-impact, low-traffic, high-value development that aligns South Jordan’s commitment to addressing environmental concerns and enhancing the well-being of seniors.” l

A rendering and floor plan for the new senior center in the City of South Jordan shows the 17,000 square-foot space that will be used for senior activities, events and classes. (Courtesy of Ivory Innovations)

Get to the Daybreak Farmers Market before it’s gone for the year

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

SinceJune 10, residents, vendors and visitors have enjoyed the Daybreak Farmers Market held at 11274 S. Kestrel Rise Rd. every Saturday. With 60 booth spaces available, the market features local produce, homemade jewelry, hand-crafted creations and art, delicious food and candies and live music.

The market runs through Saturday, Oct. 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Applications for the Daybreak Farmers Market 2024 season will be available in January 2024. Visit SoJoMarkets.com for more information. l

Left: Musician Alli Brown performs at the Daybreak Farmers Market. The market featured live music on Saturdays from June 10 through Oct. 14. (City Journals) Top: Families wait in line for Cloud 9 Cotton Candy at the Daybreak Farmers Market. (City Journals) Below: The Daybreak Farmers Market, held on Saturdays through Oct. 14, attracts people looking for local crafts, good food, fresh produce and live music. (City Journals)

Left: The farmers market offers fresh produce, flowers and homemade goods from local farmers. (City Journals) Middle: Utah company Uncle Chainsaw’s Hot Sauce is a crowd favorite at the farmers market where they sell sauces like The Terrifyer and Staring at the Sun. (City Journals) Right: With 60 booth spaces available, visitors to the Daybreak Farmers Market can choose from hand-crafted creations, artwork, jewelry, clothing and more. (City Journals)

Students at AAI embrace global impact from hands-on learning

American Academy of Innovation stu-

dents are “Saving the World — One Sheep at a Time.”

In an intensive, hands-on course, 12 freshmen and sophomores are experiencing hands-on, real-world applications while earning credit in biology, art and English meeting with their instructor all day, twice per week.

AAI intensive courses offer students an alternate, accelerated pathway to learning, said Mia Prazen, AAI director of operations.

“While the overarching purpose of an intensive course is for students to achieve more in a shorter amount of time, these courses also align with our AAI vision, mission and guiding principles,” she said.

Currently, AAI is offering three other intensive courses: “Big History Project,” “Wellness 101: Developing Healthy Habits” and “Rock Band.”

Through “Saving the World, One Sheep at a Time,” students learn the history and culture of fiber arts, the importance of making wise consumer choices and their responsibility in caring for the earth as global citizens, said instructor Cayenne DaBell, who normally teaches math and special education.

The interdisciplinary semester course integrates climate change, sheep husbandry, photosynthesis, cell respiration, ecosystems and other topics within biology.

Art is tied into the sheep’s wool.

“We have a fleece I bought locally (from Notlwonk Springs farm) on the Utah Idaho border in Cornish, Utah, and we washed it on the first day of school. We’ve carded the wool, trying to get it open and fluffy,” DaBell said. “We’re starting to spin it into yarn on my spinning wheel.”

Students then will dye the yarn.

“We’re going to try solar dyeing. We’ll steam and dye. The kids are excited to try that,” she said, adding that they’ll discuss plant anatomy and kinds of plants used in natural dying.

Then, students will work to make projects, including perhaps, a large wall hanging or blanket they can make together, DaBell

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

said, adding that the class project may be sold in the school’s boutique, which could bring economics into the course.

As students pick their projects, they’ll learn about the yarn thickness, tightness of the weave and the overall design.

“What I really want them to learn is a better understanding of where textiles come from, and the cultural impact it has and the environmental impact,” she said. “Look at clothing; it has had and there’s still a lot of people now that are being exploited in the textile industry. We can look at the need of a new wardrobe for every season versus making things last longer and that they have responsibilities and choices.”

Part of that study is incorporated through the language arts portion of the course as students are reading the book, “Worn: A People’s History of Clothing” by Sofi Thanhauser.

“She’s an advocate for women’s rights and she talks a lot about how women and children especially were exploited through history. The book covers linen, silk, cotton, wool and synthetics. So, we’re going to create a timeline of different fibers and talk about their impact, both culturally and economically and environmentally. Then, they’ll pick one event in that timeline to write a report about it and present it to sixth-graders.”

The course is being team-taught with language arts teacher Cherie Koenig, who joined the students on their recent fieldtrip to the state fair where they learned to identify and differentiate breeds and learn about the history and impact of sheep.

“Cherie has done some crafting, but she mostly has picked up spinning so she can help students. She also goes over vocabulary specific to the field and helps with the essay they’re writing about a fiber type,” DaBell said.

DaBell has been teaching students how to crochet, weave, embroider, knit, tat, make lacework and other handiwork.

“I’m showing them anything they’re interested in doing. For another project, each of them will pick a country or a culture that

they’re interested in and learn about their fiber arts, and then make something from that culture and it will tie in that history and tradition as well,” she said.

Before they left the state fair, they saw a bobbin lace demonstration by Judy Gunn, owner of Judy’s Novelty Wool, whom DaBell knows.

DaBell learned to spin as a young mother.

“I had gone from working in a plant genetics lab at the University of Utah to sitting at home with little kids, so I picked up knitting to have something to do at home and keep my brain engaged. I was mostly knitting with acrylic yarns, and I wanted to learn how to make sweaters with nicer wool yarns, but wool was more expensive. I found out that if I went and bought a fleece from a farmer, and did all the work myself, I could get the yarn for a quarter of the price. That got me started. I made my own wool yarn to save money and I ended up joining the spinning guild and have gone to fiber festivals and took a deep dive into it,” she said. “There’s a joke among fiber community people that once you get started on this road, suddenly you find yourself with a herd of sheep. I am not to that point. I don’t know that I ever will be, but I do think it’s pretty cool.”

It was that passion and enthusiasm of the fiber arts and her love of science she could combine when it came time to propose intensive courses last spring.

She has brought her own equipment to school and purchased some drop spindles from a Provo-based company, Greensleeves, for the students to use.

“I have kids who ask, ‘Can I spin?’ I tell them, ‘Don’t even ask, you can do it anytime.’ It’s been fun to watch them get excited about this,” she said.

This fall, the students also will visit Bergstrom Farms in Bluffdale to learn about Icelandic sheep, alpacas and mohair goats.

“They’ll see locally on a small scale how to raise fiber animals and see how they’ve been developing indigo dye. We’re also go-

ing to Antelope Island to learn about sheep ranching (at Fielding Garr ranch) and go on a wetland walk and I’ll talk about climate and ecology,” she said.

Having students learn about the impact they’re making environmentally is important to DaBell.

“When I started biology, my emphasis was in ecology and environment science and that’s one of the things I love about wool is that it’s environmentally friendly. It’s biodegradable; it’s renewable. I love I can take it from the actual source and being able to turn it into clothing that I can wear, or I can give to other people,” she said. “It’s important for students to be both environmentally aware and globally aware and realize the decisions they make affect people. I want to empower students to make informed choices, to develop an awareness of other people and to understand that their choices impact the world. Even though it doesn’t seem one person has that much of an effect, when it’s all added up, it has a huge effect.”

Isabella Carrion, of American Academy of Innovation, pets a shorn sheep at the Utah State Fair. (Cayenne DaBell/AAI)

King’s always had an eye for entrepreneurship, earning the Sterling Scholar recognition at BHS in the business category. He attended Colgate University, studying philosophy, and earned his graduate degree at the University of Southern California majoring in film production. King went on to teach filmmaking and photography for nine years.

He decided he needed a break from teaching and thought he would go back to what he loved to do as a kid: play outside. In 2014, he found some Oggz (glowing ostrich eggs) in a novelty store and his first Capture the Flag game was born. He threw the idea up on Kickstarter and Starlux Games was created.

For their newest toy, King’s colleague, Becky Skinner, loved playing Kick the Can as a child and convinced him to upgrade the game.

“That was her favorite game growing up,” King said. “We always try to inject some sort of narrative component to our games. We didn’t have anything alienthemed, and we knew we wanted to do something that was light up, so it felt very intuitive.”

“Today’s kids and teens need opportunities more than ever to get active and make memories with friends and fami -

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ly,” Skinner said. “I’m thrilled about our new alien-themed Cosmic Kick the Can and how it turned out. It is just what today’s generation needs to motivate them to get out and play. Plus, there is that awesome ‘nostalgia factor’ for all the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles that played it growing up. It’s the best!”

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The first days of college have been good to Bingham alum, Utah State cross-country runner Natalie Swain

By Brian Shaw | b.shaw@mycityjournals.com

At Bingham, Natalie Swain was known for having big finishes.

During the Covid-19 year of 2020, the then-sophomore finished 12th out of 132 runners at the 6A state cross-country finals. In 2021, Swain crossed the tape in 8th, running the 5,000-meter course in 18 minutes, 12 seconds—a time that was a personal-best.

But 2022 didn’t seem like it came as easy for Swain. Then a senior at Bingham, she didn’t run at the Region 3 Championships or the 6A Divisionals.

Swain finished well behind the leaders at the 2022 6A state finals in 28th place. But, the Bingham Miner kept persevering through her senior year. In November of that year, a 5th place finish at the NXN [Nike] Southwest Region Championships in Phoenix set a state record and helped her earn a scholarship to Utah State University.

That never-give-up drive Swain showed as an underclassman athlete translated into the classroom at Bingham as well, as she was named to the National Honor Society for her senior year.

Now a freshman at the Logan, Utah campus who is barely into her first month

there, Natalie Swain is still leaving her opponents in the dust, and is thriving as a student-athlete for the school’s cross-country

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team.

Swain was recently named a Mountain West Conference Cross Country Freshman

Of The Week after she had a third-place finish at the Dona Reeder Sagebrush Invitational, crossing the tape in a time of 18 minutes, 33 seconds.

It helped the Aggies secure a firstplace finish overall at the event that was hosted by Utah State University.

Swain and her teammates then took to the road for the Virginia Invitational on Sept. 23. The Bingham alum finished in 139th place in Charlottesville, Virginia, in a time of 18 minutes and one second. That also helped the Utah State University women finish 18th overall at that event.

Swain’s season will continue through the rest of the fall and end with the Mountain West Conference Championships in Boise on Oct. 27 where Swain and her 9thranked teammates in the region hope to qualify for berths at the NCAA Mountain Regionals as a team and individually.

The regionals in Lubbock, Texas on Nov. 10 will then determine who advances to the NCAA Championships, which will be held back in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Nov. 18. l

best

Swain was recently named a Mountain West Conference Cross Country Freshman Of The Week after she had a third-place finish at the Dona Reeder Sagebrush Invitational. (File photo by Roger V. Tuttle)

Bingham High starts off theatre season with Shakespeare and ‘42nd Street’

Bingham High theatre has kicked off its season as the thespians are in rehearsal for both their upcoming Shakespeare competition and for their fall musical, “42nd Street.”

Under the direction of Bingham’s new theatre and film teacher, Christopher Hults, theatre students will compete at the 47th annual Shakespeare high school competition Oct. 5-7 in Cedar City. The competition allows students to compete in an ensemble piece as well as individual and small groups. There are contests for choirs, dance and a Tech Olympics for stage crew students.

Preceding the contest, the school’s Shakespeare team of 30 students will present a free showcase at 7 p.m., Oct. 3 at the school, 2160 South Jordan Parkway.

About 150 students are involved in rehearsals for “42nd Street,” which will be performed Nov. 16-20. Tickets cost $6-8. Dave Martin, who teaches theatre tech, musical theatre and film, is directing the musical.

“He brings an immense amount of professional stage, film and vocal experience and expertise to our students,” Hults said.

Junior Claire Burnham, who is a member of the ensemble, said that Martin is “hilarious. He will just say funny things that will keep you laughing for years. He’s also very

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

knowledgeable in the field and will give us notes, his vision of how things should be and explain why.”

Burnham, who is in the Theatre 3 class, joined others in the cast during the summer to learn tap dancing for the show.

“We had open tap workshops so students could come and learn how to tap,” she said. “For students like me who had zero tap dancing experience, it was definitely very helpful. I can now do several steps.”

“42nd Street” wasn’t a familiar musical to Burnham, as well as several other students, so a movie night was held where students could watch the show.

“It’s a huge showstopper, with big group numbers, cool choreography and some very iconic scenes. It’s going to definitely be very exciting,” she said. “I love acting. I’ve been doing plays since I was 5 and I love the unity of the cast, learning and singing new songs, the costumes and the entire production. Mastering choreography can hard, but when I practice and learn it, I love the feeling that I know I can do it.”

The musical director is Logan Bingham, the school’s first-year choir director.

“We started rehearsals with ‘Lullaby of Broadway,’ which is probably the one that everyone knows best, and ‘We’re in the Mon-

ey,’” he said. “The students are really excited and so many of the students who have been doing tap clinics all summer knowing that this musical is music and dance, tap heavy. Coming into it, I thought, ‘It’s a big show; I sure hope that we have the dancers.’ I’ve been nothing but impressed with them. It’s been fun bringing all the performing arts departments together in the musical with the actors, dancers, choir and jazz band playing in the pit. It’s a great endeavor.”

Following the musical, Hults will direct about 25 students in “Comedy of Errors,” one of William Shakespeare’s early plays, Feb. 22-26. Tickets are $6-8.

Hults, who has bachelor’s degrees in philosophy, theatre and English and master’s degrees in theatre history and criticism, loves the storytelling part of theatre.

“I love telling stories because stories give us meaning. I love teaching theatre because storytelling, collaboration, communication and courage are skills that will serve Bingham students wherever they choose to go in life,” he said.

In March, about 50 students will compete with their yet-to-be-announced one-act as well as individual and small group pieces in the region competition. State competition is in April. A showcase of those pieces will be

held March 12-14. Tickets are $5.

Their season concludes with “Into the Woods, Jr.” on May 2-4, with ticket prices at $6-8.

Bingham also has an improvisation team, advised by Hults.

Burnham is a member of the 22-member team that typically performs monthly during the school year. The first show will be Oct. 20.

Last year, the team had several improv nights where they would introduce short form, or a game-like performance.

“The short games are good for shows. A small group goes up and plays games for maybe five minutes and everyone laughs and then, we’d move on to the next one,” she said. “Maybe with a big team this year, we’ll also be able to do some musical long form, where we’re still doing a play, but we’d have a live pianist who can straight up make up music and you make up a song. It’s crazy, it’s exhilarating and it’s awesome.”

In the summer, there also will be a student-led Bingham Theatre Academy for middle school and elementary kids.

“Dave and I are very focused, through all the activities…, on student leadership and fostering a culture that develops character as much as performance,” Hults said. l

Starry night at Bingham High: Students view Saturn, prep for solar eclipse

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

WhenBingham High sophomore Addie Jensen was urged by her friends to come to the school’s star party, she wanted to check out Saturn in one of the telescopes that were set up.

That’s also what Monte Vista sixth-grader Kylee Dunn wanted to see.

The two were amongst a large crowd that not only gathered to look through telescopes, but also to learn more about constellations and the upcoming annular solar eclipse on Oct. 14.

Clark Planetarium Community Programs Specialist Kelly Quiel was sharing with the students and their families the importance of viewing the eclipse safely.

“We’re reminding people that they need glasses to be able to view the eclipse so not only are we handing out glasses, but we also are talking to participants about solar filters for telescopes and how else to better protect themselves that day,” she said. “It’s cool to talk to students who remember that last eclipse and how memorable it was to them — and now they’re telling their younger siblings about it, so they’re excited to witness one in October.”

Viewers of the annular solar eclipse should see the Sun as a thin ring almost, but not completely covered by the Moon, Queil said. There should be about an hour and 15 minutes of the partial solar eclipse.

The planetarium staff brought four telescopes that were set up in addition to some other individuals’ telescopes. They also brought a meteor for students to examine.

“We are wanting to share as much science as possible and we brought lots of hands-on activities to help people learn about the universe. We brought tactile Earth pages that we acquired from NASA to better communicate space with people with visual impairments,” Queil said.

She then pointed to one that showed light pollution to a youngster.

“When there’s more light pollution, Orion starts to diminish,” she said.

Several students were making pinhole projectors that they could use during the

eclipse.

“When you hold them up over the ground, you can see the shapes, but as you pull them away from the ground, they create circles that are a direct reflection of what the Sun sees, or what the Sun is,” she explained to a student. “During the eclipse, when it’s pulled away from the ground all of those shapes will become crescent.”

Bingham junior Josie Tribe was helping students punch out five different constellations — Hercules, Cygnus, Aquila, Draco and Cassiopeia — that then could be made into a viewer using a toilet paper tube.

“It’s kind of a cool viewer,” she said. “We all brainstormed ideas together in class to do tonight. These are some of the simpler constellations we could create this way.”

Tribe said she opted to enroll in astronomy because it was a more “fun” science credit than traditional “textbook” science courses, plus she’s familiar with some of the constellations as her brother has a telescope. She, also, is planning to view the upcoming eclipse.

“I really like the teacher and I have friends in my class and having star parties like this is making learning a lot of fun,” she said.

Bingham teacher Shannon Briscoe, who helped to organize the star party, teaches 45 students in two sections of astronomy every semester.

“We came up with some ideas and then invited Clark Planetarium, who gave us templates they use, and we built a lot of the activities off those, like the Oreo activity to show phases of the moon,” she said. “The students in class made a scale model of the solar system.”

Briscoe said she’s learning more about astronomy as her students do.

“I started learning about astronomy when I began teaching it last year. I went to a couple star parties and I thought they were awesome,” she said. “I’m still learning, but I thought hosting a star party would be a fun thing to get my students involved in. Saturn should be coming up about now.”

The school has an eight-inch telescope that was being used and she’s looking into the possibility of bringing it out to view the eclipse as an optional activity with her students.

“I’ve got some solar filters we can put on when we look at the sun. We should be able to see a partial eclipse here at school,” she said.

Ruby and Bennett Wolfgram, who attend Monte Vista, came to the star party after their mother, Brooke, saw a flier.

They looked through the telescopes and

took part in the activities.

Sixth-grader Ruby liked the painting activity because “it was with neon paint.”

Her mother said they were able to do more activities when the school outdoor lights went out.

“We could see the constellations they made in the tubes and see everything better in the telescope,” she said.

Fourth-grader Bennett also liked when it turned dark.

“I liked running around with the glowsticks.” l

Students from local schools were invited to peer through telescopes during Bingham High’s star party. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

Inspired by Hogwarts: Hawthorn’s houses promote student unity

Muchlike the Harry Potter series when the sorting hat divides students into learning communities, 600 Hawthorn Academy students in South Jordan are being sorted into houses to help make friends and support one another.

“The main purpose for having houses is to get kids included with each other and to make sure they belong,” Floyd Stensrud said, Hawthorn Academy superintendent. “Having a house gives them something they can attach themselves to, a place where they belong, and it bonds them to each other.”

Within each house, students will have partners.

“We may have a sixth grader who will take on a kindergartner and mentor that student and be their buddy. If you’re in sixth grade, you may pair with a ninth-grade student. When older students mentor younger students, it eliminates that feeling of ‘I don’t belong anywhere’ because you’ve got that constant bond of friendship and support,” he said about the school’s new program.

At the beginning of this school year, students, faculty and staff were spinning the giant wheel to sort themselves into four houses: Altruismo (giver in Portuguese), Amistad (friendship in Spanish), Isibindi (courage in Zulu) and Reveur (dreamer in French).

“It’s a celebration of our uniqueness, and

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

of our unity. We all are different, yet we all belong,” Stensrud said.

As the students were getting their house T-shirts, third-grade teacher and house coordinator Autumn Brown sensed their excitement.

“I asked them, ‘what are you excited most about?’” she said. “They said they just wanted to be part of a house and it didn’t matter which one. They’re excited to meet everyone in their houses and to start new traditions.”

Some of those traditions may tie into their house names.

“We want to keep it with their domain. Isibindi is from Africa, Amistad is from Mexico, Altruismo is Brazil and Reveur is France, so we may want to implement activities from those countries, like dancing that would bring in those cultures and they can learn that as well,” Brown said.

During the sorting ceremony, students all cheered for one another, not just for those who were sorted into their house.

“Everybody cheers for each other no matter the house so if someone in a house wins points for helping another student out or doing something good for the community, they’re cheered. Maybe knowing a chemical combination in class that no one else knows, everybody is cheering on the brilliant answer that was shared so now everyone knows it. So, it’s

kind of a celebration for any house; it’s always uplifting because we’re here to support each other,” Stensrud said.

The house system is part of the school’s positive behavioral interventions and support system which encourages students to follow school rules and behave appropriately. When they do, their house may be awarded points, Stensrud said.

Citizenship and character traits also play in the system as do the “55 essentials.”

“Those are just the way that we should act as a person like taking turns speaking, sharing and just holding doors for others and having those positive interactions. It’s more life and social skills and manners, knowing how to interact with people, how to shake their hands and look them in the eye and address each other respectfully,” Brown said.

School counselor and house coordinator Shaunae Behunin said the plan is for the sorting spinner to double as a way to reward points. When a student spins the giant wheel as part of a reward, it could land on “get an extra house point” or “spin again for a chance to win additional points.”

“It’s going to be a fun and positive way for them to be rewarded,” she said. “The idea is to create a positive learning environment.”

Behunin said that the program is more

than a take-off on Harry Potter.

“There’s been research that says the house system provides a sense of belonging and improves community. So those little kiddos who may be struggling to make friends will now have a house where they belong. On the house level, we’re going to work to use their talents. They may be shy, but maybe they’re good at drawing. When we need a poster drawn, we can ask that student and showcase their talents with it. It boosts their self-esteem through belonging to this community. Parents can get involved, come decked out in their kids’ house colors when there’s an activity, further building a sense of community. On Fridays, the students will get to wear their house shirts and eat lunch with their friends in their houses,” she said.

Each month there will be house activities, further engaging students and building community, Behunin said.

“When we have assemblies, each house will have a cheer, but we all will cheer for each other, too. We may have four houses, but we’re still one school,” she said. “I anticipate there are going to be some awesome connections and friendships and community coming together that we didn’t have in the way that we’re going to have now. We’ve always had a good school climate here, but now, we’re going to blow the roof off with it.” l

A student spins the wheel to determine which house she’ll be in while at Hawthorn Academy. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

By Brian Shaw | b.shaw@mycityjournals.com

Nick Hallock might be one in a million. Those are the odds that a player Hallock’s age can bench-press 280 pounds. According to Bingham head football coach Eric Jones, that’s not the only thing the junior offensive lineman can do that is rare.

“He’s a bully in the best way possible,” Jones said, who confirmed that Hallock accomplished this lifting feat during offseason workouts.

During the season, Hallock, in the No. 72 jersey, has been too tall a task for many of his opponents on the other side of the trench. He’s been adept at taking other kids’ candy, proverbially speaking, and running them backwards down the football field until they fall.

On a 37-yard run that senior Chase Swensen had in the second quarter of Bingham’s 47-38 win at Herriman Sept. 22, Hallock pushed his defensive lineman so far backwards that the poor kid started at the Herriman 40 and ended at the 25-yard-line.

On another play, the junior interior offensive lineman punched Herriman edge-rusher Ephraim Asiata so hard in the chest that the fellow three-star who has offers from Utah, BYU and USC backpedaled five yards and was pancaked.

To that end, Jones believes that Hallock,

who is only rated as high as a 3-star by several recruiting services and has a lower overall rating than Asiata, and has no offers from any colleges at present, deserves to have some interest from schools, too.

“Technically, he’s just a great player with good size who plays with great technique and tremendous aggression,” Jones said, who has watched Hallock surge up the ranks from Bingham’s freshman team to its varsity in one year. “He’s humble, hardworking and consistent. He’s got a great attitude every day, he’s coachable and accountable.”

Hallock’s Hudl profile suggests as much, too. In an era where some of the information you might read on a recruiting site might seem a bit sketchy, the coach said that all of

the Bingham junior’s numbers are accurate and impressive: a 4.92 40, a 37.5 vertical and 18 bench-press reps of 185 pounds.

“Whether I’m protecting my QB as an OT or ripping through the O-Line as a DE, I’ll play to the whistle and never give up!” stated the junior, who it seems from his highlights on Hudl warrants a better, more indepth look from colleges.

Alongside his Miners teammates, Hallock has also been opening sizeable holes for senior Carson Sudbury who’s received one official offer at present, from Carroll College of Montana, according to the Bingham coach.

“He certainly contributed mightily along with all the OL and all other blockers in getting our ground game established against

Herriman,” said Jones of Hallock’s performance that lifted the Miners to a 2-0 record in Region 2, and sent Sudbury off to the races with a 26-carry, 194-yard, 3-touchdown day, Sept. 22.

By the time you read this, Bingham will be closer to the end of the season rather than the beginning.

Arguably the most brutal preseason in Bingham football history headlined by a home game versus No. 1 Mater Dei of California has come and gone, and the Miners scored 14 points in that one in a 48-14 loss. Bingham nearly upset Skyridge, last year’s 6A champion, but fell late, 35-28.

Meanwhile, the leaves are already beginning to fall and the weather chillier by the week, meaning that the Miners are now in the thick of the Region 2 race at 2-0, 3-4 overall. For Jones, he just wants to see that all of his guys get the attention that he feels they deserve.

“We’re very fortunate to have a guy like Nick. He’s freakishly athletic and strong. He could be playing tight end or defensive end but OT is where he helps the team the most and he’s got a team-first mentality, so he contributes on the OL for the betterment of the team.” l

Nick Hallock is part of Bingham’s formidable offensive line. (Photo by Pat McDonald)

Rival schools, lifelong friends: Cheerleaders’ unwavering bond

Theheadlines weren’t necessarily the Friday night lights rivalry between the Riverton Silverwolves and the Herriman Mustangs, two high schools that are separated by less than five miles. Nor was it the presentation of the huge American flag and the marching band show before the packed home crowd at Herriman’s homecoming.

It’s a story that was on the sidelines.

On the home side was sophomore Jaymi Bonner waving her pom poms along with other Herriman High cheerleaders as the football team ran onto the field and scored the first points of the game.

On the visitors’ side was Mia Jackman, also a sophomore, who rallied Riverton’s fans by standing on top of a pyramid of her cheerleading team.

While both girls have Down syndrome, a genetic disorder which causes developmental changes, their journey together began when Jaymi was adopted from Russia as a 6 year old.

“Their friendship is such a beautiful story,” said their former Mountain Creek Middle teacher Karlee English. “Jaymi’s mom has another daughter with Down syndrome so the girls’ mothers were friends from a Down syndrome community before Jaymi arrived. When Jaymi got here from Russia with her mom, Mia and her mom were at the airport to welcome them with open arms.”

Jaymi’s mom, Jeana, remembered amongst the large crowd, the girls met and immediately “clicked. They’ve been pretty much best friends since. When they were tiny, none of us could understand what either of them were saying, but they spoke in their own language.”

That bond continued in kindergarten through middle school, mostly being in all the same classes. The past three years, English has taught them their core classes.

“They’ve been almost inseparable since they met,” she said. “Jaymi can be difficult to understand, especially during the COVID mask time, so Mia interpreted what she was saying so we could understand. They’re in their own world together. There’s a deep connection. When one gets in trouble, the other one gets in trouble, too. She doesn’t care if she gets in trouble because neither of them wants their friend to be in trouble alone. It really is the cutest thing ever.”

English said while their personalities are different, the girls complement each other.

“Mia is a smart one, she was one of my higher readers. She is funny, a little firecracker. Jaymi is more athletic; she can climb a rope to the top of the gym, and she walked the entire LDS pioneer trek. She’s not afraid of anything she tries,” she said. “Together, they’re just spitfires. I can just see them in the nursing home together when they’re old and gray just causing all sorts of chaos. Don’t get me wrong, they are compliant and very sweet,

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

but together they’re very feisty. I miss everything about them, their laughing, their drama. My staff and I were really close with those two and five others who left my classroom, so it’s been really rough.”

Since they were young, the two girls played soccer, danced, cheered and done “everything together,” Holly Jackman said, Mia’s mom.

During their middle school years, they added band, dance company, yoga, cooking, unified basketball, ceramics and performing in a community special needs theater production of “Frozen.” They also threw out the first pitch of a Bees game together in August 2022.

“They’ve been almost inseparable in all their activities,” English said, noting that while Jaymi served as a middle school studentbody officer, Mia was on Mountain Creek’s PTSA board. “They even have a bound book about their friendship, how they’ve been best buddies.”

Bonner said that her daughter loves performing.

“Jaymi’s done ballet, jazz and hip hop. She started cheer around age 7 and the two girls have been on the same team. They’ve traveled to compete in the special athletes’ division in California and multiple times to Vegas. They’ve cheered at nationals together,” she said.

Mia, too, loves dancing and cheer.

“She loves to be around people. This is her first year at that school. She didn’t go to middle school with most of them,” Jackman said about her daughter’s home high school.

“Already, she knows quite a few people.”

Mia’s dad, Jared, agrees: “She loves the attention with cheer. She likes having all the friends. She’s very sociable.”

At Riverton, 15-year-old Mia auditioned for the team. She performed cheers in front of the judges. She is one of three students on the cheer squad with special needs.

“She was really excited to do a stunt,” her mother said. “Two other girls put their knees out and she stands on their thighs. She loves performing that.”

While Mia’s participation with the team is “definitely modified as she’s not at the same level of stunts that the other girls are,” according to her dad, she can cheer at whichever games she wants and can travel with the rest of the squad.

“She’s doing it more than her special needs cheer team because they have football games every Friday and they cheer at assemblies. She’s even cheered at a volleyball game,” Jackman said.

Similarly, 16-year-old Jaymi tried out for Herriman’s cheer squad.

“The coach has just been amazing. She approached two girls that had been cheerleaders, but they weren’t planning to do it their senior year and asked if they’d be Jaymi’s mentors and come to other games with her. So, they’re all cheerleaders, going to the games and traveling, just not competing,” Bonner said.

Like Mia, Jaymi is “drawn to performing and being on the stage. She is a go-getter and loves interacting with the teammates. It’s a

great outlet where she’s made new friends and it’s a fun way for her to be included and integrated into the school. Her passion is people, getting to know them and being with them, so this is a perfect fit for her,” her mother said.

Bonner said that she knew high school cheerleading was possible when she took Jaymi, who was a young girl at the time, to Herriman High’s volleyball game and they saw a cheerleader with Down syndrome.

“That opened my eyes. I knew there were opportunities for her and for kids with disabilities, where they could be included. They both compete in unified sports, which is great, because they’re wanting that same community bonding and wanting to be a part of something. This has been a great experience for her to be able to go out and cheer alongside other cheerleaders for her school,” she said.

Before the game, just three days after seeing each other at a unified soccer tournament, the girls embraced on the sidelines.

“You’d think Jaymi hadn’t seen Mia for 10 years,” Bonner said. “Every time Jaymi sees Mia, she’ll just scream and run toward her and give her a hug. They did it in middle school and I’m like, ‘School just got out 30 minutes ago, you just saw her.’ They’re so close.”

That bond was stretched across the football field.

“She’s my best friend,” Jaymi said on her sideline.

Mia, on the other side, saw Jaymi.

“I love Jaymi a lot. We’re forever friends.” l

Now cheerleaders at their respective high schools, Mia Jackman and Jaymi Bonner remain friends despite not being in class together. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

Keyed by several seniors, Bingham girls volleyball at The Pit is better than ever

If you’ve driven onto the campus of Bingham High or passed it on your way to buy groceries, you’ve noticed all the construction going on.

Hardhats and orange vests sent the Bingham girls volleyball team packing for the first few weeks of preseason. It didn’t faze the Miners one bit, for even under a new head coach in Reed Carlson it’s fair to say that Bingham is back—and not just at The Pit, where construction has ended.

Keyed by versatile senior outside hitter/defensive setter Levani Key-Powell, the Miners have been one of the top teams in Class 6A—let alone Region 2.

Key-Powell leads No. 3-ranked Bingham [3-0 Region 2, 13-1] in several key categories, including kills and hitting percentage, and is on pace to not only contend for All-Region honors—she might be named to the All-State 6A First Team.

Other Miners have stepped up big for Bingham as well; senior middle hitter Alli Woolf has helped make the Miners’ front impenetrable. She has 42 blocks leading three Bingham seniors [the other two are Hazel Marchant and Solia Angilau with 26 and 25] in that category.

By Brian Shaw | b.shaw@mycityjournals.com

Senior libero Jessica Truong has been serving aces at a rate and serving percentage that is currently on pace to finish higher than last year [she has 33 aces to last year’s 58, and 17.9 to 15%], as are her digs [3.3 per match]—all leading the team.

Learning under Truong—who should be named All-Region if not All-State as well—has been junior Madison Evans, who is also directly listed under Truong in terms of digs and aces. But Evans has been a pleasant surprise in assists, leading the team by a country mile [her 403 are ahead of last year’s pace as are her assists per set].

The Miners also appear to be set going forward; junior Paige Ballif is also putting up very respectable numbers and is ranked second on the team in kills and receptions.

Girls soccer losing a lot of close games

The Miners have struggled all season long despite a promising summer camp.

After a rough start in preseason and dropping two blowouts to open life in the new Class 6A Region 2, Bingham has settled in, but is still dropping contests in the most heartbreaking ways.

You’ve got to think Bingham [1-9 Region 2, 2-12] will start winning soon—but

time may be running out on the season itself.

The Miners have lost seven of the last 10 league games by one goal—four of those came in the second half and one in overtime.

For the Miners, seniors lead the line. Journey Heward is tops on the team in scoring, with five. Alexa Shelley and Ruby Guymon each scored two goals.

Junior Izabel Weller is tied for the team lead in assists with two other players [senior Avery Cowan and Guymon], with one apiece.

Between the goal posts, things have been in flux for most of the season. Sophomore Rylee Mabey has stepped up over the past month, and currently leads the team in goals against [2.175 per game] and saves [4.6 per game].

The Miners, who are currently ranked 19th in the UHSAA RPI out of 19 teams, will continue to play games in the new 6A Region 2 through the end of September. The 6A state soccer tournament is slated to begin in mid-October. l

HALLOWEEN SECTION

A publication covering local Halloween legends and activities for men, women, and children in the Salt Lake Valley

The scariest way to know what’s most popular this Halloween—with numbers!

By Cassie Goff | c.goff@mycityjournals.com

Hit the trifecta this Halloween by giving out M&M’S (or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups) to the trickor-treaters while wearing a scary (but unique) costume in between catching glimpses of one of the Halloween franchise movies on your television screen. (“Halloween Ends” is the most recently released movie in the franchise, but “Halloween: Resurrection” (2002) and “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Meyers” (1995) (filmed in Utah!) seem to be most adored by fans.)

If you’re wondering what type of candy variety pack to pick up from the store for the Trick-or-Treaters this year, go with the chocolate. Specifically, M&M’S, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Kit Kats tend to be the most sought-after candy choice.

Some 1,188 participants (based in the United States) were surveyed during an online study conducted in October 2021. Participants were asked which candy they liked better during head-tohead match-ups of 76 different sugary items.

M&M’S topped out by being the favorite of the online voting base with 76.1%. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups came in at 74.4%. Kit Kats received 72.8% of the vote, with Peanut M&M’S not trailing too far behind with a 72.4%. Butterfinger was the last of the 70 with 70.9% of the vote.

The remaining candies to make up the top 10 favorite Halloween treats (scoring between 67.1% and 68.8%) included Snickers, Twix, Milky Way, Hershey’s and Reese’s Pieces.

In case you were curious about the top 20: coming in at being the favorite between 57.5% and 65.5% of the online surveyed population were Hershey’s

Kisses, Dove Dark Chocolate Bar, 3 Musketeers, Dove Milk Chocolate Bar, Krackel, Crunch, Almond Joy, Baby Ruth, Starbursts, and Andes Chocolate Mints.

Another study conducted in 2020 broadly backs up the claim to fame for chocolate. Some 13,852 participants were surveyed about their various Halloween preferences in September 2020.

Out of those 13,852 (United States) adults, 88% reported that they would be buying chocolate candy. Forty-two percent reported that they would be buying candy that was either chewy or fruity, with 40% reporting they’d be buying caramel candy, and 37% reporting lollipop purchases. Further, 36% of respondents reported they’d be buying sour gummies, 28% would be looking specifically for candy corn, 25% would by buying taffy, 20% would be buying nut-filled candy and 12% would be buying either gum or mints.

Overall, most (United States) adults purchased candy for their trick-or-treaters (71%). But! Twenty-nine percent of adults still purchased healthy alternatives like carrot snack bags, trail mix, or toothbrushes to throw in amongst the candy. But! You can’t just give out the most desirable candy and be the favorite Halloween house around. You have to dress the part!

A study conducted in 2017 by aytm, a market research company, encourages people to dress as scary imposters. A thousand (American) adults were surveyed during September 2017. Survey results were compared with secondary research of search trends from Pinterest and Lyst as well as predictions from USA Today.

Some 24.4% of Halloween costumes were described as being scary, with 20.3% described as sexy. Other

descriptions of costumers that didn’t score as high were cute, funny, weird/ creative, classy/sophisticated, and other. The most frequent costumers of 2017 including Pennywise the Clown, a witch, Wonder Woman, a “Game of Thrones” character and a zombie.

Echoing the sentiment, a 2021 study surveying 2,312 (United States) adults encourages people to pick classic Halloween costumes like ghosts and witches, as that’s what 20.81% of respondents chose to do.

Even if you’re still unsure what to dress up as this year, absolutely don’t go as an athlete, clown, pumpkin, ghost or cat. Survey results show that we’re all too tired of those costumes.

And be yourself! The 2021 study reported that only 10.57% of people coordinated their costume with another person.

While you’re waiting for trick-ortreaters with your M&M’S and scary costume, you may as well spend you time watching the most preferable scary/Halloween movie.

According to an online survey conducted in October 2022, 56% of 2,210 (United States) adults reported “Halloween” as their favorite horror movie franchise. “Friday the 13th” just about tied with a rounded 56% as well. “Nightmare

on Elm Street” came in closely after those two with 54%.

“Halloween Ends” ranked as the fifth top grossing horror movie in the U.S. and Canada in 2022 at $81 million, according to data collected and published in January 2023.

Plus! Halloween 2023 is anticipated to see the most participation and attendance in the last decade. According to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, 73% of (United States) adults will participate in Halloween activities this year. The last time over 70% of the population participated in Halloween actives was in 2017 when 71.7% of adults participated in spooky fun.

What will we be doing? About 67% of us will be handing out candy (hopefully those chocolate bites!). Fifty-one percent of us will be decorating our homes and yards (this reporter’s decorations have been up for two weeks now). Forty-seven percent of us will dress in costume. Forty-four percent of us will carve a pumpkin (you got this one). Twenty-eight percent of us will throw or attend a Halloween party. And 20% of us will dress up a pet (this reporter’s fur baby rocks her pumpkin costume). l

Responses to the question “What Halloween costume(s) are you sick of seeing every year?” (Photo courtesy of Wyatt Edwards and Katelyn Shaaf/HalloweenCostumes)

Draper families transform their yards into Halloween destinations

By Katherine Weinstein | k.weinstein@mycityjournals.com

No other state gets into the spirit of Halloween like Utah. A recent three-year study of Google search terms and homeowner survey by Lombardo Homes revealed that Utahns lead the nation in decorating for Halloween. Across the state, people transform their yards and gardens into supernatural realms filled with animated creepy characters, spooky lighting, fog machines and all manner of things that go bump in the night.

The most elaborate of these homemade “spook alleys” attract visitors from all over and become neighborhood gathering places on Halloween. For years, three families in Draper in particular have shared their passion for the spine-chilling and spooktacular with the community through their immersive yard displays.

Larsen Manor

“We build stuff all year long,” LaDawn Larsen said. “It’s a construction project when it starts. It takes over everything.” LaDawn and her husband, Steve, transform the grounds of their home at 1871 Flat Bear Circle into “Larsen Manor” for the month of October. Visitors to Larsen Manor can walk around the yard where a giant pumpkin-head creature with burning eyes watches over a graveyard and skeletons appear to march out of a mausoleum.

“Steve and I got married 11 years ago. He got drawn into the Halloween craziness and it got bigger,” LaDawn said with a smile.

Halloween is a special holiday for the couple. As a firefighter in Magna, Steve used to dress up as a cyclops and ride the fire truck handing out candy on Halloween. LaDawn has cherished memories of trick or treating in Sandy as a child and enjoyed decorating and throwing Halloween parties as an adult. The pair got engaged at TransWorld Halloween & Attractions Show in St. Louis.

“We really like to mix things up,” Steve said. “This year we’ll have armies of the dead. A mad scientist scene will be the feature.” The Larsens also plan to transform their 12-foot skeleton into the mummy of King Tut.

“A little girl who likes to come every year said that we needed more jump scares,” LaDawn said. “So we did. We have a pumpkin that opens up and comes alive. We’re trying to do more of those things.” She added that their display is not gory. “We don’t have our own children that are here so we do this for other peoples’ kids.”

The appreciation they receive from visitors to Larsen Manor is a major inspiration for LaDawn and Steve. They plan to open their yard display on Oct. 6 but will have to close it before Halloween this year on Oct. 28, for work-related reasons.

The Haunted Haven

Tifini Folkersen’s love for Halloween is a longstanding family tradition. Her mother, Jodi Tebbs, decorated her childhood home at a time when Halloween decorations weren’t quite as popular as they are today. Tebbs’ parents loved the holiday as well. “My mom’s dad would dress up like a werewolf, in full theatrical makeup. He’d run around the neighborhood and scare people,” she said.

A trellis over the front walk leading to the Folkersen’s house at 1338 Hana Court is entwined with skulls and grimacing skeletons. “Our decorations are never the same,” Folkersen said. “It changes from year to year as the kids grow.”

Tebbs and Folkersen explained that their décor came out of a desire to make Halloween an interactive experience for the children in the family. The yard display features little vignettes that relate to members of the family. When Folkersen’s son, Kolsyn, went to his senior prom, they put up dancing skeletons in the display. “Last year, Kolsyn went to the U so we had a University of Utah-themed skeleton area,” Tebbs said.

“We make it family friendly,” Folkersen said. “It’s fun and spooky, not too scary.” On Halloween night, she and her husband, Lynn, give out candy and run the technical aspects of things. Tebbs enjoys mingling with the visitors.

This year the family is planning a ghosts in the graveyard theme. “Once I come up with a theme, we figure out what we want to add and build,” Folkersen said. “We’ve been collecting for 30 years and building. There are memories attached to each decoration.”

Building the displays is a labor of love for the family and they enjoy watching visitors react to their handiwork. “It’s cute seeing all the people having fun,” Folkersen said. “People stay and have a good time.” She said that her neighbors having been getting into the Halloween spirit with their own decorations as well.

Folkersen plans to have her display ready for the first weekend in October. It is open to visitors every night from when darkness falls to 10:30 p.m. She said, “We tell people, when they hear the witches cackle, it’s time to go home.”

The Farr family’s “Southfork Sanitarium” is located at 927 E. Southfork Drive in Draper. The decorations are up throughout October. (Photo by Farris Gerard)

A pumpkin-headed monster towers over “Larsen Manor,” 1871 Flat Bear Circle in Draper. The Manor will be open Oct. 6-28. (Photo by Steve Larsen)

Southfork Sanitarium

Dan and Stephanie Farr explained that "love for the neighborhood" was the inspiration behind their yard display. "I loved it in our old neighborhood when our neighbor would have a Halloween potluck," Stephanie said. The Farrs started out serving chili and hot dogs to their neighbors on Halloween night and set up a "spook alley" in their yard. The spook alley got more elaborate every year and evolved into "Southfork Sanitarium."

"Dan got started with the life-sized monsters," Stephanie said. He became

hooked on Halloween after a trip to a friend's Halloween store. About 15 years ago he joined the Rocky Mountain Haunters group.

“I geek out on Halloween,” Dan said. "I love entertainment and doing stuff that makes people happy.” That same passion inspired Farr to become the founder and producer of FanX Salt Lake Comic & Pop Culture Convention. Soon after the convention ends in late September, the Farrs start putting out the monsters.

The family has built up a collection of props that would fit in at any commercial haunted house. Some have been

created by professional monster makers. Dan has acquired a few creatures, including a giant animated demon, from his friend, Dick Van Dyke. The actor enjoys putting up an elaborate Halloween display for trick or treaters at his home in Malibu, California.

Other supernatural scares are homemade. Dan constructed Stephanie's favorite, a glowing ghost on a pulley that appears to hover in the window over the front door. "I don't like gore, I like spooky fun and jump scares," she said.

The Farrs' display has attracted attention beyond their neighborhood.

"There have been years that we've been in the news," Dan said. "A lot of people will come in from other areas."

Stephanie explained that this year's haunt might not be quite as over-thetop. "We used to have our sons and their friends help set everything up, but they're grown up now," she said. "We've had to simplify."

Still, monsters will appear once again at 927 E. Southfork Drive this month. "The neighborhood kids love it!" Stephanie said. Dan added, "We just can't stop!" l

Steve and LaDawn Larsen put personal touches on their Halloween display. “Larsen Manor” will be open Oct. 6-28. (Photo by David J. Weinstein)

When their youngest son went to college, the Folkersen family put up a “U” themed vignette with skeletons as part of their Halloween display. (Photo by Lynn Folkersen)

The cackling of the witch tells visitors that it’s time to go home at the Folkersen family’s Halloween display in Draper. (Photo by Lynn Folkersen)

In this photo from 2021, a skeletal procession was on display at “Larsen Manor,” 1871 Flat Bear Circle in Draper. The Manor will be open Oct. 6-28. (Photo by David J. Weinstein)

Double, double, toil and trouble: Murray Haunted Woods spells fun and funds for families

By Shaun Delliskave | s.delliskave@mycityjournals.com

For over 50 years, Murray Haunted Woods has been a tradition in the local community, but it's more than just a seasonal attraction. It serves a dual purpose, both as a family-oriented entertainment venue and as a fundraiser for noble causes, primarily focused on the prevention of child abuse and domestic violence.

Originally managed by Murray City until 2010, the Haunted Woods faced potential discontinuation due to budget cuts. However, the Murray Exchange Club and Youth Council stepped in to take over the event. "During the economic turn, the city needed to cut back. When they cut this event, the citizens responded with an adamant ‘No, we need to keep this. It’s tradition and family-oriented,'" Sheri Van Bibber of the Murray Exchange Club said.

The event has always had a charitable edge. "Our Exchange Clubs across the valley all participate. We contribute funds to different groups, past examples include YWCA, Taylorsville Family Center, Midvale Family Center, Boys & Girls Clubs, Victims’ Advocates of SLC and several more," Van Bibber said.

The Murray Haunted Woods has adapted to the changing times, especially in the era of COVID. "We almost shut down, but public input encouraged us to continue," Van Bibber said. "We met all health requirements and have since added double the availability. People can buy tickets online or at the gate." The event also complies with all city and county standards to ensure safety and enjoyment for all attendees.

Interactive elements have become an integral part of the event. "We want the wait in line to be just as much fun as the actual tour through the Woods," Van Bibber said. Performances from the West High Drill Team, appearances by the Ghost Busters Team and their iconic car, and multiple interactive activities are designed to keep visitors entertained throughout.

However, creating such an event does not come without challenges. "We spend months preparing, so logistics are always a challenge," Van Bibber said. In addition to dealing with increasing amounts of props that now require rented storage space, the event must adapt to changes in the city's infrastructure. "Last year, the challenge was the pavilion being rebuilt; this year, it was a new addition to the city's warehouse," she said. Despite these hurdles, Van Bibber assured that "everyone has been working together to make it possible."

Being an outdoor event, weather is a significant concern, but the organizers are undeterred. "We have run the woods in wind, rain, snow, hail, 11 degrees; it just adds to the ambiance," Van Bibber said. She also mentioned the valuable assis-

tance from local police and fire departments in ensuring that the event setup remains secure overnight.

As for the experience itself, the Haunted Woods offers something for every age group. "We start in the daylight with the 'Silly Trails'—the music and characters are fun and entertaining. As the sun goes down, the energy in the woods shifts, and so do the characters," Van Bibber said. A safety feature, a "Safe Code" called “Ghouls Be Gone,” is in place if anyone finds the experience too intense.

Although there have been discussions about extending the traditional three-day schedule, limitations arise. "People have asked us to run all month, at least a week, or even move to the weekend," Van Bibber said. However, due to logistical issues related to volunteer availability, "we have found it best to leave things as they are."

This year's event includes several noted attractions. "The football team playing ball in the woods as scarecrows is always entertaining," Van Bibber said, "and the polo team playing on land along with Madame Leota is new this year."

Regarding the trail designs, Van Bibber said, "We always look at it with fresh eyes every year. There's a 'Light Show' crafted by Jeff Evans and music and design by Andy and Jeleigh Evans from Murray High."

Over the years, there have been many memorable moments in running the event. "One of our first years we had three fog machines, and it was so humid that the whole park filled up with fog. The Fire Department kept getting calls that the park was on fire," Van Bibber said. In another instance, "One year, it was thundering and snowing, and we were all covered with snow. The kids had a riot, and no one wanted to leave."

Volunteers from the Murray Youth Council and the Exchange Clubs are vital. "There’s a lot of leadership involved, and we have amazing kiddos," Van Bibber said. Local businesses like K Real Estate and AAA Restoration play significant roles behind the scenes. "Our Murray businesses are the reason we are still here. We are always open to our business family and look forward to more partnerships in the future.”

The event runs Oct. 23-25 at Murray City Park (296 E. Murray Park Ave.) on the south side of the outdoor swimming pool in pavilion 5. Visitors can choose the Silly Trail for younger guests from 5:30-7 p.m. or the Scary Trail from 7-9 p.m. for the more adventurous. Tickets are $5. Visit MurrayHauntedWoods.com for tickets and more information. l

Two ghosts dance in the Murray Haunted Woods. (Photo courtesy of Sheri Van Bibber)

A zombie startles visitors in the Murray Haunted Woods. (Photo courtesy of Sheri Van Bibber)

A witch greets small visitors on the Silly Trail of the Murray Haunted Woods. (Photo courtesy of Sheri Van Bibber)

Funeral arrangements are a deeply personal choice. Preplanning provides you with the time needed to make practical, detailed decisions that reflect your standards, lifestyle, taste and budget. And we assure you and your family that the choices you make will be carried out as planned.

Plan Ahead

Untangling the Madness: Why Trimlight is the Ultimate Holiday Hack

The holiday season is fast approaching, bringing with it the timeless tradition of adorning our homes with festive lights. You’re likely familiar with the routine – unearthing boxes of tangled lights, grappling with a ladder that seems determined to defy you, and attempting to transform your residence into a shimmering winter wonderland. It’s all fun and games until you’re knee-deep in a web of extension cords, pondering the choices that brought you here. That’s why we’re excited to introduce a better way – outdoor permanent holiday lights from Trimlight.

they’ve staged a revolt, protesting against your decorating skills. You become a detective, tracking down the rogue bulb that’s sabotaging your holiday dreams. Just when you think you’ve triumphed, a gust of wind turns your carefully placed lights into a chaotic display of brilliance.

And let’s not forget the extension cords. You weave and wind them through your yard like a mad scientist setting up an experiment. And guess what? They have a mind of their own. They tangle, twist, and trip you up in a game of holiday-themed Twister.

The Drama of Hanging Holiday Lights

Picture this: You’re in your front yard, armed with a string of lights that may have been plotting against you in the attic for the past year. You attempt to untangle them, or at least you try. Suddenly, you nd yourself locked in a wrestling match with a stubborn knot that refuses to let go. This is where the adventure begins.

But that’s not all! You embark on a ladder-climbing odyssey, channeling your inner acrobat as you teeter on the edge of catastrophe. The ground seems to disappear into the distance, and you ponder the cosmic signi cance of your holiday decorating decisions. In that moment, the ladder is not just a ladder; it’s a perilous gateway to a realm of festive uncertainty.

Now, the real challenge begins. You plug in your lights, and behold – a quarter of them refuse to illuminate. It’s as if

By now, your ngers are either frozen or numb, and you’re seriously reconsidering the merits of holiday cheer. You might even have a breakdown amidst the holiday lights, swearing to never repeat this ordeal—until next year, of course.

The Brilliant Solution: Trimlight’s Permanent Holiday Lights

Now, imagine this instead: You’re sipping hot cocoa, snug inside your warm home. With the touch of a button or automated schedule, your house transforms into a holiday wonderland that would put Clark Griswold to shame. No battles with knots, no precarious ladder ascents, no detective work, and no expeditions in sub-zero temperatures.

Outdoor permanent holiday lights are your comedic relief in this festive chaos. It’s akin to having a team of holiday magic-makers who turn your home into a dazzling masterpiece with a simple press. You can change colors, craft patterns, set schedules, and adjust brightness—all from your cozy couch.

Meanwhile, your neighbors are outside, grappling with their lights and cursing their extension cords. You, on the other hand, get to relax and savor the spectacle. You’ve outwitted the holiday lighting madness, and you’re relishing every moment.

In summary, the holidays should be a time of joy, not a test of your patience and ladder-climbing skills. Trimlight’s outdoor permanent holiday lights are the ultimate holiday hack, sparing you from the chaos and transforming your home into a yearround holiday haven. Embrace the brilliance of permanent holiday lights and leave the comedy to the experts – and maybe even enjoy a chuckle or two as you witness the chaos unfold elsewhere! Happy Almost Holidays!

Trimlight is the industry leader in outdoor permanent holiday & accent lighting and nobody helps more Utah homeowners than Trimlight. To learn more about Trimlight, or to schedule a free estimate visit trimlight.com/saltlake, or call 801-382-8746.

With the touch of a button, your house transforms into a holiday wonderland that would put Clark Griswold to shame.

Mayor Jenny Wilson starts book/media club to engage community around the Great Salt Lake

“Inthis world of division; red, blue, old, young. What can we do to come together as a community? What can I do to create a dialogue? Let’s start a book club.” – Mayor Jenny Wilson

In late August, the stage at the Salt Lake City Public Library held some acclaimed names: Utah author and writer-in-residence at Harvard’s Divinity School Terry Tempest Williams, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and Ben Abbott, BYU professor of Plant and Wildlife Sciences and the researcher who sounded the alarm about the dire state of the Great Salt Lake.

It was the second meeting of Mayor Jenny Wilson’s Book and Media Club, a community-wide club designed to engage people around a common theme. Up for discussion was a harrowing New York Times article by Williams telling the story of the retreating Great Salt Lake and the repercussions its potential death will have on the valley, the state and the nation, titled, “I Am Haunted By What I’ve Seen At Great Salt Lake.” The link to a PDF of the article can be found at parsintl.com/ eprints/115576.pdf

It was a free event, with ticketing/reservations available through the county website. During the club, Wilson led a 90-minute discussion between Williams and Abbott, leaving time for Q&A between panelists and the audience.

“Our body and the body of Great Salt Lake—there is no separation—we too are salt water.” – Author Terry Tempest Williams

Williams grew up in Salt Lake City and found acclaim as a naturalist and environmental writer with the publication of her 1991 memoir, “Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place.” Since then, she has published many articles and numerous books. She is a writer who draws inspiration from the American West and the arid landscape of Utah.

When the mayor asked Williams about the significance of the lake and her fears about the retreat, Williams indicated it was Abbott’s January 2023 report about the state of the lake that put her (and the world) on notice. “When I read that the lake could disappear in five years, I couldn’t sleep,” she said.

The climate editor at the New York Times also read the report, called Williams and asked for an article of 5,000 words, a length not often granted by the selective publisher. Williams was terrified to write the piece, completing 14 drafts in one month, because she had to tell the hard truth, because, “It had to matter.”

“As the lake goes, so goes our community.” – Professor Ben Abbott Abbott’s BYU study sounded the alarm about the state of the lake, but his message during the book club was one of action rather than despair or complacency, indicating there should be no divisions between urban and ru-

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

ral, left and right in coming to a solution. The condition of the lake affects everyone. The solution relies on legislation and conservation, and must be enacted now. For a link to the study, pws.byu.edu/GSL%20report%202023.

“The health of all of us depends on this lake,” he said. “I’m talking about our air pollution, our water pollution, our economy, because the Great Salt Lake is not an outlier. We know what will happen.” He was speaking of Owens Lake.

Owens Lake, a saline lake in California, a lake the fraction of the size of the Great Salt Lake and much farther from a community center, dried up due to water diverted to the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Before the diversion of the Owens River, Owens Lake covered an area of up to 108 square miles. When the lake dried, it became the single largest source of particulate contamination in the United States. To date, the state of California has spent over $2.5 billion to control the dust, but according to Abbott, “If you look at a map of air quality index, there is still a dark red ring, even today, around that dried lake.”

Compare that to the Great Salt Lake. After years of drought and increased water diversion upstream, the lake fell to its lowest level: 950 square miles. One takeaway? The Great Salt Lake at its lowest level is still 10 times larger than Owens Lake at its highest, with the potential of a much greater impact on our local and regional environment.

“Did the big snow year solve the problem?” – Mayor Jenny Wilson

Because of his faith, Abbott said he does see [the big snow year] as divine intervention. “It gives us a chance to do something, but it has only rewound the clock by one to two years. A solution it is not.”

Water levels at the Great Salt Lake have peaked for 2023. They rose about 5 ½ feet from the record lows of last year. Even with

improved water levels, about 50% of the lakebed is still exposed.

Researchers at the University of Utah found that in 2022, the exposed lakebed was responsible for about one-quarter of dust pollution along the Wasatch Front. Additionally, the dust that collected on the snow caused the snowpack to melt more than two weeks earlier than it should have, according to an investigative report on KSL.

“The only way to solve it is to live within our means.” – Professor Ben Abbott

The January report co-authored by Abbott indicates agriculture dominates water use in the Great Salt Lake watershed. Irrigation of alfalfa and other crops directly accounts for around 75% of total consumptive water, plus 5%-10% indirectly through storage and transport losses such as reservoir evaporation. Mineral extraction from the lake itself represents another 9% of water use. Cities and industry account for the final 9% of consumptive water use, of which 90% is outdoor water use (irrigation for lawns and other decorative plants).

Basically, many parties are financially tied to the lake, and the entire Wasatch Front population is reliant on the health of the lake for their own health and the health of their families. Because the stakes are extremely high, participants from all communities need to come together to make changes through conservation efforts and education. Additionally, “We are in a much better place than we were five years ago, as far as legal opportunities go, to take next steps,” Abbott said.

Collaboration and cooperation are needed. “We need to have the grace to believe all sides have the best interest of others in mind,”

said Abbott.

There are several organizations attempting to pull the many communities together, to invite people into the conversation, to forge new ideas. Grow the Flow at growtheflowutah. org and Friends of the Great Salt Lake at fogsl. org, are two.

Up Next for The Mayor’s Book and Media Club

While called the Mayor’s Book and Media Club, future events will include discussion about film, story and video, with the intent of creating open and engaging public dialogue. The hope is to hold an event every two to three months.

The next Book and Media Club discussion will be about the documentary film, “Eclipse: The Sun Revealed.” In celebration of the upcoming eclipse, the mayor’s office is providing 200 free tickets to the documentary at the Clark Planetarium. The ticket can be redeemed to any scheduled showing and will include a pair of eclipse viewing glasses.

Then on Oct. 14, the community is invited back to the Gateway Fountain for a live community viewing of the eclipse. Viewers should plan to arrive by 9:30 a.m., as the eclipse happens just after 10 a.m. Afterward, the Clark Planetarium education staff will facilitate a short presentation and discussion. Everyone is invited to the fountain for the eclipse viewing, but tickets for the film and glasses are limited and offered on a first come, first served basis.

For future events keep updated at slco. org/mayor/bookclub. l

Utah author and writer-in-residence at Harvard’s Divinity School, Terry Tempest Williams, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and Ben Abbott, a BYU professor of Plant and Wildlife Sciences and the researcher who sounded the alarm about the dire state of the Great Salt Lake attend an event at the downtown library in August. (Ella Joy Olsen/City Journals)

Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson facilitates a conversation between author Terry Tempest Williams and BYU Professor Ben Abbott. (Ella Joy Olsen/City Journals)

Special Olympics TopGolf: Championing inclusion for all athletes

Theobject: to hit the target the most. The purpose: So much more.

Eighty Special Olympians with intellectual disabilities paired with partner athletes, were warming up for the Special Olympics TopGolf Championship.

“The athletes are practicing their accuracy, but they’re also developing skills and forging friendships,” said Haley Nall, Special Olympics director of special events. “It’s just a lot of fun.”

It’s also part of a national partnership with TopGolf that provides Special Olympic teams access for weekly two-hour practices as well as hosting the tournament. More than 30 locations are holding state championships.

The Special Olympics TopGolf Championship embraces inclusion and access for athletes, Nall said.

The introduction of TopGolf for Special Olympics comes on the heels of the launch of unified golf for middle school students that was held in South Jordan in the spring 2022.

At the Midvale championship, teams, age eight and up, were hitting the ball off the deck aiming for the targets. They were coached by volunteers.

Hillcrest High 2019 graduate Tanner Cluff jumped at the opportunity to try a new sport, despite needing left-handed clubs for his 6’8” frame.

“I like that this gives me a challenge,” he said. “I can do different sports for every season.”

Cluff, who won numerous medals in unified sports in high school and at the University of Utah, played for Real Salt Lake’s unified team. He plays football, soccer and bocci

By Julie Slama|j.slama@mycityjournals.com

ball with Special Olympics.

“I’m trying to see how many points I can get by hitting the markers. It’s been harder on the top level than the bottom level because the launch in every bay is different and I never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I’m making new friends here at the same time.”

Cluff made friends with his partner, Keaton Phillips, who just moved to Utah nine months ago. Previously, Phillips volunteered with Special Olympics in Florida.

“I love the unique energies that everybody has,” he said.

Prior to the TopGolf practices, Phillips played golf once on a traditional course.

“This is challenging. I didn’t think it would be as challenging at TopGolf. We struggled through it for a couple of weeks, but we’ve gotten a lot better,” he said. “We’re trying to get more distance and accuracy. We have a bit to go, but it’s fun.”

A few bays down the Cox sisters from Murray were ready to compete.

Viewmont Elementary sixth-grader Livvy partnered with her sister, Bree, a junior at Murray High.

“I like to volunteer because it’s fun interacting with kids with special needs,” said the younger Cox sister, who was a partner track athlete as well.

Bree Cox, who has Down syndrome and performs with Murray’s drill team, was game to try golf.

“It’s fun,” she said. “I love it because I can do it with my sister.” l

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Brighton High’s Mitchell Burt hits the ball during warm-ups of the Special Olympics TopGolf Championship. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

The power of deep friendships: Nurturing connections and setting boundaries

By Holly Curby | hello@hollycurby.com

Remember sitting in school and reciting things such as “Roses are red. Violets are blue. If friends were flowers, I’d pick you.” Well, fast forward to today. If we were gathered together and I asked you what trait you look for in a friend, we would have many responses. From the basic “someone I enjoy spending time with,” to the deeper “someone who is trustworthy,” to even more in depth of “someone who gets me.” Reflect on the friendships you have in your life. Why are they your friend?

According to speaker Kevin Lund, there are four stages of friendship:

1. Acquaintance. These are people we interact with, share fact-type info with them. They are different than a stranger in the sense of you see them more often so you build some sort of report with them.

2. Peer friend. These are people you enjoy doing things with perhaps because you have similar interests or passions, or maybe because you find yourselves giving of your time in similar areas. Examples include a parent of your child’s close friend, or someone you go to church with or whom you have a class together at school.

3. Close friend. A close friend hits your inner circle. What tends to differen-

tiate a peer versus a close friend is more similar or shared values and goals in life. These are the friends who have seen you at your best and your worst (and vice versa). This is a friend you share much of life with, one who is going to support you in your ventures, and who will be your cheerleader.

4. Best friend. This is your person— the one who you totally trust and confide in with nearly everything about life. The one you most likely spend the most time with—which has helped in developing that close bond and trust. This is one who you are 100% genuine, real and authentically you.

What can we do to develop these friendships? Friendships are like a funnel. There is plenty of room for many acquaintances in your life, but there are only a few spots for that best friend position. I have a plaque that hangs in my home that basically shares three reasons for a friendship:

• a reason

• a season

• a lifetime

So what boundaries do you have in place that will help you determine where people fit in your life? If you try to be everything to everyone you are going to drain yourself and have nothing left to give. At the same time, if you expose yourself to everyone you may end up with some hurt too. We also need to understand that a part of healthy relationships is embracing the friendship’s reason, season and overall length of time of friendship as a gift. Not all friendships will reside at the same level. They each have their own place in your life to be a healthy relationship. Knowing these levels helps create a mutual respect and trust, it provides clarity in understanding expectations within the friendship.

What kind of friend do you want to be? What time are you willing to give? What sacrifices and investments are you willing to make? What is important to you in friendship (what do you look for in a friend)? Once you have in mind where people fit, and what type of friend you want to be, perhaps good tools to apply are from the “Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman. The five love languages help you know what your friends need from you. Is it quality time together, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, or even physical touch of a pat on the back, a highfive, or a hug?

Sometimes we can be fearful of past friendships that have left us scared to put ourselves out there in befriending someone again. Author Tim Keller said “to be loved, but not known is comforting, but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved

Friends Allison C. and Holly T. supporting me at my graduation for my master’s degree. (Photo courtesy of Holly Curby)

by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw us.”

I’d encourage you to think about those you have in your life. Who are ones you want to invest more in—to grow as close friends or perhaps even allow in as a best friend? Which friends might it be healthier to simply be at that acquaintance or peer level? Which friends are in your life for a reason, a season, or perhaps a lifetime? Acknowledging where people are, setting those boundaries for where they should be, figuring out what kind of friend you want

to be so you can be intentional in your friendships, and then showing up in those friendships should set you on track for a successful, supportive and healthy friendship circle.

Want to learn more about friendships or even the five love languages? Visit www.hollycurby.com or check out Holly’s Highlights podcast season two episode 18 and season three episode three. Holly’s Highlights podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts including Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, Pandora and even “Alexa, play Holly’s Highlights podcast.” l

The Truth is Out There

Depending on who you ask, aliens have either 1) frequently visited our planet, 2) never visited our planet, or 3) are currently running our planet.

It’s been quite a year for Unidentified Flying Objects, which are now called Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. (Tomayto, tomahto.) These “extraterrestrial” vessels made the news, created a TikTok channel and had their own congressional hearing.

In early 2023, the Air Force started blasting weather balloons out of the sky. Although weather balloons have been used since 1896, it’s only in the last year the balloons became malicious enough to be shot down. It’s definitely American to shoot first and never ask questions.

It reminds me of the 1978 video game Space Invaders, where the goal was to blast UFOs out of the atmosphere before they reached Earth. Whether the current UAPs were peace emissaries from Alpha Centauri or galactic multi-level-marketing sales-aliens, we’ll never know.

Look at it this way. If you launched a celebratory lightspeed rocket on the day Jesus was born, it would still be in the Milky Way Galaxy, even traveling for 2,000 years at the speed of light. So if a flying saucer made its way across its galaxy and our galaxy, it would take hundreds of thousands of light years to reach us, only to be casually shot down by an F-22.

Maybe they were on their way to teach

Peri Kinder

Life and Laughter

us how to travel at lightspeed, how to create a functional Congress or how to evolve so our skin glows in the dark. We’ll never know.

UFO sightings occur all over the world, but the U.S. has the most interaction with aliens. The Roswell crash in 1947 was the first “flying saucer” wreckage that authorities said was a UFO, then it was a weather balloon, then it was Carl’s tractor from down the road and then it was the remnants of an atomic test, which didn’t make anyone feel better.

Air Force pilots share stories of strange objects in the sky, security cameras capture “meteors” and eerie lights, and there was a congressional hearing to talk about what the government isn’t telling us. Spoiler alert: the government keeps a lot of secrets.

Many people are convinced the pyramids were built with alien technology. Some people think UFOs travel the world making intricate designs in crops, kind of like alien graffiti. Others point out the first microchip was created just 10 years after the Roswell crash. Coincidence?

Records from Rome (AD 65) and Ireland (AD 740) document chariots flying through the clouds or ships floating in the air, filled with people. Too bad there wasn’t an F-22 to shoot them down.

“War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells was written in the late 1890s. It was one of the first novels that detailed an alien invasion on Earth. People lost their minds when Orson Welles dramatized it on a 1938 radio show.

I’m not saying UFOs are real. I’m not saying they’re not. But sightings have increased, usually in the form of an orb, a disc, a triangle,

a cylinder, an egg, a toaster, a VW Bug or other random shapes.

I’ve been saying for years that Earth is a hit reality show in the universe and little green men (or blue or white or gray) watch the hilarious antics on our dumpster fire of a planet while eating alien popcorn.

It’s pretty egocentric of us to think we’re the only planet with intelligent life. And I use the word “intelligent” lightly. I hope somewhere in the universe there’s a planet where the inhabitants live in peace and work together to create new ideas. I just hope they don’t come here. We’ll shoot them out of the sky.l

“Dozens of doctors told me that there was nothing more that they could do to expect to be in a wheel chair. I went from the top 1% in the army Special Forces to being in so much pain that I could not tie my shoe or hold my new daughter. I did physical therapy and pain killers for years, but nothing worked. Finally, I went to Dr. Smith and I improved exactly as he told me I would. I couldn’t believe it! My wife cried, “I have my husband back.”

—Steve M., Army Special Forces

CSCS Chiropractic Physician