With blood, sweat and tears, July 1 will be a day for celebration as the official incorporation date for the Oquirrh Highlands neighborhood into West Jordan City.
Nearly 20 years ago, Nichole Coombs and Stacey Gill moved with their families into the Oquirrh Highlands neighborhood, a swatch of land not part of any of the surrounding cities but a part of unincorporated Salt Lake County.
During those years, they battled to annex into West Jordan City on several occasions but ran into road block after road block. When House Bill 330 passed in 2024, there was finally a way through those roadblocks.
In those beginning months in the neighborhood, the two neighbors became fast friends
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By Rebecca Olds | rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com
(From left to right) Jerry Pierce, Ryan Pahl, Missy Pahl, Nichole Coombs, Stacey Gill, Mayor Dirk Burton meet to discuss the annexation process of the Qquirrh Highlands neighborhood into West Jordan City following the passing of HB330. (Courtesy of Nichole Coombs)
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West Jordan’s community band strikes the right chord
Since 1991, the West Jordan Community Band has provided an outlet for musicians to play together and build friendships.
By Peri Kinder peri.k@thecityjournals.com
The West Jordan Community Band has been bringing people together through the joy of music for more than 30 years. While several directors have led the band, it’s now under the direction of Erik Wieben and Brandon Larsen who have conducted the nearly 100-member group since 2023.
“It’s a unique situation that we have an ensemble that’s as strong as ours is,” Larsen said. “Any investment in the arts in West Jordan is worth it and that’s why this ensemble is pretty incredible. I’m really excited about the level of music. Several band members are music educators from Jordan School District and other districts in the county. Wieben is the band and orchestra director at Sunset Ridge Middle School and Larsen directed bands at Herriman, Fremont and Grantsville high schools before taking the job as an assistant principal at Elk Ridge Middle School.
Larsen said the band provides an outlet, away from the daily grind, where people can disconnect from stressful situations and plug into the energy of live music. The musicians’ talent and dedication have helped the band grow since its inception in 1991.
Sarah Wright’s grandfather gave her a saxophone when she was 8 years old, and she’s been playing ever since. Now, Wright works as a music teacher at Fox Hills Elementary in the Granite School District. She saw a flyer about the West Jordan Community Band and decided to sign up.
“It’s a lovely place to come and hang out with like-minded people and make music,” Wright said. “Music doesn’t judge you. Music makes you feel something that nothing else does…If you play by yourself, it’s fine, but when you play with the group and you make harmonies together, I mean, you can feel it.”
Funded partially through the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts and Parks program, the volunteer-based band holds five concerts each year. The Winter Concert, held Feb. 22
at the Viridian Event Center featured four pieces including “Radioactive Brilliance,” a song composed by band member Kalysha Chandler as a dedication to Marie Curie, the Polish-born physicist who spent her life researching radioactivity.
Chandler’s piece featured dissonant moments symbolizing the negative side effects of Curie’s work in the scientific community, the difficulties she faced in her career and the resulting health issues.
“Midway through the piece, I feature the French horns. I felt that the French horn was the instrument that best captured the essence of Marie Curie’s life,” Chandler said. “Marie Curie was an intelligent and driven woman with a conviction to stand her ground when needed. The French horn embodies these qualities.”
Larsen calls the band’s performances “dad concerts” because they only last about 30 minutes; not too long, but long enough to leave the audience wanting more. The next concert will be held at the Viridian Event Center (8030 S. 1825 West) on Friday, April 11 at 7 p.m. All concerts are free to the public.
“A community band is the epitome of community,” Larsen said. “There are 100 people who live in our communities who come every Thursday night to rehearse and make music together with their friends. It’s been fun to watch that grow and develop.”
For information about joining the band, or for upcoming performances, visit Westjordancommunityband.com.
“These bands are important because, since it’s free, more people will come and be exposed to classical music or interesting music that they normally wouldn’t hear, because the symphony can be expensive,” Wright said. “But if people get a taste for it here, I think they might be more willing to go and listen to more classical music.” l
The West Jordan Journal is a monthly publication distributed directly to residents via the USPS as well as locations throughout West Jordan.
Members of the West Jordan Community Band perform during its Winter Concert at the Viridian Event Center in February. The band holds five free concerts each year. (Peri Kinder/City Journals)
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Ryan Holtan sworn in as West Jordan’s newest justice court judge
It seems Holtan has some big shoes to fill in his newly appointed position because former justice court judge, Ronald Kunz, wears a size 14.
By Rebecca Olds rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com
In mid-February, West Jordan Mayor Dirk Burton presented Ryan Holtan, an attorney and resident of Salt Lake City, to the West Jordan City Council as his appointee for the justice court judge position, following the retirement of Judge Ronald E. Kunz, who has served the city as justice court judge just shy of 35 years.
“What size shoe are you?” joked Burton to Kunz in his opening remarks on March 12 for Holtan’s swearing in ceremony at West Jordan City Hall.
It seems Holtan has some big shoes to fill because Kunz wears a size 14 and a legacy of serving West Jordan.
In an official ceremony, surrounded by Holtan’s family and friends, on March 12 Kunz swore in Holtan as West Jordan’s new justice court judge. He promised to “support, obey and defend the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Utah.”
Holtan completed the swearing in cere-
mony by putting on the official fashion icon of a judge, the black robe.
“It’s a huge responsibility, and it’s a privilege: something I take very seriously,” he said, noting “100,000 people have put their trust in me. I want to treat people fairly, and I want to hold people accountable.”
Holtan grew up in Anchorage, Alaska and later received his bachelor’s degree in political science at Montana State University in 2007 and his juris doctorate in 2010 from S.J. Quinney College of Law.
He was among one of five nominees submitted to the city in December per a Utah Courts press release.
Other candidates included:
• Matthew Brass, J.D., Attorney at Law, resident of Farmington,
• Mark Flores, J.D., Attorney at Law, resident of Salt Lake City,
• Jennifer Foresta, J.D., Attorney at Law, resident of Salt Lake City,
• Chelsey A. McHugh, J.D., Attorney at Law, resident of Taylorsville.
Holtan’s background includes positions such as a private practice criminal defense attorney, Assistant Attorney General for the Utah Attorney General’s Office and as the Special Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
Despite his impressive background,
Burton said it wasn’t until meeting Holtan in person that he knew Holtan would be the best fit for the city.
“Not only is he intelligent, but he seemed well-rounded: he’s been a prosecutor and he’s also been on the defense, so he sees both sides,” Burton said. “It’s that connection with people [and] the fact that he’s out in the public doing things … that’s important for a judge.”
Burton also highlighted that Holtan’s “main purpose and desire” is “to make sure people are heard and understood before judgment is made.”
“My priority has always been a process where you can’t get focused on a particular outcome,” Holtan said. “A fair process is going to matter far more than anything else.”
“I’ve spent time representing people. I’ve spent time protecting people. I’ve spent time protecting the public as a prosecutor,” he continued. “I’ve spent a lot of time on both sides of the justice system and I think that gives me a unique perspective.” l
Ryan Holtan was sworn in as West Jordan’s new justice court judge holding the hand of his wife, Lexi Garrison, by Judge Ronald E. Kunz on March 12 in the city’s council chambers. (Rebecca Olds/City Journals)
Upon completion of his swearing in, Judge Ryan Holtan put on his official robe to seal the deal on March 12 in the West Jordan City Council’s chambers. (Marie Magers/West Jordan City)
Inside the challenges facing WJ’s Victim Assistance Program
With the inherent challenges of victim advocacy, West Jordan’s understaffed Victim Assistance Program struggles to keep up as the local population grows and caseloads pile up.
By Rebecca Olds rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com
WestJordan’s Victim Assistance Program (VAP) is a critical resource for those impacted by crime, domestic violence and sexual assault in the community. Yet this essential service is being shouldered by just three advocates — all of whom joined the team within the past year.
Advocates are city employees, umbrellaed under the city prosecutors’ office, who do a variety of things to help victims in the community, by attending court hearings with them over abuse, being called to crime scenes, answering phone calls and more.
With the variety of care, long hours and heavy caseloads, burnout seems to be a bit of a pandemic among the budding professionals of the new advocacy career field created in the past 50 years, said Jodi Petersen, West Jordan’s victim advocate coordinator.
Petersen has been in the field for 20 years and considers herself an “advocate for the advocates.”
With every new conference for advocates she attends, she recognizes an increasing number of new faces that she chalks up to people burning out of the field and new ones replacing them.
“Victim advocacy is such a new field, and it started out as such a grassroots movement, and it is predominantly women,” she said. “Since the dawn of time, women have been banding together, helping other women to get out of abusive situations.”
She remembers that as a freshly graduated advocate, she thought her four-year degree would be the entrance to “have the better life,” but became disillusioned that it took her 15 years in the industry to make as much money as she was waiting tables.
Although the field requires the same background education as social work, Petersen said advocates are “entirely underpaid” for having a bachelor’s degree and preference to be bilingual.
“It’s really hard to get compensated in a way that’s fair, especially when you consider we work 40-hour weeks and then we run a crisis line, 24/7, holidays included,” she said.
“It’s easy to burn out if you’re literally sitting in court five days a week and things or just making calls all day,” said Maquel Oswald, one of West Jordan’s three advocates on staff.
Oswald said it’s common for advocates to take several hiatuses from work in the field because it’s not an easy profession.
It takes its toll.
Petersen gave an account from two weeks ago when she was called out on a death call by the police department, with which the program works closely.
“I had to sit in the living room with a deaf lady at my seat for four hours while I was helping her family,” Petersen said. “So the trauma is real, and it really does impact us.”
With the inherent challenges of the victim advocacy profession, the West Jordan Victim Assistance Program faces an additional burden due to its limited staffing. With only three new advocates on the team, the program is struggling to keep up as the local population continues to grow and the caseload steadily increases.
“West Jordan is growing so the case loads can get a little bit high, which makes it a little bit tougher to give everyone the due attention and keep it within a manageable time,” Oswald said.
On a typical Monday morning, the victim advocates at the West Jordan program are faced with an influx of over 50 new cases accumulated over the weekend.
According to research Petersen has done using 2020 census data, West Valley City had 23,000 residents for each advocate they had on staff while West Jordan has closer to 39,000 residents for each advocate.
Moving forward, the two advocates said they hope to have more interns and volunteers in the city’s program to expand efforts to public education and community outreach.
“I would hope that people would understand that we’re here to help, and that there’s no shame in when this happens to them,” Oswald said. “I feel like that’s a really big thing that people who come in for help feel.” l
Jodi Petersen’s business card for her role as victim advocate coordinator. (Rebecca Olds/City Journals)
What to know about visiting the E.R.
By Dr. Alex Drake
At CommonSpirit Health, our vision is a healthier future for all – inspired by faith, driven by innovation, and powered by our humanity. This extends to all the care we provide our patients, whether it be in our doctor’s offices, our clinics, or our hospitals.
We want your visit to our care sites to be as comfortable as possible, and we know that visiting the Emergency Department (ER) is difficult for any patient and their loved ones. I would like to share some information about what to expect in the ER, so that you can be as prepared as possible.
Our emergency caregivers are here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to serve our community. We accept all patients – regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. A typical visit to the ER can take two-to-three hours, but please know that in the ER we must evaluate and treat our patients based on severity of their condition. This might mean longer wait times in the lobby or even after being placed in an exam room. However, this also means that if you’re having a life-threatening emergency, you will have the undivided attention of our doctors and nurses.
If you have mild-to-moderate symptoms – such as fever below 103 degrees without a rash, flu-like symptoms without shortness of breath, or sprains and strains – you may wish to consider calling your primary care provider or visiting an urgent care center, as these options may be faster and are often less expensive.
Symptoms or health issues that require immediate medical attention may include the following:
• Chest pain
• Sudden weakness or trouble talking
• Difficulty breathing
• Spinal injuries
• Severe head injury
• Major broken bones
• Major burns
• Sudden change in vision
• Heavy bleeding
• Large open wounds
You should never drive yourself to an ER if you are having severe chest pain, severe bleeding, if you feel like you might faint, or if your vision is impaired. When in doubt, please call 911 — what matters most is that you get to the emergency room quickly and safely. If you arrive by
ambulance, you will be triaged and we will determine the level of care required.
All emergency physicians at CommonSpirit Holy Cross Hospitals are board certified in Emergency Medicine and have trained for many years to help you in your emergency. The doctors also have specially trained midlevel providers who can also help. Your provider may order tests like X-rays, CT Scans, Ultrasounds, bloodwork, urinalysis, an electrocardiogram (EKG), or others, depending on your health problem.
After receiving test results, the doctor will discuss the findings and diagnosis with you. If needed, they will advise admission to the hospital. If your condition does not need admission, they will give you written instructions about treatment to be followed at home. This may include prescriptions, tips for home care, and any referrals needed for following up with either a primary care or specialized doctor.
While we hope for the health and safety of those in our community, know that we are here if you need us. Our excellent doctors and nurses at CommonSpirit Holy Cross Hospitals are ready to provide high-quality, compassionate, and timely care.
As CommonSpirit Health, we make the healing presence of God known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable, while we advance social justice for all.
When you need emergency care fast, the closest emergency room is a smart thing to know. You never know the level of care you’ll need when an emergency happens and choosing the right ER can make all the difference. And a hospital ER comes with the confidence of additional services right on-site.
Find emergency care close to you at mountain.commonspirit.org.
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and after only six months living in the area had begun creating a strong sense of community that would eventually be the uniting factor in annexing into the city with which they already felt a kinship.
“I feel like we all moved into the neighborhood the same time,” Gill said. “Nichole and I were [some] of the very first people up in this area to move in. So it’s kind of like her and I started the friendship right away, and then lots of other people were a part of that. We were all moving in and having kids around the same time, it was a huge sense of community around here.”
In those first six months, the community began to realize the downfalls of not belonging to any city. The neighborhoods’ addresses have always had a West Jordan zip code, Coombs said. The unincorporated area was bordered by West Valley on the north side and West Jordan on the south.
Since the land was a new development, it was nearly impossible to get streetlights in the area to scare away animals like the mountain lions that roamed at night. It also spooked the neighbors how easily a nearby plot of land also not part of a city was annexed into West Valley City and a Walmart was constructed.
These initial circumstances sparked a fire to incorporate into West Jordan officially — along with the busing to three different elementary schools, lack of political representation, long wait times for emergency responders and snow removal, and more, basically resulting in a “logistic nightmare” on multiple fronts.
When the neighborhood started the first initial process of annexing into the city by petitioning, they hit roadblock after roadblock before “it all came to a crashing halt.”
“There was no money in West Jordan City’s funds to pay for that [and] there was no legislation that required cities to pay for that,” Coombs said. “So that balance was left to us as residents. And if I remember correctly, at the time, it was about $80,000 which … was just an exorbitant amount of money. And so it died.”
However, she said, that didn’t keep the community from being actively involved in the larger West Jordan community, participating in city events like the Western Stampede for the Fourth of July. “We just don’t identify as being anything else,” she said.
In the 19 years since those initial attempts at annexation, the neighborhood raised funds to build Falcon Ridge Elementary where community events are regularly held.
“When we say we built it, none of us did any hammering, none of us painted a wall, but we initiated it as a community,” Coombs said. “We got it to the top of the priority list. We were able to name it, which is really fun as a neighborhood. That’s why it has the name Falcon Ridge, because we have so many Falcons here.”
In 2024, the game changed with the passing of HB 330 that had the purpose to save Salt Lake County money by reducing fees associated with unincorporated areas within the county.
Coombs worked closely with Aimee Winder Newton, Salt Lake County Councilwoman for District 3, to move the neighborhood residents forward with their incorporation efforts.
“When I was in my early twenties, I lived in an area of unincorporated Salt Lake County and was part of the incorporation effort to become the City of Taylorsville,” Winder Newton said. “I understand the desire to control your own destiny.”
But one part of HB 330 left a bit of a “hiccup” in moving forward — since West Valley City has a larger population than West Jordan, the neighborhood would’ve been absorbed by the larger city per the bill if they did nothing.
It took both Coombs and Gill one final big push to make sure this didn’t happen.
Petitioning started throughout the neighborhood in 2024, close to Halloween, and the duo collected hundreds of signatures, even tracking down homeowners who lived out of the country. The required amount was collected just before Thanksgiving.
The request to annex into West Jordan was approved by the West Jordan City Council a few months later in January, making it the farthest the neighborhood had come to annexing.
“West Jordan isn’t just a city, it’s our home,” Coombs said at the West Jordan City Council meeting when the council voted to annex the neighborhood. “You aren’t just getting more houses, more roads, you’re getting invested residents.”
“I’ve been so impressed with those who have championed the annexation into West Jordan,” Winder Newton said. “They have worked tirelessly to go through the process and educate their neighbors. While Salt Lake County has loved serving this neighborhood, we support their desires and wish them all the best as they officially become West Jordan residents.”
The win for the neighborhood was a victory Coombs had waited and worked on for 20 years.
“This is a huge, big deal for me right now,” Coombs said. “Government is really big and really loud and really opinionated, and it’s important that my children and my community and other people in my sphere recognize that grassroots government still exists in the United States.
“I cannot fix a lot of things in the government, but in my little part of the world — the way the Constitution was set up, the way the state government set up, the way the county and now this city is set up — me, Nicole Coombs, who is not a lawyer, not an elected official, I was able to make a change.”
The Oquirrh Highlands Neighborhood will officially become part of West Jordan City on July 1. l
Building a stronger future for female high school athletes in Utah
Women’s Day of Sports gave Utah female athletes a sense of community and empowered them to become better leaders on and off the field.
By Rebecca Olds rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com
AndeeBouwhuis teamed up with a group of athletic directors from across Utah more than a year ago to bridge a gap they saw for high school female athletes in the state and are continuing strong in the efforts.
On Feb. 19, Bouwhuis and her team, in collaboration with the Utah Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, hosted the second annual Women’s Day in Sports at the Jordan School District building. The event attracted nearly 200 high school female athletes participating in a variety of sports and their coaches from St. George to Logan.
The goal was to create a “half-day program to give our female athletes exposure to speakers who would empower them to become better leaders on and off the field.”
Notable speakers at the event included Amy Donaldson, a Utah high school sports journalist who has worked for 20 years to fill this gap and remains passionate about the cause.
She encouraged athletes not to settle for less but to utilize small consistent efforts to become what they want to become.
“If you don’t see yourself as worthy of attention and time and love and compassion, then nobody else is going to either,” Donaldson said.
There were four other speakers during three breakout sessions, covering various topics such as health and nutrition, mental health, leadership and strength and conditioning.
“We wanted to be able to address concerns that the girls, as well as female athletic directors and coaches, had and work together to grow female athletics in the state of Utah,” Bouwhuis said.
Female high school athletes have pressures just like any athlete: balancing school, sports, family and maybe a job, with added worries and concerns as female athletes that changemakers like Bouwhuis are working to help them navigate.
Bryan Veazie, Jordan School District’s director of athletics and activities, said while athletics play an important role in school and community culture, it’s been historically less of a priority to have females participate in them.
“I think historically there was a higher level of priority given to boys and men in athletics and with the implementation of
Efforts by his teacher and peers to include him while out sick brings out one third-grader’s signature smile.
By Jet Burnham
j.burnham@mycityjournals.com
Antelope
Canyon Elementary third-grader Lucas Ellis
has been dealing with leukemia since 2023, with treatments, hospitalizations and medications, but one of the hardest things about the experience for the happy and social kid has been missing school.
“He has always been a very social kid—he thrives in having those interactions with his friends,” his mom, Marcela Ellis said. “When he first was diagnosed, we did a lot of online classes, which were helpful, but we could see that his emotional well-being wasn't being taken care of as well as we wanted it to be.”
When Lucas’ illness relapsed in January, his teacher Megan Dotson stepped into action to create ways for Lucas to remain connected to her, his classmates and the classroom.
She made T-shirts with Lucas’ signature smile and blue glasses which all her students and those in Lucas’ two siblings’ classes, as well as staff members and parents wear each Friday (which Dotson calls Lucas Friday.)
Through a foundation called Monkey in My Chair, Dotson arranged for a lovable stuffed monkey to sit in Lucas’ seat when he is not able to come to class. Students tote the monkey with them to the library, lunch and PE class, and send Lucas pictures of his adventures to help him feel included.
“We love getting the pictures of George the Monkey
Title IX, I think there have been a lot of important efforts and significant movements to provide equitable opportunities to girls in sports,” he said. “I think our commitment at the Jordan School District is to find ways to ensure we are providing the highest level of equity and ample opportunities for boys and girls to participate in athletics.”
Hosting the Women’s in Sports Day was another step in the district’s efforts, he said.
“We admire and respect the ladies in athletics, out at the schools and at the Utah High School Activities Association as well as the Utah Interscholastic Athletic Administrative Association for their passion and their commitment and their vision to put this together and to provide these opportunities for our girls in sports and we’re excited to continue to be a part of it moving forward,” Veazie said.
The district has played a role the past two years of the event, the first Women’s Day in Sports event was organized in 2024 and hosted at Bingham High School.
While Bouwhuis said attendance had to be restricted this year to five from each school she and her team hope that changes next year so even more women and girls in the state can participate.
West Jordan basketball player, runner and sophomore Faytme Reese Myles said the event showed her the statewide “big
Making Lucas smile
playing in the parachutes, or going to recess or at lunch— he loves it,” Ellis said. “What he considers the fun, the ‘not school stuff,’ he doesn't get to be part of that, so getting the pictures of the monkey and the letters describing all those things—he loves it.”
Dotson said the monkey sitting in his chair has helped students not forget about Lucas.
“Putting him in our room, it honestly feels whole again,” she said.
Students also stay in communication with Lucas by sending notes to him through a class mailbox. Dotson said she always emphasizes kindness and inclusion in her classroom but the last few months have given her students opportunities to put those values into practice.
“I've watched the empathy in each of these little kids grow by a million and a half,” Dotson said. “They just talk about it all the time, how excited they are for Lucas Friday, or how they're going to grab an extra this or whatever at home to put in his mailbox, or things like that. And just watching them care for someone else has been really, really cool, and then come up with ideas of how we're going to, or what we're going to say, or what they'd like to do to show him love. I encourage that a lot in this room, but I have watched it grow tremendously in the last little bit.”
Dotson comes to Lucas’ home to work with him regularly. She also visits him when he is in the hospital. Lucas said all the support from his teacher and classmates feels “awesome.”
Ellis said the support has been incredible.
“It makes him feel like people are there, even if he can't see them and if he can't hang out with them, people are there for him,” she said. “It's made a huge impact on his well-be-
community” she and her teammates are a part of.
“When I ended up going to state, there weren’t many girls, it was really a male-dominated sport,” she said. “So just coming here and seeing all the different athletes and what they do really shows we have a big community.”l
ing emotionally. We noticed that when he is in a good mood or in a good emotional state, he recovers from the chemo or the procedures a lot quicker than when he's sad or feeling a little bit depressed.”
She said it was such a relief when Dotson took the initiative to arrange the zoom calls and the plan for keeping Lucas up with his classwork.
“That was a huge burden that she lifted,” she said. “As a family, we were worrying about all these other things that we had to do—his medication, finding a donor—all of it—and to not have to worry about that was just incredible.”
At the end of February, Lucas received a school-wide superhero’s farewell as he left school to prepare for a bone marrow transplant, which will keep him out of school for at least a year. l
West Jordan female athletes (from left to right ) Francine McIntyre, Giselle Muffet and Faytme Reese Myles attended the Women’s Day in Sports as a basketball team. (Rebecca Olds/City Journals)
Megan Dotson leads her student Lucas Ellis through a hero’s farewell given by his classmates as he leaves school to prepare for a bone marrow transplant. (Kraig Williams/JSD)
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STEM toys unlock learning and creativity
There’s no escape from learning with new escape room clue boxes.
By Jet Burnham j.burnham@mycityjournals.com
TheSTEM room at Jordan Hills Elementary School is full of boxes of building materials, posters explaining construction techniques and a variety of toys and tools used for exploring science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
STEM teachers Susan Smith and Marijane Smith have been steadily adding materials to their classroom supplies to provide a variety of experiences to engage students.
“[Former Principal] Michelle Lovell started us doing STEM about seven years ago, and we built it up from scratch,” Susan Smith said. “And we, just in the last few years, started working on getting grants like the DonorsChoose, so the community is really what’s paying for all of our equipment.”
The most recent community donations purchased a classroom set of Breakout Boxes which are similar to an escape room challenge. Students work together in groups to solve puzzles and find clues to give them the combinations to open three locks on a box. When the boxes debuted in early March, the students were thrilled.
“Most of them know about escape rooms, and they love escape rooms, and so doing this kind of gets them that escape room feel, and they love the solving puzzle aspect of it,” Susan Smith said.
Previously, the STEM teachers had to wait their turn to borrow the well-worn Breakout Box activities from the Jordan School District’s lending library. With their own classroom set of boxes and locks, they will be able to utilize them more often with the collection of puzzles available on the Breakout website.
“Our goal is to get them to work together and to be more creative and innovative,” Susan Smith said.
Students were given clues but few directions on how to begin solving the puzzles to open the three padlocks on the box.
“We had to figure out which locks go to which clue,” Katelyn Brown said.
The activity taught students how to work together, share ideas and cooperate.
“It takes a lot of teamwork and being able to talk to your group, because if we all just go off and do our own thing then we’re trying to fight over each other,” sixth grader Cody Firkins said.
“Communication and teamwork is a really big part of it,” sixth grader Zaylee Spears said.
Students enjoyed the Breakout Boxes. Other favorite STEM class activities have been making marble roller coasters, experimenting with chemistry and programming Spherobots.
“So much STEM nowadays is geared toward the electronic and the coding, and we still like to do the hands-on unplugged stuff,” Susan Smith said.
Marijane Smith enjoys engineering activities that allow students to use their creativity, such as designing a minigolf course hole and creating a contraption to lift a pumpkin.
“I like the building and designing things where they have to get creative with what we have,” she said. “It’s really fun to see what they can come up with, because they’ll come up with ideas that we don’t necessarily think about when we’re planning it.”
The students were recently tasked with designing a shoe. They spent four weeks sketching and building prototypes. They also came up with a name and logo for their shoe.
“We gave them the task, ‘Can you build a shoe with just the things that we provide for you?’ and mostly it was just cereal boxes and toilet paper rolls and string and just a few odds and ends, and that’s what they came up with, these awesome shoes,” Susan Smith said.
Students said one thing they’ve learned in STEM class is that it is okay to make mistakes, so when they encountered a problem when making their shoe prototype, they didn’t worry about it.
“I messed up a couple times but then I just added on to it,” Makayla Brown said. l
Students work together to find clues to open a lock box puzzle. (Jet Burnham/City Journals)
Breakout Boxes, like an escape room, require teamwork and communication. (Jet Burnham/City Journals)
Up fOr A cHaNgE oF sCeNeRy?
Then come on up. Meet a new community with a vision for sustainability. Where new homes are designed to be as smart as they are beautiful. Here, outdoor activities and clubs mingle with sageland stewardship and citizen science. And it’s all happening with input from the people who will live here. Could that be you?
This youth teaching youth program has been inspiring students for 30 years.
By Jet Burnham j.burnham@mycityjournals.com
How do you instill confidence, work skills and a love of science in middle school students? Have them teach science concepts to fourth graders.
The Youth Teaching Youth science outreach and enrichment program through the Natural History Museum of Utah has been empowering middle and high school aged students for 30 years.
“The overall goal is to connect students with science and to create opportunities,” NHMU teen program manager Mariana Alliatti Joaquim said. She said youth teachers gain a deeper understanding and interest in science while gaining social skills, teaching skills and confidence.
“A lot of our students start shy and have a hard time talking in public, but here they have to and they learn very quickly,” she said.
Jason Taylor was a youth teacher in the first year of the program back in 1995. He said the experience influenced his career path.
“I did this program for six years, and my parents were both educators, but I think that this is what kind of pushed me over the top into going into education,” he said.
Taylor said the experience of teaching elementary school children as a young teen brought him out of his comfort zone and helped him learn to be comfortable speaking in front of others.
“You get a barrage of questions that you don’t expect from a group of fourth graders, and it’s a lot more comfortable to talk to them than it might be to fellow students or maybe other adults,” Taylor said.
Taylor now works at Hawthorn Academy as a Behavior Interventionist. Halley Miranda, previously Communications Specialist for the school, is another original participant of the YTY program (1998-2004.) Both took advantage of the internships, scholarships and field trips the program offered.
They both helped arrange for the YTY experience at the charter school’s West Jordan campus this year even though the youth teachers, Glendale Middle School students, typically only work with schools in the Salt Lake City School District.
The middle school aged teachers taught Hawthorn Academy fourth graders about fossils. They brought specimens from the museum to encourage students to be curious, ask questions and think like scientists.
Fourth grade teacher Nicol Navarrete said it was a great review for her students because it gave them an opportunity to apply
Sharing a passion for science
critical reasoning skills to what they have learned.
“It’s something that I don’t have the ability to provide in class so it’s nice for somebody else to come in and give them this opportunity to have hands-on and really visualize and see and touch and feel,” Navarrete said.
The students were also excited to have teenagers running the activity, which Taylor said made them more willing to listen.
“I think that they see somebody who’s not that much older from them and who might be the same age as one of their siblings, and they feel a little bit more comfortable learning from somebody that’s the same age,” Taylor said.
Thirty middle school students are part of this year’s program. Students can continue the program through high school with internships and paid positions at the museum.
Miranda worked at the museum as part of the program and she said the trips they took—white water rafting, national parks— are some of her best memories. She said the program was a great opportunity.
“The biggest impact the program had on me was having an adult leader who believed in me and had high expectations of me,” Miranda said. “She held me accountable for my actions in a firm but loving manner. This program focuses on low-income families where often both parents work, as it was in my case, so having those extra adults made a huge difference.”
The program started as a way to involve youth at the museum not as visitors but as contributors to the resources. It is based in the Salt Lake School District at Glendale Middle School.
“I think it really can be life changing,” Taylor said. “I really wish that it were to be expanded to more middle schools.” l
Hawthorn Academy fourth graders explore fossils provided by the Natural History Museum of Utah. (Jet Burnham/City Journals)
Fourth graders are encouraged to think like scientists as part of the Youth Teaching Youth program. (Jet Burnham/City Journals)
Hawthorn Academy fourth graders explore fossils provided by the Natural History Museum of Utah. (Jet Burnham/City Journals)
West Jordan track team looking to build off big season
The West Jordan track team had a successful 2024 season finishing third at state.
By Josh McFadden
On the heels of a third-place finish at state, the West Jordan boys track team doesn’t plan on slowing down.
The Jaguars return plenty of talent and experience on both the boys and girls teams. Both squads have lofty goals for the 2025 season as they look to continue the momentum of the previous year.
“We want to win the region championship again on the boys’ side and place in the top three at state,” head coach Taylor Thompson said. “On the girls’ side, we want to send more girls to state and win region as a team.”
West Jordan should be a favorite in Region 4 along with Taylorsville, which has an excellent group of distance runners.
As the new season began, Thompson said his pupils were focused and had a positive attitude and outlook. No one on the West Jordan team wants last season’s success to be a short-lived aberration. The Jaguars have established a program Thompson hopes can be strong from year to year.
“We have a winning mindset,” Thompson said. “We want to finish what we started. Everyone is very determined to keep our success from last year alive.”
Thompson and the West Jordan track athletes know that these accomplishments won’t come without effort, determination and resilience. The Jaguars are taking a step-by-step and day-by-approach to achieving their objectives. Thompson said that includes not overlooking anything in their workouts and training.
“Kids just need to keep showing up and doing all the little things,” she said. “We have had a lot of kids put in the work during the indoor season and to keep the momentum going throughout the outdoor season.”
Not only do the Jaguars boast talent and experience, but the team is big. In a sport like track and field, the number of athletes on a team plays a significant role in determining how many points the squad can score. West Jordan had an overwhelming turnout when the season began, leaving Thompson thrilled with the excitement and enthusiasm swelling around the program. She said the sheer size of the team is one of its biggest strengths.
“We have a big team this year and a lot of depth,” she said. “I have never seen this much depth on both girls’ and boys’ side since I have been at West Jordan (since 2017).”
On the other hand, the Jaguars have areas they can work on, and Thompson and her staff are doing their best to address where the team needs to improve.
“One area of improvement we’re
looking at is just scoring in every event,” Thompson said. “We have great athletes all across the board, so it is just a matter of everyone figuring things out and putting it together when it matters most.”
In the spring, sports such as track and field regularly contend with weather issues for a month or more. It’s not unusual for snow to wreak havoc with practices and meets in track and field. Cold weather can be a factor well into the season.
“The weather is a big challenge,” she said. “You never know what you are going to get with spring sports, especially the wind.”
Several athletes stand out for the Jaguars. Thompson highlighted these competitors, noting that she has a good group of upperclassmen and underclassmen contributing to the squad.
“We have so many good athletes,” she said. “Right now, I would say some standouts that are seniors are Ayden Carter, sprints/hurdles; Ryan Smith, sprints; Lincoln Houston, hurdles; Campbell Brown, hurdles; Jaidon Colbert, jumps; Keaton Lewis, throws; Bryten Christensen, distance; Devin Butterfield, distance; and Tristan Duffin, sprints/jumps.”
In addition, Thompson is eager to see what some of the top girls on the team can do this season as the Jaguars work hard to
qualify as many athletes as possible for state. She pointed out the talents of senior Ellie Maher, sprints; senior Claire Tyler, sprints; senior Bree Halterman, jumps/sprints; junior Abby DeMass, distance; sophomore Emma Nordquist, jumps/sprints; and sophomore Faythe Myles, sprints. Thompson said the Jaguars have a group filled with devoted athletes who want
to excel. They also want to build on the efforts of those who have come before them in the West Jordan track and field program.
“They work hard,” Thompson said. “Almost all of them show up on a daily basis and come to the workouts on the weekends. They want to get better and help continue the legacy our athletes have created from years before.” l
Lincoln Houston, shown here at last year’s state meet during a hurdles event, is one of the top returning athletes for the West Jordan track team. (Photo courtesy of Taylor Thompson.)
Peri Kinder Life and Laughter
Russia
is our ally. Canadians are the enemy. Tariffs will make us richer but we’re cutting staff at national parks. Measles is back. Gaza is the new Riviera. The economy is crashing and it’s tax season when I pay thousands of dollars to the government so it can purchase Tesla Cybertrucks to send to Jupiter.
The newspeak and doublethink we endure each day can be a bit overwhelming, but I’ve found a way to get through the endless cycle of breaking news: denial.
Denial is a beautiful, hazy way to spend your day. Instead of crying through a CNBC report, denial allows you to drift on a cloud of puff pastry surrounded by cherry trifle and savory scones.
This specific form of denial is “The Great British Bake Off” and it saved me during March when I was knee-deep in tissues, cough syrup and tariff wars. There’s only so much idiocy one can endure while healing from pneumonia.
Unlike American reality shows that foster cruelty and conflict, GBBO features a dozen creative bakers who just want to make
Let them eat cake
the best Victoria sponge cake or sticky toffee pudding. The contestants are kind, positive and willing to offer a helping hand.
I love British television because everyone looks real. There are no plastic surgery junkies or steroid-addicted chefs, just regular people doing something they love. When the judges, Paul Hollywood and Dame Prue Leith, make a criticism, it’s done with a British accent so it doesn’t sound so awful.
When Prue tuts and says, “This bake is a disaster,” she could easily be tucking a blanket around your shoulders and handing you a steaming cup of Earl Grey.
Instead of watching Elon Musk wield a chainsaw, I tune into GBBO which is filmed on the grounds of an English manor. Bunnies and squirrels scamper through grassy meadows like a Disney movie. There’s even a fanbase dedicated to identifying the different bird songs heard during the show.
The pastel-colored set, with its matching counters, ovens and fridges, distracts me from personnel cuts at federal agencies including
the CDC and FAA. GBBO hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding wander through the competition, amusing bakers with their British humor and offering pep talks to stressed cooks.
Each episode has a specific theme. There’s bread week or pastry week or biscuit week, and each chef creates a signature bake, completes a technical challenge and makes a jaw-dropping showstopper. It’s a heartwarming alternative to the 24/7 chaos of the Trump administration.
Who knew there were so many British bakery items? But I have to admit, there are things they make I would never eat, including black pudding and chorizo buns topped with mustard custard. Nope.
Instead of worrying about the breakdown of our country’s system of checks and balances, I worry about whether my favorite
baker can create a pie crust that doesn’t have a soggy bottom. The judges hate soggy bottoms. I’ve also learned to worry about fallen focaccia, overcooked tarts and croissant dough that’s not properly laminated. Even the mistakes feel cozy.
I’m impressed at how quickly chefs can whip up a batch of pistachio macarons, ginger tarts or spanakopita (a spinach and feta pie my husband would NEVER eat) with minimal tears or tantrums. It’s a reminder things can get done without fits of temper, vengeance or manipulation.
Denial is not a permanent solution but it’s a tool when messages from Big Brother and the Ministry of Truth get to be a bit much. Just turn on the TV and float away in a delicate orange buttercream or raspberry whipped cream. It’s some sweet positivity in a decidedly bitter time.
BACK PAIN STOPS HERE
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