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January 2020 | Vol. 6 Iss. 01

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UTAH HIGH SCHOOLS ASKED TO RAISE THE BAR ON SPORTSMANSHIP By Greg James | gregj@mycityjournals.com

technical foul, 15-yards or a penalty shot are just a few examples of punishments that result from unsportsmanlike conduct. More serious violations can result in fines, suspension or even termination. Why suffer through penance or pay thousands of dollars to make amends when you can just as easily be a good sport? The Utah-BYU rivalry again took sportsmanship’s center stage because of several incidents in an early December basketball game at the Huntsman Center. Several Cougar students began singing their fight song during a halftime presentation honoring former Utah head coach Rick Majerus. The melee that followed included fights in the stands and altercations on the court. This basketball game is not the first time the two schools have squared off. In 2008, BYU quarterback Max Hall said, “I don’t like Utah, in fact I hate them. I hate everything about them.” He later apologized. Utah Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak said in 2015 he did not care if the teams ever played again. College sports participants are not the only poor examples. In 2009, two Ute Conference youth football teams forfeited all of their games and the conference president was removed after allegations of using illegal players. The whistleblower received threats and called the police for protection. “You’re an idiot, you have ruined our son’s season, and I am going to burn your house down,” was the threat that prompted a call to the police, all over a youth football game. Has sportsmanship been lost for a willingness to win at all costs? “It can be horrific. I had never been so scared,” Peggy Pyle, a county recreation scorekeeper said about her experience witnessing a brawl at a slow pitch softball game. “One big guy hit another guy in the head with a glass Coke bottle. It was wicked crazy.” The Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) has recently made an exaggerated emphasis on sportsmanship at its contests. “The organization is committed to stressing educational and cultural values,” UHSAA director Rob Cuff said. “We stand to improve the participation experience in activities, promote life skills, lessons involved in competitive activities, foster sportsmanship, mutual respect and assist those who oversee high school sports and activities at UHSAA member schools.”

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The Granger boys basketball team sits on the bench as fans file in for the game. (Greg James/City Journals)

In a City Journal survey, 78% of respondents said parents are most responsible for sportsmanship, good or bad. “Young amateur athletes often emulate what they see being done by college and professional athletes,” West Jordan High School athletic director Carlson Boudreaux said. “In my view, competition has become more and more about making the other guy look bad, not just about doing your best. We ask our coaches to address sportsmanship and proper behavior with parents at parent meetings. Our objective is to encourage loud, rowdy, positive fan support for your sports teams.” UHSAA schools have been encouraged to use an initiative called Do Rowdy Right. “We focus on teaching the fans, all fans, not to let the cheering get personal. Our students and parents are monitored throughout the contest and we try to stop negative comments. I am not going to pretend we are always right, but adults are some of the most important people in teaching good sportsmanship,” Boudreaux said. Copper Hills High School is among several schools that have implemented ways to improve the fan experience. “It is difficult enforcing good behavior at sporting events,” Grizzly athletic director Andrew Blanchard said. “We

have student ‘spirit leaders’ that come to all athletic events. They are the leaders of cheers and behavior. Our administrative team works closely with those students encouraging positive cheers. Choosing these leaders is very important.” The players on the team reflect their coaches views. “This is something everyone can work on,” Cyprus head basketball coach Tre Smith said. “I am sure players, coaches and officials have all felt disrespected at times. My biggest thing is wanting to create a sense of great character with kids in the program.” The UHSAA program called Raise the Bar encourages four ways to improve sportsmanship at athletic events: teach, enforce, award and model. In the 2018-19 athletic school year, every UHSAA 6A and 5A school experienced a player or coach ejection. The high school program to improve these statistics includes objectives to help each school earn sportsmanship awards. “Every school can win at sportsmanship,” Cuff said. All UHSAA members schools were given a banner to hang in their gymnasium. Each banner has empty spaces for gold stars that can be earned by completing the objectives outlined in the program. Continued page 5

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12/19/19 5:07 PM | Page January 2020 3

West Valley City takes first steps to become home for tech companies By Darrell Kirby | d.kirby@mycityjournals.com

est Valley City is doing its part to provide a home for the Wasatch Front’s burgeoning technology industry. Following groundbreaking in November, construction is currently underway for Soleil Technology Park, West Valley City’s first “hub” that will target up-and-coming technology businesses, although it won’t necessarily be limited to that sector. The development by The Wasatch Group is next to the existing Motorola Solutions facility, which is at 4625 W. Lake Park Blvd. In a video posted on West Valley City’s Facebook page, Wasatch Group CEO, Dell Loy Hansen, calls Soleil Technology Park “a center for technology that is unique in all of Utah.” One of the reasons for that is its expected environmental impact — it is designed to have none. The five buildings and 550,000 square feet of Soleil Technology Park will use solar and other renewable sources to provide nearly all of its energy needs. In addition, there will be about 200 charging stations for electric vehicles in its parking lots. “This is a zero-pollution campus,” Hansen said. A more conventional selling point of the development is its location. “The reason for that is very simple: access to both the airport and downtown (Salt Lake City),” West Valley assistant city manager Nicole Cottle said in that same Facebook video. The location of this latest project in his company’s extensive commercial and residential property portfolio was also mentioned by Hansen. “West Valley is a hidden gem in the valley, and the thing I’ve been good at is finding things before other people figure it out.” Hansen also touted the project’s proximity to the University of Utah and the availability of an educated workforce. Soleil is

Journals

This rendering shows what Soleil Technology Park in West Valley City is expected to look like when completed in 2021. (Courtesy Colliers International)

also located in a Qualified Opportunity Zone, a federal designation to promote economic development and job creation by providing tax benefits to those who invest in economically distressed areas. Brandon Fugal, chairman of the Utah operations of real estate services firm Colliers International, is overseeing the leasing of office space at Soleil Technology Park.

He says that while the primary targets are technology companies, its space is also open to financial services, health care, and other types of office-oriented businesses. “It really is competitively priced,” he said compared to similar developments in other growing business hubs such as Sandy and Lehi. He says there has been a “significant amount” of early interest by companies ex-

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Continued from front page They include: displaying the schools sportsmanship policy, zero ejections, athletes and parents signing the sportsmanship pledge and school sportsmanship video contest entries. During the school year, schools evaluate their sportsmanship application and can mark areas as successful or areas that need improvement. “We can promote the development of character and ensure the teaching of positive values,” Cuff said. “We must avoid negative behavior and demonstrate respect and appreciation of opponents. Officials, fans and coaches. Get loud, have a great time, but remain positive.” In the City Journals sportsmanship survey, 56% of those filling out the questionnaire said they had displayed poor sportsmanship. Meanwhile, 91% do not think all participants deserve participation awards. “Disappointment and failure is life,” Blanchard said. “Disappointment can be a useful motivator to athletes. It can help them overcome the negative feelings that come with losing.” In 2019, the UHSAA changed how teams qualify for the state tournament. The changes sparked a controversy over if all teams should make it or not. Beginning this last fall, all teams make the tournament but are seeded by a ratings performance index. According to the Cyprus head basketball coach, his team needed to learn something before making the playoffs. “My first three years at Cyprus my teams

did not deserve to make the tournament and we didn’t. I’m saying we did not work hard enough to earn it. I needed to teach my program what hard work was and what needed to be done to have sustained success,” Smith said. Taylorsville athletic director Guy Mackay agrees that sports can teach more than winning. “One of our big problems is that winning is described today only with the final score,” Mackay said. “The problem is the mindset. What is someone trying to accomplish with athletics. Winning is more than the actual scoreboard.” The sportsmanship epidemic has had on impact on officials. Recently, the UHSAA pleaded for qualified officials to help support the student athletes. A shortage of qualified officials has become a national problem. The states sportsmanship initiative hopes to make the vital improvements so that high schools will be able to continue to offer athletic competition. The 2019 6A sportsmanship video winner was Skyridge High School; Alta won the 5A division. “Honestly, I feel sportsmanship in Utah is getting better and better every year,” Blanchard said. “The UHSAA works with high school administration and athletic directors to come up with procedures on how to show fans good behavior. There are always a few that never follow the rules, but we now have procedures to help deal with those fans.” l

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Pump tracks, police buildings and painting: West Valley City 2019 Capturing a whole year in a few photos is next to impossible. But the following snapshots will attempt to do just that as we look back at 2019 in West Valley City. To read the stories alont with these photos, check out wvcjournal.com.

Then-junior Angel Lui was the Wolverines leading scorer last season, averaging over 12 pointes per game. (Greg James/City Journals)

Julie Robbins accepts her certificate from Deputy Chief Matt Elson after she completed the Citizens Academy last year. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Fourth-grade students from Rolling Meadows Elementary participated in various stations where they saw a few rare treasures from the Natural History Museum of Utah’s 1.6 million object collections at Zions Bank. Here students look at a collection of shimmering orbs. The collection was donated by Ruth Waldo in 1970. Sculpted by a dentist named Arthur Leroy “Doc” Inglesby, the orbs were found by miners which Inglesby then bartered for by fixing their teeth. The Natural History Museum of Utah had its Traveling Treasures exhibit, “Collecting the Past for the Future,” in the bank for a month. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Plus-size Sports Illustrated model Veronica Pome’e’s brave domestic violence story helped others heal while in West Valley City for April’s National Pacific Island Violence Prevention Conference. (Photo Credit Lauren Ulugia/ PIK2AR)

Amusement rides saw riders of all ages twist, toss and turn at West Valley City’s annual celebration. WestFest had thousands around the valley come to enjoy the amusement parks, skate park competition, food trucks, parade, fireworks and entertainment. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Page 6 | January 2020

Hunter won its first ever girls region track championship this season. (Justin Adams/City Journals)

Leah Wright, a teacher at Gerald Wright Elementary accepted her Excel award from World’s Finest Chocolate. (Jess Nielsen Beach/City Journals)

Children were invited to take part in a Latin dance demonstration as part of Valley Jr. High’s 70th birthday. (Jess Nielsen Beach/City Journals)

West Valley City Journal

Holly Davis and Pauli Kakau share a laugh together. Kakau led a group from Zions Bank in painting Davis house as part of the company’s Paint-a-Thon. Davis, dealing with health concerns from five surgeries in three years, saw over 50 Zions Bank employees help paint her house. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

“At least this time, the FBI is honoring you, not looking for you!” is what the father of decorated West Valley community leader Susi Feltch-Malohifo’ou lightheartedly told her when she let him know of her award from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. FBI Director Christopher Wray gives Feltch-Malohifo’ou a community leadership award.

The pump track at Centennial Park, which opened July 16, features various loops and turns for skateboarders and bikers alike. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Nearby residents check out the fire truck after the grand reopening of Fire Station 71. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

Jenny Brotherson speaks at the podium during the Honor Flag ceremony about her son Cody, who died in the line of duty in 2016. “It’s very humbling to us because one of our biggest worries was that Cody would be forgotten,” Jenny said from the podium. “This (Fallen Hero) Network absolutely ensures that will never happen.” (Photo courtesy Joe Randall, Fallen Hero Network)

West Valley City opened its new police department headquarters in October. The $25 million building will bring police operations under one roof. (Darrell Kirby/City Journals)

Wvc Journal .com

West Valley Erik Jensen brought his artwork to the 2019 Utah Arts Festival in June, where many got to view his murals made out of discarded computer keys. (Amy Green/City Journals)

January 2020 | Page 7

A trucker’s life By Darrell Kirby | d.kirby@mycityjournals.com

n a Monday night in December, Greg Trongale sat at a C.R. England truck yard in Colton, California waiting for a cracked windshield on his truck to be repaired. In the morning, he would haul a load of food in that big rig to Utah, then return to Southern California to pick up more freight destined again for the Beehive State. That trip would be repeated again and again with an occasional run elsewhere mixed in. Such is the life and occupation of Trongale, who resides with his current wife in Lake Forest in California’s Orange County. He drives for West Valley City-based C.R. England, one of the largest refrigerated trucking firms in the United States. Although the company started by Chester Rodney England has been around for nearly a century, it was back in the spotlight recently when his son and company heir Gene turned 100 years old. Thus, Trongale and fellow drivers Shaun Goss and John Evans were asked by the West Valley City Journal to tell their stories of life on the road and their contributions to and thoughts about C.R. England Trucking. When Greg Trongale’s first marriage ended in divorce a couple of decades ago, he decided to make another change in his life. He had been a contractor, worked on oil rigs, drilled water wells, and then drilled along the San Andreas fault in Southern California so seismic sensors could be installed in the earth to monitor land movement. “I like the outdoors, and I don’t like to be trapped in an office,” he said. Trongale thought about truck driving as a next step in his life. “After my divorce, it’s like, you know what, I want to get out of here. With truck driving, who else is going to give you an apartment and pay you to cruise around the country?” he asked. So he sat at a truck stop one day in Ontario, California, watching the semis and their drivers come and go. That, talking to people, and doing some research helped him narrow his choices of potential employers to three trucking companies, one of which was C.R. England. “They had the (driving) school 7 miles away from my house, they pay you to go to school, take a little bit out for school, you stayed with them two years, you got all your money back, it’s like that’s a no-brainer,” Trongale recalled. He finished training, obtained his commercial driver license, and eventually hit the road to begin a new career and way of life. Trucking has taken Trongale to 48 states hauling mostly refrigerated food during his 19 years on the road. His current runs from California to Utah often include stops at the Associated Foods distribution center in Farr West in Weber County, the Walmart Distribution Center a little further north in Box Elder

Page 8 | January 2020

A C.R. England truck pulls into company headquarters in West Valley City. (Darrell Kirby/City Journals)

County, and periodic visits to the Hershey Distribution Center in Ogden and Nestle’s facility in Springville. He’ll also pick up products from the Dannon yogurt plant in West Jordan. One of the perks of some of those delivery and pickup stops are the edible treats the companies sometimes give to him. Another benefit of the job that has taken Trongale across the USA is that it has allowed him to watch the Miami Dolphins play in 22 different stadiums around the country. If he plans to be where his favorite NFL team is playing that particular week, he’ll schedule a couple of days off and buy tickets to see the game. When back on the road Trongale says not all highways are equal. “Interstate 80 in Wyoming is the worst stretch of highway in the world,” he said. “You don’t know what weather you’re going to get hit with.” High winds and hailstorms can pound one stretch of the interstate while beautiful weather awaits just over the hill. One of the best routes Trongale travels: Interstate 15 because it is relatively safe and rarely affected by severe weather. Nevertheless, Trongale prefers the highway over city streets both for driving and dealing with the other requirements that come with the job. “Once you get off the main highway, dealing with traffic, making left and right turns, trying to find your pickup, doing your paperwork, getting to the docks, all that stuff off the highway is the stressful work part,” Trongale said. “When you get on the open road and you have a good following distance, it is so relaxing.” Truck stop food is the lore of truck driving life. Sometimes justifiably, sometimes not, it conjures up images of burgers, fried chicken, and other greasy fare that doesn’t contribute much to the health of drivers who already spend long sedentary hours behind

the wheel. Trongale indulges in truck stop and fast food only occasionally these days. “You get so tired of them. Just walking in and smelling the bread at Subway about makes you sick anymore,” he said, not singling out the sandwich chain but making a point in general about food on the go. Trongale prefers to buy his own groceries which he prepares in the sleeper compartment of his truck, thanks in part to the installation of an inverter which converts the rig’s battery power to electricity to run a microwave oven. The menu includes canned stew, fruit, and other items to provide variety and get in some measure of nutritional value. How many more miles does Trongale have left in his career? The 58 year old has been driving for C.R. England for 19 years and would like to do it for about 10 more, at which time he would be at the age where he can collect full social security benefits along with his other retirement income. Trongale doesn’t dread the thought of up to another decade with England, a family and company which he says have had a positive impact on the “lives of thousands of people over the years” because of its values and family environment.

SHAUN GOSS

The immediate noticeable difference between Shaun Goss and her fellow truck drivers for C.R. England is not that she is a woman, although females comprised just 6.6% of drivers nationally as of 2018, according to the American Trucking Association. What jumps out is how the petite 49 year old is dwarfed by her semi as she posed next to it in a photo. Goss’s size is offset by her hefty accomplishments during her 12 years behind the wheel before she left nearly two years ago to care for her ailing parents. Goss now lives in Florida where she is a local delivery driver, but she fondly recalls

Shaun Goss (Photo courtesy Shaun Goss)

her time with C.R. England, especially the values-oriented environment cultivated by the company. “I really enjoyed C.R. England. It’s a great company,” Goss said, adding that she researched trucking companies before deciding to join England. “They followed up on everything,” she said of the training and other resources promised by the firm. It led to a career that resulted in being named C.R. England’s Trucker of the Year in 2012 and an American Trucking Association award the following year for a million miles of accident-free driving. Goss hauled mostly refrigerated food, but also carried “dry” loads of medical and building supplies everywhere. “I’ve seen all the states,” she said. She says she encountered very little sexism in the male-dominated field. “There were very few negative experiences.” Goss attributes that in part to her previous jobs typically associated with men. She was a lumber-

West Valley City Journal

jack at age 17 and then worked in factories. Thus, trucking was not a shocking career change for her. “It amazed me how many companies were looking for female drivers.” Even Goss’s mom took up driving because of her daughter and they drove as a team for a while. Learning to drive a semi came easily to Goss with some modifications. For example, her 5-foot-3-inch frame required installing extensions on the pedals so her feet could reach them. Unaware of that, she says she was often asked by people, “How do you drive that big ol’ truck?” Goss’ body size remained pretty consistent during her driving career because she mostly stayed away from truck stop food, opting instead for grocery shopping at stores along the way and preparing meals in her truck. Healthier foods like fruit, vegetables, boiled eggs and salads were on the shopping list. “I didn’t gain a lot of weight,” she said. Like her former C.R. England colleague Greg Trongale, Goss says truck driving is more than just a job. It’s a way of life that requires a certain personality, one that Goss says she possesses. “I have a bit of a gypsy soul. You have to be able to live the lifestyle.”

JOHN EVANS

With a southern accent and affable demeanor that comes from his Georgia upbringing, John Evans says he’s blessed to be driving a truck for C.R. England. “I’ve got a different outlook than 99% of the drivers out here, because I have a blast.

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I’ve met nice people from coast to coast.” Evans, 59, steered toward truck driving 10 years ago when his wife died of cancer and after a career in real estate and finance. He planned to drive for only a year. “When I heard you would drive a truck throughout the United States, sleep in the back of the truck, I thought that ain’t gonna be for me,” he said. “The first month I was out here, I fell in love with it.” While traveling eastbound in Wyoming, Evans told the West Valley City Journal he got into truck driving with zero knowledge of it. “I had no clue about the industry, I’d never heard of C.R. England, I’d never looked inside a truck.” Evans went to truck driving school, did well, and eventually hit the road on his own despite “hearing a lot of negative stuff in this industry.” He didn’t let that deter him. “A lot of it has to do with attitude, and that’s with any job,” he explained. “I really enjoy what I do.” Evans says he couldn’t work for a better company. “I’m very, very fortunate to be part of England, because they are all about safety,” he said, contrasting the West Valley City firm with other trucking companies that care only about getting a load delivered on time regardless of weather or other obstacles. “We’re told, ‘If you don’t feel safe on the road, get off,’” Evans said. “That is not the case with a lot of these companies.” Evans lives by three goals as a trucker. “Be safe, have integrity and have fun.” As for the nitty gritty of life on the road,

he says the ubiquitous Love’s Travel Stops are among the best. “They have nice showers, they’re always spotless.” He fell victim to eating too much unhealthy food on the road going from 190 pounds when he started to 290 but has since dropped 20 pounds with plans to lose more. “You’ve got to watch it out here.” Evans says other temptations on the road for some drivers are casinos and strip clubs, or “hoochie coochie” clubs as he calls them, where drivers can blow a lot of money when they have time to kill. “You see a lot of trucks parked in those places.” Evans says he hauls everything from orange juice from Florida to pork from North Carolina to a port in California where it is shipped to Japan. On this day in Wyoming, his trailer contained 42,000 pounds of Stouffer’s frozen lasagna from the Nestle plant in Springville destined for Arkansas. The whole supply chain that his truck is a part of fascinates Evans, adding icing to the cake that is working for C.R. England. “They run a good company, they run a very clean company. I love that. Not only does it expect, but it demands integrity.” “This job was made for me.”

A RARE BREED

Greg Trongale, Shaun Goss, and John Evans are among what the American Trucking Association estimates are 3.5 million truck drivers. Yet, that number is not enough for the needs of the current economy. Rick Clasby, executive director of the Utah Trucking Association, whose offices

in West Valley City are just down the road from C.R. England, says the industry needs another some 60,000 drivers nationwide to meet demands. Part of the shortfall comes from the fact that while people can earn their commercial driver license at age 18, they cannot drive commercially across state lines until they turn 21. Medical and physical testing also limits the number of potential drivers. “Some of the medical conditions become disqualifying which makes it difficult,” Clasby said. Drivers are also being sought by other industries, such as construction. Clasby says the trucking industry is trying to compete by boosting pay, retirement and other benefits, including signing bonuses to lure drivers. The Utah Trucking Association lobbies and advocates on behalf of the trucking industry in the state and provides safety and operational training. It has a membership of 650 companies ranging in size from one or two rigs to firms like England that employ thousands of people in management, operations and driving to get products where they need to go. Clasby says C.R. England is highly regarded in the industry, in part because of its family culture. “I would broaden that to say that most of our trucking companies (in Utah) are family-owned similar to England. They are folks that have built from the ground up so they understand hard work and integrity.” l

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January 2020 | Page 9

POSTPONE YOUR HEADSTONE

Updated fire code to make West Valley City more business friendly By Travis Barton | travis.b@thecityjournals.com

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n an effort to update current practices, West Valley City Council unanimously approved an update to the city’s fire code. The approval, according to City Fire Marshal Jeff Fox, not only cleans up some wordage but also makes the city more attractive to potential businesses by improving the inspection fees. Fox told the City Council in a Dec. 10 study meeting that contractors and sprinkler and alarm companies would never do business in West Valley City because of the fee schedule the city had. “I had very large, national companies,” Fox said, “say they would never do business in West Valley City because of the fees.” One example Fox gave was to install a fire panel as part of a sprinkler or alarm system could cost upwards of $5,000. “I have to charge a contractor $5,000 for $1,000 worth of work,” he said. After looking at other jurisdictions, Fox decided to go with a flat fee rather than base it on square footage. For a plan review with inspections, the fee is now $150 for systems with 1-100 fire sprinklers, $250 for systems with 101-200 fire sprinklers, $300 for 201300 fire sprinklers or $200 and $.50 per sprinkler for systems with 301 or more fire sprinklers. The final test would be $75. Fox said the previous fee schedule was implemented by his predecessor. Though Fox also said he’s been adjusting the fees for inspections this way for the last 10 years, this updated code is simply now matching their current practice. l

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January 2020 | Page 11

What’s happening with the old Kmart property on 4100 South? By Travis Barton | travis.b@thecityjournals.com

A rendering of what the apartment buildings will look like. (Rendering by Beecher Walker)

t was April 2018 when after 90 minutes of residents voicing their feelings on a proposed high-end apartment complex at the former Kmart site on 4100 S. 1770 West, the West Valley City Council voted 4-3 approving the project. Fast forward 18 months, with a proposed change to the original plan for the Sage Valley project, the council voted the same way, 4-3 approving the project. “West Valley City staff and council have put their trust and confidence in us to create something special here,” Rich Day, developer and principal of STAY Capital who is responsible for the project, said in a press release. “This project will be a standout in the neighborhood, city and state.” Ground was broken for the 539,986 square foot project on Nov. 18. But not after another lengthy council meeting in October 2019 that saw residents express opposition to the project and the council split on the matter. The six-story development, according to the press release, will have 430 units, consist of two buildings and feature amenities such as a fitness center, multi-use soccer field, fire pit, resource center, rooftop solar panels, a dog park and bathing facility, bike shop, swimming pool and hot tub. The reason it came back to the city council, Stay Capital developers requested changes to the original development agreement. Townhomes would be reduced from 21 to 18, all of which would be owner occupied with three bedrooms with no basements. Apartment buildings would go from seven stories to six. Apartments would stay at 430 total units, all of which changed in size, but would be bigger or comparable in size to the Fairbourne Station apartments. Gateway units would be 1,423 square feet, one-bedroom units would be 675 square feet, two-bedroom units 937 square feet and three-bedroom units 1,158 square feet. Construction of the building will be a concrete parking structure and wood with

Page 12 | January 2020

steel studs where required. Exterior materials will include wood finish panels, fiber cement siding, EIFS system (stucco) and brick. The $100 million housing development left many residents concerned about safety, traffic, parking, and a proposed open space in one option of the agreement. “If the project is not viable for the developer as originally proposed, is it our responsibility to bail him out and approve something less?” resident Roger Thackeray asked the council prior to the vote. Ernest Burgess, a Taylorsville City Councilmember who represents the district on the south side of 4100 South bordering the Sage Valley project, told the West Valley City Council his constituents were concerned about economic development and property values in addition to traffic and public safety. “If there are any changes made, I would ask does this enhance or make better (those concerns)?” Burgess said. “It appears the current options don’t enhance any of these.” Councilman Tom Huynh was also concerned about the safety and parking, noting a high turnover rate in apartment tenants, which leads to crime and more work for the police department. Councilmembers who voted in favor voiced their approval of the planned quality of the project. Councilman Steve Buhler noted the development is supposed to be “better than the current apartment stock” within the city, adding it’s “important that we have an upgrade in everything that we do. Everything new that comes into this city should be better. That would be my hope.” Both Buhler and Councilman Lars Nordfelt said they were initially upset with the project returning to the council and a lack of progress on the property, but that the push back from the council improved the proposal. “The proposal tonight is better, including no pay for parking, no basements in townhomes so no flooding, the parking ex-

West Valley City Journal

A map of the planned Sage Valley development on the former Kmart site. Townhomes are located to the left, two apartment buildings would be built in the center and retail would border the development on the south and east sides. (Map design by STB design)

ceeds our ordinance,” Buhler said. That “push back” from city officials led to the developers agreeing to replace the fence along the northern and western border with a concrete wall. Developers also agreed to make all parking within the property free to mitigate concerns parking would spill over onto 4100 South. One option of the plan proposed an open space in place of the townhomes, but residents were concerned it would attract homeless to the area. The council voted for the op-

tion to include the townhomes. Planning Director Steve Pastorik said a study by the Institute of Transportation Engineers that said commercial development would increase traffic more than an apartment development. He also said the project will require a lighting plan to meet city code, an effort to improve safety on the property. As for crime, Pastorik said they look at where police are called to, and it differs from complex to complex. “Not all apartment complexes are creat-

ed equal,” he said. “The single most significant factor there is how they’re managed. Well managed (properties) has fewer calls than those that aren’t.” The original agreement had 700 parking spaces, the new agreement sees that number increased to 800, which is more than what the city requires. Though the parking spaces increased, Councilwoman Karen Lang felt with the increase in two and three bedroom units, the number of cars per unit would increase too.

She also said the area is more of a destination. “This is not like Fairbourne Station” close to retail and mass transit, she said. “This is more of a location where people are going to drive to and from and not use transit as much as you would hope they would.” Construction is in full swing, with developers saying the townhome block will have a future Starbucks and Popeyes with three other future retail sites, all of which were expected to start in December. l

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January 2020 | Page 13

West Valley City joins legislation’s energy efficiency goal by 2030, for now By Travis Barton | travis.b@thecityjournals.com

n a unanimous vote, the West Valley City Council approved a resolution supporting the increase of energy renewable resources on Dec. 17. The vote will see West Valley City join the clean energy program adopted by the Utah Legislature during 2019’s General Session, known as House Bill 411. The bill, known as the Community Renewable Energy Act, calls for Utah cities who join the program to adopt zero net energy emissions by 2030. The unanimous vote was met with applause from a dozen or so members of the public, who had lobbied the council for weeks to approve the resolution that to them would signal the city’s intent for cleaner air. “This will allow me to have cleaner energy supplying my home,” said resident Chris Bell. “For everyone that’s here…we’re here for dreams. We aspire to something better.” Rep. Elizabeth Weight, who cosponsored the bill, told the city council she sees the bill as “an element of pride for the youth in the city” and their future. Another resident, Josh Cameron, said the bill builds a “field of dreams” strategy where it “lets people know we’re ready to have a serious conversation” and an “act of team human solidarity.” “All hands on deck,” he said. The resolution laid out the city’s goal of

Solar panels absorb sunlight as a source of energy. (Photo by Mariana Proenca)

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While the resolution stated the city’s plans, it also pointed out what the city is already doing to improve energy efficiency. Noting its participation in the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Act and how its installed more efficient equipment, appliances, insulation and lighting at City Hall, Maverik Center and other city facilities. The incoming Soleil Technology Park will use solar and other renewable sources to provide nearly all of its energy needs for its five buildings and 550,000 square feet (see story on page 4). “For West Valley, this is more than a dream, we’re taking action,” said Mayor Ron Bigelow. What participation in the program does remains to be seen. The program runs through Rocky Mountain Power who partnered along with Summit County, Salt Lake City, Park City, Office of Consumer Services and Division of Public Utilities to help develop the legislation. Rocky Mountain Power will manage the process for developing renewable energy resources while the Utah Public Service Commission is for the rules, creation and administration of the program. Passing the resolution does not automatically bind West Valley City to opt into the program. It does mean the city, among others, will eventually need to enter into an interlocal agreement after negotiations on rates and terms with Rocky Mountain Power. Those rates, city officials said, are hard to forecast, but could have a major impact on their return on investment.

The program, is meant to have long term impacts, making energy cheaper in the future. If city officials decide to sign a binding contract sometime in 2020 and pass an ordinance to officially join the program, all Rocky Mountain Power customers in the city would be automatically enrolled in the program with the ability to opt out within two billing cycles. City officials still have concerns such as the potential limits the program places on the city from undertaking its own sustainability measures. Another aspect city staff reminded the council of was net zero emissions means the amount of renewable energy being used offsets the other emissions rather than being 100% green. Part of the passed resolution states the city’s intent to explore other initiatives to accomplish renewable energy goals. Councilman Jake Fitisemanu Jr. said in a December study meeting discussion on the subject that it’s a “comfortably uncomfortable situation.” “Whether it’s this route or another route, our residents want it,” he said. “We should still take an aggressive approach (regardless of the resolution) so residents know we are doing something.” Councilman Lars Nordfelt said during a study meeting that while the city is working on making its facilities more energy efficient, that doesn’t mean residents are able to do so in their homes. “They want to do this, or at least give them the option,” he said. l

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Page 14 | January 2020

West Valley City Journal

City Journals presents:

A publication covering winter indoor and outdoor recreational activities in and around the Salt Lake Valley area.

Local runner turns childhood illness into fitness motivation By Jess Nielsen Beach | j.beach@mycityjournals.com You see them every time you drive down the street: runners, of all shapes and sizes, pounding the pavement in snow or shine. For Jill Wilkins, a West Valley resident, you’re more likely to see her at a more elevated level.

she used it as a way to better herself. “I always loved the strength of runners. You’ll be driving and see people running in bad weather and think, ‘wow, good for you!’ I wanted to be the strong one, because I’ve always been the sick one.” Although the fitness guru now has Wilkins, 39, grew to love trail running years of training under her belt, it didn’t after a prolonged childhood illness. “I was really sick my whole life,” Wilkins come easy. Her first 5K was with her uncle, said. “I missed four years of school. I had who was nearing his fifties. Her only goal to have daily nutritional IVs and I was very was to not let him beat her—which he did, sooner than she expected. unhealthy. I was always ‘the sick one.’” “We started running and an eighth of Rather than let her illness defeat her,

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a mile in, not even a half mile, my uncle takes off,” Wilkins said. “There’s nothing more humbling than seeing your older uncle take off and there’s nothing you can do about it.” After finishing that race, Wilkins was determined to get better. She began to train and love the workout, and she wasn’t about to pay for a sitter. “It’s so simplistic.” Wilkins said, explaining her routine as a mom who loves to run. “You don’t need a babysitter for the gym, you’re not stuck in a room with sweaty, smelly people not knowing what to do and being intimidated. You just put one foot in front of the other.” Once her love of exercise was cemented, Wilkins began to explore the nearby mountains. “I’ve always loved hiking and running, and then I found trail running, which just combines it all.” In addition to the scenic views and fresh air, Wilkins is grateful for the easier toll trail running takes. Rather than the flat, monotonous pavement on roads and sidewalks, the dirt and snow serve as a cushion to not wear down as much. “I like the mountain running because it’s very hard to do, but it’s much easier on your body. It’s less impact. There’s also trail variances, there’s rocks, roots, ups, downs; you’re using all the parts of your legs and all different tendons.” If you’re looking to start trail running, or running in general, don’t be scared. According to Wilkins, there is one important factor if you decide to embrace the great outdoors, even in the snow. “Running is not for everybody, but hiking is for almost everybody. You can get enjoyment out of it and you don’t have to do hard hikes. It’s putting one foot in front of the other. If you have to take a breather, do it. Get yourself out and enjoy the mountains. We are so lucky. There are so many

Wilkins surfs down the mountain during the Brighton Cirque series race. (Photo courtesy Jill Wilkins)

people who pay to travel here and experience our trails, and they’re right here.” As for fellow moms with young children, she adds, “Most people think it’s complicated to get kids out, but it’s really not. It’s no different than going sledding or seeing the lights at Temple Square. Warm clothes, snacks if they’re hungry, and hand warmers.” If you’re ready to get out there, Wilkins recommends checking online for avalanche dangers as well as consulting the app, All Trails. “All Trails will filter hikes, show the distance, elevation gain, etc. That way you can see oh, this will be an easy trail verses something more challenging.” Wilkins said. “If you have a pair of hiking boots, you’re fine. Just pick a trail that doesn’t have a lot of steepness. I like trekking poles, they’re great for balance. In the snow, you might be a little off, so pull out your poles and get going.” For more fitness inspiration and photos of Utah’s most stunning views, you can follow Wilkins’ Instagram page: jillrwilkins.

January 2020 | Page 15

Winter sports for the non-skier: Wasatch Front offers plenty of alternatives for outdoor fun By Joshua Wood | joshw@mycityjournals.com

Sledding takes off when there is fresh snow. (Joshua Wood/City Journals)

Sledding offers winter fun for kids of all ages. (Joshua Wood/City Journals)

Kids ready to take off after a storm. (Joshua Wood/ City Journals)

The ski season got off to a solid start in Utah with a late November storm piling over 3 feet at many resorts as they opened. That should come as great news for skiers, but what about Utah’s non-skiers? Do they wait until spring and summer for warm weather outdoor activities?

from $13 to around $25 per day. Many of the shops that sell and rent ski gear also rent snowshoes. From REI or your local ski shop, it is relatively easy to get a pair of snowshoes and poles and try it out. “Snowshoes are good,” said Alan Greenberg at Cottonwood Cyclery in Cottonwood Heights. “They’re low cost, it’s fun, it’s something to do outside. You don’t have to wait in line, the trails are free.” While the number of snowshoe rentals is fairly low from his experience, Dailey said he rents snowshoes to couples looking for something different to do on a date, or to older customers seeking low-impact snow sports. “It still gets you in the mountains, you still get to see cool stuff, and you’re not fighting the crowds,” Dailey said. “In the summer, you have all those hiking trails available. In the winter there are way less crowds.”

While that certainly is an option, there are a lot of other things Utah’s outdoors offer. From hitting the trails on snowshoes or darting downhill on a sled at the neighborhood park, getting outside this winter is easy thanks to the Wasatch Front’s accessible outdoor wonders.

Getting outdoors on a (snow)shoestring budget

Snowshoeing presents a low impact and relatively low-cost alternative to skiing. People can enjoy the crisp, clean air of the mountains at a fraction of the cost of skiing. Snowshoes help people access nearby trails without the same crowds they might encounter during summer. It is increasing in popularity, too. According to statistics, 3.7 million people snowshoed in the United States in 2017, up from 2.4 million in 2007. “It’s a great alternative,” said Mike Dailey at the Wasatch Powder House in Holladay. “I’ll send people to Millcreek Canyon because you don’t have all the ski traffic. There are a lot of trails up there. You can also go to the quarry in Little Cottonwood.” Snowshoe rentals in the area range

Page 16 | January 2020

Winter sports can be about more than snow

Ice skating presents a timeless way to enjoy winter sports. From the indoor rink at the Cottonwood Heights Recreation Center to the Olympic Oval in Kearns or outdoor rinks when they can be found, skating helps bring people together. Greenberg of Cottonwood Cyclery is passionate about skating and has visions of expanding access to ice skating in Cottonwood Heights. “It’s easy in the summer to make excuses to go outside and do something, but in the winter, it’s really hard,” Greenberg said. “My son plays hockey and

Locals flock to parks with steep hills after a snowstorm. (Joshua Wood/City Journals)

goes to Hillcrest. If there’s an outdoor rink, he would skate there. He might meet some Brighton kids. Something like that brings a community together. That’s important.” With sparks flying as he sharpened a customer’s skate in his shop, Greenberg talked about his vision for an outdoor ice skating rink as the centerpiece of a winter haven in Cottonwood Heights. Put it near a sledding hill, add food trucks and outdoor concerts, and the whole community could take part in winter sports right in town. “Any ice sport is a hidden sport,” Greenberg said. “It’s tucked away in a rink. You really have to seek it out. You’re never going to stumble upon it. In the Midwest and the Northeast, where they have that stuff, you have communities that run into each other, and it’s out there. Who knows how many kids would see a rink and say, ‘Mom I want to play hockey or I want to figure skate.’” For those who do skate, Cottonwood Cyclery sells, repairs, and sharpens skates for hundreds of people in the area. “I’d love to have an opportunity down here, right in the middle, where people driving by look and say, let’s buy a couple of cheap hockey sticks and we’ll go dink around on the ice,” Greenberg said.

very popular among the mountain biking community,” said Sydney Ricketts of Trek Bicycle in Cottonwood Heights. “There’s definitely a large mountain biking community in Salt Lake. Fat biking is popular among mountain bikers because not many people do it so you don’t get the crowds like the ski resorts do in winter.” The large, wide tires on a fat bike are great for riding over loose terrain like snow. They tend to require a larger frame, particularly the fork, than most mountain bikes can accommodate. Fat bike enthusiasts find uses for them year round. “Some people are all about the fat biking,” Ricketts said. “They can definitely be a year-round bike. The traction, and the tires since they are so big, you can run them at a lower PSI. Since they’re so high volume they can act like suspension, if you will.” In the summer, fat bikes are popular for bikepacking, which is essentially backpacking by bike. The fat tires are great for rough trails and work as well in desert sand as on the winter snow. Fat biking also offers a winter alternative to skiing when the snow might not be so great. One limitation of winter fat biking is finding suitable trails. “Trails need to be maintained,” Greenberg said. “You can’t just fat bike on loose snow.” A big, fat winter spin on summer sports Not to worry. One way to find good The ice and snow don’t have to put off traditionally summer sports completely. trails for fat biking is to piggyback on anOne alternative that enthusiasts in the area other winter sport. “I see a lot of people enjoy is fat biking. “Fat biking is definitely biking on snowmobiling trails like in the

West Valley City Journal

Seven years without a cold? By Priscilla Schnarr

Another traditional summer activity that can be enjoyed in winter is fishing. Utah offers several good ice fishing spots less than an hour from the Salt Lake valley. (Photo courtesy Van Hoover)

Uintas,” Dailey said. “Mirror Lake Highway, Soapstone Road, they groom them. You have a road to ride on.”

Traditional winter fun right in town

Classic winter activities never go out of style. Go to a park like Mountview Park in Cottonwood Heights or Aspen Meadows Park in Sandy after a snowstorm, and you will find plenty of people sledding the steepest hills. Sledding is a low-cost activity that families can enjoy close to home. “We’re here just to have fun with the family,” Monica Smith said as she watched her kids race down the hill at Aspen Meadows Park. “We’ll try to ski half a dozen times this year, but we probably sled more.” People of all ages dart down snowy hills each winter, but sledding definitely seems to be about kids. It is a way for families to make the most of newly fallen snow and get outside during the winter months. “I don’t ski; this is it,” said Levi Ortega. “It’s all about my kids. There’s no skiing or snowboarding for me. We just sled.” Inexpensive sleds of various designs, from plastic or foam to inflatable tubes,

are widely available in stores. More elaborate sleds are also an option. “A wooden toboggan? I can get them,” Greenberg of Cottonwood Cyclery said. “Think what a killer Christmas gift that would be. It would be really cool to have.”

A fun icebreaker

Another traditional summer activity that can be enjoyed in winter is fishing. Utah offers several good ice fishing spots less than an hour from the Salt Lake valley. “Rockport (State Park) is a great place,” said Karson Ranck of Fish Tech in Holladay. “It has some nice perch and rainbow trout. And it’s just 30 minutes away. There’s Jordanelle (State Park), and Strawberry (Reservoir) is really popular.” The main obstacle to ice fishing, aside from getting over the idea of sitting in the cold for hours waiting for a bite, is getting through the ice. To do the job, people can opt for an old-fashioned manual auger or a powered one to drill a hole for their lines. Manual augers run around $70 at Fish Tech, while powered augers can cost $600. Ice fishing is another way to enjoy recreation areas without the crowds. There are multiple online resources to check on temperatures and ice conditions before venturing out. Making sure the ice is suitably thick for fishing is, of course, a key safety measure. It is also a good idea to research specific locations on the lake before drilling holes. Since finding a place to fish takes a lot more work when you have to auger a hole, it helps to make a plan of action ahead of time.

The tip of the iceberg

Snowshoes offer a low-cost way to explore nearby trails in winter. (Photo courtesy of John Dehlin)

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Other winter sport activities that can be enjoyed include curling, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and more. There are also opportunities to put a winter spin on more traditionally warm weather activities like running and various team sports. Utah is renowned for its winter recreation, but there is much more to do on the Greatest Snow on Earth than just skiing.

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Do you have what it takes to be a professional hockey ref? By Shaun Delliskave | s.delliskave@mycityjournals.com Did you hear about the professional hockey game where not one fight broke out? If you did, please let Jim McKenna know, because he probably would have loved to referee that game. Hockey, after all, is the only sport with a penalty box (a temporary detention cell) and requires its referees to match the toughness of its competitors. McKenna, while dodging hockey pucks and punches during the night, works during the day in the information technology world as an I.T. solution manager for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a profession he has had for the last 20 years. On top of all of that, he serves in the bishopric of his Murray congregation. “I started officiating when I was 24. I was married and going to school and needed a way to make some extra money,” McKenna said. “I was always hard on the refs when I played, always thought they did a poor job. One of them told me to give it a try if I thought I could do better.” The Skyline High graduate grew up playing hockey; he started at age 6. When the ice rink was not available, he and his brothers played street hockey. After graduating from the University of Utah, he continued playing hockey in recreation leagues and decided he could, indeed, do a better

job than other referees could. “I learned very quickly; it is a lot harder than it looks. But, I loved being involved, and it was a great way to make extra money. Later on, I kept doing it because I loved working in high-level games. I have also come to meet and get to know a lot of great people,” McKenna said. To be a professional hockey referee, you go through a process similar to the players. First, you are selected to work in developmental leagues and junior leagues, such as the USHL or NAHL. Referees are then hired to work minor professional hockey, such as the East Coast Hockey League and American Hockey League; then the National Hockey League hires the top refs of those leagues. McKenna officiates many of the Utah Grizzlies games and minor league teams in Idaho. According to McKenna, “I was older when I started working, and so I never had the desire to move my wife to the Midwest or back East to work hockey games. Most of the refs spend several years traveling around working games to get a shot at the pro level. I was happy and lucky enough to get to work here in Utah.” McKenna typically draws the linesman assignment, meaning his primary responsibility is watching for violations involving the

center line and the blue line, and infractions including icing and offsides, after which the linesman conduct face-offs. McKenna is also expected to break up scuffles, fistfights and other altercations that occur during the game. His day job of working with computers and, if you will, his weekend job (working as a leader in his LDS ward) are, without question, vastly different. “Dealing with players, no matter what the level of play—college, pro, or youth— you always have to be the adult and be in control, you can’t let your emotions get to you. I have found my faith and perspective helps me do that. “Yes, hockey is probably one of the most colorful sports, language-wise. I have found that the older I get, the less I care about what I am being called or what the fans, coaches or players yell. I have found if I can find the humor in all the craziness, it helps.” McKenna calls working the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympics Games the highlight of his career. He called many pre-Olympic matches and assisted the international referees with all the games. “I worked as a linesman during the 2002 Paralympic Games. I lined the bronze medal game between Sweden and Cana-

Professional hockey referee Jim McKenna, in stripes, clears out of the way after conducting a face-off. (Photo courtesy Jim McKenna)

da. That was a blast. I got to know a number of officials from other countries, and we had a great time during that week,” McKenna said. “I also got to watch every Olympic game, including the gold medal game between the USA and Canada, which was probably the best sports experience I have had.”

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City Journal

Santa visits all thanks to Granite Education Foundation’s Santa Sack tradition By Bill Hardesty | B.Hardesty@mycityjournals.com

ne of Santa’s workshops has moved into full operation. Santa allowed the media a peek on Dec. 3. The operation, sponsored by the Granite Education Foundation, is called the Santa Sack program. The program was started in 2009 when a group of women saw how many children didn’t get gifts for the holidays and decided to do something about it. In its first year, they helped 200 students. Now in the ninth year, they expect to help over 4,000 students. “The holiday season is very overwhelming for the lowest income families in our district struggling week to week just to meet their family’s basic needs,” said Brent Severe, CEO of Granite Education Foundation. “Their children are writing lists to Santa and listening to their friends talk at school about all the gifts under their tree, but often there’s no room in the meager family budget to meet the basic needs let alone the funds to buy presents.” According to the foundation’s press release, “In a district where 65% of the 64,000 students live at or below the poverty line, gifts for the holidays just aren’t an option.” It is a yearlong effort as “elves” (volunteers and others) buy toys, school supplies, outerwear, hygiene items, socks and books. They buy the items when they are on sale.

“We make every dollar count,” Severe are good at picking, they aren’t so good at sacking. We need to do it,” a long-time They also have a long list of donors, in- grandma elf explained. The items are sacked and a ribbon tied cluding Discover and the University Federal around the top. The sacks are stacked for the Credit Union, who are major sponsors. Sacks are created for preschool through social worker. The social worker picks up the sacks and 12th grade, which makes this effort unique. “We have so many homeless high school distributes them to parents. Severe explained students in the Granite District. In their sacks, that often the parents will break up the sack. we include a sleeping bag, a blanket and The toy will be from Santa while the other items will be wrapped for Christmas Day. something fun like ear buds,” Severe said. said.

This allows children to experience the thrill of ripping off wrapping paper. “Every child deserves a toy. Often children in lower-income families already have a stigma attached to them. By providing Santa Sacks to them, they are now equal with their peers, and they can say that Santa did visit them,” Severe said. For information on helping, call 385646-KIDS. l

THE PROCESS

Social workers in schools identify students in need and submit their names. Granite Education Foundation volunteers sort the requests into age appropriate groups. Starting in early November until school holiday break, volunteers from youth groups, businesses, and the community at large come to the distribution center. They grab a box and a tag. The tag is either green for boys or red for girls and is marked by grade. First comes socks and a stocking cap with gloves. Hygiene supplies are added to the box. The elves take a turn to grab a blanket. They progress to the proper room for school supplies and a book. They return to the big area for an age-appropriate toy and a stuffed animal toy. The items are ready to be sacked. “We have found that while teenage boys

The list of contributors to the 2019 Santa Sack program. (Bill Hardesty/City Journals)

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January 2020 | Page 19

All that Jazz: Former beat writer releases book for Utah Jazz fans By Julie Slama | julie@mycityjournals.com

atching his sons’ lacrosse games and his daughter’s volleyball games, Deseret News writer Jody Genessy says he’s watching his favorite sporting events, a far cry from when he was a self-described “fanatic” Utah Jazz fan who painted his face before going to the NBA games with his dad or spending nine years as a beat writer covering his favorite basketball team. Even after calling it quits, like many greats before him — Jazz point guard John Stockton, power forward Karl Malone, and one of the all-time winning most coaches Jerry Sloan — Genessy occasionally has returned to the arena, filling in on the beat, knowing the workload ahead of him. “I loved covering the Jazz,” he said. “As a kid, I tried to spin the ball like Adrian Dantley, and I grew up watching the Jazz. Covering the Jazz, I was there first hand to see them, but it was also madness. It was a crazy travel schedule. I saw a lot of airports, car rentals, hotels and arenas, but never the touristy sites.” Genessy said his routine would include covering morning shoot-arounds to get quotes then return to the arena at 5 p.m. to interview coaches, transcribe notes, look at stats before covering the game. He was on the road 90 days per year. “I tried to show readers what it was like behind the scenes,” he said. “I had access to the guys in the locker room and I wanted to give Jazz fans a flavor, a feel of what it was like. By the end, I was mentally exhausted, it was a grind, and I knew it was time I needed to change my beat.” Just after he let go of covering the Jazz in 2017, he was approached about writing the book “100 Things Jazz Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” It has been a steady seller on Amazon and will have a second printing. After thinking about writing the book for a week and being encouraged by everyone, especially his wife, he agreed. One week later he had an outline of the book’s

Deseret News writer Jody Genessy, who covered the Utah Jazz for nine seasons, now is the author of “100 Things Jazz Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” (Photo courtesy of Jody Genessy)

100 chapters. “As I sat down and typed up a list, Pete Maravich, the Jazz name, the team moving to Salt Lake City, Adrian Dantley, Stockton’s short shorts, ‘City of Utah,’ I became excited about the book,” he said. Carving out time from his family, full-

time job and working as a health coach, Genessy spent the next five months, “writing it a little bit everywhere” in the break room at the Deseret News, at his home office, even at McDonald’s in his hometown of Herriman where he had free Wi-Fi and drink refills. He spent hours “strolling through mem-

ory lane” watching Jazz highlights from Pete Maravich (“I would have loved to see him play”) to Michael Jordan pushing off Bryon Russell in the NBA finals, and rereading his nine years of stories, including covering the Hall of Fame inductions. He read other accounts of the team, in-

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terviewed current and former players and coaches. Genessy even put out a poll on Twitter, which Mehmet Okur humorously responded, so it was included in “100 Things” book. “I did get some fresh interviews, but I also used a lot of research,” he said. “If there was a good quote or information from a game at the time, it was truer than recalling it three decades later, so I gave credit. It’s been neat, emotional, reliving memories and comebacks. I had forgotten or didn’t known some of the pranks I wrote about, like Adrian Dantley being fined 30 pieces of silver. It’s a funny story.” The book tells stories of “the shot,” which Stockton relived 20 years later (but “he only got off his tippy toes” this time around) to point guard Mo Williams posting on social media about Big Al Jefferson’s 10-foot-by-12-foot bed, which “nobody wanted to move so it sold with the house” when Jefferson left. Other stories and chapters got cut, Genessy said as he wrote 110,000 words when the book editor requested only 60,000 to 70,000. Fortunately, his favorite chapter, “Stockton’s shorts,” remained. “I love how that was laid out in the book,” he said. “I wrote ‘In honor of John Stockton’s trunks, the chapter will be short. The end.’ And it ended the page. I also loved

writing about the ‘City of Utah’; it cracked me up to relive it. I think the ‘Villains’ chapter was fun to write and entertaining to read.” Genessy said covering the Jazz, he had to “be fair, not a fan,” writing about “good performances and when they struggle.” He also had to learn to read the players and coaches. At one point in the book, he wrote he received a stern response by Sloan when he questioned Carlos Boozer’s struggling game. “Sloan defends his players, and if outsiders question and give too much grief, they can feel his reproach,” Genessy said. “One time I talked to him and asked, ‘Have you considered toying with the lineup?’ He said, ‘I don’t toy with anything.’ It was a poor choice of my words, and I got a stern look from Jerry. You don’t want to be on the end of it.” Genessy wrote about the Jazz at times he wasn’t on the beat, interviewing others to gain perspective. One such occasion was to address the 1992 playoffs that got delayed against the Los Angeles Clippers after the Rodney King trial verdict was announced and the team found itself escorted to practice facilities for their safety. Genessy also missed covering the Jazz during Frank Layden’s reign, but he asked him to write the forward to his book. “It was an honor to interview Frank

Layden,” Genessy said. “He was the bridge from the early days until now. He’s the ambassador for the Jazz, being the funny guy and able to put everything into perspective. He’s still very much admired.” On the beat, he said he had to adjust to the players as he interviewed them. “Deron Williams always wore his emotions on his sleeve, so if he had a bad day, he didn’t want to talk,” he said. “Alec Burks always gave short answers. He didn’t want to be interviewed, so the interview would be done in one minute. Mehmet Okur always gave four responses (because of the Turkish to English language barrier), but over the years, his English got better.” On the upside, Genessy said many players were great to interview, and Earl Watson was especially fun and gregarious. Every interview he had with current coach Quin Snyder, Genessy felt he “got smarter about basketball. He is a good teacher, brilliant.” Genessy also appreciated Gordon Hayward’s dad driving him around Indianapolis one day, giving him insight about his son, which was revealed in the book addressing their “van talk.” “I could see how he tried to help and their relationship — the love and support of each other,” he said. “He opened the door into their lives and gave light to the up and coming player. It made a great story.”

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Genessy tried to put the chapters in priority order and consulted others before naming his first chapter, “Stockton to Malone.” “I talked to (Deseret News columnist) Lee Benson who said Larry H. Miller would be his No. 1 chapter,” he said about one of the sports writers he admires along with Deseret News writers Brad Rock and Doug Robinson. “Without Larry Miller, there probably would be no Utah Jazz. But for 20 years, the Jazz were ‘Stockton to Malone,’ and in a lot people’s minds, they still are. They’re the foundation; they have the statues, the streets on the map.” Decades later, Genessy now sees current teammates Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, which he nicknamed the Stifle Tower, as what may become “the next generation of ‘Stockton to Malone.’” While writing the book may be Genessy’s “final chapter” in writing about the Jazz, it isn’t of his support for the team. Now Genessy, who has more flexibility in his current Deseret News assignment, may be watching the season on the sidelines with his four children. “We invest our heart and soul in teams; we want the championship,” he said. “We follow the sport, fall in love with the people, fantasize our role on the team, yell, be supportive, wear the gear.” l

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January 2020 | Page 21

School crossing guards give winter safety tips By Julie Slama | julie@mycityjournals.com

ith the cold and adverse weather conditions setting in, winter can be a challenging time for school crossing safety. Drivers and pedestrians alike share responsibility for being safe; however, each year in Utah, 30 pedestrians are hit and killed by cars and another 785 are hospitalized or treated in an emergency room after being in a crash with a motorized vehicle, according to the indicator-based information system for public health. According to the Utah Highway Safety Office, more than one-third of the pedestrians involved are between age 10 and 24. School crossing guards say exercising safety tips can reduce the risk of getting hurt. Here are tips from 10 different crossing guards from six different communities, in no particular order, on how to keep school children safe this winter while at the school crosswalk. 1. “Safety is more important than worrying about being tardy to school or to work,” said Daybreak Elementary’s Don Hicks, who has crossed at the school for nine years. He said drivers can race through the crosswalk on nasty days so plan accordingly and get up earlier and leave for school earlier, whether walking or driving. “There can be a bit of chaos here in the morning when it’s colder and more people are driving and in a big hurry,” he said. “Give yourself the extra time.” 2. “Drivers need to slow down in a school zone and leave more space near the crosswalk,” said Monte Vista Elementary’s Evelyn Heap, who has crossed at the school for three years, and previously drove a school bus for almost 20 years. “Sometimes drivers don’t understand the weather; you can’t stomp on the brakes as you can in the summer.” In addition to traveling the 20 mph speed limit, she also advises drivers not to crowd the sidewalk. “Even if they are just dropping off school children, it makes it difficult for the crossing guards to safely see around the vehicle and watch for children, who could dart into traffic,” she said. By allowing space at the crosswalk, it also allows drivers behind the stopped car enough room to see pedestrians crossing so they don’t pass the stopped vehicle. 3. “Wear proper attire for the weather,” said Horizon Elementary’s Aimee Thompson, who is crossing for her third year at the school. “Sometimes, I’m having to help kids cross over snowbanks onto the sidewalk who are wearing (dress) shoes without socks.” She advises students wear snow boots to improve traction as well as winter

Page 22 | January 2020

Daybreak Elementary crossing guard Don Hicks advises students to set out earlier for school during colder weather. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

coats and gloves. At the same time, make sure students are aware of the traffic around them, that their winter hat and scarf do not prevent them from hearing vehicles or the crossing guard. With the snowplows often piling snow near the curbs and sides of streets, she suggests drivers reduce their speed and even stop to look as they approach crosswalks to ensure pedestrian and crossing guard safety. 4. For 12 years, Melissa Huyboom has crossed school children at Alta View Elementary and substituted two years before that. She tells students to “wait for the crossing guard to make sure all cars stop and when I signal them, then they should cross.” Huyboom makes sure she has the eye contact and attention of the drivers as students “are excited about school, seeing a friend, talking about losing a tooth, and don’t always pay attention.” 5. “Be a good role model when walking or driving as children are sponges and soak up everything,” said Dawn Barrus, who has crossed students for a decade at both Twin Peaks and Woodstock elementary schools. “Put down everything, be alert and pay attention to distractions.” Barrus said cell phones are a big distraction for both walkers and drivers. Wearing headphones also can distract pedestrians as they aren’t aware of the traffic around

them. She places a big, orange safety cone in the middle of the crosswalk to alert drivers, but she said that doesn’t always work. “My cone gets hit a lot and people say they didn’t see it,” she said. 6. For seven years, Melissa Tupou has crossed students in Herriman, Riverton, Millcreek and throughout Salt Lake County before crossing Draper students who attend Oak Hollow Elementary, Draper Park Middle, Corner Canyon High and Summit Academy. Her safety advice is to “know and follow the school zone rules.” Often, drivers will not stop 30 feet from the striped crosswalk or proceed if pedestrians are on the other side of the road instead of waiting until the crosswalk is clear, she said, adding that drivers also try to turn right when they reach the intersection first instead of yielding to school children. 7. Bella Vista Elementary 10-year crossing guard Don Antczak worries about the safety of school children, especially as “they’re all here at once after school.” He advises them to “stay on the sidewalks, even if they aren’t cleared after heavy storms,” rather than walking on the street after it has been plowed as “cars whip right through here.” Staying on the sidewalks puts a buffer between the pedestrians and drivers.

8. Even in the winter, about a third of the students who cross the street to Altara Elementary ride bikes or scooters, said Pam Hortin, who has been crossing students the last 15 of her 20 years at the school. “They need to walk bikes and scooters across the crosswalk,” she said. “It’s easier to see them if they walk, but they can drop their bikes and run quickly to the side to be safe” if a motorist infringes on their crosswalk. 9. Students should “walk carefully and be more aware as they walk,” taking intentional shorter steps in the snow and ice and being focused on what they’re doing, said Midvalley Elementary crossing guard Cathy Camacho, who has crossed five years at the school and one year in Taylorsville. “Running across the crosswalk is not allowed.” 10. And importantly, “use crosswalks,” Peruvian Park crossing guard Carli Orr said. “Don’t jaywalk. It only takes two extra minutes to walk to the crosswalk.” She said that oftentimes, school custodians clear the snow from crosswalks, and if not, crossing guards have been known to shovel it themselves and put down ice melt so it’s safer for students to cross. She also said drivers are alert to look for students using the crosswalk as they expect them to cross at that point in the street. l

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Roundtable Talk with Representative Weight Accountability and Investment January means the beginning of the Utah Legislative Session. Official meetings begin on the 27th, but I have been working for months on legislative proposals. Since the confusing and controversial tax legislation passed in the December special session, commentary continues about how well legislators listen. For me, I believe it is my purpose and responsibility as a state representative to understand views of those I serve, and I’m grateful when you contact me. Based on my study, along with information from your emails and calls, my vote on tax restructuring is a “no.” Regardless of the topic, my decision process for all votes is influenced by some concepts that provide a foundation for my civic thinking. Two concepts are accountability and investment. Both require consideration of what works well for communities as well as individuals, for future circumstances as well as what seems favorable right now.

Liz4Utah.com Wvc Journal .com

ElizabethWeight@le.utah.gov

Accountability reflects the expectations we have with each other. More communication and interaction allow us to better understand each other’s ideas and views for results. When I see a need for new or different state law, the more I know and exchange ideas with others, the more we all contribute to the proposal. We understand its benefit and accept the elements with which we may not fully agree. The collaboration creates results that are accountable to everyone. Investment has become a priority in my representation of West Valley and Utah. Whatever my own experience and knowledge, impacts of my votes on the future are at least as important as immediate outcomes. That applies particularly with subjects like taxes. My vote on taxes will always be guided by the security for future education outcomes and the impact on the quality of people’s lives. With these civics concepts, I look forward to hearing from you in the 2020 session!

Elizabeth Weight, Utah Representative

@RepEWeight

January 2020 | Page 23

Recess before lunch or lunch before recess? That is the question

prucewood second grader Mary-Ann Whitaker loves playing on the monkey bars. And since the school switched its recess to before lunch this year, she’s happier to get out to them sooner. “I like recess before lunch because when we play, we get hungrier,” she said. “Before, a lot of food got wasted that people spent time cooking for us and that wasn’t right.” Her mother, Karla-Ann, supports the school’s switch from the traditional lunch before recess. “It makes sense,” she said. “Kids get their energy out, sit down and are able to concentrate on eating. Plus, they calm down during lunch and my kids’ teachers say they’re more focused when its learning time.” Sprucewood Elementary in Sandy is one of several schools who have made the move to recess before lunch. Across the Salt Lake Valley, recesses and lunches vary with some schools having reversed it years prior, some that switched have returned to the traditional lunch before recess, and some schools are content with how it is working at their school with lunch first. Before Sprucewood made the decision to switch, Principal Lori Reynolds said there were discussions with her staff, the school community council, PTA, building leadership team and the Sandy/Draper parents of students who attend her school. She also had experience with recess first when she was at East Sandy Elementary. “Our kids are eating more, drinking 40% more milk and calming down from their adrenaline high at recess in the lunchroom before they head into the classroom,” Reynolds said. “Many of them already have talked to their friends at recess, so now they’re actually eating and we’re wasting less food. Before, we had trays and trays of uneaten food as they wanted to get outside to play.” At Sprucewood, the lunch period begins outside for 17 minutes before the doors open for 20 minutes to eat. “Recess first has eliminated so many conflicts,” recess aide Chris Carlson said. “The students have enough time to play and get an appetite. At first, I was worried there was not enough time to eat, but we adjusted it.” Sprucewood recess aides line students up according to their lunch choice outside before entering the school building. The lunch options are announced, color-coded, and each line leader is given a Popsicle stick of that color so once they are in the cafeteria, the staff knows which meals to serve. Sprucewood Nutrition Manager Angela Floyd said that now students who have been “amped up on the playground come in hungry, adjust to their inside voices, and don’t have to rush through their food. They come in to eat, which will help them learn.” She sees them not only drinking milk, but eating more fruits and vegetables. The

Page 24 | January 2020

By Julie Slama | julie@mycityjournals.com students have a countdown clock, so they know how much time is left before class time and teachers return from their contracted lunch time to pick up the students. In addition, classrooms can earn the “golden spatula” award by using indoor voices, staying seated, raising their hands to dump their trays, cleaning their tables and lining up quickly and quietly, Floyd said. According to the National Food Service Management Institute, “when students go to recess before lunch, they do not rush through lunch and tend to eat a more well-balanced meal including more foods containing vitamins, such as milk, vegetables and fruit.” In a 2014 study published in Preventative Medicine, researchers investigated how recess-first impacts what students eat during their school meals. Seven elementary schools in Orem participated in the study that showed school children consume 54% more fruits and vegetables at lunch if they eat after recess. In the report, Cornell Behavioral Economist and Co-Founder of the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement David Just said, “Recess is often held after lunch so children hurry to ‘finish’ so that they can go play. This results in wasted fruits and vegetables. However, we found that if recess is held before lunch, students come to lunch with healthy appetites and less urgency and are more likely to eat their fruits and vegetables. While not every school has the flexibility to offer recess before lunch, those that do have a great opportunity to improve the health and well-being of their students.”

it’s just their preferences. Some people don’t like change, but kids are adaptive,” he said. Some of the concerns for implementing recess-first center around scheduling and logistics of the school building, staff supervision and handwashing.

SCHEDULING AND LOGISTICS

of the lunchroom can be major factors in the success of transitioning from traditional lunch to recess first. For six years, she was principal at Beehive Elementary in Magna, where lunch came first and everything ran smoothly. The past five, she has been at the West Valley elementary where the previous principal changed it to recess first. “Each has its pros and cons, but for some schools, logistically, it would be difficult and too cumbersome to line students up at the playground if it is on one side of the school, like Beehive, to then get to the cafeteria on the other,” she said. “It currently works here (at Academy Park) as the cafeteria is right by the playground and we have an advantage with Playworks (structured recess program) at our school, helping students in a proactive recess program, and helping transition into the lunchroom.” Longberg said it wasn’t easy adaption and involved changing things along the way. “We had to figure out the systems to make sure our structure works for us,” she said. That includes as students enter the lunchroom, they go through the cafeteria line and sit at tables in that order. They also are excused to leave in that order, which allows those who enter the cafeteria last to have the same amount of time to eat as those who enter first. Those who bring their lunch from home can immediately grab it out of a bin brought from their classroom, so they may get a few more minutes to eat than their peers, Longberg said. East Midvale Principal Matt Nelson has kept to the traditional timetable. “Logistically, it works with our schedule,” he said. “The students are in the cafe-

While that recess-first model works well for Sprucewood, Sarah Hodson, executive director of Get Healthy Utah, said each school may have to tweak its schedules to best fit their community. “There are real benefits to recess-first,” she said. “Students aren’t stuck in a lunchroom, hurrying out to play. They are more settled down when it’s classroom time since they’ve already adjusted from coming inside. They’re more active outside so they’re coming in hungrier. But changing schedules can be a barrier and principals will need to re-evaluate how to use staff outside and in the lunchroom, and even staggering recess and lunch times to make it work.” She said much of the logistics may be around the lunchroom size, so lunch time may need to accommodate more than one grade. “Schools need to get through the kinks, and some schools keep tweaking it for a full year before they get it running smoothly,” she said. “But this gives them more opportunity to fully play, fully eat and they learn better in the classroom.” Get Healthy Utah has sample lunch and recess schedules as well as tips on adapting recess first, including to communicate with all the staff, parents and students about the WHY DON’T MORE SCHOOLS change and to “be flexible and willing to try MAKE THE SWITCH? different things.” Sometimes re-inventing the wheel can Academy Park Principal Pauline Longseem like an insurmountable task and often- berg agrees that logistics and the location times traditions can be deeply rooted, said Daybreak Elementary Assistant Principal Todd Theobold. While the South Jordan school is on the traditional lunch schedule, he supports recess first, having had 15 years previous experience with recess first at both Majestic and Willow Canyon elementaries in Jordan and Canyons school districts, respectively. “There’s a growing trend toward recess first, but others feel strongly about holding onto the tradition of lunch first,” he said. “I prefer recess first as it engages kids in activities, friendship, they learn rules of the games on the playground and have a set amount of time to eat so it’s much calmer and significantly less food waste. We include time to clean up and to transition back to academic time. When it is lunch first, kids come back all sweaty and hot to the classroom and nobody can really calm down quickly from that.” However, he said that Daybreak’s lunchtime schedule is working. It allows students Sprucewood second grader Mary-Ann Whitaker supports her school’s decision to have recess first so food the 18 of the 40 minutes to eat first. “You’ll never make everybody happy; cafeteria staff makes doesn’t get wasted. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

West Valley City Journal

teria for 15 minutes before they raise their hands to be excused. We looked at recess first, but this works for our school. It would be a huge system to change to put together times to eat, play and have instruction. We’d have to add more transition time.” Ridgecrest Principal Julie Winfree said her Cottonwood Heights students eat and socialize before raising their hands to go to recess. “If you start with recess, when do you bring them in?” she said. “Kids need different amounts of times to eat and younger kids are typically slower eaters.” Jordan Ridge teacher Kim Sanders said her South Jordan school had many discussions about the order before keeping with the traditional schedule. “We wait for 10 minutes after they’re in the lunchroom before we turn the (paper) eagle around to allow them to go outside,” she said. “We want kids to have time to eat their lunch and digest it before they go outside to play.” However, Twin Peaks secretary Susan Seals says that playing first at her Murray elementary has resulted in less “side aches and tummies hurting” than the traditional lunch order. Murray School District spokeswoman D. Wright said lunch and recess schedules vary from school to school, with determinations made for a variety of reasons, including scheduling of the lunchroom and playgrounds. Longview Elementary Principal Becky Teo said she has kept with the schedule of her predecessor — a combination of both orders. Some of her students eat first then play, while others play first then eat. Her transitions allow 120 to 160 students in the Murray lunchroom at a given time and fourth- through sixth-graders rotating to help with lunch service. “It’s partly because of the size of our school and the number of kids in a given time who can sit in our lunchroom,” Teo said. “Our younger friends eat better with recess first, but our older grades know enough to eat a good lunch.” While the decisions are made at each Canyons School District school, health/PE/ Playworks specialist Allie Teller, who is a “big fan of recess first,” helps administrators who want to convert from the traditional method. She has models they can follow and consults regularly with schools to help problem-solve logistics. “We know factors weigh into the decision, from the lunchroom size and location to the staff support, and it really can look different from school to school. Lunch first has more wiggle room for students to go through the lunch line, but kids eat more when they play first,” Teller said.

have different people assigned to help in the lunchroom for that part of the day to help the younger students through the line and to make sure lunchtime is eating time,” she said. Theobold said at his previous schools, he had a lunch crew dedicated to those two hours to set up, monitor and clean up the cafeteria as well as address students’ concerns. Copperview Elementary Principal Jeri Rigby said her Midvale school remains on the traditional schedule for numerous reasons, one being that she can’t get students through the cafeteria line and seated without more personnel. That also was her experience when she was an assistant principal at Midvale Elementary. “We didn’t have more personnel to bring in, administrators were already there helping, and we couldn’t ask teachers because they have their 30-minute uninterrupted contracted lunch time,” she said. “We also didn’t find that students were significantly eating better.” She said the traditional lunch worked better logistically at the school and “the supervision of students in the lunchroom and playground were better.” Even the transition to have teachers bring students in from recess they found to be smoother “as expectations were clear with this routine,” she said. Crescent Elementary in Sandy tested recess first this past fall before switching it back. Among the reasons for the traditional routine, Principal Camie Montague said, “We changed back because it took double the resources to bring kids in from recess and manage the lunchroom.”

HANDWASHING

According to Action for Healthy Kids, “Handwashing is important for food safety and students should wash hands before eating, especially during cold and flu season.” Making sure students washed their hands after recess before lunch was a concern of Crescent Elementary teacher Cindy Carling. At Sprucewood, they address that issue. After students enter the building, and before they reach the cafeteria, students are given a squirt of hand sanitizer. Some school administrators acknowledge it is an added expense and there may be school district guidelines about which brands of sanitizers they can use, so even if hand sanitizer is donated, they may not be able to use it. Other schools have solved this issue by routing their students through restrooms to get to the lunchroom or have set up a wash station in the cafeteria itself.

OTHER CONCERNS

Montague said Crescent had goals in mind when they tested recess first. “We changed our lunch at the beginning STAFF SUPERVISION of the year, with a focus on de-escalating Longberg said her staff supports Acade- behaviors so that students weren’t bringing my Park’s recess before lunch. playground drama into the classroom, (they “We’re very fortunate that our staff had) longer time to eat and (we were able wants to be here to help students. So we to handle) discipline from the playground

Wvc Journal .com

during lunchroom time instead of class time,” she said. “We changed back because behaviors were escalated — once kids were done eating there was nowhere for them to go and nothing to do — and as fall started to approach, I became more aware of students that do not have proper attire for being outside for the winter. All students had to go to recess with the new way; changing back allowed students to remain inside as long as they are quietly talking to friends and seated.” She also said her school “actually lost instructional time due to lining up and cleanup time of all kids in a grade level being excused to clean up at the same time.” Hodson said with adjusting to recess first, many schools find a need to discuss rules and expectations in student behavior. “Students will need to learn what the behavior expectations are so the transitions work smoothly,” she said, adding that changing to recess before lunch will impact most every school employee, so communication with everyone is important. Teller said that “having intentional transitions and understanding of expectations can help a lot. They can help mitigate the craziness and decrease their excitement from the playground into focusing on lunch and study.” Playworks Utah Program Director Ashley Engeler said her organization supports recess first, with intentional transitions to calming students as they enter the cafeteria and from there to the classroom. As a Playworks coach previously at two schools, Engeler said she would often try to calm students in line with “three deep volcano breaths” before entering the lunchroom. “With recess first, it’s less chaotic, less food waste, behaviors go down and students are more highly engaged when they return to their classrooms,” she said. “If they don’t (have recess first), students throw away more food, are apt to get in angrier moods, resulting in more behavioral problems, and they trickle to transition into the classroom.” Woodstock Elementary in Murray has recess first. Woodstock Principal Brenda Byrnes says students are able to get their energy out so they come in hungrier and then when they return to the classroom, they are calmer. “We teach them about self-regulation so they know how much time they have to play outside, but also how they manage their time to eat their proteins and drink milk in the cafeteria,” she said. “It has become a smoother transition for us and a lot less waste.” Granite School District Director of Children Nutrition Dana Adams said that recess before lunch “has always been tossed around.” “At the central kitchen, we haven’t seen an increase (of food consumption with recess before lunch) that we can track,” she said. “It’s a decision for our principals and our communities to decide which works best for them.” l

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January 2020 | Page 25

Mountain America helps families find the purrfect fit By Cassie Goff | cassie@mycityjournals.com

40 Years of West Valley City Some big things happened in 1980 • Ronald Reagan was President of the United States • The first Rubik’s cube was sold • Pac-Man became a video game • Mount St. Helens erupted • CNN was about to become its own television station • The Utah Jazz had been in Utah for only 1 year • WEST VALLEY CITY BECAME A CITY!

2020 is a Big Year!

We are excited for the year ahead & we will be celebrating all year long. So, what is the best way to be aware of the celebrations and the events throughout the year? Follow us online. Know what is happening before it happens! www.wvc-ut.gov www.facebook.com/WestValleyCity www.instagram.com/wvcut www.youtube.com/user/WVCTV

ver 160 homeless animals were able to go home for the holidays thanks to the Humane Society of Utah and Mountain America Credit Union channeling their inner Santa spirit while hosting their annual Fall in Love adoption event. On Nov. 23, visitors to the Humane Society could adopt a fourlegged family member for free since Mountain America was paying for all adoption fees. “Our hearts are full knowing that so many pets are sleeping in their new loving homes tonight thanks to our Fall in Love event sponsored by Mountain America,” said Humane Society of Utah Director of Marketing and Communications Deann Shepherd. “We are beyond thrilled that so many people came to adopt a new friend and family member. It takes support from our community to save these pets’ lives, and this event has truly allowed us to change their world.” Potential pet owners began arriving around 7 a.m. to get a spot in one of the many lines – depending on what type of animal they wanted to adopt. There were dog, cat, hamster and rabbit lines. When regular adoption hours began at 10 a.m. Humane Society staff members took a specific number of visitors through the kennels at a time. This allowed for visitors to spend some time with the animals to ensure compatibility. When visitors had clicked with their new furry family member, Humane Society staff members discussed the re-

sponsibilities associated with adopting an animal. After the adoptions were finalized, humans could take photos with their pets at a photo booth. Almost all of the animals at the Humane Society were adopted during the event. “The available space allows the Humane Society of Utah to save hundreds more homeless pets by accepting additional owner-surrendered animals and animals from overcrowded shelters,” said Mountain America Assistant Vice President of Public Relations Brittani Forbush. Over 140 pets were adopted with the first Fall in Love adoption event, which occurred over Thanksgiving weekend in 2018. At the time, the Humane Society was trying to target the Black Friday crowds with the slogan “don’t shop, go adopt.” In 2019, they expressed that they wished to get animals home before the holidays, so the event was moved to the weekend before Thanksgiving. “Mountain America is pleased to have helped so many pets find homes ahead of the holiday season,” said Mountain America Credit Union Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer Sharon Cook. “We appreciate the overwhelming support from the community and look forward to continuing to save lives through our Pet of the Week program.” Every Friday, a pet from the Humane Society is featured on the Pet of the Week segment on Fox 13 News and associated social media channels. If a

viewer believes that the featured dog, hamster, cat or rabbit is right for them, Mountain America will pay for the adoption fees. This segment helps create awareness and shape perception for the Humane Society. They not only have dogs and cats, but puppies and kittens, rabbits, hamsters and even birds. In addition, the segment helps create “awareness for dogs that might have a hard time getting adopted,” Forbush said. Mountain America recognizes the roles animals play in human lives, especially as many members and employees have important four-legged family members. Their “love for pets combined with the company’s philosophy of giving back has been a driver in the credit union’s partnership with the Humane Society of Utah,” Forbush said. Continuing the theme, Mountain America supports the Humane Educators Reaching Out (H.E.R.O.) summer camp. The eight-week camp teaches first graders through sixth graders “about the cost and responsibility of owning a pet,” Forbush said. Mountain America and the Humane Society will continue to have the Pet of the Week and will host another Fall in Love event next year. Stay tuned to Mountain America Credit Union’s social media channels (@mountainamericacu) and the Humane Society’s social media channels (@utahhumane) to find out more. l

Call: 801-966-3600 Visit us in person: 3600 Constitution Boulevard WVC, UT 84119

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Page 26 | January 2020

Caesar was the first animal adopted during the Fall in Love event. (Photo courtesy Brittani Forbush)

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January 2020 | Page 27

Less technology means better family connections says USU researcher By Jenniffer Wardell | j.wardell@mycityjournals.com

f you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution that will help your family, try putting down your phone. That’s a suggestion from David Schramm, Utah State University assistant professor and Extension family life specialist. Schramm has recently completed a nationwide survey asking parents how they felt about the effect of technology use on face-toface interaction between family members. He said it’s that interaction that strengthens both spousal and parent-child relationships. Among the 631 parents surveyed, a full 62% said that the interference of technology was a big problem in their family. “It comes down to communication and connection,” said Schramm, also known as the USU relationship specialist “Dr. Dave.” “Cellphones get in the way of face-to-face conversation, and I wanted to get an idea of how prevalent it was.” In the survey, he used the term “technoference” to describe the way technology use interfered in face-to-face interaction with others. He also focused on two specific areas of family interaction — the dinner table and the parent’s bedroom. “I consider those two places where real communication and connection can happen,” he said. “I’m not anti-technology, but I think it’s starting to crowd out those areas.”

Plenty of Americans feel the same way. According to the survey, 70% reported that technology interrupts family time at least occasionally. More than one-third of the adults said they used technology in their bed every night or almost every night. Forty-three percent reported that their spouse/partner uses technology in bed every night or almost every night. As an extension of that, nearly 25% said they felt like their partner’s use of technology in bed interferes with their sexual relationship. Forty-five percent considered technology a big problem in their marriage. Fifty-five percent felt like their spouse/partner spends too much time on their cell phone, and 48% said they wished their significant other would spend less time on their cell phone and more time with their children. Fifty-three percent admitted that they believed they personally are on their cell phone too much, while 59% believed their spouse or partner is on it too much. Thirty-eight percent of adults admit to using technology at least occasionally while eating at home with family members. Nearly as many people, 35%, David Schramm suggests cutting back on social media to focus more on face-to-face time with your family. reported using technology while eating at a (Photo by Katka Pavlickova on Unsplash) restaurant with their spouse or partner at least occasionally. Sixty percent of the adults surveyed said nology has on their relationship with their parenting, but don’t know where to turn. “The overall survey results show that they’re concerned about the influence tech- children, and nearly one out of four wish they had more information about technology and higher levels of technology use and technoference adds up to significantly less time spent together as a couple, less satisfaction and connection, and higher levels of depression and anxiety,” he said. Though it’s a national issue, Schramm said his inspiration for the survey was perTM sonal. “I was in the kitchen on my phone during breakfast one morning, and my son walked right by,” he said. “It was my wife that said, ‘Do you want to say good morning to your son?’ I’m a family researcher, but it was really one of those ‘aha’ moments for me.” Name: Phone: For those who might be in the same boat, he said that getting a little too attached to Address: your cell phone is perfectly understandable. “We’re born with three essential needs to survive and thrive – safety, satisfaction City: State: Zip: and connection,” he said. “Cell phones especially can fulfill all three needs, which is why Are you a business leader? At no cost, the ElevateHERTM Challenge is easy they’re so addictive.” One time Donation: $ Monthly Donation: $ Used appropriately, they can also be to accept and will benefit your company. a thing that helps keep a family running Credit Card Number: Exp Date: Join businesses across Utah in smoothly. our mission to elevate the stature “Cell phones can be really helpful for Mail to: City Journals at 9500 South 500 West, Suite 205, Sandy, UT 84070 of women’s leadership. Take the families,” he said. “They can bring people ElevateHERTM Challenge and stand with together who live far apart, and it can help For security reasons, if you would rather contact City Journals directly, other businesses as we pledge to elevate parents keep tabs on the physical and emocall (385)557-1010 or email: accounting@mycityjournals.com women in senior leadership positions, in tional safety of their children.” boardrooms, on management teams and The key, though, is to use your cell on politcal ballots. phone in moderation. As an extension of the survey, Schramm came up with two initiaC I T Y tives – K-TOOB (Kick Technology Out of LEARN MORE: VALLEYJOURNALS.COM 801-254-5974 Beds) and K-TOOT (Kick Technology Off www.WLIUT.com/challenge of Tables). Seventy-five percent of those surY O U R C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R S

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West Valley City Journal

veyed said that they thought K-TOOB is a good idea, while 88% felt that K-TOOT was a good idea. If you want to include either initiative as part of your New Year’s resolutions, however, Schramm suggests a slower rollout. “I think starting small is the best idea,” he said. “Especially for something so sudden, and that just came from one person in the family.” He added that one way to combat both those things is to start things off with a conversation. Everyone in the family should get the chance to share their feelings and work on a solution together. “A great first step is sitting down and having an open discussion about it, with no set agenda,” he said. “Kids, especially teenagers, want to be heard.” If you’re uncertain how to make such a discussion happen, Schramm said that the direct approach should work just fine. “You can just say, ‘Hey, let’s have a tech talk. We can talk about the positives of technology, and maybe some things we can work on together for some more family face-toface time,’” he recommended. The most important thing, however, might be to start with cutting back your own phone time. According to Schramm, children need at least nine minutes of face-to-face contact each day. This is especially true at key points throughout the day, such as just after they wake up, just before they go to bed, and just as they get home from school. He added that spouses also need their own faceto-face contact time, moments where they can talk about their days and what they might be feeling. The opportunities for that contact time may be more innocuous than people realize. Schramm calls them “bids for connection,” a term coined by relationship expert Dr. John Gottman. These “bids” are everyday interactions between people that provide opportunity to share thoughts and feelings. That sharing deepens the connection between people. “We need to listen and watch for bids for connection,” Schramm said. “It can be something so small as (your child or spouse coming home and saying) ‘You’ll never guess what happened today.’ If you’re distracted, you can miss it.” Sometimes, those bids for connection can even be completely wordless. “If your child comes home mopey and dragging his feet, that’s still a bid for connection,” he said. “You can see that, and think, ‘Oh, how am I going to respond to that?’” If you don’t see enough bids for connection, or are concerned that you’ve missed too many, it’s possible to create more. The biggest thing is to ask questions that encourage discussion, then be ready to listen and respond to their answers. This helps your spouse or children to feel validated, an important aspect to deepening the relationship. “You can ask questions like, ‘What was the best part of your day?’ ‘What was the

Wvc Journal .com

David Schramm, a Utah State University assistant professor and Extension family life specialist. (Photo courtesy David Schramm)

hardest part of your day?’ What was the hapIn the end, Schramm said, the most im- on who you’re with, and what you’re doing, piest thought of your day?’” he said. “If you portant thing is to pay less attention to your without feeling the need to share it on social put your phone down, you can be more open phone and more attention to your loved ones. media.” l to these opportunities.” “Be in the moment,” he said. “Focus

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January 2020 | Page 29

5 New Year’s Habits You Should Keep

t’s the new year, a time where many people promise themselves, this year they will turn over a new leaf and bust their bad habits for good. For those that have accomplished this mission, good for you. For me, however a new year’s resolution is more of a holiday tradition of making, and then breaking, an already empty promise to myself. I have found that if I really want to change a behavior, I need to turn the old habit into a new one. I try to make my new habits fun, challenge myself, compete with someone else and reward myself at the end. In truth, I have most success doing this when it isn’t New Year’s. But, in keeping with the holiday and my mission to inspire others to save money here are five habits we penny pinchers use on a daily basis to keep a few more dollars in our pocket. 1. We prepare food from scratch. Preparing meals ahead, freezing extras and avoiding eating out will really stack up to extra savings. Not to mention the added health benefit. If you find you are eating out too often or most of your meals are prepackaged, just making this one change can add up to big bucks. 2. We shop second hand first. We make it a habit to check thrift stores, Restore and consignment stores before buying new. If we don’t find what we’re looking for we often choose to wait plus,

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there’s the added benefit of keeping things from the landfills. 3. We fix it before we replace them. When something breaks, we don’t throw it away immediately. We assess and research whether the item can be repaired to extend its lifespan. We are also inclined to do it ourselves as opposed to hiring things out. 4. We give our kids less stuff. Frugal kids don’t have a lot of toys. We as parents expect our kids to learn to be creative with less. We pass on buying the trendy clothing for our kids and teach them at an early age to earn, manage and respect their own money. 5. We take advantage of community events. Utah has an amazing amount of

family activities that are free. Did you know there are free days for the Hogle Zoo, Tracy Aviary, there are free movies in the park and so much more. Visit Coupons4Utah.com every Wednesday for a list of frugal family activities. The list of things that a frugal person does on a day to day basis to save a few dollars is endless and varies greatly from person to person. But, in general I think that living a frugal lifestyle can make for a simpler lifestyle too. We tend to turn saving money into a game instead of paying attention to every detail we challenge ourselves to reach our financial goals faster and reaching a goal like paying off the house, paying cash for a car, or taking a dream vacation, makes for a Happy New Year.

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Page 30 | January 2020

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nless you’ve been living in the Gobi Desert, hiding from the toxic political atmosphere, you’re well aware that Bravo will air the “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” in 2020. As if 2020 wasn’t going to be terrible enough. If you’re not familiar with the intellectual and thought-provoking series, executive producer Andy Cohen flies to town in his invisible helicopter, rounds up glamourous white women, tells them to act like idiots, then throws a diamond necklace into a swimming pool to watch them jump in wearing slinky evening gowns. It started in 2006 with “The Real Housewives of Orange County” and then spread like the plague through New York, Atlanta, Beverly Hills and other unsuspecting cities. In any given episode, you can expect nanny drama, coiffed eyebrows, white woman problems, plastic surgery cleavage, mean gossip, pouty lips, cats, jewelry for cats, catty behavior and lots of big hair. Buy why Utah? Well, the series tends to be overwhelmingly white, so I guess Utah makes sense. And I’ve heard that some women in Utah live glamourous lives in upper-class communities. That rules me out. My glamourous life consists of digging through laundry for a pair of matching socks. What I want to see is “The REAL Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.” Episode #1: Judy is late for church. She’s

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wrangling her seven children into their Sunday best while her husband spends the morning in church meetings. He calls to ask why she’s late again and she throws her phone into the garbage disposal and takes all the kids to Denny’s for breakfast. Episode #2: Carol has been asked to plan a girl’s camp for a swarm of 12 year olds. She hates camping. And 12 year old girls. She reaches out to her friends to create a fun weeklong adventure in the Wasatch Mountains. Carol hides a flask of “Holy Water” in her scriptures. Episode #3: Brittany sewed matching pajamas for her entire family but no one wants to wear them for the family Christmas picture. Brittany locks herself in the bathroom to cry while her husband insists he loves the purple-plaid, footed pajamas that he’ll wear for the photo if she’ll JUST STOP CRYING! Episode #4: Shelly is a wonderful cook. She makes cinnamon rolls to DIE for. Her best friend asks Shelly for her recipe. Shelly happily obliges, but changes all the measurements so her friend’s cinnamon rolls will taste like s***. Episode #5: Alexa is in love. At 18 years old, she just wants her returned missionary boyfriend to propose so they can live happily ever after. There’s lot of seductive hand-holding, late-night scripture reading and even a sleepover, which is actually just a New Year’s Eve party with six other couples playing Skip-

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Bo and drinking sparkling cider. Instead of all these genuine Salt Lake City scenarios, the new show will feature your basic Housewives’ dilemmas. Boo. Here’s Stefon from Saturday Night Live to explain what we’ll see during the show (because I miss him and want him to return to SNL so much). “If you’re watching ‘The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ you can expect hysteria at the highest levels. There will be screeching, low cut gowns, pygmy goats directing traffic, Aquanet toothpaste, a jewelry heist, several cans of Pillsbury pizza crust, a lusty affair with a diesel mechanic, Spam, cabana boys with cowboy hats, Golden Retrievers wearing red pumps and a gala at Salt Lake’s newest club, Spork.” Actually, that might actually make 2020 bearable.

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