thePyramid We A r e S a n p e t e . c o m
An Edition of the
We A r e S a n p e t e . c o m
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Thursday, July 9, 2020 • Vol. 129, No. 28 • 75 cents
Cox wins Republican primary BY CHRISTI C. BABBITT
Sanpete County residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of one of their own in the recent Republican primary election, helping Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer J. Cox secure the party’s nomination to run for governor. Cox, a native of Fairview and current resident of the city, was declared the winner of the primary election on Monday and will now run for governor against Democratic nominee and University of Utah law professor Chris Peterson. Voters will cast ballots for the two candidates during the general election Nov. 3. Deidre M. Henderson, a Utah state senator representing District 7, is Cox’s running mate for the position of lieutenant governor. Cox held an election night event on June 30 at the Basin Drive In in Mt. Pleasant where he greeted supporters. “I want to thank you. I want to thank the hundreds, the thousands of volunteers who gathered signatures for us, put up signs, made phone calls, posted on social media. We have never seen a grassroots campaign like this in the history of the State of Utah,” Cox told those at the Mt. Pleasant event. “This is your election. You deserve this. You’ve made us so proud. We just feel so humbled and grateful to represent you. We love you, we love what you stand for, we love the goodness that has shown through from the very beginning.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COX FOR GOVERNOR CAMPAIGN
Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox speaks with media representatives during an election night event at the Basin Drive In in Mt. Pleasant June 30. Cox, a Fairview resident, was declared the winner of the Republican primary election for governor on Monday. As of The Pyramid’s press time on Tuesday, Cox and Henderson were reported to have garnered 185,104 votes – 36.4 percent of the total votes statewide. Jon Huntsman Jr., also a candidate in the Republican primary election for governor, and his running mate Michelle Kaufusi were their closest competitors, with Huntsman/Kaufusi trailing just 9,134 votes behind Cox/Henderson. The Huntsman ticket had received 175,970 votes as of press time, which represented 34.6 percent of the total votes statewide.
The other two candidates for governor in the Republican primary, Greg Hughes and Thomas E. Wright, had received 107,182 votes (21.08 percent) and 40,313 (7.93 percent) respectively. In Sanpete County, out of a total 6,882 votes cast in the Republican primary gubernatorial race, residents gave 4,617 of those votes to the Cox ticket, 67 percent of the overall count. Huntsman received 740 votes in the county while Hughes received 1,226 and Wright received 299. “If we get the opportunity to serve
Nephi hospital reopens after $27 million renovation NEPHI—After a two-year renovation, Central Valley Medical Center in Nephi reopened July 1 with extensive hospital upgrades addressing the growing healthcare needs of its surrounding rural communities. The $27 million renovation encompassed 66,876 square feet at the medical facility, located at 48 W. 1500 North. The renovation includes a new emergency room and the addition of a new Women’s Center. “We are very excited about the growth of the hospital and how it will enable us to bring advanced medical services and technology to our community and the surrounding region,” said Randy Cuff, COO of Central Valley Medical Center. Cuff said although Nephi’s population is less than 10,000, CVMC serves approximately 40,000 residents throughout multiple counties. Some of the upgrades to the medical facility include: nn A new Emergency Department, including an IV therapy room. nn The addition of a Women’s Center, which includes Labor & Delivery, Postpartum Rooms, a C-Section operation room and additional support spaces. nn Clinic space for physical therapy and orthopedics. nn An expanded entry and drive-up. nn An expanded lab. nn A permanent MRI facility. nn A remodel and expansion to hospital’s pharmacy and same-day surgery facilities. Westland Construction, based in Orem, served as general contractor for the renovation project. “Westland is very grateful to be a part of this critical expansion project,” said Kyle Houghton, president of Westland Construction. “The newly renovated hospital provides
COURTESY OF WESTLAND CONSTRUCTION
The Central Valley Medical Center in Nephi reopened July 1 following a two-year, $27 million renovation.
COURTESY OF WESTLAND CONSTRUCTION
One of the new features added to the Central Valley Medical Center through its recently completed renovation is a new Women’s Center designed with enhanced comfort and security measures for moms and babies. access to enhanced, state-of-the-art medical services and adds immense value to this growing community.” Central Valley Medical Center began as a small community hospital owned by Juab County in the 1950s. Today, Juab County and surrounding areas are experiencing significant growth and development, requiring expansion and improvements at CVMC to provide rural residents access to muchneeded modern healthcare services.
CVMC is a Critical Access Hospital that is a recognized and distinguished healthcare leader in Central Utah. It provides a growing selection of board-certified physicians trained in a variety of medical specialties as well as multiple clinic locations, including one in Fountain Green. It also offers integrated state-ofthe-art surgical suites, orthopedic medicine, respiratory therapy and a sleep health clinic.
as your next governor and lieutenant governor, we promise you that it will not change us. It will not change who we are,” Cox said during the Basin Drive In event. “We will stay true to those values that have gotten us here. We will stay true to the values of the people of the State of Utah, and we will stay true to the values of Sanpete County.” Cox grew up as part of a farming family in rural Fairview, graduating from North Sanpete High School. He attended Snow College and Utah State University and earned his Juris Doctor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law in Virginia. Along the way, he married his high school sweetheart, Abby. Following law school, the couple lived in Salt Lake City for a time before deciding they missed the lifestyle found in Sanpete County. They moved their family to Fairview where they could raise their children on the farm. After moving to Fairview, Cox joined the family telecom business, CentraCom, serving as vice president and general counsel. His career in public service began when he was appointed to the Fairview City Council. He was later elected mayor and went on to serve as a county commissioner and state representative. Cox was selected by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert to succeed Greg Bell as lieutenant governor, and Cox was sworn in on Oct. 16, 2013. Herbert and Cox were re-elected to another
term in 2016. Cox agreed to serve as lieutenant governor with the condition that he continue to live in and commute from Fairview. He still resides there with his wife and four children. Other election results In the Republican primary election contest for the State House 58 seat, Steven J. Lund had gathered 5,202 votes over Clinton L. Painter’s 3,839 votes as of press time. District 58 includes most of Sanpete County and a portion of Juab County. In Sanpete County, 4,574 residents voted for Lund while 1,872 voted for Painter. In the Republican primary election for U.S. House District 4, Burgess Owens was leading with 45,867 votes statewide (43.6 percent). Kim Coleman was in second place with 25,470 votes while Jay “JayMac” McFarland had received 22,644 votes and Trent Christensen had received 11,341 votes. In Sanpete County, out of a total of 3,200 votes cast in the U.S. House District 4 race, Burgess received 1,826 votes, Coleman received 599 votes, McFarland received 345 votes and Christensen received 430 votes. In the Republican primary election for Utah state attorney general, Sean D. Reyes was leading with 266,290 votes statewide over David O. Leavitt’s 225,131 votes. In Sanpete County, Reyes was also the leader. Out of 6,681 votes cast by county voters in the race, 3,851 went to Reyes and 2,830 went to Leavitt.
Madison Nielson honored as winner in statewide essay contest SPRING CITY—Madison Nielson, a fourth-grade student at Spring City Elementary School, has been named the second-place winner in the Fourth Grade Category of the Utah League of Cities and Towns 2020 Essay Contest. The “Why I Like My Community” essay contest is a 20-year tradition at the Utah League of Cities and Towns. The contest is sponsored by Maverik. All fourth- and seventh-grade students from schools throughout the state are invited to participate in the contest each year, and a panel of judges selects the first-, secondand third-place submissions. The award-winning student writers receive $100, $75 and $50, respectively. Each of their schools receives cash awards of $1,000, $750 and $500. Madison and her parents attended the July 2 Spring City Council meeting and the cash awards and certificates were presented to Madison and her 4th grade teacher, Fiona McVay, by Mayor Cynthia DeGrey on behalf of the Utah League of Cities and Towns. The contest is conducted to encourage fourth-graders and seventh-graders to learn and write about the communities in which they live. The students are asked to write essays about their communities or neighborhoods and what living in those places means to them. Madison wrote, “The first reason why I love Spring City is its views and its beauty. There’s animals grazing in the fields, there’s a lot of agriculture and in the spring there are beautiful flowers everywhere. “The second reason why I love Spring City is the events. One of the events is on Halloween. It’s called
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPRING CITY
Madison Nielson, a fourth-grade student at Spring City Elementary School, has been named the secondplace winner in the Fourth Grade Category of the Utah League of Cities and Towns 2020 Essay Contest. trunk or treat and even a fire truck from Spring City Fire Department comes! The events of my community are awesome! The last reason why I love my community is because of the people. The people in Spring City wave and smile at you while you’re in your car, walking outside, or just playing and being a goofball in your yard. Everyone knows each other too. Since Spring City is small it’s easier to get around. “The people in Spring City are the best! I think Spring City is a wonderful place that no one can live without. My community is awesome. I want to stay in it as long as I can.” USD 75¢
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