INSIDER
Panguitch • Panguitch Lake • Hatch • Bryce • Tropic • Antimony • Henrieville • Cannonville • Escalante • Boulder • Fremont • Loa • Lyman Bicknell • Teasdale • Torrey • Grover • Fruita • Caineville • Hanksville
Thursday, April 11, 2013 • Issue # 991
Hallows Named Utah Technology Teacher of the Year
BICKNELL - Nominated by Wayne School District Superintendent Burke Torgerson and Technology Coordinator Jordan Crane, Wayne Middle School Teacher Mrs. Flora Hallows received the Utah Technology Teacher of The Year award on March 8, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mrs. Hallows has been instrumental in bringing the latest technologies into Wayne School District and the classroom for students of Wayne Middle School. Spending hours of extra time and always looking for the best way to advance technology in the classroom, Mrs. Hallows has also been instrumental in the 1 to 1 initiative to provide an iPad for every student. She has implemented the Canvas program for students and teachers. This program works by putting all homework assignments on the iPad Canvas program. Students access the program, complete their assignments and then submit them on their iPad back to their teacher. Mrs. Hallows has been a member of the Utah Wayne Middle School Teacher Flora Mentor Academy this year, has applied for several Hallows. grants, and she has provided one on one technology training for our teachers. Employed by Wayne School District since 1999, Mrs.Hallows taught at the Hanksville Elementary school and then transfered to the Wayne Middle School. Mrs. Hallows is married to Gil Hallows, has 5 children and 7 grandchildren and resides in Loa, Utah. Congratulations to Mrs. Hallows from the Wayne Middle School and Wayne School District. —Mary Bray
Senator Hatch's Staff Tour Kazan Clinic
Intermountain Health Care’s Bill Barnes & Suzie Draper, Kazan Clinic’s Sheri Woolsey, Senator Hatch Staff Kimberly Brandt and Hayden Rhudy, and Kazan Clinic’s Judy Brooks ESCALANTE - Hayden Rhudy, Senior Health Policy Advisor to Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, and Kimberly Brandt, Chief Oversight Council Minority Staff for the Senate Finance Committee of which Senator Hatch is a ranking member, were in Escalante March 29th to tour its Kazan Medical Clinic. Their visit was part of a state-wide rural healthcare tour led by Intermountain Healthcare Primary Children’s Hospital Director of Government Relations Bill Barnes, to show how rural health clinics function and the
importance of federal funding of critical rural health services. Kazan Clinic’s Jolene Pollock, Sheri Woolsey and Judith Brooks were also on hand to help facilitate the tour. Barnes says the Kazan Clinic is a great example of what can be accomplished with a tremendous amount of commitment and hard work: “It was wonderful for Senator Hatch’s staff to see in action the dedication that rural clinics like Kazan have to the health and well-being of the communities they serve. As I work with the Hatch office
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in Washington on rural health issues, this trip – and the visit to the Kazan Clinic – will be extremely helpful to better understand the vast distances and the challenges we face here in the West. “ —Becki Bronson, Public Relations/Communications Manager, Valley View Medical Center
WGCI photo
Greg, Mitchell and VeeAnn Pace of Loa Builders Supply. A driving force in the local economy.
Loa Builders Delivers LOA – When it comes to a building or remodel project, here’s one scenario of how it happens: You’re the owner of your first home in Garfield or Wayne county, and inevitably, your first home improvement project crops up. You are not a contractor but you have an idea of what it is you need, though you are not exactly certain the folks at the store will understand what it is you need. You have your list, perhaps with instructions from a friend or spouse to put in a call to Loa Builders to acquire the needed materials for your project. A small pit of dread rises up in your stomach, as you look at the list and try to figure out what to order. You wonder, “What if they don’t have the eight inch or six inch bolts,” or anything else on your list. You make the call, and after two or three rings, “Hi, this is VeeAnn,” says the voice on the other end of the phone. “Building materials” is not your language, and you’re pretty sure you’re going to sound like an idiot. She continues, “May I help you?” You begin your list and she confirms that yes they have 8” hex headed bolts in sufficient supply to fill your order. You feel relief. The next item is another fastener and she is unfamiliar with your description and you do not have a catalog number to give to her. You
panic! You ask yourself, “Will I have to drive to Cedar City or Richfield, after all? Oh no!” VeeAnn is fast on your order, but she is also patient. She fires off a couple of questions that are over your head, and then, through a deft process of providing options which lead to eliminations and finally choices, she quickly transforms your ignorance into knowledge. Before you know it your order is placed, and it actually turned out to be a pleasant experience. “Wow,” you think to yourself, “That lady on the phone knows what she’s doing.” Two days later, you discover your items in a neat pile at the end of your driveway. Contrary to all other evidence related to your current remodel job, here’s evidence that there might just be order in the universe. Mitchell and VeeAnn Pace were a young family when they bought Loa Builders in 1984. Mitchell had worked in construction for a dozen or so years, which VeeAnn says took him away from the family a lot--he was often gone 6 days a week. When the previous owner, Carl Hutchings, put Loa Builders up for sale—which was small but already something of a local institution--they saw it as an opportunity. In the intervening 29 years, they have raised their three boys, Greg, Travis and Michael, in the business, and it is a full-on, professionally run, family-owned operation. “It’s definitely a family thing,” says VeeAnn. “Everybody has the things they’re strong at, their fortes. Greg is on the phone all the time, learning about new products and materials.” “I bring lunch and treats,” she says. Sure enough, as if on queue, Mitchell returns from a delivery to Escalante, and she points him towards his lunch. When asked to explain how she developed her customer service skills, VeeAnn explains, “Well of course Mitchell was already in construction, but a big plus was right before we bought this business we built our own home. So we had a little more ‘hands on’ of
Loa Builders cont'd on page 2
Phone: 435-826-4400 Wayne: 435-836-2622 Fax 1-888-370-8546 PO BOX 105 Escalante, Utah 84726 snapshot@live.com
Silly is you in a natural state, and serious is something you have to do until you can get silly again. —Mike Myers
THE WAYNE & GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER is owned and operated by Snapshot Multimedia, LLC and is distributed weekly to all of Wayne and Garfield Counties, Utah. Its purpose is to inform residents about local issues and events. Articles submitted from independent writers are not necessarily the opinion of Snapshot Multimedia, LLC. We sincerely hope you enjoy the paper and encourage input on ideas and/or suggestions for the paper.
what a homeowner or builder is going through. And each of our kids has built their own homes. One of the big plusses is they’ve all had a lot of hands-on experience. And also, we are very family oriented-- I think those are our strengths. That, and when you tell people you’re going to do something you’ve got to follow through.” Loa Builders grew from a small space across from where they are now on Loa’s Main Street. Ten years ago, they moved to their current location, providing a full service hardware store, lumber yard, building materials and construction deliveries. Early on, even prior to moving to their expanded location, they recognized the need to provide full-service hardware and supplies to customers and signed on with a larger distributor, DoItBest. “As a small independent store your biggest challenge is buying power,” says VeeAnn. “And also, if we don’t have what the people want and need here they will go somewhere else.” VeeAnn says when they first signed on with DoItBest, their rep was concerned about their minimum when he saw their little store. “But we eased their minds when we met our minimum right away.” Loa Builders has grown to nine employees, including the five family members, and their business actively engages in the community, in particular with sports sponsorships and coaching, as well as being members of the fire department and EMTs. “It’s fun to see little kids running around with little Loa Builders shirts on,” says VeeAnn. For eleven years, Loa Builders has also offered an annual vocational scholarship to graduates of Wayne High School who want to further their education in the trades. The Pace family is planning for expansion, most immediately with their plan to move their tool and equipment rental business across the street to their old location. “Businesses are either expanding or going down and we want to
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