‘AKIN TO A WARZONE’ TAYLORSVILLE FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO HURRICANES HELENE AND MILTON
By Carl Fauver | c.fauver@mycityjournals.com
While most of us could only shake our heads and watch the devastation unfold on the national news, dozens of brave emergency responders from Utah were up close and personal to assist with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Then, with no time to catch their breath, the group was relocated, from Tennessee to Florida, in anticipation of Hurricane Milton making landfall less than two weeks later.
You’ve likely already heard about the 77 members of Utah Task Force 1 who responded to the twin punch in late September and early October. But perhaps you didn’t know several of those FEMA team responders spend their non-Task Force time saving Taylorsville lives and dousing Taylorsville fires.
Unified Fire Authority operates two stations in Taylorsville. Station 117 (4965 S. Redwood Road) is one of the newest and largest fire stations in the UFA system. That’s where Heavy Rescue Specialist Sean Murphy has worked for about seven years. The 1999 Brighton High School graduate serves as a communication specialist on Utah Task Force 1.
The other station in Taylorsville is UFA Station 118, right next door to Taylorsville City Hall (5317 S. 2700 West). Riverton High School graduate (2006) Tyler Flygare has worked as a paramedic there since 2017. When he’s deployed with UT-TF1, Flygare is one of the team’s water rescue unit leads.
For the record, Murphy and Flygare aren’t the only Taylorsville firefighters who are members of UT-TF1. But in the quick turnaround from when they returned to Utah, and before our deadline, they were the only two weary
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Utah Task Force 1 member Sean Murphy works at UFA Fire Sta tion 117 on Redwood Road when he’s not assisting with disaster relief thousands of miles away. (Photo courtesy Sean Murphy)
Utah Task Force 1 member Sean Murphy works at UFA Fire Station 117 on Redwood Road when he’s not assisting with disaster relief thousands of miles away. (Photo courtesy Sean Murphy)
Paramedic Tyler Flygare is the water rescue lead for Utah Task Force 1. When he’s not deployed with that FEMA team, he works at UFA Fire Station 118, next door to Taylorsville City Hall. (Photo courtesy Tyler Flygare)
Early Detection is Key: Breast Cancer Signs, Symptoms and Next Steps
By Cara Guilfoyle, MD
t likely isn’t a stretch to say that you know someone who has had to battle breast cancer within their lifetime, or maybe you have even been diagnosed with it yourself. With the new age of social media, stories of survival and those walking through their breast cancer diagnosis and treatment journey may be inundating your feeds. These stories of hope can certainly be inspiring but may also feel a bit unsettling. So, what do you need to know about breast cancer and how can you be sure that you’re on top of your health? Let’s start with what breast cancer is and how it occurs - breast cancer occurs when abnormal cells grow out of control in one or both breasts. These cancer cells can spread to nearby tissues and form a mass called a tumor. The cells can spread within the breast, to nearby lymph nodes and other tissues, and to other parts of the body.*
“We are lucky that breast cancer is, for the most part, very treatable,” said Cara Guilfoyle, MD, FACS, Breast Surgeon and Medical Director for CommonSpirit Medical Group –Specialty Care in Utah.
Dr. Guilfoyle stresses the importance of getting yearly 3D mammograms beginning at 40 years old, “mammograms can find breast cancer on an average about five years earlier than you can feel it.” You do not need your physician to write you a prescription or complete
an order form for you to have a screening mammogram - you can self-request to make an appointment for your annual mammogram.
“It is important to stay current with your breast cancer screening because finding breast cancer at an early stage allows more treatment options and a better opportunity for long-term survival,” said Dr. Guilfoyle. “Early detection allows for much less aggressive treatment (for example, omitting chemo and/or radiation).”
Women with a strong family history of breast cancer should talk to their doctor about genetic testing and risk assessments as some high-risk women can start breast imaging earlier.
While it is important to know your family history and risk… Dr. Guilfoyle shares that family history doesn’t tell us everything. “About 75-85% of women (three out of four) diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history or known risk factors.”
So, what should you look out for when doing self-assessments? Dr. Guilfoyle says that you should “never ignore a new lump!” Other possible indicators for cancers can include:
•New skin dimpling
•Skin changes
•Nipple retraction
•Nipple rash
•Nipple discharge
•Lump under the armpit
“At Holy Cross Hospital - Jordan Valley, we have state of the art equipment, including breast MRI, 3D mammogram, SAVI scout for localizations and a soon-to-come Trident for intraoperative specimen imaging,” said Dr. Guilfoyle. “Our multidisciplinary team presents each breast cancer patient to a tumor board and allows for a collaborative academic discussion to formulate the most appropriate personalized treatment plan.”
We strive to exemplify all five of CommonSpirit’s core values of compassion, inclusion, integrity, excellence and collaboration when treating each and every one of our patients.
If you are interested in seeing Dr. Guilfoyle at Holy Cross Hospital – Jordan Valley or Holy Cross Hospital – Mountain Point, you may call 385-345-3555 to make an appointment.
“I love being in a field that allows me to make a huge impact on patients’ lives,” said Dr. Guilfoyle. “I try to exude optimism and empower women to tap into the strength they need to face their challenge, and to reinforce that they are not alone!”
Learn more about the services, care providers and missiondriven work of the Holy Cross hospitals and CommonSpirit Health at www.holycrossutah.org.
When things go wrong,
At CommonSpirit Health, we make the healing presence of God known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable, while we advance social justice for all.
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emergency responders we could contact.
“When we are called into action, we have only a few hours to prepare to get on the road,” Flygare said. “It’s tough to say goodbye to your family. But my wife has been through this before. Our 40 Task Force members on the initial deployment drove nonstop, except for gas and food, about 37 hours to reach Knoxville, Tennessee. We stayed two nights in a hotel there as they gathered information about where we should be deployed.”
In this first UT-TF1 deployment of 2024, the team hauled some 80,000 pounds of life-saving equipment. After their pause in Knoxville, Utah team members went further east – to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains – where their accommodations were not as comfortable.
“We convoyed from Utah with two 53foot semitrucks filled with equipment, four passenger travel vans, two Suburbans and three pickups,” Murphy said. “The trucks were towing two emergency response boats and a side-by-side. From Knoxville we went on to Bristol, Tennessee. We set up tents and established our base of operations at the Bristol Motor Speedway.”
The next day, Oct. 2, UT-TF1 members drove 40 miles south to the population 6,083 community of Erwin, Tennessee. Surrounded by a national forest – and visible from the famed Appalachian Trail – Erwin is the Unicoi County seat, and home to Unicoi County Hospital. Just days before the team’s arrival, 54 people – including 11 patients – had been airlifted from the hospital’s roof after the first floor filled with water.
“Our first task when we reached Erwin was to check all of the hospital rooms to make sure no one had been left behind,” Flygare said. “The first floor had flooded 15 feet deep just a couple of days earlier. The doors were all locked or warped. We had to use sledgehammers to breach 20 to 30 doors throughout the hospital. Thankfully no one was inside. Next,
we searched a nearby gas station and a 4-story hotel. Again, luckily, we didn’t locate any victims.”
The Utah team worked in Erwin six days, Oct. 2 to 7. They did not have to perform any rescues. Team members located one deceased hurricane victim.
“Most of the residential area in Erwin was spared; but there was so much damage in their business area,” Murphy said. “Caskets were unearthed in a graveyard… there were dead animals and thick mud everywhere…entire trees washed into the hospital… debris was strewn as far as you could see. My primary mission was to keep everyone talking. We had to build a radio network.”
“This was akin to a warzone,” Flygare said. “Fires were sparking in the debris as we arrived. Local firefighters who had been there earlier witnessed victims floating away. It was just heartbreaking to see how devastated that little town was. It will take them years to dig out and rebuild.”
Weather experts say it is extremely rare, but not unprecedented, for two major hurri-
canes to strike roughly the exact same area in less than two weeks. By Oct. 7, it was clear that was about to occur in this region, as second punch Milton was bearing down on the western Florida coastline.
“We broke camp at the motor speedway and returned to Knoxville for one night, as they again tried to determine where we should deploy next,” Murphy explained. “From there we shifted south into Georgia. Another 37 members of our Utah Task Force 1 team flew into Atlanta and joined us.”
With 77 UT-TF1 members now in the area, the team set up cots and spent the night inside a Valdosta, Georgia conference center, just a few miles from the Florida state line. This was the night of Oct. 9 – the same evening Hurricane Milton made landfall.
“That morning after Milton hit, our team was driving deeper into Florida,” Flygare said. “But thank goodness, the state was not hit as hard as was expected. They also have strong state resources in Florida for hurricane response. When we arrived in Ocala (80 miles north of Orlando) they held us there. Eventual-
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ly FEMA decided they did not need our team. So, we were not actually deployed for Hurricane Milton response.”
Instead, the 40 UT-TF1 team members who had driven the emergency response equipment out from Utah flew back home. The 37 team members who had just flown to Georgia drove the equipment back, arriving Oct. 15. Murphy and Flygare agree, one of the most positive things about their deployment was everyone returning to Utah in good shape.
“None of our team members was hurt,” Murphy said. “We were the only task force nationwide that did not sustain any injuries. Seven 80-person FEMA teams were deployed for Hurricane Helene and 13 teams for Milton. There were also 45-person teams deployed… 15-person teams… lots of K9 teams and their handlers. And we were the only ones to return completely uninjured.”
“That was a real point of pride for us,” Flygare added. “There are a total of 28 federal Task Force teams nationwide, and all 28 were deployed in some manner to the hurricanes. Some type of injury was sustained on 27 of the 28 teams. We were proud to return in good shape.”
As it turned out, Utah Task Force 1 members were not in a position to directly save any lives during their deployment. That was a far cry from what they’d done during a similar natural disaster response seven years earlier.
“When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in August 2017, our Utah Task Force 1 team responded,” Flygare said. “Our team was credited with 300 human rescues over three days. We weren’t involved in that kind of immediate response this time. But I am still glad we were able to help those people get through such a horrible, difficult time a bit quicker.”
With barely a minute to catch their breath following the Helene/Milton deployment, Flygare and Murphy were quickly back at their “Clark Kent jobs,” serving Taylorsville residents out of the city’s two UFA fire stations. l
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Utah Task Force 1 members witnessed incredible devastation among the homes and businesses near the Nolichucky River in Tennessee last month when they responded to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. (Photo courtesy Sean Murphy)
Mariachi Fuego de Utah interacts with Jefferson Jr. High’s mariachi students
By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com
As music classes shrink in schools across the state, teachers are searching for ways to get students interested in new programs. Sam Noyce, music instructor at Jefferson Jr. High School (5850 S. 5600 West) in Kearns may have found a way to build his program by offering a mariachi beginning ensemble, Mariachi las Águilas de Jefferson.
In October, Mariachi Fuego de Utah, a local group consisting of youth in Salt Lake and Davis County, performed at the school and worked with the JJHS mariachi
students following the presentation. Marx Huancas directs Mariachi Fuego, a band he founded to teach his daughter, Connie, about her heritage and its music. Huancas spoke with the students during the workshop.
“One of the main reasons we started was to inspire more kids, like you, and teachers, like them, and any people who are involved so we can have a new tool to help kids,” he said. “I know there is orchestra and choir, but now we have the funnest thing to have, mariachi. I’m glad you like
it, I’m glad you’re here and I’m so overwhelmed with feelings.”
Mariachi music emerged from Mexico more than 200 years ago, but is popular throughout surrounding countries. A traditional band usually consists of a vihuela, guitarrón, trumpets, violins and acoustic guitars.
Connie, 17, attends Northern Utah Academy of Math Engineering and Science in Davis County. She loves bringing her native music to schools and events throughout the state, helping to educate people about mariachi.
“I just fell in love with it,” she said. “I used to play the violin but then I transferred to the vihuela and I love it. I think mariachi offers a broader perspective and it’s just a pretty thing. There’s so much variety in the genre.”
Noemi Hernandez-Balcazar, Granite School District’s fine arts specialist, said interest in mariachi programs is growing. With the diversity in the district, creating programs that speak to a heritage and culture is a way to bring connection to all students.
She said not only is mariachi music easier for students to learn, but it’s familiar to many kids, especially those with a Lati-
no background.
“I think they feel inspired and they feel excited and, more than anything, they feel familiarity because it’s music they have grown up with that they don’t get to hear at school,” Hernandez-Balcazar said. “If we can bring in music that they identify with and that their families enjoy, they will feel more confident that they can actually play it and learn it.”
During the interactive workshop with the mariachi students from Mariachi las Águilas de Jefferson, Huancas touched on the technical aspects of music, including timing and tempo. Musicians from the group worked with students, giving them advice and encouragement.
For information about bringing Mariachi Fuego de Utah to your school or event, call 801-654-9139.
“You don’t have to be Mexican to enjoy mariachi,” Hernandez-Balcazar said. “Music brings us together and builds community. So we are hoping that we continue to get support to strengthen our music programs through all kinds of music, not only mariachi. You find the joy that music brings to everybody, not only the people that grew up with that specific music.” l
Mariachi Fuego de Utah performs at Jefferson Jr. High in Kearns to celebrate Mexican folk music and educate mariachi students at the school. (Peri Kinder/City Journals)
Jefferson Jr. High music educator Sam Noyce (left) invited Mariachi Fuego de Utah to perform for his students and hold a workshop in mariachi music technique. (Peri Kinder/City Journals)
New Taylorsville deaf center director knows the facility well after frequenting it decades ago
While most people who eventually develop hearing challenges do so much later in life, it’s just the opposite for a very small handful. Experts report only about one or two newborns out of every 1000 are born deaf or close to it.
But deafness can be hereditary – passed from generation to generation. New Utah Division of Services of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Director Lance Pickett knows that all too well.
“I was born deaf, as was my sister,” Pickett begins, communicating through an American Sign Language interpreter. “My mother and her father are deaf. My mom also has a deaf brother, my uncle. And two of his children are deaf. Thankfully, none of my three children is deaf.”
Pickett was named director of the Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (5709 S. 1500 West) this summer. His first day on the job was Aug. 5. He says accepting the position feels like “coming home.”
“I was born and raised in Utah and was living in Mapleton when I was a teenager,” he explained. “I feel like I was raised, in part, by the Sanderson Center. I had a group of deaf friends and our parents carpooled us up here all the time when I was 13, 14, 15. We came to the center to watch captioned movies… to attend various skill development workshops… even for dances.”
After becoming acquainted with the Sanderson Center intimately during those formative years, Pickett moved on to graduate from Springville High School in 1997. From there he moved on to attend school at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a private, federally-chartered school for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Gallaudet, by the way, was founded in 1864, after Congress and President Abraham Lincoln pledged governmental support. But Pickett was only there one year.
“I liked Gallaudet very much; but it didn’t offer the major I wanted,” he explained. “So, I moved back to Utah County and enrolled at Utah Valley University. I got married along the way – and finally earned my degree in Multimedia Communications Technology in 2006.”
A couple of years before graduating, Pickett was already working for the company where he would spend more than 20 years: Sorenson Communication.
“While I was at UVU I attended a presentation from Sorenson where they demonstrated the video phones they had invented,” Pickett said. “I loved the product and went to work for them in 2003 as a video phone installer. In just three months I shifted to full time, even though I still had a few more years left to complete my college degree.”
By Carl Fauver | c.fauver@mycityjournals.com
Video phones revolutionized how deaf people communicate by phone. When someone with the device makes or receives a call, they are connected by computer screen to an ASL interpreter. The technology is available 24 hours per day, every day of the year. The ASL expert listens to the hearing caller and signs it to the hearing-impaired party. Then they speak the responses back to the hearing caller, after they are signed to them by the deaf party.
“It is wonderful technology and I was glad to be with Sorenson for more than 20 years,” Pickett added. “After working in technical support for a few years, I became director of the department. In 2015 I was promoted to vice president of marketing; and in 2022 I was named Chief Relationship Officer.”
However, not long after that final promotion, Sorenson was acquired by another company and some corporate shuffling began. Pickett decided it was time for a career change.
“There had been an interim director here at the Sanderson Center and I applied for the position,” he said. “It took me about three months to finally decide it was a good fit. It felt a little like coming home, after all the time I had spent here as a teen.”
One of the key roles the Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing plays is to state certify people who use, or “speak,” ASL. In fact, state certification is required for anyone who wants to work in Utah as a paid ASL interpreter. The Sanderson Center, in fact, is the only place in Utah where those certification tests are offered.
“We certify about 40 ASL interpreters annually,” Pickett said. “There are current-
ly 445 certified ASL interpreters throughout Utah – and about 18,000 nationwide.”
Utah Interpreting Program Manager Jes Nelson-Julander coordinates the certification program at the Sanderson Center. Like Pickett, she says her return to the Taylorsville site was a kind of homecoming. The first time she worked there, three decades ago, was about the same time Pickett was regularly visiting as a teen.
“I started at the Sanderson Center as a young interpreter in 1994 and worked here for four or five years,” she explained. “Then I moved on to other jobs, before returning in my current role on Oct. 31, 2022.”
Nelson-Julander says she “thought about” wearing a Halloween costume for that first day back – but eventually thought better of it.
“I don’t have a hearing impairment myself,” she said. “I first became interested in learning ASL when I was in my early 20s and a roommate became deaf. I got interested then – and it eventually became a career. Anytime you can add knowledge about other people, it’s always a good thing. That includes any new language, including ASL.”
According to a recent World Health Organization report, “nearly 2.5 billion people worldwide – about 1 in 4 people – will be living with some degree of hearing loss by 2050. At least 700 million of these people will require access to ear and hearing care and other rehabilitation services unless action is taken.”
You can learn much more about all of the program offerings at the Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at the Utah Division of Services of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Facebook page or on the Utah Association of the Deaf website (uad.org). l
Lance Pickett began his job as director of Taylorsville’s Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing three months ago – some 30 years after he had frequented the site as a teen. (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
Not to be confused with the Olympics or Paralympics, this piece of art inside the Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing commemorates a multi-sport competition you’ve likely not heard of before: the Deaflympics. (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
The Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing was built in 1992 and expanded in 2001. It is one of the largest state-funded facilities of its kind in the nation. (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
Three years in, Taylorsville’s Centennial Plaza is the resounding hit city officials hoped it would be
By Carl Fauver | c.fauver@mycityjournals.com
It’s just not often the phrase “a dream come true” is actually… well… “true.”
But now that the curtain has fallen on a third successful summer season of “Starry Nights @ the Plaza,” there seems to be universal agreement among Taylorsville City officials, their $3 million investment to create Centennial Plaza is paying off perhaps more than even the biggest optimists had expected.
“Centennial Plaza has absolutely been a hit – beyond what I imagined,” City Administrator John “JT” Taylor said. “There are very few places in the valley you can visit to enjoy the kind of peaceful ambiance we have here. It’s incredible. I just don’t know of a more beautiful public place in the valley.”
Mayor Kristie Overson agrees.
“Starry Nights @ the Plaza continues to grow and has been such a hit,” she said. “But the other thing I love just as much about Centennial Plaza is glancing out my office window in the middle of a weekday, and seeing people walk through. A mom pushing a stroller… a couple holding hands… maybe a jogger. We had the vision of what we wanted this to be for a long time. Now, to watch it become that, is very exciting.”
All this talk may sound a bit like hyperbole – unless you happened to visit Taylorsville City Hall one single time in the nearly 20 years it was in place before Centennial Plaza was born. Most would have likely described it as a barren, weed-covered, grasshopper-infested, tumbleweed-catching eyesore. Over the years, many city officials have told stories about how developers offered to purchase parts or all of the vacant acreage.
But except for the small corner of land at the 5400 S. 2700 West intersection – now home to the St. Mark’s Taylorsville (health) Clinic – city council members held firm to their acreage.
That ‘don’t sell determination’ eventually allowed the city to convince Salt Lake County to make use of a large portion of the land to construct its $45 million Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center. If you were following the news at the time, you know that was the first domino to fall in what led to Centennial Plaza becoming what it is today.
Three years ago, in October 2021, city officials cut the ribbon on the brand-new Centennial Plaza. During her remarks that night, Overson also introduced something new in conjunction with it: the Plaza +ART program. That night, six pieces of art were unveiled. Since then, the number of art pieces in Centennial Plaza has grown to 19.
The following summer, “Starry Nights @ the Plaza” was introduced. The weekly event includes live music, outdoor movies,
food trucks and various single night activities like “Night Out Against Crime” and the “Children’s Entrepreneurial Market.” Like the number of art pieces on display, “Starry Nights” has grown.
“This year we had a record 20 Starry Nights @ the Plaza evenings, from early May through the end of September,” Overson said. “The number of people coming has grown each year. But it’s still not overcrowded. The food truck vendors seem happy. We’ve had no trouble getting them to return each year. It’s become a great gathering event.”
With the 2024 Starry Night season now over, the next big event coming to Centennial Plaza will be the Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 2. The Taylorsville High School madrigals are scheduled to perform, with free hot chocolate and cookies also available.
Perhaps the most startling thing about the successful growth of activities at Centennial Plaza is just how inexpensive it is.
“Our entire budget for all of the activities we host on the plaza – all the live music performances… all the outdoor movies… even the cookies and drinks provided once in a while – is about $25 to $30,000,” Taylor
said. “Plus, we have been able to secure a lot of (Salt Lake County) grant funding to help cover much of that cost.”
A fourth season of Starry Nights will return on Friday evenings next May. However, Overson reports, it’s still not clear whether a second weekly activity, unveiled for the first time this summer, will also be back.
“Our Tuesday night farmers’ market attendance was a bit up and down this year,” she said. “We’ve not yet been able to talk with the market sponsors to determine whether they will return next season. I hope they will. I think they will. It takes a little time to introduce something new and have it catch on. Let’s just say, we definitely want them back next year. So now it’s up to them.”
A couple of other new things on Centennial Plaza this season have had nothing to do with entertainment – and everything to do with maintenance. The nearly two acres of open lawn has been serviced by a pair of autonomous lawn mowers.
“The best way to think of the mowers is, they are like Roomba vacuum cleaners, but for cutting grass,” Taylor said. “A Taylorsville resident who sells them convinced
us to try them out. We have two here at city hall and another at the Taylorsville Cemetery. The city council has not yet officially decided whether they like them – or whether more will be purchased. But, so far, the mowers seem to be getting the job done.”
Lifelong city resident – and 1994 Taylorsville High School graduate – Eric Behunin is the businessman who convinced the city to give the autonomous mowers a try this year. He is the founder and owner of a couple of businesses related to landscape design and maintenance.
“Autonomous mowers are definitely the future,” he said. “Five years from now, you won’t see very much manual mowing. Europe is a few years ahead of us on this –and last year, 80% of the mowers sold over there were autonomous.”
Behunin says the nearly silent electric mowers go back and forth to their recharging stations as needed, and cost only about $5 per month to charge. Their tiny cutting blades automatically turn off if the mower is tipped by a child or pet. If someone tries to steal one, a built-in GPS tracking system makes them easy to locate.
“The autonomous mower being used at the cemetery ended up in the canal,” Behunin said. “We aren’t sure whether it went in on its own or someone threw it in. But it floated for several hours; we found it, recharged it, and it ran fine. Even the manufacturers didn’t realize they float. So, that turned out to be a nice discovery.”
Behunin hopes to eventually sell more autonomous mowers to the city to maintain Taylorsville parks. But, like the future of Centennial Plaza Tuesday farmers’ markets, that decision has not yet been made.
For now, it’s on to a much quieter season on the grass and sidewalks outside city hall. But, now three years in, Taylorsville officials remain firmly convinced, the nearly 20 years it took to do something with their open acreage has led to its best possible use. l
Three years after its ribbon cutting, the spacious and manicured Centennial Plaza continues to draw hundreds of visitors outside Taylorsville City Hall, week after week. (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
It may seem like ages ago now, but this is how Centennial Plaza looked, just about the time we were learning the word “coronavirus.” (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
The Centennial Plaza lawn outside Taylorsville City Hall has looked much like a golf putting green this year, thanks to this small, quiet, unassuming device. (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
Thanksgiving is more than just a holiday; it’s an opportunity to cultivate a deep sense of gratitude in our lives. The question many often wrestle with is what does it actually mean to be thankful, especially in the face of challenges. One of the keys to this hurdle is to evaluate happiness and joy. Happiness is often circumstantial and fleeting, dependent on external factors. Joy, however, is a state of being that comes from within, often rooted in faith and a sense of purpose. Focusing on joy rather than fleeting happiness is just the beginning of helping us cultivate a lasting sense of gratitude.
There are certain principles we can embed into our routine that can help us to not take our blessings for granted and rather to be thankful this Thanksgiving.
1. Change our attitudes. Entitlement and discontentment are major obstacles to gratitude. Such attitudes can prevent us from being thankful.
2. Embrace each day as a gift. By focusing on the present and not worrying about future uncertainties, we can find joy in the moment.
Cultivating thankfulness this Thanksgiving
By Holly Curby | hello@hollycurby.com
3. Share our blessings with others. By connecting with others and sharing what we are thankful for, we can spread the spirit of Thanksgiving and inspire others to adopt a grateful mindset.
Although a secular holiday, Thanksgiving is deeply rooted in biblical principles of giving thanks and worship. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln wrote a proclamation where he declared a national day of fasting and thanksgiving. Lincoln’s words remind us that despite our “growth in numbers, wealth, and power…we should not forget the gracious hand
that has blessed us.” This Thanksgiving, let us unlock the spirit of Thanksgiving by choosing joy, contentment, and gratitude as we embrace each day as a gift while sharing our blessings with others. Happy Thanksgiving! For more in-depth on this topic or for related episodes, check out Holly’s Highlights podcast Season 3 Episode 24. Holly’s Highlights podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts such as Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, as well as on www.hollycurby. com. l
Utah’s childcare problem explained in eight steps
By Rebecca Olds | rebecca.o@thecityjournals
AnnaThomas, senior policy analyst for Voices for Utah Children, presented to a group full of women and a handful of men.
The childcare system in Utah, Thomas said during her Oct. 8 presentation at the Hilton Garden Inn, is in need of definite revamping because it affects everyone—families, employers and childcare professionals alike.
“Most families struggle, and when I say most, I mean everybody except most wealthy people,” Thomas said to the audience. “You can be pulling down two really good salaries [and] if you're putting $2,500 out the door for two kids in daycare, that hurts. It still really, really hurts.”
The Center for American Progress reported that 77% of people in Utah live in a child care desert, which was defined as “any census tract with more than 50 children under age 5 that contains either no child care providers or so few options that there are more than three times as many children as licensed child care slots.”
Thomas defined the problem by breaking it down into eight steps, namely:
1. Both parents work, either out of necessity or by choice
2. Children require care during working hours
3. What women used to be able to do for free, now requires compensation
4. Most families struggle to afford childcare
5. Providers try to keep costs down for families
6. Providers struggle to pay their own bills
7. People leave the childcare field, and few people become providers
8. Parents do their best to find whatever works
Thomas noted, the problem lies in the fact that there isn’t enough quality and affordable childcare available in the state.
In more business-oriented terms, she deemed the childcare system in Utah a “market
failure,” where the free market cannot produce the necessary amount of childcare services.
“For every three kids potentially needing childcare in Utah,” Thomas said, “there is one licensed spot.”
With few spots available, the average cost of childcare ranges from $200 to $1,600 monthly per child with 25% of families paying more than $1,500.
Most childcare providers can’t keep up with the expenses of maintaining a well-run facility and quality childcare while keeping costs low for families—leading most providers to lower their prices and close their doors, continuing the cycle of the scarcity of childcare.
Thomas said the lack of childcare is taking women out of the workforce, which is also a correlation that CAP found in 2024. Thomas added that it also is widening the pay gap and hurting children during the most formative years of their lives.
Possible solutions to alleviate the crisis presented by Thomas include flexible work policies such as hours and location, financial support from employers and the state, and employer-provided childcare benefits.
“When we help parents, we do help kids,” Thomas said. “It's one of the few ways that we can help kids directly as community members, is by supporting their parents.” l
A Thanksgiving meal with loved ones and friends. (Photo courtesy of Scott Harding)
Senior Policy Analyst for Voices for Utah Children Anna Thomas deemed the childcare system in Utah a “market failure,” where the free market cannot produce the necessary amount of childcare services. (Jason Sung/Unsplash)
Working in a variety of mediums, artists display their handiwork during the annual Taylorsville Art Show
F or the third straight year, the Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center played host to last month’s Taylorsville Art Show, where some 80 pieces of art were on display – and one more was created on the spot.
Former television art instructor Bob Ross has been deceased nearly 30 years; but his fame lives on through PBS reruns. He was renowned for converting a blank piece of canvas into art over the course of each program episode.
So, the caption on the sign next to Kregg Clemens’ easel made sense – at least to older visitors at this year’s show: “If you like Bob Ross, you will love Bald Ross.”
“I’m actually working a little slower than I normally would, so more of our show visitors can see the process,” Clemens said of his mountain lake painting. “I would normally finish a piece like this in about 90 minutes.”
However, Clemens and his wife Julie spent a lot more time than that, serving as this year’s co-chairs of the Taylorsville Art Show.
“Kregg and I now live in Tooele; but I grew up in Taylorsville and still love the city very much,” Julie Clemens said. “I lived in the same neighborhood as (Taylorsville Arts Council Chairwoman) Susan Holman. When she needed help coordinating the art show last year, we said we would help. It was way more terrifying last year. It’s been smoother this time.”
Julie Clemens describes herself as a “theater person,” and has performed in Taylorsville Arts Council productions, including “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” a couple of years ago. That required a lot of back and forth driving from Tooele for rehearsals.
Most of the show’s art is produced by Taylorsville residents, although entries are welcome from anywhere.
“We had a great variety of art from all over northern
By Carl Fauver | c.fauver@mycityjournals.com
events to the public,” she said. “This is our second year sponsoring this show. The county has helped provide signage and social media marketing. I feel so fortunate to work with Susan Holman. She is such a delight. Her commitment is wonderful. I am so moved by the creativity showcased in this art show.”
Utah,” Julie Clemens said. “Holy cow – there are some crazy talented artists in our area. It is amazing to see what people create. I love seeing other people’s talent.”
Susan Holman has been involved with the Taylorsville Arts Council about 20 years. After serving as council cochair for a couple of years, she became the sole chairwoman in June 2023.
“I’m so grateful Julie and Kregg agreed to co-chair the art show,” Holman said. “We also received a lot of assistance from the Taylorsville Youth Council and Salt Lake County. I’m always very impressed with the wide variety of art we get in the show – created by people of all ages.”
Salt Lake County’s involvement in the Taylorsville Art Show came through Art in Public Places Manager Kate Ithurralde.
“My department is under the county’s Community Engagement Team and we are focused on bringing free art
Among the entries in last month’s show was one that had to be left in place. Camille Grimshaw, a high school art instructor, spent about 3 hours creating a sidewalk art piece just outside the MVPAC. Her piece earned a first-place ribbon. But without a jackhammer handy, she had to leave the show without it.
Grimshaw also had ties to another pair of winners. Her daughter Erin earned the People’s Choice award for her piece entitled “Butterflies.” And Bingham High School junior Taylor Hollist – who receives private art instruction from Grimshaw – won this year’s Mayor’s Choice award.
When Taylorsville Mayor Kristie Overson announced Taylor’s “Motion of the Ocean” piece as the winner, she also asked the 16-year-old to explain what type of art it is.
“This art is called quilling,” Hollist explained. “Small strips of colored paper are rolled and shaped to create it.”
Many other people also earned plaques and ribbons during the 2024 Taylorsville Art Show. And one lucky attendee won a raffle, earning the prize created on the spot by Kregg Clemens (aka Bald Ross). l
Bingham High School student Taylor Hollist earned the “Mayor’s Choice” award at the 2024 Taylorsville Art Show. (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
High school art teacher Camille Grimshaw earned first place in the chalk art division at the 2024 Taylorsville Art Show. (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
Taylorsville Art Show co-chair Kregg Clemens completed this painting in just two hours during the event. The piece was then awarded to a raffle winner at the show. (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
Erin Grimshaw earned the People’s Choice award during the 2024 Taylorsville Art Show. (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
Organizers of this year’s Taylorsville Art Show included (L-R) Arts Council Chairwoman Susan Holman, event co-chairs Julie & Kregg Clemens and Salt Lake County Art in Public Places Manager Kate Ithurralde. (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
Wednesday, November 13th 7:15am-3:00pm Utah Cultural Celebration Center
Presenting Sponsor
2024 STRENGTH OF THE WEST CHAMBERWEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
KEYNOTE PRESENTERS
OPENING KEYNOTE
America: Where Do We Go From Here?
Boyd Matheson
Host of KSL NewsRadio’s Inside Sources and KSL-TV’s Sunday Edition
Economic Frontier: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead
CONFERENCE FEATURES
• 6 Breakout SessionTopics
• Exhibitor Tables • Networking
• Continental Breakfast & Lunch
LEGISLATIVE PANEL
PLAY GOLF
Breast cancer survivor retreats offer support, resilience and hope
Breast cancer survivors often struggle with challenges beyond the physical aspect of the condition and treatment. Anxiety, depression, body-image issues and cognitive changes can cause emotional and psychological challenges.
Image Reborn offers breast cancer survivors the opportunity to gather with other women going through similar issues by holding free renewal retreats. The program is a chance for survivors to talk about their experiences and offer support to other women.
“We’re actually in our 26th year,” said Bobbi Lord, Image Reborn executive director. “We have weekend retreats that are a place for women to focus on their feelings. The best part is to see that connection as these women come together. They instantly know what the other one’s going through without having to vocalize it, which I think is very powerful.”
Retreats are held in private homes with a small number of attendees (usually less than 10 women) who are pampered and nurtured during a two-night stay. A chef provides healthy meals while women can take part in yoga, massage therapy, group counseling sessions and a grief circle. A medical provider attends part of the retreat to talk with women and answer questions.
Several health aspects are included in each retreat including mindfulness, physical activity and tools for handling emotional distress. Because medical bills quickly add up during a cancer diagnosis and treatment, women can attend the renewal retreat at no cost.
“The only requirement to attend is that they have breast cancer,” Lord said. “The retreats themselves are completely free. We do ask for a small $100 deposit to save their space, and then it’s returned after the retreat.”
Cinthya was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022. She attended a retreat earlier this year after her radiologist gave her a pamphlet about the program.
“It was a way for us to have a break from everything and celebrate the end of treatment,” she said. “It was a great experience. I met a lot of ladies, and I learned a lot about their experiences. After that, I started volunteering for them because I felt I wanted to give back to the organization.”
Each retreat is facilitated by professionals experienced in addressing the concerns of women with breast cancer. Renewal retreats are held several times a year and have expanded to include events in Florida, Texas and Colorado. Women are invited to attend at any time during their cancer experience but most sign up two or three years post-diagnosis.
Image Reborn also holds events for
By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com
women with specific needs including young survivors, women with stage 4 cancer and Spanish-speaking women.
The organization provides ongoing wellness activities for survivors including virtual grief-tending, restorative yoga, virtual hypnotherapy and a sex conference. Additionally, adventure retreats during the year focus on mental and emotional health but include a challenging component.
“Last year we partnered with the National Ability Center, and we did canoeing at Flaming Gorge,” Lord said. “We also did one down in Southern Utah that was canyoneering.”
Volunteers are always needed at Image Reborn. They might help at an event, pick up
women from the airport or donate their home as a retreat location. Financial support can be provided through monetary donations, fundraising or by linking the Image Reborn Foundation to a Smith’s Rewards card.
Image Reborn held its annual gala at the beginning of November and was expecting to bring in more than $300,000 in donations. The money is used to provide free retreats, offer travel scholarships for those coming from out-of-town and fund ongoing wellness programs. For more information, visit ImageRebornFoundation.org.
“We are trying to grow across the nation,” Lord said. “We have wait lists and our goal is to make this available for everyone.” l
At Image Reborn renewal retreats, breast cancer survivors can access mental and emotional support while creating new friendships. (Photos courtesy of Image Reborn)
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Becoming a special tradition and now for the third year, we will be hosting a Wreaths Across America Day ceremony this next month.
This is such a moving occasion that the Youth Council has been organizing to honor our veterans during the holidays. If you haven’t attended this event or heard about it, I promise you, it will make you cry. It is an emotional, inspiring event that has become the highlight of my holidays, and I am very much looking forward to the day again this year.
The nationwide Wreaths Across America initiative honors veterans across the country, coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as more than 3,400 additional locations in all 50 states, at sea and abroad
In Taylorsville, there will be two parts to the Wreaths Across America ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 14. The first part in City Council Chambers will start promptly at 10 a.m. to coincide with the ceremony at Arlington. The program inside at City Hall features speakers, music and a ag ceremony, and all are invited to attend.
The second portion of the ceremony will take place afterward around 11 a.m. It is outdoors at the Taylorsville City Cemetery, where the wreaths will be laid on all 265 veterans' graves there.
In addition to assistance from the Taylorsville Youth Council, the Taylorsville High School JROTC and the local nonpro t Honor365, community members also are invited to help lay the wreaths. Find more information and details on how to sponsor a wreath on our city website, www.taylorsvilleut.gov (click the Our City and Wreaths Across America tabs). You can also nd an ad on Page 3 of this section with a QR code where you can sponsor a wreath.
As of this writing, we needed sponsors for 46 more wreaths so that one can be placed at each veterans’ grave. If there are extras, they will be carried over to next year, meaning we will require even fewer sponsorships for the 2025 ceremony.
The remembrance wreaths are hand-crafted of all-American balsam and hand-tied with a red velvet bow in Columbia Falls, Maine, and then sent by semi-truck to participating locations. The wreaths are $17 each to sponsor and you can purchase as many wreaths as you would like.
Our goal is to place a fresh wreath on every veteran’s grave at the Taylorsville City Cemetery, and with the wreath, to say each veteran’s name so they are never forgotten.
—Mayor Kristie S. Overson
WHAT’S INSIDE – NOVEMBER 2024
Frequently Called Numbers, Page 2
Council Corner, Page 3
TVPD News, Page 6
Heritage Remembrances, Page 7
Environment, Page 8
Seventeen new sculptures have been installed at Centennial Plaza to make up Plaza +ART’s 2024-25 Art Walk. They join two sculptures on permanent display at the plaza, totaling 19 sculptures in all. The sculptures were unveiled at the end of September, when an artists’ reception also was held. At the unveiling, the artists met with those attending and spoke about the inspiration behind each of the art pieces. You can read those stories on the city’s Plaza +ART page at www.taylorsvilleut.gov. Also, see pictures of each of the sculptures on Page 4 of this section and more about the unveiling event on Page 5.
This year’s display is made up of a variety of stunning sculptures. They include: “Dream” by Byron Ramos, “Thundercloud” by Myles Howell, “With Gravity” by Joshua Toone, “Svelte” by Dan Toone, “Expectant Mother” by Ben Hammond, “Get Your Mind Rolling” by Deveren Farley, “Northwest Totem Pole” by Richard Prazen, “Passage” by Ted Schaal, “Enterprise” by Doug Adams, “Complicated Woman” by Jeannine Young, “The Queen” by Jason Millward, “Orientation” and “Together” by Nate Brimhall, “Baseball Daze” by Dan Hill, “Decay” by Deanna Ho man, and “Maple Seed” and “Germination III” by Nathan Johansen.
Completing this year’s gallery are permanent pieces “Guitar” by Farley and “Sophisticated Lady” by Young.
“I hope you will enjoy these beautiful new sculptures as much as I do,” said Mayor Kristie Overson. “They are simply stunning.”
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EVENTS NOVEMBER 2024
Nov. 5 – All Day
Election Day. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
Nov. 6 & 20 – 6:30 p.m.
City Council Meeting @ City Hall.
Nov. 11 – All Day
Veterans Day (observed). City O ces are closed.
Nov. 12 – 6:30 p.m.
Planning Commission Meeting @ City Hall.
Nov. 21, 22, 23 – 7:30 p.m.
Snoopy! The Musical @ the Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center. Tickets are only $10. Nov. 28 – All Day
Thanksgiving. City O ces are closed Thursday and Friday.
UPCOMING: Dec. 2 – 6:30 p.m.
Tree Lighting Ceremony @ Centennial Plaza. See accompanying ad on this page.
UPCOMING: Dec. 7 – 2 to 4 p.m.
Saturday with Santa @ the Taylorsville-Bennion Heritage Center, 1488 W. 4800 South.
See ad on Page 3 of this section.
UPCOMING: Dec. 14 – 10 a.m.
Wreaths Across America Day @ City Hall and the Taylorsville City Cemetery. This two-part ceremony honoring veterans begins at City Hall, followed by the laying of wreaths around 11 a.m. at the cemetery, 4567 S. Redwood Road.
Find our calendar of events every month on the city’s website, where you can also submit your own events for possible publication. Go to www.taylorsvilleut.gov
Open Hours — Free Admission See the 19 sculptures on display for the 2024-25 Plaza +ART season, in front of City Hall at 2600 W Taylorsville Blvd
“Orientation”
Nate Brimhall “The Queen” Jason Millward
Byron Ramos
“Sophisticated Lady”
Jeannine Young
“Enterprise” Doug Adams
“Get Your Mind Rolling” Deveren Farley
“Thorns, Bees and Rhinos” Nathan Johansen
Myles Howell
Gravity” Joshua Toone
Daniel Toone
Daze” Dan Hill “Decay” Deanna Hoffman
“Guitar”
Deveren Farley
“Complicated Woman” Jeannine Young
“Passage” Ted Schaal
III” Nathan Johansen
Nate Brimhall “Expectant Mother” Ben Hammond “Northwest Totem Pole” Richard Prazen
Taylorsville Art Show Showcases Talent of Local and Area Artists
The 2024 Taylorsville Art Show featured almost 100 entries in four categories, including ne arts, creative arts, needlework and sidewalk chalk art.
The show was sponsored by the Taylorsville Arts Council and Salt Lake County's Art in Public Places, and the artwork was displayed on Oct. 11 and 12 at the Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center. In addition to the ribbons and medals, grand prizes also were awarded in ve categories (below), and a beautiful painting donated and created onsite by Taylorsville artist Kregg Clemons was ra ed o . The winners were:
• Youth Council Award: "After the Rain" by Camille Grimshaw
• Arts Council Award: "Crown Hill Tiles" by Nancy Henderson
• Mayor's Choice: "Motion of the Ocean" by Taylor Holliday
• Salt Lake County's Choice: "We Could All Use a Little Support" by Scott Stanley
• People’s Choice: "Butter ies" by Erin Grimshaw
“A big thank you to the Taylorsville Arts Council and Salt Lake County's Art in Public Places for putting on such a great show,” said Mayor Kristie Overson. “Taylorsville is home to some incredible artists, and their work was both beautiful and brilliant!”
Artists Unveil New Sculptures, Describe Inspiration Behind Them
Each of the 19 sculptures now on display at Centennial Plaza have a story.
Take, for instance, “Germination III” by Nathan Johansen (pictured on Page 1 of this section). "Each germination is a lesson in persistent, patient e ort in nding the way past all hardships to sustaining light,” says the artist in describing the piece. “The intriguing texture on the surface of this sculpture was created from a mixture of actual organic material, decaying leaves, bugs and other objects you might nd underground.
"This material was a xed to the sculpture model and can now be seen in the cast bronze surface, making it an interesting feature for inspection and discovery."
You can read more about Johansen’s sculpture and the inspiration behind the 18 other art pieces on the city’s website, www.taylorsvilleut.gov (click the “Our City” and “Plaza +ART tabs.”
And see all of the new sculptures in person on the plaza, 2600 W. Taylorsville Blvd.
TVPD Victim Advocate Receives Congressional Honor
Check
TVPD Victim Advocate Merari Lopez recently was honored with congressional recognition in a ceremony at the Utah State Capitol. The Hispanic Heritage Congressional Recognition ceremony was hosted by Utah Congressman Burgess Owens’ office, which presented Lopez with a certificate of special congressional recognition for her "outstanding and invaluable service to the community.”
Taylorsville volunteer Elsa Elizondo also was recognized at the Sept. 30 ceremony for her ongoing efforts over years to lead a team of volunteers in picking up trash along Taylorsville freeways and roads. Lopez has led the Police Department’s victim advocate program since TVPD’s inception on July 1, 2021, building it up from startup.
"Merari is truly caring of those she is serving and always goes above and beyond to help anyone in need,“ Chief Cottam said.
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
Congratulations to Det. Jensen, TVPD’s latest Employee of the Month! Prior to joining TVPD, Det. Jensen served as an officer with the West Valley City Police Department. He has nearly 20 years of law enforcement experience and holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
Det. Jensen currently serves as a detective in TVPD’s Directed Enforcement Unit, in addition to being assigned to the Utah Crimes Against Statewide Economy (CASE) unit where he has built partnerships with local retailers to combat organized retail crime. His strategic initiatives, including retail blitz operations, have led to multiple arrests and the recovery of stolen property.
A recent example involved the successful interception of a major theft operation. During the investigation, $5,000 in stolen iPads were recovered, and two suspects were arrested and linked to thefts at nine Target stores across the Wasatch Front. Shortly after, detectives stopped three vehicles connected to a Romanian theft ring selling counterfeit Apple products. Two garbage bags full of fake phones and earbuds, along with $1,300 cash were recovered. Some suspects were agged by the FBI as members of an organized crime group. We are extremely grateful for the hard
work of all the o cers who assisted with this case.
Recently, Det. Jensen also secured the donated use of LiveView Technologies’ (LVT) mobile surveillance cameras, which have been instrumental in preventing crime and identifying suspects within Taylorsville. These cameras have been deployed in retail spaces, parks, neighborhoods, apartment complexes and trailheads. Additionally, he has garnered signi cant community support, including a $5,000 public safety grant from TJX Companies Inc. and other valuable donations from Home Depot. These donations will be used to enhance public safety throughout Taylorsville.
When Det. Jensen is not at work, he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, baseball, sports and trying new restaurants as a “foodie.” Thank you, Det. Jensen, for your service and dedication to law enforcement and for choosing to be a part of Team Taylorsville.
Taylorsville Bennion Heritage REMEMBRANCES
Early Taylorsville Resident Recalls Simple Life Growing Up
This month’s article highlights the life history of George and Colleen Keil.
Longtime resident George Keil recalls some of his earliest memories, growing up in Taylorsville. He describes his life and impressions as a child up to about age ve, as related in his own words:
“Birth Dec. 23, 1924, in Bennion, Utah, on Redwood Road about 5500 South on the westside of the road. The home was built of harder bricks on the outside and adobe bricks on the inside.
“We moved to the old house at 6092 South when I was about 2 years old. I remember when we moved, there were two cedar trees on the northside of the house that were about 10 feet high. A big boxelder tree was cut down. On the eastside of the house were six Lombardy poplars. A path went from the street to the house.
“There were lilacs and roses along the path. Grand Bringhurst had orchards north of the house where I played. My mother, Florence Bringhurst, was born in that house. We went to church in a two-story building. On the main oor were the chapel, restrooms and two classrooms behind it. The cultural hall was downstairs. The chapel was situated on the north driveway of the old chapel.
“We always had chores to do around the house. We brought wood and coal in for the two stoves in the house. At Christmastime, we had a small tree. We put it up in the living room. We got mostly clothes for Christmas, not too many toys. We played on the roller piano. Eleanor used to read the funny papers to us.”
Later in life, George married Colleen. He married Irene Zimmerman Eakins in a second union.
You can learn more about the Keils, their family and the histories of many other Taylorsville residents at the Taylorsville-Bennion Heritage Center, 1488 W. 4800 South. Drop on by!
Don’t Miss These Library Events
The Taylorsville Library has planned several programs during the month of November. You’ll want to mark your calendar for these events:
TEEN ROBOTS 101 AFTER HOURS — Taylorsville Gives Back — Nov. 1-30. November is a time to be thankful and give back to our community. For Giving Month, complete service challenges using the Goosechase app and earn points for a chance to win a gift basket. Pick up more info at the library.
PICTURE BOOK CHALLENGE — Nov. 1-30. Stop by the library to pick up their challenge for National Picture Book Month. Complete the reading challenge during November and enter a prize drawing.
DISGUISE A TURKEY ACTIVITY — Friday, Nov. 1 to Monday, Nov. 25. Thanksgiving is coming up soon, but a certain someone isn't happy. Pick up a turkey template to disguise. Return your artwork to display in the library by Nov. 25. Pick up your artwork by Dec. 6.
TEENS: ROCK WALL — Thursday, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m. Meet at the library at 7:15 p.m. Learn the best climbing strategies as you climb the County Parks and Rec's Rock Wall. You must wear closed-toe shoes. Registration required. Space is limited.
TOYS AND GAMES SWAP — Friday, Nov. 15, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Save your items from the land ll by sharing with others. Drop your clean, complete toys, games, and/or puzzles o at the Taylorsville Branch beginning on Monday, Oct. 28. Receive a VIP access ticket when you drop items o for early entry into the Swap on Friday, Nov. 15. VIP access begins at 10:30 a.m. (for those who have donated). Doors open to the public at 11:30 a.m.
SENIOR HEALTH CLASS: Exercise and the Bone-Muscle Connection — Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2 p.m. Learn how the simple act of exercise can build bone and muscle mass all while ghting osteoporosis and Type 2 Diabetes. Presented by Salt Lake County Aging & Adult Services.
VIRTUAL LECTURE | Becoming Baba Yaga: Trickster, Feminist, and Witch of the Woods — Monday, Nov. 18, 7 p.m. Register at: thecountylibrary.org/LectureSeries. Explore Baba Yaga's mysterious world, from Slavic witch to modern monster, as author Kirs Spisak uncovers secrets in these timeless stories.
DISCOVERY FRIDAY | Mazes and Puzzles — Friday, Nov. 22, 4 p.m. Explore patterns and stretch your brain with all sorts of puzzles and mazes, from basic jigsaw puzzles and Sudoku to math games and marble mazes.
TAYLORSVILLE SENIOR CENTER
4743 S. Plymouth View Drive November Activities
DRUMS ALIVE! CLASS: Every Wednesday at 2 p.m.
CHAIR AEROBICS: Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9 a.m.
YOGA: Every Tuesday at 1 p.m.
BINGO: Every Monday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 10 a.m.
ANNUAL COLLECTION DAY
NOVEMBER UPDATES
Proposed Fee Increase for 2025
WFWRD will be in need of a fee increase as part of the 2025 budget to sustain service levels for its communities. WFWRD’s Board has been reviewing scenarios that include $5.50, $6.50 per month, and incremental increases over two to three years. WFWRD’s team works hard and will continue to work to absorb increased costs through improved e ciencies.
WFWRD has, however, experienced higher costs and has drawn down its fund balance due to costs associated with truck shop maintenance rates, labor rates for its CDL drivers, land ll fees, recycling processing fees and truck purchase prices to replace its aging trucks.
WFWRD’s Board was scheduled to tentatively adopt the tentative 2025 budget on Monday, Oct. 28 at 9 a.m. They will hold a public hearing on Monday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. to allow public comment on the tentative 2025 budget. All Board meetings are held at WFWRD’s o ces located at 604 W. 6960 South in Midvale on the main oor of the Salt Lake County Public Works Administration building. Online attendance is also available. Meeting agendas and other information can be found at wasatchfrontwaste.org.
Pam Roberts, General Manager, is available for questions and can be reached by phone, 385-468-6342, or via email at proberts@wasatchfrontwaste.org.
House Bill 107 – Recyling Reporting & Transparency
In response to HB107 requiring political subdivisions to publish information about the collection of recyclable materials, WFWRD is happy to announce “District Statistics” on its website under the “About” tab; then click “Curbside Recycling Tons by Municipality.”
This also easily allows residents to see recycling tonnages for their own communities. One graph through the second quarter totals 9,388 tons districtwide.
District Diversion
As Utah’s population grows and consumer habits evolve, Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling is here to champion a greener future for our community. One way it measures e orts is by diversion rate. What are diversion rates? Simply put, they measure how much waste the community is keeping out of land lls by recycling and composting.
WFWRD is thrilled to share that its goal for 2024 is 18%, and it’s now at an exciting 18.47%! This is a fantastic leap from 17.73% in 2023, and it’s all thanks to your e orts. By continuing to recycle and compost correctly, we can increase diversion rates and decrease contamination rates in e orts to ensure a sustainable future.
Following are the tonnages by program and diversion rate for our community: Curbside Waste: 14,142, Curbside Green: 729, Diamond Tree: 62.1, Recycle: 2,134, Glass: 73, Trees: 2.0, Diversion Rate: 17%
Thank you for your continued support and dedication to making our community a cleaner, greener place!
America Recyles Day
Join WFWRD on Friday, Nov. 15 to celebrate America Recycles Day! The day is focused on education and encouraging individuals on how to be more mindful of what they consume, where and how to properly recycle, and to pledge to recycle more and recycle right in their everyday lives.
TBID Recognized Nationally for ‘Best Water’
As we celebrate Thanksgiving this November, Taylorsville-Bennion Improvement District (TBID) expresses its gratitude for the opportunity to provide safe, reliable and accessible water and sewer services to our community.
We were reminded of this good fortune at the recent American Waterworks Conference, where Taylorsville-Bennion Improvement District was honored to receive two prestigious awards: Best Groundwater and Best Overall Water. TBID would like to extend its appreciation to its dedicated employees for their commitment to delivering the highest quality water possible.
Water conservation is essential for protecting this vital resource for future generations. As you consider your own water conservation strategies, TBID encourages you to adopt the following simple practices:
• Properly shut down your sprinkler system for the season. Ensure the stop and waste valve is closed and free from leaks. A leak as small as 1/32 inch — approximately the size of a pencil lead — can result in a loss of 6,000 gallons per month.
• Adjust the water level in your washing machine to match size of your load.
• When purchasing a new washing machine, compare water savings among Energy Star models, which can save up to 20 gallons of water per load.
• Limit water usage while brushing your teeth By conserving water today, we contribute to a sustainable future for generations to come. Thank you for your continued support in water conservation.
If you have any questions, please contact Taylorsville-Bennion Improvement District by calling 801-968-9081 or visiting www.tbid.org. Follow TBID on Facebook and X.
Free Stanley Tumbler
COMPASSIONATE FUNERAL PLANNERS
During one of life’s most difficult moments, you deserve the utmost respect, kindness, care, and guidance. Seven generations of Larkins have been devoted to serving Utah families in their time of need, and that unique experience enables us to guide you in preparing services for your loved one with consideration and respect.
Warriors finish with best regular season in football in seven years
Taylorsville football is making a comeback.
The Warriors went 4-6 this regular season, winning as many games as it had the previous four years combined. Taylorsville finished fourth in Region 4 with a 2-3 mark. Though Taylorsville still has plenty of room to grow and improvements to make, this season showed promise.
One negative was the Warriors’ ending to the year, which featured three losses to end the regular season. Taylorsville fell at Granger 61-27 on Oct. 4, to Hunter 42-14 on Oct. 10 and at West Jordan (the region champions) 31-10 on Oct. 18. The Warriors scored region victories over Cyprus, 27-20 on Sept. 27, and over Kearns, 40-13 on Sept. 20.
On Oct. 25, Taylorsville played at West, out of Region 6, in the first round of the state tournament. The game took place after our press deadline. The Warriors were aiming for their first postseason win since defeating Davis in the Class 5A first round 28-27 in 2016.
No single player is responsible for the team’s turnaround. However, the offensive MVP was arguably senior quarterback Cole Kramer. He threw for 1,555 yards and 13 touchdowns during the regular season. He
By Josh McFadden
also completed 61.6% of his passes and threw only four interceptions. Kramer also paced the Warriors in rushing, totaling 594 yards and nine touchdowns on 152 carries.
Kobe Allen was Kramer’s top target. Allen, a 6-foot-2-inch senior, grabbed 45 passes for 476 yards and four touchdowns.
Senior Karsan Kirkman had 28 catches for a team-best 488 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged an impressive 17.4 yards per catch. Junior Taz Bawden was another reliable receiver. He had 19 catches for 165 yards and a score. Brighton Wilde and Blaze Workman, a pair of seniors had two touchdown receptions apiece. Wilde averaged nearly 20 yards on his six catches.
Bawden was also second on the team with 120 yards rushing (on 39 carries). Masi Filipe added 17 carries for 119 yards and a TD.
Taylorsville’s defense had some highs and lows this season, but the unit improved from last season. Filipe was the top tackler, making 75 stops while adding three sacks. Senior Jacob Lee topped all Warriors with six sacks, and he contributed 26 tackles too. Senior Holden Cottle made 43 tackles, while junior Francisco Vargas had 48 tackles and a pair of sacks. Allen wasn’t just the top receiver, but he also paced the team with three
interceptions. Workman intercepted a pass too.
Like any high school football team, Taylorsville suffers some graduation losses this school year, so head coach Chris Rosales will have some key players to replace in 2025. The Warriors do bring back some experienced players who keep getting better in Rosales’ system. Rosales will also look to the junior varsity team and newcomers to bolster the team’s roster next season.
The Warriors will next participate in offseason conditioning, and some players will stay active by playing other sports. Summer workouts start next July in preparation for the 2025 season, which starts in mid-August. l
Cole Kramer led Taylorsville in passing yardage and rushing yardage this season. He guided the team to a 4-6 regular-season mark. (Photo courtesy of Chris Rosales.)
you know about this Salt Lake County service?
Did you finish a fall or summer project, but now your garage is lined with old paint containers, bags of pesticides, fertilizers, fuels, batteries, or other leftover household products? Salt Lake County wants to help you properly dispose of hazardous waste before you dispose of it in garbage cans, dumpsters, landfills, or the sewer or storm drains.
Paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, smoke detectors, and pesticides contain potentially hazardous ingredients that require special handling when disposed of. Improper disposal causes significant problems in our landfills and the environment and can also result in criminal penalties and fines.
Salt Lake County opened a drive-up Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center free for county residents at 8805 South 700 West in Sandy. The center is open Monday through Saturday, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It also has dumpsters for glass and cardboard recycling.
What can I take to the HHW Collection Center?
• Automotive batteries and fluids (oil and antifreeze)
Corral, 665 East 7200 South,
• Fuels
• Paints, stains, and varnishes
• Pesticides, herbicides, and other yard
chemicals
• Many cleaning supplies
• Cooking oil
• Used oil (up to five gallons per visit)
• Aerosols
• Electronics
• Fluorescent bulbs
• Devices that contain mercury
• Batteries such as lithium, NiMH, NiCd (NOTE: AA, AAA, C, D batteries are not considered hazardous)
• Televisions/monitors
• Computers and peripherals
• Cell phones
Can Businesses use the HHW Center?
Business waste and waste from residents of other counties is accepted for a fee.
Business waste is accepted by appointment only by calling 385-468-4380.
Re-Use Shed
Many of the products taken to the HHW are still useable—sometimes even brand new. These items are placed in the Reuse Shed and are available to take home at no cost to Salt Lake County residents (no businesses, please).
The Household Hazardous Waste Cen-
ter is just one of many excellent services Salt Lake County offers. Be sure to take advantage of this amazing resource. This is just another example of your county working for you!
Suffering from Depression, Anxiety, or OCD?
Preparing Thanksgiving dinner never gets easier. I always start with lofty culinary goals based on recipes from “The Pioneer Woman” that include truffles and capers but end up scraping scorched gravy into a dish and hoping the turkey won’t give anyone food poisoning.
Because of my poor cooking skills, I’m always looking for Thanksgiving hacks to make meal preparation more sunshine and less hurricane. I thought I’d share some tips I found to survive the food frenzy that is Thanksgiving.
Ask for help. Stop being a martyr. Don’t complain about having to do everything and then refuse any help. Give out assignments and not like “Can you bring one can of olives?” or “I need someone to pick up some napkins.” No. Ask someone to bring mashed potatoes or all the desserts or even the turkey. You don’t get a blue ribbon for Thanksgiving suffering.
Don’t make foods no one eats. Stop wasting time preparing “traditional” foods, even if it’s a recipe handed down from your quadruple-great grandmother. Especially if it’s handed down from your quadruple-great grandmother because there weren’t a lot of food options in the 1800s besides lima beans and fried hominy.
Use a mandoline to slice vegetables.
Hacking Thanksgiving
Peri Kinder Life and Laughter
Not to be confused with a stringed instrument from the 19th century, the mandoline slices onions, celery and carrots quickly and easily. The guest who finds the tip of my index finger in the stuffing wins a prize!
Make only one batch of dinner rolls. Homemade rolls are always a hit but now you can use them as leverage. Your grandson wants a second, hot-buttered roll? He’d better start washing dishes. Bonus hack: Purchase pre-made bakery rolls. You won’t get docked Thanksgiving points. I promise.
Thaw the turkey in water. Not only will this leave you with a bucket full of disgusting waste water but then you can spill it all over the kitchen floor on Thanksgiving morning. Maybe don’t even cook a turkey. There are no Thanksgiving laws. Have chicken wings or spaghetti bolognese.
Spatchcock the turkey. If you insist
on roasted turkey, watch a three-hour video explaining how to spatchcock the bird, which involves removing the turkey’s backbone so it lies flat and cooks quickly. (Sidenote: Who spatchcocked Utah’s governor and legislators?)
One tip said, “Use tongs to stem kale” and none of those words make sense together.
Use a Thermos to keep gravy warm. Gravy is notoriously dreadful when served cold. Trust me, I know. Grab your sisterin-law’s gallon-sized Stanley cup to ensure there’s hot gravy for the mashed potatoes.
Use pre-made pie shells. People think pies need to be made from scratch to get that flakey, buttery crust. Baloney. Unless you’re a professional pie baker, do yourself a favor and buy frozen pie crusts. Right now. Even better, get delicious pies from the grocery store.
Celebrate Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. There’s nothing worse than working three days and trying to fit in Thanksgiving preparation. On Friday, it can be a celebratory meal after everyone’s done shopping online.
Create a fun playlist. Before Uncle Jim can cue up the Jan. 6 prisoners’ chorus singing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” have a variety of tunes ready to go. Include ev-
erything from Bach to ZZ Top, to equally irritate every family member. Give yourself a break. I’ve overcooked turkey, burned gravy, made inedible broccoli-cornbread stuffing, forgot the cranberry sauce, dropped a pumpkin pie and used Tupperware lids when I ran out of dinner plates. No one cares. If you’re being judged for the way Thanksgiving dinner turns out, it’s time to find a new family.
