GRANITE SCHOOL DISTRICT WORKS ON IMPLEMENTING THE SCHOOL SECURITY ACT
By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com
Whenthe Utah State Legislature passed HB61 during the 2023 legislative session, the bill was intended to protect against school threats. The School Security Act went into effect in May 2023 and requires every school in Utah to have an armed guard on-site during school hours.
While there’s no deadline to have armed guards in place at this time, every district must submit a school safety needs assessment by the end of this year that includes guideline policies, site security plans and personnel information.
Matt Pennington was appointed Director of State Security in January 2024 in response to HB61. Pennington has a background in law enforcement, serving in Weber County and South Jordan before accepting his current position.
“Because [schools are] on a clock, we’ve said that if they used something last year that was accepted by the School Safety Center, we would accept that again this year,” he said. “Then the plan would be, moving forward, we will create our own assessment for Utah and by this time next year we will have that tool out.”
Granite School District is one of the biggest districts in the state. With more than 61,000 students, 5,000 educators and support staff, and nearly 90 schools, the District is working with the Utah State Board of Education and the Security Task Force to finalize its compliance plan.
“There have been multiple discussions with the school board, with our chief of police and emergency management department, to try and figure out what will be best for Granite and our schools,”
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New legislation requires armed guards at every school in Utah. Granite School District is creating its compliance plan with the School Security Act. (Stock photo)
Recognizing Signs and Symptoms of Stroke from Holy Cross Hospital – Jordan Valley Stroke Team
By Dr. Rebecca Reiser
e know how important it is for patients and their families to find a hospital and a care team that you can trust - especially when emergencies, like stroke, happen. That’s why our team at CommonSpirit Holy Cross Hospital – Jordan Valley is so incredibly proud to be a certified primary stroke center with thrombectomy capability. Recently, our stroke care team was recognized by the American Heart Association and received their Get with the Guidelines Gold Plus Award with Stroke Honor Roll and Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll. This award means our facility met or exceeded the national recommendations for stroke care for our patients and it highlights our hard-working, talented stroke care team for providing excellent patient stroke care! To start, we work closely with our EMS partners to help them recognize patient stroke symptoms while they are out in the field. They are trained to let us know when they are on their way to our hospital so we can be ready for stroke patients before they even arrive. Our team is then able to evaluate each patient quickly and thoroughly to determine the best course of treatment. We have medications to help break up blood clots in the brain and a team of highly
trained vascular neurosurgeons who can remove a blood clot from the brain, also known as a thrombectomy. An important note - Holy Cross Hospital - Jordan Valley is the only hospital on the west side of the valley that has the capability of performing these state-of-the-art thrombectomies!
So, what are the signs and symptoms of stroke that you should be aware of? The easiest way to remember what to look out for is through the acronym, BEFAST:
● Balance changes
● Eye or vision changes
● Facial droop
● Arm weakness
● Speech difficulty
● Time
reduces disability among stroke survivors by 4%! That’s because about 2 million brain cells die every minute during a stroke until blood flow is restored. It is important that if you see someone showing the signs or symptoms of stroke outlined above, call for help immediately.
When you or your loved ones come to Holy Cross Hospital – Jordan Valley for stroke care, you can expect state-of-theart stroke treatment and compassionate, healing care fueled by humankindness. From the teams in the ER to the stroke care teams to the physical, occupational and speech therapists that help care for patients throughout their rehab journey, and to the neurologists that assist in care decisions from the start, you are in good hands at Holy Cross Hospital – Jordan Valley!
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.
It is important to recognize the above signs and symptoms because time matters! Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, but it is the leading cause of long-term disability. Studies show that every 15 minutes saved when a patient is experiencing stroke symptoms,
Learn more about the services, care providers and mission-driven work of the Holy Cross hospitals and CommonSpirit Health at www.holycrossutah.org.
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Dr. Rebecca Reiser Neurologist and Stroke Director CommonSpirit Holy Cross Hospital
3 Utah markers to remember early U.S. history
In Utah, the first day of September is the start of “Constitution Month” and a celebration of freedom.
At the state capital, the month is kicked off even before the first, on Aug. 29 with a public celebration. Constitution Day falls during the month on Sept. 17. There are monuments and relics in the state to remember those who fought for independence and were a part of the early years of the country. Here are three Utah monuments that celebrate independence to visit this Constitution Month:
1. Liberty Bell replica at the Utah State Capitol
In 1950, the United States Department of the Treasury gave each state a replica of the Liberty Bell, famous for its significance in symbolizing freedom and independence throughout the country’s history.
Utah’s replica of the bell can be found on the first floor of the Utah State Capitol building.
2. Daughters of the American Revolution Drinking Fountain Monument
Currently residing in the northeast corner of Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, this drinking foun-
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said GSD Spokesperson Andrea Stringham. “We’re going to be in compliance with whatever the State tells us to do. We’re kind of already doing this.”
GSD is unique in that it operates the Granite Police Department and posts student resource officers in each high school. It also partners with allied agencies to have officers in junior high schools and a rotation of officers in elementary schools.
Stringham said the biggest impact will be the cost of implementing the program. While the school guardian position is voluntary, she said the estimated cost between payroll, training
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For information about distribution please email hello@thecityjournals.com or call our offices. Rack locations are also available on our website. The views and opinions expressed in display advertisements do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions held by Loyal Perch Media or the City Journals. This publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of the owner. © 2019 Loyal Perch Media, Inc.
By Rebecca Olds | rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com
tain was installed much after the American Revolution in November 1905, per the Daughters of the American Revolution. It no longer functions as a water fountain but rather sits in a flower bed, surrounded by a short wall.
The Spirit of Liberty Chapter of the DAR dedicated this as the first monument of the organization in the state. The fountain was presented to the state with the hope that it would be a reminder of the lives lost and serve as a reminder of the efforts to gain the freedom the U.S. has today.
3. Escalante Monument
A year after the start of the Revolutionary War in 1776, Father Silvestre Valez de Escalante and a group came to the Utah Valley while trying to find a route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Monterey, California. Escalante was the first “white man to look upon this valley,” reads the monument, per the DAR.
Escalante Monument, dedicated in 1922 and placed by the Spirit Liberty Chapter of the DAR, is located in the northeast corner of the Spanish Fork City Park to commemorate the event. l
and equipment could be as high as $10 million dollars a year. Lawmakers have allocated a onetime $500 stipend per guardian.
Pennington said the Guardian Program is one of the most misunderstood concepts of the legislation. Districts can choose from three different scenarios when it comes to providing armed guards at schools.
First, districts can hire guards to be onsite during school hours. Second, districts can partner with a police agency for school resource officers or have someone from their own police department serve as a guardian. Third, districts can train a current school employee, who has been approved by the State Security Office. School teachers and principals cannot be as-
signed as Guardians due to their responsibilities in the case of a school emergency.
“Ultimately, it’s not about the money because there’s no amount of money to pay them that’s going to compensate them for risking their life,” Pennington said. “So the stipends can help purchase additional equipment or an upgrade to their firearm or training or a thank you for their willingness to do this…That’s a big misconception, that we’re hiring people for $500. That’s not true.”
The legislation is based on similar laws in Texas and Florida, which were put in place after deadly school shootings. Pennington hopes the School Security Act can stave off potential tragedies in
Utah schools.
“Our state is the first state to pass this comprehensive school safety bill without having an incident first,” Pennington said. “Our hope is that continues.”
In the meantime, GSD officials are deciding the best plan to implement the new law while continuing to fund education for thousands of students.
“We don’t have a firm plan yet,” Stringham said. “We’re in a lot of discussions and we’re looking at a lot of different options. Once we get the final guidance, then we’ll be able to say, this is exactly what we’re going to do and this is the exact cost. Right now, it’s all up in the air and we have to wait and see.” l
Bryan Scott | bryan.s@thecityjournals.com EDITOR
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Greg Tanner | greg.t@valuepagesutah.com
WEST VALLEY TEAM
By Tom Haraldsen | t.haraldsen@mycityjournals.com
When a business closes its doors, its memories sometime live on for many years. And apparently in a few locations on the westside of the Salt Lake Valley, so does its signage.
Case in point: these signs from three businesses that have closed and, in two cases, seen their buildings razed.
Motorists driving along Bangerter Highway near 4700 South in West Valley can see the sign for Riverton Music still standing proudly in the area between the old highway and the newer road that’s been added as a part of the UDOT changes at that intersection. That interchange is being rebuilt with an overpass for Bangerter that will run underneath 4700 South. The project is expected to be finished next summer.
UDOT officials seemed unclear about when and how that sign would be taken down, but seemed confident it would be removed before the new interchange is completed.
Riverton Music closed its doors at that location in January 2002. The building housed a couple of other businesses briefly before it was torn down last year.
The K-Mart in Taylorsville, located west of Bangerter at 5400 South, closed in January 2011, part of a nationwide closure of all its stores. The building sat unoccupied for over 12 years and was eventually razed in March of last year to make room for a new mixed-use project called Volta. The coming development will feature 647 residential units, swimming pools, a clubhouse, retail space and other amenities. The K-Mart sign has continued to stand at the site.
Further west on 5400 South, a store called Andi’s Market occupied a space in the Kearns Center west of 4000 West. The store operated for about five years but was closed last December. The space has remained unoccupied, but the market’s sign remains on the corner of 4000 West and 5400 South.
A check through sign ordinances in and around the Salt Lake Valley show they don’t prescribe any specific penalty or requirement for businesses to remove signs once they’ve closed. For one thing, in all three of these cases, the signs weren’t attached to the storefronts, meaning they may have sat on properties of private owners and not the store owners or operators. So the signs remain until there’s a need to take them down.
No earth-shattering news here, just something kind of quirky. The cliché in businesses used to be that “if you hang out your sign, the public will flock to your doors.” Well the customers may have stopped flocking, even though your sign remains. l
Longtime staff member to lead Granite School District
By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
Thereare 86,400 seconds in one day. But somehow, Ben Horsley can fit more into a single day than most people.
That was before he was appointed Granite School District superintendent on July 9. He replaced former Supt. Rich Nye who was named senior education adviser in Gov. Spencer Cox’s administration.
Horsley has worked 15 years with Granite District, including becoming the first chief of staff, serving to Nye the past three years. Previously, he worked under two other superintendents as the District’s director of communications and community outreach; he was responsible for media relations, marketing and community engagement.
Horsley was one of the top candidates in the nationwide superintendent search three years ago. The school board decided to forego a new search to name him to the position.
“In all sincerity, I wasn’t expecting this,” he said shortly after the appointment. “I expected Dr. Nye would be around several years more. I was honored to serve as his chief of staff and learn; he is an amazing educator. The (school) board came to me and expressed they felt that one person who could carry forth the vision Dr. Nye outlined and build on the foundation he had laid was me. They (school board members) asked if I would be willing to do that. After some consideration and conversations back and forth, I agreed. This wasn’t what I was looking for when I came to Granite School District, but I’m happy to be here. I love kids and what we do here.”
He plans to carry forth Granite’s strategic plan.
“Until he (Nye) came in, we had no formal plan or direction. We had initiatives and we had state accountability. We had several things we were trying to jump through, but there was no overarching vision that had been outlined since 2012 when the previous strategic plan was put into place. It was overdue,” Horsley said. “Dr. Nye and I built it and now we need feedback from our teachers and our administrators who are implementing this plan to ensure we’re moving in the right direction in providing quality instruction and improving student outcomes. Every child deserves an opportunity to have a quality education. We have a great foundation, and I’d like to keep that going.”
Granger High Principal Tyler Howe is excited about the direction Granite is heading.
“It’s been student-centered, trying to meet the individual needs of students and Ben is able to carry that shared vision forward,” he said. “He knows Granite. A comment he made in the meeting last week was, ‘I was here for that discussion 15 years ago; I remember how that started.’ There’s some power in having a superintendent who knows the district.”
can make a world of difference. That’s why I’m going to go out and be in our schools for much of my time each day. I’m going to listen to what people have to say.”
Besides, he said, “As chief of staff, a lot of my time entailed spending it in the classroom and oftentimes reading to kids or doing other activities; that’s the reward of the job so I would not want to miss out on that.”
He believes having those relationships and knowing what is needed in schools, along with his extensive knowledge of the District, will position him to be influential on capitol hill.
“I am the one who has to understand all the intricacies of their responsibilities and the impacts of the decisions we make at the District and at the state level on them so I can go appropriately advocate for them,” he said. “The relationships I have in place up there (in the Utah legislature) and the understanding of the process puts me in a distinct advantage in being able to advocate for our students.”
He said “most legislators are working toward the same goal most educators are and that is improving outcomes for kids.”
Howe remembers when he was a new principal and Horsley, then communications director, helped him set up a Twitter account for the school when the platform was launched.
“Ben has been a support to principals all these years. I’ve been in meetings with him and he’s able to prioritize everything to be in a lot of places at once. He has a lot on his plate yet he’s able to manage everything,” he said.
Howe said not only can Horsley manage to do a 48-hour job in 24 hours, but he’s someone he can trust and feels he’s on his level at the same time.
“Ben comes to this position not just as a communications director or someone in the superintendent’s cabinet, but also as a parent who is present for his five kids and cares for all kids,” Howe said.
In true Horsley fashion, he didn’t wait until his term began to work on his goals. Three days before he officially became superintendent, he had met with most of the District’s 120 administrators and principals, getting to know each of them personally, not just talking “shop.”
“I’ve worked with many of them, but I haven’t always talked about them, their families, their vacations, their dogs’ names,” he said. “I’m about relationships. I love to get to know people and understand how they work. This develops our relationships and bonds us in our common goal in providing quality education for our students.”
The Viewmont High graduate who performed in some school plays and ran cross
country also shares about himself.
Horsley is willing to take a pie in the face or do whatever to motivate students’ learning, but he draws the line at jumping out of a plane as he’s “tremendously afraid of heights.”
He loves barbecue and peaches; Abraham Lincoln is one of his favorite historical figures; and he would love to go see U2 in concert.
“When I was in high school, ‘Joshua Tree’ was my very first cassette tape” that Horsley paid for from mowing lawns. “It’s one of my all-time favorite albums,” and said if there was a superintendent playlist, U2 would be included. He also regularly walks his terrier-pug mix, Pablo.
During Horsley’s first 100 days as superintendent, his aim is to improve the culture Districtwide.
“We’ve been working on a few initiatives in how we support our schools,” he said. “Oftentimes, there’s a top-down mentality and we need to collaborate better with our schools.”
Horsley also is seeking a chief of staff who will serve as a key instructional leader for the District.
“The position will change from what I was doing to fill the needs I have,” he said. “At that point, we will have a strong foundation so the next 90 days are about what kind of house do we want to build and what color is it going to be? A lot of that has to do with improving our professional learning communities, giving adequate supports to our administrators and other small things that
His recent conversations focus on student attendance as some skip school and parents can excuse students from school for any reason.
“Chronic absenteeism has grown since the (COVID-19) pandemic. So, how do we honor and respect parental rights, but at the same time, also address parental responsibilities? Part of that has to do with how we address this huge gap in attendance,” he said, saying lawmakers are working with educators to find an answer.
When retired principal Terri Roylance learned about Horsley’s appointment, she knew, “The District is in good hands. As superintendent, he has the opportunity to influence on an even bigger stage. Ben has been right there alongside several superintendents. He knows people. He knows education. He knows the legislature. He knows the District. He can relate to all levels of employees and all levels of kids.”
She remembers Horsley helping make plans from when her school’s baseball team won the state championship on graduation day to tweaking something she’s wrote since “he’s an amazing wordsmith.”
Through her years being an elementary, junior high and high school principal, Horsley, in his calm demeanor, was “right there, answering questions. I’ve called him late at night when I’ve been concerned about something, and he answers his phone or texts an answer immediately. He must live with his phone under his pillow. He’s always been very responsive.”
Horsley intends to communicate with patrons and taxpayers alike.
“I hope those who pay the bill feel they can reach out and know we’re listening,”
Granite School District’s new superintendent, Ben Horsley, standing near a painting of his hero, Abraham Lincoln, is ready to take on the challenge of providing a quality education for 58,000 students. (Julie Slama/ City Journals)
he said. “People know I’m good at listening, and they can share questions, concerns and suggestions. That skill set will serve me well advocating for our board’s vision, but at the same time, building collaboration, not just within our District, but within the entire community.”
He said those strong relationships and partnerships will be key in collaborating to support District families.
“Schools have traditionally been community centers, but with school choice, that has become more disparate and challenging. We need to make sure people know their schools are still the center of their communities and they’re a welcome place to come together and support each other,” he said. “At the same time, schools can’t do it alone. We have the highest amount of diversity and many of our students live in poverty. We need to continue engaging with community partners to provide necessary supports to our students and families. We have strong relationships with our city partners, who are supporting and providing resources to those families who are experiencing change, maybe they’re refugees, in poverty, multi-language learners right here within our communities.”
Granite has about 58,000 students. A report five years ago predicted the school district would level out at 55,000 students large-
ly in part to declining birth rates, so Horsley anticipates another dip of 3,000 students even though about “2,000 new multi-language learners come through our doors every year, with about 200 every year who need intensive support to learn the language.”
Horsley said not everyone is aware of the career and technical programs Granite offers, such as its successful CEO program, now in its third year. Through a partnership between the school and the local business community, about 20 students each year gain real-world experience each week by meeting with business owners, tour local companies, and are paired with industry leaders as mentors to learn entrepreneurial skills.
“High school looks different today than it did when I graduated in 1995,” he said. “We have 55-plus career pathways available to students. That includes certifications, undergrad work in a variety of diverse fields from robotics to biomanufacturing. We need to continue to expand those opportunities for our kids.”
GTI program facilitator Erin Paulsen said Horsley was helpful with the creation of the CEO program.
“Ben is a real go-getter,” she said. “He ensures the best results for students and gives them access to opportunities. He gives the time to help students become successful even
with his other administrative duties. He truly cares about the students and their education.”
Horsley said it’s important to identify students’ passions.
“Some students don’t engage in the same way in a traditional experience. So, we say, ‘Let’s help you meet the state requirements for graduation and at the same time, get you a skill and find you something you are interested in,’” he said.
Horsley knows an ongoing challenge with shrinking population means closing schools within the District. Recently, three elementary schools were closed on the east side and realizes when a study along the 31st South corridor on the west side concludes in December, more school closures likely will be recommended.
“We have lost a lot of students because of a variety of factors including loss to charter schools. It’s time to bring those families back into our schools where they’ll be provided and supported with a myriad of individualized educational options and supports for their families,” he said.
That doesn’t include the agreement between Cottonwood High and AMES, Horsley added.
“That’s a great partnership,” he said. “AMES students use a portion of the facility at Cottonwood and that gives our students
access to some of their coursework and their students benefit from Cottonwood’s elective offerings. It’s a unique hybrid. In the same vein, we created (Neil) Armstrong Academy, and we would look at more opportunities like this that provide students with individualized experiences.”
Parent Bruce Walton first met Horsley who was communicating school activities when his oldest son attended Neil Armstrong Academy.
“Ben is a knowledgeable man, who is a great resource for the entire District,” Walton said. “I was at a District-level meeting about the book selection process required by the state legislature. He was clear and concise and provided an understanding of how the District was implementing the process. He was fully versed about the issue. He knows the law, the issues, the people and our District.”
Cottonwood High teacher Adam Wilkins agrees.
“I don’t know anyone in the District who knows the nuts and bolts of the District better than Ben Horsley,” Wilkins said. “He lives and breathes Granite District and always has its best intention in mind. I’m optimistic about the future of our District with him leading the way.” l
UTA breaks ground for Midvalley Express bus service
By Tom Haraldsen | t.haraldsen@mycityjournals.com
Within the next two years, a fleet of 10 all-electric buses will help connect westside communities to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray and Salt Lake Community College
At a ceremony on Aug. 28, the Utah Transit Authority began construction of the Midvalley Express, to be known as MVX. The seven-mile bus route will connect West Valley City, Taylorsville and Murray with dedicated service along routes that have signal prioritization. Those routes will also connect with Frontrunner and TRAX routes to add frequency and accessibility for passengers.
Andrew Gruber, executive director of the Wasatch Front Regional Council, which focuses heavily on transportation issues, said, “If people want to take the bus or the train, we should make that easy for them. They can take Front Runner or TRAX, then connect to the MVX.” He said the use of electric buses with separate lanes and coordination with signals will make travel faster and more efficient.
Construction activities have already begun, with canal bridge construction on 4700 South near Redwood Road completed earlier this year, and utility work along 4700 South continuing this month. More work in the MVX routes will take place over the next two years, with the plan to have the system fully operational by Fall 2026.
“We love our rail system. It works very efficiently, it moves a lot of people when we need it,” said Carlton Christensen, chairman of the UTA Board of Di -
rectors. “Bus rapid transit has the ability to do similar kinds of movement at a much reduced cost. It will be a lot less expensive to build which allows us to build more
transit options within our entire system.” MVX is scheduled to be zero fare for its first five years thanks to a federal grant.
Golf tournament at The Ridge benefits police officers and organization
By Tom Haraldsen | t.haraldsen@mycityjournals.com
Over100 golfers took to the links at The Ridge golf course in West Valley City on Aug. 10 in a benefit scramble for the Fraternal Order of the Police. For the seventh year, the four-person team event was sponsored by the Texas Roadhouse in Taylorsville.
The event raised several thousand dollars for the FOP, a foundation that supports projects and activities to honor law enforcement, foster community involvement and aid officers and their families.
“It’s our annual golf tournament we’ve been doing since 2018,” said Brad Allen, managing partner for the Taylorsville Texas Roadhouse. “It’s a chance for us to get together with community members and give to different charities. The community takes such good care of us at the restaurant that we feel like it’s a good chance for us to give back.”
In the past, the Texas Roadhouse event has raised money for Fisher House at the VA Hospital, the Ronald McDonald House and other local charities. Sponsors this year included Wheeler Construction, General Distributing, all the Texas Roadhouses in the area, as well as The Ridge golf course.
“We had a lot of help from a lot of people,” Allen said. “We do stuff with police departments already. We do a weekly dinner where they can come and pick up a dinner from the restaurant to take to a family in need. That helps them form
better relationships with families around town. So choosing to work with them today was an easy step for us.”
This year there were 29 teams made up of 116 golfers. Allen said the tourney grows each year in numbers. He had just 12 teams the first year.
Kresdon Bennett, a sergeant with the Taylorsville Police Department and Sergeant in Arms for the Taylorsville FOP Lodge 52, expressed his gratitude for the event.
“It’s phenomenal to have that community response,” he said. “To generate money for an organization like ourselves helps fund some of the critical wellness programs for our officers— mental health and physical wellness. It helps support our officers outside of their normal duties.”
He said about 14 of the lodge’s 62 members are golfers.
“We had a great time…good camaraderie,” Bennett said. “We didn’t play all that great but we still had a good time. I’ve been around and worked for Taylorsville City for the past 10 years. We’ve always had a great relationship with Texas Roadhouse. Brad and his staff have been phenomenal for our city, for our lodge, and the police department as a whole. They are super supportive. It’s a great community relationship.” l
HOW DO YOU SAVE A LIFE?
It is not uncommon that individuals witness a choking, a drug overdose, heart attack or some other life-threatening issue.
How many of us know what to do in this kind of situation? Apparently, it doesn’t take a lot of training to help out in many types of emergencies. We reached out to Brenda Hatch with Heart Song Rescue Training to find out more about this important topic. Brenda recently received recognition from the American Red Cross as an “Outstanding Training Provider” and has achieved the status of “Premier Provider”. This was for training more than 2000 people in the last 12 months!
CITY JOURNALS: Hello Brenda and thank you for talking to us. I understand you took the instructor courses through the Red Cross and have been teaching for five years now. Why did you decide to become a CPR Instructor?
BRENDA: Well, that’s a great question. I did not grow up wanting to be a CPR and First Aid Instructor. I’d been a nurse for about 15 years when I had an accident. One night while I was recovering, I walked into my son’s room and found him lying on his bed, blue and lifeless. I knew I was looking at cardiac arrest. I’d seen it and worked through it at work many times but I’ll never forget how different this felt. I provided care for about 8 minutes while we waited for the EMTs. When they arrived, they started a Naloxone IV on him. Naloxone, also referred to as Narcan, is the drug that is used to reverse a drug overdose. My son responded promptly, which confirmed my suspicion that the situation was drug related.
After this incident, I shifted focus and decided to become an advocate for First Aid and CPR. This is my way of battling the opioid epidemic. Back to my son: He’s fine. He is a pleasant and productive man with a wife and 4 children. Because of these events, I have become thankful for the accident that crashed my career. It put me home the night that he overdosed, and in a
position to save his life. I guess, sometimes bad things happen so worse things don’t.
CITY JOURNAL: In your expert opinion, who needs to know CPR and First Aid?
BRENDA: Well, when you recognize the fact that every living, breathing human is at risk for becoming the victim of a life threatening emergency at any given moment, this is something we ALL need to know. People often deceive themselves into thinking that their family and friends are young, healthy people and this will not happen in their world. The truth is, injuries and illnesses can occur anywhere and anytime.
I had a conversation once with a grocery store employee. He noticed my “American Red Cross Instructor” badge and I asked if he was trained in CPR and First Aid. He wasn’t and was worried about having someone slip and fall at the store. Let’s look at the store for a second: The customer that might slip and fall is certainly something to be concerned about since this presents the possibility of serious head injuries and fractures among other things. The baker works with extremely hot and slippery surfaces. The butcher works with very sharp tools such as knives and bone saws. In the deli, you will also find hot surfaces and sharp objects. Any mishap here could throw multiple people into a life-threatening situation.
I, personally, would never want to be in a situation where I stand idly by watching a person die and not know how to help. I would like to believe that everybody feels the same way.
CITY JOURNAL: What have you found to be some of the major reasons people hold back from training up?
BRENDA: Time and money are big hang ups. However, CPR and First Aid training is not terribly expensive or time consuming. We need to consider the worth of a life. The cost of our training is
around $80 and will take about 5-6 hours every 2 years. People often think that they should get some training but put it off for “the time being” because it’s just not in the budget or doesn’t work into their schedule. They rationalize that they will do it later. Then, suddenly, it’s too late and they are experiencing the loss of a loved one due to drowning, an accidental injury or an undiagnosed medical condition.
Physical limitation is also often used as an excuse. They think they can’t get down on the ground because of bad knees, or perhaps they have a bad shoulder or a back injury. For whatever reason, some individuals feel like they just couldn’t physically help. People fail to realize that there is more to do at the scene of a life-threatening emergency than to actually participate in giving CPR or providing First Aid. Someone will need to call 911 while others may get an AED or bandages, handle crowd or traffic control, ensure that the scene is safe, or be the look out for the EMTs. There are a lot of roles that a person who is not capable of providing care can assume in order to promote a favorable outcome. We teach these things in our classes too. Even if I had 2 broken arms, I’d find a way to be helpful. Abraham Lincoln said it like this: “Next to creating a life, the finest thing a man can do is save one.”
If you would like to find out more about CPR and Emergency Rescue Training, you can reach out to the Utah Red Cross or contact Brenda directly at 801-935-5004 or by scanning the link to her website below.
Brad Allen, managing partner of the Texas Roadhouse in Taylorsville, with Sgt. Kresdon Bennett from the Fraternal Order of the Police-Lodge 52 in Taylorsville. (Tom Haraldsen/City Journals)
Remembering state senator and west side advocate Karen Mayne
The last time this reporter spoke to Karen Mayne, the former Utah State Senate Minority Leader who passed away on Aug. 15, we were sitting at a Panda Express in West Valley City. We spoke about her plans to possibly do away with legal notices in Utah newspapers, an effort to save municipalities money for publishing ads that few if anybody read. I told her I disagreed, and that such notices were not only important for the populace, but a much-needed revenue source for the financially-suffering print industry.
We talked calmly and civilly, not just because we were friends, but because that’s the way Mayne always spoke—with empathy and understanding even to those she disagreed with. It was what made her such a successful political leader, educator, and advocate for the west side of the Salt Lake Valley for decades.
Mayne lost her two-plus year battle with brain cancer at the age of 78. She was diagnosed in January 2022 after she’d visited her doctor for a broken shoulder. A year later, she resigned from a Senate seat she’d held for 15 years, with legislators paying a tribute and giving her a standing ovation one month later when she returned to the chamber one last time.
She never planned on being in politics, though she was always by the side of her late husband, Sen. Ed Mayne, who died of cancer in 2007. She took his place in the Senate, and was
By Tom Haraldsen | t.haraldsen@mycityjournals.com
a staunch supporter of labor unions and progressive causes. Between Ed and Karen, they represented west side residents for almost 30 years. She fought hard for improvements on the west side. If you’ve enjoyed the widened roadway on 5600 West where it crosses railroad tracks near 4700 South, you can thank Karen Mayne.
A 2021 video produced by the Utah Senate shows how she and Ed managed their home life while raising two children, and her job as a para-educator, and a member of the American Federation of Teachers union.
“Every Sunday night, we would sit down at the table,” Karen Mayne said. “OK, you’re going to speak here, I’m going to go here, take the kids here.’ So we worked together, and he always told me, ‘You’re a better politician. You should really run.’ I said, ‘No, it’s not my time.’” But that changed when Ed received his terminal diagnosis. He encouraged her to run for his seat, and continued his legacy of fighting for blue collar workers and workplace safety.
“Karen was a friend and mentor to me during my eight years in the Utah Senate,” Republican Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “She was a genuinely compassionate woman who cared deeply about others, faithfully served her constituents and our state, and was one of the best people I’ve ever known.”
“Sen. Karen Mayne was a good friend,”
Stuart Adams, a Layton Republican, and Democrat Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla of Salt Lake City, they said Utah “lost an extraordinary stateswoman and one of our dearest friends. Sen. Karen Mayne was a trailblazer and exceptional leader who showed us how working together, despite political differences, can strengthen our state. Throughout her 15 years as a senator, she has passionately and successfully advocated for impactful improvements for our state. She was one of the most effective legislators and consistently passed the most bills during sessions.”
Republican State Sen. Wayne Harper said.
“She was a tenacious champion for the west side of Salt Lake County and a great advocate for and partner with me on transportation improvements. Her support for her constituents and dedication to workers was unparalleled and respected. I enjoyed serving with her as we tackled key west side and Utah issues. She will be missed.”
She worked to secure money for Salt Lake Community College and to fund technical scholarships. Her support for students at Hunter High, like that of Ed Mayne, was recognized by the school’s football stadium named after them.
In a joint statement from Senate President
In her obituary, her family wrote: “Karen’s passing is a significant loss to the community she served so faithfully. Her contributions to Utah will be remembered with deep gratitude. More than a public servant, Karen was a compassionate leader whose work will continue to inspire future generations.
“Beyond her professional achievements, Karen was a devoted wife and mother, finding her greatest joy in her family—her late husband Ed, son Paul (Jana), daughter Jamie (Trever), and her six grandchildren: Jackson, Maddy, Eli, Kennedy, Dylan and Amelia. Her love for them was unwavering, and she cherished every moment spent together.”
Funeral services for Karen Mayne were held in the Hunter High School auditorium on Aug. 31. l
Utah Sen. Karen Mayne. (Photo courtesy of the Utah Legislature)
Tracy Aviary holds 30 days of river celebrations
By Bailey Chism | bailey.c@thecityjournals.com
South Salt Lake officials have partnered up with the Tracy Aviary to host a couple of events for Get to the River Festival Month.
September is full of river-focused celebrations and conservation activities to bring together communities, businesses and local governments to celebrate, restore and recreate on the Jordan River corridor. Utah's Jordan River, also called Pia Okwai (Shoshone and Goshute language), runs from Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake and flows through 16 different cities.
The festival is planned and promoted by the Jordan River Commission and Jordan River Foundation, but has several partnerships with surrounding cities and organizations.
“The festival celebrates this great river and the many ways people can interact with it today,” said Lora Eschtruth, social media and marketing coordinator at Tracy Aviary. “Each event is different and recognizes the wide variety of ways Pia Okwai can be celebrated.”
The Tracy Aviary has a number of events being held at their Nature Center at Pia Okwai, located at 3310 S. 1000 West in South Salt Lake.
Several cities and organizations are hosting events for the festival month, includ-
ing North Salt Lake, Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, South Jordan, Midvale and more. South Salt Lake is hosting “Something’s Brewing” on Sept. 6 from 6 to 10 p.m. People can come learn about new community projects to support the river while enjoying various brewed beverages, from kombucha to beer. South Salt Lake will also be hosting a tree planting on Sept. 7 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. to help the aviary habitat along the river.
Also on Sept. 7, South Jordan will be hosting a fishing and mini golf activity from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Guests can enjoy learning about the local wildlife and releasing butterflies. People can join the Plein Air Art Competition, fish for free in the South Jordan ponds, and enjoy a free round of mini golf at Mulligans.
To see what other events cities and organizations are holding, a calendar can be found on the Jordan River Commission website, jordanrivercommission.gov/ . l
People have fun doing chalk art along the Jordan River for Get to the River Festival Month 2023. (Photo courtesy of Joseph Dane)
Seasons Chorale takes flight as it prepares for its holiday concert
By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com
Ben Chapman compares conducting a choir to flying a plane. As a licensed pilot, he must interpret all the data coming in from the plane’s instruments while communicating with air control, reading maps and navigating the aircraft to a safe landing.
“Conducting is the same level of intellectual stimulation as flying,” Chapman said. “You have to comprehend everything about the music. You have to understand what’s going on in the brass section, what’s going on in the strings, what’s going on with the choir, what’s going on with the percussion and the woodwinds, and process all of that. You have the sort of mental creation in your mind of what this needs to become, and then you’re coaching this group and guiding this group to make that a reality.”
And just like flying, when the choir and orchestra come together, everything soars.
Chapman took over as conductor of Seasons Chorale, a 150-voice performing group and full orchestra in South Jordan, when the founder and former conductor, Marlene Stanley, stepped down in 2023. She passed the baton to Chapman who is known for conducting “Lamb of God,” the musical portrayal of the final days of Jesus Christ’s life.
Season Chorale is recognized for its Sounds of the Season Christmas concert that will be held at Bingham High School (2160 S. Jordan Parkway) on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The holiday concert benefits local family shelters and the Make-a-Wish organization.
“One of my big tasks earlier this year was to do the programming for the 2024 concert,” Chapman said. “It’s all put together. I’m very, very excited about it. One of the things I love about this community group is we get to perform a whole range of Christmas musical styles. So we’ve got everything from sacred to secular to jazz to gospel and everything in between.”
No auditions are necessary, for those interested in performing with the group, and all are welcome. Rehearsals are held
at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church building at 1540 W. 10400 South on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m.
Additionally, performers in Seasons Chorale have opportunities to explore music through touring and educational workshops. Award-winning composer and conductor Mark Hayes invited the group to participate in a residency in New York City this past spring. The choir also collaborated with the Choral Arts Society for the Days of '47 pops concert and will tour London in the summer of 2025.
“This is a great opportunity to come and sing, but also come and learn,” Chapman said. “One of the things I’m excited about, and hopefully contribute to the community here, is I have a lot of background to help people who want to improve their singing ability. This is a great opportunity to do that because you essentially get free instruction.”
Seasons Chorale, which has been around for about 20 years, is formed under SoJo Choral Arts, an organization dedicated to supporting local music artists. McKell Scanlan serves as SoJo Choral Arts executive director and said groups like Seasons Chorale offer big benefits to the community.
“We found it’s really powerful for people to be a part of the music community and decide where they want to make a difference,” Scanlan said. “The magic of it is really that nobody has to show up because it’s their employer, because it’s their job, because it’s their church calling, none of that. It’s just community and making a difference.”
For information about Seasons Cho-
rale or SoJo Choral Arts, visit sojochoralarts.org.
“Music is its own language,” Scanlan said. “It crosses socio-economic lines. It’s a human connector. It’s a powerful force to bring people together who want to make music, to create music. We always insist that it’s something that we give back to the community.” l
Conductor Ben Chapman will lead Seasons Chorale during its holiday concert in December. Community members are invited to participate in rehearsals and performances. (Photo courtesy SoJo Choral Arts)
Remodeling of flagship Harmons now complete, ‘where it all started’
Standing at the bakery at Harmons Neighborhood Grocer in West Valley City, artisan trainer Jason Lindsay explained how sourdough bread is made fresh daily, which includes keeping the dough overnight in a special refrigerator to allow it to ferment to give it the flavor that makes it sourdough bread. “One loaf of sourdough bread will take 48 hours plus to make,” he explained.
His description of the sourdough bread-making process as well as other breads came as Harmons chairman Bob Harmon led a group on a tour of the newly-renovated flagship Harmons at 3955 W. 3500 South. The store has a fresh new look thanks to a just-completed year-long remodeling project that changed the appearance of the market outside and more importantly inside.
The front exterior features an updated and reconfigured entrance and a drive-thru pharmacy pickup. The new entryway is particularly beneficial, according to Harmon. “It’s a much better entry for the customers, it keeps the weather out, it’s aesthetically beautiful, and it works well for merchandising. We can start with all our fresh items right from the get-go.” That includes ready-to-eat items from an expanded salad bar. “You wouldn’t know this, but it’s like the number one item that we sell every week by item count, which is phenomenal.” Customers
By Darrell Kirby | d.kirby@mycityjournals.com
can take their food with them or chow down at the adjacent seating area for 50 people, which is also new. That looks across to the new floral department, another addition to the renovated store.
Back at the bakery, artisan Micah Tian has been with Harmons for 10 years. “One of the things that I love about working for Harmons is how much product that we still make totally from scratch,” he said. “All of our cookies are scratch made. We use real butter, authentic Madagascar bourbon vanilla and many other ingredients that are produced locally or
“I believe we must stand up and be heard or watch our
constitutionally
protected
rights
disappear. We can't continue to let government take over our lives.”
Fred
Cox for State House District 30
This was why I ran for office originally, and it is still true today.
I Served in the Utah State House in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016.
Come to one of my Town Hall meetings and help me understand the issues that are important to you.
Paid for by Fred C. Cox, Campaign Fund
within Utah.”
And so goes the philosophy of Harmons not only at West Valley City but at all of its 20 stores from Roy to St. George—make it fresh daily, using locally sourced products when possible. “We want to control our food, we want to control the flavor, we want to control the safety, the taste, everything,” Harmon said.
“A lot of people sell products that we have here, but the difference is our people are passionate, they have training, and they’re invested in the product differently, and they care about what they’re delivering,” Harmon said.
That mission was further explained during stops at the deli, meat department, and even the cheese section, which Becca Ledesma manages as a “certified cheese professional.”
A certified cheese professional is a title earned by those who have achieved the “highest level of expertise in the cheese industry,” according to the American Cheese Society, which awards the certification after passing
an exam covering “cheese knowledge and best practices.”
“We used to have a small case, but we expanded—bigger, better, shiny,” Ledesma said. That has enabled her department to carry a wider variety of cheeses from around the world. “We support a lot of local companies as well,” she added.
“This remodel has been a longtime coming and it is one of the best things we’ve seen at our West Valley store,” Ledesma concluded.
The renovation boosted the size of the store to 47,460 square feet, although Harmon admitted it may seem a bit smaller than before because of how the departments, sections and shelving are arranged. Improvements also include more efficient lighting and technologies.
“It’s a beautiful store. We’re just so proud of it,” Harmon said.
He said that West Valley City is undergoing a gradual reinvention of itself as a city as it continues to grow and the revamping of Harmons flagship store in the city goes hand in hand with that transformation. “We really want to be a part of that as well,” he said.
Harmon is part of the fifth generation of his family to run the company. His grandparents, George and Irene Harmon, started it all in 1932 with a little market at 3300 South and Main Street. In 1942, a car crashed into the building causing serious structural damage. So the couple opened a new store called Harmons Market at the site of today’s West Valley store. That original store burned in a fire in 1971. It was rebuilt with various updates and renovations over the years until this latest makeover.
“Welcome to West Valley store number one,” Harmon said. “This is where it all started.” l
A year-long remodel of Harmons in West Valley City includes a new exterior appearance and entrance.
(Darrell Kirby/City Journals)
Bob Harmon is chairman of Harmons Grocery and the fifth generation of family members to operate the chain and its 20 Utah stores. (Darrell Kirby/City Journals)
West Valley City, local company to provide more charging options for electric vehicles
By Darrell Kirby | d.kirby@mycityjournals.com
With hopes of benefiting the city environmentally and economically, West Valley City is teaming up with a company to install fast-charging stations for electric vehicles.
eV Power Exchange was chosen by the city to provide public fast chargers at five locations where electric car drivers will be able to plug in their vehicles. “Fast” means that the chargers can restore 80% of a vehicle’s power in just 40 minutes.
“There will be 26 fast chargers that are owned by the city and managed by eV Power,” said the company’s Chief Revenue Officer Travis Nicolaides. The main station will be built at the Maverik Center and include 10 chargers. Four each will be installed at the West Valley City Family Fitness Center, Utah Cultural Celebration Center, The Ridge Golf Club and Stonebridge Golf Club.
West Valley City requested proposals for EV charging stations some 18 months ago and received nearly a dozen bids.
“It was something the city wanted to get involved in and ultimately the (city) council decided they, too, shared in that goal,” said West Valley City Economic Development Director Jonathan Springmeyer.
Springmeyer hopes the first of the chargers can be installed and ready for use in a matter of months. “We’re moving pretty quickly,” he said. “We’re hoping to have most of them completed by the end of the year.”
Drivers will pull up to the chargers, plug in their cars, swipe or tap a payment card and juice up their vehicles. There will also be an option to reserve a charger ahead of time and pay for its use through a mobile app. Nicolaides said a charge can typically
Electric vehicle charging stations like these will be installed at five West Valley City-owned sites by eV Power Exchange after being selected by the city to provide the service for the growing number of EVs. (Courtesy eV Power Exchange)
range from $5 to $20 or more depending on how much power a vehicle needs.
Costs to install the chargers will depend on where they are located and the proximity of available electrical infrastructure to deliver the power to the chargers. “The average is probably between $80,000 to $100,000 per charger,” Nicolaides said. He added that about half of the city’s outlay for the project will be covered by government grants and incentives, including a grant from Rocky Mountain Power. City officials are seeking additional federal and state funding sources.
“We do believe it will have a positive effect for economic development,” Springmeyer said, noting it is another aspect of
West Valley City that city officials can pitch when people consider the city as a place to visit or do business. And Nicolaides said that the chargers and the vehicles they recharge will help West Valley City improve the area’s air quality, which can be notoriously bad during the winter when inversions trap pollutants close to the valley floor.
Both eV Power Exchange and West Valley City will share in the profits made from the charging stations after expenses, including payments to Rocky Mountain Power for providing the electricity.
Utah ranks 10th in the nation in the adoption rate for plug-in cars among its drivers with 83 electric car registrations per 10,000 residents, according to the most recent figures. California, Hawaii and Washington top the list. Kentucky has the fewest. Tesla vehicles make up the majority of EVs on the road, followed by Chevrolet and Ford. The rest are built by a variety of mostly foreign-based manufacturers.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates there will be 33 million electric vehicles in the U.S. by 2030. Electric car sales are expanding domestically but the pace of growth has slowed this year and some car makers have announced plans to scale back EV production for the time being.
Salt Lake City-based eV Power Exchange currently has 20 other privately-owned fast charging stations from Sandy to Ogden with plans to more than double that around the state for public use by the end of 2024. It hopes to have 100 such stations around the country in the next year or so with the goal of placing them at venues that people visit often.
“We are really trying to address some of the markets that are up and coming,” Nicolaides said. l
“Jake doesn’t play political games, he stands up for all West Valley voices, not just people who agree with him.”
Paid for by Elect Jake Fitisemanu
Utah’s new NHL hockey team will train at Olympic Oval
While the Utah Hockey Club waits for a permanent training facility to be built at the Southtowne Center location in Sandy, the newest National Hockey League team will train at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns this season. It has meant a summer of construction at the Oval, with the NHL team spending several million dollars to remodel the southeast corner of the building and adding changes that will help with preparations for the 2034 Winter Olympics as well.
“The Utah Hockey Club approached us about using the facility as a practice facility going into their inaugural season here,” said Todd Porter, general manager at the Utah Olympic Oval. “So they are building medical space, a weight room area in the corner that will include a locker room, both hot and cold tubs, equipment room, film room, and coaches and athlete lounge. They are also adding some coaches’ offices on the second floor, and then an observation deck above the southeast corner.”
Porter said the changes are extensive, adding that the upgrade of the facility is part of looking into the future for the Oval both before and after the Olympic games.
“Because of our Olympic planning, we had already planned on building out some of these corners for VIP areas for the Olympics,” he said. “So this kind of fit into what we were looking to do, but also satisfying a need that club needed now. We’re hoping that we can use this as a template or a base to build off of when we’re trying to figure out how we’re going to incorporate all of our seating for spectators and VIPs for the Olympics.”
He said NHL players won’t actually be in the Oval until camp starts sometime in September. Utah’s 2024 preseason schedule begins on Sept. 22 versus the St. Louis Blues in Des Moines, Iowa before the team hosts the Los Angeles Kings in its first-ever home game on Sept. 23 at the Delta Center. They will also face the Colorado Avalanche in another preseason game on Oct. 5 at the Maverik Center in West Valley because the Delta Center has a previous commitment booked (a UFC event).
The ice surface itself has already seen some improvements, with a new chiller system and refrigeration areas upgraded.
“The really nice thing is, we have transformed one of our hockey sheets into an NHL sheet, which is important going forward for an Olympics and most international competitions,” Porter said. “We did transfer one of our sheets to an NHL size which is a bit smaller, 15 feet narrower than an Olympic size sheet.”
He said the hockey club will likely train in the mornings and early afternoons, which is not a busy time for the Oval, so public programs and kids programs shouldn’t be affected.
By Tom Haraldsen | t.haraldsen@mycityjournals.com
“During the season, they’re playing their games at the Delta Center, so most of their practices will be at the facility when it’s available,” Porter said. “Out here, as a side note, you may get the occasional visiting team that needs practice ice too. So you never know who might show up at the Oval. Thinking you’re going to have the Chicago Blackhawks or the Edmonton Oilers show up at the Oval, and then you have these su-
perstars that are kind of just hanging out and working by side with not only our Olympic team, but also the public that we have in the building. That’s wild.”
Regarding plans for the 2034 Olympic Games, Porter said a lot of planning is already underway for other parts of the Oval.
“It’s not too early. I mean, it is 10 years away, and we do have a great facility here al-
ready. We host World Cup speed skating and other world class events every year. We’re still the fastest ice on earth with 10 or 11 world records. We know we’re going to add other things, like larger electronic boards, but we’ll see how technology evolves over the next few years. By the time the Games come, we’ll have the most state of the art facility for the Olympics.” l
Construction equipment on the south side of the Oval is being used to build a new locker room, medical space and offices for the NHL club. (Tom Haraldsen/ City Journals)
The ice sheet at the Utah Olympic Oval has been reconfigured to NHL size so the Utah Hockey Club can use it as a training facility. (Tom Haraldsen/City Journals)
Westside CultureFest draws thousands of art lovers, music fans and car enthusiasts
The Utah Arts Alliance and Salt Lake County Arts & Culture division recently took over the Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center next to Taylorsville City Hall for a two-night celebration. The organizations hosted their second annual Westside CultureFest—a free gathering that featured a variety of activities for art lovers of all ages.
The Aug. 9 and 10 event included art, entertainment, cultural performances and a wide variety of food from different food trucks.
Lakota Nation indigenous hip-hop music artist Stella Standingbear—a former Taylorsville High School student—was the featured performer on night one of the event. Then, the second night included a lowrider custom car exhibit.
“Arts & Culture is proud to partner with Utah Arts Alliance to present the Westside CultureFest at (the County-operated) Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center,” said Matt Castillo, division director for Salt Lake County Arts & Culture. “The festival is a cultural fusion of westside artists and performers celebrating their rich heritage through contemporary art forms and performances.”
The festival featured many different performances, an artist marketplace, food trucks, art activities for kids and interactive art for older guests. Organizers say the relatively new event provides “a fun, exciting opportunity to strengthen community bonds and bridge diverse cultures by showcasing emerging, historically-underserved artists to a wide audience.”
“Our mission is to unleash the arts’ transformative power in our community,” stated Utah Arts Alliance Executive Director Derek Dyer. “The Westside CultureFest reflects our vision of a world where the arts flourish and inspire meaningful community connections. Our attendance at the first annual event, a year ago, was about 2,000 people. This year, the numbers are still coming in, but I think it was probably double that.”
And, Dyer adds, there wasn’t a seat to be had when Standingbear took the arts center main stage Friday night.
By Carl Fauver | c.fauver@mycityjournals.com
“I was there, and it looked like standing room only to me,” he added. “Stella was awesome—really amazing— she did such a good job. Afterward, she signed autographs and posed for pictures for two hours, during a meetand-greet. I’m not sure how long ago she attended Taylorsville High, but she told me she’s been performing for about 10 years now.”
Standingbear is a rapidly rising musical performer who enjoyed two historic wins at the 2023 Indigenous Hip-Hop Awards: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist and Music Video of the Year. Her fans say “Stella’s unique blend of melodic alt-rap has captured the hearts of listeners worldwide. Her catalog is a rich tapestry, offering a versatile array of musical experiences.”
Standingbear’s debut single, “Home Runs,” became a TikTok sensation and reached No. 1 on a prestigious indigenous music countdown hosted by SiriusXM. Standingbear has shared the stage with many respected artists like Kirko Bangz, Montana of 300, Futuristic, KYLE and Bizzy Bone. She has also been featured in Teen Vogue, solidifying her presence in
mainstream media.
The Utah Arts Alliance was established in 2003 to boost all different types of artistic endeavors. The nonprofit’s Marketing and Communication Manager is Quinn Winter.
“Westside CultureFest was created a year ago to provide better access and exposure for artistic endeavors on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley,” she said. “This is part of our core value to uplift all artists. We did not specifically require CultureFest artists to be from the westside but we did prioritize them during the selection process. We also focused our event advertising on westside communities like Taylorsville, West Jordan and West Valley City.”
The Utah Arts Alliance also operates radio station KUAA 99.9 FM, which is described on its website as “a low-powered FM community radio station, broadcasting at 99.9 FM and streaming around the world. We pride ourselves on specializing in musical, cultural, linguistic and artistic diversity.”
As the Westside CultureFest continues to grow, the Utah Arts Alliance and Salt Lake County Arts & Culture are already promising a third annual, returning to the Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center next summer. l
Performers from a group called Cirque du Salt Lake were part of the second annual Westside CultureFest. (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
Many different types of art were celebrated during two nights of fun, at the second annual Westside CultureFest. (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
Lakota Nation hip-hop performing artist Stella Standingbear was a headline entertainer during the Westside CultureFest. (Courtesy Stella Standingbear)
An arts and crafts room at the Westside CultureFest gave kids the chance to create something special to take home. (Carl Fauver/City Journals)
Pickleball player paddles her way to all 50 states
By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com
Lorraine
Rupper played pickleball in 33 states in just 19 days this summer to finally complete her goal to play a game of pickleball in all 50 states. The 59-year-old endured bad traffic and parking challenges, heavy rain and flooded roads, excessive heat and closed courts, and long drives and fast food, but said the biggest challenge was finding people to play with.
“I definitely wanted to quit a few times when I couldn't find people to play with,” she said. “I had to wait and wait and wait or decide if I should go to another part of the town or go to another town in the same state to play. In Vermont, I definitely wanted to quit! If home had been an hour away, I would have quit. But being 2,000+ miles away from home, I had to make it work.”
After trying a few pickleball courts in one Vermont town and not finding a game, she drove to another town. When she finally found a group of players there, they had just finished three hours of playing and didn’t want to play one more. She tried at other courts, until eventually, she caught a break while waiting around the high school courts.
“All of a sudden, I saw someone bringing out a pickleball net,” she said. “So I went over there to help put up the net and they're like, ‘Are you Karen?’ I'm like, ‘No, but I can be.’”
Rupper ended up playing with Karen and her group and finally checked Vermont off her list.
Sometimes she was just so happy to finally find someone to play with, she would give away a pair of custom-made earrings from her Etsy shop, Pickleball Love as a
thank-you.
When she had difficulty finding someone to play with in West Virginia, she drove another 60 miles to try her luck at another court.
“I felt like a stalker, waiting for people to show up, and nobody's showing up, and nobody's showing up,” she said.
Finally, she approached a group of people in the park, but they’d never played pickleball before. However, when she told them about her goal, one of them agreed to play with her.
After a quick tutorial, they played a game and snapped a selfie together. Rupper was so grateful, she gifted the man with pickleball paddles and also earrings for his wife (who’d run his errands so he could stay and play.)
Pickleball players are rated by skill level 1.0–5.0. The most welcoming players, Rupper said, were beginner or intermediate level.
“Most of the great 4.0 or 5.0 players, they keep to themselves, and they don't let a stranger off the street come and play with them,” she said. “You want to get your game better, and so to do that, you want to play with people who are your level or higher, if you can.”
Rupper is an advanced player with a 5.0 rating, but she didn’t always tell people that at first.
“I don't go, ‘Hey, I'm almost pro, people, you want me on your team!’” she said. “Once in a while, I’d say, ‘Hey, you know, I don't suck’ and sometimes they look at you skeptically, because this was all pretty ran-
dom.”
In Providence, Rhode Island, one of a group of four volunteered to sit out a game to let her play, even though the others were reluctant to let her join in.
“One of the guys looked at me with this look ‘Really, you're gonna barge in here?’” she said. “I played, and then the guy says, ‘You can be my partner next time, okay?’ He was really happy, because I didn't suck, and I was good.”
Most of the time, Rupper could convince people to let her join a game, but in Maine she was rudely turned away from a pickleball club during the hottest part of the day, and when she finally found two people to play with at an outdoor court, they refused to have their picture taken with her, which is how she was documenting her goal.
“Maine is a disappointment,” she said. “The pickleball community is, in general, very welcoming and wonderful. That was not the case in Maine. I felt like I was riffraff or something. I just felt like dirt, the way I was treated.”
In contrast, the players in Alabama and Louisiana were the friendliest; they invited her to lunch after their game.
When she isn’t playing pickleball, Rupper is a counselor at West Hills Middle School, where she encourages students and staff members to play pickleball to improve their physical and mental health.
“When you're feeling down or it's been a rough day, I think anybody can go out and play pickleball and feel better, because exercise is one of the things that helps your body and helps your mind,” she said. “It can take
your mind off your troubles, because you're out there, you're just on the court, you're hitting a ball back and forth, and you're having fun, you're moving, you're getting your steps and so I think that can help a lot.”
The map documenting her 50 games of pickleball is displayed on Rupper’s office wall, where she hopes it inspires her students.
“This could be a way for students to see that lofty goals can be reached with lots of grit," she said. l
Lorraine Rupper’s map shows the people she played pickleball with in all 50 states in the last 5 years. (Photo courtesy Lorraine Rupper.)
Lorraine Rupper documents a pickleball game played in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo courtesy Lorraine Rupper.)
South Fargo, North Dakota Lorraine Rupper has played pickleball in all 50 states in the last 5 years. (Photo courtesy Lorraine Rupper.)
Hunter High School Latinos In Action program wins regional award
By Zachary Smith | z.smith@mycityjournals.com
One of Hunter High School’s most impactful programs in recent years has been its Latinos In Action (LIA) chapter. As one of over 300 schools across 14 states to adopt the elective program designed to uplift and empower Hispanic and Latino youth, the local high school benefits greatly from its LIA students and their leadership and service within the school’s community.
As of July 2024, Hunter High’s LIA instructor Lizzy Anderson was named LIA Regional Teacher of the Year for the Northern Utah/Idaho regional program.
Anderson clarified that the award is not only a reflection of her, but also the entire Hunter High chapter. According to her, the chapter was described as the “gold standard” that LIA seeks to achieve, from its successful cooperation with elementary schools to its sponsoring of various schoolwide events such as banquets and the school’s annual Winter Ball. She credits the students for this, saying that her job as an instructor is “to steer them in the right direction.”
“There are a lot of negative stereotypes around Latinos in general,” Anderson said. “So it’s really wonderful for them to be visible and break these stereotypes just by being themselves.”
Anderson also teaches Spanish at Hunter High, and her language skills are part of what made her an ideal candidate to take on the program. In the six years that she has instructed Hunter High LIA, her chapter has done several noteworthy activities to celebrate Latino culture and enrich the lives of students, such as performing a Spanish-language children’s play at various elementary schools and celebrating the Latin-American holiday Dia del Nino on April 30 of each year.
One such activity that received media attention was the LIA West Side World Car Show, a community event that the chapter holds annually. In May 2024, it drew the attention of local news stations with an impressive turnout of over 1,000 attendees.
LIA is also partnered with four local elementary schools: Truman Elementary, Whittier Elementary, Hunter Elementary and Hillside Elementary. Students in the LIA program work directly with elementary school students through tutoring, Spanish-to-English translation, and providing cultural resources. This partnership has helped bridge the gap in learning caused by the COVID-19 school shutdowns and raise test scores up to state standards.
“I love the connection between the high school and the elementary students,” said Jennifer Bodell, principal at Whittier Elementary. “It allows our kids to see where they will be in a few years and reminds them of their goal to graduate.”
Through LIA’s tutoring, the “high school buddies” at these schools can be a positive influence on the lives of elementary students, which is something that Anderson makes sure to emphasize. “I think it’s really special that these kids have role models who look like them and go to the schools they’ll be going to in the future,” Anderson said.
In recent years, the Hunter High LIA chapter has expanded the number of available class periods from four to five to accommodate its rapid growth as more and more students sign up for the program. LIA continues to bear a standard for celebrating the growing diversity of West Valley City and empowering its many young people from all walks of life. l
From left to right: Lizzy Anderson with Hunter High Latinos In Action presidency members Araceli Belman Mosqueda, Juan Diego Cervantes Garcia, Giovanni Velasco Martinez, Edwin Gonzalez Nuñez, Solano Garcia and Daniel Casas. Latinos In Action instructor Lizzy Anderson standing in her classroom.
A poster advertising the LIA West Side World car show on Hunter High School campus.
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Salt Lake City, UT 84111 (801) 363-5781
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ISalt Lake County Public Safety Bond
n August, the Salt Lake County Council voted to put a $507-million bond on the ballot for voters to decide on this November. Our jails are at capacity and urgently require expansion. The proposed public safety bond will enable us to consolidate two jails into one, add more beds, expand mental health treatment services, create a facility to support inmates transitioning back into the community, and build a Justice and Accountability Center.
Low-level offenders who continually cycle in and out of jail continue to place a considerable burden on taxpayers and our criminal justice system. Many of these individuals experience instability and struggle with underlying mental health issues and substance use disorders. Unfortunately, our current jail and criminal justice system are neither designed nor equipped to address these needs.
The goal of the Justice and Accountability Center (JAC) is to remove repeat offenders from the streets and place them in a lower-security correctional facility where they will have access to outpatient mental health services and substance use treatment, job training, housing opportunities, and other vital services to help them get their lives back on track. The JAC aims to ensure these people receive targeted interventions at a cost that is much less than a high-security jail.
We believe the public safety bond reduces the number of offenders on the streets, keeps our neighborhoods safer, protects our
Aimee Winder Newton Salt Lake County Councilwoman| District 3
businesses, and ultimately is the most fiscally conservative way to invest in public safety and improve quality of life. If voters approve this bond it would cost the average homeowner an additional $58.94 per year.
Luckily, Salt Lake County is one of only 29 counties in the United States with a AAA bond rating. Because of that the interest rate on these funds would be around 3.25% with an opportunity for us to refinance if rates go down.
No one wants to pay more in taxes and this was not an easy decision for county leaders to make. As we’ve looked at the best way to ensure your safety, protect your property, and best help those who are struggling, we felt this was necessary and we want you to weigh in. Not only is the most fiscally conservative way to handle this massive public safety issue, but it will give the best chance for those in the criminal justice system to get real help.
To learn more about this you can go to slco.org and you will be able to read about the bond.
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Budgeting
should be considered an art form. It’s part theater (acting like you can afford groceries), part digital interpretation (online shopping for best prices), part graffiti (throwing mustard at the wall when you receive a surprise doctor’s bill) and all illusion (where did the money go?).
My paycheck stretches like it’s on a taffy-pulling machine, folding over and over itself, almost to the point of transparency. When did the basic costs of living become a luxury?
While grocery shopping, my husband can’t stop comparing prices from 60 years ago. “When I was a young boy,” he said. “I could buy a loaf of bread for a nickel.”
“Were you Oliver Twist?” I asked. He ignored me and walked down the dairy aisle, ranting about the cost of eggs.
At the check stand, several items rang up for more than what was labeled on the shelf. I asked the unenthused cashier, “Did you raise prices while I was in line?”
He shrugged and continued packaging my groceries, smashing bananas, eggs and bread with my magnum of wine. Just kidding. You can’t buy wine at grocery stores in Utah.
Driving to work becomes a nail-biting thriller as I gauge how much gas is left and if it will last until the end of the month. I was filling up my car the other day and the
West Valley
gas pump showed the person before me had purchased $5 worth of gas. I hope that 1.6 gallons is enough to get him to the bank he needs to rob.
Even my chai tea latte from Starbucks has incrementally increased from $4 to nearly $6. That’s bonkers. I don’t mind paying a bit more so employees make a livable wage, but last year, Starbucks’ net revenue was $30 billion.
Then I learned the new Starbucks CEO was given a $75 million stock award, a $1.6 million salary and a $10 million signing bonus. The only signing bonus I ever received was when I got a free pen for starting a savings account when I was 8.
Corporate profits have hit all-time highs. And those rising prices are never going to drop because then how can the Starbucks CEO afford $1,500 sneakers for his Pomeranian without squeezing the life out of consumers?
My husband said, “Then don’t go to
Starbucks.”
“Shut up,” I replied.
Housing costs are outrageous. Going to dinner and a movie requires a home equity line of credit. Tax increases nickel-and-dime us to death. Did you know Utah is one of only a few states that tax social security benefits? Thanks, Utah Legislators!
It’s not like I want to purchase Prada paper clips or Balenciaga bookmarks. I don’t need a Rolls-Royce or a personal library, complete with a rolling ladder and a fireplace. (Okay. I actually need that). I just want to afford a night out, maybe a weekend getaway or an annual massage without sell-
ing blood plasma.
My grandparents grew up during the Depression. Decades later, they still saved drawers full of tin foil and rubber bands in case we ever needed a defense against mind control or had to make emergency bouncy balls. Maybe I can learn from their frugal behaviors.
So, we tighten our belts, pinch pennies, clip coupons and say, “We’re right on budget this month.” The moment those words leave our lips, the garbage disposal explodes, the fence blows over or the basement floods. Budgeting might not be an art form, but it’s definitely a comedy.
KeyBank is happy to celebrate one year of serving the West Valley City community. Since opening, we’ve been privileged to form relationships with many of our neighbors, offering products, service, and advice that help bring them closer to their financial goals.
We invite you to come and discover what KeyBank can do for you.
KeyBank West Valley City
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West Valley City, UT 84120
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