Local Business Assists with Flood Mitigation in Weber County

How do you know when you have a great neighbor? Well, a great neighbor lends a hand and doesn’t ask for anything in return. More often than not, they do something simply because it’s the right thing to do. You might not even know it.

That’s exactly what our neighbors at EK Bailey Construction did when our community was threatened by the combination of a melting snowpack and flooding this past month. The company’s ownership and staff spurred into action before the dangerous water event, filling sandbags to prevent damage to homes and businesses in Weber County.

In flooding and possible flood situations, sandbags are essential. Sandbags create a watertight seal at the bottom of the waterline to prevent water from getting through and damaging property. Even better, sandbags can be placed alongside rising bodies of water to prevent the water from going over their banks. In any case, they’re a vital tool to prevent flooding, and filling them is no small task. Actually, it’s a massive enterprise.

With Weber County’s recent flooding encounter, the good folks at EK Bailey Construction worked ‘round the clock to fill close to 7,000 sandbags. These bags were made available to residents in the community and first responders to put them in critical areas next to the water or for home and business owners to protect their properties.

Once the sandbags were filled, local residents could come to their warehouse and grab up to 10 bags per household. 150 of the total went to prevent flooding in North Ogden, and close to 3000 were used in other more dire circumstances. In fact, workers for the company were awoken by authorities at 2 in the morning to provide access to North Ogden first responders when the rivers began to crest. Talk about great neighbors!!

The construction company was as fair as possible when working with the public and made sure that everyone had equal access to the sandbags, and local authorities say that they not only went “above and beyond” but were “exceptional” when working with the public.

If you don’t know what great neighbors you have in EK Bailey Construction, we’re here to shout their praises from the rooftops. They’re a prominent construction company in Ogden and have a solid reputation for excellence and a stellar track record for successful construction projects.

In a lot of ways, the qualities of humility and willingness to help out without recognition or reward mean that the employees are simply living out the vision of their founder, EK Bailey. Bailey built his company on the principle of giving customers quality rates for quality work. It is no surprise that public service comes under the umbrella, and the EK Bailey crew was more than willing to lend a hand to people who don’t have the same access to their equipment or sand-filling capacity.

Weber County is grateful to EK Bailey’s crew for their help preparing for this event. They helped keep our community safe. We’re lucky to have such great neighbors and role models in our county.

When you have a moment, please reach out to them to thank them for all their help and hard work, because thanking people for their help is also what good neighbors do.

SAVING LIVES ON UTAH ROADS: Addressing the 100 Deadliest Days and Urging Responsible Driving

What are the 100 Deadliest Days? It’s the time period between Memorial Day and Labor Day when road fatalities in Utah are at their highest. In fact, Utah’s road fatalities are at the highest levels ever, and certainly higher than the last two decades. In 2022 there were 121 fatal car accidents. In 2021 there were 143 fatal car accidents. In 2020 there were 113 fatal car accidents.

SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE: It’s on all of us to do something.

In April 2022, Deputy Brian Adams with the Weber County Sheriff’s Office attempted to stop a vehicle traveling over Trapper’s Loop late at night. The vehicle was clocked at 117 MPH. Deputy Adams could not catch the vehicle since his patrol vehicle was limited to a speed of 100 MPH.

However, Deputy Adams radioed ahead to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, and they were able to stop the car.

The driver was issued a citation and released. The vehicle was impounded on site.

Weeks later the same car was traveling over the North Ogden Divide late at night at speeds of over 80 MPH. The speed limit on North Ogden Divide Road is 30 MPH. This time the results were catastrophic.

The driver lost control of his car and careened off of the divide into the canyon below. The driver walked away with minor injuries, but his female passenger was not so lucky—she was permanently paralyzed from the waist down.

Since 2019 the Utah Highway Patrol has stopped and cited over 8,000 drivers traveling over 100 MPH on Utah roadways. This problem became so dire that in 2022 Utah’s Legislature passed Senate Bill 53. SB 53 is a new law stating that anyone traveling over 105 MPH may be charged with reckless driving.

This summer, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, anyone stopped in Weber County traveling over 105 MPH or double the speed limit will be arrested and booked into jail for reckless driving. The vehicle will also be impounded.

While law enforcement and legislators are doing their part to enforce these new laws, it's up to all of us to do our part too. No one needs to go double the speed limit. We all know the deadly consequences of too much speed.

Let’s all do our part to make sure that everyone is arriving home safely, or wherever their destinations might be.

The Road To Zero Fatalities

We can reach our ultimate goal and it all starts with you. Drive the way that keeps you and your loved ones safe. Learn about the five safe driving behaviors and what you can do to be a better driver.