COUNTY UPDATES

Ogden Musical Theatre: Weber County’s Own Celebrating Five Years

It’s been five years since the Weber County Commissioners tasked Kassi Bybee and Maurie Tarbox with bringing live theater back to Peery’s Egyptian Theater. What has taken place over the last five years is nothing short of an incredible success story of hard work, community support, and fantastic talent.

Ogden Musical Theatre has seen fantastic support and spectacular growth in the last five years. In 2017, we started with “one” summer musical. By 2022, we have grown to a full OMT Season; A Spring (Concert Style performance), Summer and Winter musicals, a two-week “Kids Act Up!” summer camp, and a Spring and Fall Master Class program. As a Semi-Professional Theatre Company, we hope to continue to bring exceptional live performances to the Peery’s Egyptian stage. Along with many others, the performing arts continue to be significantly impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. OMT has continued to forge ahead, this year bringing back live performances for our audiences to enjoy, and our “Kids Act Up” summer camp was filled to capacity.

To continue to bring outstanding performances and educational experiences to Ogden Musical Theatre, we need the continued assistance of our gracious community!

Through your help, we will continue to allow the arts to enrich our communities throughout Northern Utah. Please mark your calendars to purchase tickets to our 2022 season. We also gladly take donations on our website, ogdenmusicaltheatre. org. 100% of all donations go directly to support talented local artists, production teams, and future actors as we work together to keep the arts thriving in our communities.

We look forward to having you in our audience soon!

GET YOUR 2022 SEASON TICKETS TODAY!

Sheriff's Office: A Day in the Life

What it's like working as a Deputy and Sergeant

BY RYAN SPELTS

The one thing I found in common when talking to the Sheriff’s deputies and Sergeant from the Weber County Sheriff’s office is that they each love the fact that their job is part of a system that helps people get their life back together. Each of these officers is passionate about their job. None of them became deputies to become rich, but they were attracted by the competitive pay and benefits.

Deputy Officer Kirsten

Slater has been with the Sheriff’s Department for three years. She works in transport. She also loves that she is able to be part of helping people reform their lives. She says she drives all over the state transporting inmates to and from court or other jurisdictions. She comes from a long line of police officers, some of whom have been in the Sheriff’s Department and some who have worked with other agencies. She has always wanted to keep that legacy alive. She mentioned how varied her work is and how many other options there are being a deputy. She says that people thinking about the Sheriff’s Department as a line of work should give it a try. There is such a wide range of options that can fit any personality type. Whether introverted or extroverted, there are quite a few options for anyone. Like Deputy Kennington, Deputy Slater strongly feels that she is making a difference in the community. She can not only make sure inmates are treated with respect, but also make sure they are transported where they need to be. She also has a chance to work with federal agencies: when they need bed space at the county jail, they rely on her to help with transportation. Deputy Slater is also part of the task force to catch pedophiles. She is a younglooking woman herself, and she works to catch predators who are targeting young women online. She feels strongly about this work as she feels it directly protects young women and children in the community by catching the criminals who target them from behind their computer. As Deputy Slater says, if you have ever thought about applying for the Sheriff’s Department, do it! It is a great place to make a career.

Sergeant Benard

Stewart has been part of the Sheriff’s Department for seven years. He went to school and earned a degree in criminal justice. He knew he wanted to help people, especially people who are going through a hard time. He thought about Human Resources but eventually started and completed his degree in criminal justice, which led him to a career in law enforcement. Starting in Salt Lake County, he ended up in Weber County and has been there for the last

seven years. Sergeant Stewart is currently working in Corrections, working with inmates in the jail and making sure they are treated well, while keeping the peace. He was recently promoted and now oversees Inmate Services, primarily holding meetings about each inmate situation if there are incidents that occur, discipline that needs to be handled, or other situations that arise and need individual attention. He also manages much of the care that is needed to house these men and women. From laundry to food and even doctor visits when needed. Like Deputies Kennington and Slater, Sergeant Stewart is proud of the contribution he makes to the community, not only making sure prisoners are secure but making sure they are also protected and treated with respect. When a person goes to prison, it is clearly not a joyous moment. They are in a bad place because they have done something bad. The corrections field is designed to properly house and protect inmates so they can make sure they serve their time and all their obligations while also being protected and watched over. Sergeant Stewart is also drawn to the variety of what he does each day. Most days start with a meeting now that he is a supervisor, and those meetings determine the direction of his day. It changes every day, and that is how Sargeant Stewart likes it.