Crowds celebrate Deseret Industries opening By Christi C. Babbitt With the sounds of the Springville High School Marching Band and the snip of a ribbon by Miss Hobble Creek 2016 Kte Keetch, Utah’s newest Deseret Industries store opened Oct. 27 in west Springville. Hundreds lined up to be the first shoppers in the thrift store and enjoy opening festivities that included music, an appearance by Brigham Young University’s Cosmo the Cougar and free tote bags. An official dedication ceremony was held for the facility on the evening of Oct. 26. Items were collected from other Deseret Industries thrift stores to stock the new Springville location for its opening. Semi trailers were also filled with merchandise and parked behind the store so shelves could be restocked as they were emptied. Deseret Industries, which includes both thrift store operations and employment training, is a nonprofit program owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The new Springville DI store has been highly anticipated by residents of southern Utah County who have had to drive to Provo or American Fork to donate items or shop at the popular thrift store. The Springville location is the 21st Deseret Industries store in Utah and the 43rd overall.
marketing manager for Deseret Industries. “We are thrilled to be a part of the Springville community,” Yates said. “We’re really hoping we can make a difference and just contribute to the goodness we see down here in this community.” Convenience was one of the factors going into the decision to build the Springville DI, Yates said. The location is right next to a major shopping area that includes Walmart. “We wanted to build a really nice facility to help the community so they could drop off donations closer,” Yates said. Located next to the Springville DI are other LDS services including a Bishop’s Storehouse, which provides food for those in need; a Family Services Office, which provides access to licensed social workers; and an LDS employment center. “They’re all welfare-type facilities, and so we kind of call it a welfare complex,” Yates said. Deseret Industries is well known for its retail side where people can shop and find Photo by Eric Melander great deals on quality used goods. HowMiss Hobble Creek 2016 Kte Keetch, surrounded by excited city officials, Deseret ever, the reason the thrift store portion exists is so Deseret Industries can offer Industries employees and residents, prepares to cut the ribbon to officially open career training programs that provide peothe new Springville Deseret Industries on Oct. 27. ple with the job skills they need to find At nearly 50,000 square feet, the large stores and is similar in size to the regular employment, Yates said. See DESERET, Page A3 Springville DI is considered one of DI’s American Fork DI, said Brooke Yates,
Mapleton asking residents for input on future commercial development By Christi C. Babbitt
Heather Youd
New executive director named at Spanish Fork chamber It is with great pleasure that we are pleased to present to each of you our new executive director for the Spanish Fork Salem Area Chamber of Commerce: Heather Youd. Youd has served as the assistant director of the chamber since May 2015 and done an exceptional job in that capacity. She has organized and implemented management of our chamber office including the day-to-day functions that make our See CHAMBER, Page A3
Mapleton City is asking residents for their opinions about the look of future commercial development along Highway 89, a major traffic corridor stretching from north to south through the city that is largely undeveloped. A commercial design standards survey has been posted on the city website, www. mapleton.org, with pictures of various commercial building styles that residents are asked to rank in order of their preference. “Mapleton City is currently working on design standards for commercial buildings and sites on the Highway 89 corridor to ensure that as new development occurs it is consistent with the character of the community,” states the website. “The purpose of the survey is to receive input regarding preferred architectural design characteristics such as building styles, heights, materials, and other site details.” “The city’s getting to the population now where we’re starting to get some interest (in the Highway 89 area),” said Sean Conroy, community development director for Mapleton City. “This is kind of our first step to get people involved and interested in what could happen along that corridor and kind of get what people like and what they don’t like.” The specific area being addressed is the stretch of Highway 89 extending from 1600 South to 800 North. Currently that entire area is zoned to accept commercial
Images from www.mapleton.org
Mapleton City is asking residents to rank photos like these from most to least desirable as part of an online survey about future growth along Highway 89.
development, Conroy said. In addition to asking questions about the look of commercial buildings, the survey asks residents for their opinion on potential landscape designs and which intersection on Highway 89 they would prefer to act as a “Town Center.”
While some grocery stores have expressed interest in the area and there are a couple of commercial buildings under construction now by the Harvest Park community, there are no imminent applications for commercial development See SURVEY, Page A3