By BRISA ODENTHAL Section Editor
On June 17 and 18, people all around the United States will celebrate Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. To celebrate, the city of Ogden will be hosting the 34th Annual Utah Juneteenth Freedom and Heritage Festival.
June 19 marks the anniversary of the day Major General Gordon Granger issued an order proclaiming the freedom of enslaved people in the state of Texas in 1865, just two months after the end of the American Civil War. President Joe Biden declared Juneteenth an official American federal holiday in 2021.
The first state to officially observe Juneteenth was the holiday’s home state Texas back in 1939, and it was the first state to adopt Juneteenth as a paid holiday in 1980.
Though Utah did not begin to officially observe the holiday until 2016 and did not recognize the day as a paid holiday until 2022, the city of Ogden has hosted a Juneteenth Freedom and Heritage Festival for 34 years.
Every year, the festival is held in Ogden, one of the most diverse cities in the state of Utah, though only 1.7% of Ogden citizens are Black or African American.
The Utah Juneteenth Freedom Festival, hosted by the Project Success Coalition, will take place at the Ogden Amphitheater from noon through 9 p.m. on June 17 and from
noon to 8 p.m. on June 18, and people of all ages and backgrounds are welcome to join the celebration. The event is free for attendees and volunteer sign up is still open to those interested.
The festival is not the only event the Project Success Coalition will be holding to celebrate Juneteenth. Throughout the month of June, the group, as well as other sponsors including Weber State University, are hosting numerous events to celebrate Juneteenth and Ogden’s Black and African American community.
The celebrations of the month hosted by the coalition will have options for people of all ages to enjoy and learn about the holiday and the history behind it.
“Juneteenth is a chance for us to rec-
ognize Utah’s vibrant Black communities by celebrating the achievements of black artists, writers, musicians, scientists, civic leaders and educators,” Gov. Spencer Cox said in 2022. “We applaud those who are exploring African-American genealogy.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are almost 40,000 black or African American people living in the state of Utah and 41.6 million in the United States. Celebrating Juneteenth is just the beginning of recognizing their history and the history of the people who came before them.
Salt Lake City, Park City and Ogden are hosting pride events this summer to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.
The Utah Pride Center in Salt Lake City started off June “unapologetically” on June 1 for the annual Utah Pride Festival. This year, the plan is to fight shame, guilt and stigma with joy, celebration and confidence, according to Utah Pride Center.
The Utah Pride Center kicked off pride month with a bang. Their calendar was packed with events all weekend long. To name just a few, there was family pride day at the Hogle Zoo on June 1, a pride march and concert on June 2, a drag brunch on June 3 and the pride parade on June 4.
Weber State University did not have a parade entry at this year’s pride parade.
The Pride Parade Director, Chad Call, said, “We hope to see Weber State University represented in our parade next year!” Chad Call, the pride parade director, said. The entrance to the pride festival is located at 450 S 300 E in downtown Salt Lake City and one-day admission ranges from $15-30 and is good for one day.
Park City will be “celebrating diversity” on July 4 at the annual Independence Day4th of July parade down Main Street.
“This year, our small town is embracing the spirit of inclusivity and unity, and we believe the 4th of July parade is the perfect platform to showcase the beautiful diversity within our community,” said Park City Pride Organizer, Cami Richardson.
Anyone is welcome to join the Park City parade pride march, free of charge.
“We warmly invite everyone, regardless of their gender, identity or sexual orientation, to join us as we march together in celebration of love, acceptance and equality,” said Richardson.
The parade lineup will start at 10 a.m. on Swede Alley and will end at the bottom of Main Street.
The Ogden Pride Center will be hosting the 9th Annual Ogden Pride Festival on Aug. 4 for a three-day festival weekend, ending on Aug. 6.
The Ogden Pride Center is still working on the exact details of the weekend, but they do know that a youth talent show is on Aug. 4, a concert is on Aug. 5 and a free family-friendly festival will be on Aug. 6. The event will be held at the Ogden Amphitheater and Municipal Gardens all weekend long.
The mission of this event is to celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community, individuals, their families and allies in building and strengthening inclusive communities, according to Ogden Pride Center.
For more information visit utahpridecenter.org and ogdenpride.org.
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Since 2009, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah has operated in Ogden as the only facility in Northern Utah of its kind, providing residents of Ogden and beyond a place to bring wild animals they’ve found that are in need of help.
On May 15, WRCNU closed its doors and stopped accepting new patients due to news that caught Executive Director DaLyn Marthaler and her team by surprise: They were being evicted.
The non-profit wildlife rehabilitation facility was notified in March that the temporary lease granted to them by Ogden City to occupy the land had been terminated, and WRCNU will have until September to move off the premises.
The land WRCNU once occupied will be given to the neighboring George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park, which has seen a spike in visitorship in recent years. Angela Horn, the park’s Executive Director, noted that the park has seen over 200,000 visitors annually during the past two years and will use the newly-acquired land, in part, to expand its parking space to accommodate its growing number of visitors.
Horn told The Signpost that WRCNU was given the temporary lease on the land in 2010 in a deal with the city of Ogden on the condition that WRCNU would make efforts to find another property to make their permanent base of operations.
According to Marthaler, WRCNU was led to believe that the temporary nature of their land lease was more of a formality than a condition that was set in stone.
A city employee who helped mediate the process of attaining the land for WRCNU had told Marthaler that Ogden City has many contracts similar to the one they made with WRCNU, and if the facility could prove through its operations that it adds value to the city, the contract would likely be “filed away and forgotten about,” according to Marthaler.
Over the years, Marthaler made renovations to WRCNU to better accommodate the facility’s growing needs, including a new HVAC system and a beaver pool that
each set the center back around $10,000 to install.
“After 12 years, we thought this was our home,” Marthaler said.
Ogden City offered Marthaler an extension offer that would allow WRCNU to continue operating in its current facility, but Marthaler said the conditions of the extension prevent it from being a viable option in continuing the facility’s operations.
Marthaler said that, under the offer’s conditions, WRCNU would be required to present proof that the non-profit had either bought another piece of land or signed a five-year lease on another piece of land to move their facility to.
Marthaler said even if they were able to lease a building, there would be a number of modifications that would need to be made in order to accommodate the large range of wildlife WRCNU takes under its care.
If WRCNU fails to meet the requirements of the extension offer, the lease will default after September, and WRCNU will be allowed to stay in their current facility for $7,000 per month until they’re able to relocate.
Finding a new location for WRCNU’s continued operation would require taking out a commercial loan to cover the cost.
“We’re a non-profit taking out a loan, which is horrifying — non-profits don’t take out loans for a reason,” Marthaler said.
While WRCNU is no longer accepting new wildlife patients, the challenge now is rehabilitating the 187 animals that they still have in their care and releasing them out into the wild. Moving facilities would be a logistical impossibility with all the rescued animals in tow, but the only other option would be to euthanize all the animals currently in WRCNU’s care — an option Marthaler and her team refuse to consider.
Although much of what’s been reported about how the land WRCNU once occupied will be used emphasizes the Dinosaur Park’s plans to expand its parking capabilities, Horn said improving the Dinosaur Park’s parking accommodations is just one
of the many things the Dinosaur Park is planning to do with the newly-acquired land.
“There are a lot more projects in the works than a parking lot,” Horn said. “There is already a parking structure over there — we just have plans to repave it, reline it and add more parking stalls.”
Horn said that maximizing the amount of green space in the park will remain a top priority when deciding what the park will do with the additional land and that plans also include the construction of a maintenance facility that is needed in order to maintain the park’s growing tract of trails and green spaces.
One other use-case for the newly-acquired land Horn talked about was the opening of a new facility called The Hatchery, a studio space that will allow the Dinosaur Park to collaborate with the local art community to create the park’s famous life-sized dinosaur sculptures in-house.
“The Hatchery will allow us to collaborate with local artists, collaborate with art programs, such as the one at Weber State, to really create art pieces here,” Horn said.
While Horn is excited about the plans Dinosaur Park has concerning the newly acquired space, she and many other Utahns are saddened to hear of the WRCNU’s current predicament, fearing the loss of a valuable community resource.
While some remain hopeful that through organized demonstrations and communication with Mayor Mike Caldwell that Ogden will be persuaded to change the land agreement it has with WRCNU to allow it to continue occupying its current facility, Marthaler is bolstering her efforts to release as many of the animals in her care as fast as possible as the September deadline draws nearer.
However, because of how involved the process of rehabilitating and reintroducing a wild animal back into the wild is, Marthaler said they’ve only been able to release three or fewer animals on a weekly basis, meaning there is no way they’ll be able to release all 187 animals by the deadline given by the city.
These time constraints have been
imposed on WRCNU despite public comments Caldwell has made about the situation, saying he’s not asking for animals to be euthanized, and he’s taking into consideration all the feedback he is getting from concerned local citizens.
Despite Caldwell’s reassuring stance on the situation and insistence that negotiations between the city and WRCNU are ongoing, Marthaler and her crew continue to work feverishly to prepare for the grim prospect of relocating their facility. Marthaler has also begun taking some of the rescued animals from the facility under her own care at her personal residence.
To many in the community, including Horn, WRCNU’s situation is a saddening one as it means the loss of a local non-profit with an admirable mission that provided a valuable service to the community of Northern Utah and its local wildlife.
“There is no one else doing this,” Marthaler said. “We take in 4,000 animals a year, and so without us, that’s 4,000 animals that are going to die.”
Marthaler further explained that around 80% of those 4,000 animals are in need of rescuing because of a “human-impact” cause — things like gunshot wounds, window hits and lead poisoning, which can affect animals when hunters don’t bury their discarded ammunition. She believes that on top of rescuing animals in need of help, WRCNU can serve to mitigate those factors through its efforts in educating the community about Northern Utah’s wildlife.
Marthaler also said rescuing and rehabilitating animals is important to those who have brought animals they have found to WRCNU. She knows that she isn’t the only one who cares about seeing downtrodden animals spread their wings again.
“What breaks my heart, too, is that those 4,000 animals each come with a set of hands that have found them and cared enough to pick them up, find us, and bring that animal to us,” Marthaler said. “Those people need an outlet too.”
Desde 2009, el Centro de Rehabilitación de Vida Silvestre del Norte de Utah (Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah por sus siglas en inglés WRCNU) ha servido como refugio para animales heridos, enfermos o desplazados.
El 15 de mayo, WRCNU cerró sus puertas y dejó de aceptar nuevos pacientes debido a la noticia que tomó por sorpresa a Marthaler y su equipo, estaban siendo desalojados.
En marzo, se notificó a la instalación de rehabilitación de vida silvestre sin fines de lucro que el contrato de arrendamiento temporal que les otorgó la ciudad de Ogden para ocupar el terreno había terminado y que WRCNU tendrá hasta septiembre para mudarse de las instalaciones.
Desde entonces, ha salido a la luz que la tierra que una vez ocupó WRCNU se entregará al vecino Dinosaur Park, que ha visto un aumento en el número de visitantes en los últimos años. Angela Horn, directora ejecutiva del parque sin fines de lucro, señaló que el parque ha recibido más de 200,000 visitantes anualmente
durante los últimos dos años y utilizará el terreno recién adquirido, en parte, para expandir su espacio de estacionamiento para acomodar a su creciente número de visitantes.
Horn le dijo a The Signpost que WRCNU recibió el contrato de arrendamiento temporal de la tierra en 2010 en un acuerdo con la ciudad de Ogden con la condición de que WRCNU haría esfuerzos para encontrar otra propiedad para hacer su base de operaciones permanente.
Sin embargo, según Marthaler, a WRCNU se le hizo creer que la naturaleza temporal de su arrendamiento de tierras era en gran medida más una formalidad que una condición inamovible.
Un empleado de la ciudad que ayudó a mediar en el proceso de obtener el terreno para WRCNU le dijo a Marthaler que la ciudad de Ogden tiene muchos contratos similares al que hizo con WRCNU y que si la instalación pudiera demostrar a través de sus operaciones que agrega valor a la ciudad, lo más probable es que el contrato sea “archivado y olvidado”, según le dijeron a Marthaler.
A lo largo de los años, Marthaler realizó renovaciones en WRCNU para adaptarse mejor a las crecientes necesidades de las instalaciones, renovaciones
que incluyeron un nuevo sistema HVAC y una piscina de castores cuya instalación le costó al centro alrededor de $10,000 cada una.
“Después de 12 años, pensamos que este era nuestro hogar”, dijo Marthaler.
Desde entonces, Ogden City ha ofrecido a Marthaler una oferta de extensión que permitiría que WRCNU continúe operando en su instalación actual, pero Marthaler explicó cómo las condiciones de la extensión ofrecida por Ogden City impiden que sea una opción viable para continuar con las operaciones de la instalación.
Marthaler explicó que, bajo las condiciones de la oferta de extensión, WRCNU tendría que presentar pruebas de que la organización sin fines de lucro había comprado otro terreno o firmado un contrato de arrendamiento de cinco años en otro terreno para trasladar sus instalaciones.
Marthaler explicó que incluso si pudieran arrendar un edificio, habría una letanía de modificaciones que sería necesario realizar para acomodar la gran variedad de vida silvestre de la que WRCNU se hace cargo. Si WRCNU no cumple con los requisitos de la oferta de extensión, el contrato de arrendamiento será predeterminado después de septiembre y WRCNU podrá permanecer en sus instalaciones
actuales por $7,000 al mes hasta que puedan reubicarse.
Encontrar una nueva ubicación para la operación continua de WRCNU requeriría obtener un préstamo comercial para cubrir el costo.
“Somos una organización sin fines de lucro que solicita un préstamo, lo cual es horrible: las organizaciones sin fines de lucro no solicitan préstamos por una
todos los animales rescatados a cuestas, la única otra opción sería sacrificar a todos los animales actualmente bajo el cuidado de WRCNU, una opción que Marthaler y su equipo se niegan a considerar.
Aunque gran parte de lo que se ha informado sobre cómo se usará el terreno que una vez ocupó WRCNU enfatiza los planes de Dinosaur Park para expandir sus
Question?
razón”, dijo Marthaler.
Si bien WRCNU ya no acepta nuevos pacientes de vida silvestre, el desafío ahora es rehabilitar a los 187 animales que aún tienen bajo su cuidado y liberarlos en la naturaleza. Debido a que mover las instalaciones sería
capacidades de estacionamiento, Horn dice que mejorar las instalaciones de estacionamiento de Dinosaur Park es solo una de las muchas cosas que Dinosaur Park planea hacer. hacer con la tierra recién adquirida.
“Hay muchos más proyectos en
aclaró Horn. “Ya hay una estructura de estacionamiento allí, solo tenemos planes para repavimentarla, revestirla y agregar más puestos de estacionamiento”.
Horn explicó que maximizar la cantidad de espacios verdes en el parque seguirá siendo una prioridad principal al decidir qué hará el parque con el terreno adicional y que los planes también incluyen la construcción de una instalación de mantenimiento que se necesita para mantener la zona de crecimiento del parque, senderos y espacios verdes.
El caso de uso para el terreno recién adquirido por el que Horn expresó su mayor entusiasmo es la apertura de una nueva instalación llamada “The Hatchery”, un espacio de estudio que permitirá que Dinosaur Park colabore con la comunidad artística local para crear el parque. famosas esculturas de dinosaurios de tamaño natural internas.
“El criadero nos permitirá colaborar con artistas locales, colaborar con programas de arte, como el de Weber State, para realmente crear obras de arte aquí”, dijo Horn.
Si bien Horn está entusiasmada con los planes optimistas que tiene Dinosaur Park con respecto al espacio recién adquirido, ella y muchos otros habitantes de Utah se entristecen al enterarse de la situación actual de WRCNU, temiendo la pérdida de un valioso recurso comunitario.
Si bien algunos tienen la esperanza de que a través de manifestaciones organizadas y la comunicación con el alcalde Caldwell se persuadirá a la ciudad de Ogden
para que cambie el acuerdo de tierras que tiene con WRCNU para permitirle continuar ocupando sus instalaciones actuales, Marthaler está reforzando sus esfuerzos para liberar a la mayor cantidad de animales. a su cuidado lo más rápido posible a medida que se acerca la fecha límite de septiembre.
Sin embargo, debido a lo complicado que es el proceso de rehabilitación y reintroducción de un animal salvaje en la naturaleza, Marthaler dijo que solo han podido liberar tres o menos animales por semana; admite que no hay manera de que Podrá liberar a los 187 animales antes de la fecha límite que ha impuesto la ciudad.
Estas limitaciones de tiempo se han impuesto a WRCNU a pesar de los comentarios públicos que el alcalde Caldwell ha hecho sobre la situación diciendo que no está pidiendo que se sacrifique a los animales y que está tomando en consideración todos los comentarios que recibe de los ciudadanos locales preocupados.
A pesar de la postura tranquilizadora del alcalde sobre la situación y la insistencia de que las negociaciones entre la ciudad y WRCNU continúan, Marthaler y su equipo continúan trabajando febrilmente para prepararse para la sombría perspectiva de reubicar sus instalaciones. Marthaler incluso ha tomado la medida desesperada de llevar a algunos de los animales rescatados de las instalaciones bajo su propio cuidado en su residencia personal.
Para muchos en la comunidad, incluido Horn, la situación de WRCNU es profundamente triste,
ya que significa la pérdida de una organización sin fines de lucro local con una misión admirable que brindó un servicio valioso a la comunidad del norte de Utah y su vida silvestre local.
“No hay nadie más haciendo esto”, dijo Marthaler. “Recibimos 4000 animales al año, y sin nosotros, son 4000 animales los que van a morir”.
Marthaler explicó además que alrededor del 80% de esos 4,000 animales necesitan ser rescatados debido a una causa de “impacto humano”, cosas como heridas de bala, golpes con ventanas y envenenamiento que puede afectar a los animales cuando los cazadores no entierran sus municiones desechadas. Ella cree que además de rescatar animales que necesitan ayuda, WRCNU puede servir para mitigar esos factores a través de sus esfuerzos para educar a la comunidad sobre la vida silvestre del norte de Utah.
Marthaler también cree que rescatar y rehabilitar animales es importante para aquellos que han traído animales que han encontrado a WRCNU, ella sabe que no es la única a la que le importa ver a los animales oprimidos extender sus alas nuevamente.
“Lo que me rompe el corazón también es que esos 4000 animales vienen cada uno con un par de manos que los encontraron y se preocuparon lo suficiente como para recogerlos, encontrarnos y traernos ese animal”, dijo Marthaler. “Esas personas también necesitan una salida”.
On May 6, I had the opportunity to travel to Finland for a study abroad trip with a group of Weber State University students. The goal of this trip was to learn more about Finland’s culture and how to document the journey through photography and videography. We did this by traveling to multiple places around Finland and Estonia.
This was my very first time traveling to another country. I had been on a plane twice before, but going outside the U.S. was a completely different experience.
We spent the first four days in Helsinki. I was able to visit Suomenlinna Fortress, enjoy a true Finland sauna experience at Helskini’s SkySauna, experience the beautiful architecture located at the Uspenski Cathedral, enjoy a walk at Keskuspuisto (Central Park) where people can rent spaces for a local garden and lastly, went to a botanical garden called the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden.
On May 12, our group took a quick plane ride to Rovaniemi, Lapland, to stay at Santa Claus Village. It was there I got to experience
Finland’s midnight sun while on a small hike at midnight on one of the many trails nearby.
One of my favorite days spent on this trip was spent in Estonia’s capital, Tallinn. The area was full of cobblestone roads and old medieval buildings. The views were a complete dream to photograph.
Tallinn brought me closer to the war in Ukraine as well. With the war between Ukraine and Russia happening so close to Estonia, as well as Estonia’s turbulent history with Russia, the people in Tallinn set up a gate in front of the Russian Embassy with objects and signs strapped onto the gate to protest the war in Ukraine.
Being so close to an actual war and not just hearing about it or seeing it on TV made the war real to me. This moment in front of the fence helped me realize why travel is so important. It’s not just about seeing the world, but understanding the world and what people are going through in it.
Weber State University students and local community members have the chance to show off their art projects in a new local art show hosted by Ogden City Arts and Union Station. This is the second year Ogden City Arts has hosted the “Community Art show, Artists Choice.”
The art show will be held at Union Station on 25th Street on Aug. 4 at 6 p.m. and will run until Oct. 6.
Local artists who would like to participate in this year’s Community Art show can submit one entry that has been completed within the last two years for this art show. The deadline for entries is July 3 at 4 p.m. This is an open call for artists, so anyone of all ages can submit artwork for the Community Art Show. Artwork as well as artist information can be submitted through Ogden City’s website.
“We have had so many artists that want to be a part of this. We are trying to give everyone the chance to showcase at least one art piece,” Regina Esparza, marketing
and communication coordinator for Ogden City arts, culture and events, said. This art show gives upcoming artists an opportunity to showcase their art and become more comfortable presenting it.
“For a lot of artists, this is their first exhibit that they are submitting work, so it gives them an opportunity to showcase their artwork in an open setting,” Esparza said.
“There are a lot of people out there who get intimidated because they have never been a part of an art show before. This is a good opportunity for artists to get a foot in the door, public speak, and talk about their art piece.”
Esparza also wants local artists to know about Ogden City’s artist database, which can be found on Ogden City’s website. The artist database gives artists the chance to leave their email, contact information and social media, as well as what type of art they make.
During this First Art Stroll for Artists Choice on Aug. 4, community members and artists will get the chance to vote for best art piece. Voting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. The winner will receive an honorarium.
A private event will be held the following week for artists and their families. Awards will be passed out to the artists. Some of the awards given out include Best of Show, Union Station Favorite and Community Favorite.
This year, there will be three art strolls held in the Union Station lobby for the Community Art Show, each held in August, September and October.
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