$1.50 March 1, 2024 | Vol. 3 Iss. 08
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UTOPIA fiber growing Morgan City’s infrastructure build-out was completed in 2020.
MORGAN COUNTY NEWS
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Covering Your Community Since 1929
Suicide prevention group aims to shine light in the darkness By Peri Kinder
United States-based lunar lander makes historic landing
T
he founders of Mending Minds Village are advocates for children’s mental health treatments. When Kaden Mattinson’s daughter, Aspen, couldn’t receive therapy or testing for her mental health issues at the age of 6, Mattinson and his wife Megan organized the nonprofit to help children get the help they need to live happy and healthy lives. Now, Mending Minds Village created the Aspen’s Army suicide prevention peer support group for anyone struggling in Morgan County. The group meets each Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Morgan County Auditorium (48 W. Young Street) to help each other get through life’s tough times. “The group is going to be a peer support group for suicide prevention, but they’re not going to be like any of your typical peer support groups,” Mattinson said. “We’ve developed the program to be different, to give people a way not do the standard therapeutic suicide support.” Mattinson said what sets their group apart is the ability to connect as humans. One of the first things attendees do is create a safety plan so if they’re having suicidal thoughts, they know exactly who they can reach out to for help. Then, the group will plan activities they can do together to create bonds of friendship and support. Thanks to sponsors and grants, the support group and its events are free to attend. However, donations are accepted at Mendingmindsvillage.org After losing 12 close friends and family members during a six-month time frame, Mattinson is passionate about suicide prevention. He works as an EMT for the county and invites anyone struggling with suicidal ideation to give him a call at 801-259-3312 if they need someone to talk to. “The most common thing that you hear from survivors of suicide attempts is that they didn’t feel like they had somebody,” he said. “They felt like
THE ASPEN’S ARMY suicide prevention peer support group meets on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. at the Morgan County Auditorium (48 W. Young Street). Anyone is invited to attend free of charge.
Courtesy of Mending Minds Village
there was nobody they could reach out to, or nobody would be there to answer the call.” According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, nearly 50,000 people die from suicide each year in the United States. Utah’s suicide rate is one of the highest in the country with hundreds of people dying each year from suicide. Mattinson is excited to announce that the June Brothers, a popular Utah band, will perform at the first Mending Minds Village Walk for Life Suicide Prevention Community Walk on June 14. The event will be held at Morgan High School (55 N. Trojan Blvd.) and is sponsored by Raising Canes and Wasatch Peaks Ranch. The June Brothers, Spencer Oberle and Alex Winitzky, have a personal connection to the issue of suicide prevention and use their platform to bring attention to such a serious mental health crisis. “We are so honored to be performing for such an important cause," said
lead singer Spencer Oberle, in a media release. “We wish to express our sincere belief that every person on this earth has a unique purpose, and that purpose is crucial to us all. Reach out and lend a hand if you feel someone is in need. Never miss the opportunity to tell those important to you that you love them.” All proceeds from the Walk for Life event will go toward Mending Minds Village’s suicide prevention programs. “We are thrilled to have the June Brothers as our headlining act for this year's Walk for Life event," Mattinson said. “Having them play and support the first ever Walk for Life Suicide Prevention walk in Morgan County is sure to set the tone for future walks to come. We are hopeful that this year’s event will show Morgan and the rest of Utah that we are serious when we say no life should be lost to suicide.” For anyone struggling with suicidal ideation, call the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. l
Sexual harassment bill gives victims a voice By Becky Ginos UTAH STATE CAPITOL—Sexual harassment in the workplace is often downplayed or ignored by employers. At least 80% of women and 43% of men have experienced some sort of sexual harassment at work and 70% of victims face retaliation after reporting. That harassment perpetuates a cycle of fear and silence. A monumental piece of legislation, HB55 passed out of both the House and Senate last week that would give voice to those victims. “Only one in three cases are resolved favorably for the victim,” said Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross who is the floor sponsor. “That leaves survivors without recourse. Title VII, which is a federal law, excludes small businesses under 15 employees, leaving countless harassed workers defenseless and denied justice in Utah.” Utah is proud of its small businesses, Weiler said. “Most of our coworkers, our friends and families work for small businesses and HB55 extends protections to those small business employees.” “I don’t know a single woman who has not experienced some sort of sexual harassment,” said Rep. Kera Birkeland,
NEWS BREAK
The “space race” looks a bit different in this century than it did the last. Following a flurry of launches, and sometimes successful landings from other countries, the United States, through the private company, Intuitive Machines, saw the first U.S.-based lunar landing in over 50 years. The lander, named “Odysseus”, landed upright, but tipped shortly thereafter. Notwithstanding this setback, Odysseus is still transmitting data back to Earth and will do so until the solar panels aboard can no longer power the internal systems. The mission of the lander is part of a broader experiment by NASA in anticipation of sending astronauts back to the moon.
World War II ordinance detonated in England
Even though World War II ended almost 80 years ago, the effects are still being felt, in some places more than others. In the southern coastal town of Plymouth, England, an unexploded German bomb from the days of The Blitz was found just last week. During the war, the German Luftwaffe conducted 59 separate raids on Plymouth, killing over a thousand civilians, and wounding thousands more. This bomb, found in a garden, was carried out of the town, and out to sea where it was safely detonated. From 1940 to 1941 Germany dropped over 30,000 tons of bombs on Great Britain, largely to demoralize the citizens, but also to destabilize the British war machine.
U.S. Supreme Court looks at social media
Things are just starting to heat up in the discussion over social media in the United States. Debating laws from Florida and Texas, the United States Supreme Court is trying to decide to what extent free speech is protected on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and others. Some argue that the platforms are a modern, “Town square”, and as such, all speech thereon that does not incite to violence is protected under the First Amendment. Others feel that, as these social media sites and applications are owned by private entities, the entities themselves should have the right to govern what is and is not allowed, such as hate speech, or other objectionable content.
Fast-food chain to test AI menus
REP. KERA BIRKELAND gives a fist bump to 9-year-old Edwin Otterstrom-Young following a press conference detailing HB55 on sexual harassment in the workplace. Birkeland is the sponsor of the bill.
Photo by Becky Ginos
R-Morgan who sponsored HB55. “I talked to House Republican women and all but two had experienced sexual harassment sometime in their life in the workplace.” Some said it started even before they entered their employment career,
said Birkeland. “It was at school or at community events or activities. It’s not OK and too often we just think it’s us. Too often we think that we’re going to
HB55 on page 3
The popular fast-food chain, Wendy’s announced that it will be testing a new program of utilizing AI and digital menus to cater to its clientele better. In a recent clarification, Wendy’s leadership said that they would not be testing “surge pricing” as previously thought, but rather, their new digital menus will be able to change their offerings during peak times. This means that throughout the day, the menu offerings will be able to change based on popular items, and can suggest additional items based on hat each customer orders. These new smart menus are expected to be rolled out in a testing phase as soon as next year.