August 2022 | Vol. 18 Iss. 08
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MORE CONDOS, LESS OFFICE SPACE: CANYON CENTRE DEVELOPMENT CHANGES COURSE By Cassie Goff | c.goff@mycityjournals.com
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ight years after the first development plans for the Canyon Centre Development were approved by the Cottonwood Heights City Council, there is only one remaining phase of development to be completed. However, it may have to be altered based on the challenges of the current social climate. On June 21, Managing Member of Canyon Centre Capital LLC Chris McCandless spoke with city councilmembers during a Community Development and Renewal Agency meeting about the challenges they have been facing and described a proposed solution. “COVID has made a significant difference and it’s hurt,” McCandless said. “This is the longest we’ve taken to put together a project and complete it.” The Canyon Centre development plans approved in 2014 included four levels of professional use office space. However, as working from home has become much more of a norm, office space is not the commodity it used to be. McCandless has run into difficulty finding buyers for office space. “We had the building sold and under contract to a gentleman who couldn’t perform, and it took us about three years to get the property back from him,” McCandless said. “I don’t want to keep waiting for office space to work.” Instead, there is much higher demand for housing. The Canyon Centre developers would like to amend the development plans to eliminate half of the office space and incorporate housing units instead. Continued page 8
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Allowing for residential space instead of office space will decrease potential building heights for the Canyon Centre development. (Photo courtesy of Chris McCandless/CW Management Corp)
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August 2022 | Page 3
Students to see new administrative faces as they return to school this fall By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
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hen students return to Union Middle School, they will see longtime Hillcrest High assistant principal Brenda McCann as their new principal. Union’s Kelly Tauteoli, who has been the middle school principal since 2015, will work as a human resources administrator in Canyons School District. “I'm recruiting the teachers for the secondary schools, so it has a step away from kids in that way, but I will have a big impact on kids in that I’m recruiting and hiring the best teachers,” she said a couple weeks after she packed her belongings where she was principal of the school that serves 850 students. “It's bittersweet. It really is. I’ve poured my heart and soul into a place that I care so much about and care about the outcomes for the kids and for the people that work there. The students keep me laughing all the time. Middle school students are hilarious, and tender and sweet—and I know that's not what people usually say about middle school kids, but they really are. I love the people I worked with and that's one of the hardest things, is to leave that amazing team at Union, the people that I love and respect so much.” During her tenure, Tauteoli helped to build a caring community. “It is just such a solid, wonderful supportive community. One thing I love about Union is, I love the diversity and how the community and the staff just wrap their arms around kids and support them. Just so many times, parents have come forward and said, ‘How can I help, what can I do, can I gather school supplies, can I pay for somebody else's yearbook?’ The staff just goes absolutely above and beyond for the kids at Union. Students are really getting a very caring community and support in every way at Union,” she said. “I hope that's a legacy that I've left and I know it will continue because the people that I worked with care about that too.” Tauteoli also has ensured there are academic as well as social-emotional supports in place for students. “We’ve really strengthened our academic supports and our students have done remarkably better on the state tests at the end of the year,” she said. “We’ve also worked heavily on mental health for students. The kind of pressures they face and the increase in anxiety, we’ve ramped up adding more check-ins with kids, creating a plan where we talk and share concerns, teaching life and social skills, adding staff to help. In general, in schools, we’re seeing more mental health issues, more anxiety, more depression, more social isolation, with kids, and you just never can have enough support in that area. They just think they need it. They need a lot.”
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Part of Tauteoli’s time also has been meeting regularly with a construction team on the re-build of Union Middle, a position that now has shifted to Union alumna and now principal Brenda McCann, who helped with the construction process at nearby Hillcrest High. “I had so much fun helping in the design process for Union; it was a fun thing for me to be able to be part of and they're doing a great job. I think Brenda has good experience on how to make a transition into a new building, so she'll do a great job when that happens at the end of the school year,” she said. The new Union is set to open fall 2023. Hillcrest High also has changes with two other administrators as longtime assistant principal Jan Hansen retired and assistant principal Quinn Linde moved to Murray High School as principal. Linde previously had taught biology and been an assistant principal at Corner Canyon before serving at Hillcrest the past three years. “I think from teaching, coaching and being an administrator at schools, I’ve learned that relationships are really at the heart of everything I’ve tried to do,” he said. “Seeing the potential in every student and helping them to reach their goals and potential has been something I’ve kind of prided myself on and it is what motivates me. I’m going to miss the staff, admin team and the student at Hillcrest and all the programs I was having the opportunity to build there. They’re just great kids and such a good community at Hillcrest.” Jordan High assistant principal Dina Kohler; Katie Campbell, a Canyons School District multi-tiered student support specialist; and Andrew Yawn, a behavior specialist are joining the Hillcrest High administrative team. Jordan High Athletic Director Jason Long will step in the shoes of Kohler for the Beetdiggers. At Mt. Jordan, Brighton Assistant Principal Ryan Durant will serve as principal as Matt Watts will become a Canyons special education department administrator. Linda Hall, a special education specialist, also will become a special education administrator as current administrator Nate Edvalson will become the department’s director. Current Special Education Department Administrator Tifny Iacona will become Glacier Hills assistant principal. Jordan High Assistant Principal Mary Simao will become an assistant principal at Brighton and Corner Canyon Assistant Principal Sara Little will move to Jordan High to take Simao’s position. Corner Canyon counselor Misty Jolley will take Little’s
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Kelly Tauteoli, seen here at the new Union Middle’s groundbreaking in April 2021, will leave her post as principal to work as a human resources administrator in Canyons School District. (Julie Slama/ City Journals)
current position. Brighton High Assistant Principal Marielle Rawle will transfer to Corner Canyon High. She will replace Christian Cowart who, in turn, will transfer to Brighton. Draper Park Middle Assistant Principal Randall Seltz will transfer to Mount Jordan Middle as an assistant principal. He replaces Sierra Segura who, in turn, will transfer to Draper Park. Granite Elementary Principal Ronnie Mulqueen will serve as Draper Elementary principal, replacing Christy Waddell who is retiring. Bell View Principal Tamra Baker also is retiring. Edgemont Principal Elcena Saline will replace Mulqueen at Granite. Instructional Coach Aimee Wagner will become Copperview Elementary assistant principal. She will replace Cassie Kapes, who is relocating to another state.l
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Elementary students learn firsthand about careers, advice for their dream jobs By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
T
hroughout the spring, Canyons School District students had the opportunity to learn about careers from professionals in the field. Presenters were asked to tell the students a little about themselves and their job, including skills they have, what they learn on their job and fun parts and maybe not-so-fun, but necessary parts. Many presenters brought tools with them to illustrate what they may do, talked about an average day and shared if they were bilingual and how it helped with their careers. At East Midvale Elementary, Midvale Mayor Marcus Stevenson was among the presenters. Stevenson was two months into his new position and was asked by a student what he does. After answering that he oversees 200 employees including police, fire and public works, he also told them he has multiple conversations on topics ranging from family shelters to clean air. He brought with him a huge pair of scissors and ribbon so students could experience cutting the ribbon as he does for new buildings and businesses. Another student asked Stevenson the most important skill he has as mayor. “To be a good listener,” he answered. “I have to be able to listen to thousands of people. They tell me about issues they care about and I’m the voice for them. I also need to be able to bring people to work together.” Stevenson was “pleasantly surprised” by the students’ engagement. “I was asked so many questions and it was good to see they have opinions and concerns,” Stevenson said. “It’s important they know they have a voice.” At Oakdale Elementary, guest speakers ranged from a commercial pilot to an artistic director of a children’s choir. In a second-grade classroom, Brigham Young University chemistry professor Rebecca Olsen almost magically created a spark of fire for the students. “I love chemistry and it’s fun for the kids to get a glimpse of what they can learn,” she said. “A lot of them were asking questions and were excited.” Second-grade teacher Shannon Prado said the presenters get students excited about learning about their careers. “Our students are able to talk to them to learn what skills they learned in school will help them,” she said. “We had a life and wellness coach share what she does and many of the students didn’t know a thing about that career. We had a police officer show students not only his tools, but also demonstrated how he is able to de-escalate a situation with his voice. It was amazing and really interested the kids.” In another classroom, FBI agent
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Basically, before these, the gas tanks would explore when the bad guys shot at the gas tank. Now, this is on every vehicle to keep the military safe. Terrance Jesclard
Ryan Blair shared with kindergartners and fourth-graders about what he does, mostly investigate white collar crimes across the country. He answered questions about drugs, cybercrimes, national security, terrorism, espionage— breaking it down in simple terms to the youngsters. “Think of us as the federal police investigating crimes across the country and helping keep people safe,” Blair said. After allowing a couple kids to put on his gear, a student asked what is needed to become an agent. “One hundred thousand people apply, and we hire 2,000 of them so do well in school, stay away from crime and those involved in crime, and be good to other people,” Blair replied. At Canyon View, entrepreneur Terrance Jesclard explained to students what an entrepreneur is and how and why he became one. Then, he shared how he and his parents developed a fuel tank fire suppression kit. “Basically, before these, the gas tanks would explore when the bad guys shot at the gas tank,” he said. “Now, this is on every vehicle to keep the military safe.” Second-grade teacher Ann Fisher said the kids were excited to learn about different careers. “They’re finding their passions and being exposed to a lot of different jobs,” she said. “I’m sure they’ll talk to their parents about what they liked, but we’ll also write about what they learned and write our presenters thank-you notes.” In a fifth-grade room, David Schonberg told students he was impressed with what they already knew about solar energy. They told him that the natural resource uses sun’s energy, it can save money and provide cleaner air and can help create
Canyon View students learn about different jobs, including from a police officer, during their career day. (Julie Slama/City Journals)
electricity. He also had them calculate that one solar panel produces roughly 500 kilowatt hours of energy per year per panel on a house roof. He said there are approximately 20 solar panels per roof and in Utah, with a great amount of sun, it can provide homeowners greater savings and help air quality. Fifth-grade teacher Karla Antivilo said that career day was a good tie-in to their experience at Junior Achievement business town when they role-played positions in several businesses. She planned to have students share their strengths and talents with possible careers at their morning meeting. Midvalley held a couple large speaker sessions for students before returning to rooms for classroom speakers. The multipurpose speakers included an environmental engineer, who had hands-on examples for students to see how decisions impact the quality of water; a Girl Scout membership support specialist, who shared with them about her position supporting the Girl Scout mission; and a certified equine therapist, who explained how she helps massage and relax horses—and took one class out to get a first-hand look how she does it. Many students were excited to see their former school office staff team mem-
ber Polly Gallman return to the school as a registered nurse to share about her journey and what she now does for her patients in the medical/surgical unit at Primary Children’s Hospital. “I check for bumps on their head, take their pulse on their wrist or foot, check their eyes and their mouth, listen to their heart and lungs and belly, take their blood pressure, look at their back and feet, press on their belly, and make sure they’re drinking water—all as part of my assessment,” she said. “Many of you know me from working here at the school office and I’d help you if you got sick, now I’m doing it for more kids. I found my passion in helping kids get better. What I want you to remember is that you’re never too old to go back to school so don’t ever give up on your education.” Canyons Career and Technical Education Coordinator Patti Larkin said that career days gives parents and the community a chance to play an essential role in children’s education. “Each parent or community member brings a unique perspective and job they can share with our students,” she said. “Especially now as COVID allows, it has been great to get our presenters back into the elementary schools helping our young students explore their interests and learn about possible careers.” l
August 2022 | Page 5
Oakdale librarian does more than stock shelves, she connects with students By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
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n an Oakdale Elementary library bulletin board, students had written favorite memories—getting a dog, doing a cannonball off the high dive, riding roller coasters, eating macaroons with a great-grandpa—on little paper balloons. It was an engaging activity, tying into “The Memory Balloons,” a book where a grandson shares his favorite memories he had with his grandfather, who had forgotten them. “I liked doing that,” one student said. “She always gathers us on the rug, reads a story, then we can draw or write about it. We’ve done ones on poetry and Earth Day. Last year, we had one about making a difference in the world. She knows where to find all the good books.” She is Tami Carlson, or sometimes “Mrs. Carwash” as students have fondly combined her name with her with longtime colleague Shannon Walsh, and through Carlson’s 31 years at Oakdale, she has intermixed activities with library time, breaking the stereotype of a librarian holding her index finger up to her lips to shush students or stocking the shelves of a bookmobile. Former Oakdale Principal Lori Jones recalled a lesson where Carlson would introduce the character trait of kindness. “She read the kids stories about being kind and then, they wrote letters to seniors in nursing homes to cheer them up,” Jones said. “A lot of the teachers do that too, but she reinforced the bigger picture going on in school and made the library a fun and cheerful place to be.” Carlson started working at Oakdale as a playground and copy center aide while her mother was the school secretary. The next year, Carlson slid into the open position in the library and has worked there ever since. She has worked under the direction of nine principals, through changing enrollments (its high was more than 600 students, now it is about 400) with five co-librarians, including Walsh who has worked beside her for 16 years. “We just can't imagine working without each other,” Carlson said about her colleague, who used to be a reading interventionalist and would work with students in the library. Walsh feels the same way. “Tami is just hilarious, and she is just an easygoing person. She's a storyteller. You know when she tells a story, she's very animated with the kids. When she's talking about a lesson, she brings it to life and connects with the kids,” Walsh said. “Tami loves children, and she loves reading in that order. She just loves being around children and making them smile, but she also loves the reading sector and what they learn from it from them. I don’t think she’ll ever leave this job. I think she enjoys it too much.” Alice Peck, who served as Oakdale principal for four years, remembers Carlson knowing all the students. “She has a familiar face, and she knows all the students by name. She’s always bubbly, upbeat, and positive and never in a bad mood. She has a lightness, a smile for everyone, so kids just adore her,” she said. “She and Shannon just work together so well, whether it’s checking in books with the barcodes or doing lessons for the kids. When they found out I was moving to the district, they created a bulletin board of students’ limericks that was the sweetest thing. Then, they presented me them in a big binder. It was just touching. They’re the dynamic duo.” Through the years, Carlson has seen change in education. When she started, the school featured open classrooms. “It's so ridiculous that anyone ever thought that would work. You could literally roll a ball from the office down to the sixth grade or hear a piano playing and singing going on or hear a video over here or hear a teacher who spoke loudly over there,” she said, also recalling that they’d prop open the
Page 6 August 2022
Oakdale Elementary librarian Tami Carlson is excited about a set of new biographies. (Julie Slama/City Journals)
school doors so even a stray dog wandered through the school a couple times. Walls and air-conditioning were installed in the 1990s after a before-school fire broke out in the music room, which was located inside the back door. “Back then, none of the doors were locked. Most of the teachers were here and a few students were outside because the opening bell had not run yet. We think someone came in that back room and set the music room on fire. We didn't know who or why because there weren't security cameras back then, but man, that fire marshal and two other men in suits sat on one side of a table and you were on the other and they interrogated all of us one at a time in a very intimidating manner. Like, ‘Do you smoke? Have you ever had a vendetta against anyone at this school?’ We did learn an accelerant was used and that room was filled with storage from floor to ceiling with desks, equipment, chairs—and with student records. That room was burned to the ground and then the fire traveled through the false ceilings. There was a lot of smoke damage, especially to our beautiful art collection that we inherited from the old Union Elementary. They had to send all those paintings out to be cleaned with the smoke damage. Our school wasn't closed for more than a few days. It was the end of the year, so they brought in those giant fans, and gave a warning to kids that have breathing problems,” Carlson remembered. She was at Oakdale on Sept. 11, 2001. “I had been just watching the news like I do in the morning when I'm getting ready for work and saw those planes hit those towers. I just wanted to stay home, curled up in a ball and cry all day, but we had to come to work that day. The principal called us in and said, ‘We're not going to bring it up
with the kids. If they ask, you smile and say that you're safe here.’ And we didn’t know that, but we were told to try to have as normal day as possible. We had to just keep quiet and carry on and know that their parents can help them when they get home. That was a day I wished we’d have off because that was a hard one to get through,” Carlson said. She also worked at Oakdale when the Jordan School District split, and Canyons School District was created for the eastern schools. “A lot of people were highly opinionated about it. Are you for or against? I think it's been a really good thing because that district was so big and it was hard to get help or be heard because there were so many schools,” Carlson said. “Canyons has been so good about technology. We have technology devices and support in every school. There’s someone to answer your questions on the phone or send someone over. We have someone assigned to our school to help just with that and that has been a wonderful thing, especially recently during COVID.” During the pandemic, the library had assigned seating, which started when students were tracked to minimize the spread of COVID-19. “It somewhat mimics who they sit by in class and that's actually been helpful to minimize the distractions and interruptions, but now, younger students who were at home are needing to learn all the normal routines of how to walk quietly, sit still and not wander around and be disruptive. At the beginning of the year, they scattered like mice. We'd have to call the office and say, ‘I've got three kids on the loose’ because I’d just look up from a lesson and they’d be gone,” Carlson said. “I think most kids if one thing they learned from that is they
Cottonwood Heights City Journal
do love going to school and they never want to go home again and do schooling.” Jones said that when schools transitioned to COVID-19 protocols, “Mrs. Carwash” was there. “They had jumped in and helped us with a lot of things like checking out the Chromebooks and helped me with that immensely. They also helped with checking out new curriculum to our teachers, doing bulletin boards, posting what teachers and staff were reading to interest kids in reading, and they are able to wear so many different hats,” she said, adding before COVID, they maintained the Red Bookshelf, which provided students a place to grab a free used book. Carlson’s own job has changed from those early years when there was a card catalog. “When we got a book, we would create cards. That book had a card for the author, another card for the illustrator and so on. One book would have maybe six 3-by-5 cards that needed to be filed. Then, if someone asked if we have a book about unicorns, we’d go to the card catalog to look up unicorns. It was time consuming and insane making up all those cards, then filing them and discarding them when we got rid of the book. Now the kids can go to the student computers and look up unicorn and be able to find the book. We still use the Dewey Decimal System because it works. We've worked with the kids to teach them to find their own books because county
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and government libraries are still using the Dewey Decimal System,” she said. Walsh said that when they get new books, “It’s like Christmas to us. Tami gets all giddy because we get to read new books to students and show them all the new books and introduce them to new genres.” Those new books are put on display; recently, Carlson put out some new biographies she was excited to share with students. “Biographies used to be hundreds of fine print pages and few pictures, and the kids would have to read the entire book to find out basic facts about someone. Now, we can Google, but these books are just beautiful and inviting. Look at this one about Kamala Harris. You know how she wears the sneakers? On the inside cover of each of these is something unique to the person and hers is sneakers. It’s just fun and engaging. These kids are just dying over these books and they’re going to learn all about these people and they’re just colorful and beautifully illustrated. The books are made with better quality ink and pictures, and they’re nicely bound,” she said, recalling when she started in the library, the district would send books to the school. “We had no say in it whatsoever; they ordered the same books for every school, and they’d weed out the surplus books that were out-of-date or not being checked out. But we do everything now which we should because we know our school population and we have kids ask for certain books and we try to make that happen.”
As Carlson and Walsh place orders, they make a conscious effort to get books that represent diversity. “We try very hard to choose books that kids can see themselves in and their families. So, children of color and children with disabilities, or say, my parents are divorced, or I have two moms, so we look for books that are inclusive. We don't sit we don't talk about it too much, but we have books that reflect that. We buy books about different holidays, so they aren't all Christian holidays. We want them to find books that are age appropriate and aren’t all mainstream, so all our students can see themselves and their families in them,” she said. That’s something former principal Peck appreciated about Carlson: “She’s very much an educator that is beloved by kids. She chooses books that are appropriate and enjoyable on any level and often, they correlate with topics in the classroom, so we have an integrated support for our curriculum.” Carlson said the library continues to check out classic children’s books. “We just ordered a bunch of new copies of Beverly Cleary books, and I love a book by Kate DiCamillo called, ‘Because of Winn-Dixie;’ we have four copies that are constantly being checked out,” she said. “I can’t choose my favorite book because it is like choosing a favorite candy. It can't be done.” “Mrs. Carwash” also works with teach-
ers to match their library lessons with the class curriculum. “Back in the day, we read them a story and let them check out books. Now we always plan. We teach them library skills. We look at the core curriculum and try to hit on as many of those as we can. Sometimes we find a book that we just love, and we do a lesson around that book,” Carlson said, adding that in recent years, they’ve also begun to meet on a regular basis with the school principal to learn about schoolwide schedules, trainings, drills and concerns so they’re in the loop with faculty and staff. “We also meet with other school librarians. We can exchange ideas and trade book suggestions and support each other.” Even with the skills and lessons that are taught in the library, Carlson said there is a goal above those. “We try hard to make the kids feel loved and to make them feel like this is a safe, happy place. When they come in here for a minute, we want there to be no stress, just a place that they can relax and enjoy,” she said. “That’s the most important thing for me, more important than learning about the genres of the books and how to do research. That's my goal.” This is the second of three profiles spotlighting longtime Canyons School District employees. l
August 2022 | Page 7
Continued from front page “The proposal that is up is for modification to office building. If there is support for exploring this, there would be a process for a conditional use permit, public hearing at the Planning Commission, and, based on analysis, it would require renegotiation with all the taxing entities,” explained Community and Economic Development Director Mike Johnson. “I don’t want to fight. I’d rather just figure out what’s going to work for everybody and do that,” McCandless said. “We think two levels of residential condominiums will probably work best.” Instead of four levels of 100% professional use office space, the proposed amendment would allow for 55% professional use office space and 45% residential condominiums. The first two levels would be reserved for the previously approved office space, with the third and fourth levels incorporating condominiums. The last level would be reserved for rooftop gardens. “The Canyon Centre HOA sent an email to us and they are in full support of what is being proposed,” said Mayor Mike Weichers. If the two levels were approved for condominiums, McCandless estimates space for at least 10 different units, with potential of up to 21 units. These would be
Facts about the Canyon Centre Development: It’s a $30-million structure with the cost spiking $3 million in the last six months. Construction costs for one single parking stall are estimated at $37,000. The apartment complex went up from 112 units to 140 units. There will be a spa and cycling facilities. A retail facility under the hotel will be leased by the owners of Root’d. They will have coffee and small food sources. The Break, a sports bar and restaurant, will be next to Eight Settlers. They plan to open within the next four months. one million dollar condos. Building condominiums instead of office space would allow for the benefit of lower building height. Office space typically requires 15 feet for each floor of office space, while housing units require 12 feet per floor. “It would be a shorter building,” McCandless said. “It could be the same height as the hotel.” In addition, there would be less traf-
fic. McCandless and his team ran a traffic impact study to understand the potential implications of utilizing the space for mixed-use instead of sole office space. They found that there would be 2,000 less vehicles in the area per month with 101 fewer vehicle trips per day. More parking would be available for public use as well, as the condominiums would only require 50 parking stalls. “To sum up: the positive aspects that have been identified are parking opportunities for adjacent residential areas, building height reductions, and less projected traffic,” said City Manager Tim Tingey. However, there would be a detriment to the Tax Increment Area (TIA) financing for the project. In 2019, the Canyon Centre was estimated at $51 million. “The implications of the tax revenue would be a little less,” McCandless said. Today, projections for the Canyon Centre are closer to $58 million. If the remaining development remained professional use office space, the estimated worth would be $63.2 million. “We’ll be losing $5 million in taxable value,” said Councilmember Shawn Newell. Johnson clarified that the trigger date had already passed, and the city had already begun collecting revenue. “We are actively collecting tax increment and the longer there’s not a building there, the less
increment we collect.” Councilmember Ellen Birrell voiced her concern over the potential of shortterm rentals if owner-occupancy was not required for the condominiums. “The zoning won’t allow for shortterm rentals,” McCandless said. “But people are still going to do it.” McCandless mentioned that the proposed amendment would be a harder route for them to pursue overall, but he believes a mixed-use office residential space to be a better solution for the community. “There are definitely challenges regarding the process of going through the other entities involved with the TIA,” McCandless said. He’ll have to amend the development plans with every single one of the entities involved and attend all the public hearings. “No one wants to see it done more than I do,” McCandless stressed. “We never abandon our commitments to municipalities, we’ve never defaulted on a project and I don’t want to make this the first one.” “I’m ready to say move forward with the proposed amendment,” concluded Weichers. l
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Internships give Cottonwood High students ‘insider look’ at careers By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
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his summer, several Cottonwood High students should be finishing up their 40hour career and technical education internships and more are likely set to do theirs in the fall. More than a dozen others, like senior Georgia Barrus, completed internships last spring. Barrus was interested in teaching and had helped at the Cottonwood High’s preschool. She had heard about internships when she was a freshman, but she had forgotten about it until senior year when Cottonwood work-based learning specialist and internship coach Mary Campbell approached her. “I was like ‘I'm going to do this because it’s such a good learning experience for me,’” she said. “I’ve taken early childhood class and the preschool class, but then taking the internship and working at Oakwood Elementary School, just confirmed my passion for teaching.” The internships are optional for juniors and seniors who, if enrolled, receive a pass or fail grade and receive 0.5 credit, but they also have an insider look at working in the
career, Campbell said. “We want to give our students more career exploration and this is a great way to do it,” she said, adding that they have interns working in physical training, libraries, computer science, sports marketing, aerospace and other fields. “Our goal is to see them all graduate with knowledge or skills in whatever they may be interested in. We want to help them toward their career, and this is helping them know ‘this is what it looks like’ before they step into the job.” Campbell works closely with Granite School District internship development specialist Erin Gubler. “Many students can use this internship as a way to test if it’s a field they want to pursue, which can save them a lot of money determining that now instead of during college,” she said. “They may also discover different pathways or if the job will help pay for their college or training. It gives them a look into certifications, scholarships or even classes to take if they choose to pursue a certain career.” Through the internships, students practice their writing, create their own LinkedIn
profiles, and learn interview skills as they create resumes and have mock interviews. The students also are paired with a mentor at the internship location. At the end of the students’ internships, they share with others about their experience. Barrus already had her LinkedIn account, but she said she’s learned a lot through her internship and brought in some experience she has from her high school education classes, such as creating a daily schedule or a certain activity. During the internship, she helped teach kindergartners, working with students individually and in small groups as well as in the larger classroom setting. “I’ll ask the teacher what she needs or what she’d like me to do. I’ve helped with circle time, a dance they’re learning, library and music time and math bingo to teach them numbers. What I really like is getting to know them and their personalities. They’ll say what’s on the top of their head and sometimes it’s so funny,” she said. “Sometimes, I learn what works and doesn’t work. Like yesterday, a girl was outside of the playground did not want to come in. It was raining and so I just went out and asked if she wanted to come help me cut off the paper and she instantly got down and came in, held my hand and walked back with me. I was
shocked because she wouldn’t come when other teachers called for her to come in, but maybe she just listened to me or wanted a reason to come in.” Much of her spring, Barrus, or Miss G, as she was called at Oakwood, was at the elementary school three hours two days per week. “I’m learning how to become like a better leader and how to teach students in a way that will work for them. Like some kids I'll sit down with, and I'll help them with the math. I count out with them, pointing to a picture. Some other kids really need to get blocks out and take away blocks. I have learned it's important to communicate on all levels—the kids, the teacher, parents, everyone,” she said. Having that internship experience is critical as it helps build students’ experience and confidence, Gubler said. “It’s impactful and can be an important experience students can use as they prepare life after graduation,” she said. “They’re learning soft skills as well as getting excited about their future skills. Everything they learn will help them as they make career choices.” l
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Cottonwood High senior Georgia Barrus gets supplies ready to do an art project with students during her internship. (Photo courtesy of Georgia Barrus/Cottonwood High)
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August 2022 | Page 9
New Woodstock, Cottonwood principals to welcome students By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
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wo new faces are greeting students this fall, stepping in the shoes of former beloved principals who have left Woodstock Elementary and Cottonwood High. At Woodstock Elementary, Kristie Reather will greet about 500 students, some she met last spring, as former principal Brenda Byrnes has left to work in the Granite School District office. Nearby, Mike Douglas got a jump start, moving into his office in June and was trying to meet with some of the Cottonwood High community before school began. He takes over for retiring principal Terri Roylance. Education, especially elementary school, isn’t new to Reather. “I just I love school and my folks traveled around a lot,” she said. “I went to five different elementary schools, and I had some amazing teachers that made a huge impact on me,” she said, adding she remembered her second-grade teacher Mrs. Parabeck at Central Heights Elementary in Billings, Montana let her hang out at school until her older siblings got home. “She made it easier and cared a lot about me and touched my life,” Reather said. “She just helped me want to do the same thing. She influences the lives of all the kids that I touch now.” Reather also fondly remembered her seventh-grade choir teacher, Harold Anderson at Riverside Junior High, also in Billings. “I was racing to class one day because of course it was 30 seconds before the bell rang, and I was eating as quick as I could. He stopped me. I thought, ‘I'm going to be in so much trouble.’ But instead of yelling at me, he told me I needed to go out for track. It's just moments like that that make a difference. So, I did, and I even broke some records,” she said. Reather went on to earn her bachelor’s in elementary education with a focus in language arts and her master’s in elementary education, both from Utah State. She also holds a master’s in educational leadership. As an educator, she taught nine years in both first and third grades. She’s been a school reading specialist, a District reading coach, an interventionalist, an instructional consultant and an assistant support coach. Before coming to Wood-
Page 10 August 2022
stock, she was assistant principal at Hunter Junior and at Olympus High. “I've been from elementary to high school and the bottom line is kids are kids and their bodies get bigger, but they're still amazing and the decisions they make as they get older, of course can impact them a little bit more. They all need to be loved and accepted and we need to raise them up to become their best. Flexibility and laughter are the key. Establishing those relationships, making sure everyone's safe and respected, and just eliminating obstacles that interfere with learning is my job,” Reather said, adding that she plans to be with the students as much as possible, playing foursquare or going along with the PTA doing some crazy things to help motivate them to read. “I love reading. I’ve recently been reading about World War II, and I also love John Grisham, but usually it’s just whatever strikes my fancy,” she said, adding that she also loves playing with her three grandkids and traveling to places such as Yellowstone National Park and Puerto Rico. But her heart is being at school. “I love being a principal,” Reather said. “People who have reached out to me said Woodstock is phenomenal. I've heard wonderful things about the students and their families, how caring and involved they are, and all the activities they do. I’ve heard Woodstock is their family so that makes me happy because it’s now my family, too.” That’s how outgoing principal Byrnes has felt the past five years at Woodstock. “I always try to be in the lunchroom, go outside with the kids, be outside with them before and after school,” she said. “I read certain books to every grade level. So, throughout the year, many times I'd go in and read books to them and they love it and I love it my tradition as well. I’m going to miss it.” After a pause, she continued. “I love being in education. There is no doubt this is what I was meant to do,” she said, adding that she came from a family of educators. “I'm going to obviously miss the kids and the staff and the teachers. We genuinely consider ourselves to be a family. We genuinely care about each other and are
so close and tightknit.” During her tenure, Woodstock’s academic growth has risen. “Our greatest accomplishment is that we have steadily increased our academic achievement base, you know, and we've got data to show that over the past five years,” she said. “That has to do with everybody in the Woodstock family, saying ‘this is what we're going to do.’ I'm super proud of everyone’s hard work and efforts.” During the last few weeks of spring, Reather shadowed Byrnes on Fridays, so she got to learn about the school and its routine and even a bit about the “sweet seat,” a place of honor created first by a teacher, now in the school office. “Students are nominated for any reason, whether it's they've improved a test score, they've just given it their best, they improved their behavior or whatever the teachers see. I love it because it's just time where they get to sit and tell me about what they did and how awesome they are— so we get to celebrate together,” Byrnes said, adding that she also sends a personal note to their parents. While Byrnes acknowledges she will be a step further away from the students, she will still have an impact in their education hiring teachers who will have a positive impact in the classroom as Granite District’s human resources associate director. “It’s an honor to be chosen for this position. We need good teachers for our district and part of my skill set is getting people excited about being part of education here,” Byrnes said. Douglas also is excited about his new position so much he is knocking on doors adjacent to the campus to introduce himself—on top of being part of a group who is trying to visit about 400 incoming ninth-graders’ homes. “We're going to give them a welcome backpack with some school supplies and a Cottonwood T-shirt or swag in there, see what extracurricular activities they are interested in, and invite them to a welcome barbecue,” he said. “I want people to know I have an open-door policy if they have any great ideas they want to share or questions they need to ask or even concerns that they can call me.” During the year, he plans to
Principal Brenda Byrnes met with incoming principal Kristie Reather to ensure a smooth transition at Woodstock Elementary this school year. (Photo courtesy of Brenda Byrnes/Woodstock Elementary)
be at several extracurricular events and activities, from the performing arts (which will include a new upgraded sound system and sound booth this fall) to clubs and sports. “I wanted to be at a high school. High school has it all—all the extracurricular activities, the clubs, the sports, AP (advanced placement classes), concurrent enrollment, robotics, chess, debate, arts—if there's anything you love or are interested in, you can participate in that in high school level,” he said. As a Cyprus High School student, Douglas played football—“my coaches had a great influence on me in my life and shaping me as a as a person as a man and I wanted to be able to do that for other people”—and did ceramics. “I just loved it. I had an affinity to it and I ended up being pretty good at it,” he said, having earned art awards not only in high school, but also while attending Dixie State University. “It's an incredible thing
to take a lump of clay and make something beautiful out of it. My pottery teacher Joe Van Leeuwen would say life is like a lump of clay. He’s now retired, but he was an amazing teacher.” Another teacher who had indirectly influenced Douglas into a career in education was his fifthgrade teacher who in struggling to have the students focus would take away recess time when they didn’t pay attention. “What she was doing was trying to try to motivate or change behavior using a punitive approach as opposed to saying ‘hey, if we can get through this as a class, you can earn a point’ toward something; for me, it would have been more PE time,” he said. “So instead, she was taking away PE time. I remember I went to the bathroom, and I came back, and all of our PE time had been taken away. I wasn't even in the room, and I love PE, and now it was gone so, I was really upset. That was the part where I thought,
Cottonwood Heights City Journal
‘I'm never going to do this when I'm a teacher.’ That was the first time I ever thought about being a teacher.” Douglas went on to earn his bachelor’s in physical education with a minor in history from the University of Utah, then got his master’s in administration and education leadership at the University of Phoenix. He taught history and government seven years at Cyprus High—right down the hall from his mother, who was finishing her teaching career in English-language arts. “Some students were lucky enough to have both of us as their teachers so that was fun,” Douglas said. Now in his 11th year as an administrator, he brings his experiences in education to Cottonwood. “Every individual matters, every person that walks in your building, whether they're an employee or a student or a parent, that person matters. You give them your time and listen and make sure you hear them; I can't listen to everybody, but our staff can, our teachers can, our assistants can,” he said. “We need to think about the individual student. It's not students. I’ll often say, ‘it’s the student first and always;’ we need to address the individual needs of every student because every student is different. I've learned that each person and all people matter; we need to be respectful and understanding so each of our students excel and achieve and do new things and hard things, the same as I want the staff, the teachers to excel and achieve and to do new and hard things. When we have a growth mindset about people’s ability to learn, then everyone can learn given the right environment, given the right supports.” Having that strong school culture where students and faculty support one another was a legacy Roylance left behind. Her last year, she met with others to start the Stampede, a club designed to solely support campus groups and get teams and clubs to support one another. “I just loved my time at Cottonwood, absolutely loved my time there,” she said shortly after moving out of her office in June. “I worked with the best people and had the best kids there. I will miss the people very, very much, there are no regrets.” Roylance assumed her duties as new Cottonwood High principal in November 2015 when former Principal Alan R. Parrish took a job in Granite School District’s office. She had to prepare for the following fall when about 500 ninth-graders would come to Cottonwood, making it a four-year high school and pushing enrollment to about 1,800 students. “That whole year was just crazy; we spent planning and going over and interviewing and observing the junior high teachers that were interested to move to Cottonwood and be in the high school. The building remodel (which began in April 2016 and was supposed to be ready by that fall) was not done on time—it wasn't anywhere near finished,” Roylance said. “I remember saying,
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‘We got to prioritize, and the classrooms and the cafeteria need to be functional. The rest of us can figure it out.’ We abandoned all the teacher meetings and instead, helped each other get into new rooms that weren't quite finished. It’s one of my favorite memories, just watching teachers help each other. Then, they came to me and say, ‘Terri, what else do you need?’ I just remember thinking that we have the best personnel.” Another favorite memory was when Cottonwood’s baseball team was playing for the state championship her second year. The game was the same day as graduation; both were held at Utah Valley University. “I ran down to UVU in the morning with my cap and gown and with the diplomas. I graduated those baseball seniors on the baseball field at UVU right there in front of home plate. Then I quickly sprinted across the field and ran up to make it to our graduation at one o'clock,” Roylance said. Meanwhile, the team won the state championship. At the commencement ceremony, they baseball team came in and stood by the auditorium doors. “They were waiting to take my picture with the state trophy. It was awesome; it was so great. I started to cry. I remember standing to front of the audience and my secretary slipped in saying they just won the championship. So, right then and there, I announced that as the graduates were coming up on the stage. It was absolutely a sweet memory,” she said. Another standout time was when the school’s rookie robotics team qualified to compete at the world championships in Houston. “It was difficult to raise that kind of money to get the whole team to Houston in the span of 10 days. At first, I thought there's no way we can do this, but our awesome community gathered and rallied around these kids, so they raised more money than was needed for the whole team to go compete,” she said. “Our kids are just awesome. I love to see them outside of the school setting, participating whether it was a theater performance or an athletic competition or with a club. It was just fun to see that side of our kids. I just love the community. We have a very diverse community and I just felt as a privilege and an honor to be there for seven years.” Even though she’s retiring, she isn’t putting her feet up. She will work for the University of Utah, supervising student teachers at several schools, including at Cottonwood High. Through her education career thus far, while Roylance taught and was an administrator in several places, Cottonwood has remained a special place for her. Her first placement as a teaching intern was at Cottonwood. “When I left as an intern, I said, if I should ever be so lucky to come back and work at this school, it would be a dream come true,” she said. “When I was appointed here, I remember thinking this will be my dream job and it has been; it absolutely has been.” l
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Two area outstanding Granite teachers, one principal applauded for education excellence By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com Three area top educators in Granite School District were recently honored amongst their peers and students for their excellence. Twin Peaks special education teacher Colette Madsen, Cottonwood High School English teacher Kathy Hess and Woodstock Elementary Principal Brenda Byrnes were each surprised to learn of the honor. “They said it was an assembly and the kids like going to the assemblies and I was thinking, ‘I didn’t even know we had one,’” Madsen said. “I was heading down with them and then was told I needed to pop into the office about switching money in an account. I'm like, ‘I don't have that money,’ but I was told to sign this form—and I realize now, it was a fake form. So, I hurried right into the assembly, and I was like, ‘Why is there a camera in my face?’ I totally didn’t know.” Each year the Granite Education Foundation, in partnership with the Granite School District, awards nine teachers and one administrator an Excel Award of $1,000 apiece. Each awardee was nominated by either a student, parent or colleague. Granite School District Family and Community Engagement Director Jadee Talbot said more than 1,500 nominations were submitted this year. “Nominees are then invited to submit an application to be considered for the next round,” he said. “From the applications, the list is narrowed down to a finalist list.” Then, the Excel committee visited classrooms before the winners—who represent the 2,961 teachers at 87 schools—were announced. Madsen “I was nominated and applied, and they did the observations; it was all before winter vacation and in January, so I never gave it another thought,” Madsen said. “I still can’t believe this. I’m still kind of numb.” The 15-year veteran teacher originally planned to be a commercial artist. “When my daughter went to kindergarten, I started working at the school where she was going because I had to go and pick her up and I fell in love with special education,” she said. Through an alternative learning route, she was able to gain her education while being a paraeducator in Jordan School District. After she graduated, she was offered a position at Twin Peaks, where she has taught for 13 years. “I was extremely happy, and I can still do art with the kiddos. They’re visual learners so I can bring that in with the way I teach and communicate. A lot of our students are non-verbal and because they think in pictures, not words, we use a lot of pictures, picture schedules, picture communication. It is very much visual, and the kids are so
Page 12 August 2022
fun. When you know how they learn, a bit slower and in a different way, you’re able to adapt the teaching. There are days when you watch them succeed; you watch the little milestones,” said the kindergarten through second-grade teacher. “I just love teaching.” Hess “It was quite a shock,” Hess said as she watched her husband, children and grandchildren file into her classroom along with other district and school personnel. “We had read ‘Frankenstein’ and a student was just ending her presentation and sharing a beautiful drawing when everybody started coming in. It was still for about 10 seconds, then I realized what was going on. It was just kind of overwhelming.” Along with observations and paperwork, Hess had shared with the Excel committee her teaching vision and why she loves it. She also shared the focus for inclusivity and voice she incorporates in her teaching. “The focus is on how do I find my voice and then, when I find my voice, what can I do with my voice? What is the purpose of not just tolerance, but inclusivity?” she said. “We worked on acquiring graphic novels for a fundamentals class so that they can read some of the classics more on their reading level. We want students to be able to read more books on a social justice platform so they can become involved. They've chosen books that they are reading, they’re getting into groups, and they will be diving into social justice issues that are so important for them. They see what's going on in the world and they've got a voice and know that they matter.” Through reading, Hess said students are looking at social issues and becoming more understanding. “I have found they are much more accepting and tolerant of others’ perspectives. Their perspectives have just not been tarnished, and we're not only recognizing what the problem is, but also that they have got some very keen ideas on what social justice should look like in the world. So, we have about 10 minutes where we talk about your perspective and open up for two minutes. There are those that would prefer not sharing vocally, so I give them an opportunity to write some of their questions or concerns on a paper. But everyone has an opportunity to share in this atmosphere that is safe,” she said, adding that she has been an advisor to a school mental health club that was started by some students and offers her room as a safe atmosphere for students. Even though she has ways to acknowledge students, Hess said she was surprised for being acknowledged herself. “I certainly feel honored,” Hess said. “I recognize how much the District cares for teachers. Granite is a huge supporter of the teaching profession and of the students.”
Kathy Hess was surprised to learn she was a Granite Education Foundation Excel Award winner. (Photo courtesy of Granite School District)
Woodstock Principal Brenda Byrnes expected a mishap in the gym when she was told she was needed, not to be awarded with the Excel Award. (Photo courtesy of Granite School District)
After realizing she was an Excel winner, Twin Peaks’ Colette Madsen broke out in a smile. (Julie Slama/ City Journals)
Byrnes Byrnes was meeting with a director in a windowless room in the library. She had a long day, and a student wanted her help. “It is funny because I almost didn't go into the meeting because I was wanting to help a student,” she said. “But the director, she was kind of like, ‘let's do this. Then we'll circle back around to help that student.’ Her job was to get me locked away in this room so students could come in the gym. Then, they told me that there was an incident in the gym so they needed me. I walked in there having no idea. I did hear noise, but we have PE on Monday, so I just thought something happened in PE. I was completely shocked.” Byrnes first saw her family, then Granite School District Superintendent Rich K. Nye holding a congratulatory sign. “I knew I had been nominated for the award. So, at that point, I figured it out pretty fast, and the kids were so cute. They were just screaming and cheering for me; it was
really fun and so sweet how happy and excited they were for me,” she said. “I got tearyeyed and emotional. It's a huge honor and something that I never thought I would win.” Byrnes, who taught second grade at West Valley Elementary, just completed her fifth year as Woodstock’s principal. She also has served as assistant principal at Cyprus High and Eisenhower Junior High. “I wanted to have a bigger impact, to be able to help more kids so I became an administrator. So even though leaving the classroom was hard, because you're one step removed from the kids, I did it so I could work with the adults, and the adults are going to be working with the kids, so I realized, we’ll have a bigger impact on them,” she said. Now she is leaving her principal position to hire teachers for the district, so they, too, can have a positive impact on students. “This all has just been a big circle of emotions,” she said. “I am very honored.” l
Cottonwood Heights City Journal
City Journals recognized multiple times at the 2022 SPJ awards (Society of Professional Journalists) HERE ARE THE WINNERS FROM DAVIS:
Front page design First place – Anna Pro and Roger Tuttle • Honorable mention – Anna Pro Best single page design • Honorable mention – Anna Pro Best photographer • Honorable mention– Roger Tuttle Humor/lifestyle • Third place: – Peri Kinder • Honorable mention – Peri Kinder Best newspaper reporter • First place – Becky Ginos Medical/Science • First place – Becky Ginos General news • Third place – Becky Ginos
and Roger Tuttle Military • Third place – Becky Ginos Sports • Third place – Tom Haraldsen Military • Honorable mention– Tom Haraldsen
HERE ARE THE WINNERS FROM SALT LAKE:
Sports • First place – Julie Slama • Second place – Carl Fauver Personality profile • First place – Julie Slama • Second place -- Sarah Morton Taggart • Third place – Sona Schmidt Harris Religion/values • Third place – Sarah Morton Taggart
Medical/science • Second place – Julie Slama • Third place – Shaun Delliskave Military • First place – Julie Slama Education • Second place – Jet Burnham • Third place – Jet Burnham • Honorable mention – Jet Burnham Environment • Second place – Deb Hafner Diversity and equity • First place – Julie Slama COVID-19 investigative • First place – Cassie Goff Continuing coverage • First place – Cassie Goff
Business/consumer • Second place – Sarah Morton Taggart Arts and entertainment • First place – Julie Slama Best newspaper reporter • Second place – Carl Fauver • Third place – Cassie Goff
Brighton student recognized for excellence in art By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
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everal area high school students had their art selected for the 50th Utah All-State High School Art Show, a juried show that honors the best high school artists in the state for their creativity, talent and dedication at the Springville Museum of Art. This year’s show had 335 works, representing 108 high schools. Here is a selection of area work that was displayed this spring. l
Women: Your Voice Matters!
We need more women in political office. We need you! Join the Women’s Leadership Institute in its non-partisan, in-depth training for aspiring female political candidates. The seventh annual cohort has started, but we have a couple spots still available! Brighton High’s Jason Anderson created “Propellor,” which was one of several Brighton High students’ artwork selected for the 50th Utah All-State High School Art Show. (Julie Slama/City Journals)
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Page 14 August 2022
Cottonwood Heights City Journal
Kids helping kids with a lot of peanut butter and some ‘jamm’
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tudents, staff and faculty came to Butler Elementary in the days before summer break with peanut butter—more than 600 jars, in fact. “It was enough to represent each student at our school,” Butler Elementary PTA President Katy Mitarai said. The school’s peanut butter drive was to help fill the Utah Food Bank this summer, to help other youth who need food. The school teamed up with Will Dance for Kids Project, which holds dance “jamms” to bring awareness and benefit the food bank. “This is the first time we’ve had a peanut butter jamm at a school,” said Will Dance director Penny Broussard, who said they’ve been holding the benefit concerts for 10 years. “This is all about kids helping kids and we do it through dance.” Broussard, who had a dance studio before she retired and has been involved in dance for 57 years, joined up with the food bank to raise funds and awareness and food for the Utah Food Bank’s kids’ program. Traditionally a big jamm is held annually with professional hip hoppers and dancers from across the state where they will have a showdown of their skills, but this year, she’s also bringing in smaller jamms into the schools. “It's so important for kids, especially the kids that are so privileged. It's a good life lesson for the kids and it really makes a difference in our community,” she said. “It’s fun in schools because we share with them the excitement of dance as we’re trying to help others in need.” Utah Food Bank’s website states that one in seven Utah kids are unsure where their next meal is coming from, and donations are needed during the summer months. During Butler’s peanut butter jamm, not only did the professionals and emcee Josh Perkins from 1520 Art display their skills, but so did numerous students who were randomly selected from the audience and taught a few moves from the dancers. Volunteers, staff and faculty also were invited up to jamm, much to the delight of students. “It was so fun to get the kids involved. Whenever the kids can become aware of the fact that they can help other kids, then I think that makes a huge difference. They were so excited, and I think they really have fun participating and so to bring the hip hop dancers to them and then let them participate as well was a win-win and the teachers were the icing on the cake,” she said. Broussard said they focus on peanut butter since it is a staple for the Utah Food Bank’s kids’ program and can be used for more than one meal. “They can make it themselves and it's protein and for us to collect it makes it simple. We’re used to dance competitions, so it was just a switch to hold benefit concerts,” Broussard said, adding that the past couple
CottonwoodHeightsJournal .com
By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
Butler Elementary students scream in delight during the Peanut Butter Jamm at their school. (Julie Slama/City Journals)
years the big jamms have been held in November at Brighton High. “We invite dance studios from across the state and they dance to make a difference in the lives of hungry kids. We've raised over $459,000 for the food bank the past nine years and about 69,000 jars of peanut butter and counting.” Mitarai knew Broussard and thought this was a good opportunity for Butler students. “When I was planning out my year, I knew that I wanted to do a lot of service because we live in a community that's so generous, and there's not a lot of opportunities for little kids to get involved in things,” she said. “We tried to think of some things this year that would be fun and engaging for the kids. So, we did The Giving Tree at Christmastime where the kids could pick an ornament that had things families needed who are in the Canyons School District. Then we held a sock hop. We wanted to do something where we could get the kids out with their families because we haven't been able to do that for so long. We asked each family to bring a pair of new socks so we could donate those to The Road Home family shelter in Midvale.” During The Giving Tree, Butler students donated 62 containers of laundry detergents, 73 bottles of dish soap, 87 family games, 52 gift cards and 33 hygiene kits that were given to families in need through Canyons Education Foundation. At the 1950’s sock hop, they contributed 1,796 pairs of socks, three pairs of men’s underwear and even a pair of gardening gloves. Principal Jeff Nalwalker supports his student body getting involved in community service. “It’s good for kids to have opportunities to serve other people and do things with a charitable heart,” he said. Mitarai said the community was generous as well with the peanut butter donations. “I love helping kids and our student body
had a fun time as the peanut butter jars came in. They built a huge pyramid in the main hallway of the school with the peanut butter,” she said. The student council also made posters and put them around the school and wrote out the announcement about the drive. “The students learned how to be leaders
and get others involved; it was something easy to do, but appreciated so much and impacts so many,” she said. “I love the message that the hip hoppers gave: ‘We all come from different backgrounds, but we all can come together to make a difference.’”l
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August 2022 | Page 15
Canyon View students explore science, art during first showcase By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
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undreds of families packed Canyon View Elementary for their first art and science showcase, a night jam-packed with interactive activities and demonstrations. “This science night is accessible to all students, kindergarten through 12th grade and younger,” fourth-grade teacher Sean Thorpe said, who organized the event. “It’s more hands-on so rather than just coming and watching what other people have done for science, they get to come do the science themselves. They get to experience it, with friends and families. So, it's an opportunity for the community to get together, strengthen community bonds with the school and have fun with their families.” That’s what the Hardy family was doing as parents Justin and Christina were helping their kids Tristin, Brynleigh, Lyla and Micah with making their own glowsticks. There were more than 20 different activities ranging from marble tracks to a fossil dig, from making plarn (plastic yarn) to taking in art—as well as learning about chemistry and sipping it too with root beer floats. “We have a lot of opportunities for kids to do a lot of different STEM activities, to try different types of sciences to see what sparks their interest,” Thorpe said, adding that there were some geared for different age levels as well. “We're supposed to have this night in January, but it got postponed because of a COVID spike. It's nice now because we've been able to utilize some outside space as well, which we wouldn't have been able to do in January. I think the biggest thing is just making sure we had enough supplies and everything. We've just had an amazing turnout of volunteers.” In addition to the PTA and parent volunteers, student leaders from Brighton and Hillcrest high schools volunteered as well as community members. Many of them ran stations from electricity or energy to air pressure and fizz rockets. There was a station on paleontology and another on making and writing with invisible ink. Brighton junior class president-elect Luke Barlow was helping Canyon View students with DIY Fossils. “I went to this elementary, so it’s fun to see some of the old traditions at the school and now help kids with this new one,” he said. Erin Lee and Skylar Barbour were at a station to extract DNA from strawberries. “It’s kind of cool how it can foam up with the alcohol,” Erin said. Polina Smith has a science background, so she volunteered. “What’s a better way for students to learn than to explore and have a chance to
Page 16 August 2022
A crowd favorite at Canyon View’s art and science showcase was the polymer demonstration in a trash can. (Photo courtesy of Melissa White)
do some of these experiments, some using household products,” she said. One of the crowd favorites was a polymer demonstration, which Thorpe and others conducted before a jam-packed kiva. Parent Melissa White took her first-grader Ellie, her 4-year-old Lucas and 2-year-old Calvin to witness the combining of two different liquids in a trash can. “They were stirring with yardsticks for about one minute, then it rose up to 6 feet,” she said. “Everyone was blown away by that reaction. It was very cool and so much fun.” Thorpe knew it would be something that would be memorable. “That was really fun,” he said. “I wish I could have every student do it. So, I figured if I was going to do it, I might as well do it right and do it big.” White’s family also liked checking out the neon paint with black lights and wanted to dissect squids. That’s where kindergartner Alex Kobold was, checking out a squid she had cut open. “This is so much fun,” she said. “I didn’t expect all this goop.” As her dad, Kyle, and grandma, Patty Bolhuis, were trying to pry her away to
During Canyon View’s art and science showcase, kindergartner Thomas Smith extracts DNA from a strawberry. (Julie Slama/City Journals)
Kindergartner Alex Kobold was mesmerized while dissecting a squid at Canyon View’s art and science showcase. (Julie Slama/City Journals)
try other experiments—she already had checked out Sunshine in a Bag and The Senses, Alex wanted to stay. “I think this night has given students an appreciation and love for science,”
Kyle Kobold said. “And maybe for my daughter, the inspiration to be a scientist or engineer.” l
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August 2022 | Page 17
Seek shelter from the heat at county-owned facilities By Sarah Morton Taggart | s.taggart@mycityjournals.com
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riple-digit temperatures and excessive heat warnings have become common during the summer in northern Utah. These conditions can be deadly to those without reliable access to air-conditioning. Thanks to a partnership between Salt Lake County Aging & Adult Services, Salt Lake County Library Services and Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation, anyone can seek shelter from the heat in one of 36 county-owned facilities. Adults age 60 and older can use an additional 18 senior center locations. The Cool Zone locations are air conditioned and open to the public. Anyone can cool off, hydrate and learn about other resources and programs. Loriann Warner, manager of the Midvale Senior Center, reports that older adults come to the center who either don’t have air conditioning in their home or the unit they do have is not working. “If a senior is staying at home in a house with no ability to cool the space, temperatures escalate above 100 degrees and if the senior is not drinking enough water they can become dehydrated and ill,” Warner said. “Dehydration due to excess heat can negatively impact the health of a senior.” Warner recommends coming to the cen-
ter for a class, staying for lunch, and following that with time to exercise to take advantage of the facility during the hottest hours of the day. Most senior centers are open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. Libraries and recreation centers are open on weekends and have longer hours—as late as 9 p.m. at some libraries and 10 p.m. at some recreation centers. Libraries are free and open to all. Recreation centers may require fees to participate in programs or activities, but anyone may sit in the lobby or entryway to cool off. “Two weeks ago a homeless gentleman visited the River’s Bend Senior Center to escape the heat and rehydrate,” said Afton January, communications manager for Salt Lake County Aging & Adult Services. “Staff showed him around the center because he is over 60 and eligible to visit and participate in the programs there. It also happened to be the date of the primary election, so he was able to register to vote for the first time.” The Cool Zone program started in 2014 in response to concerns about older adults’ vulnerability to heat-related illness. “Aging and Adult Services case managers and front-line staff recognized a need among our older population, namely that a lot of lower-income older adults don’t have air conditioning at home to help manage hot
The Midvale Senior Center is a great place for individuals 60 years and older to cool off in the summer. (Sarah Morton Taggart/City Journals)
summer temperatures,” January said. “Our teams mobilized and started two initiatives: one to distribute fans and portable AC units to our homebound clientele, and the cool zones, which are aimed at people who can leave home and are mobile enough to visit a senior center, library or county recreation center.” Sean Bailey, communications and public relations manager for the county, was with the Department of Aging & Adult Services at that time. “At the inception, we realized that we needed to offer more locations as to not limit the program to people 60 years or older,” he said. More information can be found at www.
slco.org/aging-adult-services/cool-zone/ or by calling 385-468-3200. “We hope that the cool zones offer two things to our community—a safe place to cool off from the sometimes extreme temperatures we experience in the summer and an opportunity to learn more about the things Salt Lake County is offering in your neighborhood,” January said. “Whether you visit a library, recreation center, or senior center, you can expect to be treated with respect and invited to participate in programs and activities designed to keep you healthy, happy, and engaged.” l
Whitmore Library is one of 36 county-owned facilities where anyone can cool off and find respite from hot summer days. (Sarah Morton Taggart/City Journals)Ur
Page 18 August 2022
Cottonwood Heights City Journal
Rezone denied along Fort Union Boulevard By Cassie Goff | c.goff@mycityjournals.com
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oning related issues and discussions are quite frequent within the governing bodies of Utah. For Cottonwood Heights, one of the most common zoning related discussions involves zoning along the major corridor Fort Union Boulevard. Recently, one plot of land requesting a rezone has sparked conversations about zoning for six months. One of the main conversations relates to the city’s general plan update which is currently underway. The Cottonwood Heights City Council had to debate if a rezone based on the current, outdated, general plan would make sense when the new general plan is currently being drafted (Cottonwood Heights Tomorrow). “We are in the middle of an update to our general plan. It makes us cautious to make land use changes,” said Mayor Mike Weichers. The rezone application in question was first discussed by the Cottonwood Heights Planning Commission on March 2. Kelly Mcninch requested a rezone of 0.95 acres of land on 3526 Fort Union Blvd. from R-1-8 (Residential Single Family) to R-2-8 (Residential Multi Family). Accompanying the rezone would be a zone map amendment to change the current land use of Residential Office to Residential Medium Density. The intent was to develop three structures of twin homes. Mcninch stated the land would continue to be residential use allowing for additional housing within the area. The development would seek to improve the corridor and allow for better passage along Fort Union Boulevard for vehicles, bikers and pedestrians. In his narrative accompanying the application, Mcninch mentioned “the land would be revitalized into something newer and more modern.” At the time, Cottonwood Heights City staff recommend approval of the rezone and zone map amendment for a variety of reasons. R-2-8 is a zoning designation that has been considered and approved for other properties along the same segment of the Fort Union corridor. In addition, they found that the adjacent property was zoned as R-2-8 but had two legal non-conforming family dwelling units that were built in 1978. However, there was much opposition from the residents living within the area as three twin homes would bring more density and change the character of the neighborhood. “We have 90 signatures to keep the neighborhood single-family residential,” said Cynthia Blair, detailing a resident petition against rezoning the property. “There is a high probability that this will be ski rentals,” mentioned resident Mary Ellen Johnson. “It is our responsibility to report those violations. We are asking you not to approve this.” Ultimately, the Planning Commission
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recommend approval of the request because the zoning and land use designations were compatible with the goals for the General Plan. The final decision was then forwarded to the Cottonwood Heights City Council. “The applicant gave a great presentation on what he’s looking to do,” Weichers said. “One of the things that did concern us from the presentation was the affordable housing piece. These units would not help with affordable housing.” On April 19, Councilmember Doug Peterson moved to deny the general plan amendment for the property. Councilmember Shawn Newell seconded the motion. “It was an extensive process to get to our decision, including input from our residents, and input from the legal realm. We were thinking about the considerations of our community. Our decisions will be conducive to what we want as a community,” Newell said. The majority of the city council voted to deny, with Councilmember Scott Bracken the lone dissenting vote. “I am one and there are four people on the council with different views,” Bracken said. “I would tend to be favorable of the land use change to medium density as there are up to 30,000 cars on Fort Union Boulevard.” Bracken moved to deny the rezone of the property to R-2-8. Peterson seconded the motion. The council voted unanimously to deny the rezone. With the denial of the rezone, a moratorium was put on the same request for the parcel for up the 12 months. On June 1, Mcninch came back to the Planning Commission with a different rezone request. This time, the application was to rezone 0.85 acres on 3526 Fort Union Blvd. from R-1-8 to R0-ZC (Residential Office with Zoning Conditions). Since the new request would comply with the existing land use, a zone map amendment request was not necessary. The proposal was still for twin homes, but the different zoning would require additional buffering between the proposed and existing neighborhoods. Mcninch had agreed to restricted use which would eliminate any potential for commercial use on the property. In addition, he had redesigned the proposed development to ensure a private drive, adequate parking, and requested setbacks. The new concept would increase the setbacks to 25 feet in the front of the property, 10 feet for the interior side, 25 feet for the exterior side, and 30 feet for the rear. “This would be the most restrictive in terms of setbacks,” said Community and Economic Development Director Mike Johnson. “The zoning conditions would be rather strict.” With city staff recommending approval of the rezone, as the zoning designation would be compatible with the goals of the General Plan, the Planning Commission unanimously
Street view of a 0.95 acre lot looking southeast from Fort Union Boulevard. (Photo courtesy of Mike Johnson/Cottonwood Heights)
Setbacks for an area requesting a rezone were significantly increased after an initial request was denied. (Photo courtesy of Mike Johnson/Cottonwood Heights)
voted to recommend approval to the city council. On June 21, Johnson discussed the refile with the city council. “Our residents have made it clear they oppose the twin homes around Fort Union,” Councilmember Ellen Birrell said. “It’s the same end result,” Bracken said. “It doesn’t make a huge difference on how many people are being put in there, even with the setbacks.” “I would like to deny the rezone until the general plan update is completed,” Weichers said. “Ninety people signed the petition to keep it R-1-8. With the current zoning, it would stay a non-divided lot.” The city council asked for the findings from a 2019 land use designation change which City Manager Tim Tingey researched and shared during the next meeting. “The land use change indicted the eastern portion of Fort Union as a transitional area and does not have the same character as the lower western portion,” Tingey said. “The city
is in the process of updating the general plan and there is caution against making land use changes.” On July 5, a public hearing was held regarding the rezone request before the city council called for the vote. “I appreciate the offer to do larger setbacks and that would be the best offer we get,” Blair said. “Our neighbors want to stay single-family residential. Please vote against it.” “I don’t want to see it as a twin home,” said neighbor Robby McFarland. “It should remain single-family homes to maintain the character of our neighborhood.” “Our area is such a target since we are so close to the ski resorts,” said resident Peggy Clark. “I would like to see this being single family as well.” After the public hearing, Peterson moved to deny the rezone to RO-ZC with Ordinance 385-D. Newell seconded the motion. The council voted unanimously to deny the rezone. l
August 2022 | Page 19
New members appointed to the Planning Commission, but some voice concern By Cassie Goff | c.goff@mycityjournals.com
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ean Steinman and Mike Shelton were welcomed to the Cottonwood Heights Planning Commission. Serving until 2025, the appointments of these two individuals was considered by the Cottonwood Heights City Council on July 5. As Planning Commission members have to be chosen by the city manager, Tim Tingey voiced his recommendations for both individuals to the city council. “Sean Steinman is a resident, business owner, and has a great background. He’s interested in promoting what is positive for the community, both long term and short term, and has a balanced approach,” Tingey said. “All of those things are important for someone serving on the Planning Commission.” “I think Mike Shelton will be a very valuable member of the Planning Commission,” Tingey said. “He’s
Concern was voiced over Mike Shelton’s appointment to the Planning Commission as high-density developments were approved while he was serving on the city council. (Cassie Goff/City Journals)
someone who has served, understands state and local law regarding land use, and understands broad community interests.” However, there was opposition regarding Shelton’s appointment as he previously served on the city council. Resident Debra Case spoke during the public comment session. “Shelton is a former council member. Many of the Cottonwood Heights citizens were upset with Shelton’s overly builder friendly attitude, his support of high density, large buildings, and increased traffic. I don’t believe in his policies regarding building, growth, and planning for our city,” Case said. “Shelton’s more authoritarian pro-building and pro-growth attitudes are not a good fit. We need someone in tune with our future and what is best for the long run of our community,” continued Case. Mayor Mike Weichers asked Shelton, who was present in the audience, if he would like to comment. “The work that the Planning Commission does is so very important to our community,” Shelton said. “Decisions that have the greatest impact
are by a committee that represents the community. Here, we have two community-based committees. “I have spent a lot of time with land use issues while serving with the city. I have shown a willingness to represent the larger part of the community in my work,” Shelton said. Each of the city councilmembers were then asked for their comments before calling for the final vote. “I think Mike would be good on the Planning Commission,” said Councilmember Doug Peterson. “I spent eight years working directly with Mr. Shelton. We didn’t always agree,” said Councilmember Scott Bracken. “But I always found him willing to listen to each side of a discussion, weigh it, and come up with what he thought was best.” “I respect and thank Mike Shelton for his service. Eight years doing this job is a Herculean thing,” began Councilmember Ellen Birrell before speaking in opposition. “There were over 4,100 residents of Cottonwood Heights that signed a referendum because they were extremely displeased with the densification of
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an apartment complex that was being considered by our city. It was clear the residents were extremely opposed. That fell within District 1 and largely under the oversight of Mr. Shelton,” Birrell said. “I cannot in good conscious feel that bringing Mr. Shelton onto the Planning Commission would be a positive thing for our community.” Instead, Birrell suggested an alternative. “My action tonight is to recommend to my fellow council that we delay this vote and put a large call out box on the home page of the city’s website, letting the residents know that the deadline for applying to these various positions is open. Our city manager can consider other applications that represent the direction that has been pointed out in our surveys more—a direction towards connectivity, walkability, traffic calming, and less development.” Birrell’s motion to delay the vote was not seconded. Bracken then moved to approve Resolution 2022-35: Approving Appointments to the Planning Commission with modification. Peterson seconded the motion. The majority of the city council voted in favor of the appointments, with only Birrell being the dissenting vote. Shelton (District 1) and Steinman (District 4) join Jessica Chappell (District 2), Dan Mills (Vice Chair), Jonathan Ebbeler (Alternative), Lucy Anderson (District 3 atlarge) and Jesse Allen (Chair).
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$250 OFF* Mike Shelton will serve as a Planning Commissioner for District 1 until June 2025. (Photo courtesy of Cottonwood Heights)
There is currently a vacant seat on the Planning Commission for District 1 at-large. To apply, visit the city’s website at: ch.utah. gov. Then, hover over the “Your Government” tab. From the dropdown menu, click on the “Planning Commission” page. An “Apply for Cottonwood Heights Board and Commission” icon will be seen within a light blue rectangle. l
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August 2022 | Page 21
Constantly learning, instilling challenges key to Canyons’ outstanding teacher By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
I
t had been a long night. Katie Tinoco had her high heels in her hands, walking barefoot on the red carpet that was placed in Hillcrest High’s commons for the parade of teachers, each representing their schools, excited to be recognized for their positive impact on Canyons School District’s 34,000 students. Even at the late hour, Tinoco had a smile on her face even as the cameras and cell phones had faded to just those of family and friends. Tinoco had just been announced she was Canyons School District’s teacher of the year. This month, the outstanding teacher will be putting on the finishing touches of lesson plans and room decorations before she greets a new group of second-graders. “I originally did not want to be a teacher,” Tinoco said. “I wanted to be a pediatrician or do business. I was Sterling Scholar state runner-up for business and marketing and that’s the path I started when I first started college at BYU (Brigham Young University). Then, I got into my classes, and I just wasn't loving it. So, I did some reflecting on what do I really love, and I just kept coming back to I love learning, reading, helping people, working with kids. Those things together led me to teaching. Once I started the program, I never looked back. I knew teaching was what I was supposed to do. It's just an awesome profession.” Now the Brighton High alumna who was a FBLA national champion is in her 12th year of teaching, eight of those at Draper Elementary. “I loved school when I was a kid. I would go to school sick because I didn't want to miss school and then my teacher would have to send me home. I was that kid,” Tinoco said. While her third- and sixth-grade teacher Janice Flanagan had a huge impact on her, Tinoco’s love is teaching second grade. “It's just the sweet spot in my opinion. They're old enough that they have been in school and know what to do, but they're still young enough that they are still eager to learn. They're excited to be here,” she said. “And the amount of growth that second-graders make from the beginning of the year to the end of the year is just exciting to watch.” However, Tinoco has taken Flanagan’s love of incorporating real-life learning in her teaching. This year, her students embraced that lesson when they read a story about writing petitions. “After reading the story, I challenged my kids to write a petition and I gave them the example of how a student can go to his HOA (homeowners association) and ask for longer pool hours, with all his neighbors signing
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the petition. This year, my kids wrote a petition saying they wanted a class pet. They thought of all the reasons I could say no, and included that they’d pay for it, take care of it, clean its cage and take it home on breaks and weekends. They all signed it and so I told them that since they did all the work, we’ll get a class pet. So we have a hamster—Scout Cookie,” Tinoco said, adding that it was named by her student who is a Girl Scout and her family that stepped forward to buy the hamster. “The hamster will be in third grade with them next year and likely go all the way through fifth grade with them." Tinoco’s class was part of the process when she was selected teacher of the year. “The committee came in to observe our class and watched part of my morning meeting and part of my phonemic awareness lesson and part of my phonics lesson. My kids were like, ‘What's going on?’ I told them why the people were there, and the kids were really excited. I reminded them that ‘we’re like this always, it doesn't matter if there's someone in our room or not, because we're awesome all the time,’” she said. It wasn’t an easy year for Tinoco. As a dual immersion teacher, she’s used to teaching two classes of 28 students on the English side while her colleague teaches them math in Mandarin. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic-related travel restrictions, he was detained in China, and she worked with several substitute teachers. “We started the school year with what was supposed to be a long-term sub. I did a ton of extra work, but I also had a lot of support from the school’s Chinese team helping me create Chinese content. It’s tricky to teach two different classes and switch during the day, so we tried not to overwhelm her, but unfortunately, it was too much. She was a new mom and her husband got sick and she had to put her family first,” Tinoco said. “So, then our next long-term sub stayed till Christmas break. All of January was just one sub after another, and I constantly was reinforcing what they were learning. There always is a lot of collaboration, talking about the kids and where they're at and how they did on this and making sure we’re seeing the same things. But January was probably the hardest time just helping the kids and reassuring parents that the teacher was coming back because they were justifiably worried if their kids would be on the level to continue to the program. I’d tell them, ‘He's going to catch them up.” Nobody else could do what he's done with these kids. It's incredible. I'm very lucky to have him as a teaching partner.” Draper Principal Christy Waddell appreciated Tinoco’s dedication. “She did not complain once to me with
Cottonwood Heights City Journal
the extra workload that she had. It was definitely a lot of hard work, and she has a little one at home. But she's still so professional and did everything she could because she wants the best for these kids,” she said. When the April 19 awards night approached, Tinoco said her principal and second-grade team wanted to come support her. “I told them, ‘You guys don't have to come. It’s going to be really late. I'm not going to win. Don't worry about it,” she said. Disregarding her, they came as well as her parents, husband, and 16 month old. “I read through all the bios of all the teachers that have been nominated. I'm like, ‘They're so amazing, so incredible.’ And they're like, ‘Yeah, well, so are you,’” she recalled. On stage, she was surprised when she was announced she was the elementary teacher candidate. But when she learned of the other two finalists—Brighton High chemistry teacher Nicole Shon and Mount Jordan Middle choir and theater director Skyler Bluemel—she thought the overall teacher of the year would be one of them. “When the announcer started reading, and mentioned dual language, I knew it was me and I was really shocked, overwhelmed, really humbled, really grateful. It was a huge, huge surprise,” she said. “I feel like I do a good job in my classroom, but nobody goes into teaching to get awards and praise and attention. It's been overwhelming and just incredible. Everybody deserves to be honored like this. Teachers do so much and make such a difference.” During Waddell’s first observation of her in the classroom, she knew there was something special about Tinoco. “When I first got here five years ago, I knew right away that Katie was a good teacher. You can tell anytime you walk by her class,” Waddell said. “She is so calm and positive; the kids are all doing what they're supposed to be doing. She's so kind to them, but she also has standards for them to reach. The kids, they all just love her. I mean it's seriously a very good place to be, in her classroom.” Meanwhile, after the ceremony, her toddler was making his own fun.
“He is having such a great time carrying around my giant check. He thinks it’s the new coolest toy ever,” she said. The next morning, many students already knew Tinoco was Canyons’ teacher of the year. At before-school choir practice, the students gave her a round of applause. Second-grade teacher Madison Ellingson directs the choir with Tinoco. “Katie is just an amazing educator and is always thinking of her students and what they need the most,” Ellingson said. “She’s always doing something meaningful with her students that is going to make a difference in their academics or their life. She's really mindful of the growth of her students and that’s with each of her 56 students. She knows exactly what progress each kid is making and how close they are to their end of year goals. As a teammate, she has some awesome ideas and is always willing to share them and be supportive. When we collaborate, she always brings in, ‘Let's make this a little bit deeper or let's add a component that would make it a challenge for our students.’ She has such a positive energy that we love and that the kids love. They were so excited to congratulate her.” Once school began, Waddell made an announcement. “My class cheered and was asking me what it’s like to be the national teacher, and I'm like, ‘Whoa, whoa! We go to state first,’” she said, adding that submitting her state application was on her summer schedule. “They’re very much invested in this.” As Canyons’ teacher of the year, she received a crystal award as well $1,000 and a gift basket of prizes and gift cards to area businesses. It’s been a far cry from her first four years teaching at a charter school where she created her own curriculum, paid for most every material she used in class and didn’t have a support system. “I saw that Canyons was in line with the type of professional that I want it to be. I wanted to be in a place that was going to encourage and support my desire to always try to be better. I’ve earned my master’s in education from SUU (Southern Utah University) and I’ve been supported each step
Draper Elementary teacher Katie Tinoco smiles as Canyons School District’s teacher of the year along with runners-up Mount Jordan Middle choir and theater director Skyler Bluemel and Brighton High chemistry teacher Nicole Shon and Canyons officials. (Julie Slama/City Journals)
of the way,” she said. “There’s always learning involved with being a teacher. Even with this award, which is a huge overwhelming honor, it’s not like OK, I am now the ultimate teacher that I could ever be. It’s never like that with teaching. You can always be
tweaking and changing and bettering and trying new things and with every class. Every class brings different challenges and exciting things.”l
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Bracing for impact: How roller derby builds confidence and community By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com
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t might look like an aggressive collision, with no rhyme or reason, but Oo Barracuda, Ginny Wheelsley and Sacajawheela know exactly what they’re doing. Roller derby might be the most misunderstood sport in the country. It’s part football, part marathon and part wrestling match, but beneath all the noise and excitement is a game with intense strategy and athleticism—and cool derby names. By day, Jess Hill works at Primary Children’s Hospital, but at night, she rules the derby track as Sacajawheela (Wheela for short). Hill and her daughter have played since 2013 when they fell in love with the derby community. As a nurse, Hill deals with trauma-level incidents on a regular basis. The mental and emotional release of roller derby has had a big impact on her life. “Sometimes it’s all I can do to get myself to practice but then I feel so much better, not just physically but mentally. It kind of clears my space and gets that stress and energy out.”
Hill coached the junior league and watched youth learning valuable skills, and not just about derby. “We have a lot of juniors coming in with self-esteem issues and getting bullied,” she said. “There are a lot of kids struggling with school. I have seen kids come out of their shells and do a complete 180 with confidence and having something to be proud of by joining roller derby and having that community.” Amy Royer (aka Ginny Wheelsley) took up the sport nine years ago, after her first child was born. She was looking for a way to get out of the house and find a fun way to be active. “Now it’s my social outlet, it’s my physical outlet and it’s like anxiety therapy,” she said. “It really has been an incredible outlet in my life.” An inclusive sport that welcomes all genders and identities, there are teams for women, men, LGBTQ, coed and juniors. With The Derby Depot in Salt Lake (1415 S. 700 West #17), Utah boasts one of only six permanent roller derby
tracks in the country. Royer plays with Beehive Skate Revolution, the only recreational derby league in the state. It’s not the aggressive, competitive game portrayed in movies, but make no mistake, players take the sport seriously. “People think, myself included, that all these women are going to be tough, mean and competitive and take out their anger on everything, but it’s not like that at all,” Royer said. “I’m not going to lie. There are some injuries. We’re not going to make you do anything you’re uncomfortable with, but accidents do happen.” Since COVID, derby numbers have dropped but Hill hopes to get more people involved in the sport. She said it’s not just about skating, although skating has a physical benefit, but it’s about feeling like you belong in a community that cares about each person. People often assume a player has to be tough and aggressive to succeed at the sport, but Hill said that’s not true. One of her best
Although roller derby is a full-contact sport, rules are in place to protect players and ensure a fun game. (Photo courtesy of Amy Royer)
friends was very timid but Hill said she now conducts a lot of the league training sessions. For more information about joining a derby league, visit SaltLakeRollerDerby. org “It’s not just a bunch of chaos out on the track. It might look like
it, but there’s a lot of coaching and training that goes into it,” Hill said. “You get knocked down but you get back up again. You leave it out on the track and reset. There are just so many things that cross over to actual life skills.”l
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Guaranteed not to clog for as long as you own your home, or we will clean your gutters for free! Cottonwood Heights City Journal
Low-cost dental clinic helps transform smiles for children and adults
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n 2019, the Charitable Health Clinic operated by Midvale Community Building Community (CBC) was busy: an average of 200 medical or dental visits per month. A few months into the pandemic that number increased, and now the number of total visits has doubled. “June (2021) is when we started getting absolutely slammed,” said Mauricio Agramont, the executive director of Midvale CBC. “People started being ready to go back to get medical and dental services. Everybody who had delayed treatment for so long, they all came. A lot of people lost their job or their insurance.” A few months later, Dr. Priscila Bautista began volunteering. Originally from Brazil, Bautista came to the United States with her husband and three children in 2016. Though she graduated from dental school more than 20 years ago, Bautista needed to complete a two-year residency and work 6,000 hours to be fully licensed to practice dentistry here. “I’m an international dentist,” Bautista said. “I need to build up hours working as a dentist and the only way I can do this is as a volunteer. It’s amazing helping those people who need it. So I decided to stay here full time, every day, all day long. Some Saturdays, some nights.” Soon after Bautista arrived, the clinic was also able to upgrade the dental equipment. “We used to work with portable dental units,” Agramont said. “Now we have four full working chairs with a vacuum pump and compressor. We’ve improved our electronic medical records system and that has really changed the quality of the experience. Before, our capacity to serve wasn’t as great. We had to develop X-rays. Now we are digital. That is improving the experience of our volunteer dentists.” The clinic offers all the services of a private clinic: fillings, root canals, extractions, implants, even cosmetic treatments like whitening and veneers all for less than half the price. Clients do not need to have insurance, but they do need to provide proof of income. “Patients save 60% of the costs. The community said we don’t want free services, we want affordable services,” Agramont said. “They would live with an impacted tooth for a year. Deciding to start the dental clinic came from horror stories, people coming in with a broken tooth because they tried to extract it themselves. We serve working families who would delay care for themselves, but not for their children.” One in five children in Utah have untreated dental decay and need immediate dental care, according to the Utah Department of Health. With a $5,000 grant from the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation, the clinic has been able to expand low-cost preventative dental services to treat more low-income, uninsured Latino children in Salt Lake County. “This is one of those key initiatives that we really want to support,” said Tiffany Erickson, the media relations manager at Rocky Mountain Power. “What we know is that when kids are hungry, they don’t go to school. When they have medical issues, they don’t go to school. We want to support organizations and initiatives that are helping lower those barriers and make sure that kids have opportunities just like anybody else.” Often, families have some children who were born in the United States and others who weren’t. The younger siblings can qualify for the Children’s Health Insurance Program or Medicaid, while their older siblings don’t. “We have families where one of the children qualifies, but others don’t because of where they were born,” Agramont said. “As a parent, they don’t want to favor one child.”
CottonwoodHeightsJournal .com
By Sarah Morton Taggart | s.taggart@mycityjournals.com
Priscila Bautista was a full-time volunteer dentist at Midvale CBC for nearly a year. (Photo courtesy Priscila Bautista)
For more than a decade, the clinic has offered dental services mainly to adults. Now they have one pediatric dentist, Dr. David Stewart, but they need more. The clinic relies on state funding, donations and volunteer providers. “It doesn’t work if the right pieces don’t fall into place,” Agramont said. “You can have the funds, but not the dentists, or the dentists but not the funds. Like teeth in a smile: if one is missing, it’s not pretty. A local dentist who can donate a few hours a week or month will make a big difference. You can choose the schedule that works best for you.” Bautista completed her required hours in July and began working at a private clinic in Murray. She has every intention to continue volunteering at Midvale CBC, but can no longer do it full time. Word of mouth alone keeps the clinic busy. Patients have come from as far away as Tooele and Wendover. Virtually all of the adults who seek care at the clinic are first-generation immigrants from Latin American countries who work full-time, yet are underinsured or have no insurance at all. They often put off dental treatment as long as possible to avoid missing work or facing costly bills. Most employees at Midvale CBC are fluent in English and Spanish. “When I say ‘buenos días’ instead of ‘good morning’ I can see their relief,” said Bautista, who’s native language is Portuguese. “I’m learning both English and Spanish, and the assistants and staff help.” “All of the dentists make that effort to communicate,” Agramont said. “They learn that basic vocabulary and always have dental assistants that speak Spanish and can step
in. When the dentist makes that effort to communicate, that’s the spirt of this clinic.” “You are here to help, but you can learn, too,” Bautista added. “It’s a learning environment because you can take your time. You can do a procedure that is a little bit more complicated, but you can have an hour, two hours per procedure. We can do really nice dentistry.” Tiffany Velasco is the dental manager for the clinic. She has also completed the education necessary to become a dentist, but needs to obtain her license from the state. “My goal is to do the same process as Dr. Bautista,” said Velasco, who is originally from Peru. Velasco coordinates the volunteers, schedules patients, buys supplies, helps maintain dental records and steps in as an assistant when necessary. The volunteer dentists are also supported by a team of volunteer dental hygiene students from Salt Lake Community College. Bautista has been the supervising dentist this past year, working at the clinic from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Thursday. “Most need a deep cleaning,” Velasco said. “But that’s so expensive. You have to pay out of pocket if you don’t have insurance. It feels great, but $400 is a tough sell for our community. Here you pay $17.” Midvale CBC’s dental and medical clinic are located at 49 W. Center St. in Midvale. “It’s a nice place to work,” Bautista said. “We are like a family here. The environment is special. For me it’s so nice, for the people that would never be able to afford a private practice, we change their smiles.” l
August 2022 | Page 25
High school students tour, observe, gain hands-on opportunities during job shadows By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
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hroughout Canyons School District, high school students had the opportunity to job shadow professionals in several fields before summer hit, allowing them to learn more about the careers during the summer months, possibly find an internship or take a summer class. “We had a lot of new businesses step forward and offer to have students job shadow them this year and we had three return businesses in a law office, a chiropractor and Larry H. Miller Companies,” said Chris Morgan, Corner Canyon High’s work-based learning facilitator. “This opportunity gave students more time to focus on their future and they have been so enthusiastic about their experience.” Many of the job shadows happened on one morning, after which Morgan, as well as other high school work-base coordinators, hosted a luncheon for students at Corner Canyon to debrief and share their experiences. Some 22 students had spent the morning at area businesses to job shadow, and Morgan had scheduled another 20 for another day. Senior Aidan Richmond shadowed a Draper City detective. “I’ve always been interested in what they do at crime scenes, what a victim ad-
vocate does, the forensics surrounding cases and programs they offer,” he said. “I met the police chief and learned how he works with all sorts of people outside the department as well as within. The detective said they recently investigated and closed a cold case, and it was interesting to hear. It was very rewarding experience.” During freshman Stella Cianflone’s visit with Dr. Blaine Awerkamp at Awerkamp Chiropractic, she oversaw his treatment of five patients and learned he treats people suffering from stress to car accidents. “I’ve thought about going into the medical field, but I didn’t think about being a chiropractor,” she said. “It’s a good combination of medical and business, where I’d run my own business, set my own hours and have that flexibility, which I like.” Senior Anna Page toured several departments in Lone Peak Hospital and also donned a hair net and shoe coverings to be in the operating room. “They taught us basic CPR, chest compressions and lifesaving techniques we could do on a dummy, and we toured the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) and used a stethoscope to hear a baby’s breathing pattern,” said the student who is on the pre-med pathway. “We saw the lab, pharmacy and a
number of departments and it was great to see how they interacted with one another. It gave us an opportunity to see patient care and really solidified my wanting a career in medicine.” After spending a morning with Conyers & Nix PC, criminal defense lawyers, junior Catalina Giraldo was excited. “We got to see the court rooms, meet judges and ask questions and it was so amazing,” she said. “I’m taking a business law class, so this just inspired me.” Junior Carlee Earnhart job shadowed at the neurorobotics lab at the University of Utah where she learned about prosthetics. “They showed us what the prosthetics can do and said that they work continuously to upgrade their abilities,” she said. “I’m interested in the engineering and medical aspect and went to CTEC (Canyons Technical Education Center) in the medical forensics program and I’ve been on our robotics team two years, so this was an opportunity to learn more about this field and how engineering and medicine work together. It was just fascinating to be in their work environment and
learn about it firsthand.” Brighton High Work-Based Learning Facilitator Eileen Kasteler said that their research indicates high school students who make work-force connections are more likely to graduate and continue post-secondary education and training. “This activity is designed to impress upon students the benefits of career exploration,” she said, adding that the goal for the 110 Canyons students who participated in job shadow day include discovering career opportunities, engaging in high school work-related classes, entering post-secondary education with career-oriented focus, developing important workforce connections and networks and being inspired while gaining real-world experiences. Other companies that participated include Avalanche Studios, Cottonwood Heights Police Department, Ensign Engineers, Filevine, Hunt Electric, Jordan Valley School, Merit Medical, Savage Services and Think Architecture. l
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Canyons School District students donned protective coverings before heading into Lone Peak Hospital’s operating room as part of their job shadow day. (Photo courtesy of Anna Page/Corner Canyon High)
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August 2022 | Page 27
Brighton athletics enjoyed successful year as it readies for the next one By Jerry Christensen | j.christensen@mycityjournals.com
“B
righton teams are strong and competitive across the board coming out of 2022 and going into 2023,” according to Brighton’s newly appointed athletic director Garrett Wilson. “Without exception, each of our teams is poised to make program progress this coming athletic year.” The fall, winter and spring sports seasons were full of highlights and successes with only a few notable shortfalls. One of those few failings happened on the wrestling mats in late January when Brighton hosted the Hillcrest Huskies in the 52nd annual running of the “Battle of the Ax.” “We have had close matches with our longtime rival Hillcrest over the history of the school and most have tilted toward Brighton. This year’s rivalry match, however, came down to the wire and it fell the Huskies’ way,” said coach Mason Brinkman. In fact, the last time Hillcrest beat Brighton in a dual meet Bill Clinton was in The White House. Although the dual matches over the last 26 year had often come down to the last heavyweight wrestler on each team, Brighton had always come away with the traveling trophy ax. That ax currently sits behind Hillcrest glass in their new display case—for the moment. Incoming wrestling coach Burke Gappmayer suggests “the ax will return home this January in the 53rd edition of the Battle of the Ax rivalry.” On the other side of the ledger, Brighton’s storied wrestling program notched some highlights sending seven varsity wrestlers to the state tournament at UVU. Among those state wrestlers were twins Jacob and Isaac Tatton at 145 and 138 pounds respectively. The Tatton twins reached their fouryear goal of making it to state, but perhaps more valuable, they shared the coveted endof-season Dave Chavis award which honors wrestlers who are not only fine-tuned athletes but dedicated students possessing the heart of a champion. Speaking of student-athletes, Brighton placed 14 students on Utah High Activities Association’s coveted Academic All State list. To qualify, a student-athlete must be in the top 10 academically of all of his/her fellow athletes in the state. David Stubben - Boys Tennis Lauren Winn - Softball Jared Kimball - Track and Field Caroline Rupper - Track and Field, Cross Country Megan Jacobsen - Track and Field Grace Garrett - Girls Lacrosse Hunter Doyle - Girls Lacrosse, Swimming Aubrey Smith - Swimming Elizabeth Monson - Girls Tennis Nicole Devashrayee - Girls Tennis Annie Adler - Girls Soccer Eliza Hobby - Girls Soccer Grayson Trump - Volleyball
Page 28 August 2022
Savannah Cottam - Volleyball Track and Field came within a whisker of taking the region championship from rival Skyline. Individually, Brighton’s Academic all-state long distance runner, Caroline Rupper landed an athletic scholarship with Creighton University. “Caroline defines what it means to be a student-athlete as well as an inspirational leader for the largest track and field team Brighton has had in years,” said coach Kirk Merhish. Brighton football continues its program progress into the 5A elite. Coach Justin Hemm, in his final year, took the team to back-to-back region championships. Individually, three seniors inked D2 college football scholarships: Lander Barton and Tyler Knaak at the University of Utah and Jacob Reece at Arizona. New head coach Casey Sutera comes in from his last post as Defensive Coordinator at Corner Canyon High with a head of steam. “We are ready to take the next step at Brighton and push deep into the post season,” he said. Boys tennis was most dominant of any BHS sport this year in region competition. Coach Natalie Meyer’s team swept four of the five categories and left no doubt who the region champion is. First singles - Hardy Owen, region champion Second singles - Parker Hopkin, region champion Third singles - Ty Parrish, region champion First doubles - Ford Owen and Owen Hopkin, region champions Second doubles - Davis Turley and Cameron Grass, second place Seniors Hardy Owen and Parker Hopkins as well as freshman phenom Ty Parrish emerged as state champions at Liberty Park’s state championships. The team came home with the second place state trophy to add to the trove of top five finishes that Brighton Tennis has earned over five decades (including 29 state championships between girls and boys tennis). Brighton Swimming oozed with individual talent even though as a team they weren’t in the conversation as they usually are for region and state championships. Daniel Detjen swam to new lengths in the state finals in February breaking records and garnering an individual back-to-back state championship in two categories—200 freestyle and 500 freestyle. National Hall of Fame coach Russ Lauber noted Detjen’s accomplishment: “There have been a number of athletes repeat as champions in the annals of Utah high school swimming, but Daniel Detjen is obviously a cut above. His sheer dominance in the long events the past two years is impressive; it takes a special swimmer, and coach, to focus on those long swims for a couple of years to dominate like
Caroline Rupper, a Brighton cross country and track star signed with Creighton University. (Photo R Rupper)
A “Brighton moment” as the student body celebrates the Special Olympians. (Jerry Christensen/ City Journals)
Stars of Brighton’s state champion Special Olympic basketball team. (Jerry Christensen/City Journals)
he has.” Detjen, who takes his talents to the Air Force Academy next year, was named male athlete of the year by Best in Utah. Brighton continued to earn its reputation as a perennial lacrosse favorite. This newly UHSAA sanctioned sport drew some of Brighton’s most promising athletes including two USA Lacrosse All Americans— Hunter Doyle who signed with Westminster Lacrosse and Zoe Heffernan who signed with Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. Brighton’s own celebrity coach Melissa Nash was named USA Lacrosse Coach of the Year. “We played our hearts out all year. And while we only fell to the ultimate state champions Olympus, we had a spectacular year,” Nash said. But the highest honor awarded to any of Brighton’s stellar athletic teams was earned
late in the year by Brighton’s much celebrated Special Olympics basketball team. The Special Education (SPED) department put together a team that swept regionals and then took the state championship in the gold medal game at Weber State University. “That we were victorious on the court is one thing, but we were also told by other teams that we as a group were kind and showed great sportsmanship. As a SPED teacher, the latter was the greatest triumph,” said Jared Denslow who oversees Brighton’s SPED programs and stitched together this year’s team. Seniors Gabe Salinas and Michael Mejia became well known around the school as they reveled in the high profile win. The state championship team was feted with a faux ticker-tape parade down the three story open halls of the new Brighton High.
Cottonwood Heights City Journal
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INSTALLS ON NEW & EXISTING GUTTERS
Twins Isaac and Jacob Tatton receive the Chavis Award. (Photo Katie Tatton)
“It was a ‘Brighton moment’ to see the 2,200 students line the balconies to celebrate the Special Olympians as they gleefully paraded in their uniforms and with their gold medals,” remembers Principal Tom Sherwood. “This New York-style parade now becomes
a standing tradition to honor state championship teams as they bring hardware home to Brighton. It was quite fitting to celebrate SPED as they headlined BHS sports this year.” l
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To infinity and beyond
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early one million miles away from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope is gazing into space with the intensity of a teenager watching TikTok. The most powerful observatory ever launched (Hubble orbits a measly 340 miles away from Earth), the JWST navigated to its location and deployed its mirrors, telescopes, solar panels and antennas, unfolding like a Transformer in the middle of space. NASA (Nerding About Space Again) was unsurprisingly geeked about the first images from the JWST and organized a live event to reveal the pictures to the world. I’m an astronomy fangirl, so it made my nerdy
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like portraying an astronaut in the movies. There would have been glitzy graphics, a soundtrack by Lizzo and brief glimpses of the space images before the cameras returned to the Beautiful People so they could talk about how much they liked planets. Thankfully, NASA did the whole program themselves. It was like someone handed the high school astronomy club an iPhone and told them to prepare a science project about the Webb telescope. They didn’t use professional spokespeople. They weren’t dressed in formal wear. It was just astrophysicists literally (yes, literally) bouncing with excitement as the world saw the photos for the first time. There was even a technical glitch when NASA tried to connect to scientists in Canada but couldn’t get through. NASA can relay images from billions of light years away, but can’t connect with colleagues in Montreal. Stupid Zoom calls. Astronomers explained the images sent from the JWST that included dying stars
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and black holes and cosmic cliffs and binary stars, which I don’t think are legal in Utah. It showed a universe teeming with galaxies never seen before. At least not by people on Earth. The telescope can see through space dust, asteroid rubble and alien trash to get the clearest pictures ever created. Scientists once thought there was only one galaxy in the universe, but one JWST image showed thousands of galaxies in a teensy bit of sky. Hopefully, this will prove to politicians that the world does not revolve around them. Webb’s mission is to search for light from the first stars and galaxies that formed the universe after the Big Bang, unless you don’t believe in the Big Bang. In that case, you can sit next to those who think the moon landing was fake, the earth is flat, evolution is a fraud, the Mars mission is bogus, the moon is an alien spacecraft, that it’s NASA’s job to create space hoaxes and we’ve never crossed the Van Allen Belt. But if you’re a star-nerd, like me, watching something so vast is mind-boggling. We’re a tiny, blue marble floating through the enormity of space, doing our best not to fall into a black hole or get vaporized by a meteor. So many evolutionary steps had to happen for us to even be here. What a rare gift. Let’s stop messing it up. l
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