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January 2022 | Vol. 32 Iss. 01

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LORIN PALMER READY TO LEAD AS HERRIMAN’S NEXT MAYOR By Justin Adams | justin.a@thecityjournals.com

tarting this month, Herriman City will have a new face occupying the mayor’s chair on the city council. Lorin Palmer won the mayoral election in November, defeating then-city council member Clint Smith, with 63% of the vote. Palmer previously served as a member of the city’s planning commission, and also led the grassroots organization Herriman for Responsible Growth, which materialized in opposition to the Olympia development. That emphasis on responsible growth is an issue Palmer said was the primary concern of residents he talked to while on the campaign trail. “I talked to people who were living in a condo or townhouse and wanted to step up to a small home, but there was nothing like that available in our community. They wanted to come out here and put down roots as their forever home, and that’s a challenge right now,” he said. Another challenge for Palmer and the city council over the next four years will be managing the early stages of the Olympia development. The 900+ acre project was approved by the Salt Lake County Council in 2020, despite opposition from local leaders. With the project moving forward no matter

what, the conversation has shifted towards mitigating potential negative impacts. “The focus has to be on infrastructure, working with the county and state to get some money for those things. I’d like to see UDOT take over some of our roadways so we can focus on building new infrastructure,” Palmer said. With the city being at such a critical juncture, Palmer said that the decisions the council makes in the coming years will likely define their legacy. If that sounds like a lot of pressure, it is. As the election results were released at 7 p.m. on Nov. 2, Palmer said he could feel the weight of the campaign lift momentarily, only to be replaced by the pressure of how important the next four (or more) years will be. But there’s also excitement, of course. Palmer said he’s most looking forward to having more opportunities to interact with the community. Coincidentally, that was also his favorite part of the campaign process. All summer and up through the elec- Lorin Palmer, pictured here at a candidate forum last summer, was elected to be Herriman’s next mayor. tion, Palmer was out knocking on doors, (City Journals file photo) Continued page 16

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Find joy in winter by embracing outdoor activities By Karmel Harper | k.harper@mycityjournals.com

n just a few weeks, Punxsutawney Phil, the famous groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, will emerge to predict when winter will end. For many people who hate the cold days, grey skies, and treacherous icy roads, they hope Phil does not see his shadow and predicts an early spring. When Herriman residents were polled about how they feel about winter, 25% replied that they absolutely hate winter and are already counting down the days until spring. The cold and darkness are some of the fac-

tors why winter months trigger the onset of seasonal affective disorder or SAD, a type of depression that is related to a change in seasons. Herriman’s Celeste Barrow Bruening said, “About mid-October I start to notice a drastic change in my attitude and outlook on life. I get an overwhelming feeling of dread just thinking about the cold. I hate everything about it. Not necessarily the snow, just the cold. The short dark days are a struggle and the grey, cloudy atmosphere is depressing.”

South Jordan’s Amanda Brown revels in the snow with her son, 8-year-old Eli. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Brown.

Journals T H E

According to Mental Health America, Bruening is not alone as SAD affects over 10 million Americans a year. If you experience symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, please consult a mental health provider. With the milder Utah winters in recent years, even winter haters admit that the snow is necessary for summer water levels. Herriman’s Katie Jo Stratton said, “I don’t love the snow like I did when I skied. But I want it to snow like it did in the ‘90s so we can have all the water we need in the lakes to play!” Although most Utahns recognize snow is necessary for our desert state, the darkness, the cold, and the dangerous driving conditions incite a teeth-chattering, snow-shoveling, white-knuckle-driving tolerance of the season. However, many Utahns absolutely love winter and all of the beauty and outdoor recreation it brings. The Brown family from South Jordan look forward to winter every year as they are avid skiers. Amanda Brown even works at Park City Mountain Resort every season for the sole purpose of providing ski lessons for her four children who range in age from six to 12. Brown said, “Winter can be long and dreary if you allow it to be. We wanted to instill a love of the season in our children at an early age by enrolling them in ski lessons since they were very young. Now we look forward to it every year as we can get outside as a family and enjoy something active together.” Kaysville’s Margot Marrs Pauni said, “I absolutely hated winter and counted the days until it was over, and then I learned to ski. It made a huge difference in my attitude and mental well-being. Now I look forward to winter.” Pauni has been skiing for over 3 years. If gliding downhill at 20+ mph while

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dodging other people and trees is not your thing, there are a multitude of other winter activities to try to experience Utah’s famous “Greatest Snow on Earth.”. Exploring our spectacular mountains is extremely popular during the spring, summer and fall, but winter hiking is in a class of its own. A trail that you have hiked many times during other seasons will look completely different when it is covered with snow and provides a new experience. Creeks will have frozen sections with icicles adorning rocky edges. Waterfalls will be partially or completely frozen, giving you a breathtaking and magical view. Trails such as Ogden’s Waterfall Canyon and Layton’s Adam’s Canyon offer awesome winter adventures with picture perfect vistas that Jack Frost will be proud of. Herriman’s Rachel Dekker Moody said, “There is something magical about going for a ‘snow globe’ run early in the morning and hearing the crunch of snow under your feet and knowing you are the first footprints out for the day!” Though cycling is typically a warm weather sport, winter riding has become popular since fat bikes emerged on the market. While standard mountain bikes have tire widths anywhere between 1.6” and 2.6”, a fat bike’s tires are 3.7” to 5”, allowing the rider to cruise through on snow-packed trails with greater traction and better handling. Various local bike dealers rent fat bikes so you can give it a try. Visit www.cyclingutah. com for suggestions on the best fat biking trails. Sledding or inner tubing is another popular winter activity, and you don’t even have to go up into the mountains to enjoy it. Even a local park or neighborhood with a good slope can serve as a decent sledding hill. Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City and Eaglewood Golf Course in North Salt Lake

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Shaylee Watkins and Cody Carter show off their ice fishing catches at Utah Lake. (Photo courtesy of Teal Anderson.)

have awesome hills that are free to sled and tube on. Or visit a designated sledding park such as Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway or Woodward in Park City.

Avid fishermen don’t need to pack up their poles for the season as ice fishing is popular in Utah. Frozen lakes such as Strawberry Reservoir and even local ponds such as Farmington Pond and Bountiful Pond attract anglers of all ages once the ice is thick enough. The website Best Fishing in America said, “The season typically starts in mid to late December in Utah, depending on the weather. There are years when the hard water doesn’t set in until mid-January, while other years, it can happen in late November. A good rule of thumb is that 4 inches is thick enough for an average person, 5-6 inches is suitable for a snowmobile or 4-wheeler, and 8-12 inches will support a truck.” Ice anglers use an ice auger with a 6-8” bit to drill a hole in the ice large enough to pull caught fish through. In addition to the appropriate fishing equipment, other gear such as ice tents and tent heaters can be used for additional warmth and comfort. The Watkins family from Davis County look forward to ice fishing every winter. Kaysville’s Shaylee Watkins said, “I love ice fishing because it’s fun to sit and snack out in a heated tent on the ice and get nice and comfy and kick your boots off.” North Salt Lake’s Challis Watkins said, “Ice fishing is like fishing but way better.” It is important to be prepared before venturing outside during the winter months. Tolerating the cold is much easier with proper clothing and gear. Dressing in layers is a good practice because you will warm up as

your activity level increases and you will be much more comfortable removing or adding layers as needed. REI’s website suggests three basic layers: “1) Base layer (underwear layer): wicks sweat off your skin, 2) Middle layer (insulating layer): retains body heat to protect you from the cold, and 3) Outer layer (shell layer): shields you from wind and rain. Even if you don’t wear all three layers at the outset, it’s a good idea to take all layers on every outing. You can peel off layers if things heat up, but you can’t put on layers that you didn’t bring along.” Other important gear includes warm head and ear coverings such as beanies and ear muffs, scarves, and waterproof gloves. Proper shoes such as waterproof boots that provide warmth and traction are a necessity. For additional traction, particularly on steep icy terrain, use crampons or microspikes, a mechanism that typically consists of spikes and chains that fit over your shoes and can be easily slipped off and on the trails as needed. Driving during the winter is a big reason why many people hate the season so preparing your vehicle for the cooler months is important. Tips for winterizing your vehicle include testing your battery and tire pressure as battery power and tire pressure drop when the air temperature drops, changing to winter tires, checking wiper blades and replacing if needed, and always keeping at least a half tank of gas. Tips for winter driving include driving slower, increasing your following

distance, and accelerating and decelerating slowly. But if it is snowing heavily, the best practice is to stay home if you can and avoid unnecessary risks. Someone once said, “If you choose not to find joy in snow, you will have less joy in your life but the same amount of snow.” With proper gear, clothing, and other preparations to keep you warm along with an adventurous spirit to try something new, perhaps the multitude of winter activities Utah offers can coax your inner Elsa out as you declare, “The cold never bothered me anyway.” l

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Autism: In the schools and workplace; local opportunities promise bright future

emple Grandin, perhaps the most famous person with autism, visited Utah in August and was impressed with the opportunities she saw for children and adults with autism. “I've seen more good stuff yesterday and today than I've seen in a long time— you're doing some stuff that’s really special,” she said after visiting the Utah STEM Action Center and seeing the creative design and building tools available to Utah students in the STEM Lab. Grandin believes hands-on learning is ideal for encouraging innovation—especially for kids with autism. “I watched an autistic kid just blossom in there,” she said. “[He was] about 12 years old, acting really autistic. He started doing a 3D printer, he turned into a different kid.” Grandin worries that many children get stuck in the “autism box” and that many capable autistic young people are wasting away their time, playing video games in their parents’ basement, when they should be in the workforce innovating, designing and building. She said many visual thinkers could be successful engineers but they struggle to complete traditional engineering programs because of the math requirements. “I get worried that my kind of visual thinker is getting strained out because we can't do algebra,” she said. “But it's my kind of visual thinker that will build the next Amazon warehouse.” Grandin has written 13 books explaining the different ways autistic, or neurodiverse, minds process information. As an object visualizing thinker, Grandin transformed the meat processing industry with her revolutionary engineering designs. But she had to go through untraditional channels because of her autism. Grandin will explore the different ways people think to come up with innovative ideas in a podcast, “How Do You Think of That with Temple Grandin,” which will launch early this year in partnership with the Utah STEM Action Center and Sheri Quinn Productions. “Temple is interviewing a variety of people working on research projects and innovations, talking to them about their lives, the way they think, and the way that they incorporate STEM into their lives on a daily basis,” said Julienne Bailey, a program coordinator at the Utah STEM Action Center. The podcast will also delve into the role of education and what teachers and counselors can do to drive innovation. Grandin has strong opinions about the education of children with autism. In addition to hands-on classes such as shop classes, she said children with autism need life skills training. “The big thing we've got to be doing with kids in the pipeline is learning life skills, learning work skills—not enough emphasis on that,” Grandin said. Life skills training is what has made a difference for Amy Baker’s two sons with autism.

Page 6 | January 2022

By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

Auticon provides an autism-friendly work environment. (Photo courtesy of David Reeve.)

The boys struggled in mainstream classes with neurotypical peers because of their delays in social and verbal skill development, which are typical with autism. The boys attended specialized schools, the Carmen B. Pingree Autism Center of Learning and Spectrum Academy Charter School. Spectrum Academy’s teachers use research-based instruction methods and provide a variety of technological tools so that students are not held back by writing, reading, or verbal delays, Baker said. Their on-staff occupational, speech, behavior, and mental specialists worked with the teaching team to help Baker’s boys figure out what modifications they needed to succeed in the classroom. In Spectrum Academy’s social skills classes, Baker’s sons learned and practiced how to respond in social situations, something that comes naturally to neurotypical students but not those whose brains are wired differently. By the end of middle school, both of Baker’s sons were able to transfer to their neighborhood school in mainstream classes. They are now in their junior and senior years. “They're doing so well,” Baker said. “But they wouldn't be where they are without being at Spectrum to learn those tools. Those life skills that they've learned at Spectrum have just changed every aspect of our lives. Socially, they are keeping right up with their peers, which is huge. They need social skills to be able to get along in the world.” Jordan School District provides autism

support classes at three elementary schools, four middle schools and one high school. The smaller class sizes and Individualized Education Plans help teams of teachers, paraprofessionals and therapists address each student’s academic needs, social skills development and behavior, said Angela Johnston, a special education teacher in one of Rose Creek Elementary’s three autism support classrooms. In the autism support classrooms, students learn appropriate replacement behaviors to reduce disruptions to learning. Things that are small annoyances to neurotypical children can trigger a sensory overload tantrum in an autistic or neurodiverse child. When they become overwhelmed, they may respond with stimming behaviors (rocking, pacing, flapping, biting, yelling.) In the autism support classrooms, students learn to prevent and replace those behaviors. “Our goal is for them to realize they're starting to get overwhelmed and they come to us and ask us for a break, or say ‘I need to go for a walk’ or ‘I need to go get a drink of water’ or ‘Can I go to the sensory room?’ or ‘It's loud in here, I need some headphones,’” Johnston said. “Our goal is to get them to a place where they can use those strategies independently.” Last year, Rose Creek Elementary created a Sensory Room, a former storage closet with low lighting, stocked with fidget toys, playdoh, pillows and a swing. “It's been a great place for kids to go just to get out of the classroom if they feel like they're starting to escalate or they're over-

whelmed, if it's too loud, or they're feeling off that day and they need to just be somewhere quiet,” Johnston said. Once students learn to prevent and replace behaviors, they are able to participate in mainstream classrooms, which is the goal of the program, said Johnston. “We teach them appropriate replacement behaviors so they can be in a school setting and get to the point where we can have them mainstream, or their parents can take them out into the community,” she said. In her 20 year career, Johnston has seen an improved educational experience for autistic students due to research and innovations as well as more parents advocating for their children, and more schools providing specialized services. Utah’s private and charter schools for autistic students are in high demand; Spectrum Academy, which has grown from one campus to seven in the last 15 years, continues to have a long enrollment waiting list. Job skills training is part of secondary school instruction for teenagers with autism. Both Spectrum Academy and Jordan District schools begin transition planning in seventh grade. Throughout their middle and high school years, students explore career opportunities and learn job skills through school-based and community-partnership work experiences. Special education students in grades 9-12 can participate in part-time vocational instruction at JSD’s South Valley School in West Jordan, which also provides post high school life

Herriman City Journal

Autism takes front stage The workings of an autistic mind is front stage in Riverton High School’s upcoming production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.” The protagonist of the Tony Award-winning play is a teenager with autism who is determined to solve a mystery. “It’s from his perspective, so we are seeing life through his extraordinary brain and how he’s able to maneuver things and do things that seem impossible for him,” RHS theater teacher Erin McGuire said. One of the cast members is autistic and McGuire is planning a sensory-friendly performance for autistic audience members. The play runs February 24-28. Visit rivertonhigh.jordandistrict.org for information and tickets.

Students with autism at Spectrum Academy enjoy small class sizes and specially trained staff who use research-based instruction methods. (Photo courtesy of Christina Guevara.)

skills and job skills training for special education students ages 18-21. Some students learn and practice job skills while working in South Valley School’s greenhouse and woodworking, framing and engraving shops. Others fill jobs in the community. SVS Principal Rita Bouillon said students with autism have abilities that fill a need in the job force and community employers are thrilled to have such dedicated workers. “These students have such great skills because they pay such attention to detail, they like doing repetitive work, and they like doing work accurately,” Bouillon said. Many prefer jobs that are predictably the same every day such as gathering grocery carts, stocking shelves, making pizzas, and working on assembly lines. Bouillon said these first job experiences help young adults with autism learn basic job skills—how to be on time, follow directions, dress appropriately, use public transportation and budget—that will translate to any future career. In class, students role play how to ask for a raise, request a day off, and arrange an accommodation. They learn to advocate for themselves and to educate others about autism so that it is not a barrier. Autism is misunderstood by many and often causes a frustrating cycle of unemployment and underemployment. “The autism community suffers from an 85% underemployment rate,” said David Aspinall, CEO of U.S. operations of Auticon, an international IT service provider. “Underemployment is the notion that somebody who could be an expert technologist is working in a role that doesn't make them the compensation that they deserve for their skills. The other version of underemployment is an individual, an incredibly skilled technologist, that has gone from organization to organization, never growing roots, never feeling fulfilled, because they're not an autism-friendly environment.” That was the experience of Scott McKell, a 30-something computer programmer from Hyrum, Utah. He said he felt he escaped the stigmatizing ‘box of autism’ because his

HerrimanJ ournal.com

mother opted to keep him out of the special education system. She did push his social skills development and he was able to do well in school. But post high school, he struggled to find stable work that paid well. He was a skilled musician and computer programmer but found himself working temporary jobs in warehouses and call centers. There were always problems with the jobs—call centers were uncomfortably loud, and if there was a big crash in the warehouse, it affected his ability to work accurately. “I've had lots of odd jobs because I hadn't quite found something that fit or I didn't realize how to ask for accommodations to make something that was a close fit a solid fit,” McKell said. Finally, in 2020, he found Auticon, which employs adults on the autism spectrum as technology consultants. Auticon has tapped into the autistic pool of employees to utilize their skill sets that are ideal in the software development and data science industries. Aspinall said one autistic cognitive strength is brutal honesty, which is an asset in data science. He said an autistic worker is dedicated to the data and provides unbiased results, while other people may have an interpretation bias based on what they want the data to show. Aspinall said people with autism who have the hard skills for a job often don’t make it through the social skills portion of a job interview. “The traditional interview process is one of the reasons our community is 85% underemployed,” Aspinall said. “There’s human bias, where you're in an interview and you get that social spark with someone. That has zero bearing on that individual's ability to do the job, especially in data science and software engineering.” Auticon uses an autism-friendly recruitment process—gamification to understand the applicant’s technical skills, and a series of chats with job coaches to understand their soft skills. They provide job coaches to help employers understand how to support neurodiver-

sity in the workplace so that they are inclusive and integrated. Many of the accommodations autistic workers ask for are just good business practices, Aspinall said. “Things we work with our partners on are things like written instruction instead of verbal instruction, making sure that meetings have an agenda, that communication is concise,” he said. “If you think about it, that is really not that much of an accommodation, that's just good business practice.” Grandin attended the ribbon-cutting for Auticon’s Salt Lake operations center when she was in Utah in August and praised the company for recognizing the skills and capabilities of employees with autism. The majority of Auticon’s employees are autistic but Aspinall is quick to dismiss it as anything but good business strategy. “This notion that this is altruistic is not accurate,” he said. “It’s performance-based. This

isn't altruism. Our team is bringing them a performance advantage. They are using what has been considered a barrier as a strength.” McKell was hired by Auticon as a consultant for Fidelity Investments and said the workplace environment is the best he’s ever had because his employer understands what he needs to do his job; it is normalized for him to wear noise-cancelling headphones or to take a break. “It's unlike anything I've ever had before—in a positive way,” he said. “Just the mere understanding that if I get overstimulated and I need to take a break and walk away, they're not only OK with that but they encourage that. If I'm too uncomfortable or bothered by something, I disengage and find my zen, so to speak, and then come back and I'm much more efficient than when I was overstimulated and trying to push through.” l

January 2022| Page 7

Mountain Ridge boys, girls basketball teams start season off strong By Justin Adams | justin.a@thecityjournals.com

135 Years

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igh school basketball in the state of Utah got underway last month, and both the Mountain Ridge boys and girls teams got off to a hot start. The boys team, coached by Scott Briggs, won its first four games by a combined score of 266-154. They are led by a strong senior class of six players, something the team has never had before. “The very first year we had one senior. Last year we had two. This year we have six. We feel like this is the first year we really have a senior class,” Briggs said. Even better, those six seniors all have accrued more experience than most seniors, as they were asked to play major varsity minutes as underclassmen. “I don’t know if they were ready to play, but because of our dynamics, they were thrown into the mix. Hopefully that veteran experience will help us down the road,” Briggs said. The team is led by captains Jake Fitton, Brantyn Van Dyke and Merrick Sherwood, all of whom are part of that senior class. From a purely statistical point of view, however, Briggs expects any of his players to be able to lead the team on any

given night. “We feel like we have good depth and that any given night, we have guys across the board who can really contribute offensively, guys who can put the ball in the hole,” he said. After being moved up a classification during the summer, the team is now competing in 6A Region 3, which includes neighboring schools like Herriman, Riverton and Bingham. The prospect of playing schools where they know kids on the opposing team is exciting, said Briggs, who coached for years at West Jordan (one of the other Region 3 teams). “The fact that we’re competing against other schools from this same little community, there’s no question that there’s a little more enthusiasm and interest in what’s going on,” he said. That certainly appeared to be the case during the team’s home opener on Dec.1, a 62-46 win over Hillcrest. It was an early season game, but the Sentinels were backed up by a raucous student section that one normally sees later in the year for region rivalry games or playoff action. “It’s fantastic for us,” Briggs said

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about the fan support. “When they’re making noise, it changes the atmosphere of the game. It does things to the opponent, it gives us a little more energy. Guys feed off of it. So yeah, I’m trying to convince some of those guys to bring even more of their friends.” The Mountain Ridge girls basketball team is also off to a hot start (winning their first five games), but unlike their male counterparts, they’re winning without the advantage of a big senior class. “We are very young, for sure. We have one senior year this year,” said head coach Kenzie Newton, who has been coaching the team since the school opened. That senior is Meg Cummings, who was elected one of the two team captains. “She’s a great leader and brings a lot of energy to the team,” Newton said. “The younger kids are really feeding off of that.” The other team captain is junior Brynnlee Murdoch, who led the team in scoring last year. One addition to this year’s team is freshman Addy Horsley who has already made an immediate impact, as she leads the team in assists with 4.5 per game, and is second in scoring at 9 points per game. Horsley told the Herriman Journal

she initially felt a little intimidated being asked to play such an important role on the varsity team as a freshman, but it’s helped to know that her teammates have her back. One thing that stands out about the team is their aggressive style of defense. They utilize a full-court press on every possession, a decision which stems from the fact that the team is often under-sized compared to opponents. “We’re not a very tall team, so we have to be scrappy,” Newton said. “We have players that like to get after it. Good defense creates easier offense. A lot of our baskets come off of steals so that’s definitely something we try to do.” “Even though we don’t have the height, we’re always hustling and going after the ball. We put everything we have into each game,” Horsley added. That formula seems to be working, as the team’s five wins so far this season (as of the Herriman Journal’s press deadline) is already more than its first two years combined. It’s a sign that Newton is continuing to build the kind of program she envisioned when she took the job two years ago. “They get four years at the high school level and we just want them to enjoy every minute and have fun with basketball, make lifelong friendships and leave here knowing it was an awesome experience. Building that kind of culture is definitely one of our goals.” l

Freshman guard Addy Horsley dribbles past a Cottonwood defender. (Justin Adams/City Journals)

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Senior guard Merrick Sherwood goes up for a layup during the Sentinels’ home opener. (Justin Adams/City Journals)

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Looking back at Herriman 2021

Herriman Elementary students participate and watch from their bus as the ground is broken for a new elementary school, which some of them will be attending when it is complete in two years. (Jet Burnham/City Journals)

Mountain Ridge junior Colby Roberts (in red) helps Alta junior Ian Bushell (in white) off the field during a 13-7 win over Alta on March 25. (Photo courtesy of Mountain Ridge High School athletics.)

The Herriman Arts Council put on a great production of ‘Newsies.’ Many residents reported that it was the best show they’ve seen yet Lealani Falatea stops for a mid-range floater in a game against on the Butterfield Park stage. (Justin Adams/City Journals) Bingham. (Justin Adams/City Journals)

Page 10 | January 2022

Continuing a tradition that began last year as a result of COVID-19, Herriman High School held a parade to honor its 2021 graduates. (Justin Adams/City Journals)

Herriman City Journal

Mountain Ridge pitcher Maryn Murdock releases a pitch in a match against Kearns. (Justin Adams/City Journals) The Utah Warriors celebrate after scoring a second half try against San Diego. The Warriors pulled off a dramatic 17-point comeback victory over the San Diego Legion on June 12 at Zions Bank Stadium (Justin Adams/City Journals)

Josh Eldridge, on both the football team and in the band, performing the national anthem prior to Mountain Ridge’s homecoming game against Westlake. (Justin Adams/City Journals)

A pair of Mountain Ridge players go up for an attempted block against Pleasant Grove during the playoffs. (Justin Adams/City Journals)

Athletes from all over Region 3 came to compete in the region championships for track and field at Jordan High in May, including the javelin. (Justin Adams/City Journals) Taking in the views while racing the Herriman Trail Series in the foothills above the city. (Photo courtesy of Blake Christensen.)

The Herriman City PRCA Rodeo was held on June 4 and 5, much to the delight of residents who had gone over a year without such an event. The community’s excitement was evident as both nights quickly sold out. Attendees enjoyed impressive feats of jousting, bareback horse-riding, lassoing and more. (Justin Adams/City Journals)

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January 2022| Page 11

Local schools review social media policies, fundraising activities for inclusivity By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

his winter, many schools have been participating in fundraising opportunities to give back to their schools and their community. Summit Academy High School in Bluffdale has held its Bears Give Back, an annual fundraiser, since the school opened in 2010. Throughout the year students perform several service projects such as giving winter wear to those in need, providing snacks to health care workers and supporting Be the Match, encouraging people to register to donate bone marrow or blood stem cells. They also select a non-profit organization to support every winter. This year, the student body of 525 students were supporting the Leukemia Research Foundation, selected in part because a former athletic director is going through cancer treatments, said Principal Angela Grimmer. She said that $8,000 had already been raised by Dec. 2, a month after the fundraising began. They planned to wrap it up before winter break and give the funds to the foundation in January. This year, there have been questions that have arisen in regards to social media, starting with a post that was up for a couple hours before a teacher notified the principal and it was immediately taken down, said Summit Academy Executive Director Michael Clark. Posted on the school’s Instagram account was a cartoon depiction of a Black male behind bars, indicating students could pay $5 to put a classmate in “jail” and $7 to get the classmate out. “Jail” was a portion of the school cafeteria that was behind streamers portraying bars; participation was optional, Clark said. The money raised was put toward the fundraiser. “Everyone at Summit Academy High School is welcome and we want everyone to feel welcome; It’s really unfortunate and really sad that it happened. We love all of our students and all of our community, and we would never want to alienate or make anyone feel bad. We truly believe in educating all students, no matter what your background is, no matter who you are,” Clark said. The marketing campaign process has been reviewed and revised, Clark said. It began with an opportunity to have a digital marketing and media student apply his learning to a real-life fundraising event. Clark said the student quickly searched “cartoon jail image,” and used one of the first images that popped up to complete the assignment for the post about the school lunch fundraiser. A teacher — “he didn’t consider the implications of it” — signed off on it before being posted, Clark said.

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That lesson also became more “real life” with social implications. “The teacher took that opportunity to really drill that into the class and help them to understand that when we create an advertisement, we need to look at it with a critical eye from all different perspectives and lenses to make sure we’re not hurting or alienating anyone,” he said. Clark said there have been discussions with students, some who were unaware of the controversy since the post was put up and taken down during a school day. “We just tried to help them to understand sometimes things like this happen and people are hurt, and we need to apologize and fix it, so it doesn’t happen again. It was a good learning experience for them,” he said. Grimmer said that in the future, students will have that same experience that not only allows them to create social media posts, but also the fliers and videos for the school’s weekly announcements. “We’re going to allow our students to keep doing that and create that,” she said. “The approval to actually be posted will come through me.” The same rules regarding only principals posting on social media apply to all the Summit Academy campuses, Clark said. In addition to the “jail,” students had other ways to contribute to the leukemia foundation, such as purchasing a muffin on Mondays, admission to a school dance, or students performing odd jobs in the community for donations to their fundraiser Although the student-driven idea was adapted from neighboring high schools and has been “pretty successful as they’ve been able to donate lots of money to different foundations and charities across Utah and across the country,” the “jail” idea won’t continue in the future, Clark said. “We just discontinued it; sometimes these things, the political environment changes in the country, and so then these kinds of ideas kind of fade out,” he said. “We’re going to let the students come together and try to think of something else that’s creative and different.” Administrators say they’re looking to expand their online teacher training. “I’ve also reached out to Utah Black Roundtable to see if they would come on campus with us and help us with some of these discussions,” Grimmer said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to make some connections there and understand moving forward, how best we can be educational and be sensitive.” Grimmer also said that she has had discussions with students about concerns

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Summit Academy High School reviewed its social media policy after a winter fundraising post. (Photo courtesy of Summit Academy High School Facebook)

and they’re wanting to organize a group to meet on the subject going forward. “The one thing that is so fantastic about our students, and I think this comes from being a smaller school too, is they feel like they have the ability to really self-advocate and when they do things, they do not hesitate to come in and chat and start a group. We run so many diverse clubs to involve all of our students, so it’s always great to see student response,” she said. “This is really a good opportunity for us to learn and to reengage some efforts in new areas.” Grimmer said that as more people and schools have learned about the post, there hasn’t been any negative response or schools wanting to disassociate with them. Two area schools, Hillcrest High in Midvale and American Preparatory Academy in Draper, who both plan to proceed with their basketball games against Summit Academy, are also reviewing their fundraising methods and social media policies. Hillcrest Principal Greg Leavitt said that while there are several ways students contribute to their fundraising of choice — this year the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network — one of the popular ways is to bid on a date with a student body officer. “Our biggest one is pay for a date and actually, we shut that down this year,” he said. “There’s just too many students who are not comfortable with that old-fashioned type of idea and we have a lot of minority students…and people who aren’t into

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that, so I told them they needed to think of another way. They could pay to go on a group activity with Hillcrest High School SBOs– and they’ve always done the date thing as a group anyway, but it’s just the way they say it makes it awkward for some students.” It also takes away a popularity element, he said. “It’s always surrounded with this kid will pay this much money for this student and they’ll only pay $10 for me. It just makes people feel awkward,” he said. Leavitt said that the most active school social media account is the student body account, where student leaders will discuss with their adviser about what their message will say and look like before posting it. Early in the school year, they also had discussions ensuring that the posts are sensitive to the student body. At American Preparatory Academy in Draper, communications director Dan Bazan said controls over their social media accounts are limited to himself and a select few others at each of the campuses. He was aware of the Summit Academy post. “A lot of times when we see things like this happen in the culture, our goal is to help our students understand what’s going on, and using what we’ve already taught them,” he said. “Our goal is for them to already know that all students, all humans, have value. Everyone has value and so we have to respect it. The whole purpose of a classical education – is the flourishing of human rights and it’s to understand the differences.” l

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January 2022| Page 15

Hats are just the tip of the iceberg of new school dress code By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

or the first time in decades, Jordan School District’s dress code has been updated. Specific lists of prohibited clothing and ambiguous language such as “well-groomed” and “modest” have been removed from the policy wording. The new policy gives more autonomy to school administrators to make specific decisions for their own student bodies. Included is a graphic that simplifies standards so that students, parents and administrators can easily identify if an outfit is compliant and how to adjust it if it is not. A district committee, headed by Student Services Director Travis Hamblin, spent over a year reviewing school dress code policies from around the country. The pandemic delayed the process, but finally, after receiving substantial feedback from parents, students and educators, the new policy was approved Oct. 26 and went into effect immediately. The next day, students responded to the news by wearing hats and flipping their hoodies onto their heads, since the new policy no longer prohibits hats. Extreme hairstyles, including hair color, are also no longer specifically prohibited. Some of the specific exclusions listed in the old code, which was written in 1974, were from the post-Vietnam era and based on the cultural norms of the majority culture. “The policy was written back when everybody dressed a whole lot differently than how they dress now,” said Yan’tu Barber, District Diversity and Culture Specialist and member of the Jordan Ethnic Advisory Committee. He said the old policy was problematic for students who wore, for example, baggy pants or a “Boyz in the Hood” movie T-shirt which was acceptable within their culture but cause for being removed from class at school. “We don’t want our kids being sent down on dress code infractions when it’s not even a dress code infraction,’’ Bar-

ber said. He said when he was a teacher, he was not worried about what a kid was wearing. “I’m not worried about that, I’m worried about if the kid is sitting in the classroom, that they’re getting the content that I’m teaching,” he said. “Those are the things that supersede how a kid’s dressed.” Jordan Board of Education President Tracy Miller said the catalyst for the update of the policy was to make it more gender neutral and more culturally sensitive. The dress code is part of the Student Code of Conduct policy, which has also been revised to remove the zero-tolerance responses and punitive consequences for student behavior, including dress code violations. “What we sought to do is avoid prescriptive enforcement to focus on learning and relationships and to reduce out-ofclass time,” Hamblin said. The new policy provides greater flexibility by not specifically listing types of clothing not allowed or requiring specific measurements of clothing. Barber believes it will take time for administrators to decide what works best for their student body and then ensure consistent enforcement among staff members. “The enforcement of it will ultimately indicate if it’s a better policy or not,” Barber said. “If some of our kids of different cultural backgrounds are still getting dress code [violations], maybe at a higher clip, or for something that is maybe pertaining to their culture, then that would be more informative for us to see if the dress code is really being as effective as the new policy is written.” The Jordan Ethnic Advisory Committee is currently trying to revise the graduation dress code to allow graduates to wear cultural decorations, such as leis and national flags, during their graduation ceremony. l

Continued from front page

the mayor is another member of the city council, rather than the head of an executive branch. While they may not hold any more power than other council members, they do act as the outward face of the city in many situations. Above all, Palmer said he wants Herriman residents to know that he wants to hear from them. “I’m looking forward to serving. This isn’t about politics or a stepping stone. It’s about being out there. I’d love for residents to reach out to me if they have ideas or anything. I want everyone to feel like they can reach out to me and I’ll listen.” l

learning about what issues Herriman residents are facing. “There are needs over by the RSL Academy building or over at the Cove that I wasn’t aware of,” he said. One of Palmer’s priorities while in office is leveraging his position as mayor to go out and recruit businesses to come to Herriman. “I’ve been told that it just means more when someone with the title of mayor comes into a business owner’s office to negotiate,” he said. Herriman operates under a weak-mayor form of government, which means that

Page 16 | January 2022

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January 2022| Page 17

Help wanted: Officials for youth sports By Greg James | g.james@mycityjournals.com

Hockey officials like DeOrr Wight stand right in the line of fire, coaches and players have direct access to them throughout the game. (Greg James/City Journals)

Page 18 | January 2022

he number of high school referees and sports officials is declining rapidly across the country. Until recently, Utah had not experienced much of a decline, but this season it has finally hit home. Why is this happening and what can be done to make sure athletes don’t miss games because of it? “If high school is in session I am doing a sport,” Harley Gold said. “I have officiated since 1967. I started because I was invited to a little league umpires clinic then and I became an umpire. I enjoy all of the sports and picking a favorite is like picking my favorite child.” Gold is not alone, many of the officials started young and have continued for years. Former USA Hockey Supervisor of Officials Jim Mckenna started officiating youth and adult recreation hockey games in 1994. He continues working collegiate and junior league games as well as games in the ECHL. “I was looking for a way to earn some extra money back then,” Mckenna said. “I dealt with the assignment of officials and contracts with leagues and organizations and helped with training. It was a lot of work, but it was fun.”

Both of these longtime arbiters enjoy what they do. “I like being around the game and with the kids,” Gold said. According to an Ohio University study many states are reporting a decrease in officials. Oregon alone saw a 12% drop in registered football referees this fall. The shortage has finally hit Utah. Two weeks before the boys basketball season began the Utah High School Activities Association had 450 people registered for the job, nearly 250 less than what they need to complete the season. In northern California they have seen a decrease of nearly 30%. Utah has also increased the number of schools therefore increasing the number of games. Making this a two-headed problem for officials. The lack of officials has forced postponement and cancellation of many sub-varsity games in the state. Some schools are moving games to make it easier to find people to help. “Every year in the last five or six years we have seen a decline in the number of officials,” McKenna said. “The abuse from parents and players contributes. The younger officials wonder why they would

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want to go and get yelled at for two hours.” Sportsmanship, specifically the lack thereof, has become a key factor in the decline of officials. Sportsmanship refers to virtues such as fairness, self-control and courage. In today’s sporting culture those virtues can take a back seat to winning at all costs. “We have really lost the sense of what is appropriate. It seems OK to scream at some official and tell them how crappy they are. Society is a lot less accepting and willing to come to an understanding,” McKenna said. In a National Association of Sporting Officials survey, adult recreation and youth competitive sports had the worst sportsmanship and 47% of officials surveyed feared for their safety because of a fan, player, coach or administrator. According to UHSAA assistant director Jeff Cluff, poor sportsmanship is “probably the No. 1 reason an official does not return. We lose about 75% of first-year officials. It is hard if you don't have the personality to handle it. There is no place for bad sportsmanship.” In early November, at a 13-14-yearold division hockey tournament in Colorado, Ron Groothedde, a 25-year veteran referee, was sprayed in the face with a large can of Lysol by an angry parent. The suspect was arrested for harassment. Incidents of poor sportsmanship are

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numerous. “I think it takes communication. I see a lot of officials that get yelled at and they yell right back and all that does is fuel the fire. Talking to a coach and explaining what you saw in a conversation and come to an agreement,” McKenna said. “Some of the younger officials are intimidated by the coaches.” The extra money of a part-time job like officiating was a big draw to begin with, but many potential officials have found other jobs that also pay well. In March of 2020, when the pandemic started many games and competitions were canceled. For six to eight months officials sat at home. Many have not returned, citing COVID concerns and also a lack of interest. “We have tried a few different things,” United States Specialty Sports Association’s Utah Director Jerry Ong said. “We work hard on having good compensation, umpire treatment and fan control. I know as an industry we have suffered with the loss of referees.” The UHSAA pay scale for officials varies by sport and level. A varsity football referee can take home $74 whereas a volleyball official makes $59. Some schools offer dinner and food stipends to help with travel expenses. The current pay rates have increased nearly 10% across the board. Some offi-

cials can get paid mileage to travel to an event. “Basketball and softball have been affected the most,” Cluff said. “We have games in rural areas that need to have officials. We are paying more to get guys to travel to those places. We are looking for ways to recruit new help.” The athletes and coaches of today are the officials of tomorrow. Cluff said getting them involved when they are young could help increase numbers. “Our coaches make the best officials,” Cluff said. “A basketball coach can be a great baseball umpire or football referee. They have great relationships with kids and know how to work positively with them. It also gives kids a better understanding of the game.” The UHSAA encourages its athletes to participate in little leagues and youth sports programs. Its older referees also attempt to persuade friends to join the organization. “You can never find a more fulfilling part-time job,” Gold said. “I get to set my own hours, work when I want to work. There is also plenty of help available. Training every year and other mentors to keep you straight.” According to a recent NASO survey, 48% of all current officials started because of an invitation from a friend. There are also numerous other rea-

sons why many people get involved. They include extra money, the love of sports, a way to stay active, and giving back to a game they love. “I get to work the ECHL games and there are times that I think ‘why do I still do this.’ I just got berated for the entire game, but there are times when the action is intense and the game is back and forth. It is awesome to be involved in a game that is back and forth and the guys are playing well,” McKenna said. “I have also worked with other officials that have gone on and had great careers in the NHL.” The hard work of officials does not go unnoticed. “I definitely think officials have the hardest job to do. No matter what they do it will upset one side or the other,” West Jordan boys basketball head coach Christian Wouden said. “We have some great officials and they work extremely hard.” In 2021, Tammy Spencer and Lance Nielsen were awarded officials of the year by UHSAA. Many leagues offer training for new officials. The UHSAA has set up official associations and they provide constant training and are always looking for new hires to try it out. l

January 2022| Page 19

The Point, the prison and historic preservation By Mimi Darley Dutton | m.dutton@mycityjournals.com

even years ago, the historic Draper Park School in the center of town was nearly demolished. The city owned it but could no longer afford to maintain or remodel it. It had become a safety hazard and a resulting liability. Just weeks before it was set to be demolished, a buyer came forward to purchase the old school in what some felt was a “Christmas miracle.” “It’s like most historic preservation, it’s usually expensive. We made it available cheaply for what was the demolition cost, with the requirement they had to save it. The developer turned it into a commercial enterprise. It was a win-win,” Mayor Troy Walker said. In the many months leading up to that last-minute “miracle,” community groups and individuals set about to raise funds, hoping to purchase and re-imagine the old school. But they weren’t able to raise nearly enough money. They repeatedly pled their case to the mayor and city council, hoping to save what they saw as a treasure, before it was turned into rubble. It was a contentious topic at council meetings that ended with a positive resolution for both the city and concerned community members, just in the nick of time. For some people, there is a strong

sense of duty to consider the historic value of what surrounds them or risk losing it forever. And it’s often the role of everyday residents to push for preservation while a city’s leaders are focused on matters of growth, economics, and wise use of taxpayer funds. Todd Shoemaker is one such individual for whom history is a passion. Shoemaker moved to Draper in 1955 and attended school in that historic building on Pioneer Road. He earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in history from the University of Utah and taught history for 30 years at Union Middle School. After retiring, Shoemaker served on Draper’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC). He participated in efforts to save the historic school. In doing so, he recognizes that the actions he and others took to save the school likely ruffled the feathers of city leaders. He also partnered with two other individuals to purchase the Day Barn at auction, not with city funds earmarked for historic preservation, but with their own money. He worked with the city and other willing partners to relocate it from where it formerly sat on 12300 South near 600 East to where it now resides near the library, land the city donated for it. “I

was able to talk to Todd Wadsworth and he was willing to help with the money to move it and fix up the barn. Without him, it wouldn’t have happened,” Shoemaker said. Fast forward several years, and Shoemaker, along with others, has wanted to see parts of the Utah State Prison preserved when the development known as The Point begins to take shape. According to Alan Matheson, executive director of The Point, prisoners will be moved to the new prison on the west side of Salt Lake City this summer and demolition of the Draper site will begin soon after. For Shoemaker, it’s not a matter of glorifying criminal behavior, but of recognizing that the prison has been part of the Draper community since 1951. That’s the year it was opened to replace the former prison in Sugar House, an old territory prison. Shoemaker said some of the buildings at the Draper site date back to the 1940s and those older buildings are the focus of preservationist efforts. “We mainly want to tell the story because it’s in Draper, so many people from Draper worked there and so many have gone out there and volunteered. It’s educational. We’ve done research on what people have done with old prisons. In Europe,

some are hotels. We just think the prison is unique and we tried to find out if they were going to tear down those buildings. The Utah State Historical Society didn’t know when we reached out to them and we couldn’t get anything specific from the mayor or the city council. We started this in 2015 or 2016. We spent a lot of time on it,” Shoemaker said. Other prisons have been saved for historic purposes. San Francisco has Alcatraz, the former maximum security federal prison that attracts 1.5 million visitors annually, a public museum run by the National Parks Service. Boise has the Old Idaho Penitentiary, a tourist site operated by the Idaho State Historical Society. Both are registered with the National Registry of Historic Places (NRHP). But both are older than the Utah State Prison. Alcatraz operated as a prison from 1934-1963 and the Old Idaho Penitentiary was built between 1870-1872 when Idaho was just a territory. The Utah State Prison has some interesting historical occurrences and has housed some well-known names. Ted Bundy was sentenced to 15 years there but later extradited to Colorado. It has housed Warren Jeffs, Wanda Barzee, and Mark Hoffman among others. In 1977, Gary Gilmore

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Herriman City Journal

was executed in Draper, the first execution in the United States after the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. That prompted Norman Mailer to write his famous novel “The Executioner’s Song.” A 1957 riot gained national news attention and resulted in the building of a chapel, one of the demands made by the prisoners. According to Shoemaker, that chapel was built largely with the prisoners’ money so they had a place to worship and sing. Mayor Walker serves on two boards regarding development of The Point: The Point of the Mountain State Land Authority, tasked with development of the prison site, and the Point of the Mountain Commission, an advisory planning commission that looks at the greater Point of the Mountain area. Walker said a decision on historic preservation of the prison was made at The Point of the Mountain State Land Authority’s October 2021 meeting. “Most of the buildings are old, the function of them has been to house inmates, so there wasn’t an interest from the board to save buildings…You’d have to reconfigure the way we’re designing the site, the buildings aren’t where we want them to be. However, the lock, which is historic (the Johnson Bar Lock system which is the same as at Alcatraz), the Department of Corrections is going to save and put in a museum that they’re going to do at the new prison. Uniquely, we wanted to preserve something, and what we came up with is the guard towers…up to two of them could be preserved on the site. They’re symbolic of keeping the outside safe, protecting society from criminals. That’s really the extent of the historical preservation at the site. We want a conference center there, not in old Cell Block A, but more like a world class hotel,” Walker said. Matheson said, “We’ve had some good conversations with people in the community. We appreciate their passion and the input they’ve provided. As reflected in the board’s decision in October, there is a willingness to preserve appropriate elements of the site. There are a few members of the community concerned about historical preservation and many others that are not. The board is also considering the economic opportunity costs and public safety in making those decisions. Some of these old facilities may not be safe for the public to be in after a time.” Shoemaker said he was removed from his position on the HPC, reappointed at some point, and that more recently he didn’t reapply for the commission when his term ended. “I can do better by not being a member and trying to do things on my own,” he said. Shoemaker is frustrated that the city has changed their procedures for committees and commissions, and he’s felt more restrained than heard on topics that he feels some members of the community want to

HerrimanJ ournal.com

discuss. “You may apply to be on the commission agenda and are required to state what you want to talk about, but the commission chair can, evidently, deny your request with no reason given. A citizen’s next course of action is to go to a city council meeting where they are given three minutes to state their concerns. The city is not required to have any further engagement with the citizen in a discussion of the issue that is brought forward,” he said. Shoemaker would like to see the format changed so that residents are given three minutes to speak at commission meetings, and if the city wants to follow through on the topic, it would then be on an agenda. “I know why you have to have an agenda, but there’s no reason why people on the commission can’t get input from the general public. I’m pushing now for a change on that. I think that format should be changed.” The city has spent the last year revising the roles and rules for its various committees and commissions. Councilmember Marsha Vawdrey serves as a liaison between the city and the HPC. “I’ve been encouraging this whole year to look at all our boards and commissions and make sure we’re having consistency, clarifying roles and duties. It was a general overhaul of all the committees. We were trying to help unify, clarify and make consistency for all the boards and committees because all of them were struggling, in their own ways, especially with membership. I could see it and just thought we could do better. It’s been cool to see how many people have applied and been put on boards,” she said. “You shouldn’t have unelected officials speaking for the city or council, so we’ve revamped our commission rules, making it clear what they’re supposed to do and what they’re not supposed to do,” Walker said. Regarding historic preservation in the city, Walker said, “There are old homes we want to see stay. We have the cabin (the old Chamber of Commerce building) and I think our commitment to historic preservation is solid. We like our history, but you can’t do everything. I’d like to see us develop a proper museum, a building that showcases the history of Draper, and that’s something the council is interested in. It was just this prison business—we heard all the arguments, but it just wasn’t going to fit in what we were trying to do. My goal has always been to develop that site into the greatest economic opportunity that the state has had in the last 100 years.” Walker and Shoemaker do agree on something. “The Sugar House prison would have been worth preserving, but it wasn’t,” Walker said. That historic, territorial prison was demolished and is now the location of Sugar House Park. “I get his passion,” Walker said of Shoemaker. l

JORDAN SCHOOL DISTRICT - Public Notices

SPECIAL EDUCATION CHILD FIND Every child is entitled to a public education regardless of disability. Children with disabilities may go without services because families are not fully aware of their options. If you know of a child, birth to age 22, who is not receiving any education services or feel that your child may be in need of special education services, please contact your local school or call the Special Education Department in Jordan School District at (801) 567-8176. SPECIAL EDUCATION RECORDS DESTRUCTION On January 31, 2022, Jordan School District will destroy special education records of students born prior to September, 1994. Former special education students who are 27 years old may request their records from the school last attended; otherwise, the records will be destroyed. CARSON SMITH SCHOLARSHIP Public school students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) may be eligible for a scholarship to attend a private school through the Carson Smith Scholarship program. Further information is available at http://www.schools.utah.gov/sars/Scholarships.aspx

January 2022| Page 21

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Page 22 | January 2022

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Herriman City Journal

Home Makeover: COVID edition

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One morning I woke up and I’d had enough. The pandemic had forced us to look at our walls and carpet 24/7 and every day the chips in the paint got bigger and the stains on the carpet got wider. Was that blood or pudding? I couldn’t tell anymore. It was time to take action. My husband tends to overthink in a death-spiral sort of way, so our conversation went from “What kind of paint/flooring should we get?” to “What if we spend two weeks with our dog in a tent in a blizzard?” I let him ruminate for a while before moving to the next phase. We talked about painting the rooms ourselves and laughed hysterically for a couple of hours. We are not the DIY kind of people. We once assembled a bookshelf together so I knew we needed to hire a professional; either a professional painter or a professional divorce attorney. We reached out to our friend, Rick Hepner, who was delighted to paint our home, plus he got to enjoy our 4-year-old granddaughter following him around asking him what he was doing, why he was doing it, how long he’d be doing it and if he wanted to play Barbies. While preparing the walls, Rick discovered ecosystems behind our furniture where sentient beings lived in and breathed only dust. He waded through chest-deep dust like we were living in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl era, or

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maybe the sequel to Dune. Once the dust was hauled away and the walls were beautifully painted, we turned our attention to the floors. Our carpet crossed the prairie in the back of a handcart, survived nuclear testing in Southern Utah and was definitely sprouting tentacles. Time to toss it before it murdered us in our sleep. Then came the discussion of wood versus carpet. My husband is old school and likes soft carpeting, probably so he doesn’t break a hip if he falls. I like the clean line of wood. We compromised with me getting wood flooring in my office, and carpet everywhere else; except the bathroom. We’re not animals. When it came time to move furniture out of the house, I threw things away willy-nilly.

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I took bags of clothes and shoes and children to Goodwill. My husband followed behind me, taking things out of donation bags and hiding them. He has sentimental attachments to items like water bottles and lanyards and the blouse I wore when we saw the Blue Man Group in 2008. Finally, the walls were painted, flooring was complete, furniture was moved back and everything was right with the world. But our dog was hyperventilating. Before renovation (BR), she’d nap under the guest bed, which is now in another home. She wandered the halls, forlorn and lost, carrying her bone from room to room, trying to navigate her apocalyptic new world. Not only that, but the wood floor distressed her and she refused to walk on it. She slept on the couch until midnight. Then I heard her toenails clicking as she walked across the floor and threw herself onto her bed, sighing loudly, so we’d know she’d been inconvenienced. For a while, we played The Floor is Lava to keep the carpet looking bright and new. But walls get scratched and carpet gets stained because life is a messy, dirty, grimy experiment where sometimes you don’t know if the stain on the carpet is blood or pudding, and your dog needs therapy, and your husband unpacks the donation bags. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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