July 2020 | Vol. 20 Iss. 07
FREE DIVERSITY IN LITERATURE A POTENTIAL ANSWER FOR MINORITY STUDENTS, ANTIDOTE FOR RACISM By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com
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f the 700 books on the approved booklist for middle schoolers and high schoolers in Jordan District, only 8% are written by authors of color. “All of the books tend to cater toward a certain type of student,” said West Jordan Middle School literacy specialist and language arts teacher Tara Pearce. She is pushing for a booklist that reflects the minority students who make up 25% of the district demographic. “Stories change people’s lives,” Pearce said. “And having a role model that you can actually identify with also changes lives. I just want all of my students to have a really great mix of role models of characters or people that they can look up to, to help to find who they want to be.” The lack of diverse books is a stumbling block to literacy for students who don’t fit into a traditional white American family mold, said Pearce. “Students can read at a higher level and read and comprehend at deeper levels when the book is engaging to them, when it’s interesting and relevant to them,” Pearce said. “My goal is to find real-world, relevant texts for my low readers.” The problem is, these books often contain profanity or sensitive subjects that raise red flags with the booklist approval committee. Pearce respects that many parents don’t want Many books that teach cultural empathy are not approved for use in the school classrooms. (Photo courtesy of Tara Pearce) their students exposed to that kind of content but believes “I’m not trying to push sketchy books on some sweet lit- their own—that’s how we learn,” she said. those books should be available as an option to those with Herriman High School AP English teacher Whitney differing values. She wants parents to trust teachers to handle tle girl,” she said. “My goal is to be able to give some books to Borup agrees. the sensitive topics responsibly and not as an excuse to push kids that actually do talk like that and look like that.” She also believes diversity in literature benefits all students. “I teach that every writer comes from a political point of their own personal or political agendas. “It’s good for all students to have perspectives outside of Continued page 8
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West Jordan budget nears completion By Erin Dixon | e.dixon@mycityjournals.com
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alancing the city budget this year has been a tricky act. West Jordan City has spent an average of 99.6% of its income in recent years. Neighboring cities spend less than 80%. City council and staff nearly doubled the number of regular meetings in March, April and May 2020 (all available on YouTube), discussing plans for bringing the budget back to a healthy place. The following information has been collected from those meetings and recent interviews. City Finance Director Danyce Steck said the practice of spending most of the income put West Jordan between a rock and hard place when making budget decisions this year. “This is not just a COVID-related phenomenon,” Steck said. “The budget for this year was planned to be spent $2.7 million in the hole, and we’re going to end up in the deficit using reserves in the neighborhood of $3 million.” What brought the city into such a tight spot, that forced the government to lay off over 20 employees, transfer money from the utility fund and use reserves to balance the new budget? “I don’t think it was kicking the can down the road,” Steck said. “They were adding police officers, firefighters, a public works building, more capital projects and not identifying how they were going to pay for that. You might want the additional cable channels and you look at your checkbook, and well, I’m getting to zero every month, but I’m still going to add it anyway.” Despite not defining additional income for these projects, West Jordan has had a healthy reserve fund. It was as high as $12 million in 2018. Now that reserve fund has been slowly decreasing the past two years. Why?
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“High turnover for police, fire and city employees was the saving grace for the city,” Steck said. “I don’t think anyone brought that to light in the past. What was saving them is that they were not able to fill all of their personnel positions. Well, at the end of the day, we came in OK. When you get to a point where you’ve built a city that’s very strong now in their management team, we don’t have those vacancies anymore, we don’t have that extra money.”
Utility Fund transfer
As a way to balance the budget this year, some money is going to be transferred from the Utility Fund to the General Fund. There has been a lot of confusion why there is extra money in the Utility Fund, after city leaders said in recent years they needed to raise water rates to pay for the increase in water costs and infrastructure maintenance. “I think when the council raised water rates, it didn’t have good information,” Councilmember Kelvin Green said. “I think it was one of those decisions that a decision had to be made. Now that we’re figuring it out, there is some money there, and what’s the best way to use it.” Using extra money from the utility fund could prevent the need to raise property taxes this year.
Cultural Arts Center
While most city departments have made cuts, some entities that have not been modified. City officials planned to give the Arts Council, a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the city, $60,000. “We’ve asked every department to take cuts,” Councilmember Kayleen Whitelock said. “Someone should have a conversation with them and say, ‘Look, we’ve had to make cuts; we need you to help us.’ We also fund the museum, which also hasn’t been able to be open. I think in all fairness, we need to look at all outside committees.”
Green agreed that there may be a few more adjustments necessary, even if savings is a drop in the ocean. “Everybody needs to feel the pain,” Green said. “Five thousand dollars in a $5 million budget is nothing, but the fact is that symbolically it does need to match the Finance Director Danyce Steck outlines what has been cut from the coming fiscal year’s equivalent cuts budget. Numbers in parenthesis, e.g. ($10,000), means the cost has been lowered by that amount. (Screenshot via Erin Dixon) that the fire department and the things we’ve taken away for the next year like police department are taking.” Another $6 million is still earmarked for any employee increases or benefit changes.” the construction of the cultural arts center, with money that came from the sale of city COVID-19-related effects City officials expected sales tax revenue property. “We were asked to put the Arts Center to plummet in March 2020 after Utah Gov. in to open up the discussion,” Steck said. Gary Herbert enacted a stay-at-home order “Design is going to finish and the council has and many businesses were forced to close. “March sales tax did not come in lower instructed us to hold. That money is budgeted, but we will not start construction until we than we anticipated in our city,” Steck said. find out what kind of economic changes will “In other cities, it came in lower. “The reason is we really have a lot of happen over the next year.” Steck is concerned that city leaders also grocery stores in our city. They all had the need to find steady revenue to support the hoarding effect. You saw an extreme increase center or end up again where they were with in their sales tax revenues that helped to bills that have been too high to be supported boost the fall of all the other businesses that came down. The second boost is home imeasily with resources. “We’re really working with them on provement stores.” However, April sales tax has not yet what the operation and maintenance is going to cost,” she said. “Again, that same concept. been reported, and the city may have lost You add something you’ve got to identify how more sales tax as the city was still under the stay-at-home order that month. you are going to continue to operate that.” Additional changes to the budget may be “Before we move forward with construction, we’ve got to make sure that we’re coming in the following weeks. City Journals already balanced, that we’ve restored the will publish any significant updates. l
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The Grizzlies season of unintended consequences By Greg James | g.james@mycityjournals.com
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s COVID-19 spread across the country, sports were canceled. The NCAA granted its spring season athletes an additional year of eligibility, major league baseball scaled back its draft and many high school seniors have made for an abundance of college-ready athletes. Some schools are canceling scholarship offers, leaving many wondering whether they might have played their last game.
Copper Hills had 10 seniors on this year’s squad, four of whom had signed letters of intent to play college baseball. One senior slightly impacted is Brayden Taylor. At press deadline, he is still on track to attend TCU, but the amount of competition for his position has significantly increased. “I consider him the best player in the state,” Grizzlies head coach Joel Sundquist
said. “Luckily, he has not been affected. Although he would have had the opportunity to hear his name in the major league draft but because of COVID, it robbed him of that opportunity.” Kyle Hoffman had signed to play at College of Southern Idaho, Cameron Ostmark at Treasure Valley, and Braden Campbell still had several opportunities. All have had some form instability. “It was hard,” Sundquist said. “I think the biggest thing for my kids and me was how up in the air it was for such a long time (the season). It was suspended for two weeks, then it was ‘let’s wait until after spring break’ then school was canceled and everything got canceled. It was an emotional roller coaster for us. We had a really good ball club. We were playing really well before the suspension. A lot of the kids felt robbed, that is an OK feeling to have, but they were all super resilient and they knew in the grand scheme of things they understood why so much precaution was being taken.” The Grizzlies flew to Phoenix, Arizona, for a spring tournament right before Gov. Gary Herbert made his decision to cancel the high school sports season. It was while they Senior Damon Ruesch slides in safely to third base during the Grizzlies victory over Jordan High School in the were there playing games that the season was eventually suspended. Last Chance baseball tournament. (Photo courtesy of Dave Reeder)
“We were the last team in the state to do any overnight travel,” Sundquist said. “We rained out two days and squeaked a game in on Thursday; we played a double header on Saturday. Then everything was cancelled, and we flew home.” Sundquist said. After graduation, Utah’s Premier Game Baseball organized the Last Chance Tournament, held at several Utah County schools. Copper Hills was invited to participate. “Our feeling evolved; at first the kids thought they would just go and have fun and enjoy ourselves, but getting a group of highly competitive young men together they started to care really quick,” Sundquist said. “The game was on; we tried to figure out a way to win the thing.” The Grizzlies placed third overall. They defeated defending state champion Pleasant Grove and Bingham before losing to Riverton. Sundquist said there were signs of rust from the long layoff, but they played well enough to have an impact. “We had a chance to win the thing,” he said. “We had huge wins against some outstanding programs. There were several teams that did not get invited to play in this thing. We now have a program that these players and their families can be proud of.” l
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West Jordan celebrates 25th anniversary of the Sugar Factory Playhouse By Stephanie DeGraw | s.degraw@mycityjournals.com
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he West Jordan Performing Arts, now known as the Sugar Factory Playhouse, celebrates its 25th Anniversary in July 2020. One of the original members of the theater, Petronella (Pat) Oliver, remembers some challenges over the years. In the beginning, with the support of West Jordan City administration and only a handful of volunteers, Oliver said they thought they could do “Annie Get Your Gun!” but they did not know how costly royalties were. So, they asked their friend Ruth Hale for permission to perform one of the old musicals she had written. Hale agreed to allow them to produce her show “Dude Ranch” for a $25 royalty fee. “We performed ‘Dude Ranch’ four nights in the park pavilion,” Oliver said. “We sold out every night, and we were on our way.” Initially, the theater group rehearsed in the attic of West Jordan City Hall and then performed outside in the West Jordan City Park. The stage was built in a covered picnic pavilion with bleachers from the baseball fields brought over for the audience. There were no dressing rooms, according to longtime volunteer Shaina Burgoyne. “I’m sure a few soccer parents were surprised and confused as we did quick costume changes between sheets hung from trees,” she said. “No one had only one job, as the actors also took part in stage construction, costuming, marketing and even security.” Sometimes members of the theater had to camp out on the stage overnight to monitor valuable sound and lighting equipment. “It seemed every year there was at least one rainstorm that threatened to cancel everything, but despite a muddy backstage area or thunder accompanying the musical score, the show always went on,” Burgoyne said.
Real-life couple Mathew and Judy Binns appear in “Miracle on 36th Street.” The play was produced by the Sugar Factory Placehouse in West Jordan. Judy plays Mrs. Shellhammer, the Macy’s assistant who tattles on Kris Kringle. Matt plays Halloren, the campaign manager for the Judge, who has Kris Kringle on trial for claiming to be Santa Claus. (Provided by the Pat Oliver)
Page 6 | July 2020
West Jordan theater has always been about family and community. “My family first got involved during its third year when we performed in ‘Oklahoma!’ and it’s been a part of us ever since,” Burgoyne said. “As a teenager, the summer musical each year was a wonderful way to connect more with my family, make new friends and be a part of the community, not to mention those summer backstage romances.” In 2002, the group changed its name to the West Jordan Theater Arts Board and was allowed to use an old Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse where the current fire station now stands. Oliver was asked to direct “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” that winter. “What a joy it was to take the written page and bring it to life,” Oliver said. “We had a great cast and filled every seat every night.” But city leaders had other plans for that property, so they were soon performing in the park again. Two years later, in 2004, the theater group was given access to a portion of the old West Jordan Sugar Factory building that was a former shop, a boxing workout room and a truck storage garage. “When we started rehearsing for ‘Footloose,’ we literally rehearsed around a street sweeper vehicle parked in the middle of where the stage and front seats were to be when we performed,” Burgoyne said. The building was soon refurbished into a black box theater and given a fresh paint job by a group of volunteers led by Dave and Sandy Newton. The company was dubbed the Sugar Factory Playhouse. The organization thought it had finally found a permanent home, but city leaders deemed the building unsafe, so the Sugar Factory Playhouse group was homeless again. In March 2010, three days before the scheduled opening of “See How They Run,” the organization was notified that the show couldn’t be held in the Sugar Factory. They moved the show to the Midvale Performing Arts Center and opened on time. The 40-foot set had been dismantled, modified and rebuilt on a 25-foot stage in two days. Volunteers from all over the valley and other community theaters helped. The generosity of Midvale City officials and the Midvale Arts Council also made it possible. However, the Sugar Factory Playhouse was once again without a permanent home. In the years since the sugar factory closed, the group found temporary performance space in West Jordan High School, Copper Hills High School, West Jordan City Hall, Viridian Events Center, West Jordan Rodeo Arena, Pioneer Hall and the Midvale Performing Arts Center. In 2015, the group was permitted to use the old West Jordan library for limited storage, rehearsals and small performances until city officials could build a new, dedicated arts facility. Once again, the community gave their time and effort to convert the old library into a makeshift theater. Simultaneously, the group was rehearsing for “The 39 Steps” as well as building the stage and set. However, shortly after “The 39
Cast of the “Miracle on 36th Street” show produced by the Sugar Factory Playhouse (Provided by Pat Oliver)
Steps” closed, the group was informed that the building did not meet fire code requirements for the number of people that would occupy the building during performances. Once again, the theater group was without a permanent home. “Although West Jordan Theater Arts has been transient for most of its existence, we remain committed to providing excellent theater performances for the community from whatever venue we can requisition,” Burgoyne said. “The history of West Jordan Theater Arts is far more than a story of trying to find somewhere to perform. It is the story of thousands of individuals sacrificing for the arts in their community regardless of setbacks and difficulties. We are
extremely grateful for the many, many residents of West Jordan and its surrounding communities for the time and love that they continue to give us.” In January 2019, Sugar Factory Playhouse, along with other arts and performing groups, moved out from under the umbrella of West Jordan City into a nonprofit corporation, Cultural Arts Society of West Jordan. West Jordan City Council and administration have been working for the past few years on helping create a permanent home for the arts organizations within the city. No date has yet been set for the construction to begin on the West Jordan Performing Arts Center. With the current coronavirus situation, 2020 has presented a new set of challenges. Sugar Factory Playhouse had to postpone its spring and summer shows for a later date. Visit the website www.sugarfactoryplayhouse.com for future updates. A contest to celebrate the Sugar Factory’s 25th Anniversary will be held on the group’s page www.facebook.com/SugarFactoryPlayhouse. Entrants will need to follow the Facebook page. l
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West Jordan Police Department prioritizes a ‘philosophy of peace’ By Alison Brimley | a.brimley@mycityjournals.com
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n May 31—a week after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, and following a weekend of riots and protests in response—West Jordan Police Chief Ken Wallentine took to Facebook to share his perspective. The post he wrote, shared by the West Jordan Police Department, began with an anecdote. “A West Jordan resident asked me yesterday whether something like the tragic death of George Floyd could happen in our city,” he wrote. “I answered that as much as I can be certain of anything in the future, clearly “no,” such a horrific wrong would not happen with our police department.” What followed was an overview of the values upheld by WJPD as well as the policies that give Wallentine confidence in his answer. As of mid-June, the post had since been shared nearly 600 times and liked by 1,600 people. Wallentine doesn’t use Facebook, but the city’s communications director tells him over half a million have seen it. Of the nearly 200 comments on the post, most are supportive; residents express their appreciation of the department and recounted positive interactions with the police. Wallentine does feel he has the trust of the community. But he’s aware that this trust is fragile, and it’s liable to be threatened amid increased scrutiny of police departments. Indeed, not all were convinced by Wallentine’s reassurances. Utah’s policing in particular has come to national attention since an infographic went viral, demonstrating that Utah’s Black population is killed at the most disproportionate rate in the country. Despite making up just 1% of the population, nearly 10% of Utahns who died in altercations with police were Black. One comment on the chief’s post pressed for more detail: “Our community is also interested in public data transparency. Is the WJPD willing to share the findings of internal reviews of excessive force? The breakdown of arrests and citations by race? The hours of training required by officers in de-escalation, racial bias, and U.S. history of institutionalized racism in policing? Our community is truly interested to know how you will guarantee that ‘nothing like this could ever happen by WJPD.’” For one thing, Walletine is decisive when he said the tactics used by Floyd’s killers were not permissible; they were an “inappropriate infliction of pain and domination.” Chokeholds have not been taught in Utah, he estimates, for decades. “We teach that officers may apply a knee to the back or to the buttocks if someone needs to be restrained,” He said. “But that technique? I would fire an officer if I saw that happen in our department without any hesitation.” WJPD has a “stellar record” when it comes to low use of force incidents. Part of that comes from prioritizing high-quality training in physical skills.
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“The more proficient you are in techniques to take people into custody without brute force, the more confident you are,” Wallentine said. “The more confident you are, the less likely you are to use force.” But that’s not so unusual for a police department. The thing that makes West Jordan’s police training unique is the framework they use to train officers’ minds. “It’s a course on how to think,” Wallentine said. “The theory being that outwardly those who are skilled proficient at thinking outwardly and analyzing thought patterns are those who can pursue paths of peace.” The framework was initially developed by the Arbinger Institute, which trains business leaders of Fortune 500 companies. Based on publications by the Arbinger Institute, “The Anatomy of Peace and Leadership and the Art of Self-Deception,” this framework is a major part of WJPD’s training and is clearly close to Wallentine’s heart. He owns multiple copies of the books, keeping some at home and some at his office. At the moment, he’s loaned them all out. The peace-promoting Arbinger mantra, “You matter like I matter,” guides his work. “And it works,” Wallentine said. “It works for us in our personal relationships, and it works in our interactions with people on the streets.” After graduating from the police academy, recruits attend an additional two-week in-house academy where they complete four four-hour modules that teach them “how to examine their motives and their behaviors— to interrupt thinking patterns that are inwardly focused.” Refresher courses take place regularly for each officer. Wallentine is an evangelist for the Arbinger approach, but he didn’t adapt it for police use himself. Chip Huth did that. Huth is a personal friend of Wallentine’s, as well as a senior consultant at Arbinger and a major with the Kansas City Police Department. The textbook he authored for use in police training is called “Unleashing the Power of Unconditional Respect.” Huth’s approach helped him transform the Kansas City Police Department. Using traditional policing techniques in a highcrime area of the city, Huth’s unit became the most complained-against in the department, according to a 2015 TED Talk. Within one year, Huth had tripled the department’s productivity and cut the complaints to zero by shifting their mindset to truly “see the people they [policed] as people.” Wallentine echoes Huth’s approach. “People call us at the worst moments of their lives,” he said. “We go into their homes, and we see them at their very weakest. It’s essential to see those people as very valuable members of our community.” Still, many would feel more secure with the police playing a drastically reduced role in our country, and their voices have grown louder
in the weeks since Floyd’s death. Decarcerate Utah is a group with a fast-growing following that is currently campaigning to cut the budget of the Salt Lake City Police Department and the University of Utah’s campus police, reallocating funds to social programs proven to decrease crime. Their efforts are currently focused on Salt Lake City police because most organizers live in Salt Lake, said co-founder Eliza McKinney. But “every police department is problematic and is only a means to enact violence and control of the oppressed class.” “We are excited to see so many coming to the conclusion of abolition,” McKinney said. While many advocate for shrinking and even abolishing police departments, more cautious reforms usually require increased police budgets. These include measures such as body cams and de-escalation or implicit bias training. But evidence of the effectiveness of these measures is mixed at best. Various studies of body cam use in the last five years have shown that they do not inhibit officers’ use of force to a statistically significant degree. And the effectiveness of implicit bias training, though it’s become popular, hasn’t been definitively evaluated. Wallentine doesn’t rely on either of these to improve officer conduct, though body cams are worn by most WJPD officers. However, the cost of body cams is high, not just for the hardware itself but for the storage. Recently, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s office stepped back from body cams for this reason. It’s rare, Wallentine said, but in West Jordan, every significant use of force must be reported by officers by the end of the shift and personally reviewed by the chief. (A verbal warning is also required before use.) Even a threat of force must be reported. The policy is born of Wallentine’s recognition that trauma at the hands of law enforcement is emotional as well as physical. “For me, pulling a gun out may not be a big deal,” he said. “But have you ever had a gun pulled on you?” Bias training does occur, though it’s not specifically framed in terms of a bias against any particular group. Officers are trained using the Arbinger approach to “be self-aware and ferret out their biases.” And his opinion about movements to defund police departments? Wallentine is less dogmatic than one might expect of a man who’s dedicated his life to law enforcement. “What’s really ironic is that one of the reasons we’re in the situation we’re in now is because we’ve defunded social services,” he said. “Now, we expect the police officers to be the social worker and the mental health therapist.” To find a person in the midst of a mental health crisis is often frustrating for the officers because they “don’t have the resources” to provide the needed help. To illustrate the effectiveness of the
West Jordan’s Police Chief Ken Wallentine is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Death and serves as a use-of-force consultant in state and federal criminal and civil litigation across the U.S. (Photo courtesy of West Jordan Police Department.)
Arbinger approach, Wallentine often pivots to stories of officers acting in the role of social workers or even just concerned neighbors: feeding frightened children in the midst of domestic violence disputes or running down the street to a grocery store to replace a meal that had been burned while a conflict erupted at home. But here, he turns somberly to the story of a recent domestic violence call his officers responded to. Officers arrived at a home to find a man pinning his partner to the ground, having just thrown their toddler across the room. The officers moved to tackle the man and free his partner, not realizing the man was armed with a firearm. He was able to wrestle the gun from his belt and, with an officer on his back and his partner beneath him, fatally shot himself. “I thought to myself, how would a social worker handle that call?” Wallentine said. Wallentine is dedicated to “continuous improvement” within his force. The department has been re-examining language in its de-escalation policy to make it unambiguous. And he’s grateful for the minority voices who invite him to listen to their concerns. “It is not the job of people of color in my circle to educate me on racism or their struggle or their challenges,” he said. “It is my job to study and learn, to understand [their] experience. It’s my job to be humble and to listen with the same intensity with which I wish to be heard. We’re doing our very best in humble fashion to merit [the community’s] trust and to improve structures for creating more trust.” l
July 2020 | Page 7
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Continued from front page view,” she said. “And so, to have this reading list that we have that is dominated by white voices is, I think, really problematic.” She points to the example of “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, which has been studied by high school students for decades. “That’s the way that we’ve often been introducing students to issues of race in America, but that’s written by a white woman,” Borup said. “They never get a book in high school that’s written by a black writer on the same issues. And so, they get a really skewed kind of one-voice perspective.” To get a new book added to the district booklist, a teacher submits a request to the committee, which reviews it and votes to approve or reject the book. Pearce regularly submits requests; the majority are rejected. Borup served on the committee for two years and said, in general, the committee tries to be open-minded. However, she said the teachers and parent representatives from each school that served on the committee with her represented the same majority community. She said they rely on teachers to bring alternative books to their attention, but not enough of these types of books are being submitted for review. Pearce continues to encourage her colleagues to submit books that reflect diversity. She also encouraged a Latinx parent to represent WJMS on the booklist committee this year and hopes her presence will provide an enriching perspective. Pearce believes there is also a need for books representing different cultures, backgrounds, religions, sexual orientations, etc. This diversity in literature is imperative for developing empathy for those who are differ-
ent and for creating a culture where everyone feels safe and accepted. Fortunately, at WJMS, Pearce’s students have access to books not on the booklist— not in the classroom but in the after-school meetings of The Empathy Project. With the full support of administration and parents, students read and discuss books about topics such as discrimination, poverty and gender identity. Parents are required to sign off on every topic and every book category before their student participates. Trained teachers lead the discussions, often with contributions from community leaders, such as Lex Scott from the Utah chapter of Black Lives Matter, who met with the group earlier this year. “We felt like it was our duty to give a place for discussion about topics that really heavily affect their school experience and their lives,” said WJMS Principal Dixe Garrison. As educators realize the need to teach empathy to combat bullying, suicide and racism, the Empathy Project has gained international attention. Pearce, Garrison and their colleagues have presented to packed rooms at numerous conferences around the country. Many educators have requested the Empathy Project booklist and curriculum. This spring, Pearce was invited to India to teach a weeklong empathy training at a school in Mumbai. While there, Pearce visited Raj Ghat, a memorial for Gandhi, where she was again inspired by his call to “be the change you wish to see in the world.” It reminded her of her role as a student advocate. “It is my job to value my students for what they bring to our community,” she said. “It’s my job to make sure they are represented in our community and that they have voices that are heard in our community.” l
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West Jordan Middle School literacy specialist and language arts teacher Tara Pearce visits Raj Ghat, a Gandhi memorial, while promoting empathy through diversity in literature. (Photo courtesy of Tara Pearce)
West Jordan City Journal
Grizzly wins Gatorade Player of the Year award By Greg James | g.james@mycityjournals.com
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he Utah Gatorade Softball Player of the Year award for the 2020 season went to Makaiya (MK) Gomez from Copper Hills High School. “She is a once-in-a-lifetime player,” Copper Hills head softball coach John Flores said. “She has been a leader of this team from the day I started coaching here.” The 5-foot-9-inch graduated senior was a three-time All-State selection and in the abbreviated 2020 season she batted .632 and had 11 runs batted in and had two home runs. The outfielder has signed to continue her softball career at the University of Utah. “She came to our camps year after year,” Utah head coach Amy Hogue said in a news release about her new recruit. “She is gritty and does not back down to a challenge.” She will be a player sorely missed by her Copper Hills teammates. In 2019, she led the team in doubles, triples and home runs. “She has been one of our biggest leaders,” Flores said. “She is very humble and a hard worker. She certainly leads by example and loves to play the game. If we need a hit, big play on defense or just someone to run a camp or clinic, she can do it. Her knowledge of the game is just so elevated, and she has the drive and aspirations to achieve great things. She makes the younger girls want to gravitate to her.” Gomez and fellow senior Alyxx Estrada volunteered to begin umpiring softball games for the county. Their experience gave them a connection to younger girls helping encourage them to MK Gomez led the Grizzlies in doubles, triples and home runs in learn the game. 2019. (Photo courtesy of Copper Hills softball.) “Sometimes the younger girls were able to come to our
games, camps and clinics,” Flores said. “Then they start to say Copper Hills is where I am going to go to school. They see what our program is about and become part of the Copper Hills family.” Copper Hills began its 2020 season in Laughlin, Nevada. The Grizzlies won six of the eight games they were able to play before the season was suspended and later canceled. In its only game against a Utah team, Copper Hills beat Fremont 15-5 after a 10run first inning. Maddison Jennings was the winning pitcher. Besides Gomez, three other seniors finished their Grizzly careers this season: Estrada, Samantha Santos and Lainee Miller. They were disappointed they did not have an opportunity to improve on last season’s playoff run. In 2019, they finished third after a semifinals loss to Layton. “We were able to play more than most of the teams,” Flores said. “The girls started out really strong. We just fell short last season, and they came back wanting to finish it this year.” The Grizzlies waited as the season was suspended in March, but Utah High School Activities Association officials later canceled it. “It was disappointing, but the girls stayed upbeat and helped each other,” Flores said. “Most of our girls are playing competitive summer ball now. We thought we might get the Jordan Cup there at the end. The girls were excited, but when it was taken away, they were OK. Our underclassmen are vying to come back stronger and better for the seniors that did not get a proper sendoff.” l
Logistics still need tweaking, but girls wrestling officially sanctioned
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he Utah High School Activities Association has sanctioned girls wrestling . “Yes, I voted to sanction it,” UHSAA board of trustees member Marilyn Richards said. “I’m a fan of making an opportunity where the interest lies.” The UHSAA currently supports 14 sports and activities for 155 member schools. Utah is the 20th state to sanction girls wrestling. The sanctioning laid the groundwork for an official state championship tournament to be held in February 2021. In the meantime, there are many obstacles to overcome, including classifications, weight classes, regions and logistics. Some schools still need practice times and coaches. Girls will no longer wrestle against boys, which has been a huge sticking point. In 2016, Davis County student-athlete Kathleen Janis, and her family, sued the school district to allow her to join the junior high wrestling team. After the suit was settled, Janis was allowed to try out for her school’s team. As a graduating senior, she wrestled for three years at Layton High School. Sage Mortimer, from Spanish Fork, is the No. 1-ranked female wrestler in the country at 100 pounds, and yet she still finds boys who refuse to compete against her. As a non-sanctioned sport, the athletes were forced to participate in coed teams throughout their high school seasons. Coed wrestling can be difficult for the girls. Boys of the same weight class are generally stronger, and boys did not want to wrestle against their female counterparts. “It’s a boys only team,” they were told by many league organizers.
WestJordanJournal .com
By Greg James and Julie Slama | g.james@mycityjournals.com The national organization, USA Wrestling, has sponsored several girls only meets to help promote the sport. In February, there was a fifth girls state championship at Telos High School in Orem. Westlake High School won the title, Fremont placed second and Cyprus was third. In 2019, Kearns took home the championship. The number of girls participating in wrestling has increased steadily. In 2019, 78 girls participated in the state tournament; this past season 117 did. Cyprus had a team of 16. According to the National Federation of High School Associations, the number of female wrestlers has nearly doubled the last three years. “Girls are already wrestling in schools, so this way they can put things in place,” Richards said. “We have had girls every year,” Hillcrest Athletic Director Sally Williams said. “We have not had enough to hire a separate coach. Being sanctioned will give girls an equal playing field.” Being sanctioned allows girls to wrestle other girls but does not solve all the sports problems. Finding coaches and organizing into regions and classifications is going to be a big job. Hunter High School is currently looking for a coach for its girls team. Athletic Director Pam Olson said they have posted the position three times and have had no applicants. Cyprus recently hired Jhonny Carrero to take over the program from former head coach Cara Romeike who moved on to become the women’s wrestling head coach at Hastings College. “I met the right people at the right time,” Carrero said. “I think we have a great team re-
Girls will be wrestling girls next season Caption: Girls wrestlers such as Angie Magana will no longer compete against boys as the Utah High School Activities Association has sanctioned girls wrestling. (Greg James/City Journals)
turning. We have two state placers and a returning state champion. The girls are spreading the word. When school starts, I think more girls will be interested, especially when they see the environment. We are a team; we want to win a title this year.” The Pirates have had 18 girls attend summer conditioning. Carrero expects 25–30 to join the team by the time the season starts. “I have scheduled a couple of duels already,” Carrero said. “I know Westlake and Fremont want to get together, and there are a few
smaller schools that are trying to start programs. We are trying to work together as a wrestling community to build the sport.” Schools in the Midwest often offer women’s wrestling as a competitive sport. “Sanctioning is a great thing,” Carrero said. “Wrestling could give these girls opportunities after high school. There are many places for these ladies. The sport is growing and growing fast. Ladies should join the ride. The bonds they can build with teammates is what can last forever.” l
July 2020 | Page 9
Donations of 3D printed face masks help hospitals and first responders By Alison Brimley | a.brimley@mycityjournals.com
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hen the surge of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. this spring made clear that our country was woefully underprepared, private companies stepped up to do what they could.
Ford and GM auto plants turned from manBut on a smaller scale, West Jordan resiufacturing cars to churning out ventilators. dents donated their means of production—3D Distilleries across the country started manu- printers—to the effort too. facturing hand sanitizer instead of spirits. In March, the Provo Police Department sent out a call asking individuals for donations of 3D printed masks. Peter Dixon of West Jordan thought he could provide a similar service to departments closer to home. He contacted multiple first responders, offering to produce masks with his own 3D printer, and the West Jordan Police Department accepted the offer. Using his personal supply of materials, Dixon made more than 80 masks to donate. The Salt Lake County Library System did the same, albeit with a slightly larger arsenal of printers to offer. Julia Gappmaier, Adult Services librarian for the Salt Lake County library, spearheaded the project. Gappmaier had heard about other libraries doing similar projects, so a task force of librarians was established to explore ideas. They found out that the Marriott Library at the University of Utah was engaged in a similar project. So, the two libraries pooled their resources to create a lab of 3D printers dedicated to producing personal protective equipment, The West Jordan library combined their arsenal of Lulzbot 3D printers with those housed at the University which includes face shields and PAPR (powof Utah to print thousands of items of PPE (personal protective equipment) for use around the state. (Photo ered air-purifying respirators). In April, licourtesy Julia Gappmaier) brary staff members delivered their arsenal
of printers from the library system—all but 3 of which were regularly housed at the West Jordan Library—to the Marriott Library. The combined efforts of the libraries have created more than 5,000 items for donation, and Gappmaier estimated the county library printers are producing about 20% of that. Most of these have been sent to University of Utah hospitals, the Huntsman Cancer Institute and VA Hospitals. Others were sent to entities that reached out requesting masks, including a facility in the Four Corners area. Together, the libraries have printed many face shields, which provide added protection from exhaled or coughed viruses. But as of June 4, the Marriott Library was still at work on designing tighter-fitting, 3D-printable N95 masks. “Because these masks need to have the right fit around the mouth and nose of health care workers and because plastic close to the mouth and nose pose a potential exposure risk as well as small filter holes tax cardiovascular systems of healthcare workers over an extended period of time . . . this has proven to be a difficult process,” the Marriott Library website says. “N95 masks are not onesize-fits-all.” To print his protective items, Dixon used a downloaded file that served as a blueprint.
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Page 10 | July 2020
West Jordan City Journal
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Using face shields like those printed at the Marriott Library is one effective way to reduce exposure to virus particles. (Photo courtesy Julia Gappmaier)
The file was originally created by a surgeon and a dentist in Minnesota and publicized by the Provo Police Department when they sought mask donations. Though 3D printers are capable of printing highly intricate objects like working firearms and medical models, the items Dixon personally printed were “not actual medical devices.” Rather, they are plastic holders for medical masks intended to extend their life. When he’s not printing protective equipment for donation, Dixon uses his printer for all kinds of personal projects, and he contracts out time for others interested in 3D printing to use it. Most of the equipment he donated to the WJPD was made from mate-
rials he had left over from previous projects. “They told me they didn’t care about the color, so they got a lot of hot pink and purple [masks],” he said. The library’s 3D printers are normally also available for public use in “maker spaces.” When pandemics don’t prevent her from doing so, Gappmaier teaches 3D printing classes at the library. A graduate of one of her 30-minute classes can request to print an item for a small fee. Users have created everything from toys to replacement parts for snowblowers using the library’s printers. “I’m glad they’re being put to good use,” Gappmaier said of the mask-making effort. l
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July 2020 | Page 11
State parks offer social distancing with a view By Joshua Wood | j.wood@mycityjournals.com
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tah’s State Parks welcomed more visi- itation was on the rise this spring. East Can- more people in April than in years past, acIn Southern Utah, campgrounds in state tors than normal this spring as residents yon, Deer Creek and Willard Bay all saw cording to Swalberg. parks have been full, while day use has also sought a safe escape from COVID-19 quarincreased. Kodachrome Basin State Park antine. With restrictions easing throughout reported full campgrounds in spring once much of the state and people looking for safe county-level restrictions were eased for state ways to get out, officials anticipate that visiparks. The appeal of open spaces has contintation to continue. To keep people safe during ued to attract visitors. peak seasons, officials encourage visitors to “Once you hit the trails, you’ve got room practice responsible recreation in state parks. to spread out and practice social distancing,” “We didn’t close any doors,” said Eusaid Nathan Martinez, park manager at Kogene Swalberg, public information officer dachrome Basin State Park. “I think people with the Utah Division of Parks and Recrewere tired of being cooped up. They wanted ation. “Many of the parks saw greater than to get outside and do some hiking, and this is normal seasonal visitation.” a great place to do your social distancing.” Initial lockdown measures restricted visUtah has 44 state parks and museums itation to Utah State Parks to county residents and over 2,300 campsites. Visitors can hike only in April. Then, as restrictions eased in or bike 324 miles of trails in state parks. The May, park visitation took off. The four state parks reflect the diverse landscape of Utah parks near St. George, for example, all saw and offer visitors the opportunity to get out. higher than normal attendance this spring A list of parks and COVID-related updates even with limitations in place. In fact, some can be found at stateparks.utah.gov. parks had to limit visitors on busy days as For those who journey to the parks, the parks like Quail Creek State Park filled up. Utah Division of Parks and Recreation en“Many reservations were canceled due courages visitors to be safe when visiting. to COVID for a period early on,” Swalberg “The buzz word is responsible recreation,” said. Reservations and day use then increased Swalberg said. “We encourage social disas restrictions eased and people looked for tancing, and for people to not congregate at ways to practice social distancing in the great trailheads, clean up after themselves, and to outdoors. stay home if they’re sick.” l Utah has 44 state parks and museums. (Joshua Wood/City Journals) Even in cooler Northern Utah, park vis-
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West Jordan City Journal
Even with online school, teachers appreciate students with awards By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
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lthough the end of this school year may have looked different than any before, Jordan Ridge third-grade teacher Kimberly Sanders knew it was important to give all 22 students in her class their year-end awards. Since she couldn’t do it in person, because of schools transitioning to online learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sanders announced the awards over the last Zoom session with her students, June 3. “Their faces lit up on the screen and were excited,” she said. “I shared the slides on the screen so they could see them, but they’ll have to come see me before the backto-school night to pick it up.” The awards ranged from the “computer whiz” in the class to the “bunny lover” award. The latter, she said, really touched her. “She said, ‘I can’t believe it. I’m proud of myself.’ They were so cute and happy. I just looked at their strengths and tried to make it meaningful and fun. It was sad to say goodbye this way, but it gave them a lift at the same time.” The school’s teachers also selected two citizenship awards for their class and then, students who worked to earn their Soaring Leader awards received them when technology items were turned in at the end of the school year. Jordan Ridge wasn’t the only school to present end-of-the-year awards. At Mountain Creek Middle School, Assistant Principal Tim Brooks said administration and teachers worked together to nominate and deliver awards for each grade level on a recorded video, available on their website. Since the school is in its first year, they looked at other schools’ awards before deciding on their own. “The kids don’t know about the awards other than attendance or high GPA (gradepoint average),” he said before the video was
posted. “So, there will be surprised faces.” The video was posted in early June, after year-end drop-off of Chromebooks, textbooks, library books and picking up the memory book, filled with highlights from the school’s ribbon-cutting with South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey and the first school assembly to their abrupt end of in-person classes because of COVID-19, Brooks said. The yearbook’s theme, “Your Future is Bright,” is what teachers and administrators have tried to maintain during the last months of the school year as ninth-grade teachers posted a fun video saying goodbye to their students and the dance teacher edited together the last performance to share. Even Instagram posts have kept an upbeat message. “We’ll be mailing out the award certificates and medallions, so the kids feel a sense of the end of the school year and everything is fresh in their memories. By doing this, we can start next year anew; we don’t know what that will look like, but we can be ready. In the meantime, we’ll keep posting messages to the students saying, ‘hey, you’re OK; you’re buoyant, resilient’ and we’ll keep adding some humor.” Cottonwood High instrumental instructor Amber Tuckness also wanted to ensure her 150 students received their awards. Together with the music council, they awarded instrumental students awards from most improved to excellence in music. In a virtual award ceremony, the music council announced the awards before distributing them to students. “I didn’t want this to be dropped or have anything taken away from the awards,” Tuckness said. “We gave every single one of our students an award and clapped and cheered for them. I even got sentimental and cried because I didn’t get to give them a hug and tell them how much I appreciated them.” l
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July 2020 | Page 13
Outstanding Principal of the Year, Kathe Riding, Majestic Elementary
Your local Grifols Donors Center is NOW accepting plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19
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Kathe Riding, Outstanding Principal of 2020. (Photo courtesy of Jordan Education Foundation.)
T
he JEF board recognized Kathe Riding as Jordan School District’s Outstanding Principal of the Year because of her persistence in supporting teachers, students and families at Majestic Elementary and Columbia Elementary. “She knows how to motivate them, and she knows how to get the best out of them that they can possibly be,” said JEF Executive Director Steven Hall. “She never gives up on kids or on teachers—she just doesn’t
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Page 14 | July 2020
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West Jordan City Journal
G O OD NE IG HBOR
NEWS
JULY 2020
Paid for by the City of West Jordan
M AYO R ’S M E S S AG E When Americans think about the month of July, most probably think about Independence Day. When Utahns think about the month of July, Pioneer Day also comes to mind. Both days stand for something much bigger than fireworks and a family BBQ, these two days in our history symbolize finding freedom. Today, we are watching as Americans are taking to the streets across the nation to fight injustice. While protesting is a form of communicating, vandalism and destruction are not an appropriate form of communicating. Thank you, West Jordan, for communicating without violence. I have had many long conversations with West Jordan Police Chief Ken Wallentine over the last few weeks. I am proud of the hard-working men and women who police our streets. Good training in our police department has long been a standard in our city. I’m happy to share that many of the reforms being called for in police departments are issues that have already been addressed with our city’s police force, however these conversations will continue because there is always room for improvement. I find this quote particularly applicable today:
“This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.”
City of West Jordan Opens New Passport Office Did you know in 1783, Benjamin Franklin ordered the first US passports to be printed? Did you know you can visit West Jordan City Hall to renew or get a new passport? For the first time, the city is offering passport services. You can find the office in City Hall. For now, passports are available by appointment only. Know before you go—what you need to bring: 1. A check, money order, or certified check made payable to the U.S. Department of State for the application fee (one for each application). 2. Cash, check, credit card or debit card for the processing fee due to the City of West Jordan. 3. Valid picture ID • Current driver’s license • Aircraft pilot’s license • Official military ID card • Parent’s identification for a child’s passport (under the age of 16) 4. Copy of your ID (front and back). 5. Proof of Citizenship • Original government-issued birth certificate (hospital issued birth certificates are not accepted) • Original Certificate of Naturalization • Original Certificate of Citizenship • Previous U.S. Passport Book or Card • A copy of the front and back of your citizenship document Please Note: Because of public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Department of State has limited U.S. passport operations. Customers can still apply for a passport however; they should expect significant delays. Passport processing is currently three to four months, as opposed to the regular four to sixweek timeframe. 801-569-5033 or visit https://www.westjordan.utah.gov/passport-office to make an appointment today!
– Theodore Roosevelt
I am grateful to live in the United States of America!
Mayor Dirk Burton City of West Jordan
WestJordanJournal .com
July 2020 | Page 15
GOOD NEIGHBOR NEWS: WEST JORDAN NEWSLETTER
PAID FOR BY THE CITY OF WEST JORDAN
Jordan School District Summer Meal Program
Pet of the Week – West Jordan Animals Finding a Forever Home
The summer meal program has kicked off at five West Jordan schools. The program runs June 8 through August 7. The Jordan School District will continue to provide lunch and breakfast for the next morning. Meals will be provided curbside only from 11 a.m. – noon, Monday through Friday, closed July 3 and July 24. The free meals will be available for anyone 18 and younger.
Late last year, the City of West Jordan’s communication department kicked off a new franchise online called “Pet of the Week,” featuring a new, adoptable pet every week from the city’s animal shelter. From dogs and cats to birds and bunnies, these social media posts are giving a boost to a pet’s profile, helping them find a loving home. “I find it especially helpful with our small animals that people wouldn’t know we have otherwise,” said Amanda Scott, animal control officer and shelter employee. “I have been very impressed with the response we have gotten from the pet of the week.” Adding a new member to the family, even if it is a small animal, is a big decision that shouldn’t be made overnight. Officer Scott pointed out the importance of realizing that pets are a lot of work and a lot of responsibility. “When you adopt a pet, it is a commitment for the life of the pet, do not get one if you do not plan to keep it for the pet’s whole life and treat them like family,” said Officer Scott. “Changing homes and families is very stressful for the animals, we see their heartache every day at the shelter and it breaks our hearts.” According to a study done by the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), owning a pet can cost you $42,000, or 7 times as much as you expect. That number takes into account; vaccinations, food, toys, and grooming. “Pets are not free,” said Officer Scott. “They need food, toys, supplies, and veterinary care their entire lives. You have to prepare when getting a pet to be able to handle any emergencies financially as they can be very expensive.” All of the cats and dogs from the shelter come spayed or neutered before going to a new home. A lot of kittens, that the shelter offers also come micro-chipped. Officer says getting your pet fixed or micro-chipped solves a big issue for communities. “Spaying and neutering avoids the overpopulation problem we have in our society.” To learn more about the West Jordan Animal Shelter, visit westjordan.utah.gov/ animalservices. You can also visit the shelter, but due to COVID-19, it is recommended that you call beforehand.
* No adult meals will be sold (no money will be changing hands). The free grab and go meals will be available at the following West Jordan schools: • Columbia Elementary, 3505 W. 7800 South, West Jordan • Heartland Elementary, 1451 W. 7000 South, West Jordan • Majestic Elementary, 7450 S. Redwood Road, West Jordan • Oquirrh Elementary, 7165 S. Paddington Road, West Jordan • Westvale Elementary, 2300 W. Gardner Ln, West Jordan
Playground Safety During COVID-19: Playgrounds are back open in West Jordan, but before you go it’s important to keep these key factors in mind. • Do not visit playgrounds if you are sick or were recently exposed to COVID-19. • Do prepare before you visit – bring a reusable water bottle filled with water, along with hand sanitizer if you cannot wash your hands with soap and water. • Do use your best judgement. If a playground looks too crowded, head somewhere else.
West Jordan Animal Shelter: 5982 West New Bingham Hwy. West Jordan, UT. 84084 801-282-3951
• Do keep in mind that playground equipment is not disinfected regularly. Visit coronavirus.utah.gov for more information on keeping you family safe.
Page 16 | July 2020
West Jordan City Journal
GOOD NEIGHBOR NEWS: WEST JORDAN NEWSLETTER
PAID FOR BY THE CITY OF WEST JORDAN
What our Residents are up to
Firework Restrictions
COVID-19 has many families staying home more than ever before whether it be backyard projects or family movie nights – this is a look at what are residents are up to.
The City of West Jordan is prohibiting the use of any ignition source, including fireworks, lighters and matches, in certain areas of the city. It is a Class B Misdemeanor to violate these restrictions and may result in penalties of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The Fire Department will be providing extra patrols and assisting the Police Department with the enforcement of the restrictions. Restricted areas include: 1. All areas west of SR-111 (also known as U-111 and the Bacchus Highway within West Jordan City limits). 2. All areas within 200 feet of the Jordan River Parkway Trail east of 1300 West. 3. All areas within 200 feet of the area commonly referred to as Clay Hollo Wash that runs east and west in the area of 7800 South (approximately 4800 West to SR-111). 4. All areas within 200 feet of Bingham Creek, located near Old Bingham Highway running the length of the east/west boundaries within West Jordan. 5. All city parks, unless a permit has been obtained for a professional display.
Jim Cebrowski – “Working everyday as an essential worker.”
Jenn Killam – “Remodeling the bathroom.”
Jamie Harrison – “Put up some shiplap and painted my daughter’s room, she was a big help!”
The wet spring has provided an opportunity for weeds and field grasses to grow and have combined with the warmer conditions to create a fire hazard. As such, it is time to recognize
this danger and do what we can to prevent injury and property loss from fire. Therefore, we are issuing this notice of fireworks restriction. Salt Lake County has also designated lands in the unincorporated areas of the county that are consistent with these restrictions. The Fire Marshal and Fire Department put these restrictions in place to help keep people and property safe and encourage people to attend the city’s professional fireworks show in Veterans Memorial Park on July Fourth at 10:00PM. The Fire Department will continue to monitor environmental conditions in the coming weeks and could add additional fireworks restrictions. Fireworks may be discharged according to state code between the dates of July 2-5 and July 22-25 in non-restricted areas. Also, fireworks can only be discharged between 11:00AM to 11:00PM July 2-5 and July 22-25 with the time extended to midnight on July 4 and 24. Visit WestJordan.Utah.Gov/firemarshall for more info.
Jamie Harrison – “We also ‘ding-dong’ ditched our neighbors and friends (rang their doorbell and left a box of Ding Dongs) and randomly left (around our neighborhood) 2 liters of soda, licorice, and a bag of popcorn with a balloon that said ‘random acts of kindness’ for people to find. My kids loved it!”
WestJordanJournal .com
Angela Bawden-Telford – “I’ve started the hobby of bonsai. I bought one pre-made and I’m trying to make more from nursery stock plants.”
July 2020 | Page 17
GOOD NEIGHBOR NEWS: WEST JORDAN NEWSLETTER
PAID FOR BY THE CITY OF WEST JORDAN
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
J U LY
J U LY
J U LY
INDEPENDENCE DAY
FOOD TRUCKS
CITY OFFICES CLOSED
Takeout Tuesday every Tuesday night Ron Wood Park 5-8 p.m.
PLANNING COMMISSION
J U LY
J U LY
J U LY
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
FOOD TRUCKS
DRIVE-IN MOVIE
Takeout Tuesday every Tuesday night Ron Wood Park 5-8 p.m.
West Jordan Rodeo Arena
J U LY
J U LY
J U LY
STORY WALK BEGINS
FOOD TRUCKS
Barney’s Wash Trail (Runs 2 Weeks)
Takeout Tuesday every Tuesday night Ron Wood Park 5-8 p.m.
PLANNING COMMISSION
J U LY
J U LY
3-4
8
Join virtually on YouTube 5:30 p.m.
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7
7
Join virtually on YouTube 6 p.m.
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Join virtually on YouTube 6 p.m.
J U LY
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PIONEER DAY
FOOD TRUCKS
CITY OFFICES CLOSED
Takeout Tuesday every Tuesday night Ron Wood Park 5-8 p.m.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Page 18 | J
The City of West Jordan 8000 S. Redwood Rd., West Jordan, UT 84088 Join the conversation! (801) 569-5100 West Jordan – City Hall www.wjordan.com uly
2020
Join virtually on YouTube 5:30 p.m.
West Jordan Police Dept. 8040 S. Redwood Rd. West Jordan, Utah 84088 801-256-2000 801-840-4000 Dispatch
West Jordan City Journal
Legends is Family
Lisa & Dave Forman
Family run and operated since 2009, Legends has been a local staple in the Salt Lake community for over 10 years. We are excited to be part of the Sandy area with our new Southtowne location. Customers are treated like family in the casual, "modern Cheers-like" atmosphere. Also featuring locally crafted beers and spirits on tap. A place where strangers become friends – everyone is family at Legends.
Offering fresh-made, clean food from locally-sourced products.
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See website for location hours: WHYLEGENDS.COM WestJordanJournal .com
July 2020 | Page 19
Outstanding Teachers of 2020 By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com
J
ordan Education Foundation honored 61 teachers—one from every school in Jordan District—as this year’s Outstanding Educators. JEF members were joined by proud principals, colleagues, family members and even neighbors to surprise the educators with balloons, yard signs, gift bags, honking and cheering outside their homes and schools. “I think the timing could not have been better,” said JEF Executive Director Steven Hall, who acknowledged teachers have worked extra hard this year. “I think it was an absolute morale boost for all of our teachers, not just the ones who were recognized, but all of the teachers that we’re able to celebrate. They don’t expect pats on the back, but they deserve them.”
The 2020 JEF Outstanding Educators from this area are: Cara Hagman, Columbia Elementary Astros – West Jordan Lorene Fullmer, Copper Canyon Elementary Heather Saunders, Falcon Ridge School Joey Davis, teacher at Sunset Ridge Middle School, is Clareen Arnold, Fox Hollow Elementary surprised with gifts and balloons. (Jordan Education Sharra Palmer, Hayden Peak Elementary Foundation) Amelia Paasi, Heartland Elementary Marci Law, Jordan Hills Elementary School Suzette Johnson, Majestic Elementary
Kasey Dahl, Mountain Shadows Elementary School Tracey Davies, Oakcrest Elementary School Megan Daly, Oquirrh Elementary Emily Mitarai, Riverside Elementary School Kristi Matthews, Terra Linda Elementary Amy Allen, West Jordan Elementary Larah Lewis, Westland Elementary School Amanda Moon, Westvale Elementary Jose Farias, Joel P Jensen Middle School Joey Davis, Sunset Ridge Middle School Carina Whiteside, West Hills Middle School Jorge Ibanez, West Jordan Middle School Rae Boren, Copper Hills High School Michael Jacobson, West Jordan High School Kari Worthington, JATC – North Campus Trevor Stookey, South Valley School Local recipients of JEF student scholarships: Aniuska Semprun, Copper Hills High School Jacquelinne Bolanos, West Jordan High School Emily Rhodes, Valley High School Mitchelle Vallejo, Bingham High School Ezra McFarland, Riverton High School l Jordan Hills Elementary teacher Marci Law is thrilled to be named an Outstanding Teacher of the Year. (Jordan Education Foundation)
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Page 20 | July 2020
West Jordan City Journal
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WestJordanJournal .com
July 2020 | Page 21
Long-term educators appreciate farewells—even at a distance By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
I
nstead of worrying about her own retirement in the last days of the school year, 29-year educator Shauna Maughan was coming up with a virtual fieldtrip to replace the one she had planned to the Natural History Museum of Utah and Red Butte Garden since the response to COVID-19 closed schools and many places around the Salt Lake Valley. Even though Maughan was coming up with other activities, she was still sad that her first-and second-grade gifted and talented class at McMillan Elementary didn’t get to participate in making cardboard cars for the youngsters’ traditional movie drive-in held annually in the school multipurpose room. “Some have been creative and instead of making cars, they created a bus, a jeep, even a spaceship,” Maughan said. “It was sad that it just had to end abruptly like this. I had some fun things planned and didn’t get to say goodbye like I usually do.” Maughan and others at her school who retired had a reverse parade, where families drove by the retirees at the school. She received some sweet notes and small gifts and got elbow bumps instead of hugs. “I missed the hugs, but it was an end of year with a different look,” she said. “I had said, ‘I’m going out with a bang, but instead it kind of fizzled.” Many educators had similar exits—a virtual classroom goodbye, a parade, notes dropped at the school, or a sign or a banner. “I love what I do and having the interaction with children, but this (end of the school
year) wasn’t the same. I wouldn’t want to do it again. I can’t imagine not being here with the kids (in the fall if the pandemic continues),” Maughan said. Education has changed with the times. There are fewer teddy bear picnics or dinosaur days and instead of relying on teacher experience in the classroom, teaching comes from analyzing student data that’s gathered to better focus on improving students’ academic success, she said. Her principal, Joy Sanford, also is retiring after 25 years in both Murray and Canyons school districts and was sad that she, too, wasn’t “going to get that last hug I had hoped for.” In fact, Sanford had yet to reach out to students and their families to tell them she was retiring when the school went into “soft closure” that extended through the end of the school year. Sanford backs Maughan’s assessment on education. When Sanford was an instructional coach, she would research the best practices of instruction and share those with teachers. Now, she’s hoping she will be able to do that as a mentor for principals after retirement. Sanford also said that there’s more of a social-emotional look at education as “life looks very different than what it did.” While she acknowledges technology brought a lot of changes, she said that it changed the culture of knowledge to students and along with it, “a whole different way to communicate and socialize.”
After 29 years as an educator, Shauna Maughan was sad the school year ended abruptly in her classroom without carrying on her year-end traditions one last time before retirement. (Teresa Bigelow/McMillan Elementary)
The social-emotion part of education is something Oakdale Principal Lori Jones pointed out in Canyons District. With years teaching and serving as a counselor, Jones recognizes the power of emphasing positive behavior as a preventative measure. “When students are focused on being kind, they do things that make a difference in the world,” she said. “It helps the world and it helps them. When they’re mean and bullying, it causes social-emotional problems.” Students also tend to be greeted by teachers with a time to share and outline the goals for the day. “Students know what is expected and they’re being recognized and awarded for meeting expectations. They feel good about school and it’s a happy and safe place,” Jones said. And there’s a change in technology— from film strips to flip grids, from overheads to digital storyboards. Coding is replacing cursive in many classrooms as is a teacher lecture. “Kids are more engaged in their own learning and doing more partner sharing. Teachers are now the guide and navigating student learning and knowledge,” Jones said. After 36 years in education, Jones said it’s time to tackle her reading list, look at a memory book that was given to her, and McMillan Principal Joy Sanford hadn’t yet announced to her student and families that she would be retiring eventually travel once it’s safe to do so. when COVID-19 hit and she realized she wasn’t “going to get that last hug I had hoped for.” (Teresa Bigelow/ “It hasn’t been a bad retirement, just a McMillan Elementary) different retirement,” she said.
Page 22 | July 2020
Jones joined other Canyons principals Christie Webb and Sandra Dahl-Houlihan in saying goodbye to students at a reverse parade at Sandy Elementary, where Webb served her final year. Webb, who like Jones isn’t one for the spotlight, said she will miss her community of kids and teachers, but has a list of things she’d like to do—starting with sleeping in. Dahl-Houlihan was principal at Sandy Elementary for several years, but her final year of her 30-year education career was at Bella Vista in Cottonwood Heights. She has several retirement goals: mastering baking with yeast by making cinnamon rolls, reading romance books on her porch and interacting with locals while traveling. “We didn’t end the year in the usual way,” she said. “Bella Vista always has an egg drop, but this year, we challenged families to do the event. We usually have a field day and the PTA gave directions how to do it together. We usually have an end-of-theyear slide show and a fifth-grade clap-out, and those were done virtually. But I was able to see and thank so many families who came to the parade and tell my faculty 6 feet apart how much I appreciate them, so there was some closure, just not hugs. I’m going to miss the kids, their funny stories, their quirky ways, their jokes and laughter. Kids are the best part of education. It’s where the magic is.” l
West Jordan City Journal
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WestJordanJournal .com
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A child’s birth is a special experience.
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Our goal is to provide a comfortable, tranquil atmosphere for women and families to celebrate this joyous occasion. The project, completed in two phases, will transform and modernize our Women’s Center. The first phase involves our postpartum unit and started January 6, 2020. We are expected to complete the project Summer 2020.
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July 2020 | Page 23
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Western is proud to announce our new physician: Chadwick Densley, D.O. Dr. Densley’s practice encompasses all aspects of obstetrics and gynecology with special interests in minimally invasive and robotic surgery, infertility, cancer prevention and genetics, cosmetics and preventative medicine. Premedical Education: Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah Medical Education: Kansas City University, Kansas City, Missouri Residency: Michigan State University, McLaren Hospital, Lansing Medical Licensure: Utah Professional Societies & Certifications: American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Junior Fellow American Medical Association American Osteopathic Association Certified in Da Vinci Robotic Surgery
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By Erin Dixon | e.dixon@mycityjournals.com
S
alt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson announced in June there would be more money available from the federal government for COVID-19 business impacts. “It’s been a rough, rough several months. We knew that our economy tanked,” Wilson said. After all “non-essential” businesses were shuttered in Utah, and many other states in March of this year, the federal government scrambled to send aid to businesses across the county. Not all business have qualified for loans or grants. Businesses that have not yet qualified for federal grant money will have a chance to apply for money from the SBIG, Small Business Impact Grant. At first, the county focused on addressing the immediate health needs of the residents. Now that many issues have been resolved, the county is able to reach out to help businesses. “The county has set aside $40 million (from the federal government) for businesses specifically impacted by closures. That means restaurants, hair salons, tattoo parlors, businesses that were not eligible to receive the Paycheck Protection Program funds or
other grants,” Wilson said. “The ceiling for the most a business can have is $35,000. We expect these funds to be given to more than 1,300 businesses in our community.” Teresa Lechtenberg, co-owner of Personal Mastery, a taekwondo and kickboxing facility in Sandy, was not eligible for SBIG because her business had already received funds from the PPP. “We fit the qualifications for the SBIG other than we have already received funds,” Lechtenberg said. The $20,000 PPP was given to help with the immediate need of keeping employees on, so they wouldn’t lose their jobs. “I’m not sure yet if it will save the business. It certainly helped for the last few months,” Lechtenberg said. How long will that money last them, if that is all the money they will get to help the business through the crisis? “I think because of our modified schedule, three months. I think we will feel the effects on the economy for a very long time. We made 50% this March of what we made in 2019,” Lechtenberg said. l
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Salt Lake County SBIG: County Mayor Jenny Wilson announces additional federals funds that are available as of June 16, 2020 for businesses affected by the health-mandated closures. (image/Erin Dixon)
West Jordan City Journal
State Legislators and Salt Lake County leaders step up to improve mental health the opportunity to travel to Arizona as a member of the state’s mental health crisis commission. We toured their receiving center and saw their comprehensive crisis services. Our commission and Salt Lake County supported a legislative appropriation to fund a receiving center pilot project in areas throughout the state. It passed! Salt Lake County stepped up to also partner with resources, and we are hoping to move forward with a receiving center in the near future, as long as the funds remain after the upcoming legislative budget cuts. (So tell your legislator to keep HB 32 funded!) In Salt Lake County we already have an incredible crisis line to take calls and texts 24/7, that number is 801-587-3000. We also pay to dispatch a Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT) to those who are in crisis, recognizing law enforcement Salt Lake County Council | District 3 can’t be expected to be all things to all people. But we have a gap in treatment services. A receiving cenThe worldwide pandemic and reter will offer medical and psychiatric sulting quarantine has highlighted triage, clinical assessment, peer support, many of the areas in society where we discharge planning, connection to comcan improve. Since mid-March, calls to munity resources, and referral services domestic violence hotlines, the suicide to treatment programs including in-pahotline, and substance abuse hotlines tient care, medical care, and detox. Havhave increased. Now more than ever we ing a receiving center is a more cost-efneed access to good behavioral health fective way to treat patients and takes services. the pressure off of emergency rooms Oftentimes we see law enforcement and jails which are currently the only on the front lines of these battles. When options. It will create savings across the an officer picks up someone who is in county in hospitals, law enforcement need of behavioral health services, they take them to the emergency room or the agencies, the county jail, and the court jail. Neither one is the best place for system. It will also save the state money someone to get long-term mental health as receiving center Medicaid bills will care or substance abuse help, and they be less expensive than an emergency room visit. are both expensive options. Behavioral health is a top prioriSalt Lake County has been on the ty and I’m hopeful we will see some leading edge of this work. As we’ve meaningful improvements to the existexplored best practices in other states, ing system which will give real help to we recognize that a receiving center those suffering, save tax dollars in the dedicated to behavioral health is the long run, and lighten the burden in jails, least expensive and gives the best outemergency rooms, and with law encomes for our residents. Last year I had forcement.
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July 2020 | Page 25
First month of sales tax numbers show uneven impacts of COVID-19 By Justin Adams | justin.a@thecityjournals.com
T
he forced closure of many businesses in the Salt Lake Valley because of COVID-19 precautions was not only a concern for business owners, but also city governments whose monthly revenue is heavily dependent on sales tax distribution. However, there is a two month delay from the time the sales tax is collected to the time it gets deposited into a city’s account. That meant that city leaders around the valley weren’t able to see the initial economic impact of COVID-19 on their city budget until the month of May, when the Utah State Tax Commission released its report for the month of March. The report surprisingly showed that many cities in Salt Lake County saw increases in taxable sales relative to the same month in 2019 meaning people actually spent more money in spite of all the store closures. How could that be? Interestingly, it seems that the smaller a cities’ economy is, the better they have fared so far during the pandemic. Of all the municipalities in Salt Lake County, the nine smallest economies all experienced increases in sales from March 2019 to March 2020. Of the six largest, four experienced decreases (Salt Lake City, Sandy, Draper and Murray). Herriman City, for example, had less taxable sales than any other city in the county in March 2019, with just over $18 million. However, in March 2020, that number grew to $26 million. That’s a growth of 43%, the
highest in the valley. (Of a city’s taxable sales, 1% of the sales tax goes toward local government, with half being allocated based on where the purchase occurred and the rest being allocated to cities based on population. Because of this, the amount of sales tax funds a city receives isn’t exactly proportional to the amount of taxable sales in that city.) So what has caused cities with smaller economies to fare better during the pandemic? Basically, smaller cities have a higher proportion of “essential” businesses. In a smaller and younger city like Herriman, a larger portion of its businesses are things like grocery stores and fast food, which were able to not only stay open, but to even see record sales. Herriman Assistant City Manager Tami Moody told the City Journals that what many consider a weakness of Herriman (it only has fast food and grocery stores) turned out to be a strength during this time. “Herriman obviously has fast food and grocery industry. Those two have actually been the industries that have fared better than most. Fast food is already set up to have a drive-up window. When this all started, people were heading to the grocery store to make sure they had everything they needed,” she said. On the other hand, cities which saw the biggest decreases in taxable sales had a few things in common. One, large shopping malls that were forced to close. With the closures
Cities with smaller economies were more likely to see an increase in their taxable sales this March, relative to their sales from March of 2019.
of The Shops at South Town and Fashion Place Mall, Sandy and Murray saw -5.9% and -16.6% drops in taxable sales. Two, a couple of cities lost sales from the closure of venues for professional sports and other entertainment, such as Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy and the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City. Interestingly though, West Valley City which has both a shopping mall and a major sports/entertainment venue, yet
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was still able to produce more sales tax than it had in 2019. Of course, all these numbers come from March, the first month that the virus began to seriously impact the United States and people bought so much that they literally emptied grocery store shelves. The sales tax report numbers for April and May will likely yield more insights into the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on city budgets. l
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West Jordan City Journal
Jordan District turns students into scientists By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com
E
leven-year-old Afton Barron was named Grand Champion winner at the Central Utah Science and Engineering Fair for creating lifesaving and environmentally friendly biodegradable water balloons. Over two years, she made 21 prototypes and documented her process in a 32-page journal. The project, which protects children and animals from the harm from ingesting latex balloons, has earned her top awards at school and District STEM Fairs for the past two years. Afton and her two older sisters have all participated and performed at the top level in STEM Fairs. Their mother, Janae Barron, credits the opportunities provided by Girl Scout leaders and school teachers that encouraged their interest in real-world problem-solving and landed her older two daughters in their dream jobs. As a Girl Scout, Afton was exposed to STEM-based activities and environmental issues that helped her develop her biodegradable water balloons. As a student at Midas Creek Elementary, she had access to the school Maker Lab and was supported by teachers and administrators who provided STEM-based assemblies and lessons. Barron, who teaches fifth grade at Midas Creek, is impressed with Jordan District science initiatives, which she credits to District Elementary Science Specialist Paul Nance, who retired in June after 26 years in the position. She said Nance is the motivation behind the district’s STEM Fair and that his support of teachers and students is why Jordan District students always do so well in STEM Fair competitions. “It’s a tribute to Paul Nance,” Barron said. “He is leaving a legacy. He has done such a phenomenal job of helping students see that they are capable and competent.” This year, 310 students from 24 schools participated in the Jordan School District STEM Fair. Top students moved on to compete in the Central Utah Science and Engineering Fair in May, where they dominated, earning 15 of the 19 winning spots. Six of the winners were from Midas Creek. Nance, in return, credits teachers like Barron, who incorporate engineering principals into their classrooms, encouraging students to figure out their own solutions to problems. “Janae Baron, she is an instigator for engineering,” Nance said. “If it wasn’t for her, we probably wouldn’t have as many engineering design winners. She’s fantastic.” JSD STEM specialist Jane Harward said JSD students have terrific teachers to prepare students to present and interview well at STEM Fairs. The teachers are trained by Nance, who, for 45 years, has been an advo-
WestJordanJournal .com
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• Advocacy • Visibility • Community • Connections Afton Barron engineered biodegradable water balloons, earning her the top prize at the regional STEM Fair. (Photo courtesy Janae Barron)
cate for science and for students and teachers in Jordan District. “I think his greatest contribution is he builds the confidence that teachers are lacking or looking for to teach science effectively,” Harward said. “He does whatever it takes for them to believe they can do it.” When Nance began teaching in 1975, he said there were no standards for teaching science; teachers were on their own to incorporate science concepts in the classroom. Over the years, Nance has been a part of creating and implementing science standards that encourage students to think for themselves with concepts that cross into other subjects. His final contribution before retiring was to help develop the newest updated science standards, being implemented this fall, that encourage students to actively engage in the process of learning scientific principles with an emphasis in engineering. “The kids are supposed to do their own investigation instead of the teachers just telling them how things work,” Nance said. “They are actually letting them figure out how to do it.” Nance’s philosophy comes from teaching for 19 years where he found that, no matter the subject, students learned best with hands-on experiences, group projects, exploring and gaining understanding by figuring things out for themselves. “I don’t want them to sit in their desk all day long doing paperwork,” Nance said. “My philosophy is the kids have to be out of their desk at least six times during the day. We stifle a lot of learning by keeping kids in their seat. They come to school so energetic about learning. We just have to show them and then let them experience it.” Through her research and experiences developing her STEM Fair project, Afton has discovered interests in botany, metallurgy and engineering. This summer, after she has submitted her STEM Fair project to the national Broadcom Master’s competition, she plans to explore these interests, to continue asking questions and to discover more solutions to problems. l
July 2020 | Page 27
Rotary Club assembles, donates 200 medical face shields By Libby Allnatt | l.allnatt@mycityjournals.com
On June 2, the South Jordan Rotary Club presented the Jordan Valley Medical Center with the 200 medical face shields they assembled. (Courtesy of Sharon Haupt)
T
he South Jordan Rotary Club assembled Sharon Haupt is the current president of and donated 200 medical face shields for the South Jordan Rotary Club and has been a the Jordan Valley Medical Center. member of the club for 20 years. She said the
idea for the donation came from a rotary club in California, that coordinated the project to help get the equipment to first responders and health care workers. Materials were provided from an FDA-approved supplier associated with the rotary district in Southern California. “They found the supplies and gave us the information so that we could order some,” she said. Many different rotary clubs were involved, with the opportunity to donate the face shields to an organization of their choice. Haupt said that the South Jordan Rotary Club wanted to give back to the Jordan Valley Medical Center because that is where the club has held meetings. “We used to meet there weekly and have a breakfast there,” she said. “We wanted to do something for them.” A member of the rotary club contacted the Jordan Valley Medical Center, who said they could use the medical face shields. The club assembled the medical face shields themselves and presented them to the center on June 2. Face shields can help protect the wearer’s eyes, nose and mouth from exposure to the coronavirus. Since the coronavirus pandemic hit Utah
in March, the South Jordan Rotary Club has found other ways to help the community as well. The group has connections to the Hopi Reservation in southeastern Utah, where Haupt said they used to make annual trips. When the pandemic started, a member of the South Jordan Rotary Club went to the Hopi Reservation to help bring necessary supplies that had been difficult to find. “He went down with a truck and a trailer full of supplies, formula, diapers, water, dried rice—he took so much,” she said. The South Jordan Rotary Club has 18 members. The club is a nonprofit organization dedicated to service. Haupt said the club focuses on one goal each year. This year’s theme being literacy, the group gave books to elementary school students and also read with them weekly through February. The South Jordan Rotary Club was also involved in the development of the inclusive, all-abilities playground at East Riverfront Park in South Jordan in 2019. Annually, the club helps provide for Thanksgiving food boxes for families in conjunction with Knights in Columbus in Taylorsville. l
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This stupid pandemic has changed our relationship with food. With most restaurants and bars closed, people are looking for new ways to stay nourished and inebriated. Working from home for several weeks, we prepared three meals a day, plus snacks, for five people and a needy puppy. And by “snacks” I mean we pretty much ate all day long. We wore a groove in the tile from the living room to the pantry. When the lock-down started, I innocently said, “Think of the money we’ll save by not eating at restaurants. We’re going to lose so much weight not eating fast food!” Things went downhill fast. Not only do we spend a dump truck load of money for groceries each week, but we’re stress-eating 24 hours a day. I’ve baked cookies, cakes, muffins and brownies – and that was just this morning. My daughter and I take turns making meals. We try to find things everyone will enjoy, which is absolutely impossible. We have lots of pasta and rice dishes, fish sticks and take-out pizza. My daughter is a vegetarian, so her meals are full of veggies, chickpeas and quinoa, or
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what my husband calls “sadness foods.” One vegetarian dinner started the “Things I would never eat, even if I was going to die” conversation. My husband’s list is basically vegetables, but I have a bounty of foods I would never want to eat again. Things I was forced to eat as a child top my list.
mashed potatoes and my dad said, “Those are just the eyes of the potato” which gave me a potato phobia for several decades as I envisioned eating little potato eyeballs. My grandma made lima beans to spite me. She’d serve a big bowl of pale-green mushiness mixed with greasy, globular pork fat, then shame me for not
For not growing up in the Great Depression, my mom was adept at whipping up meals that could have been served in a Dickensian orphanage. She’d buy things at the grocery store and I’d cry because I knew what was coming. Jars of dried beef? Creamed chipped beef on toast. Sour cream? “Beef” stroganoff made with noodles, sour cream gravy and textured vegetable protein. Once I complained about lumpy
eating it. “When I was a little girl, I’d be happy and grateful for lima beans,” she’d say. “I wasn’t spoiled.” “Were lima beans invented when you were a little girl?” I’d ask, which usually got me another spoonful of the vile stuff. Stewed tomatoes, tapioca pudding (eyeballs again), my dad’s flour pudding (don’t ask), deviled eggs (obviously) and potato salad (eww) round out my
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list of things I’ll never eat again. But back to today, where my food choices are substantially subpar. If I’m going to die from a ridiculous coronavirus, I might as well eat what I want. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. And it’s not some murderous chef with a flamethrower. Following COVID-19 restrictions, some restaurants are opening again. The hubbie and I donned our face masks, took a swig of hand sanitizer, put on some plastic gloves and hit a Mexican restaurant for the first time in months. The chile verde almost brought me to tears. The margarita definitely did. It will be an interesting summer as picnics, BBQs, family reunions and vacations are being reimagined. So many of our celebrations revolve around food and sharing it with the people we love. The trick is finding the balance to do it safely. Our dishwasher runs nonstop. The grandkids (and husband) complain about eating asparagus. But we’re creating new recipes, experimenting with flavors and planting a garden. We’re finding new ways to stay nourished and inebriated. l
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Pandemic: How to save money and support the local economy
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The world is a new place, at least for now there is a new normal. Many of us are waiting to see if the new normal will become the normal, or if the old normal will come back. Either way for now we have to live in this pandemic shaped economy. According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis the personal savings rate hit a historic high of 33%. With the uncertainty of the current situation, and scars from the 2008 recession still fresh, it’s understandable that people would be very hesitant to spend. Not to mention how much toilet paper can one person stockpile? But there is another side of the story, the economy. If everyone stops spending then everyone would stop earning. So how does one balance the line, spend enough to keep the economy strong but save enough to be responsible. I propose that the answer to that question is not how much you spend, rather how and where you spend it. Here are five ways to balance the save money vs. build the economy problem. 1. Buy Local has to be a priority now. Over the last 10 years
our economy has been strong. Its been OK, not awesome, but OK if people shifted some of their spending from local. But remember the more local you spend your money the stronger your local economy is. Now buying local is not as easy at it sounds. Sure it is easy to make the choice to buy your products at a local store instead of Amazon or a website. But it goes deeper than that. Every shopping decision has a different factor of localness. For instance if you need to buy a power tool or some home improvement product, you can buy it from Lowes or you can buy it from a locally owned hardware store. Both Lowes and the hardware store create local jobs, and they both pay local taxes. but more of the profit at the hardware store will stay local. Look for local products. Harmons grocery stores does a great job at showing you what products are local. I wish all stores did this. Last month I was at a hardware store, OK honestly I was at Lowes, I needed a ladder. As I looked at the assortment I realized that
Page 30 | July 2020
and there is one to rent your car, or second home, or bedroom in your first home. 4. Get rid of the storage unit. I laugh everytime I pass one of these storage unit businesses. I realize that there are certain legitimate reasons that one would need to rent a storage unit, but I don't think most people are using it for that type of reason. I remember my dad taking me to a storage unit that he rented. It was full of things, I don't know where it all came from but every few months we would go down and sort through some things, and take some new items to add to the collection. Even at a young age, I remeber sitting there on the back of his truck thinking, “if you put this stuff here because we don't need it, then why do we own it.” I implore you stop buying stuff you don't need and for sure stop paying for storage on stuff you don't use, and for most of you if you put it in the storage unit you probably don't need it, clean it out, sell it, and save that monthly storage unit fee. l
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Little Giant ladder systems were a Utah business, so it was an easy decision. 2. Buy Services not Products. If you are trying to help the economy you will likely do more good buying services rather than products. Let’s consider an example. When you purchase a lawn mower, the majority of the purchase price goes to the manufacturer which is probably not a Utah Company. But when you pay someone to mow your lawn, nearly all of it stays local. The person who is mowing your lawn is much more likely to do business with the business you work for than say Honda. 3. Launch a side hustle or two. I realize that this is not really saving money, unless you consider the age old advice a dollar saved is a dollar earned, then this is just the flip side of that. In today’s world there are an abundance of ways you can start a side hustle. Sell some of your unneeded stuff on eBay, breed your dog (everyone wants some type of oodle these days), rent out storage on apps like Neighbor, drive for Uber or Lyft, I saw a new App to rent your RV,
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July 2020 | Vol. 20 Iss. 07
FREE DIVERSITY IN LITERATURE A POTENTIAL ANSWER FOR MINORITY STUDENTS, ANTIDOTE FOR RACISM By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com
O
f the 700 books on the approved booklist for middle schoolers and high schoolers in Jordan District, only 8% are written by authors of color. “All of the books tend to cater toward a certain type of student,” said West Jordan Middle School literacy specialist and language arts teacher Tara Pearce. She is pushing for a booklist that reflects the minority students who make up 25% of the district demographic. “Stories change people’s lives,” Pearce said. “And having a role model that you can actually identify with also changes lives. I just want all of my students to have a really great mix of role models of characters or people that they can look up to, to help to find who they want to be.” The lack of diverse books is a stumbling block to literacy for students who don’t fit into a traditional white American family mold, said Pearce. “Students can read at a higher level and read and comprehend at deeper levels when the book is engaging to them, when it’s interesting and relevant to them,” Pearce said. “My goal is to find real-world, relevant texts for my low readers.” The problem is, these books often contain profanity or sensitive subjects that raise red flags with the booklist approval committee. Pearce respects that many parents don’t want Many books that teach cultural empathy are not approved for use in the school classrooms. (Photo courtesy of Tara Pearce) their students exposed to that kind of content but believes “I’m not trying to push sketchy books on some sweet lit- their own—that’s how we learn,” she said. those books should be available as an option to those with Herriman High School AP English teacher Whitney differing values. She wants parents to trust teachers to handle tle girl,” she said. “My goal is to be able to give some books to Borup agrees. the sensitive topics responsibly and not as an excuse to push kids that actually do talk like that and look like that.” She also believes diversity in literature benefits all students. “I teach that every writer comes from a political point of their own personal or political agendas. “It’s good for all students to have perspectives outside of Continued page 8
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