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WEST VALLEY RESIDENT CONTINUES CAMBODIAN MARTIAL ARTS TRADITION By Darrell Kirby | d.kirby@mycityjournals.com

t’s a form of the martial arts that is not well known nor practiced by a lot of people, but a West Valley City resident is doing his part to change that. Sambo Kim teaches Bokator, a mix of ancient, traditional martial arts whose origins are rooted in Cambodia. Various sources say it goes back at least a thousand years and was used primarily as a form of military fighting. Kim says it combines the key elements of a variety of forms of the discipline. “We’ve got empty-hand forms, animal forms (mimicking an attacking animal), grappling, wrestling,” he said. It also incorporates the use of handto-hand combat and weapons. “Basically, it’s a complete system of ancient martial arts style,” said Kim, a 2013 graduate of Hunter High School. “A lot of people have never heard of it or know about it. Me and my little brother (Kirbbee Sok), we’re the only practitioners in Utah.” Kim took an interest in Bokator not long before he immigrated to the United States from his native Cambodia in 2006. He went back to his homeland in 2015 to get more hands-on training from the masters of the art. Kim’s efforts to create more awareness of Bokator is something he is doing not only here but outside the state. He has done some fight-

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ing scenes in a few movies, including a smaller independent film and a bigger production, both to be released in 2024. “My goal is to promote that martial arts style that I’ve been practicing and to put it in movies so people know more about it,” Kim said. His unique skills also got him an invitation to attend the recent Asian World Film Festival in Los Angeles. “I got to meet a lot of Hollywood movie stars, producers, and directors.” Kim hopes those connections will lead to more roles either in front of and behind the camera. The inspiration of others is what fuels Kim’s passion for Bokator. Foremost is that of his grandmother. “I look up to my grandma a lot,” he said. Within the martial arts discipline, Kim is motivated by the work of the late Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, who brought those skills into the mainstream American consciousness through movies and other media starting in the 1970s. Lee demonstrated his martial arts prowContinued page 11 Sambo Kim, right, attempts to take down his younger brother, Kirbbee Sok, during a demonstration of a form of ancient Cambodian martial arts. (Darrell Kirby/City Journals)

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Beyond textbooks: How the maker movement is changing education, fostering creativity and accessibility By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

n Midvale, a sixth-grade girl curiously was examining the workings of Spheros, small, wheeled robots. In Murray, a junior high boy used wood, glue and string to craft a catapult. In South Jordan, an elementary-aged girl was looking forward to creating a 3D butterfly using Tinkercad. Makerspaces allow opportunities for hands-on making, creating, designing and innovating that bring individuals together in a variety of mediums, including robotics, textile crafts, woodcrafts and electronics. Commonly found at some libraries, museums, colleges and at the Utah STEM Action Center, the number of these spaces for open exploration have increased, especially in schools, which has given students equal access as well as gain skills in STEAM— science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. “Makerspaces need to be available and accessible,” said teacher Beth McKinney, who helped open the makerspace in Murray’s Hillcrest Junior High in an existing classroom this fall. “It’s important for kids to have a place where they can explore their own interests, talents, curiosities and have that experience on their own with the freedom to do it in a safe, controlled setting. Many students might not have the tools, the confidence or the opportunity to do so, so it’s important we have a safe space where any student can create and many learn best by doing, with their own hands.” Makerspaces are known as places where people, or “makers,” create, or “make,” projects using a variety of hands-on and digital tools. The junior high’s makerspace offers art supplies, robotics, a LEGO wall, 3D printing, K’NEX, speed and logic puzzles and

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more. Students opt to come to the space during an enrichment class period once per week as well as during the after-school program. Ninth-grader Allie Lobach likes coming to the makerspace. “It’s comfortable here; I’m free to make my own choices, but there’s help if I need it,” she said. The concept of makerspace is not new, according to Utah STEM Action Center’s director Tamara Goetz. “Makerspaces have been around a long time,” she said. “They were a place for people with common interests to tinker and build and that purpose still exists. What we’re seeing now is not a resuscitation of an old trend or fad of having a neighborhood tinkering spot in somebody’s garage. It’s become a way of learning and a way of thinking that is beginning to integrate how we teach kids and how we inspire kids. It’s the new way to do project-based learning; it’s maker learning, the idea of learning how to do a design process of iteration to create something to solve a problem that is important to you.” Goetz said there is an increased momentum around makerspaces. “Our future as a global economic leader depends on students having the ability to be innovative with technology,” she said. “Maker learning helps to build 21st century skills and helps students not just consume technology but develop it.” At Hawthorn Academy, a charter school in South Jordan, teacher Stephen Mesker said it’s those 21st century skills of identifying problems and finding solutions that is being taught in the school’s 3D Design Club, a precursor to what he hopes will evolve into a makerspace for its studentbody.

In December, Midvale Middle School students create a robot using Cubelets during their lunchtime in their makerspace. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

“We teach them the skills, but the hope is to get everybody involved in STEM and get them prepared for future jobs,” he said. “Many manufacturing jobs now use 3D design and 3D printing and other makerspace skills that we need to provide that education and opportunity to our students.” That is key Goetz said. “Makerspaces are more than just a bunch of equipment with no real intent. What’s important, particularly in schools, is to address how can the makerspace aligns and integrates into the mission of the school, more than just a place to tinker,” she said. “It

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also needs to adapt with the growth of the school.” Such was the case with the STEM Action Center, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. After moving out of an office downtown to its South Salt Lake location where space was provided as a solution to the many FIRST LEGO teams that needed a location to practice and build, the staff realized its potential when “a couple little girls would come by and knock on the window and ask what we were doing. That led us to realize there was a much greater potential space in our community, so we established

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Seen here in 2019, Channing Hall students in Draper explore and created in the charter school’s Think Lab. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

an open tinker time.” They also adapted during Covid-19, to check out activity kits to teachers, which helped them reach many more kids, Goetz said. That led to creating Pop-Up Maker Faires, which are brought into schools to provide free, hands-on STEM activities that students can bring home. The Center also awards grants, which help establish programming, innovation and makerspaces in schools. While Hawthorn, which purchased a dozen 3D printers from such a grant, began its club last year, others, like Channing Hall, a charter school in Draper, have been operating a makerspace for years and have incorporated lessons into the classroom. It was designated as a state platinum STEM school last spring. Goetz said that not all school makerspaces are the same. “Some schools have maker carts, some set up in a library; it can take on different formats and versions, depending upon what schools want. Some schools have a designated makerspace. What we’re seeing is the number of schools are trying to figure out what to do with the library (with the pivot to more online materials) and makerspace is coming into the conversation more and more for those schools,” she said. In Canyon School District, some schools, such as Midvalley Elementary and the recently rebuilt Union Middle, have designated rooms as makerspaces, while Midvale Middle’s library is used as a makerspace during lunchtimes, at a time when it’s accessible to all students. “It started here because I like kids to be kids; I want them to know how to play with their hands, how to create and how to solve problems on their own,” teacher librarian/ media specialist Judy Rembacz said. “Makerspace teaches kids how to think. They are in the driving seat, being empowered and passionate about their own learning. They figure out how to create and if something goes wrong, how to make it work. They learn from failure and that’s a good thing. I also like how this connects them with their peers and with the school and that we’re giving this opportunity to all our students.”

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Hillcrest Junior High created its makerspace this fall, including a sign made from different materials such as DVDs, VCR parts, toy car wheels and craft supplies; “It shows we can make something out of anything,” said a teacher. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

That is what teacher Wendie Nielson, at Bella Vista Elementary in Cottonwood Heights, wants students to discover. “They’re learning cooperation, collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving,” she said. “When something doesn’t work, they got to change their thought process to hopefully make it work the next time.” Fifth-grader Anna Armstrong was learning about coding using an Intelino smart train. “It’s going to help with my future; I’m seeing all the things I can do with coding,” she said. “I want to be an astronaut, so I’ll need to know a lot about computers and coding. In makerspace, there’s science and math and communication as we work on things together, but a lot of it is trying to figure it out on my own.” Bella Vista’s first-year principal Angi Holden already has seen an increase of STEAM learning at her school. “We offer STEAM enrichment with after-school programming, and we have our STEAM Fridays where students rotate every five weeks through lessons around engaging topics created by our teachers,” she said. “Our goal is to expand to become a STEM-designated school, so students are prepared for the workforce, beyond academics.” Preparing all students in STEAM education is the goal behind the grants received by Canyons School District’s Digital Teaching and Learning Specialist Chandra Martz, who was overseeing a family STEAM night at Midvale Elementary. When Martz was in high school, she remembers being the only female in a STEM class of 25 students. “It always bothered me, so I want to get more girls into STEM. Canyons’ goal is to get every student college and career ready, so we’re trying to do that through STEAM,” she said. “I want as many kids as possible to be able to see STEAM in their future. I want girls to be able to see that they can be engineers. I want children of color to see that they can get a job in the field that pays well. I feel a lot of people in some of our Canyons communities are working three jobs just to

try to make ends meet. There are careers that their children can enter, and they can make $100,000 out of high school. I just want them to be able to see that this could be their future; this opportunity is for everyone.” Martz, and others, are rolling out family STEAM nights in elementary schools, where they bring in kits of 12 activities with challenges that tie into curriculum standards. “I love that they went through all the activities to align it in math and science standards,” Goetz said. “They have signs at each station so teachers know this challenge aligns to certain standards and they can take that back to the classroom to build off of it; and parents are given open-ended questions to ask to foster exploration with daily activities at home.” Those kits, which were first originated by Utah Valley University, then expanded on and provided by Utah STEM Action Center, are available statewide through its network that includes several state higher education institutions, independent makerspaces and the Utah State Library Division. Jordan School District already has STEM activity tubs available for check-out to schools and Granite School District is creating its own set for more accessibility, Goetz said. At the recent Midvalley Elementary family STEM night, parent Brady Smith brought his first-grade daughter, Amelia. “I want her to stretch her mind in different ways in science and math and find the joy in learning and exploring through these cool activities,” he said. “I want her to have a mindset and a skill set that solves problems and thinks through things; I want her to be able to create and decipher.” Another part of Canyons’ program is establishing makerspaces with supplies in every middle school. Five of the eight schools already are in the process or have implemented makerspaces. STEAM squads are being introduced to elementaries and coding clubs will extend to middle schools next year. “The whole purpose of this grant is to give to students that may not have opportunity,” Martz said. “Some kids aren’t able to go to after-school programs, so we want to

Kindergartner Bella Coller tried out different activities during Midvalley Elementary’s Dec. 5 family STEAM night in Midvale. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

give opportunity.” That opportunity is extending to teacher training as well as Canyons’ teachers becoming STEM-endorsed, she said. In addition, the STEM Action Center offers workshops weekly for teacher professional development in technical expertise. “Teachers walk out with lesson plans that have been facilitated in the workshops and can incorporate what they’ve learned into their classrooms,” Goetz said. Canyons District Elementary STEM Specialist Cynthia Lloyd hopes that makes a difference. “With these resources, we’re hoping teachers use them with their curriculum,” she said. “We are noticing that kids are needing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It’s not just STEAM. It’s also sitting down and reading informational text. They’re not getting what they need out of it. One of the best ways to get kids to learn is through these STEAM activities because they’re highly engaging; we can teach those literacy skills along with these problem-solving and critical thinking skills.” Goetz agrees. “Makerspaces nurture curiosity,” she said. “It’s a place to create, a place to learn to invent and design, and a place to fail and repeat. We learn from failures. We learn to work as teams, alongside other fellow makers, because we’re trying to solve problems together. Communication and organization are a big deal as is resilience. These skills can be incorporated into academic learning. This aligns to the standards and it’s cross-disciplinary. Makerspaces are a welcoming place for everyone to create and solve what is important to them. It’s what’s called ‘a low floor and a high ceiling’ so it provides a huge potential for growth in learning.” l

January 2024 | Page 5

West Valley 2023

Musicians entertained those at the Fall Fest fair in October with good old country music. (Tom Haraldsen/ City Journals)

Officer Cesar Anaya works to control one of the more exotic species the West Valley-Taylorsville Animal Services Shelter has handled recently. (Courtesy Melanie Bennett)

Jon Hale, co-owner of Hires Big H, stands in front of the newly re-opened restaurant in West Valley City in April. It closed to in-person dining during Covid-19 and underwent a remodeling of its interior. (Darrell Kirby/City Journals)

Lancer quarterback Carson Su’esu’e has committed to BYU following his senior season. (Photo courtesy of Granger Football) West Valley City recently opened a new bike park at Centennial Park. (Darrell Kirby/City Journals)

Bree Garcia unleashes a pitch at Taylorsville in a come-from-behind 5-4 victory on the road. (Travis Barton/ City Journals)

Page 6 | January 2024

Students at Armstrong Academy in West Valley City celebrate receiving more than 1,000 letters in support of returning the transcontinental railroad golden spike from California to Utah. (Darrell Kirby/City Journals)

West Valley City Journal

Participants in the recent West Valley City Police Department’s Citizens Academy got the chance to sit with dispatchers at the Valley Emergency Communications Center. (Darrell Kirby/City Journals)

Cyprus players celebrate a crucial run during a tight 7-6 victory over Taylorsville that would effectively seal the region championship. The Pirates went 21-6 on the year, including a whopping 17-1 in region, to take the Region 2 championship and earn the No. 2 seed for the 6A state tournament. (Travis Barton/City Journals)

The Children’s Center Utah mental health campus is unveiled in West Valley City with a ribbon cutting. (Photo courtesy The Children’s Center Utah)

Incoming 2023-24 kindergartners were welcomed as Whittier Falcons during a Signing Day at Whittier STEAM Elementary. The students signed letters of intent and were welcomed by (front left) Granite Superintendent Rich Nye and (front right) Whittier Principal Jennifer Bodell. Kindergartners also met (from back left) Granite Board Member Kris Nguyen, Whittier kindergarten teachers Laura Atkinson and Madi McLane, and the Whittier school mascot, Flash. (Photos courtesy of Granite School District)

Students from West Valley visited the University of Utah’s athletics facilities, including soccer, basketball, strength and conditioning. They engaged in sports activities and interacted with University of Utah student-athletes. (Photos courtesy of Granite School District)

High school girls at SheTech are engaged in an interactive demonstration at the University of Utah chemical engineering booth. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

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Zions Bank employees paint a West Valley City home during Zions Bank’s annual Paint-a-Thon. (Photo courtesy Zions Bank)

January 2024 | Page 7

West Valley 2023

Christian Martinez of West Valley City works on a skill at the new Centennial Bike Park. (Darrell Kirby/City Journals)

West Valley City Mayor Karen Lang (fifth from left) joined with otther dignitaries to cut the ribbon as the final section of the Parley’s Trail was opened in Sept. 28 (Tom Haraldsen/City Journals)

Samba Fogo dancers. The Brazilian-style dance classes are held at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center. (Courtesy David Terry) In front of hundreds of fans at the Real Salt Lake stadium, Hunter High junior Whitney Rasmussen took the athlete’s oath and sang the national anthem before joining her unified soccer team to take a silver medal at state. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

Students from Whittier STEAM Elementary earned a free movie by reading 1,000 pages each during the last term. Donors provided movie tickets and treats for each child. (Photos courtesy of Whittier STEAM)

Page 8 | January 2024

Hunter students practice shooting as part of the unified basketball program. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

West Valley City Journal

Winders connect Hollywood lines with spiritual beliefs in new book

or Mike Winder, it started as a college project. He was working on his honors thesis while studying history at the University of Utah, and he had no idea that it would turn into a book. But the story of his pioneer ancestor John R. Winder, who came to Utah from England, started Winder Dairy, became the “father” of the Utah State Fair and was later in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From that single thesis, Winder has become the published author of 14 books, his latest being “Hidden in Hollywood: The Gospel Found in 1,001 Movie Quotes.” “I’d always loved writing, and I found that after I did one book, you realize that hey, wait a minute, I can do more,” he said. “I also love movies. So for the last few years, I collected quotes from some of my favorites. I thought they could make a good book—tying some of Hollywood’s most famous lines into quotes or stories I’ve heard in church.” It was an ambitious project, taking over

By Tom Haraldsen | t.haraldsen@mycityjournals.com two years to complete. He knew he could use some extra help, so he turned to his 16-yearold daughter Grace who became his research assistant. “My dad said he wanted to write another book, and I asked him if I could help out with it,” Grace said. “We used a Google Excel sheet to pull out movie quotes and relate them to talks we’d heard in church General Conference or in lessons. Then we started compiling the book.” “It’s been a lovely Sunday afternoon hobby,” Mike said. “Some people like to binge watch Netflix, some people like to go golfing. I like to write books in my La-Z-Boy.” Mike Winder has been active in local politics for years. He was mayor and on the city council in West Valley City and served in the Utah State Legislature. He currently is city manager for Millcreek. "In this new book, Mike seeks out the gospel principles to be found in cinema. There are topics and quotes from sci-fi, romance,

thrillers, the classics, action films, Westerns, and more," said Doug Wright, former host of KSL's “Movie Show,” in the book's foreword. "Although a compilation of wonderful quotes is certainly enjoyable and entertaining, it's the thoughtful commentary tying it all together with gospel insights that completes the book's purpose.” The book was a great opportunity for Grace, who is a sophomore at Granger High School, to embellish her own desire to write. “I’ve always loved writing in my classes, and just helping out with this book has spiked my interest in writing and maybe to become a journalist,” she said. “I tell my kids, this is my Minecraft, this is my Legos set. It’s fun to build and create things,” Mike said. “It’s fun to push a boulder up the hill and look and say, ‘Wow, we have come a long way.’” He said there are many times when he watches a movie and hears a quote or lyric that resonates with a teaching he’s heard at church. He cites an article he read in UtahValley360 magazine titled, “Who Said It: Dieter or Dumbledore?” May 23rd referring to a series of quotes that could connect to either a Latter-day Saint theEast wizard from “Harry Potter.” Goldenapostle Corral,or665 7200 “It dawned on me that there are a lot of South,where Midvale cases a line made in a movie could be a little nugget of gospel wisdom,” he said.

“That’s when I began in earnest to write down lines or words that resonated with me.” “Hidden in Hollywood” is organized into 19 chapters with titles and subject matters such as “Lesson on Life” to “Death and Beyond.” Because most scripts are online now, Mike and Grace found them very searchable. The book also contains illustrations created by AI–unique drawings to the book that cannot be completely duplicated. It was the chapter on death and beyond that spoke to Mike, who lost his mother 12 years ago in a car accident, and has lost other family members in recent years. “Sometimes the movie quotes summarize everything nicely—whatever you believe,” he said. “In ‘Mary Poppins Returns,’ Emily Blunt said this, ‘Trust she’s always there, watching as you grow. Find her in the place where the lost things go.’” They said some things in writing this book never turned out exactly the way they first envisioned them, but in a lot of ways, they turned out better. Grace just wants people to find joy in the words of “Hidden in Hollywood.” “I hope that people can read it and learn something from it,” she said. “It’s a happy book. If you read a chapter of this book every night then you’ll be happier. It helps a lot spiritually and just in general.” l

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Youth sports teams like Hunter Cyprus baseball teams can get the opportunity to travel to championship tournaments, the cost of those opportunities can be immense for its families. (Greg James/City Journals)

The cost of youth sports has skyrocketed—can your kids still play?

Coaching is an important part of the success of youth sports participants. A good coach helps teach each participant the skills to become better. (Greg James/City Journals)

By Greg James | g.james@mycityjournals.com

here are many opportunities for families that can afford to pay for sports, but the costs are climbing. The gap between those who can afford to pay-to-play and those who cannot is growing wider. “The cost for everything this year, including team fees, equipment, travel, lodging and tournament fees is up. I probably spend $10k,” Kenny Hart said about his daughter's travel softball team experience. “Next year we are going to Canada in the summer. I will spend $3,000 just for that one tournament with travel and lodging for 10 days.” Hart’s 15-year-old daughter Kira plays accelerated softball in the summer and fall. She also plays with Grantsville High School in the spring. In the late summer, Stephanie, Kira’s mom, posted on Facebook: “Six hours in the office, five hours driving, four new mosquito bites, three hours watching games, two girls in the back seat and one smile on my kid’s face when she hit the ball over the fence and hit the scoreboard.” Playing youth sports can be a satisfying experience, but some families have to choose to play or pay the bills. The fees for accelerated sports have become extreme. “My sixth-grade son tried out and made a seventh-grade AAU basketball team,” said an irate parent who wished to remain anonymous. “The program fees are $1,000, because of the steep cost I approached the team principal and asked if the playing time was going to be even. I was assured on two separate occasions that because the team was not elite and only competed locally everyone gets essentially even minutes. Come the first tournament my son played four minutes in the first game and six minutes in the second game. I asked the coach and he got offen-

Page 10 | January 2024

sive and asked me not to approach him about playing time.” Accelerated teams are not the only ones with high costs. High school teams can be just as expensive. “In high school, she (Kira) wrestles that is about $500. Her high school softball fees were about $1,000,” Hart said. “I couldn’t do it if I had more than one kid.” The choices families have to make to provide activities for their children can be enormously difficult. Some choose to stop playing because of the cost, try to work second jobs, or fundraise enough to lessen the burden. “We have absolutely had to tell the kids they can’t do everything they wanted to because of the cost,” said Stephanie Taylor, a parent of two cross country runners at Hunter High. “We have several kids and it is impossible to afford it with all of them. Our kids have done sport in shifts.” Advisors on money.com suggest choosing your children's sports wisely. According to a playgroundequipment. com study, 61% of families say youth sports cause a financial strain. They suggest knowing ahead of time the probable cost. According to their study ice hockey, skiing, field hockey, gymnastics and lacrosse are the most expensive. The UHSAA only supports lacrosse in that group and Cyprus, Granger, and Hunter do not currently have teams. The others are considered club sports, but the local schools do not have a direct affiliation with any of them. The cost could be part of the reason, but diversity may be another. West Valley residents tend to gravitate to football and soccer rather than lacrosse and skiing.

The Outliers are a junior league hockey team that plays several seasons at the Accord Center in West Valley. The junior hockey league focuses on developing players to be drafted into the NHL. (Greg James/City Journals)

A former Granger High School sophomore transferred to Bingham to play hockey. “That is where Ed’s friends from his travel team all go to school,” said parent Ed Rappalye. “We went through open enrollment to give him the chance to play.” The cheapest sports to be involved in according to the website are track and field, cross country and skateboarding. West Valley has built a locally renowned skate park near the fitness center. The park is full on any given weeknight and weekend with adults and kids. There are other ideas to help control sports costs: stay and play locally; resist the urge to join an expensive travel team; skip the brand new equipment; volunteer to coach it may come with a discount; research ways

to pay; and set realistic goals. Less than 2% of high school students get a scholarship for college at the Division 1 or 2 level. Most players earn scholarships and college playing opportunities by earning good grades. There are many companies like All Kids Play and Every Kids Sports that offer individual and organizational grants to help more youth play. These organizations encourage players to keep playing citing the countless benefits playtime, exercise, competition and teamwork can have. According to health.gov, 73% of parents believe sports improve their children's mental health. The benefits of playing children's sports include lower rates of anxiety and depression, lower stress and higher

West Valley City Journal

confidence. A University of Kansas study showed that students who participated in high school sports were 10% more likely to graduate than their peers who did not. West Valley City offers youth and adult sporting activities. They include volleyball, pickleball, basketball, flag football and tennis. The city also maintains 27 parks. The largest city park is Centennial Park with 77.6 acres. Salt Lake County also has Decker Lake and Hunter Park in the city boundaries for residents. The City Parks Alliance maintains that parks help residents maintain a healthy weight and can save them an average of $1,800 per person in healthcare costs. Many experts also claim that a well-maintained park can increase home values nearby. There are still good reasons to play sports in accelerated or AAU-type programs. The competition is better and teams are organized to play against similar-skilled opponents. Applying the skills learned in practice over multiple tournaments and games is beneficial.

Certified coaches can help your players get better by teaching them the skills they need. Playing time is not guaranteed but by learning and earning their place the players become better. Playing sports is fun and advanced-level teams can give players the chance to be seen by collegiate coaches and organizations. Players earn opportunities to play at the next level by performing in high-level games. The high school teams are not the place colleges are shopping for talent anymore. As kids lose opportunities to play with elite teams it also impacts the opportunities to play in city recreation leagues. The number of participants has diminished in recent years. This impacts the communities. The children lose physical activity and social development chances and have a lack of healthy lifestyles. “I love to watch my grandkids wrestle. I would pay the cost no matter what,” Dennis Johns said.l

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Continued from front page ess in more serious films compared to Chan who generally did his thing as part of comedic and light-hearted plotlines. Beside learning the physical moves, Kim says there is an equally important mental and spiritual aspect to Bokator. “Before we do any type of fighting or performing, we pray to the ancestor and to the master that passed away or to the master that’s still alive to pay respect,” he said. The industry also touts additional benefits of boosting self-esteem and confidence, particularly among younger participants. On a daily basis, Kim teaches Bokator and other martial arts to 100 students at Premier Martial Arts in West Bountiful. He gives private lessons to a handful of others. Over the next few years, Kim, who is 29, wants to continue building his Hollywood resume by participating in more productions that incorporate Cambodian martial arts. “After those, I maybe want to open my own school to teach Cambodian martial arts to the next generation,” he said. l

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Sambo Kim of West Valley City is one of only two known practitioners of the ancient traditional Cambodian martial arts known as Bokator. His younger brother is the other. (Darrell Kirby/City Journals)

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Curbside glass recycling comes to West Valley By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

EXPANDING OUR INDUSTRYLEADING FACILITIES TO ACCELERATE TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS

est Valley residents now have the opportunity to use curbside glass recycling. Momentum Recycling (658 S. 4050 West) has extended its optional curbside pick-up program and invites city residents to sign up for the service. “It’s good for those households who have a lot of glass waste,” said John Lair, president of Momentum Recycling. “It’s not for everyone in our community but certainly for those who value recycling the material.” At a cost of around $8 per month, Momentum Recycling will drop off a 35-gallon container, about one-third the size of a regular garbage bin. Then, once a month, the company will stop by your home to pick up your glass bottles and jars and take everything to the recycling facility. Once the recycling company receives the glass bottles, it’s run through a facility that removes any contamination. The glass is then sorted by color and size before it’s processed into a material that resembles beach sand. “That, in turn, is sold for a couple of different industrial uses,” Lair said. “The largest of which is the manufacturer of fiberglass insulation. We have a fiberglass insulation plant here in our region… and they’re currently running about 50% recycled content in the product that comes out of that.” The recycling program also benefits the economy by providing jobs. Employees are hired to drive collection trucks and work in the processing plant and insulation facility. “We just continue to expand,” he said. “It’s a very equipment, capital intensive business. Trucks are very expensive and containers are expensive, and it’s very difficult to grow quickly. But over time, we’re getting there. In a couple more years, we’ll probably have the service available throughout the entire metro area.” Momentum Recycling has been collecting

glass since 2008 and built its glass recycling plant in 2012. The company works with neighborhoods and communities in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. Currently, the company works with most cities in Salt Lake County and is expanding service into Davis County. The program is optional and can be canceled at any time. There are also several free drop-off locations for glass recycling. A service map can be found at utah.momentumrecycling.com. Momentum Recycling also offers a food waste service that turns table scraps into renewable natural gas. The waste is taken to a facility in North Salt Lake where an anaerobic digestion process turns it into natural gas that is delivered directly to the Dominion Energy pipelines. Although the service area for this program is limited, it will expand to include residential homes in more parts of Salt Lake County. “I think most people are surprised at how much food waste they produce,” Lair said. “Most waste characterization studies show that food waste makes up as much as 50% of what we put in the garbage. So once people get started at their home, they tend to be surprised at the amount of food waste.” Lair said the goal is to keep more glass and food waste out of the state’s landfills. It’s not only a resource conservation but a way to extend the life of a landfill. “Landfills are expensive to build,” he said. “When we need a new landfill in our community, it’s not going to be close to town, it’s going to be pretty far away. The cost of constructing the landfill is going to be high. So that means all of our disposal costs go up. The longer we can make this landfill last, the longer we can keep our costs low.” l

In the glass recycling program operated by Momentum Recycling, West Valley residents can sign up for a monthly glass pick-up. (Photo courtesy of Momentum Recycling)

Page 12 | January 2024

West Valley City Journal

Incumbents rule West Valley City Council election

he makeup of the West Valley City Council will see no changes in 2024. The November general election saw voters returning three incumbents to the council. In District 1, covering the northeastern part of the city, Tom Huynh was elected to a fourth four-year term on the city council. He defeated first-time Marni Lefevre with 55% of the vote to 45% for the first-time challenger. District 3’s Will Whetstone was appointed to his first full term on the council after being appointed in January 2022 to replace Karen Lang, who was elected mayor. Whetstone garnered 57% of ballots cast to runner-up Heidi Roggenbuck’s 43%. He will therefore continue to represent constituents in the northwestern/north-central section of West Valley City. “Winning the….election is an honor, but the real success lies in delivering on promises made,” said Whetstone, a 30year city resident, director of community development with UBS Bank USA, and a part-time member of the Utah Air National Guard. “Over the next four years, my objectives are to foster community engagement, prioritize veterans housing and ensure transparency within West Valley City.

By Darrell Kirby | d.kirby@mycityjournals.com

Don Christensen (Courtesy West Valley City)

Tom Huynh (Courtesy West Valley City)

Will Whetstone (Courtesy West Valley City)

I’m excited to hit the ground running,” he added. Voters gave Don Christensen a third consecutive term as an at-large representative. He outpaced Sophia Hawkes Tingey 58% to 42%. Christensen also served

on the city council from 2009-13 before running unsuccessfully for mayor in 2013. He regained a seat on the council in 2015 where he has been since. “I would like to thank the voters for

their confidence in my record. I promise that I will do everything possible to continue to move West Valley City forward over the next four years,” Christensen said. Each of the councilmembers will be sworn in to their new terms in January. l

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Page 14 | January 2024

West Valley City Journal

Eight ways to combat change fatigue this new year By Holly Curby | hello@hollycurby.com

e all are no strangers to change. Whether it’s a New Year’s resolution, a shift in our career, alterations in our physical appearance, or even the family dynamics morphing as families grow— children go off to college, loved ones move, and parents age—change is a constant factor in our lives. Instincts might be to resist the change or simply feel overwhelmed by it, both of which may be leading indicators of change fatigue. According to an article by Dr. Lydia Moussa on LinkedIn, change fatigue includes the following symptoms: apathy (disengagement), negativity (cynical or complaining), stress (anxious) and burnout. Change fatigue can have a significant impact on our lives, from personal disappointments like unrealized dreams to professional challenges like unmet career goals. It's an exhausting experience that can lead to questioning our purpose and identity. However, it's during these times of change that self-reflection becomes vital. The following resources can help us take a look at our lives in hopes of beginning to understand our passions, needs, and ultimately, our unique purpose. 1. The love language test. This is a concept of Gary Chapman’s where in his book “The 5 Love Languages” he helps us understand how we receive love (physical touch, quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, or even acts of service). This tool helps us understand how we feel appreciated and loved, as well as how we tend to show appreciation and love to others. This test is helpful in any relationship from coworkers and friends, to children and spouses. Learn more about the love languages on Holly’s Highlights podcast Season 3 Episode 3. 2. Personality tests. Personality tests such as 5 Voices, Strength Finders, Myers-Briggs, and Disc help us put a name to our behaviors and inherit traits and passions. This could be understanding you are an introvert and therefore help give you some ideas on how to engage at a social gathering, to even the importance of setting boundaries in balancing such socials with much-needed alone time to refresh and recharge. Personality tests can also help you identify your strengths and how to use them in careers, teams and personal goal setting. 3. Spiritual gifts. From administration, giving, and leadership to service, ministry or teaching, if you are a person of faith this can be a valuable tool in every aspect of your life, career and volunteer work. Keep in mind this is not the fortune teller of what you need to do—it is more of a guide as to what comes naturally to

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Fulfilling a goal, Holly Curby’s book “Face-Lift: embracing hope through your heartaches” was published April 28, 2023. (Holly Curby)

you. Local churches will often offer spiritual tests, or you can visit giftstest.com or sdrock.com. 4. Bucket list. According to a study from Stanford, bucket lists can help you “live a life with hopes and aspirations.” They identify values, goals, milestones and experiences as all having significance in both reflection and identification as to what your lifetime will include. When making a bucket list you might see a common theme that can help you create focus in pushing forward toward what you want in life whether it be job-related, relationship-wise or simply helping motivate you to identify “What’s next?” 5. Dreams. As we navigate the changes in life, it’s essential to reignite some of our childhood dreams. Have you wanted to travel? Take part in certain activities or accomplishments? Be in a certain profession? Permit yourself to tap into your inner child and dream. What part of those dreams can you start implementing or pursuing today, and what’s stopping you now from pursuing them? 6. Goals. When we get in a rut of change we can find ourselves going down a spiraling path, but if we have a goal set before us—something to achieve, to work toward, to look forward to reaching—we are more apt to make progress in living a more authentic and fulfilling existence. In five years you can either look back and see you are still in the same spot, or you can look back and see even a few things accomplished that got you a step further to reaching your goals. Write down some goals that are specific and attainable as well as dates to reach them by—then go for it. Download my free “Get it Done Goal Planner” on hollycurby.com/resourc-

Fulfilling something on his bucket list, Peyton Curby traveled to Alaska with his family. (Holly Curby)

es or check out Holly’s Highlights podcast Season 2 Episode 1 regarding goal setting in a new year. 7. Value/priorities. What is important to you? And where does that rank in your priorities? Once we identify our values and our priorities, it can help us ensure our actions align with our authentic selves. This can help us understand what boundaries should be placed and therefore help us live a more fulfilled life of purpose. Season 3 Episode 26 on Holly’s Highlights podcast can help us unpack more on boundary setting to protect these values and priorities. 8. Personal Mission statement. After you’ve looked at the results from your love language, your personality, your spiritual gifts, your bucket list, dreams, goals, values, and priorities then you can better answer questions such as: Who am I? What’s my purpose? What’s next? Check out Holly’s Highlights podcast Season 3 Episode

15 for assistance on how to do a family mission statement. Next time change fatigue hits, this personal mission statement can help you navigate through the changes so that you keep in alignment with what matters to you. Amidst life’s constant changes, these resources help us align our actions with our true selves all while embracing a growth mindset, trying new things, challenging our perspectives, exploring our passions, forgiving ourselves of any regrets, having a grateful heart, turning our pain into purpose, accepting our flaws, and believing in ourselves so that we can combat succumbing to the fatigue of change. Learn more on Holly’s Highlights podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Tune-In, and at www.hollycurby.com.l

January 2024 | Page 15

Home prices up, sales down in West Valley City, Salt Lake County

espite the headwinds of high mortgage rates and housing prices that have pushed many potential buyers to the sidelines, homes in Salt Lake County saw slight uptick in prices in the third quarter. Figures released by the Salt Lake Board of Realtors show the median price of a single-family home in Salt Lake County increased slightly to $594,125 during the period of July through September. That’s up 1% from $589,900 in the third quarter of 2022. The increase in prices came amid mortgage rates that hovered around 7% for much of the period. “This is why we have seen home sales decline across the Wasatch Front over the past 18 months,” Salt Lake Board of Realtors chief economist Dejan Eskic said in a press release. Single-family home sales totaled 2,103 units in the third quarter, a decline of 11% from a year earlier. Weber, Davis, Utah and Tooele also saw a drop in homes sold during the third quarter. The average time single-family dwellings were on the market during the quarter was 27 days, up from 22 days in 2022. Condominiums in Salt Lake County saw a 1% decrease in median prices to $410,000 but, again, pesky mortgage rates on top of the high asking prices pushed sales down 4% during the third quarter.

Page 16 | January 2024

By Darrell Kirby | d.kirby@mycityjournals.com In West Valley City, the slowdown in home sales was more pronounced than in the county in general. In ZIP code 84119, which encompasses the eastern third of the city, single-family home sales went from 100 in the third quarter of 2022 to 73 in the same quarter of this year for a decline of 27%. The media price also fell 5% from $420,500 to $400,000. ZIP code 84120 in the central part of the city saw a 15% drop in sales—92 units to 78— as the median price went from $450,000 to $447,450. ZIP code 84128 covering the northwestern part of the city also trended downward in home prices and sales. The good news for buyers is that mortgage rates were at their lowest level in early December than they were for a number of weeks. After pushing 8% in late October, they had dropped to 6.625% to 6.875% in early December for a fixed rate on a 30-year loan at some of the larger local financial institutions, giving potential buyers the opportunity to see a significant savings in their monthly payments than just weeks earlier. “We’re starting to see more potential buyers interested,” said Austin Roberts, a loan officer at City Creek Mortgage. He added that with a decline in rates approaching 1.5%, buyers of a home around $500,000 would see their

Homes are sitting on the market longer in West Valley City because of high prices and interest rates. (Darrell Kirby/City Journals)

payments drop by around $500 a month. “It is absolutely a material change and increases affordability for home buyers.” Lower rates could attract more people back to the housing market. Conversely, that additional competition for housing could help push up prices and negate the savings of lower rates. According to a recent report in U.S. News

& World Report, economists expect home loan rates to stay at 6% or higher through 2024. Rates below 6% could return in 2025. Roberts concurs with the near-term forecast for rates. “I think (mortgage) rates will steadily decline as the Federal Reserve cuts rates next year,” he said. “I think we will definitely have lower rates within the next year.” l

West Valley City Journal

West Valley City raises park rental user fees By Tom Haraldsen | t.haraldsen@mycityjournals.com

t’s going to cost you a little more to rent space in West Valley City parks. At the recommendation of the city’s parks department, user fees are being increased for the first time in 12 years. All fee increases have to be approved by the city council, which it did on Dec. 5. Parks and Recreation Director Jamie Young told councilmembers that costs to provide facilities to renters have been continually increasing and rental fees have not been covering those costs. She said staff members looked at those fees and compared them to similar facilities near the city and in other areas. By resolution, the new fees will now look like this: • Pavilion rental weekday (M-Th) $80/$100 (resident/non-resident) • Pavilion rental weekend (F-Sun) $100/$125 (resident/non-resident) • Park open space use fees (festivals, circus, car shows, etc. $400/day) • Soccer field rental (before or after 2 p.m.) $100/half day • Soccer field prep to line field and goal areas $100 • Softball complex rental (four fields) (before or after 2 p.m.) $250/half day • Field lights (per hour or fraction of an hour) $75 • Softball/Baseball field prep to drag,

mark or rake $65 • Quick rake and re-mark $20 • Electrical power tower set up $200/box • Electrical power tower use $25/day At the meeting, a resident asked if parking spaces can also be reserved by those renting a pavilion. Young said they cannot, but added one space can be set aside for loading and unloading near a pavilion. She said parks officials will try to move additional existing trash cans in park areas closer to the pavilions when they are reserved. The Ridge and Stonebridge golf courses will also adjust the days and times when reduced golf rates are offered as part of the Player Pass. Young said golf rounds have increased over the last few years, with those using Player Passes taking high demand time from those willing to pay regular golf rates. That loss of revenue affects the overall cost to the city for course operation and maintenance. Weekend rates will now include Fridays, and reduced rates for weekends and holidays will not be honored after 1 p.m. The costs for those rates remain unchanged from current pricing. In one other parks-related item, the council approved a contract with ACME Construction for completion of Sunset Hills Park, located at 6420 S. Oquirrh Mesa Drive. The

User fees at West Valley City parks are being increased for the first time in 12 years. (File photo City Journals)

three-acre park will include a playground, pavilion, picnic tables, benches, a walking path, exercise equipment, trees, shrubs, a drinking

fountain and open grass areas. The contract was awarded for $1,537,610.75. ACME Construction was the lone bidder on the contract.l

Interim city managers appointed, Bangerter construction underway

wo temporary appointments have been approved by the West Valley City Council as the search remains open for a new city manager. Fire Chief John Evans has been named interim City Manager, and Human Resources Director John Flores has been appointed to interim Assistant City Manager. Both will serve until a new permanent manager is named. That person will take the position of Wayne Pyle, who is retiring this year. Applications are still open for the city manager post. Candidates are expected to be interviewed over the next few weeks and a decision made sometime early this year. In other council news, the state of Utah purchased licensing for a SentinelOne anti-virus/endpoint security software system for local governments, school districts and universities. The council approved participation in the plan that should save the city about $85,000 a year. Construction is underway on the Bangerter Highway interchange at 4700 South. During the project environmental clearance process, the council requested of UDOT that the interchange be built

Wvc Journal .com

By Tom Haraldsen | t.haraldsen@mycityjournals.com with Bangerter Highway passing underneath 4700 South which comes at a significant higher cost. The city has made verbal commitments to participate financially in the betterment. UDOT indicates that the cost difference to take Bangerter under 4700 South is approximately $14,000,000 and is asking the city for participation in the amount of $2,000,000. That was approved and the money will come from the city’s General Fund. Drivers be advised—through traffic at that intersection will be closed for approximately 12 months, starting at a date yet to be determined. City council’s next scheduled meeting is set for Jan. 2 at 7 p.m.l

Fire Chief John Evans has been named interim City Manager after the retirement of Wayne Pyle. (File photo City Journals)

January 2024 | Page 17

Trails, tourism among 2023 highlights for Salt Lake County

he Salt Lake County Council just wrapped up the budget for 2024, and now is a good time to look back over the highlights and lowlights of 2023. A reminder: budgeting is one of the primary jobs of the county council, providing ongoing funding for the many diverse, existing county programs. “Salt Lake County is proud to be one of only 29 counties in the entire country (there are 3,143 counties in the United States) that has a AAA bond rating,” Aimee Winder Newton District 3 county councilwoman and council chair said. “It means we run a good budget and rating agencies believe we will pay our debts.” County services include health and human services, county parks and recreation centers, tourism and culture, libraries, aging and adult services, mental health and criminal justice. A big snow year After a big snow year and a snowpack over 200% of normal, on April 13, 2023 County Mayor Jenny Wilson declared a state of emergency in anticipation of potentially devastating flooding. Affected were over 600 miles of creeks and canals within Salt Lake County. The county provided enough sand to fill 500,000 sandbags, and who can forget the community showing up to fill bags for themselves, and for their neighbors? The state emergency ended July 10, 2023, with much of the potential damage mitigated. “We were able to manage the runoff from such an incredible, record-breaking snowpack because of a combination of early planning, improved infrastructure, cutting-edge data, around-the-clock debris clearing, and a [spring] season of perfect weather,” said Wilson. Decades of infrastructure improvements since 1983 (year of the last major flood) greatly improved the ability of Salt Lake County Flood Control to control water flows and manage debris, as creeks, culverts and pipes were equipped to carry more water than they could in 1983. Flood control costs are an annual county budget line item and include personnel costs, ongoing maintenance, and annual dredging of sediment and debris from retention ponds and creek beds and run about $6.9 million annually. The cost for the flood emergency of 2023, itself, was approximately $1.8 million. New and improved trails “County residents have told us trail development is their number one priority over the past decade, based on needs our assessment surveys,” Patrick Leary, associate director for Parks, Trails & Open Space for Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation, said. “Desire for new and improved trails has consistently floated to the top of the list.” So in August 2023, Phase One of the Butterfield Trailhead Regional Park opened to the community. “The Butterfield trail system is located in

Page 18 | January 2024

By Ella Joy Olsen | e.olsen@mycityjournals.com the Oquirrh Mountains in the southwest corner of Salt Lake County and is a game changer for the region,” Leary said. “Now residents in this growing party of the county won’t have to cut across the valley to get to an easily accessible hillside trail system.” Butterfield includes over 13 miles of multiuse trails for hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians within the Southwest Canyon Trails Network, and also provides a connector to Yellow Fork and Rose Canyon trails. Phases Two and Three (to be completed in the next couple of years) will include improved parking for 500 cars and equestrian vehicles, kiosks, improved restrooms and a maintenance facility. Uniquely, the Butterfield trail system is situated on reclaimed land which was once a mining site. It was created in collaboration with the county, Rio Tinto and the Bureau of Land Management. Another big trail milestone, the final phase of the Parley’s Trail, was completed in 2023. Parley’s Trail is an 8-mile east-west walking and biking trail connecting the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and the Jordan River Parkway, providing a corridor through neighborhoods to parks, schools, churches and rural areas and running through portions of West Valley, South Salt Lake, Millcreek and Salt Lake City. “We’re lucky because this is a trail system that has been consistently funded with bonds, grants, federal, state and county dollars since about 2004, so construction has been ongoing” said Walt Gilmore, associate division director of Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation, and who has also worked on the trail project for 21 years. “This final phase was expensive, about $6 million dollars, and included two bridge structures to get over the Jordan River, but we can celebrate that it’s finally complete.” Mental healthcare access Currently, a new Huntsman Mental Health facility is under construction in South Salt Lake on 3300 S. 1000 West, a centralized location with access to major transportation corridors. “On one side is the jail and one side is a homeless shelter,” said Mark Rapaport, CEO of Huntsman Mental Health Institute. “And as we know jails right now are one of the largest inpatient mental health facilities in the country. And we also know the majority of the people who are homeless have an underlying mental health disorder. So this facility will allow us to be near where some of the people with the greatest needs are.” This new center, the Kem and Carolyn Gardner Mental Health Crisis Care Center, will be completed in late 2024 or early 2025, but in the meantime there is an ongoing mental health and homelessness crisis. So to bridge the gap in care, in 2023 the county appropriated $2.5 million from federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to retrofit the existing Huntsman Mental Health

Six members of the Salt Lake County Council after their meeting to deliberate on the 2024 budget on Nov. 21, 2023. L-R: Suzanne Harrison, Arlyn Bradshaw, Aimee Winder Newton, David Alvord, Dea Theodore, Laurie Stringham. (Photo Aimee Winder Newton)

Flooding on 1700 South on the evening of April 13, 2023 following a record snow season. (Salt Lake County)

facilities (near the University Hospital) to create a receiving center, giving those in crisis a place to go that isn’t a jail or an emergency room. At the receiving center, mental health professionals have 24 hours to get patients settled and stable, to get them connected to community resources, and to figure out a path for recovery. “The center has 12 beds, and though occupancy varies from day to day, utilization has been high at about an average of nine beds occupied,” Kevin Curtis, crisis services director at Huntsman Mental Health Institute, said.

“And the average length of stay is about 10 hours.” 2023 funding also covers 17 months of staffing until the new center is finished. The temporary adult receiving center is located at 501 Chipeta Way and is open 24/7. After the new center in South Salt Lake opens, the renovated adult receiving center will likely be focused on mental healthcare for juveniles and children. “The receiving center is a place where police officers can bring those who are struggling with a mental health crisis to get immediate help,” County Councilwoman Winder Newton

West Valley City Journal

said. “It’s less costly than care in an emergency room and a better place to get help for minor offenses than in jail.” Conventions and Tourism Tourism is a big part of county government as tourists and convention attendees generate tax revenue, thereby saving Salt Lake County residents (taxpayers) money. Visit Salt Lake www.visitsaltlake.com is a private, nonprofit corporation responsible for the promotion of Salt Lake as a convention and travel destination. In partnership with Salt Lake County, it is the marketing arm tasked with attracting and providing support for conventions and leisure travelers. A couple of successful conventions of 2023 illustrate the diverse groups courted by Visit Salt Lake for their convention needs. As an additional perk, business travelers, after being impressed with Salt Lake, will often return for leisure travel. The first is the Society of Child Research & Development Convention. Salt Lake competed against Denver, Atlanta, St. Louis, Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Toronto to secure this convention. The organization anticipated their convention in Salt Lake would attract 4,100 attendees, but it far exceeded expectations, and 6,400 attendees attended the event. These visitors spent $6.2 million while in the community. Another of note is the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. This convention attracted nearly 12,000 attendees who spent approximately $11.6 million. The SHPE lead-

ership was so pleased that Salt Lake has been selected to host this convention again in 2027, 2030, and 2034. County Library Services In a tight budget year the county was still able to put an additional $280,000 into digital library resources such as audio and e-reader materials, in an effort to reduce wait times for these popular items. Additionally, late fees will be waived for children. This program was piloted during the summer of 2023, based on the concern that late fees are a barrier to lower income families coming to the library to borrow books and other learning materials and was deemed a success. After three months, if the materials are still not returned to the library, the cost will be charged to the cardholder. The 2024 library budget contains $115,000 from the Library Fund to replace the potential lost revenue from fees collected. County Rec Centers free pass for youth In an effort to improve mental and physical health for youth, the county has provided budget dollars to provide a free annual rec pass to all youth (ages 3-17). The program, called My County Recs Pass, will likely be rolling in early summer 2024, to give the centers time to staff and prepare additional programming. “We’re seeing a rise in mental health issues for teens and youth, and according the U.S. Surgeon General, something that can help is social connection, getting out there and do-

Ribbon cutting for the Huntsman Mental Health Institute receiving center. At the receiving center, mental health professionals have 24 hours to get patients settled and stable, to get them connected to community resources, and to figure out a path for recovery. (Aimee Winder Newton)

ing something active with other people,” Newton said. “This is a great program because the county is in the business of improving mental and physical health to residents.” There are age limits, in that children under the age of 10 cannot attend without a parent, and in that case only the parents would pay, but the county is hoping this will provide more active family time. The My County Recs Pass program is projected to cost $2.3 million annually. This

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cost represents the personnel and operational costs, in addition to the reduction in revenue from youth pass sales. “However, we are expecting some new revenues from adult passes purchased by parents and increased sign-ups for programs,” said Robin Chalhoub, director of community services for Salt Lake County. “We did not add that [increased revenue] to the proposal and we are excited to see how it increases.” l

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January 2024 | Page 19

Intelligent answers to concerns about artificial intelligence in the classroom By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com Editor’s note: this is part of a series of articles about artificial intelligence in schools.

but you should also still be sure to explain the things that they're doing that are making you want to call them that word,’ so even the feedback that it gives when kids are speaking in ways that they shouldn't, it still tries to redirect them positively,” he said.

hile many express concerns about how AI will affect their job or their way of life, Jordan School District employees are already using AI to improve their jobs and the way they teach. During their Nov. 28 meeting, members of the Jordan School District Board of Education approved a five year contract with SchoolAI, an artificial intelligence platform created specifically for schools and developed with input from Jordan District teachers who piloted it. “AI is here,” board member Darrell Robinson said. “No matter what, it's going to be our reality, so we felt that we needed to take control of it and figure out how to use it instead of banning it and fearing it.” Jordan School District is leading out among other districts with their early adoption of AI tools, while some other districts have banned AI, Robinson said. Jordan District representatives have been asked to share their approach to AI at a school board convention this month. Those educators who have been using AI tools for several months are excited to share the benefits of—and to address common concerns about—AI.

CONCERN: AI IS NOT SAFE

Answer: Closed AI systems and cautious teachers keep students safe Amber Saffen, an engineering and robotics teacher at Jordan Academy for Technology and Careers, said caution, not fear, is a reasonable response to AI. “I think there's a lot of value in approaching any new tool with caution,” she said. “I would alleviate people’s fears by saying schools are aware. Just like we protect students from certain websites but encourage the use of others, we're protecting students from certain AIs. There are plenty of teachers and administrators who are excited about AI, who see the value but understand the risks, and are working so hard so that it is being implemented and that we’re teaching AI literacy, as well.” Jordan School District is committed to using AI and other technologies ethically and to providing guidance and support within the framework of being: Conscientious, Collaborative, Critical and Creative, as described on their website. The SchoolAI tool, which is being implemented district-wide, provides safeguards, data security and privacy protections that comply with federal student privacy laws. “It's a technology that we're just starting to use on a broad scale, and we'll continue to watch to make sure that we're getting all of the benefit and that we're mitigating and

Page 20 | January 2024

CONCERN: USING AI IS CHEATING

Valley High School teacher Graham Bany demonstrates the AI he uses in his classroom to Congressman Burgess Owens. (Photo courtesy of Darrell Robinson.)

eliminating the risks that are associated with any new program,” Jordan School District Superintendent Dr. Anthony Godfrey said. “SchoolAI put a fence around artificial intelligence so that our information doesn't get out and we only let in the information that we want. So we have safeguards in place. We have a lot of training in place, and I'm really optimistic about the way SchoolAI is going to be used.” Graham Bany, a teacher at Valley High School, said SchoolAI is a closed system, unlike popular public AI interfaces. “Since the SchoolAI is trained on education content, it's a lot cleaner and easier than an alternative artificial intelligence,” he said. “So, when I create a rubric using SchoolAI, and a rubric using Chat GPT, I get really, really different responses from both of them, because SchoolAI is actually made to help us meet our goals with students.”

CONCERN: AI WILL REPLACE TEACHERS

Answer: AI will make better teachers “The teacher is not getting replaced by AI,” Kevin Morrill of SchoolAI explained. “They're just leveraging AI to be a better teacher, to be more prepared when they go in front of the class. They use our platform to do a lot of the heavy lifting. They get about 80% down the road using the platform on any given thing and then they can put on their creative hats, their experience, and then bake that into it. So we're seeing more prepared lessons, more prepared courses and units. We actually think that AI has the potential to increase humanity in the classroom by giving teachers more time to connect more deeply with students.” West Jordan Middle School teacher Andrew Holmes said using AI tools to ac-

celerate productivity and reduce time spent on lesson planning allows him to have more time to be a teacher and interact with his students. “I don’t think this is going to replace me—this is helping the overworked teacher do what they want to do,” he said. Many teachers save time by using AI tools for monotonous, time-consuming or complex tasks. “I regularly use the AI to help me draft an email to respond if I have a very upset parent,” District Math Consultant Amy Kinder said. “I still want to show parents that I care, but it takes so long to craft it, because you know someone's going to pick it apart. AI helps me draft great emails really fast.” She said AI only generates the first draft. “I look at it and re-edit it until it feels like a quality educator response with my flair on it—it's never just a copy/paste or anything like that,” Kinder said. AI is sometimes better than humans at responding appropriately and consistently to students’ behavior, too, Bany said. “Everyone's so scared of AI and language models and machine learning, but they also forget that the safeguards that are required to be put in place are actually helping with the ways the kids are getting direct one-to-one feedback from the machine that's more consistent than a human,” he said. Unlike a human, SchoolAI’s feedback to students is always positive and it redirects them when they get off-topic or behave inappropriately, he said. One of his high school students typed a negative comment about another student and the chatbot’s response impressed Bany. “It said, ‘Hey, you probably should consider not calling someone by rude names,

Answer: It can be, so teachers are adapting Within SchoolAI, teachers have control and can set parameters for what the chatbot can and can’t do for students. It cannot be tricked into writing a student’s essay but will act more as a writing coach. However, students have access to AI tools without these kinds of constraints outside of school. They can find AI tools on the internet to help them study or organize their thoughts, but they can also find answers to cheat on their homework. “I think the tech has caused many pains for many math teachers,” Kinder said. “Because you can take pictures of math problems or you can Google any math problem and it will tell the answer, so it's like they're taking away the joy of solving it. So I think many of them don't see it as a tool just yet.” There are AI detectors teachers can use to identify AI generated content, which Saffen said aren’t even always necessary, because she can often tell when a student tries to pass off AI writing as their own. “ChatGPT does have a very particular voice to it,” she said. However, sometimes Saffen lets her students use AI-generated content, such as to write a paper explaining their engineering project. “I was not grading them on their ability to present the idea in writing,” Saffen said. “The writing was just a medium for them to get their idea into my head.” But she reminded her students that in other classes, using AI to write a paper is cheating. “I would totally 100% support and understand any English teacher who said you can't use AI, because what they're assessing is the person's ability to write,” Saffen said. To prevent students from using AI to cheat, Saffen said teachers will change the way they assess learning, just as teachers did when they realized they couldn’t keep calculators or the internet out of the classroom. “Teachers don't let you use spell check on a spelling test, but they let you use spell check on your essays, and that's AI or machine learning,” Saffen said. “I totally think it will come down to teachers adapting and figuring out and asking the question, ‘What am I assessing?’ And if the AI is not counteracting what you're trying to assess, then I don't think we as teachers need to be afraid of it.” Jordan District is already changing the

West Valley City Journal

West Jordan Middle School science teacher Andrew Holmes loves using AI tools in his classroom. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Homes)

way teachers assess students’ math skills. Nearly all of the district’s middle schools are currently piloting a new interactive method of teaching secondary math skills through rich problem-solving. There is less opportunity to cheat because students solve math problems collaboratively instead of filling out worksheets on their own. “People think that AI is going to change how everything is done to such a degree that people won't be able to adapt,” Saffen said. “But teachers care about their students, and they care about knowing that their students learned the content. And so if we think that we are no longer able to do that, we will find a way. I’ve known some fantastic teachers and I know they’ll figure it out. It will just take a while. But I don't think AI is going to break everyone, I guess is what I'm saying.”

CONCERN: AI CAN’T BE TRUSTED

Answer: That’s true, so we make sure students understand that Kinder was initially distrustful of AI. “I did have trepidations about it— How is it creating this? Is this from a meaningful place? Can I trust it all the time to do that?” Kinder said. The solution to the problem of mistrust has been education. Kinder attended training sessions and webinars to learn to use and understand AI, which helped her feel more comfortable using it. Now she uses it to develop engaging math activities, to collect and organize information for presentations and to craft emails. Saffen, who uses AI for many tasks, always double-checks its work. “There's some forms of machine learning that we use, and as teachers we understand what it is we're trying to do, so we're able to identify the weaknesses in that,” Saffen said. When she introduces students to a new tech tool, there is always a conversation about the potential impacts and weak-

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nesses in its capabilities. “The students are aware that AI is going to be helpful, but also has potential concerns,” Saffen said. “I had a student ask the chatbot, ‘Is this information I need to cite and how would I cite it?’ I was actually really impressed that my students are already thinking along the conversation line of ‘How do I make sure that just because I'm using an AI, I'm not plagiarizing any ideas?’” Teachers have been given the opportunity to get ahead of students on AI tools. Before SchoolAI was released district-wide, 100 Jordan District educators piloted SchoolAI and provided feedback that helped designers customize features according to teachers’ needs. For the first few months of the school year, only teachers had direct access to SchoolAI. “Having teachers on-board early on and engaging with it helps them understand the benefits of SchoolAI,” Godfrey said. “It also helps them help students be good digital citizens, and to use AI effectively and in a way that helps support their learning, instead of using it as a substitute for learning.” Saffen was impressed that the district offered AI training even before SchoolAI was in use in most classrooms. The Teaching and Learning Department provides regular training, as well as tips and support through their Instagram account and podcast. “There are a lot of very smart, very capable people who have been at the forefront of this and have been ready for it for a while,” Saffen said. Jordan School District has prioritized educating stakeholders to ease their concerns about AI in the classroom. “We'll continue to inform parents and the community about how SchoolAI is being used,” Godfrey said. “Ongoing training is available for teachers to help make sure that we're making the most of artificial intelligence in the classroom.” l

January 2024 | Page 21

County budget includes a focus on the well-being of children

very year, my fellow council members and I are tasked with setting and approving the yearly budget for the county. My constituents have entrusted me to scrutinize every dollar spent defending programs that will improve Salt Lake County residents' safety and quality of life. This year, the Salt Lake County Council unanimously approved the county’s 2024 budget, with no tax increase. I am proud to say that the approved budget contains wide-ranging cuts, expanded services for mental health resources, investments in our parks, trails, and recreation centers, and continued funding for libraries, health clinics and aging services like Meals on Wheels. The top priority of the Salt Lake County Council continues to be public safety. While identifying this year’s budget cuts, we ensured adequate funding for the jail, prosecution, behavioral health and areas that keep our community safe and healthy. I’m thrilled to share a few budget-approved initiatives that every Salt Lake County resident should know about, especially those with school-age children under 18. My County Rec Pass: Free Rec Center Passes for Children: As of summer 2024, all school-age youth, ages 5-18, who are Salt Lake County residents will be able to access all County-operated recreation centers, ice centers, and swimming pools (indoor and

Aimee Winder Newton

Salt Lake County Councilwoman| District 3

outdoor) at no cost. This program is funded by the Tourism, Recreation, Culture & Convention fund (TRCC), which raises revenue from tourism, so it can be funded even in this tight budget year. The council passed this unanimously. Elimination of Library Late Fees for Children: As of next summer, all late fees on children and young adult materials will be eliminated for a one-year pilot program. This will eliminate barriers to the fantastic resources available in the award-winning Salt Lake County Libraries for children and young adults. Late fees too often keep the very residents who could benefit most from using the library. While late fees for children’s materials will be waived, they are still expected to return checked-out materials after three months or will be charged for them. Promoting healthy, active lifestyles can have numerous benefits, both physically and

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mentally, and will help combat the rising anxiety and depression rates crippling too many Utahns. Making these opportunities more accessible, especially for those facing financial challenges, will encourage kids to cut their screen time and put down their phones, which is crucial for their overall health and development. We welcome the opportunity for Salt

Lake County school-aged children to engage in healthy activities while fostering a sense of community. Reading books, connecting with others, and participating in physical exercise are all important things to help our kids grow up healthy and happy.

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A Bitter Pill

’m at the point where each doctor visit starts with “Well, at your age…”. I need to get my liver rotated, my heart valves oiled, my lung filters changed and I need a lot of bodywork done. Nips and tucks won’t do it, I need parts replaced and a complete undercarriage overhaul. I’ve got 99 problems and the cost of health insurance counts for at least 90. When I found myself without health insurance at the end of last year, I jumped on Healthcare.gov to explore my “affordable” options. The site states that four out of five people can find a plan for $10 or less a month, after tax subsidies. What they don’t tell you is that the fifth person has to get a third job, sell organs on the black market or start printing money in the basement to afford a healthcare plan. As I scrolled through my health insurance options, I got irrationally angry. Plans started at around $500 per month, with deductibles ranging from $7,500 to Lamborghini. Keep in mind, this was for one person, not an entire family with pets and farm animals. Since I had to register by the middle of December, my email was flooded with reminders from the site. Have I registered? Why not? Did I forget? Did I become independently wealthy? Did I decide to use the money for something fun instead?

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