Local student struggles through life, but comes out on top of graduating class

Although he attended at least eight different schools throughout his school career, Kyle Avery of Riverton learned how to focus on life and goals throughout his education. Despite several physical limitations, Kyle is determined to be a positive role model.
“When he was young, doctors said he wouldn’t be anything. Now they are simply astounded as to what he’s become,” Margaret Avery, Kyle’s mother, said. “It’s a miraculous feat what he’s accomplished.”
Kyle grew up in a family of five adopted children. He is one of two in the family with physical limitations.
Kyle’s limitations include fetal alcohol syndrome, cerebral palsy and ADHD. Even though Kyle was told numerous times by people in his schools that he wouldn’t be able to handle life, he has managed to surprise them.
According to his doctors, teachers and parents, Kyle has actually gone above and beyond that which anyone thought even remotely possible.
Kyle’s motto is “wherever you go, there you are.” He lives by this motto and tries to teach others around him the meaning of these words. He really believes that no matter where you are in life, it’s up to you what you make of yourself.
“I knew that I was a normal kid, but no one else could see that,” Kyle said.
Kyle is extremely aware that a lot of his accomplishments are due to his upbringing.
“If my parents weren’t being good parents, I wouldn’t be the same person I am today,” he said. Both Gary Avery, his father, and Margaret Avery agree.
“Everything my family does is a reflection of what I should be doing,” Kyle said. As he talked about his family, there was a look of respect on his face.
Margaret Avery explained that Kyle has always made friends easily. “He’ll do anything for a friend,” she said.
She also spoke about how compassionate and forgiving Kyle is. “He gives his friendship so easily,” she said.
Kyle recently graduated from the Jordan Resource Center, in Midvale, with a GPA of 3.5. He also attended both Bingham and Riverton high schools briefly.
“We always thought there was an answer, and a way to make it all possible for him,” Margaret Avery said.
Kyle has advanced so far that one of his teachers asked him to help teach a class on how to make computer games. This came about because Kyle was curious about how to do it and asked if he could take the book home with him over the weekend. He picked up on it so quickly that the teacher handed the class over to him.
“He likes to figure out how things work,” Gary Avery said of his son.
Gary Avery said that Kyle taught himself how to ride a bike, use a skateboard, and play the guitar. He has also done some woodworking, building cabinets and book cases at Herriman High School.
“We’re all astounded at the knowledge that he has,” Margaret Avery said.
Kyle said that his schooling has taught him to be responsible with his life. “It doesn’t matter what they teach in school, it’s always about preparing you for life,” he said.
He also writes his own raps as sort of a venting process. He even admits that some of them are not acceptable to his parents, but it’s better than the alternative.
“Through all of the challenges I’ve been through, I’ve made some tough choices and some of them may not perfect, but through my rapping, I’m able to express myself,” he said.
Both of his parents agree that Kyle never gives up and won’t quit on anything. And although he’s been through many struggles with school, with the law, and other aspects of life, he continues to push forward.
Kyle is applying to attend Salt Lake Community College in the fall. He will be studying IT and web design.

Kyle Avery with his mother Margaret, father Gary and one of his

sisters. Kyle has struggled to get through school, but his

hard work paid off. He graduated at the top of his class in June.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in July 2011 in Riverton, Utah

 

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7329/Local-student-struggles-through-life,-but-comes-out-on-top-of-graduating-class/

Bluffdale celebrates sixth year as Tree City, USA

On May 25 Bluffdale City planted a tree to commemorate this year’s Arbor Day. Bluffdale Elementary was invited to host the presentation and help to plant the tree. “Arbor Day can be celebrated any day,” Scott Zeidler, Wasatch Front community forester, said. Zeidler is from the Utah Department of Forestry and State Lands. He explained that Arbor Day is to help get students involved and really become stewards of the environment.
“We use trees to improve the quality of our lives,” Zeidler said.
The morning consisted of a small assembly held at Bluffdale Elementary where Ty Nielsen, Herriman City arborist and a Bluffdale resident, spoke to the students about the importance of trees. He presented the school with a copy of the book “I Can Name 50 Trees!” and gave a short slide presentation on the parts of trees.
The students became very excited when Nielsen introduced a special guest. Smokey the Bear, represented by McKay Christensen, high-fived students and even hugged some of them. Smokey was accompanied by Zeidler.
Jana Christensen, McKay’s mother, is the tree board chair for Bluffdale City. Christensen, along with Zeidler, talked to the students about the importance of trees and fire safety.
The Bluffdale City Tree Board provides an active blog with helpful gardening information and provides a monthly article in the Bluffdale Times. Members of the board have helped to plant hundreds of trees within the city.
The tree was planted at the Bluffdale City Park just behind the elementary school. Students walked with Smokey and the other guests to the site where Nielsen briefly explained how to properly plant a tree.
Each student was encouraged to bring soil or dirt from home to help bury the roots of the tree. They were called up as grade levels and allowed to dump the home-grown soil into the hole.
As part of the event, Bluffdale Elementary held a poster contest. The winners were announced during the assembly. The winning students were given certificates. These winners were Caden Stones, kindergarten; Kylee Snow, first grade; Kaelie Sorenson, second grade; Logan Cook, third grade; and Jossie Workman, sixth grade.
“We like to use this as an educational tool to help the students learn the value of trees in the community,” Blain Dietrich, Bluffdale City public works manager, said.
“Even though this is really a city thing to get these trees planted, we like to get the school involved,” he said. This is the third year of planting trees with the students.
Each year the city plants about 40 to 150 trees. This year the tree planted was an Emerald Queen. It is a fast growing, oval tree that has dark green foliage. The leaves will actually be a reddish color when first emerging in the spring but will turn a bright yellow in the fall.

Students from Bluffdale Elementary were asked to bring dirt

or soil from home to help plant a tree during the

Bluffdale City Arbor Day celebration.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in July 2011 in Riverton, Utah

 

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7328/Bluffdale-celebrates-sixth-year-as-Tree-City,-USA/

Rallied around reading at Monte Vista Elementary

For the past three years, Monte Vista Elementary’s administration has been encouraging students to keep good reading habits. As such, they have become a “Ken Garff Road to Success school.”
As part of this program, Ken Garff donates several bikes to participating schools to give to students who make a good effort in maintaining good reading habits. Monte Vista held a rally on June 2 to award these bikes.
During this assembly, there were also several other prizes awarded at random to the students. In order to be eligible for the drawing, the students had to have read at least five consecutive days and their name was entered once. If they read for seven consecutive days, their name was entered twice for that week.
“We are trying to encourage daily reading habits,” Principal Tom Little said.
During the assembly, four bikes were given to students. These students were chosen at random from the names of the students keeping up their reading. These students were Dylan DeVoogd, Sienna Chilcutt, Ashley Romrell, and Colby McComie.
Four Utah Education Savings Plan gift certificates were awarded to students in the drawing. These students were Rachel VanCott, Kyler Sudbury, Kayla Nicholls and William Olsen.
Other prizes included eight bike helmets and bike accessories, along with books, a few of which were autographed by the readers at the school’s Dr. Seuss Day celebration.
The helmets and bike accessories were donated by Robert Debry Law Firm and Staats Bike Shop.
“The kids get really excited about the prizes they can earn from reading,” Brooke Howard, PTA president at Monte Vista, said.
Along with the rally, the school also held a book shop. In the past, the school has only received a few hundred book donations which were given as prizes during previous assembly rallies...
This year, however, through donations from the PTA, parents, the principal, the Scholastic book fair program and the Ken Garff Road to Success literacy program, Monte Vista received more than 1,400 books.
This book shop was held on June 1 and June 15. Class times were set up and each student was able to choose his or her own book to take home.  “This program is designed to motivate good daily reading habits,” Howard said. “Our students have outperformed and have shown us that reading is important to them.”
Overall, the students read a total of 130,372 days during the school year which averages to 138.7 days for each student.

This year’s Ken Garff’s Road to Success bike winners at Monte

Vista Elementary are Sienna Chilcutt, Dylan DeVoogd,

Colby McComie, and Ashley Romrell.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in July 2011 in Riverton, Utah

 

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7326/Rallied-around-reading-at-Monte-Vista-Elementary/

Bluffdale residents encouraged to participate in emergency preparedness program

To help get city residents actively participating in emergency preparedness, Bluffdale City officials have hired an emergency program manager.
“Connie Jones has been doing a tremendous job since she started in February,” Mayor Derk Timothy said.
Jones has been meeting with a communications team twice a month to get the city ready for any kind of disaster. The team is made up of Bluffdale residents who have received training provided by the city. The team ran a drill at the end of April to see if the system was working.
“It went really well, and I’m excited to see them all working together,” Jones said.
To get the public more excited about being prepared, Jones has started a drawing for those who participate in projects to ready themselves.
“We really need to have a community of self-sufficient people,” she said.
This drawing will be held throughout the year. The first drawing was held at the end of May, the second at the end of June. There will be one in July and also Aug. 13. The one in August will take place at Town Days.
The winners of these prizes will be announced in the Bluffdale City newsletter each month.
Jones writes a column for the newsletter each month. In April, she asked the residents to choose and complete at least one emergency preparedness project. She also informed them that there would be prizes. To further the preparedness level of city residents, Jones offered another prize opportunity. She wrote in the May newsletter that the first person to submit a finished project would win a headlamp.
All other prizes will be based on the same idea -- furthering preparedness. The May winners were Kim Lords, Kelly Albiston and Shawna Garzarelli. The June winners were Stacy Reagh, Brenda Gowans and Tina Walters.
For each project completed, residents need only contact Jones with his or her name and give details of the project completed. Those names will be entered into the drawing each month. To send in an entry, Jones may be reached at 801-419-6278 or curlyconnie@gmail.com.
“I hope that everyone will take action and will enjoy the feeling of being better prepared,” Jones said.
Jones has also accumulated family emergency preparedness guides that can be picked up by residents at City Hall.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in July 2011 in Riverton, Utah

 

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7318/Bluffdale-residents-encouraged-to-participate-in-emergency-preparedness-program/

Money talk in Bluffdale City: Approving the 2011/2012 budget

Bluffdale City officials have been vigorously working on passing the 2011/2012 budget. Although the budget of $3,754,527 is only an $84,000 increase from last year, there are still several minor changes.
The first change that city council members are looking forward to is an adjustment in employee health benefits. Although these adjustments are not going to affect the general public, the council agrees that the changes are welcome. The changes only affect the health savings plan chosen by the employees and should actually save the city money on health coverage.
Another change is a $13,000 purchase allowance for a tractor that will be used at the arena and city park.
Also discussed during the budget meetings was the usage of the Riverton Senior Center. Although the center is located in Riverton, it is open for use for those interested in the Bluffdale area. There is a shuttle that picks up several residents and buses them to the center.
Riverton City has asked Bluffdale for help in covering the cost of the shuttle to and from the center. Mayor Derk Timothy told the council that he felt the cost should be a fair amount for both cities.
In the end, the council decided to pay Riverton about $19,000, close to the $20,000 Bluffdale was being asked to pay. The funds will be used for vehicle maintenance and the driver’s salary.
“Riverton has been good to us in the past,” Councilmember Alan Jackson said. “If nothing else, I want to support the mayor in his decision on the amount. Besides, it’s the right thing to do.”
Councilmember Noell Nelson expressed concern about paying that amount since the cost for the shuttle was originally listed on the budget as $12,000. This amount came from a rough estimate of the cost of running the shuttle. Nelson expressed an interest in getting an actual cost to run the vehicle, rather than just an estimate.
The council approved the $19,000 expenditure in a 3-1 vote. (Bruce Kartchner was absent from the meeting.).
The biggest addition to the budget will be an increase in the water rate. Bluffdale purchases water from the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. Each year, the district imposes an increase on the city and this is passed on to the residents. This year the increase will be 6.1 percent.
Another item considered in budget deliberations was a new public address system for city council meetings. The new system will include wireless microphones and a mounted digital projector.
The whole system has been budgeted at around $9,000. This will cover the cost of new microphones, labor and mounting the new projector.
“This will eliminate the mess of cords in front of the table during council meetings,” Timothy said.
Policing costs were also discussed. With many of the surrounding cities moving to using the Unified Police Department, Bluffdale has stayed with Saratoga Spring Police Department. According to Cpl. Kevin Turner, this action has actually saved the city’s residents money as well as kept response time to a minimum.
When all is said and done, the city’s revenue will exceed expenditures by about $29,000. These extra monies will be allocated to the general fund for possible unexpected expenditures.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in July 2011 in Riverton, Utah

 

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7305/Money-talk-in-Bluffdale-City:-Approving-the-2011/2012-budget/

Bluffdale Hometown Rodeo: roping cows and riding sheep

Bluffdale City will host its annual rodeo July 29 and 30 this year. The rodeo will be held at the city’s arena at 14300 South 2300 West.
The rodeo will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $6 per person with a special family rate at the gate (TBA)- Children 3 and under are free. Tickets may be purchased at the gate, online at bluffdale.com at the fire station at 14350 South 2200 West.
Although the participants in the rodeo belong to the Rocky Mountain Professional Rodeo Association, there will be a couple of opportunities for spectators, especially the kids, to join in.
Every year the city does a mutton bustin’ for the kids. Mutton bustin’ is an event in which a child rides on the back of a sheep and tries to stay on as long as he or she can. There will be a $10 participation fee for each child which needs to be paid in advance via the city’s website. There is a 50 pound weight limit for the children.
Only 20 children will be able to participate in the mutton bustin’ event, 10 on Friday and 10 on Saturday.
The other public events will be a money cow and a hide ride. The money cow is an event where money is attached to a cow and participants chase the cow around the arena trying to collect the cash.
The hide ride is a little more difficult. This event will require teams of two. One teammate will ride a horse that has a hide dragging behind it. The other teammate will then attempt to catch and ride this hide as long as he or she can.
There is no age limit for these events.
Main events will include saddle bronc riding, bull riding, tie down riding, bareback riding, break away roping, steer wrestling, team roping, and ladies’ barrel racing.
Throughout the evening, food will be available including cotton candy, snow cones, Sloppy Joes and hamburgers, provided by the city.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in July 2011 in Riverton, Utah

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7300/Bluffdale-Hometown-Rodeo:-roping-cows-and-riding-sheep-/

Young artists show their talent on the sidewalks

Twice a year at Elk Ridge Middle School the sidewalks become covered with chalk dust and art. Each spring and fall, the school holds a chalk art festival.
On May 16, 12 teams of two students were seen drawing on the frozen ground. Each art piece had to be an original piece of work from one of the students.
Each student had to submit an application along with a hand drawn and colored piece of artwork. Twenty-four were students chosen out of the dozens of applications the school received. Along with filling out the application to be considered for the event, the students also had to be in good standing academically and have a good citizenship score.
The students were put into teams and asked to recreate the drawings on the sidewalk in roughly a five-by-five-foot square.
Elk Ridge has been holding this festival for about seven years. Each year there is a different theme. Last year it was Monsters and this year it was Artist's Choice.
"This really has become a tradition for the school," Elisabeth Bolduc, an art teacher, said. Bolduc originally came up with the idea for the festival after attending a similar festival at the Gateway Plaza downtown.
"I just thought it would be really fun to get the students involved in something like this," she said.
The student teams were given most of the day to recreate their drawings in chalk. The chalk was provided to the school by Utrecht Art Supplies. The first, second and third place winners received a gift certificate from the store. First place received $25, second received $15, and third received $10 gift certificates.
"When [Bolduc)] bought the supplies, she explained about the students drawing all over the school premises and it sounded like a really fun event," David Costa, assistant manager at Utrecht, said.
Close to the end of the school day, the art pieces were judged. The rest of the student body was allowed to participate by casting their vote as to which piece they liked the best.
"They all did really well even though it was really, really cold," Bolduc said. Bolduc explained that each art piece was judged on originality and sharpness.
The first place winners were Megan Remund and Logan Bingham. The second place winners were Mikayla Dodge and Breanna Brady. And the third place winners were Jaynie Winegar and Sierra Nichols.
"When I first went out to see it, I couldn't believe what these students could do," Sandra Hash, head secretary at Elk Ridge, said.
Hash commented on the quality of the art and said it was like walking into an art gallery.
"It's always a tremendous success and very impressive to watch what these students can do," she said.

First Place (Team 4)

Second Place (Team 6)

Third Place (Team 12)
The first, second, and third place drawings for the Elk Ridge Middle
school art festival were replicated from original student art pieces
and drawn in chalk around the school on May 16.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in June 2011 in Riverton, Utah

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7073/-Young-artists-show-their-talent-on-the-sidewalks/

New author speaks at local school and announces art contests

Astrolaris may not be a real place to many people, but to Brenton Barwick and his family, it has become like a second home. Barwick is a local author from Herriman. He recently self published the book "Defenders of Destiny, the Discovery of Astrolaris."
Barwick shared his story with the students at Butterfield Canyon Elementary during the school's literacy night on May 19.
While the event was not completely about Barwick, he did take center stage. Barwick's presentation included maps and a large robot and obelisk which he made himself as they are depicted in the book. Barwick also brought some of the geodes that actually started the adventure book.
Barwick also shared a sneak preview of his second book with the students and their families. As part of Book Two, Barwick, is hosting an art competition. He has not yet set a title for his second book. He is encouraging students and anyone who wants to participate to create artwork based on characters from the first book.
The winning artwork will be published in Book Two of his six-part series on Astrolaris and the family who discovers it.
The contest is divided into two categories. The first is for students from kindergarten to 12th grade. The winners of this contest will have their artwork published within the book. There will be at least 27 winners in this contest.
The second category is for the cover art. Anyone who wishes may enter this contest. There will be two winners for this part of the contest, one winner for the front cover and one for the back. The final date of acceptance for artwork will be Oct. 31.
"While writing this adventure, I intentionally created a story that would appeal to readers of all ages, but with youth particularly in mind. I was tired of books and movies that specifically excluded one or both parents from the story. I am appalled by the vernacular and inappropriate content of some of the books that have been recently written for youth," Barwick said.
The idea for the book came from traveling with his family and telling stories to pass the time. It just occurred to him one day that he should start writing these stories down, he said.
"It has been a real boon to be able to do this," Barwick said.
Butterfield Canyon Elementary's literacy committee, which consisted of a teacher from each grade level, put together the event.
"It was really a joint effort from a lot of people to make this night come together right," Terri Schmidt, the school's literacy coach, said.
The rest of the evening highlighted books created by the students themselves. Each student had created his or her own book about something they were learning in the classroom. These books were displayed for everyone to see.
"It has been such an opportunity to have each student have their own little book that they've published," Schmidt said.
The whole idea for Barwick to present his book came from Principal Shelly Davis. Barwick had approached Davis with a revision of his book and asked her opinion on it.
Being afraid that she might have to tell a student's parent that his book was not very good, Davis cautiously read the revision. She said that she couldn't put the book down and was excited to have the students read it.
The school has a guest author' the literacy night every year. They always purchase the book first so the students are exposed to the work before speaking with the author. Davis invited Barwick to be the featured author this year.
"This whole night has been very animated," Davis said at the end of the evening.

Students at Butterfield Canyon Elementary created their own
books to display at the school's annual literacy night.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in June 2011 in Riverton, Utah

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7072/-New-author-speaks-at-local-school-and-announces-art-contests/

Riverton teacher dreams up district calculus competition

Jordan School District held its first "Calculus Bowl" on April 29. The bowl was put together for preparation for the AP test that took place on May 4.
"I thought of the idea for the competition with the idea that it would help the students prepare for the Advanced Placement exam in a fun and competitive way," Melissa Brown, a Riverton High math teacher, said.
Brown proposed the idea to calculus teachers at Copper Hills and West Jordan High Schools and they worked together to organize the event. Brown, Wendy Harmon and Kohnie Jensen were the three main teachers to coordinate the event.
Students were told about the competition early in the school year and used the competition as an incentive to study throughout the year. There were a total of 85 students who participated in the competition.
"We just want to recognize the hard work these students have put in throughout the school year," Brown said.
The competition consisted of several rounds including a multiple choice round, a jeopardy-style round, and a free response relay. Each school also created a math video which was judged as part of the competition.
Participating students came from Copper Hills, Herriman, Riverton and West Jordan High Schools. West Jordan High won the competition and the "calculator trophy" and was given the title District Calculus Champs.

Local teams duked it out in the first district calculus bowl.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in June 2011 in Riverton, Utah

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7070/-Riverton-teaches-dreams-up-district-calculus-competition/

Students, teachers and parents all affected by new habits learned at Eastlake Elementary

As people entered Eastlake Elementary on April 29, they were greeted with the sound of applause. Then a smiling student led them to a sign in table where they got a name tag and were escorted to a seat in the auditorium.
As part of the "Leader in Me" leadership day, each student leader had an important role in helping those in attendance. Principal Jan Tanner has been working with her staff and students since the beginning of the school year on a leadership program.
The program is based on the Sean Covey book "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids."
In 1999, A.B. Combs Elementary School in Raleigh, NC, decided to apply the lessons of Stephen R. Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" to its curriculum. In just over one year, the average year end grades for students went from 84 to 94 percent and discipline problems dropped significantly.
This is the first year Eastlake has participated in this program. Tanner learned of the program at a principals' conference last year. She shared it with teachers at the first faculty meeting of the school year. Each teacher was given a book for the classroom and instructed to work it into the curriculum.
"It's awesome to have a common language among the students and faculty," Tanner said. She explained that by learning the habits and sending home letters to help reinforce things at home, the students soon became familiar with the language set up in the book.
Each habit was infused into the teacher's lesson plans. From "being proactive" to "sharpening the saw," the students became highly involved with the book and its lessons.
The leadership day started with a small assembly for those invited. Tanner invited all the principals from the area as well as teachers and other leaders from the community to attend. The assembly started with a few musical numbers by the orchestra and led into speeches given by class representatives.
These speeches were presented by a student from fourth, fifth and sixth graders from each class. Each student picked his or her favorite habit and gave a short speech explaining what it meant to them and how he/she used it in his or her daily activities.
The attendees were then escorted to different classrooms where they were able to watch the habits being taught.
Alisa Belliston, the BYU facilitator at Riverton Elementary, came with seven other teachers from her school to learn more about the program.
"We want to get them excited about it because we plan on implementing this program in our school next year," Belliston said.
The seven habits are: being proactive, beginning with the end in mind, putting first things first, thinking win-win, seeking first to understand and then to be understood, synergizing, and sharpening the saw. Each habit was the focus of a six-week study course.
"Every single child is taught to be a leader," Tanner said. "This can be in all different areas like kindness, politeness, music, math and science."
The Leader in Me program is set up to empower kids to be in charge of themselves. "It's meant to be infused in who we are," Tanner said.

Miss Timothy reads to her 1st grade class while incorporating
the language used in "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids" book.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in June 2011 in Riverton, Utah

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7069/-Students,-teachers-and-parents-all-affected-by-new-habits-learned-at-Eastlake-Elementary/

War vet honored for more than 30 years of patronage

Jack Young, a Korean War veteran, has been a member at Mountain America Credit Union for over 30 years. Young is also a Korean War veteran. The credit union's Riverton branch honored Young on April 29 for his patronage at the credit union. Janice Young, Jack's wife, was also pleased with the recognition.
"This is fabulous, I didn't have a clue at to what this was all about," Young said of the recognition. It was a surprise to only him as his family had been called about the recognition and most of them were in attendance.
Young retired from the military in 1989 and has been active in the community his whole life. His military service has been an example to the rest of his family. Young has several children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who are also serving in various factions of the military.
Young was granted a key to the city of Riverton as well as given a commemorative Korean War coin by the bank as part of his recognition. The key was presented by Maria Cosby, the mayor's executive assistant. Young was given this honor due to his dedication to the city and his service in the Korean War.
Pennie Rich, the Riverton branch manager, is starting this membership appreciation as a new tradition at the branch. Young is the first of these recipients. Rich is trying to do appreciation events at least once a quarter.
"He is a very dedicated member and always supporting us with everything," Rich said. Rich admires Young for what he has accomplished in his life and feels that this recognition is very appropriate for him to receive.
Tiffany Norton, a financial service representative, recommended Young as the first recipient.
"He came in with that hat that said he was a war vet and we just got to talking," Norton said.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in June 2011 in Riverton, Utah

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7057/War-vet-honored-for--more-than-30-years-of-patronage/

Prizes and fun for everyone at this year's Bluffdale demolition derby

For the past nine years, Bluffdale residents have been gearing up their engines, literally, for the annual demolition derby. This year the derby will be held on Saturday, June 11 at the Bluffdale City Park located at 14400 South 2200 West.
The Bluffdale Lion's Club sponsors the event each year. This year, there will be approximately 20 members helping with the event. They have also commissioned Stirrin Dirt Racing to officiate the races.
"The race has always been a big draw," Rick Crane, a Lion's Club member, said.
Crane said that there are usually around 2,500 people who show up for the event. The event starts at 7 p.m. and is expected to run a couple of hours.
But there's more to do then just watch the cars crash into each other.
There will also be prizes and entertainment for the spectators, along with concessions provided during the course of the evening.
Tickets can be purchased online for $10. There will be tickets available at the gate for $12. Children 3 or younger will have free admission. These tickets can be found online at either bluffdale.com or bluffdalelions.org.
All proceeds of the evening go to help the Lion's Club. The club uses these monies to fund the many community events they host during the year.
There will be about 24 cars participating in the races this year. These cars will be divided into what are known as heats. Each heat will host about eight cars racing against each other. There will be a total of five heats during the evening. The first three of these heats will be the main part of the races.
Another of the heats will be what is called a "grudge match." This heat will consist of drivers who didn't win during the first three heats and have been able to get their cars going again. The final heat will involve the winners from the previous heats.
Three winners, first second and third, will receive prize money from the prize pool of $5,000. There will also be prizes given out for the winners of each heat as well as a prize for the best looking car. These prizes will be determined by the judges from Stirrin Dirt Racing.
"We're hoping for a really great show," Jim "Gumby" Simko, Stirrin Dirt's promoter, said.
There will be games for the crowd to enjoy all evening, including games for the kids. Last year these games included a frozen t-shirt competition and a hunt for quarters in sawdust for the little kids. A raffle will be held at the beginning of the race for a car that will be driven in the race. These tickets will cost $5 each.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in June 2011 in Riverton, Utah

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7044/Prizes-and-fun-for-everyone-at-this-year's-Bluffdale-demolition-derby-/

Forget Will and Kate -- there's new royalty in town

Stars and stripes decorated the stage for the setting of the Miss Bluffdale Scholarship Pageant May 13. There were nine participants this year. And with platforms ranging from community service to cancer, each girl worked hard to earn the title of Miss Bluffdale.
Kari Bowman was crowned Miss Bluffdale, first attendant is Lindsey Childers, second attendant is Jenica Henderson, and third attendant is Ashley Wilcox. Patrice Spencer, the program's director, raved about each of the girls. "It proved to be an exciting night," Spencer said.
The evening started with former Miss Bluffdale 2006 Tennile Spencer singing the national anthem. . The rest of the evening was highlighted with dance, song, and even a little bit of horses.
Lindsey Childers, crowned first attendant, showed off her talent in a different way. She compiled a slide show of her equestrian skills and wowed the audience with the story of her horses.
Ultimately Kari Bowman was crowned Miss Bluffdale 2011. This was exciting as her sister, Jeni Bowman, Miss Bluffdale 2010, got to give her the crown. This is the second time this has happened in her family. The Bowmans have had five sisters win the honors over the years.
"She's paved an awesome road for me," Kari said of her sister Jeni.
Kari's platform is having a bully-free education. She chose this platform because she has seen a huge need due to news stories that she has heard. Kari is actually majoring in elementary education at UVU and feels this is a great thing to tie together her education.
"I'm just really excited and it's a fun tradition to have in the family," Kari said.
Kari hopes to work with her attendants on everyone's platforms. "They all fit together and it would be incredible to be able to work on all of them," she said.
The pageant was held at South Hills Middle School. There were many in attendance including Mayor Derk Timothy and city council members.
There were several awards received that night. Miss Congeniality went to Shailee Wagner. Miss Photogenic went to Heather Howell. The Director's Award went to Ashley Wilcox
Each of the attendants and the new Miss Bluffdale received prize money to go toward her education. Miss Bluffdale received $1,500, the first attendant received $750, the second $500, and the third $100. There was also a new award given this year. The Community Service Award and it went to Destinee Shook.
Destinee received the award because of her hard work in the community. Her platform was to help school kids learn to read better. Spencer felt she deserved the award because of her dedication to helping these kids.
"She had a hard time learning to read when she was younger, so she moved this trial in her life around into an effort to help others," Spencer said.

This is the second time a Bowman got to crown her sister as Miss Bluffdale.
Kari Bowman, Miss Bluffdale 2011, with her sister Jeni Bowman,
(right) Miss Bluffdale 2010, is very excited about her win.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in June 2011 in Riverton, Utah

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/7001/Forget-Will-and-Kate----there's-new-royalty-in-town-/

Riverton High Auto Shop

Aaron Kunz and Jerren Staker of Riverton High School were recently named state champions in the AAA Student Auto Skills series. Aaron and Jerren were chose to represent Utah in the national competition held June 14 in Dearborn, Mich. At the national finals, each team had two tests. One was a 100-question written exam. The other was a timed event where each team had to identify and repair deliberately installed “bugs” in identical 2011 Ford F-150 XLT trucks. These bugs ranged from a no start situation to a broken horn and hood latch. While the Utah team did well in Michigan and placed in the top half of competitors, they did not win the competition.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in July 2011 in Riverton, Utah

Kids can hunt Easter eggs all over the South Valley



Bluffdale

The Bluffdale City Easter egg hunt, sponsored by the Lions Club
 will be held on Saturday, April 23 at 16700 South Camp Williams
 Road. The hunt will begin promptly at 10 a.m.
Children ages 3 to 14 are invited to participate in the hunting.
The hunt is a free event to the residents of Bluffdale.
There will be candy and prizes for everyone and every
child will be able to leave with something.



By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in April 2011 in Riverton, Utah

Bluffdale City has purchased a new ambulance to replace the one that is currently being used by the city. "Bluffdale City is proud to have a new ambulance to serve the citizens," Mayor Derk Timothy said. The ambulance is being purchased on what is called a lease purchase. This will allow the city to finance the ambulance over the next few years. "Everyone here is excited to be able to drive the new ambulance," Fire Chief John Roberts said. Financing will be done through Zions Bank and the city can pay the loan off early. This may be an option as there has already been $25,000 paid toward the $159,000 loan. This money came from a portion of the budget for the year. The ambulance has been decaled and is now in use at the Bluffdale City Firehouse. The firehouse will let the new ambulance take the first few calls to make sure it is ready but still keep the old one available in case it is needed.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in May 2011 in Riverton, Utah

Bluffdale officials foresee Porter Rockwell project as a good balance for traffic flow

In the entire Salt Lake Valley there is no single road that directly connects the east benches to the west benches. The state has north to south transit, but nothing to carry travelers from the east side of the valley to the west side in a straight shot.
Bluffdale officials hope that completion of the proposed Porter Rockwell Blvd. will help solve this problem.
The boulevard will be constructed starting at Redwood Road and about 16000 South to the north end, connecting at 14600 South and I-15. The road will skirt the currently developed area of Bluffdale. Since the growth of the Herriman area, Bluffdale has suffered from heavy traffic flow to Interstate 15. City officials hope to have the road eventually provide a connection from the Mountain View Corridor to I-15.
Part of this plan includes taking a piece of land that Bluffdale purchased inside of Herriman and moving the road a little further south. This section of road was transferred to UDOT to facilitate this alignment. This will hopefully cut costs of building the road over the Jordan River drastically. It is estimated that the road will cost close to $100 million to build. But by moving the road a little further south, the city will be able to cut the cost on the bridge over the river. It is estimated that by doing this, the cost would be reduced about $20 to $30 million.
The city will also have to face crossing several other obstacles. These include large power lines and the Kern River gas line.
"This will be a road that is very needed for the whole southern area," Mayor Dirk Timothy said. "It will take pressure off of the main city roads that is greatly needed."
"We only have small, rural roads running from east to west with really no way to turn them into a big transportation corridor," Mark Reid, Bluffdale city manager, said.
Reid says that by building Porter Rockwell Blvd. where traffic will be going through will help prevent the small rural section from being taken over by all the traffic generated from the Herriman area.
Also included in the plan for Porter Rockwell Boulevard is to connect to the Mountain View Corridor as it is constructed. Porter Rockwell Boulevard will eventually become the southernmost part of the corridor. However, Bluffdale officials have bigger plans in mind for the project.
Another part of the plans for the Porter Rockwell project is to connect the road with the FrontRunner line. Bluffdale also has plans to put in a FrontRunner station on the road Bluffdale City funded a comprehensive transportation study to determine the city's future transportation needs. This study showed that the road will reduce mid-city traffic. It also indicated that if a FrontRunner station is built in the area, the most likely place would be in Bluffdale.
The high cost of the road, although great, is seen as a needed expense by the city officials. With the help of monies from grants from the Federal Highway Administration and the Economic Development Administration, the project will become more affordable to the city.
"We have done everything we can to get the funding needed through Wasatch Front Regional Council," Mayor DerkTimothy said.
Additional funding for the project will come from impact and connection fees as well as some bonds.
Although the timeline of the project will be determined based on the rate of growth for Bluffdale, the Porter Rockwell Boulevard will skirt the current southern edge of Bluffdale to complete the connection of the Mountain View Corridor with I-15. The anticipated result is easier traffic flow for Herriman locals and less traffic flow through Bluffdale City.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in June 2011 in Riverton, Utah

Inauguration of new India Culture Center will provide a new way to share diversity in Utah

                In an evening involving food and dancing, the India Cultural Center in South Jordan at

1142 West South Jordan Parkway

, was inaugurated by Governor Gary Herbert on April 1.

                “There was a great deal of anticipation for this inauguration and support for the ICC building amongst the greater community,” said Venkatesh Subramanyan, President of the India Cultural Center.

This interest has been attributed to the efforts of the Lifetime Trustees and ICC board in involving the participation of the entire community.

                Preparations and construction have been ongoing since 1999. The purpose of completing the center is to promote and preserve the educational and socio-cultural traditions of people of Asian Indian ethnic heritage and to organize and develop arts, charitable, social, cultural and educational activities of interest.

                Dr. Dinesh Patel, a lifetime trustee and benefactor of the ICC, and Subramanyan gave the governor a tour of the temple and the new center before Governor Herbert cut the ribbon on the Dinesh and Kalpana Patel Auditorium. After cutting the ribbon, the governor spoke briefly to the audience about the importance of diversity in Utah.

                “We have a great opportunity to experience many cultures in Utah and it makes us, as a community, stronger,” Governor Herbert said.

Governor Herbert said there are more than 5,000 Indian people living in Utah or at least have ethnic ties to the country. “The culture is known for their hard working ethic and it’s a great thing to have that here in Utah,” Herbert said.

                Governor Herbert also stressed that the center is completely debt free. All efforts and funds that were given to make the center were through donations and volunteering. Every donator and volunteer has been given recognition on the center’s website at http://sghtu.org/ICC.

Over the past 10 years, the all-volunteer fundraising team has raised over $1.8 million with broad based support from various corporations and foundations and from the community.

“We are very grateful to all the donors and volunteers for helping us realize our dream of building this wonderful facility,” Dr. Patel said.

Project Avalanche was added in February 2010 as a fund-raising campaign to help raise the final monies that were needed for the completion of the center. Various fund raising projects were held by different community organizations and volunteers; these included concerts and festivals. The goal of Project Avalanche was to raise $300,000 to finish the center, however, the project managed to raise over $450,000.

                To close the evening the announcement was made that Zion’s Bank is planning to give the cultural center $30,000 every year.

                “We knew that this was a great undertaking but that we would be provided for,” Patel said in response to the gift.

In addition to providing the community with a gathering place for important social gatherings and functions, it is expected to be a performance space in the South Wasatch front area. The center will host a number of events that showcase the heritage of India and South Asia.

The India Culture Center was built next to the Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple.

The center will be the new venue of choice for music recitals, dance performances,

art, craft and photography exhibitions, plays and lectures.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in Riverton, Utah

Biology teacher of the year



Kathi Byerline-Thayer received the honor of being named Utah’s biology teacher of the year. Byerline-Thayer, an eighth grade science teacher at Oquirrh Hills Middle school is also a breast cancer survivor.

“I’m not much for being the center of attention,” Byerline-Thayer said of the award.

She is, however pleased to accept it.

The award was presented by Barbara Gentry, Jordan School District Science Teacher Specialist. The award was given at a banquet held at the Thanksgiving Point Gardens on February 11.

The Utah Science Teachers Association threw the banquet. The banquet honored those who had been named as teachers of the year for the science program.