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Show Page 12 The Ogden Valley news Volume XXV Issue XIV August 15, 2019 On Pitch Performing Arts (OPPA!) Layton’s only Live Theatre Opens Disney’s Newsies! Disney’s Broadway blockbuster Newsies is set to “Seize the Day” this summer at the Kenley Amphitheatre! On Pitch Performing Arts is partnering with Layton City and the Davis Arts Council to bring this full-scale masterpiece to the Kenley Amphitheatre August 14 thru August 20. Brandon Stauffer is set to direct this largescale production, having previously directed several successful musicals at OPPA! including Aida, Tarzan, and Nunsense. Joining him on the production team are performance veterans Erin Roring as music director, Rachel Helwig as choreographer, and Amanda Larsen as costume designer. Stauffer says, “I am so excited to be partnering with Layton City and the Davis Arts Council to bring the large spectacle musical back to the Kenley Amphitheatre. Newsies is sure to be a huge family event that should not be missed.” Inspired by actual events and people, Newsies is set in New York City in 1899. A time when orphans roamed the streets fending for themselves, many orphans became “newsies” or newspaper boys in order to survive. When Joseph Pulitzer’s paper New York World raises prices for the newsies in order to increase his own profits, charismatic leader Jack Kelly (inspired by actual newsie Kid Blink) organizes a strike! Their demand is simple: Return the newspapers to their original price or the newsies won’t sell them. The story spreads quickly, thanks to ambitious reporter Katherine Plumber (inspired by real life reporter Nellie Bly) who sells her first front page article to every other paper in town. What started as a simple business maneuver quickly escalates into a citywide spectacle as the newsies take on one of the biggest business tycoons of their day. Performances are August 14 -20 at the Kenley Amphitheatre in Layton. The curtain rises at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are available at <www.onpitchperformingarts.com> Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat for Newsies pictures and updates. OPPA! exists to educate, entertain, and inspire children, adults and audiences with theatrical productions that range from musicals, plays, and new works; train and support the next generation of theatre artists; provide arts education programs that promote life-long learning; and celebrate the power of theatre to bring the community together. For additional information, please contact Brandon at Brandon@onpitchperformingarts. com or call 385-209-1557. The Edward A. Kenley Centennial Amphitheater is located at 403 N. Wasatch Dr. in Layton. Sheriff’s Office Recognizes First Successful Graduate of 24/7 Sobriety Program On July 31, 2019, Randon C. Sheriff’s Office implemented a new pilot proParker was the first participant to successfully complete Weber County’s one-year long 24/7 Sobriety Program with zero violations. We would like to congratulate Mr. Parker for this outstanding achievement and wish him well with his continued sobriety. Mr. Parker was Weber County’s first enrollee into the 24/7 program on July 30, 2018. The program has since grown to its current number of 31 participants. On July 1, 2018, The Weber County gram aimed at reducing repeat DUI offenses. This program is known as the 24/7 Sobriety Program. Since initial development in South Dakota in 2005, several other states have participated with great success. The pilot program is currently directed towards individuals who have been charged with a second offense DUI. The program requires all participants to submit to alcohol testing twice a day, for 365 days at the Weber County Correctional Facility during designated testing windows. Any participants who have consumed alcohol, or otherwise violated program rules, are subject to immediate incarceration from eight to forty-eight hours. In addition to the benefits of sobriety, qualified program participants have their driving privilege reinstated upon acceptance into the program—in lieu of the two-year license suspension as standard DUI sentencing requires. Participants who receive four violations are unsuccessful with the program and are subject to a driver license suspension of up to ten years. Pictured above, center, is Randon C. Parker Weber County’s 24/7 Sobriety Program is possible being honored as the first participant to suc- with the collaborative effort of the Weber County cessfully complete Weber County’s one-year- Sheriff’s Office, Utah Highway Patrol, Driver long 24/7 Sobriety Program, which was insti- License Division, Department of Public Safety, and tuted July 30, 2018. all Justice Courts within Weber County. OPEN SPACE cont. from page 1 in the work they do, have hypothesized then instituted large-scale projects, and written about their findings on restoring the earth in “desert-fied” areas—the result of multiple impacts: clearcutting of trees, overgrazing, building of large dams, the popularization of oft-damaging xeriscaping and drip irrigation systems, channelization and piping of natural waterways, “water wise” sprinkle irrigation versus flood irrigation, and the mass paving of cityscapes that create “hot spots” that actually generate thermal lift with the potential and power to drive away water-laden clouds. The old water paradigm is based on a destructive “water conservation” mentality; wringing every drop of water possible out of the earth and the clouds, with no, or few means left of allowing it to percolate and saturate back down into the earth and its lush vegetation where it can slowly be released—cooling both the earth and ambient air. Why is this problematic? Water engineer Michal Kravcik, who has been gathering data for decades, found that rainwater run-off from impervious surfaces—parched hardened earth that repels water, much like cement; and rooftops, roadways, and other paved surfaces—and deforestation are responsible, at least in part, for the rise of sea levels and global warming. He states that this could change if every person on Earth could store 25,000 gallons of rainwater in the ground! Consider his findings: Worldwide, the annual loss of 50,000 square miles of forest, and the soil sealing of 20,000 square miles per year have reduced the standing and slow-released water that is able to circulate in small rainwater cycles by 8,900 cubic miles—or three times the water volume of Lake Superior! In an online article (www.huffpost.com/entry/ water-climate-change_b_8689890) titled “Water: The missing link for solving climate change,” we read, “Rainwater and humidity are vital parts in the cooling system of the atmosphere. During evaporation, a gallon of water spends 2.5 kilowatt hours of solar energy. The loss of significant amounts of water and the desiccation (removal of water) of soil and of air therefore produce potential heat, which amounts to the gigantic figure of 25 million-terawatt hours. This is 1,600 times more heat produced annually than all of the planet’s powerhouses combined. This calculation provides us with a well-founded alternative explanation for global warming.” The article adds, “The Spanish meteorologist Prof. Millan Millan comes to a similar conclusion. After 30 years of research, he clearly sees that deforestation, intensive agriculture, and impermeable surfaces near the coasts transform rain patterns on a large scale, impacting global warming and sea level rise.” Rajasthan, India’s Rajendra Singh—known as the “Water Gandhi”—began greening parts of India’s Thar Desert 30 years ago. Today, he has successfully revitalized 3,300 square miles of extremely dry desert. He did this by mobilizing village communities, which built thousands of water retention spaces to catch the minimal average 7 inches of annual rainfall that often comes in sudden bursts. This water, traditionally, has been unable to be absorbed into the parched earth. However, with the creation of “johads,” traditional community wetlands built specifically to retain water. This valuable asset (water) is then captured where it then can slowly soak back into the ground, bringing the earth back to life. His project, thus far, has revitalized 1,200 villages that now have sufficient water and subsequent food supply. “Five rivers (today, seven rivers) that had been completely dried out were brought back to life, and are constantly flowing the entire year…. Singh’s initiative confirms the observations of Kravick. After restoring the hydrological balance in such a vast area, the weather patterns changed fundamentally. The rains returned and increased. Nowadays they are as spread and balanced as they were long ago. Honoring his trailblazing efforts, Rajendra Singh was awarded the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize, also known as the Nobel Prize for Water.’” The article concludes, “After all the destruction we have done to the Earth, we need to interact with her in a healing way to ensure that she can again absorb the rains that come. Every property, every region, every country must transform into what it has naturally once been—a Water Retention Landscape. This is how the aquifers can fill themselves and how springs can supply nature, animals and people with enough highquality water all year long. Thus, there will be neither floods nor desertification, neither climate catastrophe nor hunger, but biodiversity, stable ecosystems, and an abundance of water, food and energy. Would the massive El Nino rains ... fall into … retention spaces, a natural paradise could start to blossom….” Protected open space, which Ogden Valley Land Trust works diligently to conserve, is critical for the retention of water. It protects natural green open spaces, watersheds, river corridors, and natural riparian areas that filter sediment and other pollutants before they head into the aquifer or flow downstream into open water bodies. Riparian areas and naturally vegetated areas dissipate rainfall and stabilize stream channels, slowing down rivers during high precipitation events, minimizing destructive erosion and sediment movement. There is a direct correlation between overall watershed health and riparian health. These wetland areas serve as repositories for sediments and nutrient sinks for the surrounding watershed and improve the quality of water that eventually moves on—whether through underground aquifers or as surface water—leaving the watershed healthier. Riparian areas also provide temperature control through supporting trees, shrubs, grasses, and biodiverse plants and wildlife, providing shade, reducing flood peaks through providing resistance to flow, and serving as key recharge points for renewing healthy water supplies that also help cool the earth—above and below. Open space also helps minimize impervious areas by reducing the number of rooftops, paved and cemented surfaces, and xeriscape landscaping that isn’t conducive to water absorption and retention. Landscaping with rocks as ground cover and weed barrier also reduces the ability of water to seep into the soil and into greenery where it can be slowly released, helping to cool surrounding temperatures before and during release. Green landscapes also help mitigate the heating impact of direct sunlight; instead of reflecting the heat immediately back into the atmosphere, or retaining it and releasing it where it radiates heat for hours after the sun finally sets, shady green areas cool quickly moderating and dissipating excessive heat. Today, as we continually alter and diminish the natural environment’s ability to recharge its surface waterways and wetlands and underground aquifers through artificially redirecting and channeling and drying up the earth’s natural areas, we dramatically compromise the health of the natural environment and the health of those who inhabit it. With continued patterns of development and water restrictions that punish versus incentivize property owners to landscape in a manner that captures and retains water (in both agriculture areas and single and multi-family neighborhoods), we can expect—according to a 2008 study by the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization, composed of a coalition of 17 local governments and numerous businesses and nonprofits, and the National Resources Defense Council—lower levels of snowpack, less snowfall, earlier snow melt, more winter rain events, increased peak winter flows and, thus, reduced summer flows. If the trend continues, which it has since the completion of the 2008 study, the West (and regions across the globe) can expect to see more intense and longer droughts resulting in diminishing reserves of water, less—or even no snow—in areas that typically receive measureable amounts, destructive and ruinous wildfires, livestock and other agricultural losses, oceanic, lake, and reservoir dead zones where waters receive too little oxygen to support life, increased incidents of algae blooms precipitated by rising temperatures in waterbodies, loss of wildlife habitat, deadly heat waves, and increasingly severe water restrictions and rationing, even as traditional building permits continue to be approved from governmental agencies where, as a result, water companies keep tightening restrictions on water use—further drying out the earth in a vicious cycle. |