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Show A-12 The Park Record Wed/Thurs/Fri, December 19-21, 2018 ‘Hope Squads’ graduate, look to help out on campus Core Samples Suicide prevention groups already present locally It wasn’t like hardcover novels, paperback books, signed CDs, DVDs, and ticket stubs formed a pyramid on the dining room table as testimony to 2018’s influence on my personal growth, or anything. But what did survive the dippings of my big toe into various cultural waters this past year certainly cleared the qualitative bar. In fact, notwithstanding the looming darkness at the edge of town, ‘twas the light within the arts once again that kept me psychologically afloat. Not that the current environmental funk that has swept our land the past couple of years never came calling. Often, its pompous smirk kept my feet rooted in place. But just as often, I found myself enveloped in the light of promise and off I’d ride in a trail of dust. These will be random pickings in that there no longer is an order to things, chronologically and otherwise, around these parts. Let’s just make believe it all came down at once. Also, there is little pretension to one thing being better than another. It’s mostly just about what stuck to my ribs. For whatever reasons, and I’m sure there are many, the feminine mystique among indigenous poets continues to rock me no end. Linda Hogan’s “The Book of Medicines” probably got me strung out in the first place but Louise Erdrich, Joy Harjo and a band of others were continually pulled off the shelf. Luis Alberto Urrea has owned the literature decade up here in this particular Heber Valley foothill space when it comes to keeping up with a particular writer’s output. His “House of Broken Angels” continues his singular touch of magical realism and, in style and DNA, is a total delight. The family of Segundo, whom we first met in “The Humming- BRALEY DODSON Daily Herald PROVO — Hope4Utah’s idea that it takes a village to raise a child — and to save one — may expand to college and university campuses. Hope4Utah’s Hope Squad programs, which trains students to recognize the warning signs of depressed or suicidal peers and report the signs to an adult, are being piloted at Dixie State University and at colleges in Indiana and Nebraska. It’s the next step for the Provo-based organization, which has Hope Squads in half of Utah’s secondary schools and 20 percent of the state’s elementary schools. “We never thought we’d be out of Provo,” said Greg Hudnall, the founder and executive director of Hope4Utah. The organization, which now has Hope Squads in 300 Utah schools, expanded beyond Provo within the last five years. Hope Squads are also in 14 states outside of Utah, are in Canada, and there’s talks to bring Hope Squads to Australia, Northern Ireland and Brazil. It all started after Hudnall, the former associate superintendent of the Provo City School District, had five of his students die by suicide while he was a principal in Provo. Then, in 1997, he was asked by police to identify the body of a 14-year-old student who had died by suicide in a park. Afterward, Hudnall threw up by his car and sobbed. “I remember sitting in my car and being so angry because this was such an amazing young man,” Hudnall said. Hudnall vowed to do everything he could to prevent suicides. Years later, his organization has trained about 50,000 adults on suicide prevention and awareness and Hope Squads have identified more than 2,500 children in need of help. The group conducted a faithbased training at Brigham Young University the Sunday after a student died by suicide on campus last week. He said nearly every Sunday, the organization conducts training meetings at churches about the warning signs of suicide, risk factors and how to intervene. The aim is that when a student approaches a peer about suicide ideation that the peer can tell an adult, and the student can then get professional help. “The power is in the kids talking to each other and providing that support,” Hudnall said. Hudnall has had his eye on expanding Hope Squads to colleges for the past three years. But college campuses pose unique challenges for the Hope Squad model. Colleges and universities can easily be 10 times larger than a high school and present a different dynamic. Some students are only on campus for an hour a day, or only have classes in a single building, presenting the question of how to assure every student can be reached. “Do I think it’s possible? Yeah, I really do think it’s possible, it’s just trying to figure out that model,” Hudnall said. It’s the first full year for the college pilot programs. The plan is to spend the next couple of years with researchers to decide on the curriculum and model for college Hope Squads. Former Hope Squad members have gone on to college and asked if they can start one on their campus. Hudnall said he’d like to see Hope Squads have representation in every department at a university. The college Hope Squad curriculum so far is similar to what is presented in precollegiate schools. The suicide prevention component is the same, but there is language and topics tailored to the age group, such as date rape, eating disorders and understanding grief. In addition to a potential expansion to college campuses, there are also plans to get Hope Squads into a first responder organization, doTerra in Pleasant Grove and on an Air Force base. Helicopter company uses new tech to aid in searches Clothing fitted with RECCO can enable precision TRISTAN SCOTT Flathead Beacon KALISPELL, Mont. – The crew with Two Bear Air search and rescue has added a rarefied new tool to its quiver of cutting-edge technology that will aid in the hundreds of helicopter rescue missions it performs each year. The critical helicopter searchand-rescue system is called the RECCO SAR detector, and its recent deployment here marks the device’s debut in the western hemisphere. RECCO SAR is based on the same technology as the company’s global avalanche rescue system, which is well known within skiing and snowboarding circles. Made for use in ski resorts and the backcountry, RECCO’s avalanche rescue system has a simple, two-part design. RECCO-equipped clothing and gear includes integrated reflectors, so in the event a skier or snowboarder becomes trapped in avalanche debris or a tree well, rescue personnel use a handheld detector to send out a directional radar signal. However, RECCO has been working on a more versatile, year-round system designed to make helicopter-based search and rescue, like the type of missions Two Bear performs, faster and more efficient. RECCO’s helicopter-carried detector hangs on a long line beneath the helicopter to provide a wider search signal compared to RECCO’s handheld detector, used primarily for avalanche and crevasse rescue. With the SAR detector, a greater range can quickly scan 656-feet-wide swaths of mountain, forest and water for missing persons. RECCO says that the technology can search an area of a half-square mile in three to four minutes when flying at speeds of 70 mph. Assuming the victim is wearing a piece of RECCO-equipped clothing, a technology increasingly common in outdoor wear like ski jackets, packs and helmets, he or she can be located more quickly and easily with this system than with traditional search and rescue methods. According to Jim Pierce, Two Bear’s chief helicopter pilot, while no single piece of searchand-rescue equipment is an endall item, “we always want to have every tool available to help us save a life.” Last year, when a wellknown local physician, Dr. Jon Torgerson, went missing in the backcountry area near Big Mountain, search-and-rescue teams believed he was wearing a RECCO-equipped garment. After Torgerson’s body was recovered nearly three months after his disappearance, that belief turned out to be false. Still, Pierce said education and awareness about RECCO-equipped gear and garments is critical for search-and-rescue personnel as they determine the best tools to use during a mission. “Please take a moment and see if you, your friends or your loved ones have (RECCO technology) in any of their items,” he said. “It could be the difference that saves their life.” Pierce said the Swedish-based RECCO contacted Two Bear about testing the equipment, the first time it’s been deployed in North or South America. Initially skeptical about the technology, Pierce said the testing has been flawlessly executed. “We’ve been testing it for three days and it works,” Pierce said. “I’m excited about this technology. It’s not a substitution for other safety devices like avalanche beacons, but it is another tool that can help.” Aided by Recco Advanced Rescue Technology representative Howie Howlett, Two Bear crews have been deploying the 170-pound RECCO SAR device in a variety of scenarios in nearby backcountry areas, all of which have proven effective. In the coming weeks as the snowpack builds, Two Bear will test the device in burial scenarios. “They have had great success in Europe with victims 30 feet down in crevasses covered in snow,” Pierce said. The technology comes at a critical time when Two Bear’s search and rescue responses are rising steadily in the region _ so far in 2018 there have been 149 calls for service _ and the efficiency of its technology helps Two Bear keep pace as one of the best outfits in the country. That’s due in large part to the addition of its Bell 429 helicopter five years ago, a philanthropic contribution to the community by Mike Goguen, who supports all costs of the operation, with zero cost to taxpayers. It’s not uncommon for Two Bear to fly 200-plus nautical miles to get to a rescue, at an altitude that ranges from 2,000 feet MSL (mean sea level) up to 13,000 feet, with a coverage area of approximately 60,000 square miles. Two Bear Air works in close partnership with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and Kalispell Regional Medical Center’s ALERT helicopter, adding to the rich history of rural aviation support across the rugged and vast landscape near Glacier National Park. For more information, visit www. TwoBearAir.org. By Jay Meehan A cultural light in the dark bird’s Daughter,” gets a well deserved fleshing out this goaround, and just when you think it’s safe to casually re-enter Urrea waters, he sets the hook as only he can. John le Carré hasn’t lost any distinction hereabouts. I still do backflips when even the faintest rumor of something new comes knocking. Fortunately, however, in his somewhat recent “A Trail of Spies,” I possessed the 50year backlog of MI-6 contortions necessary to negotiate his amazing maze. The Russians long ago hacked my taste buds so everything from Shostakovich to Dostoevsky reappeared at one time or another.” From the music shelf, I’d have to cop to binging on everything from young jazz pianist Joey Alexander’s Thelonious Monk tribute to a wide swath of box-sets from Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. John Prine’s reemergence, of course, shivered me timbers as did the Dave Alvin and Jimmy Dale Gilmore collaboration. Catching Dylan on back-toback nights at Salt Lake’s Eccles Theater with the wonderful Mavis Staples opening satisfied that particular “jones.” And when coupled later on with that most outstanding Tedeschi-Trucks band at the same venue, well, let’s just say there were blessings aplenty upon the local live music community. Have to mention Park City Institute’s miraculously programmed frolics in City Park this past summer. Catching Grace Potter and Bruce Hornsby were two shows that once again turned my crank and finally seeing “The Wallflowers” in person was truly a gas. As was making it back to Boise for the Famous Motel Cowboy Reunion. Living alone gives me the freedom to be as retro as I wish without getting slammed too much by my peers. The Russians long ago hacked my taste buds so everything from Shostakovich to Dostoevsky reappeared at one time or another. Similar old-school fare abounds in my cinematic binging. Black and white offerings, especially film noir, might as well be on a loop. Adaptations of Dashell Hammett, James Cain, and Raymond Chandler may lead the pack, but as I’ve discovered over time, there are plenty of hardboiled auteurs bursting through doors with a gun and a dame. From Bogart and Bacall to William Powell and Myrna Loy to Fred McMurray and Barbra Stanwyck, my cup runneth over. Not that the film adaptations equal the published work on a regular basis, but enough to satisfy this old film fogey. Two documentaries that I streamed almost ad nauseum were the Jonathan Gold piece “City of Gold” and “Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold.” If I could configure a loop for them, I might never have to watch anything else. A big thank you to the arts for keeping me somewhat sane in 2018. Jay Meehan is a culture junkie and has been an observer, participant, and chronicler of the Park City and Wasatch County social and political scenes for more than 40 years. Biden stays mum at U. talk Former VP hit Utah, skipped slopes last week LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY — Former Vice President Joe Biden initially refused to run with then-presidential candidate Barack Obama a decade ago, but his family ultimately convinced him he had to support an African-American candidate with a real chance of winning, he said Thursday at the University of Utah. Biden, 76, was greeted with a standing ovation as he took the stage amid speculation about whether he will launch his own 2020 campaign for president. He did not directly address the possibility of another run in the speech that marks his final scheduled public event in 2018. Instead, he spoke about the pain of losing his son to brain cancer in 2015 and reminisced about his eight years serving with Obama. Joining the ticket “turned out to be the best decision my family ever made for me,” he said with a smile. His son Beau was 46 when he died of a brain tumor in 2015. Joe Biden decided not to run for president the following year despite having assembled a team to run a campaign. “I thought I was best to continue what Barack and I started,” he said. Beau Biden, a political figure in his own right as Delaware attorney general, had wanted his father to run for president in 2016, but the elder Biden wasn’t ready for the demands of a campaign so soon after his death. Still, he made a promise to his dying son that he wouldn’t withdraw from the world. “It was, ‘Promise, Dad, you’ll stay engaged,’” he said. “Beau, did in a sense, did save me.” Biden is expected to make a decision about 2020 after spending time deliberating with his family over the holidays, sources have told The Associated Press. University of Utah professor Mark Matheson moderated the Thursday talk and told reporters he decided not to ask him about 2020 in order to keep the talk focused on ed- ucation and inspiring students. Biden did not take questions from reporters. During the speech, Biden looked back at his eight years serving with Obama, calling it a time without “one little skinny inch of scandal.” He joked that online memes about his close relationship with the president were all true, except that “he made the first friendship bracelet, not me.” Biden, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate at age 29, said he was propelled into public life by the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. He served in the Senate for 36 years before becoming vice president. After his tenure ended in January 2017, he released a memoir about his son’s fatal illness titled “Promise Me, Dad.” Biden has maintained a packed schedule this year, campaigning for Democrats ahead of the midterm elections and taking trips to promote the book. He has done little to refute speculation about a possible presidential run, saying last week in Montana that he’d be “the most qualified person in the country to be president.” Review finds flaws in data Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY — None of the data collected about the state’s homeless population helps evaluate the effectiveness of different programs because it’s riddled with inconsistencies and lacks clear, measurable goals, the stated auditor reports. The audit was designed to help state lawmakers decide which programs deserve funding, but it instead concluded better planning and goal setting is needed before any assessments can be made. The critical report released last week even found that a 2015 declaration by state officials it had reduced the chronic homeless population by 91 percent thanks to a housing program was erroneous and based on bad data. State officials proudly touted that figure as validation of the work they were doing, but the audit found most of the decrease was because of a change in how they counted that population. “After finding significant problems with the data, we lost confidence in the accuracy of our results,” the auditors wrote. “Therefore, we could not complete the Legislature’s request for program-level performance data.” The data includes errors, confusion and reflects a lack of coordination between the numerous agencies who try to help the homeless, the audit found. It recommended the creation of measurable goals, regular reviews of the data and training to teach agencies how to better manage information. “Before Utah can evaluate the success of its homeless-service system, it must first define what success is.” Republican Senate President Wayne Niederhauser suggested during a hearing Monday about the report that maybe funding needs to be cut or reduced until service providers make changes. Republican state Sen. Jake Anderegg said he’ll sponsor legislation next year to enact the auditor’s recommendations. Jon Hardy, director of the Housing and Community Development Division at the Department of Workforce Services, said his agency is committed to improving. Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox told the Deseret News he’s not surprised by the results, saying he had prior concerns. Cox is chairman of the state’s Homeless Coordinating Committee. “We’re really excited about this audit and what came back because it allows us to now go in and make the changes that need to be made and fix it so we can monitor this going forward,” Cox said. “We have to have good data.” |