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Show •N*E W S- Spanish Fork A6 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2008 Covering what matters most Photo guru opens shop Dems hold caucus inWH Marilyn Nielson STAFF WRITER Hilarie Orman STAFF WRITER The Woodland Hills Democrats held their caucus meeting on Tuesday evening at the home of Carol and Floyd Cottam. They selected new officers for the precinct, and delegates. for the state and county conventions. The group formed two years ago when newcomer Jerry Johnson called Utah County Democratic headquarters to find out where his precinct caucus meeting would be held, and learned that Woodland Hills had no precinct leaders. He rallied the registered Democrats, the group met, elected officers, and has kept in touch ever since. The group discussed their viewpoints on the Democratic values of the party and how they are aligned with mainstream values in Utah County. They felt that education, environmental respect, and development with aesthetic considerations are particularly important in the county. During the coming' year the group will continue their efforts to contribute their time and effort to city projects and to help spread the word about Democratic candidates and how to help their campaigns. Long-time Spanish Fork resident Eric Melander has opened a new business, Photo Guru Studios, which specializes in photo restoration, photo retouching and digital painting, and large format photo printing and graphic services. Melander has been working as a graphic designer and artist for many years, and describes himself as "an artist at heart." He lives in Spanish Fork with his wife, Nancy, who taught at Park Elementary, and now teaches in Santaquin. They have six children. Several years ago he got interested in the emerging field of digital painting. He learned how to restore old photos from 35-millimeter slides, clean up dust and retouch other damaged areas. Melander's first attempt at digital restoration was on an old slide he got from his grandfather. "My grandpa gave me a picture of my father and my uncle in 1939, just before World War II," said Melander. "In the picture, they were standing in front of a biplane at the Boise airport, with the old dirt runway." He worked on cleaning up the picture digitally, and getting rid of dust and other imperfections. Then he created a 20x30-inch digital painting from the image. "After that first slide, I realized that lots of people have old photos, and they want a good way to preserve Namon Bills / Spanish Fork News OPEN FOR BUSINESS: Eric Melander shows off his printer, which helped him create the work behind him on the wall. them and even enhance them," Melander explained. "People really enjoyed the result of my first paintings, so I just kept doing them." Another photo that Melander worked on was of his grandmother and her sister when they were young. He made a digital painting with that photo as reference, and gave the resulting print to a relative who was going through some hard times. "She really took strength from having that image of her grandma, hanging it in her room and being able to see it every day," said Melander. Melander can create colored digital paintings using old black and white photos as reference, and relying on people's memories to supply him with eye color, hair color and other irnportant details. He uses Photoshop and Corel Painter software, as well as a pressure-sensitive See MELANDER • A8 WE GOTCHA COVERED & RECEIVE 90 DAYS SAME AS CASH! South *VaCCey "Estates Luxurious Townhomes in Salem starting at BIGO $179,000 SPANISH FORK AS ALWAYS. . . THE BEST DEAL ON TIRES Choose from our many options: • Fully Landscaped • Stucco and stone exterior • Solid surface counter tops and surrounds • Jetted tubs in Master bath • Attached garages • Raised panel cabinets • Many options • Several floor plans GOOD/YEAR A $140 VALUE NOW ONLY 235/75R15B For Information call: Sarah (801)404-7186 or Yolanda (801) 404-1078 FITS MANY LIGHT TRUCKS AND SUVS! PRICE INCLUDES MOUNTING AND BALANCING! NAME BRAND TIRES AT DISCOUNT PRICES! Model now open! Financed by: 570 NORTH MAIN, SPANISH FORK CENTRAL B A N K HOMES i b Rta) Estate LLC 798-9827 -www.bigotires.com \ |