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Show The Ogden See more Valentine’s Day photos on page 13. V alley news Your Community Newspaper PRSRT STD POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 11 EDEN UT POSTAL PATRON EDEN-LIBERTY-84310 HUNTSVILLE-84317 OGDEN CANYON- 84401 HCR 843AO Deadline Approaches for Social Security’s “Paperless” System International Dark Sky Week, April 5 – 11, 2013 We see far fewer stars from Ogden Valley in 2013 than the pioneers and Native Americans who came before us. Using the Bortle Scale of 1 to 9, with 1 being the darkest or least light pollution, Ogden Valley is measured at 4.5, which means that we see a “washed out Milky Way.” The light pollution of Ogden Valley, with its growth pressures, is accelerating towards that of Ogden, with a night “This is a place where sky rating between 6 grandmothers hold babies and 7, and Salt Lake on their laps under the City, with a rating between 8 and 9. stars and whisper in their In both those areas, ears that the lights in the folks may see only sky are holes in the floor a very faint Milky Way or none at all. of heaven.” In fact, the Wasatch -- Rick Bragg Front light pollution rating is equal to that of Greater Los Angeles. You can take simple, commonsense steps to preserve Ogden Valley’s night sky heritage with the help of International Dark Sky Week (http:// www.darksky.org), April 5 - 11, 2013, a celebration that began exactly ten years ago with the goal of celebrating the starry sky during the new moon. You can also help by encouraging the use of lower wattage, downward-directed, and shielded lighting systems to keep the stars visible. How Can You Observe This Year’s International Dark Sky Week? First, Celebrate! • Reflect upon how lucky we are to see, however hazily, the Milky Way. • Use a star map to figure out the constellations (best free iPhone/Pad apps: Skyview and GoSkyWatch). DARK SKY cont. on page 12 March 1, 2013 The March 1 deadline is approaching for anyone who receives Social Security payments or veterans’ benefits by mail. To save money, the federal government is shifting to make all payments electronically. That means a direct deposit into a bank account or onto a debit card. If there’s a senior in your life, it’s a good time to ask them if they have let Social Security know how they want to receive their benefits and to help them with the transition if needed. Cristina Martin Firvida, director of financial security, AARP Government Affairs Division said, “While it’s important to get it done, people should not fret about meeting the deadline.” “If they have not made the switch by March 1,” she said, “they should not worry. They will continue to receive their benefit. This is so important to reassure everyone—their benefit will still come in the mail after March 1.” When considering a debit card, Martin Firvida noted, people should ask a few important questions, “Find out about the fees for using the card, whether there’s a good network of ATM machines nearby so they can get cash when they need it, and whether a debit card is practical for paying bills. All banks and credit unions offer debit cards—and now the U.S. Treasury offers a debit card, too, just for this purpose.” “You will get one debit card, and it will be reloaded each month,” she said. “If you choose the Treasury debit card, they have set up a call center so you have a way of calling and checking on your card’s balance, so recipients can be assured that the deposit has been made to the card before they go out and use it.” “As with any change, scams will crop up,” Martin Firvida warned. She advised people to hang up or press “delete” if they get a phone Weber High basketball player Jordan Jones of Liberty goes up for a shot. SOCIAL SECURITY cont. on page 2 Weber Warriors Capture First-Place Win in Summit Hosts “Town Hall” Meeting Mountain Road, Walker commented, “Traffic By Shanna Francis Region: Move on to state championship games On Wednesday, February 13, Summit held is a concern, and we’re looking at this. We’re looking at a parking lot down in the Valley,” ing Senior’s By Shanna Francis After delivering a 66 – 62 Region I win over the Syracuse Titans on February 8, the Weber High Warriors basketball team went on to wrap up victory as Region champs on Friday, February 15 in a home game against the Northridge Knights. The victory was especially sweet as it was won before a full house on home turf dur- Weber High School basketball head coach Mark Larsen savoring sweet success with players and students after his basketball team captured a first-place win in Region February 15 on the Warrior’s home floor. Night, with crowds filling the bleachers to urge the Wa r r i o r s on to victory. The game was a nail-biting showdown, with Northridge missing a potential buzzerOutgoing team player Mason beater winMiles cuts down the winning net. ning shot. H o w e v e r, it sounded as a death knoll, announcing the demise of the Knights and the victory of the Warriors by a one-point lead. Victorious senior teammates had the pleasure of cutting off the game nets after being hoisted up by fellow Warriors. The victory also secured a spot for the Warriors in the upcoming State 5-A championship games being held at the Dee Events Center in Ogden beginning Monday, February 25, and continuing on through February 27, 29 and 30 with high school teams vying for the state title in single elimination rounds. Weber High will face off against their first opposing team Monday, February 25 at 11:00 a.m. against West High. Last year, victory was snatched out from under the Warriors after first-string player BASKETBALL cont. on page 8 Ogden City Addresses Canyon Commuters’ Questions and Concerns By Kenton Moffett, P.E., Water Utility Manager The Canyon Water Line project has had a big impact on residents in Ogden Valley and Ogden Canyon. Although we have done our best to mitigate the impact, there is only so much that can be done. There are two lanes of traffic and one lane is having a 24” water line installed down it. The alternate routes are feasible but nonetheless inconvenient. However, there are some things that the City is trying to improve on, mainly the availability of information. Our hope is that this article can answer some questions we have been asked. The most frequent question that we have received is why we are undertaking this project in the winter. If there were any other options, we would take them. Unfortunately, the line we are replacing is needed during the warmer months, typically June through November. In order to meet the consumption needs of Ogden City, we can only perform this work in the winter. These are harsh conditions for the workers and their equipment, but we don’t have a feasible alternative. We are also asked why the project has been moving so slow. The beginning of the project was challenging. The record-cold temperatures made equipment start-up times longer and breakdowns more frequent. The frost thickness was in excess of three feet at times. Although there is equipment available to handle frost (i.e. frost buckets for backhoes), frost slows progress. Compounding the problem, once crews made it through the frost, they were then dealing with solid rock. During the last month, conditions improved significantly. The frost is less of an issue but the most important change has been soil conditions. Although rock outcroppings are still present, the majority of the alignment has been in manageable soil conditions. This has allowed us to install, on average, about 200 feet of pipe per day. So even with the slow start, the project is only about five days behind the June 1 deadline. Whitaker will be sending a second night crew up in the coming month to help overcome this delay, and hopefully get us ahead of the deadline. Traffic-related questions have also been frequent. Unfortunately, the infrastructure is not in place to give real time travel estimates (like the types you see on I-15). We have been trying to utilize the project website and twitter to get delay notifications out. There are also many personnel related to the project who live in the Valley. We have been getting daily feedback from them on travel times. We have recently started logging these times and tweeting them on the City’s Twitter feed. Additionally, two Water Utility Employees who are on light duty will be driving and logging times in the Canyon seven days a week. Delays in the Canyon occur for a number of reasons. A major problem is drivers not obeying traffic control devices. This throws off the timing of the lights. Emergency vehicles that respond in the Canyon are given priority and can also cause queues to miss a cycle or two. Also, a barricade was pushed off the road by a motorist and this resulted in the communication cable between the two lights getting damaged. Stalled vehicles have occasionally resulted in extra cycles. Snow downed a communication line that caused a delay. OGDEN CANYON cont. on page 8 a town hall meeting regarding their PRUD application with Weber County, which they’re submitting at the end of February. The meeting was held at the Wolf Creek Lodge in Eden. In a phone interview with Thayer Walker, chief reconnaissance officer, who was talking from California, Walker confirmed that Summit would be taking their plan to the county within a couple of weeks. The plan is Phase I of the Planned Residential Unit Development, which will include 143 single family home sites, or their equivalent. This number will be part of the total 500 planned at full build out. Thayer stated, “We want to be transparent and open with the community. A lot of people are excited about our plans, especially relative to what could have happened [at Powder Mountain].” Walker was referencing the higher density build out that is possible given the current zoning of the property. Walker added, “The fact is, our end goal calls for less [density] than what is allowed.” “Also, the largest home will only be about 4,000 square feet.” Thayer added. “The idea is to have homes no bigger than three stories high. The style will be ‘Mountain Modern.’ We want them to feel like they fit there.” When asked about public access to the resort, Walker stated, “All of the ski assets will still be available for the public to utilize.” Regarding traffic the development will generate, and safety issues connected with Powder with the idea of bussing skiers up to the mountain. “Right now, the driving-to-parking ratio is only about 25% of people parking and riding up [on busses], and 75% driving. We want to switch this ratio around. . . . We’re looking for suggestions and ideas on how best to actively approach this issue.” Regarding the possible parking area that Summit is looking at utilizing, which, along with the current location in Eden nearby the Valley Market, they’re also looking at placing a parking area near the Wolf Creek barn located off of Wolf Creek Road, where the Balloon Fest has been held in years past. “Seasonally, we have a goal of using this are as a community space; to open it back up. We’re eager and interested in doing everything we can, in the area, to facilitate community building.” The area comprises about 40 acres. “We’re eager to have these discussions as the project progresses.” With rumblings about Summit constructing a large lodge on the top of the mountain that would only be accessible to those purchasing property in the development, Walker explained, “The ‘lodge’ is called the Sky Lodge Event Center, and it will only be about 3,000 square feet in size. It is a pre-fabricated structure that was built off site. It is a lowprofile, modest structure made from reclaimed TOWN HALL cont. on page 13 Jury on Pineview Fatality: GUILTY One defendant apologizes to family, hopes “this will give them some peace” By Tim Gurrister, Standard-Examiner staff tgurrister@standard.net “Like the State Medical Examiner said: Cause of death, accident. “Bad things happen to good people. And not just Esther Fujimoto . . . but bad things have happened to these boys. They’ll have to deal with what happened to her for the rest of their lives. The only way to make it worse is if you find these kids guilty of a crime they didn’t commit.” PINEVIEW FATALITY cont. on page 10 A 2nd District Court jury found Colton Raines and Robert Cole Boyer guilty Thursday night of misdemeanor charges in the death of Esther Fujimoto. Fujimoto was struck by a powerboat driven by Raines on Aug. 21, 2011, while she swam in Pineview Reservoir. The jury got the case at 6:30 p.m. and deliberated for about 90 minutes before returning with the verdict. Only Boyer had a comment from the defense side after the verdict came in, saying he had talked to a member of the Fujimoto family, apologizing. “I appreciate that we had the opportunity to tell our side of the story,” he said. “I hope this will give them some peace.” Raines and Boyer, as well Skyler Shepherd, convicted in a separate trial in December, claimed they had no hint of the extent of Fujimoto’s injuries after what they called a nearmiss. All three testified they saw no injuries and that Fujimoto actually told them she was all right when they turned back to check on her. Only Raines testified to hearing a scream. Fujimoto was slashed by the boat’s propeller blade from the waist down, four bones cut, one leg nearly severed but for tissue holding it. For the prosecution, the case came down to Fujimoto’s screams after she was injured. Vaughn Anderson said he heard three or more. The defendants heard one, or none. For the defense, the key was that Fujimoto herself, as well as the defendants, may have been unaware of the severity of her injuries. “The bottom line in this case is, what did these kids know when they pulled away from Esther,” defense attorney Greg Skordas said in closing arguments. “They saw nothing. All the injuries were below Inversion over Ogden. Picture taken from the the surface of the water. top of Strawberry looking toward Hill Field. “This is an accident,” Skordas told the jury. Photo taken by Scot McGonegal of Eden. |