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Show Association AN E D I T I O N OF PRIDE & PR Tear Sheets 152J East 3900 South Suite 100 salt Lake City UT S41 IA4 PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID SPANISH FORK, UTAH PERMIT NO. 2 PERMIT The Spanish Fork News M l . O C A L L Y O W N E D A VOL. 2 / NO. 51 N D OWEDNESDAY, P E R DECEMBER A T E 26, D 2007 50* SPANISH FORK, UTAH vigils held in Salem, SF Ashley Walton STAFF WRITER j - .• Namon Bills / Spanish Fork News THE SKTS THE LIMIT: Ed Helrfiick, COO of Diamond Flight, stands with one of his plaries~at'their facility at the Spanish ForkStoringville Airport. Diamond Flight has big plans for expansion once the new wetlands designation is established. f Heather Campbell STAFF WRITER planned Spanish Fork\ The jfepringville Airport expansion project was delayed after Federal Legislation recently came out with new definitions of what constitutes wetlands. This new legislation impacted the east side of the Spanish Fork Airport where they were hoping to begin construction on new hangars as part of an expansion project. The Core of Engineers recently completed their analysis of the land, and now Airport Board Chairman, John Hafen said, "We are waiting for the published map and are hopeful, underscore hopeful, that those wetlands will be shrunk and permit us to go ahead with the project." According to Hafen. there are currently 11 requests for construction which are being held up until the Core of Engineers determines how those wetland areas are to be handled. After the wetlands map is determined, and if all goes as planned, Hafen said they will meet with consultants from their supporting engineers at Armstrong Engineering, the airport board, and those who want to build, and together all three entities will work to come up with a final design of what they want the area to look like. Diamond Flight Center is just one of many looking to build at the airport and, according to Hafen, not only are they first in line to build, but they have plans to provide flight instruction, sell and service airplanes, provide fuel to planes, See AIRPORT* A6 Tri-City named Dealer of the Year Lindsay B. Wolsey STAFF WRITER You've driven past TriCity Performance many times while going southbound on 1-15, and, if you're into snowmobiles or motorcycles, you've probably even stopped by. But you probably didn't know that you were passing the top snowmobile dealer in the state of Utah. At the recent Utah Snowmobile Association (USA), Tri-City Performance was named the Dealer of the Year for 2006-2007. This wasn't a complete surprise to dealer Tommy George, Jr. — due to its stellar customer service, sales and parts support, Tri City was also Dealer of the Year for 20042005. Tri-City was selected due to their support of USA, local snowmobile clubs, and land use issues. One item in particular that Tri-City cares deeply about is avalanche awareness. hey have hosted avalanche classes for snowmobilers and other winter sport enthusiasts, and, in partnership with Polaris, supply Craig Gordon and the Utah Avalanche program with Namon Bills / Spanish Fork News READY TO SERVE: The staff at Tri-City Performance have established a reputation for good customer service. Pictured, left to right, are John Fillmore, Keri Carter, Rob Williams, Tracy Seegmiller, Brendan Lowe and Ben Eaton. a sled to assist in better back country access. This results in more accurate avalanche forecasting, which in turn helps save lives. Employee Ben Eaton attributes their success to the attention to detail exhibited by the employees. "We have great customer service, and our service shop is fantastic," Eaton said. On Dec. 24, both the Spanish Fork and Salem cemeteries held a Christmas Eve Vigil from 6-10 p.m. Reta Tischner, who started the Christmas vigil in Salem 10 years ago, said that this tradition has been embraced by the community year after year. She says that by 10 p.m. the cemetery looks like a fairy land with all the candles burning. "It is the most gratifying thing to see the families singing and saying prayers and connecting with that loved one that they've lost," said Tischner. Gary Wride, a resident of Salem, says the Christmas Vigil has been a tradition in his family since his mother passed away in 1999. "We would go with my dad to visit my mom every Christmas Eve," Wride said. "And once my dad passed away, we continued the tradition of visiting both of them every Christmas Eve." Wride said that the main highlight is that it brings families together. He said his family used to gather at his mother's house, and now that his parents have passed away, it has been nice to keep the tradition of spending Christmas eve visiting his parents. "It's a really nice tradition," Wride said. "We will sing carols and we will go around and share memories of Grandma and Grandpa for the grandkids, and the grandkids will share what they remember about Grandma and Grandpa. It brings our family closer." Although the tradition of the Christmas Vigil started in Salem, it has been fully embraced by Spanish Fork as well. Spanish Fork resident Michelle Johnson, who has two children buried at the Spanish Fork cemetery, has participated in the vigil with her family for the past few years. "Every year I will decorate paper sacks with my kids to put the candles in, so they don't burn out," Johnsonsaid. "Getting things ready for the Christmas vigil is a nice thing we can do together. You get a lot of time to do gifts for family members who are here, but there's not a lot you can do for those who have left your family. Christmas is so busy and it's nice to stop and calm down and think about those who aren't with us and do something small for them." Johnson explained that it is comforting being there at the cemetery, surrounded by families showing their love and support. "One year we went and there was a family next to us that was lighting their candles." said Johnson. "And we actually took time to sing some carols together and it was really special." Tischner explained that she started the tradition because she wanted to be able to do something for loved ones who had passed away. She said it is nice to be able to gather and pray, sing and connect with loved ones who have passed away. "There is a magic in the night," she said. "It's hard to put into words. You just have to go and do it." Although the event is a time when people gather to visit lost loved ones, everyone is invited, even if you don't have someone at the cemetery. "A lot of people haven't lost someone," said Tischer. "People come and adopt a grave that doesn't have a candle and put one there. A lot of people are there just to see it, because it's so beautiful, especially when there's snow on the ground." Johnson said after they finish lighting their candles and singing their carols, they just take some time to look at all the lights. "We always make several passes through the cemetery," Johnson said. "The later it gets, the more families have come with their lights and it's so nice to take a walk through the cemetery and see it glowing." Because this tradition has been so heartily embraced by the community, Tischner has recently expanded the program to include Provo. She hopes that soon all the communities in Utah will participate in this event. Early Deadline Due to the New Year's holiday, The Spanish Fork News will have an early deadline. The deadline fo» the Jan. 2, 2008 edition will be noon on Thursday, Dec. 27. |