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Show EDUCATION, A-4 C-1 B-1 A YELLOW BRICK ROAD LEADS TO PARK CITY MINERS DIG THEIR COLLEGE TEAMS Th VOTE FOR THE BEST Park Record. The Park Record’s annual quest to find the best continues through May! Vote at parkrecord.com/parkcitysbest 2019 COLUMNS, A-10 PARK CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT ELEVATES LITERACY e JAY MEEHAN BEATS A PATH TO INFLUENTIAL WRITER Park Record. The PA R K C I T Y, U TA H W W W. PA R K R E C O R D . C O M Wed/Thurs/Fri, May 8-10, 2019 Serving Summit County since 1880 Teachers in Park City Dream Big | Vol. 139 | No. 27 50¢ The recreation on river spurs broad concern Run to the roses Officials worry about booze and litter during summer months along the Weber River ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON Park Record contributing writer Crowds of people can be seen floating down the Weber River on any given summer day in eastern Summit County – but some worry the river’s popularity during the summer months is threatening the health of the river and creating challenges for local law enforcement. The river, which flows from the Uinta Mountains and empties into the Great Salt Lake, draws floaters, paddle boarders, kayakers, anglers and others. It is recognized as one of the state’s Blue Ribbon trout fisheries and a Class II whitewater river for rafting and kayaking. Elected officials from Summit and Morgan counties recently met representatives from recreation outfitters and Utah State Parks in Summit County to address the matter. Summit County Manager Tom Fisher said Morgan County officials first approached Summit about starting the discussion. A Morgan County official did not respond to a request for comment. One of the challenges officials face is that the river crosses multiple jurisdictions and private properties. But, the main area of concern is a stretch that crosses county lines. Recreationists often enter the waterway at a spot near Henefer. Summit County Councilor Kim Carson said she has met in the past with Morgan County and law enforcement officials to talk about some of the ongoing issues, such as garbage, overflow parking and alcohol use. Heavy alcohol use was identified as one of the most critical issues, with officials drawing parallels between it and their other concerns. Some questioned whether it could be banned altogether. “The problems are getting worse,” Carson said. “A lot of times people get off the river inebriated and they drive home. But, we are not at a point of discussing something like that.” People using the river often bring coolers containing alcoholic beverages and congregate in well-known spots along the waterway. Some outfitters already prohibit people from bringing alcohol on their trips. “The outfitters that are in Summit County bring families and promote this as a family activity so some of the CAROLYN WEBBER ALDER/PARK RECORD Park City High School teachers Melanie Moffat, left, and Anna Williams were recently announced winners of the Charles E. Bennett UEA Human and Civil Rights Award. The Utah Education Association Board of Directors selected them for the honor because of their work with the program Dream Big. Program helps ready students for success in AP classes CAROLYN WEBBER ALDER The Park Record When people say students who struggle with their English can’t excel in Advanced Placement classes, Melanie Moffat and Anna Williams cry foul. They say that with a little extra support, any student can thrive. Moffat and Williams, teachers at Park City High School, are proving their theory with the program Dream Big, and they were recently named recipients of the Charles E. Bennett UEA Human and Civil Rights Award because of the program’s success. Dream Big helps students prepare for and pass AP classes and tests, and helps them excel beyond high school. The Utah Education Association Board of Directors will present the two teachers with the award on May 17 in Salt Lake City. The award honors individuals who provide “outstanding service to education in the area of human and civil rights and engaged in human and civil rights activities that have had a community-wide impact.” Moffat started Dream Big two years ago because she wanted to provide equal opportunities for all students to succeed, regardless of their language. Williams said Moffat came up with the idea for Dream Big after she realized many students who speak English as a second language were not enrolled in AP classes. She said there was a language barrier, and students were intimidated by the complex texts in the classes. Moffat decided that if the students had a little more time with the material, they might thrive. The Dream Big program pre-teaches and re-teaches AP content. Students in the program attend school over the summer from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. AP teachers review vocabulary and curriculum from the classes so students are more comfortable with the material when they take the classes with their peers during the school year. Please see Teachers, A-2 3 sections • 32 pages Classifieds .............................. C-7 Columns ............................... A-10 Crossword .............................. C-4 Editorial................................ A-11 Education ............................... A-4 Events Calendar ..................... C-6 Legals ................................... C-10 Letters to the Editor ............. A-11 Restaurant Guide.................... B-6 Scene ...................................... C-1 Scoreboard ............................. B-5 Sports ..................................... B-1 Weather .................................. B-2 CHRISTOPHER SAMUELS/PARK RECORD Wendy Troxel, left, and Bonita Hutchison, both of Park City, pose for a photograph at a Derby Day celebration at High West Distillery on Saturday. A City Councilor, describing successes, seeks second term Nann Worel sees progress on arts, social equity during her first four years in office JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record Nann Worel, a first-term member of the Park City Council, has announced she will seek re-election this year, saying she has enjoyed her three-plus years in office. Worel is 65 and lives in the Hidden Oaks neighborhood. She is the former executive director of the People’s Health Clinic, a nonprofit clinic that provides medical services to the uninsured. She also once served on the Park City Planning Commission. Worel said she is on a “listening tour” and declined to discuss details of her platform at this time. She did not comment about whether the platform will reflect current City Hall priorities. She intends to outline her vision when the campaign officially starts with the opening of the filing window in June. Worel, though, listed City Hall successes such as beginning implementation of a fleet of buses that run on electric power, the work on a planned arts and culture district led by the municipal government and the discussions about social equity. The filing window runs from June 3 until June 7. Prospective candidates must be a U.S. citizen, a registered voter in the Park City limits and have lived in Park City for a minimum of 12 straight months prior to Election Day to be eligible. Please see Fun, A-2 Charting their own path across the spectrum PCHS students aim to change perceptions of gender and sexuality SYDNEY LAPINE Park Record intern Park City High School juniors Morgan Pinkney and Sam Sullivan are not afraid of being who they are. Pinkney was female until ninth grade, when he began to identify as male and use he/him pronouns. Meanwhile, Sullivan is non-binary, meaning they don’t identify as male or female, and instead use they/them pronouns. The pair, who are dating, hope that by living openly, they can change perceptions of the LGBTQ community. But their experiences have not always been easy. Sullivan, for instance, has found that being non-binary is difficult for society to accept. Many people don’t understand how an individual can be neither male nor female. Sullivan says that people seldom try to use the proper pronouns, often resorting to hurtful comments instead, such as saying that being non-binary is the same as a person identifying as a “T-Rex.” “That makes me think maybe it would just be easier to pick a side, but I don’t want to because that’s not how I feel,” Sullivan said. While they both knew at a much earlier age that their sex assigned at birth was not something that resonated with them, it wasn’t until ninth grade, while scrolling through Instagram, that Sullivan and Pinkney discovered the pronouns they better identified with. Pinkney remembers staring at a transgender man’s page for hours on end. He said he began putting his long hair up in a hat and wearing more masculine clothing, which made him like what he saw in the mirror. The feeling that he was hiding something began to fade. Eventually, he began experimenting with male pronouns, fully committing to them by his sophomore year. For Pinkney, coming out was synonymous with choosing to live. “When I came out, it was because I couldn’t do it anymore,” he said. “I was either going to come out or be dead, there was no in-between.” While Sullivan admits that coming out in high school was difficult, pretending to be someone they weren’t was even harder. “It hurts when people are identifying you the wrong way and calling you the wrong thing, and I’d rather feel better now than later,” they said. Along with coming out came the reactions of others, which were sometimes difficult to hear. Despite a few lost friends, hurtful jokes and some incorrect pronouns, however, Pinkney and Sullivan say that students and faculty at Park City High School do their best to be inclusive and progressive. In 2015, for instance, the school became the first in Utah to add a gender-neutral restroom, which the couple sees as a sign that the community is moving in the right direction. “Trans folks and non-binary folks have a higher rate of UTIs and bladder infections because they won’t go to the bathroom because they don’t feel safe to,” Pinkney said. “So the bathroom is really helpful, especially for people who are closeted and don’t feel comfortable using the restroom of their choosing.” Besides support from the school’s Gay Straight Alliance, of which Sullivan is the sexuality and gender specialist, Sullivan also received help from Please see Charting, A-2 SYDNEY LAPINE/PARK RECORD Park City High School students Sam Sullivan, left, and Morgan Pinkney hope they can foster greater understanding of the LGBTQ community by being open about their gender identities. VISITOR GUIDE Book 2 Film Club at the Summit County Library The Book 2 Film Club will meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, at the Summit County Library Kimball Junction Branch to watch Richard Linklater’s “Last Flag Flying,” rated R. The film is based on the novel by Darryl Ponicsan. For information, visit thesummitcountylibrary.org. |