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Show A-2 The Park Record Continued from A-1 The Park Record. Serving Summit County since 1880 The Park Record, Park City’s No. 1 source for local news, opinion and advertising, is available for home delivery in Summit, Wasatch, Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties. Single copies are also available at 116 locations throughout Park City, Heber City, Summit County and Salt Lake City. SUBSCRIPTION RATES In Summit County (home delivery): $56 per year (includes Sunday editions of The Salt Lake Tribune) Outside Summit County (home delivery available in Wasatch, Salt Lake, Davis, Weber and Utah counties; all other addresses will be mailed via the U.S. Postal Service): $80 per year To subscribe please call 435–649– 9014 or visit www.parkrecord.com and click the Subscribe link in the Reader Tools section of the toolbar at the bottom of the page. To report a missing paper, please call 801–204–6100. 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No portion may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the managing editor or publisher. The Park Record (USPS 378-730) (ISSN 0745-9483) is published twice weekly by Wasatch Mountain News Media Co., 1670 Bonanza Drive, Park City, UT 84060. Periodicals postage paid at Salt Lake City, Utah, 84199-9655 and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Park Record, P.O. Box 3688, Park City, UT84060. Entered as second-class matter, May 25, 1977, at the Post Office in Park City, Utah, 84060 under the Act of March 3, 1897. Subscription rates are: $56 within Summit county, $80 outside of Summit County, Utah. Subscriptions are transferable: $5 cancellation fee. Phone: 435–649–9014 Fax: 435–649–4942 Email: circulation@parkrecord.com Published every Wednesday and Saturday Tourism served up Development Director Pat Putt, but it’s evolving from the traditional corn mazes or pumpkin patches popular in previous generations. Now, as consumers are more interested in where their food comes from and experiencing authentic regional ways of life, Putt estimates there are hundreds of millions of dollars being spent nationally directly on these types of experiences. Tom Clyde, the chair of the Eastern Summit County Planning Commission who lives on a working ranch in Woodland, said agritourism has been a hot topic in agricultural communities as ranchers and farmers attempt to make up for decreased revenue from their farming efforts. But it’s easier said than done. Clyde said building a corn maze would be nice, but he can’t get corn to grow more than 3 feet high on his property before it freezes. His land also appears to be well-suited for cross-country skiing, but it’s tough to imagine consumers driving out to Woodland to pay for something they can get for free in Park City. So he’s still thinking. Larger-scale operations like The Lodge at Blue Sky, which sits on 3,500 pristine acres and features activities for every season like sport shooting, fly fishing, mountain biking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, seem more able to tap into the market than smaller operations trying to get into it. County officials say that’s where they might come in — supporting nascent efforts and serving as a facilitator to bring interested parties together. Jessica Cook, Blue Sky’s director of sales and marketing, said they’ve been successful in attracting consumers from big cities around the country with direct flights to Salt Lake City like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Cook said what they’re trying to sell is the experience of reconnection — connecting to the land, animals and nature, as well as to themselves and other humans. Mike and Barb Phillips own the land on which the distillery and hotel sit. In the lobby of the hotel, Barb shared that her goal is to impress upon guests the benefits of sustainability — for the land, animals and humans. She said she hopes the guests take some of that sentiment home with them. “We’re not just here to use up the land,” Phillips said. What’s in Blue Sky Pulling up to the circular drive of The Continued from A-1 Alliance launched described the South Summit community as accepting. The club’s kickoff was at the high school’s Opportunity Night in early September. Smith said reaction to the club’s booth was mixed, however, with some attendees coming up to the group and thanking them for starting it and others reading their sign and then avoiding eye contact. No club members have reported increased incidents of bullying, though Davis said “kids will be kids.” “Is there going to be pushback from individual students? Maybe. But as a group, I don’t think so at all,” he said. He added high schoolers are still figuring themselves out, regardless of their sexual identity. Davis said he has received support from parents, high school Principal Wade Woolstenhulme and district Superintendent Shad Sorenson. Direct Importer of the World’s Finest Rugs A t t h e H i s t o r i c Vi l l a T h e a t r e 3092 So. Highland Dr., Salt Lake City (801)484-6364 888.445.RUGS (7847) Mon.-Sat. 10 am to 6 pm Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, October 12-15, 2019 Lodge at Blue Sky, there are the expected trappings of luxury — greetings with eye contact, doors being held open, cars being whisked away. Floor-to-ceiling windows dominate the open lobby with views onto the hillsides beyond. A telescope sits on a tripod for those who want a closer look. Eschewing the traditional front desk, “guest managers” begin a check-in conversation, often offering a beverage like housemade lemonade with muddled ginger and garnished with wild sage harvested from the property. The hotel comprises 46 units across three different offerings, the Sky Lodge, Creek Houses and Earth Suites. The bar, restaurant and spa are all open to the public. The five Creek Houses are standalone structures that overlook the Alexander Creek. Giant glass doors roll back to allow the noises of nature to bubble into the rooms, and drop-down screens keep the critters at bay. Tasteful art adorns the walls, much of it local, as are some of the bath products, which Cook said were infused with wild sage from the property. Blue Sky also has an onsite farm that is planned to provide fresh produce for the restaurants. Lynsey Gammon, the director of farming, said she’s still in the early stages of getting the farm ready and hopes to plant next April. Right now, they’re “growing the soil,” using sustainable composting techniques and other efforts to enrich it. Gammon said she does not use tractors and the tilling is done by hand. The farm is bolstered by a 2,200-square-foot greenhouse that features cutting-edge technology Gammon referred to as a climate battery, boring into the ground to use geothermal energy to regulate temperature and a special material to passively circulate heat. The greenhouse, a 1,700-square-foot hoop house and other techniques enable Gammon to extend Utah’s short growing season. Gammon said she plans farm tours and other educational opportunities. Barb Phillips, who runs an equine rescue foundation on the property, spoke about hosting a “little kids day” at the cattle farm, showing people how they raise chickens, take care of animals and tend to crops. Blue Sky has recruited James Beard-winning chef Galen Zamarra to guide the culinary vision. Zamarra said he is already working closely with Gammon to plan menus featuring food grown on site. He said he has looked back on the last 150 years of history here to inspire the taste choices, particularly the Spanish, Mexican and Chinese cultures that all passed through the area. He said he’s also studying Native American culinary traditions and trying to incorporate some of those tastes into his work. On a recent chilly morning, Zamar- Agritourism challenges and county support East Side communities have felt the effects of growth on many fronts. As home prices rise, the next generation is less inclined to see ranching and farming as a viable way of life, and the temptation to subdivide land to provide another homestead or sell to developers is increasing. Mike Crittenden, who is the spokesperson for the Cedar Crest Overlay Committee that is trying a novel approach to designing a new East Side town near Hoytsville, explained the goal of the group is ensuring the next generation would have a place to live so kids won’t be forced to move away to find employment and housing. That’s something many of his neighbors have been grappling with for years. Agritourism is seen as another avenue to the same goal, one that would enable East Side communities to maintain — and hopefully profit from — a rural way of life. Jeff Jones, the county’s economic development director, wrote in an email that agritourism is more of a marketing tool than an industry, and as such, competitors can actually complement each other by providing different attractions in nearby locations. But to develop the market, Jones said it is key to gain an understanding of the customer base and create an ecosystem that would foster such growth. He identified multiple ways in which the county could support those efforts, including taking stock of how zoning rules help or hinder new businesses and whether existing policies favor dominant industries. Putt suggested the county’s primary role could be that of facilitator, bringing multiple stakeholders together to come up with potential solutions and then working with them to see them through. He mentioned the county’s expertise in identifying and winning federal and state grants. One example of a path forward would be to gather a group of entrepreneurs interested in agritourism and then helping them do a market study to identify a potential customer base and what sort of businesses might be attractive. Putt mentioned authenticity as being at the core of any such successful effort, pointing to the Summit County Fair, Oakley Rodeo and a recent trip he made with his wife to the Santa Fe Fiesta, an event that has been going on in New Mexico’s capital city for more than 300 years. “Our society is hungry for that,” Putt said. “People want to have that experience. (They want) to break out of the sameness of everywhere.” Park City High School’s GSA adviser, Mary Purzycki, said she was so happy when she heard South Summit was starting a GSA she almost started dancing. Members of the Park City GSA attended a picnic Oct. 6 celebrating the South Summit club’s founding. Purzycki said that in her time at PCHS, the community has grown more accepting of LGBT people. “Kids don’t say things like ‘That’s so gay’ anymore,” she said. She added that bullying has decreased dramatically, though it hasn’t disappeared entirely. “I’m not going to say it’s gone, but it’s gone 80 percent of the time,” she said. “(They’ll) always catch a little brunt of something, but they know teachers are going to have their back.” While the first official meeting of the South Summit GSA was Oct. 1, members of the group came together much earlier during a series of meetings at the Summit County Library’s Kamas branch organized by Kamas resident Jane Burns. Burns said she moved to Utah four years ago and loved it, but she soon discovered there was a dark side hiding behind the state’s beauty: the teen suicide rate. According to the Utah Department of Education, the state has consistently ranked in the bottom five nationwide in terms of having the most significant mental health concerns. The Utah Department of Health found the teen suicide rate increased 141% from 2011 to 2015. Burns referenced the 2014 study that examined 2008 data from students in British Columbia and found suicide rates to be lower in schools with GSAs than those without. The study found it was true for everyone, regardless of sexual identity, though the effect was smaller on some groups than others, and helped LGBT significantly. One finding in the report is that heterosexual boys in schools with GSAs in existence for more than three years were about half as likely to attempt suicide as heterosexual boys in schools without the clubs. Burns said she was hiking one day when she resolved to set up a group or club to try to help area kids. She called it Mirror Mirror, and held regular meetings at the library with guest speakers but struggled to make inroads in the youth community. With the help of Mary Christa Smith, who is Summit County’s Communities That Care coordinator and Marley Smith’s mom, Burns said they were able to start attracting the younger crowd and the effort gained momentum. Fryer said the group tried to get a GSA off the ground toward the end of last school year, but weren’t able to find an adviser. That changed this summer after a meeting in Sorenson’s office. Those present during that initial meeting say Sorenson called an assistant principal at the high school and said the club was going to happen and to work on finding an adviser. The superintendent downplayed his involvement in the club’s formation and instead gave credit to the kids who started it. He said he’s glad when students advocate for a cause and fill a need when they see it. “To me, adolescence and education is hard enough just as it is,” he said. “If a person becomes fearful of being bullied because of their lifestyle, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation — it’s important barriers are broken down so people can feel secure.” Burns hopes the club will reveal community support that has been just beneath the surface. “When kids stand up and say, ‘Hey, here I am, here is the authentic me,’ it gives the opportunity for other people to really be kind when they were afraid to be kind before.” TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Food cooking on an outdoor stove at The Lodge at Blue Sky. Officials say agritourism is a type of economic growth that could reinvigorate the East Side, and Blue Sky is a large-scale example. ra and an assistant could be found by a mountaintop yurt cooking on outdoor stoves. Zamarra was arranging a crab salad nested inside a roasted avocado for a private luncheon. The yurt serves as the jumping off point for some of the recreational activities like axe-throwing, shooting and skiing. He took a break to explain some of his motivations, indicating that it was important to him to incorporate local influences in his work. In an email, Zamarra wrote that agritourism could help bridge the disconnect today between Americans and their food. At Blue Sky, for example, guests can directly experience the animals and plants that end up on their plates. That connection is something that Putt and others say is at the heart of the surging agritourism industry. Zamarra also noted the cattle drives on the farm that would show guests the difference between grass-fed beef and what he called the horrors of a large factory farming feedlot. “Too often, we only know the food we see in a supermarket shelf,” Zamarra wrote in an email. “The farm experience allows this deeper connection to food, which leads to a more profound appreciation of the producers, farmers, chefs and the food itself.” |