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Show SCENE The Park Record. Editor: Scott Iwasaki arts@parkrecord.com 435.649.9014 ex.15713 SUMMIT COMMUNITY GARDENS VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Summit Community Gardens seeks volunteers for a variety of positions and shifts including composting, event planning, garden guides, kids garden keep-up and more. For information, visit summitcommunitygardens.org. ‘AGRICULTURE IN PARK CITY’ VIRTUAL HISTORY SPEAKS LECTURE ON YOUTUBE Park City Library is currently streaming “Agriculture in Park City,” a virtual History Speaks series lecture through May 31. The lecture can be accessed by visiting youtube.com/channel/UCdVRZNeaBrGXCGILlOYw47Q. For information, visit parkcityhistory.org. FILM PIECES TOGETHER TONI MORRISON, B-6 www.parkrecord.com PHOTOGRAPHER SETS UP A PORCH PROJECT, B-7 B-5 WED/THURS/FRI, MAY 13-15, 2020 Petco’s ‘unsung hero’ may net Nuzzles & Co. a $50,000 prize Online voting for local finalist McCurtain will end Friday, March 15 SCOTT IWASAKI The Park Record Nuzzles & Co. Pet Rescue and Adoption may win a $50,000 grant that would help the Summit County-based nonprofit continue its work in rehabilitating and placing injured and abandoned animals with loving families. The cash prize hinges on votes for Darrell McCurtain, intake director at Nuzzles & Co., who is one of five finalists for the Petco Foundation’s national Unsung Hero award. Voting, which can be done at petcofoundation.org/unsung-heroes, ends at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 15. The Unsung Hero honorees are workers who have helped their communities toward Petco’s goals of improving the lives of pets, according to a press release. “There are heroes in every community who dedicate their lives to helping animals and are true lifesaving champions,” said Petco Foundation president Susanne Kogut in the release. “Honoring these extraordinary people and telling their stories is our way of saying, ‘thank you.’ Perhaps these stories will inspire others to be heroes too.” MONSTER DRAWING RALLY // DIGITAL + REWIRED Kimball Art Center and the Park City Summit County Arts Council will present Monster Drawing Rally // Digital + Rewired fundraiser from 8-9:30 p.m. on Friday, May 15. Attendees can virtually watch artists create works in real time and purchase art from these artists. Other virtual elements of the event will include music, artist talks and an event emcee to explain the creative process. To learn more and register for the event, visit monsterdrawingrallypc.org. SALTY CITY VIRTUAL WRITING WORKSHOP Park City Library will host a Salty City virtual writing workshop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 16. Salty City’s Ella Olson will help writers answer the question “what is your story about?” so they can refine the plot and arc of their stories. Writers should be prepared to work and share. To register, email Kate Mapp at Kate.Mapp@ParkCity.org by May 15. After registering, participants will receive a Zoom link. For information, visit parkcitylibrary.org. The reward for all of us is finding homes for those who do survive...” Darrell McCurtain, Nuzzles & Co. intake director The Petco Foundation and celebrity dog trainer Victoria Stilwell are also honoring the five Unsung Heroes for their life saving efforts on behalf of animals with a $10,000 grant for their animal welfare organization, the press release said. Stilwell traveled across the country documenting the work of these heroes in a series of videos that can be viewed at petcofoundation.org/unsung-heroes/, according to the release. McCurtain, who started at Nuzzles & Co. in 2003 when it was called Friends of Animals Utah, was selected for the award because he started a rescue program at the Navajo reservation in 2014. Each month, McCurtain takes a team of veterinarians, technicians, volunteers and staff members to the reservation to rescue stray and discharged animals, provide flea and tick treatments and conduct spay, neuter and vaccine clinics. “It’s a big undertaking, but we are reducing the number of unwanted animals that end up in shelters that would possibly be euthanized,” he said. “It’s a lot of work, but worth it.” The team works with the Nava- COURTESY OF NUZZLES & CO. Darrell McCurtain, the intake director of Nuzzles & Co. Pet Rescue and Adoption, comforts a puppy during an animal rescue mission at a Navajo reservation. McCurtain is one of five finalists for the Petco Foundation’s national Unsung Hero award. jo, Ute Ouray, Ute Mountain nations and the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute, according to McCurtain. “I’m Navajo, myself, and I knew there was an overabundance of animals on the reservations,” he said. “I also know there aren’t resources readily available for spaying and neutering, because there are only two or three veterinarians on the reservations. So people either have to go without vet services or they have to travel long distances to border towns to get their animals taken care of.” Poverty adds to the animals’ woes, McCurtain said. “There is about 50% unemploy- ment,” he said. “So if it comes for (people) to choose between family and their animals, they will probably choose family. In which case, the animals go by the wayside.” During each rescue mission, McCurtain and his team returns to the Nuzzles & Co. rehabilitation ranch in Peoa with 40 to 50 animals, which are mostly dogs, he said. “All the animals come in injured and sick, and we have vet staff and vet techs to give the animals a chance to survive,” McCurtain said. “Some don’t survive, but we do the best we can.” Although the coronavirus has forced To vote in the Petco Foundation’s Unsung Hero contest, visit petcofoundation.org/ unsung-heroes. Voting closes on Friday, May 15, at 11 a.m. mountain time. For information about Nuzzles & Co., visit nuzzlesandco.org. the reservations into lockdown, rescue groups are still allowed to visit and to their jobs, McCurtain said. “The businesses that we frequent are now allowing only a certain numPlease see Nuzzles, B-7 |