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Show The Ogden Valley News August 1, 2023 Your Community Newspaper USPS MARKETING MAIL POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 11 EDEN UT POSTAL PATRON EDEN-LIBERTY-84310 HUNTSVILLE-84317 OGDEN CANYON- 84401 HCR 843AO Photo by Dave Owen. Ogden Canyon Road|SR-39 Paving Construction Update We are more than halfway through the most impactful portion of this project! We received numerous calls regarding long traffic hold times, and are working vigorously to complete the paving operations. Once we entered the canyon this week, multiple adjustments to our traffic operations were put in place to limit traffic congestion as much as possible. We are appreciative of your understanding to the difficult work required to get this job done. Don’t forget that motorist safety is the highest priority for us. We will not exchange traffic hold times at the expense of exposing the public to traveling dangers. Please provide ample space behind the pilot-car and keep it slow in those tight corridors of the canyon. Motorists should anticipate three to four more days of extensive one-way alternating traffic hold times. By the week of August 1, hold times should drop significantly. Construction Activities Latest Work Completed • Resurfacing work between Harrison Blvd. to nearly the top of the Canyon. • Various patch work along the route (ongoing). Traffic Impacts - During paving operations, expect lane closures. One-way alternating traffic will be required using flaggers and a pilot-car to lead vehicles through a mov- OGDEN CANYON cont. on page 3 Baby fawn. Photo taken by Cynthia Beck of Eden. Weber Basin Water Conservancy District to Use Proposed Increased Tax Revenue to Fund Piping of Ogden Valley Canal Witness An Event 94 years, 225 days in the Making On Tuesday, August 1, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at Middle Inlet on Pineview Reservoir, Huntsville resident Ejnar Dyrr will attempt to set three new World Records in the following water At a 2019 scoping meeting, several concerns sports: Hydro Foil Air Chair, Water Skiing, and By Shanna Francis One of the projects earmarked to receive were raised. A few of the primary negative Wakeboarding. Come celebrate Ejnar and his family as he funding if Weber Basin Water Conservancy impacts include the following: attempts to break the current world records! District approves a recently proposed tax hike is • Piping the now-open canal would eliminate a vital water source for wildlife that depends There will be plenty of excitement and fun, and the piping of the Ogden Valley Canal. on the dry south facing hillside as established food trucks, too. Please bring your own chairs. On Weber Basin’s website, at weberbasin. Ejnar was born in 1928 in Southern and well-utilized critical wildlife habitat. gov/Tax, it’s noted that the proposed project California. As a teenager, he earned his Eagle would replace the current canal at a projected • The cost of piping may be prohibitive to Scout award. He served in the U.S. Navy on the cost of $14 million. Weber Basin has also most farmers and ranchers, who may end up Destroyer, USS Duncan during the Korean War. applied for taxpayer-funded grants to cover having to shoulder a portion of the cost. He is a graduate of UCLA, where he received $10,500,000 of the cost. • The prohibitive cost of piping to some a degree in Engineering. He was then hired by On Weber Basin’s website, it states that farmers and ranchers could spur an Motorola, where he worked for many years the original canal was built between 1962 and increase in the sale of already disappearing until opening up and running his own electrical 1964 and delivers water to farms and ranches agricultural lands to developers who could and telecommunications business. in Ogden Valley and the canal is 9 miles long, a昀昀ord the higher water rates when resold to Ejnar has enjoyed snow skiing, waterskiing, “and is fast-approaching the end of its life. The residential users. tennis, surfing, and scuba diving for many years. canal loses up to 40% of its water in some parts • Seepage from canals is a vital resource for In California, he was a volunteer on the San due to seepage inherent to earth-lined canals. underground aquifers and springs that rely Bernardino County Search and Rescue Team. Replacing the canal will help extend the regionon this seepage that, in itself, produces an Another of his many talents—he can build or al water supplies and supports the county’s established water system. Studies directed fix just about anything. As a father, he enjoyed master plan and the Districts’ own supply and demand plan. This project is currently in the end design phase.” CANALS cont. on page 8 sharing and teaching his kids about his many hobbies. He also loved practicing his trumpet early in the morning to wake them up for school. In 1989, he married Diana Joyce Garner of Bountiful, Utah. They moved to Huntsville in 2007. They have eight children, twenty-six grandchildren, and thirty-six great-grandchildren. Let’s all be at Pineview August 1 to cheer on Ejnar! Pictured above is Ejnar Dyrr. OGX ribbon-cutting to start off slate of BRT line officially opens later in August Fire Restrictions to Be Implemented on activities; The Ogden Express bus rapid transit line is Caldwell, Weber State University President Brad State & Unincorporated Private Lands State Fire Management Officers implemented Stage 1 fire restrictions on July 21, 12:01 a.m. in Northern Utah due to increasing fire danger on all unincorporated Private and State Lands in Weber, Box Elder, and Cache Counties. Other land management agencies are not implementing restrictions at this time. According to Dusty Richards, the Bear River Area Fire Management Officer, the dry conditions at lower elevations in northern Utah have led to a rise in vehicle fire starts as fire activity intensifies. This is primarily due to the healthy growth of cheatgrass, which has benefited from the additional moisture received this year. As the lighter vegetation dries out in the summer heat, it increases the risk of fire and makes it easier to ignite. With increased public recreation occurring and the potential for human-caused fires, the following acts are prohibited until fire danger decreases and fire restrictions are rescinded. 1. No open fires of any kind except within established public facilities in improved campgrounds, picnic areas or in permanently constructed fire pits at private homes where running water is present. 2. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle, trailer or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area that is paved or free from dry vegetation. 3. Discharging or using any fireworks, tracer ammunition or other pyrotechnic devices FIRE RESTRICTIONS cont. on page 6 Wounded Warrior Project, Soldier Ride, Comes to Ogden Valley August 25 The nationally recognized Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) Soldier Ride® returns to Ogden Valley August 25. Forty wounded warriors, family support members, and caregivers from across the country representing Army, Marines, Navy, and Coast Guard military branches will come together to experience this multi-day adaptive cycling event. The riders will begin at the West Bowery of Huntsville Park at 9:00 a.m. after being welcomed by Huntsville Town Mayor Richard Sorensen and greeted by Weber County Commissioners Gage Froerer, Jim Harvey, and Sharon Bolos. They will ride counterclockwise around Pineview Reservoir and return to the start point in Huntsville Park. The public is invited to cheer on and encourage the riders along their route and bring a picnic lunch to eat with the Wounded Warriors. On August 26 a second Wounded Warrior ride will take place in the city of Ogden. The longest stretches of road the warriors will ride are north along 1200 West, east along Harrisville Road, south along Mountain Road and Monroe Blvd, and west along 24th St. This ride begins at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel. The injured veterans will cycle approximately 40 miles in two days using modified adaptive equipment fit specifically for them and their abilities. This year is extra special as WWP celebrates 20 years of service to post-9/11 warriors, their families, and caregivers. WWP was founded in 2003. Why Soldier Ride is Important • Inclusive Sports - Participation in inclusive sports is vital to a warrior’s quality of life. Every warrior is 昀椀t at no cost with adaptive cycling equipment or necessary modi昀椀cations that accommodate their unique injuries and make them able and comfortable for their ride. • Reintroduces the Unique Bonds of Military Service to the recovery process, reconnecting warriors to one another in the civilian world. This socialization with other veterans helps warriors connect with the support network needed to overcome challenges. • More Than Just a Bike Ride - Originally a cycling event, Soldier Ride has evolved over WARRIOR PROJECT cont. on page 10 about ready to make its big debut. Ahead of a late-August launch for the new transportation option, nicknamed OGX, the public is being invited to the route’s ribbon-cutting next week. The event, featuring several dignitaries from the Utah Transit Authority, Federal Transit Administration and others, is set to take place at Skinny Dogz in The Junction from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Aug. 2. James Larson, senior internal communications manager with the UTA, told the Standard-Examiner earlier this month the ribbon-cutting will be an opportunity to express gratitude toward the public. “We’ll have a big thank you to everyone,” he said. “We’ll have the art (from various bus stops) on display and afterwards (and) Costa Vida’s going to be doing a taco bar for those attendees.” Speakers will include UTA board member Beth Holbrook, FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez, U.S. Rep. Blake Moore, Ogden Mayor Mike Mortensen and UTA Executive Director Jay Fox. This will not mark the start of services, which will be given a soft launch on Aug. 19 during the Ogden farmer’s market and a full launch on Aug. 20. The service will have free fare for riders for at least three years. On Wednesday, Larson said testing has gone well. “We’ve got a good gauge on traffic patterns and flows during different times of the day and different times of the week,” he said. “We’ve got a few little landscape projects here and there, but all-in-all, stations are looking amazing, testing’s going well. We’re all ready for the Aug. 20 launch of OGX and we’re just excited to see people take advantage of the system as a whole.” According to Larson, testing has revealed some minor items that are being rectified. “Some of the charging stations weren’t OGX cont. on page 10 Trappers’ Accident Claims Life Weber Fire District, Weber County Heavy Rescue L66, Ogden City Fire, Riverdale City Fire Heavy Rescue, Weber County Sheriff’s, and Utah Highway Patrol responded to a traffic accident at the bottom of Trappers Loop on July 21 shortly before 4:00 p.m. A dump truck carrying fill dirt lost its brakes, careening through the stop sign at the bottom of Trappers Loop in Huntsville, crossing State Route 39, then tearing through the pasture and over the cliff, the front of the truck coming to rest into the waters of Pineview Reservoir. According to the Weber Fire District, “Emergency response teams displayed incredible dedication and bravery, working tirelessly to rescue the driver. Despite their efforts, we are deeply saddened to report that the driver has tragically passed away.” According to a report from UHP Sgt. Brandon Whitehead, “The frontmost portion of the dump truck was covered in water, and then also a lot of dirt that came from the load also came out.” ACCIDENT cont. on page 12 Dump truck loses brakes and careens into Pineview Reservoir July 21. Photos courtesy of Weber Fire District. |