The Heber Valley Railroad is working to restore and display a vintage Rio Grande sign that once stood upon the Rio Grande Depot in Salt Lake City before it was replaced a little over a decade ago.

The railroad wants to display it atop a planned extension for its shop building.

But, as Mark Nelson told the Heber City Council this week, the railroad first needs the city’s sign-off to display a sign that doesn’t necessarily fit the city’s ordinances.

He showed the council members a photo of the 114-year-old Rio Grande Depot in Salt Lake City and directed their attention to the illuminated “Rio Grande” sign atop the structure.

“The sign you see lit up here is the 75-year-old Young Electric Sign Company neon sign which they built way back in the ’40s or ’50s,” Nelson said. “About five years ago, they had Young Electric Sign Company build a new sign for them, and they took that sign down.”

He said the Heber Valley Railroad asked them for the old, now-replaced fixture, and he showed a photo of the sign hanging on the side of a storage building.

“We have had many meetings with a lot of individuals, but primarily Young Electric Sign Company and have signed an agreement with them to have them restore the sign, to remove the neon, to restore all the sheet metal that is bent and worn and to rebuild the sign with a new structure, and with LED lights that can be controlled the way LED lights do now,” Nelson explained.

He showed depictions of what the restored sign could look like sitting atop the Heber Valley Railroad’s shop building for someone standing on 600 West.

Then came his request to Heber City.

“I’ve met with (Planning Director) Tony Kohler and started at least the conversation and wanted to come here and ask Heber City to consider a conditional use permit or whatever might be required so that we could someday show the sign,” Nelson said. “I think we will have the construction of the letters, the restoration of the letters, done this year before the end of the year, but the coach storage building won’t be done this year or next year. And so I’m not sure about the when.”

The Heber Valley Railroad, he added, doesn’t intend to light the bright letters against Heber City’s sky every night, but rather on special occasions.

“It’s a very cool historic sign, and I remind everyone that these tracks are Rio Grande tracks,” Nelson said. “These tracks were built by the Rio Grande Railroad in 1899.” 

Beyond the tracks the tourist trains run on, Nelson said the company is connected with its Rio Grande roots through the paint jobs on its cars.

The company’s closed-window streamline cars sport a bumble bee paint scheme Rio Grande used in 1949, and its other Pullman green cars reflect what Rio Grande and many other railroads used in the ’20s and ’30s.

“We have several Rio Grande cars that we already own. We have a Rio Grande diesel,” Nelson said. 

The project will cost $100,000. So far, the Heber Valley Railroad has received a grant from the Utah Department of Transportation for about a fifth of that.  

Ostergaard was slightly concerned that the council’s decision to allow the sign could set precedence contrary to the city’s current ordinance, but Funk assured him the city could approve the sign through a legislative agreement to make sure that wouldn’t happen.

Nelson also informed the councilors that the railway is looking to begin extending a platform near the southwest corner of the crossing of 600 West and 300 South by the railroad station so it will stretch all the way to the intersection. While he didn’t believe he needed any permits or permissions from Heber City for the project, he did say it would be helpful if the company was able to also build a switch in the area with a track that would cross 300 South.

Nelson said had several conversations with representatives from local governments about the project. So far his search hasn’t shown who definitively owns the specific land and right-of-ways the project will use.

“Would we have to do — and this may be a question for (city engineer Russel Funk) — any signage, blinking lights saying train and stuff like that?” Councilor Sid Ostergaard asked.

Funk said there would definitely at least need to be signs. 

Heber City Mayor Heidi Franco said she thought the project would be a good opportunity to support the railroad.

“I think it’s fine as long as it’s not a parking place for old box cars,” Councilor Mike Johnston said. 

Nelson assured him the track wouldn’t be.

The railroad plays a significant role in bringing tourists to Heber Valley. According to Nelson, it carried about 135,000 passengers on 545 trains just last year.

The post Heber Valley Railroad pitches idea to install vintage Rio Grande sign appeared first on Park Record.

Heber City Manager Matt Brower walked out of Tuesday’s City Council meeting a little richer, thanks to an $11,000 bump to his own base pay, and the raises he had gotten from the elected officials for his team as well.

According to council members reflecting on his performance and considering what his salary was in comparison to what surrounding cities are paying their managers, Brower’s earned the increase.

Sherie Ashe, Heber City’s human resources manager, explained how her department was recently asked to look at earning data regarding all Heber City employees.

Though the results are not all ready for everybody, she did have results for Brower’s position.

“An organization called Wasatch Comp Group surveyed 16 different entities that included Wasatch County, Park City, Millcreek, Summit County, Orem, Cottonwood Heights, West Jordan, Pleasant Grove, Provo, Spanish Fork, Lehi, Draper, Saratoga Springs, Murray, American Fork and Springville. So, cast a wide net,” Ashe said. “They all came back, actually, with an average wage for city manager or city administrator of $208,293, and their maximum range average was $237,747.”

Matt Brower, Heber City’s manager, was making $197,879 annually.

According to a Heber City staff report, that put him 5.73% below comparable positions in surrounding areas.

“To stay competitive and ensure fair compensation, an increase in the city manager’s salary is recommended,” the document stated.

Brower has been with Heber City for six years, and Ashe recommended the council increase his base pay to at least match the surrounding average.

“I’m not opposed to this. I think you’ve done a good job,” Councilor Mike Johnston said. 

His peers agreed, though Councilor Yvonne Barney wanted to wait until the next beginning of a fiscal year to work the change into the budget rather than using current surplus funds.

“I’m not saying no to the amount, I’m just saying I would prefer to do it the right way and wait until we have the next discussion and for the next budget,” she said. “That would be my recommendation going forward.”

The new fiscal year just began July 1.

“I think Matt does a great job,” Councilor Aaron Cheatwood said. “I know if we’d had this detail a couple of months ago when we had budgets, we would have talked about it then. We didn’t. We do now, and I am not willing to look at that number and see those ranges and look at those averages and then say, ‘Matt, we value you, but not at average for the next year.’ That doesn’t make any sense.”

He wanted to make the change more quickly.

“Matt goes to bat for his staff every single year on what we pay them, and he’s never once talked about what we pay him,” Councilor Scott Phillips said. “As we can see, his pay has dropped behind where it should be. And everything we discuss in meetings is because of the vision he’s brought to the city.”

He talked about Brower’s push for Heber City’s downtown revitalization and his focus on the community’s long-term plans.

“I would definitely support putting this into action now,” he added. 

Brower didn’t stop batting — or perhaps quarterbacking — for his employees even as his own salary was up for discussion, interrupting Cheatwood mid-motion.

“I’m a great football fan, and quarterbacks can’t perform without great running backs and great receivers in a line that will protect them,” he said. “If you are going to increase my salary, what I’d like you to do is just give me half of it, and let me take the other half and share it between my lead team as a way of me thanking them.”

“There’s the Matt we all know,” Barney said. “I like that idea.”

Phillips motioned to raise his salary the full $11,000 suggested and also advocate $7,500 to his “A team.”

As long as their performance doesn’t disqualify them, each department head will get a $500 annual raise starting the first pay period in October. At the same time, Brower’s new salary will go into effect.

The post Heber City raises manager salary appeared first on Park Record.

It was about five years ago when — after deciding that Salt Lake City’s pride festival had grown too commercialized for his liking — Heber City local Joshua Knight decided to forgo the event and host a weekend celebration in his own backyard.

“My brother does drag in Salt Lake,” he said. “We kind of had this harebrained idea while he was up here. I’m like, ‘Why don’t you bring your drag stuff up, perform a little bit, and we’ll have a great time along with Pride. And afterwards, I think a couple of people shoved money in his décolletage, his cleavage.”

Thus, the idea for Heber Valley’s annual Not Your Mama’s Backyard Drag show.

The first formal show was in 2021, when Knight’s brother returned to the valley with several of his friends and fellow queens. 

“We had just broken free from COVID, and we had 107 people in the backyard. My neighbor had the food truck, we had Porta Potties, we had the whole nine yards,” Knight said.

He said the had a “rinky-dink” setting that included lighting he bought from Amazon, a rented sound machine, and a back porch with black sheets that served as curtains.

“We sold tickets on Venmo, and we donated the money in the first year to the Encircle House here in Heber,” Knight said.

The next year, they sold out of tickets, and the show has only gotten bigger.

Now they hold the event in his other brother’s house in Daniel, and attendance is only growing. This year, they had 365 attendees.

Though he was still crunching some numbers, he estimated the event had raised over $10,000 for the Cavalier Crazy Rescue in Salt Lake — where he got his furry companion, Walter —  and The Horse of Many Colors, a nonprofit group supporting cancer patients and their loved ones. 

Despite the positivity Knight aims to promote, he acknowledged it hasn’t always been easy to find community support for his drag show, or even to live as a gay man in Heber City.

The first two years he held the event, he said it went without a hitch.

He told neighbors there might be some attendees parking on the street, and he asked people not to block driveways.

Last year, they got a dozen complaints.

“My brother got calls from Daniel township’s mayor saying that there had been complaints, emails, phone calls,” Knight said.

He doesn’t know who filed the grievances. He doesn’t want to.

“Their complaint was parking. We all know it wasn’t about parking. I will put my neck on the line about that,” he said. “We took care of everything we needed to with the city and the county.”

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it wasn’t the first time he’s felt pushback because of who he is in Heber City.

“We were tiny growing up. … I was born in 1982, was educated here in the public school system in Wasatch County, and I was bullied, teased,” he said. “There wasn’t a day that went by walking down the high school hallway that I wasn’t called a fag or a queer or a homo. And it definitely opened up my eyes to a different aspect of my community where hate could lie in a place where everyone professes to be religious and Christ-like, and it definitely opened my eyes to the true meaning of what it means to be an active member of the community.”

On a religious note, he added, it taught him something further about what it really means to be Christ-like as people who preached divine peace on Sundays made his life hell between school classes.

“I didn’t come out until I was 32. I was scared. I owned a small business here in town, I just bought a home. My mom had passed away a couple years prior,” he said.

When his brother came out, it helped. But it still took him seven more years.

Though he still faces slurs today, it’s a less common occurrence, and he said it’s completely different from Heber City in the ’80s and ’90s.

Still, he sees first hand the mountains left to climb.

Just this year, someone has twice ripped down the Pride flag that hangs next to the Stars and Stripes in front of Knight’s home and business, Five Penny Floral.

The hateful act won’t deter him.

“I grew up on the back of a horse. I tried to play the part. I tried to do the role. In my late 20s and early 30s, I said, ‘I’m not doing this anymore.’ I needed to live my authenticity and be who I am,” he said. “I’ve never looked back.”

He’s working to be a part of a welcoming community he didn’t have growing up, one he doesn’t think Heber City was ready to provide back when he was young. It takes generations to break cycles of harmful ideologies, he explained, and many that target members of the LGBTQ+ community are still alive and well.

With his drag shows, he hopes to change that, to show the community that it’s “an expression of elevated art.”

“They say we’re groomers. They say that we have issues. They say that we’re pedophiles,” he said. “Most of us have been victims to a pedophile or a predator. … We are capable of amazing and incredible things. We love. We give back to our communities. We are about love and compassion.”

He said he giggles when people say drag performers are grooming kids. For his nieces, he explained, the drag community has been a way to promote inclusion.

Drag queens, he said, don’t make bank-breaking salaries through their performances. What they have to gain is expressing themselves, things they’ve had to hold inside.  

“They do it because they’re passionate about it, and they do it for the sisterhood, and they do it for somewhere that 9-year-old boy,” he said of queens. “It’s giving that 9-year-old boy hope that there’s a beautiful world out there, that that 9-year-old boy has a home and has a place to be creative and to express and to be who they want to be.”

The pride flag still hangs from Knight’s porch, and he’s still an active member of the community. He plans to continue to make the drag show even bigger in future years. 

“Drag has been around for centuries. It has taken different shapes, different forms. We have all been entertained: ‘Bosom Buddies,’ ‘Mrs. Doubtfire,’ Klinger off of ‘Mash,’ ‘Tootsie’ by Dustin Hoffman,” Knight said. “To anyone who doesn’t understand, open your eyes. … I’m a proud member of this community, so is my brother, and so are many, many of my friends and supporters and clients. We’re not going anywhere. We will continue to get better. We will continue to raise more money for causes that are near and dear to our hearts.

“To anyone who doesn’t understand, you’re not going to lose a recommend, you’re not going to lose friends over coming to a show. We are about love, we are about inclusion, we are about hope. We are about hope that your children will not have to go through what we had to go through with chills saying that your friend has taken their own life.” 

The post Heber City local raises $10,000 for charities with Not Your Mama’s Backyard Drag appeared first on Park Record.

What will happen to Heber Valley if governments and locals don’t pay serious attention to the community’s affordable housing crisis?

According to Mountainlands Community Housing Trust Executive Director Jason Glidden, it could be the same thing that’s happened in other places where workers, public servants and other everyday employees can’t afford to live — places like Jackson Hole.

“They have probably the most expensive homes per capita. You’re driving out that local workforce, which now have to live an hour away, commute in an hour away,” he said. “This spring, they had their highway washout through the pass between Driggs, Idaho, which is one of the major places where the workforce lives, and Jackson.”

This left workers unable to get to their jobs, or at least unable to get there without adding an extra hour and a half to their commute times.

“What does that do to a local economy?” Glidden said. “But more important to me, who is going to be the next community leaders? Who are going to be the next nonprofit leaders? Teachers? Public safety officials? If you don’t give them the opportunity, and they can’t even live close to here, they’ll find jobs closer to where they live, and eventually, you’re not going to have that workforce to support a thriving community.”

Mountainlands Community Housing Trust recently commissioned a study on housing throughout the Wasatch Back, factors that have contributed to the current situation as well as economic disadvantages communities face relying on commuters to keep the lights on. Presenters shared their findings with members of Wasatch County’s community Monday evening. 

The study — which composited data for both Wasatch and Summit Counties — showed that, since 2010, total employment has increased by 47.6%, and 70% of that growth is commuters.

The area has also become significantly more rich. Since 2010, households making $75,000 or less have decreased by 17%; in that same time, households making at least $200,000 have increased by 291%.

The study also pointed out the economic benefits that will befall the community if it invests in affordable housing.

The study looked at what would happen if the community built 100 homes, as well as if each of those homes’ residents worked 1.73 jobs and sent 0.4 children to school.

Through a variety of factors — including volunteer work, commute hours saved, taxes and, most significantly, positions filled — the study found that spending money on more rental units would bring a 5.85 yield on investment, meaning $100,000 of community money contributed toward rental multifamily units would result in about $585,000. For that same return to be made on owned single-family units, the community would need to invest $400,000.

Though Summit and Wasatch Counties may have historically faced different issues when it comes to housing, Glidden said that has changed in recent years.

“A lot of the housing issues started in Park City 30, 40 years ago,” he said. “You didn’t see that maybe so much in the Wasatch back, and as the workforce got pushed out of Park City, they got pushed further into Summit County or down into Wasatch County. Demand started to increase. It’s like squeezing a balloon; it’s going to expand somewhere.”

As workers spread to find homes, so did housing affordability issues. First, the problem grew throughout more rural areas of Summit County. Now, they’re in Wasatch County as well.

“Home prices have rocketed up in Wasatch County,” Glidden said. “You are looking at very similar demographics. Maybe not to the scale of Park City yet, but it’s not far behind.”

If it’s hard for you to believe that the rural, once-primarily agricultural Wasatch County’s issues align with an upper-end ski town’s, you’re not alone.

When Wasatch County Councilor Kendall Crittenden — who was in the audience — said 60-70% of the community’s homes are second units, there were audible murmurings and whispers throughout the room.

Scott House, a member of the Park City Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitors Bureau, was discussing a question he’d heard from a community member who wondered if communities could benefit from more second home owners.

Andrew Knudsen, a member of the firm that performed the study, said the issue with second homes — and the reason why communities can’t rely on them despite their higher tax rates — is because they don’t regularly contribute to local retail, thus not regularly contributing to local retail sales tax.

“It’s a fallacy to think that the easy way out is to cater to second home owners,” Knudsen said.

They could potentially spend less and require just as much from the community, Knudsen said, and that’s before even considering the social fabric and having homeowners who aren’t full-time members of the community.

What can help solve the community’s housing problem, according to Glidden, are locals who are willing to become housing advocates, people who are willing to support affordable housing projects not only in their county or town, but in their neighborhood.

“There’s this ongoing notion of NIMBYism — not in my back yard,” he said. “We need to have more YIMBYs — yes in my backyard. We need more people that are going to come out and talk about the importance of affordable housing. And that doesn’t mean you have to come and speak at a public meeting. Maybe you write a letter to your elected officials or to your local newspapers or media outlets to say this is important to us.”

He added that people can volunteer for Habitats for Humanity or Mountainlands Community Housing Trust.

“We need more people to come in and say, yes, this is the right place,” he said. “We need this if we want to continue to be a thriving community that’s vibrant and full of community members.”

The post Mountainlands Community Housing Trust shows Heber City reasons to invest in affordable housing appeared first on Park Record.

Jayden Parker Sever, the son of Heber City Police Chief Parker Sever, had his first appearance in Utah’s District 4 Court on Wednesday morning after being charged with attempted rape and object rape, both first-degree felonies.

He appeared from Utah County Jail. His father did not attend.

Senior Judge Darold McDade, who substituted for Judge Jennifer Mabey, asked Jayden Parker Sever about his yearly earnings, if he’s ever been married, and if he has children.

He said he hasn’t been married, though his answer as to whether he has kids was less clear.

Parker Sever specified that someone has claimed her child was fathered by his son, but it was never confirmed he was the father.

After receiving the information, McDade decided to appoint public defender Aaron Owens to the case, though he said the accused may need to obtain private counsel in the future.

The prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Langdon Fisher, and Owens agreed to a protective order about the trial’s discovery phase that will require any evidence the prosecutor finds to be shared with the defense and to remain secret from public. In accordance with the proposed protective order, the shared evidence cannot be shared with Parker Sever or any third parties without a court order.

“The evidence in this case includes sensitive information, including identifying information and medical information related to the alleged victims,” court documents state. “The state believes it is appropriate to provide complete discovery to defense counsel without compromising the sensitive information involved here.”

Sever’s alleged crimes reportedly happened between February and March, while he was an employee at Spring Gardens Senior Living in Heber City. The two victims were residents experiencing late-stage dementia.

Months after he lost his job at the facility in March for unrelated reasons, Parker Sever told his father what he’d done, and the chief reported his son to the Utah Attorney General’s Office.

After that, the police chief said he stayed out of the investigation.

“I do love my son,” he said. “I didn’t think this was something he was capable of, but he needs to go through the process, and the legal process will determine what the sentencing and everything else is.”

He said he’s tried to help his son for many years, and hopes he will be able to receive the assistance he needs.

“We’re concerned for the victims of the crimes that he committed,” the chief said. “I think (Jayden) has some mental issues that he needs to deal with. I’m hoping that through this process he can at least be seen for those issues.”

Jayden Parker Sever’s preliminary hearing was set for Aug. 14.

The post Son of Heber City police chief has first court appearance for rape charges appeared first on Park Record.

On Easter Sunday — while many Christians throughout the Wasatch back were celebrating the resurrection of their Savior — Heber City resident had a near-death experience of his own while he was exploring the backcountry near Lake Creek.

51-year-old Shawn Irvin, a self-described avid snowmobiler, said the day’s weather conditions were relatively temperamental. It was already snowing when they arrived in the parking lot, and when they had found a good place to boondock — a term that generally means leave the beaten trail to explore powder-ridden landscapes — it was becoming thicker and was amplified by strong gusts of wind.

Irvin said he’s snowmobiled on and off throughout his life, but he’s become an avid regular of the sport over the past five years. He doesn’t miss powder days, and with his increased experience comes increased skill and a desire to keep pushing the envelope and test new terrain both in a metaphorical and physical sense.

On Sunday, however, he knew things were shaping up to be rather precarious.

“It was 20 minutes and by the time we had looked up we were somewhat disoriented,” Irvin said.

The pair decided to head back to the trail when Irvin fell off the Earth.

At least that’s what he said it felt like when he rode over what’s usually no more than a hump of snow to find it had grown into a 20-foot windlift.

“The sled just dropped 20 feet down off that cornice with me with it,” he said. “I shattered  my femur on the handlebars on the way down going over the sled.”

His friend radioed to him to ask where he was.

“I was like, ‘I’m underneath you,'” Irvin said. 

His buddy eventually dug him out and got the sled running. So much snow was falling, however, that Irvin couldn’t keep his snowmobile level.

“It was just sagging,” he said. “He looked at me, and we were at a point where we would have to boondock again up a ridgeline.”

Fortunately, as the wisest of backcountry adventurers with a strong appetite for adrenaline often are, Irvin was prepared for things to go wrong, and he had with him a SPOT GPS satellite messenger from Saved by SPOT, a company that offers a subscription service for folks like Irvin so that — when they fall of the edge of the earth and shatter their femurs — they can be found, and they can be helped. 

It was time to activate that SOS beacon.

His iPhone’s SOS system also allowed him to communicate with Wasatch Search and Rescue, who told him to stay where he was.

It was only about 20 minutes after those messages before his rescue team of what he called “nine badass snowmobilers” made their way over the ridge and into his view.

“This is like real expert snowmobilers,” he said. “Their response time was just amazing.”

They made quick work of Irvin’s debilitated condition, and got him on a helicopter and on his way to a trauma unit in Provo. Luckily, the broken bone still stayed in the vicinity of where it belonged and did not puncture his skin.

He wanted to thank the rescuers who helped make sure his Easter riding experience turned out to be a bad day in the backcountry instead of a tragedy for his wife and other loved ones.

“I just want to thank all those people involved,” he said. “There were a lot of effort with a lot of people with a lot of knowledge and nobody should ever take that for granted.”

He also spoke about his story as a cautionary tail for other adventurers who could find themselves in unpleasant predicaments and need a helping hand — or an airlift — out.

“In off-grid areas, if you don’t have a device like SPOT, it’s a waste of time,” he said. “Conditions can change drastically.”

The post Heber City snowmobiler grateful for Wasatch Search and Rescue after Easter snowmobile accident appeared first on Park Record.

Heber City Council members convened as the Heber City Community Reinvestment Agency on Tuesday evening to discuss where they stand in recruiting Wasatch County and the Wasatch County School District to contribute a portion of their tax increment increases to the community’s downtown revitalization project.

On March 6, members of the council had attended a Wasatch County Council meeting to discuss the potential for the county to enter into the agreement. 

The county’s involvement would necessitate 75% of the county’s tax increment within the project area would go toward the redevelopment project for the next 20 years or until that amount reaches $3.2-$4 million, whichever would come first.

Their plea was met with a variety of reactions, but Wasatch County Council Chair Spencer Park ultimately told them to come back once they had presented their plan to the school district.

On Tuesday, Heber City Manager Matt Brower talked to the Heber City councilors about their next steps.

“This has got to be a political discussion, meaning it’s got to be between the agency and the County Council,” he said. “I’m hoping that you’re reaching out to your peers over there. At some point we’ll need to get back on their agenda and say, ‘Are you ready to close the deal?’ so to speak.” 

Councilor Yvonne Barney said that, during the initial presentation, she noted “a lot of pushback from the county” and said she would like to know exactly what their concerns are.

“I think they need to spell it out for us,” she said. “I just didn’t get that from that meeting that night.”

She remembered blank faces, and blank looks, and said she really wants for the county and other parties of the inter-local agreement to be vocal about their specific concerns.

“What do you not like?” she said. “Please be vocal.”

That, she specified, might help move the conversation along more than repeating the potential benefits of the agreement.

“I just saw those blank looks, and it really kind of concerned me,” she said.

What Brower was asking, Cheatwood said, was for the council members to reach out to different individual members of different elected parties from whom the city needs support to find out what those specific concerns are.

“The feedback I got before you made the presentation with the county council was they didn’t need a more sales job on the details of the CRA,” Brower said. “So we cut a lot of that out. What we really focused on was how we were going to go about spending the increment.”

He said that’s why the city’s presentation in large part emphasized that the redevelopment project would contribute $4.1 million to the county’s arts and recreation district, a sum greater than what the county would contribute through their increment.

“As political leaders, you’ve got to be reaching out, having the conversations, getting the intel and then helping us understand how we get this across the finish line,” Brower said.

Still, Barney said she doesn’t understand the disconnect.

“I need to know where the problem is,” she said.

Sid Ostergaard agreed with Brower that a large part of answering that question needs to happen behind the scenes.

Mayor Heidi Franco suggested that before the city puts more pressure on the county council, they should perhaps shift some of their focus to the school board.

Wasatch County School District Paul Sweat, Brower said, has “tentatively agreed to have a joint meeting on April 23.”

“It is at that meeting in which we’ll give another presentation,” Brower continued. “It will be a little bit different. Their concerns are different, and we’ll gear that presentation towards those concerns. And so I am going to put that together.”

Even before then, the two groups are looking to potentially begin the conversation through a small committee with two representatives from the school district’s board and two from Heber City.

Councilors Aaron Cheatwood and Mike Johnston volunteered.

The post County, school district slow to join Heber City downtown revitalization effort; city officials wonder why, exactly appeared first on Park Record.

During Tuesday’s Heber City Council meeting, the Heber City Mayor’s Office presented Officer Ty Cummings with the Mayor’s Award for a decision that emphasized the “serve” in “serve and protect.” 

Police Chief Parker Sever explained the department’s decision to nominate Cummings for the award and how the officer helped a community member in need.

“He was dispatched to a lady that was having a child custody issue, and I’ve taken those in the past when I was an officer, and I was always like, ‘Just the facts — Why are we here? Where are we going?'” Sever explained.

Cummings did things a little bit differently.

“He clearly didn’t stick to just the facts. What he found out during his conversation with this lady was that she was short on food and supplies for her and her baby. And I’m not sure how you get there over a phone conversation, but he got there, which means he was asking the right questions,” Sever said. “What he did next, though, was he went to the store, and he purchased supplies for this young mother and delivered them for her and her baby so that they could be taken care of.”

Cummings didn’t tell Sever about the act himself. Instead, his action came to light after “he was ratted out by a fellow officer.”

Cummings — who has only been with the police department since late last fall — is originally from Heber City. He previously worked as a law enforcement officer with the Houston Police Department before he was hired in his hometown. 

“He strayed for a little while,” Sever joked, “He realized the error of his ways, and he returned.”

To have an officer with strong roots and relationships in the community, he explained, is a definite asset in their line of work.

“Though he’s been here a short time, he’s shown that he represents the values and the morals that we expect in our officers and in our city employees,” Sever said at the meeting. “And so for that reason we nominated him to the mayor for this award.”

After the meeting, Sever explained custody dispute calls to police departments typically require officers to search for court orders or other factors that would help them figure out who should have custody of a child. Sometimes officers respond in person, and sometimes they speak with different parties over the phone, as was the case with Cummings.

“Typically, especially when you’re doing something over the phone, you can’t really look at the person and see the condition that they’re in. You’re just getting information about a child custody dispute,” Sever said. “But clearly he must have, because he cared about the person, went into a log more detail than typically. And when he was going to that detail, he found out that she was in need of some assistance for her and her baby.”

While Cummings’ actions were commendable, Sever said they’re not necessarily rare, and they signify what the Heber City Police Department looks for in its officers.

“I’ve been a cop for 27 years, and I’ve seen this hundreds of times,” he said. “It happens more often than you think. The officers are caring individuals, and they’re here to serve and protect and help these people.”

He said he’s seen an officer set someone up with a fridge and another officer help someone fix their car’s air conditioning system on a blistering day.

“It’s the same thing here. When they see somebody in need, they want to help,” he said. “And so that’s what he saw, and that’s the behavior that we want to encourage.”

Heber City Mayor Heidi Franco also spoke highly of Cummings and said his act of kindness will be a bright spot on his and his family’s Heber Valley legacy.

“I’ve known Officer Ty Cummings for a long time, almost all of your life, actually, and I have to say that the service that you’re giving not only fulfills courage and compassion that we want in our police officers, but it honors your family legacy in our city and valley, and I just am so happy to see that,” she said. “We’re so glad that you’re here with us and can give this excellent service for our citizens.”

The post Heber City Police Officer given Mayor’s Award appeared first on Park Record.

Feb. 20’s regular Heber City Council meeting ended on a somber note when Mayor Heidi Franco made an unexpected announcement.

“Chief Sever sent me a text and he says that Ron Crittenden has passed away,” Franco said just after the council voted to adjourn. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Ronald Crittenden was 74 years old and, according to his obituary, faced several health issues.

While many who were in attendance at the meeting and many others throughout the valley likely remember him as a local businessman and a prior Heber City Councilor and Wasatch County Treasurer, his brother Kendall Crittenden — who currently sits on Wasatch County Council — remembers a lot more.

“We were born and raised in Hoytsville there in Summit County, and we had great family. We did a lot of family activities, did a lot of things together,” Kendall remembered. “Hunting, fishing and hiking and just working together, working on the farm, hauling hay for my grandparents, and all of that. So we had a great childhood growing up.”

Ron, he said, took an interest in politics from an early age. He became an accomplished debater in high school and won all-state honors. During his senior year, he became the president of his chapter for Future Farmers of America, and he carried out his duties and projects with a flair Kendall said could be described as “very entrepreneurial.”

“They have to have a project animal and usually it’s sheep or cows or something like that,” Kendall explained. “He did beagles. We had some coonhounds that we chased bobcats and mountain lions in the winter, and then we’d do rabbit hunting and whatnot. So he had beagles.” 

At first, Kendall explained, the FFA advisor wasn’t sure about the decision. Ron, however, came to them with sound logic.

“The teacher or whatever said, ‘You can’t do a project for beagles,'” Kendall remembered. “And he said, ‘Sure I can. I’d make money on them.’ And he did. He raised beagle pups and sold them.”

After his graduation, Ron served a mission in Southeast Mexico, proselytizing for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Yucatán Peninsula.

“He especially liked the area. His mission was a lot of Book of Mormon ruins,” Kendall said, referring to the LDS Church’s book of scripture said to be set on the ancient American continent. 

While Ron left Mexico at the end of his mission, it never entirely left him.

Throughout his life, he would return to guide people on tours of the area.

“Because he had personal connections with the people,” Kendall said, “he was able to take some of his tours into places that other tour guides couldn’t get into. … He took a lot of people, a lot of different trips.”

According to his wife, Sandra Homer, he never lost his love of Mexico or its culture. He made his last visit about five years before he died and throughout their life together consistently asked her to hire a Mariachi band for his funeral.

“I thought maybe he teased me,” Homer said about the request. “But I think he was serious.” 

Later, he would serve in the LDS Church’s Spanish Branch in Heber City.

Upon returning to Utah after his mission, Ron went on to graduate from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and, according to Kendall, an unhindered fire to continue in endeavors of civic engagement.

There, he met Homer, who said they were placed in the same “BYU family,” an assigned group of students who engage in different sets of activities with one another.

The couple took the term family seriously — at least seriously enough to marry one another — and celebrated their 50th anniversary in May last year.

Shortly after they married and graduated from BYU, the two found themselves in Heber City, away from the bustle of Provo but near enough more populated areas.

“Ron always kind of wanted to move back to Hoytsville, and I had come from Southern California,” Homer said. “I said, ‘No, I think Heber’s small enough, small enough for me.'”

Ron kept busy with a career that spanned from filing taxes for people and selling insurance to conducting tours to the Yucatán Peninsula to working as state director for two Utah congressmen — Howard Nielson and Bill Orton.

The latter, Homer said, was mainly a position he filled in a transitionary period after Orton was elected. When he worked for Nielson, she said he often drove the congressman around to different meetings and looked up to him.

Later on, Ron became a local elected official in the Heber Valley, first as `Wasatch County Treasurer and more recently as a Heber City Councilor from 2016 to 2020.

As treasurer, Kendall said Ron prided himself in handling the people’s money in a way that allowed the county to make more off interest than what he was paid.

As a city councilor, Kendall remembered his brother as a stick-to-your-guns conservative who believed in property rights, fair treatment and limited government.

“He strongly believed in property rights. He hated zoning. He said if you’re going to do zoning, you ought to do it all the way,” Kendall said. “If you come in as a developer, you’ve got property rights to do what the zoning in your district allows you to do. You don’t come in and ask to change a zone so you can get greater density.”

Homer remembered Ron not only through his busy career and several public positions but also by his actions as a husband and father. Even with his busy career, Ron made time for his family.

Every July 24, she said the family would go camping at a property they owned east of Heber City. While others in the area had cabins, they would stick to a tent on their plot of ground.

“That’s a tradition we plan to carry on,” Homer said. “Even the last few years, with Ron’s health it got hard for him to go up there.”

That, however, didn’t stop him. He’d make the trip to the campsite to spend time with his family, go home to sleep, then return the next day.

“That was really important for him for us to keep that tradition,” Homer said. “He didn’t want us to miss it.”

At Ron’s funeral, Homer said Heber City police officers retired the United States and Utah flags, something that would’ve meant a great deal to him. 

“He was proud to represent the community and the positions he held. He took it as a real trust, the public’s trust, to represent them,” Kendall said about his brother. “He did his best to represent them in the way he felt they would want to be represented.”

One of Ron’s friends from his mission also attended the service. He brought several musicians with him, and they gave Ron the Mariachi send-off he always asked for.

The post Heber Valley community leader Ronald Crittenden passes away appeared first on Park Record.

Every Thursday evening from early June to late August, Heber City’s Main Street Park turns into more than a park.

Local musicians take to the stage to play their tunes for hundreds who gather on the adjacent spacious field. Scores of other attendees circle the perimeter where craftspeople, organizations and foodies alike connect with different community members and show them their wares.

Last year, the Heber Market on Main turned 25, and it shows no signs of shrinking or slowing anytime soon.

According to information provided by the Heber Branch of the Bank of Utah — a longstanding sponsor of the market — it took root back in 1998 when KPCW DJ Paul Askins got sick of traveling to Park City to MC for events each week. 

He started a Concerts in the Park series in Heber City, connecting with the bank to solicit help paying different bands who, at first, played in front of crowds of just 10-20 people.

Since then, the event has grown into what it is today. It continues under the direction of Heber City and consistently draws scores of people each Thursday throughout the warmer months of the year.

Right now, Heber City is looking for vendors who want to take part in the event and individuals or businesses who are willing to sponsor it.

According to Heber City Parks and Recreation Administrative Assistant Jody Summers, the gathering has served as an opportunity for different business leaders to connect with one another in a variety of ways. It’s also provided a place where people can purchase goods knowing their sales tax will stay local in Heber City.

“We have spaces for about 25 food vendors, and that could be anything from just snow cones and lemonade and ice cream to full-on dinner options,” Summers said. “Over the years we’ve added craft and retail booths. We have a section for just educational and promotional things.”

She said the event has also been an opportunity for doctors new in town to spread the word about their practice and for insurance companies to solicit their services to the community. Churches have also become a part of the event, working to bring people to salvation only feet away from vendors working to put honey on their corn dogs. 

“We kind of have a spot for everybody in the community,” she said.

And, she added, vendors with fresh produce or locally sourced fresh food like bread or honey to sell can do so without paying the costs charged to other vendors.

“It was called the Heber Valley Farmers Market, but we weren’t getting a lot of farmers. It is hard in Heber. We have such a short growing season,” she explained. “We definitely want to attract more of that so we get an even bigger actual farmer’s market presence there.”

Those interested in reserving a booth can do so until May 31 or until they are all reserved. 

Heber City is also looking for individuals or businesses interested in sponsoring the event.      

The post Heber City looking for sponsors, vendors for Heber Market on Main appeared first on Park Record.