NIBLEY–Cache County Executive Lynn Lemon visited the City Council meeting Nov. 19 to present a $658,000 check for the recently completed construction on 3200 South. Lemon called the project a “worthy purpose” and said the funds came from the Cache County Road Sales Tax, approved by general election in 2007, which helps in projects that alleviate traffic congestion.

“Nibley is the first recipient of that [tax],” Lemon said. “We see 3200 South as one of the major corridors.”

According to a Nibley press release, 2.2 miles of road were widened in the project as well as rail crossing impovements. In all the project cost $5 million. 3200 South connects US 89-91 with State Road 165 and is one of the major east-west corridors in the south valley.

Later in the meeting the council discussed the finances of a 3200 South beautification project, proposed by city staff. City Manager Larry Anhder described some of the plans involved, including lining the road with snow crabapple trees, creating a city tree farm near Main Street and other roadside landscaping.

“I think [3200 South] is used as much by non-Nibley residents as it is Nibley residents,” Anhder said. He said that in cities, “perception is more important than reality,” and that beautifying the road would impact the overall appearance of Nibley.

“It’s going to be the type of thing people drive to our community
to see,” he said.

Mayor Gerald Knight requested that the council allow Anhder and city staff to prepare budget requests and essentially initiate the project, but in the absence of councilmen Shaun Dustin and Bryan Hansen the three members present failed to unanimously approve the plan.

Councilman Scott Larsen expressed concern with moving on with the project without the input of the full council. He also mentioned a desire for more information regarding the project and said other areas of Nibley might better benefit from beautification efforts.

There was some debate, mostly between Mayor Knight and Larsen,
with councilmen Thayne Mickelson and Larry Jacobsen expressing their support for the plan. “This is a proposal to plant trees, that’s good enough for me,” Jacobsen said.

All of the council members present appeared to be in favor of the tree farm proposal, while diverging in opinion regarding the entire beautification project. The preliminary approval motion failed with Larsen voting against, and Anhder and the city staff were instructed to gather more information for the topic to be readdressed at a later date with more members of the council present.

In other business the council:
–voted unanimously to delay a sewer rate increase until July 1, previously set to occur in January. After the increase, basic residences will be $40 per building per month.
–gathered information and discussed compensation options for members of the Nibley First Responder Unit; no official action was taken.

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LOGAN— Hans Peter Arendsten, 27, of Logan, charged with two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, pleaded guilty Monday in 1st District Court to the first charge in exchange for having the second charge dropped.

Arendsten faces up to five years in prison for his third DUI offense. Sentencing is set for Jan. 4. He was represented by attorney Neal S. Randall and said he pleads guilty “to driving under the influence of alcohol on a public road in the state of Utah while having a breath alcohol concentration of .08 grams or greater.”

Arendsten was arrested by officer John Italasano from the North Park Police Department June 22 in the vicinity of 1700 E. 1900 North. Italasano used a breathalyzer test and found that Ardensten had a breath alcohol concentration above the legal limit, and there was a failure to appear warrant out for his arrest. Arendsten was taken into custody and booked into the Cache County Jail. He was later released on a bail bond of $1,800.

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LOGAN—She’s the best in the state, and Courtney Schoen Lewis has the Golden Spike Award to prove it.

The Utah State University junior from Texas won those bragging rights after being named Utah Public Relations Student of the Year this week at the annual meeting of the Salt Lake-area Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

“Courtney Lewis is exactly the kind of student that this award represents,” said USU PR professor Troy Oldham “She is smart, hard-working and a good leader.”

PRSA Greater Salt Lake Chapter President Chad Saley agreed. “Courtney showed great intuition and had a good grasp of public relations strategies and tactics,” he said.

“At first I couldn’t believe I won because the other contestants were so high-caliber and extremely qualified,” said Lewis, one of four finalists from Utah universities. “But the more I think of it, the more I realize I had no excuse to lose: we have the best PR and communications professors in the state.”

As the first place winner, Lewis won the Golden Spike Trophy, 1 $1,000 prize, and an internship with Salt Lake City PR agency Intrepid, the state’s biggest. She and the other finalists were selected from a field of more than 20 contestants representing five universities competing for the coveted award.

Contestants in the annual competition create a public relations campaign for a real-world client. This year’s client was the non-profit Utah Food Allergy Network.

Lewis titled her campaign, “Know Your Plan with UFAN.” She says she spent roughly 15 hours just coming up with a campaign theme. After considering using “acronyms or cutesy word combinations,” she decided a clear and simple theme would be the best option.

Her campaign focused on children as the target audience. “I talked a lot about why children are the hope for the future and how they can help create a safer environment for those with food allergies,” said Lewis.

The competition was open to all college students from Utah universities and BYU-Idaho. The other three finalists represented Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University and Weber State.

“We are very pleased that an Aggie won the Utah Golden Spike PR Student of the Year Award,” said Oldham, “but it’s no surprise to anyone who knows about our program. Our students have always performed well in this tough and comprehensive competition.”

Preston Parker, adviser of USU’s Public Relations Student Society of American (PRSSA) chapter, of which Lewis is 2009-10 president, shared that sentiment: “USU PR students are recognized as some of the most prepared to enter the industry, and winning awards like this certainly validates this recognition,” Parker said.

In 2008, USU student Breea Heiner finished second in the regional competition, and USU’s Elizabeth Wortley took home the first-place prize in 2006.

“The application process is pretty intense,” Oldham said. “The competition involves submitting an application, including a proposed PR plan, along with strategic planning, creative design, detailed research and an objective-based media strategy.”

“Total, I probably spent no less than 100 hours working on my campaign,” said Lewis. “It really was a part-time job for a month and a half.”

To be considered for the award, contestants submitted a 10-page summary of their campaign approach, including a cover letter, an executive summary, a PR plan, a campaign timeline and a press release.

A panel of PR professionals judged the entries, and selected finalists from four different universities to present their campaign plans at a day-long competition on Nov. 14 in Salt Lake City.

During the presentations, Lewis and the other finalists formally presented their plans, pitched a news story to veteran KSL-TV reporter Jed Boal, wrote a press release on deadline, and managed a crisis situation. The judges asked finalists direct questions about their campaigns and provide one-on-one feedback.

“One day of this competition is comparable to what students might learn in a semester PR internship,” said Saley. “This is a learning experience unlike any other for those preparing for a communications career.”

Saley offered advice for those interested in next year’s Golden Spike competition, as well as for students heading into PR careers.

“Writing, writing, writing,” said Saley. “Writing is the key skill that every public relations professional needs to have. It is also important to remember that public relations includes media relations. Creating a concrete strategy for targeting media is a crucial part of most PR plans.”

At USU, Lewis is public relations assistant for the Caine School of the Arts. She and her fellow PR students are working hard in preparation for the Public Relations Regional Conference, which USU’s PRSSA chapter will host on campus in April.

“Courtney and the other PRSSA board members have worked hard to take the USU PR program to a higher level,” said group adviser Parker, who noted that hosting a nationally recognized professional public relations conference is a significant honor.

TP

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LOGAN–Friday night the 6th-ranked Boise Broncos ran amok in Utah State University’s Romney Stadium to take an easy 52-21 victory over USU.

The game looked like a live one after Boise QB Kellen Moore’s first touchdown pass was quickly answered by USU’s Michael Smith when he rushed for a 22-yard goal. And just a few minutes later Boise’s TD was answered on USU’s very next possession. The Aggies started out strong.

But any hopes USU fans had for an upset were dashed on the Broncos next two possessions as they took off on a “basketball run,” scoring two unanswered touchdowns within just 46 seconds. Boise’s Titus Young made a miraculous left-handed catch through USU’s man-to-man coverage, setting up a 2-yard run by Doug Martin for the 21-14 lead.

Then USU fumbled the hand-off on the very next play, setting up an easy 28-14 score by running back Jeremy Avery, who rushed for 2 TDs during the night. Boise’s Doug Martin also shined, scoring four touchdowns in the game.

After the break, Boise grabbed a gear, scoring within a minute and a half on two consecutive possessions.

Diondre Borel started several drives for USU that almost broke the Broncos’ momentum several times, and Robert Turbin powered through tough defense for a good running game, scoring USU’s second TD from 24 yards out. But defensive lapses and fumbled plays cost the Aggies big over the long run. The Aggies’ season record fell with the loss to 2-5 in conference play.

The win leaves the Broncos unbeaten, with a 11-0, 6-0 record for the season. The big question on Boise fans’ minds–and some local fans who were miffed at the University of Utah’s perfect 2008 season going unrecognized—was whether the Broncos played with enough spark to draw a BCS Bowl game invitation.

The game was the first live nationwide coverage by ESPN at USU, and the TV crew spent two days preparing for the broadcast. In pre-recorded segments, ESPN explored USU’s campus, highlighting Diversity Week, the Taggart Student Center, and the joys of Aggie ice cream. The USU Rocket team and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle team were both spotlighted as well. One particularly interesting segment involved dozens of students from USU’s spirit squad wearing Aggie Blue–some shirtless and painted–as they sang USU’s school song for a national audience. This is why student fees were raised by $68 a semester — so America can see and try to comprehend the strange lyrics to “The Scotsman” along with the rest of USU’s student body. Let’s hope it helps next year.

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LOGAN–Walking into Club New York, your eyes have to adjust to the almost non-existent light. The only lights illuminating the corridor and snack area are blacklights, making any white surface glow. At the end of the hallway is a cozy room with a small stage where half a dozen people are setting up chairs, all the while talking, laughing, socializing. This is the Social Media Club of Cache Valley (SMCCV).

While social media make it convenient to network and interact over the Internet, problems arise when making the transition to a club that meets in person. That’s why, for the time being, the SMCCV will be meeting at a different location each month until they can find a more permanent home.

At this SMCCV meeting, local blogger Loralee Choate shared her experiences with social media. Earlier this year Choate wrote a blog post about her conflict with her insurance company when it considered her high-rick pregnancy a pre-existing condition. In this post she said “the overwhelming anxiety that has been building and building for a long time erupted and I burst into wracking, sobbing tears to the insurance coordinator.” She sent out a link to her post on Twitter, which was reposted by other people and eventually it was “read by the right person.” Choate said this got her an invitation to attend a luncheon in August with Valerie Jarrett, President Obama’s senior advisor, to talk about health care reform. She and her husband both got to talk with Jarrett about their opinions on health care.

Choate said she couldn’t believe she was getting this sort of opportunity. “I’m nobody,” she said. “I blog about my life, my children, my ‘ta-tas’. I didn’t think anyone cared.”

The SMCCV is a chapter of the Social Media Club, which was founded by husband and wife team Chris Heuer and Kristie Wells in San Francisco in 2006. The Cache Valley chapter launched in July 2009 and is one of the more than 35 active chapters all over the world. According to the club’s Facebook page, their mission is “to become the voice of social media technology in the Cache Valley area” by educating people on social media and promoting ethical social media standards. The club focuses on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook as well as personal and business blogs.

Choate isn’t the only one who has learned to use social media to her advantage. Nancy Williams, SMCCV’s communications director, said that’s the whole point of the club: to help people learn to use social media beyond just staying in touch with their families without having to take a class. Williams said her involvement started when she got an e-mail from Preston Parker, a public relations professor at Utah State University who was trying to put together a board for the Cache Valley chapter.

“He asked me if I’d be interested and I said yes,” Williams said. “It was really simple.” The only other Social Media Club chapters in Utah are in Salt Lake City and Utah Valley, which Williams said was a little far for people in Cache Valley. She said she, Parker and a few others who had been attending the Salt Lake meetings decided “that it was a cool thing that we could do.

“There’s always been a group of people (in Cache Valley) who used social media,” Williams said. “It just took Preston getting us all together.”

Parker said the reason Cache Valley is the perfect place for this type of club is because it’s full of college students and the perfect place for entrepreneurs, and both “need and use social media.” The SMCCV gives people a great opportunity to learn from other’s expertise.

“Nobody knows everything about social media, but together we know it all,” Parker said. “So if you have a question, there’s someone there who knows the answer.”

Parker added that with technology today, everyone has an online reputation, and it’s important to know how to manage it. Williams said there’s no denying social media have changed the way people look at a lot of things, particularly the mass media. She said it’s similar to the change that television brought about. Television changed the mass media drastically, and social media is doing the same.

Williams said the advantage is that it gives people instant access to news events and the people who are involved with them. She related the story of the Hudson River plane crash last January. “The best pictures of the crash were from people on a ferry in the river using their digital cameras and cell phones,” Williams said. “The first reports were Twittered. It took the Associated Press a good hour before they moved a story on it. That’s the first time I really understood the power of Twitter.”

The SMCCV meets on the second Thursday of every month. For more information visit their Web site, www.smccv.net, or search for Social Media Club Cache Valley on Facebook.

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LOGAN–A Utah State University student pleaded guilty to charges of theft and possessing drug paraphernalia Wednesday in 1st District Court. Jeremy Jase Torres, 20, admitted to stealing a bike and selling it on KSL.com, stealing a camera from a dorm on campus and possessing drug paraphernalia within 1,000 ft. of USU’s campus.

According to an affidavit, Torres was arrested Sept. 28 after being interviewed by police
and admitting to taking a camera from one of the dorm rooms at Richards Hall. The document said Torres also admitted that he tried selling the camera the same day he took it, Aug. 18.

Dave Ruzicka, a resident of Richards Hall, said he turned in a report to police officer Kim Ellis after he found out his camera had been taken out of his room. Ruzicka said he met Torres a month before school started and didn’t suspect Torres would have taken the camera. Ruzicka said Torres offered to help look for the missing camera and shortly after Ruzicka filed a report with USU police department.

“He made us not suspect he would do something like that just because he was completely normal about everything,” Ruzicka said. “I was in shock, I didn’t really suspect it was him at all.”

A couple days after the camera went missing, Ruzicka said Torres called and told him there was a posting of his camera for sale in the Taggart Student Center on campus. When Ruzicka arrived at the TSC the posting was no longer on the board, but Torres had two phone numbers that Ruzicka later turned over to the police.

Ruzicka said the police traced the numbers back to West Jordan under the name of Brent Anderson. He said Torres claimed Anderson was a student at USU who put up the posting, but police were unable to locate any student by that name. That same week, Ruzicka said, Torres said he was going to meet the guy who was selling his camera. After a couple of hours, he said Torres came back with the camera and everything, including Ruzicka’s social security card, still in the camera bag.

Ruzicka said the police questioned Torres after the recent situation was reported and Torres had a complete description of who sold the camera. Police had been searching for a Brent Anderson until late September when they brought Torres back in for questioning.

During the interview in September, Torres admitted to taking Ruzicka’s camera from the dorm and trying to selling it, the affidavit states. According to police documentation, they also found a bike sold on KSL.com that had been reported as stolen with Torres’ contact information as the seller and drug paraphernalia in Torres’ possession.

Torres pleaded guilty to all charges and is scheduled for sentencing Dec. 29.

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LOGAN–The non-profit Sub for Santa program hopes to help nearly 1,500 needy children with gifts this Christmas, said director Connie Bodily, but now the program is almost out of sponsors and may have to refer needy children to the back-up Shopko “Sharing Tree” if new sponsors don’t volunteer before Dec. 9.

“We’re nearly right on track, but we’re going to run out of sponsors soon,” Bodily said.

In the Sub for Santa program, volunteers shop for as many kids as they can afford, buying one “want” item and one “need” item totaling roughly $75 for each child, to help fill out Christmas for poor families. Sub for Santa is entirely community supported without state or federal grants, Bodily said.

The program allows families with incomes of up to 125 percent of federal poverty level to apply for help, which works out to a monthly income of $1,518 for a single parent with one child, or $2,297 per month for a family of four, Bodily said.

Bodily and her small staff of volunteers have much work to do before they organize and distribute the thousands of gifts during the week of Dec. 10-15, including taking and checking applications from families, assigning shoppers to appropriate children, and organizing the gifts into roughly equal amounts for children in each family so that none are spoiled or left out.

It’s a challenging job and takes many hours of her time, said Bodily, who works part-time as a file clerk for Cache County School District. “It gets kind of crazy doing both,” she said. “It’s been like this since the middle of October.”

Sponsors who would like to volunteer to shop for needy children can call the Sub for Santa office at 435-752-6315 before Dec. 9. People may also take a name from the ShopKo “Sharing Tree” and leave the gift with the Sub for Santa volunteer at the store to be distributed later. The “Sharing Tree” remains up until Dec. 15, Bodily said.

Parents who want to apply for help can find applications at many locations around the valley including libraries, food banks, and government offices. The final day applications will be accepted is Dec. 4, Bodily said.

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LOGAN – Rwanda’s ambassador to the United Nations, Eugene-Richard Gasana, accepted the Presidential Merit Medal on behalf of Rwandan President Paul Kagame at Utah State University yesterday. He addressed an audience of faculty and students at the Taggart Student Center Auditorium about Rwanda’s efforts to recover from the 1994 genocide.

Gasana said the Rwandan genocide 15 years ago killed more than 1 million people during a period of three months. To put this into perspective, he said the population of Cache Valley–approximately 100,000 people–would have disappeared in about 10 days, and the student body at USU of about 20,000 would have disappeared overnight.

“Once you face those crimes, even those perpetrators, to think you can revenge yourself, to kill them, it is not the solution to revenge ourselves,” Gasana said about the difficult choices made to rebuild Rwanda for future generations. “It is not easy to sit together with someone who killed your mother, who raped your daughter, to sit with him and say, OK, let’s sit together and see how we can rebuild our country again. It is not easy,” Gasana said. “But it is a matter of choice.”

“Rwanda is truly a remarkable country, and it endured hardship,” Mary Hubbard, vice provost for global engagement at the College of Science said. Hubbard introduced Gasana and presented the award. “It is rebuilding at an incredible rate.”

Gasana accepted the medal on behalf of President Kagame. Hubbard said this is the first medal awarded by USU President Stan Albrecht to a foreign leader, recognizing Kagame’s efforts to rebuild his country after the genocide.

“We are pleased to have a good leader–I’m paid to say that, but still, Rwanda is a peaceful country,” Gasana said. President Kagame is responsible for stopping the genocide, he said. He gave Rwanda strong leadership, which the country needed to come out of the tragedies of the genocide. He said Kagane was able to make hard choices that helped Rwanda to recover.

“We are proud of the success we have achieved through trade efforts to rebuild Rwanda,” Gasana said. “Our people have made significant progress while focusing on reconciliation. The new Rwanda is more than a developing country–it is poised to become an economic power.”

He said Rwanda is the sixth largest provider of peacekeeping troops to the U.N., sending soldiers to places like Darfur where the U.N. commander is Rwandan. He said Rwanda also sent troops and police to Liberia, and Haiti among other places.

“What happened in Rwanda shouldn’t happen ever in any country in the world,” Gasana said about the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He said Rwanda cannot stand by and look while genocide occurs in other countries if they can do anything to stop it. He said Rwanda was one of the first nations to send peacekeepers to Darfur.

He said 2009 marks the fifteenth year after the 1994 Rwandan genocide that took 1 million lives, leaving thousands of children orphaned and many homeless. Gasana said Rwanda is now a peaceful and stable country.

Gasana said reconstruction is done through a plan called “Vision 2020,” which consists of four key pillars: first, a responsible and accountable government; second, to establish justice; third, social reform focused on reconciliation; and fourth, to develop the economy of Rwanda.

As part of the first pillar, Gasana said it requires establishing a government that is fiscally responsible, with a policy of zero tolerance for corruption. He said auditing agencies were created in Rwanda to make sure there is accountability in the government and to prevent corruption.

“Among our highest priority is apprehending the perpetrators of genocide, and bringing them to justice,” Gasana said. He said justice is the second pillar of his plan, which includes creating a traditional and fair Rwandan court system to prosecute these criminals of genocide, and to establish justice through the country. Gasana said the motive behind this is not vengeance, but justice.

Gasana said as part of he third pillar, Rwanda established a reconciliation commission in 1998, which helped to replace feelings of hatred with peace and stability–it was time to rebuild his country, he said. “We had to choose to either forget our country and ban it altogether, or reconstruct our country,” he said it was hard to sit with people from opposite classes who committed genocide, but he said Rwandans chose reconstruction. “Reconstruction not only of the economy, not only of the infrastructure, but also of the people.

“We don’t have, I repeat it stronger, we don’t have ethnic groups in Rwanda–we used to have classes in Rwanda,” Gasana said, referring to the groups such as the Tootsies and the Hutus. He said Rwandans all have a common language and culture which is unique to the region, and was created by their ancestors – this is what helped the country to become unified, he said. “You cannot prove who is who [scientifically],” Gasana said.

Economic development is the last pillar. He said Rwanda has become a model for economic reform in Central Africa, and was named the world’s top reformer in the Doing Business report published by the World Bank Group–the first time this honor is bestowed to an African nation, he said.

“There is no denying that Rwanda is a country on the move,” Gasana said.

He said Rwanda is able to improve its economy because they focus on investing in human capital and not natural resources. He said Rwanda introduced free universal education. Rwanda has also embraced information technology. He said 1 million children will own a computer by 2012 via the One Laptop per Child program. Gasana said school enrolment has increased by 1,000 percent in Rwanda.

“We invested in human capital a lot,” Gasana said. “We invested in our cities. So we can be the heart of the inter-region of Africa.”

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LOGAN–Three young North Logan residents woke up Wednesday morning at their home on 395 E. 2700 North to a surprise visit from agents from the Cache-Rich Drug Task Force.

Edward H. Rutan, 22, Felix O. Parda, 19, and Tammy L. Augustus, 21, were asleep when detectives entered the home on a search warrant at 9 a.m. Logan City Police Lt. Rod Peterson said the detectives were acting on tips from informants as part of ongoing anti-drug investigations in Cache Valley.

“Upon gaining entry to the home, it smelled of marijuana throughout the home,” Peterson said. “One adult male was located by the name of Felix Parda. He was in bed in the basement. There was an adult female upstairs in the south bedroom. Also present in the home was Edward Rutan and two infant girls.” Peterson said he didn’t know who the infants belonged to.

Detectives found an undisclosed amount of marijuana in Augustus’s bedroom that appeared to be packaged for distribution, he said.

Augustus, Pardo and Rutan were arrested and booked into the Cache County Jail by detective William Barber of the LCPD, on suspicion of various marijuana-related crimes, including possession with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, and reckless endangerment resulting from the two children in the home.

Court records show that Parda has since been charged with two counts of distribution of a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute, all felonies; and possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance, both class A misdemeanors. Augustus has since been charged with possession or use of a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute, both felonies; and use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class A misdemeanor. All charges were enhanced as a result of being within 1,000 feet of a drug-free zone. Augustus has also been charged with two counts of reckless endangerment, third-degree felonies. Rutan has not yet been charged. Parda and Augustus were found indigent and assigned court-appointed attorneys.

After a preliminary appearance on Thursday, bail was reduced to $7,000 for Parda and $5,000 for Augustus. All three are out of jail and free until pre-trial conferences, which have been set for Nov. 23.

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HYRUM—A resolution to adopt the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as Hyrum’s official incident code of conduct was unanimously approved by the City Council Thursday.

Blake Christensen, Hyrum city’s safety officer, who spoke in favor of the resolution, said adopting NIMS would be beneficial to Hyrum because it provides a way for everyone to be on the same page and communicate effectively during an emergency. “It’s good because it means everyone has the same objective, we’ll know what the left hand is doing and what the right hand is doing,” Christensen said.

Christensen said the NIMS program was proposed by former President George W. Bush in 2003 in response to some of the problems faced by New York City during the 9-11 attacks.

“If you remember, [New York City] had several operations going and the different operations couldn’t talk to each other,” Christensen said.

NIMS then seeks to unify communication between all incident management teams and create unity of purpose. Christensen also explained that most of the federal funding programs for Fire and EMS teams come through Homeland Security and depend on whether the city is compliant with the National Incident Management System. Therefore to get money for the Hyrum Fire Station, they need the resolution.

Christensen said Hyrum is already in good shape to comply with the program. He said most of the pieces are already there, they just need to be put together and he will need more training for his Fire and EMS teams.

The council also discussed and approved a resolution to renew a Recycling Market Development Zone program in Hyrum that allows businesses who recycle to receive tax credits. “I hope we continue to have businesses that will need this resolution in Hyrum,” Councilman Craig Rasmussen said.

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By USU Media Relations

Infect with passion. Decode the arcane. Encourage the unencouraged. Research is teaching.

These are among the “effective professor mantras” Utah State University physicist David Peak mutters to himself each day as he walks about campus.

“My colleagues might believe I’m nuts,” says Peak, who joined the physics department in USU’s College of Science in 1994. “But these chants guide my daily interactions with undergraduates.”

Nuts or not, Peak’s approach seems to work. The physics professor was named the Carnegie Foundation’s professor of the year for Utah Thursday during ceremonies in Washington, D.C. Peak is one of 40 professors from across the nation honored as the best in their states.

The awards, from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, recognize outstanding professors for their commitment to teaching.

Nine of Utah’s last 15 Carnegie Professors of the Year have been from USU.

“David Peak’s teaching genius has helped shape the education of countless undergraduates,” said USU President Stan Albrecht. “His efforts in teaching, leadership and philanthropy, both here at USU and nationally, have heightened awareness of the importance of undergraduate research.”

Since arriving at Utah State 15 years ago, Peak has worked to modernize the university’s physics labs, and he developed research opportunities for undergraduates. A founder of the national Council on Undergraduate Research, Peak says research conducted “with and by undergraduates, hands-on, out-of-the-classroom, is arguably the best form of teaching and learning.”

“I’ve mentored many students – both high achievers and those with lower GPAs – and all of them attribute their eventual career successes to their undergraduate research experiences,” Peak says.

Last year he and his wife, social work professor Terry Peak, established the “Peak Prizes in Undergraduate Research,” which funds awards to students from each of the university’s seven colleges and from a regional campus. More than a decade ago, Peak established a “scholarship boot camp” to equip outstanding undergraduates with the skills to pursue national scholarship opportunities. Since 2001, his boot campers have received a Rhodes scholarship, a Rhodes finalist citation, a Fulbright student scholarship, a Marshall scholarship, two National Science Foundation graduate fellow recognitions and 14 Goldwater scholarship recognitions.

“Who needs Harvard?” Peak asks. “We can successfully challenge ourselves to live up to our land-grant university mission to provide equitable access and opportunity for all of our students.”

For Peak, “all” also means eliminating gender bias in mathematics and science at USU.

USU alum and Rhodes Scholar Lara Anderson, now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, says she was particularly grateful as an undergraduate for Peak’s “cheerful viewpoint that gender didn’t matter.

“In my own experience in physics research and teaching, I have frequently thought back to the way that [Peak] explained complex concepts, the enthusiasm with which he taught and how he mentored and supported his students,” she said.

USU graduate Jennifer Albretsen Roth, a Goldwater Scholar who was named USU’s 2009 Scholar of the Year, is pursuing graduate study at Oregon State University. She remembers Peak’s humor and genuine love of teaching.

“My associations with Dr. Peak were an invaluable part of my undergraduate experience,” she said. “He teaches quantum mechanics and general relativity in a way that students understand and enjoy. I don’t think I’ve laughed harder or learned more in any other class.”

Past USU Carnegie Professors of the Year are: Lyle Neal, animal science (2007); Bonnie Glass-Coffin, anthropology (2004); Jan Sojka, physics (2002); David Lancy, anthropology (2001); Mark Damen, history (1998); Sonia Manuel-Dupont, English (1997); Ted Alsop, geography and earth resources (1996); and Frances Titchener, history (1995). Click to read more about USU’s Carnegie Professors of the Year: http://www.usu.edu/carnegieprofessors/.

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LOGAN–Someone’s been cooking up a storm—or a fire, for that matter.

Logan City Police and the Logan Fire Department responded to a call today at 11:55 a.m. at 755 E. 700 No. in Logan, where someone had left a pot on a stove, leaving the contents to overcook and smolder, Captain Jeff Curtis said.

The smoking pot was taken outside by the fire department, Curtis said.

The smoke from the fire caused minor damage to the apartment’s interior, but one was injured in the incident, Curtis said.

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PARADISE–The fire department is getting ready to give up their old radios and trade them in for new, interoperable 800-megahertz radios.

Fire chief Troy Fredrickson brought a memorandum from Cache County to the mayor at the last Town Council meeting. The council needed to approve the money necessary to match the federal grant to acquire the new radios.

The new radios will be used by fire departments and emergency crews all over the nation. The purpose, said Fredrickson, is to have all the departments using the same equipment that can be used anywhere in America in any situation.

Atwood asked Fredrickson about the necessity of new radios. He said are the new radios like the Cadillac of radios? Fredrickson replied that the new radios’ interoperability was the main purpose of switching systems.

Councilman Dale Anderson said there was a major communication problem for the crews on Sept 11 when the World Trade Center was attacked. He said crews came from all over the nation to help and their radios wouldn’t work so there was a shortage of communication devices.

The new radios do not use radio waves but the same type of waves as mobile phones. New cellular towers are already being installed across the Wasatch front.

The radios ,however, are rather expensive so the government created the 2009 Assistance to Firefighters Grant. The grant will pay for 90 percent of the cost of getting the new radios and the system access fees. The other 10 percent is expected to be paid by the county as a whole, and the bill has been divided among the emergency agencies.

The system access fees are similar to the fees that a person might pay for normal mobile phone use, around $20 per radio each month. The individual radios are also quite costly running at about $2,000 each, not including the cost of battery chargers and remote microphones.

The department will also be paying for radios for the vehicles and other radios that are less mobile but equally important. The radios also require professional installation which costs a little over $1,000. The final bill for the department at 10 percent of the cost is estimated at $7,263.

Fredrickson said that sooner or later the department would have to make the switch; it would be better to do it sooner rather than be one of the groups “sucking wind” after everyone else has already made the change.

Atwood signed the memorandum with the council’s OK to go ahead and pay the 10 percent.

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PARADISE–The votes are in: The new noise ordinance with its alterations and a motion to purchase a sound meter passed on a 3-2 vote.

Town Council members discussed the proposed noise ordinance yet again last night and finally came to a decision to put it in the Paradise codes and ordinances book. Revisions were few but effective; a line about barking dogs was stricken from the ordinance and a revised regulation was discussed to be placed in the town’s dog ordinance rather than the noise ordinance.

The changes made to the noise ordinance were necessary, said Mayor Lee Atwood. The idea was to get the ordinance to a point where people could still operate on a day to day basis as normally as possible, and have a provision for those exceptional instances of disturbance, he said.

Town clerk Bev Schiefer was ecstatic when the ordinance finally passed. She said she was really tired of discussing the ordinance so much and hoped that the council would come to a conclusion. The new ordinance will take effect on Jan. 4, by which time the council hopes to have procured a sound meter and learned how to work it.

Troy Fredrickson, fire chief, came in a little more than halfway through the meeting to give the fire department report. The fire department was granted a trespassing permit for their upcoming trap shoot fundraiser. The annual trap shoot will take place the Nov. 28. The council already had the permit ready to go when the fire chief arrived.

After getting the permit squared away Fredrickson proceeded to tell Atwood about grant money the county has requested to get new radios for the fire departments and emergency crews in Cache County. The new radios are required by the federal government to have interoperable radios in case of large-scale emergency operations such as extreme weather events and terror attacks in which emergency crews from all over the country may have to coordinate their radios.

The council wrapped up the meeting by discussing briefly the condition of the roads, water management and upcoming community events. The community will be invited and encouraged to participate in putting up Christmas lights around the entrance to town and the welcome sign.

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SALT LAKE CITY–Last Friday, Utah State won its basketball season opener despite committing an unusually high number of turnovers. Last night, not so lucky.

A career-high 27 points from senior guard Jared Quayle was not enough to help the Aggies overcome 17 turnovers and poor late-game execution, as they ultimately fell to in-state rival Utah, 68-67.

Trailing 67-64 with 26 seconds left, Aggie junior guard Tyler Newbold’s 3-point attempt from the top of the key clanged off the rim. Amidst a scrum for the rebound, Quayle emerged with the ball, but his 3-point attempt from the right baseline came up short. Utah’s Kim Tillie pulled down the rebound, effectively sealing the win for the Utes.

“We hit Tyler Newbold up top for a wide open three, and I thought it was going in,” Quayle said. “But it went off, and then it was bouncing around down there. I went and grabbed it and I thought there was less time than there was, so I threw up a shot. Probably wasn’t the best shot.”

With 8 seconds remaining, Tillie hit one of two free throws to push the Utah lead to 4. A 3-pointer from Aggie sophomore Jaxon Mayer with 0.9 seconds left proved too little too late, as the Aggies fell to Utah for the fourth straight time in Salt Lake City.

“That was a little tough to swallow,” Utah State head coach Stew Morrill said. “Give them (Utah) credit. They found a way to win, but we also found a way to give it away. You have the heart of a hummingbird if this doesn’t hurt.”

Utah’s win marks the eighth straight time the home team has prevailed in this series, and moves both team’s early season records to 1-1. Quayle scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half, and pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.

“He kept us going, got us the lead, made shot after shot,” Morrill said of Quayle’s performance. “And he’s a phenomenal rebounder for a point guard–just goes way up and gets the ball in traffic.”

Utah State’s junior forward Tai Wesley rebounded from a disappointing performance in the opener, establishing himself early on in the post en route to 14 points and eight boards. Junior center Nate Bendall, Wesley’s front-court running mate, finished with a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds to go along with his 12 points.

Fellow starters Newbold and Brian Green were decidedly less productive. After combining for 25 points in the opener, the perimeter duo managed a mere 6 points against the Utes, going a combined 3-15 from the field, and 0-9 from 3-point range.

“Brian and Tyler are great shooters, and they’ll come out next game and they’ll be hitting their shots,” Quayle said.

Morrill felt the same.

“I have a lot of confidence they’ll play better,” he said.

Morrill will also have to hope the Aggies’ turnover woes are resolved before the team hits the court again. The 17 miscues matched the total from the opener, and led to 22 Utah points.

“I think I could take blame for some of those turnovers,” Quayle said. “I had two or three turnovers back-to-back, and that’s disappointing. We just made some stupid plays, and we need to work on that.”

“We played hard,” Morrill said. “We played really hard, but we didn’t play very smart.”

A 17-foot jumper from Bendall with 12:54 left in the second half gave the Aggies their biggest lead of the game, at 47-40. The Utes quickly responded with an 11-0 run, with senior guard Luka Drca scoring 5 points and dishing out two assists during the four-minute stretch.

The Aggies briefly regained the lead, 54-53, on a Quayle 3-pointer with 5:34 left to play, but Utah’s junior guard Carlon Brown answered back on the following possession with a deep three of his own, giving Utah a lead it would never relinquish.

“They did make some big shots,” Morrill said. “Carlon Brown hit about a 25-footer when they had to have it.”

Brown led the Utes with 22 points on 8-19 shooting, knocking down a career-best three 3-pointers.

“I think he only had about six threes all of last year, so he’s definitely really improved his shooting,” Morrill said of Brown.

Drca finished second for Utah with 11 points, dished out a game-high six assists, and led a second-half offensive resurgence which saw the Utes shoot over 51 percent from the field.

The Aggies will look to get back on track Saturday, as they travel cross country to Boston to take on Northeastern University. The Huskies are 0-1 on the season, after dropping their season opener at Siena Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 10 a.m.

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LOGAN–H1N1 vaccinations are available to children at the Bear River Health Department (BRHD) as well as through school clinics.

On Nov. 17, the health department started vaccinating 6-month through 35-month-olds and will continue to do so until vaccines run out. The vaccines are manufactured specifically for this age group, said Jill Parker, BRHD’s public information officer.

“The science behind that is they come to us in half doses,” she said. “Children under the age of 35 months can receive the half dose, and children under the age of 6 months aren’t recommended to get the vaccine, it isn’t approved for them. That vaccine is only manufactured for those ages,”

The CDC has five target populations of who should get the H1N1 vaccination, Parker said. These are pregnant women, caregivers of infants younger than 6 months, people 6 months old to 24 years old, people aged 25-64 with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, asthma and heart conditions, and health care or emergency personnel.

“Within those five populations, the health department doesn’t prioritize one group over another. The goal of the health department instead, is that we are providing venues for all of those to receive the vaccine,” Parker said.

One of the largest populations at risk for H1N1 is school-aged children. While the H1N1 vaccine is not mandatory, “Much of our vaccine right now honestly is going to the school clinics,” Parker said.

“We have coordinated, and have been since this summer with all of our school districts in the Bear River Health District, Box Elder, Cache, Logan, and Rich, to be able to provide clinics within the schools,” Parker said. “Hopefully it helps parents so that they don’t have to bring them into clinics. It helps to vaccinate a very large portion of the at-risk population.”

The overall number of vaccines that the CDC anticipated BRHD would receive was between 70,000 and 80,000 doses, Parker said. Only a small fraction of that number has been delivered at this point. The number of people vaccinated at BRHD with the H1N1 vaccine is not yet updated, but is at least 4,800 people, she said.

H1N1 cases are measured by influenza-like illness, Parker said. “The only time a person gets a lab-confirmed test that they absolutely positively have H1N1 is if they are hospitalized,” she said.

“In terms of H1N1, there was a news release that went out earlier this week from Salt Lake Valley that said they were starting to see a decrease in H1N1, but actually we don’t reflect that, we’re not seeing a decrease in our cases yet,” she said.

To protect against the flu, Parker said to do what has been already advised: Washing your hands, covering your mouth when coughing, and staying at home when sick.

For more information on vaccination availability, visit http://www.brhd.org/.

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LOGAN–Wesley Rich, 30, of Preston, Idaho, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in 1st District Court Monday. The case involved an altercation near ICON Health and Fitness in August.

Rich received a $200 fine and has 60 days to enroll in either a hunter safety course, or a concealed weapons class. Rich was also originally charged with threat of use of a dangerous weapon in fight, a class A misdemeanor, but that charge was dismissed
as part of his plea agreement. “The results of this plea agreement satisfy the court,” Judge Clint Judkins said.

According to his attorney, Wayne Caldwell, Rich was involved in an incident on Aug. 28 when the driver in a car following Rich became angered with his driving and followed him to the ICON facility in Logan. Rich parked his car, and was immediately “boxed in” by the other driver. Caldwell said there was an exchange of hand gestures and shouting, prompting Rich to draw a firearm while within his car and shout “I have a weapon and I know how to use it.”

“I think he was a little bit nervous, a little scared,” Caldwell said of his client’s actions.

Police arrived shortly after Rich had drawn his weapon. According to court documents, Rich was charged with disorderly conduct, an infraction, for being “engaged in fighting or in violent, tumultuous, or threatening behavior.”

Prosecuting Attorney Tony Baird recommended that Rich not be put on probation and spoke on behalf of his character. “He’s an otherwise law-abiding citizen who did the wrong thing,” Baird said.

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RICHMOND–The hotly debated future of the oldest living factory in the state of Utah remained undecided following Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

Originally a cheese factory, and most recently home to the Haunted Mansion, the 106-year-old building at 130 S. 500 West has long failed to comply with county building codes, thus preventing its owners from obtaining business licenses on the property.

Quentin Casperson, the building’s co-owner, appeared before the council seeking a conditional use permit in hopes of eventually running a cheese plant in the building. After much debate, Casperson ultimately agreed to schedule a workshop with the council and city officials in order to address concerns with the stability of the building, business viability of the property, and potential alternative businesses. Mayor Mike Hall requested Casperson submit to city manager Marlowe Adkins a list of possible dates and individuals he would want to attend the workshop.

“I’m thinking let’s work together, and jump through the hoops together, and we can do something that will benefit the community,” said Casperson, who was informed of a number of roadblocks standing in the way of establishing a business at the factory.

Councilman Brad Jensen laid out a laundry list of concerns about the property, most of which Casperson said his former business partner had not informed him of. Most notably, permits would need to be drawn to restore wiring to the building, water and sewer hookups would need to be established, and the building would need to have a pretreatment system to take care of both wastewater and waste product.

“We’re willing to jump through hoops,” Hall said, and after pausing, cautioned, “I think there’s going to be a lot of hoops.”

Hall believes the building has business potential, but stressed the financial concerns associated with Casperson’s proposed endeavor.

“I think there’s some viable businesses that could go down there,” Hall said, “but what they’re looking at right now is going to take a lot of money. They just need to look at all the costs involved, whether it’s the pretreatment, the water, the sewer hookups, and all that, and then make a business decision.”

Councilman Jeff Young was the first to suggest a workshop, citing the need for Casperson to fully understand the specific concerns shared by the council and city and county officials regarding the building. “Let us sit down so you guys can be on the same page (with the council),” Young said, believing such a setting would allow Casperson to “know exactly where we’re at, (and) why we’re there.”

Casperson emphasized the potential economic benefits the plant would have on the city, specifically the number of jobs it would provide. “Basically, you’ve got the power to do what the community wants,” Casperson said to the council. “We think it would be worthwhile.”

While the council expressed its support of any business endeavor which would be beneficial to the city, it emphasized that it is concerned first and foremost with the safety of the building.

“We’re going to make sure ordinances and standards are followed down there,” Hall said. “We’re not going to do anything down there that would put the city in jeopardy.”

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SMITHFIELD–What do turkey bowling, flying monkeys and heavy handbags have in common? Answer: Lee’s Marketplace Holiday Food Show. The event was filled with free samples, crazy games, and a lot of holiday food ideas.

Store director Pete Krusi said the show has been held for the last three years and has been very successful. He estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 people attended on Friday. “We think it’s a great time to let people see all of the fun unique things we have for the holidays. We like to let them try everything and see what they like,” he said.

This year items such as pomegranates with ice cream, crab cheese balls, deli-made grape juice and more were located throughout the store for sampling.

“The best part of the show is seeing lots of people eating lots of food,” Krusi said.

Almost 20 different demos were available around the store. “I came in here to buy some milk and got a whole lunch instead,” shopper Candace Nielson said.

“The pineapple was amazing!” shopper James Packer said. “I had to buy three after I tried it.”

Local foods were also sampled, such as Week’s Freezer Jam made in Paradise and Caramel Cob popcorn from Hyde Park. “We really like to support Utah people and our local economy,” Krusi said.

Along with the samples, games were held every half hour for prizes ranging from turkeys to fruit baskets. “My favorite game to watch was turkey bowling. There’s just something funny about watching a giant frozen turkey knocking over bowling pins,” assistant manager Scott Phillips said.

Another popular game was “fastest texter” where shoppers had to text in a correctly spelled message as quickly as their thumbs would go. The messages used words such as poinsettia and wassail, which were difficult for some customers. “Poinsettia is a tricky one,” shopper Tara Reeves said.

In the sit-down deli, Christmas movies were playing for kids to enjoy along with free cups of popcorn as their parents finished their shopping. Check-out lines were busy during the show as customers took advantage of the five-hour sale items such as $1.59 gallons of milk and 99-cent loaves of bread.

“The holiday food show really does help us out throughout the holiday season. It gets people interested in new items and excited to shop,” Krusi said.

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HYRUM–Drive seven miles south of Logan with some fishing poles and a lawn chair, and then settle in for a relaxing day on the shore of the Hyrum Reservoir. This is how Jay Hoth, Logan resident and retiree. has been spending his afternoons, at least.

“The fishing is great this season and the quiet is nice too,” Hoth said.

Created in 1935 through the use of an earth-fill damn that sits 116 ft. high, Hyrum Reservoir is on the Little Bear River and attracts many visitors for recreational activities, according to go-utah.com.

Though the reservoir is open for camping and day activities like fishing year round, few people visit during the fall when it’s too cold for swimming and not cold enough to ice fish. For Hoth, whose license plate reads “BRN T FSH,” this is perfect weather. Practically the only person on shore, Hoth sits comfortably between two fishing poles on stands, waiting for the fish to take his bait.

As Hoth checks his lines, few other people can be spotted at the lake. A solo speed boat with a small family jets across the water, momentarily disturbing the peacefulness. A woman stands atop the dam taking photographs and drives away in her minivan. A flush of ducks swims in the middle before diving under for fish.

Water Quality of Utah reports that aside from the recreational uses of Hyrum Reservoir, the lake provides wetlands for birds and aquatic life and acts as a refuge for animals. Water from the reservoir is used for crops, watering stock and other agricultural needs of Hyrum.

The shoreline is shaded and owned by the state of Utah. Amenities such as drinking water, flush toilets and hot showers are available.

NW

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