The Boy Scouts of America have been distributing bags throughout Summit County to collect items for the annual Scouting for Food drive.
Scouts will begin collecting food donations March 28 at 8 a.m.
Place bags filled with ready-to-eat meals, canned juices and fruits, pastas and canned soups and veggies where Scouts collecting the items can easily see them, Park City Boy Scout leader Thomas Heffron said.
Personal items including toothpaste, soap, shaving supplies and disposable diapers are needed, Heffron said.
Donations can also be dropped at the Park City Christian Center at 1100 Iron Horse Drive, the Kamas Community Action Center at 30 S. Main St. and the Coalville Community Action Center at 17 S. Main St.
Food collected in Summit County is distributed in the area.
More than 15,000 items were collected at last year’s food drive, Heffron said.
The Christian Center in Park City serves food to hundreds of people each week. Boxes of food Scouts donated last year weighed about 100 pounds, according to Heffron, chairman of the food drive.
About 30 Scouts participated in last year’s food drive.
Transition is underway to digital TV
Officials in Summit County will begin transitioning to digital television April 6. The change applies initially to households in Park City, Woodland and Francis.
Residents who watch television using an antenna will lose their television signal if they don’t have a converter box or new digital set before the deadline. Cable and satellite subscribers will not be affected.
Over-the-air viewers will still need to use an antenna to get a signal. In general, reception of digital television will require the same type of antenna viewers currently use.
“This would be a good time to check the quality of your antenna,” Phil Titus, director of engineering for KUED Channel 7, said in a press release. “Make sure your antenna is UHF capable, or you’ll have trouble receiving a picture.”
For information about the transition to digital television, call (888) 388-2009 or visit DTV2009.gov.
UDOT meets stimulus deadline
The Utah Department of Transportation has slated 64 percent of its 56 federally funded highway stimulus projects, which totals almost $97 million, a press release from the department states.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act requires all states have at least 50 percent of their federal-stimulus funds obligated within 120 days of funding becoming available March 3. All projects must be completed within three years.
UDOT’s remaining projects will be obligated by the end of May, making the department one of the first in the nation to have all projects ready to be advertised to contractors.
Timely federal obligation is a significant milestone toward completing UDOT’s projects by the end of the year, the press release states.
Federal funds will target all of Utah to generate and support jobs, state transportation officials say.
Transportation funds are under tight scrutiny and states that are unable to meet federal guidelines could lose funds, which could be given to other states, according to the press release from UDOT.
UDOT’s 56 projects are designed to maintain pavement conditions, repair existing bridges and improve capacity on Utah highways.