Brieann Charlesworth’s favorite card game is not easy to win. 

Boss Monster is a dungeon-run game where players experience increasingly difficult challenges as they level up. Teamwork is eventually required, and players can tackle rounds as duos to defeat each dungeon section. 

It’s different every time.

“I bought that game on a whim,” Brieann said. “I was like, I really am hooked. … It moves fast.”

That variety is something Brieann’s life partner, Matthew Goodrich, also appreciates in his games of choice. His favorite, Betrayal at House on the Hill, is a cooperative, hidden-traitor board game. 

“Think of it as like being in a ‘Scooby-Doo’ episode,” Matthew said. 

A team of players enters a haunted house to a slew of awry situations. New rooms are unlocked as the game progresses, eventually building the entire haunted house. 

“Then eventually there’s a haunting and one of the players is revealed as the betrayer,” Matthew said. 

It becomes all-against-one. The game has 100 different scenarios, and every new play is randomized. 

“So … almost infinite replayability,” Matthew said. 

Matthew still hasn’t played every possible version. 

The couple’s love of games is part of why Brieann became the owner of one Game Grid franchise location in Saratoga Springs. There, the couple found a community dedicated to learning and playing trading card games. 

Brieann said that community was sure to be found elsewhere.

So, she decided to open a new location in Heber City with Matthew’s help. It’s set to be open to collectors, players and enthusiasts by the end of September, or as early as Wednesday. 

Matthew said there are still a few kinks to work out and plenty of store setup to do before doors open to the public. He and Brieann said they are looking forward to what the Heber City community has to offer. 

Game Grid won’t just be a store that sells board games, trading cards and the like. It will be a home base for gaming enthusiasts to play with friends or meet new ones. 

That’s what the couple’s Saratoga Springs location has become. 

“There weren’t any amenities for people to just go and enjoy an evening that didn’t involve driving out somewhere,” Brieann said. “We wanted to do a community-like center, but it’s focused on games and just making sure everybody finds an interest in a group they want to be a part of.”

Matthew said these days he and Brieann don’t have much time to play games. But that’s because the pair are putting on near-nightly events, hosting new people and those already well-versed in the gaming community. 

In a post-COVID world, Matthew said Game Grid provides an intentional place where people can hang out, be social and have a reason to leave the house. 

“It’s been met with very good will and favor,” Matthew said. “People seem to really like it.”

There are plenty of game stores in Utah, Matthew said, but their Game Grid franchise stands out. 

“I think that we have set ourselves apart as a game store,” Matthew said. “Our location seems to stand apart as being meant for more people than just the hardcore gamers.”

There’s a feel to Saratoga Springs’ Game Grid that people appreciate, Matthew said. 

“They tell us that they like being here, and that it’s a place where they can come be a part of a community,” Matthew said. “Where traditional game stores are kind of more built around the competition and being good at games.”

It’s meaningful to the couple.

“The tables are open to use, so if you have a group that wants to play a game, maybe I have a demo available and you’d like to play. That’s open for you to sit down and try it out,” Brieann said. 

Brieann said the pair have not pursued much advertising for Game Grid Heber City, but they are already receiving calls asking if specific board games are in stock. 

While Game Grid is a Utah franchise, each store is independently owned. Brieann said that system works for her. 

“What works in one Game Grid and what’s popular there may not be popular in Heber, so it allows us that flexibility to change,” Brieann said. 

She chose Heber City as the next location because it had a “similar feel” to Saratoga Springs. 

“We’ve identified it as similar, as just maybe needing that community,” Brieann said. “You have a lot of new people that have moved in. A lot of new people looking for something to do.”

Brieann and Matthew hope to strike a balance between casual and competitive. But no matter what, their main goal to foster community remains the same. 

The post Couple levels up Heber City with new Game Grid location appeared first on Park Record.

Heber City’s wildland urban interface map is expanding. 

Municipalities are required to adopt a wildland urban interface map — which shows areas where urban zones meet wildland and open space — under House Bill 48, which the state Legislature passed last year. 

The law is designed to help residents protect their properties by requiring fire-resistant, defensible materials in development, managing vegetation and ensuring water availability. Property owners can still build in high-risk areas, but new construction in such zones must comply with stricter safety and building standards.

H.B. 48 also aimed to help curb potential property insurance impacts. Insurance agencies can only determine high-risk properties as defined by the WUI maps adopted across the state. Heber City adopted its map earlier this year, but voted to expand it on Tuesday.

The Heber City Planning Commission amended the city’s WUI map to add land from the Wasatch Canal west of Valley Hill Boulevard, heading north along U.S. 40.

The change does not affect any of the underlying zoning regulations such as lot sizes or uses, heights or setbacks. Anything built prior to the adoption of the map change would be grandfathered in. 

“The intent here is to really mitigate wildfire and to mitigate the spread of fire through these areas as they bump up against undeveloped areas or hillsides,” Baron said. 

Wasatch Fire District Fire Warden Troy Morgan said the amendment adds requirements to increase structures’ resiliency in wildfire areas. He said essentially, the WUI code has three zones: wildland that’s undeveloped, wildland-urban interface and urban areas. 

“The concern that we have here is when we had initially drawn the map for Heber City and for this area, it followed the canal,” Morgan said. “But with this level of development and the density that we’re seeing, the proximity of houses to one another kind of exacerbates the potential spread of structure to structure.”

There are multiple fuel sources for fires: Grass, shrubs, trees and homes or structures. The WUI amendment would help mitigate the risk of wildfires and wind-event fires. 

Morgan also emphasized that the Wasatch Fire District can complete requested home hazard assessments, which would be submitted to the state. Those assessments could possibly lower fees for homeowners in high-risk areas. 

“We feel like we can take better care of our citizens,” Morgan said. 

That assessment is voluntary. Morgan said, overall, the city and Fire District have to work with the law that was passed. Residents can request an assessment from the Fire District at any time. 

“Unfortunately, we have to go with it, roll with the punches per se,” Morgan said. 

However, Morgan added there are benefits to the WUI. It requires neighborhood accountability. 

“You can do everything that you can to protect your home from a wildfire, but if your neighbors do not do any of that, they are the biggest risk for your structure in the event of a wildfire,” Morgan said. “This gives more bite to make sure everybody is doing what they are supposed to be doing to be more fire resistant.”

Expanding the boundaries of the WUI, Morgan said, helps the city get “ahead of the game” when thinking about upcoming growth and development. 

The Planning Commission adopted the WUI amendment on Tuesday.

The post Heber City shores up wildland urban interface map ahead of future growth appeared first on Park Record.

Karl Malone Powersports is seeking a zoning change in Heber City to create more employee parking. So, officials are considering whether that would increase noise impacts on neighbors or further decrease property values. 

The zoning adjustment would change a property at 90 W 300 N from residential to commercial. David Hicks from the Karl Malone Group said immediate plans would include increased employee parking. 

Employees currently park on the street, and the change would allow them to leave vehicles on-site, he said. There are no immediate plans to pursue a building expansion.

Heber City resident Angie Mathis lives across the street from the commercial building. She said her preference would be for Karl Malone Powersports to build a new structure. It would further stifle sound from the inherently noisy business, which sells ATVs, UTVs, motorcycles, scooters, watercraft and snowmobiles, for a start. 

Even with the 8-foot-tall masonry wall that’s in place between the dealership and residential properties, Mathis said sound still comes through. 

“I mean, you cannot sell ATVs and everything, and bikes, dirt bikes and things, without it being noisy,” Mathis said. 

Mathis would prefer no zoning change at all, but rather more housing for people in the Heber Valley. 

“Second choice would be, if you are going to have that property, for a structure to be on it because that would provide some absorption of the sound,” Mathis said. 

When the property last had a zoning change, conditions were in place to ensure Karl Malone Powersports had adequate fencing. Tree planting was also offered to nearby property owners. 

Now, there will be requirements for street improvements, including curb, gutter and sidewalk work as well as landscaping. 

Heber City Planning Commission Chair Phil Jordan said there has been plenty of talk about commercial boundaries impacted by the growing city. Residents are most commonly impacted. 

“I really understand the distinction between a wall and its ability to inhibit sound travel versus structure,” Jordan said. 

Hicks said there are options to build in the future. That’s why the group purchased the 90 W 300 N property — for flexibility that aligns with the business’ needs. 

Planning Commission Vice Chair Tori Broughton said plenty of public commenters have come forward to discuss the idea that their property values could be lowered in similar instances. 

“This is probably one of the first things that I actually agree,” Broughton said. “I think that it’s going to be hard to make a decision on something that’s not going to lower her property value.”

Broughton referred to Mathis’ home. 

“I know that’s not necessarily our role to preserve people’s property values. But, I think in this situation, we have to be really careful and thoughtful about how we decide to move forward on this one.”

Planning commissioners moved to table the discussion for a future meeting.

The post Zoning change would turn Heber City property into a parking lot, if approved appeared first on Park Record.

There’s been a switch in Democratic candidates for Wasatch County Council at-large Seat A. Patrick Saucier withdrew from the race and was replaced by Robert Duncan McNeill. 

McNeill, a Democrat and Heber City resident, filed his declaration of candidacy on Sept. 1, one day after Saucier withdrew from the race. 

According to Utah law, a political party may certify the name of a different person after the close of the filing period if the candidate who already filed withdraws from the race. 

Wasatch County Democratic Party Vice Chair Claire Hassett said her party conducted a review for new candidates after Saucier decided to accept a new job in his home state of New Hampshire. 

“We found a really fabulous candidate who was willing and able to run in Patrick’s place,” Hassett said. 

McNeill, Hassett said, is a lifelong Democrat and progressive who “really understands Wasatch County” and its needs. 

“I think he will really represent our community well on the council, and he brings unique life experience that I think is going to be very helpful as we try to balance growth and development with serving our communities, being true to our community values and roots,” Hassett said. 

McNeill is the only Democratic Party candidate seeking the seat. In November, he will face Republican Party candidate Rachel Kahler and write-in candidates Jami Hewlett and Shawn Taylor. 

Taylor, from Charleston, filed his write-in candidacy on Aug. 27. Hewlett filed her write-in candidacy on Aug. 26. 

The Democratic Party vice chair said the most important thing for a candidate is to have an “ethic of public service.”

“I think too many of our elected officials in the state have gotten away from actually serving the public, listening to what their needs are and working on solutions to address them,” Hassett said. 

The position for County Council Seat A is a four-year term. 

Saucier and McNeill were both unavailable for comment by the time of publication. 

The voter registration deadline is Oct. 23, though same-day registration is available on Election Day, Nov. 3. Regular general election ballots are mailed Oct. 13, and all ballots must be in the Wasatch County Clerk-Auditor’s Office by 8 p.m. on election night.

The post Wasatch County Democrat withdraws from council race; new candidate replaces him appeared first on Park Record.

Utah’s monsoon season brought summer storms to the hottest stretch of the year, but water bodies like the Provo River are still low. On Saturday, the Provo River Days festival will aim to educate the public about the river’s importance and its impact on the Wasatch Back. 

Nancy O’Toole, a concerned citizen who also sits on the Provo River Days steering committee, said it’s about awareness. She’s seen the Provo River shrink throughout the summer. 

“It’s not in good condition,” O’Toole said. 

So, O’Toole and her fellow steering committee members banded together with the Utah Division of Water Quality, the Provo River Watershed Council, the Provo River Mitigation Committee and nearby state parks to put on the Provo River Days. 

Education is the goal.

The Provo River Days festival has four stops along the riverway where attendees can learn something new: Wasatch Mountain State Park, Deer Creek State Park, the Jordanelle Reservoir and Vivian Park.

Wasatch Mountain State Park doesn’t have a Provo River site, but O’Toole said it’s included because nearby Snake Creek and Pine Creek flow into the Provo River. 

There will be educational and interactive exhibits, guided nature walks and watershed tours, family-friendly environmental activities and demonstrations about water quality and conservation. O’Toole said it’s all about teaching people about the river and making connections to the water body from its Uintas headwaters to the communities along the way. 

“In a fun way that kids can understand and realize that you need to take care of your environment, you need to take care of nature,” she said. 

The Provo River is considered one of the best fishing destinations in the Wasatch Back and is classified as a Blue Ribbon Fishery. Fly fishers are often wading through the lower Provo River near the entrance to the Heber Valley. 

The Provo River also provides a wealth of habitats for species such as frogs, birds, deer and more. O’Toole said caring for the river is so important because when the river is not “healthy,” there’s a domino effect harming plants and animals in the area. 

“It’s not healthy for the critters and the animals and the birds that rely upon that river,” O’Toole said. “It’s a chain effect. It’s the cycle of life.”

Taking care of the source — the Provo River — is crucial, she added. 

Anna Habben helped plan the Provo River Days through her job at Mighty Penguin Consulting. The nonprofit consulting group helped with planning and fundraising, and has done similar work for festivals along the Wasatch Front. 

“We want community members in particular and businesses and all the different stakeholders that are involved in watershed health to understand what’s at stake for the watershed and what its needs are,” Habben said. 

She added that it takes collective action and responsibility, whether it’s someone enjoying state parks or a developer looking to build near a waterbody. 

“It really takes all hands and all sectors to understand and to solve the problems that are at hand and to meet the needs of the watershed because we all either benefit from the water or we all suffer because of it,” Habben said. “This event, it’s a positive way for us to get together and be more educated.”

And hopefully it will drive more understanding and dialogue about the needs of the Provo River, she added. 

Habben said she is most excited for the guided hikes and nature walks. Each site will feature a different issue facing the watershed, whether it’s erosion or water quality. It’s a way to get individuals exploring in the state parks and along the Provo River while learning about what happens in those areas and how to preserve the natural environment. 

O’Toole said she is most looking forward to educational pieces about recreating in the Provo River. As a Wasatch County resident, she said she’s floated the river more times than she can count. She’s seen kingfishers along the river paths, raccoons in the trees and “everything, anything that you ever want to look at.”

She added that at Provo River Days, there will even be educational lessons about cleaning up the river put on by scuba divers. 

“This is their mission … to go to Jordanelle and Deer Creek and clean out the bottom of the lake of garbage,” O’Toole said. “I’m so excited.” 

Habben said she wants attendees to walk away with more awareness about the Provo River. She is excited for everyone to participate in a survey in which visitors can share one new thing they learned about the watershed. 

“We want our guests to come away with a better understanding of what the watershed is and why it matters to their community,” Habben said. “And what they can do to support those needs.”

The post Provo River Days builds awareness around the crucial waterway appeared first on Park Record.

The Utah Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Heber Valley Utah Temple case on Friday morning. 

Attorneys representing Wasatch County and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints argued that county officials followed proper procedures in approving the temple through a legislative development agreement.

Robert Mansfield, the lawyer for the residents petitioning the court, asserted that the 210-foot-tall, 88,000-square-foot temple should never have been allowed under that condition. 

That’s because the temple would be located in a residential zone where new developments may be 35 feet from the natural grade. Mansfield challenged how Wasatch County applied county land use laws, known as CLUDMA, which could set a precedent for special conditions. 

“If you’re giving a county carte blanche authority to go in and do any sort of land use regulation at once without the possibility of any real review, then why even have CLUDMA?” Mansfield said.

A legislative development agreement is a “new animal” under county land use laws, Mansfield said.

Wasatch County has used a legislative development agreement before. In November 2024, the county approved the development of the 75-foot-tall SkyRidge lodge despite concerns from SkyRidge and Hideout residents.

The county also denied the use of a legislative development agreement last month. Wasatch County said “no” to Philo Development’s request to rezone 740 acres owned by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration. 

The agreement is often used as a workaround for developers, though it can also benefit municipalities and local governments. Wasatch County can ask for things like more affordable housing or open space with such agreements, for instance.

Wasatch County Attorney Jon Woodard said there’s a “robust history” showing how land use regulations could be challenged. Meanwhile, David Jordan, an attorney for the church, said that if the county promulgates such a decision, then, by definition, it’s a proper land use regulation. 

“That’s the beauty of the authority given to the county under CLUDMA,” Jordan said.  

Jordan said the county completed the proper process for a legislative development agreement decision. There was a public hearing on top of multiple discussions on public record, he said.

Woodard added that there has been “no injury” in the decision to move the temple plans forward. 

“We think that the problems that have been alleged are exaggerated and the sort of issues that we have in any development,” Woodard said. 

Utah Supreme Court Justice John Nielsen said that this is not a “loss of view” case. Loss of view is a protectable right, he said, but it’s usually limited to property taken by the government.

“Where they’re redoing something on I-15, and they need to put in a new on-ramp or something and that takes away the visibility from the Burger King on the side of the road,” Nielsen said. “They say that’s a compensable taking. … That’s not this case.”

But Mansfield argued that petitioners will have their own view obstructed by the temple. 

Mansfield added that there are a “number of violations” to the General Plan that bring back the idea of particularized injury and what can and cannot be done. That includes the amount of water used for the temple. 

A 2023 groundwater study showed that the church may need to pump up to 1 million gallons of water every day to prepare the site. 

The idea that the well-lit temple would not follow lighting standards was previously dropped. Save Wasatch Back Dark Skies abandoned its lawsuit against Wasatch County after the community’s dark skies codes were changed at the church’s recommendation to satisfy its Heber Valley Utah Temple project. 

The Heber Valley Utah Temple case began in 2023 when a group of Red Ledges neighbors — Bruce Van Dusen, Bruce Quade, Shawn Savarino and Dominic Savarino — argued that the county acted illegally when it approved development plans for the church.

Van Dusen spoke out on the topic on Monday. He said that the group is not “challenging anyone’s right to develop their property” but that the same rules should “apply to everyone.”

“The LDS church has the right to build on the lot in question,” Van Dusen said. “But the building, like all other buildings in Wasatch County, must conform to the height restrictions laid out in the county’s zoning laws and General Plan.”

The church is already under construction; the groundbreaking was in August. The Utah Supreme Court ruled in February that construction could continue after years of legal back-and-forth and a previous stall on construction issued by Fourth District Court Judge Jennifer Mabey, who originally presided over the case. 

In December 2025, Utah Supreme Court Justice Paige Petersen, who presided over the court, asked her fellow justices to analyze a “balancing of the harms.” Then, Jordan said that if the temple did not align with CLUDMA, it would be demolished later. 

That is the “church’s risk,” he said. 

If the court rules in favor of the Red Ledges residents, the church may be ordered to halt construction and bear the cost of restoring the site to its previous condition. However, it could take weeks or months for a written opinion to be released.

The post The Utah Supreme Court will soon decide the fate of the Heber Valley Temple  appeared first on Park Record.

Heber City has approved three public infrastructure districts with a goal to help make homeownership more affordable for residents. 

Public infrastructure districts, or PIDs, do not inherently lead to more affordable homeownership. But Highlands developer D.R. Horton negotiated a deal with Heber City: If the three PIDs were approved, the developer would lower housing costs by $40,000.

In Utah, a public infrastructure district, or PID, is a tool that funds infrastructure such as roads, utilities, sewer systems and water without placing costs on all taxpayers. It operates using tax increment financing, which can be used to pay for public infrastructure as property values increase in PID areas.

PIDs are only for public infrastructure and not for private development. The districts have been used across Utah, like in Tooele County.

The Highlands is a community of 811 homes, townhomes and apartments near the Utah Valley University Wasatch campus. The groundbreaking was in September 2024, and it’s estimated to be completed by spring 2028. 

With the PIDs, a Highlands townhome would cost $449,990. A single-family home would cost $654,990. 

That commitment is not legally binding, so Heber City cannot keep D.R. Horton to it. But it’s something home buyers can keep track of. If the developer does not stick to that commitment, Heber City will be made aware through communication with homebuyers.

Heber City Councilor Aaron Cheatwood, who voted in favor of the three Tava-Highlands PIDs on Tuesday, said he is for more affordable homeownership.

“I do want to show to a homeowner: Your home is lower because it’s involved in a PID,” Cheatwood said. “So as you go pay these taxes, you should realize that part of the reason you got into this home is because you anticipate having expenses later to get into the home.”

Buyers, Cheatwood said, should be made aware of the existence of the PIDs, how the funds were used for infrastructure improvements and how construction costs were lowered for each home. 

Cheatwood referenced his own homeownership journey, which he said started when he purchased a “hole in the wall” fixer-upper in Heber City. 

“My life was changed by being able to buy a home way younger than my peers,” Cheatwood said. 

He said that one of the things he has grappled with is the benefit of getting a homeowner into a home sooner.

Councilor Yvonne Barney said her concern about PIDs has not changed much throughout previous discussions with D.R. Horton. In June, Barney was still skeptical of the proposal. 

“I’m probably stuck in the middle; I’m really having a hard time with trying to negotiate how I felt so long ago against PIDs and still do,” Barney said. “But with this project, I feel very strongly that this will be something that will benefit our community.”

Barney abstained from the vote. The four remaining city councilors were in favor.

The post Heber City approves three public infrastructure districts to further affordable homeownership appeared first on Park Record.

Red Ledges residents have not spoken publicly about the Heber Valley Temple lawsuit since bringing it against Wasatch County three years ago. With the state’s highest court set to hear oral arguments on Friday, a spokesperson for the residents, Bruce Van Dusen, said it’s time to speak up. 

“We want to clarify exactly why we brought this action and why it’s important to property owners in Utah,” Van Dusen wrote in an email to The Wasatch Record. “We’re neighbors. We’re the people who live near the building site, and this started at our kitchen tables, not in a boardroom.”

Van Dusen, along with Bruce Quade, Shawn Savarino and Dominic Savarino, first objected to Wasatch County over The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ plan to construct a temple in their neighborhood. Wasatch County approved the Heber City temple despite its location in a residential zone where new developments may be 35 feet from the natural grade. 

The well-lit temple is set to be 210-feet-tall and 88,0000 square feet. Wasatch County used a legislative development agreement to approve the structure. That development agreement, Van Dusen said, is why the neighbors filed their lawsuit. 

“We believe that creates a troubling precedent: What certainty do zoning laws actually provide?” Van Dusen said. 

Van Dusen asserted that the decision has already caused Wasatch County to reexamine its own use of legislative development agreements. He referenced the county’s recent decision to oppose a legislative development agreement proposed by Philo Development. 

“The county’s decision exactly reflects one of our suit’s main arguments,” Van Dusen said. 

The Red Ledges resident said the group wants to be clear: They are not asking for “special treatment,” nor are they “challenging anyone’s right to develop their property.”

“We are simply saying established land-use laws cannot be selectively waived for one property in one neighborhood. The same rules apply to everyone,” Van Dusen said. “The LDS church has the right to build on the lot in question. But the building, like all other buildings in Wasatch County, must conform to the height restrictions laid out in the county’s zoning laws and General Plan.”

The Utah Supreme Court ruled in February that construction on the Heber Valley Temple could continue. That decision came after years of legal back-and-forth between Red Ledges residents, Wasatch County, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Fourth District Court Judge Jennifer Mabey, who originally presided over the case. 

Sam Penrod, media relations manager for the church, said the court’s decision this year was a welcome one. 

“Once completed, this temple will bless the lives of Latter-day Saints in the Heber Valley by providing a sacred house of worship closer to their homes,” Penrod said in February. 

In May 2024, Mabey ruled that the church should be granted the opportunity to join the lawsuit filed against the county because the church “should not have to rely on the government to represent the church’s private interest as a landowner.”

The state’s highest court will hear oral arguments at 9 a.m. on Friday. Associate Chief Justice Jill M. Pohlman and Justice Jay T. Jorgensen are recused. Seventh District Court Judge Brian Bolinder and Fifth District Court Judge Eric Gentry will sit.  

Van Dusen said, no matter the outcome, the case will shape how every Utah property owner “thinks about the value and predictability of zoning laws.” 

“It will also affect whether property owners believe that the laws governing their communities will be applied fairly and consistently. We believe those questions are worth answering, regardless of who owns the property,” Van Dusen said. 

The church will be ordered to halt construction and bear the cost of restoring the site to its previous condition if the Utah Supreme Court rules in favor of Van Dusen and his fellow Red Ledges residents. 

The post Red Ledges resident breaks silence ahead of Utah Supreme Court Heber Valley Temple arguments appeared first on Park Record.

On a tour of Mountainland Technical College’s new Heber Valley Campus, President Clay Christensen had one resounding message: “We’re training people to go to work.”

The campus, situated next to the new Deer Creek High School in Heber City, has been a major project decades in the making. Christensen said the college is meant to provide opportunities for learners ranging from high school to full adulthood.

Some students are juniors in high school while others are as old as 82. Learning, Christensen said, is open to everyone. 

“Once they cross the threshold here, they’re an MTECH student,” Christensen said.

Mountainland Technical College’s new campus celebrated its ribbon cutting on Friday. The college is no-frills in the sense that there are no student union centers or large gathering places. Instead, Christensen said funding and taxpayer dollars are focused on providing the best learning environments possible. 

He toured the welding center, where a mass of welding booths lines a large, warehouse-like room. Top-of-the-line machinery is centered in the space. Cars are hoisted up for work in the automotive division. There is a full-scale ambulance simulation in a room dedicated to medical learning. The cosmetology department is lined with hairstyling chairs, pedicure stations and more. 

Each sector of learning is decked out with quality equipment. Part of that comes from partnerships. Christensen said Mountainland Technical College maintains strong connections with businesses like Larry H. Miller. 

“Students are always using state-of-the-art equipment,” Christensen said, “because we’re able to partner with these businesses.”

Mountainland Technical College also partners with the Wasatch County School District. School District and Mountainland Technical College board member Breanne Dedrickson said the opportunities are designed to enrich students’ lives and education but also to strengthen the workforce in Wasatch County. 

“It’s so individualized,” Dedrickson said.

Some students want a certificate that will put them on a path to a successful career. Others use credits that build into an associate’s or bachelor’s degree at a two-year or four-year university. 

“I am most impressed with the quality of education and opportunity that MTECH offers, and excited to offer that to this community,” Dedrickson said. 

She added that local partnerships have made opening the new campus possible. Right now, Mountainland Technical College students in the Heber Valley drive to the Lehi and Payson campuses. Students will be able to stay close to home with the new Heber Valley campus.

“People realize these are crucial opportunities for kids, and we want to make sure it’s available in this part of the state,” Dedrickson said.

The technical college is made up of about 70% high school graduates and adults and 30% high school students. There are 7,000 students across the entire region. There are about 1,200 students on waiting lists to enroll in programs. 

“There’s a huge demand,” Christensen said. 

In part, that’s because of the streamlined education-to-employment pathway Mountainland Technical College provides. Christensen said the college identifies high-employment areas for education. That includes trade skills and pink-collar jobs. 

Students are streamlined on a path to employment from the moment they pay their $120 per credit tuition fees. Christensen said that partners like Larry H. Miller hire directly from the college’s programs.

But there is a caveat. Christensen said students must complete their education and have a certificate in hand before leaving the program to accept a new job. 

Students will receive certificates from the American Welding Society, for instance. That certificate is recognized across the world. Then, there’s the Automotive Society of Engineers approved program and other industry-certified certificates to be earned. 

“That certificate is going to prepare them for employment,” Christensen said. “It’s very competitive to get into these programs.”

Christensen said, depending upon the program, ranging in everything from healthcare to technology and dental work, about 90% of graduates find local jobs, boosting the nearby workforce. 

There is actually a requirement for the college to help students find employment after they graduate or earn a certificate. 

“We have to exceed the national standards for completion, licensure and placement,” Christensen said. “We can’t have somebody take our automotive program and go get a job at McDonald’s flipping burgers and have that count.”

Their employment has to be within their field for study. And Mountainland Technical College tracks that.

“We have a responsibility to help them find employment,” Christensen said. 

Students fresh out of high school with no industry experience to those furthering their education later in life — Mountainland Technical College accepts them all. 

Christensen, who is retiring next month after 44 years of working in education, said he is most proud of the growth and opportunities for students. About 20 years ago, Mountainland Technical College did not have such advanced facilities. 

Now, Mountainland Technical College is recognized as having the most advanced and accelerated programs for students. Aside from quality education, most students graduate debt-free. 

“It’s a generational change that changes families forever because there are good wages and good opportunities,” Christensen said. 

He remembers one student who provided inspiration for others. That student is hearing-impaired and went through Mountainland Technical College’s diesel mechanics and commercial driver’s license programs. 

“As a result of her involvement here and the experience she had because we provided interpreters for her to help, we have more students like her enrolled,” Christensen said. “We try to help every student that wants to excel.”

Dedrickson, who is a principal at a private school in Wasatch County, remembers one student who was struggling to learn. He lacked motivation and did not appreciate school classroom environments. During his senior year, Dedrickson asked what he sought to do after graduation and found he wanted to work in the automotive industry. 

That changed everything. Dedrickson suggested the program at Mountainland Technical College. 

“It wasn’t me pushing him to graduate anymore. He was going to class, he was earning the credits because he loved what he was doing,” Dedrickson said. 

For Dedrickson, one of the most impactful parts of the new campus opening is that students will bolster the workforce while staying in the Heber Valley. The boost that provides to students and the community, she said, is powerful.

“We’re bringing that opportunity home,” Dedrickson said. 

The post Mountainland Technical College opens new Heber Valley campus appeared first on Park Record.

The Heber City Police Department has used Flock Safety cameras to its benefit for two years. Chief Parker Sever said, despite nationwide controversy, the technology is nothing new and nothing to fear.  

There are 12 Flock Safety cameras along Heber City’s Main Street and throughout the greater Heber Valley area, according to DeFlock, an open-source project that maps license plate readers. Eight are run by the Police Department. Sever could not immediately identify who runs the other four but noted they could be purchased by private entities or may be old police locations. 

More than 135,000 cameras are in use across the country. DeFlock cites concerns around the use of AI-powered cameras including privacy violations and the risk of misuse. For instance, three deputies in Georgia were found using Flock cameras to stalk people and later terminated.

Concerns around privacy violations include record-keeping of individuals’ location history. Sever sought to dispel that claim. 

“When it takes a picture, it doesn’t take a picture of a person’s face,” Severs said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, when it takes a picture of a vehicle, you cannot identify who’s driving that vehicle.”

That’s especially true in Utah — a state that does not require front license plates. 

“You don’t see who’s in the vehicle. It does not provide us registration information. Does not provide us insurance information. Does not provide us immigration status,” Sever said. 

The only data received, he said, is a photo of a license plate. Once the officer gets that license plate, then a check can be run to confirm if it’s a stolen or wanted car. Even if there was a Flock Safety data breach, Sever said, all that would be revealed are license plate photos. 

Sever said, in the case of misuse, there is “potential for abuse.” But he said there is “potential for abuse in anything we have.” Sever said he would be able to stop such crimes before they occur. 

“If there’s a vehicle plate that’s run multiple times or something that’s not normal, the system’s going to alert me to that search,” Sever said. “Everything in that system is audited and kept for at least five years per Utah law.”

But that data storage timeline is limited to an audit trail of officer searches. Sever said that data is stored for detailed audits that track abnormalities. All other data is deleted after 30 days. 

Flock Safety recently updated its recommended data storage timeline to seven days. The company also claims to have expanded audit requirements and given customers more control over how data is shared across agencies. 

On that front, Sever said he is the one to approve outside use of the Flock camera data collected from Heber City-based cameras. 

“If immigration came and said, ‘Hey, we want to check on some people, and their only crime is immigration enforcement,’ I would say, ‘No,’” Sever said. 

That could change based on circumstances. For instance, if someone is suspected of homicide or other serious crimes, it’s generally a temporary, one-time granting of access, Sever said. 

“Flock has said that they do not provide any backdoor access to any government. So ICE, nobody else has access to our data except for us,” Sever said. 

The Police Department has another year left in its contract with Flock Safety. Sever said the AI-powered cameras have been “very helpful” in solving crimes across town. The Police Department has solved hit-and-run accidents, had hits on homicide suspects wanted on the Wasatch Front who were in the Wasatch County community and had hits on a retail theft ring that attempted to operate in Heber City. 

“We stopped them right before Mayflower, and they’d stolen over $200,000 from different stores,” Sever said. “There are many crimes that we have solved with this system that, if it were not in place, they would just go unsolved.”

Sever said the cameras have also helped innocent individuals accused of crimes. For instance, a Heber City man was reported as stealing furniture off of another resident’s porch. 

“He was buying something off Facebook Marketplace, and this person also had furniture on the front porch and just went to the wrong house and stole their furniture,” Sever said. “So we’re able to return that furniture. He was able to pick up the correct furniture, and we didn’t have a case report out there for this guy possibly having stolen products.”

Heber City Councilor Yvonne Barney, however, said there needs to be further discussion between Flock Safety, the Police Department and the Heber City Council. She said meeting with the company itself could ensure better peace of mind. 

“People feel like, why do you have to have it down my private street? Why does it have to be here?” Barney said. 

Councilors Barney and Aaron Cheatwood suggested that further discussion with Flock Safety may be beneficial.

The post Heber City police chief dispels Flock Safety camera misconceptions, rumors appeared first on Park Record.