While preparing the year in review piece for last week’s newspaper, I really was amazed at all the things that took place in Morgan County during 2012. Sometimes I get stuck in the weekly rut of attending meetings, listening to recordings, writing stories and editing the newspaper. The chance to look at every newspaper published by The Morgan County News in 2012 gave me the opportunity to step back and really get an over-all picture.
The growth of indexed family history records has allowed the development of new family history experiences. The goal of a variety of companies has been to allow individuals with less genealogical experience to have success.
For over 100 years, 4-H has been giving kids useful skills and wholesome recreation. The 4-H program in Morgan County, as well as many counties throughout the state, has been limited to children in the third grade and older. The Utah State University Extension Office has been working on bringing a program called Cloverbuds to Morgan County that will involve students in Kindergarten through second grade. These students will have the opportunity to “learn while doing.”
It would be hard to keep up with the Joneses—at least all that they have done in a short time. Dr. Kip and Heidi Jones live in Monte Verde, Mountain Green. Kip is a dentist in Layton and Heidi is a stay-at-home mom to their four girls. Both are natives of Utah, but they traveled a great deal in the early years of marriage before they returned home to Utah again. The Jones have lived in Morgan County the past six and a half years.
A new year begins. All of the holiday decorations have been taken down and put away, kids have gone back to school, and adults have returned to work. The start of each year is rich with ambition, hopes and dreams. The whole year is before us and anything is possible. What makes the difference between accomplishing the milestones we earnestly set out to achieve and letting our resolve slowly dissipate into inaction? Resolutions, goals, targets, objectives—however you refer to them—help you get to where you want to be.
During the last months of 2012, Young Chevrolet, in Layton, raised $11,775 for the Davis Education Foundation. The donation will be presented to the Davis Education Foundation at their board meeting on Tuesday, January 15 at the Davis School Administration Building.
As resolutions are beingAs resolutions are being made for the new year, home ownership and better money management are often at the top of the list. Debbie Leonard, one of Morgan City’s newest real estate brokers, hopes to assist residents in achieving some of those goals.
It is nearly time again this year for RootsTech. This has become one of the best genealogical conferences in the United States, and it is right in our back yard. The conference runs from March 21-23. This year will have more sessions, a bigger display floor, and larger attendance that ever before.
Seventeen years ago a teaching job brought Doug and Jane Curfew to Morgan. Since then, they have had the opportunity to serve many Morgan children. Doug, a fifth grade teacher at Morgan Elementary, plays a very influential role in the lives of these young children as they begin to make the transition from elementary to middle school. He really enjoys the students he teaches and they in turn enjoy him. The students especially enjoy Doug’s love of ‘80s music as they get to partake of it in the classroom.
Following an administrative investigation conducted by the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department, the officer who fired a shot that struck the left eye of Kristin Nicole Biggs has been cleared and returned to duty in December.
The coming of the new year brings new health care resources to Morgan City residents. The new Morgan Health Center opened its doors to patients on New Year’s Eve.
In the spirit of the holiday season, some amateur radio (ham) operators have found a way to bring joy to disadvantaged and shut-in children. Thanks to the world-wide range of amateur radio equipment, it’s possible for hams to communicate with other hams almost anywhere on earth, including Santa Claus at the North Pole. Thus was born the North Pole Network (NPN) which purports to use special satellite links to allow kids to talk one-on-one with St. Nick.
Captivated by twinkling lights, sparkling ornaments and visions of baby Jesus and Santa Claus swimming in their heads, most children are easily caught up in the magic and spirit of Christmas.
For Morgan native, Rachel Denning, her creativity and drive to succeed were two of several ingredients that helped her earn a spot on the Premiere Season of the groundbreaking online competition reality show “Prosperity’s Kitchen.”
What started as one mom wanting to spend extra time with her two youngest daughters quickly blossomed into something benefitting many families in our community. Last spring Natalie Tibbitts decided she wanted to share her love of ballet, something she grew up participating in, with her two young daughters-Emma (9) and Abbie (7). Wanting to find a couple of other children to participate she put the word out and soon many other parents sharing her passion signed their daughters up. From this early beginning teaching ballet to her two young daughters, Natalie now heads up the Morgan Valley Ballet Company (MVBC) featuring four different classes and almost 50 young dancers, ages 3 to 11.
For as long as anyone can remember, the Lion’s Club has invited Santa to visit Morgan County. The Boy’s and Girl’s committee puts the event together, but everyone pitches in to help. Candy bags from the Sweet’s factory are put together during the regular Lion’s Club meeting to pass out to each child and after they visit with Santa, hay rides are provided by the Thurston family and their Clydesdales. The Lion’s Club would like to thank the fire department for providing Santa’s transportation to the event, Morgan County for the use of the building and for taking care of clean-up and The Morgan County News for advertising. See photos on pages 6 & 7.
Over the last several months, residents of Morgan County have become increasingly interested in concealed weapons permits. Months before the recent rampage in Connecticut and other terrible scenes, local citizens started the process to legally carry a gun.
“Point your toes, and raise your voice as we honor Christ’s birth and rejoice.” The program passed at the door announced the evening’s theme and purpose.
In the five years Niel and Candice Ekberg have lived in Morgan, they have made a big impact in the community. Niel is a state trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol. Candice is a local EMT and a track and field coach at MHS. For each of them, getting to this point was a journey of self-discovery and pursuing meaningful paths. As their story unfolds, it is notable to observe their biography continues to evolve as the result of hard work—a testament that dreams may be accomplished through passion and perseverance.
In her second year of competing, Krista Johansen took first place for her edible architecture. Last year’s creation was a mock-up of Commercial Street that took second place honors. This year’s creation was started a week before the turkey and pumpkin pie were served on Thanksgiving Day. For the average gingerbread house, starting this early would mean there was plenty of time to work on it here or there. But Johansen’s elaborate design required her to work about four hours daily to complete it in time for judging.
The Morgan Conservation District is pleased to announce Quincee Dorius as the winner of the 2012 Conservation poster contest. Quincee is in the fourth grade and attends Mountain Green Elementary.
When it comes to selecting a place to get in shape, many people are intimidated. Chans Porter, owner of CrossFit Unknown, hopes that he can help ease that intimidation with his new fitness center.
Morgan City, County, and Chamber of Commerce have been working throughout the year to develop a new website. It has taken cooperation from the three parties to get the website ready to launch. All three could see the potential benefits this website could provide to Morgan businesses and its residents. “This has been a good thing,” Shelly Betz, city councilwoman stated. She encourages everyone to go to the website and see what is actually available in Morgan.
Fifty-three years ago, Frank “Whitey” and Darlene Little decided they wanted to do Christmas decorations in a new way. Their location gave them a unique place to create a Christmas scene. They decided to use their hill to display a nativity.
In 1982, Val and Loretta moved to Mountain Green from Arizona when Loretta’s sister Judy Pettingill gave rave reviews of the valley and the Morgan School District. The year before, their son Dan, lived with the Pettingills and attended school in Morgan. During a sixth-grade outing to the North Morgan Cemetery, he discovered headstones with the name Grover on them.
If you are wondering what to get for that certain person on your list, you should really consider a book written for specifically for Morgan County residents.
Looking at some news articles that I wrote for The Morgan County News over 20 years ago, I found one about Kris Carrigan in the May 29, 1992, edition. He was one of the subjects of a segment, “Youth in the workforce.”
Midway through the fundraiser Debbie Trussell was beaming with the support her family received from the community. “It’s going amazing!” Trussell said happily, “People are so amazing. So generous.” The courthouse auditorium was filled with donations and shoppers. Sections for clothing, electronics, toys, furniture, and more lined the walls and filled the room.
Golden Spike National Historic Site’s Annual Winter Steam Festival will be held Friday December 28th through Sunday December 30th. One of the site’s two 1860’s replica steam locomotives will arrive at the Last Spike Site at approximately 10:00 am and will be on display until 4:30 pm.
“I felt like it was one of those small towns off of an old Christmas movie,” Sunni Heywood said of last weekend’s Ol’ Time Christmas celebration on Commercial Street. While our beloved Front Street has actually been the scene of several movie sets, our Christmas celebration was better than any script. It brought together friends and family to enjoy the season together. We are lucky to live in one of the places people dream about.
In the past, strings of Christmas lights were reserved for houses and trees. However, this year the lights got a little momentum in a Christmas light parade.
The holiday season is in full swing. This time of year always seems like a good time to reflect on those things for which we are grateful. The list often includes family, friends, employment, and freedom. I would like to add to that list; I am grateful for the staff at the Utah Driver License Division.
Morgan resident Jennifer Vesper took second place honors in the 3rd annual Ivory Homes Gingerbread Contest, earning a$500 cash prize not only for herself, but for her Relay for Life team.
Luckily, we have had a mild winter so far because not everyone has been visited by the traveling home insulation vans that have covered the Morgan territory. In fact not everyone has four walls and a roof they can call their own. St. Anne’s Center shelters hundreds of Top of Utah’s homeless each year.
On Saturday Dec. 1, the Weber State Alumni Singers used their music to help Loydene Berg who lost her home to a fire in September. The choir presented a rich experience titled “A Gift of Music” to generous audience members who started off the holiday season with an amazing concert. The evening of music enriched those who attended.
Morgan County recently bid a fond farewell to a household name, Barber Brothers Ford. In 1981, the Barber brothers opened their first location in Morgan City. They started out as High Country Chevrolet Oldsmobile and after several changes, ended up taking on the Ford franchise and moved their building to its current location in 1998.
Encouraging customer to mail early this holiday season, Utah Post Offices have released suggested mail-by dates to ensure holiday cards and packages reach their destinations in time.
Local writer Jeremy Taylor had a dream to become a published author when he started his business, C.N.F.I. Publishing (Creative Notion Foundation of Imagination), in 2003. He has accomplished this by believing in his dreams and working towards them. “I do believe that if an individual believes deeply enough one can accomplish their goals!” Taylor expresses on his blog http://cnfi-publishingproducts.blogspot.com, “I had to believe in my own abilities and in my dreams.”
At the Sons of Utah Pioneers monthly dinner meeting on Nov. 19, winners of the Favorite Pioneer Ancestor contest were announced and recognized along with their parents.
East Canyon State Park Rangers James Lowe, Elizabeth Kovacs, and Jeff Dale were presented the Challenge Coin Commendation from Hill Air Force Base Colonel Henke of the 748th SCMG/419th Squadron for saving the life of Air Force employee Craig Feasel. The rangers were presented challenge coins, received a standing ovation, and were made honorary members of the squadron.
The holidays are here and what better way to ring in the season than to come listen to the Morgan Community Choir. The performance will be held Monday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. in the Morgan High School auditorium.
Melanie and Eric Moore and their family collected over 100 bags of items to be donated to St. Anne’s homeless shelter in Ogden. They filled a trailer with clothes, books, used and new toys, blankets, gloves, hygiene items, diapers and other types of donations. “Anything people brought we took,” Melanie explained. The shelter needs warm items to hand out during the cold months. They love to have toys to hand out for holidays and birthdays. The shelter accepts any kind of donation. St. Anne’s goal is to help individuals and families move into permanent housing, so any items that are not used at the shelter are used to help people when they accomplish that goal. People are generally moving with no possessions and these items help them get established.
Our dear husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend returned to his heavenly home on November 21, 2012, in St. George, Utah, following a courageous battle with bladder cancer.
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