Author Bios

Our little valley is known for amazing results from volunteer efforts to improve the community and Morgan’s new bike park will certainly add to that legacy.

Kassidee Dunford, member of the Browning pro staff program, competed in the ACUI Collegiate National Championship in San Antonio, Texas.

When you live in a close-knit community like Morgan County, it is easy to run under the assumption that nothing bad ever happens here.  However, victims of domestic abuse in this county know the unfortunate truth behind the facade.

It is no secret that Morgan County schools are hurting financially.  With recent talks of budget cuts, voted leeways and tax increases, there is a lot of talk about what could be done to help alleviate the burden, but there isn’t a lot of action.  Few people are willing step up to the plate to affect actual change.  

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.

Kassidee Dunford is the latest addition to Browning’s pro staff program and a joy to work with according to Scott Grange, director of public relations and shooting promotions for Browning.

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.  

On Nov. 13, the Utah Commission on Civic and Character Education along with the Utah State Board of Education hosted the second annual Symposium on Social Studies and Civic Education in Utah Schools.  During this event, Lydia Nuttall of Mountain Green was presented with the 2012 Community Leader in Civic and Character Education award by Lt. Governor, Greg Bell.  

If you like Wood Creations, you are going to love the newest store on Commercial Street: Morgan Valley Crafts.  For some time now, many Morgan City Council meetings have been focused on revitalizing Commercial Street and we are starting to see the success of their hard work.

 
The Utah Giant Pumpkin Growers held their annual weigh-off on Sept. 29 at Thanksgiving Point.  There was a lot of excitement as the pumpkins were weighed from smallest to largest.  As the pumpkins got bigger, the crowd grew both in size and intensity.  

Thursday, Oct. 25, snow packed roads caused numerous slide-offs on I-84.  Because of the slide-offs, several semis pulled over only to get stuck in the snow on the sidelines.  The road was closed for several hours to allow time for snow removal and clean-up. 
Highway 39 through Ogden Canyon was also closed temporarily due to a weather related accident.
Morgan County was hit with more than six inches overnight.  Teachers who commute from Ogden were stuck in the canyon and buses were stuck in the snow, so Morgan Elementary and Mountain Green Elementary were both closed for the day.  This is a rare occurrence in Morgan, so students were thrilled and kids all through the county pulled out their sleds and made the most of it.
The first snowfall of the year is historically bad for driving conditions, which makes it especially important to slow down and drive carefully.

Morgan County is home to some of the most active kids I have ever seen, so it is no surprise that there is a new outdoor sports team in the area, the Morgan MTB race team. 

Monday is usually a pretty low key day at Taggart’s Grill, but this week was different.  HGTV’s House Hunters team paid a visit to the local restaurant to shoot footage for their show. 

At the entrance of Riverside Park, there is a big rock monument with “Early Morgan Pioneers” engraved at the top.  Under the engraving there is a list of some amazing people who have shaped Morgan County into what it is today.  

Relay for Life is a big deal in Morgan County.  Relay for Life is an event sponsored by the American Cancer Society to help raise funds for cancer research.   All across the world people are affected by cancer in some way, and Morgan is no different.  It seems that around every corner there is another tragic story.  For this reason, the community rallies in support of this event.  Windows of local businesses are filled with footprints that have been purchased to help the cause.  

Pioneer Day was celebrated in different ways throughout Morgan County this year. One of the celebrations was the Milton round-up, which was inspired by the hard work of two Milton Eagle Scouts. In an earlier article, credit was given to Brayden Stegelmeier and Miles Mecham for their huge undertaking. The two scouts replaced the Milton park horse arena fence. The arena is used by the entire northwestern area of the Morgan Valley, especially by 4-H horse enthusiasts. 

The second annual Livastride Home Run Derby and Summer Slam Tournament were hosted in Morgan last weekend.  This tournament has drawn a crowd of nearly 3,000 people to Morgan City since its inception.  There were 50 teams that competed in this year’s Summer Slam and Morgan’s own high school baseball team took second place in their division.

Every year residents enjoy events put on by their local cities and counties, but not many people truly have a grasp of the magnitude of work that goes into their success.  One shining example of the hard work and dedication of these volunteers is the annual Morgan 4th of July celebration.  

The Morgan 4th of July parade had a new twist to it this year.  All townships were invited to create a float and enter it into the parade.  The floats were judged and winners were announced during the evening entertainment at the football stadium.  First place, and winner of the Grand Prize trophy, went to Round Valley second place went to Peterson and third place went to Porterville.  Honorable Mentions were also awarded to Enterprise, Stoddard and Taggart.  The Morgan 4th committee appreciates all the time and effort that went into creating these floats and would like to thank all those who participated in this challenge. 

The Morgan County Sheriff vehicles have a new look.  You will soon see them around town, hopefully to the side of the road or in passing, and not behind you enforcing the ‘Click it or Ticket’ law which is currently in full force.  

Morgan Valley Voices is a non-profit music organization that teaches children of all ages to use the one instrument they always have with them, their voice. Singers ages 5 and up are taught music theory and principles through games and songs using the methods of Zoltán Kodály.