The Utah Association of Counties meets with the Cache County Council

At Tuesday’s Cache County Council meeting, representatives from the Utah Association of Counties presented their proposal to form an urban-rural caucus. They also discussed the upcoming implementation of recently enacted legislation. 

The urban-rural caucus would focus on issues that affect both urban and rural areas, and would create a forum for the counties to explore solutions to their common problems. 

“We like the idea of taking time to concentrate on issues that are important to urban and rural communities,” said Adam Trupp, the chief executive officer of the UAC. “There are many problems that affect both urban and rural areas across the state. Certainly Cache County deals with many of the same issues as Salt Lake County such as a large, growing population. If representatives of both counties could meet and discuss such problems, perhaps common ground could be found, and a solution could emerge.”

The idea for an urban-rural caucus was first presented by Salt Lake County council member, Aimee Winder Newton, who initially thought just the most urbanized counties would participate. However, the UAC believed it would be beneficial to also include rural counties in the conversation. 

Next year, the Utah Indigent Defense Act will place a financial strain on county and local governments. Utah is one of only two states that does not fund the cost of defending indigent criminal offenders on a statewide level. Instead, it delegates the funding of those costs to the counties. Trupp expressed concern that the burden may be overwhelming in rural areas, so discussions need to be had to assure the rural counties were not being given more than they could handle. 

2016 will also mark the rollout of the Utah Justice Reinvestment Initiative, which seeks to divert nonviolent offenders from incarceration by placing them in non-custodial rehabilitation programs. This will place pressure on the counties to fund those rehabilitation programs, and again, the effect on rural counties that may be financially devastating.

“As these financial challenges approach, counties have to recognize that we need to fashion solutions that serve all of our colleagues and counties the same,” said Trupp. “Counties need to find solutions and share burdens as much as possible without taking everything on their shoulders. We need to recognize that counties can push back against the state if necessary.”

Governor Gary Herbert released a $16 billion budget Wednesday that included cuts to the general fund, the source for most county funding. Lincoln Shurtz warned the council of a “rough road ahead financially.” 

UAC placed several funding requests with the governor including $6.4 million for statewide Medicaid match funding for drug abusers and the mentally ill and a $9 million request for the justice reinvestment initiative to help fund some of the required rehabilitation programs. 

Shurtz predicted that the upcoming policy that might have the greatest effect on Cache County is the transportation funding proposal, which gives counties the right to impose a quarter-cent local option sales tax to be used for road improvement and public transit projects. 

The Cache County Council had previously expressed concern that it did not have a need or want to distribute the mandatory 40 percent of the revenue from the transportation funding proposal to public transit, so a proposal has been put together that would allow the county to allocate the funds differently. 

“We have worked very closely with the Jack Draxler, the representative in charge of drafting the proposal, and have made a few suggestions to ensure that it is narrowly tailored enough to address the circumstances in Cache County,” said Shurtz, the governmental affairs director for UAC. “Hopefully those suggestions will help to get that proposal passed.”

Greg Merrill and David Erickson ready for their new roles as chairman and vice chairman

On Wednesday, the county council elected Greg Merrill as its new chairman and David Erickson as its new vice chairman. They are both ready to tackle the responsibilities of their new positions. 

“It’s an opportunity to serve the citizens of Cache County,” Erickson said. “I didn’t ask for it, I didn’t seek it, but I’m glad to have this opportunity.”

Each council member is elected to a four-year term. The council chair and vice chair each serve one-year terms in those positions after election by the council. 

Merrill was re-elected to the Logan district three seat in 2012. Erickson just finished his first year on the council in 2015 following his appointment to fill the vacancy created when the serving northern district council member Craig Buttars was appointed as county executive. 

Both men have set goals for 2016. 

“I have a masters in communications, so I want to work to improve the dialogue between citizens and the council,” Merrill said. “We need to improve our customer service and make sure the citizens realize how much the county actually provides for them.” 

“One of my goals is to establish a water conservancy district, so we can maintain and control our own water in the valley,” Erickson said. “We need to properly manage the natural resources that we have here.” 

The 2016 Cache County budget was finalized at the Tuesday council meeting and both Merrill and Erickson expressed their concerns with this year’s budgetary process. They both have plans to improve the process for adoption of the county’s 2017 budget. 

“Every year that the budget grows, we end up having to raise taxes,” Merrill said. “Our biggest challenge with the budget is living within our means, instead of passing a tax hike every year or two. I want to work with Craig Buttars to make sure that we operate more efficiently.”

“I want to look for new non-tax revenues to help with the budget this year,” Erickson said. “We need to stop raising taxes on our citizens.”

Merrill said that he has full faith in Erickson and thought that the council made a great decision electing him as vice chairmen. Merrill has been impressed with how quickly Erickson has adapted to his new position on the council and he believes that Erickson will be a great help to him and the rest of the council. 

Erickson likewise expressed praise for the selection of Merrill as county chairman. 

“I have total confidence in him,” Erickson said. “He has good business savvy and common sense, and is focused on the big picture. He is not easily distracted from his goals.”

2016 county council budget passed at Tuesday’s meeting

At Tuesday night’s meeting, the county council voted to approve the 2016 budget by a three-two vote. 

Before voting on the budget, council members Cory Yeates, Val Potter and Greg Merrill insisted that the entire council discuss and resolve their concerns regarding tax and spending increases. 

The initial budget had a gap between revenues and costs that had to be closed through some combination of increased taxes or spending cuts. Yeates, Potter and Merrill felt that the council had relied too heavily on the idea of increasing property taxes and hadn’t looked hard enough at cuts to close the deficit. 

“We were handed a budget with no cuts and a tax increase,” Potter said. “We put the budget in front of the public and the public rejected it. Out in the grocery store, out on the street everybody I talked to is pretty ticked off about a tax increase.” 

Many of the proposed increases in the budget this year came from pressure by department heads to increase funding to their departments. Yeates, Potter and Merrill felt that the council had accepted the premise that it needed to raise revenues without properly evaluating the use of those funds. 

“Department heads have put pressure on the council: ‘we need all these things to provide better services, so you need to make the budget work,’ that’s their direction,” Potter said. “Citizens are putting pressure on us in the opposite direction not to raise taxes. As a council we are elected by the citizens to be their representatives here with the county, and we need to make sure we take care of them.” 

In the end, the council approved a budget that was balanced by a combination of increased taxes, spending cuts and a one-time withdrawal from the general fund reserve account.

$675,000 was pulled from the general fund. 

“We cannot continue to rely upon the general fund to make up budget shortfalls,” said Merrill, the county vice chairman. “If we keep borrowing from that fund, at some point in time, it’s not going to be there anymore.”

Cuts to the budget included firing one full time road department employee, reducing funding $135,000 for developmental services, cutting $21,000 from the information technology budget and rolling over unused funds from this year’s water modification budget to next year. All told, the cuts equaled about $200,000. 

In the end, the council was unable to completely avoid a tax increase, but it settled on a property tax increase that would only raise the tax on a $201,000 home by about $10. 

2016 budget expected to be announced Tuesday

The 2016 Cache County budget is expected to be announced at the county council meeting at 5 p.m. tonight. If the budget is not approved, the council will call a special meeting to finalize the budget before the end of the year. 

This year’s budget process has been particularly contentious due to a general property tax increase and the adoption of a new municipal service tax to cover a deficit made larger by proposed salary increases for the county council and elected officials. 

At the Dec. 1 meeting, the council denied increases for county council and elected official salaries and rejected a new municipal service tax.

“I don’t think the municipal service tax is a fair tax,” said Jon White, a council member. “I would rather see us raise everyone’s property taxes to 6.2 percent and be done with it.”

Originally, the council released a public statement stating the general property tax rate would not exceed 6.24 percent. In recent meetings, the proposed property tax rate was at 4.19 percent while the municipal service tax was on the table. Once the municipal service tax was rejected, the council discussed raising the general property tax above the publicly announced cap of 6.24 percent to cover the deficit. 

“Both of these taxes have been a moving target from the first time we heard about them,” said Val Potter, a council member. “They keep changing and evolving, and that’s frustrating.” 

“This is a part of the budget process and we do this every year,” said Craig Buttars, the county executive. “I’ll admit that the initial tax proposal that went out to the public was not a good target, but we had to send that out and say that is the maximum that we would tax.” 

If the council chooses to raise the general property tax rate above 6.24 percent at today’s meeting, the proposed budget would need to be adjusted again before it can be completed and announced by the council. 

Other items on the agenda for today’s meeting include: 

• UAC Report from Lincoln Shurtz and Adam Trupp. 

• Public Hearing – Requesting a rezone of a 0.69 acre portion of 73.69 acres in the resort recreation zone to include the public Infrastructure overlay zone, located at the Cache / Weber County line, Powder Mountain.

• Public hearing for the open 2015 budget.

• Adoption of 2016 Cache County budget. 

The meeting is in the Cache County Historic Courthouse, County Council Chambers, 199 N. Main Street, Logan. 

Goals set at first Cache County Council meeting of 2015 impact the final meeting of the year

At the beginning of the year, Cache County Council Chairman Kathy Robison asked each of the council members and the county executive to set goals for the coming year. Three of the

council members set goals relevant to the current budgeting process: 

— Robison wanted to review job responsibilities and salaries of county officials before the first council meeting in August.

— Greg Merrill wanted each council member to be given an opportunity to work with major departments and to meet with department heads three or four times a year, in order to help with the budgetary process. 

— David Erickson wanted to visit with each department head in order to learn the functions of their departments. 

As the year draws to a close and the budget gets finalized, many of those goals were accomplished. According to county attorney James Swink, “This is the most active council that I have seen since I was elected and it shows in the work that they have accomplished this year.” 

Robison’s goal to analyze salaries and job responsibilities came full circle during Tuesday night’s meeting, when the council discussed whether or not to raise elected official salaries. 

“We know every one of our elected officials deserves a raise, we just need to make sure we can afford it,” Robison said. “They are all extremely hard working and have done their jobs really well this year.” 

Merrill’s goal to give each council member an opportunity to work with the departments and department heads has positively impacted the manner in which budget discussions have progressed at the end of the year. 

Starting Nov. 17, budget workshops were held so that each department head had a chance to meet with the council and the public to discuss their revenue and proposed budget for the year. Having had the opportunity to meet with council members during the year, the process of discussing discrepancies in the budget was made easier for both the department heads and the council members. 

“The council has been nothing but helpful this year,” said Chad Jensen, the county sheriff. “It is much easier to make proposals to a council that is up-to-date with what we have been doing this year and who will work with us to make next year even better.”

Erikson’s goals to learn the functions of each department has also eased the budgetary process for the council. 

“I have met with each of the council members throughout the year and had a chance to get to know them,” Swink said. "When they understand what we do, it becomes much easier to discuss issues with them.” 

The final council meeting of the year will be held Dec. 8 to announce the finalized 2016 budget and to act on any outstanding legislative proposals. Council meetings will start again at the beginning of January, at which time the council will begin planning the 2017 budget.

Cache County Council meeting focuses on potential salary increase for council members and elected officials

At Tuesday’s meeting, as part of its 2016 budget process, the Cache County Council discussed the possibility of a 1 percent salary increase for elected officials. In the wake of so much vocal opposition from Cache Valley residents over potential tax hikes to fill budget deficits, the council decided to table the decision until the next meeting while it further reviews the available information. 

“I’ve been here since 2000, when the salary for elected officials was $45,000. Now it’s up to $75,000,” said Kathy Robison, the council chair. “I’m not saying that we shouldn’t increase salaries, but we need to look at how much they have already gone up and gain some perspective before we make a decision.”

The council also discussed possible alternatives to annual salary increases, including salary evaluations midway through, and at the end of an elected official’s 4 or 6 year term, and making decisions accordingly. 

“This comes up every year, so we need to finalize something that works for everyone,” said Craig Buttars, the county executive. “We have some elected officials who are making less than their employees, and that’s never good for morale. Something needs to be done.” 

Three Cache County elected officials have lower salaries than their employees and the other three only earn slightly more than their employees.

“I speak for the elected officials when I say it’s nice to be appreciated. I know that the salary increase isn’t huge, but it lets the officials know they are doing a good job and that their work is being acknowledged,” said James Swink, the Cache County Attorney.

Many citizens are very concerned about proposed tax increases to fill budget deficits, so the council is unsure if now is the right time to make a decision about raising elected officials’ salaries. 

“I went to my grandson’s basketball game and the entire time I was bombarded by concerned citizens saying ‘please don’t raise taxes,’” said Greg Merrill, the council vice chair. “When $10 or $20 is make or break it for some people, how can we focus on raising salaries? I’m just not sure how to handle it.”

The budget is set to be completed on Dec. 8.  Because no decision was made on the salary issue, Buttars has drafted one budget with increases in salaries and benefits, and one without, so that the council can immediately finalize the budget as soon as the salary decision has been made.

Cache County Sheriff’s Office and Attorney’s Office both increase revenue in 2015

At the budget workshop held Nov. 17, the Cache County Sheriff’s Office announced it was asking the council for a budget of $13,762,000 on top of a $700,000 increase in revenue so it can work to improve the county jail.  

In 2014 the sheriff’s office requested a budget of $13,737,000. 

“We have to plan for the future,” Jensen said. “As soon as the new prison opens in Draper, our inmate population will shrink and our revenue will decrease significantly. We have to take care of the jail and fix it up while the money is available.”

While all county departments receive the bulk of their funding through Cache County tax revenues allocated by the county council, they are able to generate additional revenues from non-tax sources.

In 2014 the sheriff’s office had a revenue of $3,855,185, compared to $4,573,492 in 2015. 

The Sheriff’s Office has been able to spend its extra money to make improvements to the jail and to purchase a snowcat for its search and rescue team, expenditures which might have otherwise gotten bogged down in the County Council budgeting process. 

Sheriff Chad Jensen attributed the income change to an increase in the inmate population, an increase in daily fees paid to house federal inmates and an increase in fee generating rehabilitation programs. 

The Cache County jail population increased from 40 inmates in January to 71 inmates in June, while the daily fees to house federal inmates increased from $47 to $58. The state pays daily fees of $60 per inmate to fund rehabilitation programs. 

“The more inmates we have, the more money we make on our own, leaving more for the council to use for other purposes,” Jensen said.

The Cache County Attorney’s Office reported non-tax revenue of $356,735 which was slightly more than $345,894 in 2014.

“99 percent of our budget goes to employee pay and benefits, so what extra we have we used to hire a private investigator to help us do our jobs better,” said James Swink, the county attorney. 

The Attorney’s Office is funded with a Victims of Crime Act grant, a Violence Against Women Act grant, its contract with the city of Logan and its funding from the Cache County Council. 

The final budget for the Attorney’s Office has yet to be announced due to several salary discrepancies, but it will be finalized before the 2016 budget is completed. 

“We are very pleased that all of our county departments are running well and not spending excessively,” said Cory Yeates, a Cache County council member. “It’s very un-government like.”

The 2016 county budget is set to be finalized at the Dec. 8 county council meeting. 

Attendance expected to return to normal at this week’s county council meeting

Tuesday’s Cache County Council meeting is expected to return to normal attendance levels following the heavily attended council meeting on Nov. 10.

That meeting was contentious because the council discussed a potential raise in property taxes to help fund a 6.1 percent increase in the 2016 budget as employee salaries and benefits increase. The meeting drew the largest crowd since 2012 when higher taxes were imposed in conjunction with the creation of a new water conservancy district.

“The public hearing on Nov. 10th was particularly well-attended because it was well publicized in advance that we would be discussing a property tax increase,” said Greg Merrill, the county council vice chair. “I predict that things will return to normal this week as we return to a discussion of more mundane budget issues. People don’t show up to listen to us talk about numbers.”

Regardless, some Cache County citizens still feel the need to attend the meeting because they see it as a continued opportunity to have their voices heard on the 2016 budget issue. 

“I will definitely be at Tuesday’s meeting,” said Josh Crane of North Logan. “Taxes keep going up, and I’m sure not making any more money to fill the gap. It’s frustrating, and I want to have a say in the council’s decision on the matter.”

Tuesday’s meeting is set to include:

— Budget reports from the Finance Office and the Developmental Service Office. 

— Discussion of potential property tax relief.

— Approval of the meeting schedule for 2016. 

— Salaries for elected officials including Cache County Council members. 

— The 2016 budget. 

— Setting the public budget hearing for 6 p.m. on Dec. 8.

“We are predicting the council meeting on Dec. 8th will draw similar crowds to the Nov. 10th meeting because the budget will be finished,” Merrill said. “People always show up when a new tax is potentially getting passed.”

Tuesday’s Budget workshops will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. and the main council meeting will start at 5 p.m. in the Cache County Historic Courthouse, County Council Chambers, 199 N. Main Street, Logan. 

Tax hike concerns expected to draw more people to county budget workshop

A workshop to review the budgets for the Cache County Sheriff’s Department and Attorney’s Office is expected to be well attended by those who are concerned about the prospect of further tax increases.

The workshop, which will begin at 3:30 p.m. today in the Cache County Council Chambers and comes in addition to the regular council schedule, is the first of several meetings that will be held before finalizing next year’s budget.

“These workshops help the council to evaluate all of the departments so we can determine if changes are needed in next year’s budget,” said Craig Buttars, the county executive. “The budget workshop provides county residents with the time and opportunity to interact with council members on budget matters, which are not available during a regular council meeting.”

At recent council meetings, a 1.3 percent increase in county employee salaries and a 5.6 percent increase in employee benefits were discussed. Additionally, the council anticipates a 13.9 percent increase in insurance costs based on new hiring and premium hikes. In total, the currently proposed budget contains a 6.1 percent increase from the 2015 budget.

The council is hoping to raise taxes to fill the gap between anticipated revenues and the proposed budget expenses, but it has been met with opposition.

“I went from making a couple dollars renting out a residential property I own, to losing money because of last year’s tax increase,” said Dewey Richardson, the manager of the Cache County Mall and a local property owner. 

“Now I have to charge my tenants more, which means they’re going to have less money to spend at the mall, which makes it harder for the mall to pay its increased taxes. It’s all a vicious circle.”

The County Council Chambers are located at the Cache County Historic Court House, 199 North Main, Logan.

A SAAVI insight into domestic violence

Education about domestic violence was the main topic of the Abuse Prevention Day discussion between students and SAAVI volunteers that took place in the Taggart Student Center Sunburst Lounge, Wednesday. 

The best way to prevent abuse is to educate people,” said Stephanie Bagnell an adviser at the Center for Women and Gender.

The discussion was facilitated by questions posed to the students by Bagnell and Bret Nielsen as they encouraged those attending to think about the components of abusive relationships so that they could learn to recognize the signs for themselves.

“We want to empower survivors and victims to use their own self determination to get out of abusive situations and we want to educate everyone else to avoid abusive relationships in the first place,” said Nielsen a SAAVI intern. 

SAAVI, CAPSA and the Center for Women and Gender work to educate Cache Valley residents and USU students about abuse and ways to prevent it and the Abuse Prevention Day event was intended to reach people who were not already searching for help. 

“Women often come into SAAVI to get educated about abuse and then realize that they are already in an abusive relationship,” said Jenny Erazo the SAAVI program coordinator.

To attract attendees into the Sunburst Lounge, the event organizers broadcast a repetitive gong sound from loudspeakers every 12 seconds to symbolically represent the nationwide frequency of attacks against women. 

“That eerie sound really caught my attention. I had to stop by to see what it was all about,” said freshman Lauren Walker.

Also inside the lounge was a display by the Clothesline Project and numerous sponsor booths dispensing domestic violence information and pamphlets. The Clothesline Project is a national movement that gives voice to those affected by domestic abuse by allowing them to write anonymous experiences on shirts that are then hung on clotheslines. USU’s Clothesline Project is in its 25th year and its display featured shirts made by Cache Valley residents who had experienced first or secondhand domestic abuse. 

“We are really glad that Bret and Stephanie opened up the conversation about domestic abuse, because it’s extremely important,” Erazo said. “Having the conversation here in front of the Clothesline Project display and our sponsor’s booths helps us spread awareness of the variety of resources available at USU for victims and survivors of domestic violence.”  

Comedians Drew Lynch and Sam Comroe laugh away their disabilities

As the finale to Disability Rights Week at Utah State University, disabled comedians Drew Lynch and Sam Comroe gave their comedic perspectives on living with a disability.

“Stand up is hard for anybody, it’s not just because of my voice that it’s difficult,” said Lynch after being asked if it took bravery for him to stand up in front of crowds and do comedy.

Lynch, this year’s runner-up on America’s Got Talent, was hit in the throat with a softball four years ago, damaging his vocal chords and leaving him with a stutter. His partner, Comroe, was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome while in the third grade.

“It was hard to book Drew due to his recent America’s Got Talent fame, but we were very happy that he agreed to perform,” said Shane Johnson, the development officer for the USU Center for Persons with Disabilities. “We had plenty of options for people to finish out the week but we chose these comedians because they relate to both college students and people with disabilities, making it a fun experience for all involved.”

Both comedians use self-deprecation and their unique experiences as people with disabilities to entertain and educate their audiences about disabilities. 

“Seeing people with disabilities in the spotlight makes me feel like I too can do anything,” said freshman Melissa Roeder, who has struggled with a stutter for most of her life. “I’m so thankful that people like Drew and Sam are out using comedy to spread awareness for people with disabilities.”

The show began with routines from both of the comedians, followed by an audience Q&A session where the two comedians came together and encouraged everyone with questions to speak up. Both comedians said they are frequently asked questions about their experiences with fame and disability, so they like to open up the conversation in front of the entire audience to help spread awareness about their disabilities. 

“This show is the culmination of a week celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Johnson said. “These two comedians continue to help us spread awareness about disabilities, while providing a really great time for the audience.”

USU inaugurated Disability Rights Week this year in order to celebrate the ADA’s 25th anniversary.

The week began with lawn signs around campus pointing out handicapped accessible features at USU, followed by an information fair in the Taggart Student Center. The week finished with the comedy show and birthday cake for all in attendance, to celebrate the ADA’s anniversary. 

Logan Planned Parenthood remains healthy despite funding cuts

The Logan Planned Parenthood office will remain fully functional, leaving residents who rely on its services breathing a sigh of relief.

Despite Gov. Gary Herbert’s efforts to block disbursement of federal funding to all nine Utah Planned Parenthood offices, the Logan office will remain fully operational in its education programs.

Individual Planned Parenthood locations have the flexibility to set their own office hours based on appointment volume and the population being served. Logan Planned Parenthood will be able to continue providing all of its educational and health services since it already saves money by offering shortened office hours, four days a week.

Because Cache County has the second lowest sexually transmitted disease rate in Utah, behind only Morgan County, Logan Planned Parenthood can operate with abbreviated office hours while still fully providing all necessary services to its target population.

“I’m really relieved honestly,” said Utah State University sophomore Kaity Maines. “It’s an important resource for college students and it’s comforting to know that all services remain fully functional so I don’t have to drive to Ogden.”

Two statewide Planned Parenthood sexual education programs based in Salt Lake County were recently eliminated due to budget constraints, leaving a gap in the organization’s mission to educate Utah residents.

“It’s disappointing but our efforts to educate will continue on a smaller scale, relying on our individual clinics to do all they can,” said Annabelle Sheinberg, the education director for Utah Planned Parenthood. 

“Part of our mission is to educate people throughout the country about sex and sexually transmitted diseases but with a particular focus on college campuses. College students are the largest population affected by STDs, so they are often the ones we need to educate on how to be safe and on what to do if they need help.”

For that reason, most of the Planned Parenthood offices in Utah were located near college campuses to make it convenient for college students to receive educational information and health services.

Logan’s Planned Parenthood office is located at 550 N. Main St., Suite 17.

Additional information about Planned Parenthood, including available programs and services and office hours is available at https://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-center/utah/logan/84321/logan-health-center-2420-91730.

Aggies Elevated: continuing to grow

The transition from one Aggies Elevated class to two has come with a learning curve, but with the help of returning students and volunteers, the organization is making it work. 

Because Aggies Elevated participants have varied levels of intellectual disabilities, the growth in the number of students has created the need for more administrative organization. Second year students have helped to ease the transition for first year students by offering them advice and by giving the first year students another resource to rely on.

“We have told the first year students about our experiences and what kind of homework we had to get done just to give them a little heads up.” said second year student Jenna Mosher. “Sarah Bodily says that the first year students look up to us so we need to be role models for them”

Aggies Elevated has 30 volunteers working with students on a daily basis. 

“Without our volunteers and second year students, we couldn’t do it,” said Sarah Bodily, the Aggies Elevated program director. “We have volunteers helping students with both academics and independent living skills which makes the students’ transition from living with their families to living on their own much easier, and second year students providing support along the way.” 

Aggies Elevated is a two year certificate program offered by Utah State University that helps students with intellectual disabilities transition from high school to college to the working world. It provides classes focusing on independent living skills, career exploration, personal care techniques and study habits and gives students the skills that they need to live on their own and thrive in college and beyond. 

The first year program focuses on helping the students adjust to a new setting and to develop good study habits and living skills. In the second year program, students continue with the development of their independent living skills and study habits with the added opportunity to explore employment prospects through interest-based internships that are arranged by the Aggies Elevated program. The internships give students a chance to learn what they like and what skills they possess. Aggies Elevated also provides some classes to its students as well as enrolling them in some credit-earning classes on campus. 

Because Aggies Elevated is funded by private donors, its hopes for future expansion rely on increased funding. USU has provided assistance with a $10,000 grant for Aggies Elevated, but it is not enough to help the program continue to grow. Last year Aggies Elevated made a funding request to the Utah Legislature but that request was denied when the Legislature decided to fund other disability-related organizations throughout Utah.

In a further attempt to raise awareness for Aggies Elevated and to assist in its fundraising efforts, New York filmmaker Ben Stamper came to campus and produced a 10 minute documentary highlighting the lives and experiences of the seven original Aggies Elevated students. 

Aggies Elevated is one of only 217 postsecondary education programs for students with intellectual disabilities in the United States. 

More information about Aggies Elevated, including how students may apply, is available at http://www.aggieselevated.com/.

A safer walk to the Student Living Center

Utah State University has taken the first steps toward a safer walk to the Student Living Center along the east side of the Logan Cemetery on North 1200 East Street by installing new parkways, sidewalks, fencing and streetlights. 
“The sidewalks were getting unsafe,” said Ben Berrett, the USU director of facilities, planning, design and construction. “We had some underground electrical utilities that needed to be replaced, so it was a good time to start the project.”

Construction crews removed the existing sidewalks to create room for a new grass parkway between the street and the new sidewalks, providing a safety cushion between pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

New, wider sidewalks have been poured and a wrought iron fence has been constructed between the sidewalks and the Logan Cemetery boundary. For added safety, street lights have also been installed in the area for the first time.

“Getting from the Student Living Center to campus last year was difficult. The sidewalks were in bad shape, and walking at night was almost out of the question because there was no lighting,” said sophomore Natalie Webb, who was a resident of Rich Hall last semester. “I’m really glad to see they are fixing it. It was necessary.”

The project is ongoing, but Berrett said that he expects construction to be completed by the end of the 2016 spring semester. The sidewalks, streetlights, fencing and grass are all in place, but crews are waiting on another species of tree for the parkway strip that will not arrive until this spring.

“We are happy that we are making student walkways safer, as well as upgrading the overall look and feel of our campus,” Berrett said.

In conjunction with the sidewalk improvements, USU maintenance crews repaved the streets through the cemetery, upgraded irrigation systems, and replaced power utilities located under the new sidewalk.

Aggie Radio: Journey to FM

With the upcoming transition from webcasting to FM, Aggie Radio has changed its policies regarding programming. 

In previous years, students could create a talk or music show that would be broadcast on the station. However, with the upcoming conversion to FM broadcasting, the decision was made to limit the programming to a sports and news show in the morning, and alternative music during the day. 

“When you listen to an FM station, they have a genre and organized programming,” said the station manager Cody Scott. “We want to be as professional as they are.”

To ensure that the creativity of the students will not be taken away, Aggie Radio has started a digital podcast recording studio and podcast channel that allows any student in Aggie Radio to produce shows to be posted.

“Our slogan is ‘For the Students, By the Students,’ and we didn’t want to lose touch with our roots, so the podcast channel allows for student created content to still be available,” Scott said.

“I’m really glad that Aggie Radio decided to start a podcast channel, I was really bummed out when I thought I couldn’t have a show this semester, but now I know I still can.” said junior Morgan Casey. 

During the spring semester of 2015, Aggie Radio announced that it would be converting from webcasting to FM broadcasting beginning Sept. 23, 2015, after receiving approval from the Federal Communications Committee in the fall of 2014. 

Come September, Aggie Radio was not where it had hoped to be when the organization’s officers made the announcement. 

“September came around, and we just didn't have the funding. It’s looking like it will be closer to December 31,” Scott said. 

Aggie Radio recently received a $20,000 loan from USU and is actively working to fundraise the balance of the money for the conversion.

“We’ve hit multiple roadblocks with finances and adjusting policy, but we’re chugging along,” Scott said. “We will still begin shows this fall, and will continue to broadcast from our website. We’ll go FM when we’re ready.” 

Any USU student is welcome to join Aggie Radio. There is an interview application that can be filled out on the website at http://www.usu.edu/radio/.

Helicon West 2015 Preview

Helicon West is an open mic series that features works from local writers and poets, as well as featured speakers. The event occurs at 7 p.m. every second and fourth Thursday of each month, during the Utah State University academic year. Sept. 10th is the first event of this year’s academic calendar and the featured speakers are Lisa Roullard, winner of UAC 2013 writing competition, and Utah State University lecturer and non fiction author John Engler. The event is free and will be held in the Jim Bridger room at the Logan Library. All are welcome. 

Helicon West was started by USU poetry writing instructor Star Coulbrooke and professor of creative writing Michael Sowder, in 2005. Their mission statement is “Helicon West provides a regularly-scheduled place and time for members of the writing community to give their work a public voice, with no restrictions on levels of skill and no censorship of ideas or craft. Publication of readers’ work is a main goal.” 

Another aspect of Helicon West is the organizers' commitment to local businesses. They work to find businesses that will present a comfortable setting for authors to be heard, as well as encourage attendees to buy books or coffee which will, in turn, help the businesses. 

In conjunction with the USU Writing Center, Helicon West publishes an 11x17 themed poster called the “Broadside” that features art and short, locally written poetry. 

For further information regarding Helicon West, visit their website at https://heliconwest.wordpress.com/