The Utah Justice Foundation provides this News Flash to help get the information to those who need it most!

Summary: The 2009 Community Crime Prevention Seminar Series in West Valley City began January 12, 2009. This monthly seminar series will be presented in a lecture format and is part of West Valley City’s Neighborhood Services Office programs designed to provide helpful information to the city’s residents.

Who Can Benefit: The Crime Prevention Seminar Series is designed to assist West Vally City residents to recognize issues early and to know how and where to access services for assistance. These seminars may be informative for non-WVC residents as well.

When & Where: The Crime Prevention Seminar series will be held fom 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the West Valley City Family Fitness Center, 5415 West 3100 South. The dates and topics for upcoming monthly seminars are as follows:

• March 9th – National Inhaland and Poisons Awareness Month
• April 13th – National Alcohol Awareness Month
• May 11th – National Safe Kids Month (Internet Safety)
• June 8th – Graffiti Awareness

Other & More Information: There is no charge to attend the seminars. For more information, please contact Craig Thomas, Neighborhood Services Manager, at (801) 963-3285 or via email.

Source: For direct link to the Neighborhood Services page of the West Valley City website, click here.

The Utah Justice Foundation provides this News Flash to help get the information to those who need it most!

Summary: The 2009 Community Crime Prevention Seminar Series in West Valley City will begin Monday, January 12, 2009. This monthly seminar series will be presented in a lecture format and is part of West Valley City’s Neighborhood Services Office programs designed to provide helpful information to the city’s residents.

Who Can Benefit: The Crime Prevention Seminar Series is designed to assist West Vally City residents to recognize issues early and to know how and where to access services for assistance. These seminars may be informative for non-WVC residents as well.

When & Where: The first Crime Prevention Seminar will be held Monday, January 12, 2009 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the West Valley City Family Fitness Center, 5415 West 3100 South. The topic for this first of eleven seminars will be Community Resources for Gang Prevention and Intervention. This seminar will be presented by staff and mentors from Project 180.

Other & More Information: There is no charge to attend the seminars. For more information, please contact Craig Thomas, Neighborhood Services Manager, at 801-963-3285 or via email.

Source: For direct link to the Neighborhood Services page of the West Valley City website, click here.

The Utah Justice Foundation provides this News Flash to help get the information to those who need it most!

Summary: More than 11,000 Utah children are impacted by divorce each year, including 2,500 children in Salt Lake County. To address the needs of these children, the Utah State Courts offer a Divorce Education for Children class twice each month at no charge to participants.

Who Can Benefit: The Divorce Education for Children class is for children ages 9 to 12, whose parents have filed for divorce or whose parents are divorced.

When & Where: Classes for January through March 2009 have been scheduled as indicated below. Classes are usually offered the second Monday of each month in the evening and the last Saturday of the month in the morning. All classes will be held at the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse, 450 South State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah.

• Janaury 12th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.
• January 31st from 10:00 to Noon.
• February 9th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.
• February 28th from 10:00 to Noon.
• March 9th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.
• March 28th from 10:00 to Noon.

Other & More Information: There is no charge to attend the classes. Advance registration is required. To register or for more information, please contact Alyssa White at 801-578-3897 or via email. For a brochure click here.

Source: For a direct feed of News Releases from the Utah Courts click here.

Two of our sons are Scouts and working on two important merit badges, Communications and Citizenship in the Community. One of the requirements for the first merit badge is to attend a city council meeting. We recently moved to South Jordan and the City Hall is only a few blocks from our home, so we decided to attend the South Jordan City Council meeting this past Tuesday.

We arrived a few minutes before the 6:00 PM meeting start time and settled into three very comfortable chairs in the third row. One of the council members announced that the meeting would start a few minutes late as they had just completed another meeting and needed a short break. About 10 minutes later the Mayor, five Council Members, City Manager, City Attorney and Chief of Police all filed in and took their seats.

We already had our Agenda from the stack of copies placed near the door to the City Council Chambers. The Mayor opened the meeting by calling on a Council Member to give the Invocation. After that, the Mayor called on one of the six Scouts from the audience to come forward and lead everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.

One of the more interesting reports was given by a staff member under the direction of the City Manager, who actually runs the day-to-day affairs of the city. As with many city governments, South Jordan Citizens elect their Mayor and Council Members, who in turn appoint the City Manager. See South Jordan City Organization Chart

The City Manager’s staffer gave everyone a tour around South Jordan, explaining what was going on in the different areas of the city. Here are just a few examples:

• Costco store to be built at 9800 South & Bangerter Hwy and open by Fall 2009.
• Gold’s Gym looking at old Albertson’s building for a new location.
• Olive Garden and McDonalds to be built in The District shopping center.
• The news report that South Jordan had spent all its snow removal money was wrong, and South Jordan citizens should not worry about snow removal.
• South Jordan has an ordinance that restricts parking in the street when it snows!

Woa … wait a minute, what does this ordinance say because I sure have not heard of it? So, I looked it up and found it in the Municipal Code. I also learned that during 2008, the City Council had amended the particular ordinance for which I was looking.

So, by attending the City Council meeting we learned about this Parking During a Snow Event ordinance, which may save us a ticket and a few bucks in the future.

Another interesting item was revealed during the Citizen Comment time. A well-prepared gentleman informed everyone present of his view that the possible placement of a 100-foot tall cell phone tower in a city park would not be appropriate or advisable. He provided facts, figures, photos, and a compelling argument against placing such an industrial tower in a residential neighborhood and city park.

The meeting lasted about 90 minutes and served as a good reminder that local government and its officials play a key role in keeping citizens informed as well as make laws they believe will make their city a better place to live. Therefore, the City Council and its meetings are an important part of our Justice system in Utah.

Attend a City Council meeting in your area and you may be surprised just how invigorating it can be to learn about your community.

The Eagle4Justice provides this News Flash to help get the information to those who need it most!

Summary: More than 11,000 Utah children are impacted by divorce each year, including 2,500 children in Salt Lake County. To address the needs of these children, the Utah State Courts offers a Divorce Education for Children class twice each month at no charge to participants.

Who Can Benefit: The Divorce Education for Children class is for children ages 9 to 12, whose parents have filed for divorce or whose parents are divorced.

When & Where: Classes for September are scheduled for Saturday, September 13^th from 10 a.m. to Noon and for Monday, September 22^nd from 6 to 8 p.m. Both classes will be held at the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse, 450 South State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Other & More Information: There is no charge to attend the classes. Advance registration is required. To register or for more information, please contact Alyssa White at 801-578-3897 or via email. For a brochure click here.

Source: For a direct feed of News Releases from the Utah Courts click here.