Westlake alumni named NFL award nominee

Garett Bolles, a former resident of Cedar Valley and alumni of Westlake High School, has been chosen as the Denver Broncos’ nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.

The announcement, made by the Broncos organization on Dec. 5, highlighted Bolles’ impactful work as a juvenile probation court mentor in Arapahoe County. The organization praised his unwavering commitment, noting that Bolles “has impacted hundreds of youth with this outreach, providing mentorship and developing a unique, in-person connection with each child.”

According to the official statement, Bolles consistently goes above and beyond by recording personalized videos of encouragement for the youth he mentors.

Additionally, he actively participates in monthly court hearings, demonstrating an extra layer of support for the young individuals under his guidance. Notably, Bolles took initiative to contribute to the community by assisting the Arapahoe County 18th Judicial Youth Probation Court in revamping a juvenile courtroom, aiming to create an inspiring environment for its young occupants.

“It means the world to me,” Bolles said of the nomination. “I do this because I genuinely love and care for these kids. I know they said that I help them, but they help me. They give me that fight every single day to go out there on the football field and to live my dream.”

Bolles’ commitment to at-risk youth is deeply rooted in his own life experiences. Confronted with challenges after encounters with law enforcement and a brief stint in jail for vandalism, Bolles faced adversity when he was kicked out of his father’s home at the age of 19.

During this time, Bolles found support in a Lehi family who welcomed him into their home and offered the encouragement and tough love he needed. With their support, Bolles secured employment, eventually earning an opportunity to play football at Snow College.

His journey continued when he met his wife, Natalie, during his time there and later transferred to the University of Utah to join the football team. Then, in 2017, Bolles was drafted by the Denver Broncos where he has played since.

Bolles, reflecting on his past, believes that his personal experiences uniquely qualify him to assist at-risk youth. In an interview with The Athletic, he said, “They have a guy who has gone through it, and I can communicate that to them. A lot of these kids, it’s hard for people to relate to them. Going through something like that and experiencing the heartache… I want them to know that I do love and care for them.”

The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, an esteemed recognition for both on-field and off-field contributions, offers a substantial prize to the winner. The recipient will be granted a $250,000 donation to the charity of their choice, with all nominees, including Bolles — receiving up to a $55,000 donation for their selected charitable cause.

In addition, each nominee will wear a helmet decal throughout the remainder of the season in acknowledgment of their outstanding accomplishments. The grand reveal of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award winner is scheduled to take place during the live NFL Honors ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2024.

UFA readies ribbon-cutting following new fire station completion

Following months of construction, Eagle Mountain residents will soon be able to tour one of the two newly constructed fire stations in the community.

The Unified Fire Authority (UFA) will hold a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony next week for two fire stations that were completed over the summer.

Station 253 is located on Mid Valley Rd. near Frontier Middle School in City Center. The second station is a relocation of Station 251 (currently situated near Eagle Mountain City Hall) to a more contemporary facility just south of Eagle Mountain Blvd. along Pony Express Pkwy.

According to UFA Battalion Chief Embret Fossum, the two new stations were constructed in response to Eagle Mountain’s population change and subsequent increase in demand for emergency services.

“Anytime that we grow like we are in the community, we need to get more personnel and apparatus in place for both the fire suppression as well as [emergency medical services],” says Fossum. “This will allow us to better respond to the needs of the citizens.”

Each station’s location was strategically selected to account for current and projected population, call volumes and future developments — ensuring efficient and timely emergency responses.

“We work through a programming software that helps us to identify future growth, and we worked with the [Eagle Mountain City] planning commission,” says Fossum. “It helped identify what that was going to look like both now and then in 10, 15, 25 years…for the best location for 911 response across the board.”

Station 253 is initially equipped to accommodate an ambulance and is designed with future growth in mind. The revamped Station 251 now boasts contemporary amenities and ample space to house additional personnel.

“Within the next couple of years, the way the growth is projected, we’re anticipating an additional four to six [firefighters] down here [in Eagle Mountain],” Fossum says.

Residents are invited to join the UFA in celebrating the completion of the new stations at the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, Sept. 18 at 12:30 p.m. Residents are also invited to sit down with UFA firefighters for a free pancake breakfast on Saturday, Sept. 23 from 8-11 a.m.

“It gives [residents] a chance to come and see where we spend a third or more of our lives,” says Fossum. “It allows them to come get free breakfast and talk with firefighters and ask questions if they want to.”

Both the grand opening and the pancake breakfast will take place at Station 253, located at 1210 Mid Valley Rd.

Following the grand opening, the UFA will have three operating fire stations in Eagle Mountain: Station 251 (3726 N Pony Express Pkwy), Station 252 (3785 Pony Express Pkwy) and Station 253 (1210 Mid Valley Rd).

The Eagle’s View – Aug. 2023

The August edition of The Eagle’s View is ready for your enjoyment. This month, we learn more about freight containers and their impact on agriculture and about an effort to provide support for Monarchs and milkweed. Read here.

ShopFest Utah 2023: The best is yet to come

Since its humble beginnings as the Eagle Mountain Street Fair, ShopFest has quickly become one of Utah’s largest and most popular shop local events.

Each year, thousands of patrons gather at Cory B. Wride Memorial Park to support hundreds of Utah small and home-based businesses.

Attendance at ShopFest increases year after year, challenging all involved to make the event bigger and better than the last. Rachael Smith, ShopFest coordinator, is up to the challenge.

“I’m just excited to be a part of the event itself,” Smith says. “I’m excited that I got the opportunity to do this, and I’m excited for what can happen next year. I’m always looking to the future because this year’s going to be incredible, and I think next year is going to be even better.”

Prior to accepting the position of ShopFest coordinator in March, Smith had nine years of event planning experience.

Much like ShopFest, she started out small – assisting with festivals and fundraisers at her children’s charter school. From there, she began planning larger events as a children’s pastor at a church in Draper where she headed up several large, week-long events around Easter, Christmas and other holidays. After a year, Smith was hired at another church where she coordinated large community events that attracted thousands of people. 

“I had applied for the admin. position in the Chamber [of Commerce],” she says. “But after my interview, they called me and said they would love to have me as [ShopFest coordinator]. I was happy to take it, that was amazing.”

Upon being hired in March, Smith hit the ground running — working to secure more sponsorships for this year’s ShopFest event. Smith says that ShopFest has partnered with 25 sponsors this year and has had to turn some away due to overwhelming interest.

In addition to financial support, Smith takes pride that many of this year’s ShopFest sponsors also provide valuable services to the community. One small business, for instance, aides addicts and their families through recovery.

This year’s ShopFest is anticipated to be bigger and better than last year’s event. Patrons will be able to enjoy inflatables and hot air balloons. While preparing for this year’s event, Smith says she is also working to obtain certification for festivals and large events, opening the door to greater possibilities in ShopFest’s future.

“I want to grow my knowledge to do things that are going to benefit what I’m actually working on,” Smith says. “This one’s going to be amazing, because I would love how fun it would be to end ShopFest with a huge concert.”

In addition to the hot air balloons, inflatables and concerts, Smith would also like to add a car show to the ShopFest schedule as soon as next year.

Of course, the heart of ShopFest will always be the small businesses. More than 300 will participate in this year’s event. Vendors ranging from boutiques to services to non-profits and everywhere in between are slated to participate.

“Small businesses give more back to the community,” says Smith. “Over $9.3 billion would be directly returned to our economy if every U.S. family spent just $10 a month at a local business. Small business is ridiculously impactful for not just our local community, but our entire economy.”

According to Smith, volunteers are just as essential to the success of ShopFest as the vendors are. ShopFest volunteers can sign up for various shifts, such as vendor check-in, booth set-up, cleaning and maintenance. Smith believes one of the most important jobs a volunteer can do is assist the vendors with their needs.

“Our vendors are going to be busy all day,” she says. “To have somebody come and say ‘hey, do you need water? Can I get you anything? How’s it going?’ It’s important that our vendors know they have somebody who cares about how they’re doing that day.”

ShopFest is currently looking for 60 volunteers for various assignments. Each volunteer will receive a free hat or shirt, and individuals who volunteer for shifts over three hours will also be provided with free lunch donated by Chick-fil-A.

Smith says one of her favorite parts about ShopFest is that it brings people from all over the state to Eagle Mountain.

“I love being able to bring people out to us…and show off some of what is happening around Eagle Mountain,” she explains. “I love so much that we have [ShopFest] in Eagle Mountain because we’re not as far away as people think anymore and we’re getting bigger and bigger.”

ShopFest will take place at Cory B. Wride Memorial Park on Saturday, Sept. 9 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Turn lane to be extended at major EM intersection

Eagle Mountain drivers may soon notice added convenience during rush hour traffic.

The lengthening of the left turn lane at the intersection of westbound Pony Express Pkwy. and Ranches Pkwy. is scheduled to begin July 25.

The intersection regularly reports traffic back-ups due to the high volume of vehicles waiting to turn left onto northbound Ranches Pkwy., particularly during rush hour.

Chris Trusty, Eagle Mountain City engineer, says that not only are such back-ups inconvenient, but they also present safety concerns.

“It would be considered a safety hazard because of the back-up that [it has],” says Trusty. “Cars may not always realize that the car in front of them is going to stop in the through lane because they’re trying to get over to turn left.”

Beginning July 25, crews will work to lengthen the left-turn lane by 180 ft., bringing its total length to 340 ft. By lengthening the lane, City engineers hope to mitigate back-ups at the intersection.

Trusty says that lengthening the left-turn lane on eastbound Pony Express Pkwy. should alleviate some of the safety concerns.

According to Trusty, the turn lane expansion work is part of a larger project to improve four intersections throughout the city. The total project budget for the four intersections is about $2 million. The budget for the Pony Express Pkwy. and Ranches Pkwy. intersection improvements is a small portion of that, estimated at $110,000.

“We wanted to do it as part of a [large] project because it’s such a small project,” says Trusty. “We decided to include this as part of our signal package…We get better prices if it’s part of a larger project.”

Throughout the duration of construction, one lane will be closed in both directions on Pony Express Pkwy. Residents are encouraged to find alternate routes to help alleviate traffic congestion during the construction period.

Work is anticipated for completion prior to Aug. 15 to ensure a smooth flow of traffic for the beginning of the school year on Aug. 16.

Residents who have questions about the lengthening of the left-turn lane or the intersection improvement project can reach out to Engineer-in-training Bryce McRae at bmcrae@emcity.org.