Journalist Law School

I am so excited I can hardly stand it.... I have submitted my application for the Loyola Journalist Law School, a 4-day fellowship program.  It is a competitive application process, so now I just have to wait and see if I get in.

In the meantime, me and Google will be trying to figure out just how this farm girl is going to get along in Los Angeles all by myself.

I am SO excited!!!!!!!

When all else fails me, I have my career

This week has been both incredibly difficult, and incredibly... incredible. I have been dealing with some tough things at home, so every morning, I just can't even explain how much I look forward to going to work. I can go to work and feel  like I amount to something, and that is just priceless right now.  


A few weeks ago, my editor and I were going over some court records and we discovered something unusual:  one of the local judges here in town sentenced a Utah State University student on an alcohol charge.  Among the judge's requirements: read Les Miserables and write a book report about it.  Sound's like a story to me. :D


It took me some time to get around to working on this idea, and then it took me a week and a half to get an interview with the judge. I don't think he was so thrilled to do it, but, he granted me the interview!


I met with Judge Willmore on Thursday, and I have to say, I enjoyed my time with him so much. He may not have been thrilled to  give me the time, but I was so impressed, because he took the time to prepare for our interview and I walked out of his office with a better story than I went in with. 

After leaving his office, I went downstairs to Judge Allen's courtroom to sit in on a bench trial. This was supposed to be a big story, but in the end, the guy pleaded guilty and there was no trial.   I stayed behind for a minute to speak to one of the attorneys. 

While I was waiting, Judge Allen said he wanted to see me in his office.  


WHAT ON EARTH FOR???????


One thing about the world of newspapers: we rarely hear about the good things we do, and so many people are quick to criticize. 


After speaking to the attorney -- with the bailiff waiting impatiently -- I went to speak with Judge Allen.  Can I just say -- he is such a kind, compassionate man. I had witnessed that before while observing him in drug court. 

  As it turns out, he remembered a very brief phone call we had had a few years prior, and the story I had written for another newspaper about heroin and the danger it is to drug users.   When he started seeing my name in the Herald Journal, he said he put two and two together.  And when I appeared in his courtroom, he wanted to meet me. 


(ME!?  I would have never thought myself to be so memorable.)

I spent more than an hour in his office.  We talked about my work in journalism. We talked about my kids, We talked about his kids. We talked about his job. We talked about the military -- a passion for both of us. We talked about the very real need for veterans court and the challenges associated with it.  We even touched on some music and the songs we felt were moving and powerful. 

By the time I left his office, he had introduced me to Tracy, his clerk, who he said is as knowledgeable about criminal proceedings as they come.   And when he introduced me to her, he told her to help me out as much as I needed, whenever I needed, within her legal ability to do so. And he said he would do the same. 


I was so pumped when I returned to the office, and the feeling carried me through the day. 


I have spent almost 20 years pouring my heart and soul into the stories I write, with an absolute commitment to accuracy and fairness in my writing.   I had been writing in my own community for so long.  After three months in a new community, I find my reputation has followed me, and it is serving me well. 


As more time goes on, the people I need to work with -- law enforcement, attorneys (both the prosecutors and the defense attorneys), and now the judges -- they are all beginning to open up to me more and more every day, because they know I have a job to do, but I will do it well. 


Their faith in me has been healing salve on some painful hurts at home.  Because these people believe in me, I am starting to believe in myself again. 


That is better than any paycheck.









   

Back to work!!

Well, I didn't think it would take this long!

I have spent the last two years working at home as a part-time correspondent, covering Box Elder County.  It was a good time to be at home:  during that time I also got married again, moved and experienced a whole myriad of other adventures.

I love working at home.  Who wouldn't love sacking out on the couch in front of Rachael Ray or Kathy Lee and Hoda, with a laptop, a pile of notes and a telephone?  Even better....... taking that laptop outside on the patio and basking in the warmth of the sun while writing about some dry meeting the night before?

However, I always did miss being in the newsroom. And realistically, I am much more productive without my friends Rachael, Kathy & Hoda. So with that, and a few other events in my life, I have returned to the newsroom and I love it.

I returned to the Herald Journal in Logan, where I am working as a Cops & Courts reporter. I love that beat because I find the courtroom absolutely fascinating.  And, I get to work with familiar, friendly faces again, like Lt. Lee Perry with UHP.  He is a good egg and it is always fun to talk to him -- much like working with an old friend. There are also many new people to meet and establish good working relationships with, and I am looking forward to that.

It was a busy week this week that started off with a couple of major stories, a major sinus infection and a couple other maladies.  However, I am feeling much better now and I am looking forward to week two.  Now that I am starting to feel settled in, my head doesn't hurt so badly and with the happy anticipation of better sleep -- this  next week can only be amazing.

But for now...... I am going to enjoy the rest of my weekend.

A change of scenery

I haven't posted for quite a while. I was laid off in early December. I can't even describe all of the feelings that come with an unexpected job loss. But, I am not the only one so, in the midst of the job hunt, I have embraced to opportunity to be "just mom" for a while.

I have been doing some correspondent work for the Ogden Standard Examiner. My latest story is here.

It has been hard to write in recent weeks amidst the discouragement, but I have to say, this story was fun and reminded me just how much I love my job.

Third Place, Military Reporting, SPJ-Utah 2009

This award is special.

Last summer, I spent 3 months working on a story about post traumatic stress disorder. As a rule, journalists are advised to not become too emotionally involved in their stories. But with this one, I couldn't help it. Someone very dear to me has PTSD. I last spoke to him just a couple weeks before I started this story, and it was clear his symptoms were becoming worse. After rekindling a years-old friendship with him, I had waited for three years to have just the right opportunity to write about PTSD.

I spent hours talking to two combat veterans, one of whom was in an in-patient treatment facility, so we communicated via phone. I talked to their wives. I talked to the VA, and to the Air Force and the National Guard. I studied a ton of research that I have been collecting for years. I worked with a couple ladies at the National Center for PTSD in California.

After weeks of interviews, phone calls and reading, it was time to put the story together. I can't even tell you how many hours it took -- it was the biggest, most in-depth story I had ever attempted. All this time, I was immensely worried about my friend. I cried, a lot. I cried for my friend, I cried for the vets who had completely trusted me with their pain. I cried for the wives and children whose lives were forever changed after their soldier returned home a mere shell of the person he had been when he left.

My story was published in August as a Sunday Extra . . . it started on the front page, and then filled an entire page on the inside, something that doesn't happen often. I had the support of my editors on this one. I know at least one person read that story and found an understanding he didn't have before. If one single person picks up the phone and asks for help, I am happy.

Two days ago, I attended the Utah Headliners Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, where I learned I had won third place in military reporting in Division A, which is made up of the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune. Stephen Speckman was the military reporter at the D-News, and he was good at it. Really good at it. And of course, the Tribune has top-notch reporters as well. So third place for me was an intense honor.

But I would give it back without hesitation if there was some way that story can keep helping veterans and their familes.

I don't know what happened with my friend, and I may never know. But I do know this -- I am so grateful to him for his willingness to share his own difficult experiences with PTSD. It is because of him that I have and will continue to teach others about PTSD every chance I can get.

See my story here.

UPA Best Feature Story, 2009

I am a day late and a dollar short on this one. Theannual Utah Press Association convention was in March. I was getting a bad cold and felt pretty sickly, but I needed the getaway so badly that I went anyway. Besides that, if I have to be sick, and i get to choose, I am going to be sick in sunny St. George before I am going to stick around here!

Friday night I had dinner with Doug, the sales manager at the News Journal, and Casey, our publisher. Mike Ramsdell was our guest speaker, and he was fabulous!! After hearinghim speak that night, I bought his book, A Train to Potevka.

On Saturday, I slept in and missed breakfast completely. I attended some classes in the morning, then spend the afternoon alternating between reading and napping. That night was our awards banquet, so we all had dinner together. In all the craziness of college, I didn't feel like I had contributed anything award-worthy, so I was quite surprised when they called my name for Best Feature Story in our division.

I won the award for Open Adoption: Bringing Families Together, which can be seen here: http://www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu/artlife/features/120108_openadopt.html It was published both at the News Journal and on the Hard News Cafe, USU's online newspaper.

Story added to my list

I have been doing more editing than writing these days, but the writing will pick up now that I have graduated and I am in the office full-time.

I had one story printed in the Deseret News this week, and will have a couple in the Box Elder News Journal.

I have to figure out how to post my News Journal things here.

New post, old story

We were sitting around the office today talking about the people who donate their bodies for science. It reminded me of a story I wrote at the Deseret News and failed to include on my list, so I have added it today.

This was one of those stories when you can't possibly imagine why this would be a news story, but you come away from it in awe and wonder.

Updated Resume

I have updated my resume today. You can see it HERE

Resources for treatment of Combat PTSD in Utah

From my Sunday Extra story published in the Deseret News on October 19, 2008




Resources for vets

SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE: 1-800-273-TALK (8255), A 24/7 hotline for veterans in crisis

MILITARY ONE SOURCE: 1-800-342-9647

militaryonesource.com

Veterans may call up to 8 times per issue before a referral is required

WOUNDED SOLDIER & FAMILY HOTLINE: 1-800-984-8523

A referral service to help veterans find the agency that best fits needs George E. Wahlen Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center 500 Foothill Dr., SLC, 801-582-1565

PTSD Clinical Team

Steven N. Allen, PhD

Coordinator

VA Salt Lake City Health Care System

(801) 582-1565, ext. 2390

Kitty Roberts, PhD

Veteran & Family Support Groups

VA Salt Lake City Health Care System

(801) 582-1565, ext. 2389

OEF/OIF Support Office 1-800-613-4012

Andrew Kalinen, Transition Patient Advocate, and Outreach, ext. 4264 for help in transition from military to VA

Andrew Wittwer, Combat Case Manager, ext. 2150

Maria Fruin, Program Manager, ext. 5246

Danica Richans, Polytrauma Case Manager, ext. 2038

Bart Davis

Utah National Guard Transition Assistance Officer

801-523-4937

bart.o.davis@us.army.mil

utvethelp.com

**will take calls from any vet requiring assitance, regardless of branch of service

Candi Ackerman, Colleen M. Netzer

Hill Air Force Base, Case Managers & Special Needs Coordinators

801-586-7351

**will provide assistance to anyone with a current military ID card

battlemind.org

ncptsd.va.gov

Horrors of active service plague many vets long after the return home

By Amy Macavinta

Deseret News

Published: October 19, 2008

Ronda huddled in her room crying, and afraid.

Before her husband locked her in, he gave her detailed instructions on how to escape should the intruder find her. Then, with his gun in hand, he methodically cleared each room in their Utah home, only to return and report that nobody had broken in and they were safe.

What he didn't know, however, that she wasn't afraid of the intruder.

She was afraid of him.

The couple married just one week before he was mobilized as an individual reservist with an extensive Special Forces background. He was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, and life since his return has been difficult.

Once lighthearted, her husband, B.W. (his full name is not being used at the request of the family), was angry, impatient and often had nightmares. He regularly cleared the house, searching for intruders, covered the windows of their condo with tinfoil on a Hawaiian vacation and decided to sell their house, on impulse, during a trip to Home Depot because he couldn't handle the lights and noise of the city.

"I didn't know if he had an on-off switch, and I couldn't tell if he was awake," Ronda said. She worried about the outcome if someone did break into their home at night, especially if that "intruder" was just one of his adult sons who needed something.

Additionally, her husband is always busy. "He can't sit still; he can't rest," she said. "He tells me that 'if I am idle I can't stand myself."'

This went on for a year and a half. Ronda started doing some research, and believing he was experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, she asked him to get help.

"It was hard to tell him, but I had to try to bring him back to where I was, as a civilian," Ronda said.

Marnee Price had a similar story after her husband, Warren, returned from a 14-month tour of duty in Iraq. Within three or four months, she noticed he was often angry, or tired, and lost all desire to do anything. The couple fought constantly, although she chose to blame the stress at his work.

"For a while, it would just hurt," Marnee said. "We avoided each other because you never knew what was going to come out of his mouth."

Marnee, who has four children and does day care in her home, learned that she had to keep the children as quiet as possible to prevent triggering a burst of anger. He also started to push their friends away with his anger.

"You learn really fast who your friends are when trials come," she said.

For Jaime Taylor in Riverdale, PTSD has completely turned her life upside down. Her husband, Jake, was part of an Army Reserve unit in Logan but deployed for 17 months with an Army unit based in Los Angeles. Some of his symptoms were the same — extreme anger, depression, nightmares — and he doesn't like to be at home, surrounded by the chaos of a houseful of children.

In addition to that, as a gunner, Taylor was in vehicles targeted by improvised explosive devices seven different times and now has seizures and memory problems. Jaime said her husband rarely allows himself to sleep until daylight comes, and even then he doesn't sleep well.

Jake has a traumatic brain injury and continues to have seizures related to repeated subjection to blasts. He can no longer do his job in the Reserves, so he will be medically discharged from service.

"He would go back (to Iraq) in a second, so he is very upset about being discharged," said Jaime. "He's never unpacked his bags. They're still in a corner, ready to go."

Warren, Jake and B.W. are among the thousands of veterans coming home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan only to fight the battle of PTSD. None of these wives was prepared to deal with changes that PTSD has brought to their families.

Marnee said she did attend a National Guard briefing that she said lasted no more than 10 minutes. In that meeting, the wives were told it could take half the length of the deployment to return to normal.

"I felt like I was counting down to seven months," Marnee said, "but it all opened up at six months, and so we never got back to normal."

For Ronda, there was no such briefing. For a year and a half after her husband returned home, there were times when she wasn't sure their marriage was going to make it. He rarely talks about Iraq with her, and one time went so far as to tell her he didn't want to "walk through her mind with his dirty feet."

"I felt like he was shutting me out, and it was really lonely," she said.

His side

Warren Price knew deployment had changed him.

"I see things now in black and white, life or death," he said. "The whole world changed for me."

Price described himself as a man who was outgoing and liked to be the center of attention. He loved Scouting and camping, and he had an active social life with his wife and their friends.

He served in the Utah National Guard's 116th Engineer Co. as a medic, from December 2003 through February 2005. When he came home, he was thrilled to be back with his family and he was eager to take his wife and children to Disneyland.

But within a matter of months, Price found that life wasn't as wonderful as he thought it was.

"I didn't notice I was anxious all the time," he said. "I was alienating my friends."

One of his first wake-up calls came from his three sons and his daughter, who "were cowering around me. They wanted to be around me, but they were afraid of me."

In the three years since he came home from Iraq, he has been plagued by anger, anxiety, depression and nightmares. When he is awake, he carries an enormous guilt for lives he couldn't save. He continually wonders if things would have turned out differently during a particular gunfight where he froze, unable to fire because he thought there might be women in the back of the car coming toward him.

"My opinion of PTSD is 180 degrees different after deployment than it was before," Price said. "I had heard of it — and I thought it was bogus. I thought they (returning servicemen) should just suck it up and get along in society. And then lo and behold, I get home and I can't."

B.W. can't travel with his family because of his paranoia — on planes he insists on making sure that the person next to the emergency exit can operate it — and is plagued by nightmares that force him to relive his combat experiences.

Security at airports, on the other hand, simply disappoints him. He calls security personel "unfriendly" and said they treat passengers "the same way I treated our POWs."

Then there was the night he locked his wife in a room and cleared the house with a pistol, only to return and find her crying.

"I didn't know for six months it was me she was scared of," he said. "I had no clue that I was the source of her tears and that she was afraid of me."

At night, he may get four hours of sleep, with the aid of medication. Night operations require a soldier to be especially keen and alert, he explained, so "it is danger time."

During the day, he tries to keep his brain occupied all the time. "Sitting still is difficult; I am always moving, always thinking, because when I stop, I start .. " He drifted off, unable to complete his thought.

Having PTSD isn't just about the memories. Over time, the body learns to react to perceived danger automatically, without conscious thought. B.W. said the first time it happened to him after deployment, he heard a noise in the room he was working in at the time — a noise that repeated itself in the same cycle as a .50 caliber machine gun. His pulse increased, and he started breathing rapidly. He said he thought he was having a heart attack.

According to the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, behaviors associated with the trauma generally appear as depression, anger, lack of concentration, anxiety, panic and sleep disorders. Memory problems and a lack of concentration are also common. To deal with the problems, it is common for veterans to turn to alcohol or drugs.

"The brain spends so much time and energy scanning for threats that the everyday things become very mundane," explained Dr. Kitty Roberts, from the VA's PTSD Clinical Team.

Treatment

In the last three years, Warren said he has been suicidal at times and has been in an inpatient psychiatric ward twice. He has been in both individual therapy and group counseling but admitted to just going through the motions. He used and abused prescription medications provided by the VA. He either slept a lot or was zoned out, forgetting conversations and family activities.

"I told myself 'I can function,' but I was lying to myself," he said. "I didn't like the guy who came home, and I didn't like the person I had become."

In January, Warren said his psychiatrist recommended inpatient treatment at the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Palo Alto, Calif. The only catch was he had to be clean. So, he quit all of his medications cold turkey.

"I wanted to keep my family, and it was going to take something drastic," he said. "And this was the 'drastic."'

Warren said his treatment consisted of learning the skills to cope with his anger and depression, followed by a lot of role-play homework.

"I don't know if I have fully mourned the loss of 'me.' I don't like who I am now. I am still coming to terms with the idea that the old guy is dead."

But the effort just might be paying off. He spent the Fourth of July weekend with his family and said that for the first time, he didn't yell as much as he had before. His kids were the same, he said, but he was able to communicate with them better.

While Warren feels optimistic about the skills he learned, he said it has been an adjustment since he returned from treatment. But they are getting along as a family and he is doing everything possible to remove the stress from his life.

He is also reaching out to other vets, using his experiences to help others. He is hosting a Vets4Vets retreat in Midway. He is also working with the VA on vocational rehab that will allow him to go to college and get a degree in recreational therapy, which will allow him to help other returning veterans.

During 2002 and 2003, B.W. served numerous tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with Special Forces Command. On his return, he said, he didn't feel changed, he felt normal. But eventually he realized there had to be something to the things his wife was telling him. He is currently in individual counseling through the PTSD clinic at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City, but he readily admits that he is still "trying to figure this stuff out."

These men did their service in the Guard or the Reserves. Once they made the decision to seek help, it was there for them. But getting help doesn't always come easily.

Taylor served in the Army Reserves, where most soldiers are attached to an active duty unit for deployment. They remain part of that unit for the period of deployment plus 180 days, and then they are returned to Reserve status.

Claude McKinney, public affairs specialist for the 96th Regional Readiness Command, said that because Army reservists are citizen soldiers, they are only eligible for medical benefits during that time period. At the end of the 180-day period, all medical care then becomes the responsibility of the Veterans Administration.

Because Jake also has shrapnel wounds, he has been working with the VA administration for his medical care since he got home. There are at least two staff members who were provided detailed descriptions of the symptoms her husband encounters on a daily basis, Jaime said. It took the help of state senators to get help with Jake's claims, and not a word was ever said about PTSD.

"No one contacted us; no one told us there was a PTSD clinic," she said. "No one told us he needed to be evaluated for PTSD."

Jaime was later told that the information was not offered because she hadn't asked. But then, she had no idea just what all the right questions were, either.

Dr. Steve Allen, director of the PTSD clinical team, said that soldiers such as Jake Taylor who deploy on an individual basis are harder to reach out to because "they are coming and going without our awareness." And, he said, this is a problem nationwide. There are proposals in place to register all service members with the VA at discharge, rather than the VA trying to identify those soldiers and provide outreach services after the fact. This is a procedure that is currently working very well within the Utah National Guard.

Help available

The veterans who shared their stories here are only three of 300,000 nationwide who have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.

In April, researchers reported that nearly 20 percent of those service members are experiencing either major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, yet only half of them are seeking help.

There are any number of reasons why veterans are reluctant to seek treatment for PTSD. For some, they do not want to be viewed as "weak" or they don't want to jeopardize their careers.

B.W. said that even though he works in an environment that one assumes would be helpful, he rarely shares his daily struggles because there is a stereotype associated with veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I am intelligent and articulate ... I don't want to be judged by PTSD," he said.

And even though he felt he had embraced a new point of "normal" in his life, he agreed to enter counseling when his wife expressed her concern about him.

"People are afraid of asking for help, but the tragedy is, the more they delay asking for help, the more ingrained those behaviors become," said Allen.

In Utah, there are a number of resources available to help teach veterans how to cope with the myriad afflictions they will experience after combat. And, Allen said, evidence shows that cognitive processing therapy provides a significant reduction in symptoms.

"It can't undo what's happened to a person, but it can help a person function more effectively," Allen said.

At the VA PTSD Clinic, there are both individual and group counseling programs offered to veterans who have been diagnosed with PTSD. But, Allen said, the idea that the veteran is the only one who needs help is "old school." The Veterans Administration as a whole is becoming ever more aware that the spouses and children also need help and the clinic is adding programs to meet those needs.

Twice a month, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan meet for couples therapy, something that has been helpful for the wives. Warren and Marnee started going six months ago.

"He opened up more in a group setting and then we could have a conversation — sometimes — about what he is feeling," Marnee said.

Not only has this group session helped them talk more, but it has been a tremendous help to Marnee, just to know she is not the only one going through these changes in her marriage.

In addition to couples therapy, Marnee also attends monthly meeting just for the spouses — mostly women, but husbands whose wives served in combat can go — where she learned, most importantly, not to take his behavior personally.

Ronda attends the meetings with her husband as well. She said it isn't easy to spill her guts to strangers, and sometimes the sessions are "brutal." But, she said, without that group, she doubts her marriage would have survived.

Roberts, who is in charge of family programs within the VA's PTSD clinic, said that just because the programs are offered does not means the veterans will come. They also often fail to see the extent of their own problem, and it is not unusual for older veterans to offer to end their counseling so others can get treatment, even when there is room for everyone to be treated.

Sometimes, it is a matter of education, not knowing what is available and where.

Bart Davis works as the transition assistance advisor for the Utah National Guard. His job is to help returning soldiers and their families after deployment. He can answer questions about benefits, education and employment. And he can help identify and access the numerous programs available to service members and their families.

Davis said he makes sure that returning Guardsmen complete their evaluations on their return and sees to it that they are registered in the VA. This is all done within days of getting off the plane. The entire process takes up to 10 days, but if something catches his eye about a soldier's behavior or specific responses on the evaluation, Davis will make arrangements for that individual to be seen at the VA in as few as two or three days, and he has had two soldiers sent to the VA on the same day.

"The ones who say they are 'fine' keep me busy," Davis said.

Davis can spot the ones who need help pretty easily, because he is one of them himself. He is a Vietnam vet who is so soft-spoken that one would never guess he sometimes has difficulties of his own.

His own combat experience gives him the ability to talk to other veterans, brother-to-brother. He knows firsthand what deployment does to a marriage, and how difficult it is to reconnect with children after a long absence.

"There aren't many emotions and transition challenges that you may be facing that I can't identify with and understand," Davis said.

While he is employed by the Utah National Guard, he is committed to offering a hand to any veteran who needs it, no matter in which branch they served.

"My office is open to everybody," said Davis.

That same open-door policy applies at Hill Air Force Base. Candi Ackerman and Colleen M. Netzer are both registered nurses who help coordinate the needs of the veteran and his or her family. Ackerman said they will help anyone who has a military ID card.

Ackerman and Netzer cannot make referrals for counseling, but like Davis, they can help locate the most suitable resources for a service member's needs.

Ronda described life after war, with PTSD, as "a whole new way of life." But it doesn't have to be the end of life.

Patience Mason is an author who is well-known for her works about PTSD. All of her writings stem from experience, since she has been married to a Vietnam veteran for 45 years.

"We lived with PTSD for 14 years during which I felt there was something wrong with me because I couldn't make him happy," she said. "He thought he was crazy. We did not associate any of it with Vietnam."

In her publications, Mason puts a lot of emphasis on how PTSD affects the family. She frequently shares her experiences from her own home. The one thing that was most helpful was realizing she didn't cause her husband's pain, she couldn't cure him, and she couldn't change him.

"To recover, family members need to take the focus off the survivor. By focusing on ourselves we take the burden of 'making us happy' off the survivor," she said. "We also put the focus on what we actually do have the power to do, changing our own actions and reactions. We cannot change others, but we can waste our whole life trying."

Resources for vets

SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE: 1-800-273-TALK (8255), A 24/7 hotline for veterans in crisis

MILITARY ONE SOURCE: 1-800-342-9647

militaryonesource.com

Veterans may call up to 8 times per issue before a referral is required

WOUNDED SOLDIER & FAMILY HOTLINE: 1-800-984-8523

A referral service to help veterans find the agency that best fits needs George E. Wahlen Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center 500 Foothill Dr., SLC, 801-582-1565

PTSD Clinical Team

Steven N. Allen, PhD

Coordinator

VA Salt Lake City Health Care System

(801) 582-1565, ext. 2390

Kitty Roberts, PhD

Veteran & Family Support Groups

VA Salt Lake City Health Care System

(801) 582-1565, ext. 2389

OEF/OIF Support Office 1-800-613-4012

Andrew Kalinen, Transition Patient Advocate, and Outreach, ext. 4264 for help in transition from military to VA

Andrew Wittwer, Combat Case Manager, ext. 2150

Maria Fruin, Program Manager, ext. 5246

Danica Richans, Polytrauma Case Manager, ext. 2038

Bart Davis

Utah National Guard Transition Assistance Officer

801-523-4937

bart.o.davis@us.army.mil

utvethelp.com

**will take calls from any vet requiring assitance, regardless of branch of service

Candi Ackerman, Colleen M. Netzer

Hill Air Force Base, Case Managers & Special Needs Coordinators

801-586-7351

**will provide assistance to anyone with a current military ID card

battlemind.org

ncptsd.va.gov

---

E-mail: a_macavinta@yahoo.com

Tribe agrees to supply city with power

Millie Garrett dances Thursday during the groundbreaking ceremony in Honeyville, Box Elder County, for geothermal power plant. (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)




By Amy Macavinta
Deseret News

Published: October 3, 2008

The Northwestern Band of Shoshone has contracted with Riverside, Calif., to supply the city with electricity to be drawn from the ground their forefathers once wintered on.

Tribal council members blessed the ground Wednesday on the site of Shoshone Renaissance, the first geothermal power plant to be built just north of Brigham City, in an area known as Call's Fort.

Bruce Parry, tribal council leader, said the Shoshone used to winter in this area because the heat emanating from the earth made the climate more tolerable and there was more feed for the horses. "It's about time we got back to utilizing these areas," Parry said.

Steam from the earth's interior can be used to generate electricity.

The Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation Economic Development Corp. has entered into a 30-year contract with Riverside to provide 64 megawatts of electricity, about 20 percent of Riverside's renewable energy. Cities in California are now required by law to have 33 percent renewable energy.

Parry said the tribe has not even begun to allocate future revenues from this contract, but education and health of the tribe are at the top of the list. Those things will be worked out with in the tribe in the next two years, he said.

Steven Morello, deputy assistant secretary for Intergovermental Affairs, United States Department of Energy, said the federal government is thrilled to be involved in a project of this nature, and not just because of the energy creation. It also incorporates the Native American's spiritual relationship with the earth, because it will help clean it up, and it will also help make the reservations self-sufficient.

"Sovereignty means self-determination, it means we have the right to determine our own future and to set the agenda," said Morello. "Unfortunately, if you don't have the resources to implement decisions you make as a sovereign people, you cannot be truly sovereign people. As long as we're shaking the tin cup at Washington and asking for nickels, we cannot make progress."

Drilling for the plant will begin this month, and it is scheduled for completion in 2010. Shoshone Renaissance is one of five plants to be built by the tribe. The four remaining plants will be in southern Idaho, with construction to begin on the next plant in Preston early next year.

© 2008 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved

A Love for Belgians

The Herald Journal, September 21, 2008
Logan, Utah

Story by Amy Macavinta
Photos by Meegan M. Reid

Fred Utton’s father started out using draft horses to work his fields, but after he got a tractor, it made it hard for a 10-year-old boy to convince his dad to buy him a horse.

So Utton, who was raised on a dairy farm in New Mexico, trained a Holstein steer to lead, and then broke him to ride. After that, who could argue?

In the pasture behind his home in Young Ward, there are a few paint horses, and Utton has raised quarter horses as well. But it is the Belgian draft horses that he really likes. He has two at home, and also has some brood mares, a stallion and a couple colts pastured in Wellsville, just off the highway.

“People have known those horses before they even know me,” Utton said. “But that’s OK. Those horses are a lot more important than us people.”

Utton, a native of New Mexico, is spending his retirement raising Belgians and training them for the harness. He retired and moved to Cache Valley three years ago with his wife, Ann, and his horses. He has 17 now, although one has been sold to an outfit in Wyoming where she will haul hay for the elk in the winter and pull wagon trains in the summer.

Maize is a 9-year-old mare who doesn’t know yet that Utton is preparing her for a new home. He purchased her for a brood mare, but she has never conceived. Despite her age, she has never been trained to do more than lead. This fall Utton is training her for use on the harness so she can be used as a work horse.

Belgians are a sturdy draft horse, Utton said, so they are well suited for heavier use, such as pulling wagon trains, hay wagons or farm implements.

Utton placed the harness on her early this week. (She has only had it on eight or nine times.)
“Belgians are a lot gentler than quarterhorses,” Utton said.

Maize stood relatively still as Utton placed the harness on her and fastened all the buckles, then hooked her up to a small, two-wheeled cart. Her ears were only slightly pinned back, a sign that she is wary, but not frightened.

The llamas in the field next to Utton’s home make her a little cautious too, as do hay balers and spots in the road where one patch of asphalt is darker than the rest.

While he is disappointed to see her go — she was a good match with her sister — Utton said he plans to have her ready for a horse sale in November.

Casual Worship

Photo by Eli Lucero, Herald Journal



By Amy Macavinta
The Herald Journal
Logan, Utah

The morning sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows on a Sunday morning as the Rev. David Hiester welcomed his congregation for worship. The small group of worshipers were scattered throughout the sanctuary, seated on the old wooden pews.

While they appeared neat and clean, none were in their “Sunday best.” Some were in pressed dress pants and a polo shirt, while others wore denim shorts and flip-flops. One sipped from a Styrofoam cup of coffee throughout the service.

When they sang their hymns, there was no solemn echo of the organ throughout the World War II era church building. Instead, the sanctuary was filled with the joyous sound of the members of the Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Brigham City — who were being careful not to sing too loudly — accompanied by musicians on a keyboard, a guitar and drums.

Then, when it came time to offer his sermon for the week, “Pastor Dave” took his seat at a small bar-height table where one would normally expect to find some sort of podium. His excitement about his church and his religion are apparent in his rapid-fire way of speaking.

Even his sermon deviates from the traditional, by not completely following the guides set in place by the United Methodist Church. But for Hiester, his church is all about accessibility.

“God just wants us to bring our hearts,” he said. “He has made it possible to be in His presence, but it’s not conditional, it’s not when or if — and if dressing up is a barrier to somebody, it’s a stupid barrier, especially for a (guy) who doesn’t throw out barriers at all.”

Hiester understands all too well the barriers that keep people from attending church. He admits that as a young man he was not the kind of guy a girl could bring home to her parents. But it wasn’t until his marriage “was in the pits” that he reached out for a new way of life.

A friend invited him to attend church, and the reverend there managed to spark Hiester’s interest when he mentioned his love for bikes. This was the key that got him talking, piqued his curiosity, until finally, he had a life-changing moment when he knew he had to give his life to God.

His experience has shaped the way he does things at Aldersgate. But his main purpose is to teach about God.

“The point is not to be a casual church but to be effective in delivering the message,” he said. “But if being a casual church does that, then we’re OK with that — in fact, we encourage it.”

Brigham City resident Susan Ream has been attending Aldersgate for seven years.

“I found it very compelling,” she said. “I enjoyed the music, it is more contemporary. But I really just enjoyed the people there.”

Ream grew up attending a Baptist church in the South, which she said has a similar worship style. The casual setting is definitely more comfortable, she said.

Hiester gets so excited about the message he delivers, he can easily span the width of the stage, pacing back and forth with his delivery. But he recently injured his ankle and was required to offer several of his weekly sermons from a chair.

When his ankle healed, and he resumed his upright position, several members of the congregation revealed that they felt more comfortable with him seated.

“They told me it felt more like me talking with them instead of preaching at them,” he said.

He found there was little understanding of the rituals performed during worship so he stepped away from the more formal, methodical approach of leading the congregation and mixed things up a little bit.

Hiester also posts his sermons online — yet another way of making God’s message more readily available.

“Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ — that’s what lights our fire,” he said.

Orem boy's boss plans to give him a kidney

Sandwich shop owner Marcus Gilbert, left, is helping Juan Delgado get a kidney transplant.

Photo by Stuart Johnson, Deseret News

By Amy Macavinta

Deseret News
Published: August 30, 2008

Marcus Gilbert of Roy makes a habit of treating his employees very well. Employment gives them a way of life. But to a 16-year-old Orem boy, Gilbert is giving life itself.
Gilbert owns two sandwich shops, part of the Charley's Grilled Subs franchise. He has owned and operated the Layton Hills Mall location for six years and just acquired the one in Orem early this year.

He was actually asked to purchase the Orem shop last summer. He and his wife, Monica, declined. But when they were asked again in the fall, "something changed," Gilbert said. The purchase became final in February, and in March, he met Juan Delgado.
Juan's sister Esmerelda Delgado, 15, worked for Gilbert at the time.

"She told me her brother needed a job, but he had some health problems that made it hard for him to work," Gilbert said. Juan was given a job, and eventually his mother, Maria, was hired to work part time as well.

Juan Delgado was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease three years ago, resulting in complete and irreversible kidney failure. Gilbert said the boy is going through dialysis three times a week, for three to four hours per day.

Earlier this year, when Gilbert found out that Delgado needed a kidney, he helped start a fundraising effort to raise money. But then, when he learned the teen still needed to find a suitable donor, Gilbert and his wife were both tested.

Gilbert, who has four young children of his own, was a perfect match.

The cost of the kidney has been covered by another organization. However, the boy's family must also have about $100,000 to cover post-operative expenses.

A fund has been established with the Northwest Kidney Transplant Fund, a nonprofit organization that raises money exclusively for noninsured expenses. Donations can be made in Juan Delgado's name by calling 800-642-8399, by visiting http://www.transplantfund.org/, or by sending donations directly to National Transplant Assistance Fund, 150 N. Radnor Chester Road, Suite F-120, Radnor, PA 19087.

In addition, Gilbert is working with another donor on a raffle to be held at Charley's that will help raise funds for the transplant. He is hoping both store locations will be able to participate, but those details have not yet been completed.

According to Gilbert, the transplant should occur sometime next month. Delgado lost weight during a recent illness, so his doctors are waiting for him to gain some weight and the strength to undergo surgery.

© 2008 Deseret News Publishing Company All rights reserved

3R's Project educates about faiths

By Amy Macavinta
Deseret News

Published: August 10, 2008

Fostering a safe environment for students to learn to respect different cultures and religions must start at the top, with the administration, a group of educators said during a conference last week.

Last year, Brighton High School teacher Jodi Ide taught a comparative world religion class, with the blessing of her current administration. But it was only two years ago that a different principal told her he wouldn't touch the class "with a 10-foot pole."

Ide was one of the participants in a three-day seminar at Westminster College, hosted by the Utah 3R's Project, which seeks to incorporate teachings about different religions and cultural diversity in public schools.

Ide's class was offered as an elective, approved by the State Office of Education, and had 60 students enrolled. The class included a guide to religion in public schools, provided by the First Amendment Center in Washington, D.C., that made it clear to students and parents — who were also offered the guide — what was permissible to teach.

"In order for it to really grab hold, it needs to be a school climate," she said. "I can have my own climate, and my kids can talk about the climate in my room, but that doesn't mean that five doors down in another teacher's classroom that they feel safe."

Despite its barriers, the 3R's Project has had an impact on schools, panel members said. Rosemary Baron was principal at Northwest Middle School, where students and their families spoke 27 different languages. One move she made in her school was to create a Religions of the World wall, representing the 12 most common religions, with a description of each.

"Teaching about religion in public schools is what we are about," Baron said. "Teaching religion is not what we're about."

While religion is a frequent topic, rights, responsibility and respect apply to all facets of life.

"I think that part of the 3R's helps us understand that our differences don't have to divide us, completely," Ide said. "Part of being American is being able to move beyond that divide and seek the common ground."

Utah and California offer the most extensive 3R's programs in the nation. School districts in Texas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and other states also have implemented the 3R's Project in their schools.

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© 2008 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved

My Resume, Aug. 2008

Amy Macavinta
1580 North 6800 West, Corinne, UT 84307
Cell: 435-225-0049 e-mail: a_macavinta@yahoo.com

Experience
City Desk Intern Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT
May 19-Aug. 15, 2008

Cover various beats as assigned, including Police, Religion, Medical, and Military beats. Stories include briefs, news and cover stories.

Staff Writer Box Elder News Journal, Brigham City, UT
Full time: Sept 2002-July 2003

The Leader, Tremonton, UT
Full time: Feb 1999-May 2002

• Local Government, Features, News, Cops & Courts
• Attend public meetings – Box Elder County Commission, Box Elder School District, Tremonton City, Brigham City & more
• Write accurate and timely news stories to keep the public informed about the things that occur in those meetings
• Be conscious of events and people in the community for potential feature stories
• Take the lead to come up with new ideas
• Take digital or film photos and/or gather photos to accompany articles
• Lay out newspaper pages using Adobe Pagemaker

Education
Box Elder High School graduate, 1990 Brigham City, UT
Utah State University Logan/Brigham City, UT

Presently enrolled at Utah State University with a Print Journalism major
Will complete Bachelor of Science in December 2008
Fall: Enrolled in Beyond the Inverted Pyramid, Online Reporting, and Copy Editing & Design
Recipient of Jay W. Glasmann scholarship

References available upon request

PHOTOS: Homecoming for 145th FA, Utah National Guard

Just a handful of the photos I took when part of the 145th came home from deployment in Iraq May 2008. They arrived on four different flights over a space of 3 days. See story at http://amacavinta.blogspot.com/2008/07/families-eagerly-welcome-145th.html

West Valley police kill man who took clerk hostage

Ivana Kobasijevic and her mother reunite after a jewelry
store robbery. Ivana was hiding in a vehicle just feet
away from where police shot and killed the suspect.
photo by Ashley Lowrey, Deseret News

By Amy Macavinta and Aaron Falk
Deseret News

Published: July 2, 2008

WEST VALLEY CITY — Officers shot and killed an armed man who police say had taken a clerk hostage during a jewelry store heist Tuesday evening.

The man, described only as being younger than 30, robbed Pailin Jewelry, 3538 S. Redwood Road, said West Valley Police Capt. Tom McLachlan.

A robbery alarm was triggered inside the store at 5:43 p.m. and officers arrived as the man attempted to leave the store with a clerk. The woman managed to escape on her own before three police officers shot and killed the suspect.

"He made a threatening motion of some kind," McLachlan said. "That's how officers are trained; if they perceive a threat, they take the action necessary."

No one else was injured during the incident, but the shooting left some visibly shaken.

Ivana Kobasijevic, 20, had become bored as she waited for her mother to finish her haircut at Tony's Salon, just south of the jewelry store. Instead, Kobasijevic decided to wait in her car, parked in front of Pailin Jewelry.

Kobasijevic said she saw the suspect came out of the store with his right arm around the clerk. She said the window was rolled down and he looked right at her, then she saw him reach for his gun with his left hand.

"He came out with the hostage and there was a gun in his hand," she said. "I tried to hide in my car the best that I could."

She didn't see any more because she had crouched down in the SUV, thinking she was going to die. She listened to the gunfire. When she felt like it was safe, she sat up in the vehicle and got the attention of a police officer near her — and she said he appeared startled that someone was so close during the shooting.

Her mother, Sonja Kobasijevic, heard the shots from inside the salon.

"I jumped up to see if she is OK, but they locked the doors and wouldn't let me out," she said. "The girl working in the salon wanted me to go in another room, but I said, 'I can't — it's my daughter."'

Ivana Kobasijevic, who was visibly shaken, said her family moved to Utah from the former Yugoslavia 11 years ago. Incidents like this are "nothing new," but the woman said she was frightened just the same.

Just north of the jewelry store, two young parents were about to walk out of Gen X Clothing with their purchases and their 2-month-old son when the shooting started.

"We looked out the window and saw gun shells all over the ground," said Aracely Cedillo of West Valley City.

The Gen X store was robbed at gunpoint last December, and armed robbers fired a shotgun blast into the ceiling of Factory 4 U, a store in the same strip mall, in January.

On the east side of Redwood Road, a man walking to catch his bus heard shots and dropped to the ground to cover himself.

"I was scared," he said. "I just took cover. That's all you can do."

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© 2008 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved

Learn more about Ivana Kobasijevic's family by reading "Bosnian Family Grateful for New Life"

Dinosaur puppet, big donation boost museum groundbreaking

photo by Mike Terry, Deseret News

Story by Amy Macavinta

Deseret News

Published: July 30, 2008

Ground was broken Tuesday with copper-bladed shovels on what Governor Jon M. Huntsman is calling the greatest classroom of all — the land.

After years of planning and fundraising, construction will begin in mid-August on the Museum of Natural History's new facility at the Rio Tinto Center.

"It's a little about people, and it's a little about the land, and it's a little about our heritage," Huntsman said, "and it all comes together very nicely in this new museum."

The new building will be home to more than a million artifacts that tell Utah's story. Located just south of Red Butte Gardens, it will feature eight themed galleries, a children's gallery, and a cafe.

The building takes its name from one of its benefactors — Kennecott Copper. Additionally, portions of the building's exterior will feature copper from the company's Bingham Canyon Mine.

Because the new location is a popular area for hiking, dog-walking and biking, the outside grounds will also include an area for watering dogs, open grassland, and free access areas where hikers can use restrooms and get water or visit the cafe.

"We hope people will see it as a gathering place," said Patti Carpenter, the museum's public relations manager.

Part of the design process included an environmental impact study. Planners for the new site used information gathered in the study to determine the best placement of the building.

"We wanted to leave the areas with the best habitat in place," said museum director Sarah George.

The building will rest on land that is badly eroded, full of bush-whacked trails and non-native, weedy plants, George said. The building will be located above the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and the museum's parking areas will be located below the trail.

People on the trail will be re-routed during business hours, but a construction fence will be put up at night, allowing access to the trail at night and on the weekend.

In addition to beginning construction, the Museum of Natural History will be campaigning for the final sum of money to finance the project. The George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation announced today they are putting up a $5 million capstone challenge grant to be issued when the museum has successfully raised $12 million of the $17 million remaining.

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© 2008 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved


Note to self: OK Amos, if you hate the headline then you really have to remember to write your own, duh!