Eighteen Wheeler Philosophy

By  Mel Hansen

New Trainee

Jett...(Uncle Mel has just christened him...ROCKET MAN) is my Great Nephew. His Grandpa Hansen is my brother Glen.

The Rocket is going to be my passenger for the next few days! We’re both excited to be able to get the chance to get to know one another!

He has his mother’s, Taryn (my niece), personality so this ought to be one Hell of an adventure!

Age to a youngster

Rocket- How old are you Uncle Mel?

Me- I’m two years younger than your Grandpa Hansen.

Rocket- I don’t even know how old my Grandpa is!?

Me- I’m 59...almost 60.

Rocket- WOW!...you’re old!!

He’s quiet for a few minutes and then looks at me in wide eyed astonishment...possibly a little worry also?...and says: HOLY COW! My Grandpa is...REALLY OLD!!!

I bust a gut laughing! Telling him that no matter what, his Grandpa will always be older than me!

We both laugh a little bit longer, then I tell him, “No matter what! Never ask your Grandma how old she is or tell her she’s...REALLY OLD!

Rocket- Oh don’t worry! I won’t!!

Me- You’ll do fine Rocket. You’re already wise when it comes to shemales!

Stretching our legs.

I thought the Rocket might need to stretch his legs (Actually, to be honest, I needed to stretch mine) so I pulled over at a truck stop.

I asked him where he wanted to stretch his legs too, thinking he would leave it up to me, which would be a 50 yard walk to the store?

The Rocket spotted a McDonalds a half block away, so that’s where we stretched too! Damn near killed me off!I was going to call Uber to pick us up to take us back to the rig!He’s like his Great Grandpa Hansen.  Plain hamburger with cheese and large fries. So far so good. He’s a great little gentleman.

The Rocket has a fuse!

It’s just the way of things! Uncles TEASE newfools! (nephews).

I asked The Rocket  what he wants to be when his mommy says it’s alright for him to leave home? (He said, that’s everyday!) He wants to be a professional baseball catcher for his favorite team.  Nationals or the Yankees.

I’ve always disliked the Yankees! haven’t even heard of the Nationals (goes to show ya how long it’s been since I’ve paid attention to Pro Baseball) But since the Nationals, I guess are out of DC?, they have to be rotten like the rest of the city! So of course, I’m giving him a hard time about his choices of teams. He’s getting a little steamed at his ol Unc!

I told him: “That’s it buddy! I’m stopping the truck and kicking you and all the puke smelling Mac and cheese  you brought to eat onto the side of the road!!”

I ask him who’s his favorite NFL team is?  The 49ners! So I come down heavy on the San Fran Noners! I’ve really initiated Rockets firing up procedures! He’s starting to blow steam out his ears!

So I say....” I suppose your favorite Pro Basketball team is the...Utah Spass!??

He’s into full launch mode now!

He’s really letting me have it!

I back off the fuel pedal a little...as I’m slowing down...I tell him...”That’s it Rocket!  You’re out of here! I’m tossing ya out!”

To my utter astonishment his quick reply was...”Can ya wait for me to download the Uber App so I can call them for a ride home?”

(Had to turn my head so he couldn’t see me laughing)

I told him “gettr downloaded Rocket or blast off for home!

Then I told him...Ok Rocket! This ones for real...will ya stay?..or will ya go?...depends upon your answer to this question?.....How do you feel about BYU? Within a nano second his reply was....”They suuccckkkk!!”

I told him he could stay! That I guess he wasn’t rotten to his core!

Again in a nano second he said “I guess?...Big Yellow Underpants...are good for something!..I’m not getting kicked out!”

We both split a gut laughing!!

He’s been a delight to have along....so far?

Colors of Clouds

Photo by Leslie Scott

School starts Monday, August 24

School will start Monday,  August 24.  Kindergarten students will be given an individual screening test during the first days of school.  Parents of kindergarten students will be receiving a letter, from the teacher, with specific information relative to the testing schedule and the start of regular classroom activities. School will begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 3:21 p.m. for all students.

    The middle school bus will leave the high school at 7:15 a.m.  The high school bus will leave Rich Middle School around 7:15 a.m.  If you have any questions regarding the time your bus leaves, contact your bus driver or Robyn Esterholdt at 435-793-4501 x 300 or 435-881-2690.  See tentative times here.

    Any new students attending North Rich Elementary or Rich Middle School, not already registered, should call 946-3359.  RMS students are preregistered.  If students have any questions or concerns about their individual schedules, they are asked to contact Principal Motta. 

    High school students are already registered.  Any new high school students should call Principal Larsen at 793-2365.

     New students attending South Rich Elementary not already registered should call 793-2135 ext 100.

COVID 19 Update

LAST UPDATED: AUGUST 14, 2020 3:15 PM

There were 5 new cases of COVID-19 on August 14.  With each week that passes, the end of COVID is in sight.  The Bear River Health Department has seen a steady decline in our 7 day positivity rate over a period of six weeks.

Box Elder County and Rich County have no patients in the hospital, Cache County has 2.

Box Elder has had 390 cases with 2 deaths, Cache 1,965 with 5 deaths and Rich County has had 8 cases with no deaths.

Rich has had one case in a person under 18 and one case in a person over 65.

For more information: https://brhd.org/coronavirus/

Last Day of the Rich County Fair

By Jennifer Casillas

Last day is always the hardest day for me to watch. It’s a bittersweet day. Excited that after five months we talk something else besides pigs, and you get to hear something else besides pigs also; but so heartbreaking watching them have to say goodbye to their pigs that they have come to love and

know.

They know their personality, what the like and don’t like, when they are having a good day and when they are having a bad day.

They have spent countless hours working side by side with their pigs and building relationships of trust with them. How else could a little girl that weighs next to nothing when she is soaking wet get a 236 lb pig to move and not take her down, or a 10 year old move a 280 lb pig! They have nursed them back to good health when they got sick or got sunburned.

They have spent 128 days with them and have easily put in over 1,000 hours of their time training feeding and playing with them.

To them Pua and Petunia are not just pigs they have become someone that they love with their whole hearts and it’s hard to say goodbye knowing what the end result is going to be.

Yes there will be tears shed today and it won’t be just the two of them crying and I don’t care! They have earned that right to express and show their love, and as their mom I have earned that right to shed a few tears myself. They may be tears of gratitude that we are done for another year or they may be tears of a broken heart because their heart is breaking also or maybe a combination of both.

I good friend of mine told me once that 4-H does so much more than just teach them about animals and responsibilities. It teaches them about love!

This world today needs more love, kindness, goodness and gentleness in it. I am thankful that they have had this opportunity to not only be reminded about what they already know but to be able to put that knowledge into action.

This is the last day and the hardest day, but also one of the most exciting days. This is the day that all their hard work pays off. This is the day that they get their paychecks. 4-H is so much more than learning to work hard and take care of an animal it’s also about learning the business side of having an animal. They have kept track of all the money they have spent on the pigs this year from vet visits, sunscreen, shampoo to feed.

Thank you everyone who has encouraged them and has talked to them all summer about their pigs in the stores at the post office or even by the side of the road, you have helped them prepare to talk to the buyers today. Thank you to those who have boosted them or will boost them by giving them money and thank you to our future buyers.

Summer Morning

Photo by Marcy Korgenski

Rendezvous Beach gets new restrooms

Photos by Brian Hirschi

Rendezvous Beach was closed because it was at capacity early in the morning, but a new restroom facility was delivered to help with the crowds.

Garden City fire district board meeting

Leonard O’Reilly, Reporter
Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  August 5, 2020.  Chairman Randall Knight opened the meeting with four of the five board members present. Chief Mike Wahlberg reported on further ongoing work on the fire department building addition.

He also reported on the “Marine 40” situation. The department’s boat that is in need of substantial repair. In the interim a boat has been lent to them for any emergency calls.


The responses for the month were:

1 - Extrication

16 - Fire call

13 - Carbon Dioxide

38 - Medical calls

2 - Marine Calls - one body recovery at North Beach

Good Stuff

Respect

By John Brown   

Are you a manager, school administrator, teacher, coach, church leader, or parent?mIf so, it turns out that you might have an ace in the hole. A huge opportunity to see better results than you’re seeing right now.

And it won’t cost you a dime. Truly.

Do you want those you manage to go above and beyond, show more creativity, and be more engaged?

If so, you’ll do this one thing.

Do you want to earn more revenue?

If so, you’ll do this one thing.

Do you want to decrease your employee turnover?

Again, you’ll do this one thing.

In fact, without this one thing, “even if people want to perform well, they can’t.” So what is it?

It’s respect. It’s showing those you manage more respect.

This is what Christine Porath of Georgetown University has discovered in her research of thousands of people over many years.  Respect.

What is respect? Porath defines it as “politeness and regard for others.” It’s about showing “every member of the group is inherently valuable”.

And it can have dramatic results. For example, in 2001, Campbell’s Soup had lost half market value, sales were declining, the business was collapsing, and there had been a series of layoffs. But then Doug Conant was hired as the new CEO. He turned things around in large part by showing employees respect. By 2010, employees were setting all-time performance records, including out-pacing the S&P by five-fold.

That’s just one of the many insights Porath shares in her short, but powerful TED talk on this subject titled “Why Being Nice to Your Coworkers is Good For Business.”

If you manage, coach, teach, or lead others in any way, take some time right now to watch it. It’s only 15 minutes long.  Now, you might be thinking this great advice doesn’t apply to you because you already do show respect. You’re a respect champ. However, there’s a good chance you might be in la la land. Says Porath:

“I’ve learned that the vast majority of disrespect stems from a lack of self-awareness. Only a masochistic 4% claim they are uncivil because it is fun and they can get away with it. More often people just do not realize how they affect others. They may have good intentions, but they fail to see how they are perceived.”

So it’s quite possible we think we do show respect, but the reality is we actually act a little like a jerk.

So how do you tell if you’re more on the jerk or helpful side?

Porath recommends a simple but effective approach in “The Leadership Behavior That’s Most Important to Employees” in the Harvard Business Review.

It seems the old adage that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar applies to more things than we realized.

After watching the talk and reading the article, if you want more information, check out “Do Your Employees Feel Respected” in the Harvard Business Review and then go on to Christine Porath’s website which has lots of helpful articles and videos.

COVID 19 Update - Bear River Health Department

NEW CASES TODAY: 25

LAST UPDATED: AUGUST 9, 2020 3:20 PM

COUNTY

BOX ELDER

CACHE

RICH

TOTALS

CASES

373

1926

7

2306

# IN HOSPITAL

1

4

0

5

RECOVERY

259

1653

4

1916

DEATHS

2

5

0

7

Bear Lake State Parks Report

Out with the old and in with the new! 

Our west ramp at North Beach will be getting a new dock this week. The old one became to much of a hazard and was decided that we needed to install the new one as soon as possible.

We are very grateful to Harrison Dock Builders out of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for working with us on getting them installed. By the next busy weekend, we will have the new dock in place.

Summer at the Lake

Photo by Debbi Batt

New mural in park donated by Lauriann Wakefield

Local artist and photographer Lauriann Wakefield was inspired by other cities murals to offer to donate her time and talent to Garden City and painted the sides of the rest area in the City Park. The result?  A blah wall transformed into a place where locals and tourists can take a picture welcoming them to Garden City. 

The RCTonline staff thanks Wakefield for her contribution to the community and hope that grants can be found to do more murals by local artists that add color and fun to the area.

Electric outage on Raspberry Days quickly fixed

Photo by Scott Dotson

Bobbie Bicknell Coray, Reporter
Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  August 8, 2020.  Saturday afternoon an electrical pole was hit and fell bringing electrical wire with it.  At the height of the Raspberry Days Fair, this could have been a disaster, but Lance Bourne, Rocky Mountain Power, and a Garden City resident brought all his resources to bear to fix the pole and wires enough so that the power could be turned on.  He and his crew did a estimated three hour job in less than one hour.  Kudos to Bourne and his Rocky Mountain Power crew.