“Year to date in Utah County, we’ve had 89 cases.  Now that’s pretty typical,” Lance Madigan, public spokesman for the Utah County Health Department said.  “Last year we had over 400 (cases).”

The official name for Whooping Cough is Pertussis, and the county says the number of cases has gone up because of a weaker vaccine.

“It’s a safer vaccine, meaning that people don’t (experience) as many side effects, but it doesn’t seem to provide the same level of protection,” Madigan said.

Rhonda Bromley of the Alpine School district says they are also doing their part to reduce spread of the disease.

“The custodians at the school and sometimes depending on how severe the outbreak is, district officials from the maintenance department will go in and help with the cleaning,” Bromely said.

Westlake High School also sent out a letter to parents about Whooping Cough.  Megan Sherman, a Sophomore at Westlake, saw the letter but isn’t too worried.

“I think our schools actually clean enough where its not going to spread very easily,” Sherman said.

The letter is very informative for parents.  It talks about the symptoms of whooping cough such as a severe persistent cough along with a runny nose.  It also warns parents about the dangers Whooping Cough poses for young infants.  They’re less likely to have had the vaccine and in severe cases can die from the illness.

Whooping cough spreads more by people breathing it in, and less by touch. If you think you have whooping cough, the best thing you can do is to go see a doctor, and make sure not to cough on anyone.

“Even their demeanor improved a lot. When we first came across them, the horses had no energy– they were listless,” Utah County Sheriff’s Deputy, Sargent Spencer Cannon said.

At least two horses died after the sheriff’s department became involved because their health was so bad. However, those that survived are thriving.

Sgt. Cannon said that volunteers from the community helped provided services and supplies to care for the horses. People donated everything from hay to money to veterinary services.

“That was the biggest thing…it took a lot of emotional energy to put everything together,” Sgt. Cannon said.

A new court order is going to allow 40 of the horses to find permanent homes. The sheriff’s office put a lien on the animals to recoup the money they spent helping them heal. The judge says that Trudy and Rory Childs owed thousands, and that they never made good on it. That means the horses go to auction.

Authorities continue to investigate how 43-year-old hiker Kelly Rogers spent three days stranded on the cliff. Other hikers heard him yelling for help Tuesday morning and called 911.

Weber County search and rescue spent about four hours cutting through brush and retrieving Rogers from the cliff. Authorities say he was in good condition minus a few injuries to his ankle and knee.

“He does look to be in pretty good condition for being out for a few days,” Brandon Woods of the Weber County Search and Rescue said. “But I do believe he was out here for a few days.”

Authorities say Rogers’ story has changed a couple of times and it’s unclear exactly what happened. Rescuers say lack of food and water combined with the heat of the days made him confused.

“With being disoriented, he could have some issues really understanding exactly what took place up there…we just don’t know that exactly,” Sgt. Brandon Toll said.

Rescuers took Rogers to the McKay-Dee hospital where they say he will make a full recovery. Investigators say they plan on filling in the blanks of his story once he recuperates. They say the big questions now are how long he was out there and why no one reported him missing.

The sheriff’s office says if there’s a lesson to be learned it’s that if you go hiking, make sure you’re well prepared. Take plenty of food and water, even if you’re going out for a short hike and make sure to tell someone where you’re going and when you might be back. You never know what might happen.

Last year, American Fork tried to cut down on complaints by enforcing an ordinance restricting panhandlers. One panhandler sued the city, claiming that the ordinance violates his first amendment rights. The lawsuit was settled but left the city officals cautious about how to deal with the issue.

After talking with local retail business owners and police, City Administrator Craig Whitehead decided something needed to be done.

“The reason specifically for the barrier was to ensure pedestrian safety,” Whitehead said.  ”But it came about from complaints from people being in the medians.”

The city cannot ban panhandling outright, so they placed several 8,000 pound concrete barriers in the way, making it nearly impossible for anyone to stand there.  The barriers were left over from the I-15 project and purchased from from B.D Bush excavation at a discounted rate.

Shawnee Smith works at the Meadows Shopping Center and says that she was getting frustrated with constantly feeling obligated to give money to those who approach her in her car.

“I am a poor college student.” Smith said. “I don’t really have much to give and if I give I want to make sure it’s going to the right place.”

The city released a memo called “A Guide to Handling Panhandlers” which encourages people to donate to charities instead of just handing out money.

Whitehead said he received a lot of phone calls and emails thanking him for this new addition.

This temporary solution appears to be working, because the number of panhandlers on that intersection has decreased dramatically.

In the future they are considering replacing the jersey barriers with flowers or something more attractive.

Wesley said, “I have lived in Payson my whole life. I grew up here riding bulls. My dad rode bulls, my brother rode bulls, so I guess I just kinda had to do it.”

Payson honored these men by revealing a bronze sculpture for all of their accomplishments. These world champions are at the heart of this community.
Friends and family members gathered together to get autographs and support the cowboys.

“The community always supported us and I’m glad to see them giving us some recognition…pretty humbling,” Troy said.

The statue will remain in the Peteetneet Museum in Payson for people from all around the world to come view. The city manager was happy to officially honor these world champions that have offered so much to the community.

“With SAD itself there is a pretty big correlation between warmer weather and feeling better,” Dr. Jonathan Cox, BYU psychologist said.

Cox said that the warmth and UV rays in sunlight help your body produce Vitamin D and other compounds that help you feel better. This is especially important for those that struggle with SAD.

“Being active and doing fun activities is often associated with feeling better,” Dr. Cox said.

Even those who don’t suffer from seasonal depression notice that they feel happier when they can go outside.

“When I get out I feel better. I don’t know what it is but it’s wonderful,” Kristy Widdup, a local mother said.

Doctor Cox said that getting outside, having fun, and being active directly lead to feeling better.

“I feel like it’s a lot better. It’s a lot easier to get out and go rock climbing and go hiking,” outdoor enthusiast J.D. Hunsaker said.

Dr. Cox also said that finding enjoyable ways to be active usually helps people feel better – fall, winter, spring, or summer. Cox said that the warmer weather also promotes more social interaction, which can help those who suffer from SAD.

According to the Center for Disease Control, or the CDC, Utah has the second highest rate of melanoma in the nation. It is the most serious form of skin cancer but not the most common. The two more common types of skin cancers are Basal cell carcinoma, which is usually associated with moles, and Squamous cell carcinoma, which is deeper in the skin and causes large cuts.

“I think the reason why Utah has a higher cancer rate is because one, we’re at a higher altitude and a higher latitude, so we’re in a sense closer to the sun,” dermatologist Dr. Michael Peterson of Aspen Dermatology said.  ”Two, our demographics are very fair skinned and light eyes so we burn easier, and three, we love the outdoors and we go outdoors.  We tend to forget to put on sunscreen and when we go out it’s usually not on an everyday basis…and we get short pulses of ultraviolet radiation which is more damaging to our skin.”

These reasons are why Utah has a higher rate of skin cancer than states like California and Arizona where the sun shines a lot more and people are outside more often.

“Honestly, I don’t put any [sunscreen] on my arms or anywhere else,” hiker and mom Marie Knutson said. “I put sunscreen on my face and sunscreen on my daughter.”

Sunscreen filters out many harmful rays, but not all of them.  Dr. Peterson recommends a sunblock product, which is different from sunscreen, because it protects against almost all the sun’s harmful rays.

Dr. Peterson says it’s especially important for parents to put sunblock on their kids.  80 percent of the sun damage we receive in our lifetimes comes before the age of 20.  All that cumulative sun damage from our younger years adds up as we get older.

If you are worried, there are a few things Dr. Peterson says you can look for in self examinations or look for on your kids when they’re in the bathtub.

If your worried about an odd looking mole, its as easy as the ABC’s.  A for asymmetry, B for a changing border, C for off colors, D for changing diameter, and E for evolution.

Another sign is if a cut on your body isn’t healing after several weeks.  ”Skin that has skin cancer involved in it will not heal,” Dr. Peterson said. “It might get a little bit bigger and more sore, but (it won’t) heal.”

Dr. Peterson says if any marks on your body are showing any of the behaviors mentioned above, you should get them checked out.

“It really is a booming place for technology companies and companies in general and a lot of really hard working people, and that’s why you see company after company opening up big offices here,” Josh James, CEO of Domo said.

Cranes are growing like flowers in the spring time because of the new headquarters being built in Northern Utah County.

A common thread between CEO’s is the highly educated work force in Utah because of the excellent education opportunities available.  Because there are so many universities within a 50 mile radius of Utah County, the population has easy access to education.

“I don’t think that it’s difficult finding employees here because we have so many great Universities putting out so many great students,” Carine Clark, the CEO of Allegiance said.

Hundreds of people gathered Saturday to attend the rec center’s open house. The new building offers dozens of different activities including a lazy river, a deep water pool with a climbing wall and diving platform, a skate park and a full workout area. There’s even an interactive game wall to replace couch potato video games.

Assistant Recreation director Scott Henderson loves how the center has something for everyone.

“I think it’s something completely unique,” Henderson said. “It’s dialed in to all ages. You walk through here and the one thing I keep hearing from people is they can relate it to their life.”

Apart from its variety in activities, the center aims to focus on family.

“We definitely wanted to make this a family oriented facility,” said Parks and Recreation director Roger Thomas. “We have programs and facilities in this building (for) the tiny tots all the way up to the oldest seniors in our community. There’s something for everybody and that’s what we wanted it to be.”

Kids can take swim classes while mom and dad watch and work out at the same time. A daycare is also available for parents to use. One big difference of this center is its use of family locker rooms. No longer will parents have to decide if a child gets left outside. The family locker rooms allow for the entire family to change together.

Lowell Smith, a graduate student at BYU, especially likes these locker rooms.

“We have two little kids and we were talking about how amazing the family locker rooms are for the families in Provo. It’s automatically connected right to the pools and there’s multiple locker rooms for each family,” Smith said.

Leaders are looking forward to the future with the new rec center and anticipate what it will do for the community as a whole. People can now register for anything from day passes to annual memberships. For more information on pricing, click here.

Branbury resident Joey King was on his way to school when he saw the damage. “I saw two police cars, King said. “I drove by on the way out and I saw a couple cars all lined up in a row and they had their windshields smashed in.”

The incident occured somewhere between 1:15 and 6:30 in the morning. Burglars targeted cars parked in the center of the complex about 200 feet away from the nearest apartment.

When asked about the event or future safety plans, the Branbury management refused to comment.

Despite events like this, King said he isn’t too concerned.

“I feel pretty safe. Other things have happened, like people have flatted the tires of cars and stuff like that but…I am not too worried,” King said.

Provo Police Detectives are asking anyone who has information regarding this incident to call Detective Payne at 801-852-7280.