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Candlelight vigil honors 159 people who died while homeless in Utah

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Candlelight vigil honors 159 people who died while homeless in Utah


JoAnne Johanson, whose youngsters each died whereas experiencing homelessness, attends the annual candlelight vigil honoring those that died whereas homeless this yr at Pioneer Park in Salt Lake Metropolis on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. Not less than 159 individuals who have been homeless in Utah died in 2022. (Laura Seitz, Deseret Information)

Estimated learn time: 4-5 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — Pioneer Park held a mushy glow within the bitter chilly as neighborhood members gathered to honor and bear in mind those that died whereas experiencing homelessness in Utah.

The vigil was held on Wednesday, which marked the winter solstice, the darkest and longest night time of the yr. The Nationwide Council of Homeless encourages cities to put aside the date to honor those that’ve died inside the yr.

The occasion represents a possibility for the neighborhood to grieve the losses and acknowledge those that’ve died. The 2022 listing of names exceeds the listing from earlier years, in line with the Fourth Road Clinic. Of the 159 folks honored, 154 died this yr and 5 died previous to 2022. The youngest individual honored was 18 and the oldest was 78; two of them are brother and sister, each having died on the age of 18 solely two years aside.

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The vigil’s program featured musical performances by the Different Aspect Academy Choir, remarks from elected officers and a declaration by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox marking the day as Homeless Individual’s Memorial Day, a benediction and a prayer. Every identify was learn aloud to the viewers and a second of silence was held in remembrance.

Because the names have been learn, the group was visibly overcome with emotion. A number of members of the viewers repeated names or yelled out in response.

“I simply need to share a pair phrases, as effectively, in regards to the overwhelming variety of candles we see up right here honoring those that handed whereas struggling with homelessness. Per week earlier than Christmas, once we’re all frightened about shopping for presents to place below our timber, we had 5 folks freeze to dying on the streets,” stated Steffine Amodt, Salt Lake Valley Coalition to Finish Homelessness lived professional activity group member.

Steffine Amount speaks at the annual candlelight vigil honoring those who died while homeless this year at Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. At least 159 people who were homeless in Utah died in 2022.
Steffine Quantity speaks on the annual candlelight vigil honoring those that died whereas homeless this yr at Pioneer Park in Salt Lake Metropolis on Wednesday. Not less than 159 individuals who have been homeless in Utah died in 2022. (Picture: Laura Seitz, Deseret Information)

Amodt shared her expertise of homelessness and her capacity to beat it. She returned to highschool to obtain her diploma, was a legislative intern through the 2021 session and works as an advocate for these presently unhoused.

“Experiencing homelessness is without doubt one of the roughest issues that I’ve gone via in my life. You carry round with you an insufferable weight and disgrace and worry and hopelessness. There comes a sure desperation of being in a nonstop combat or flight survival mode, and it is exhausting,” stated Amodt.

“My name to motion tonight is straightforward: compassion,” she continued. “Once you see somebody who’s scuffling with homelessness, slightly than turning a blind eye or feeling upset on the unsightliness of the issue, take the time to get to know them and listen to their tales.”

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The vigil comes simply days after state and metropolis officers confirmed that at the very least 5 unsheltered folks had died just lately on Salt Lake Metropolis’s streets. The deaths prompted an emergency declaration from Salt Lake Metropolis Mayor Erin Mendenhall to additional improve capability at homeless shelters, past the flex required in state legislation.

Salt Lake’s emergency declaration and related ones introduced by Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini and South Salt Lake Mayor Cherie Wooden will carry roughly 95 extra beds on-line. The elevated capability is not going to instantly go into impact and can “take a while to ramp up” as homeless suppliers work to satisfy the necessity, stated Wayne Niederhauser, state homeless coordinator.

Cynda  Nygaard attends the annual candlelight vigil honoring those who died while homeless this year at Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. At least 159 people who were homeless in Utah died in 2022.
Cynda Nygaard attends the annual candlelight vigil honoring those that died whereas homeless this yr at Pioneer Park in Salt Lake Metropolis on Wednesday. Not less than 159 individuals who have been homeless in Utah died in 2022. (Picture: Laura Seitz, Deseret Information)

The deaths prompted outrage from neighborhood advocates and homeless suppliers. Seemingly conscious of the potential backlash Wednesday night time, officers suggested the group to be silent.

“For a lot of of those people, that is the one service that they are going to obtain and the place they are going to be remembered. I encourage you to carry the spirit of reverence in your coronary heart this night as we put apart our private variations and opinions,” Niederhauser stated on the vigil.

A number of neighborhood members held protest indicators on the vigil and referred to as on elected officers, current on stage, to do higher. Indicators learn: “Mendenhall you failed your unsheltered neighborhood” and “inflicting ache and trauma is just not a coverage, it is a crime.”

The protesters have been current all through the vigil and commenced calling out to officers close to the tip. The group referred to as the deaths preventable and pointed to them as a failure on Mendenhall’s behalf. The outburst prompted Niederhauser and Michael Mower, senior advisor to the governor, to shake their heads in response.

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The quantity 159 represents an approximate of those that might have died previously yr whereas experiencing homelessness. To completely inform coverage choices and the influence of homelessness the state health worker will start to trace the housing standing for individuals who died in Utah beginning in 2023, Niederhauser acknowledged.

The information is meant to offer info on the typical life expectancy of somebody experiencing homelessness and provides statistical proof on the causes of dying of these honored locally vigil.

“Allow us to bear in mind the 159 people they have been daughters, sons, moms, fathers, wives, buddies and we honored them tonight. They have been folks with vibrant lives and careers. They’d household that liked them. They endured via struggles and cherished moments have introduced them pleasure similar to all of us right here tonight,” Niederhauser stated.

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Ashley Fredde covers human companies and and girls’s points for KSL.com. She additionally enjoys reporting on arts, tradition and leisure information. She’s a graduate of the College of Arizona.

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Amid traffic, Utah walked to Leafs’ arena pregame

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Amid traffic, Utah walked to Leafs’ arena pregame


TORONTO — The Utah Hockey Club said players were forced to walk to their game against the Maple Leafs after their bus got stuck in Toronto traffic Sunday night.

The team posted a video on social media of team members walking to Scotiabank Arena, with player Maveric Lamoureux saying the bus was “not moving at all.”

Several city streets had been closed during the day for an annual Santa Claus parade.

The Maple Leafs earned their fourth consecutive win by defeating Utah 3-2.

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The viral incident prompted Ontario Premier Doug Ford to call the congestion “embarrassing” and “unacceptable,” highlighting his government’s plan to address the city’s gridlock through bike lane legislation.

It wasn’t the first time a Toronto visitor had to ditch their vehicle to make it to an event on time.

In June, former One Direction band member Niall Horan had to walk through traffic to get to his concert at Scotiabank Arena.



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Utah Highway Patrol responds to your suggestions on making Utah roads safer

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Utah Highway Patrol responds to your suggestions on making Utah roads safer


SALT LAKE CITY — FOX 13 News is Driven to Change and that includes bringing you reports on important topics like road rage, construction, and wrong-way drivers. During our coverage, we continually ask for any questions or concerns you may have along Utah’s roadways.

The feedback has gotten an enormous response, so FOX 13 sat down with Lieutenant Cameron Roden on Good Day Utah to help address input we have been getting, from the perspective of Utah Highway Patrol.

Speeding in Utah, there’s so much of it, and then you can sometimes say that that leads to tailgating, which may lead to road rage incidents. What are you seeing out there in terms of speed and what can we do to lessen the effects of that?

Lt. Cameron Roden: Speed is our number one thing that we see. That’s our number one traffic stop that we make, and we know that it leads to the majority of crashes in the state of Utah. So we definitely put an emphasis on speed and it does lead to other things. Not just crashes. It leads to road rage and other things .So, as far as what changes can we make, we need to start with ourselves, and really say, ‘Hey, do I have a problem?’ You know, we just need to start with ourselves and not think that it’s something else’s problem. If we slow our speeds ourselves, and then it’ll start to to catch on and people will do that speed limit. So, but the legislature has definitely taken some steps to help us address, especially the the speeds that are those excessive speeds where we have that one zero five law now that addresses those speeds and increases fines and and hopefully discourages people from those extreme speeds.

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Some of our viewers talked about maybe capping some of the speed limits for truck drivers. Is that something that’s even feasible?

You know, that would be something that would have to go through that, that legislative process to see whether we that would be something that would help. But ultimately, if we we start with ourselves, hopefully that will make that change and reduce crashes and fatalities.

There are things being done to try and intervene and stop wrong-way drivers before they happen. But some of our viewers propose things like spikes. What are your thoughts on implementing something like that?

We’ve had over the last several years, a rash of wrong-way drivers, and it’ll come in onesie twos, and then we’ll go for a period of time without that. And so, but this spike over the last couple of years has caused us to to create a task force to look at wrongly driving what things can be done. And so getting all these stakeholders together between UDOT and Highway Safety, looking at what technologies and things that could be implemented, and and things like, wrong way detection cameras. Those are some things that are being actually used in the state of Utah right now to help us spot those and and advance signage, getting people to realize they’re going the wrong way and turn around. The the spike strips have actually been talked about in our task force a little bit. And if something like that would even be, it is that technology available right now. And as what we could actually implement in the state of Utah, there’s nothing that really fits the bill right now because of our environment. We have our snow plows. We have snow and things like that. Something like that really wouldn’t be practical right now.

Probably the most talked about topic that we’ve received was distracted driving, texting while driving. You went out, I saw on the UHP social media page, that you guys just driving and you look to your right and left and you can find someone texting. What kind of enforcement do we have against distracted driving specifically on your phone?

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This is something that we like you said, we see it every day. We go out to crashes,and and we may suspect that a driver may be distracted. And so, it’s something that’s definitely under-reported. It’s it’s a bigger problem than than the numbers really show.And so not only do we address it during our normal patrols.Our officers are seeing it, and addressing it while they’re out there.But we’ll also do targeted patrols where the highway safety office actually gives out additional funds for that targeted enforcement, where we’ll get an unmarked vehicle. We go out driving down the roads where we try to spot these vehicles and and get them stopped because those are those are a big danger on our roadways where our attention and our focus needs to be on driving.

If you have ideas or suggestions for how to make Utah’s roadways safer click here to be taken to our Driven to Change form. There you can share your ideas or suggestions.

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Utah National Guard gets new, top-of-the-line Apache helicopters

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Utah National Guard gets new, top-of-the-line Apache helicopters


WEST JORDAN, Utah — The Utah National Guard has been serving the state since 1894 with roots dating back to the Minutemen of the 17th-century American colonies.

This weekend, they received quite the boost in the form of the Army’s most advanced attack helicopter.

“These aircraft are extremely fast compared to our other aircraft,” said Col. Patrick.

On Saturday, the Utah National Guard took their new Apache helicopters for a spin.

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“The flight went better than we could have hoped for. A little weather on the east coast, but after that, it wasn’t bad at all,” Patrick said.

The first four of 24 Apaches arrived early Saturday morning after they went under full inspection.

“They’ve got software on there that it’s like playing a video game. You just fly the video game and the airplane… is fast and smooth, which is the good thing, and so it’ll just hold the altitude and airspeed and just keep on trucking along. It’s pretty good,” Patrick said.

The first Apache helicopters arrived in Utah back in 1992.

“It just continues the legacy of the air pirates and what we bring to not only Utah, but really to the global fight and security, really,” Patrick added.

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The colonel calls it a major step forward.

“What a great day for Utah as we advance into the next couple decades of combat operations and what we can provide to, you know, the global security.”





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