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'Specialty Prom' brings smiles to Utah County community

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'Specialty Prom' brings smiles to Utah County community


UTAH COUNTY, Utah — Alpine School District hosted a ‘Specialty Prom’ for families at Lehi High School on Friday night, bringing smiles to the faces of parents and students of all abilities.

The ‘Hollywood Night’ themed event made dreams for many people come true, including Jodie Sweetwood.

It was a special day in the Sweetwood household. “Jodie told me she wants a smoky eye,” said her mom, Karil Sweetwood.

“Yeah, a smoky fireball eye,” added Jodie, as they were getting Jodie ready at their home in American Fork.

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“The theme of prom is Hollywood Night, which I am made for, obviously,” explained Jodie.

She goes to Alpine Transition and Education Center and graduates this year. The program is for students with special needs to attend after high school, to learn life skills and help prepare them to live independently. She was very excited for prom night.

“We walk on the red carpet, sometimes we take a picture with our prom outfits and then after that we just party, have a good time, eat food, eat snacks, and also have an extra special dessert,” said Jodie.

She has Down Syndrome, and her love for life lights up every room she’s in. Now, the spotlight is on her.

“Anytime she can get dressed up and talk about it to people and go where a bunch of her friends are at, that just makes her day,” said her dad, David Sweetwood.

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Jodie added a sparkly coat of nail polish, did her hair and makeup and was ready for her date with Gavin Williams.

“Oh my gosh,” said Williams when he saw Jodie in her pretty pink dress that her mom made for her. Gavin wore a matching bow tie.

They strolled around town and had dinner with their families at La Jolla Groves in Provo.

“He is my best friend for life,” said Jodie about Gavin.

As they walked into the prom together, everyone’s eyes were on them. Students of all abilities got to celebrate together. “I just like everyone because they have been special in my heart,” said Jodie.

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In a truly Hollywood-style happy ending, Jodie was crowned Prom Duchess for her school.

“I feel amazing,” said Jodie, wearing her sash and sparkling tiara. “This is like the best day of my life… I’m so proud that I came here and proud of what I accomplished,” added Jodie.





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Utah

Here’s who will lead Utah Valley University as its next president

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Here’s who will lead Utah Valley University as its next president


Jon Anderson will be charged with moving the Orem school forward following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on campus last year.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Incoming UVU President Jon Anderson poses for a photo with his family after an event announcing his selection at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, July 17, 2026.



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Beaver County residents set up thousands of sandbags ahead of flashfloods

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Beaver County residents set up thousands of sandbags ahead of flashfloods


BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — A massive community effort is underway as volunteers and Beaver County crews distribute thousands of sandbags to protect homes from the potential path of floodwaters.

After the Cottonwood Fires, residents have been waiting for weeks for relief to come in the form of rain, though officials now warn it may come all at once with an increased risk of flooding and debris flow.

Emergency Service Director Les Whitney believes that the fire has left plenty of debris to bring trouble for residents.

“We got a lot of water. We’re bringing debris with it, so tree branches, tree limbs, logs, lots of different size firewood, and that’s all in the creeks. We’re worried about that plugging up our bridges and stuff, so we have heavy equipment and excavators located in strategic places so that we can keep those bridges open,” said Whitney.

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An estimated 140 homes and condominiums were spared from the flames, but remain in the paths of floodwaters.

Residents can also pick up sandbags at the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office or at the Beaver County Rodeo Fairgrounds.





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Utah man arrested again for allegedly abusing dog twice in three months

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Utah man arrested again for allegedly abusing dog twice in three months


EAGLE MOUNTAIN — An Eagle Mountain man currently on pretrial release in 4th District Court who is accused of abusing his dog has been arrested again for allegedly punching the same animal.

Keith Reaves Davis, 43, was booked into the Utah County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of aggravated cruelty to an animal.

Utah County sheriff’s deputies were called Wednesday afternoon to a grocery store on a report that a man was beating his dog after it had gotten off its leash and was stopped by a bystander, according to a police booking affidavit.

“I reviewed security camera footage from the grocery store, and an individual matching the description of the suspect was seen holding the dog in the air by one paw and repeatedly striking the dog on the right hind leg area. I observed the male strike the dog several times before dropping the dog from approximately 1-2 feet. The strikes appeared to be as hard as the male could hit,” the arresting deputy wrote in the affidavit. “The dog did not cry out or whimper as if the dog was accustomed to the abuse.”

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When questioned, Davis “admitted to striking the dog because it was not behaving,” the affidavit states.

An animal control officer who responded to the scene to take custody of the dog noted it was the same dog he had taken from Davis exactly three months earlier during another animal abuse investigation.

In that case, Davis was charged in 4th District Court with aggravated cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor; and public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, after deputies received a tip from a neighbor that a dog was being abused at Davis’ home, according to charging documents. When questioned, Davis “acknowledged hitting his dog as punishment,” the charges state.

Deputies also reviewed videos that the neighbor had filmed. The neighbor told investigators “there was blood from the dog on the ground of the garage and (the neighbor) can hear the dog screaming as if it’s being hurt. Deputies got the videos from the (neighbor) and you can hear very loudly the dog screaming and crying with a lot of loud banging noises. In one of the videos, you can hear the dog sounding like it is being choked by a collar and is grasping for air,” a police booking affidavit states.

Davis’ next court hearing in the April case is scheduled for July 28.

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In their latest booking report, sheriff’s deputies note that they “believe further harm will be inflicted on this dog if it is released back to the male a second time,” and have recommended the dog not be returned to Davis.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.



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