ST. GEORGE, Utah — While a lot of Utah’s youngsters might have still slept in Monday morning, it was the first day of school in the St. George area.

Washington County schools were the first in the state to go back Monday morning

 As the sun started to rise above Santa Clara’s Lava Ridge Intermediate School Monday morning, there was a sense of calm. Tom Gubler started his 30th year as a teacher, raising the Stars and Stripes.

There was anticipation of the day to come.

“We want all kids students to succeed and we’re … trying to prepare and hope that we can make a difference in each child’s life that will last them a lifetime,” said Gubler, a Utah history teacher at the school. “So there’s anticipation, nervousness — ‘Am I doing the right thing, going to be able to reach each child?’”

Seemingly moments after the calm, chaos ensued.

With a theme to touch gold, Lava Ridge Principal Launa Williams led a welcome to each returning and new student with signs and cheers from their classmates worthy of a returning Olympic champion.

“When we survey the kids, the one thing that they’re looking forward to is being with their friends,” Williams said. “So we want to create opportunities so that they get to spend time with their friends and to get to know others and have that support from their peers.”

If there’s one thing all of the students shared as they tried to navigate to their new classrooms, it was the anticipation of what was to come. One such case was sixth-grader Jason, who is making the transition from elementary school to the next level.

“We have to walk around in elementary,” Jason said. “We’re just one big class and they teach us every subject one teacher.”

The anticipation was felt by the parents, like Brielle Broadhead who has four kids in four different schools.

“They were up extremely early because they’re so excited,” she said.

A mile and a half north at Red Mountain Elementary in Ivins, the theme of excitement continued as the students received red-carpet treatment.

“Personally, my favorite part is seeing the kids after they’ve been gone for summer, so just seeing all their faces again. They’re so excited to be here,” Red Mountain Principal Jennifer Leavitt said. “It’s the one day where everybody’s excited to be here on the first day of school.”

The left-leaning Washington Post editorial board argued that Vice President Harris, who has quickly succeeded President Biden as her party’s nominee, needs to engage more openly with voters and with the media. 

“If she hopes to prevail, Ms. Harris needs to present her ideas,” The Post wrote in an editorial published on Sunday. “The media and public have legitimate questions, and she should face them. This is a political necessity — Mr. Trump is already turning her avoidance of the media into an attack line. And elections aren’t just about winning. They’re about accumulating political capital for a particular agenda, which Ms. Harris can’t do unless she articulates one.”

Harris is facing increasing pressure to answer questions from the media after largely dodging questions and interview requests, save for brief gaggles with her traveling press corps. 

Prior to Thursday, Harris went 18 days without taking press questions and continues to dodge formal media engagements. She even declined an interview opportunity with TIME, which published a gushing piece about her “reintroduction” on Monday.

MSNBC HOST REBUKES REPORTERS ‘WHINING’ OVER HARRIS’ PRESS AVOIDANCE, WONDERS IF SHE CAN WIN ‘WITHOUT THEM’

The board called out Harris for blatantly switching positions on a number of key topics for her 2024 campaign, including border security, fracking and health care.

“All of this moves her toward more popular positions,” the aper wrote. “Still, it’s a lot of mind-changing for the public to absorb without further explanation. Without hearing Ms. Harris articulate her thought process, she runs the risk of leaving voters to wonder whether she is just shifting with the political winds, or, indeed, planning to revert to previous positions after she’s won the presidency. Why, for instance, did she embrace Mr. Trump’s idea to exempt tips from taxation?”

The editorial board wrote that it might be “tempting” for Harris “to stay as vague on the issues as possible, for as long as possible, to avoid giving fodder to the opposition or dividing her supporters,” but she still has to grapple with making a serious case as to her policy positions. 

The Post also listed a series of questions that it said Harris still needs to answer, including whether she asked Biden to “keep some U.S. troops in the country” when he decided to pull out of Afghanistan. On the Israel-Hamas war, Harris needs to explain if she believes in being “tougher on Israel and more sympathetic to the Palestinians,” especially after she announced her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. 

HARRIS MOCKED FOR TAKING LESS THAN 2 MINUTES OF QUESTIONS AFTER 18 DAYS: ‘THIS IS THE BEST KAMALA COULD DO?’

The Post also listed a series of questions that it said Harris still needs to answer, including whether she asked Biden to “keep some U.S. troops in the country” when he decided to pull out of Afghanistan.  (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

“The ‘vibe’ around the vice president’s campaign launch has been undeniably strong among Democrats, but she can’t bask in it forever,” The Post continued. “The more substance Ms. Harris can offer before the election, the more control she will have over what voters think of her and the more of a mandate she would have to govern should she prevail in November.”

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The Harris campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last week, the Harris campaign told Fox News Digital it was conducting a strategy to best reach voters when asked about its lack of press availability.

“With under 90 days to go, the Vice President’s top priority is earning the support of the voters who will decide this election,” a spokesperson said. “In a limited time period and a fragmented media environment, that requires us being strategic, creative, and expeditious in getting our message to those voters in the ways that are most impactful – through paid media, on the ground organizing, an aggressive campaign schedule, and of course interviews that reach our target voters. It’s a far cry from Trump’s losing, ineffective strategy of rage-posting, accosting reporters, and insulting the voters he’ll need to win.”

Fox News’ Yael Halon contributed to this report. 

John J. Burns, Moretown, is running as an Independent candidate for the Washingtin-2 legislative district, representing Moretown, Waitsfield, Warren, Fayston and Duxbury in the Vermont Legislature.

VR: Why are you running for office now?

During veto override week I learned that only two candidates were running for the two seats representing this district. I believe we need choices and alternatives to have a healthy political system. Additionally, there is a lot of discontent across the state with our Democratic majority in the Legislature and the two candidates are Democrats. I felt compelled to put my name on the ballot so people have a choice and a bit of hope for this upcoming election in November.

VR: What is your background and experience?

I was born and raised in Burlington and graduated from UVM in 1992 with a political science degree, and was commissioned as an Army officer. I moved to Moretown in 2007 and retired from the Vermont Army National Guard in 2020 with over 30 years of service. Fifteen years of this was full-time service which included two deployments to Afghanistan and numerous years as a practitioner of ‘non-lethal’ operations. These operations include engagements, negotiations, and cultural awareness factors which enable a military commander to avoid using force. When not serving full-time, I was an entrepreneur, working on and developing my properties and helping others with their property needs. I also taught ROTC college students for five years at Norwich University. I complemented my experience with education by completing business programs at UVM and Champlain College, completing a ‘sustainable building’ program at Yestermorrow Design/Build school, and getting my Master of Public Administration degree at Norwich.

VR: What are your priorities if elected, first, second, and third?

My first priority is to do everything I can to help people not be taxed and expensed out of their home The ‘affordability’ issue is damaging the fabric of our state by gutting our communities. This is probably my second and third priority too but for the sake of the question, I’ll say the second priority is addressing climate change here in Vermont, within our geographic border and fiscal capability. My number three priority is to bring a sense of respect and decorum back to the Legislature.

How can Vermont deal with a changing climate and back-to-back flooding?

Good question because it contains its answer. Vermont can deal with a changing climate by doing some real projects to prevent future flooding. New Orleans has developed solutions to contain flood waters and hold the ocean back, we can probably do some real projects with our rivers by restoring flood plains, or channeling where necessary to protect developed locations. We can also continue to help Vermonters insulate and upgrade their inefficient buildings, and build new energy-efficient housing. That brings up another issue, the housing shortage. Well, there is a synergy there that can be capitalized on once the legislature stops being so polarized. There are real hands-on things we should do in Vermont to address climate change, and our current legislature is fixated on extravagant carbon credit schemes that nobody understands.

Why are you running as an independent?

I began seeing myself as an independent back around the John McCain era. I was from a solid Democratic family, but I grew out of that and I didn’t fit into the Republican party either. I am a fiscal conservative and have a libertarian streak. I believe we are stronger when we strive to maintain what we have built. We know that change and progress are always a factor in life, and I believe this should be planned and managed, not experimented with as our current Legislature is doing. Being Independent allows me to better ascribe to these principles and beliefs.   

Reach out to Burns as follows:

https://independent4vt.onepage.me/

(802) 328-8001 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.