A message from Cedar City Mayor Maile Wilson
I hope each of you had a wonderful — and more importantly, safe — Independence Day and Pioneer Day! As I am writing this month’s newsletter, I can’t believe it is already August and that the summer is quickly coming to an end. It seems like just yesterday when we were congratulating the many graduates on all of their accomplishments — and now it is already time for another school year.
The beginning of a new school year is such an exciting and rejuvenating time in our community. According to the Southern Utah University website, the fall semester at SUU begins Aug. 27. The Iron County School District website states that the elementary and secondary schools (K–12) will start Aug. 14.
Just because summer is drawing to an end doesn’t mean the end of the wide variety of events and activities happening in our community! This month, I want to tell you about some recent events and upcoming activities and also provide a brief update on the progress of a few city projects.
On July 6 and 7, Cedar City Recreation held the Fast-Pitch Festival, which hosted over 30 teams! Teams came from all over the state of Utah as well as from Nevada and Idaho.
Then on July 24, leisure services held its eleventh annual Main Street Mile, which had over 160 participants.
Our leisure services department continues to grow its many athletic events, and the following activities are coming up in the next couple of weeks:
—On Aug. 3 and 4, Southern Utah Baseball will host a baseball tournament for youth, and they will use all three baseball complexes for the two days.
—On Aug. 10 and 11, SUU Softball is scheduled to host its first Girls Fast-Pitch Tournament at the Fields at the Hills.
Upcoming activities at Cross Hollow Arena include the following:
—Casino Night Barrel Race Aug. 3–5.
—Western Ag Credit Banquet Aug. 16.
—Working Cow Horse Event Aug. 18.
—CBRC Barrel Race Aug. 21.
—English Horse Show Aug. 25.
—CBRC Barrel Race Aug. 28.
Upcoming activities at Cedar Ridge Golf Course include the following:
—Circle 4 Farms Tournament Aug. 3.
—Park Firm 2-Man Best-Ball Tournament Aug. 10 and 11.
—Chamber of Commerce Tournament Aug. 22
—Senior Amateur Tournament Aug. 27.
FYI, for you golfers out there, the Cedar Ridge Golf Course just finished landscaping the No. 10 tee box, and they are working on a project to level the No. 7 tee box. We’re very excited about all the planned improvements to our beautiful golf course!
I hope you take advantage of the opportunity to watch the world-class cyclists as they compete in Stage 1 of the 2018 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah right here in Cedar City. This year, the tour really showcases the “best of the best.”
While many of this year’s sporting events revolve around cycling, there are two exciting running events coming up with the Cedar City Half Marathon and the Cedar City Thunderbird 50K.
The Cedar City Half Marathon Sept. 8 is one of the most spectacular downhill closed-canyon running events anywhere. It also features the Intermountain Cedar City Hospital Trail Run (4.7k). The Cedar Half starts at the base of Cedar Breaks National Monument at Woods Ranch in Cedar Canyon. The 7 a.m. start time and closed canyon allow runners to fully experience the beauty of the canyon as they wind their way through eons of geologic formations to the mouth of Cedar Canyon. Majestic orange sandstone pyramids mark the intersection of the Great Basin with the Rocky Mountain formations. This is where runners will transition from Highway 14 to Cedar City’s trail system along Coal Creek, all the way to the finish at Bicentennial Soccer Complex. Total participation is capped at 1,000, and registration is closed.
Cedar City’s first ultra-running event will take place Oct. 20. The Cedar City Thunderbird 50K will begin at the Veteran’s Park Ball Fields and run to Thunderbird Gardens, Ghost Flats, Thor’s Hideout along the Red Hill, on the East Bench Trail, and up to the C-Trail and mountain bike trails (Green Hollow, Boulder Dash, and Lava Flow in the foothills of Cedar Mountain and back to the finish at West Canyon Park). The race also includes a 25K version. Register at cedarcitythunderbird50k.com.
As usual, all of our city departments continue to be extremely busy! The parks department recently planted eight trees at the Bicentennial Soccer Complex and playground area as well as eight trees at the Fields at the Hill Complex. Improvement has begun at the Cedar Canyon Fields Complex to improve “warning track” areas as well as the infield grass.
It is always windy at the Fields at the Hills, which results in a constant battle trying to keep the dirt and debris from covering the walkways and benches. Recently, our parks crews were able to get out and get the Fields at the Hills sparkling (even if it only lasted a few hours).
As most of you were aware, we had a problem last month with the motors on one of the city’s culinary water wells. One of the motors running the well failed, and the back-up motor failed as well. City crews and private contractors worked as quickly as possible and put in many hours to remedy the situation. While the well was down, we requested that all residences, businesses, and industries reduce their use of the city’s culinary water system, and although the well was down longer than we all would have liked, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your assistance with conserving water while the city well was having problems. We have such an amazing community, and your assistance truly prevented a bad situation from becoming even worse. Also, thank you to our dedicated city staff, water department, and private contractors for all of their extra work in getting everything back up and running. They are an awesome team! Without the cooperation of our water users, the results of the well failure may have been much worse. So thank you all again for your assistance and conservation!
With summer winding down, I want to make you all aware of a perfect opportunity to get out and enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds us. The Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City is sponsoring the statewide “Nature All Around Us Photo Contest.” They are asking Utahns of all ages to document the wild plants and animals that live within our towns and cities, big and small. From colorful flowers that might bloom from a crack in the sidewalk to deer or larger wildlife that might stray into a neighborhood, our close proximity to Utah’s wilderness makes these encounters quite common.
Images can be submitted to the contest online until Sept. 4 and will be showcased in an online gallery. Winners will be featured in a special exhibit opening at the museum in Salt Lake City in 2019.
The Natural History Museum hopes to involve Utahns in every city and town across the state to make this upcoming special exhibit a truly collaborative effort.
For additional information, the Natural History Museum of Utah can be found on Facebook, and they are also active on Instagram and Twitter @NHMU.
