CHERRY DAYS

UPDATE

The first Cherry Days celebration was held on July 14, 1932.  A committee was formed with the intention of expanding the cherry market throughout the State.  The celebration has become a yearly tradition.  Colorful displays of cherries, parades and dances were common.  Florence (Warren) Campbell won a slogan contest with "North Ogden, Where Flavor Fills the Fruit."

CITY CELEBRATES ARBOR DAY BY PLANTING CHERRY TREES

Mayor Richard Harris proclaimed April 26, 2013 as Arbor Day in the City of North Ogden and urges all citizens to support efforts to protect our trees and woodlands.  Mayor Harris also urges all citizens to plant and care for trees to gladden the heart and promote the well-being of this and future generations.

In honor of Arbor Day, the City planted three cherry trees at the City office.  City Manager Ron Chandler said:  "Cherries have played an important part of North Ogden's history.  In fact, we celebrate the history of cherries in North Ogden every 4th of July during the Cherry Days celebration.  I hope that these cherry trees will always remind the North Ogden residents of their proud history."

DON'T MISS OUT 

CHERRY DAYS

PIE EATING CONTEST

JULY 4, 2013

Come one, come all to the North Ogden City Cherry Days first ever PIE EATING CONTEST!  That’s right folks, no utensils needed! If you love pie and don’t mind wearing it too, this contest is for you!  The Pie Eating Contest will take place at 11:30am, 12:30pm, and 1:30pm under the bowery at North Ogden Park.  Registration will be limited to 10 participants per session. First come, first entered!  Registration will be $1 or 1 ticket.  Come eat a sweet, delicious pie faster than your competitors and win a one day pass to the North Ogden Aquatic Center!

PIE EATING CONTEST RULES:

·         No hands can be used

·         The first person to finish his/her whole pie and stand up will be declared the winner

·         In the event of a tie, more than one winner will be selected

·         Any visible signs of sickness will cause disqualification

·         A completed registration form with acknowledgement of the waiver must be signed by all contestants prior to the start of each contest.  Children under 18 must also have a parent or guardian present and must also have a parent or guardian’s signature on their registration form 

North Ogden City Appoints Kevin Warren as the City's New Police Chief

On April 23^rd, Mayor Harris and the North Ogden City Council appointed Kevin Warren as North Ogden’s Police Chief replacing retiring Chief Polo Afuvai.

Chief Warren was born and raised in North Ogden and graduated from Weber High School in 1976.   He graduated from Weber State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Law Enforcement in 1985.  His law enforcement career began as a reserve officer with North Ogden Police in 1979.  After 6 months, January of 1980, he received a job offer from Pleasant View Police to fill a full-time police officer position.  Chief Warren returned to the North Ogden Police in November of 1980 and he worked in the patrol division until July 1983 when he was promoted to Detective.  Chief Warren worked investigations for eight years and was promoted to Detective Sergeant in 1991 filling that assignment until 1997.  In July 1997 he obtained the rank of Captain and was advanced to Assistant Chief in 2001.

Chief Warren has over 3,000 hours of law enforcement training, with most of those training hours related to supervision, leadership and management.  He has served on numerous boards, committees and panels related to law enforcement and on various law enforcement promotional review boards in Weber County.

Chief Warren has been happily married to the former Peggy Brown for thirty-three years.  They have three children, Lindsay, Ashley, and Matthew.  They have also been blessed with one grandchild, Cohen.  His hobbies include golf, exercising, yard work and most importantly spending time with his family.

 North Ogden Mayors Honor 

Chief Polo Afuvai

Current North Ogden Mayor Richard Harris and past Mayors Don Colvin, Bruce Dursteler and Lynn Muirbrook paid tribute to retiring Police Chief Polo Afuvai.  The Mayors were joined by the North Ogden City Council and dozens of residents to celebrate Chief Afuvai's 31 years as police chief.  

CHERRY DAYS

CHERRY PIE BAKING CONTEST

CALLING ALL BAKERS!  Come show off your skills and join us for the first ever North Ogden City Cherry Days Cherry Pie Baking Contest!  The Cherry Pie contest will be held in the Bay area at the Parks and Recreation Building, 2705 N. 550 E. at 1:00pm.  All freshly baked cherry pies should be turned in on July 3^rd at the Parks and Recreation Building between 8:00am and 5:00pm. There is no fee to enter the contest and prizes will be awarded as follows:  Blue Ribbon - $50.00, Red Ribbon - $25.00, and White Ribbon $15.00.  Please follow the rules (listed below) to ensure your success as North Ogden City’s expert Cherry Pie Chef!

CHERRY PIE BAKING CONTEST RULES:

·         The pie must be homemade from “scratch” both the filling and the crust

·         Use only red tart cherries, no Bing cherries or commercial cherry pie filling.  You may use frozen cherries, fresh cherries or cherries canned in water.  You may use food coloring.

·         The pie must have two homemade crusts.  (Two crust pie and lattice top pies permitted)

·         Place the pie in a two gallon zip top bag

·         Include a name tag with each entry

CHERRY DAYS ARTS AND CRAFTS CONTEST

Are you crafty and you know it? If so, you are invited to show off your talent at the first ever Arts and Crafts Contest!  Prizes will be plentiful, with several categories to compete in, they are: needlecraft, (linens, quilts, rugs, crocheted, and knitted articles) garment making, handcrafts (wood, models, metal, weaving, glass, free hand painting, dolls, soft toys) collections (stamps, postcard frames, creative collections, scrapbooking) and canned and preserved foods.  Entrance fee is $5.00 and prizes will be awarded as follows: Blue Ribbon - $50.00, Red Ribbon - $30.00, White Ribbon - $15.00. The contest will be held in the bay area of the Parks and Recreation Building, 2705 N. 550 E. All items need to be submitted to the Parks and Recreation Office between June 26, 2013 and July 2, 2013.  Office hours are 8:00am to 5:00pm.  

Mayor Harris and City Council will honor retiring Police Chief Polo Afuvai on April 23rd at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

With mixed emotions, the North Ogden Police Department announces the retirement of our Chief of Police, Polo Afuvai.  Chief Afuvai has been a stalwart supporter of public safety in North Ogden, and is well known throughout the state for the time and effort he has put forth on behalf of our community.  A native of American Samoa, he was raised in Hawaii, and came to Ogden to play football for Weber State College.  After a notable college football career, he chose to make the Ogden area his home.  After working as a patrol officer for Weber State College and spending ten years as a patrol officer and detective for the Ogden Police Department, he was hired in 1982 as Chief of Police for North Ogden.  Chief Afuvai has guided the police department through several high profile criminal cases, and has led the department as the city experienced tremendous amounts of growth.  Throughout his tenure, North Ogden City has been ranked as being among the safest cities in the state.  Chief Afuvai has participated in numerous local and state-wide law enforcement related committees, and is past president of the Utah Chiefs of Police Association.  Throughout his tenure, he consistently set a good example for those around him and has been an excellent advocate for North Ogden City.  He was recognized for his contributions to law enforcement when he was awarded the Utah Police Chief of the Year in 2003.  Chief Afuvai has consistently demanded the highest degree of professionalism from the officers under his guidance.  He led by example, and was always willing to share of his knowledge and experience to help those officers working for him learn and improve.  As a result, many of these officers found that they were able to exceed their own personal limitations.  His presence tended to have a calming effect in stressful and agitated situations, and his wit, sense of humor and genuine respect for others is apparent to all who know him.  He has been an advocate of community-oriented policing, and has regularly encouraged officers to be out in the community, getting to know the residents, and learning from them what concerns they have that the police department could address.  Throughout his career, he also made it a point to encourage those working for him to take care of their own families.  Chief Afuvai will be missed as he moves on to new opportunities, and we hope he enjoys spending his new-found free time with his wife, children and grandchildren.  Thank you Chief Afuvai for the many years of dedicated service you have provided to North Ogden. 

The North Shore Aquatic Center Staff will be volunteering this Saturday at Safe Kids at the Weber County Fairgrounds.  Safe Kids Day has been running for the past 18 years and North Shore has been part of it for the past six.  This event was organized to help address the issue of childhood injuries and to look for ways to keep children safe.  Tragically, drowning is the second leading cause of unintended injury related death of children ages 1-14.  Research shows that if a child doesn't learn to swim before the third grade, they likely never will.  North Shore Aquatic Center and its amazing staff attend this event each year to help teach children about water, sun safety and the importance of swimming lessons.

• Swimming Lesson Registration begins April 1^st.  We have an exciting new swimming program at the Aquatic Center (Check it out here).  This program uses well-tested methods to help children develop skill-based confidence in aquatic environments.  We are putting together the final adjustments on our new program and hope that it will help both our students and instructors to learn better and become more confident in the water.    

 North Ogden City Employees Participate in National Emergency Preparedness Training

Ron Chandler, Shelli Smith and Debbie Gailey participated in a two week emergency preparedness training Emmittsburg, Maryland.  They were joined by local elected and appointed officials from across the Country.  The training is sponsored by FEMA's Emergency Management Institute that covers all costs associated with the training except food.

The training includes working with Local, County, State and Federal resources to respond to an emergency.  It also includes working with private companies to aid in the response.  The mornings were spent in class and the afternoon training included simulated disasters in the fictitious City "Central City USA."  During the two week training Central City was hit with three tornadoes, an oil spill, an explosion at the rocket fuel plant, a dam leak, flooding along two rivers, live grenades in the local school and a variety of vehicle accidents.

Debbie Gailey summed up the experience by saying, "When it comes down to an emergency, everybody wants to do the right thing, this training gave us the understanding of how to do the right thing."