Sudoku 9/24/2021

 

Deseret Industries Relaxes Covid Restrictions

 

Kendall Purser
Editor

Deseret Industries, located on 17th Street in Ammon, recently relaxed their Covid-19 restrictions. When the pandemic was in full swing the second hand store was forced to close its doors, like most businesses in the area, without any idea of when they would reopen. 

When they were allowed to open their doors, they did so with a mask policy and donors were required to sort their own items prior to dropping them off at the store. Donations were limited to specific time slots that had to be reserved using an online form, the public restrooms were made unavailable.

The result of these policies were reduced inventory, bare shelves, fewer employees on the floor, and less selection for shoppers. They also requested volunteers from local churches to help sort and stock what inventory they had.

In recent weeks, however, the donation reservation policy was lifted and the flow for the donation center was reversed to accommodate the increased traffic. The sign on the front door was changed from "masks required" to the more encouraging "masks please." In addition to this, they are also part of the hiring craze throughout Ammon and Idaho Falls seeking more employees to help run the store.

Deseret Industries is a thrift store owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Their main goal is to help their employees gain work related skills, to further their education, and increase their hire-ability.

Eagle Drive Bridge Under Scrutiny

 

Kendall Purser
Editor

Recently a letter was sent by the City of Ammon to residents near the Eagle Drive bridge asking for their input about its future. In the letter it stated that 4,000 vehicles use the bridge and pass through the intersection of Eagle and Salmon just to the north of it on a daily basis. 

The letter continued, stating that such a large amount of traffic on such narrow streets was considered unsafe. To give their input, recipients of the letter were encouraged to take a brief, online survey about the future of the intersection and the bridge.

The survey proposed three options for the bridge: 1- Leave it as it is, 2- Restrict the bridge to one direction of travel, or 3- Close the bridge entirely, except for emergency vehicles. Afterward recipients could then offer their suggestions on what to do with the bridge and intersection before submitting the survey.

Some citizens were baffled when they read the letter and took the survey, stating that it didn't seem like that many vehicles used that particular intersection. Upon further investigation, the bulk of traffic appears to be students driving to and from Hillcrest High School, and shoppers going to and from Sandcreek Commons. A brief survey of the intersection showed that while traffic rarely got backed up, there was a steady flow of traffic throughout the day.

One resident stated that in their opinion the intersection was so well used because it offered an alternative to the even busier intersection of 25th East and 17th Street, which is the next closest route to the stores along 25th East. If this bridge were closed, traffic at that intersection would undoubtedly increase.

A Traffic Commission meeting will be held on October 13, 2021 at the City Building at 9 AM to seek further input from residents regarding this matter.

Weather 9/20 - 9/26

*** FROST ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO 9 AM MDT MONDAY ***

Monday 57 / 36

Sunny, with a high near 57. Southwest wind 7 to 9 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 36. West southwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming east southeast after midnight.