By Myrna Trauntvein
TN Correspondent
A fall festival was held in Mona on Saturday, October 12 and, as the primary purpose of the festival and city celebration, there was a ribbon cutting for the new basketball court grand opening. The ceremony took place at 9 a.m. on the basketball court. Katrina Long, Mona City Council member, welcomed those present at the ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the new basketball court built next to the new city building. “The Mona Basketball Court has been a project three years in the making,” said Long. “We are so grateful for our sponsors.” Those sponsors were: Houwelings Tomatoes, Title Sponsor; Rocky Mountain Power, Platinum Sponsor; and AZOMITE Minerals, Gold Sponsor. Houwelings Tomatoes, Mona, was represented by Kevin Doran, CEO (chief executive officer), and David Bell, chief marketing officer; Rocky Mountain Power was represented by Cullen Irvine, regional business manager; and AZOMITE Mineral Products, Nephi, was represented by Jim Phillips, president. Clint Painter, represented both AZOMITE, where he is a controller, and Juab County, where he is a county commissioner. Clint Waters, Sports Court of Southern Utah, was selected for the job of building the sports court at the city park. “We had $25,000 in donations,” said Long. “The half-court, 46-foot by 50-foot surface cost approximately $27,600.” Houwelings donated $21,000, AZOMITE and Rocky Mountain Power brought the total to $25,000 and Mona City paid the difference. Bill Mills, mayor, said that the court was already being enjoyed by the community. In addition to the court itself, along with the basketball standards, there had been a fence built along the edges next to the city center to protect the building’s windows from stray balls. “Katrina is to be complimented for her hard work in spearheading the project,” said Mills. Bell said that Houwelings was happy to be able to give to the community and that they were pleased that the court was of such high quality. The company also brought small squishy basketballs to share with those in attendance. Irvine said that Rocky Mountain Power was happy to donate to the project and said he was glad to represent Rocky Mountain Power at the event. “That is what it is all about,” said Phillips. “It is good to support our local communities.” Long said that Sports Court of Southern Utah had been in business for 44 years. Courts the company have installed have been down for 25 years and are still in good shape. “Without the support and grants provided by these companies in conjunction with the city this project would have not been possible,” said Long. She also thanked residents for the community support. “This project has been in the works since the old court was destroyed to make room for the new city building,” said Long. “We look forward to the opportunities this court will bring for not only Mona City Recreation but for the community in general.” Long has been over the project and she said the all-weather floor is good for a pickup game of basketball, soccer or volleyball. It is also a good surface to prevent head injuries. Each game court comes with a 15-year warranty on the surfaces and all the components; there is also a five year 100 percent replacement warranty and the company left the city with some extra tiles to replace if needed. The color resists fading. Since 1974, the company has installed more than 50,000 courts and the court is the Official Playing Surface of the NCAA Volleyball Championships and USA Volleyball National Teams. “What a fun way to send off the fourth year being on city council,” said Long. “This is definitely the highlight of it all for me.” The Mona Library opened for the first time and there was a 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament, which started at 9 a.m. Also for the first annual Mona Fall Festival there was a pre-carved Pumpkin Carving Contest and those who brought pumpkins could then launch them in the Punkin Chunkin Catapult Contest. “Amy Walker Stanley and her husband made the pumpkin launcher,” said Long. The FFA sold Navajo tacos and there were bouncy houses, a rock climbing wall and spinning swings for the youth of the community. |
