For more than 150 years, ranchers in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have transformed the art of sheep herding with dogs into a competitive sport. Sheepdog trials, now very popular in the United States, with their displays of agility and instinct, have continued drawing in new participants and spectators over the years. These events are not merely a pastime; they showcase the remarkable skills of handlers and their animals. We’re now looking forward to once again having a professional event right here on the east side of Summit County.

Steve Timmons, who owns Weber River Feed with his wife Charlotte, has organized the Chalk Creek Classic Summer Series, an upcoming sheepdog trial in Coalville. He says Border Collies likely make up 95% of the dogs. The breed is widely regarded as one of the best for herding and is known for its intelligence, agility, and natural herding instincts. “I want to see the sport continue to grow,” said Timmons in an interview, “We’ll have 45 dogs running a day with handlers from Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.”

Handlers and their dogs will compete in the judged event during the trials, hoping to score enough points to qualify for national and international competitions. Sheepdog trail participants hope that Summit County residents and others will help grow the sport by becoming new spectators. It’s also a good way to bring more people to Coalville to support vendors and hotels. A complete list of details, maps, and vendors can also be found online at the United States Border Collie Handlers Association (USBCHA.com). Details of the event, which will be held May 9^th through May 12^th, can be found at their website at: https://www.sheepdogtrialchalkcreekclassicsummerseriescoalvilleutah.com.



Steve and Charlotte Timmons are residents of Hoytsville. They have owned and operated Weber River Feed since August of 2010. He previously sold heavy construction, livestock handling, and mining equipment to feed stores until he decided to buy his own. The two are a hardworking pair whose business motto is, “If you get in here and earn it, there’s no way you can fail; the need is always there!”

The United States Border Collie Handlers Association (USBCHA) supports working North American stock dogs and dog trial handlers. The USBCHA's goals include collecting and preserving the history of working border collies, providing information about breeding and training stock dogs, promoting dog trials, exhibitions, and publicity for border collies, and offering annual Finals championship trials for sheepdogs and cattle dogs¹. Click the link below for their featured video:



^{1 USBCHA}

For over twenty years, the Summit County and Park City Libraries have partnered to offer a One Book, One Community program each summer. And it's not just about books; it's about the community, coming together to encourage meaningful conversation around books and topics.

The program typically culminates in a visit from the author, who gives a presentation and answers questions about the book. This year’s selection, John Vaillant's Pulitzer Prize Finalist Fire Weather: On the Front Lines of a Burning World, was chosen through a specific selection process to ensure it resonates with our community.

Fire Weather delves into the 2016 wildfire that ravaged Fort McMurray, the heart of Canada’s oil industry and America’s most significant foreign supplier. With masterly prose and a cinematic eye, Vaillant takes us on a riveting journey through the intertwined histories of North America’s oil industry and the birth of climate science, to the unprecedented devastation wrought by modern forest fires, and into lives forever changed by these disasters. John Vaillant’s urgent work is a book for—and from—our new century of fire, which has only just begun (from the publisher’s description).

In 2021, 8,000 residents near Pinebrook were evacuated as the Parleys Canyon Fire threatened to spread over the hill. Fortunately, no structures were lost, but a harrowing four days left 541 acres burned. In September 2024, the Yellow Lake Fire started about 10 miles from Francis in Wasatch County and burned about 33,000 acres. Further from Summit County, the Southern California wildfires hit in January 2025 and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage and the loss of many lives. Given the local impact of events like these, the One Book One Community committee felt the topics addressed in Fire Weather are timely and relevant for our community to discuss.

John Vaillant will visit the community on Tuesday, July 29, at 7:00 p.m. in the Jim Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library (1255 Park Ave.). Physical copies of the book Fire Weather will be available at all our libraries, in addition to e-book and audiobook copies through the library’s Libby app with no waiting (beginning in May). Community members are encouraged to read the book before Mr. Vaillant’s visit and talk about it in their circles.

In addition to the event with Mr. Vaillant on July 29, other programs throughout the summer will highlight topics presented in Fire Weather. 

David A. Jacinto’s Where Eagles Fly Free, the second installment in the Courageous Series, is a sweeping historical epic that chronicles the true and tumultuous journey of Thomas Wright and his young wife Annie. They leave the British Isles behind for the promise of freedom in post-Civil War America.

Jacinto integrates historical events and figures into the Wrights’ journey, lending an air of authenticity that makes the novel feel as much an educational experience as it is an adventure. Tom’s crucial role in the construction of the transcontinental railroad introduces him to the likes of Brigham Young and General Grenville Dodge, while his unrelenting determination to claim his own piece of America pits him against the unchecked greed of the era’s most ruthless businessmen. Jacinto’s attention to historical detail is evident as he draws from primary sources to shape his depiction of a pivotal moment in U.S. history.

At its core, Where Eagles Fly Free is a novel about survival—not just in the physical sense, but in the fight to hold onto one’s ideals in the face of relentless hardship. Tom is a man of boundless ambition, envisioning America as a land where a man is “only limited by his own ambition, imagination, and willingness to work hard.”

Meet David Jacinto on May 27th at 6 pm at the Coalville Branch Library.



Get Ready for an Impressive List of Students

North Summit Announces 2024-2025 Sterling Scholars

By Rhonda Butcher, North Summit High School Registrar and Counseling Assistant, Work-Based Learning Coordinator, and Sterling Scholar Advisor

According to https://www.sterlingscholar.org: A Sterling Scholar is a high school senior who is publicly recognized and awarded for the pursuit of excellence in scholarship, leadership, and citizenship in the State of Utah. A potential Sterling Scholar presents an all-encompassing portfolio on their work in a specific category and is interviewed by judges in the category’s field at various times. Sterling Scholars are awarded at the high school, semi-final, and finals levels. At the awards ceremony, finalists in 14 categories are announced, and then an overall Sterling Scholar winner is also announced.

We recognize the following individuals from North Summit:

Founding Forward, Spirit of America

Students rooted in the founding principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States

By Heather Staley, NS Unite Board Member

Founding Forward is a transformative, four-day residential program that engages high school students with the first principles of freedom. This one-of-a-kind immersive experience allows participants to explore and understand American history in the places where it happened while developing their leadership skills along the way. The locally selected students are Martin Cervantes, Cash Cylvick, Taylor Staley, and September Roberts. We congratulate them on their commitment to freedom and civic education.

The program recruits thousands of students nationwide. Through it, they gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of American history and civic responsibility through the Spirit of America Youth Leadership Program. It educates students on democracy, the judiciary, the political process, the founding documents, and free enterprise. They do this through innovative workshops and historical site visits that bring them face to face with our nation’s past, present, and future. Students not only build leadership skills and engage in civil discourse but also discover how they can positively impact their community.

Click the link below to learn about Founding Forward, a new, national 501(c)3 nonprofit charity leading the way in immersive civic education.