Online Exclusives

The American Red Cross is Hosting a Blood Drive in Provo

The American Red Cross is hosting a blood drive in Provo on Wednesday, August 12, from 12 to 6. The event will take place at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, located at 255 South 700 East, Provo. The goal of the event is to collect blood to aid ill or injured individuals arriving at hospitals in the community.

|


 

 

The American Red Cross is hosting a blood drive in Provo on Wednesday, August 12, from 12 to 6. The event will take place at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, located at 255 South 700 East, Provo.

The goal of the event is to collect blood to aid ill or injured individuals arriving at hospitals in the community.

Throughout the United States, Utah County is ranked the lowest in regards to per-capita blood donations.

“Attending local blood drives, such as the one on the 12th, can help improve the issue and strengthen the community,” said Adam Whitaker, American Red Cross director of central and
southern Utah.

“Healthy, eligible individuals are strongly urged to donate to help avoid potential shortages due to Coronavirus,” Whitaker said. “There is no known end date in this fight against Coronavirus, and the Red Cross urgently needs the help of blood and platelet donors to meet the needs of
patient care.”

Individuals interested in participating in the blood drive are encouraged to schedule their donation ahead of time online through Redcrossblood.org, or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS.

For more information contact:
The American Red Cross
1-800-REDCROSS
Redcrossblood.org

, ,

Join our newsletter.
Stay informed.


  • Dyslexia and ADHD in Kids: Why Some Students Struggle to Read in School

    That’s what led to my conversation with Donell Pons, a Utah-based dyslexia expert who has spent more than two decades working with students who struggle to read. What struck me right away is how often we get the problem wrong from the start.


  • Echocardiogram for Active People: What You Should Know About Your Heart Health

    Most active people track performance, pace, and recovery—but rarely look at the one organ driving it all. Understanding how your heart is actually functioning can reveal early warning signs long before symptoms appear.


  • Left in a Box as a Baby: Trauma, Alcoholism, and Addiction

    A man abandoned as a baby builds a structured life in law enforcement, but unresolved trauma and alcoholism slowly begin to unravel it. His story raises a harder question about how change actually happens.


  • Cottonwood Heights Corruption Allegations: A Case That Never Reached a Courtroom

    A year ago, we here at Utah Stories recorded a podcast episode that we never published. We were revisiting corruption allegations from ten years ago. We decided not to publish the video, so it sat there on YouTube for nearly 12 months.

    Then somehow the video was published. How? We are not sure, but once it got out there, the comments came pouring in.

    Dozens of viewers, then hundreds, supported the video with their comments on our examination of allegations of police misconduct in Cottonwood Heights. The video recounts how the Police Department was reported by business owners as focusing enforcement on customers of the former Canyon Inn bar. These allegations did not result in a publicly documented, full investigation by Utah’s Justice Department nor the FBI (at least to our knowledge). So why rehash the past?

    We believe the story of The Canyon Inn (and other area business owners) vs. CHPD and Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvin Cullimore raises questions about what can happen when allegations surface and do not move forward through a formal legal process with state or federal oversight.

    In 2012, Cottonwood Heights business owners at the mouth of the canyons began publicly objecting to police activity whereby up to seven cruisers were pulling over 711 and Canyon Inn bar customers on their busiest evenings.

    According to those accounts, drivers leaving the bar were frequently pulled over by police and were given DUI tickets, sometimes even after passing a sobriety examination. The volume and concentration of those stops led residents and business owners to complain about the “heavy-handed treatment” of CHPD toward motorists, especially in and around the Canyon Inn and neighboring 711, and eventually the Porcupine Pub.

    Customers responded in predictable ways. Some chose not to return and avoid the area. Others went to different establishments. Over time, the owner of the Canyon Inn, Jim Stojack, stated that his revenue declined by 70% and that he believed police activity near his business was the main contributing factor.

    Utah Stories reported on these concerns by conducting interviews; gathering video documentation provided by those involved; and making public records requests. Through our GRAMA requests, we reviewed DUI citations issued by the Cottonwood Heights Police Department and examined how those cases were resolved in Holladay Justice Court. During that period, we observed a higher number based on our review of DUI cases dismissed in court due to lack of evidence compared to other jurisdictions. One DUI attorney, Tyler Ayers, went on record saying that CHPD was issuing a high volume of DUI citations that were later dismissed.

    That observation raised questions about how cases were being documented and prosecuted. It did not, on its own, establish intent or misconduct, but it became part of a broader set of concerns raised by multiple sources.

    Continue reading and support independent Utah journalism with a purchase of Utah Stories (Digital + Print) or 3 month free trial (Digital).