Get your vote in before election day! Take a look at our elections page for candidate information, updates, and information about voting!

Utah Valley Hospital is hosting a Mental Health Services event with speakers, booths, classes, and more! Check out the schedule and register on their website!

The lineup of musicians and entertainment is already underway. Find out who's performing on our website, and don't forget to mark your calendars for the rock festival grand finale!

Our recreation department has a whole new set of programs and activities ready to help make this a fun Fall! See what's available and register on the recreation webpage!

Check out the new times and locations and refresh yourself on the rules and regulations on the website so you can take full advantage of this opportunity!

Great loan options are available to businesses who suffered during the pandemic. Click here to learn more.

Congratulations🎉 to the Marin family for receiving the Orem Property All-Star Award! Learn about the Property All-Star program.

Several years ago about this time of year I attended my wife's family reunion in Rigby Idaho. The reunion was held at a nice park that had a small river flowing by it. During the reunion I looked out at the river and noticed about 5 kids from our group who had grabbed a large inflated innertube and were floating down the river. by themselves. There were no adults with them and they were ages from 6 to 8 on this large innertube.

I realized that they were going to get into trouble and rushed out to help. I jumped into the river and swam over to the innertube and climbed on to help guide them. I was very concerned that one of the kids was going to fall in the river and not be able to get out. I helped to guide the innertube and keep it safe.

As we were going down the river I thought to myself that I needed to find a place to bring the innertube over to a safe spot on the shore and get the kids off of it and out of the river safely. Just then as we were floating down

the river there came a fork in the river. I had the choice to go to the right or go to the left. I told the kids we were going down the right fork as it looked like the best chance to get off of the river.

Just then as we were paddling over to the right, a 6 foot high moose walked right into the middle of the right side of the river bed and stood 100 feet in front of us. Upon seeing this, we suddenly stopped paddling to the right side and reversed course to the left side. It was keenly apparent to us that what we thought was a safe course of action was in fact a course of danger and an action we wished to avoid so that we did not have to collide with the Moose in the river.

We did take the left hand side of the fork in the river, found a safe landing spot further down the river, and landed safely with no one hurt. By recognizing the danger and readjusting our actions we were able to avoid a bad ending to our journey.

I thought about this incident last week when I learned that 95% of all patients with COVID19 in our hospitals are patients that have not gotten themselves vaccinated. I have also learned that our rate of infection has now turned back up and is rising each day. The new variant strain of the virus is responsible for over 50% of the new deaths. Those who have

received the vaccination are not being affected.

In the story above, I thought the best course of action to keep our family's kids safe was to take the right fork in the river. I later learned that my evaluation of the situation was wrong and needed to be changed. I believe that many people need to reaccess their thoughts about the vaccine, and change their situation to one of safety and ,not incorrect assumptions, for the health and welfare of themselves, their families, and those people around them.

The vaccine is proved effective, safe, and protective. Please reconsider if you have not gotten you or your family vaccinated and get it done today. I also invite you to read this story of a woman who was hesitant to receive the vaccine.

Mayor Brunst

— Mayor Richard Brunst

This time of year reminds us of the blessings we have today, because of the sacrifices of those who came before us.

I personally am thankful for the men and women that fought for our freedoms and gave their lives. This past month we had the opportunity to celebrate the 4th of July and Pioneer Day in memory of this.

I am also grateful for the pioneers who went through many hardships to settle this great state.

I hope we do not take our freedoms for granted and that we are proud to live in Orem.

There are many amenities that make Orem unique and a great place to live. Just to mention a few: the All-Together Playground, the SCERA Pool, the splash pad at Palisades Park, the dog park and mountain bike skills course at Timpanogos Park, the many new pickle ball and futsal courts around the city, the new Rec Center and Library Hall, along with the SCERA Center for the Arts and the Hale Center Theatre.

A few weeks ago, I attended the ABBA tribute band concert at the SCERA Outdoor Shell. It was an amazing concert where over 3500 people attended. Adam Robertson and his team do a great job to provide an unbelievable sense of community in Orem.

Not to forget the many parks that are available for our families and a new park that will be located at Hillcrest Elementary that will include a splash pad, pickle ball courts, pavilions, playgrounds, and walking paths.

I am also grateful for the Police and the Fire that keep our community safe.

Orem is a great place to live and I am grateful I have had the opportunity to live and raise my family here.

Bring out the family on August 20 and 21st to the Concerts in the Park Grand Finale in City Center Park. Both evenings will be full of Rock Festival fun that you don't want to miss! See the full calendar here!

The annual Fall Clean-Up is back by popular demand.

Please note that there will be new hours: 8am - 7pm Monday through Friday and 8am-3pm on Saturday.

Please review the rules of this program at orem.org/cleanup before using the dumpsters.

As we say goodbye to Summer we say hello to Fall and all the fun sports and activities that come with the changing of the seasons. Our recreation department has a whole new set of programs and activities ready to help make this a fun Fall!

The Orem Police Department is partnering with Orem Community Services, the Orem Bike Coalition, and Weinerschnitzel to hold Police Picnics in some of Orem's neighborhoods this summer. These picnics make great opportunities for children and families to build good relationships with police officers, public officials, and other members of our community.

Register today at: bit.ly/UVChamber

For more information, speaker bios, and schedules, visit utahvalleyhospital.org/mentalhealthnight

As parents, we try to shield our children from our anxieties.

However, hiding our worries can lead to our children internalizing our anxieties. For guidance on how to discuss your anxieties with your children, check out the story below!

“I was thinking about how we try to shield older children from our anxieties and how they translate that into feeling we are angry or unhappy with them because they can’t see the whole picture.

It made me think about when I found a lump in my breast (which turned out to be nothing) and hid it from my kids for two weeks, so it wouldn’t ruin their vacation.

At the time, my 19 year old had just missed a job opportunity, so she internalized my anxiety as worry about her work future.

It was a relief to her when I told her what was going on and let her know I was anxious about something that didn’t involve her.

I have highly anxious kids, and I realized I need to do my own work so that I don’t feed their anxiety with my own.”

To receive tips twice a week on helping kids become EveryDay Strong, text EDS to 833-904-0618. These tips are provided by United Way of Utah County EveryDay Strong program in partnership with Davis Behavioral Health.

Congratulations🎉 to the Marin family for receiving the Orem Property All-Star Award!

The Marin's have done a tremendous job transforming their northwest Orem home and property.

Mayor Richard Brunst and Neighborhood Improvement Team Liaison, Brady Andreason, recently presented them with the Award.

The Property All-Star award program was developed to show appreciation and recognition for homeowners and landlords who have worked hard to improve their once-blighted properties and have brought them up to a community standard or beyond. More information can be found at:

Nominate your neighbor or your home today!

Save yourself from roommate drama by making sure you don’t rent your home out to more than three unrelated individuals. In some cases, an individual’s caretaker may be allowed to rent a portion of the house, or in other cases it is allowable to have additional people stay at the house for extended periods of time as long as they are not paying rent.

City Code: 22-2-1 ("Family")

Was your business negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you looking to fund your next business venture?

Look no further because the City of Orem's CARES Act Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) is here to help.

The City of Orem's CARES Act RLF program offers 0% to low-interest loans to assist businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more at bit.ly/oremloan