Nancy Van Valkenburg

ROY — John-Michael Keyes began his school safety talk Friday with pictures of his twins, Emily and Casey, when they were babies.

On Sept. 27, 2006, the Colorado father got a frantic call from his wife saying a gunman who said he had explosives had taken hostages in Room 206 of the high school the 16-year-old twins attended.

Casey was on a field trip. Emily was in Room 206. Keyes remembered the twins’ cellphone birthday gifts. Standing outside of the school, Keyes found someone to help him send a text, “R U OK?” The answer came back, “I love U guys.”

It would be Emily’s final message. Soon after, police created a distraction and stormed Room 206. The gunman had just three seconds — and he used them to shoot Emily.

OGDEN — Weber Outdoor Outings will sponsor a free science hike at 10 a.m. Saturday, beginning at the 36th Street trail head.

OGDEN — Twenty-three Ogden teens have learned lofty lessons this week, about forging relationships, collaborating with a new friend and setting goals for a higher education.

OGDEN — AmyLee Duersch examined the stack of brightly colored pipe cleaners, intent on choosing the best combination to twist into a headband.

Did the Ogden 6-year-old plan to wear the hair ornament someplace extra-special?

“Yes,” AmyLee answered, excitedly. “My head.”

Lorin Farr Park on Monday was packed with hundreds of children, school age or younger, who came for a free kid’s summer lunch offered each year by Ogden School District, and who stayed for the first day of Arts in the Parks.

OGDEN — The Olene S. Walker Institute at Weber State University on Wednesday, June 5, will host a public forum on the costs and benefits of the Weber County Library bond.

OGDEN — Weber State University’s announcement last month that a new center for family and community education would be named for WSU alumni Boyd K. and Donna S. Packer sparked simmering anger, now grown to a full boil.

The Utah Stonewall Democrats (www.utahstonewalldems.org), formed to champion the rights of Utah’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, posted a petition asking Weber State officials to change the name of the Boyd K. and Donna S. Packer Center for Family and Community Education. As of Thursday afternoon, the petition had been signed by more than 2,060.

OGDEN — Ogden siblings Diana and Bryan Campos Ramer, ages 3 and 5, previewed one playhouse after another, seeming to find a new favorite each time they walked through a new door.