Rachel J. Trotter

NORTH OGDEN -- City Manager Ed Dickie is heading to Southern Utah to be the city manager of Santa Clara.

OGDEN — Ogden School District students loved a taste of culture recently.

Students of all ages were treated to a series of performances by nationally-known bluegrass and acoustic band the Kruger Brothers.

Dancers from the Ogden-based Imagine Ballet Company as well as the Chamber Orchestra Ogden and the Weber State Chamber Orchestra joined the group for the performances.

OGDEN -- Encouraged by its success in raising money to provide a well for a village in Ghana, a local group now wants to start an orphanage in Liberia.

Kathy Gambles said she loves the way she feels after spending a couple of hours playing African drums. She and a group of friends drummed once a month through last winter and spring at the Eccles Community Art Center and raised enough money to build a well.

ROY -- Saying the Pledge of Allegiance was extra special for Roy Elementary students on Friday afternoon as they gathered around a crisp, colorful new U.S. flag waving on the flagpole in front of the school.

NORTH OGDEN -- Residents who don't pay their code violation fines may soon get a reprieve.

The council plans to rescind a resolution passed in October that allows the city to shut off major utilities if citations for code violations aren't paid.

ROY — Residents can expect a year-long 75th anniversary celebration as the city council recently adopted a resolution dedicating the year to the diamond jubilee celebration.

Mayor Joe Ritchie appointed nine residents to a committee to plan a variety of events that he hopes will appeal to all residents.

“It has been really fun and we have been bombarded with ideas,” said committee member and former City Councilwoman Marge Becraft.

OGDEN -- Five schools in the Ogden School District are using approximately $7 million in federal grants to help bring them up to a higher level and keep them out of danger of being shut down because of poor performance.

Dee, Madison and Odyssey elementary schools are in the second year of a three-year, $5 million School Improvement Grant. Ogden and Washington high schools are in the first year of a three-year, approximately $2 million similar federal grant to assist struggling schools, said Greg Lewis, the district's director of Elementary Education and Testing.

Most Ogden District schools last year did not meet Adequate Yearly Progress goals set by the federal No Child Left Behind program. The entire district was placed in a school improvement category by the state because of its AYP scores.