Marshall White Center

OGDEN -- Dozens of warm-hearted volunteers arrived in 30-degree weather Tuesday night to tie blue ribbons for a community showing of mourning for slain Ogden Police Officer Jared Francom.

Volunteers tied large blue ribbons and placed them along today's funeral procession route from the Dee Events Center to the Ogden City Cemetery.

OGDEN -- A free community dinner will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Marshall White Community Center, 222 28th St.

OGDEN -- Two years ago, Ogden residents Ariel Latham and Linda Waldrum stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other senior citizens protesting what they feared was the city's impending closure of the Marshall White Community Center and its indoor pool.

OGDEN -- Outside the center's gym, Xavion Brock, 7, stood at the ready with bat in hand, his fellow pinata-slayers eagerly clutching dismembered paper limbs, eyes trained on their prize. Blindfolded, he swung. The pinata cracked.

Eventually, their target split open and dropped its sugary guts. More than a dozen children immediately swarmed on the treats -- Hershey bars and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, among others.

All of them are far removed from the Mexican army's victory over the French 149 years ago, but for an afternoon, children of every background took part in a lasting Mexican tradition.

OGDEN -- Kids whacked large yellow and orange tennis balls Wednesday afternoon while high school basketball players shot lay-ups.

OGDEN -- Mayor Matthew Godfrey vetoed three sections of the city's fiscal 2010 budget on Tuesday requiring the municipality to maintain the Lorin Farr and Marshall White Center pools along with the El Monte and Mount Ogden golf courses.
Godfrey said in a 13-page memo the sections violate the separation of powers controlling Ogden's council-mayor form of government.
"I am not opposed to the council or individual council members registering their opinions and desires with respect to proposed administrative actions," he wrote to the city council. "I am also not opposed to the council adopting appropriate general rules, policies and procedures of general application that guide the administration in carrying out its executive and administrative functions.
"However, as the elected caretaker of a separate and equal branch of municipal government, I cannot allow the council to co-opt and usurp for itself the executive decision making functions of the office of mayor."
The council-mayor system gives Godfrey administrative and executive powers and the city council legislative responsibilities.