This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Pamela Atkinson is well-known for her decades of work helping Utah's homeless and low-income populations. She has been a tireless advocate for the unfortunates in the community who have few supporters.
So it was a cruel blow when Atkinson, who lives near the University of Utah, was burglarized. Thieves swiped 40 years' worth of jewelry collections and several cans of coins she saves up to give to low-income families for food.
The burglary took place in July, and when I contacted Atkinson recently about the loss, she said she has gone through several levels of reflection.
It was a severe violation, and she was deeply hurt. She thought about the lost jewelry, each piece with its special, personal meaning. Whenever she would put on one of those items, it would revive memories of where she got it, whom she was with, the particular occasion.
Atkinson then thought about the victims of recent natural disasters and fires in other parts of the country, as well as those closer to home in Tooele.
"I thought about the people who have lost much more than I did," she said. "I had a lot to work through."
In the end, she got to the place she seemed destined to find.
"I finally was able to forgive."
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Government priorities • Needy Utahns applying for food stamps, Medicaid, financial assistance and other programs are told by the Department of Workforce Services that their applications will take seven to 10 days to process before they can expect to start receiving benefits.
The most dire cases — those with no food — qualify for expedited food stamps, which still takes seven days to process.
The wait time, however, might have been a little longer in October.
The approximately 200 employees in eligibility services — the Salt Lake City office in the department that handles the bulk of the workload for processing claims — have been extra busy.
They were divided into teams that competed for the best Halloween decorations in their work areas. They spent time blowing up hundreds of balloons, drawing and cutting out skeletons and goblins from paper rolls, and hanging hundreds of bats, streamers, even simulated corpses, from the ceiling.
The good news is that Halloween is over so the employees can go back to the work of getting needy families assistance.
Of course, you have to wonder how long it will take to remove all that stuff from the office.
Workforce Services spokesman Nate McDonald told me that processing applications for needy Utahns is one of the most challenging jobs in state government.
"They are dealing with people in the most dire of circumstances all day," McDonald said. "It is emotionally taxing."
Because of that, he said, administrators try to create an enjoyable atmosphere.
"The management team strives to create a balance of accountability and quality of work while at the same time building a positive work culture for employees," he said. "This includes celebrating American holidays such as Halloween. Employees are able to participate in activities and decorate their office space as long as it does not interfere with their productivity."
The division serves 171,471 households — 377,428 individuals. McDonald said that in October, employees surpassed their target numbers in processing applications.
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A new calling • As if independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin wasn't enough, now a Democrat is playing the Mormon card.
In House District 39, Paul Schulte, the Democratic opponent of House Majority Leader Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, has lawn signs touting his credentials. They include: "School Principal. Ecclesiastical Leader. Baseball Coach. Father."
For the "ecclesiastical leader" part, Schulte is a stake president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, overseeing a number of Mormon congregations in that area. That amounts to several thousand potential voters in his LDS stake.
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Holiday DUI sweep • Halloween is one of five holidays during which the Utah Highway Patrol brings in extra troopers to catch drunken drivers.
The others are New Year's Eve, Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.
This year, the main sweep was Saturday night, when many Halloween parties were thrown because the holiday fell on a Monday. But extra troopers were employed throughout the weekend.
UHP spokesman Todd Royce said 120 extra shifts were filled throughout the weekend, including Monday. In Salt Lake County alone, 35 DUI arrests were made Saturday night. The important thing, he said, was that there were no fatalities reported.