Wanda Kubat-Nerdin

Do you know a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon? Especially on a perfectly sunny, cool, with a slight breezey day? Our piglets always spent their time with each other, the more the better. One of their favorite places to nap was behind a gauzy sun screen that my husband put up for them. It created just enough shade to protect them from the sun and also provided privacy.

It wasn't uncommon for a few of them to actually sleep sitting up, like the one in the middle you see here! Happy Sunday to you all!

Thursday, September 24th marked the Dixie Sunshiner's Summer Trip to Cedar City, Utah to meet with President Michael T. Benson, have lunch, take a tour of the Southern Utah University and see Tuesdays with Morrie at the Randall L. Jones Memorial Theatre.

Dr. Benson was elected the 15^th President of Southern Utah University in November 2006. At 44 years of age, he is one of the youngest University Presidents in the nation. For more information about the President, go to: http://www.suu.edu/general/president/bio.html

Pictured bottom left to right: Dixie Sunshiners, Philip Lee, Wanda Kubat-Nerdin, Paula Bell, President of SUU Michael T. Benson, Lani Puriri, Janine Holt, Sandy Thompson, Cedar City Chamber Director, Scott Jolley, Gene Sturzenegger, Nina Heck, Al Thorne, Jeff Tuscano, Mark Babcock, Doug Labrum, Suzanne Moore, Steve Wilson, Sandee Card, Laura Keefe and Randy Patterson

Southern Utah University has 108 years of rich history in Iron County. It serves the southern region of Utah and the contiguous counties of two states with undergraduate and graduate programs and applied technology training. People of the region look to the University for outreach services, culture, economic and business development, public education, regional history, public affairs, and major academic specialties. ...For more history, go to: http://www.suu.edu/general/history.html

Old Sorrel, sculpted by Jerry Anderson depicts the dire struggle to build the first college building for Southern Utah University under a strict deadline established by the state. To meet the deadline, lumber had to be hauled from Cedar Mountain, more than thirty-five miles away in one of the worse winters ever experienced by the locals. The monument depicts Old Sorrell, a workhorse who saved many lives that winter.

This plaque below honors the builders who believed in the importance of the University to the future of their community and some mortgaged everything they had in order to finance the project.

The Tony Award winning Utah Shakespearean Festival makes its home on the campus of SUU. The outdoor Adams Theater and adjacent courtyard, detailed to simulate the times-of-old at Stratford-upon-Avon, are a bustle with excitement and pageantry during the summer months.

For season and ticket information, contact the Theater Box Office, 1-800-PLAYTIX or www.bard.org.

Southern Utah University is also host to The Utah Summer Games. The Games brings 8,000 athletes to Cedar City to compete in summer sporting events, like soccer, baseball, basketball, track and field. The opening ceremonies are held at the Eccles Coliseum.

This is the largest Olympic style sports festival in Utah. For more information call 435-865-8421 or www.utahsummergames.org.

The Carter Carillon stands 76 feet tall and complete with 26 bells - right in the middle of SUU campus. Now visible from I-15, the Carillon soars above the City's rooflines and promises to be a significant landmark for years to come as well as an extremely handsome addition to upper campus.

There is a new tradition at SUU regarding the Carter Carillon. Incoming freshman will travel in one direction under the bell tower as they attend orientation and will travel the opposite direction once they graduate. President Benson said the students will actually go around and not through!

According to President Benson, "The bells have been programmed to play 100 songs ­- a sampling of songs compiled by university and community members - and will play on special occasions."

As we walked through the beautifully landscape complete with waterfalls, fountains, ponds, and several varieties of trees, plants and shrubbery, it's easy to see why the University has been presented the Best Maintained Campus Award for several years.

We rounded the corner to enter the Emma Eccles Jones Education Building and the beauty of the stained glass windows was amazing! This facility provides students with state-of-the art technology, equipment, and learning centers. Colorful displays of artwork were proudly hung on the walls throughout the building as well.

Jim Floyd Jones of Cedar City and Springdale, Utah is a broadly realistic painter of southern Utah landscapes. His work conveys a powerful sense of grandeur in a tonalist abstracted sense. He is one of the most significant talents in Utah art today. Mr. Jones now resides in Rockville, Utah. He will be donating 15 of his most recent paintings to the Southern Utah Art Museum that will be opening sometime in 2010.

After the University tour, we headed over to the Randall L. Jones Memorial Theatre to see Tuesdays with Morrie. written by Mitch Albom. It tells the true story of sociologist Morrie Schwartz and his relationship with his students. Both the film and the book chronicle the lessons about life that Mitch learns from his professor, who is dying. They should pass out kleenix at the door!

For more information regarding the author and play, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuesdays_with_Morrie

Many, many thanks to President Benson and his staff for making our trip to the Southern Utah University campus a memorable one! We truly enjoyed every minute and hope you did too!

There was so much to learn that we were unable to absorb it all. For more in-depth information regarding Southern Utah University, please go to: www.suu.edu

A husband and wife entered the dentist's office. The wife said, "I want a tooth pulled. I don't want gas or Novocain because I'm in a terrible hurry! Just pull the tooth as quickly as possible."

"You're a brave woman," said the dentist. "Now, show me which tooth it is."

The wife turns to her husband and says, "Open your mouth and show the dentist which tooth it is, dear."

The 32nd Annual St. George Marathon is just a little over a week away! On October 3^rd, 2009, approximately 7,200 participants will be at the starting line at 6:45 a.m. (wheelchairs at 6:40) with eager energy and dreams of winning or placing, or for some, just crossing over the finish line.

The first St. George Marathon was held in November 1977 by a man named Sherm Miller who worked for the Parks & Recreation Department of St. George City. A marathon runner himself who participated in the Deseret News Marathon in Salt Lake City came up with the idea of hosting a marathon in St. George. The starting line is in Central, Utah and the finish line is at Vernon Worthen Park in St. George.

He had 58 participants that year and 38 finished (57 runners and one wheelchair racer) 38 people finished the Marathon. The next year brought 378 people stood at the starting line of the St. George Marathon. The cap on the St. George Marathon is 7,200 and last year was a record year for applicants. Over 10,000 people applied to participate in the race. The race is now ranked the 15th largest Marathon in the nation, hosted by one of the smallest marathon cities of 100,000 population.

The Marathon course is 26.2 miles of amazing red cliff buttes and white rock formations with high desert scenery and natural landscape. And a lot of the race leads down hill!

For more detailed Course Info:

http://www.stgeorgemarathon.com/race/courseinfo.php

For a list of Sponsors:

http://www.stgeorgemarathon.com/sponsors/

For Past Winner results:

http://www.doitsports.com/results

For Press Releases and News:

http://www.stgeorgemarathon.com/events/press.php

I'll be there to cheer each and every one of you as you pass and see you at the FINISH LINE!

Buyers can purchase a home that is contracted for construction or partially finished and contracted for completion. Deadline for partially constructed homes is June 30, 2010.

1. --Homes that have been previously occupied do not qualify.
2. --May be used for primary residences only.
3. --There were approximately 1950 grants available and in order to request the grant, the loan must be fully approved by the underwriter.
4. --The income limits on the program are $75,000 for a single person and $150,000 for a couple.
5. --All requests must be received before December 1, 2009.

For frequently asked questions regarding the Home Purchase Grant 2, click on the ACT NOW! logo.

Contact a Windermere Real Estate Agent in your area and Go For the Home Run!