Donation center needing more volunteers

By Anna Tuckett

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore began seeing an increase in donations the week before Thanksgiving, but needs more volunteers to meet the donation center’s new demand.

The center began accepting donations, including new and gently used furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances, when it opened in Sept. 2014. Aside from the paid directors, the center relies on volunteers to organize, clean, and sort the donated merchandise.

“This is the time of year when people are remodeling their kitchens for Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Todd Cottle, the director of the center. “This morning I came back to five new sinks that had been dropped off at the ReStore.”

Even with an influx of volunteers during the holiday season, the center said it needs more help to meet the growing need.

Cottle said the demand wasn’t as high the first holiday season the center was open because there weren’t enough people who knew about it, but now its getting large enough that he is considering looking for a new location.

During the majority of the year the center’s volunteers are mainly organizations, such as local companies and Boy Scout troops. But during Nov. and Dec. families call the center looking for opportunities to serve the community.

Cottle said during the holiday season people call the center after the Food Pantry meets its capacity. He said he hopes someday the center will have enough volunteers that he will have to turn people down.

The center sells the items people donate to the community at lowered prices. It is self-sustainable and any extra money the center makes is used to “build homes, community, and hope locally and around the world.”

More information available at: cachevalleyhabitatrestore.org.

New owners remodeling former Gold's Gym

By Anna Tuckett

Logan’s Planet Fitness will be moving to a newly renovated gym in the old Gold’s Gym building the first week of January, when the fitness club projects the changes will be completed.

Sports Academy and Planet Fitness, who share the same owner, assumed Gold’s Gym’s membership base after it closed in August. The gyms renegotiated a lease with the owner of the former Gold’s Gym building and started remodeling it to better fit their needs.

Planet Fitness general manager April Bankhead said the gym is outgrowing its current facilities and the new building will have twice the room.

The renovations include new equipment and facilities, with added daycare and group fitness classrooms for Sports Academy members to use.

“It’s going to be gorgeous. We will open it up and put lots of windows on the back,” said Dan Smith, the general manager of Sports Academy. “It will be a fun gym to walk into now.”

The new location, at 981 S. Main St., will allow Sports Academy members who live on the south end of Logan to have a closer option. The gym will continue to provide services for members at its northern location in addition.

Youtube sensation opens store in Cache Valley Mall

By Anna Tuckett

Lifestyle clothing brand Trixin held the grand opening for its first store-front on Nov. 7 in Cache Valley Mall.

The brand was founded by lifestyle vlogger and Youtube sensation Shay Carl and his family, known to fans as the Shaytards. The company started selling online in January.

On the day of the grand opening, fans from across the state came to meet the family. Fellow vloggers recorded and uploaded videos of the opening to Youtube.

“Let’s celebrate in the fact that we were here to witness the birth of something great that will surely become even greater,” Fan Heather Gornak said of the grand opening.

Carl’s cousin Kasey Butler, who manages the store, said the cousins’ grandfather owned a store in the mall during the ‘70s and the family wanted to continue the tradition.

The atmosphere of the store was created with the intention of bringing people together. On one side of the room is a lounge where customers can talk and play video games, while the opposite wall is covered with the signatures of people who have come into the store since its opening.

“The wall is a way for people to connect,” Butler said. “No one can leave without signing their name.”

The company designs and sells shirts, hats and accessories but is still working on its first line of pants.

Butler described the clothing brand as high-quality “clothing you can live in.”

More information available at: trixin.com.

Sports Academy changing its outreach to include less students

By Anna Tuckett

Local gym Sports Academy is spending less of its efforts marketing to students as a result of Utah State University’s new student recreation center, which opened its doors for the first time on Thursday.

The gym used to market to students by sponsoring athletic events and advertising through the university’s newspaper, but began changing its strategy after the university announced the new recreation center would be built.

“I have a lot of student groups asking me for donations and it makes me think twice about what I can support and what I can’t,” said Dan Smith, the general manager of the gym. “There’s a lot of fundraising that we do in the community that’s not university-related and we tend to focus more on that.”

Smith said in the past students have joined the gym after discovering the university’s old recreational facilities didn’t have the space or equipment they needed.

“It’s hard competing with an entity that isn’t responsible to make money,” Smith said. “In a sense, it’s hard to compete against tax dollars.”

Dolny said the new recreation center has to be successful because the university has increased student fees to fund the $35 million building.

“Human behavior loves good, clean facilities, especially if they’re having to pay for it,” said Dennis Dolny, the head of the university’s Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department.

The gym also provides facilities and instructors for students in credit-earning athletic classes, such as indoor cycling and yoga. Both the university and the gym agreed that it has “been a good relationship.”

Dolny said the university’s student government decided that none of the academic classes will be held in the new recreation center and the university will continue to contract with its 13 outside vendors to provide these classes.

Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse raising money for new therapy and children’s center

By Anna Tuckett

The community domestic violence and sexual assault recovery center CAPSA started fundraising for its new building expansion two weeks ago but will need more donors to reach its goal before spring, when the center plans to break ground.

The center has currently raised $36,000 for the new addition, but is still looking to individual donors and foundations to reach its $200,000 goal. All major donors will be honored with a plaque in the new addition.

According to the center, all money donated for the project will go solely toward the expansion.

The new addition will include four new therapy offices and a children’s center to better accommodate the 700 individuals served from Cache and Rich counties every year.

“There’s a need for more; we probably only help 10 percent of people who need our help,” said James Boyd, the director of marketing and fundraising for the center. “Our biggest restriction is funding.”

Additional therapists, including a child therapist, have been hired in order to shorten the therapy program waiting list.

“The truth is we could probably operate with five more therapists to satisfy the need,” Boyd said. “But that comes down to funding and space.”

The new children’s center will include an expansion of children’s therapy and enhancements to daycare services.

Boyd said that children who witness domestic violence are 2.6 times more likely to be in an abusive relationship, unless someone intervenes.

CAPSA, which stands for Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse, is a local non-profit organization that provides services for domestic violence and sexual assault victims, such as 24-hour support, emergency shelter, and therapy services.



“We help people all the way from crisis, through intervention, through healing,” Boyd said.