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SL County Breaks Ground on 64-Acre Wheadon Farm Park in Draper

File: Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation

Salt Lake County officials broke ground Wednesday on Phase 1 of the 64-acre Wheadon Farm Park in Draper. The farm at 138th South and Bangerter Parkway, was purchased from Utah Open Lands by the county with funds from the $47-million dollar Park Bond approved by voters in 2012. Wendy Fisher is the Executive Director of Utah Open Lands. She says in 1997 Gene and Deane  Wheadon donated the land because they shared a vision of the importance of open space.

“It is a huge driver in terms of our quality of life and in terms of the reasons that people want to live in these various different communities," says Fisher. "And certainly Gene Wheadon was one of those individuals who felt that his farm land, his open space, made the community a better place.”

An on-site urban farming program will be part of the park experience. Activities will include education on the history of the Wheadon Farm, dating back to the early 1900’s. Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams was among those at the groundbreaking ceremony. He says the county recognizes the need for economic development because it provides jobs for future residents.

“But at the same time we need to maintain the balance where we are growing communities, and communities need parks and they need gathering spaces and open spaces that help people, neighbors come together, and have that sense of connectedness to the land and the community that we live in,” says McAdams.

He says visitors will be surrounded by great vistas, especially east to Corner Canyon. The farm park is one of three regional parks with Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation funded by the Park Bond. Completion of Phase One at the Draper park is expected by spring of 2016. 

Bob Nelson is a graduate of the University of Utah with a BA in mass communications. He began his radio career at KUER in 1978 when it was still in Kingsbury Hall. That’s also where he met his wife, Maria Shilaos, in 1981. Bob left KUER for commercial radio where he worked for 25 years, and he is thrilled to be back at KUER. Bob and his family are part of an explorer group, fondly known as The Hordes and Masses, which has been seeking out ghost towns and little-known places in Utah for more than twenty years.
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