It was just a little over a year ago (June 2014) that Jerry Milne and friends Gene Anderson and Wil Meyer stood for a picture at the park strip directly in front of the Little Confluence Open Space Area. 

They had spent the last few years working on the transformation of the sidewalk strip from thistle and weeds to beautiful and blooming. 

In March, as the Little Confluence Project was near completion, Jerry took notice of the East side frontage area of the road that was full of weeds and thistle.  He took quick action and contacted Council member Kristie Overson to see if she could assist in getting the City to cover the cost of some mulch. Once it was confirmed the City would be willing to cover the cost of the mulch, it did not take long for Jerry to do some volunteer recruiting. Recruitment totals included 28 Cub Scouts, and 18 adults that included Cub masters, parents, and neighbors from the Taylorsville Stake ready to spread some mulch. Jerry describes watching the Cub Scouts spread the mulch much like an army of ants and said they had a ball getting dirty. He had envisioned approximately three days to complete the project and was pleasantly surprised when it took just 2 hours. A special thank you to Don Breitling, of All Star Construction, for generously volunteering  to use his dump truck to pick up and haul in all 15 yards of mulch. Thanks to the neighbors Gene Anderson, Mike Winck, Wil Meyer, and Mark Ethington, for all their work.  Laurie Schembrie made it a very fun and fast project by involving the Cub Scouts.

 If you know Jerry Milne, you know he does not allow any weeds to grow under his feet before he takes immediate action. Jerry and the neighborhood Park Committee coordinated with Teresa Woodbury and 30 volunteers from the Oak Hill ward in early June of this year.  They cleaned up and removed nuisance weeds in Little Confluence Open Space and spent approximately 45 total hours pulling weeds, thistle, and Prickly Lettuce allowing the colorful wildflowers to stand out. They also trimmed around small trees and shrubbery so that when Salt Lake County mows the grass the trees and shrubbery are noticeable and will not be damaged by the mowing process. By taking the time to remove the weeds this year it should dramatically reduce the weeds next year. Thank you to these wonderful volunteers for all their hard work to make a difference in this community open space.