Home Care In Parowan, UT

PAROWAN — For more than 100 years, Iron County residents have been tuning in to the radio for weather forecasts or meteorologists such as Bob Welti on the television.

More recently, the pings and dings of apps, vehicle dashboards and bank signs on many Main Streets advertise such information.

For the ancient Iron County residents thousands of years ago, observation of the sun and the landmarks surrounding the Parowan Gap were the tools used to predict the changes in season.

Nancy Dalton, with the Parowan Heritage Foundation, has been working with a group of archaeologists to understand the meaning of the Parowan Gap petroglyphs.

Nestled in the cliffs on the east side of the Parowan Gap, located about 20 miles north of Cedar City on Minersville Highway, is a rock outcropping in the shape of a human head with his mouth slightly open.

According to Dalton, the story of the Overseer was first heard from local historian Alva Matheson by the group of archaeologists.

“One of the ways that the Overseer protects his people, and that is on Nov. 6, 7 and 8,” she said. “The sun comes across the sky. And as it comes across the sky, it hits his mouth, then slowly rolls to the back of his mouth.”

What looks like the Overseer swallowing the sun was interpreted by the Native Americans who frequented the area as a sign of colder weather to come.

A dozen current residents braved near 20-degree weather to watch Toovoots, (pronounced Too-vuts), his Native American name, on Saturday.

The Overseer was revered by the ancient residents as a protector of the people, Dalton said. Due to the earth’s rotation and orbit around the sun, the rock face can be seen spitting the sun back out of his mouth at sunrise in February.

“Then he is telling his people the warmer weather is coming, time to plant and to gather,” she said.”

In the 1990s, teams working to learn the meaning of the petroglyphs found a set of markings where the shadow of the sun hits a rock. Every three days, the ancient people made a mark where the shadow falls at sunrise until these events, the spitting or swallowing of the sun, occurred. And another mark every three days after.

“Whoever that person was for that culture actually stayed out there at the Gap,” Dalton said. “Those persons that had that responsibility had such an awesome life.”

Dalton noted that those making the observations were possibly from the Fremont period or earlier, saying digs in the area have found artifacts dating to 3000 B.C.

The Gap is notably famous for its summer and winter solstice observations, where from a distance the sun can be seen setting down the middle of the canyon.

For the ancient residents of Iron County, the Parowan Gap served as a travel corridor much like Interstate 15 does today, Dalton said.

“I get cold chills all the time when I talk about the different events being out there, because it is just awesome to be a part of it,” she said. “It is amazing the intelligence that the Native Americans and the ancient people had.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

PAROWAN — A fire destroyed a residence in Iron County early Tuesday morning.

Shortly before 1 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to a report of a structure fire at an address on 4200 West, north of Summit and west of Parowan.

Crews arrived to find the roof of the home totally involved in flames, Parowan Fire Chief David Schiers told Cedar City News at the scene.

Schiers said the woman who lives in the home made it out safely. She was the only person inside at the time, he said.

“She stoked up the fireplace and went and took a shower. When she came back in she heard (a sound) like popcorn popping, then came outside and the roof was on fire,” Schiers said.

After grabbing a few things from inside the home, the woman went back outside and got in her car and watched as she waited for responders to arrive, Schiers added.

Schiers said that in addition to Parowan Fire Department crews, firefighters from Brian Head and Paragonah also responded and assisted, as did deputies from Iron County Sheriff’s Office.

“We had to basically shuttle water from town out here,” he added. “There’s no hydrants out here, just a little bit of a water system.”

No injuries were reported. However, the building and its contents are believed to be a total loss.

The other homeowner, the woman’s husband, wasn’t home at the time of the incident, Schiers added.

Schiers spoke to Cedar City News at the scene shortly before 9 a.m., as he and another firefighter were working to put more water on a few remaining hot spots that were still smoldering.

“We’ve still got some spots in the basement,” he said. “There’s Sheetrock on top of it and stuff and we can see the flames underneath. We need to get water underneath to put it out. We’re gonna just let it burn for a little bit and then see if we can get it put out.”

This report is based on statements from fire officials and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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After sitting empty and dormant for nearly three years, Parowan's city pool has undergone a major renovation over the past several weeks, thanks to the help of many volunteers and businesses. It is scheduled to reopen to the public on July 4, 2023. Reported by Jeff Richards, with some photos and footage used with permission from Mayor Mollie Halterman.

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PAROWAN — Parowan’s city pool is about to make a splash of a comeback.

After sitting dormant for nearly three years, the 60-year-old facility is being revitalized just in time for the summer season.

The pool will be open to the public on Tuesday afternoon, July 4, from 2-5 p.m. for an Independence Day drenched in fun, according to Parowan Mayor Mollie Halterman.

After several weeks of labor, much of it completed by volunteers, the pool was filled and water successfully tested on Friday.

Halterman said the facility will be officially broken in with a “first plunge” during a volunteer appreciation party on Monday, the night before it officially reopens to the public.

This weekend, as volunteers were performing finishing touches in various areas, Halterman spoke to Cedar City News about the project, which she likened to a “good old fashioned community barn-raising — in the 21st century.”

“We don’t have the final numbers yet, but we were able to do this amazing renovation and remodel that would have cost $1.5 million for under our $300,000 budget,” Halterman said. Much credit goes to the volunteer efforts and donations from residents and businesses in Parowan and supporters in nearby communities.

“The last time the pool was open was the summer of 2020,” she added. “If it had been closed for a third year, the empty pool and equipment sitting here dry, and in the elements, would have degraded to a point that it would have been a total loss and it would have needed to be demolished.”

“The only way there was a chance to save the Parowan Pool was if it happened this summer,” Halterman noted. “It was a fight that was worth fighting for the community.”

Halterman also spoke of the many contributions from various sources, including bake sales, car washes and online donations through the city’s website.

Added Halterman:

The historic Parowan Pool and what it represents is far more than just a city pool. It is a show of ‘community before self’ in the past and now completely revitalized by the same spirit in the present, with an eye toward the future of the next generations. Reopening this pool is a unifying triumph for the residents of Parowan.

Halterman had previously updated Cedar City News about the progress of the pool project during Parowan’s Old Rock Church Days, which brought hundreds of people to town the weekend of June 16-17 at the site of the former church building that now serves as the home of the local Daughters of Utah Pioneer Museum.

That two-day event served as a fundraiser to help preserve the 150-year-old church building, considered one of the best-preserved examples of LDS pioneer architecture from that era.

Halterman said the inaugural Old Rock Church Days was such a success that they are planning on an annual event. Donations to the building preservation fund, including “buying a brick,” are still being accepted and may be made through a form on the city’s website.

Halterman noted that when the recent renovation work began on the city pool, workers found that the facility was still in surprisingly good condition, considering the age.

“Just like the Old Rock Church, it was built really well,” the mayor said. “We’ve kept calling it the old gal, our 60-year-old gal.”

“Even at the level of sacrifice for add to reopen this pool, it’s nothing compared to what it took to build it originally,” she added. “It was done right. You can’t do stuff like that anymore, so if you can preserve it, you preserve it.”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

Written by Jeff Richards July 8, 2023 Parowan, Utah's newly renovated city pool opened for the first time in three years on July 4, 2023, with a volunteer appreciation event taking place the night before.

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PAROWAN — Parowan’s City Pool opened to the public on the afternoon of the Fourth of July.

Several teenage lifeguards were the first ones in the water, jumping in together during a volunteer appreciation night on Monday night, even as other volunteers were still painting doors and performing other task in preparation for the reopening.

As previously reported, many community members and businesses stepped up to make the renovation project happen within a matter of weeks, at a fraction of the originally projected cost.

“It brought tears to people’s eyes as they entered the facility again for the first time,” said Parowan Mayor Mollie Halterman, who expressed her appreciation for the efforts and dedication of the city’s staff and public works department employees. Thousands of hours and monetary donations were contributed by local businesses and volunteers that helped make the “generationally impactful” project possible, she said.

Halterman showed Cedar City News several photos and video clips on her phone documenting the progress of the project.

“These before and after pictures are less than five weeks apart, with one week lost to the weather,” she noted, calling the project “the impossible made possible.”

“Hard work and a community uniting in effort made a miracle happen at the Parowan Pool,” she said. “There is no doubt we had divine help. The miracles came in the form of community members who just kept showing up with what we needed at just the right time.”

“Our community came together with solutions, generosity and heroic efforts by too many to list, to rebuild our pool,” Halterman added.

Pool manager Kirsten McCoy expressed her excitement about the facility opening for the first time in three years.

“I’m really excited to be part of this project and to have such an amazing group of lifeguards to be able to open the pool up again,” she said. “It’s taken a lot of time and effort and work.”

Added lifeguard Sydni Lauer: “I’m super excited to have the opportunity to have a pool in Parowan and to work here and serve the community.”

Lauer was Parowan High School’s lone swimmer last season, qualifying for state as a freshman in both the 100-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle events.

McCoy said the pool will have limited opening hours (afternoons from 2-6 p.m.) until its scheduled grand opening on July 24. Several additional lifeguards are in the process of being hired and trained.

“By Pioneer Day, we will be completely staffed,” she said, adding that the pool’s operating season is expected to run until mid-September.

Daily admission fee is $4 (children 3 and under are free, but must wear a swim diaper). Punch passes and group discounts are available, as are facility rentals. For the full fee schedule, click here.

Parowan City Pool is located at 89 S. 300 East, Parowan.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

Written by Jeff Richards July 30, 2023 Parowan cattle rancher Reyes Carballo was recently recognized as Iron County's "Day of the American Cowboy" honoree, on July 22, 2023.

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PAROWAN — Cattle rancher Reyes Carballo was recently selected by the Iron County Commission as Iron County’s nominee for “The Day of the American Cowboy.”

Carballo received the award the evening of July 22 during Ogden’s Pioneer Days celebration, joining his wife Kacie Carballo for a rare day away from work as they and other family members made the trip up north to enjoy the rodeo and related festivities.

The Day of the American Cowboy is part of a nationwide effort dedicated to preserving America’s cowboy culture and pioneer heritage by highlighting and honoring hard-working cowboys throughout the country.

Carballo was one of two dozen Utah recipients this year, each of them from a different county. Each received a copy of an official proclamation from Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell declaring July 22 as the “National Day of the American Cowboy” and recognizing their “outstanding contributions to the western heritage lifestyle and the preservation of Utah’s western and cowboy culture for future generations.

Kacie Carballo said her husband’s story is similar to those of the western pioneers of yesteryear.

“The fact that people who are alive and well today, have lived a life similar to what we’ve only read about in history books, is amazing,” she said. “And to see that he dusted himself off time after time to build a business and a name for himself, is something we all can relate to.”

The Carballos, who have been married for 12 years, manage and operate Dry Lakes Ranch. The cattle ranch, formerly known as Mitchell Herefords, was started by the Mitchell family in Parowan 150 years ago, back in 1873.

Reyes Carballo’s remarkable life journey, which started out as a barefoot boy chasing pigs on his family farm in Chihuahua, Mexico and included a short stint as a horseracing jockey, brought him to Southern Utah almost by accident. According to the biographical summary that accompanied his award, Reyes had been headed to Denver but ended up in Parowan after getting stuck in a snowstorm.

“With only $40 in his back pocket and the clothes on his back, he ended up starting a life here, in the place we now proudly call home,” the bio states, adding that Reyes Carballo started out as a farm laborer for a sheepman, and then worked for others who played a pivotal role in his success, including Sen. Dennis Stowell and eventually cattleman Hal Mitchell.

“Reyes became a son to Hal, and would one day take over his farm and ranch because of his dedication and love for the Mitchell Family and the true opportunity they gave him,” the bio continues. “Reyes now owns his own herd of cattle, manages the land and animals in honor of the late Hal Mitchell, and owns a meat shop alongside his wife.”

Ever since the Dry Lakes Ranch Beef retail store on Parowan’s Main Street a few years ago, it has seen remarkable growth, attracting customers from near and far. The popular business has also accumulated numerous awards, including the following:

Cedar City News caught up with the Carballos at the ranch on Tuesday night, just as Reyes was about to take a tractor around for a routine check of the various cattle pens.

At any given time, the ranch has a few hundred head of cattle, ranging from baby calves to full-grown animals ready for market.

Reyes Carballo said he typically works 18 hours a day, starting at 4 a.m. On Sundays, he might “take it easy” and only work 12 hours or so, he added.

Nevertheless, Reyes said he thrives on long hours of hard work.

“I enjoy it, you know,” he said. “This is the reason I do it because they make me strong. The more I do it, the better I feel.”

Kacie Carballo said her husband, who is now a proud U.S. citizen, could be a poster child for the “American Dream.”

The biographical sketch, which can be viewed in its entirety here, concludes:

“He knows the blessing that comes with being in the United States of America, and will take every opportunity he gets to share his knowledge and hard-earned experience with others. He, is an American Cowboy.”

Other Southern Utahns honored as “Day of the American Cowboy” award recipients in Ogden last weekend included Steve Gilbert of Washington County, Todd Phillips of Garfield County and Josh Jennings of Kane County. For a complete list of honorees, click here.

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