Home Care In Enterprise, UT

ENTERPRISE —Whether you’re looking for produce, adorable animals or natural bath and body products, this farm has it all. And oh crop, it’s good.

Randilyn Waegerle and her husband Shane are the owners of Iron Rod Farm, a place where they tend to a whole slew of farm animals, hand-make natural skincare products, grow fresh produce and ultimately wake up every day loving life.

“My favorite thing is having all the animals,” Randilyn Waegerle said, hugging two goats. “They’re just so sweet. It’s just been my dream growing up, and coming out here, it literally makes you happy. You can’t not be happy.”

Prior to purchasing their now 20-acre property in Enterprise, the couple lived in Santa Clara with their three girls and two boys.

“What happened is that she wanted a goat and the city told her no,” Shane Waegerle said, laughing. “So I come home from work and the house is on the market. We’ve been married for 23 years and we’ve moved 17 times. I married a frickin’ gypsy.”

His wife said while they felt prompted to move, that decision came with many roadblocks.

“We had to hold onto our faith that God would bless us since we were doing what we felt we were supposed to do,” she said.

After they were blessed with their farm, they wanted to name it something that meant something special. Their oldest daughter came up with the name “Iron Rod Farm,” since she felt they had held fast to the Iron Rod in all of their struggles.

Randilyn Waegerle inherited her love for farm life from both sides of her family. Her grandpa grew up on a dairy farm, her other grandpa spent quality time on a dairy farm in foster care.

“I’m the only one that seemed to have taken after them,” she said, laughing. “My parents like to say they found me behind a barn.”

At one point, Iron Rod Farm had 25 alpacas and bred pigs. Her husband said to name any animal and they’ve either had it or currently have it. Currently, their farm is home to milk cows, a bull, dairy goats, pigs, sheep, rabbits, chickens, roosters, guineas, quail, turkeys, ducks, miniature ponies and a horse, along with cats and dogs.

“It’s like having friends that don’t talk crap behind your back,” he said.

The couple’s goal is to be 100% self-sufficient. Between the animals they raise and butcher, egg-producing chickens and their homegrown produce, Shane Waegerle said they are sitting around 75%.

Produce includes various types of cucumbers such as Armenian cucumbers, which can grow up to three or four feet long. They also grow and sell squash, corn, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, watermelons, cantaloupe and more.

But that’s not all.

Inspired by her own children’s battle with extreme eczema, Randilyn Waegerle started her own line of lotions, soaps, chapsticks and sugar scrubs. The line includes goat’s milk, a grass-fed beef tallow mixture that heals and moisturizes and other all-natural, organic ingredients.

After working for years to come up with the perfect recipes, they decided to turn their “hobby farm” into a business, which has been a dream come true.

Lotion scents include Desert Oasis, a scent that includes notes of cactus rose, desert brush and desert sands mixed with dew-kissed cyclamen and melon.

The Midnight Pedals scent includes an enchanting mixture of greens, raspberry and pink peony that’s highlighted with hints of bubbly prosecco, musk and amber. Other scents include Pixie Dust, Dark Island, Sun Kissed, Autumn Nights, Come Closer and Sweater Weather.

Handcrafted soaps include Milk and Honey, Rose Petals, Lovely Lavender, Serenity, Sand Dunes, Key Lime, Birthday Cake, Very Berry, Back Woods and more. She also makes homemade wax melts.

“Our farm animals aren’t only our partners and companions, they are family as well,” Randilyn Waegerle said. “I love overseeing the production of my products from beginning to end, from early morning goat milking to late night soap cutting and filling orders. Above all else, I love hearing the stories shared by our customers about our products and how they have changed their lives.”

To purchase products online, visit the Iron Rod Farm website. Visit their booth at the St. George Downtown Farmers Market on Saturdays. Orders can also be placed by calling or texting Randilyn Waegerle at 435-632-8946. Follow Iron Rod Farm on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook to stay in the loop.

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

Written by Cody Blowers Sept 27, 2023

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ST. GEORGE — An Enterprise man was arrested for allegedly arranging to meet up with who he believed to be a 13-year-old boy.

But when he arrived at the prearranged meeting place, the man was arrested by task force agents and was booked into jail where he remains without bail.

The suspect, Ramon Joe Betony, 24, has been charged with first-degree felony rape of a child rape and enticing a minor for first-degree felony sexual activity, a second-degree felony charge, according to charging documents filed in 5th District Court.

The case stems from an undercover sting operation recently conducted in Washington County during which the suspect reportedly went online and began communicating with who he believed was a 13-year-old boy but was actually an undercover agent posing as a teen.

The operation conducted over the weekend involved agents with the State Child Exploitation Team, a program coordinated by the Utah Department of Public Safety.

During the sting, the suspect was initially communicating with the youth using a messaging application, and then later, the report states, the communication continued using text messages.

As the digital conversation continued, agents allege that Betony made arrangements to meet at a prearranged location in Washington County to engage in sexual acts with the child, the report states.

When undercover agents were advised that Betony had arrived at the prearranged meeting spot, he was taken into custody and transported to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

While speaking to investigators, the suspect reportedly admitted he was meeting with the child to engage in sexual acts, which agents allege was further supported by the condoms and lubricant found during a search of the suspect.

Officers also found text conversations indicating that Betony was aware that he was meeting up with a child.

Shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, the suspect was booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility initially facing two second-degree felony charges, including rape of a child and enticing a minor for first degree felony sexual activity. When the case was filed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office, the rape charge was enhanced to a first-degree felony charge.

Betony made an initial appearance in 5th District Court in St. George on Monday, which is when a preliminary-waive hearing was scheduled in the case that will take place on Wednesday. Until then, the suspect remains in custody without bail.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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

Enterprise Reservoir consists of two clear blue water reservoirs, volcanic tuff rocks, pinyon-juniper trees, and lush green grass.

by

Gail Veley

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You might be in good company if you visit Enterprise Reservoir in Enterprise, Utah. That is, if you consider mule deer, mallard ducks, free-range cattle, coyotes and mountain lions good company instead of humans. On a recent afternoon road trip along Old Highway 120 to Enterprise Reservoir, a sense of anticipation grew at the opportunity to spend time in a place where, once inside, a total of only two cars came leisurely rolling along the roadway during a two-hour visit. The reservoir’s expansive landscape consists of two clear blue water reservoirs, volcanic tuff rocks, pinyon-juniper trees, and lush green grass dotted with content cattle, which literally seem to be smiling at their good fortune.

Bring a fishing rod and a small non-motorized boat, canoe or kayak. All are welcome at the reservoir, including your canine companions, located 12 miles from the heart of Enterprise. Slide into a “lake” where on most days, you might be reminded of how big, vast and uncrowded the world can be, and where trout and smallmouth bass flourish.

Camping sites with grills, tables, and shade trellises are also available on a first come, first-served basis. “Without Enterprise Reservoir, the City of Enterprise would not exist,” explains Jim Simpkins, President of the Enterprise Reservoir and Canal Company.

Agreeing that Enterprise Reservoir could most likely be called a hidden destination, Simpkins credits the vision and tenacity of hard-working pioneers who in 1895, undertook the task of building the reservoir through the leadership of Orson Huntsman. “His idea wasn’t very popular back then,” Simpkins, 79, said. “But he was guided by the spirit and not by engineers. He owned all the property that Enterprise now sits on. He charged less than $10 to anyone for a building lot in 1896.”

After an earthquake shook the nearby town of Hebron in 1902, people eagerly began flocking to Enterprise, drawn in by one of the biggest necessities to support life: water. The reservoir was dedicated to the City of Enterprise in 1903, and has undergone substantial and costly improvements throughout the years, continuing to function at full capacity for a town that today has approximately 2,000 residents.

“Water means a lot to us,” Simpkins said. “It’s obviously a very important resource.” Catching reservoir overflow is Pine Creek, which runs along the five-mile stretch of Enterprise Reservoir Road off Old Highway 120. The water from the reservoir is used for agriculture rather than culinary water.

Pine Creek adjoins Shoal Creek, located approximately eight miles from Enterprise near Beryl Junction, creating a unified and abundant waterway. Perhaps it’s time to pack a picnic lunch, a fishing pole, or your favorite small watercraft and head to Enterprise Reservoir. Visitors have a lot to look forward to.

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Enterprise is in the middle of a dynastic run in 2A, and junior pitcher Blakely Christiansen has been a part of it from the beginning.

Christiansen pitched just a single strikeout, but her defense held off a rally from No. 2 Duchesne as the No. 1 Wolves secured the 2A state softball championship by beating the Eagles, 7-3. It’s the third state title in Enterprise’s school history, all of which have come since 2019.

Christiansen pitched as a freshman during 2021’s title win.

“Blakely’s been here three times pitching,” Enterprise coach Katye Jones said. “She’s just so mentally tough.”

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Her mental toughness aside, Christiansen could hardly hold back the tears after lifting another title over her head on the field in Spanish Fork.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Christiansen said. “We’ve worked so hard for this moment, and we deserve it.”

The Wolves faced the Eagles twice in the tournament, and their last game in the semifinals the day before was a wild one. Some late-game errors and a disputed runner interference no-call helped Enterprise rush past Duchesne in the final two innings for a 5-4 win to make the title game. Duchesne responded by shutting down Parowan the following morning, 3-2, to set up another meeting with the Wolves.

But in Round 2, Enterprise left no doubt.

A huge five-run second inning helped the Wolves build an insurmountable 6-0 lead by the top of the third that made some wonder if a sixth and seventh inning would be needed, especially as Grantsville was run-ruling North Sanpete in the 3A title game the next field over.

Junior infielder Addi Nelson hit a two-RBI home run as part of the second inning. She finished with a game-high four RBI. The home run was the only hit beyond singles for Enterprise the whole game.

After Duchesne stopped the bleeding with three straight fly ball outs in the bottom of the fourth, the Eagles turned it on in the fifth. After managing just two hits in the first four innings, Duchesne popped off three straight singles to suddenly load the bases. Then, a sacrifice fly, followed by another single, got the Eagles on the board and narrowed the lead to 6-2.

The Eagles got another RBI in the fifth inning to make it 6-3, but Enterprise widened the lead again with a run in the bottom of the sixth.

With everything on the line in the top of the seventh, Enterprise walked out and put on a clinic in fielding. For the third time in the game, the Wolves outed Duchesne’s first three batters, capping it off with the third baseman leaping to catch an overhead line drive to seal the win.

“It just made me so happy (to see the catch),” Christiansen said. “We’ve worked on line drives before, and just for her to go all out to get it was amazing.”

Jones said the Wolves had 2022’s championship game still on their minds entering the tournament.

“We still felt it from last year,” Jones said. “They knew they’d have to work really hard. They believed in everything they did, and they did it.”

On the team shirts for Enterprise this season read their motto, “On Purpose, With Purpose.” The Wolves fulfilled their purpose on a cloudy Saturday afternoon, and it’s safe to say the history of Enterprise softball is now.

The state’s best-known corporate incentive program, the Texas Enterprise Fund, got its usual vote of confidence last month. Lawmakers in Austin approved another $100 million for the next two years, allocating roughly the same amount to the so-called deal-closing fund as in recent legislative sessions.

That’s welcome news in Dallas-Fort Worth, where projects over the years have won $289 million in enterprise awards, more than any region in the state.

In the most recent two-year period, D-FW companies won over three-quarters of the funds awarded. That includes millions in grants for Uber Technologies in Dallas, Microsoft in Irving, Texas Instruments in Richardson, Wesco Aircraft Hardware in Fort Worth and the Professional Golfers’ Association of America in Frisco.

The question is: How much of the money will be well-spent?

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From 2019 through 2020, four companies completed their enterprise deals as advertised, according to the latest report to the Legislature from the governor’s office. But 15 companies terminated their contracts, presumably because some wouldn’t meet their commitments.

The terminations freed up over $23 million to be returned to the fund. The state also clawed back $4 million more in awards because participants didn’t hit hiring numbers.

North Texas gets its share

From 2003 through 2020, projects in the Dallas-Fort Worth region have qualified for the most money from the Texas Enterprise Fund. Total award offers by region, in millions:

Dallas-Fort Worth

Austin-San Antonio

Houston

El Paso

Brownsville

Chart: Mitchell Schnurman/DMN Source: Texas Enterprise Fund 2021 Legislative Report Get the data Created with Datawrapper

Some see those refunds as evidence of a flawed program while others believe the opposite — that they show the state’s increased oversight is working.

“We certainly see improvement in our monitoring and compliance,” said Adriana Cruz, executive director of Economic Development and Tourism for the Office of the Governor. “A lot of those payments and liquidated damages are from prior years, and as those old contracts expire, they’ll be even lower. There also may be no clawbacks because they’re all performance-based now.”

The fund was created in 2003, and in the early years, it provided money to companies soon after they announced expansion plans. But a 2014 state audit found that the office of then-Gov. Rick Perry did not have good controls to monitor the process and company commitments. Almost half the money, especially in the early years, was awarded without contracts or specific job-creation pledges.

That led to major reforms, and now taxpayer money is distributed only after hiring and investments have been made — and new jobs and wages confirmed. Companies receive about $1,000 to $10,000 per job, depending on median wages, capital investments and other details.

“Every year they’ve operated the enterprise fund, the due diligence has gotten better,” said Bill Sproull, CEO of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce. “The return the state’s seeking, the clawbacks in case the investment doesn’t happen, the terms of the deal negotiated on the state’s behalf — they’re all better.

“From a taxpayer perspective, you have to appreciate what the governor’s office has done to really tighten up that program,” Sproull said.

Recent enterprise deals in Dallas-Fort Worth

Top regional relocation and expansion projects that won award offers from the Texas Enterprise Fund since fiscal 2018:

Table: Mitchell Schnurman/DMN Source: Office of the Governor Get the data Created with Datawrapper

After the 2014 audit, the amount of reclaimed money soared. For the 2015-16 biennium, the governor’s office collected over $19 million in clawbacks and termination payments from companies that hadn’t produced the specified results. Over $12 million more was returned as unencumbered funds, which means the companies dropped out.

Combined, over $31 million was returned to the enterprise fund. In 2017-18, nearly $36 million was returned, although the total from clawbacks fell sharply.

In 2019-20, over $27 million was returned, representing a decline in troubled deals. As Cruz said, she expects the returned awards to continue to decline as older, flawed contracts are replaced with ones that pay only after jobs are delivered.

In past legislative sessions, there were efforts to cut corporate incentives, including the enterprise fund. Last month, lawmakers failed to authorize an extension of the Chapter 313 program, which allows big projects to reduce their school taxes.

The 313 program started a few years before the enterprise fund, and school districts have approved $10.8 billion in tax breaks over the past two decades. But the program has been riddled with abuses, primarily around projects that were coming to Texas anyway — and still got the tax breaks.

While lawmakers opted to let funding for 313 run out at the end of 2022, they approved another $100 million for the enterprise fund.

“I hope this is a sign that our state legislators and leadership are comfortable with the program and how it’s being managed and operated,” said Cruz, who was appointed executive director of economic development in October 2019.

The enterprise fund was created not long after Boeing Co. selected Chicago over Dallas for its corporate headquarters. Elected leaders and economic development officials argued that Texas needed an extra incentive — more than the usual tax abatements — to win relocation contests against other states.

They settled on cash, positioning the grants as the last “deal-closing” piece in the recruitment process. From late 2003 through March 2021, the fund made award offers to over 180 projects.

Recipients pledged to create at least 104,507 direct jobs and invest $34.1 billion, according to the latest quarterly update posted online. The enterprise fund made offers totaling nearly $679 million, and through March, it had distributed $539 million.

“In my opinion, it’s the most valuable economic development tool we’ve got — because it’s cash,” Sproull said. “It gives the state the ability to come in on any project that creates a lot of jobs and make an investment that’s meaningful to the company.”

During the pandemic, there’s been an increase in corporate interest in the enterprise fund, Cruz said. Her agency is getting about 70 inquiries a quarter from potential prospects, roughly double the number it received before the pandemic.

Kelley Rendziperis of the Site Selection Group said the Dallas-based location consulting firm is busier than ever. It has a backlog of projects delayed by the pandemic, many clients that want to reduce their existing footprint and companies whose businesses soared during the past year.

“Incentives are definitely at the forefront for most of the executive teams,” she said “Because of the pandemic, everybody is trying to be profitable and make [sound] economic decisions — and the incentive piece folds in there.”

Nathan Jensen, a government professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has criticized the state’s incentive programs, including the enterprise fund. But he prefers cash awards to abatements, especially on school taxes.

“I know it sounds weird, but if you’re going to give incentives, cash is a much more efficient way,” Jensen said. “It can help startups that need capital. Cash grants also are more transparent. We know exactly how much is being given, and people can decide whether they think it’s worth it.”