UTAH TROOPER SCOTT SPARKS ALWAYS GAVE GOOD ADVICE

When the spark plugs were hitting just fine in the life of the earthly body of Scott Sparks of Nephi, Utah, the Jones Clan would hang out at his house for a couple of different reasons. First and most important was we had to get over to his house on Saturday's to help his Dad load and unload the candy truck, as he may head out to various stores in the area. At the time Dee Sparks was the Candy Man who made sure all people near and far had their adequate supply of chocolate covered sugar! Mr. Dee Sparks was an excellent business man and not just a good father figure. His Candy Elf's were Hal, who was Scott's close friend all the days they were both on earth riding their Harleys or fishing with a Mepps spinner, then there was Kent, who was built like a Mars Bar, but basically brain dead; then Gary- the tall skinny brilliant kid who needed more sugar to grow, then little sister Jaynette, a friend of Scotts sister-Ann, as she couldn't lift the heavy boxes of candy, but had enough Spice in her to make us clean or dust the shelves in Dee's candy truck. Parents in those days knew who and where their kids were and didn''t need a hand held teleprompter to guide them or us. At lunch time, Mrs. Sparks would fetch us something, or we would hike the block home to find some of LaVon's hot bread or cookies, then more chores mowing the lawn with a motorless push mower or clean house and iron clothes; chew on a cherry stick from the two trees that held up our Thermoid made hammock. Weston Jones wasn't a "certified" Candy Elf, and too busy with Joe Garrett catching wild horses on the Juab West Desert. When all that fun stuff was done, we would head back to the Scott's place for a game of  Kick the Can and others would stop by to join up including the granddaughter's of Uncle Hy Tolley(Zabriskie's). Hal and Scott weren't too much into football but they both had strong legs which could send a can out on Main Street. Those were the days My Friends and like the Song says, We Really "Didn't Think They Would Ever End." But as we get older we discovered that our short existence on earth is merely a weekend in God's eternal plan and Scott and his family had to deal with it on earth and Scott is undoubtedly doing what he has been trained to do while his Class of Juab High pal-Hal went to war with the 9th Infantry Division in a foreign land that most students still don't know about. Scott became a Utah Highway Patrol Trooper and a good one at that. And so did another friend and Class of 64 buddy-Mike Royce who not only served in Viet Nam, but convinced Hal Jones if they were going to buy one of those brand new Honda 50's, Hal would have to find a real job as the "Serv" won't take candy bars as money. Hal started working dam hard and still does at 80 plus! A bunch of those very great friends consisted of John Lomax, who became one of the best Undercover Cops Utah ever had, then Leon Pexton, who eventually became refined with his intelligent abiity and became an Excellent Mayor of Nephi. Mike also became a State Trooper and renowned pilot like Leon and all the Pextons. He used to  fly Governor Matteson around and also assisted me in a flight to the Northwest to bring back a Fugitive Cop Killer, and the bad guy got nervous when Capt. Royce did some circling around a dense forest in Idaho and when I put my hand on the door, our bad guy had to sit in his own ......Diaper, as I had him chained down. Then came Carl Parkin or Frank to his widow, but everybody else in Nephi called him "Chopper", and what a cut-up he was, who turned to be an excellent Army Man stationed in Germany, then artist; wood turner and just an all round friend for life. Scott was the one that made sure they would all get together once a month and have dinner together, and on a couple occasions, this no-account Jones kid had the privilege of meeting them at a secret fishing hole for all the Nephi buddies and their spouses and even though both Chopper and Scott would be hit with paralyzing diseases, neither of them complained but accepted it as a part of life, and with Scott, I joined Hal when we would pick him up for a lunch or when confined to a bed or mobile chair never complained even when his mother was tragically killed in a car wreck or other medical issues in the family. We give Thanks and Celebrate the Life and Times of He would would become the Savior of all of us. We pay special tribute to Scott Sparks as one who will be crowned as a "Great Cop"  and his wife will undoubtedly be crowned one of God's Top People. Scott, You Did Well, but don't send any more of  Fub Hebbler's spinners up here! They get snagged on the wings of our Guardian Angels.

G. B. JONES-ONCE OF UTAH, WON'T BE RACING THE 2026 IDITAROD IN ALASKA

I know, I know, it is a difficult thing to accept, but his siblings down here in the Lower 48 will miss G.B. not pursing the Red Lantern at next year's Iditarod. That race is more or less the distance of 1049 miles, and various rules apply to the management and care of the dogs, and needless to say it is not just a weekend 5-K for the Musher or the Mutts. In Nephi, Utah, where Gary grew up and still calls it his hometown, he has been told by all of us that his town is not what it used to be when he graduated in 1966. In Alaska-the last frontier, there is no other sports quite like the Iditarod. To us folks down here in Ruralville, working or Little League is a critical thing to start off with, and although we no longer have the great dirt roads we used to, a good family like the Wright's in Beaver County, Utah still does and have the biggest rodeo fans in the lower 48, and some of us just returned from Las Vegas, where we watched three brothers take Championship buckles home, and a million dollars of cold hard cash. What the boys may have forgot, however, is they left their wives and sisters at home to take care of the horses and cattle while they are hitting rodeos, and they- more than City Slickers have earned their rightful share of the profits! G.B. has raced in several of the Iditarod races, and as may be noted by an attached Utah paper clipping, he has an absolute love for those dogs he trained and ran with, and did so without money from the big profit folks that we often see other professionals get addicted to. As such, he is the idol of school kids, and a gifted speaker. When any of G.B's dogs wear out, he will give them to a proper home or other Musher and did send "Nick" home to his sister here in Nephi. In his spare time, he is a writer of books that motivates the best in all of us, and his latest one may hit home with many in "The Man From Booger Hollow" and available at: AlaskanGardens.com or contact GB directly at GBJones@gmail.com. When he grew up down here he won various accolades as a gifted speaker, winning in speech and written contests. Back then he was known as Gary B. Jones; then when he hit the blizzards of The Last Frontier, he went with G.B. Jones, and now with his latest book, he uses his full name of Gary Bryan Jones. Many of the folks here remember he was the Jones Boy who was born with a gift to be a Musher, as he grew up in a barn, where he took care of chickens, ducks; miniature bovines, horses, swine and started us in the sheep business. When he went in the United States Army,  he sat right up front to be the gifted Ranger he was during the Era we called Viet Nam, but us teenagers at Juab High, we didn't know where Japan or Korea was, even though we had recent wars with those countries too. G.B. was then called up in the National Guard to be on Stand By for the first Middle East War, but that war was over before those folks had finished their cup of shai or Mint tea. That's a Rap!

PIRATES OF PENZANCE-A REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE ON THE ROAD TO GUNNISON

While driving on the road to Gunnison, we saw two boys walking close together and tried to figure out who they were and why the older one was scaring looking with a patch over one eye. Making it more concerning, we couldn't tell if the kid carried a sword or axe of the Nobleman of England. By golly, those two young whippersnappers were my young nephews who lived in downtown Centerfield,Utah, kids of Matt and Kami Hansen. We stopped to chat. It wasn't Halloween so we asked Wyatt what the heck he was doing dragging his little brother Brayden off to. Wyatt responding by saying they were heading to the Gunnison School to be in Pirates of Penzance. So, they jumped aboard our ship and we all went to watch Pirates of Penzance, while they listened to my ghostly story of the time I spent in Penzance, but not a Pirate did I see, but viewed many a barnacle on the faces of wrenched people working in the Tin mines there. I told Wyatt in a gastly manner he better act his part goodly or the Barnacle Woman would snag him for sure. The play was a delightful experience, and so difficult to think it has now been ONE complete Score ago they put that play on. A Score is an old English word, as I threw that 20 year term in as Penzance and the people of that Cornwall area is whence the blood of the Nephi Jones family dwelled before they jumped on ships to downtown Mormonville.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE A 100 YEARS OLD " D0N'T ACT YOUR AGE".

While sitting at the hospital waiting to see if I am dead or alive, I decided to pick up a People Magazine That wasn't quite my cup of tea, but was intrigued with the Wit and Wisdom of Dick Van Dyke, who is turning 100 years old. His simple, but sound secret was "Don't act your age!" I was so lured in to reading about his advice, so I had to read further. He and his first wife were married in 1948, and when he came home to their small apartment, he found his belongings were out on the highway. Dick then called his buddy Ted Danson, and Carl Reiner hooked him up with Mary Tyler Moore in 1961 and their show was a hit and went on to star with Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins in 1964; Chitty Bang Bang in 1968 and his success continued. He then married his second wife and had four kids, but that wife died of Cancer, so his charms picked up his forever wife-Arlene Silver, who was 46 years younger. When they were asked how that matched up, she called her husband of 13 years "the best human being I've ever met". And Dick says "she is responsible for keeping me in the moment". Dick also says that his many years could be related to his positive attitude "I've always thought that anger is one thing that eats up a person's insides-and hate-and I have never was able to work up a feeling of hate." He also said his good humor may have started in high school, when he got elected to be the junior class president, and "I wasn't even on the ballot. I was the class clown, so made people laugh". So that is the total good parts I found in this magazine, but will credit two photos of Mr. Van Dyke who also said "Emotionally I'm about 13, and she(Arlene) is responsible for keeping me in the moment and alive every day. Thank God for that."

Now if one was to ask Hal Harris Jones of Nephi, Utah, how he was planning to continue to celebrate his 80th BD of last week, it was at the Rodeo Finals in Vegas, and itching to get home and ride his Harley. I told him instead of buying more Harley Shirts and caps, how about some motorcycle chains for those tires. He said "Nope, I got roll bars that push me right back up straight". If one can live to be an old geezer and still have the fun of being young, then you have it made.

IF OLD BLOOD AND GUTS REALLY SAID THIS, PERHAPS WE SHOULD TAKE NOTES

GENERAL PATTON BECAME FAMOUS DURING WORLD WAR TWO AND AVOIDED DEATH OR INJURY IN HIS PURSUIT OF THE NAZI, BUT WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER, HE CELEBRATED IN A HOTEL THAT EVENTUALLY BECAME KNOW AS HOTEL GEORGE PATTON. HE WAS KILLED BY A RUN AWAY VEHICLE COMING DOWN THE STREET. SO YEARS LATER, I HAD TO GO ASCERTAIN THE REPORTED FACTS, AND THE NEWS REPORTS BACK THEN........WERE PRETTY DARN CORRECT.

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MORE PHOTOS OF NEPHI JONES FAMILY SINCE THEY FIRST ARRIVED IN 1852

We have shown a couple of these photos before, but will throw in a couple more here. The Ones below show photo should be the Fourth Generation of Boys including Hal, Weston, Gary and Kent. We are assigned to twiddle our thumbs and keep quiet as Dad was bringing the new baby home from the Juab County Hospital. We were stupid back then as we were hoping for a boy. Glad God knows better, as the average age of these old duffers' is 80 and only gals take care of people that old. Hard to believe but true. We were glad as we would eventually need help, and Jaynette arrived, who like her sister/cousin-Tara Garrett, she can outdo her brothers work ethic as well as Jaynette. In fact I had to call her this morning to have her to change my 8-Track.Then their should be one of Hal carrying two buckets of lime to help Dad plaster another home. Then the four boys dressed up(finally) with Jaynette taking the photo of  her marriage of 1975; then the four boys in Vegas, then one of two deer on the Jeeps. Then  Guess who got them and was able to get Lori?  It just ain't right to have gals dressed up or dressed down like that., so we all gave her some orange things to put on. It made Weston so mad he started riding bulls at the "Pale Face Stampede"!

SINCE WE LEFT VEGAS, NO DOLLARS TO BET, BUT THINK STETSON WRIGHT WILL BE THE ALL ROUND COWBOY TONIGHT

It is with great hope, but my guess we can all enjoy watching one of the best sports in these the United States of America.That is rodeo, and my love for it started as a kid at the Ute Stampede. The Nephi Jones boys wanted to be on those bucking horses and mean bulls that take no.....bull..... from the riders. That is when we had Chuck Parkinson as the announcer, who had a deep and resounding affect for all of us. When Bob Garrett took Cotton Rosser to visit Sherm Jones, both Sherm and Cotton Rosser cried during their hug. Cotton Rosser was a great leader. He reminds me of John Wayne, who was a loving father to a herd of kids, but was a tough cowboy on the silver screen to rope in the bad guys, but was good enough to promote those young pups who wanted to make it to the level of Marion Robert Morrison, but it took John Wayne more than 100 films to have the wanna be's to be John Wayne! The Nephi Jones kids have been going to the Rodeo Finals in Vegas for about a quarter of a century. The Ute Stampede is still the cream of the crop, but it was good to see one of the mean animals belonging to the Flying U. Although I often type whatever comes to my heart or damaged brain, I just type like my mother taught me at age 12. Anywho, back to rodeo. Nephi folks have elected and selected leaders who wish to get rid of the farms and get their water to make money on the big bucks from people who want to live here, but it seems they want it like China, which has homes or huts upon homes, with little support. I was walking down the street of Kowloon Tong, China, and I got nervous. I could almost swear dam it, but I won't....but if they find me dead my obit reading should be; "found dead in China being crushed by plaster mixed in with dead Carps!" Oh well, good to be home. Now back to the rodeo. I am no longer into loud noise(too many blows to my brain-Subdural Hematomas), so we find a big screen in Vegas and watch from there. But if you have a computer, one can locate the avenue of the PRCA final rodeo. Or if you got the dough you can purchase the Cowboy Chanel but I don't have the dough or desire to listen to the yacking noise of the announcers. But if all goes well tonight, Stetson Wright will continue to be the best Cowboy in the world. And two other Wright boys are right behind him. Their old man is Cody Wright and he is the computer expert to tell the kids how the horse or bull will act once they are let out the gate. I met him several years ago at Strawberry Days. Stetson Wright was the All-Round Champion last year and although he was in Vegas to cheer other Wrights on, he had already been the Champion. The winners are those who have rode their bucking animals and the money that goes with it. I don't understand how they determine the Average of the rides, as it is Greek to me. We like the Wrights from Beaver as well as Hayes Weight from downtown Goshen, Utah. Our Nephew's wife is Karen Tew Jones, and a cousin to Hayes as well as going back to Nephi, J. Ivan Tew was an old town Bishop of the North Ward and a great carpenter, but knowing Ivan, he just may do one of those ghost whispers to Hayes.."don't get on that dam bull".  We support him and the Right Wrights who do rodeo and farming in a great small town, like what Nephi used to be! In Saddle Buck, Ryder is in first place and earned $358,947; 3rd in the world is Stetson Wright with $345,855 and second place is Statler. Last night the three of them won nearly 100 thousand dollars. That will feed their horses and cattles though the winter. If you have never been to the Finals, plan on next year. It is once in a lifetime deal. My hat goes off to the wives and sisters while their Men are out making money, they are the ones that really work their....!!! off. 

 

IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, DEC. 7TH WILL ALWAYS BE A SPECIAL DAY.

On Dec. 7th, 1941, the Japanese Empire showed they didn't like the United States, and directed Japan's military to bomb and destroy the United States, starting with hitting the US war ships that were setting ducks in Hawaii. While President FDR made his speech to Congress, the United States was given permission to retaliate against the Japanese, and in so doing, one of the leaders of the Japanese said something like "I am afraid that we have woke up a Sleeping Giant" and the US did things that made us all nervous. People that were living in America but with Japanese blood or DNA were rounded up and placed in prison like Compounds, and only history may tell us of the necessity of doing that. Eventually, we won the war against Hirohito as well as Hitler in Germany, but all of that is another story. To the Nephi Jones Family, Dec. 7th brings another Bomb Shell, and indications are he was one of the good guys who would be called to serve a 30 month mission to China, then to the Philippine's because of riots in downtown Kowloon Tong, then when he got home to rest, he was hit with a real live bomb with no time to sit under the cherry tree with a stick rolling in his mouth He was drafted into the Army to fight another battle in a place referred to as Viet Nam. Like his father before him, Hal Harris Jones became a skilled Medic who not only saved many life's of his own countrymen, but ended up having to kill enemy's who were the from South Viet Nam. He picked his buddies machine gun and killed them all. The enemy had previously fought the French and France should have been contacted , but State Department apparently failed, at least that is what I was told when I spent some time in Nam. While thousands of we the good guys were running around, the enemy was living in deep tunnels, and set up to be like gophers, coming up through tunnels to kill us. Hal could have been carrying 3 Purple Hearts, but refused them and only wanted to help his buddies as a medic, but several tines this quite young Nephite was hit while he was pulling his Medic partner, who was killed. Hal remains with PTSD or Shell Shock, so when we eat out, we have to put him in a corner so nobody touches him, and he still has the thoughts of killing others t save his buddies. To this day, he still wakes up to the bad things such as killing the enemy with his surgical scalpel, or picking up a machine gun to kill the enemy coming to kill him. Well, he made it back home, but went to work at Greenwoods retreading tires, then to college and received his papers a  became a Medic and many years at the Tooele Army Depot as well as doing part time work for folks, many of which had those dam dogs that would jump on him while he was trying to find a vein on the arm. Hal now carries a concealed weapon so I will say no more, other than he is a dam good man and wears wrist metals to remind him of the three men that were killed next to him. He just returned from the Rodeo Finals in Vegas and decided not to ride the Bull named "VC" .

PHOTOS OF NEPHI JONES BOYS ON DEER HUNTS OF YESTERYEAR

In the past, Nephi and Juab County was the place to get your deer, then bottle it and keep for dinner throughout the Winter. That is not the case of today, as most deer we see-would be in the Zoo. Although the State Game Rangers would contest it, that just may deny that, as they don't get their funds from the State Legislators, but they keep increasing the cost of deer tags and they even give blind people the right to shoot a deer, as long as they have a Deer Tag and a co-partner to pull the trigger. In addition, they push for heavy penalties if you shoot a deer if they cross the road to get a deer in a premium hunt where the hunters and the State DWR gives thousands and thousand's to the land owner, and many years ago, one farmer showed me photo's of deer eating his corn and he would get a large check from the DWR. He said he makes more money that way instead of feeding corn to his cattle. Dishonest he was. Perhaps that is why many of the Fish Cops never did like me, as I was once was in the Capacity of a Administrative Law Judge and after traveling to the west desert where an adult hunter and his son inadvertently shot a monster deer and the Judge gave him a fine of thousands for restitution and sent him to prison. When I handled the case, I dropped the restitution and released the man from prison. It was then that I compared that on many of the dishonest Politician's I had to deal with in my 46 years. I also place blame on the people and business owners who speed fast in Nephi Canyon and the deer are killed by speeding cars. And at least one Developer is making plans to have more homes in the canyon, and that will cause more death and destruction when the deer come down for a drink in Nebo Creek. I have asked if the State; Juab and Sanpete County Sheriff" to put a muzzle on the speed and noise,  but it was like talking to a deer dead on the road, that couldn't understand the words of "Dam" and Hell. Jimmy Ockey Jr. has a rough time getting in and out of his home as to many people are using home in Sanpete- where the Governor has been promoting more homes to get drivers closer to their Utah County jobs. The south end of Nephi and the golf course used to be the winter feeding grounds for deer, but my co-horts at Nephi City were not going to upset the apple Cart. With all that said, the Jones Boys still go on the deer hunt, but don't buy licenses or even take guns. Years ago, it was the deer hunters that put pressure on Utah Legislators' to change the law in order to protect the Does. That saved the deer for awhile until Game Wardens changed the law to lower the shooting age of kids. Although that helped, we took a photo of a Dad with his kids gun and shot the deer. No, we didn't report him but we told the Fish and Game and he signed a note we could have it, as we did, and out Mother was happy to have more food to wrap and give to locals that loved it. Wish their were more of  the Erma Garretts; Clead Blackett and Irv Jarett around who loved Venison! Below should be some photos of those we legally shot deer in the past, and we forced the Fish and Game to not shoot Does and it was local hunters that pushed it through to the State Legislators. The photo clearly shows Weston Jones is in Dire Straits. He has been hunting deer with brothers; sister and sons and grandkids for 80 yeas or so, and never ever cleaned a deer, so the brothers forced him in to it.  A Fish Cop was coming up he road, and none of us would even tag the buck. After unloading a wheel barrow of Bullshit, Weston finally tagged and cleared it up. We later had to laugh when he went to his work buddies and bragged it was the biggest 8 pointer he ever shot. All together, we all shouted "Bullshit" as the Fish and Game guy came up and he thought we were joking when we asked him if he would gut it for the "Old Man". Another photo shows Weston's kids on top of the fruit cellar, and three Jones Boys shot the three bucks, all with handguns and each one was "Kinda by Pole". One photo is of Alma Jones and his four sons, who are now at the age of Dad, who died at 84, and each of his kids are no longer hunting as we the people have killed the deer off with shooting them or too many speeders who kill them on the many asphalt roads we have. Come and gaze at the wild beasts we have on God's green earth and go back to protecting their winter feeding grounds. We now know what our Ancient Ones were forced out of our area by we he Palefaces.

DALLIN HARRIS OAKS WILL BE THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE LDS CHURCH

At the next General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, members will be asked to raise their hand to make the Call from God to be His right hand man on earth. It doesn't really matter how many "Pain in the Butts" Stupidos vote against him, God is the one with all the Marbles, and it is only He that can alter things including knowing all things. I have a hard time figuring out my hand phone, let alone to hear a silent but well heard prayer from a soldier stuck in a Foxhole, or a man on the street that is not looking for a hand-out, but a Hand Up. I do know one thing for sure, Dallin Oaks will be one heck of a good teacher! And brother Hal can second that motion as he was there. Both Hal and I had more part-time jobs along with trying to be full time Dads, but we would deliver furniture and other goods in the ZCMI Trucks that were often seen in Mormonville! That stood for Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution. The Board of Directors were the Apostles of the Church, and a proper way to help fund those Church callings that were a full time ordeal. We were in the area of where the house was, but had no cell phones in those days and the Fire Chief didn't like us sending smoke signals to home base. And when on the Nephi City Council, I lead the fight against a Developer who wanted to name all the streets after his family. It was always a hard fight to explain simple things to "complicated" people, but swayed them over, as a new kid in town would eat the pizza before he was able to get it to the proper family. Back to the story. Hal was driving and I told him that he was on the right street and we got the right home in view. We were to deliver a Corner Curio or whatever they call it, and I knew somewhat about the name on the Traveling Document, so we waited until Oaks and his wife drove in. We put the Curio as directed by his first wife who died from Cancer. Once in place, I casually spoke his name out loud, and said, "Hey, Wait a Minute. You are the one that signed my  Degree from a University down the road. He quickly jumped in and said he used to be the President of BYU. So I couldn't help it, I said something like " I had more than just an undergraduate degree and my brother there has been to college; served a 30 month LDS Mission and upfront kill zone in Nam" Oaks jumped like he had a burr under his saddle, and he said something like "Young man, every job in the world is an important part of the whole of all." He didn't stop there and kept it up. And by golly good gum drops, we both learned a valuable lesson from that, and I figured I am not going to admit that these two Jones Boys both worked jobs to help others, with Hal a forever and great Medic, and me in law enforcement. We joked about that incident coming back from Rodeo Finals in Vegas. My brother and I fish together, and last year he noticed a lady had fallen in rocks and Hal was going down to help. Hal knew his job and I did mine in trying to avoid racers driving like "A Bat Out Of Hell". I am sorry for that, but you all knew it had to come out. Hal knew it was not serious, but he took his work serious. So both Hal and I will take off our cowboy hats and honor President Oaks. And I also saw his work while he was on the Utah Supreme Court and was considered for the DC arena. God Knows Best, and saved the Best for Perhaps the Last. Tennessee Ernie Ford sang "Have Faith, Hope and Charity, That is the way to live successfully. Yup.

THE WRIGHT MORMON BOYS ARE IN VEGAS

You don't have to be a Mormon to be a Rodeo Champ, but it didn't hurt the Mormon Boxing Champs of West Jordan of yesteryear, The Nephi Jones Boys will be there cheering the Utah Boys on. If you are going to be there at the Arena, wear ear puffs as the noise is as bad there as the construction guys putting in the corners of Nephi Main Street; then jackhammer their mistakes again and again. Perhaps in their off Season the Beaver  County Wright Family can lay cement the right Way, or Maybe President Trump can make a visit and turn Nephi back into a horse and buggy town with no illegals or crime,                                                                      

                                                                 And a great kid from Goshen