Roller Derby Report: Junction City Roller Dolls Season Finale

[Alt-Sports] Their 2008 season really only consisted of two expo bouts, but Ogden's new Junction City Roller Dolls flat-track roller derby league has established itself well for only being existence since June; we're still waiting to hear from Weber County's other derby league, the O-Town Derby Dames (formerly Davis Derby Dames).

Around 200 spectators showed up at Layton's Classic Skating last night to gnaw on cheap pizza and see the JCRD's theme bout, 28 Skates Later (Zombies vs. Military), refereed by volunteer Salt City Derby Girls officials on loan from the league down south. Impressive jamming by Killa Patra, Miss Take and Slayer Cake jacked the final score into the triple digits, ending with the Military defeating the Zombies 144-141 in a tight, seesawing battle in the second period.

The Junction City Derby Dolls say they'll be back in 2009 with a full season, maybe even taking on the more experienced Salt City Derby Girls. Isn't it about time for a taxpayer-funded roller derby stadium?

(Bill Frost)

Ogden Election Brouhaha

[Elections] Ogden's election brouhaha has caught the attention of a national voting rights researcher.

In his blog, Scott Novakowski, a researcher for the democracy promoting organization Demos, points to Ogden's confusing November mayor election as further evidence that the country’s voting system remains broken, particularly when it comes to use of provisional ballots.

The Ogden mayor’s race was thrown into confusion when supporters of Mayor Matthew Godfrey submitted long lists of names to Weber County election officials challenging the right of hundreds of would-be voters to vote. The ACLU of Utah is currently investigating complaints that Ogden voters may have been turned away from the polls without the opportunity to cast a ballot.

As Novakowski points out in his blog, under 2002’s Help America Vote Act, everyone whose right to vote is challenged at the polls is supposed to be offered a “provisional” ballot.

“Under the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) states must offer "fail-safe" provisional ballots to all individuals who believe they are registered to vote but whose names do not appear on the rolls, who do not meet identification requirements, or whose eligibility is challenged at the polls. Such ballots are counted if election officials subsequently determine that the individual was a legitimate voter under state law.”

But, writes Novakowski, it isn’t unusual for election officials and poll workers to refuse provisional ballots--in large part because those running elections don't understand how the system is supposed to work.

In a report he completed this month for Demos, A Fallible 'Fail-Safe': An Analysis of Provisional Balloting Problems in the 2006 Election, Novakowski found problems with provisional ballots used nationwide during the 2006 election. Voter registration lists continued to be inaccurate during that election, meaning people that should have been on voter lists weren't. And a large percentage of complaints coming from that election were from voters denied a provisional ballot.

A bigger a problem may be “vague and inconsistent” standards adopted by states for when provisional ballots are counted, the Demos report says. While federal law sets a minimum standard for counting provisional ballots, many states established stricter rules that mean many provisional votes get tossed even after election officials determine the person casting the provisional vote should have been allowed to vote a regular ballot in the first place. Utah is listed among 13 states with rules, “that can create a significant, high, or very high risk of voting list error.”

Among Demos’ recommendations to fix the provisional ballot problem is for states to get rid of provisional ballots altogether—by passing election day registration laws. One such law will be proposed in January during the next session of the Utah Legislature. The sponsor is Democratic Rep. Neil Hansen, who—perhaps not coincidentally—represents Ogden. (Ted McDonough)

Good Godfrey!

[Politics] The votes have finally been counted, and Ogden mayor Matthew Godfrey has been re-elected for another term. We go now live to his victory celebration ...



(Bill Frost)

Bo More Mr. Bice Guy

Kelly Clarkson popped out a couple catchy hits. Clay Aiken somehow managed to morph into a creepier version of an Extreme Makeover candidate, and Taylor Hicks sang in a car commercial. From what I last heard was also ruling Hell, that silver-haired devil.

American Idolers each have to have their token "thing" they do. For Bo Bice it was long chestnut locks, neatly trimmed facial hair and a Rock & Roll attitude to match. Not only that, he was the first of the older folks performing on American Idol tapping in at a senile 28 years old.

But did Bo Bice have what it took to play at the Outlaw Saloon in Ogden? Um...I hope so, because Ogden is more than five miles away from my house and I had to sell a kidney to pay for gas to get up there.

Per the State Governor, May 24th is officially Bo Bice day in Alabama. Was it a coincidence that I would be seeing him at The Outlaw Saloon on his official day? I think fate is more like it.

The drive up was road construction riddled and that automatically scrambled my brain, causing me to surpass Ogden. It was either that or a sign that I had no business being in such a city.

As I turned around and made it off on the correct exit, the Outlaw loomed before me. The fact that it was right off the exit right next to a Flying J should have been warning enough.

Generally most stories that end badly start with "So I stopped at this country bar right off a freeway exit in a town that is completely foreign to me."

I could hear the foreboding life's soundtrack music playing in my head as I slowly made my way into the parking lot. A cowboyed male was there knocking back a tallboy in preparation for the show.

My Nissan boldly stated you’re not from round here in a sea of Fords and Chevy trucks. I parked next to, yes, a barbwire fence scenically overlooking, more road construction as daylight started quickly shifting to night.

I had a flashback of the movie From Dusk Till Dawn and was wondering if people ever truly knew how they would meet their demise based off of movie watching experience.

My counterpart for the night was wearing T-shirt of comedian Bill Hicks. Little did he become aware until we were walking to the building that this T-shirt merely had a picture of Bill Hicks on it, and simply read at the bottom:

HICKS.

And yet we still kept going. From what I was able to size up of the Outlaw, it was set up like a steak house but I had only made it as far as the cash register when confusion set in to all that needed to help me.

I tried multiple times to explain I was from City Weekly. Over the din they yelled "What? City Weekly is giving away free tickets too?" "Wait, what, City Weekly is not a radio station I ever heard of."

I reiterated several times that City Weekly was a paper, not a radio station, and that they were not giving away free tickets, I was writing an article for the show.

This is where it takes an army of people to start asking me questions about this elusive "City Weekly" paper from the Big Country that I must have been telling fables about.

The confusion became such a vast deep hole of disbelief that I said "I am going to make a few calls, be right back" which was countered with "I think that might be a good idea."

Seeing Bo Bice in concert was more difficult than getting into the White House.

As my counterpart and I sat down in the lobby, the irony of the situation grew thicker than an Ogden accent when we looked to our right at a stack of City Weekly newspapers sitting there for any patron or employee to pick up on their way in or out.

Through my barrage of phone calls, I think that cell phones become possessed in Ogden. I was calling and texting eight people in my car (where we could freely laugh and poke fun without fear of getting punched) nobody answered their calls or text messages.

Not only was it Bo Bice day, it was Nobody Answer Their Phone day.

I kept counting down the time from the moment we got there, "Well we have 1 hour and 20 minutes til the show starts.” “ It’s OK, we have one hour and two minutes" "Looks like we have 48 minutes to figure this out." Thus panning this night out to be about the most non-action equivalent of the show 24 that anyone would never see.

We figured if the cowboy in the parking lot could drink beer, then damnit, the people who couldn't even talk their way into a Bo Bice show when there were only forty people inside could do it too.

Beginning the most purposeful move of the night. The trek to the Flying J.

After pondering on whether or not to purchase a sleeveless T-shirt to further our chances to get into the show and picking up a six-pack of beer, the parking lot beer drinking car sitting commenced.

I am about the wussiest rule breaker you will ever meet. I felt like a bad 16-year-old about to get busted for alcohol consumption on school property, looking around and taking quick sips.

Since we had made the journey out there, it was worth getting out of the car to get some photos, which we did. And then the door man came out to ask us if we were coming or going.

He was essentially the nicest, and probably most intelligent person I had met at my brief stint in Ogden.

I am thinking maybe next year in honor of Bo Bice going back to Ogden, drinking a beer in the Outlaw Saloon parking lot and pouring a bit of it out in honor of my American Idol homies.
(Dominique LaJeunesse)