Winner: For anyone who is sight-impaired or otherwise has trouble holding or reading a book, the Utah State Library for the blind truly is a treasure. This year, the library, which includes the world's largest Braille collection, celebrates its 75th birthday. It was set up by legislation co-sponsored by Utah Sen. Reed Smoot and receives annual federal funding.
Few people read Braille these days, but the library has a long list of reading aids that include books and newspapers on tape, read by Utah volunteers. It would be hard to calculate how many lives have been enriched and brightened by this library over the years.
Loser: A lot of folks are excited about a new horseshoe shaped skywalk that will jut over the edge of the Grand Canyon, complete with a glass bottom that provides a view 4,000 feet down. This new attraction, reported recently by KSL-TV, is the brainchild of the Hualapai Indian Nation.
We're not terribly impressed. The Grand Canyon is a breathtaking natural wonder that needs no enhancement. The horseshoe adds an element straight out of "The Fear Factor" that has the effect of turning the canyon into an amusement park thrill ride.
Winner: It's hard to comprehend what it would take to earn all 121 merit badges offered by the Boy Scouts of America. But Dallin Donaldson of Cottonwood Heights not only imagined it, he did it. That meant he had to learn everything from wilderness survival to how to sound 15 calls on a bugle.
One thing is certain, Donaldson is the guy you want with you in the wilds.