Diligence in preserving the historic character of a building and maintaining property at an exceptional level of beauty are some of the reasons a historic building may be chosen for the new Excellence in Historic Preservation award.

The first award of this kind was recently presented to the Dean and Ann Richards family for their house located at 55 E. Center Street by the Pleasant Grove Historic Preservation Commission.

According to Les Nielsen, commission member, the commission has just instituted the award in order to honor those who take care of the historic buildings in the city. The Richards's home was built in 1870.

The home was built out of native soft rock for sawmill owner Cyrus B. Hawley. The Richards family purchased the home in the 1980s and restored it. The building is currently being used as private office space.

"We wanted to give them an honor," said Beth Olsen, commission chairperson. "They have kept it up and kept the historic look. They have restored it and kept the original appearance."

According to Olsen, the commission members decided to begin giving the honor in an effort to encourage those who are in historic homes to maintain them. "We also want to let people know that we value these older homes. They are still very useable. They can be used as businesses or homes."

The criteria for the award is that a home be considered historic -- usually at least 50 years old, according to Olsen. And it must retain its historic look and be well cared for.

"Most of the historic homes in Pleasant Grove are lived in or being used by people who appreciate them. Usually people buy those homes because they love the exterior look of them," said Olsen.

"There is such a tear-down attitude now. But these old homes are viable," Olsen said.

The commission will continue to honor homes with the award, possibly every six months, said Olsen.

News briefs

Timpanogos High School Productions Company presents "An Evening with Ahrens and Flahrety: Music at its Best" -- The Production Company at Timpanogos High School is presenting a composer review entitled "An Evening with Ahrens and Flahrety: Music at its Best" on Jan 14-15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Timpanogos High School auditorium (1450 N. 200 East. in Orem). The evening will be filled with solo, duet and group musical performances from Broadway shows including "Anastasia," "Seussical," "Ragtime," "Lucky Stiff," "Once on This Island," and many more. Admission is free.

New training center opens at Camp Williams -- The Utah National Guard will dedicate a new state-of-the-art training facility at Camp Williams today, Jan. 15, at 3 p.m.

The 80,000 square-foot structure, built by Okland Construction, will provide space for classrooms, barracks and administration, as well as function as the headquarters for the Utah Guard's 640th Regiment, Regional Training Institute.

The building will feature a memorial for Sgt. 1st Class Ronald T. Wood, a former 640th RTI instructor and Utah National Guard Soldier, who was killed in July 2005 when his humvee was struck by a roadside bomb near Kirkuk, Iraq.

Wood's family will be on hand for the dedication. The new facility increases the number of classrooms, battle laboratories and computer systems available to provide training in leadership and other specialties to National Guard, Army Reserve and active-duty Army soldiers from the 54 states and territories of the U.S.

Cancer survivors rally to support American Cancer Society -- The American Cancer Society invites individuals who want to honor cancer survivors (anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer) and caregivers, or pay tribute to those who have lost their battle with cancer to join its Relay For Life, scheduled for June 5 and 6 at Lone Peak High School in Highland.

In preparation for the event, there will be a kickoff rally Jan. 21 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the American Fork Senior Citizen Center, 54 E. Main, American Fork.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is an overnight community celebration where individuals and teams camp out, barbecue, dance, and take turns walking around a track relay style to raise funds, while celebrating the lives of those who have had cancer, remembering those lost, and fighting back against a disease that takes too much. At nightfall, participants light hundreds of luminaria around the track in a moving ceremony to honor cancer survivors as well as friends and family members lost to the disease.

To join a Relay For Life in your community, call Kandie Bodrero 801-472-9922 kbodrero@msn.com or Jan Dennison 801-492-9490 janicedennison@comcast.net , or visit www.RelayForLife.org/lehiut.