Anti-smoking crusader motivated by personal loss

SPRINGVILLE — Logan Jones still doesn't have the nerve to tell his mother he's a founding member of an anti-tobacco group.

It's not like they talk much anyway.

Sometimes, like this year, she'll call on his birthday. Then he won't hear from her for months.

In fact, Logan can't even remember what she looks like anymore.

Ten years ago she left 6-year-old Logan and his younger twin sisters for the drug and alcohol life. And she probably still smokes, he says matter-of-factly.

Then, four years after his mom left, Logan's dad died of pneumonia — lung complications caused by secondhand smoke. The 42-year-old father hadn't smoked a day in his life but worked with people who did, Logan said.

Smoking may have taken two people from Logan, but it left him with a magnetic resolve to create something positive from his losses.

"When we … hear of people who have cancer, (or) meet kids who've lost a mom or dad to lung cancer, (this is) our way of saying 'We are trying to do something about this,' " said Logan, who lives with his grandmother in Springville. "It's kind of a driving force."

But point out Logan's maturity or incredible sense of responsibility and the 16-year-old is quick to deflect the praise.

After all, he's only one member of OUTRAGE, the group of Utah County teens working to clear the air and spread the word.

"Everyone in the group has a pretty powerful story," Logan said. "They're in it for a reason. They're not just there to have fun. We really go out and do stuff."

That "stuff" began when the group of dedicated teens and energetic coordinator Jen Tischler went city-to-city educating councils about why a countywide smoking ban was needed in parks and recreation areas.

It's all about protecting kids where they play, Logan said.

Then the group trouped door-to-door to get signatures supporting clean air. Over nearly two years, OUTRAGE gathered 13,474 signature cards and 5,112 opinion surveys. It paid off in November when the Utah County Board of Health approved a ban on smoking in public parks, recreation areas and any outdoor party with more than 50 people.

The win was so big, it even got the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency.

OUTRAGE recently accepted the President's Environmental Youth Award in D.C., and days later the Utah Public Health Association's Youth Group Award, Tischler said.

"I believe so much in (these kids)," she said. "I believe in the work they're doing. I'm amazed by them."

Especially Logan, who has become determined, not depressed, by his experiences.

"He can affect so many other people because of his story," Tischler said. "I'm excited to see him grow up and see what he does. He's already done so much. He turned his tragedy into a triumph."