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KNEU 1250Hey last minute shoppers, are you looking for a unique Christmas gift for a loved one? The Uintah County Library has saved your day. On Saturday, December 15th, from 1pm to 5pm the library will host a “World of Words” event. Last May, eight local authors gathered to share advice, insight, and publishing tips as well as to sell their books.
Just like Tiny Tim melts the heart of Ebenezer Scrooge, the Vernal boy playing Tiny Tim in Vernal Theatre: LIVE’s production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ will melt yours as well. 8-year-old Samuel Sorenson as Tiny Tim says his favorite part of being in the show is being carried around everywhere.
The Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 2 – Agriculture Improvement Act (or Farm Bill) that recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives had some strong Utah influence and will benefit the Basin’s farmers and ranchers. Representative Rob Bishop was asked to negotiate the final version of the Farm Bill by the House Speaker Paul Ryan.
After ten years of conversation, the Western Area Power Administration and Bureau of Reclamation is testing stable flows on the Green River in their double peaking months. The Division of Wildlife Resources wants to make the most of it. The first day of rest was Saturday, December 1st. We saw a difference in catch rates as we did surveys, says Aquatics Manager Trina Hedrick. However, to make sure that the rate was because of the day of rest and not random chance, more data is need. This week the day of rest is on Sunday, December 16th, while Saturday, December 15th, is the day of double peaking, a switch from before. To really determine that there is a significant difference in catch rates, more volunteer fishermen are needed on both days.
The Hospitality Committee in Uintah County is recognizing the faces of customer service in local businesses. The newest DinaSOAR customer service award recipient is Lacey Norton. Born in Roosevelt, she started serving at the age of 15 at Wingers Restaurant. She worked there for five years and then moved to Salt Lake and then Draper. She continued to be in the service industry with Market Street Grill and Goodwood BBQ before moving back to Vernal and continuing her employment with Wingers where she has been for five years. “Wingers has always been a very comfortable place for me and I love serving there,” Lacey says, “I would go crazy sitting at a desk all day and the money isn’t bad either.” Her plans are to continue serving for a long time into the future because it allows her to meet new people everyday, a part of her job she truly enjoys. Congratulations Lacey Norton, DinaSOAR award recipient. Thank you for all you do for our community!
The cold weather is a season that has family and friends spending more times indoors. The TriCounty Health Department is reminding people to stay diligent in being aware of Carbon Monoxide. Carbon Monoxide is often referred to as the invisible killer because it is an invisible, odorless, colorless gas. This gas is created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane) burn incompletely.
Santa Claus is coming to town..for breakfast! The local Breakfast With Santa event has been going on for over 15 years and will be held once again this Saturday at the Uintah Middle School. This free gift to the community is a chance to sit down, relax, have a free breakfast with some jolly company, enjoy local talent like Brian Litton on the piano and Mindy Smith’s violin students, and snap a quick photo (if you have nimble enough fingers) of Santa before he leaves at 9:45am to go to the community recreation center.
Despite a small group of protestors gathering attention the day before, the Bureau of Land Management had its Oil and Gas Competitive Lease Sale for land primarily in the Green River District and Canyon Country District on Tuesday, December 11th, with the majority of the parcels for sale in Uintah County. The BLM reports that of the 105 parcels offered, 96 of them were sold. Of the 154,212.88 acres offered, 139,079.68 were sold. The average bid for acres sold was $20.25 and for parcel was $29,332.00. The total sum of high bids was $3,039,891.00 with the total receipts due ending at $3,040,371.00. The 2,560 acres of Parcel 155, located in Uintah County, received the highest bid per parcel. The 319.44 acres of Parcel 234, also located in Uintah County, received the highest bid per acre. Both were purchased by Baseline Minerals, Inc. out of Lakewood, Colorado. The BLM sale results summary noted that there were no disruptions of the sale but that 15 protesters were present in the Utah State Office Public Room the morning before the sale reading letters, chanting, and singing. Four of the protesters locked arms and sang in front of the door, refused to leave, and were arrested for trespassing.
Scammers don’t take a break for the holidays and Vernal Police is warning the public of a new local scam making the rounds. According to Vernal Police Department, the scam involves being contacted by a person representing themselves as being an employee of Mountain America Credit Union and requesting the last 6 digits of a social security number to verify ‘unsubstantiated activity’ on an account. “Follow up on this SCAM verified that the phone number is in fact a valid number to the Fraud Division of Mountain America Credit Union but the number has been spoofed in order to obtain personal information,” shares Vernal Police. “Contact with Mountain America Credit Union has verified that their employees would not request this personal information by phone, and this is clearly a SCAM.” All citizens are urged to protect personal information. If you are concerned you have been a victim, please contact your local Mountain America Credit Union branch for further details.
The ‘2018 Municipal Project of the Year’ from the Utah Construction and Design Magazine was awarded to Roosevelt City and Civco Engineering. The award was a result of the efforts given for the State Street project that was completed in September 2018. The project came about because a large portion of the stormwater drainage runs along State Street.
As the prices of crude oil continues to drop, creating the lowest prices in just over a year, the situation for oil producers in the Uintah Basin isn’t good. The Utah Small Business Development Center released drilling statistics that highlight the struggle. Oil sent to Salt Lake for refinement have their oil discounted to the point that it is just below break even in pricing.
Uintah High has had a tradition for the last 23 years to raise money for charities. ‘Chuck Your Change’ week includes student activities to raise money such as paying to throw a pie at a teacher, a balloon war contest, locking the student body president in a glass case for donations and so much more. This year the school decided to raise money for two charities, Special Olympics and to help a local boy named Boone.