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KNEU 1250Goodbyes are in order for a dilapidated former business located on Highway 40 in Roosevelt. Roosevelt City announced last week that Western Hills Motel is scheduled for demolition the first week of January. Construction fence is in place around the perimeter and crews have started work removing items of value. The Western Hills Motel is in disrepair and has been unoccupied for several years, drawing criminal activity.
It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child. Well Vernal Middle School has found a unique way to encourage excellence on a daily basis. The school is spending the year on the theme of “Focus on the ‘Wildly’ Important” and the school’s Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) committee have come up with WISE tickets.
Generosity has flowed through communities in the Basin this Christmas season. Several deeds out of Duchesne County highlighted on social media recently include the following: The Duchesne County Food Pantry was especially blessed with donations, with over 2800 pounds of food from Roosevelt Junior High, 736 pounds from Union High Students, 410 pounds from Crescent Point, and over 3000 pounds from Uintah Basin Healthcare. Many wonderful volunteers gave their time to the pantries. Uintah Basin Healthcare identified four groups that gave to the hospital: The Hales family donated tiles and swaddling blankets for those who experience an infant loss. There were arm loads of hand-made blankets for patients in Med-Surg from Western Ag Credit. The William family delivered gifts to pediatric patients for “Random Acts of Kindness for Rozee” honoring their angel baby girl. And a $200 dollar donation was given to the hospice team from Utah Power Credit Union to go towards their “sunshine baskets” that they give to grieving families who lose a loved one. And finally, Roosevelt City Police Department reported that the Basin Quilters Guild recently donated a large number of small quilts for officers to give to children involved in accidents or traumatic events.
The Division of Wildlife Resources is seeking the public’s help in identifying poachers reported recently in the Book Cliffs. According to a press release shared earlier this month, officers responded to a report on December 1st of an elk that had been shot and abandoned within view of Seep Ridge Road south of Vernal. Investigation revealed that two elk had been killed between November 28th and 30th, with only one being removed from the kill site. Officers are seeking to identify the person or persons responsible. Anyone with information about this or any other wildlife violation are asked to contact the Turn in a Poacher Hotline at 1-800-662-3337.
Are you aware that the majority of live Christmas trees come from outside the state? That means that we have little migrating friends that come along for a ride from out of state. Officials from Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) are asking the public to be on the lookout for invasive insect species in their Christmas trees, very specifically the gypsy moth and pine shoot beetle.
For the last 30 years, community members in the Vernal area have ensured that anyone in need of a hot Christmas dinner is sure to receive one. The Helping Hands Christmas Dinner was organized to take over on the one night a year that all the employees for Meals On Wheels have off. It has grown over the years to include any household in the community in need of a hot Christmas meal. The Ashley Valley Calvary Chapel took over the effort about 18 years ago and it has continued to grow, shares coordinator Christina Daggett. Headquartered at Western Park on December 24th, many in the community donate and volunteer to pull off the cooking and delivering of the Christmas dinner each year. Volunteers willing to help deliver the meals are asked to meet at 4:00pm at the Western Park on December 24th. Nominations for households in need of a meal are also still welcome. To nominate or for more information, call 435-828-0016.
One-third of Americans will travel this holiday, according to AAA. This will make for some very busy highways, in fact the most since AAA has started tracking holiday travel. The amount of travelers hitting the runways, roads, and rails is a record breaking 112.5 million, up 4.4 percent over last year. “Tis the season for holiday travel, and more Americans than ever will journey to spend time with friends and family or choose to take a vacation,” shares Bryan Shilling, AAA managing director. “Strong economic growth fueled by robust consumer spending continues to drive strong demand for seasonal travel. With a record-breaking one-third of the country choosing to travel this holiday, roadways and airports are sure to be busy.” For locals that are traveling, please be safe. “The Utah Highway Patrol wishes everyone a happy holidays! Please remember to check the air in your tires, buckle up, and have a designated driver if you drink,”urges Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Kellie Oaks. “We appreciate the support we have received from the community this year. We are so happy to serve you.”
David Archuleta wowed a sold out crowd on Thursday night at the Vernal Middle School at his second to last show on his ‘Winter In The Air’ Christmas tour which finishes tomorrow night in Richfield. His tour hit cities in California, Colorado, Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, New York, and Connecticut, before finishing up with these final two Utah shows.
On Saturday, December 1st, the Uintah County Commission hired Lance Dean to be the County’s first managing public defender. A press release issued on Thursday explains that the position is part of the restructure and improvements to the Uintah Basin’s indigent defense system. The Utah Indigent Defense Commission has given a grant to Daggett, Duchesne, and Uintah Counties to help improve legal services for representation in criminal cases and juvenile court proceedings for individuals unable to afford it. The goal of the new indigent defense is to be able to hire more attorneys to reduce caseloads and more fully protect the 6th Amendment rights of indigent individual, shares the press release. In the past, Uintah County had fewer then five bids from prospective public defenders. Dean was able to take a few minutes at a legal conference to talk about the need for qualified, committed public defenders in our area and with the grant, the number of applicants jumped to 30. “From that pool of 30 lawyers who submitted proposals, we chose a handful of highly qualified attorneys to begin building our program,” shares Dean. Dean’s managing public defender position has him building the program as well as representing all indigent defendants in Uintah County Justice Court, 8th District Court in Daggett County, and Uintah County Drug Court unless a conflict of interest is identified. This is in hopes to reduce the caseloads for the contract public defenders.
One of the great adventures in the Uintah Basin is to river trip down the Green or Yampa River. People travel from all over to take part of this wild ride and view the beautiful scenery. For those businesses that rely on these trips take note. The 2019 High Use Season lottery opened on Saturday, December 1st and is open until January 31st. For those unaware, if you plan to guide a multi-day river trip down the Green or Yampa River a special pass is required and is only available through the lottery. All applications must be submitted through Recreation.gov. The results can be expected in mid-February.
Family and friends are mourning the passing of a valued member of the Vernal community. According to a press release from Idaho’s Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland, the Bingham County Dispatch Center was advised of a plane crash by the Aberdeen Airport on Monday at around 9:15am. “Officers from Aberdeen Police and Bingham County Dispatch Center were dispatched to the scene,” shares Sheriff Rowland.
The 4th annual Sub for Seniors Christmas drive has been the most successful year, to date. The first year brought cheer to 75 senior households while this year Sub for Seniors is going to help over 200. “Our team of volunteers are humbled and left without words to describe our gratitude for our community, near and far, for the support and for helping us provide for 200 deserving and forgotten people,” shares coordinator Tiffany Henline.