Month: August 2017

While the search will continue for the man believed to be lost in the Uinta Mountains, the effort will continue with only limited resources. “After six days of intense searching for 74-year-old Melvin Heaps, Summit County Search and Rescue will be scaling down the search,” shares the Summit County Sheriff’s Office. Search and Rescue has worked diligently and exhausted many resources in hopes of finding Melvin but now the search will only continue with limited resources. The Sheriff’s Office thanked the many agencies that assisted and asked that anyone who has or had a trail camera anywhere in the Crystal Lake area to please call 435-615-3600. 

A former Utah Highway Patrol trooper has been charged with arson in the Maeser Highway Fire that started on June 9th and burned over 2,500 acres. The Utah Attorney General’s Office charged Rex Richard Olsen with one count of Second-Degree Felony Arson as well as a second charge under Wildland Fire Prevention – Prohibited Acts, a class B misdemeanor. According to the charging document, Rex Olsen, who was a trooper at the time of starting the fire, “placed a lighted cigarette with matches just off the shoulder of a highway right of way that he knew or should have known would cause a wildland fire.” According to the investigator’s probable cause statement, physical evidence was collected consisting of a burned cigarette and match combination. “Based on training and experience, I knew this to be a delayed ignition device constructed to ignite a fire using the cigarette as a timed fuse,” shares J. Curry of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. Curry located and reviewed video evidence at a local gas station that showed Rex Olsen purchasing the type of cigarette used at the scene to start the fire. GPS based location data from Rex Olsen’s patrol car also showed that Olsen was in the area where the fire began at the time the ignition device was placed and the fire was started. When interviewed, Olsen stated that “he alone was the person responsible for intentionally igniting the Maeser fire on June 9th, and that he did so because he wanted to feel the excitement of it.” The damage caused to property, land and the expense of responding to and suppressing the fire is more than $800,000 dollars. The fire was more than a scare for many citizens with the Yellow Hills Subdivision evacuated and other neighborhoods put on evacuation watch. Strong winds made the blaze unpredictable and all local resources as well as state, BLM, Forest Service, and BIA were on hand to protect the in danger homes. The charges against Rex Olsen were filed on Tuesday, August 8th.

Information offered by a community revitalization specialist is being taken seriously by leaders and business owners in Uintah County. Utilizing funding through the state office of travel and tourism, the county, cities, chamber and business entities chipped in to fund the assessment by Roger Brooks International. 

It’s Duchesne County Fair time and the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office is doing their part to keep your family safe and having fun all week long. The Sheriff’s Office will have deputies stationed just inside the east entrance of the Duchesne County Centennial Events Center.

The Uintah County Commission approved two agenda items tied to the Sheriff’s Office during last Monday’s meeting. The first was a renewal of the cooperative agreement with the Uintah Basin Consolidated Communication Center for dispatch services. Attorney Jonathan Stearmer stated that this is simply a contract approved on a multi-year basis between the state and local entities including Duchesne and Uintah Counties, Roosevelt and Vernal Cities, and other related agencies.

UBTech has named a new Vice President of student services. Effective August 14th, Dean Wilson will make the switch from former principal at Altamont High School to UBTech Vice President. “Vice President Wilson is a motivating professional,” shares UBTech President Aaron Weight. “He will continue to inspire and work hard to help each student reach their potential in the technical college environment for both secondary and post-secondary students. His proven leadership skills and student involvement will become valuable to the success of the student services department.” Before Altamont, Wilson also served as principal at Roosevelt Junior High School and as student services director at Duchesne County School District.