The annual Holly Days celebration welcomed excited crowds on Friday to Vernal. It’s estimated that 12,000 people came to participate in the holiday event. Uintah Basin residents were joined by visitors from surrounding states and beyond. Last year’s event hosted a record crowd of 15,000 people thanks to the t-shirt weather but this year’s weather was still nice enough that people turned out to enjoy events all day long.
A Duchesne County man is facing 3rd degree felony charges in 8th District Court after allegedly offering to pay a minor for a nude photo. On November 21st, 31-year-old Anthony Lee Edward Heintzelman was charged with Criminal Solicitation Involving a Minor.
Two teenage boys were arrested near the Vernal Regional Airport on Wednesday following events that are hard to believe. According to the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office, the boys, believed to be ages 14 and 15, left a group home on the Wasatch Front early last week and had made their way to eastern Utah where they were staying with friends in the Jensen area.
A well-known and respected Uintah County man has received state honors. Uintah High School’s Coach Gregg Stensgard has been selected as the 2018 4A Coach of the Year for the state of Utah.
If you’re planning to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, you’re not alone. AAA predicts that you’ll be among 54.3 million Americans who will travel 50 or more miles from home to celebrate Thanksgiving. That is a 4.8 percent increase over 2017 and the highest travel volume since 2005.
Thanksgiving is a well known time for family but instead of staying indoors here are some events to get the family out and involved. Dr. Shane Powell of Uintah Basin Healthcare is hosting his annual free Thanksgiving 5k Run/Trot/Walk in Roosevelt. It will start at 8am at the Roosevelt Aquatic Center. Hot chocolate will be provided at the finish line courtesy of Uintah Basin Healthcare. For more information, call 435-725-0040. In Vernal there is the Gobbler Thanksgiving Day 5k. This is a charity run for two local families, the Reynolds and the Northerns. Participants will meet at the USU parking lot. Registration starts at 8am and the race will go from 9am-11am. Besides the race, raffle tickets will be sold with the actual drawing on Monday. Coffee and hot chocolate will be provided by Beans and Brews with some doughnuts as well. Lastly, for those that need a meal or may not have family around, the Quarry Steakhouse and local businesses are holding a free community Thanksgiving dinner. The ‘Fill the Need’ dinner will be from 12pm to 4pm at the Quarry. If you would like to volunteer to help with this event, please contact Kathleen Hacking at 435-789-2337.
November 22nd is a day many locals keep in remembrance for Uintah County Sheriff’s Detective Kevin Orr, who lost his life on November 22nd in 2006. Detective Orr was on duty during a search and rescue mission, when the helicopter he was traveling in crashed into the Green River.
The streets of Vernal will be crowded this Friday as locals and visitors enjoy free family events as part of the annual Vernal Holly Days festival. Most events start at noon and are ongoing downtown, at the Uintah Conference Center, and Western Park. New this year is a Holly Days Lantern Launch to take place after the parade and before the fireworks. Purchasing a ticket will get you a lantern to launch from the designated area at 150 East Main Street. The purchased lanterns will start to be handed out at about 6:30pm and the launch will take place from 7 to 8pm. The money raised is for the Dinah SOAR Days Festival in May. Trees For Charity will also be on display during Holly Days at the Uintah Conference Center. Santa will be in the parade on Friday and will travel directly from there to the Trees For Charity venue where he will greet families and children. Evans Family Media has hosted Santa during the Holly Days Festival for 15 years. The live Nativity will also be set up at the Uintah Conference Center with shows every hour on the hour from noon to 7:00pm on Friday and from noon to 3:00pm on Saturday. To look up the full schedule of Holly Days events, visit www.communityhollydays.com.
Canvassing has been complete for local counties with no races changing from the preliminary results. One race in Uintah County was too close to call on election night with Harlan Wilkins taking the popular vote at just 50.42 percent of the vote ahead of Lori Gillman at 49.58 percent. This was only a difference of 17 votes which could have been affected once all mail-in and absentee ballots were counted. Canvassing was complete on Monday and the final count for the Uintah School Board District 1 race was 1059 votes for Harlan “Scoot” Wilkins and 1038 votes for Lori Gillman. All election results are available on www.electionresults.utah.gov.
Uintah Basin Healthcare held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, November 14th, that officially celebrated the opening of the Vernal Women’s Health Center. “Uintah Basin Healthcare has delivered as high as 700+ babies annually, with approximately 40% of those deliveries coming from Uintah County,” shared President and CEO of Uintah Basin Healthcare Jim Marshall.