Month: December 2018

Certified destruction of data on computers and devices is not easy to come by but a window of opportunity is now open. The Vernal Chamber Conservation Committee is holding their annual electronics recycling event. Electronics can be dropped off for recycling for free at the Vernal Chamber Office and at TriCounty Health Department locations.

An armed robbery took place at a Roosevelt convenience store this week. According to Roosevelt Police Chief Rick Harrison, Roosevelt Police responded to an armed robbery call at 11:45pm on Christmas Eve at the Top Stop convenience store located at 500 East 200 North in Roosevelt.

Local county unemployment rates haven’t shown much movement from the month before. According to new data from the Department of Workforce Services, unemployment in Daggett County rose from 4.3 to 4.5 percent. Unemployment remained the same for another month in Duchesne County at 4.7 percent and Uintah County ticked down slightly from 4.7 to 4.6 percent. Utah as a whole remained at 3.2 percent unemployment for another month while nationally it remained at 3.7 percent.

It might not be the gift we were asking for but Utah was given a wonderful present just before Christmas. Utah Department of Transportation reported that we had a 10 consecutive day stretch with zero fatalities on the road. As a state we have not gone more the than seven days without road fatalities since January 2016. John Gleason, the public information officer for UDOT, implores the public, “This is something that we can do. We just had 10 days without anyone dying on our roads. And if we can do 10 days, why can’t we do another 10 days?” Distractions are a big part of the problem, as are not wearing seatbelts. Even though 88% of drivers wear their seatbelts, it’s the 12% that do not wear them that is the number one cause of death. “In 2018, we shouldn’t have to have this conversation anymore,” Gleason said. “But that’s still the number one cause of deaths on our roads — people not buckling up.”

The elves in Duchesne County helped many families this year as part of two phases of ‘Be A Santa’s Helper.’ According to Chamber Director and event coordinator Irene Hansen, 231 children in 85 families were given gifts for Christmas as part of phase one while coordinators worked with local non-profits and clergy to help another 26 families during phase two. “This year went especially smooth,” shares Hansen. “Every time we had a need, a wonderful, generous contribution would come in. We also worked with a Roosevelt Stake on a humanitarian project to collect and make blankets. They were added to many of the families [gifts] to add the perfect cozy touch.” The ‘Be A Santa’s Helper’ effort supplements families own efforts by providing an old fashioned Christmas with dolls, trucks, games, and other traditional or old fashioned gifts. Hansen says the Santa room used to store everything and distribute gifts is called the “magic room because of the wonderful tears of joy” shared there.

Western Duchesne County experienced an earthquake shaking up the mountains near Fruitland this month. The University of Utah Seismograph Station reports that on Monday, December 17th, at around 8:05am, a 2.3 magnitude earthquake struck about 11 miles Northwest of Fruitland. The classification of earthquakes into categories depends on magnitude and this qualifies as a micro-earthquake. A minor earthquake classification is a magnitude of 2 to 3.9. The University of Utah Seismograph Station reports on all earthquakes in Utah and the greater region at Quake.Utah.Edu.

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.