Goodbyes 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.
Dinosaur National Monument will remain accessible during the federal government shutdown. According to a Dinosaur National Monument press release, Monument roads and trails will remain accessible to visitors, unless safety concerns warrant their closures. Emergency and rescue services are limited due to the shutdown and there will be no NPS-provided visitor services, including restrooms, trash collection, and facilities and roads maintenance, including snow plowing.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
There are some changes coming to Uintah High School when it comes to sports. After a public hearing on Wednesday, December 5th, the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) Board of Trustees met and adopted new regions for 2019 through 2021. This will allow schools to organize and schedule sporting events with the new division alignment taking place in the fall of 2019.
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.