The spring burn window for Uintah County is now open. According to the Uintah Fire District, the burn window opened on March 30th and runs through May 30th. Burning instructions include the following: refuse cleared away from buildings and structures, burn away from power and utility lines, have a water supply available, tend the fire at all times, fires must be out by dusk, no piles larger than 4 foot by 5 foot or greater than 3 feet high, and burn during light or NO wind conditions.
Repairs to the Steinaker dam are on schedule and it’s expected the reservoir will begin to be refilled next fall. According to Uintah Water Conservancy District General Manager William Merkley, much of the work to the dam has been complete and the plan is to start trucking fill back in next week.
Snow may still be melting around the Basin but it’s not too soon to think of summer! The Vernal Chamber is urging local businesses to get in and sign up to be a sponsor for the annual Dinosaurland Passport to Summer program. The program is a win-win for locals as families have something fun to get out and do together and local participating businesses increase foot traffic to their establishments. This year’s passport will have 97 adventures which participants can complete for a stamp in their passport.
There have been and will be several special events for locals looking forward to the Easter season. A multi-faith choir and orchestra performed the Lamb of God, a christian Easter oratorio by Rob Gardner, to a standing room only audience at the Roosevelt Junior High auditorium on Sunday evening. The feedback from locals in attendance was that this free event was “incredible”, “amazing”, and “phenomenal”, with many requesting it become an annual tradition.
The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety has released the numbers relevant to mining in western Colorado for 2018. According to the summary provided on mining.state.co.us, approximately 1.4 million tons of coal was produced at the Colowyo Coal Mine in 2018.
The effort of local leaders has paid off in returning homeless shelter funding to rural shelters. HB 203 ‘Homeless Shelter Funding Revisions’, sponsored by Representative Scott Chew and in the Senate by Senator Ron Winterton, was signed into law by Governor Herbert enabling the state definition of a “homeless shelter” to allow for a lower bed count so rural areas qualify for the funding. The bill was approved unanimously in the House and Senate committees as well as on the House and Senate floors. Vernal City Manager Quinn Bennion explains how this change repairs the previous oversight of state law. “The bill reduced the number of beds required in rural county shelters to be eligible for homeless funding,” shares Bennion. “The bill removes the requirement that Vernal City pay $18,200 a year to the State homeless mitigation fund.” That funding now stays local and instead will stay with Vernal’s Turning Point Shelter. Any rural area with a homeless shelter will also benefit. In addition to the work of Rep. Chew and Senator Winterton, Uintah County Commissioner Brad Horrocks, Vernal City Mayor Doug Hammond, City Manager Quinn Bennion, and Turning Point Shelter director Susi Anderson were involved in promoting and testifying for the bill during the 2019 legislative session.