The family and friends of a missing veteran believed to be traveling back roads between Arizona and Utah are pleading with the public to share his picture and be watching for him. “Jesse Conger is a Marine Corps veteran missing out of Scottsdale, Arizona,” shares his family. “He is believed to be on the backroads between Scottsdale and his home town of Ogden, Utah.
Here is the latest updates for those travelling on Highway 40 between Gusher and Roosevelt. Construction on the bridge in Fort Duchesne that is over the Uinta River has begun. The work limits traffic to one lane only.
People often get lost in the busyness of life and lay the responsibility of community, citizenship and city pride at the feet of those elected and appointed officials of the area. And while it is true that such is their duty, the problems, challenges and struggles of a community are equally burdened upon everyone. It is always awe inspiring to watch residents find ideas of community enrichment and then strive to implement them.
Politics might seem to bring the worst out in some people but can also help us to recognize when we have people working on our side. Roosevelt City recently posted on their Facebook page a reminder to the residents that every transaction the city makes can be viewed online. Transparency, the current buzzword for trust, is taken very seriously by Roosevelt.
Schools around the Uintah Basin are back in session and all are invited to make safety on the roads a number one priority. Last week the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office offered some important reminders. “Please remember, yellow flashing lights on a school bus means the bus is preparing to stop to load or unload children,” shares the Sheriff’s Office.
Could something good come from the spotlight put on deaths in Utah jails and the lawsuits that have followed? A Utah lawmaker is hoping so. Speaking with KSL news, Representative Carol Spackman Mass explained that this spotlight is showing how much is asked of workers in the jails who have very limited resources to begin with. A committee that was tracking jail deaths in Utah reported that between 2013 and 2017 more than half of the 71 inmates that died were those that took their own life.
Thankfully there were no serious injuries after a single-vehicle crash caught fire on Wednesday afternoon, though the accident did result in arrest. According to the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a crash in front of Maeser Elementary School shortly after 3:40pm on August 21st. “The driver of a white Dodge Stratus struck a utility pole along 1000 North, causing the car to catch fire,” shares the Sheriff’s Office.
A fire near the Dinosaur National Monument Headquarters in Moffat County shut down Highway 40 on Wednesday. Dinosaur National Monument reports that at 2:20pm on August 21st, a visitor reported a wildfire north of Highway 40 and adjacent to the Canyon Visitor Center/Monument Headquarters. The Dinosaur Headquarters Fire was estimated on Wednesday night to be 160 acres and moving east.
The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food announced Wednesday morning that three cases of equine Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) have been identified and quarantined across the state with Uintah County having the most cases. According to the August 21st press release, there is one case in Emery County and two confirmed and quarantined cases in Uintah County as well as 4 additional premises quarantined and under investigation in Uintah County.
Employment is an important topic in the Uintah Basin and one that the speaker at Tuesday’s Vernal Chamber luncheon provided a local update on. Workforce development specialist Blaine Roberts with the Department of Workforce Services shared that July unemployment rates were 4.7 percent in Uintah County, 4.5 percent in Duchesne County, 4.2 percent in Daggett County, 2.8 percent in the state of Utah, and 3.7 percent in the United States.