Cancer is a disease that takes a tremendous toll on individuals and families. Being a rural location can add excessive burdens of travel and expense in that battle. Uintah Basin Healthcare has recently announced the Cancer Care and Infusion Services, a new offering that could make treatment a little easier for local families affected by cancer. At the heart of the Cancer Care and Infusion Services is a new TeleHealth partnership with Intermountain Healthcare.
Duchesne County Chamber of Commerce announced that the Holly Fair will be Friday, November 1st and Saturday, November 2nd this year. It should be a great event but vendors interested in showcasing their products should know a couple of things.
The goal for the Hotel Vernal Haunt was to have fun, bring people downtown, connect the community, create a safe place for teens and others to celebrate the season and raise funds for local charities. For the 2018 Haunt, 63 businesses provided donations or in-kind services that contributed to the Haunt. There was an average of 80 volunteers a night to run the experience with over 260 volunteers who were involved in design, construction, make-up, acting, security, and organization during and before the haunt.
Progress is being made on the Avintaquin Ridge Fire burning in a remote area of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation. According to the BIA Forestry & Wildland Fire-Uintah & Ouray Agency, accurate mapping shows the entire fire area to now be at 111 acres and as of Sunday evening, the fire was considered 80 percent contained.
If it has felt like police departments have been issuing several warnings concerning scams, it is because they have. The Roosevelt City Police Department posted online about several scams that are reaching the Uintah Basin area. Be on the alert for the following: The scammers claim that you are in trouble in Texas (or some other location) because of either drugs or some other illegal activity.
If you have been out and about you might have noticed signs warning of Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) at certain bodies of water. For example, signs at Matt Warner Reservoir indicate serious danger and that the waters are closed to public use. It’s important for all to read and obey posted signs because while there have been no human deaths in the United States from the toxins of algal blooms, there are plenty of pet, livestock and wildlife deaths.
Work is progressing on the Highway 40 Strawberry Valley construction but travelers can plan on continued delays. The 17 mile route from Daniels Summit at MP 34 to Soldier Creek at MP 52 will continue to have intermittent areas of construction with up to 15 minute delays. Speeds are reduced and there are single lane restrictions with pilot cars directing traffic. Crews are continuing work on the wildlife crossing at MP 34.5.
Travelers can expect delays on Highway 40 in Fort Duchesne as crews are scheduled to begin work today on the bridge rehab. “This work will necessitate reducing the traffic to one lane only,” shares the Utah Department of Transportation. “Temporary traffic lights will be installed to stop traffic in both directions. Traffic movement over the bridge will be staggered to allow movement in both directions at 10 minute intervals.” According to project information officer Nathan Clark, anyone traveling will have a significant slow down while they work on the bridge. The bottleneck effect could back up traffic for miles and miles and locals should consider utilizing alternate routes. The work is expected to last approximately ten days.
A day of water fun ended in tragedy on Saturday afternoon. According to the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office, a 9-1-1 call came in at about 3:30pm from a woman reporting that her 15-year-old nephew had gone under the water at Strawberry Reservoir and did not resurface.
Impairment is suspected as a factor in a motorcycle crash that took place Saturday on SR-191 about 14 miles north of Vernal. According to the Utah Highway Patrol, a motorcycle with a single rider was traveling southbound at about 4:54pm near milepost 369 when the rider lost control and crashed.