Month: December 2019

The Uintah County Commission has allocated mineral lease funds for 2020 to the 6 special service districts. A press release issued on Thursday states that based on the projection that Uintah County will receive about $10 million dollars, the following amounts will be allocated to the districts: $3.3 million dollars will go to the Uintah Impact Mitigation District which up from $1.5 million dollars in 2019. $2.3 million dollars will go to the Uintah Transportation District which is down from $4.5 million dollars in 2019. $1.4 million dollars will go to the Uintah Recreation District which is down from $2.8 million dollars in 2019. $1.2 million dollars will go to the Uintah Fire District which is down from $1.6 million dollars in 2019. $1 million dollars will go to the Uintah Health Care District which is down from $1.2 million dollars in 2019.

Claims directed at a former Duchesne County Sheriff’s deputy have been dismissed once again in court. According to court documents, Chief Judge Robert Shelby dismissed Plaintiff Veronica Wopsock’s claims With Prejudice on December 12th in the United States District Court for the District of Utah. Defendant Derek Dalton’s Counterclaim was also dismissed because with Wopsock’s federal claims dismissed, there was no jurisdiction to hear the counterclaims. However, Dalton’s counterclaim was dismissed Without Prejudice, meaning Dalton can refile his claims in state court.

An arrest has been made in the smash and grab burglary of a hardware store in Rangely, Colorado where firearms were stolen. According to a press release from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Rangely Police Department arrested a 16-year-old juvenile who was taken into custody for his alleged involvement in the burglary of the True Value Hardware Store in the late evening hours of September 30th, 2019. “The unidentified juvenile was arrested on December 12th, 2019 and faces charges of Juvenile in Possession of a firearm (2 Counts), Possession of a Defaced Firearm and Unlawfully Carrying a Concealed Weapon,” shares the press release. “The Juvenile is being held at Grand Mesa Youth Services in Grand Junction.

Claims directed at a former Duchesne County Sheriff’s deputy have been dismissed once again in court. According to court documents, Chief Judge Robert Shelby dismissed Plaintiff Veronica Wopsock’s claims With Prejudice on December 12th in the United States District Court for the District of Utah. Defendant Derek Dalton’s Counterclaim was also dismissed because with Wopsock’s federal claims dismissed, there was no jurisdiction to hear the counterclaims. However, Dalton’s counterclaim was dismissed Without Prejudice, meaning Dalton can refile his claims in state court.

According to a release from the Rangely Police Department on Thursday morning, around 9am, of December 12th, the Department put all the schools under “shelter in place”. This is a term for emergency management that means “finding a safe location indoors and staying there until you are given an ‘all clear’ or told to evacuate.” The police department was arresting a wanted individual for firearm related charges around the intersection of River Road and Highway 64.

Even during this jolly time of year it's important to be proactive and protect yourself from being a victim of theft. Vernal City Police Department shared this week that there was an incident of a woman who had her purse taken right out of her shopping cart as she was standing next to it unloading her groceries. At all times it's important to remain aware of your surroundings and when shopping be protective of your property and use the cart’s safety belt to tie the purse down or keep it on your person or hidden from view. Package theft is also always a big thing, shares Vernal PD.