Month: January 2020

Vernal City is finding success with a new safety program. On Tuesday, the City shared that the new program has put the City in the top 25 percent of its workers compensation insurance pool. Vernal City Mayor Doug Hammond shared on the City website, “I want to give a big thank you and congratulations to Vernal City’s fantastic employees, who worked hard to dramatically improve the City’s workplace safety record over the past two years.” The new safety program was implemented after Vernal City was given an Emod rating of 2.28 in 2017.

TriCounty Health Department has been recognized for its ability to plan for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies. The National Association of County and City Health Officials and the CDC administer Project Public Health Ready and TriCounty Health has met the comprehensive preparedness benchmarks the project requires. “We are proud to have been recognized by Project Public Health Ready for our high level of preparedness,” shares TriCounty Health Emergency Preparedness Director Rob Grove.

It's official. As of Monday, Basin Clinic is a member of the Uintah Basin Healthcare family. In a press release shared last fall it explains that the pair have a long history of partnering to improve services to the Basin. “We have joined forces in the past to lease buildings to this group of talented physicians, to provide lab and radiology services on-site and to build a strong foundation which has led to where we are today,” shared the release. Doctors Kirk Woodward, Karl Breitenbach, Rodney Anderson, and Michael Olsen signed official documents with Uintah Basin Healthcare on October 3rd and announced that the anticipated go-live date would be January 27th.

Uintah County Library has a vision to be an epicenter of self learning. Not only do they offer the usual tools of books, movies, and computers, they are always adding new tools under the leadership of Library Director Sam Passey. Some of the recent tools include Learning Express Hub, Kanopy, Creativebug and Universal Class. Learning Express Hub is a site that provides help with career preparation, high school and college testing, a school center, and adult core skills. Kanopy is a site that allows you to stream free movies with your library card.

The cold and flu season is upon us and it is everyone’s job to slow the spread of illness. Uintah Basin Healthcare shared this month that cases of Influenza in the hospital, community, and around the state are on the rise and they suggest not bringing any children under the age of 14 to the hospital for any reason other than to access medical care. Protect yourself by avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth; covering your sneeze and cough with a tissue or sleeve; washing hands often with soap and water; staying home if sick; avoiding contact with those that are sick; and getting the flu vaccine.

A dinosaur unearthed in Dinosaur National Monument in the 1990’s has finally been named. The Allosaurus jimmadseni, a new species of meat-eating dinosaur, was introduced in an article in Peer J scientific journal on Friday. The article was co-authored by Dr. Daniel Chure, retired Dinosaur National Monument paleontologist of 38 years. “Allosaurus jimmadseni is the second species of Allosaurus found at Dinosaur National Monument,” shares National Park Service.

The Uintah County Library has provided so much to our community. From the great family friendly activities to the abundance of learning opportunities that they offer the library is a cornerstone to the Basin. Now we can show, in a small and simple way, what the library means to us. This week is Library Spirit Week! Each day has a theme and the public is invited to wear outfits that match the theme. It all starts on Monday, January 27th with PJ Day. Come to the library dressed in your PJ’s as part of spirit week.

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has released data showing that Utah ranks number 1 for total job growth in the U.S. at 3.3 percent. Utah is also ranked number 1 for private sector job growth at 3.6 percent and is now tied for number 1 in lowest national unemployment at 2.3 percent along with South Carolina and Vermont. “Utah culminates 2019 with a resilient and convincing employment picture,” reports Workforce Services Chief Economist Mark Knold.