It was an Easter Sunday to remember and the Vernal Christian Church found a creative way to come together and celebrate while maintaining TriCounty Health Department guidelines. Senior Minister Marty Young delivered his Easter sermon from an outdoor makeshift stage in the church parking lot where the congregation was parked and ready to listen as the services were broadcast live on Newstalk 104.5 FM and AM 920 KVEL.
Dinosaur National Monument is now closed to all monument visitors until further notice. National Parks Service made the announcement on Friday stating that the decision was made due to the novel coronavirus. “Through traffic, but no stopping, will be allowed on roads in the monument that provide access to county roads, residences, leased lands and public lands managed by other agencies,” shares the NPS announcement.
UDOT has announced that they will begin the Gusher Highway 40 project this week. “Work on the project will primarily take place during the day, except the week of April 13th, when most of the operation will take place at night,” shares UDOT. “Starting April 20th, work will shift back to daytime hours.”
The Small Business Bridge Loans offered through the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development(GOED) are continuing and Uintah Basin small businesses and nonprofit organizations are encouraged to apply. GOED announced on April 8th that 500 applicants from round one of the applications have been awarded funds and now they are accepting applications for round two.
The recent executive order from Governor Gary Herbert has some kinks in it affecting residents throughout the Uintah Basin and the state is asking for feedback. The order allows a wireless emergency alert to be sent to travelers as they cross state borders in Utah.
Governor Gary Herbert has issued an Executive Order that will require those entering the state of Utah to submit an electronic Self-Declaration Form stating health symptoms and recent travel history. According to information provided by the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office, the state will deploy a targeted wireless emergency alert that will be sent to the cell phones of those entering the state on certain highways, including Highway 40 at the Colorado border.
A series of suspicious fires near Rangely have led a joint investigation between the Rangely Police Department and the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office to apprehend a 17-year-old juvenile. On March 31st and April 1st the Rangely Fire Department responded to two small brush fires, one near La Mesa Circle and one near Halfturn Road.
Duchesne County Commissioner Irene Hansen wants to assure the public that the Duchesne County cleanup days will be happening, with one slight modification. The K and K Transfer Station in Ballard has made the choice to postpone their participation for health and safety reasons.
The change of pace has been stuck in high gear for a while now and sometimes we might get answers to questions we didn’t even know that we had. With Easter around the corner it might not have occured to ask about the Easter Bunny and how COVID-19 will affect his visits. Luckily, TriCounty Health Department has thought things through and announced that both the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy have been categorized as critical employees.
Uintah County sponsors a Free Landfill Week each spring and this year is no different. “This offers a full week and two weekends to get yards cleaned up and debris taken to the landfill with no cost to residents,” shares Uintah County. “Residents can do their part by simply cleaning up around their own property or by cleaning up around our community.