Month: December 2020

Give your Christmas tree a second chance at life. Simply put, residents are encouraged to recycle their real Christmas trees. Here’s a few suggestions offered each year by the Conservation Issues Committee of the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce: Some people choose to keep their tree and turn it into a winter bird feeder.

The pandemic changed a lot of plans but one positive is that it seemed to put more people outside enjoying what the wilderness and fresh air can give a person. Not surprisingly then, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has announced that ten new state fishing records were set in 2020.

The Utah Public Safety Department has continued their recommendations for holiday gatherings that will continue through the New Year Holiday. Gatherings with more safety measures in place, such as mask wearing, physical distancing, and handwashing, pose less risk than gatherings where fewer or no preventive measures are being implemented.

Big changes have occurred when it comes to Justice Court in Uintah County. Uintah County issued a press release on Wednesday explaining the changes: On Monday December 21st, the Uintah County Commission passed a resolution to dissolve the Uintah County Justice Court and provided notification to Vernal City that Uintah County was going to transfer the Uintah County Justice Court to Vernal City.

The pandemic has changed a lot of plans, but one positive is that it seems to put more people outside enjoying what the wilderness and fresh air can give a person. It might be the reason that the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources have announced that ten new state fishing records have been set in 2020. DWR has been tracking records for harvested fish since the early 1900’s.

Following good hygiene practices is always encouraged and vital to healthy get togethers. Make sure everyone washes their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before and after preparing, serving, and eating food. Use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.

Many people in the Uintah Basin love to have a White Christmas. Are you aware that there is a scientific definition for a white Christmas? According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a "white Christmas" is defined as having one inch or more of snow on the ground Christmas morning.

TriCounty Health issued a press release Tuesday with exciting news. TriCounty Board of Health has selected Kirk Benge as the next Health Officer/TriCounty Health Department Director. Benge is set to start at TriCounty Health Department January 19th, 2021. Current Health Officer, Jordan Mathis, is scheduled to work his last day on December 31st, 2020.

TriCounty Health Department (TCHD) announced Tuesday the first shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (400 doses) to the health district on December 23rd, 2020 and will begin vaccinating critical TriCounty Health Department staff in preparation of the first wave of vaccinations.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources announced in a press release that they will be applying changes to the fishing regulations starting in January of 2021. The changes include a reduction at Flaming Gorge of limits for largemouth and smallmouth bass. It has changed from 10 fish per day to 3 per day for the combined total of both species to make the black bass limit consistent between Utah and Wyoming.