The ice skating rink at Constitution Park is officially closed for the season. The rink opened on January 15th after a few hiccups but with huge community support. The donations from STRATA, L&L Motor, the Roosevelt Arts, Parks, and Recreation Committee, support from the community, and the efforts of city employees brought this exciting activity to the public and it has quickly become a favorite.
COVID-19 has thrown everything into a chaotic state and only now are we seeing some inching toward normal. Recently, Uintah County Library has been taking steps to move towards the way things were. Story Time, which is songs and stories, started up on February 1st at the Library.
Tomorrow is the Jazz Night Dinner concert that is a fundraiser for Uintah High Band. “This is the 4th year of this fundraiser,” shares Uintah Band Director Brian Gibson. “It is the Wednesday after Valentine’s Day every year. It is my hope that it will grow to the point that it is the only fundraiser we have to do every year.
Uintah Basin Technical College Custom Fit was at the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce last week to discuss their continual training opportunities for businesses and individuals. Heather Lowry, a Custom Fit Officer, presented a sampling of the upcoming Franklin Covey program entitled “Execute Your Team’s Strategy and Goals”.
Human trafficking is becoming more and more prevalent as it is being battled all across the world. Utah Department of Public Safety wants the public to know that it takes everyone’s help to identify and report possible human trafficking.
A bill sponsored by Representative Scott Chew received overwhelming support in the House last week and is moving on for consideration in the Senate in the Utah Legislature. HB 170 was approved in the House with a 71 to 1 vote. The bill was created as a solution to confusion that has resulted after the state moved to an all electronic system for reminders of upcoming vehicle registration deadlines.
TriCounty Health Department announced changes on Friday to their COVID-19 response moving forward. Their press release shared the following: To assist TriCounty Health Department in efforts to vaccinate the tri-county area against COVID-19, Utah Department of Health has taken over the contact tracing of adult COVID-19 positive cases, therefore calculating the number of positive individuals per county will become more difficult for TriCounty Health staff to maintain.
Utah State University’s (USU) Bingham Research Center has teamed up with local oil and gas industry partners to address emissions of pollution that can lead to high wintertime ozone. The ‘Understanding Ozone in Uintah Basin’ article on usu.edu shares that recently, the group has received two corporate donations, each providing $25,000. USU’s research is aimed towards mitigating ozone impacts while minimizing costs to industry.
Senator Ron Winterton introduced a bill to the Utah Senate last week dealing with masks and schools. SB 187 is titled ‘Local Education Agency Policies Amendments’. The bill’s general description states, “This bill provides that a local education agency is not required to enforce a requirement in a public health order for individuals to wear a face mask on school grounds.”
Wyoming Game and Fish is finalizing a response plan aimed at battling zebra and quagga mussels in Flaming Gorge Reservoir if the need ever arises. The response plan will only go into effect if invasive mussels are detected.