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KNEU 1250Scams come in so many forms it is crucial to exercise caution even when a phone call or email seems commonplace. Last month, local reports of scammers posing as Dish Network representatives began to spread.
Local teachers took advantage of an opportunity to learn more about the legislative process and attended Educator Day on the Hill on Friday. Teachers Rachelle Durrant, Kristen Oaks, Brian Baldwin, and Daniel McKenna represented Uintah School District. The event is hosted by the Utah Education Association every year.
The defense for the men awaiting trial for the alleged rape of a 9-year-old Uintah County girl in 2016 have filed motions to dismiss the rape case against the men. The rape trials for Jerry Neal Flatlip, Randall Flatlip, and Larson Rondeau are scheduled for May in Salt Lake County’s 3rd District Court. The “Motion to Dismiss” dated February 20th and signed by Loni F. DeLand, defense attorney for Randall Flatlip, moves to “dismiss [the] case on the grounds of intentional prosecutorial misconduct and jury tampering.” DeLand first disagrees with the decision to declare mistrial in Summit County and then outlines instances in which DeLand says an investigator for the Uintah County Attorney’s Office, who is listed as a witness in the trial, communicated with the potential jurors in the lobby on December 12th. According to DeLand, one of the potential jurors contacted the Utah Attorney General and the defense lawyers in the days following the mistrial, concerned that what he had witnessed was jury tampering. A “Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss” dated January 22nd and signed by Bryan Sidwell, defense attorney for Jerry Flatlip, makes multiple assertions. First, that there has been an “unreasonable or unconstitutional delay in bringing the defendant to trial.” It also asserts that “the alleged victim’s testimony was not corroborated by other witnesses or physical evidence” and that “there were no injuries and no DNA, therefore the alleged victim’s story is not credible and the case should be dismissed…” The rape of the 9-year-old girl was reported to deputies on March 29th, 2016. Larson Rondeau, Jerry Flatlip, and Randall A. Flatlip each pleaded Not Guilty on rape charges and the three men were ordered to stand trial. The trial was originally moved from Uintah County to Summit County but ended in mistrial in Summit County in December due to failure to seat a jury. The trial was then moved to Salt Lake County.
Job offers followed a competition earlier this month at the Vernal UBTech campus after students from Roosevelt and Vernal showed off their automotive and carpentry skills. According to a UBTech press release, several business owners attended the contest and by the end of the day several students had received job offers.The area businesses supplied judges for the events and donated prizes. “Where else can high school students perfect their hands-on skills and meet with possible employers?” shared UBTech vice president of instruction Tammy Wilkerson. “We are getting these kids to succeed in the world.” Automotive students competed in over 14 stations to test their knowledge and skills. In a carpentry competition, the first of its kind, students were put in groups of three and instructed to build dog houses. Vernal’s carpentry students swept the competition.
A boat with plenty of history is worth the stop to see at the Canyon Visitor Center on the Colorado side of Dinosaur National Monument. “The Loper” was built by Jack Brennan for a river trip in 1946 down the Yampa. Brennan based the boat’s design on another famous boat, “Mexican Hat”, which is on display in the Powell Museum in Green River, UT.
Week 5 of the Utah 2018 Legislative Session is over with 171 bills passed through the Senate and more coming. Senator Kevin Van Tassell reports that the hot topics of week 5 included a Resolution honoring Senator Orrin Hatch, a Resolution in Support of a New National Park in Escalante, Education Open Enrollment, Talent Ready Utah Center, Medical Marijuana, and Food Truck Regulation Amendments. SB154 Prohibition of Law Enforcement Quotas also received a lot of attention. The bill passed on the Senate floor and has now moved to the House for consideration. The Executive Appropriation Committee announced in week 5 that updated revenue estimates show a surplus of $581 million dollars this year, which is nearly twice what was expected. The Senate also approved SB130 which would authorize the Department of Agriculture to regulate CBD or Cannabidiol that is currently being sold to Epileptic patients. It would also apply for a waiver with the DEA for Utah to develop a medical grade CBD product that doctors can prescribe. That bill has moved on to the House.
Utah State University has students all over the state they could spotlight but a USU-Uintah Basin student is currently getting the attention. Utah State University’s Utah State Today is featuring Vernal native Ryker Hacking for his research as part of the USU-Uintah Basin summer internship program aimed at ending the negative side effects of diabetes. On February 9th, Hacking presented his research, which found a way to synthesize a molecule called MBT, at the 12th annual Utah Conference of Undergraduate Research. USU-Uintah Basin associate professor Mike Christiansen oversaw Hacking’s research which could inhibit AR, the enzyme that causes kidney, eye, nervous system, and red blood cell damage. “If MBT proves to be a successful and nontoxic means of inhibiting AR in clinical trials,” explains Christiansen, “it could serve as an eventual medicine to prevent the negative reactions of diabetes. Once we optimize Ryker’s new method, we can scale up production and begin testing MBT’s viability.” In the Utah State Today report, Hacking praises the USU-Uintah Basin summer internship programs that help students grow professionally. Research will continue refining the process of making MBT with the hope that someday it will be able to help treat Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
The death of a Rock Springs man in a car fire has been determined to be an accident. 47-year-old Michael Lee Tinnie was killed in a car fire in Sweetwater County on February 15th. Fire crews were dispatched to the fire west of Rock Springs at the base of White Mountain where a silver 2006 Dodge was in flames. Investigators say Tinnie’s car had become high-centered and stuck and it was believed the heat from the exhaust system and/or catalytic converter may have started the blaze. An autopsy determined Tinnie’s cause of death was asphyxia due to smoke inhalation with no indications of foul play.
More generous locals are helping the Duchesne County K9 unit get the funding they need. Dr. Mike Gamble from Uinta Veterinary Services made a $1,000 dollar donation in honor of K9 “Q” who passed away last summer from terminal cancer.
The most recent school shooting in Florida has pushed the issue of safety in schools to the forefront of concern for many. Uintah County Sheriff Vance Norton reports that the Sheriff’s Office is doing what they can to stop a few times a day at each local school in addition to having a full time officer at the high school. Still, he feels more should be done and is exploring the possibility of offering free concealed weapons classes to teachers and school staff as well as setting up a two day training camp to help teachers become more proficient with their weapons. “We can’t get to an incident quick enough to stop a threat that can do so much damage in just seconds,” shares Sheriff Norton. “That is why I think it is important to have teachers or staff that are willing to take on the huge responsibility to have a gun, be trained, and engage the threat until we get there.” Those with concealed weapon permits are legally allowed on school property with a concealed weapon, including teachers. Sheriff Norton’s aim is to help those teachers that want to arm themselves and train them to be more proficient. He says he believes gun control will not fix the school safety issues and will just hurt honest gun owning citizens.
TriCounty Health Department is sharing the good, the bad, and the risky when it comes to sexual health. While there are benefits to having sex, like improved heart health and lower blood pressure, TriCounty Health Director Jordan Mathis explains that there are also consequences when not engaged in responsibly.
A busy intersection near Eagle View Elementary will be getting a traffic light this spring. According to UDOT spokeswoman Eileen Barron, the traffic signal is being installed to improve safety and improve access from 5750 East to Highway 40. Eagle View Elementary is located on the northwest corner of the intersection and the school administration is thrilled to know that a light will soon be installed. Eagle View Principal Robert Stearmer considers it a miracle that a school bus hasn’t been hit in that intersection. “School buses don’t move as fast as cars do,” shares Stearmer. “The latest accident in that intersection involved a pickup truck being broadsided. Can you imagine that happening to a school bus loaded with 65 children?” This accident involved a vehicle with three children inside the car. While the plans for the light were already in place before the crash this month, the accident has further validated the need to people like Principal Stearmer who consider the intersection a serious danger as it is. The project is being funded through UDOT’s Statewide Signal Program and it is expected to cost about $220,000 dollars. “There will be no additional lanes added to U.S. 40 as there is already a left turn lane,” explains Barron. “However, a separate left turn lane will be added on 5750 East.” Once underway this spring, construction is expected to take two to four weeks. UDOT also plans to install advance warning signals that will flash yellow and include “Prepare to Stop” signs.