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KNEU 1250Local news from across the Uintah Basin.
The community and many local businesses are joining together in a big way to help our neighbors in need. The Dollar Ridge Fire-Aid Fair has a goal of raising $50,000 dollars for those that lost homes in the Dollar Ridge Fire. The community is invited to be involved by participating in the Live Radio Auction on Eagle County 105.5 KLCY on Friday, August 24th.
While there are many challenges for firefighters on the Bear Trap Fire, daily thunderstorms have helped them in their cause. The BIA Forestry & Wildland Fire-Uintah & Ouray Agency reports that the storms have cooled temperatures and provided overcast skies that have helped firefighters cool hotspots along established fire lines. The Bear Trap Fire has increased to 10,220 acres and only about 10 to 15 percent of the fire’s perimeter is accessible to ground crews. The rest of the perimeter is in steep, rugged terrain where firefighters cannot safely engage. The fire is largely being fought from the air. Thankfully there have been no injuries and no structures lost so far. A Ute Tribal Youth Camp and a private ranch in Grand County are still considered threatened.
The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office provided more information on a case this week in which a 19-year-old was sentenced to a minimum of 8 years in prison for a charge related to sexting with a 16-year-old. Based on the limited information released by the Sheriff’s Office and reported throughout the region in the media, questions came pouring into the Sheriff’s Office from people concerned that the punishment given to 19-year-old Colton Levi Minard did not fit the crime.
The Vernal City Police Department is working with the Utah Highway Safety Office to keep Vernal a safe place for pedestrians and motorists. “The Vernal City Police Department will be conducting enforcement activities at several crosswalks within Vernal City, to include mid-block crosswalks, crosswalks at uncontrolled intersections, and crosswalks controlled by pedestrian activated crossing signals,” shares Vernal PD.
A 19-year-old Green River, Wyoming man was sentenced to prison this month after having pleaded guilty to Sexual Exploitation of Children. Colton Levi Minard was sentenced on August 9th and was taken into custody of the Wyoming Department of Correction to “be therein imprisoned and confined for the period of not less than 8 years and not more than 10 years in the Wyoming Department of Corrections.”
The Dollar Ridge Fire is reported at 68,480 acres and remains at 90 percent containment. Fire officials say that “there are large unburned pockets well within the perimeter of the fire that will continue to burn, possibly until the area receives significant rain or the first snow falls.
The Basin may be considered a rural area but there is no shortage of educational opportunities. UBTech announced this week the addition of four new programs for adults and secondary students which include: Surgical Technologist, IT Support Technician, Network Technician, and Security Technician.
The woman found guilty of shooting her husband in Craig last fall has been sentenced in Moffat County District Court. 40-year-old Rachel Niemeyer was found Guilty of Murder by a jury last May for the death of Michael Freese. Niemeyer had been charged last October with domestic violence and assault following the shooting death of Freese, her husband.
The Roosevelt Branch of the Duchesne County Library System has every reason to feel proud. The library’s summer reading program wrapped up last night and the numbers are in, setting records across the board. There were 1,199 participants of all ages that signed up at the beginning of the summer.
It’s that time of year again! Back to school can be full of mixed feelings including anxiety for those without Back To School gear. Thanks to Anadarko and their partners, many local kids won’t have to worry about that. In what has become an annual tradition, Anadarko along with the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce, Duchesne County Chamber of Commerce, and Walmart put together backpacks full of supplies on Wednesday that were then donated to the Uintah and Duchesne School Districts.
Crews continue to fight the Dollar Ridge Fire in Duchesne and Wasatch Counties. An update on Tuesday evening reports that the fire acreage has been increased to 67,500 acres due to a more accurate mapping of the fire perimeter.
Thankfully it’s a slow year for West Nile Virus. The Utah Department of Health reports that there is a total of 40 mosquito pools this year in Utah that have tested positive for West Nile Virus in the state including one in Uintah County and one in Duchesne County. While it would be better there had been none this is still good news considering by this time in 2017, Utah had 105 positive mosquito pools reported.