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KNEU 1250Three of Altamont High School’s clubs attended their respective state conferences and competitions this month. The FBLA chapter attended State Leadership Conference and had four students place: Wesley Thacker placed 3rd in Word Processing and qualified for the National Competition; Braxton Hyde and Ethan Abegglen placed 10th in Graphic Design, and Bryson Pugh placed 9th in Accounting II.
Downtown Vernal has plenty of advocates including the Downtown Revitalization Committee. According to Committee Chairman Pete Morphy, brackets are currently being designed to add blade signs to downtown.
It is caucus night in Utah and the state has made it easier than ever to learn where your party and precinct will be meeting locally. Every community member can visit vote.utah.gov to find locations or to find out if you are registered with a party or not. Not all parties will hold caucus meetings in the Uintah Basin but information on your closest contact and meeting will be provided.
The Vernal Rotary Club has long been a supporter of the Uintah School District so it makes sense that they are being recognized this week by Team Uintah.
The Flaming Gorge Vernal Ranger District is planning prescribed burns as weather permits in April. The prescribed fires will primarily be used within Ponderosa Pine stands on the north slope of the Uinta Mountains.
The quality and variety of the arts available the area. The Uintah Basin Orchestra and Chorus performs just twice a year and their spring concert is this Saturday with extraordinary talent traveling to be a part of it. Dr. James Franklin is the guest conductor traveling from East Carolina University where he conducts the internationally renowned ECU Chamber Singers and directs the graduate program in choral conducting. His wife Nicole Franklin will also perform in the concert as a guest soprano soloist. “Nicole is an amazing soprano,” shares UBOC alto Debbie Spafford. “She will join the choir for a couple of pieces and will also provide some beautiful solo work. We do not often see this type of talent in the Basin and we invite everyone to come and enjoy our concert.” This concert is the conclusion of season 5, a great milestone for the organization. Members of the Uintah High School Choir will be joining for several pieces, including the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The concerts will be held at 2:00pm and 7:30pm on Saturday, March 24th. Tickets can be purchased at Davis Food & Drug or on www.uboc.org.
Sometimes things just come together like they were meant to happen. That’s how Denise Williams, Principal of Maeser Elementary, feels about an exciting school wide fundraiser and service project underway for a special Maeser student with a rare form of Epilepsy. At 6 months old, Jake Cook began having up to 20 seizures a day and became 1 of 4 Utahns diagnosed with SCN8A and only 1 of 250 people diagnosed with this form of Epilepsy worldwide so far. He is unable to talk, walk, or care for himself, making mobility an ongoing and expensive task as he grows. Learning of a way they could help, the administration at Maeser Elementary had an idea. “At Maeser, we want to focus on the good,” shares Principal Williams. “We found out that Jake and his family are in need of a jogger wheelchair. We had an assembly to learn more about Jake and introduce our service project.” Each student was asked to earn one dollar to donate to Jake’s new jogger wheelchair and excitement spread like fire among the students. “We want students to learn that when we work together, our collective efforts can make a huge difference for someone else,” explains Williams. “It has been amazing to hear students talk about their service…. Students are working hard to make the magic happen for Jake and his family and we are grateful that Josh and Cami are letting us serve their family.” In addition to the fundraising effort, the school is having a reading contest. If as a school they are able to read 2,000 hours before spring break, Classic Air Medical helicopter will deliver the jogger wheelchair to the school in high flying fashion. The entire experience has been one of love and community growth for not only Jake and his family but, perhaps especially, for the students and staff of Maeser who now share in the joy of broadening the opportunities for a fellow student they know and love better. The Cook family has extended their sincere gratitude for Principal Williams and all involved in making it possible for Jake to get out hiking, biking, camping, and just living life!
Local Pathway Connect students now have broader higher education options thanks to a new agreement between BYU-Idaho and Utah State University. The one-year Pathway Connect program has been offered locally, allowing adults to transition into higher education at a low cost through online courses. The new collaboration agreement between USU and BYU-I means that once students complete the Pathway Connect program, they can transition to USU, taking classes at USU’s main campus, online, or at one of the regional campuses including USU-Uintah Basin. “Teaming up with Pathway Connect fits perfectly with our mission,” shares USU Interim Provost Larry Smith. “We want our university to be accessible, a place where students can come and continue to build and improve themselves, and in return improve their own communities. USU’s statewide system works naturally with the Pathway Connect program.” Local advisors at USU-Uintah Basin can help those interested in learning more.
No injuries were reported after a tricky landing at the Vernal Regional Airport on Friday in the late afternoon. According to Vernal Regional Airport Manager Doug Brown, an individual and his instructor were in the air practicing and training when they discovered a malfunction on the nose landing gear.
The ride home for the Uintah High girls track team came to a muddy halt late Wednesday night in Wasatch County. The team was returning from a region meet at Mountain View High School when a flat tire caused the bus to come to rest in the mud against a hillside along Highway 40, making it impossible to open the front door of the bus.
The final list of who is pursuing public office in Uintah County is in. Thursday was the last day for potential candidates to submit their names to the Clerk’s office. Joni Crane added her name to the race for Commission Seat A this week, joining Dan Dilsaver and Bart Haslem.
Thankfully, a report that a student brought a gun to school was found to be false. According to Uintah School District Superintendent Mark Dockins, police investigated the claim that a Vernal Middle School student brought a gun to school on Wednesday and were able to prove the claim false.