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Show 1 4 Vernal Express Wednesday. Apr 1 7, ?X2 Community Calendar By Virginia Harrington Feature Writer V hat is n that no uwiirtiutiily wants, ever) community wishes it didii t need and et is one of the mosj necessary locilities in any Aiiicman city r county? Ii .i viHiih ik'iciition center In the t intoh. 1 a.'ell and Ihkliim tri count) aiea, that lole i tilled by Spin Mountain Youth (cnlei uiukl like dueition f k'aniH' (moss ald her stall ot 47 rinptovces The three counties and the i ities in them ate hrlutiate uiikcd In have vuvh a well run l.kiht) thai In ckall comfortable, Htuie and Malted bv caring people who do llmr best cvet) day to help Doubled childten and teens turn their lives around dross, who has been die director ol lite laciliis tor IK seats, started hei woik with troubled youths 16 U'uis apo luil the facility was located near Wotktorce Seivices and had onlv 10 leds lo years a'o Split M.iunt.im as move J inlu its present building )Ust nil Highway -W I on the eastern edge ol Venial, next to the new Ihstrici Court huilJui).' It can now house 12 young people in three dilh renl cat eeiHs OA A (observation and assessment) drteution and shelter In addition, this division ol the jus lue system supervises the placemen! place-men! ol about 40 other youths in several proeuins. including proctorship proc-torship I he Clltejiorie Young people in detention may be placed m Split Mountain either before or alter adjudication in the conits Ihose in preadjudication aie theie because they have com nutted a "hold.ihle" offense, of which theie ate many Any law enliMcemenl officer may pl.ice a youth in the facility lor one or more ot these olicnscs lor up to 72 hours. Within tli.it lime period a detention hearing must In- held in front of a judge, who tlien decides if there will Ik additional court proceedings and it the youth w ill remain in Split Mountain or be placed elsewhere J'ost .dijudication placement hap-ens hap-ens when a judge determines that the youth must spend a certain amount o time in Split Mountain. Ihose young x-ople who are in tot OA A are generally placed in Split Mountain tor a 45 day period by nun order lollowing a trial Tliey receive psychological, scholastic and vocational tests as well as thorough physical cxamina tions Hie shelter is tor childien and teens who have been abused, neglected or have become ungovernable. Tlie length of stay varies, depending on the situation in the home Tlie Division of Child and I amily Services is deeply involved with young jx-ople in Split Mountain tor sheltering I he Role In explanation ol the- role of Split Mountain in the community. Gross said ii is part of the restorative justice jus-tice plan tir young people who are either in trouble or causing trouble both It has three major reasons for its existence: to protect the pub-he. pub-he. to develop and enforce account- Pi. 1f) I i . ,.tr. a. . J i Western Park wi host an alpaca show April 19-21 with over 200 animals from 10 states. River Bed Ranch and Split Mountain Alpacas, which donated the two alpacas to Spa Mountain Youth Center, rl have several of the gentle, woofy creatures in the show. This is a great opportunity to see the opportunities opportuni-ties the youths at Split Mountain received through these donations. TV k- v Vfv h - ' I) Director Jeanne Gross goes over a case file with Brian Weaver, a case manager at Split Mountain Youth Center. ability and to develop educational, occupational and living skills for the children and teens placed in its care Protecting the Public In the role of protecting the public. pub-lic. Split Mountain employees spend many hours teaching the youths in a law education program. Ihcy learn arxiut the constitution with its detailed rights and obligations obliga-tions for all citiens. They karri what laws are in general as well as specific laws that apply to their personal situations. They learn why communities and nations need laws and why the enforcement of those laws is important to all people. With this knowledge hope-fully comes a respect for the law and for the rights of others Under the role of protecting the public is the added factor that while incarcerated in Split Mountain the youths cannot can-not harm the public in general or individuals in particular. Developing, Accountability There is a wide overlap in the roles of protecting the public and developing accountability in the youths. As they Icam and understand under-stand about laws and the justice system. they begin to accept accountability for their own actions Accountability is further developed through many hours of community service and restitution to any victims of their crimes, whether those victims be individuals, individu-als, families or the public at large. Community service is done by supervised wiirk crews with the ages and abilities of the youths matched with the work to he done. One area where these young crews can frequently be seen is in the walking pari in Vernal. They shovel shov-el snow, clear away weeds, pick up litter and maintain the landscaping. They have also put a drip watering system in the park and have developed devel-oped some parts of the landscape. Crews have also helped out at other agencies, such as doing yard work ft the Children's Justice Center, helping out at the Forest Service and Bureau of land Management and the Division of Wild life. The servke to the community done by Split Mountain youths totaled 5.499 hours in 2001. a significant contribution. Vocational and aptitude testing arc done under accountability (and under skills development) to find ,0 'i tmn m. f . where each youth has abilities and interests These tests help the stalT to guide each child or teen in a direction direc-tion most likely to be successful. Some of the youths who are old enough take this information to Work l-orce Servicci and register in the hopes of getting an appropriate job upon their release Irtmi Split Mountain. Volunteers Needed As part of the accountability - and responsibility - plus skills development develop-ment taught at Split Mountain, fiross and the teaching staff will soon start a program titled Ethics in the American Workplace. The basis of the program is a series of videos and discussions divided into 10 segments seg-ments to he delivered over five sessions. ses-sions. Topics include shoplifting, employee theft, sexual harassment, appropriate dress, personal responsibility, responsi-bility, code of conduct and the development of good character. It is designed to leach the difference between righ' and wrong behavior and to leave the students with a positive posi-tive experience and attitude toward the world of business and employment. employ-ment. Gross said she is seeking any business busi-ness people in the community who are willing to share a few hours of their time and their expertise in the delivery of this new program. Having local business people join in the discussions to share their knowledge knowl-edge and experiences will give added meaning to the lessons and hopefully help the students take them to heart more readily. Anyone willing to volunteer should contact Jeanne Gross at 789 2045. Skills Development Along with the items mentioned above, youths at Split Mountain have highly structured days and evenings that are filled with learning experiences. They rise early, between 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. and spend time in the gym on a schedule that keeps the three areas tO&A. detention, shelter) thoroughly separated sepa-rated This is followed by classes held from 8 a m. until 2:30 p m. Each students stu-dents school record is obtained and they are provided with class work appropriate to their age. grade and level of accomplishment. Staff members go to the students' regular school to obtain any class assignments assign-ments the regular teachers wish to send so there is no down time and less work is missed. The core cur- A Ji Renee Shiner (seated) Dorothy Greene and Hillary Merrill are the office staff at Split Mountain Youth Center. T ' - y'N , - v- f f i 1 ' . - I - '' 'I " VS. I Vt i ( u:- Marlene Wilhelm 'teaching' aide, and Susan Horrocks, teacher, talk excitedly about the Reading Radio program that starts April 17. They plan to have their students listen each week. riculum for each school district in the tri-county area is followed. Depending on how long the student remains in Split Mountain, the work there is transferred to the regular schixil in the form of credits or contact con-tact hours. Split Mountain's teachers, Susan Horrocks and Susan Dart, are certified certi-fied teachers in the state of Utah and have outstanding qualifications that allow them to teach at all grade levels lev-els and all subjects. They are assisted assist-ed by teaching aides Marlene Wilhelm. Sue Ann Evans. Raema McCarrel and Amanda Robeson. After the regular school hours, the students go into an extended school day with more time in the gym for large muscle exercise that fulfills the physical education requirements of the school district. Again, this is done so the different categories of O&A, detention and shelter youths are kept separated. After School Hours The children and teens have very little "free" time for television or other non productive activities. They spend time in group or private sessions with counselors or with their case managers, who are also parole officers. These sessions are a vital part of the overall education of the students as they focus on teaching teach-ing the basic skills of living inde-pendendy inde-pendendy and responsibly. Friday evenings often involve a social gathering for those youths who have successfully completed their behavior goals during the week. Each child or teen is carefully monitored ail week long. If they have successfully completed their goals they take part in the social event. If they have not behaved according to the criteria set for them, they are excluded from the event. One after school activity that nearly near-ly all the children and teens look forward to with anticipation is work on the facilities miniature farm. There the youths learn how to care for plants, cultivate and harvest fruits and vegetables in the garden area. They gather eggs in the chicken chick-en coup and feed the chickens. They tend baby chicks as they are hatched. Last summer the students raised two steers that were eventually eventual-ly sold. This farm activity gets the students out in the fresh air and teaches them vital lessons as they learn to be responsible for other living creatures. crea-tures. A respect for life develops as they watch the plants and animals thrive under their care. They also learn some aspects of business enterprise as they market the farm products. Something Special I This year Split Mountain's farm has received two special gifts. Tom and Carole Frazer of Riverbed Ranch near Heber and Ron and Pauline Carpenter of Split Mountain Alpaca in Naples have each donated a young alpaca to the farm. Named Wally and El Nino, these gentle animals will provide the youth with new experiences when they shear the wool, card it, spin it and weave it under the tutelage tute-lage of Pat Clark, a professor of biology at Utah State University Extension Campus in Vernal. Clark said there is a good feeling of accomplishment that comes from seeing a project through from beginning to end, starting with the raising of the animals and ending with a skein of alpaca wool or even a knitted item. (Many of the finished fin-ished products will be donated to Sub For Santa.) Gross commented that few of the youth remain in the facility long enough to go through the entire process, but each child or teen that participates will have the knowledge and satisfaction of being a link in the process. They will each know they contributed and hopefully will carry this sense of accomplishment with them after leaving the facility. In addition, each youth that participates par-ticipates will learn skills that would have been unavailable without with-out the experience of Split Mountain and the farm. As they see the products they have made being donated to children in need, they recognize that they have contributed con-tributed to the well being of the community rather than taken from it. This is an important part of the goals of the Split Mountain staff. After Split Mountain For each youth there comes a day when they, leave the facility and return to their homes or some other placement as determined by a judge of Division of Child and Family Services. Director Gross said the attitude on that day varies greatly. Some can hardly wail to leave and resume their previous activities. Those are likely to be back. Others find it difficult to leave. For many of the young people in Split Mountain it is the first time in their lives that they have had three good tasting, nutritious meals a day. It may be the first time they have had a clean bed to sleep in and a restful night without rhe fear of a drunken parent They have spent days or weeks with people there own age all dressed alike in either pants and t-shirt or jump suits. It may be the only time in their lives they haven't had to face harassment for not being dressed April 17 Reading Radio, KVEL Radio, 920, 6 p.m. Superintendent Wayne Guroey, Glenda Brown and Principal Dennis Atiia read pig stories for children. Single adults 31 and over. Vernal Temple session at 6:30 p.m. April 18 TOPS meets in the Day Care Center of Uintah Care Center, II a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Vernal Rotary Club meets in the 7-U Ranch Cafe at noon. Dr. Dan Goodkind, a psychologist psycholo-gist in Vernal, speaks on "Identifying Key Aspects that Make for a Good Employee." The Basin Symphony Orchestra spring concert in the Uintah High School auditorium, auditori-um, 7:30 p.m. Admission is free and it's open to the public. April 19 A community dance at the Golden Age Center, 155 S. 100 W.,gp.m. April 20 Single adults 31 and over. Meet at Glines Chapel, II a.m.. Carpool to Fantasy Canyon. Bring family, blanket, sandwich, sand-wich, drink and some food to share. MS Walk, Colton Pavilion. Walk begins at 9:30 a.m. Earth Day at Dinosaur National Monument Volunteers needed to help control con-trol Tamarisk spread. Meet at Jones Hob Fish Hatchery parki ing lot at 9 a.m. April 24 Reading Radio, 6 p.m. on KVEL. Kent Bunderson, Lee Gagon and Mike Young read about cats and other animals. Office Symposium at USU Roosevelt campus. Registration at 8:15 a.m., sessions at 9 & 10 a.m. Keynote address at J i a m. April 25 Vernal Rotary Club meets at noon in the 7-U Ranch Cafe. Lynn Runolfson speaks oa infra-red technology is the fire department April 28 Single adults, fireside at Ballard Chapel, 7 p.m. Topic is Martin Cove experiences. May 1 Uintah County Law Day, Justice Court, 147 E. Main. 9 a.m.-student awards; 10 a.ra.-overview a.ra.-overview of court system; 10:30 ajn.-mock trial; 1:30 p.m.-Judge Sandburg oa improving life in the community; communi-ty; 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.ra.-open house and tour, 7 pjn.-mock trial. To place items of public interest on the Community Calendar, mail to Vernal Express, P.O. Boi JC80, E-mail, editor vernal .com or call the Vernal Express at 789-3511. as well as their fellow students. Some say they will miss the structured nature of their time at Split Mountain. Many will return to homes where no one cares if they go to school in the rnorning or come in from the streets at night Those who say they w ill miss the structure are usually the younger children who fear going back into the "reaT world. As Gross said. The younger we get them, the more we can do for them." "POOR |