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Show Vernal Express, Wednesday, July 5. 2006 49 Vernal queens head to Miss Utah pageant this week By Jennifer Petty Express Writer This week the Miss Utah pageant pag-eant is being held in Salt Lake City from July 3-8. Usually a community has one resident attending, but this year, Vernal has two. Chelsea Roth, who is the reigning Miss Uintah County, will attend: as will Cassandra Averill, who was chosen as Miss Cedar Breaks in the Southern Utah University pageant. Roth is the daughter daugh-ter of Robert and Judy Roth and Averill is the daughter of Randy and Kathy Averill. Each girl will participate in a talent portion, interview, swimsuit and evening gown competition, and on-stage question. Meet Chelsea Roth and Cassandra Averill. Chelsea Roth How did you get into pageants? pag-eants? "I did the Miss Utah National teenager pageant in 2001 when I was 13 and took second attendant. atten-dant. I was "Miss Hospitality" and fell in love with it. I then decided to do Miss Uintah County last year for service. People do it for other reasons like scholarships, but I really wanted to be involved in serving serv-ing the community." Each contestant must have a platform, or cause that they support, what is your platform? "My platform is reaching out to child abuse victims and guiding guid-ing prevention. I was abused at age 11 by a family acquaintance, acquain-tance, but I didn't tell anyone until age 16. When I first started start-ed dealing with it I realized it was going to take more than someone just telling me it was going to be 'OK.' I thought this would be a good opportunity to share the message and help others." What have you been able to do to promote your platform issue? "I've been able to work with the Children's Justice Center to raise money for their efforts. I've also been a peer advocate working with abuse victims. I've worked with the Back Country Horseman to raise money for the Children's Justice Center. I have also ken to youth groups and elderly groups. Parents and grandparents grandpar-ents have a lot of impact on their children and grandchildren. grandchil-dren. I like teaching kids how to stay safe and stay out of dangerous dan-gerous situations. I want them to feel it is OK to talk about problems and feelings of insecurity." inse-curity." How do you feel knowing you are one level away from the Miss America pageant? "That is huge to think about it. It is a wonderful opportunity. opportu-nity. I really don't have the words to express it. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and if you don't jump on it, you won't have another chance." Are you nervous about the upcoming Miss Utah pageant? "There are 54 contestants from all over the state, and everyone is feeling the same nervousness. If you put forth your best effort, that is all you can hope for." What is the difference between the Miss America pageant pag-eant and Miss U.S.A. pageant? "The two are commonly confused, con-fused, but they are different. The Miss America pageant focuses; on scholarship and service. It's not just a 'beauty pageant.' At the Miss America pageant, more emphasis is put on talent and interviewing." t What were the preparatory workshops like? "The workshops are amazing. They help you feel more prepared pre-pared and teach you the basics of pagenting.' They teach you about walking, make-up, ' hair, what looks good on you, how to maintain a stage presence, how to interview, and how to have good posture. They cover all the basics. Those workshops prepare you to fulfill the duties of a queen." What have you gained from participating in pageants? "A greater understanding of how happiness works. You learn to see how you can make a difference. Just the littlest things you do impact someone else's life. It is the most amazing amaz-ing thing I have seen. I have felt the impact of helping someone and making a difference. You want to become something better bet-ter because you have someone looking up to you." What advice would you give someone about the value of participating in pageants and more specifically, the upcoming Miss Uintah County pageant? "This will impact you for the rest of your life. You will never look back and regret doing this whether you win or not. You will regret nothing because of the friendships you gain and the experiences you have that have made you become who you are. I was scared to death to walk out on the stage, I still am, but it has been worth it." The pageant has really directed direct-ed your course in life, hasn't it? "Yes. This fall I will go to Utah State University and study child psychology with an emphasis in criminal investigation investiga-tion and child abuse. It's something some-thing I really care about and having it as my platform has really directed me even more." Have people been supportive of you? "The Vernal support is huge. I've had a lot more success than many of the other girls have had in raising money to help with the costs. The pageants are-free, but you have to buy things like evening wear arid an interview suit. It's not necessarily nec-essarily money, it is just in support. sup-port. It's different in Vernal. No matter how you do, you feel so good about going because you have so much support behind you." Cassandra Averill What have you gotten out of participating in pageants? "There are so many different differ-ent people you get to meet and work with. There are so many opportunities to meet others and help you discover who you are in an environment that is -p f) lit- HlilRlPW f - ... J i ' f ' i CI ' jJr ' ' t- ., t f . - - ' ' Is," Cassandra Averill (right) passes off the Miss Uintah County crown to Chelsea Roth at last year's Miss Uintah County Pageant. positive." How did you get into pageants? pag-eants? "I did my first pageant at 18. It was the Miss Uintah County pageant. This year, I competed compet-ed in the Miss SUU pageant and am Miss Cedar Breaks. There were wonderful scholarship scholar-ship opportunities and I have enjoyed implementing my platform plat-form in the community." ; You went to Miss Utah last yearhatWMfe? n u,... "It is wondqtfuYou meet so , many neat people and it is a great week." . Are you nervous about going this year? "I'm less nervous than last year, but still nervous." What is your platform? "Read for life. I am stressing early literacy development. I have been volunteering in the library and presenting literacy workshops around the community. commu-nity. I've developed a web site, startyoung.org, to help parents find resources to help their kids. I also speak at events and help people be aware of the resources available. I've distributed distrib-uted early literacy packets and held book drives for underprivileged underpriv-ileged children. Once you get involved service is not a chore, it is so much different." Why do you think it is hard to get young people involved in pageants? "I think many don't understand under-stand what it is. They don't want to be on stage or in a swimming suit, or they don't understand the benefits. The pageant is commonly perceived as a just a beauty pageant until people get involved." What would you say to young people who may be considering trying out for a pageant? "Give it a try. Come to a workshop, work-shop, and see what it is about. Once you see what it is about and what it is, it is hard to not love it." How do the workshops help you prepare? "You , , tft workshops not1 knowing what yoWajfe 'doih"' r! '::'u: m1 and they help you find what you will do for a platform and work on interviews. They help you know about the details like what colors look good on you so you can do your best. It really is wonderful. The workshops are free and people should take advantage of them." What are you doing at SUU? "I'm majoring in dance in psychology with an emphasis on movement therapy. I want ' to work with autistic'1 children ; with' movement disturbances." Miss Uintah County, Chelsea Roth Miss Cedar Breaks, Cassandra Averill Six cyclists, 300 miles, $4500 for ALS By Jennifer Petty Express Writer When Cody Smith was younger, young-er, he and his dad had talked about bicycling to Denver when Cody got older. Unfortunately, Cody's dad, Terry Smith, would never be able to make the 311.6 mile ride from Vernal to Georgetown, Colo, that Cody and his younger brother Brett and other supporters made last week. Terry, husband of Mary Beth Bennis-Smith passed away one year ago of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease. After Smith passed away, the idea to ride to Denver again resurfaced. It was decided to not only complete com-plete the ride in memory of Terry Smith, but also to raise awareness and money for ALS research. Terry Smith was a conservation, conser-vation, officer with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources before he passed away. The group is glad to be participating in something that will contribute contrib-ute "to finding a cure for ALS. e passing of Smith was hard for everyone that was close to him and the ride to Colorado was one way of paying tribute trib-ute to his memory. Said Denise Hughes, "There isn't a day we don't think about him." The group left Vernal on June 18, Father's Day, and returned on June 24, one year to the date after Terry had died. Family friend and trip participant partici-pant Denise Hughes said the group had originally planned on returning one day later, but then couldn't because one of the members had to return earlier. ear-lier. "It just sort of happened that way," said Hughes. Before setting out, the group made the goal to raise $400 dollars dol-lars each to donate to the ALS Association, but through the generous support of many donors and sponsors, the group raised a total of $4500 dollars that will be donated to ALS research. There is no known cure for ALS, which affects the body's nervous system. Approximately 30,000 people in the U.S. currently have ALS, which has no racial, economic or ethnic boundaries. The life expectancy of ALS patients is "SHTH I mum - 1 ( P v Cody Smith climbing Berthood Pass. usually three to five years after diagnosis. Most patients are of middle age and the disease affects men more often than women. The difficulty with ALS, among other things, is that the cause is not completely understood, although researchers research-ers are ' making headway in See Bike ALS on AH) HELP STOP WEST NILE VIRUS! You can play a vital role in the prevention of mosquito-borne West Nile Virus on your property and around your home. Reduce Mosquito Habitat: Do not allow excess irrigation water to stand pooled in the field. Millions of mosquitos can be produced in such water in just a few days. The aquatic mosquito larvae die if deprived of water before they can develop into biting adults. Drain any standing water. Empty water from wheel barrows, tires, tarps, toys, buckets, cans, etc. Remove any unnecessary items which may collect and hold water from the yard. Change water in birdbaths, water troughs and wading pools at least once per week. Do not allow water to stagnate in ornamental garden ponds. Maintain and clean often. Protect Yourself : Use mosquito repellents that contain up to 35 DEET for adults and up to 10 DEET for children 2 months to 1 2 years. Visit the CDC website or consult your doctor for information on applying DEET to very young children. Follow all label instructions. Cover up; wear long sleeves and pants for extra protection. Avoid outdoor activity when mosquitos are present, expecialry from dusk to dawn. Use mosquito netting when sleeping outdoors or in unscreened structures. Seal doors and windows with tight screens in good condition. ' For questions about mosquito prevention or to report potential breeding sites in your area call the Mosquito Abatement District at 789-4105. A message from . UINTAH MOSQUITO ABATEMENT DISTRICT S4 JL ste, -J-L p o Mr |