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Show A2 Wednesday, November 15, 1 ' f .. ; - " - : T i ; - ; - i Deanne and Ryan Sparks with their baby, Wiley Couple thankful they got caught By Janine Shannon Express Writer It was a beautiful evening in May when police showed up knocking at her door. She and her husband had been smoking pot in the yard, so she knew why they had come. She thought to herself, "Oh no, what have I done?" A few minutes min-utes later she and her husband were in handcuffs and their two-year-old baby was taken away. Deanne Sparks had no idea that six months later she would be thanking the police officers who took her to jail or the agency that took custody of her child. Sparks had experimented with methamphetamine before and knew it gave her an energy boost. So after she had a baby, she resorted to the drug to give her the energy she needed to get through the day. "Every day is a struggle," Sparks said. "When you have a baby it's even more of a struggle." strug-gle." She started using drugs consistently about a year ago, buying methamphetamine off the streets in Vernal. Then it all seemed to fall apart when she and her husband, Ryan, got busted. In the smoke-filled room of their apartment, police found a baggie of meth, marijuana mari-juana stems in the carpet, bags of marijuana hidden in their baby's stuffed animals, and a pipe in the diaper bag. The couple cou-ple knew they had messed up and needed help. After spending five nights in jail, the couple found themselves them-selves homeless and living on the street. Then they both got jobs and stayed in a hotel until just about a week ago. Since their arrest, both have been to Northeastern Counseling Center and have attended Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings. They have been able to see their babv who is currently cur-rently in fop' zare, three times a wp jetting their TriCounty Dental Clinic receives grant Joseph B. Shaffer, DirectorHealth Direc-torHealth Officer, TriCounty Health Department is pleased to announce that the TriCounty Dental Clinic has received a $10,000 grant from the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation. Foun-dation. This grant is designated to support the TriCounty Health Department's Dental Clinic, specifically to assist in purchasing purchas-ing dental equipment to provide improved services to the unin-suredunderinsured unin-suredunderinsured residents of Daggett, Duchesne, and Uintah Uin-tah counties. Acquiring this greatly need 2006 baby back is the couple's main goal, and it gives them reason to work hard to deserve another anoth-er chance. "You have to do right to get your child back," Sparks said. "Most people just give up. In my eyes there is no other way." Before her sentencing last Tuesday, Deanne Sparks wanted to thank Vernal Police Officers Michael Gledhill and Brent Hatch, as well as Shauna Harding, their caseworker at Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS), for helping her see another way. J "They opened my eyes to a world I was not aware of," she said. "They have shown us the real road of sobriety." It is not over yet for the Sparks, but they are headed in the right direction. The couple recently moved out of the hotel into a mobile home, and they will continue to do what they need to do to regain custody of their son, Wiley. "We dropped every single one of our friends," she said. "We must live a life together." The couple were sentenced last Tuesday. Ryan received two years probation for endan-germent endan-germent of a child, originally a third degree felony amended to a class A misdemeanor, and for illegal possessionuse of a controlled con-trolled substance, a class B misdemeanor. mis-demeanor. Deanne received ten days in jail and two years probation pro-bation for illegal possession use of a controlled substance, a third degree felony amended to a class A misdemeanor, and for endangerment of a child, a third degree felony amended to a class A misdemeanor. For anyone facing similar circumstances, Sparks said that you do not need drugs for energy. ener-gy. Happiness, she said, should be enough fuel. She advised that if you have problems, get help. "It's bee. ough road," she said. "You h. to learn how to have fun again." ed dental equipment will help TriCounty Health Department to better accommodate and perform per-form the crucial dental care that is needed for the local communities. communi-ties. The TriCounty Health Department De-partment Dental Clinic is now serving over 6,000 patients. For more information concerning con-cerning this subject or any of the services offered by TriCounty TriCoun-ty Health, call 866-27S0246, (435) 781-5475 Vernal, (435) 722-6300 Roosevelt, (435) 738-2202 Duchesne. Duch-esne. They can also be contacted contact-ed through their website www. tricountyhealth.com. flp&ciadj&ue Regies Todd students honor veterans at ceremony Students at Todd School honored Veterans on Friday with a special flag raising ceremony. Members of the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary Post 4519 of Ft. Duchesne raised the flag while the Red Spirit Singers sang an honor song. After the honor song, the students sang several patriotic songs while waving the small flags given to them by VFW Post 4519. Fund makes affordable housing Six affordable housing projects, including four in the Uintah Basin, have been awarded close to three quarters quar-ters of a million dollars in funding from the Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund. The fund's board on Wednesday announced the awards, which total some $750,000 in grants and low- BLM holiday tree cutting permits to be issued The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) - Vernal Field Office will begin selling Christmas tree cutting permits per-mits on November 15. The pinion pin-ion pine and juniper tree tags are $5 each with one permit allowed per household. An individual indi-vidual may purchase up to five tags, but they need to provide the name and address of each person for which the tags are being purchased. Maps of the tree cutting areas are provided with each tag along with the personal-use tree policy, conservation con-servation code, and recycling information. Tree tags are available in Vernal at: BLM Field Office -170 S 500 E Davis Jubilee - 575 West Main Tree tags are available in Roosevelt at: Ashley National Forest - 650 WHwy40 Davis Jubilee - 750 E 200 N Man charged with attempted murder receives sentence In June earner this year, Emmett Wesley Duncan of Ft. Duchesne, was arrested by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and charged with attempted murder, mur-der, a second degree felony, and aggravated burglary, a first degree felony. As part of a plea agreement, Duncan pled guilty to attempted murder and the other charge was dismissed. Last week Duncan was sentenced sen-tenced by Judge John Anderson to an indeterminate prison term of one to 15 years. According to court records the victim, Jose Vidal, was treated at the Ashley Valley Medical Center on June 3 for stab wounds, one of which punctured his lung. Vidal provided a description of the attacker and told authorities he was stabbed after answering the door to his residence. A few days later, law enforcement got an anony interest loans for the purchase, renovation or construction of 52 affordable housing units across the state. The projects, according to a news release from the state Department of Community and Culture, include: ''A ' $38,050 grant to the Uintah Basin Association of Governments for two homeless Stewart's Marketplace - 245 WHwy40 The holiday tree recycling program, sponsored by the Vernal Chamber of Commerce -Conservation Issues Committee, will have a drop off site at 100 North 100 West (behind Old Towne Printing) again. You may drop off your tree from January 2 through January 14. Trees will be chipped to make landscaping mulch or used in wildlife habitat improvements. While creating holiday memories mem-ories when searching for the perfect family holiday tree, be sure to be safe, please stay on established roads, protect wildlife, wild-life, leave gates closed, respect fences and other property, and carry out litter. For additional information on tree cutting on your BLM land, visit the website at http: www.blm.govutahvernal or call the Vernal Field Office at (435) 781-4400. mous call identifying the stab-ber stab-ber as Emmett Duncan and the man who accompanied him as Thomas Montes. The caller said Duncan bragged at a bar after the incident that he had "poked a Mexican." In fear of retaliation retalia-tion from Duncan or Montes, the caller refused to give his her own name. On June 13, the victim said that he also had not given the name of his attacker for fear of retaliation. Vidal said when he answered the door, Montes grabbed his shirt to pull him out of the residence. Vidal resisted Montes, and then Duncan entered the residence and stabbed him with a knife, once in the chest and two times in the leg. Duncan was arrested two days later. Montes was also charged in June. His case is still pending. transitional housing units in Roosevelt. A two-year, zero-interest loan of $460,000 for construction construc-tion of four affordable homes in Manila. A $148,147 loan, at 4.5 percent per-cent interest for 30 years, for 30 years as additional funds" for the construction of 22 units in Springdale. Vernal airport gets new manager Philip Oviatt has been named as the new airport manager for the Uintah CountyVernal City Municipal Airport. He brings over ten years of experience working in the public sector and in the commercial airline industry. Oviatt worked for several agencies including the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the city of Las Vegas, and SkyWest Airlines. He earned a Master of Arts degree in communicationscorporate communicationscor-porate relations and a Bachelor of Arts degree in communicationspublic communica-tionspublic relations from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. A native of Vernal, Oviatt recently relocated back to the area to raise his two children. He will assume the duties of (ISSN 0892-1091) Published every Wednesday for $26 per year in the shopping area and $42 per year out out of the shopping area within the state and $46 per year out of state within the USA by the Vernal Express Publishing Company, 54 North Vernal Avenue, Vernal, Utah 84078. Periodical postage paid at Vernal, Utah, 84078 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to VERNAL EXPRESS, P.O Box 1000, Vernal, Utah 84078. Steven R. Wallis Editor and Publisher Jen Petty Writer Janine Shannon Writer Elizabeth Goode Writer Sarah Forsgren Writer Gabrielle Jones Legals, Obit, Classifieds Patty John .Proofreader Jennifer Downard AdsLayout Heaher Crosby AdsLayout , JacqueHobbs Advertising Eric Petty Advertising Harriet Harding Circulation & Billing Phone: 435-789-3511 FAX: 453-789-8690 Website: www.vernal.com email: editorvernal.com DEADLINES News Friday 5 p.m. J Display Advertising Friday 5 p.m. Classified Advertising Friday 12 Noon Public Notices . . . Friday 12 Noon possible A $51,040 30-year loan, at 1.5 percent interest, for construction con-struction of 22 units in Vernal. A $15,000 grant to the Utah Paiute Tribal Housing Authority for a low-income, single-family home. A $40,000 no-interest loan to rehabilitate an Ogden home for homeless veterans. Philip Oviatt airport manager when current airport manager Jeff Merrell takes office as Uintah County Sheriff in January, 2007. |