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Show Iiiilii!iiliiil!iilililiiliiil!ilililiiiiiiilliililiiili'll! Ex.p. 112009 UTAH PRFSS ASSOCIATION w! I 1 521 E 3900 S BG 6 tffcVUAJi SALT LAKE CITY UT 84124-1 5U1 Wednesday, January 3, 2007 Single Copy 50C Vernal, Utah 84078 1 15th Year No. 1 mm AMAZON FISHING SEE 06 ' ti ,77i ai ry n I . ) I Iff ( v -Sfc rSOi - in I www.vernal.com ' : iBT ' ATHLETE " " ' . : J) - m What does it take? ' J i d. 1 haL 3319 3819 Jmes of sun and Partly cloudy. Highs plouds. Highs in the in the upper 30s and MrsfBaSy arrTveTon'Jan. l to an Pilcher. First baby arrives The first baby of the New Year born at Ashley Valley Medical Center came at 10:07 a.m. Jan. 1 and was born on. the parent's anniversary. The boy was born to Heidi and Kevin Pilcher of Vernal. He weighed 5 pounds 9 ounces and was 19 inches long. He is the fifth child in the Pilcher family and will be named AJ. The Pilchers also celebrated their 6th anniversary anniver-sary Monday. Other children in the family are Hailee, 15; Donovan, 8; Alex, 5 and Keegan, 2. He is the grandson of Dallas and Twana Deans of Vernal and Mike and Margaret Pilcher of Vernal. "He came a little earlier than expected," said Heidi, "but we were a expecting a New Year's baby." The infant was delivered by his father, Kevin, with assistance assis-tance from Dr. John Griffin. As the first baby of the year at Ashley Valley Medical Center, he is eligible for gifts from Ashley Trading Post, Smith's Pepsi, Jones Paint and Glass, American Family Insurance, Casa Rios, Kmart, the Chalet, the Petal Shop, Accents, Vernal Floral and Weddings, Digipix Studios, True Value, Kelly Boren Photography, Lamplighter Restaurant & Motel, Shivers & Jitters, Country Flair, Uintah Packing, Vernal Express, AVMC, The Little Sweet Pea, Davis Food and Drug, The Oak House, Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart, Pizza Hut, Golden Corral, 7-11 Ranch Restaurant and Gift Shop, Wendy's, Prime Cut Academy and Vernal Theatres. ,' ' J I Elected officials take oath of office administered by Judge A. Lynn Payne. County officials are Mike McKee, commissioner; John Slaugh, surveyor; Randy Simmons, recorder; JoAnn Stringham, attorney; Darlene Burns, commissioner; Rolene Rasmussen, assessor; Wendi Long, treasurer; Jeff Merrell, sheriff and Mike Wilkins, clerk-auditor. overjoyed tamiiy. iney are Haiiee,m Donovan Keegan, Alex, aj (newborn),'and selected! By Elizabeth Goode Express Writer At a special meeting on Dec. 28, the Uintah School District Board of Education selected Perry Taylor for the remainder of the term of Jennifer Foley. Foley is moving out of the area with her family. Nine candidates were pres-. ent: Josln Jensen Batty, Brian Gorum, Patrice Holyoak, Shane Luck, Michael Petersen, Kevin Remington, Perry Taylor, Eldon Walton and Bruce Wilkinson. As the interviews were conducted, con-ducted, questions were asked, one question at a time, of each of the applicants, in a round-table round-table fashion. Each candidate was allowed two minutes of. response time. Many thoughtful thought-ful statements were made; although there was a natural overlap of responses, each candidate can-didate had a remark that made his or her answer unique. At the end, three minutes were allowed per candidate for closing clos-ing remarks pertaining to their suitability for the board position. posi-tion. , The first question was "What are the three most pressing issues the school district is facing?" fac-ing?" Taylor's reply was that it is the number one responsibility responsibil-ity of the Board to prepare students stu-dents for the real world, for the families they will have, and the jobs they will do. "Students are not seeing the need for education educa-tion after high school. They are not looking at the long term. They are just out the door to make money." He noted that both parents and students need to be made aware of the future value of higher education rather rath-er than leaving school to make the wages that are escalated Excited to ll? :it iiff-- 4 """"lJ""" ! cr- V'"g:?'jr-F;i-v. -4' '-" to replace Folev 'J u u now. "As a business, we have trouble trou-ble hiring locally for trained staff members like accountants accoun-tants and managers." Other top issues Taylor mentioned were the growth of the area, and the importance of the quality of education. "Gov. Huntsman has stepped up to the plate for the future of quality education," said Taylor, "and the School Board needs to make that step, too." All candidates recognized the challenge of growth and the need for managing it. Most named the future teacher shortage short-age due to retirement of present pres-ent staff, indicating the importance impor-tance of budgeting for teachers' salaries and benefits to keep new teachers in the Uintah Basin. They encouraged the board to continue facing the challenges of communication, coordination and cooperation among the educators, the staff, the administrators, and the board members. They named the importance of developing the relationships begun with UBATC and USU. The present upgrading of facilities and need for future building were noted as future funding challenges. Also emphasized were the need for building on community val take office mother anSlfather, leTbTaTtOevIn ues and maintaining an envi ronment where students want to learn and teachers want to teach. With question number two, candidates were , asked, "What is your response to students stu-dents that are dropping out of school?" . Perry Taylor discussed the issue of quality versus that of quantity. "Quantity is the money that is attractive, but quality matters, too, for what will happen down the road." He urged counselors to work with students throughout their education, edu-cation, not just in the last year. He said that he would talk to students about meeting goals, staying on-target. "We have to deal with personalities and work through it with them." The candidates repeated the statistics that show a high school graduate earns more money in a lifetime than a "drop-out," and a college graduate gradu-ate (generally) earns more than a high school graduate. Their futures in the "oil field" would be more promising with education. edu-cation. Some candidates felt it was important to be blunt in responding to the student, indicating that it would be a big mistake to drop out, and working "to buy a big truck" is a short-term goal. Many candidates candi-dates felt that parents need to be taught how to encourage the students to stay in school. . Some mentioned reversing the "No-D" rule; making the curriculum curric-ulum relate to work activities so the students can see the need for learning; community service ser-vice that would be credited; and attitude training at all levels of students and staff. Several mentioned men-tioned the need for students to See New Board Member on A6 V v ' ' "V" p IToinl of 2006 - The Top Ten stories of 2006 reflect a county that is being impacted impact-ed by growth and its struggle to repair and build infrastructure to support the growth. To diversify nearly $30 million in mineral lease money coming to the Uintah Transportation and the Uintah Recreation Districts, Uintah County commissioners last August approved the creation of three new districts and the modification of an existing district. The new districts are Uintah Animal Control and Shelter, Uintah Economic Development and the Uintah Fire Suppression District. Each of the four Districts have their own board of five members mem-bers and are funded by a percentage of the mineral lease money. Members of the boards were appointed by the Uintah County Commission. The Health Care District was modified to include the Golden Age Center and the Uintah County portion of TriCounty Health. The story was voted number 10 by the Vernal Express staff. During 2006 gas prices hit an all-time high. Last May the average price in Vernal for a gallon of regular, self-service gasoline was $2.91. Utah's average was 2 cents less than the national average. One of the reasons gas prices were so high was the switch over to ethanol. Refineries removed the MTBE additive and replaced it with ethanol, and local service stations had to make changes to accommodate the new fuel. Once the switch to ethanol was completed, com-pleted, prices leveled off. All of the states in the Intermountain West experienced jumps in their average gas price, but none experience expe-rience as great a jump as Utah's 57-cent increase. The story was voted number 9 in the Top Ten. At the first of last year, a near tragic event was avoided with the return of a 17-month-old girl after a high speed chase from Vernal into Duchesne County. On New Year's Day last year, Vernal City Police were dispatched to a report of a vehicle theft in which Kimbrie Harrison, a 17-month-old was still in the vehicle. Her mother had left the pickup running only for a few moments when a man came from nowhere and took off with the truck. The suspect evaded officers at speeds of 100 miles per hour driving on only one good tire and three rims. Terrell Ziegler, 27, of Vernal was taken into custody and the infant, which her mother called "my miracle," mira-cle," was safely returned. The story was voted number 8 for 2006. Last month a double-tanker carrying crude oil crashed into the Fruitland All Country general store in WestenrDuchesne County The accident occurred when Natalie Roundy, 86 of Fruitland, entered onto Highway 40 into the path of the tanker truck. Roundy was killed in the accident. The impact of the collision propelled the tractor-trailer into a parked pickup truck and pushed both into the building. Store owner, Charlotte Carr, just missed being hit by the second vehicle, her own pickup. The story was ranked number 7. Last March, Bob Williams made a contribution of $5.3 million in property to a future Utah State University Vernal Campus. The gift ushers in a new era for higher education in the area. It is the second largest contribution to the university in its 118-year history. his-tory. The total property deeded to the university was 138 acres, which is 33 acres more than the size of the original Logan campus in 1888. Driving to and from his ranch every day, Williams said he had always admired the property around Uintah High School. The property belonged to the Merkleys. It was homesteaded by Warren Merkley and Marie Volyles' grandfather around 1870. Now the property will be the location for the new UBATC and USU building and a higher education campus. The story was voted number 6. After a search of the Jensen area the body of a woman was found near where her vehicle had burned. She had been missing nearly a week when on Thanksgiving Day, authorities received a phone call from a citizen advising that the boy of Kimberly Turney, had been found. The area was 1.9 miles southeast of Highway 40 and the Redwash Road intersection near Jensen. The body was located locat-ed approximately three-quarters of a mile from where her vehicle vehi-cle had been found on fire Nov. 17. Turney was reported as being distraught and missing on Nov. 17. Officials searched the area around Jensen. After the vehicle's fire was extinguished, it was determined that she was not in the vehicle. Officials are awaiting an autopsy to determine the cause of death. The story was voted number 5. After over 9 years of requesting funding for a higher education building in Vernal, this year the Utah Legislature approved the building for nearly $10 million. The $14.5 million building will jointly host classes from Uintah Basin Applied Technology College and Utah State University. Paul Hacking, UBATC president, said the new building will enhance the lives of people for years to come. Making the difference this year in the funding for the building was available funding for capital facilities and the willingness of Uintah County to provide matching funding. The story was ranked number 4 for the year. At number 3 for 2006 was the ground breaking on a $15.9 million Uintah Recreation Center on the Kay property located at 500 South Vernal Ave. The facility should be completed by fall of this year and be one of the venues on the 78 acres of property. The center will occupy about 12 acres of the property. Layton Construction Company is the primary contract. EDA Architects designed the 78,000 square foot center which will feature various activity spaces based on public input. It will include a double gym, indoor lap pool, indoor leisure pool with two slides and water toys, party rooms, public meeting areas, conference room, running tracks, support and storage area, administrative offices, aerobic and dance areas, childcare and a climbing wall. The number 2 story of the year was about the life of Deputy Kevin Orr, who died in a helicopter accident while searching for a lost woman. Attending Orr's funeral were local law enforcement and emergency personnel as well as agencies from across the state. The helicopter went down after it hit high voltage power lines that crossed the Green River. They were searching for Kimberly Turney who had, been missing for nearly a week. Orr was described by fellow officers as a cop who wanted to make a difference differ-ence by changing people's lives. His funeral was held in November and he was laid to rest in the Lapoint cemetery. When the world renowned Dinosuar Quarry building was closed to visitors last July, people were stunned. The decision to shut down the facility was not an easy one for the Dinosaur National Monument Superintendent Mary Risser. It was with grave concern con-cern that doors were shut on the facility which houses one of the most unique displays of Jurassic period fossils in the world. "I don't know of anywhere in the world were you can see dinosaur dino-saur fossils in relief like here," Risser said. The closure of the facility came suddenly because of concerns about the soundness of the building. A study in 1993 See Too Ten on A5 teres |