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Show Oil and Meth Continued from Al detect possible meth use by observing ob-serving his employees. "They're extremely jittery, repetitive..." Materi explained of meth users. "They'll put a wrench down and pick it back up, put a wrench down and pick it back up, while they're talking to you. They talk to you for a second, look away, talk, look away, itch, picking at their clothing like they're extremely angry and frustrated... There's a patte n that repeats itself, you know, that's pretty easy to spot really." Daniel, previous oil field worker and Utah State Prison inmate, said, "When you get the high and that amp, you don't really re-ally listen to people, you just want to hurry and get things done and try to impress people. . .you don't actually sit there and listen to the cautions that go on. I've watched people get their chests blown out, decapitated, lose arms, legs, lots of fingers.. .You know just being sober it's very dangerous, but whenever you add meth to it, it's out of control." Aside from the compromised safety, companies also suffer from high turnover as a result of widespread meth use. Most oil and gas companies require pre-employment and random drug testing. Intermountain Toxicology performs drug testing for many Foreclosures Continued from Al high. However, in his position as the manager of Zions Bank in Vernal, VanTassell said he is seeing one trend that concerns him: People are depending more on the immense overtime hours often associated with the energy extraction industry to balance their budgets. "They are spending everything every-thing they get, but if those overtime over-time hours suddenly decrease, they aren't going to be able to By the Numbers Households in foreclosure 2005 Duchesne, Uintah County .05 percent Utah 1.5 percent Nationally .76 percent 2006 Duchesne, Uintah County Utah r .., ... Nationally 4 2007 Duchesne, Uintah County Utah Nationally Foreclosures 2005 Duchesne County Uintah County 2006 Duchesne County Uintah County 2007 Duchesne County Uintah County Source: American Lamb Board The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agri-culture's AgriculturalMarketing Service (AMS) announced the nomination period for solicitation solicita-tion to the Lamb Promotion, Research Re-search and Information Board, more commonly known as the American Lamb Board (ALB). Five positions are up for appointment appoint-ment this year-two producer slots, one feeder, one first handler han-dler and one seedstock position. The two producer-director positions for which nominations are needed include those of David Trotter (Ind.) and John Oswalt (Mich.). Trotter represents producers who own 100 head of sheep or less annually. Oswalt represents producers who own more than 500 head of sheep annually. an-nually. Both represent Region 1, which consists of the states east of the Mississippi River. Trotter is eligible to be re-nominated to the board; however, Oswalt is not eligible for re-appointment as he has completed the limit of two consecutive three-year terms. As a certified national organization, orga-nization, the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) is authorized au-thorized to nominate individuals for the two producer positions. rfa.tf "Urn A jLV 1 n - local oil, gas and other retail companies. Owner Jonna May has noticed the trend of big dollar oil companies maintaining their drug free work place' policies while smaller companies are less st.ict. "One positive change I have seen in the last six months is that many of the bigger companies are now requiring the smaller sub companies to meet their standard of a strictly drug free work zone," May explained. There is a glitch in the system, however, from May's perspective. The different companies do not communicate when an employee fails a drug test and is terminated; termi-nated; a relationship that May believes could combat the continued con-tinued meth problem. The only way a company would know that an applicant had failed a previous drug test at another company is if the applicant volunteered that information. According to May, many drug users know how to continue using drugs while moving from company to company. After learning learn-ing how long a drug can stay in their system, they stay clean long enough to apply for a job and pass the drug test. Knowing there could be a random drug test, the drug user works and uses until submitted to the random test and fails. Rather than take the drug test, many will just quit on the spot because they know they can apply at another company. In addition to performing drug tests for oil companies, make ends meet," VanTassell said. "Right now, there are plenty of hours to go around, but I 'd still encourage people to stay within their budget and buy what they can really afford." Wes Heward, a community loan officer at Zions Bank in Roosevelt, said another factor that can land people in trouble when it comes to making their mortgage payments are interest-only interest-only loans. Zions doesn't offer those types of loans, Heward said, but not a week passes without with-out him hearing from someone calling the bank to ask about .01 percent .1.7 peccent. ; 1.09 percent .03 percent 1.1 percent 1 .77 percent 5 3 2 0 2 4 RealtyTrac AMS requires a minimum of two nominees for each director seat. Those interested in being considered as producer nominees to this board should contact their state sheep producer association, ' ASI regional representative or ASI state director. Applications, which are available at www.ams. must be received at the ASI office on or before Friday, May 2, in order to allow al-low time for the ASI executive board to finalize nominee selections selec-tions to be submitted to AMS. The terms of Joe Harper (WVa.), a feeder; Bill Brennan (Iowa), a first handler; and Laurie Lau-rie Hubbard (Pa.), a seedstock producer, are also expiring in December. Hubbard is eligible for re-appointment; however, Harper and Brennan are not eligible eli-gible since they have completed the limit of two consecutive three-year terms. Individuals interested in being nominated to these positions may contact the ALB for a list of certified nominating organizations at 866-327-5262 or infotfameri-canlambboard.org. infotfameri-canlambboard.org. U Li -t .J lJ ' " A I 54 North Vernal Avenue Vernal Intermountain Toxicology works with many local retail businesses. In the last two years May says most of the oil field companies as well as other retail businesses have worked hard to create drug free workplaces. With many companies in the oil industry doing their best to maintain a drug free work zone there is still a need to educate workers in the oil industry on the resources that are available to them. A new resource available to all local companies but targeting companies in the oil industry is a meth prevention presentation offered by Northeastern Counseling. Coun-seling. The counseling center received a grant to address meth use in the oil industry. Robin Taylor of Northeastern Northeast-ern Counseling travels to the company headquarters or any convenient location where she will give a free presentation covering the dangerous reality of methamphetamine use; focusing on where to get help, support, and treatment. "The goal is to increase awareness and offer alternatives before they lose their job," said Taylor. "We want to increase early intervention and dispel the 'wonderful energy' myth surrounding meth use. We want to let the employees know about any employer assistant programs and that their confidentiality is protected by law. Hopefully, we can ease their concerns and fears; break through the 'it won't happen hap-pen to me' stereotype so people them. "People get these interest-only interest-only loans thinking they are going to flip a house and make a big profit in a year or two," he said. "Nationwide, those are the types of people who are getting caught." . On a state level, RealtyTrac's 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report ranked Utah 15th in the nation for its foreclosure rate. Collected data also showed that the Beehive State had 4.99 percent more filings in January 2008 than in January 2007. VanTassell said the topic of foreclosure has been addressed in recent legislative sessions. As part of these discussions, legislators have interviewed homebuilders who are used to selling 30 homes a month and are now selling just two or three homes a month. An oversupply of houses has lead to a buyer's market, not a seller's market, VanTassell said. "One oftheissues that comes iip jn th insinuation, is that people '"are scfirnwith a drrtWatafe sure," he said. "The impact of that could cause some problems that could filter down to the Uintah Basin in a few years." Nationally, foreclosure rates have reached an all-time high. According to a survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association, over 900,000 households are in the foreclosure process, up 71 percent from a year ago. That figure is the highest rate in the report's 36-year history. RealtyTrac spokesman Daren Bloomquist said one factor that has led to the increase in foreclosure fore-closure rates is liberal lending practices, which allow homeowners homeown-ers to purchase homes they really won't be able to afford in the long run. But lending standards are now being tightened, he said. "We've learned from the mistakes of the past few years, where people were allowed to take out loans without having the income to really support them," Bloomquist said. "But those loan products are now a thing of the . past, and that bodes well for areas like the Uintah Basin." K1 r:", ? UINTAH BASIN Express who are struggling can learn about resources available to them and truly get a second chance." Taylor understands that it costs the companies to have their crew attending the presentation rather than out working. She is willing1 to accommodate the needs of each company, coming com-ing in for their early morning safety meeting for example and modifying the presentation to fit a shorter amount of time. Having employees that use Have Laser treatments done right here in the Basin Clinic that you have heard about on the Oprah Show, in Vogue, Bazaar, Self, and Time Magazines and other media coverage! Procedure Eyebrow (middle) Upper Lip or Chin Front of Neck Back of Neck Bikini Area Underarms Lower Back Upper Back Entire Back Arms Lower Lees Entire Legs Misc. fingers, hands, toes, feet, lower cheek, ect. Acne Spider Vein Big city BASIN CLINIC 1 379 North 500 West, Suite 1 A Vernal, Utah 84078 789-1165 Withths warmkig weather: and ' the Western retroieum wants to7 remind all 'customers mat tney snould inspect their gas line piping as it enters into their homes. Be sure to inspect and make sure there is no snow & ice build up around the piping and regulator, this could cause damage and i potential problems. t If you see anything that concerns you or you think could be a problem, please call the professionals at Western Petroleum at 722-5171 A message from your friends at Western Petroleum nnn V.-.J EPc3tti?aDQcinEnra, Wednesday, March 19, 2008 meth increases absenteeism, lowers workers productivity and safety, and increases workers compensation claims. If you are interested in having a free meth prevention presentation at your company please call Robin Taylor at 725-6334. The presentation is available for all local companies; not just those in the oil industry. indus-try. This is part three of a five part series examining methamphet Price per treatment $25 $50 Separate or $75 (both) $75 $75 $100 $75 $100 $100 $150 $100 $100 $150 $75 every 15 mins. $15 for up to 10 blemishes $75 for 15 mins technology for small town prices! , I1M . iVr3., J uuuu Utah State University Uintah Basin Scholarship Deadlines Fall Spring Semester April 1st Apply Now! Am 77? A3 amine use in the Uintah Basin. Share comments about this article ar-ticle on www.vernal.com. Online resources www.endrnethnow.prg wwvxrstalmethxvrg wromet hresou r ces . gov www. dry gfree.org www. t i met otal k , org w7ww.tric0untyhealth.com Packages of 3 $60 3 treatments $135 6 treatments $240 3 for $135 or 6 for $360 3 for $135 or 6 for $360 3 for $270 or 6 for $480 3 for $135 or 6 for $360 3 for $270 or 6 for $480 3 for $270 or 6 for $480 3 for $405 or 6 for $720 3 for $270 or 6 for $480 3 for$270'or6for $480 3 for $405 or 6 for $720 J 1 'AJ.''"',1. i ! 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