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Show Karate Master Continued from Al Kenai, Alaska, in 1985. "There's not a lot to do in Alaska in the wintertime. I had had friends who had started karate classes. In the 1980s it wasn't something that was as widespread, and there was still quite a degree of mysticism and the unknown." He admits that as a high school freshman in the mid-'80s he also had visions of Jedi Knights and "Star Wars" films in his head. "When you get involved in the traditional martial arts, you're not disappointed. There's really cool history; you learn about warrior classes of the Asian cultures." Wallenda stuck with the martial arts, earning his black belt in 1991, his second degree black belt in 1994 and his third degree in 1998. (There are nine degrees of black belt in Tang Soo Do. The ninth degree is unfilled and held in honor of founder, the late Hwang Kee. Grand masters are eighth degree; international masters are sixth and seventh, and fourth and fifth are masters. mas-ters. He first taught Tang Soo Do Basin's September labor market shows signs of slowdown By Mary Bernard Express Writer Uintah County's "year-over job growth settled at 4.2 percent in the quarter ended Sept. 2008," according to the Utah Department Depart-ment of Workforce Services, down from 7.3 percent for the same quarter in 2007. Despite the slowdown, employment em-ployment figures still remain high throughout the Basin. Uintah County's seasonally adjusted ad-justed unemployment rate was 2.3 percent - compared to 2.7 percent in Duchesne County and 3.7 percent statewide. Nationally, the unemployment rate is 6.1 percent. Job growth has slowed down overall, during the past six-quarters,. six-quarters,. -and . WFS, . attributes" the slow-down to "the abrupt pull-back in the growth of the county's oil-and-gas industry," which lost 104 jobs in 2008. Not included in these WFS' figures is the recent closure of Badger Drilling in the Roosevelt area. The company has laid off 60 employees, taking two of its four rigs from the area and a crew who opted to make the move to Texas. "This is not a downturn, by FOOD FOR THOUGHT: By Tabatha Deans Express Reporter Every parent knows how difficult dif-ficult it can be to plan nutritious meals for children. They also know the challenge of serving a variety of tasty meals that satisfy the wants and needs of multiple children. Imagine having to plan delicious, deli-cious, healthy meals for more than 5,000 children every day, then add to that mix students who have special dietary needs - such as diabetes and food allergies, al-lergies, budgetary constraints and mandatory nutrition guidelines. guide-lines. Sherry Hardman, school food services coordinator for Uintah County School District, and her trained staff, provide lunch for nearly 6,000 students in the Come See Vernal's Fastest selling new home community.. SUN5UR.ST Sales office and model homes open Mon-Fri 9-5; Sat 10-4 Come visit us at 484 West 2100 South or call Licia at 435-781-8567 in the Vernal area in the early to mid-'90s, then left the area on a work assignment. He returned to the Basin in 2004 to teach at Utah State University's extension exten-sion campus and also resumed teaching Tang Soo Do. His martial mar-tial arts path made a slight detour to allow him to earn a Bachelor of Science in history from USU and Master of Arts in political science. This summer he quit his teaching job at USU, he says, to dedicate his time completely to teaching karate. Does he feel any different now that he has become a master instructor? "What's changed? I'm still figuring it out," he says. As a master instructor, he says he is to be an example to his students and charged with influencing their lives in a positive way, in showing them the path. "I think my responsibility is much more magnified. That's what "do" means, the path, in Tang Soo Do. This goes back to the Buddhist influence in the arts: The idea that you're trying to work your way to enlightenment, enlighten-ment, slowly, as close as you can in a mortal state. any means," says Marilyn Wallis, director ofthe Vernal WFSoffice. "If anything, it's a leveling off, because employers are still seeking seek-ing employees everywhere in the area." Wallis says the layoffs at Badger Bad-ger Drilling are employees who did not want to relocate to Texas, adding they will likely finds jobs in the area quickly. Outside of the energy industry, indus-try, the county's employment situation seems strong. Non-farm Non-farm employment in Aug. 2008 was 14,707 jobs, up 3.1 percent over Aug. 2007. Nearby, in Duchesne County there has been significant job growth, with 911 new jobs this August over last August. --For- the Basin as a whole, diicju5y)g Uintali, ljuchesne and Daggett counties, mining offers the largest number of job openings open-ings (an estimated 314 vacancies) followed by construction (213 openings) and retail (202 openings). open-ings). The largest single employer in Uintah County is the school district, followed by Halliburton, Uintah County, the Ute Indian Tribe, and Wal-Mart. More information is available at http:jobs.utah.gov. district every school day, about 40 of whom have diabetes or severe food allergies. Hardman presented the school board with a new policy regarding services for children with special dietary needs, that outlines procedures she would like to see adopted in elementary schools, to ensure the safety of students with special dietary needs. "We've done a good job of meeting these students' needs," said Hardman. "But we'd like to have a uniform procedure that is followed in all schools." Hardman, who was a secretary secre-tary in the food services department depart-ment for 11 years before becoming becom-ing coordinator nearly two years ago, said she had seen an increase in the number of students with dietary restrictions. Allergies to foods such as peanuts and gluten TERRACE . 4 Over105soldH only 15 left! 'Payments subjsct to change. Vernal School board, parents, work closely together to get kids to school safely By Tabatha Deans Express Reporter Sherry Brokaw, parent and spokesperson for the Sunburst Terrace community, presented Uintah School District board members with a petition signed by parents in her community, requesting a school bus stop for the 43 children who live in Sunburst. Brokaw said she was concerned con-cerned for the children's safety as they walk the 1.5 miles to school, citing as safety hazards large truck traffic and lack of sidewalks. Areas within 1.5 miles of schools are considered "parental responsibility zones," but during the Aug. 26 school board meeting, board members voted to reinstate bus services to two areas around Discovery Elementary and Ashley Elementary. Elemen-tary. Brokaw and members ofthe Sunburst community were hoping hop-ing for the same consideration. "There's already a bus that goes past there on its way to Quailbrook," said Brokaw. "And it's only half full." Board members were sympathetic sym-pathetic to Brokaw's plight but were unable to satisfy her request Business By Tabatha Deans Express Reporter Busing issues, special dietary needs of students in the district, dis-trict, and inner-district school transfers dominated the Uintah School Board's Sept. 30 meeting. meet-ing. Fewer than a dozen community com-munity members turned out for the meeting, which began with board members recognizing local wrestler Gregg Stensgard for his performance in Russia at the Veteran's Wrestling Conference. After viewing slides of that wrestling wres-tling match, members presented Stensgard with an action figure of the "Incredible Hulk," setting set-ting a light-hearted tone for the evening. Ross Watkins, student representative rep-resentative on the school board, gave a brief report on the state of Uintah High School, stating that "there is a lot going on with sports," and that "our new principals are awesome, and the student council is doing great." Citizen Sherry Brokaw presented pre-sented the board with a petition signed by 90 percent of residents who live in the Sunburst Terrace community, requesting a school bus stop in that neighborhood for students who attend Discovery Elementary. "We would like a bus stop in Sunburst Terrace. There are approximately 43 kids in the can cause severe reactions in students, including rashes, drop in blood pressure, swelling ofthe tongue and throat, shortness of breath, nausea and stomach cramps. Hardman said the district has not had a fatal incident involving students, and she would like to keep it that way. "Peanut allergies can be really bad," she said. "Our head cooks check every ingredient on every label of everything they serve. Some things you wouldn't expect contain peanut oil, or food has been processed where peanuts are also processed. For students with airborne peanut allergies, that can be dangerous. "We are very careful, but we don't have control over what students bring to the school, so we can't call ourselves a 'peanut-free' 'peanut-free' school." The new policy would apply only to elementary students, Hardman said. Most students in junior high and high school manage man-age their own needs, and often times school staff aren't told by the parents of the students' restrictions, she said. Currently, principals, teach-ers teach-ers and head cooks at each elementary school work with each other and parents to identify iden-tify those students with special dietary needs. The head cook and lunch servers know each student and their dietary limitations. Children with diabetes work with a school official to manage their medication while at school, including counting the number of carbohydratessugar the child will consume during the lunch period. Teachers and staff pay attention to make sure the child doesn't consume any food that would be detrimental to their health. The new policy, according to Hardman, would provide an additional ad-ditional safety-net for students. Express for bus service. They referred Brokaw to her school community council, saying that every school zone is being surveyed for safety issues through community council coun-cil meetings. School Board President Rodney Rod-ney Anderson said, "There's no question that 500 West is hazardous," and board member Perry Taylor added, "Sunburst is definitely on the list, but it's an issue all through the district." After the meeting Taylor talked with Brokaw about some misconceptions regarding the busing situation. Brokaw questioned why Quailbrook and Ashley received bus service so quickly. According to Taylor, the two routes were reinstated after a misunderstanding caused the board to discontinue them. Originally Origi-nally board members thought the routes would require new buses to continue and opted not to buy buses for the routes. When they realized their error, during the Aug. 26 board meeting, they reinstated the routes. The board is gathering information in-formation from each school and from parents surrounding the school about how many students as usual neighborhood, and that number could double by next year," Brokaw Bro-kaw said. Charles Nelson, superintendent, superinten-dent, told Brokaw: "We're addressing ad-dressing the issue district-wide. School community committees have been formed, and we will visit with each one to decide what can be done." Board member Perry Taylor acknowledged that "Sunburst is definitely on the list," he said. "It's an issue all through the district." Taylor recommended Brokaw take the signed petition to her community council meeting, meet-ing, which should be held within the next 30 days. Sherry Hardman, food services ser-vices coordinator for the school district, presented board members mem-bers with a proposal to amend the district's policy on dietary services for children with food allergies and other special dietary .needs. , s. i The policy, based on state and federal guidelines, proposes that elementary school children with food allergies, disabilities or diabetes, be given a badge with their photo on it before each lunch period. A specified person would check the student's tray to ensure the student received acceptable items. Board president Rodney Anderson An-derson raised questions about the term "disability," saying "I don't like kids being labeled as Under the proposed changes, each student with a special dietary need would be issued a badge with his or her photo on it. The proposal states "immediately "immedi-ately after receiving a meal, and before consuming such meal, the student must show their tray to a specified adult who will check the tray to reasonably verify that the student's special dietary needs for that meal service have been met. The adult will collect the student I.D badge from the student at that time." In order to qualify for special meals, parents must provide the school with a "Eating and Feeding Feed-ing Evaluation: Children with Special Needs," form, signed by the child's doctor. If the physician physi-cian indicates that the student's diagnosis substantially limits one or more major life activities, the Come See Our Discounted Travel Trailers and Fifth-Wheels! 2009 Gulfstream Amerilite 21 MB Travel Trailer 2009 4012 'Stk 19724?, 10 down, 8.75 APR (Of 144 months. Sales ta, license and documentary Ims included. On approved credit. , , 'thk.Mi i hi i J IKf&fT? ITS DIFFERENT HERE Wednesday, walk, conditions of the streets, and parental ability to drive or walk their students to school. This information will be analyzed to determine which areas are the most dangerous. Taylor said the school board realizes walking is hazardous for the children, but even after identifying dangerous zones, the district is faced with the challenge chal-lenge of coming up with money to' pay more bus drivers. "It's a money issue," said Taylor. "We have to be able to pay bus drivers enough to compete com-pete with the oilfield industry. Nobody wants to drive a school bus when they could be making more money driving a water truck." Taylor said utilizing parent or community volunteers as unofficial unoffi-cial crossing guards isn't feasible because of liability issues, but the board is working with city and county officials to discuss the possibility of more school zones, signs around school zones andor designated crossing areas. Parents of students who at-tend at-tend Davis Elementary expressed their concerns at school community commu-nity council meetings within the past few weeks. Some felt their for school board disabled." Hardman agreed to change the term to "special dietary need." Anderson also expressed concern con-cern about a "specified" person inspecting the student's tray and the liability it carried. "I think the policy is good, but I'd be petrified to be the 'specified', adult," he said. "It seems like every year we hear of a kid dying from an allergic reaction." "And it's always the teacher or the school who gave them the food who gets sued," added Taylor, Tay-lor, who recommended that the policy be looked at by risk-management for liability issues. The board agreed to table the matter until after risk management manage-ment could be consulted. Lee Gagon, human resource director for the district, present-. present-. ed the board with a list of names of parents and teachers who were nominated for selection for the Uintah School District Educator Evaluation Committee. The committee com-mittee is mandated by the Utah Educator Evaluation Code, and utilizes parents, teachers and administrators to evaluate the evaluation process of teachers. Three parents, three teachers and three administrators are needed to form the committee, and Gagon asked the school district dis-trict to choose them based on the nominations she provided from student will be provided with substitutions or modifications to school meals as needed. Mild allergies such as being lactose intolerant, do not qualify for meal modifications. The policy also states that "due to the high probability of allergic reactions associated with the following foods, these items will not be served from any Uintah School District food service kitchen: peanuts; pine nuts; peanut butter or shell fish." The use of Latex gloves is also prohibited in school kitchens. School board members had concerns about the liability involved with designating one person to check students' trays, and have sent the proposed policy to the risk-management department depart-ment for review. Hardman said it takes a co Heartland Cyclone 2008 Cruiser 32SB Travel Trailer Toy Hauler Fifth-Wheel ;J.r ' i -V ,JL,T -iff yti, Mtul -f rl -, i i-.ru , nii.iilfl '5 15078), 10 down, 6.75 APR lot 210 months Saks to. license and documentary lees included On approved credit. Stk H2597. 10 down. 8.75 APR tot 180 months Sales In. license and documentary fees included On approved credit. til units sullied tn prim sale All nil"" eire 1(11 17IH1R October 8, 2008 A3 areaschool was neglected by the school board and claimed their children were in extreme danger when walking to school, due to ongoing road construction that limits the walking area for students. Jayme Leyba, principal at Davis Elementary, said the school board has addressed their concerns. "We're as dangerous as anybody any-body else," said Leyba. "Unfortunately "Unfor-tunately our parents aren't as vocal as some others, but the school board has been helpful. I think they're working hard to come to a resolution." Leyba said the board agreed to add one stop to an existing route near the school, and if parents can get their children to that neighborhood stop, the bus will pick them up. School board members will address ad-dress each community's concerns through community councils, and said they're dedicated to ensuring that all students get to and from school safely. Concerned parents should contact their school's principal for more information about com-mmunity com-mmunity council meetings. schools. After a candid discussion amongst board members regarding regard-ing candidates, they chose three parents and three teachers for the committee, and agreed to choose three administrators at a later date. The last order of business was the new state laws imposed upon open enrollment dates, and recommended changes to the Uintah School District policy regarding students attending schools outside of their designated desig-nated boundaries. Due to possible future boundary bound-ary changes, the board approved a motion to declare all "elementary "elemen-tary schools closed to boundary change requests for the 09-10 school year," a move, board members say, will only freeze enrollment until December. Board members expressed their frustration .with the state guidelines but were forced to submit a policy before midnight, Sept. 30. The policy now states that "Early enrollment applications can be submitted between Dec. 1 and the third Friday in February Feb-ruary of the year preceding the school year in which admission is sought. Late enrollment applications applica-tions will be considered between the third Friday in February and the Friday before the new school year begins." ordinated effort between school officials, lunch workers, parents and students to keep children with food allergies safe. "Check with your child's teacher if you're going to be sending send-ing anything to eat to school," said Hardman. "Also check with parents of your children's friends if they will be eating at your home." Hardman also said the district has monthly menus available for parents with children who have diabetes. The monthly menu includes the number of carbohydrates carbo-hydrates in each item served, so parents and students can work together to plan their meals and medication on a daily basis. To receive a copy of the itemized menu, contact Hardman at the district office 435-781-3100. Mt" -""tew,, ' 2009 Jazz 3235 TRL Fifth-Wheel Stk 172958, 10 down, B.75 APR tot 180 months. Sales to. license and documentary lees included. On approved credit 1420 S. 2350 W. Vernal, UT 84078 (435) 7C3-GJ77 ZZ:i C52-41C7 Mnn - Fri: 9 am - 6 pm Sat: 9 am - 5 pm |