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Show T November 24. 1998- - I t Page 13 K Basin LIFE 9 Uintah Basin Standard Early Intervention Little Blossom provides training to give kids & parents right start By Mary Wertz Little BloMom Center in Fort Duchesne is an early intervention center that serves children ages birth to three. Full health hearing and vision screening are given to youngsters by a staff that includes a nurse, speech pathologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist and a social worker. If a child is diagnosed with a hearing, vision, speech or other kind of developmental delay, ongoing resources are available at the center. Although the center gets referrals from doctors, they hope that every concerned parent will use their screeping services. We would love to screen every child to make sure things are caught early. The earlier you start the better. Some children with developmental delays can catch up, said Karon Simonton, program coordinator. If parents are concerned about their childs behavior, we can provide help for them with behavior management skills which can prevent serious problems later. Language delay is common in this area and Simonton accredits the problem largely to chronic ear infections. Each time children come to the center their ears are checked. We like to catch that early as it can lead to a temporary hearing loss and slow language development, said Simonton. If a parent has a child who has had ear infections, they should bring them in for a screening. Other children who may benefit from specialised earlyintervention care provided by Little Blossom are those, bora prematurely. Many developmental delays are not evident, but with screening can be discovered. d Its a program, stresses Simonton. It's not a school, or a daycare. Its individualized to a familys and child's needs. Staff members can meet with children at their homes or the center. Little Blossom offers playgroups for 2-- and a community stray hour, and a Bright Beginnings group for infants 18 months and younger. The play groups meet Monday through Thursday from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Transportation is provided to those who qualify. PUZZLE PLAY-K- ati Wisener, 6 months old, plays with a puzzle in the family room at the Little Blossom Early Intervention center. 1 The Bright Beginnings baby group starts Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. All parents with babies are welcome to attend. Discussion about a health topic is followed by an activity and game. Nurses Michelle Neilsen and Shanna Wheeler lead the group in activities. In December the monthly theme will be about baby illnesses and when to take a baby to the doctor, said Neilsen. Well be doing a variety ofactivities centered on the topic. The weekly group can be attended on an ongoing basis, or parents can pick and choose classes to attend. Little Blossom Center is part of a national Baby Watch program that is mandated by the federal government. The Ute Tribe provides the building where the program is housed across from Bottle Hollow Reservoir. The Ute Tribe has been very generous to us and have supported our program, said Simonton. The building includes a family room with comfortable couches, large playroom full of toys, a kitchen and offices. The tribe also gave the center a van to use for transporting children to and from their meetings and appointments. For more information or a free health screening phone the Little Blossom Center at ot 722-585- 4. Kids provide new insight on Thanksgiving holiday By Stacy Mecham Duchesne and East Elementary kindergarten and 1st graders define Thanksgiving as a day for sharing, rating good food, being with family, and of course being thankful. Derek Shi filet, an East Elementary kindergartner, thinks that Thanksgiving is when You get to rat breakfast with your family and let other people come to your house to rat. Another idea expressed by Trinton Ivie, a Duchesne Elementary 1st grader, is that Thanksgiving is for Giving thanks for free- family-centere- Ashlei Russell MY FAMILY IS WHAT I'M THANKFUL FOR-S- ays pictured here with her fellow Hast Elementary kindergarten classmates Jessica Bennett, Jamie Ross and Dereck Shifflet. dom. LOOK DADD Y! Erica Serawop shows her dad, Wayland, a toy she likes during a parent child workshop on appropriate toys and the importance of play at Little Blossom Early Intervention program. Two-year-o- ld The Numbers Man After 29 years with district, Phil Thompson is ready to retire By Lezlee E. Whiting tor When it comes to school board meetings, budgets for textbooks and teachingsuppUes, operating expenses, salaries, capital outlay and hallmarks of controversy related to the Duchesne County School District, talk to Phil Thompson: he's been there, done that Phil has served as the districts business administra- - announced that the man who has been in charge of running the numbers for the school district will retire in March. Phil went to work for the school district in the days when all the books were done by hand and accounting records were kept in a cash for the past 29 years. At an October school-boar- d meeting, it was log-boo- k. Roosevelt Festival of Lights Parade Third Annual Roosevelt Festival of Lights Parade will be Friday, Dec. 4 at 6:30 p.m. Entry forms are available at the Lazy H Gallery, or in the Duchesne County Area Chamber of Commerce, This year the parade will start at evenings Larry Henley, Constitution Park, run east on Lagoon Street, turn south at State Street, and end at 300 South. 722-210- 5, 722-459- 8, 722-367- 7. Lions Club Duchesne ares Christmas applications are available at Zions in Duchesne, 1st Security, Kohls and Als grocery. For more information call Kristy Smith, ta 738-200- Production 'Joyful Noise Since that time, the district has grown and accounting meth ods have become much more complex. The districts maintenance and operation budget now stands at about $ 19 million, with total expenditures at $25 million. When Phil was hired by the school district in 1970 the districts total operating budget was just a little over $1 million. At 56 years old, Phil is admittedly several years away from traditional retirement age, but he says he's close enough. Increasing pressure on the job and advice from an older brother who retired recently and tells Phil just how nice it is, prompted his decision. Its time to pass the baton and do something different,he believes. Hes not exactly sure what hell do upon retirement. Phil and wife, Marva, may relocate to Pocatello, Idaho to live near their daughter an orthodontist who and just might need a good accountant. Or they may stay in Duchesne for a while yet as his wife continues to teach at Duchesne Elementary. Phil was born in Pasadena, Calif., but considers himself a Duchesne County native. His grandfather homesteaded in Talmage. Phil graduated from Altamont High, spent four years in the Air Force as a 2 aircraft mechanic, and graduated from LDS Business College before applying for a job with the son-in-la- B-5- Stover's play, Joyful Noise, " is beingproduced Thursday - Saturday, Dec. 3, 4, 5, and Monday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the multipurpose room at USU h in Roosevelt by the Basin West 2000 Fine Arts Council and Basin branch campus. Seating will be limited; advanced tickets will be available at Gales Office Supply in Roosevelt If you have any questions about the production please all Varly Davenport at USU-Uinta- Continued on page 20 789-610- Christmas Tree Zions Bank will continue its long-hel- d holiday tradition this year and invite elementary students from throughout the state to decorate a Christmas Tree with homemade ornaments in the lobby oftheir local Zions Bank Branch. This year students from Conamore Training Center in Myton and Todd Elementary in Roosevelt will decorate a tree inside Zions Banks Roosevelt office on Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. Upper Country Christmas Fair Upper Country Christmas Fair will beheld on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m, at the Altamont Elementary School. Fair is sponsored by the Altamont Booster Club. There will be crafts, food and entertain pient. For 8 or Ann Stevenson at more information, call Sheila Fieldsted at 7 after 4 p.m. 454-347- 454-359- WE ALL LIKE TURKEY! ( ALMOST)--Picture- d here are turkey eaters ( top row. left to right ). Kay loiti Johnson. Landon Labrum (who does not like turkey), Melissa Medina, and JJ Hennefer; ( bottom row. left to right ): Tiffany Manning, Chelsea Rasmussen, and Daniel Augustus. Phil Thompson, Duchesne County School District business These students also like to eat turkey and be with their families over the holiday. Not everyone is sold on turkey as the main course, how ever. Daniel Augustus, an East Elementary 1st grader, prefers pheasant on Thanksgiving. Chelsea Rasmussen, another East Elementary 1st grader, favors a Thanksgiving dinner of corn, peas, chicken, and potatoes. Dessert is cheesecake and pumpkin pie for Lisa Pace. A pilgrim, explains Landon Labrum, is kind oflike a pioneer. The king based them around so they sailed in a ship named the Mayflower. Then they learned how to plant food and hunt from Native Americans." Trinton Ivie has a different idea. She says, A Pilgrim is a person who celebrated the first Thanksgiving and wore belts on their hats. Students are thankful for pets, family, school, grandma and grandpa, cats, church and Christmas. We are thankful so that no one will get mad at us, reports Dcreck. Christmas, Halloween and Easter are these students favorite holidays. I like Christmas because its fun to open presents and get toys, says Stacy Taylor, a kindergartner at Duchesne Elementary. I like Easter because I get to color eggs, said Lisa Pace, a Duchesne Elementary 1st grader. Kindergartner Alex Farnsworth explains, At Thanksgivingyou only get to buy turkey and stuffing, you dont get anything. Duchesne 1st graders Garrett Wayne Waker and Stacy Taylor say their favorite part of Thanksgiving is playing and sledding in the snow after dinner. Hopefully there will be enough snow for everyone to play in on Thanksgiving Day. WHAT IS THANKSGIVING FOR?-- To eat turkeys!" says Garrett Wayne Waker (right), a Duchesne kindergartner. To visit family or for family to come, say Stacy Taylor (left) and Alex Farnsworth, also Duchesne Elementary kindergartners. WEUKE THANKSGIVING DINNER-DucheElementary first graders Heather Moon, Trinton Ivie and Lisa Pace (pictured left to right) especially like pumpkin pie, turkey, vegetables and cheesecake. sne Library holds amnesty month for those with overdue books By Mary Wertz The Duchesne County library hopes to entice borrowers of overdue books to return them with a month-lon- g exchange program. Throughout December the library will accept donations ofcanned food or an unwrapped toy in lieu of fines. This is an excellent opportunity to bring in books long overdue with no questions asked, and help needy members of our community at the same time, said librarian Lori Evans. We will clear all of their fines. That way they can start off with a clean slate, and it helps start the new year fresh. It's a win-wi- n situation for everybody. The library suffers about $500 to $600 in loss of books each year. Some books are checked out and never returned, while others are simply taken from the shelves with- Continued on page 20 FOOD FOR THOUGHT-Duches- ne County library officials will accept cans of food or an unwrapped toy in lieu of overdue book fines during the month of December. Librarian Lori Evans said everybody benefits from families. the program: the library, patrons and low-inco- |