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Show t 'I 2001 REVIEW i! Continued from page two-pag- semi-supervi- se her then. Now, she is a mystery, a stranger really. Ive waited year after year to hear anything, any little scrap or de-shed throw my way. Patiently I waited for the children to grow up, to give her more time, to get back to Where has she been? What has she seen?Has she achieved her dreams? concerns her? What delights her? sent a photo of her children, Did she take it? If she did I could say she shows considerable talent as a n photographer. They are men, their heads crowned with wavy hair, the color of hers, and wide grins, made all the better with straight white teeth ...I wonder what she gave up to pay for all those braces, and I think as I look at their glossy images ...Im glad youre heal thy, I'm glad you have good parents. Thats all I need to half-grow- know." . Dear mother of these fine looking boys, (I should write) I don't care that your two oldest ran for Student Body President and won. I don't care if they did take the regional rock climbing competition. I don't care that they are good dancers and popular in school, because you, as their mother, would them if they were the biggest schmucks on this earth! That's how mothers are, and I wouldn't care if they were schmucks either, because thats how friends are. So, please, less info on them and much more on you. Sincerely Yours, Cheryl. Do I have the guts? A much older friend relates a solid paragraph about each one ofher grown children and spouses. So far the children share the paragraph with their parents. I met her when Bhe had a household of teenagers. I found her spunky and optimistic and loving. We hit it off! Now we are separated by hundreds of miles and commitments, grand-authori- butHongtoknowsomethingofher.lt seems to rthat if I wanted to know about them Id collect their addresses and send them a Christmas card. My favorite Christmas letter came from a young married couple. frill of information 2001- - Pace 3 Duchesne County residents weren't at all happy when County Commissioners agreed to listen to a jxoposal from Life Point, a hospital corporation who showed an interested in purchasing the Uintah for-pro- fit . The MechamR have never received bo much mail. Every day over the last two weeks our mailbox has been stuffed with holiday greetings from friends and family afar. Instead of three or four credit card offers I found half a dozen Christmas cards and letters! I've eiyoyed perusing through the stack, but ... there is one I'd like to send back, well, maybe two or three, Not through animosity, or lack oflove or feeling... solely because I am nota member of their childrens fan club. Honestly! There should be a law that restricts or even prevents such parental bragging! It's embarrassing! As far as I can tell, the women are these sappy letters. I haven't come across one that is writ- ten by a male. And who are these women anyway? I used to know them, I found them to be interesting vital human beings. Now they are merely juniors biographer. From toddler to teen theyve recorder every detail I know when their kid was potty trained, lost his first molar, began playing organized sports, and his current grade point average. e let-This years worst? A ter detailing the lives of five children, twoofwhomlve never met. The other were in various stages of young adolescence when my friend moved across the country; one in diapers, another sucking his thumb, the oldest entering Kindergarten. They certainly weren't interesting then. They toddled around the fringes of our friendship, When my crowd joined hers we mindedly handed them pea- nut butter sandwiches and sat outside on patio furniture to their play in the backyard, while we talked and talked and talked. Our conversations went doep. Wediscussed everything that seemed important to day. I knew she wasagood mother, but, I also knew so much more about 1 ' Thinking Out Loud UINTAH BASIN STANDARD. December 31- - spendingcutbacks within the district. It was about their lives, Though the details may have seemed mundane to its author, they were lightening to me. By the end of its reading, I felt like I knew them much better. And the First thing I wanted to do was respond. After all they shared, I should share something of myself, Now that's what a good Christmas letter does! Next year, around the first of vember I think I will publish one of "how to" manuals those pocket-size- d all about Christmas letters with the following suggestions: Avoid writing in the third person, Its rather easy to figure out who the author is. And ifyou cannot helpyour-tha- t self, dont conclude the letter with your signature, Mention children only by stat- their names, current age and ing health status and residence. Ifgravely ill, you may include an additional sen-ta- il tence only about their condition and prognosis. Family highlights should chide only: births, deaths, change of residence, marriages, baptisms. How-When-thr- No-abse- nt lf. capital homicide in Gurr'sdeath . Gurr served the community for 27 years as a law enforcement officer, for 23 of Basin Medical Center. Commissionthose years he was the police chief. ers got the message. They agreed that IBs funeral was attended by hunthe hospital will remain under county dreds of mourners from throughout ownership. Utah and other states. He was euloThe Duchesne County School Board gized as a man devoted to his family announced they would seek voter apand to his oath to serve and protect; a proval in November for a $3 .5 million man who committed his life tq the bond to help pay for construction costs fight against drugs. A man who was at Duchesne High. powerful, yet humble. A man who had Uinta River Technology wonashare witnessed some ofthe harshest realicontract with the Departof a ties of life, but who maintained his ment of Justice Immigration and compassion. Naturalization Services. The subconAssistant Roosevelt Police Chief tract resulted in the hiringof 50 to 75 Steve Hooley was named as Gurrs new data entry employees and superreplacement by the City Council. visors. movHooley joined the force in 1987, November ing to Roosevelt from Lindon. The word is go for the enlargement Also in July , newly hired attorneys for convicted murderer John Pinder orSandwash Reservoir. The Central filed court papers seeking a new trial Utah Water Conservancy District for their client, claiming that it was awarded the engineering design conhis ranch hand who was the trigger tract and began to prepare bids for construction. If all goes according to man in a 1998 double homicide. plan, construction of the $48 million August High oil and gas prices continued to brighten the economic outlook for Duchesne County. The countys assessed property value climbed by $33 million in 2001, to stand at $230.6 million. Salt Lake criminal defense attorneys Edward Brass and Walter F. Bugden were named to represent Lee Roy Wood in the death of Chief Gurr, and a Dec. 10 preliminary hearing date was set. The Community Impact Board approved the city's request for a loan for a new $500,000 golf course clubhouse. Duchesne County teachers voted to approve a contract which provided a base salary increase ofbetween 3.4 to 3.6 percent. The Ballard Town Council gave the green light to a proposal to adjust the boundary at Union High and the Uintah Basin Applied Technology College to give Roosevelt law enforcement jurisdiction over both schools. An arrest by the Uintah Basin Narcotics Strike Force resulted in shutting down two alleged drug dealers from California ami preventing the sale of approximately $55,000 in methamphetamine in the area. two-ye- ar September at e ever.ifafamilyrnemberchangedresi-Sh- dence, was baptized and gave birth all in one year, just mention two of the three in order of importance, Format the letter beginning with date, greeting and question of recipients health and well being. The body of the letter should be one page long and comprised mainly of details concern ing YOUand YOUR SPOUSE (if applicable). Topics to include: health, activities (social and other), jobs, recreation (includingvacations), place of residence (if changed), home improvement, and spiritual growth, Dont forget what you've done, what needs doing; what you cant get to, what you want to do and what youre putting off. All very important to the reader. Never write or print letters in red ink. Only Jesus in the Old Testa-lov- e ment gets his words written in red ink. Stick to black. MUSINGS OF THE OUTBACK ESKIMO I hope everyone took extraordinar- - hockey player. Now I don 't skate with ily great Christmas pictures this year little persons who may fall in front of in order to enter future Christmas me. We have a similar picture of our Photo contests sponsored by the Uintah Basin Standard. We think we hone and Sara covered in his blood out did ourselves, as usual! after he impaled his head on the fence As with most Christmas pictures post, One of the first great shots I ra the process starts well before the shut- ter opens. Ours started on Christmas memberwasastudy in contrasts. Lance Eve when my son Lance successfully wanted to take Saturday skiing little 1976 sons at Sundance. For Sara's own good Ferguson tractor onto a borrowed I made her take lessons also, ofcourse flatbed for the journey to its new home this also gave me a peaceful Saturday withoutchildren. Sara was pretty mad. in Roosevelt. My daughter Sara and I found the I still look fondly at the snapshot ofan perfect hill at the neighbors on which ecstatic Lance and an urate Sara. I'll to unload the tractor. However, the always regret that I wasn't able to get tractor seemed to know that I needed any pictures of Sara hiding out in the to have the trailer back in Utah County bathroom during her lessons, For one reason or another we that night. It didnt start. We dont have much experience havent always been able to capture with tractors, unless you count the every miserable moment on film, time I jumped off the brakeless trac- - There was the time Sara and I had our tor as it headed down the hill toward cameras pecked in our luggage for our a pond. To me tractors are kind of like trip to Sweden. The airport van full of horses, if they 're bucking or not stop- - passengers waited in our driveway ping I bail, preferably away from tires while I performed the final rinse after and hoofs. dying my hair Fresh N utmeg. "Thus, Because of our lack of experience we missed the shot of the impatient we hiked home from the neighbors to and horrified passengers as I finally call my son for advice. OK here is boarded the van with wet Dying where our ingenuity comes into play. Ember Orange hair and the shot of We grabbed the cameras to record our the beauticians at OHare it plight. So now we have great pictures to Anythingbut Orange duringour of Sara sitting on the motionless trac- - layover. Once in Sweden we weren't able to tor. This is sure to be a Christmas winner. get a shot when our I have always like to record the cousins, (on my grandfathers side), small tragedies of life. Arent these demplished bicycle because we were the things we laugh about later? Ifyou speeding away from the scene with were brave enough to read last week's the culprits who hit it, (our cousins on column you may remember that our my grandmothers side), after a motto is, Youre not having ily luncheon. At least now we know the fun unless youre miserable." There- - genetic source ofour evilness, fore we try to record our miserable However, we successfully recorded our Swedish sailing adventure, with- events on film. For example, I have classic shots of out sails, with our forgetful cousin my first husband, who was waiting in Thomas. We really felt close to our g his car to pickup our children, watch- - Swedish heritage when Thomas my second husband loading his, I claimed, I havent had this much fun mean my belongings into my horse since we bumtdown Grandpa's lam." As I drove past Strawberry this trailer when he left me. After all, if we take wedding pictures, why not di- - morning many braves souls were ice vorce pictures? fishing. I thought, What a great pho-A few years ago Sara took a great tographic opportunity! shot of my bleeding, toothless smile as I left the ice rink looking like a star (Not her real name.) re-dyi- fam-fami- ly ex-in- water storage and enhancement project could begin in two years. Duchesne County voters gave overwhelming approval to a plan to borrow $3.5 million to build a new gym and more classrooms at Duchesne High. For the second year in a row, Moon Lake Electric Association gave cooperative members a credit on their electric bills thanks to the economic position they found themselves in due to their ownership in the Bonanza Power Plant. The community was invited to cel- ebrate the transition of the Uintah Basin Applied Technology Center to a technology college, and the Ute Tribe announced plans to begin construction of 30 new homes on the reservation. December The Dec. 10 preliminary hearing for Lee Roy Wood, the man accused in the death ofChief Gurr was postponed to allow time for Wood to undergo a mental evaluation. Woods mental stability became an issue after he sent a letter to the judge from his jail cell accusing him of trying to have him poisoned. The countys 2002 budget sailed through a public hearing. With revenues up for the first time in years, the county was able to offer employees raises, and hire a third attorney. A nationwide nursing shortage hit home. The Uintah Basin Medical The nation watched in shock as terrorists crashed two commercial jetliners into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 11. The attack local folks into the nursing field. sent the nation into war, fighting the Throughout the year the hospitals Taliban in Afghanistan to break the medical staff has been increasing with cells of terrorists believed to be rethe hiring ofa number of specialists. sponsible for the devastation. Schools Construction on the new physicians throughout the county had television wing at the hospital was nearing sets turned on in classrooms that fate- completion as the year came to a close. ful Tuesday morning as students and teachers watched the historic events unfold. The Ute Tribe went on the record ' as opposing plans to enlarge Sand wash Reservoir to provide more water storage for Duchesne County irrigators. A resolution passed by the Business 1 Committee said the tribe would not Continued from page support the development ofthe project fill people, these animals will not only because it would impact their water provide an opportunity for sports fishrights. ing, but will also be a tool to teach After months of making what apstudents aquaculture techniques, and peared to be promising headway, also provide a Christmas donation of Uintah Basin Ethanol Corp. an- fresh trout fillets to tribal elders. The nounced they were abandoningplans Ute Tribe is grateful to the Fish for an ethanol plant in Roosevelt A and Wildlife veiy Sendee for this Christlack ofinvestors, coupled with a shortmas present, said Montoya. age oi farmers willing to grow corn and In addition to Bottle Hollow, ranchers who would commit to utilize Midview, Twin Pots, and Clay Basin the spelled doom for the Pond are open for fishing year round. project. The 2002 season permits are the same The Ute Tribes newest enterprise, price as last year and the bag and Ute Whiterocks Water BottlingPlant, possession limits are likewise the same. was up and running, producing 15,000 Permits to fish on Bottle Hollow as bottles of water a (fey under the Nu-pa- well as other reservation waters are Whiterocks and Crystal Blue laavailable now at Ute Plaza Supermarbels. ket. TROUT h, October A student enrollment report for Duchesne County Schools showed numbers continuing their five-ye- ar ml( f 18 i ..v Ml THE CATCH OF THE DAY Aquaculture teacher Alan Ginn (left) and studentTony Grears (right) display lake trout from Saratoga NFH. Fish and Wildlife Service Colorado River Fish Project employee Mark Fuller is in the background. Preparing tor Next Year The season of giving lasts all year for Christmas Spirit Connection organizers By Susan Collier The Christmas Spirit Connections workisntover. It isjust gettingstarted for next year! The Connection has a storage unit and starts immediately collecting goods for next years project. So as you peruse this seasons end of year sales and see great deals on gloves, hats, coats, boots, wrapping paper, or anything else that could be used next year to help others, be sure and get it. This is a great opportunity for those of us who cant pass up a good sale, but cant really use the merchandise ourselves! Plus you will be able to donate a lot more to the Connection by taking advantage of these sales! In addition to new items, the Connection will also accept used items for their annual garage sale. If you do spring cleaning or like to start dean-ingothe closets alter Christmasyou can drop your used items off at the Connection, and they will store them for the yard sale. Yard sale proceeds help cover expenses for such things as the storage ut Christmas. help those in need next Connection volunteers will start soon. Ifyou see some interesting material on sale or have some at home that you probably wont use, please donate it to the Connection. Lesley Harms ton, Connection coordinator also pointed out that it is not too late to make a donation for next year's Connection while gettinga tax write-of- f this year . This year the Connection raised $4,000 in cash contributions from lo- The Connection also donates food to families, and any food goods left after the holiday are donated to the Crossroads Senior Center. We try to make it so unused merchandise goes back into the community, Harmston explained. Recipients come to Harnutons homeon an appointment basis to pick y up their Christmas gifts. In the of her home parents are able to examine the gifts to make sure they are age appropriate and the correct size for their children. We do our program careftilly and prayerfully and try to meet the needs of the family as much as possible and basic needs from toilet paper on up, Harmston explained. If anything is within our means, we do it. We include seniors, handicapped, and mispluccd persons. Ifwcare made aware of a need, like someone being released from juil, we kind of adopt them and meet whut extra need they might have, Harmston noted. 0 Please call Lesley at to donate used or new goods to next years Connection. pri-vuc- 722-921- t8 last-minu- te cal businesses and individuals. People are very generous, " Harms ton noted. According to Harmston, cash and merchandise contributions met all ofthe Connections needs this year. The cash helped 78 households with 198 children and 142 adults. Each child received a coat and a certificate for a pair of new shoes. There was also enough cash to finish fulfilling requests left on the gift trees. About 16 seniors at Cedar Crest Care Center received small gifts containing items such as toiletries and The Connection receives toys from Check out our Classifieds! To order call 435-722-51-31 One Show Sunday 7:30 JaiUlMIBhr' the Marine Toys for Tots, and other merchandise is donated by businesses. Sometimes when Harmston needs a particular item to meet a specific need she picks up the phone and calls businesses to see if they can helpout. They are usually very cooperative, she said . decline. In the 2001 - 2002 school year, student enrollment was down by 103 students, so too was Weighted Pupil Unit funding from the state, prompting consideration of possible Lord of the Rings The Fellowship Temporary Position "1X1-1- 3" One Show Only 7:30p.m. Uintah Commission hires consultant to review government efficiency Uintah County Commissioners have announced the hiringof former Uintah County Commissioner Nyle Bigelow as an Organizational Efficiency Analyst for the county. Bigelow will make recommendations to the County Commission after evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of county government over the course of the next year. Bigelow will receive an annual salary of $55,000 with no benefits or vacation time. He was hired under a one-yea-r, time-limite- d employment agreement. Funds from the countys general miscellaneous fond will be transferred to the general fond to support this new position. Following a preliminary evaluation of county policies, practices and procedures, he will recommend changes and improvements to the County Commission. As otherareas of concern are identified he will conduct further evaluations and recommendations in these areas. He is also responsible to check that assignments and tasks have been . implemented as discussed in county commission meetings to ensure that appropriate actions are taken on matters of county business. Bigelow will also serve as an ombudsman for the county and address complaints and concerns of county residents. Bigelow was elected to the Uintah County Commission in November of 1986. He served as a county commisarid was insioner from 1987-199- 0 strumental in the construction of Western Park. In 1990 Bigelow opted to move to Salt Lake rather than run for Commissioners hired Bigelow under a provision in the state statutes governing county governments that ullows counties to employ persons to make or conduct temporary and special inquiries, investigations, or examinations on behalf of county legislative bodies. Bigelow will have no legislative or administrative authority. The Commissioners emphasized that he was not hired as a manager or administra tor. Bigelow will be a resource to the Commissioners. He will assist them in gatlieringaccurate information and make management practice recommendations to help strengthen and improve county government. Members of the County Commission expressed confidence that filling the Organization Efficiency Analyst position will move the county government in a positive direction with respect to efficiency and taxpayer responsiveness. After explaining how he intends to accomplish his assignments in his new position, Bigelow asked for the help and cooperation of county officials and department heads to ensure his sue- cess. Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius XT Fully Animated One Show Only 7:30p.m. Shallow Hal Gwyneth Paltrow One Show Only 9: tO p.m. Dr. Dale has his projects all caught up and most of jonis Honey do" projects done. I miss visiting with the people. I will be going back to work at the office on a part time basis. Practice limited strictly to denture prosthetics. Starting on Mon. Jan 7th. appointments call Tell the receptionist that you want an appointment with Dr. Dale Larsen for denture work. For 722-229- 3. Kate & Leopold "IX One Show Only 7:30p.m. |