Snowpocalypse 2010 - January 2011

Photo Courtesy of Alexis Dressen-Larsen

Photo Courtesy of Jennifer Rook

Photo Courtesy of Regan Torres

Photo Courtesy of Jennifer

Photo Courtesy of Sheri Jorgensen

Photo Courtesy of Gayle Olsen

Photo Courtesy of Marquita Pope

Photo Courtesy of Gayle Olsen

Photo Couirtesy of Seth Spencer

Benefit Horse Show

The Race

By: *Destiny (From The Healthy Edge January 2011)

The anticipation in the air
Awe I feel so stoked
I stretch, I skip, not knowing how this is going to fair
I get in line, hoping to not get poked
The whistle blows and we are off
Go legs Go legs Go legs go
That is I have to keep saying
I say a prayer in my heart, please legs no
Then it happens... the legs say, "I can't do this anymore"
"NO", I hear myself yelling, "you can do this, you must
Just one more mile"
I take a slower pace,
My feet are going in a single file,
Then a burst of a leap to, I face
The adrenaline, and here I go again.
Run, You can do this, I know you can
At last, the Legs say no again,
What, you can't do this to me
So I slow once more, vvvrrooom vvvrrroooom
My feet say, I will try once more.
Here we go again, the wind flowing through my hair feels amazing
The adrenaline is going.
What happened!
I thought I had no more in me
My legs would probably agree
A burst of energy hits
See ya all later, here I go again
Run little legs run, no more fits
The finish line is nearing up ahead
The excitement is building
And the last of the bursts excel
like a bullet being fired like a gun
I did it, We did it, we past the finish line
It feels good, I did not fail.

The END

 
 

January 2011 Calendar of Events

Every Monday
Bingo!! Come join our seniors every Monday right after lunch until about 3:00 p.m. for some fun games of Bingo, at the Crossroads Senior and Community Center.

Every Tuesday
Vernal Chamber of Commerce Meeting held at Golden Corral in Vernal at 12 PM.

Every Wednesday
Spanish & English Story Time for kids at the Uintah County Library at 2:00pm. For more info call 789-0091.

Every Friday
Golden Age Center Dance open to the public. Dances held at the Golden Age Center beginning at 3:00pm.

January 1
New Year's Day

January 4
School back in session in Duchesne County and Uintah County

January 8
Sharon Vieyra Cancer Benefit Horse Show will start at 10 AM at the Wild Spur Arena in LaPoint. There will be an auction that will start at 1 PM. This is an open, no bling horse show. For more information call Donette Black at 435-724-1852.

January 13
API Meeting 6:30 @ Frontier Grill. For more information Contact Bob Ballou at 724-2500 Or e-mail Bob at bballou@ubtanet.com

January 13
Legal Service 9:00-noon at the Crossroads Senior and Community Center.

January 18
Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 21
Social Security 9:30-1:00 @ the Crossroad Senior and Community Center. Be sure to bring all of your documentation.

Classes at UBATC
Tuesday Jan. 12-Feb. 2 2:30-4:30 p.m. Vernal Campus. Adobe Photoshop Workshop- Go beyond the hobby by learning the fundamentals of editing images. Class Cost $36.20

Blogs for Beginners Workshop- How to create, customize and edit your own blog. Jan. 13, 20 and 27, Wednesday, 45- p.m. UBATC Vernal Campus. $25.

January, 14 at 7 PM Duchesne Arts Council and Excellence in the Community Presents, "Walking Erin" Traditional Celtic Music, Thursday, January, 14 at 7 PM at Duchesne High School Auditorium. Tickets go on sale Dec. 15 at Al's Food Town, Davis Jubilee, Country Flair and Arts Council members. Adults $10.00 Seniors and students $8.00 Families $35.00 (up to 5 members).

Union High School Boys Basketball

Tues. Jan. 5 Emery 7:00 5:15 3:30 5:15

(Moffat County)

Tues. Jan. 12 @ Altamont 7:00 5:15 3:30

Region 10 Games

Fri. Jan. 15 @ A.L.A 7:00 5:15 3:30

Tues. Jan. 19 Wasatch 5:15 3:30 7:00 3:30

Fri. Jan. 22 Park City 7:00 5:15 3:30 3:30

If you have any information that you would like to be included in the Calendar of Events then please email us at michelle@

TheEdgeMagazine.org
OR
Send it snail mail
PO Box 287
Neola, UT 84053

 
 

Friday Nights In A Small Town - The Best Leftover Fudge Ever - January 2011

By: Garrett Oleen

A few years ago my dad, my brother, my six year old son, and I were riding down a particular Basin road very familiar to us – the road to my Grandma's house. All of a sudden my precocious son pointed out a mailbox and said "Man that sure is an old mailbox!" A short awkward silence ensued as my dad, my brother and I all looked at each other, wondering with awe why my son picked out that exact mailbox to comment on and then we burst out in laughter as the story behind it came back to our memories.
    It all started just a few days after New Year's. I was seventeen and my little brother was twelve. We had been over at Grandma's house taking care of various winter chores; shoveling snow, splitting wood, feeding horses, and of course visiting with Grandma. While those were the obligatory reasons we were there, the real reason was to get leftover Christmas goodies.
    Christmas at Grandma's house was a baking extravaganza; delicious home-made pies, cookies, fruitcake, divinity, peanut brittle and especially her famous fudge. There were always plenty of leftovers and this day was no exception. As we were leaving she handed us a round decorative tin filled to the brim with three or four different flavors of the sweet confection.
    No sooner had we got into the car that we both began to sample the fudge. I was driving the only car my parents trusted me to drive in the winter – our 1974 Buick Electra 225, a huge seventeen and a half foot long, eight foot wide luxury liner we nicknamed "the Tank". After eating a piece or two of fudge, I put on my seatbelt and put the car in gear and slowly backed out of Grandma's driveway. The road was clear but slick and I kept it at a slow pace as I motored down the road.
    As I drove however, I glanced over at my brother and noticed he was still generously helping himself to the fudge. So, being the caring big brother I was and not wanting him to eat too much before dinner (it had nothing to do with my own desire to hog my share of the fudge before we got home), I yelled at him to stop and reached over and tried to shut the lid of the tin. Instinctively, he yelled back and pulled it away. I was quicker however and stuck my hand inside the tin as he began to pull back. My brother, again on instinct slammed the lid of the tin down on my hand, trapping it inside and I could tell that he wouldn't let go of my hand unless I let go too. Angry now and determined not to let go of that tin of fudge, I reached over with my free hand and began to wrestle the tin out of his hands. He put up a good fight and was just as determined to not let go. Loud unkind words flew back and forth between us as the battle over the leftover Christmas fudge continued as "the Tank" kept rumbling down the road.
    Large heavy cars from the seventies like that can't steer themselves however and as I was fighting with my brother, we hit an icy patch and "the Tank" took its own path and before I even knew it a loud "BANG-CLANK" brought me back to the reality that I was supposed to be driving. For a split-second that seemed to stretch on for minutes, we were weightless and I saw the red flag of a mailbox sail past my window – "the Tank" had gone airborne, and we had taken out a mailbox in the process.
    We landed with a heavy thud and came to an immediate stop in a snow filled ditch. Quickly we assessed the situation as the car's engine stalled. Other than both of us being just a little more than scared, we were OK, not even a scratch or bruise. As we climbed out of the car and surveyed the scene I knew I was in big trouble. I looked over at my brother and didn't quite know what to say, we were still a little shocked. Then, all of a sudden my brother took of like a cannon shot and ran all the way back to my Grandma's house on a dead run. By the time I got there, Grandma – who thought I was dead – had already called my mom and dad and the County Sherriff. There was nothing left for me to do but to walk back to the scene and sign my ticket while the Deputy tried not to laugh out loud as she wrote me up.
    Well, after my dad pulled "the Tank" out of the ditch I apologized to my Grandma's neighbors for obliterating their mailbox and promised them (not-so-gently coaxed by my dad of course) that I would fix it, right down to replacing the heavy diamond grating that had left neat machine-gun-like holes in the hood of my car. So, with the help of my dad, my brother and I did all the work and replaced that mailbox, the very one my young son had pointed out fifteen years later. I still don't know why he picked out that mailbox –whether it just coincidence or some silent memory transfer only Freud could explain – but it certainly made us all remember just how good my Grandma's leftover Christmas fudge was and how it made me do one of the most irresponsible things in my life.
    So this year as you are sitting around enjoying those Christmas leftovers on a cold January small town Friday night, savor the sweetness and goodness of it all but just remember, if you are driving down an icy road, don't fight over the fudge.
 

The Basin's Dirtiest Jobs - Feedlot Operator - January 2011

By: Jennifer Rook

    We are happy to debut this latest feature; "The Basin's Dirtiest Jobs". We hope to highlight some of the dirtiest jobs in the Basin and introduce you to some of the hard working folks from our community who get dirty every day or have to deal with undesirable substances, perform nasty tasks or deal with all manner of muck, slime, dirt, guts, oil; you name it. If it's a Dirty Job, we want to tell you all about it.

Feedlot Operator

     A wise old cattle rancher once told me, "Anytime cows are involved there is bound to be a dirty job somewhere." Not all aspects of cattle ranching are dirty, but when you're dealing with five thousand cows, things can get a little messy. Just ask Greg and Maggie McKee of McKee Farms in LaPoint.
    Started as T&L Livestock by Greg's father, the late Larry McKee and the late Tom Anderson, Greg and Maggie are carrying on the McKee family legacy of cows, horses, mud, poop, feed, cattle doctoring, and fun. The McKee's own and operate a large feed lot in Western Uintah County, hosting more than five thousand calves each year from October through June.
    While most cattle farmers are calving out the yearly crop of new calves in late winter/early spring, McKee Farms is still working on the previous year's herd, fattening them up for sale and butcher. Greg and Maggie buy calves every fall from Basin cattle ranchers and keep them in the feed lot until May or June when they're ready for slaughter.
    "We get calves that have just been separated from their mothers." explains Maggie. "We wean & background them then feed them until spring and market them through what we call our "sister states", such as Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska." "Backgrounding" is "a management system where recently weaned calves or yearling cattle are grazed for a period of time before they are placed in the feed yard. After they reach a desired size, or at the end of the "grazing" season, they are sorted into uniform loads or pen-size lots and placed in a feedlot."
     Maggie says the first 90 days the new calves are on the lot are one of the busiest times for their hands, Greg, Jim Huber and Chris Walker. "Chris will drive the feed wagon and Greg and Jim follow along on their 4 wheelers. Usually all the calves will run up to the feeders to eat, but the ones who stay behind and don't come for the food are the ones who need medical attention. So, Greg and Jim will rope them and doctor them."
    To a guy like Greg cattle doctoring is second nature and just part of life. He says, "You can't be squeamish if you own cattle. I doctor my calves myself. I see a lot of pink eye. I pop cysts, give shots for pneumonia and check for hoof rot regularly." Cattle themselves are not the cleanest of animals and checking for and doctoring ailments is not always a clean job, although most vaccines are easily given as a quick shot and the animal is released as quickly as it was roped and tied down.
  The dirtiest part of the job would definitely have to be dealing with all that cattle waste, but again, it's just part of life for Greg. "Greg's been around the cows since he was 5 years old." tells big sister Kari Morris. "To him, this is just what you do every day." Pens are cleaned out regularly, but Greg says that with modern machinery, it's really not that bad. We say he's only being modest, however. Poop is poop and dealing with poop is definitely a DIRTY job.     McKee Farms has grown over the years and now includes a fertilizer business as well as thousands of cows. Greg McKee's job may seem dirty to the rest of us, but to him, it's just business as usual and proof that a man can take pride in his work no matter the task. Greg's sister, Kari, sums it up, "This is really the only life Greg knows. He worked side by side with dad [Larry McKee] since he was a kid up until Dad passed away in 2005, so it's just life to him and it's also important to him to carry on this legacy and continue to work the farm. I think Dad is proud of him."

If you have ideas for "Dirtiest Jobs" please send them to Jennifer@TheEdgeMagazine.org
with contact information if you've got it.

 
 

Payper Chains - The Edge of Rock - January 2011

By: Brad Litton
    I got my first taste of PayPer Chainz last summer during X94's The Basin Has Music Talent contest. Since then I've kept up with Frankie Davis and the brothers Daniel and Zach Arias through their Facebook page as they've played all through the Basin and on the Wasatch Front. I recently got the chance to sit down with the guys the night before they headed to Salt Lake City to open up for the reggae band, Iration, to get some burning questions answered.


Edge:     How did you guys get your start?

PPC: (Zach/Bass) Daniel and I, we're brothers, and we grew up jamming together. A lot of metal. We're Tool fans, Rage Against The Machine fans…

(Frankie/Guitar) I started it.

(Daniel/Drums and Zach) Started it… pfff!

(Zach) These two started playing together with another bassist who will remain nameless.

(Frankie) He was imaginary, like, we just pretended he was there.

Edge:     So aside from     imaginary     band members,     what brought     you together?    

PPC:     (Frankie) Actually it was the "Basin Has Music Talent" thing. When I heard that on the radio I ran home that day, wrote that song "Lost", recorded it, and then I couldn't send it to them on time so it ended up being like two weeks late. Then I found out that if you 'won' you had to perform. So I talked to the mystery bass player and he told me about Daniel and so we started getting together to practice two weeks prior to the end of the Basin Has Music Talent thing and ended up jamming like 10 songs just for the fun of it.

(Zach) And then the mystery bassist left four days before a big show at the Avalon in Salt Lake, so I had that long to learn everything and it was supposed to be temporary…

(Frankie) You still are temporary! (Everybody laughs)

 

Edge:    You guys have been doing some recording, when can we expect to hear something?

PPC:    (Zach) It's supposed to be this month…

(Daniel and Frankie) Yeah…supposed to be…

(Frankie) So probably in January.

 

Edge:    Who's handling the recording and mixing?

PPC:    Lee Meeks and his brother Jonathan from the band Holding Hope. They're working on building a professional studio in Altamont.

(Zach) Yeah, so we're kinda their guinea pigs.

 

 

Edge:     What shows have you got coming up?

PPC:    (Zach) We're possibly playing at Liquid Joe's (in SLC) on the 15^th of December.

(Daniel) And we're playing in Duluth, Minnesota the 15^th of January for a guy that put together a Ska compilation album we're on. We're not Ska, but we're on it.

(Frankie) On the 23^rd of January we're playing at a cancer benefit at Kilby Court in Salt Lake.

 

Edge:    What have been some of your biggest milestones this year for you guys?

PPC:    (Frankie) Being on the Ska Lives compilation definitely. Because of that we got a good 1000 fans from around the world…

(Zach) Germany! They like us in Germany actually! (All laugh)

 

Edge:    So you said that you're not Ska, despite your involvement in many Ska endeavors, how would define your style then?

PPC:    (Frankie) Reggaecore

(Zach) Reggae-Metal

(Daniel) I like the Reggae-Metal label, maybe Fusion! Reggae-Metal Fusion! (Zach) But we warm up our practices with the Titanic theme song. (All laugh)

Edge:    Who are your musical influences and why did you start     playing music?

PPC:    (Daniel) Tool, Chevelle, Rage Against the Machine, and all that hard stuff… I've been asking my mom since I was a kid to get me drum lessons, I've just always loved music.

(Zach) Rage Against the Machine is definitely my biggest influence…I can't really say why I started playing…let's just say that I was 'under the influence' and there were instruments in the house…(All laugh)

(Frankie) I picked up the trumpet when I was 11. I was a big Ska fan back then so I got into jazz and stuff and kept going with the guitar and got into reggae and have been doing that more than anything the last few years.

 

Edge:    How do your songs come together? What's your songwriting process?

PPC:    (Frankie) I write everything while I'm driving down the highway in my cement truck.

(Daniel) Serious! He'll send me text messages and emails with songs.

(Zach) I write more riffs than songs, Frankie is better at the full songs.

 

Edge:    What is the future plans for the band?

PPC: (Daniel) Um, finish this album.

(Frankie) And then break up…no, not really

 

Edge:    And then you'll have a reunion tour next summer, right?

PPC:    (Everybody laughs) (Daniel) Mostly we just want to keep going, we've got some exciting things that could be happening in Minnesota with people that want to talk with us.

(Zach) I don't know about these fellas, but I've got a pig in the livestock…and I'm gonna get that blue ribbon! (quote from the movie That Thing You Do) (Everybody laughs)

 

Edge:    I love that movie!

PPC:    (Daniel) If only it were that easy for a band to make it…

 

Edge:    Have you got anything you want to say to your fans?

PPC:    (Frankie) Give us feedback!

(Daniel and Zach) Yeah, we love hearing from our fans!

 

As our interview wrapped up, they prepared to jam for the remainder of their time before Daniel and Zach headed for Salt Lake to prepare for their show the next evening. PayPer Chainz has done a lot of awesome things this year, especially for being such a new band, and they plan on continuing on the track they're on. I want to thank Frankie, Daniel and Zach for taking time to sit down with me.
To keep up with all the action happening, be sure to swing by their Facebook page for the latest updates on everything from shows to their upcoming album entitled Lost, and be sure to catch one of their energetic live shows as they're always adding more dates.

Brad Litton is a professional musician, guitar instructor, and guitarist for the band New Tragedy. For more information and free newsletters, go to VernalGuitar.net and NewTragedy.net.

Money Saving Tips - January 2011

By: Crissy Knibbe
As we head into January with the winter months upon us heavily, I have a few tips to help cut heating costs in your home during the New Year without breaking the bank.
    Below you will find nine tips on how to save money on energy bills without breaking the bank. Each tip should cost from nothing to little. Follow these ideas that all of us should have thought of a decade ago, and say good-bye to shocking heating bills.

1. Bundle up! Running around with shorts and a tank top in the middle of winter just doesn't make much sense. Winter is winter because it is cold, act like it even if you're just sitting around the house. Put on a sweater or sweatshirt, wear socks and fuzzy slippers. Place a soft, comfy blanket on the couch to cuddle up in while watching TV, reading or chatting with friends. Put throw rugs on hardwood and tile floors to eliminate the shock of the ice cold surfaces. It doesn't cost anything to wear warmer clothes inside and by doing so you can keep the temperature inside the house a few degrees cooler and save big.

2. Not all doors are used in the winter, nor are the windows, so plastic up the windows and doors that are going to go unused. There are window kits for sale for about $5 per window. These can help to eliminate drafts to keep in the heat! Can't afford the kits or plastic sheeting? Hang blankets to help insulate! If you are creative enough, you can hang it to look shabby chic!

3. Turn the heat down at night and when no one is home. This doesn't mean turn the heat to 40 degrees, but turning it down to 60 overnight or while you're away can make a big difference. Think about it; why keep it 70 degrees when you're either sleeping or out of the house for more than 12 hours a day? You can adjust the thermostat manually for free, but if you want to spend a few bucks a programmable thermostat is a great investment.

4. After baking cookies or making dinner in the oven, leave the door open a crack. There's a lot of heat in that oven, so letting it escape puts the heat to good use by warming up the kitchen and surrounding rooms meaning the furnace has to run a little bit less.

5. Use a space heater only in the current room you are hanging out in. This will take the nip out of the air to make you feel more comfortable without heating all of the other rooms in the house and wasting energy.

6. Use silicone to fill any cracks in doors, windows, etc, including the basement floor and walls. You would be surprised at how much heat is lost through cracks that seem insignificant. A tube of caulk or silicone will only run you a few dollars and it's an easy weekend project.

7. Close any vents going to rooms that are not used regularly. That guest room that sits empty when you don't have any guests? Close the door and the vents. Doing so can easily cut 100-200 square feet off of your energy footprint.

8. Put weather stripping around windows and doors. Weather stripping helps quite a bit, especially in older homes. You'd be surprised how the seals around your doors and windows can deteriorate over time.

9. Cover up the attic entry with plastic, pieces of insulation, old blankets, weather stripping, saran wrap, painter drop cloth, or even a few old shirts. Any of it will help to slow, if not, stop, the drafts and warm air from floating away through your roof. Heat rises and may be getting pulled right up through the attic so you may not notice a cold draft even though your expensive hot air is floating away.

    We all want to be conservative when it comes to money and saving energy. Hope these ideas help you on your quest to save the world; even it's just a little bit.
If you or someone you know are in danger of losing your home and you don't know where to turn, please call me. I can help you. I take buying and selling real estate seriously and so should you. I am driven to provide the best possible care and service to all my clients, old and new. I am caring, creative and committed to provide the best real estate experience you could have. - Crissy 435-790-1191

 

The Tech Teaches More - January 2011

By Therena Morrill

Members of the Health Occupations Student Organization at Uintah Basin Applied Technology College have been busy the past several weeks raising money for the National Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Most recently, HOSA students decorated and donated a Dr. Seuss-themed Christmas tree to the Trees for Charity event in Vernal. The tree was auctioned off for $575.

"One-hundred percent of that will go into our UBATC HOSA fund for juvenile diabetes research," said Kari Stanley, UBATC medical instructor and HOSA sponsor.

"We are very excited to be partnered up with JDRF this year," Stanley said. "Our goal is to raise $1,000 to $3,000 by March 1."

In November HOSA sponsored a fundraising lunch at the college. Food was donated by students and local merchants; a $5 donation to JDRF bought a bowl of soup, a roll and dessert.

HOSA is also planning an indoor yard sale to be held sometime in January at UBATC's Roosevelt campus. Anyone interested in acquiring space to sell their crafts and wares may contact Stanley for more information after school resumes in January, following the Christmas break.

Juvenile diabetes, also known as Type 1 diabetes, occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys certain cells in the pancreas known as beta cells. The beta cells are responsible for producing insulin. When these cells are destroyed, the body can no longer produce insulin, a hormone that helps the body move the glucose contained in food into cells throughout the body, which use it for energy.

People with juvenile diabetes must take insulin in order to stay alive. This means undergoing multiple injections daily or having insulin delivered through an insulin pump. It also means pricking their fingers six or more times every day to monitor their blood sugar levels.

"Many of our youth in the Uintah Basin are afflicted with juvenile diabetes," Stanley said. "I know that with the economy being in such dire straits right now, it is difficult to bring yourself to give to charity, but our youth are our future, so please help support UBATC HOSA in their efforts to make a difference."

To make a donation to HOSA for their fight against juvenile diabetes, call UBATC at 435-722-6900 in Roosevelt or 435-725-7100 in Vernal.