The
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Serving Wayne & Garfield Counties, Utah
Loa • Fremont • Lyman • Bicknell • Teasdale • Torrey • Grover • Fruita • Caineville • Hanksville Panguitch • Panguitch Lake • Hatch • Antimony • Bryce • Tropic • Henrieville • Cannonville • Escalante • Boulder
Thursday, April 7, 2022
Thirteen Intermountain Hospitals Earn Prestigious 2022 HRC Recognition UTAH - Thirteen Intermountain Healthcare hospitals in Utah have earned the prestigious 2022 “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for policies and programs to ensure equitable and inclusive care is provided to all patients in the community. The honor by the Human Rights Campaign highlights Intermountain’s commitment to equity, inclusion, and a commitment to ensuring that everyone in the community feels welcome and safe when receiving care. The 13 Intermountain hospitals earning HRC recognition this year received the highest score of 100. They include: • Intermountain Alta View Hospital, Sandy • Intermountain American Fork Hospital • Intermountain Layton Hospital • Intermountain LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City • Intermountain Medical Center, Murray • Intermountain Orem Community Hospital • Intermountain Park City Hospital
insiderutah.com
Issue # 1455
After 35 Years of Service, Retirement Party Celebration Held for GMH Administrator Alberto Vasquez
March 28 GARFIELD COUNTY Commissioner David Tebbs was excused from the March 28 Garfield County Commission meeting. Piute County Commissioner Darin Bushman addressed the Commission on OHV trails. He thanked Garfield County for its ongoing support and cooperative working relationship with Piute County. Currently trying to establish Butch Cassidy boyhood home as a state monument, Bushman is also pursuing extension of a Piute County OHV trail that will ultimately connect to Bryce Canyon and the rest of the counties’ trail system. He requested and received a pledge of ongoing support for his trail efforts. Commissioner Jerry Taylor attended “Building Utah” workshops along with members of the Public Works department, saying next year, Garfield’s road crew could teach some of the sessions on their techniques. He mentioned looking into federal rural roads funding now available. Ticaboo and its consulting firm, Energy Strategies, met with county officials to discuss the firm’s $95K proposal to conduct
Courtesy Carla Ramsay
PANGUITCH - During a retirement party held on March 30, 2022, community and hospital leaders shared in celebrating Alberto Vasquez's 35 years as Garfield Memorial Hospital Administrator. Vasquez has spearheaded numerous facility developments, leading the hospital to win top awards in emergency, outpatient and long-term care services. DeeAnn Brown will transition into the role as GMH Administrator, and an announcement regarding her new position is expected later in April. —Insider
Courtesy Carla Ramsay
HRC Recognition
Garfield Commission
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Sterling Scholar Competition Winners Announced
Courtesy Sterling Scholar Awards
Bryce Valley High School Sterling Scholar Family and Consumer Sciences runner-up Trinity Elizabeth Whitfield. Eleven students from three schools in Garfield County were nominated as 2022 Sterling Scholars. ST.GEORGE - One hundred and fifty-nine students representing nineteen high schools competed in The annual Southwest Utah Sterling Scholar competition took place on the campus of Dixie State University in St. George, Utah, on March 29, 2022. This regional competition is coordinated by the Southwest Educational Development Center. Each of the students were judged on personal achievements and awards compiled in their portfolios as well as their interviews with the judges. The students were judged on scholarship, leadership, community service, and citizenship. The three judges in each category came from lo-
Garfield County Commission
cal communities, Dixie State University, and Southern Utah University. After the competition, an Awards Ceremony was held in DSU’s Cox Auditorium. Students and their parents were welcomed to the Dixie campus byVice-president Dr. Michael Lacourse. Dr. John Taylor served as the Master of Ceremonies where the winners and runners-up were announced. Winners and runners-up received a sterling silver pin or charm and a sizable college scholarship provided by the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation. Colleges and universities in Utah offer additional scholarships to both the winners and the runnersup. Winners and runners-up can be seen here—https:// ss.sedck12.org/. The fifteen categories of the competition included:Agriculture Science, Business and Marketing, Computer Technology, Dance, English, Family and Consumer Sciences, Foreign Language, General Scholarship, Mathematics, Music, Science, Social Science, Speech and Drama, Trade and Technical Education, and Visual Arts. —Sterling Scholar Awards In the March 31, 2022, issue of The Insider, it was reported that 173 students participated in the Sterling Scholar competition. After several students dropped out, the final total was 159 participating students.
REGIONAL WEATHER FORECAST FOR SOME BUT NOT ALL REGIONS REPRESENTED IN OUR NEWSPAPER COVERAGE AREA
First Case of COVID-19 in Mule Deer Confirmed in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY While COVID-19 was confirmed in white-tailed deer in parts of the U.S. last year, the virus was recently confirmed in Utah mule deer for the first time after the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources submitted samples taken from deer during winter health assessments. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has been collaborating on a research study to test various wildlife species for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). As part of the study, DWR biologists collected nasal swab samples and blood samples from deer during the annual helicopter captures where biologists perform a health check and place GPS collars on the animals. From November to December, samples were taken from roughly 280 deer statewide and were sent to two USDA labs in other COVID in Mule Deer Cont'd on page 3
Brand New Rental Houses Unveiled in Tropic
Insider
Garfield County Commissioner Jerry Taylor gives Amber and Ward Williams the keys to their new home in Tropic during an open house held on March 31, 2022 celebrating the completion of two new single-family houses under an attainable housing program. The new houses are the result of several years' work by many stakeholders including Garfield County, federal program funders, State Bank of Southern Utah, and Mountain Country Home Solutions, a state-wide nonprofit that oversees attainable housing developments. TROPIC - Several years of planning and hard work culminated in one happy moment, when the Williams family was delivered the keys to their new home. On Thursday, March 31, 2022, an open house was held
financial and nonprofit stakeholders. The new occupants of one of the new homes are Amber and Ward Williams, and Rental Houses Cont'd on page 9
UPCOMING EVENTS... Entrada Hosts "Classic Conversation" with Duke Alvey
Today, April 7, 2022 Robbers Roost in Torrey 6 PM
Register at entradainstitute.org
THURS. APR. 7 - WED. APR. 13
Sunny to partly cloudy, with higher chances of rain going into next week. Highs range from the mid 30s to the 70s; lows from the teens to the high 30s. Winds from 7 to 20 mph.
in Tropic’s Bryce Meadows subdivision to celebrate the completion of two new singlefamily rental houses, which have been made possible under an attainable housing program and with the combined efforts of many local, state, federal,
No winter lasts forever, no spring skips its turn. April is a promise that May is bound to keep, and we know it.
—Hal Borland
2022 Panguitch Easter Egg Hunt
April 16, 2022 Begins at 11 AM Questions? Call Pat @ 435.676.2148 ALL content for THE WAYNE & GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER MUST BE submitted by FRIDAY AT NOON to be included in the following Thursday edition of the paper.
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PRE-SORT STANDARD PAID RICHFIELD, UTAH PERMIT No. 122