LATEST NEWS

Deputies with the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office have requested help in a theft case. They are investigating a stolen ATV and are asking the public to keep an eye out for it. The lime green and gray Polaris Outlaw 112cc ATV was stolen on or about June 30th from the Main Street area of Duchesne City.

A rave party in the Strawberry River Road area of Duchesne County resulted in arrest for one man in attendance who was accused of rape and then took a vehicle without permission, fleeing the situation before cops arrived. According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, 29-year-old Ali Foulad was accused of rape the morning after the rave party, during which the drug “Molly” was being sold at and used. Fouland was planning to drive back to the Salt Lake area with another person in attendance but after waiting for an hour, he drove away alone in the other person’s car without permission to do so. Snapchat location services were used to track Fouland traveling westbound on Highway 40 towards Heber. An “attempt to locate” was dispatched for the vehicle and Heber City Police stopped and detained Fouland while Duchesne County deputies were enroute. He was taken into custody and transported to the Duchesne County Jail where he was booked for the alleged Rape and for Felony Theft of a Motor Vehicle.

Communities throughout the Uintah Basin will be celebrating the Independence Day holiday this weekend. A few of the experiences include the following: The Bluebell community Annual Independence Day Celebration will be held July 4th at the Bluebell Park with breakfast at 7am and the flag ceremony at 9am. All Veterans and soldiers eat free! The Independence Day parade in Tabiona starts at 10am on July 6th in conjunction with the Tabiona Rodeo on July 5th and 6th. The Tabby Valley 5K will be held at 7am on July 6th starting on the east side of the school. Roosevelt’s Independence Day celebration kicks off on July 3rd with a patriotic Main Street Drag from 6 to 8pm, the 1 mile fun run at 7:30pm and the 5K Color Run at 8pm. On July 4th, events continue at the Constitution Park with activities all day long starting with the flag retirement and raising at 8am and ending at 10pm with fireworks. Duchesne City’s 4th of July celebration starts with the Lions Club Breakfast from 7 to 10am followed by the parade at 10:30am. There will be a patriotic program at Roy Park at 11:30am with activities to follow throughout the day until fireworks at 10pm.

A woman whose life was saved in 2011 by a Duchesne County Sheriff’s Deputy visited the Sheriff’s Office this week to deliver a donation made on her behalf. On July 13th, 2011, Heidi Paulson was traveling on SR-35 in the Tabiona area when her vehicle ended up in a massive sinkhole. The storm had washed out a culvert and the damage spanned 30 feet deep and 40 feet across. Sgt. Brandon Adams, then of the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office, took extreme first responding measures to rescue Heidi from her vehicle. Heidi is now married and has two children. While delivering the donation, Heidi tearfully expressed her gratitude for the rescue and for Sgt. Adams. They stayed in contact for a few years and he even attended her wedding. The donation that Heidi delivered came from her friend Benita Jo Quakenbush whose card expressed her thanks to Sgt. Adams and the entire Duchesne County Sheriff’s Department for saving her friend’s life 13 years ago.

Northern Oil and Gas ( NOG) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 20% undivided stake in the XCL Assets in partnership with SM Energy (SM) for a purchase price, net to NOG, of $510.0 million in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments. The Acquired Assets are located primarily in Uintah and Duchesne Counties, Utah and include approximately 9,300 net acres and 97.6 underwritten net undeveloped locations, normalized for 10,000 foot laterals. Significant additional upside locations remain in the Deep and Upper Cube. The prospective development plan is based on conservative and widened spacing from the current operator. The Company sees substantial return upside from increased lateral lengths (extending to 3-miles) and cost savings from an integrated co-owned sand mine facility scheduled to come online within twelve months. Upon closing and transition of services, the operator of substantially all of the assets will be SM, with NOG participating in development pursuant to cooperation and joint development agreements entered into in connection with the acquisition. “The Uinta Basin has emerged as one of the best and fastest growing oil resources in the United States, and SM has a track record as one of our best and most responsible operators. We look forward to working with them for many years to come. We believe this transaction will be the most accretive in our history, benefiting per share net profit and free cash flow both immediately and over time.” “With XCL, we are acquiring a multi-stacked pay acreage position with significant long-term upside,” commented Adam Dirlam, NOG’s President. “These assets are exemplary of our returns-focused strategy: delivering immediately while offering significant exploration potential further enhancing NOG’s optionality. Much like our prior joint development transactions, we have devised an aligned, conservative development and governance plan with a proven E&P company. We continue to be the partner of choice for our operators as the largest, best capitalized and most reliable working interest owner in the United States.”

Tentative results in local races for County Commissioner were last updated shortly after midnight. In Duchesne County, for County Commission Seat C, Jeffrey Brent Chugg received 37.48 percent of the vote, Tracy W. Ross received 33.32 percent, Clel Robinson received 14.82 percent, and Bryan Winterton received 14.39 percent. In Uintah County, for County Commissioner, Willis LeFevre received 55.26 percent of the vote while Danny B. Mortensen received 44.74 percent. In Daggett County, incumbent candidate Randall B. Asay received 62.55 percent of the vote while Hank Gutz received 37.45 percent.

The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition will get their day in court as the Supreme. Court has agreed to hear their case concerning the Uinta Basin Railway project. Despite. securing the proper permits, environmental lawsuits led to the project’s halt. The case. before the Supreme Court has significance not only...

The June Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, June 25th, and ballots have been sent out to all eligible voters. Ballots must be postmarked by today, June 24th, in order to be counted in the Primary Election. Uintah County shared that as of Friday at 12:45pm, the Clerk/Auditor had received 3,242 ballots with 1,018 of those counted so far. In Uintah County, ballots can be dropped off at the 24-hour drive thru drop box at the Uintah County Library until 8pm on June 25th. The Uintah County Building and each City Office also has a drop box available during their normal business hours. In Duchesne County, drop boxes are available until June 25th at 5pm at the Roosevelt City Office, Tabiona Town Hall, Myton City Hall, and Altamont City Hall, and until 8pm on June 25th at the Duchesne County Administration Building. In Daggett County, ballots can be dropped off at any of the following locations until 8pm on June 25th: Daggett County Courthouse Exterior Ballot Box, Daggett County Clerk’s Office, or Dutch John Conference Hall.