By Julie Johansen
Emery County honored several employees for their years of service to the county during the commission meeting on Tuesday afternoon. Ray Peterson was honored for 30 years of service while John Barnett, Brenda Tuttle, Travis Winn and Terry Seager received recognition for 20 years of service. Tina Carter was honored for 10 years and five-year awards were given to Selina Hardman, Denise Allen and Jeremiah Rich.
The meeting continued as Robbie Jensen, Director of Aging with the Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments (SEUALG), explained the senior citizen program in Emery County. He spoke of the goals and plans for the upgrade of the centers in each of the cities. An increase of volunteers and programs is desired to enrich the lives of the senior citizens. Also, programs to help with understanding of the new technology such as smart phones and email are planned for each center. A new truck has been secured for the Meals on Wheels program and expansion of the preparation facility in Ferron was announced.
“The program can be all that it should be,” he expressed as his desire for the program.
According to Jensen, the senior centers can be rented for a fee of $35, with an additional key fee and cleaning deposit of $25 that will be refunded when the key is returned and if the building is clean. The fee is forgiven if used for senior activities. He also encouraged seniors to plan their appointments in Price to correlate with senior bus schedule that provides transportation once per month.
Directors of the centers have been trained and training will continue as well as time sheet monitoring. A wage scale was discussed with only two full time and several part time employees in the county-wide program. He explained that Green River was a separate program from the other centers. Open communication was also a desire of Jensen.
A bid for the handrails needed at the Huntington Canyon Debris Basin was accepted and the fabrication of the rails will be completed and they will installed.
All of the elected officials expressed their gratitude and appreciation of the EMS during a recent incident. Fire, sheriff’s deputies, school district and many other helpful individuals offered expedient and efficient handling of the tragic bus accident on I-70. They called the incident surreal and the service phenomenal.