Monticello

Get the L out of there

We hope you enjoy Alene Laney’s story about the COVID-19 relief efforts. We decided to pick just one of the dozens of impressive and heartwarming efforts to help those who are struggling through this pandemic. • • • • • After 25 years in the newspaper business, I have learned that one of the...

Virus counts more than double in past week

The number of reported cases of the COVID-19 virus in San Juan County exploded in the past week, largely due to more than 1,500 additional tests that have been administered. The Utah Department of Health and Utah Navajo Health Systems (UNHS) teamed up for two days of free testing on April 30 and...

Unseasonably warm April ushers in early spring-like weather

Unseasonably warm temperatures marked much of the month of April in San Juan County, with an early arrive of spring-like weather. The month closed with near-record high temperatures. While the warm weather melted much of the snow pack in area mountains, area reservoirs are filling but at a much...

Sixteen local teachers earn test score bonus

Sixteen hard-working educators in the San Juan School District received a surprise during the last week of the school year: a $4,600 bonus. The teachers earned the bonus as a result of growth in the test scores of students in their classrooms. This is the third year of an incentive program that...

COVID-19 cases grow, expand into Blanding

The number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases in San Juan County is expected to grow in coming days as the results of a mobile testing unit continue to roll in. The virus has infected residents of most communities in the county, including Blanding, Bluff, Montezuma Creek, Monument Valley, and Navajo...

Monticello City Manager resigns

Monticello City Manager Douglas Wright has tendered his resignation effective in July. Wright has been the City Manager since August 2017, providing leadership and direction for the city for nearly three years. The city states during Wright’s tenure many practices were stabilized and processes...

County high school seniors positive despite loss of senior year finale

The hallways and classrooms are deserted. The gymnasiums and cafeterias are silent. The school buses are empty. For youngsters of the 1980s, it seems like the world of the movie “Red Dawn” has come true. It’s not true, of course, but for the first time in modern history, life at schools in San Juan...

Nineteen locals earn Sterling Scholar honors

Two students from San Juan County earned the title of Sterling Scholar and 17 more were named runners-up at the annual Southeast Utah Sterling Scholar competition. The initial competition, scheduled to take place on March 18, was delayed because of the new coronavirus pandemic. Judges and officials...

San Juan County grocers navigate the minefield of COVID-19

“Make it stop!” That’s Craig Stanley’s response to the COVID-19 coronavirus craziness, and you can hear virtually every voice in San Juan County echoing the sentiment. Stanley, manager of Clark’s Market in Blanding, says his team is working hard and is tired, but they are doing everything they can...

Several San Juan County students receive Career and Technical Education scholarships

Four high school seniors in the San Juan School District (SJSD) earned Career and Technical Education (CTE) scholarships, the Utah State Board of Education announced on March 19. Brittany Grover, Staten Perkins, and Kash Shumway of San Juan High School and Rianna Shumway of Monticello High School...