A fantastic group of youth made time recently to clean up the Kid’s Canal trail and that act of service is just one of many ways they are serving our community. Among many other pursuits, this group of youth serve as the Vernal Youth City Council but what exactly does the Vernal Youth City Council do? Vernal City Manager Quinn Bennion shares that the Youth City Council is sponsored by Vernal City and is made up of students from Uintah High and Terra Academy. The program is also open to home school and AVEC students. The youth council meets every other week during the school year. They vote in a student Mayor and select other positions such as City Manager, Police Chief, Recorder, Streets Superintendent, and Tourism Director. The youth council plans and implements service projects in the community and they learn about local issues and how government functions. The youth recently met with their state legislators Senator Winterton and Representative Chew at the State Capital where they learned about the state legislative process and current bills. Advisors for the program are Samantha Scott Chapoose, Heidi Bennion, and Vernal City council member Nicholas Porter. Members of the 2020-2021 Vernal Youth City Council are: Eoin O’Hearn, Derek Mansfield, Jackson Liesik, Quinton James, Logan Neiberg, Marcus Bender, Andrew Flores, Jorge Angulo, Kacee Bennion, Melanie Peacock, Jaylee Morrell, Ezrie Slaugh, Halle Hacking, Lily Wilson, Alexa Merrell, and Misty Poulson.
