Daily Archives: March 24, 2015

Oregon Congressman submits bill limiting the ability of Forest Service and BLM to create travel management plans

Posted on by

Representative Walden of Oregon. (House Photo)

Representative Walden of Oregon. (House Photo)

WASHINGTON — Greg Walden of Oregon (R-2 district) introduced H.R. 1555, yesterday, which purports to require the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to obtain the consent of the local affected communities prior to implementing any travel management plans affecting access to National Forest System lands.

The Summary and Text of the bill is currently not posted so it is unclear how much limitiation will actually be included.

Congressman Walden wrote a letter earlier this month to Randy Moore and Jim Pena, U.S. Forest service Foresters for Region Five and Six, respectively. The letter was signed by all members of the Oregon delegation, five members from Washington State and one from California.

The letter complained about the manner in which the Forest Service holds their input sessions. The letter complains that the input sessions were urban focused and limited access to rural dwellers who would have difficulty traveling to the site to give their input. The letter stated:

For over 30 years, the Northwest Forest Plan has profoundly impacted the communities within our districts and any revisions to the plan will have a similar effect. Holding only three listening sessions disadvantages our constituents in these rural communities. Many of our constituents would have to travel several hours and hundreds of miles to participate. The cost and time commitments involved would likely present an unacceptable hardship for many residents who would otherwise participate in these sessions.

Forest Service notices usually include electronic and mailing addresses for input, as well.

The current title of the bill is:

To stop implementation and enforcement of the Forest Service travel management rule and require the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to incorporate the needs, uses, and input of affected communities, and to obtain their consent, before taking any travel management action affecting access to National Forest System lands derived from the public domain or public lands, and for other purposes.

New lighting problems observed

Posted on by

640-Lights-5032301WILLIAMS — New solar light have been installed around Williams since January. They were initially installed on the east end of town along historic Route 66. Since then about 200 lights have been placed all along Route 66 and Grand Canyon Boulevard.

While some commented that it looked like an airport runway, most comments overheard were positive.

300-Lights-150323-02Yet some problems have been observed. Residents have noticed missing lights and some of the new lights not working.

Mayor John Moore of Williams—Who has said the lights are being donated by a private citizen—confirmed that at least three lights have been knocked down by vehicles parking in the downtown area. Like the older lights in Williams, they have been placed along the sidewalks to provide the most access to pedestrians. Thus they are closer to the street.

Other repairs being observed, he said, were because of faulty lights which the company is replacing at no charge.

Even with the problems noted, the lights seem to be a popular addition to the streets of Williams.

Upcoming Neighborhood Watch meetings for Doney Park and Timberline/Fernwood areas

Posted on by

FLAGSTAFF — Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jim Driscoll and District 4 Supervisor Mandy Metzger would like to invite residents of the Doney Park community to attend the monthly Neighborhood Watch meeting on Thursday, April 2, 2015. The meeting will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Summit Fire District Station 32 and Administrative Offices located at 8905 Koch Field Road Flagstaff, AZ.

In Timberline/Fernwood, Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jim Driscoll and Coconino County Supervisor Liz Archuleta would like to invite residents to the monthly Neighborhood Watch meeting on Tuesday, April 7, 2015. The meeting will be held from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM at Summit Fire Station 33, located at 6050 Firehouse Lane, off of Highway 89N. Members of the Sheriff’s Office staff will be at the meeting to share information and encourage continued neighborhood participation.

The guest speaker at both events will be Charlotte Peterson who is an Animal Management Officer for Coconino County. Charlotte will speak about animal abuse, animal hoarding and will give a broad overview of the animal management department and county ordinances that pet owners should be aware of.

Community Deputies will be available to answer questions and provide support to this partnership between law abiding citizens, law enforcement and county government.

Neighborhood Watch is similar to the Block Watch program commonly conducted in urban areas and goes back to the concept of “neighbors looking out for neighbors” that many people remember from 30 years ago. It is one of the most effective ways to prevent and deter criminal activity, attend to home and personal security, address the safety of our children and the elderly, and to alleviate fear and isolation. Residents learn how to observe and report suspicious activity and reduce the risk of becoming a victim of crime.

For more information about the Neighborhood Watch program and the meeting schedule, please call the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 226-5089.

Electronics Waste Recycling Event will be held Saturday, April 4 at Town of Payson Multi-Event Center

Posted on by

PAYSON — Arizona Department of Environmental Quality officials announced today that the Sixth Annual Payson Free Electronics Waste Recycling Event will be held Saturday morning, April 4 from 8 a.m. until noon at the Town of Payson Multi-Event Center, 1400 S. Beeline Highway.

ADEQ and its partners – Payson Water Department, Gila County, Tonto Apache Tribe, Northern Gila County Sanitary District, Pine-Strawberry Water Improvement District, CH2MHill and eGreen-IT Solutions of Phoenix — anticipate collecting tons of unwanted televisions, computers, monitors, batteries, chargers, cell phones, VCRs, CD and DVD players, printers, small appliances, fax machines, cables and cords during the event. No more than two televisions or monitors per vehicle will be accepted during the event.

The recyclable material will be collected at the Multi-Event Center, in the south part of Payson across Beeline Highway from Mazatzal Hotel and Casino. eGreen-IT Solutions uses state of the art software to erase all hard drives and will provide companies and individuals donating e-waste a certificate of disposal for their records. The event has grown in popularity since its inception with 10,601 pounds collected in 2010, 20,345 pounds in 2011, 23,350 pounds in 2012, 29,842 pounds in 2013 and 29,047 pounds last year.

“It’s been exciting to see the Payson area get behind this event,” ADEQ Director Henry Darwin said. “This is a great opportunity for people to dispose of all the unwanted electronics they have collected over the years while at the same time ensuring that this potentially toxic stream of waste is disposed of responsibly and does not take up valuable landfill space.”

“The Town of Payson looks forward to the opportunity to work with ADEQ and our other partners to offer this much-needed recycling event,” said Buzz Walker, Payson’s Water Superintendent. “These events are typically some of the most well-attended of all our various town events.”

For more information, call (928) 474-5242 Ext. 381 or (928) 337-3565.

Aurora Products, Inc. Recalls Certain Walnuts and Trail Mixes Due to Possible Health Risk

Posted on by

Orange, CT — Aurora Products, Inc. is conducting a voluntary nationwide recall of certain lots of NATURAL WALNUTS and TRAIL MIXES CONTAINING WALNUTS because they have the potential to contain Salmonella which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

Product was distributed nationwide through retail stores. Product was also distributed in Canada and Bermuda.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

Aurora is communicating with stores that have received the affected product. Stores have been instructed to cease distribution of these products and to remove the affected product from store shelves.

The affected products were produced by Aurora Products, Inc. The potential for contamination was noted after routine testing by an outside company contracted by the FDA revealed the presence of Salmonella in one container of natural walnuts product. Organic walnuts are not affected.

Consumers that have the products listed below are urged to not eat it and destroy the product or return it to the point of purchase. Customers with questions can contact Aurora Products, Inc. for further information at (800)-898-1048 between the hours of 9:00AM to 5:00 PM EST Monday – Friday.
Continue reading →