Daily Archives: December 12, 2015

Northern Arizona Gazette editor passes Amateur Extra exam

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FLAGSTAFF — Despite the snow, the editor of the Northern Arizona Gazette, Glen Davis, went to Flagstaff for the Saturday morning amateur radio licensing examination.

To get a license to operate on amateur radio frequencies, one must pay $15 for the examination. If you pass one, you can go onto the next test until you fail. If you fail, you must pay another $15 to try or just take the level you achieve. You can try again at the next examination cycle. The examinations are overseen by the Coconino Amateur Radio Club. Contact information and test dates can be found at their web site.

Davis took the examination for Technician—the lowest level of Amateur radio license—in November and obtained the call sign KG7YDJ. On Saturday, he passed the test for the General license and took the examination for the Amateur Extra license.

“I was surprised that I passed even though I had been studying the exam questions for the past three weeks,” he said.

You must pass each examination with a minimum score of 74%. The license examination for the Technician and General license is 35 questions taken from a pool of questions maintained by the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators. You must get 26 of the 25 question correct. The examination for the Amateur Extra license is 50 questions of which you must get 37 correct.

Only two more Advent concerts left for the season

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advent-concert-15-12-12-10WILLIAMS — There are only two more free Advent concerts at St. John’s Episcopal-Lutheran Church this season. The Church is located at 202 W. Grant Street next to the Williams City Christmas Tree.

The next concert is this Sunday at 4 p.m. The choirs of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and St. John’s will join together in a selection of Christmas favorites. If Reverend Marc McDonald is there to sing, you won’t want to miss it.

The last concert will be Sunday, December 20 at 4 p.m. It will feature guest musicians Anthony Flesch on the flute and Joel Rieck on acoustic guitar.

St. John’s hosts a reception after each concert. The concerts are free, but donations are gratefully accepted.

City snow removal ordinances in effect

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Saturday Snow 2015-12-12 034WILLIAMS — With the recent snowfall and more expected in the coming months, it seems a good time to cover the snow removal plans and the ordnances pertaining to that plan.

The City of Williams adopted a snow removal plan structured to open most City streets within 7 hours after a major storm. The city workers have, in the past, done an excellent job in getting the street clear after a snow storm.

The city watches the weather report and when snow acumulations 3-inches or more are predicted, they activate the plan and snow ordnances go into effect.

The clearing of streets is based on the following schedule of priorities:


    All emergency routes to include:

  1. hospital, ambulance service, fire stations, and police department. This includes main thoroughfares through town.
  2. Downtown streets, side streets located in the main part of town, residential streets and school bus routes.
  3. Outlying areas to include such places as Echo Canyon, Country Club Drive, South Road and other major collector streets.
  4. Airport Facilities

The ordinances in effect for snow removal are as follows:

SNOW & ICE REMOVAL FROM SIDEWALKS:

Article 8-7.02 0 Every person in charge of any building or lot of land fronting or abutting on a paved sidewalk shall remove and clear away, or cause to be removed and cleared away, snow and ice from a path of at least 36″ in width. Snow and ice shall be removed from sidewalks in all business districts in the City within 24 hours after the cessation of any fall of snow, sleet or freezing rain. Snow and ice shall be so removed from all other sidewalks within the same day of the cessation of any fall of snow, sleet or freezing rain within the first 6 hours of daylight after the cessation of any such fall, whichever period is longer. If snow and ice on sidewalk has become so hard that it cannot be
removed. without damaging the sidewalk, sand or other abrasive must be put on the sidewalk to make travel possible. As soon as possible a path must be cleared.

PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITIES

Per the City of Williams Ordinance 626, the public is responsible for the following during snow storms:

PARKING:

Article 8-7.07 No person shall park or be permitted to park any vehicle on any public street, boulevard or alley during snow removal.

FAILURE TO PERFORM:

Article 8-7.08 If a vehicle is parked in violation of this code the Police Department is authorize to remove the vehicle, or cause it to be removed at the expense of the person owning or
controlling such vehicle.

Article 8-7.06 In the event of the failure of any person to perform the requirements stated above, the Public Works Director may cause such work to be done by the City and the responsible person shall be charged the cost of the work plus a 10% charge.

Snow makes for a beautiful Williams morning

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640-Snow-15-12-12-01WILLIAMS — If you reserved your tickets for the Polar Express tonight, you picked a winner. With little snow yesterday, Williams woke up to a fine blanket of snow which made for a beautiful morning.
640-Snow-15-12-12-07
Williams received about an inch of snow overnight. By afternoon the city had received about three-inches. It is expected to clear up overnight with the chance of snow picking up Sunday night through Monday night. Another 2-4 inches is possible.640-Snow-15-12-12-04I do not usually wake up early especially on a weekend. I had to take an exam in Flagstaff, however, and was pleasantly surprised by the winter wonderland. If you plan to visit Williams, plan a tour around in the early morning or early evening to check out the city lights.

I-40 this morning was slick and heavy with snow, but amazingly clear of accidents. On the return trip leaving Flagstaff about 12 p.m., we encountered only one accident which did not block or delay traffic.

Flagstaff received about the same amount of snow, but likely Snow Bowl is benefiting from the eight-inches predicted above 8000′. The snow is not finished, however, and an inch or two more might fall before the evening.

More photos on our Facebook page.

US 60 east of Superior to close briefly for blasting operations Dec. 15-17

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Motorists traveling along US 60 between Phoenix and Globe next week need to plan ahead or allow extra time as the Arizona Department of Transportation continues blasting work as part of an improvement project to build a new passing lane and widen roadway shoulders east of Superior, approximately 65 miles east of downtown Phoenix.

The construction of the two-mile-long climbing lane from Devil’s Canyon to Oak Flat (mileposts 231-233) will require four full closures of US 60 for up to 90 minutes:

> Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and again from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
> Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
> Thursday, Dec. 17, at 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Traffic on eastbound US 60 will be stopped east of Superior (milepost 227) and traffic on westbound US 60 will be stopped at the Top of the World, west of Miami (milepost 235), until the blasting work is completed and the roadway is reopened after all debris is cleared. Law enforcement officers will be stationed at each closure to assist with traffic control.

Approximately 30 minutes prior to each blast, motorists should be prepared for possible delays and lane closures as crews set concrete barrier prior to each scheduled closure.

Motorists seeking an alternate route can consider state routes 77 and 177, which is approximately 68 miles long. Motorists headed to the White Mountains region, including Show Low and Springerville, can also take State Route 87 through Payson and travel east on State Route 260 as an alternative.

ADOT will work to minimize the traffic impacts as much as possible, including scheduling some nighttime work.

There will be narrow traffic lanes, wide-load restrictions and a reduced speed limit through the work zone. Flaggers and pilot cars will be used at different times throughout the project.

Drivers are asked to use caution, watch for construction equipment and personnel, and allow extra time for your commute.

For more information on the project, please visit azdot.gov/us60oakflat.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule. To stay up to date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information System at az511.gov or call 5-1-1.