Monthly Archives: January 2021

Coconino County appoints Cheryl Mango-Paget as Superintendent of Schools

Posted on by

FLAGSTAFF — The Coconino County Board of Supervisors has appointed Cheryl Mango-Paget as Coconino County Superintendent of Schools effective immediately. Mango-Paget has served as the Associate Superintendent for Coconino County since 2012, holds a certificate to teach in schools in the state of Arizona, and holds Arizona administrator and superintendent certifications.

Mango-Paget has classroom experience as a teacher and administrator, and expertise and passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education (STEM).

“I’m honored to serve Coconino County as the Superintendent of Schools,” said Mango-Paget. “Education is my passion and I look forward to continuing to improve the educational outcomes for our students and training for our teachers. Our future is built on the success we have educating the children and young adults of our county.”

“Coconino County’s educational mission will be well-served by Superintendent Mango-Paget. The Superintendent’s knowledge and
experience, and her passion for serving our children and community are evident. In light of the challenges facing Coconino County due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the board recognizes the need for leadership and continuity in the Office of the Superintendent. We are grateful to have a leader such as Superintendent Mango-Paget to guide this team into a bright future. The Board of Supervisors looks forward to working together with the Superintendent to continue the long history of excellence in education and supporting teachers in our county,”
commented Chairman Matt Ryan.

Mango-Paget earned both a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Master of Science in Education from Indiana University. Mango-Paget will serve through December 31, 2022.

Coconino County’s Detention Services Commander Matthew Figueroa receives Appointment to AZPOST

Posted on by

FLAGSTAFF — Congratulations to Commander Matthew Figueroa who has been appointed by Governor Ducey to the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (AZPOST).

AZPOST is composed of 13 members and stands to foster public trust and confidence by establishing and maintaining standards of integrity, competence, and professionalism for Arizona peace officers and correctional officers.

AZPOST was established in 1968 to address the need for minimum peace officer selection, recruitment, retention and training standards, and to provide curriculum and standards for all certified law enforcement training facilities.

Commander Matthew Figueroa has served as Detention Services Commander of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office since 2014. In his current role as Detention Commander, he provides administrative leadership, supervision, training and direction, and assignment of duties to over 150 detention personnel and supervisors in the daily operations of a 596-bed facility.

Commander Figueroa also served as associate faculty with Coconino County Community College instructing students in the areas of Administrative Justice. He has served in detention since 1996 as a detention officer, and recently received the JAILCON 20/20 Detention Administrator of the Year award.

Sheriff Jim Driscoll is proud to have representation from his Command Staff on the AZPOST Board and grateful to Governor Ducey for recognizing Commander Matthew Figueroa for this prestigious
appointment.

Bearizona Wildlife Drive Through open Thursday

Posted on by

–Bearizona Photo

WILLIAMS — Bearizona Wildlife Drive-Through Park in Williams closed this week due to the heavy winter storm that passed through Williams leaving over 20″ of snow in many areas. This is a rare move for Bearizona, but park Director Sean Casey made the decision for the safety of the staff, animals and customers. The park plans to open by Thursday.

Snow was this high in Bearizona. — Bearizona photo

“Bearizona employees are working hard to get the roads and paths cleared by Thursday,” Sean said in an email. “Closing the park is a rare event, but with the sudden snowfall and closed highways it seemed like the right decision.”

–Bearizona Photo

Another winter storm is expected Friday, but should leave less than 3-inches which does not usually evoke a closure. In fact, the snow brings Bearizona to life, for the most part. Many of the animals thrive on the weather and move about more making Bearizona a great experience.

–Bearizona Photo

Bearizona is currently open 7-days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Their hours change in the summer. In addition to the drive-through, they have a walking area with a petting zoo, dining in the Canyonland restaurant, and shopping to support their mission and their donations to various wildlife causes.

Other businesses in Williams are opening as they dig out from the storm. Most restaurants in the area remained open and the City of Williams has done a good job of clearing the streets of snow although there will be some areas impacted for a while. They should catch up the next two days, however, since we will see the sun for a couple of days. Saturday through the beginning of the week we should see mostly sunny skies making Bearizona a pleasant sight to visit.

It was reported that some of the animals at Bearizona were less than enthusiastic.–Bearizona Photo

Winter Pile Burning Resumes on Tusayan and Williams Ranger Districts

Posted on by

WILLIAMS – Fire managers on the south zone on the Kaibab National Forest will be continuing burning slash piles on both the Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts beginning Tuesday January 26.

Tusayan Ranger District: On Wednesday a total of about 20 piles at various locations across the district will be burned, with most of them being located west of the Grand Canyon Airport. Smoke may be visible from Highway 64 and the airport at times, however little to no smoke impacts are expected, and this burn will be short in duration.

Williams Ranger District: The Moonset Pit green waste disposal site west of Parks will be ignited on Wednesday of this week. The site is currently at capacity. Removing the debris now will open more space for residents to dispose of woody material in the upcoming year. Residents can expect to see and experience some smoke early on, but officials anticipate quick and thorough consumption limiting the time and volume of smoke that will be produced. Forecasted breezy conditions will also help move lingering smoke out of the area rapidly.

A 2271-acre unit of machine piles about 2 miles south of Bill Williams Mountain near Cougar Park will also begin this week. The unit is broken into 5 blocks and ignitions will occur along forest road 122 along the northern portion of the unit Tuesday morning. Removing piles from this location will widen the fuel break along the 122 road that will create a safer defendable line offering better protection around the southwest side of Bill Williams Mountain in the event of an uncontrolled wildfire. Smoke is not expected to impact any residential areas and is forecasted to ventilate quickly.Snowy weather conditions throughout the winter provide ideal conditions to burn slash piles on the forest. Pile burns will be ongoing whenever opportunities arise after snowstorms when woody debris can be burned safely with no potential for spread on the snow-covered surfaces. Additional units scheduled to be burned this winter include piles near Marteen Tank, Government Hill, and Round Mountain. This fuels reduction work is part of the ongoing forest restoration initiative that will be continuing in and around forested landscapes across northern Arizona.

All prescribed burns are subject to approval from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Members of the public may view approved prescribed fires at smoke.azdeq.gov/

To learn more about smoke and public health, visit http://bit.ly/SmokeHealthAwareness.

This, too, shall pass

Posted on by

For those who do not think it snows in Arizona, you may be in for a surprise when you visit northern Arizona. Do not drive like you do at home.

WILLIAMS — This storm is passing. The prediction is about 3 more inches through the day and into the early evening. Tomorrow mostly sunny and partly sunny Thursday. A high of 37 Wednesday and 45 Thursday. It is expected to be bitterly cold tonight and Wednesday night. Possibly as low as 3-degrees. Williams received 20″ of snow with Flagstaff achieving 21″.

The Winter Weather Warning from the Weather Service ended as of 2 p.m. today.

Another storm will come through Friday and Saturday, but is expected to leave less than one inch of snow.

This storm did not significantly impact the infrastructure as did the storm of November 2019. There were reports of some spotty power outages and some Internet failures. The power and phones, however, did remain active for the most part. There was a lot of trouble with slide-offs and accidents along the I-40 and I-17. And there were those who parked their vehicles in the middle of Railroad avenue and walked off.

Do not park in the middle of the road during snow removal.


The current road conditions as of this writing are:
Plan for long backups on sections of I-40 between Kingman and Flagstaff due to the weather.
The following highways are closed due to extreme winter conditions
Interstate 17 northbound is closed between SR 179 and Lake Mary Road (mileposts 299-340)
US 191 from mileposts 225 to 254 (just south of Alpine)
State Route 87 between the Bush Highway and Winslow (mileposts 236-342)
State Route 260 between Star Valley and Heber, and from east of Camp Verde to SR 87
US 60 in both directions from Globe to Show Low
State Route 89A between Sedona and Interstate 17; and from Jerome to Clarkdale
State Route 89 from north of Peeples Valley to just south of Prescott
State Route 288 westbound between SR 188 and YoungState Route 89A between Sedona and Interstate 17; and from Jerome to Clarkdale
State Route 89 from north of Peeples Valley to just south of Prescott
State Route 288 westbound between SR 188 and Young

The Coconino Amateur Radio Emergency service was active just prior to the storm through until 1 p.m. today. The Weather Service held briefings with the Emergency Operation Center and other agencies daily through the storm.

Call 511 or visit az511.gov before you go to check for current road conditions.

Major weather impact predicted through Tuesday

Posted on by

Northern Arizona – Travel from any point to Flagstaff will be very difficult over the next couple of days. The weather service expects white-out conditions and heavy snow starting Monday morning through to Tuesday morning. High winds and blowing snow could pose a major hazard for travelers along I-40 and especially I-17 around the areas of Kachina Village and Munds Park south of Flagstaff.

According to the weather service, snow levels will be from 4000′ – 5000′ tonight dropping to 2000′ by Tuesday. The possible levels in the area are 15-21″ in Flagstaff, 16-22 in Williams, 6-10″ in Chino Valley and 7-11″ in Seligman. Snow fall could reach 1″ an hour over Monday during the day and Monday night.

Temperatures will drop to the single-digits for the upper elevations to the lower teens for elevations below 4000′. A winter storm warning may be issued by the weather service starting Monday morning.

If you must travel during these periods, remember NOT to get right behind a snowplow on the freeways hoping to get clearer roads. The snowplow stop and change directions frequently and you could be involved in an accident. Stay clear of snow plows.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) was activated yesterday and will be monitoring tonight starting about 6 p.m. through the storm. They will be monitoring the repeaters on Bill Williams and in particular the 146.780 (-91.5) repeater and 146.980 (-162.2) repeater on Mount Elden. Should the repeaters fail, they monitor 146.980 simplex.

Northern Arizona to finally get significant snowfall through Monday

Posted on by

WILLIAMS — According to the National Weather Service, a storm passing through northern Arizona could bring the first significant snowfall since November of 2019. This could, unfortunately, bring traffic problems along I-40 and highway 64.

Two- to four-inches are expected over Friday night. Another six-inches could fall over Saturday night. 2- to 4-inches more could fall over Sunday. Monday through Tuesday during the day, there is about an 80% chance of snow, but levels are not predicted yet. Snow will continue Wednesday through Thursday, but the chances drop to around 20%.

Winds for the period will be moderate execpt for Friday night with gusts up to 28-mph and Monday with gusts to 25-mph.

AZGFD accepting applications for 2021 pronghorn, elk hunts

Posted on by

PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) is accepting applications for 2021 hunt permit-tags issued through the draw process for pronghorn and elk.

To apply, visit www.azgfd.gov and click on “Apply for a Draw.” For an overview of the application service, including license requirements, applying for bonus points and payment information, see Page 8 of the “2021 Pronghorn and Elk Hunt Draw Information” booklet. Printed booklets soon will be available at all license dealers statewide.

The deadline for the department to receive all applications is 11:59 p.m. (Arizona time) Tuesday, February 9, 2021.

All applicants are encouraged to purchase PointGuard, which allows hunters to surrender their hunt permit-tag(s) for any reason without losing their bonus points. An applicant does not need an AZGFD portal account to apply for the draw or to purchase PointGuard. Information: www.azgfd.gov/pointguard.

NOTE: As a result of the high volume of draw applications received by the department, the ability for customers to view data in their personal portal accounts — such as bonus points, license purchases and submitted applications — may be slightly delayed. AZGFD is aware of this inconvenience and is working toward a solution. The continued support and patience of all customers is appreciated at this time.

Services for Annie Shumway Friday

Posted on by

Northern Arizona Gazette was saddened to learn that Annie Shumway, 68, passed through Heaven’s gate on January 2, 2021. Annie grew a following as the “Lady Barber” in Williams for several years before retiring.

Annie was a retired Phoenix police officer and was active in community groups and projects. She was a volunteer with the Community Emergency Response Team, a board member of the High Country Fire Rescue. Her involvement in church, community and numerous philanthropic endeavors allowed Annie to forge many cherished friendships. Annie lived and loved well and will be greatly missed. Annie enjoyed her animals and many hobbies. Annie loved her home and farm in the hills and pines of Williams.

Annie was surrounded by her children, in Phoenix, AZ, when she peacefully went to be with Jesus. Annie, and her twin brother Albert, were born to Chester and Genevieve on August 25, 1952 in Burbank, CA. Michael Probst and she were married December 1970. Over the years they welcomed four children, Rebecca, Catherine, Michele and Matthew.

Annie is preceded in death by her parents and twin brother. Annie is survived by her 4 children, 9 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

Services to be Friday, January 15, 2021 11:00 AM at
Shiloh in the Pines 2284 S. Perkinsville Rd. Williams, AZ
Followed by a Graveside Prayer & Reception
Mortuary: Chino Valley Funeral Home

The family asked that in lieu of flowers, please make a donation in honor of Annie to Law Enforcement Ministries or to Shiloh in the Pines Church

Meteor Crater Rest Area closed for renovations

Posted on by

PHOENIX – The Meteor Crater Rest Area on Interstate 40 between Flagstaff and Winslow in northern Arizona has closed for a nearly $3.5 million renovation project that’s expected to be completed by the fall.

While closed to the traveling public, the rest area will remain open for commercial truck parking only. Message signs placed on I-40 in each direction approaching the rest area will advise drivers of this.

Work planned for the rest area, located at milepost 235, includes upgrades to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, improvements to the water/wastewater system, as well as architectural, electrical, mechanical rehabilitation and site work.

During the closure, the nearest traveler facilities will be in Flagstaff and Winslow.

This work is part of a project that included the renovation of the Painted Cliffs Rest Area on I-40 near the New Mexico state line. That work was completed last September.