Daily Archives: April 28, 2021

Homicide Victim Located on Forest Service Road 776

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FLAGSTAFF – On April 27th, 2021, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office received information from Milwaukie Police Department in Oregon of a possible missing and endangered female traveling with a male subject last known to be in the Flagstaff area.

Working with the Milwaukie Police Department, Sheriff’s Office detectives were able to ascertain a possible location where the couple may have been camping. The area indicated was Forest Service Road 776 off Highway 89, north of Fernwood. Deputies responding to the area began contacting campers and handing out flyers of the male and female. From the flyer, a camper recognized the female and identified a camping location where the female and male subject were last seen. In investigating the location, the body of a female was found deceased. The female victim has been identified as 38-year-old Melisa Rose Wheeler, of Oregon.

Crime scene – CCSO Photo

Wheeler was last known to be traveling with Benjamin Mota, a resident of Oregon, on vacation. Mota returned to Oregon in the victim’s vehicle where he was taken into custody on unrelated charges. Evidence gathered during the initial investigation resulted in a 2nd Degree Homicide warrant for Mota’s arrest. Extradition efforts will be pursued. Mota is currently being held on a one-million-dollar cash bond.

The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Milwaukie Police Department, the Coconino County Attorney’s Office and the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office for their assistance and efforts during this investigation.

Sheriff CSI van – CCSO Photo

The investigation is ongoing by the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. No other information is available at this time.

Commercial firewood permits available for live juniper trees May 3

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FLAGSTAFF — The Flagstaff Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest will begin selling commercial firewood permits beginning May 3.

Permits will cover live and dead shaggy bark juniper trees in pre-designated areas of the Yeager Canyon area located roughly 45 minutes southeast of the City of Flagstaff.

A limited number of permits are available. Permits for 10 cords each can be purchased on a first-come, first-served basis for $50 a permit ($5 per cord).

Each cutting area is between four and seven acres, ensuring 10 cords of wood will be available in each area. Specific cutting requirements and a map will be included with each permit, and more information is available by request.

Due to COVID-19, permits will be made available by mail only.

Permits can be ordered by mailing a permit request and $50 check payable to the U.S. Forest Service to the Flagstaff Ranger Station at 5057 N. Hwy 89, Flagstaff AZ 86004. The written request should include your name, address, phone number, type of identification (such as driver’s license) and identification number, make and model of all vehicles that will be working within the permit unit and the names of any additional cutters. Your written request must be signed and dated.

Firewood cutters should be aware chainsaws can throw sparks and ignite grasses and brush, so please take care when cutting firewood. Always carry a shovel and a fire extinguisher or water in case of a fire start.

Additionally, all chainsaws must be equipped with a stainless-steel spark arrestor screen. Cutters need to ensure they are aware of the current fire restrictions by checking local Forest Service information.

Unless specified elsewhere in the permit or on its accompanying map, or identified as prohibited, motorized off-road travel is authorized to access and load firewood. Please exercise caution when driving off-road and avoid resource damage.

Governor Ducey Calls On Department Of Defense To Promptly Address Groundwater Contamination In Arizona

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PHOENIX  — Governor Doug Ducey is calling on the U.S. Department of Defense to take prompt action to address Pentagon-related groundwater contamination near Arizona’s military installations.

In an April 27 letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Governor Ducey requested DOD to identify and treat water in Arizona contaminated in the areas surrounding four DOD installations and to prevent additional human exposure to PFAS from other DOD facilities in Arizona.

The four installations with known PFAS impacts to groundwater—Luke Air Force Base, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Morris Air National Guard Base and the former Williams Air Force Base—are located in the two most populous metropolitan areas in Arizona, and each is surrounded by businesses and residential communities where thousands of Arizonans live, work and rely on clean groundwater for drinking.

The water is contaminated by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

“Ensuring that all Arizonans have the cleanest possible drinking water from public water systems today and for our future is critical for our health and well-being and a top priority of our state,” said Governor Ducey. “The situation in Arizona deserves attention. Arizona, through the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, is acting to contain the spread of PFAS now, and I ask you to make a similar commitment on behalf of DOD for prompt remedial actions to address the DOD-related PFAS contamination of groundwater throughout Arizona and protect the health and safety of Arizonans.”

  • The drinking water supply for 4,000 people within the Valley Utilities Water Company service area near Luke Air Force Base in Glendale has been impacted by PFAS and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has identified 10 additional public water systems serving groundwater to 45,000 people within a 4-mile radius of Luke Air Force Base that are at risk | View details >
  • In Tucson, the City has had to shut-off 18 production wells impacted by PFAS. ADEQ is currently conducting an accelerated investigation and designing an early response action north of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to protect Tucson Water’s central wellfield, which serves as a primary drinking water source for Tucson | View Details >
  • Areas surrounding former Williams Air Force Base and other installations across the state are either still being assessed or need to be assessed for PFAS impacts. What is known related to Williams Air Force Base is that approximately 12 percent of Mesa’s water supply is sourced from groundwater in the area.

To prevent additional human exposure to PFAS, Governor Ducey requested the following of DOD:

  1. Share PFAS data related to Arizona installations to help determine the extent of PFAS impacts.
  2. Develop a preliminary conceptual site model for each DOD facility based on available groundwater, geological and facility data.
  3. Estimate a preliminary time range for when DOD-related PFAS plumes may reach public drinking water systems.
  4. Conduct accelerated remedial investigations with the primary purpose of designing early response actions to stop the PFAS plumes.
  5. Design and install early response actions to protect public drinking water systems at risk from DOD-related PFAS.

PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals with fire-retardant properties that have been manufactured and used by a variety of industries since 1940. PFAS can migrate into soil, water and air during manufacture and use of products containing PFAS and do not break down, so they remain in the environment and can impact groundwater and drinking water sources. Because of their widespread use and persistence, PFAS can build up in people and animals with repeated exposure over time. Most industries have been phasing out the use of PFAS since the early 2000s. There is a growing body of scientific evidence linking PFAS exposure to adverse health effects. A significant PFAS human exposure pathway is drinking municipal or well water with PFAS levels higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lifetime Health Advisory Level.

View Governor Ducey’s Letter to the Secretary of Defense HERE >

To learn more about PFAS, please visit: PFAS Resources >

Annual Armed Forces Day Cross-Band Test Set for May 7 – 8

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NATIONAL — The US Department of Defense will host this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Cross-Band Test, Friday and Saturday, May 7-8, in recognition
of Armed Forces Day on May 15. The event is open to all radio amateurs. For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken part in this exercise, designed to include amateur radio and government radio operators alike.

The AFD Cross-Band Test is a unique opportunity to test two-way communications between military and amateur radio stations, as authorized under FCC Part 97 rules. These tests provide opportunities and challenges for radio operators to demonstrate individual technical skills in a tightly controlled exercise in which military stations will transmit on selected military frequencies and will announce the specific amateur radio frequencies being monitored.

The schedule of military/government stations taking part in the Armed Forces Day Cross-Band Test and information on the AFD message is available on the MARS website at, http://www.dodmars.org/home/armed-forces-day-2021.

Kaibab National Forest Considers New Alignment for Fiber Optic Line to Support Grand Canyon Schools

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WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest (KNF) is considering authorization of a new fiber optic line. The Grand Canyon Unified School District and the Town of Tusayan obtained grant funds for the new fiber optic cable to provide high speed internet service to the school at the Grand Canyon, which is needed to deliver bandwidth to students whose access to high-speed internet lags badly behind other Arizona schools. Commnet Wireless would build the fiber system.

The southern terminus of the fiber optic line would be located at an existing Commnet facility near Airport Road and Interstate 40 in Williams, follow an Arizona Public Service (APS) utility easement to Arizona State Route 64 (SR 64), and extend north primarily along the west side of the Arizona Department of Transportation right of way for SR 64 to the vicinity of the Tusayan Airport, for a total of 53.8 miles. A total of 19.1 miles of line would be located on KNF lands, with 7.8 miles on the Williams Ranger District and 11.3 miles on the Tusayan Ranger District. The remainder of the line would be on state and private lands.

The KNF approved a different alignment for this fiber optic line in 2020. The former alignment, which would have totaled approximately 68 miles, would have generally followed the Grand Canyon Railway. The proponents requested the KNF analyze this new alignment instead of the alignment approved in 2020 because of logistical and cost considerations.