WILLIAMS — The Balls for Dogs golf tournament will be held at the Elephant Rocks Golf Course next month, May 16 to help build the Save-Meant to Rescue shelter.
The tournament will include:
To help prepare you, we provide the following training films.
For more Information, please call Robynn 928-635-4726
GRAND CANYON – The Grand Canyon will be be offering fee-free weekend on Saturday April 18 and Sunday April 19 in honor of the start of National Parks Week. All national parks are offering free entry this weekend.
Grand Canyon’s South Rim sits at approximately 7,000 feet. As a result, visitors should be prepared for winter weather and driving conditions, and should be aware that road closures and temporary suspension of shuttle service may occur with little or no notice if winter weather passes through the area.
Dogs must be on a leash at all times.
WILLIAMS — Restrictions will be in place beginning Monday, April 13 on a section of State Route 66 between Bearizona Boulevard and Pine Street in Williams as ADOT crews begin construction on a roadway improvement project on behalf of the city.
The work will be conducted during daylight hours only and is anticipated to be completed by early summer. The roadway improvement consists of milling and replacing the existing pavement, applying new roadway surface sealant, striping and markers, and is scheduled weekly from Monday-Friday during daylight hours only. No weekend or holiday work is anticipated.
During construction, traffic may be reduced to one lane of travel, with flaggers in place. Drivers can expect delays and are recommended to allow for extra travel time while construction is underway. Access for businesses and adjacent properties will be maintained at all times during the roadway construction.
WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest is seeking public comments on an Environmental Assessment released today that analyzes the potential effects of adding camping corridors and making other changes to the transportation system of the Williams and Tusayan ranger districts.
The document and background information are available on the Kaibab National Forest website at http://go.usa.gov/kpQV. The 30-day comment period begins today and runs through May 11.
Specifically, the Kaibab National Forest is proposing to:
Besides the proposed action, the Environmental Assessment also analyzes the potential effects of other alternatives such as varying corridor widths.
The proposed action and alternatives were all developed based on several years of monitoring following implementation of the Travel Management Rule on the two districts, which included documenting public concerns about recreational access and other issues.
Additional information and methods to submit comments are available at http://go.usa.gov/kpQV
The next NAAA will hold a meeting this Saturday at the Wild West Junction in Williams on April 11 from 10 a.m. to noon.
WILLIAMS — Don’t forget that you have to register by the 8th for the free craft project for Kids at Old Trails True Value hardware store.
WILLIAMS — You may wonder how we in Williams determine when spring arrives. Is the flowers blossoming in the Kaibab? Perhaps the leaves appearing on the Aspens. Or when the eyes of those with hay fever start to turn red.
Actually we usually realize it is spring when the classic cars begin their trek down the longest existing stretch of route 66 through Arizona. Today we got a visit from a ’57 Chevy from California.
Seems it is still a “right-of-passage” to travel route 66 through Williams and Flagstaff.
WILLIAMS — Effective immediately, fire managers are raising the fire danger rating to “moderate” across the Williams Ranger District, Tusayan Ranger District and the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
The fire danger rating on the North Kaibab Ranger District and the North Zone of the Grand Canyon National Park remain low, but North Zone fire managers are continuously monitoring conditions on the Kaibab Plateau and will increase fire danger levels to moderate when appropriate.
Forest visitors are reminded to use extreme caution when camping as warming temperatures, lack of precipitation, lowering humidity levels and high winds are ideal conditions for wildfires to spark up. Visitors are also reminded to check with local district ranger offices and ask if any fire restrictions are in effect, as this can quickly change.
Fire managers use the National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) to assist in determining Preparedness Levels and when Campfire and Smoking restrictions may be implemented. Using this tool helps Fire Managers to identify critical times when fires can become difficult to control.
For more information on fire activity updates, please call or visit: Fire Information Line: 928-635-8311
(Because of the deadline for this article, the office of Representative Gosar could not be reached for comment)
White Bison at Bearizona Wildlife Park.
The Grand Canyon National Park began a request for input on a Bison Management Plan that ended in June of 2014. The effort was an attempt to balance their mission to secure natural vegetation, archeological sites and water resources while maintaining the bison as wildlife.
On March 18, Paul Gosar [R-AZ-4] submitted H.R. 1443 (S. 782 in the Senate by McCain) to permit a cull hunt for Bison at the Grand Canyon National Park.
The bill calls for the Secretary of the Interior to publish a management plan for Bison no later than 180 days after H.R. 1443 is enacted. The plan would be to reduce, through humane lethal culling by skilled public volunteers and other non-lethal means the population of Bison in the park.
Skilled public volunteers are defines as those with a valid hunting license issued by the State of Arizona and other qualifications the Secretary may require after consulting with the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
Kirby Shedlowski, Acting Public Affairs Officer at Grand Canyon National Park, said, “In order have allowed cull, there’s usually a very large management planning process.”
She said, “There has never been a cull hunt for bison at the Grand Canyon. There has been a cull on the forest. On the Kaibab Forest on the north side.”
Kirby said she was not sure of cull hunts for Bison in other parks, such as Yellowstone. “There are different culling hunts in different parks for different animals. Rocky Mountain did it for elk. Rock Creek Park has done it for white-tail deer. Getteysburg has done it for white-tail deer. But, as far as Bison go—I’m not sure. But Grand Canyon National Park has never had a cull for Bison.”
WILLIAMS — As the sun set in Williams, the Williams Police Department safely escorted those carrying the cross in the Good Friday procession.
The procession traveled the length of the city down Route 66 from the Mustang gas station to the Family Harvest Church. The event attracted a crowd from all faiths in Williams.
