Category Archives: Flagstaff

Local Attorneys Given the Opportunity to Advertise Services in Detention Facility

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FLAGSTAFF — The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office has developed a unique program by which attorneys are given the opportunity to advertise their services at the Coconino County Detention Facility.

Attorneys who choose to invest in this advertising will be able to reach out to individuals who may be in need of legal services. At the same time, an advertising purchase will assist in funding important programs in the Coconino County Detention Facility to include the Inmate Welfare Fund.

The cost of advertisement displayed in a 14” x 11” space in the detention lobby is $5,000 per year. This works out to a little more than $400 per month which is far cheaper than many other forms of advertising. The cost includes the cost of printing a color poster of personalized advertisement and the acrylic display frame with a holder for business cards.

The advertisements in the lobby can assist individuals coming into the jail lobby in connecting with legal assistance. All moneys generated from renting an advertisement space will go to the Inmate Welfare Fund which supports important programs such as Exodus (our in-custody drug and alcohol treatment program), re-entry programs, and other services that directly benefit our inmate population.

Prescribed burns planned this week

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Photo by Brenda Carter

FLAGSTAFF — Fire managers are planning three prescribed burns this week in areas near Lake Mary Road, Luke Mountain and Mormon Lake basin.

Mountainaire Project: Planned ignition will be Wednesday (April 15) if conditions are suitable for burning. This burn includes approximately 550 acres along the south side of Lake Mary Road just one to two miles east of Pulliam Airport. Smoke is expected to disperse to the southeast and will be visible to those in the Flagstaff area.

Rocky Project: Planned ignition will be Thursday (April 16) or Friday (April 17), depending on weather conditions. The burn area includes 385 acres in an area near Luke Mountain that is located about 7 miles south of Munds Park on the east side of Interstate 17. Smoke is expected to disperse to the northeast away from I-17, but smoke may drift back towards the interstate during evening hours.

Mormon Lake Basin Project: Planned ignition will be Thursday (April 16) or Friday (April 17), depending on weather conditions. The burn area includes 1,000 acres in an area just west of the Village of Mormon Lake off Forest Road 219. Smoke is expected to disperse to the northeast, but settle in to the Mormon Lake area and may impact the community around Mormon Lake.

Read more at FLAGScanner

Flagstaff Police respond to Marshall Elementary School threatening call

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flagstaff-policeFLAGSTAFF — Flagstaff were dispatched to Marshall Elementary School (850 N. Bonito) at about 1 p.m. today in regards to a threats call. Staff at Marshall Elementary School received a computer generated call which stated, “I am in the school and I want to kill 100’s of children.” This computer generated call was repeated several times.

Marshall Elementary School Principal John Coe initiated a lock down of the school and communicated to the Police Department as well as the surrounding schools.

Officers responded immediately to the area in conjunction with Administrative Staff from Flagstaff Unified School District. Officers conducted a room by room search of the building, including the playground and surrounding residential area with negative contact with any suspicious armed persons.

The Flagstaff Police Department are currently investigating. Last month police responded to Thomas Elementary school due to a threatened suicide.

National Public Safety Dispatcher Appreciation Week

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640-911-Flag-Police-PhotoFLAGSTAFF — For the past several years Public Safety Agencies nationwide have recognized the pivotal role played by the telecommunicators, dispatchers, communication operators, and radio and control personnel.

All the women and men of the communication center at the Flagstaff Police Department/Coconino County Sheriff’s Office who utilize telephones, radios, computers and technical skills to provide support to Law Enforcement, Fire Services, Emergency Medical Services and other governmental field personnel are being celebrated the week of April 12-18th. Our dispatcher’s work 24/7, 365 days a week to assure that officers have the information they need as first responders.

Each year, the second week of April is dedicated to the men and women who serve as Public Safety Telecommunicators. In 1991, Congress proclaimed it as a national recognized week of recognition.

The Flagstaff Police Department will celebrate this year’s Telecommunicators Week – April 12-18 in honor of their dedicated dispatchers who handle several thousand wireless 9-1-1 calls each month within Northern Arizona. The week will be filled with various activities including Mayor Nabors making a proclamation on Tuesday, 4-14-2015.

When you dial 9-1-1 on your cellular phone in Northern Arizona a dispatcher answers the call. Please know where you are and stay on the line so they can help get the assistance you need.

Facts about the Flagstaff 9-1-1 Communications Center:

  • Number of employees: currently 22 civilian dispatchers (Emergency Communication Specialists)
  • Supervisors: 6 with 1 serving as the 9-1-1 Coordinator
  • Call Taker: 2
  • Consoles: 10 (telephone/radio)
  • Entry level Emergency Communications Specialist pay per month: $3019.20
  • Entry level Call Taker pay per month: $$2257.00
  • Telephone calls received in March 2015:
  • 4,229 cellular/wireless 911 calls
  • 12,865 on non-emergency and other land lines

EMPLOYMENT
Are you searching for an exciting and rewarding career? 9-1-1 Dispatchers serve as a vital link in the public safety response chain. Some have provided life-saving CPR instruction and others have brought babies into the world. This is your chance to make a difference in your community. Be a part of our team; a valuable and rewarding career – apply today!

Local weather shows chance of snow and rain

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WILLIAMS — Weather today is warm with a high of 65 expected and southwest winds from 25 to 28 mph with gusts up to 44. Tomorrow a high of 53 is expected with 14 to 20 mph winds from the north with gusts up to 26.

There is a chance of snow tomorrow after midnight and Thursday morning with rain showers at night and Friday morning. Chance of precipitation is 10%.

Flagstaff weather is about the same with more chance of precipitation through Friday morning.

For the free weekend at the Grand Canyon, Saturday and Sunday is expected to be mostly sunny with highs around 65 and lows around the mid-30s.

I-17 southbound ramp to be closed at JW Powell Boulevard with detours in place

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FLAGSTAFF — A one-day ramp closure and a detour to JW Powell Boulevard will be in place to prepare for and accommodate construction of a roundabout on the east end of the project area.

Access to the I-17 southbound off-ramp at Exit 337 (JW Powell Boulevard) will be closed on Wednesday, April 15, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., to install a temporary concrete barrier in preparation for the next phase of roundabout construction. This work is part of the intersection improvement project currently underway which includes new roundabouts and realignment of SR 89A/Beulah Boulevard.

The recommended detour for southbound I-17 connections to the Flagstaff Airport and to SR 89A is to continue southbound on I-17 past Exit 337, then exit at Kachina Trail/Mountainaire Road (Exit 333). Detour signage will be in place to assist travel in the area.

Travel through to JW Powell Boulevard via the existing roundabout will be closed to accommodate the new roundabout construction. Access to JW Powell will be maintained for both north- and southbound traffic along SR 89A via a cross-over just south of the construction zone and directed by area signage. This detour is expected to be in place until the end of June and will allow crews to build the new roundabout at the east end of JW Powell Boulevard.

ADOT advises drivers to proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.

Signal maintenance in Flagstaff to be performed at Milton Road (SR 89A) and Plaza Way intersection

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Travelers heading through south Flagstaff can expect heavy delays at the intersection of Milton Road (SR 89A) and Plaza Way on Tuesday, April 14, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., as ADOT electrical operations staff perform maintenance on the traffic signal at this location. A City of Flagstaff police officer will be on-site to maintain travel; however congestion may occur during maintenance operations.

Drivers are asked to allow for extra travel time to reach their destinations and use caution while electrical work is performed in this area.

Accident Involving Flagstaff Police Cruiser

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FLAGSTAFF — The Flagscanner web site reported that around 6:30 P.M on the 7th, a Flagstaff Police Officer was involved in a collision near Black Barts RV Park, 2760 E Butler Ave.

They were attempting to obtain more information, but Christopher Yazzie commented:

Cruiser was going eastbound, and the blue small SUV looked like it was hit on the driver side. The front of the Flag PD cruiser was smashed. From the damage it looked like the collision was at lower speeds around 30 Mph. Traffic was allowed to pass between the two cars involved.

Kaibab National Forest seeks comments on adding camping corridors

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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:

  • Designate approximately 291 miles of camping corridors along all or portions of several system roads on both districts. The corridors would extend 200 feet from either side of the centerline of the road, except where limited by topographical factors, resource concerns or private land.
  • Add 15 spur roads to the open road system on the Tusayan district. These spurs total 1.3 miles and would provide access to areas historically used for motorized camping.
  • Close approximately 9 miles of currently open roads across the two districts.
  • Add approximately 16 miles of roads to the open road system across the two districts. This includes 12 miles of formerly closed roads and 4 miles of user-created routes.
  • Develop an adaptive management strategy for making future changes to the transportation system for the two districts based on changing needs and/or new information.

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

Flagstaff Police traffic focus: Red light violations

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10696242_869554629754728_2255262553267108991_nFLAGSTAFF — It was no joke. On April 1, 2015 the Flagstaff Police Department focused on red light violations within the city limits.

According to NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) motorists are more likely to be injured in crashes involving red-light violations than in other types of crashes. A nationwide study of fatal crashes at traffic signals estimates that 20% of the drivers involved failed to obey traffic signals.

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (December 2000), or MUTCD, defines traffic signal indications (i.e. green, yellow, and red signals as follows:

  • Steady green signal indicates that vehicle “may proceed straight or turn right or left (at an intersection) except as such movement is modified by lane-use signs, turn prohibition signs, lane markings, or roadway design.”
  • Steady yellow signal indicates that vehicle “is thereby warned that the related green movement is being terminated or that a red signal indication will be exhibited immediately thereafter when vehicular traffic shall not enter the intersection”.
  • Steady red signal indicates that vehicle “shall stop at a clearly marked stop line, but if there is no stop line, traffic shall stop before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection; or if there is no crosswalk, then before entering the intersection, and shall remain stopped until a signal indication to proceed is shown.”

Based on the definitions listed above, drivers should be prepared to stop when they see the yellow signal and stop completely. The yellow traffic signal does not indicate to speed up and get through the intersection.

The Flagstaff Police Department would like your assistance and cooperation with red light compliance most especially in the intersections of South Milton, and Butler Avenue, N. Country Club Drive and N. Highway 89, and Switzer Canyon and Rt. 66.

The Flagstaff Police Department has started a program of concentrating on certain driving violations, of late. Recently they have concentrated on seat belt violations and texting while driving.