Category Archives: City

Serious accident on I-40 west near Bellemont

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Photo by Brenda Carter

Photo by Brenda Carter


[See Update at FLAGScanner]
BELLEMONT – A serious three-vehicle accident occurred on I-40 west early this afternoon. Details are unknown at this time.

The accident apparently involved a semi and two vehicles. Traffic was detoured off of the freeway at exit 185 to the next on-ramp in Bellemont.

Williams resident Brenda Carter took these photos as she was caught in the traffic at about 1:15 pm. She said that there were no ambulances on the scene and it appeared that the clean-up operation had started.

Northern Arizona Gazette reminds drivers that the Labor Day holiday is coming next weekend and there will be many travelers on the highways. If you plan to travel, please rest well before your trip and do not allow distractions in your vehicle to allow this to happen to you.

Photo by Brenda Carter

Photo by Brenda Carter

Updated: 8:48 pm

Thunder Over Coconino this weekend at Valle Airport

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640-140605eagleftVALLE – The Valle Airport (40G) is sponsoring the Thunder Over Coconino X fly-in this weekend. The event features guest speaker George Marrett. Mr. Marrett was the pilot of a Skyraider who flew “Sandy” missions over Vietnam.

You will also have the opportunity to fly in the 1929 Ford Tri-Motor aircraft for $99 a person. This is your only chance to fly in this historic aircraft.

The annual event will be held Saturday from 8 am to 3 pm. The event includes a pancake breakfast from 6:30 to 10 am for an additional fee. The event is $12 for adults and $6 for children. There is a max family package for $30.

640-140605valle2The event also includes a car show. The airport, however, has their own cars and motorcycles on display all year. Their display is free.

While there you can visit the Planes of Fame museum full of various aircraft civilian and military. The Valle Planes of Fame museum is the home of the L-749 Constellation which was used as the private plane of General Douglas MacArthur. The museum is not part of the event but is open all year long so you can visit anytime. The entry fee for the museum is $6.95 for adults and $1.95 for children under 12. Tours of the Constellation are $3.00

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Video of the L-749 Constellation, the private plane of General Douglas MacArthur, uploaded July 2010. The plane is now part of the collection of the Planes of Fame museum in Valle.

Williams laser light show

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640-rainbo-140819-01WILLIAMS – Williams was the beneficiary of an interesting laser light show about 7:10 tonight and lasting about twenty-minutes. After raining all day, the setting sun created and interesting partial rainbow display.
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Flagstaff Man Arrested for Sexual Assault

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FLAGSTAFF – On Saturday, August 16, 2014 the Flagstaff Police/Coconino County Sheriff’s 911 Dispatch center received a cell phone call from a motorist who said he was driving in the area of Old East Route 66 by the Market Place retail outlets when he was waved down by a female who said she had been physically and sexually assaulted. The 35 year old female victim of Flagstaff declined medical examination and treatment at the scene and was transported to the Sheriff’s Office to meet further with investigators.

Thus far the investigation has revealed the victim was in downtown Flagstaff on Friday evening when she was contacted by her ex-boyfriend, a 45-year old male of Flagstaff. According to the victim the suspect drove alongside of her and ordered her into the car and she complied. During the victim’s contact with the suspect at times he was brandishing a handgun. Initially the suspect drove the victim to the area of Buffalo Park where she exited the vehicle and attempted to escape. According to the victim, the suspect physically assaulted her, bound her hands together in front of her, attempted to choke her, and tied a rope around her neck. The suspect threatened the victim’s life and forced her back into the vehicle. The suspect then drove the victim to an area in East Flagstaff off of Old East Route 66 where he physically and sexually assaulted her.

According to the victim, at one point inside the vehicle the suspect fell asleep allowing the victim to escape. According to the victim she ran to the location where she flagged down the passing motorist.

Following her interview with Sheriff’s Office investigators, the victim was transported to the Northern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault. Deputies issued an attempt to locate on the suspect and his vehicle and he was subsequently located by Flagstaff Police officers and arrested for one count of Kidnapping per Domestic Violence, one Count of Sexual Assault per Domestic Violence, one count of Aggravated Assault per Domestic Violence and one count of Weapons Misconduct/Prohibited Possessor. Due to the previous relationship between the suspect and the victim the suspect’s name is not being released in an attempt to protect the victim’s identity.

Adult Male Campers Engage in Confrontation with a Shot Fired

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MORMON LAKE – Police/Coconino County Sheriff’s 911 Center received two 911 calls that were made from cell phones yesterday at about 11:23 am in Flagstaff. The first caller advised that an angry man with an assault rifle was at his camp site and that he the caller was hiding behind a tree. The second caller told dispatchers that the original caller had fired a shot at him.

While deputies were enroute to the camp site located off FS Road 125 in area of Kinnikinick Lake, deputies requested the 911 dispatcher call both of the involved parties on their cell phones and advise each of them to disarm and separate themselves.

Upon their arrival, deputies contacted a 51-year old male in possession of a 9-mm semiautomatic handgun. The second involved person was a 44-year old male who was in possession of a semiautomatic assault rifle and two handguns. Investigation revealed that although both individuals were from Anthem, they did not know one another. Both individuals were detained without further incident.

Both individuals were camping in the area and came into contact in the parking lot of the Mormon Lake Lodge convenience store where they had a brief conversation. Afterward, they passed each other while driving in opposite directions.

According to one of the drivers, the other driver turned around and began to follow him. In response to being followed, one of the involved parties stopped and exited his vehicle and fired a single shot in what he described as an attempt to warn the driver who was following him.

He then continued to drive to his camp site as the other driver continued to follow him. Once at his camp site, he exited his vehicle and hid behind a bush. The other individual also exited his vehicle with binoculars and an assault rifle. According to the subject with the binoculars and assault rifle, he believed the other driver had fired a shot at him and it was his intent to obtain the license plate number to provide it to the deputies.

No arrests have been made at this time and the case will be referred to the Coconino County Attorney’s Office for review and possible criminal charging.

In a situation such as this, it is best not to pull over and shoot at a person who may be following you. You should call 911 first and fire only if you need to. While it is legal to defend yourself, A.R.S 13-401 provides that you can be charged should you hit an innocent third party.

Rainy days and Tuesdays

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rain140819-1025WILLIAMS – The weather for Flagstaff and Williams for the week is roughly the same with Flagstaff getting a slightly better chance for rain on Thursday with 40% chance. The chance in Williams on that day will be 30%.

The long-range forecast for Williams shows a 40% chance of rain tonight and a 50% chance in Flagstaff. The rest of the week there is a 30% chance of rain and thunderstorms dropping to 20% on Friday and a slight chance on Friday night. Winds are expected to be between 5 and 11-mph.

Interestingly the people who normally complain about the snow are complaining little about the current rain. Currently the Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts another unusually dry winter for the region.

Council approves Dollar General liquor license

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640-dollar-general-niteWILLIAMS – The City of Williams approved a Series #10 liquor license for the Dollar General store on Grand Canyon Boulevard. The license only allows the sale of beer and wine. City clerk Susan Kerley reported that the notice of the license application had been posted on the store for the required twenty-days and there were no comments filed. Clare Abel representing Dollar General said that they have liquor licenses in 20 States and are now applying for them in Arizona. The vote carried 4-0 after Councilman Fritsinger motioned to approve.

At the same meeting, Police Chief Herman Nixon welcomed Tim Magnuson and Anthony Ryan to the police force. Magnuson has twenty-years with Utah law enforcement while Ryan served in Flagstaff for nine-years. Chief Nixon said they are great fits for the Department. The council voted to approve the purchase of two vehicles for the police department 4-0.

Councilman Don Dent motioned to appoint Marci Freshour and Gil Hoffman to fill vacancies on the Golf Committee by the resignations of Brian James and Tom Hughes. The motion carried 4-0.

They also approved 4-0 an agreement with aircraft mechanic Jason Engelke of Grand Canyon Airlines to do maintenance work at the airport in exchange for the use of one hangar. City manager Brandon Buchanan said the city is on track to get ten-hangars in the spring.

(NOTE: Article based on final minutes from August 14 City Council meeting on City of Williams web site)

Rotary selling tickets for Western Auction drawing

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rotary-04WILLIAMS – The Williams Rotary Club has begun selling raffle tickets for cash prizes to be drawn at their Western Auction in October. The Rotary Club holds this annual event to support youth scholarships.

Tickets for the raffle are $20 each and only 1000 will be sold. The prizes are as follows:

  1. $5000 main prize
  2. $1000 second prize
  3. $500 third prize

In addition five $100 prizes will be awarded. The drawing will be held at the Rotary Western Auction on October 25. Tickets can be purchased from any Rotary member.

Camp Civitan holds guessing game

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gumballs-01You could receive a $25 gift certificate if you can guess the number of gum balls in this jar. The Camp Civitan Thrift Trading Company is holding the competition at their store at 129 W. Route 66 in Williams. The store is next door to the Grand Canyon Coffee and Cafe. The entry fee is only $1.

You might also check out the new and gently used products available at the store which helps fund Camp Civitan which provides camping opportunities and activities for special needs people.

 

Deputies and School Bus Drivers Participate in Armed Intruder Response Exercise

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Coconino County Sheriff Photo

Coconino County Sheriff Photo

BLUE RIDGE – On Saturday, August 9, 2014 Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies, Chevelon Butte Elementary School District personnel and school bus drivers, United States Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers, Blue Ridge Fire District personnel, and Coconino County Sheriff’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members participated in a training scenario that simulated an armed intruder (also known as Active Shooter training) on a school bus with student passengers.

The goal of the exercise was to instill in school bus drivers and involved law enforcement officers the knowledge, skills, abilities, and mindset necessary to successfully respond to an active threat event. The training was designed to focus on the roles, responsibilities and interagency coordination of responding officers and school bus drivers. Active Shooter situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly. Typically, the immediate deployment of law enforcement is required to stop the shooting and mitigate harm to the victims. Because active shooter situations often last 10 to 15 minutes, school staff members must be prepared both mentally and physically to deal with an active shooter situation while law enforcement responds to the scene.

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Coconino County Sheriff Photo

Linda Blosser who is the President of the Governing Board for the Chevelon Butte Elementary School District requested that the training be provided to district school bus drivers and was instrumental in the planning, organization and implementation of the exercise.

Following the training Blosser said, ‘Our training event was a great success. As a small rural school district it gave us a chance to identify areas we needed to review and follow up with additional in house training. Chevelon Butte Elementary School District is being proactive, making sure our employees have received the training they need if an emergency were to happen on one of our school buses full of students. Safety is our #1 priority; our goal is to make sure every student and bus driver go home at the end of the day. The cooperation we received from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office has been great. They shared their time and expertise with us, and may I say it was an eye opener. When I asked, ‘what do we do if an emergency happens on one of our buses?’ a small army of several law enforcement agencies being led by the CCSO drove out and ‘role played’ with us for a day.”