Category Archives: Williams

Chance for a White Christmas for Williams

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800weather-rain-01WILLIAMS — The weather this morning was a strange mix of mist, fog and sun. Much of the snow has melted off, but the water is mixing with remaining snow causing slippery conditions. High winds are causing the temperature to remain cooler, but was not cold.

A rainbow even appeared over Williams to the north.
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On South Road, residents experienced a little more rain than in town. Ice formed on the pines along South Road creating a picturesque winter wonderland photo op.
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The weather prediction for this afternoon is 80% chance of snow turning to 60% chance of rain tonight. Wednesday the chance of snow is 40%with a 30% chance overnight. Thursday morning there is a 30% chance of snow through out the day with a 60% overnight.

If you are dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones you used to know, there is a 60% chance fo that on Christmas day Friday. Friday night and Saturday there is a slight chance of snow clearing Sunday through Monday.

New snow accumulation possible over the period is about 3-inches by Thursday with another half-inch on Christmas day.
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Light snow this morning

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SnowLite15-12-20-03WILLIAMS — Williams received a light dusting of snow this morning matching the NOAA forecast of snow before 11 a.m. By 10 a.m. the sun was out making for a fairly warm morning.

The forecast is for the weather to clear off today through Monday night. Tuesday through Thursday the forecast shows snow and rain which brings the possibility of slick sidewalks and icy roads.

There is a chance of a white Christmas with the chance of snow returning on the 25th.

Member of Williams Christmas Carol in the cold

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Carole15-12-17-11WILLIAMS — Last night about twenty citizens of the Williams community braved the cold to spread Christmas carols. If they had waited just one more day, it would have been a much warmer night.Carole15-12-17-09Kids and adults still seemed in good spirits as they headed off to share the joy of the season in song.Carole15-12-17-12

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Coconino County Sheriff’s Office to Provide Emergency Preparedness and Response Training to Teens in the Williams, Tusayan and Parks Areas

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coco-sheriff-300pxFLAGSTAFF — The Sheriff’s Office and Coconino County Emergency Management will conduct 20 hours of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training for teen-aged citizens who live in or near the above listed areas. The training is offered free of charge and will be held on three Saturdays in January at the Williams Justice Court/Coconino County Sheriff’s Office located at 700 West Railroad Avenue, Williams, Arizona.

The training dates and times are

  1. Saturday, January 9, 2016 8 am to 5 pm
  2. Saturday, January 16, 2016 8 am to 5 pm
  3. Saturday January 23, 2016 8 am to 12 noon

CERT, Community Emergency Response Team grew out of the natural desire to help others during and after a natural disaster. The first people on most scenes after a disaster are survivors who want to help.

The primary objective of Teen CERT is to teach young citizens how to keep themselves, their family members and their fellow students safe before and during a disaster and how to assist them during the aftermath of a disaster. Teens will learn how to best prepare for a disaster and how to assess the scene after a disaster. They will also learn how to conduct a search and rescue operation and how to suppress small fires.

Participants will receive 6 hours of training in disaster medical operations and learn how to conduct injured victim triage. They will learn the Incident Command System and how to communicate with professional emergency responders in the most efficient way possible. Following the training successful participants will be prepared to help when disaster strikes until professional responders arrive.

Chief Deputy Sheriff Jim Driscoll believes teens in Coconino County are an untapped resource and by offering this training the Sheriff’s Office is joining a fast growing national trend to train teens as the next generation of citizens who are prepared for emergencies and natural disasters.

After the training, teens that successfully completed the course will be encouraged to join one of the many CERT Teams that exist in Coconino County. In doing so they will receive additional training and be given the opportunity to assist first responders during emergencies and non-emergencies. Successful participants will be given a CERT backpack with some basic emergency response equipment.

Interested teens who would like more information or who wish to register for this training are asked to call Sergeant James Steng at (928) 679-8735 or (928) 607-6470.

Kaibab National Forest announces release of wildland fire video

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firevideo-1WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest is announcing the release of an informational video explaining the importance of wildland fire in the ecosystems of northern Arizona from the perspectives of various natural and cultural resource specialists.

Over the last decade, the Kaibab has managed both wildfire and prescribed fire to treat approximately 300,000 acres for a variety of objectives. That work wouldn’t have been possible without employees from all program areas actively engaging in the management of fire across the landscape, according to Kaibab fire staff officer Art Gonzales. Because of those ongoing efforts, Gonzales thought it important to highlight a part of the wildland fire world that most people never get to see.

“Typically, most fire videos provide a fire management officer, fuels specialist or fire ecologist perspective on why we believe fire across the landscape is essential for a number of reasons,” Gonzales said. “I wanted to take this video in a new direction, a direction in which those folks who are often the critical link in a successful program do not remain behind the scenes or go unnoticed. I was looking for a video about fire but from a non-fire perspective.”

To that end, Gonzales teamed with the Southwest Fire Science Consortium and producer Josh McDaniel to create a 10-minute video entitled “Keeping Fire on the Ground: Resource Specialist Perspectives on the Kaibab National Forest,” which can be viewed at https://youtu.be/IpFWb5NDyPI.

“I am hopeful this is a product that can be used to help educate, raise awareness, and highlight the collective efforts necessary to build a successful wildland fire management program,” Gonzales said. “On the Kaibab, we have been fortunate to have past and present employees at all levels of the organization who truly understand fire and who have helped build an extensive history of using wildland fire to achieve benefits to many resource areas across the forest, from protection of the wildland urban interface to ecosystem restoration to cultural and heritage site preservation and more. It is critical that this important work continue, and I hope the video will help spread the word about our efforts.”

Santa Fe freeze

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Snow-15-12-17-2WILLIAMS — Weather in Williams has warmed up to the mid-30s. Santa Fe is frozen over and visitors are enjoying the snow.

Tomorrow and Saturday temperatures may rise to nearly 50, but higher winds could roll in Saturday with gusts up to 30-mph making the jackets still necessary. There is a 10% chance of showers Saturday night and Sunday morning before 11 a.m. Weather should clear Monday and chance of showers return Tuesday, according to the latest forecast.Snow-15-12-17-3In the meantime, the Zipline is open for business until it is actually snowing or raining. Visitors are enjoying the weather with special construction projects.Snow-15-12-17-4

Kaibab National Forest hiring window opens soon

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640_jobopsFREDONIA — It’s that time of year again; time to dust off and update the resume in preparation for the USDA Forest Service annual hiring of qualified applicants for 2016 temporary seasonal spring and summer positions. These seasonal job opportunities may include positions in wildland firefighting as well as other challenging and rewarding fields like recreation, range, engineering, archaeology, timber and visitor services.

At nearly 1.6 million acres in size, the Kaibab National Forest is a large area of land to care for with plenty of job opportunities to offer during the spring and summer months.

Please note that most vacancies will only be open for seven days. Applicants should refer to the positions listed in the table below for open/close dates. Specific duty location contacts are identified by each district, and multiple positions may be offered at each duty location. Interested applicants should contact duty locations for additional information regarding vacancies.

Applicants must apply through USAJobs prior to the deadline and are encouraged to apply for multiple locations if interested. This is the first and most important step to working for the USDA Forest Service. After creating an account, the process will enable applicants to apply for future positions, follow up after applying, and streamline the overall process for future applications an individual may submit.
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Wow on Wild Wonderland at Bearizona

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800-Bearizona15-12-13-039WILLIAMS — When I first saw the video with the press release for the Wild Wonderland lights at Bearizona, I was less than impressed. I went to see them. Wow.

The Wild Wonderland is an event separate from the normal park tour that is similar to Zoo Lights. The first show starts just after it starts getting dark around 5:30. The show repeats every half-hour after. You can find special coupons for the event at businesses, such as Circle K, Hotels and the Grand Canyon Railroad—now hosting the Polar Express through January 2.
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The addition that made this show was the snow. With a fresh blanket of at least 3″ so far today, and more expected, you should get out to see this show. The snow reflects the light from the show making it even more spectacular and bright. One staff member informed me that more lights are intended for next year. The center of the attraction is the Christmas tree.

While waiting for the show, you might want to stop in the warmth of the gift shop and take in the train diorama created by Colonel Jim Garvey. Colonel Garvey has been building this diorama for years. A staff member told me the El Tovar Hotel took nearly 15-years.
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You can get a cup of coffee while waiting for the arrival of Mrs. Clause who tells stories to children of all ages. They also bring out animals to see.
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The Wild Wonderland will continue every evening, now, until December 27. The only exception is that they will be closed December 24 and Christmas Day. We have been told that Santa has some sort of prior engagement those dates.

If you are coming for Polar Express, you need to add this show to your agenda. Add a daytime visit to the Deer Farm Petting Zoo to get up close to animals. The Deer Farm is located about five-miles east (toward Flagstaff) of WIlliams. Then you can check off all the slots on your Christmas To-Do list.

Last Advent Concert next Sunday

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640-advent15-12-13-01WILLIAMS — The Advent Concert Sunday was a beautiful mix of voices from St. John’s Episcopal-Lutheran Church and St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church. Occasionally it included the voices of the guests who joined in for some of the songs.

The music was directed by George Albers and included the combined voices of Father’s Marc McDonald of St. John’s and Kilian McCaffery on O Holy Night.

The music was a mix of old gospel favorites from around the world with a few contemporary songs.
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A reception was held after hosted by Sally Burcham.
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The last free Advent Concert will be Sunday, December 20 at 4 p.m.