Category Archives: Coconino County

Telephone scams come home

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UPDATED: 1:31 pm
phoneCOCONINO COUNTY—The Coconino County Sheriff’s Department has released a warning about a new telephone scam in Coconino. An individual identifying himself as “Lieutenant Mike Harris” of the Sheriff’s Office Warrant Division.

Harris asks to speak to a specific person informing them that they have failed to appear in court on a photo-radar speeding ticket. Harris tells the person that they are in the process of issuing an arrest warrant for their failure to appear in court. He instructs the intended victim to go to a local retail outlet to obtain a $250 “Green Dot” pre-paid credit card.

Harris has also been known to advise some intended victims to stay on the phone or he will send deputies to arrest them.

Deputy Gerry Blair of Coconino County Sheriff’s Department is advising that they do not have an employee by the name of Mike Harris. Deputy Blair also noted that this person does not specifically say that he is with any specific Sheriff’s office. So it is difficult to say where these calls are originating from. Legitimate Sheriff’s Deputies do not call for any money on a warrant or to collect fines. Those calls most likely will originate in the court with jurisdiction over the crime. In addition, they do not use photo-radar as a speed enforcement tool.

Unscrupulous phone callers frequently use several methods to accomplish their goals. High-pressure sales tactics claiming that if you do not act now, the offer won’t be available later or offering something that sounds too good to be true with a “no-risk involvement.” Anyone unknown person asking for credit, checking account or other personal financial information should be suspect in your mind. Some will tell you that you have won a prize, but that you will have to pay taxes or shipping or both up front. Usually they will ask you to send money through a wire service or overnight delivery, but apparently will sometimes offer to pick the money up from your home.

There are suggested strategies to protect yourself. First, if it sounds too good, it usually is. Never give out any information to anyone you do not know. You can ask the caller for a call-back phone number (and even then be suspicious) and ask them to send you information on their product or services through the mail.

You can also place your name on the national Do Not Call List. This prevents telemarketing calls, but may not prevent a scammer from using the telephone directory, Internet or other sources to find your number.

If you have an MP3 recorder and receive a suspicious phone call, you can record the conversation. If you receive one from supposed law enforcement, ask for badge number and other identifying information. Ask as many questions as you can think of until the person gets suspicious or you decide to hang up.

You can report the incident to the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 774-4523, the Flagstaff Police Department at (928) 774-1414, the Williams Police Department at (928) Police Department 635-4461 or other appropriate local police department.

Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies search for missing hiker

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thomas langThe Coconino County Sheriff’s office in conjunction with the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information concerning a 22-year old, white male hiker missing since December 18th.

Thomas Lang was last seen at the Manzanita Campground in Oak Creek Canyon outside of Sedona on Wednesday December 18 and was due back to the campground on Sunday December 22.

Thomas is 6-foot 1-inches, 140 pounds with blonde dreadlocks. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a dark blue sweat shirt and carrying a red sleeping bag, a white tarp, a guitar and a blue backpack.

Anyone with helpful information are requested to call the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at 1-800-338-7888 Or the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office (928)771-3260.

Timberline/Fernwood and Doney Park neighborhood watch meetings this week.

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FLAGSTAFF—The Timberline/Fernwood Neighborhood Watch meeting will be held tomorrow, December 3 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Summit Fire Station #33 located at 6050 Firehouse Lane. Coconino County Sheriff Bill Pribil and County Supervisor Liz Archuleta invites residents of the Timberline and Fernwood community to attend the monthly Neighborhood Watch meeting.

Timberline/Fernwood Community Deputies will be available to answer questions and provide support to this partnership between law abiding citizens, law enforcement and county government. County Supervisor Liz Archuleta will be present to share information from Coconino County Government.

Also joining us for this meeting will be Coconino County Public Works representatives, Mike Lopker, Deputy Director of Public Works, and Ted Wolff, Maintenance Superintendent for Public Works. They will provide information about removing snow off county roads and in unincorporated communities and neighborhoods this winter season.

If you can brave the snow, residents of the Doney Park community are invited to attend the monthly Neighborhood Watch meeting on Thursday, December 5, 2013. The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Summit Fire Station #32, located at 8905 Koch Field Rd. Please note that the meeting has been moved from Cromer School to Summit Fire Station for this meeting.

Coconino County Sheriff Bill Pribil will be at the meeting to encourage continued neighborhood participation and to share information. Doney Park Community Deputies will be available to answer questions and provide support to this partnership between law abiding citizens, law enforcement and county government. County Supervisor Mandy Metzger will be present to share information from Coconino County Government.

Other agenda items / guest speakers to be determined.

Applications Sought for Coconino Community College Governing Board Vacancy

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Those in Williams #3 District must apply by 5 p.m. Dec. 6

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Coconino County Superintendent of Schools Robert Kelty is accepting applications to fill the Williams #3 District vacancy on the Coconino Community College Governing Board.

The seat has become vacant due to the resignation of Jack Hadley. Superintendent Kelty has determined that an appointment to fill the vacant seat best meets the needs of the community and CCC.

The term of this appointment will run from the appointment date through Dec. 31, 2014. To be eligible to serve on a school district governing board:
• A candidate must be a registered voter of the State of Arizona;
• A candidate must be a resident of the school district for at least one year prior to the appointment;
• A candidate or their spouse may not be an employee of the College nor can that person be a county official while their term is still active.

Those interested in serving on the CCC Governing Board should submit by mail, fax or e-mail an application to Coconino County Superintendent of Schools Robert Kelty at 2384 N. Steves Blvd., Flagstaff, AZ 86004. Interested parties can also fax their application to 928-679-8077 or e-mail cgarrison@coconino.az.gov.

An application for appointment can be found online at www.ccesa.az.gov under the Elections page. All applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. Dec. 6.

For more information, please call Cathleen Garrison at the Office of the Coconino County School Superintendent at 928 679-8070 or e-mail at cgarrison@coconino.az.gov.

Election Results 2013

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WILLIAMS—As of 10:30 pm a little over 25.5% of the voters voted in the elections held in Coconino County.

With only one precinct left to report, the Coconino Community College Question appears to have failed. As of this writing 54.76% voted no on assessing a secondary property tax to raise $4.5 million for the college. 45.24% voted yes.

Williams voted to continue the tax for the Williams Health Clinic. The vote is 56.08% for with 43.92% voting against.

Both the Grand Canyon Unified and Sedona-Oak Creek Joint Unified school districts voted to approve additional property taxes for the schools. The vote on the Grand Canyon Question was approved by a vote of 75%. The vote for the Sedona-Oak Creek Joint Unified school district was 52.10% for and 47.9% against, but not all of the votes have been counted at this point.

These are unofficial results until after the canvas process is complete.

In the closely watched and hotly contested race in Virginia, Democrat Terry McAuliffe appears to have won the race for governor with 47.39% of the vote with 99.5% of the precincts reporting. Republican Ken Cuccinelli received 45.8% of the vote with the Libertarian challenger Robert Sarvis receiving 6.66%. Democrat Ralph Northam won the race for Lieutenant Governor.

Republican Mark Obenshain is barely winning the race for Attorney General against Democrat challenger Mark Herring. The vote is currently 50.27% to 49.52%.

It’s Election Day

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"Here" is the Grand Canyon Railway if you are in Williams.

“Here” is the Grand Canyon Railway if you are in Williams.

If you have not already, make sure you take time to vote in the election today. No candidates are on this ballot, but you are voting for something as important. Whether or not to raise property taxes.

In Williams, you will determine whether or not to keep the property tax which supports the Williams Health Clinic.

The Coconino Community College is asking for $4.5 over seven years:

To maintain the operations of Coconino Community College, shall the Coconino County Community College District be authorized to levy a secondary property tax in an amount not to exceed $4,500,000 each year for the next seven years. The incremental funding to be used to continue its missions to:

• Maintain Career and Technical education programs that prepare local students for careers as Nurses, Emergency Medical Technicians, Firefighters, Detention Officers, Computer Technicians, Network Engineers, Alternative Energy Technicians and others; and

• Continue to prepare local students for higher education and for transfer to Arizona’s public universities; and

• Maintain programs to train and re-train local workers, in conjunction with local employers, for new occupations and careers in areas including Health Care, Manufacturing, Alternative Energy and others.

The Grand Canyon School and Sedona-Oak Creek Joint Unified School districts will be asking voters to exceed revenue control limits set by Arizona Revised Statute. The Grand Canyon proposal would add approximately $1.21 per $100 assessed value of your property while the Sedona-Oak Creek proposal claims .21 per $100 assessed value.

At the Williams voting station there is also a poster urging people to become an election board worker. You must be registered to vote in Coconino County and may register online. You may call 928-679-7860 or 800-793-6181 if you have questions.

Boy Scout Troop Rescued from West Fork

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Flagstaff—Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies and Search and Rescue Volunteers assisted a group of eight Boy Scouts and three adult leaders out of the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon after one of their leaders sustained a leg injury.

On Saturday, October 19, 2013 at about 11:00 pm the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office received a call from an adult male approximately thirty years of age who identified himself as one of three adult leaders who had taken a troop of Boy Scouts ranging in age from eight to twelve years on a hike through the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon. According to the caller approximately three miles into their hike the group encountered an unexpected large body of water that ceased their forward progress.

According to the caller the group was not equipped or prepared to wade through the water that at its highest point was chest high on some of the boys. During this same time period the other male leader who was seventy-one years of age injured his leg to the point that he found hiking or walking to be painful. The reporting party hiked out to the West Fork Trail Head off of Woody Mountain Road which was the point where the group began their hike to call for help. He was able to obtain cellular telephone service and called the Sheriff’s Office for help and subsequently hiked back to the location where he left the rest of his group.

Sheriff’s Deputies and Search and Rescue Volunteers hiked to the group’s location. Some of the rescuers immediately escorted the boy scouts and a thirty year old female leader back to Woody Mountain Road. A group of Search and Rescue Volunteers remained with the injured leader and administered wilderness first aid preparing him to hike back to the starting point. The rescuers and the injured leader reached Woody Mountain Road on Sunday, October 20, 2013 at about 7:20 a.m. A crew from Guardian Medical Transport met the victim as he arrived and conducted an initial medical assessment. The injured person refused additional medical care and declined transportation to the medical center. The Boy Scouts and their leaders returned to the Phoenix area where they live.

Arizona Firearms and Collectibles gun show this weekend

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FLAGSTAFF—The Arizona Collectibles and Firearms gun show will be held this Saturday and Sunday the 21st and 22nd at the Coconino County Fairgrounds on Ft. Tuthill loop. The show times are from 9 am to 5 pm and 9 am to 4 pm respectively. The cost to enter the show is $7 for one day and $10 for both days. Look for a $2 discount coupon. Gun show dealers and purchasers are reminded that they are obligated to follow all applicable laws.

Thirteen Year-Old Boy Seriously Injured After Fall

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Forest Lakes—On Saturday, August 31, at approximately 11:30 p.m. the Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputy assigned to the Forest Lakes area and Forest Lakes Fire Department personnel responded to Forest Service Road 237 at milepost seven on the report of a thirteen year-old boy who fell an unknown distance. At the time of the fall the child and his father were on a Bear Hunt in an area that is located approximately 1,000 feet below the top of Cheveleon Canyon in very rugged and steep terrain. Upon their arrival Emergency First Responders determined they were not equipped to safely access the location where the child came to rest.

The Deputy immediately requested the assistance of the Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue Helicopter, the Gila County Sheriff’s Office Tonto Rim Technical Rope Rescue Team, and the Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Technical Rescue Team. Due to inclement weather including rain and thunder storms DPS helicopters stationed in Flagstaff and Phoenix both responded. Considering the serious nature of the child’s injuries and the inclement weather it was reasoned that with both helicopters responding at least one would be able to reach the location in a safe and timely manner.

Immediately following the arrival of the first rescue helicopter a crew member who was flown to the bottom of the canyon began to hike up to the victim’s location. Once he reached the victim the DPS Medic immediately administered advanced life support for injuries the child sustained as a result of the fall.

The child was removed from the canyon by the Short Haul method during which the victim was secured in medical basket and suspended underneath the helicopter as he was flown to a location where the victim was safely lowered to the ground.

Due to the inclement weather commercial medical air transport was not an option. Once the helicopter landed the aircraft was reconfigured to support a long distance medical flight. The helicopter carrying the victim flew to the Payson Airport where the airship was re-fueled.

The child was then flown to a Medical Trauma Center located in the Phoenix area. The child was then flown to a Medical Trauma Center located in the Phoenix area.

The second DPS Helicopter short hauled the child’s father to a location where he too could be safely lowered to the ground and eventually flew him to a DPS Air Rescue Hanger where he was transported by ground to the medical center where his child was being treated. The child received emergency medical care for serious head, facial and leg injuries.

Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and County Emergency Management offer Community Emergency Response Team Training in Flagstaff

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The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and the Coconino County Emergency Management Division will present a three day Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training class in Flagstaff. More than fifty CERT classes have been delivered to urban, rural and reservation communities throughout Coconino County since its inception and we want to continue to share this training with our community members.

The class will be held in Flagstaff beginning Friday, September 27, 2013, from 6 pm to 9 pm, Saturday, September 28, 2013 from 8 am to 5 pm and Sunday September 29, 2013 from 8 am to 5 pm. The class will be held in the Brent F. Cooper Memorial Auditorium at the Law Enforcement Administrative Facility located at 911 E. Sawmill Road, Flagstaff, Arizona.

CERT Classes are offered free of charge by the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and upon successful completion each participant will receive a Community Emergency Response Basic Certification and a back pack containing basic community emergency first responder gear to include a reflective vest, hard hat, eye protection, gloves, a four-in-one tool, and a CERT field response guide.

Successful participants who wish to serve their community will be invited to join a team in Flagstaff that meets monthly for additional in-service trainings and assists local first responders during emergency and non-emergency events. CERT Team members in Flagstaff meet monthly for additional training. CERT Volunteers have been utilized during responses to wild land fires, flooding, tornados, heavy snow storms and many other natural disasters. CERT Volunteers have served in a variety of capacities to include staffing road blocks, assisting with neighborhood evacuation notifications, staffing joint information call centers, assisting with Incident Command Centers, distributing neighborhood safety information and in many other areas.

Community members who would like additional information or who wish to register for the Basic CERT Training in Flagstaff are encouraged to call the Community Programs Office of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 226-5089 or go to the Community Programs & Education page of the Sheriff’s website http://www.coconino.az.gov/index.aspx?nid=354
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