FLAGSTAFF—The Arizona Collectibles and Firearms gun show will be held this Saturday and Sunday the 18th and 19th 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.
Category Archives: Counties
Second Payment of Coconino County Property Taxes Due
FLAGSTAFF— Coconino County Treasurer Bonny Lynn reminds property owners that the second installment of their Tax Year 2012 Real and Personal Property Tax payment is due and will be considered delinquent after 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 1.
The Tax Notice for the 2012 property taxes was mailed in September and the first half-installment was due Nov. 1. Property owners could have paid the full-year tax amount by Dec. 31 without a late penalty.
The County Treasurer is the legally responsible party for collecting taxes for all taxing jurisdictions within Coconino County. However, each taxing jurisdiction is responsible for its own tax levy, as established by their individually elected Board of Directors.
The Property Tax Notice was mailed to each property owner regardless of mortgage status. If a property owner has a mortgage impound account for taxes and their mortgage company pays the taxes, the notice should be regarded as informational only.
Partial payments are accepted, but interest will accrue on the unpaid balance when the delinquency date has passed. Tax payments may be made by cash, check or credit/debit card in person at the Treasurer’s Office, 110 E. Cherry Avenue, 2nd floor, Flagstaff, AZ 86001; or by mailing a check.
Tax payments via electronic bank bill payment and those paid with personal check will be treated as an ACH transaction. Citizens are reminded there is a convenience fee for use of a debit or credit card. Instructions for paying with a credit/debit card via the internet can be found on the Treasurer’s website at www.coconino.az.gov/treasurer.
For taxpayer convenience – and due to lack of parking at the 110 E. Cherry building – a white drop-mail box is located near the flagpole inside the parking lot. Payment envelopes may be dropped in the box.
Public Input Meeting April 24 on Proposed Fort Tuthill Mountain Bike Skills Park
FLAGSTAFF –– Coconino County Parks and Recreation and the Flagstaff Biking Organization are planning a public meeting to gain community input on a proposed mountain bike park at Fort Tuthill County Park.
The park would be designed to provide riders a place to hone their skills and learn to jump, while enjoying themselves on mountain bikes.
A public meeting is scheduled from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 24 at the County Board of Supervisors Chambers at 219 E. Cherry Ave. in Flagstaff. The meeting will allow officials to gather input from community members and bicyclists on their desire for specific features at the proposed bike park.
“We are enthusiastic to engage and involve the public and future users of the park, along with local community organizations to design and build the first bike skills park in Northern Arizona at Fort Tuthill,” said County Parks and Recreation Director Judy Weiss. “The vision to develop a mountain bike park is included in the Fort Tuthill County Park Master Plan, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors in January.”
The Flagstaff Biking Organization and International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) Regional Representative are in the process of mobilizing funds and resources to build the mountain bike skills park at Fort Tuthill County Park.
“It’s great that this is formally underway,” said Anthony Quintile, trails program coordinator for the Flagstaff Biking Organization. “We are hoping that the community of cyclists in Flagstaff can come together to help generate the support we need to see this project through.”
Bomb found in Arizona Apache Sitgreaves National Forest
On the 16th, a portion of the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest was closed when forest service workers found a pipe bomb.
The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office says Forest Service workers found a metal pipe bomb near some trees while conducting a survey Monday along a forest road west of the community of Forest Lakes.
The forest area was closed for about six-hours to allow the Flagstaff Police Department bomb personnel to remove the device and search the area.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Lurkins says the pipe bomb was next to a tree and there apparently had been a failed attempt to detonate it. There is no indication how long the device was there.
Magistrate contract with Justice Court still pending.
WILLIAMS—Williams was left without a contract for the Justice of the Peace to hear municipal cases as as Magistrate as of the last meeting of the City Council. The Williams Justice Court—a county jurisdiction—makes intergovernmental agreements (IGA) with cities and towns that require his service to hear municipal cases. Justice of the Peace Robert Krombeen, however, said that he will still hear municipal cases until the contract issues are resolved.
JP Robert Krombeen explained that smaller cities and towns, including Williams, contract with the County Justice Court to hear their cases rather than build separate court facilities and hire their own Magistrate. The Justice Court, for example, entered into an IGA with the recently incorporated Town of Tusayan to hear their municipal cases.
The City of Williams had a contract when JP Krombeen was elected two-years ago. According to City of Williams Code, they can only make a contract for the services of Magistrate for two-years at a time. The effort, now, is simply to create another contract for another two years.
While the Justice of the Peace is an elected official, he is classified as an employee of Coconino County.
“I’m an employee, even though I’m an elected official. I’m an employee of Coconino County as well as part of that office and that position. So I don’t have all employee benefits and privileges, but I do classify as an employee. For example, as an elected official I don’t get vacation time, I don’t get sick time, and that type of thing. But I can take time off by having the court covered and my duties covered in my absence.”
There are certain cases in which the Justice Court has jurisdiction in both the Justice Court and Municipal Court jurisdictions.
“Any criminal charge filed in the Justice Courts jurisdiction is going to be, at least initially, seen by the JP. So, even a felony would be seen by the JP, for example, for the initial appearance and the setting of bond. Then the case could go to a preliminary hearing here in the Justice Court and then would be transferred to the Superior Court,” JP Krombeen explained.
“Now, on the city side, as magistrate, I would see any misdemeanor cases, both from the initial appearance through conclusion. If there is a felony case filed, then that would automatically be a Justice Court appearance.”
It is the prerogative of the City of Williams to select their own Magistrate and create their own court system. It is cost effective, however, to have the court system in the same building.
JP Krombeen said, “Historically, as far back as I’m aware of, both courts have been in the same building. The City could have their own courthouse, or have it in the Council Chambers. We used to be in the strip mall downtown. Both courts were together in both of those locations previously. In some cities the city has their own courthouse.
“Again, you’re talking about a justice court which averages close to 5000 cases a year and a city court that averages, recently, between—Oh, give or take 500 case per year. So, it’s far more cost effective for the city to have an Intergovernmental Agreement to be in a cooperative agreement with the county such as we are now. It saves the taxpayer tremendously from the cities point of view of not having to have their own facility and that type of thing.”
The City also entered into an IGA last September to have the Justice Court staff take on the duties of the Municipal court staff. “It’s been a very challenging, but very smooth transition,” the JP said.
“That’s really helped our customer service, because in the past, we’d have one—at best two—[city] employees. But when those employees weren’t available, people would come up to the front window to, for example, make a payment and they’d see someone sitting there, and the person would say, ‘I’m sorry, we’re the Justice Court, we can’t help you. There’s nobody here from the City Court.’ There were issues because of that.”
The Justice Court staff is responsible for taking care of the cases and keeping the cases in their appropriate jurisdiction for the judge.
“We’ll have a courtroom filled with people, sometimes, with some being City cases and some being Justice Court cases. So as the Judge, I just call the case and I say that this case is in the Williams Justice Court, and we go through the proceeding.
“Next person may be a Municipal Court case. Since I’m Magistrate I handle that case. I call that this case is in the Williams Municipal Court. The Court Staff administratively keep those cases separate. They’re not all consolidated into one court. They’re separate, but we—other than that—handle everything the same whether someone comes in for the City court or the Justice Court.”
Gun shows coming to the area
FLAGSTAFF—The Arizona Collectibles and Firearms gun shows are returning to Flagstaff and Williams this year. It is hard to say what affect any legislation will have on sales at the show. However, all federal, State and local firearms ordinances and law must be fully obeyed by the dealers and purchasers. Still you can look forward to two gun shows in Flagstaff and one in Williams.
The Flagstaff gun shows will be held at the Coconino County Fairgrounds on May 18 and 19, and again on September 21st and 22nd. All dates are Saturday and Sunday respectively. On Saturday the shows open at 9 am and run until 5 pm. On Sunday the show closes at 4 pm. The entrance fee to the show is $7 for one day and $10 for both days. If you find a flier, it usually has a $2 off coupon. Parking is free. The Coconino County Fairgrounds are at 2446 Fort Tuthill Loop in Flagstaff.
The Arizona Collectibles and Firearms show in Williams will be held at the Bob Dean Rodeo Grounds barn on Father’s Day weekend Saturday and Sunday June 15th and 16th. The rodeo grounds are at 800 Rodeo Road in Williams. The times and prices for the show are the same as above.
Don’t forget to look up the Arizona Citizens Defense League booth at the gun shows.
Cataract Park open after Saturday dedication
WILLIAMS—Saturday the thirteenth was not unlucky for the residents as they opened the $2.3 million Cataract Lake Park with an eventful dedication. Politicians were there to thank everyone except for Williams Police Sergeant Ted Wigal who directed traffic at entrance. (So we get to be the first to thank him for his service!) I-40 Fleet Services even provided kayaks for rides on the lake.
Mayor John Moore was joined by Williams City Councilmen Hiemenz and Payne for the celebration. District 4 Supervisor Mandy Metzger and District 2 Supervisor Liz Archuleta joined District 3 Supervisor Matt Ryan.
The event was staffed by volunteers from a number of non-profit groups around the community. The American Legion, as usual, conducted the barbeque provided by the city. Camp Civitan provided a van to shuttle people from the parking area to the park. The Kiwanis and Lions Club members served the food. Volunteers staffed the Coke van provided by Swire. Parks and recreation staff were on hand and volunteer children tested the playground during the speeches. The Freshman class of the Williams High School baked and decorated the cake for the cake cutting ceremony.
Everything was going fine until the politicians started fighting over the key.
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K-Mart sign change in Bullhead City will not happen until owls are gone.
BULLHEAD CITY, ARIZONA—A pair of Great Horned owls have apparently built a nest in the Big K-Mart sign at 2250 Arizona 95 in Bullhead City. Some residents expressed concern because of a proposed sign change that might impact the owls nest. Beverley Craig of the K-Mart location, however, said emphatically that the sign will not be changed until the owls are gone. “Even the sign guy says they won’t touch it while they’re there,” she said.
“There is a plan to change the sign, but it’s like a month or so away,” Craig said. She added, “They won’t touch it with the owls up there anyway.”
Beverley verified that there is a male and female owl and they believe that there are babies. “There’s a mommy and daddy and we believe there’s a couple of babies up there. They’re up there every night. And, of course, momma sits out every afternoon on the sign.”
Beverley also pointed out that there is a benefit to having the owls move in. “We were happy to see them arrive because we used to be infested with pigeons. Now the pigeons are all gone. I want to put an owl box in my backyard,” she laughed.
The High Country Raptors program is a non-profit organization that does educational programs about birds of prey at Bearizona in Williams. They have three shows a day at the wild life drive-through park.
Susan Ruble of the High Country Raptors program said that seeing owls in store signs is not a rare sight. “It’s not uncommon. It just depends on if there is game in that area. They’ve got one nesting down at the Home Depot in Prescott. Great Horns don’t seem to be real picky.”
She explained that owls, like other predatory birds, maintain a population equilibrium of rodents and other small animals. The babies should start leaving the nest at about eight-weeks, but generally stay near the nest for sometime. “They should keep the sign up as long as possible,” Susan advised.
K-Mart is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Sears company. The Sears Holding Company received recognition in March from the EPA for being an ENERGY STAR partner for 2013. Their press release reads:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized Sears Holdings with a 2013 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for its continued leadership in protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency. This year, Sears Holdings is being awarded for both its role as a retailer of ENERGY STAR certified products and for energy management in its stores. Sears Holdings’ accomplishments will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 2013.
City Council members MAY be at Cataract Lake this weekend
Free food? Where will the city council be?
Two words, people. FREE FOOD! Where do you think the council members will be this weekend!
Of course, you can join them in the festivities. The celebration is open to all. You just might want to get there before the council if you want anything to eat.
Chino Valley shooting range to open Saturday
The Town of Chino Valley and the Prescott Sportsmen’s Club will co-host the grand opening of the Chino Valley Shooting Facility Saturday.
The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. with a ribbon cutting, followed by remarks from several speakers including Secretary of State Ken Bennett, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, Arizona Rep. Karen Fann, Yavapai County Supervisor Craig Brown, and Mayor Chris Marley.
Representatives form the National Rifle Association and the Arizona Game and Fish Department also will be on hand for the dedication.
The opening will include the dedication of a 911 monument and several shooting demonstrations, including black powder shooting, cowboy action demonstrations, and cowboy mounted shooting.
Free shooting will be available from noon to 4 p.m. A lunch will be provided as a fundraiser for the club’s Junior High Power Team.
Cindy Ksenzulak, president of the Prescott Sportsmen’s Club, said that while her group has been anxiously looking forward to the grand opening, the normal three to five year time line for opening a range of this size was shortened quite a bit for the CVSF.
Read more at Chino Valley Review
CVSF Official site