Flagstaff Regional Plan Raises Concerns

flagstaff-img_0314By Elisha Dorfsmith

FLAGSTAFF—Last Thursday the long awaited draft version of the Flagstaff Regional Plan was released to the public. The plan now has a 60 day public comment period before it goes to the Flagstaff City Council and Coconino County Board of Supervisors for their approval. Once the City and County approve the plan, it will go to voters in a special election scheduled for May 20, 2014.

Before the plan was released, Flagstaff City Council member Jeff Oravits and many others raised concerns that the Regional Plan Citizens Advisory Committee was not balanced and was stacked with members of groups like F3 and other organizations with an extreme agenda.

Oravits fought to get more balance on the Committee during several council sessions but the majority of the Council said no and so the Committee remained one sided.

Now that the draft version of the plan has been released, I am receiving emails from concerned residents who say wording in the plan tramples individual liberty and private property rights. Of particular concern are the comments in the plan about social sustainability.

“Environmental, economic, cultural and social sustainability ensure that present actions are the basis for future health and prosperity.”

People are taking this to mean behavior control and the possibility of a Bloomberg style nanny state coming to the Flagstaff area.

Read more at Flagstaff Liberty Blog

Cataract Lake Park opening soon in Williams

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WILLIAMS—Coconino County announced that the 2.1 million Cataract Lake County Park will open on April 13th. The funds to renovate the park were derived from the Coconino Parks and Open Space sales tax program approved by county voters in 2002.

Mayor John Moore of Williams explained that the transformation of the old camping site into a day use area is not a loss for Williams. “I personally don’t think that the loss of camping will bad. I think it will make a place for the locals, now, to go in for a day, have family reunions in some of the shelters and be able to go fishing.”

Fishing at Cataract Lake requires a trout stamp. There are still camp site on the south-east area of Cataract Lake which can be accessed by taking Cataract Road to Copper Ranch Road. As of this writing, that camping area is closed for the season.

“It’s a county park operated by the City of Williams,” Mayor Moore added.

County Parks and Recreation Director Judy Weiss said, “The renovation of Cataract Lake County Park is our new model of park operation that we have implemented to provide quality park amenities in the most efficient way possible.”

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The $2.1 million dollars invested to redevelop the park was used for planning, development, design and construction of the site. The park features restrooms, a boat launch, two picnic ramadas, a playground, fishing areas, walking trails and horseshoe pits.

The County and City of Williams plans a barbeque from 11 am to 3 pm on April 13th to christen the new park.

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And you thought the Obama Executive Order privileged was bad.

forest-20121004 015There has been much todo about the abuse of the presidential executive order and, perhaps, rightly so. The regular old trustworthy media outlets will let you know it is much todo about nothing.

Executive orders were intended to inform the employees how they are to carry out the laws created by the Legislative branch (Congress). They were not to be used to circumvent those laws or create laws as they have been used by recent presidents.

But how would you feel if the employee of your employee could write their own “executive orders” with full force of law:

“…punishable as a Class B misdemeanor by a fine of not more than $5,000.00 for individuals and $10,000.00 for organizations, or imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, or both.”

Such is the case with Executive Order Number: 04-13-04-R by M. Earl Stewart of the Coconino National Forest, “Done at Flagstaff, Arizona this 13th day of March, 2013..”

The order is to prevent people from “Possessing or using a bicycle off of National Forest System Roads or trails in the restricted areas.” Those new restricted areas are as follows:

1.Schnebly Hill Area: SR89A to the west, Caner Canyon to the north, Schnebly Hill Road to the east and south.

2.Transept Area: Junction of Verde Valley School Road and Forest boundary in Section 11, then north to junction with Templeton Trail, then east to switchbacks next to private property, then further east to SR179, then south along SR179 to Forest boundary, then west to Verde Valley School Road.

3.Scheurman Mt. – Airport Area: Junction of Lower Red Rock Loop Road and Forest boundary in Section 28 west and north along Lower Red Rock Loop Road to SR89A, then east to Sedona High School and then east along boundary with private/Forest boundary north of Carroll Canyon, continuing east along private boundary north of the Sedona Airport to Brewer Road, then southwest generally following Oak Creek along Forest/private boundary to junction of Ridge Trail with Chavez Ranch Road, follow Chavez Ranch Road west to Upper Red Rock Loop Road, and then west to connect with Lower Red Rock Loop Road.

4.Possessing or using a bike is permitted ONLY in the following slickrock locations that are within the restricted areas, adjacent to a designated trail: Cow Pies, upper and lower Hangover saddles, slickrock between Hiline Saddle and “the Hiline chute”, slickrock bench above Yavapai Vista, and slickrock bench at junction of Templeton and Cathedral Rock trails.

Oh, unless you work for the “forest service” in which case you can drive vehicles of any kind throughout the forest or whatever as long as it is in the performance of your duty.

“This order is needed to prevent impacts to the highly erosive soils, Oak Creek water quality, archaeological sites, and the Casner Canyon RNA resulting from bicycle use off of National Forest system roads and trails,” the order claims.

Doggone bicycles! Ruining nature. I knew you were evil.

The fact that this can be done by a bureaucratic employee is disturbing enough. But according to a recent press release concerning HB 2551, Game and Fish Director Larry Voyles said, “[C]urrently state law says that if a federal entity establishes regulations related to roads, trails, routes and closed areas, they are automatically codified by Arizona state law and if a person operates outside the parameters of the federal regulation, that individual is automatically in violation of state law.”

That means that this Executive Order enjoys full coverage of Arizona State Law. This means that an employee of the employee of our national government can willey-nilley make a law completely bypassing that nasty old Tenth Amendment, the rights of the citizens of Arizona with no due interference from our State Legislature—not to mention in complete violation of the Constitution of the United States of America. And the State employee of the national employee of the national employee has to enforce it. And all without having to file one campaign finance report.

Get it?

Senator Chester Crandell and The Arizona Game and Fish Commission support the bill, “…but the commissions support is contingent on changes that will be offered by the commission allowing the State of Arizona to decide which federal rules and regulations will become enforceable by state wildlife officers under state law.”

By the way, we are not referring to any old H.B. 2551,

“Amending title 6, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding chapter 18; providing for the delayed repeal of title 6, chapter 18, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act; relating to financial institutions.”

We are referring to the new and improved H.B. 2551strike all” amendment that would,

“Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert:

“Section 1. Section 28-1174, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

28-1174. Operation restrictions; violation; classification

&tc., &tc., ad nauseam.

You’re welcome. If we can confuse you any more, then we should be getting a check from George Soros.

BOS Meeting March 26

The next meeting of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors will be held in Flagstaff on March 26 at 211 E. Cherry Ave.

March for Meals pancake breakfast Saturday.

WILLIAMS—The City of Williams, Coconino County and NACOG are sponsoring a March For Meals pancake breakfast from 9 am to 11 am on Saturday, March 16th, 2013 and the Williams Senior Center at 850 W. Grant next to Safeway.

The menu consists of pancakes, sausage or bacon, eggs, hash browns, biscuits and yogurt. Drinks include orange juice, coffee and tea.

The requested donations will benefit the Williams Senior nutrition program at the center. You can call 928-679-7485 for more information.

Government offices closed tomorrow

Government offices will be close tomorrow in observance of Martin Luther King day.

Tuba City Man Arrested for Multiple Counts of Aggravated Assault

Flagstaff, AZ – Thirty-one year old Clinton Tsinnie of Tuba City, Arizona was arrested by Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies on Sunday, January 13, 2013 for three counts of aggravated assault stemming from an incident that occurred on Friday evening.

Investigators believe that Mr. Tsinnie and the thirty-two year old male victim who know each other hitchhiked from Tuba City to Flagstaff for the purpose of taking care of some business. According to information gathered by detectives from a witness and the suspect, the suspect and the victim consumed a significant amount of alcohol after completing their business. While the two were in the area of North Highway 89 and Townsend/Wynona Road attempting to hitchhike back to Tuba City, they got into a verbal disagreement that evolved into a physical altercation. Judging from statements made by the suspect, statements made by a passing motorist witness, and from physical evidence, Detectives believe the suspect knocked the victim to the ground and kicked him in the head and face multiple times inflicting serious facial and head injuries.

Detectives believe that while the suspect was kicking the victim, the victim lost consciousness and the suspect continued to kick him. The suspect was arrested for three counts of aggravated assault involving the circumstances of the infliction of serious physical injury, the infliction of serious disfiguring injuries, and assault of the victim while he was incapacitated. The victim remains in the Flagstaff Medical Center where he is being treated for his injuries.

Overdue Hiker Rescued from San Francisco Peaks

Flagstaff, AZ – On Saturday, January 12 at about 9:30 pm the Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an overdue hiker on the San Francisco Peaks. The hiker, a 53 year old male from Scottsdale, was reported overdue from a one day hike by his family. The initial information indicated that he was planning to hike into the Inner Basin and Lockett Meadow areas.

With the roads closed into Lockett Meadow, patrol deputies checked the bottom of the Lockett Meadow road but did not located the subject’s vehicle. Deputies checked the trailheads at Arizona Snowbowl and located the subject’s vehicle near the Kachina Trailhead. They checked the immediate area of where the vehicle was parked and did not locate the subject. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit responded.

Concern for the subject’s safety was high due to the extremely cold temperatures. At the time of the search, the air temperature in the area was -1 degree Fahrenheit, with colder wind chill temperatures. It was believed that the subject did not have any winter hiking experience and may not have been properly equipped for hiking in cold and snowy conditions.

An Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue helicopter from Kingman, AZ responded and assisted with an aerial search. The helicopter crew used night vision goggles and a forward looking infrared camera. While the air search was being conducted, ground search teams were deployed in a Search and Rescue snow cat on Freidlein Prairie Road and on foot from the Kachina Trailhead as well as on an old jeep trail that leaves from the Arizona Snowbowl Mountain Shop.

At approximately 3:00 am a ground search team located the subject above the Kachina Trail approximately one half mile from the Kachina Trail parking area. The subject was lost and had wrapped himself in an emergency blanket and was preparing to spend the night. The subject was responsive but was very cold. Searchers assisted the subject in walking out to the trailhead where he was met by a Guardian Medical Transport ambulance for treatment and transport to the Flagstaff Medical Center.

Coconino County BOS meeting Tuesday

The County Board of Supervisors will be holding their regular meeting all day on Tuesday at 219 E. Cherry Ave., Flagstaff.

Coconino Parks and Recreation meeting tomorrow

January 10, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM @ Mess Hall, Coconino County Fairgrounds, Fort Tuthi

The Coconino County Parks and Recreation Commission will hold its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, January 10th at 3:00 p.m. in the Mess Hall, Coconino County Fairgrounds, Fort Tuthill County Park. See meeting agenda (PDF link)

Agenda items include elections of 2013 officers, discussion and action on the desire to form an Open Space subcommittee, and fee changes.