Category Archives: News

Preseason football, concerts mean heavier I-10 traffic in West Valley

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CardinalsPHOENIX — With an Arizona Cardinals preseason game and a concert scheduled Friday evening in the West Valley, those using Interstate 10 should plan for heavier traffic and budget extra travel time.

Monday’s evening commute also may require a little patience and planning ahead with veteran rockers Guns N’ Roses playing at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Kickoff for the Cardinals game against the Oakland Raiders is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, at University of Phoenix. The Guns N’ Roses concert is scheduled for 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15.

ADOT is able to use its network of freeway message signs to provide traffic advisories in areas approaching Glendale and the stadium.

Friday also includes a 7:30 p.m. concert at Ak-Chin Pavilion featuring country singer Jason Aldean.

ADOT provides freeway-travel information via Twitter (@ArizonaDOT). State highway conditions also are available via ADOT’s Traveler Information site at az511.gov or by calling 511.

Please avoid distractions while driving. It’s best to check traffic conditions before leaving your home or office.

ADEQ, ADOT and Keep Arizona Beautiful Host Free Environmental Resources Roadshows in Flagstaff & Sedona

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Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and Keep Arizona Beautiful (KAZB) staff will conduct two “Environmental Resources Roadshows,” where attendees will learn about ways to improve their local environment.

FLAGSTAFF
Wed., August 24, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Coconino County Health Services District
Coconino County Community Services
2625 N King Street
Flagstaff, AZ 86004

SEDONA
Thurs., August 25, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
City of Sedona City Hall Complex
Vultee Conference Room
102 Roadrunner Drive
Sedona, AZ 86336

The Environmental Resources Roadshow partnership encourages community members, Tribes, business people, elected officials, government agencies and school representatives in Flagstaff and Sedona and the surrounding area to attend one of the no-cost, two-hour events. Following brief presentations, attendees can engage in open dialogue and participate in a question and answer session.

Topics

ADEQ: successful recycling programs such as electronic waste and food recovery
ADEQ: how communities can benefit from ADEQ’s brownfields grants and technical expertise
ADOT: volunteer process for adopting sections of Arizona highways for litter cleanup
KAZB: statewide litter prevention, recycling and beautification programs

Kiss Every Step author visits Williams

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Kiss Every Step 2016-08-09 001 Williams had the opportunity, yesterday, to hear the story of a survivor of the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. Doris Martin came to Williams from Flagstaff with husband and co-author Ralph to sign copies of her book Kiss Every Step: A Survivor’s Memoir from the Nazi Holocaust at the Wild West Junction. Doris and Ralph also founded the Martin-Springer Institute at Northern Arizona University, whose purpose is to apply the lessons learned from the Holocaust to benefit Mankind.

Mayor John Moore stops by to speak with Doris, husband Ralph and others having lunch before the book signing.

Mayor John Moore stops by to speak with Doris, husband Ralph and others having lunch before the book signing.

Doris has been invited to speak at schools and other venues on her experience. Her whole family was among only about 125 Jewish survivors of her hometown of Bendzin. “We were blessed from God that our family was still together,” she said in her radio interview on KZBX in Williams.Kiss Every Step 2016-08-09 012
During her radio interview, she told the tale of her older brother who attempted to escape the Nazi regime. He attempted to escape Poland to the neighboring Soviet Union. He was caught by the Germans and when he was asked his name he gave his real name of Szpringer. He was beaten and thrown into a river and the Germans shot over his head. He managed to make it to Russia, but once there he was declared a German spy and sent to Siberia.

She related the terror inflicted by the Germans on the Poland Jews. They would be dragged from their homes on several occasions for various reasons and eventually sent back home. One time they were told to go to a stadium to get a stamp. They were told not to bring any food for the children because they were only going to get an identification stamp and would be sent back home.

They were taken to a stadium where the reality was much different. The whole town was herded into a stadium to receive the stamp.

“The whole town took the children, everybody to the stadium. But when we went into the stadium, it was not like that. We were only surrounded with the Nazis, with the German Shepherds, with the rifles,” she said in the interview. “We couldn’t go out from the stadium. And in the stadium was sitting a Nazi at a small table. And he would choose who should live, and who should die.”

Tuffy, the Wild West Junction mascot.

Tuffy, the Wild West Junction mascot.

The Nazis decided that children under the age of thirteen and those with handicaps would have to die. They divided up families into three groups and it is here, Doris said, that the miracles of God began to manifest. When it came to her family, the Nazis were done dividing the families for the day and her family was sent home.

The family lived on a second floor of an apartment building. When they returned home, her mother told them that they should kiss every step up to their apartment, which they did. That was where the title of the book came from.

Though they were eventually separated and Doris was sent to Auschwitz, her whole family survived and were reunited. Unfortunately their hometown of Bendzin no longer existed.

Her story of survival is told in her book Kiss Every Step which is available online at Amazon and is available at Barnes and Nobles in Flagstaff.

With extreme weather possible, be prepared to wait out a storm

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PHOENIX — With thunderstorms occurring in southern Arizona and extreme weather possible elsewhere in the state, drivers should leave prepared and be ready to wait out heavy rain, high winds and blowing dust.

The latest National Weather Service forecast calls for a strong chance of rain and thunderstorms through at least Wednesday evening. Before driving on highways, review the Arizona Department of Transportation’s monsoon-safety tips at PullAsideStayAlive.org.

Monsoon storms can produce sudden, torrential rain. Turn on your headlights while driving in threatening weather and, when roads are wet, reduce speed and maintain a safe distance between your vehicle and the one ahead.

Avoid areas where water is pooling in travel lanes. If your vehicle appears to be hydroplaning, ease your foot off the gas pedal until you regain traction rather than braking suddenly, which can cause a vehicle to skid off the roadway.

Don’t risk crossing a flooded wash, even if it doesn’t look deep. Just a few inches of running water can carry away a vehicle, even a heavy pickup truck or SUV.

Downdrafts from thunderstorms can create sudden dust storms. If you see blowing dust ahead, get off the highway as soon as you can do so safely. Don’t wait until poor visibility makes it difficult.

If you are caught in blowing dust, immediately check traffic around your vehicle, begin slowing down and get completely off the roadway. Don’t stop in a travel lane or in the emergency lane.

Once you are off the highway, turn off all lights, including your emergency flashers, so another vehicle doesn’t use your lights as a guide and crash into your parked vehicle. Set your emergency brake, take your foot off the brake and stay in the vehicle with seat belts buckled until the storm passes.

Kaibab National Forest seeks comments on grassland restoration project

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WILLIAMS — Managers are seeking public comment on a proposed project to use mechanical treatments and prescribed fire to restore grasslands across a 550,000-acre project area on the Williams and Tusayan districts of the Kaibab National Forest.

Known as the South Zone Grassland Restoration Project, the effort would implement thinning, prescribed burning and other activities to restore the structure and function of grassland and pinyon-juniper grassland, also referred to as savanna, ecosystems in an effort to improve their resilience to disturbance and changing climate regimes.

The Environmental Assessment analyzing the potential effects to forest resources of implementing the proposed project and all other associated documentation are available on the Kaibab National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=44132. In addition to potential environmental effects, the Environmental Assessment describes the project’s background, outlines the purpose of and need for the project, describes the components of the alternatives under analysis, and summarizes consultation and coordination that has been completed throughout the life of the project.

The South Zone Grassland Restoration Project area encompasses about 269,000 acres of the Williams Ranger District and 281,000 acres of the Tusayan Ranger District. The project area consists of the portions of the South Zone located outside the Four Forest Restoration Initiative project boundary.

The Southwestern landscape, including the South Zone of the Kaibab National Forest, has been greatly altered over the past century by the encroachment of woody plants, particularly juniper, pinyon, and ponderosa pine, into areas that were formerly grasslands and open pinyon-juniper grasslands. These factors have eliminated the vegetation necessary to carry low intensity surface fires across the landscape, thereby altering the natural fire regimes and allowing uncharacteristic forest succession to take place. Encroachment can alter water and nutrient cycling, impact soil integrity, and negatively impact wildlife habitat.

Comments concerning this project must be in writing and may be delivered electronically or by mail, facsimile, or hand. Comments will be accepted for 30 calendar days following the publication of a legal notice in the Arizona Daily Sun, which is expected to occur today. For additional information on the project or to provide comments, visit the Kaibab National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=44132.

Public invited to grand opening of Second Knoll Target Range on Aug. 27

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target-range1PINETOP — Shooting sports enthusiasts and other members of the public are invited to the grand opening of the Second Knoll Target Range, located near Show Low, on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016.

The ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. with honor guard, posting of colors, remarks by Arizona Game and Fish Director Larry Voyles and other invited dignitaries, and a ribbon cutting and ceremonial first shot.

The opening of the Second Knoll Target Range is the culmination of a long-term effort by the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD), the Forest Service (FS), and the White Mountain Shooters Association (WMSA) to establish a public shooting facility in the White Mountains. Phase 1 includes a 50-yard range and a 100-yard range and four 25-yard pistol bays.

The Second Knoll Target Range will be operated by the WMSA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, through a license agreement with the Arizona Game and Fish Commission, under a 20-year special use permit issued to AZGFD. The target range is located in an unused cinder pit that was previously permitted by the FS to the Arizona Department of Transportation. The range is located on approximately 80 acres of land managed by the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.

Future construction plans include a 300-yard rifle range, camp host site, classroom and club house.

The Second Knoll Target Range is located approximately 6 miles east of Show Low. From the intersection of Highway 60 and Highway 77 in Show Low, take Hwy 60 east 4.4 miles and turn right (south) and follow the road for about a half mile.

ADEQ Awards $1.9 Million in Grants to Improve Arizona’s Water Quality

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PHOENIX — Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) officials announced today seven Water Quality Improvement Grant (WQIG) awards totaling more than $1.9 million to fund field projects aimed at reducing E. coli, excess nutrients and sediment caused by runoff from non-regulated sources in four state waterways the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designates as impaired.

Located in ADEQ water protection plan areas, these waterways include the popular and highly recreated Oak Creek and San Francisco River, as well as the San Pedro River and Granite Creek. Each of these waterways is impaired because rainfall, snowmelt and/or irrigation pick up pollutant-containing sediments and deposit them into the waterway.

Polluted runoff from non-regulated sources, such as agriculture, forestry, grazing and septic systems, threatens public health and the environment and can have harmful effects on drinking water supplies, recreation, fisheries and wildlife. Common pollutants include nutrients and microbes, such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia Shigella, for which E. coli tests are used to indicate their presence. Water with high levels of E. coli can cause gastrointestinal problems if unintentionally swallowed while swimming.

“ADEQ’s Water Quality Improvement Grant Program arms qualifying parties with funds to support important projects to prevent and address pollution from non-regulated sources,” said ADEQ Water Quality Division Director, Trevor Baggiore. “We vet each application using a stringent evaluation process to ensure awarded funds achieve the most impactful environmental benefits and outcomes for impaired waters in Arizona.”
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Paving work on eastbound Interstate 40 to continue near Flagstaff

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Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) crews continue with paving operations on eastbound Interstate 40 near Flagstaff (milepost 196-197), just before the Interstate 17 junction on Tuesday (August 9) from 4 a.m. to noon.

Lane restrictions and reduced speeds will be in place during construction; please allow for extra time for travel in the area, and watch for crews and equipment in the work zone.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned roadway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule.

ADOT honored for US 89A repairs after 2015 House Rock flash flood

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800-houserockflood1PHOENIX — After a spectacularly strong monsoon dumped 1.5 inches of rain on northern Arizona’s Vermilion Cliffs in just 15 minutes, it was no surprise that mud and rocks had covered US 89A.

But when Arizona Department of Transportation crews arrived on that day in August 2015, what they saw stopped their bulldozers in their tracks: boulders the size of elephants – 15 feet in diameter – and mud in seven different slides that covered portions of 24 miles of the only road across a wide area north of the Grand Canyon.

In the first six hours, ADOT crews from Page, Flagstaff and Fredonia rescued motorists trapped between mud flows, and within about 20 hours they had one lane open across the area. But the rest of the job was too big for ADOT’s local crews to handle.

The solution: A process known as Job Order Contracting allowed ADOT to bring in The S.J. Anderson Company of Mesa to repair damaged sections of the road quickly and at the lowest possible cost. For that rapid and efficient response as well as its value to the public, the US 89A House Rock Flash Flood Project has been recognized as the 2015 Harry H. Mellon Award of Excellence Winner in Job Order Contracting.

Invented in 1982, Job Order Contracting is a competitively bid construction procurement process government agencies use to accomplish a large number of repair, alteration and straightforward construction projects based on a set of locally priced construction tasks and competitively awarded contracts. Since its invention, Job Order Contracting has developed into a popular solution for agencies to manage and expedite construction projects.

The award, presented annually since 2007 by Greenville, S.C.-based Gordian Group, a provider of construction cost data, software and services, recognizes facility owners, managers and contractors who perform essential repair, alteration and maintenance work using the Job Order Contracting system. ADOT’s entry was selected from thousands nationwide.

“This year’s Award of Excellence winner demonstrated the speed, versatility and efficiencies of Job Order Contracting, even in the face of a natural disaster,” said William Pollak, CEO of Gordian. “We congratulate Arizona DOT and The S.J. Anderson Company for the remarkable job they did serving road users in Arizona.”

Even with the challenges of a huge task in a remote location, the US 89A repairs were completed in just 53 days, with ADOT providing on-site inspection. The contractor mobilized within days of proposal acceptance, bringing crews and equipment from around the Southwest.

“This award recognizes a creative approach that allowed ADOT’s Northcentral District to respond quickly, efficiently and effectively to an unexpected challenge,” said Dallas Hammit, ADOT’s state engineer and deputy director for transportation. “Completing the repairs and cleanup of such a large event in less than two months was an outstanding achievement.”

The value of the Job Order Contracting process was clear when a second monsoon storm caused damage while the repairs were underway. Using standard costs approved by the Arizona Department of Administration, ADOT was able to approve the added work without delay and incorporate it into the project.

Gordian presented the award Thursday, Aug. 4, at the ADOT administration building in Phoenix.

Nazi death camp survivor will sign books in Williams

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auschwitz_arrivee-2WILLIAMS — On September 1, 1939, the German army entered Poland after a false flag at a German radio station. In four days they took Bendzin; the hometown of 12-year-old Dora Szpringer. The Germans burned down a synagogue with about 200 Jews inside. While most Jews in the town were killed, the entire family of Dora Szpringer survived the war.

Now Doris Martin will be here in Williams August 9th to sign copies of her book, Kiss Every Step—the story of that survival.

The book signing is being arranged by Cosette Riggs who is arranging a radio interview. “This is going to be a great opportunity and maybe the last for any of you that want to, to meet a survivor of the Prison camps,” Cossette said. “Our children should be told what happened to these millions of people and we should never forget. ”

Doris will conduct a radio interview on Tuesday, August 9 at 11:30 on KZBX 92.1 FM. She will sign copies of her book at the Wild West Junction dining hall at 1 p.m.