Category Archives: News

Delays expected through Monday on I-17 North due to Verde River bridge project

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Drivers on northbound Interstate 17 north of Camp Verde should expect to see delays through Monday (May 23) as crews complete work on the Verde River bridge.

Only one lane will be open for northbound travel at the Verde River Bridge between mileposts 287 and 288, just north of the State Route 260 interchange. Construction on the bridge and paving for northbound travel are expected to be completed by 6 p.m. Monday.

The on-ramp from SR 260 to northbound I-17 will be closed from 8 a.m. to noon on Monday.

A 12-foot width restriction will remain in place until Monday evening. Vehicles more than 12 feet wide should use SR 260 west to SR 89A, then north to Sedona, and south on SR 179 to return to I-17.

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

Online applications for 2016 fall hunts now being accepted

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PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department now is accepting online applications for 2016 hunt permit-tags issued through the draw process for deer, fall turkey, fall javelina, bighorn sheep, fall bison and pheasant.

To apply online, visit https://draw.azgfd.gov/ and scroll down to “Apply for a Draw.” The deadline by which the department must receive all applications – online or paper — is 11:59 p.m. (MST) Tuesday, June 14. Postmarks do not count. Paper applications can be mailed to: Arizona Game and Fish Department, Attn.: Drawing Section, P.O. Box 74020, Phoenix, AZ 85087-1052, or dropped off at department offices statewide.

The department is announcing an exciting, innovative program beginning with the 2016 fall hunt application period. “PointGuard,” the newest benefit for AZGFD Portal customers, ensures that if a successful applicant is unable to participate in a hunt for any reason, the accumulated bonus points that were expended to draw that hunt permit-tag will be reinstated.

PointGuard is available to applicants who apply online for a hunt permit-tag. All applicants must sign up for a free AZGFD Portal account to purchase PointGuard (visit www.azgfd.gov, click on the “Sign in to Account” button in the upper right-hand corner of the home page, then select the “Create an Account” option). PointGuard is $5 per species, per applicant, purchased at the time of completing the online application, or prior to the application period deadline.

Applicants who encounter issues related to PointGuard are encouraged to call the department at (602) 942-3000 beginning June 1 through June 14.

For more information about PointGuard, visit https://www.azgfd.com/hunting/pointguard.

As a reminder, applicants must possess a valid Arizona hunting license to apply for a hunt permit-tag. That license must be valid on the last day of the application period (June 14). Licenses are available online and at department offices and license dealers (PDF) statewide.

Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day on Friday, May 20

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PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department, together with boating professionals and enthusiasts nationwide, will demonstrate the importance of remaining safe on the water by participating in Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day, Friday, May 20.

The annual event, hosted by the National Safe Boating Council (NSBC) serves as a fun, educational element ahead of National Safe Boating Week, which runs from May 21 to 27. The event helps to raise awareness of different life jacket types, while demonstrating their comfort and versatility by wearing them to work.

life_jacket_fitting_-_reduced_1“The life jackets of today are simply more comfortable and less bulky than those of the recent past, and Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day helps to demonstrate just that,” said Josh Hoffman, AZGFD Boating Safety Education coordinator. “Another family-fun boating season has returned and many Arizonans are heading out on the water. Wearing a life jacket should just be another part of putting the boat in the water – it’s literally the simplest thing you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones from drowning.”

U.S. Coast Guard statistics show that drowning was the reported cause of death in approximately 68% of recreational boating fatalities in 2014, and that approximately 84 percent of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets.
Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day coincides with the official launch of the 2016 North American Safe Boating Campaign, which focuses on educating the boating public about the safety and comfort of life jackets.

AZGFD and the National Safe Boating Council each ask participants to take a picture of themselves in their life jacket while at work and post it to the Ready, Set, Wear It! Facebook page (facebook.com/readysetwearit) or submit directly to the NSBC at outreach@safeboatingcouncil.org. Participants are also encouraged to tweet their picture using #readysetwearit.

Members of the boating public as well as those interested in showing the wear-ability of life jackets are encouraged to participate. More information about the event and safe boating is available at facebook.com/readysetwearit.
For more information on boating in Arizona or to sign up for a free safety course, visit www.azgfd.gov/boating.

Another Run For the Wall passes through Williams

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800-r4tw16-05-18-60WILLIAMS — The 2016 Run For the Wall arrived late in Williams yesterday due to weather. Williams and Flagstaff are the traditional first stop for the motorcycle rally which promotes healing for VIetnam Veterans and to call for a full accounting of those still listed as missing in action. The safety guards began arriving around 5:15 with the bulk of the group being escorted by the Williams Police Department and Department of Public Safety about 6:50.

800-r4tw16-05-18-26Run For the Wall arrived at the American Legion Cordova Post #13 where volunteers from the City of Williams served dinner.

Today they staged on the east end of the city for breakfast and instruction. Mayor John Moore gave a speech thanking the group for their efforts. Run For the Wall presented Mayor Moore with a plaque in recognition of the community for the support they have given over the years.

The group left under police escort to join with the group in Flagstaff and continue their ride to arrive at the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington on Memorial Day.

As always, Northern Arizona Gazette and the City of Williams wishes them a safe ride.
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MYSTERIES OF THE GRAND CANYON: Vintage Harveycar located in Williams, AZ

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Margaret Hodgkins Mason
© Imagine

Magnificent Maggie is partner in the Marvelous Marv’s Private Grand Canyon Tour team in Williams, Arizona. (Facebook)

Harvey Car 3I’ve always been interested in old cars and old men. Williams, AZ and the Grand Canyon National Park are the perfect places to pursue my passions. In attending public lectures concerning heritage tourism, I became aware of a local mystery. This mystery is tied to the Indian Detours program that operated nearly one hundred years ago. Sometime after 1987, a vintage 1929 Cadillac 341-B six passenger touring car was purchased by Amfac, now Xanterra, successor corporations to the Fred Harvey Company at Grand Canyon. This piqued my interest in finding the old vehicle, and maybe some old man to tell tall tales about the vehicle

Fred Harvey’s Indian Detours, operated between May 15, 1926 and 1931. The Indian Detours excursion began as the guest disembarked the ATSF’s westbound California Limited at Las Vegas, New Mexico for a three day excursion in Indian country. The cost of the tour with meals and lodging was 45 dollars. The tour left the Castaneda Hotel and stopped at historic and prehistoric sights in the area. The itinerary included an overnight La Fonda in Santa Fe for the first night. The second day included Tesuque, Santa Clara and San Juan Pueblos and then Puye cliff dwellings. Returning to Santa Fe for the second overnight, the third day’s events included descending La Bajada Hill to Santo Domingo Pueblo before traveling to the Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque to re board the westbound California Limited. (Eastbound guests had similar itineraries.) Longer detours could be arranged to include, Mesa Verde in Colorado, Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico or the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
Harvey Car Upload
This vehicle is presently located in Williams in the GCR Locomotive Shop in Williams, AZ. Harold Stacy’s grandfather, Jack Stacy, and grandmother, Lucille (Ridout) Stacy, Indian Detour driver and Courier, respectively, bought the car and kept it in the family for many years. It was last registered in 1989. What a beautiful relic of a bygone era.

What was it like to ride in the open touring car on the dirt roads of Desert View Drive and Hermit Road in the late 20s? Betty Kent Meyer reveals a personal glimpse in Pioneer Footprints “Memories of Life at the Grand Canyon in the 1920s and 1930s”. (1) What if the weather was adverse, hot or windy? What if the vehicle breaks down? At one time the Fred Harvey Company at Grand Canyon used homing pigeons to send word back that a vehicle had trouble (2). Just imagine.
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AZGFD adjusts trout stockings in some high country fishing holes

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PHOENIX – The Arizona Game and Fish Department will be adjusting trout stockings in some high country lakes to enhance opportunities for fishing adventures and to protect wild trout populations and important trout fishing resources.

AZGFD is adjusting some trout stockings due to a few of Arizona’s state and federal fish hatcheries having tested positive for Bacteria Kidney Disease. The Bacterial Kidney Disease (BKD) pathogen is specific to trout and salmon, and in some cases can be lethal to trout and salmon. BKD does not affect humans.

Although it can be easily passed from one trout to another, the pathogen can lie dormant and not cause any sickness. BKD-positive trout are still edible and good quality. The Department always recommends anglers cook all fish to the proper temperature to ensure safe consumption.

Due to the BKD-positive findings, the AZGFD this year will not be stocking trout into waters where the pathogen could be transmitted to wild trout populations, or into stocked trout-dependent fisheries.

What does this mean for anglers?

The biggest impact will be at Sheeps Crossing on the West Fork of the Little Colorado River, which will not be stocked with Apache trout and will not get any hatchery-stocked trout this year.

As the AZGFD protects long-term trout fishing opportunities in Arizona, trout fishing opportunities throughout the summer will remain abundant. In fact, waters such as the East Fork of the Black River, the Little Colorado River in Greer, and Silver Creek, will be supplemented with rainbow trout to ensure level numbers of stocked trout.

Great opportunities for anglers remain at:

Desert tortoise kicks off Summer Wildlife Series in Kingman

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Desert Tortoise Photo by George Andrejko, Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Desert Tortoise
Photo by George Andrejko, Arizona Game and Fish Department.

KINGMAN — The Arizona Game and Fish Department’s regional office in Kingman will begin the ninth season of its popular Summer Wildlife Series on May 27 with a free, one-hour presentation on the desert tortoise.

Heather Heimann, terrestrial wildlife technician, will discuss the slow-moving but determined reptile and its habitat, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Kingman Mohave County Library, 3269 N. Burbank St., in Kingman. Heimann will cover tortoise biology, impacts of disease, habitat, and the department’s tortoise adoption program.

The presentation will include a live tortoise. Game and Fish personnel will be available to answer questions following the presentation. The main portion of the library will be open to accommodate a larger crowd.

“The tortoise is a fascinating animal,” Heimann said. “They live in an area where people probably wouldn’t expect to find them. They’re well-adapted for life in this environment.”

For more information, call (928) 692-7700.

Peregrine cam goes dark as efforts underway to save chick

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peregrine_chick_1_-_reducedPHOENIX — A peregrine falcon chick hatched in a nest box on a downtown Phoenix high-rise was seen struggling this weekend, causing the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) to take action. The wild peregrine chick, whose hatching was captured by a dedicated web-video camera, was having difficulty using its legs, causing it to fall and flail its wings.

AZGFD turned off the video feed on Monday morning, and while the peregrine parents were away, removed the chick from the nest box for examination. The chick was taken to the Phoenix Dog/ Cat/ Bird Hospital, where veterinary staff donated their services and took x-rays to reveal any physical problems. The bird was in acceptable health, but had splayed legs, which made it difficult for it to stand or move normally. Small splints were fitted to the bird’s legs to rectify the problem before it was placed back in the nest.

“We knew that shutting down the camera while we worked on the chick and monitored its recovery would disappoint the many people watching the peregrines,” said AZGFD Watchable Wildlife Program Manager Randy Babb. “We wanted to spare everyone the discomfort of watching the chick fall over while it adjusts to braces. We hope the cameras will only be off for a few days. This may be the first time a peregrine chick has been fitted with splints and returned to the nest for the adults to care for. Everything is looking good for the moment, and the parents are caring for the chick as if this disturbance never happened.”

Arizona Game and Fish biologists will continue to monitor the nest-cam and evaluate the chick’s progress over the next several days. Estimates are that, if all goes well, the chick’s splints may be removed in a week.

Two other changes will be noticeable when the nest cam is turned back on. A non-viable egg that had begun to rot was removed from the nest, and a new layer of brown artificial turf has been added to the bottom of the nest to provide better traction for the chick.

“While we are guardedly optimistic about the chick’s chances, despite our best efforts and hopes, sometimes nature has other plans,” said Babb. “It’s important to note that this chick is not out of the woods yet.”

The AZGFD peregrine web-camera is part of the department’s Wildlife Viewing program, which encourages Arizonans to learn more about the wonders of wildlife. A donation account (https://donation.azgfd.gov/donation) has been set up to help defray the costs of the department’s web-cameras.

Traffic shift scheduled tomorrow on SR 89 at Perkinsville in Chino Valley, weather permitting

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Crews are scheduled to move traffic tomorrow (May 18) on State Route 89 at Perkinsville Road back to the west side of the highway (weather permitting) in order to continue building the new roundabout.

Minor delays are expected between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. as crews restripe the roadway and adjust the traffic control. Drivers will be in the new configuration for approximately four weeks.

Drivers may have minimal impacts during work hours and ADOT advises drivers to allow additional time to reach their destinations and to proceed through the work zone with caution, comply with the reduced speed limit, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.

This $1.5 million project consists of a new roundabout at the intersection of SR 89 and Perkinsville Road between mileposts 328 and 329. Additional work includes removal and replacement of existing pavement, drainage improvements, new pavement markings and lighting.

This project is expected to be complete by September.

MVD looks for ways to get Arizonans out of line and safely on the road

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PHOENIX — In the not-so-distant past, someone retaking a road test at an Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division office had to stand in line – not to retake the test but to re-verify the application, a process that required spending several minutes at a window after taking a number and waiting to be called.

Today, that returning individual will retake the test first. Once he or she passes, a customer service representative will then process the rest of the application.

The change, which saves time for the test-taker as well as other waiting customers, is just one of the ways MVD is innovating to achieve its strategic vision of getting customers out of line and safely on the road.

“We’re continually looking to see where we can save time or even a visit to an office,” ADOT Motor Vehicle Division Director Eric Jorgensen said. “’Out of line and safely on the road’ is the way we’re doing business to benefit the residents of this state.”

Jorgensen, who became MVD director in March 2015, said there are several reasons behind the push to streamline processes and create more value for customers, starting with a philosophy his father shared.

“He would tell us, ‘If you see something that needs to be done, do it,’” Jorgensen said. “That saying has stuck with me, and I use it every day.”

He shares that philosophy with employees, noting that suggestions and feedback from those working at MVD offices have driven process improvements.

Another philosophy that drives Jorgensen is “a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”

“It’s important to build momentum. Sometimes we have to build the race car while in the race,” Jorgensen said. “We have identified a lot of projects at MVD that will help us build that momentum and carry us to greater things.”

MVD’s vision is part of an agency-wide commitment to continuous improvement that involves every aspect of ADOT operations.

For MVD, finding new ways to leverage technology is another way to get customers out of line. That starts with expanding what can be done through ServiceArizona.com. The website and the 43 ServiceArizona kiosks at MVD offices and courthouses around Arizona offer more than 20 motor vehicle services such as vehicle registration renewal and ordering replacement driver licenses and specialty license plates, with more to come.

ServiceArizona initiatives include rolling out online appointment scheduling for all MVD offices. That’s already happening on a smaller scale for those wishing to convert driver licenses to the new Voluntary Travel ID at select MVD offices.

“We live in a time where technology allows people to conduct a lot of business anytime and anywhere,” Jorgensen said. “We want to do the same with the MVD and reduce or even eliminate the need to physically come into an office.”

An innovative approach is allowing MVD to modernize its computer system over the next few years through a partnership with IBM, which maintains ServiceArizona.com. A portion of all sales through ServiceArizona.com are going toward computer system improvements that will make motor vehicle services more accessible and efficient.

MVD also continues expanding options and convenience for customers through Authorized Third Party providers, with 165 businesses statewide providing services including a growing number offering driver licenses.

Ultimately, getting customers out of line and safely on the road is about helping people get what they need from the MVD in a timely and efficient way.

“Like most people who become public servants, MVD employees ‒ myself included ‒ want to help others, make things better and be part of a solution,” Jorgensen said. “It’s happening here at the MVD. We’re making a difference every day.”