Category Archives: News

A journey through history

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Opinion By Glen Davis

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Earning the Order of the Locks in 1978.

You may have heard that the Panama Canal recently celebrated its 100th anniversary on August 15. That news, no doubt, sparked every response from raucous partying to a shrug of the shoulders. If you heard about it at all. I cannot be sure about the raucous parties, either, as I was not invited to any of them.
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To explain the significance of the event to me; in short I passed through the Panama Canal in March of 1978 when it was a mere 64-years-old.

Please, please. Hold your applause.

When I joined the Navy in 1977, my first assignment was aboard the pre-commissioning unit for the USS Oldendorf (DD-972). The ship was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The ship was homeported in San Diego. As a consequence, after commissioning in March of 1978 we passed through the Panama Canal to get to the Pacific side.

Our first mission was to kick the tires and check the oil looking for any “warranty” items needing repairs. That required returning to Pascagoula giving us another chance to pass through the canal.

What I remember being most impressed about was what an engineering marvel it was to that day. I recalled the hundreds of lives lost to accident and disease to accomplish this feat.
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To pass through the canal, the ship was pulled into the locks by engines set on tracks on the sides of the canal. The ship is raised or lowered to get it to the appropriate level to travel to the next stage whether it be to the next lock or one of the lakes created in between. All of this is accomplished by the force of the water, itself. There are no pumps, as I understand it.

640-790700-004While this may seem insignificant to you, as I will someday grow old, I look back on some of the places I visited in my Naval career. I reflect on the changes I have witnessed.
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Rotary selling tickets for Western Auction drawing

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rotary-04WILLIAMS – The Williams Rotary Club has begun selling raffle tickets for cash prizes to be drawn at their Western Auction in October. The Rotary Club holds this annual event to support youth scholarships.

Tickets for the raffle are $20 each and only 1000 will be sold. The prizes are as follows:

  1. $5000 main prize
  2. $1000 second prize
  3. $500 third prize

In addition five $100 prizes will be awarded. The drawing will be held at the Rotary Western Auction on October 25. Tickets can be purchased from any Rotary member.

Camp Civitan holds guessing game

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gumballs-01You could receive a $25 gift certificate if you can guess the number of gum balls in this jar. The Camp Civitan Thrift Trading Company is holding the competition at their store at 129 W. Route 66 in Williams. The store is next door to the Grand Canyon Coffee and Cafe. The entry fee is only $1.

You might also check out the new and gently used products available at the store which helps fund Camp Civitan which provides camping opportunities and activities for special needs people.

 

Deputies and School Bus Drivers Participate in Armed Intruder Response Exercise

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Coconino County Sheriff Photo

Coconino County Sheriff Photo

BLUE RIDGE – On Saturday, August 9, 2014 Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies, Chevelon Butte Elementary School District personnel and school bus drivers, United States Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers, Blue Ridge Fire District personnel, and Coconino County Sheriff’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members participated in a training scenario that simulated an armed intruder (also known as Active Shooter training) on a school bus with student passengers.

The goal of the exercise was to instill in school bus drivers and involved law enforcement officers the knowledge, skills, abilities, and mindset necessary to successfully respond to an active threat event. The training was designed to focus on the roles, responsibilities and interagency coordination of responding officers and school bus drivers. Active Shooter situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly. Typically, the immediate deployment of law enforcement is required to stop the shooting and mitigate harm to the victims. Because active shooter situations often last 10 to 15 minutes, school staff members must be prepared both mentally and physically to deal with an active shooter situation while law enforcement responds to the scene.

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Coconino County Sheriff Photo

Linda Blosser who is the President of the Governing Board for the Chevelon Butte Elementary School District requested that the training be provided to district school bus drivers and was instrumental in the planning, organization and implementation of the exercise.

Following the training Blosser said, ‘Our training event was a great success. As a small rural school district it gave us a chance to identify areas we needed to review and follow up with additional in house training. Chevelon Butte Elementary School District is being proactive, making sure our employees have received the training they need if an emergency were to happen on one of our school buses full of students. Safety is our #1 priority; our goal is to make sure every student and bus driver go home at the end of the day. The cooperation we received from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office has been great. They shared their time and expertise with us, and may I say it was an eye opener. When I asked, ‘what do we do if an emergency happens on one of our buses?’ a small army of several law enforcement agencies being led by the CCSO drove out and ‘role played’ with us for a day.”

Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies called to investigate lightning strike.

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FOREST LAKES – On Saturday, August 9, 2014 at about 4:00 pm a Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputy assigned to the Forest Lakes Community and the Forest Lakes Fire Department were dispatched to the area of Spillway Campground at Woods Canyon Lake for a report of an adult male who was struck by lightning.

Once the emergency first responders arrived, they found a 41 year old man of Queen Creek, AZ had been struck by a bolt of lightning on his upper torso in the area of his right shoulder. On scene observation revealed the lightning exited the victim’s body through his big toes.

Medical personnel immediately began life saving efforts on the victim who appeared to be seriously injured. Due to the inclement weather, including heavy rain and hail, responders determined that air evacuation of the victim was not a safe option.

He was taken to the Payson Regional Hospital by ground ambulance and was subsequently transported to the Maricopa Burn Center. The investigation has revealed the victim, his wife and two children were at Woods Canyon Lake for a day of fishing when a large storm front moved over the Woods Canyon Lake area.

According to witnesses the victim lifted a metal framed camp chair over his head for cover at which time a bolt of lightning struck him and a tree located in close proximity to the victim’s location. The last report received by the Sheriff’s Office listed the victim good condition.

You should be aware of the dangers that may come with monsoons. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and the US Forest Service want visitors to enjoy their time on the forests and encourage visitors planning a trip to the area to “Know Before You Go”

Lightning: What You Need to Know

  • NO PLACE outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area
  • If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you
  • When you hear thunder, immediately move to safe shelter: a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up
  • Stay in safe shelter at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder

Last Resort Outdoor Risk Reduction Tips

If you are caught outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby the following actions may reduce your risk:

  • Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks
  • Never lie flat on the ground
  • Never shelter under an isolated tree
  • Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter
  • Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water
  • Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (barbed wire fences, power lines, windmills, etc.)

Forecast weather conditions can be found at the National Weather Service webpage.

Republicans select former Senator Sylvia Allen to replace Senator Crandell

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ALLEN_SPHOENIX – The Republican party has selected former Senator Sylvia Allen as nominee to replace the late Senator Chester Crandell for LD-6. The office of the Arizona Secretary of State announced today that the Committee to Elect Sylvia Allen filed today in preparation for the upcoming election.

Senator Crandell passed away August 4 while a nominee for re-election for the Senate seat for LD-6. Since ballots were already issued with his name for the primary without opposition, he automatically wins the primary. The Republican party is required to select a replacement.

Senator Allen is a well-known conservative Republican making her the logical replacement. Sylvia Allen served in the Arizona Senate from June 2008 to January 2013.

She chaired the Border Security, Federalism and States Sovereignty Committee of the Arizona Senate and was Vice Chair on the Natural Resources and Transportation Committee. She was a member on the following committees:

  • Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Health and Welfare
  • Education Committee
  • Education Accountability and Reform Committee
  • Rules Committee
  • Water, Land Use and Rural Development Committee

Senator Allen has a conservative voting record. She received an A- grade for her voting record from the Goldwater Institute in 2012.

LD-6 committeemen are still required to approve the selection.

Deadline to request early mail ballot is Aug. 15

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Arizona-electsSTATEWIDE – The last day to request a ballot from your County Recorder for the Primary Election is 5 p.m., Friday, August 15. The Secretary of State’s Office recommends having your early ballot voted, signed, sealed and sent by August 22. If early voters miss the August 22 deadline they may return their ballot to an early voting location, at the County Recorder’s Office, or at the polling place in their county on Primary Election Day.

For security reasons, election officials recommend to only give your early mail ballot to your postal worker. Should you miss the mailing deadline, you may drop your ballot at an early voting location or with your County Recorder. For locations and availability, contact the County Recorder’s office. If you vote by early mail ballot, do not vote in person.

All voters – including independent voters or those without a party preference – are able to vote through one of three ways:

  1. Early mail ballot;
  2. Early in-person voting; or
  3. In-person on Primary Election Day, Tuesday, August 26.

To find an early voting location and availability, contact the County Recorder. Early in-person voting ends Friday, August 22.

For those voting on Election Day, August 26, make sure you know your correct polling location, as voting locations may change from election to election. To know before you go, go online to www.azsos.gov, and click on the Voter View icon or call 1-877-THE VOTE or in the Phoenix Metro Area 602-542-8683. The Voter View portion of the website is compatible with smartphones and tablets. You also may contact your County Recorder’s office.

Box culvert work closing SR 277 in Snowflake

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SNOWFLAKE – The Arizona Department of Transportation will begin a project Monday, Aug. 18 to install concrete drainage pipes across SR 277 at two different locations within the city limits of Snowflake.

The project is scheduled to be completed in two phases and will require the closure of SR 277 for approximately two months.

Both pipe installation locations are on SR277 about two miles from the SR 77 junction in the area of the golf course. The installation of each pipe will be done in a separate phase, and each phase will have a different detour route.

One phase will be done at a time, and all detour routes will be properly marked. Each detour is about 1.5 miles long. The project is expected to be completed by this fall.

ADOT advises drivers to precede along the detour routes with caution, slow down and plan extra time for your commute.

ADOT completes some I-15 bridge projects, easing traffic restrictions

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Virgin River Bridge #6 - ADOT Photo

Virgin River Bridge #6 – ADOT Photo

PHOENIX — Travelers who use the Interstate 15 corridor in the far northwest corner of the state will get some relief as the Arizona Department of Transportation today finished a series of bridge rehabilitation projects through the Virgin River Gorge and lifted several traffic restrictions in the area.

The $2.8 million project started in January and included upgrading the southbound bridge surfaces, girder repairs and other related work on Virgin River Bridge No. 2 (milepost 13), Bridge No. 3 (milepost 13) and Bridge No. 7 (milepost 22).

With completion of work on these three bridges, traffic restrictions have eased through the Virgin River Gorge. However, a work zone will remain in place through 2016 for the reconstruction of Virgin River Bridge No. 6 (milepost 16), approximately 20 miles south of St. George, Utah.

In April, ADOT started an extensive rehabilitation project on Virgin River Bridge No. 6, which includes replacing the bridge’s superstructure (girders, deck and railings), as well as widening the roadway through the narrow Virgin River Gorge. When this section of highway was built, it was the most expensive rural interstate highway built, per mile, when it was completed in 1973 after a decade of construction.

Recently, ADOT started work that will eventually serve as the foundation of the new bridge. The $27 million project is the only active project on Arizona’s portion 29-mile-long of I-15, which directly connects Nevada and Utah and is a heavily-traveled commercial and economic corridor linking southern California with the Rocky Mountain region.

With limited alternate routes due to the remote location of the I-15 Virgin River Gorge corridor, ADOT urges drivers traveling between Mesquite, Nevada, and St. George, Utah, to plan ahead, allow extra travel time, slow down and drive carefully through the Virgin River Bridge No. 6 work zone. I-15 is narrowed to one lane in each direction at the bridge project and delays are possible.

Overnight dirt haul on SR 89 between Prescott and Chino Valley this week

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PRESCOTT – Traffic on State Route 89 between Prescott and Chino Valley (mileposts 320 to 325) will be required to stop intermittently this week to allow trucks to safely cross the highway.

The hauling operation will begin tonight (weather permitting), Aug. 12 through Thursday, Aug. 14 between 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. and intermittent closures are expected for dirt hauling and removal of temporary concrete barrier along the roadway.

The work zone will be clearly marked by temporary barricades and signage. 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.