Category Archives: News

Comments sought on Subdivision Ordinance

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FLAGSTAFF — Coconino County Community Development is seeking public comment on the draft County Subdivision Ordinance. The draft has had input from a citizen advisory group, local design professionals, the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.

The Subdivision Ordinance regulates the division of land in the County within State Statutes. The draft Subdivision Ordinance addresses the goals of the County Comprehensive Plan with the concept of Integrated Conservation Design which encourages conservation areas and protects environmentally sensitive natural features. The draft Subdivision Ordinance also incentivizes well planned subdivisions and is intended to improve flexibility and clarity in the subdivision development process.

The draft Subdivision Ordinance is available for review and comment at the Community Development website at www.coconino.az.gov/622/Planning-and-Zoning through the end of October 2018. Community Development also invites the public to attend an open house to discuss the draft Subdivision Ordinance from 4 – 5 p.m. Friday, November 16, 2018 at the Community Development conference room, 2500 N. Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, Arizona. Light refreshments will be provided.

Coconino County Treasurer offers remote office hours

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FLAGSTAFF — Coconino County Treasurer Sarah Benatar is offering remote office hours for taxpayers seeking help with their property tax bills. From October 1 – October 30, the Treasurer’s Office will be providing services at the Flagstaff Mall in partnership with the County Recorder’s Office. Hours of operation will be, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. October 1 – October 30.

Property tax notices were sent out in September. The Treasurer’s office mails all property tax notices and collects all property taxes for the state, county, incorporated cities and towns, school districts and special districts located within the county.

Annual property tax notices are issued on a calendar year from January through December. Taxpayers have the option to pay their annual taxes in two equal installments. The first installment is due by November 1, 2018 and the second installment is due by May 1, 2019. Taxpayers can also pay in one full payment by December 31, 2018. Tax bills of $100 or less are to be paid in full by December 31, 2018. Taxpayers can pay their taxes in person, at one of the remote sites, by phone, by mail or online.

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 where payment envelopes may be dropped.

For more information, please call the County Treasurer’s Office at 928-679-8188, toll-free at 877-500-1818 or visit www.coconino.az.gov/treasurer.

ADEQ introduces new Air Quality Hourly Forecasts for areas of concern around the state

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PHOENIX – On this Children’s Environmental Health Day, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) announces a new online air quality forecast tool that provides an hour-by-hour outlook at daily pollutant trends. Focused on areas of concern around the state, the Air Quality Hourly Forecast helps parents and school officials better plan for outdoor activities through the day to minimize the impacts of air pollution.

Air pollution can impact sensitive populations, including children, senior citizens and people with respiratory or pulmonary diseases. Young children are especially vulnerable because their respiratory and immune systems are still developing and they breathe more rapidly than adults, inhaling more air per breath.

“The hourly forecasts are useful for schools, which can adjust recess activities for kids sensitive to air pollution, such as those with asthma,” said ADEQ Air Quality Director Timothy Franquist. “And, because our forecast team was already looking at the daily trends to better determine when health alerts needed to be issued, it was an obvious next step to put this information online for public use.”

Air Quality Hourly Forecasts are available for Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma and Nogales and include pollutants of concern for each specific area. When levels of pollutants are forecast to be near or above a federal health standard, ADEQ issues two kinds of alerts to inform the community of expected conditions.

  • High Pollution Advisory (HPA): Notifies the public that the level of an air pollutant is expected to exceed the federal health standard
  • Health Watch: Notifies the public that the level of an air pollutant is expected to approach the federal health standard

Even healthy adults can feel the effects of air pollution when exercising outside. During the health alerts, the Air Quality Hourly Forecast allows people who enjoy outdoor activities to see what part of the day may be most impacted by a specific pollutant.

“As an avid bicycle-commuter, I check the forecasts every day I ride,” said Christopher W. of Gilbert. “I wanted to maximize the health benefits of active-commuting, so I bought a high quality air filter mask to wear on days when breathing the air could negatively impact my health. The hourly forecast now helps me know when I may need to wear the mask during my ride to and from work.”

More than leaves come down this fall in Williams

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Some houses barely escape damage from breaking branches.

This picture taken the day after the storm shows a house that escaped damage from breaking branches.

WILLIAMS — More than leaves fell this fall in Williams due to the thunderstorm overnight October 6th. Residents are still cleaning up branches today; some as large as 4″ in diameter.

Some houses barely escaped damage from falling and broken branches.

The storm came in overnight October 6 due to Hurricane Rosa. The storm developed into a severe thunderstorm and left a blanket of snow the following day. Last night Williams temperatures dropped to freezing. Effectively Williams and the surrounding area went from Summer to Winter.

The good news is Williams will get a slight reprieve from the wet weather today and tomorrow with temperatures around 55-degrees. Temperatures will remain in the high fifties through Saturday with slight chances of rain and thunderstorms throughout the period. Winds on Wednesday and Thursday could be about 10-mph with gusts up to 20-mph.

More than leaves fell this fall in Williams. Williams residents clean up since the storm October 6.

Continuing rains will probably affect the efforts of the Kaibab National Forest to continue prescribed burns.

These images were taken in about a four block area.

Some cars were struck by branches as a result of the storm.

Coconino Sheriff’s Investigating Human Remains Found

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FLAGSTAFF — The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office is investigating human remains found in the area west of Highway 89N, just south of the Navajo Nation boundary.

On October 7, 2018 around 9:00 a.m., hunters reported finding human remains near Cedar Wash and the Navajo Nation boundary. After the initial responding deputies confirmed the remains as human, Sheriff’s detectives and the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the area for further investigation.

Although the investigation is still ongoing, the location and condition of the remains leads investigators to believe the remains may be those of Jackie McClellan Jr, who was reported as a Missing Person in December 2007. At that time, the family had reported that Jackie McClellan Jr had last been seen walking from the family’s sheep camp. The remains were found in the same general area as the sheep camp.

Positive identification of the remains is still pending by the Coconino Medical Examiner.

Tusayan Neighborhood Watch Meeting

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TUSAYAN – The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office will be hosting a Neighborhood Watch meeting for the Tusayan area on Thursday, October 11 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Tusayan Fire Station located at 408 West State Route 64, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023.

First snow hits Williams

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Good morning, Williams. First snow of the year.

Storm leave broken branches behind.

WILLIAMS – Williams was hit, last night, with a furious thunderstorm that left behind broken branches and the first blanket of snow for the year.

The storm began about 8:50 last night dousing Williams in rain and producing a light show of lightning. In the morning Williams was left with a thin blanket of snow in the streets. Heavy winds broke branches off of trees across the City.

There is a 70% chance of more snow turning to thunderstorms and rain today. Thunderstorms are likely overnight and into the day Monday. It is expected to clear over Monday night and become clear and sunny through Wednesday. Thursday more showers are expected to move in.

The Polar Express car gets a hint of Christmas.

Star Gazing Party at Historic Navajo Bridge

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MARBLE CANYON – Coconino County Supervisor Lena Fowler, Glen Canyon Natural History Association, Lowell Observatory, the National Park Service, Arizona Department of Transportation and the Northern Arizona University/ NASA Space Grant Program will host a free Star Gazing Party from 6 – 10 p.m. on October 12 and 13 at the Navajo Bridge in Marble Canyon, Arizona.

Telescopes will be setup by amateur and professional astronomers from Northern Arizona. Other activities include guided walk and talks, Junior Ranger activities, special guest lectures and solar viewing. For a complete list of events, go to GCNHA.org.
WHAT: Star Gazing Party
WHEN: 6 – 10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, Oct. 12 & 13, 2018.
WHERE: Historic Navajo Bridge, HWY 89A, Marble Canyon, AZ
COST: Free

For more details, call the Glen Canyon Natural History Society at 928-645-3900 or Coconino County District 5 Supervisor Lena Fowler at 928- 283-4518.

Kaibab National Forest seeks public input on a proposed landscape-scale forest restoration project across much of the North Kaibab Ranger District

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WILLIAMS – The Kaibab National Forest is seeking public input and comments on a proposed project to reduce the threat of uncharacteristic, high-intensity wildfire and to restore the structure, species composition and function of ecosystems on the Kaibab Plateau.

The project, known as the Kaibab Plateau Ecological Restoration Project, is designed to increase resiliency and overall health of vegetation and watersheds and to restore low-intensity fire to the fire-adapted ecosystems of the area. Specifically, the proposed action includes prescribed fire and non-commercial, mechanical vegetation treatments on about 511,000 acres of the North Kaibab Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest.

Most of the Kaibab National Forest’s vegetation is adapted to recurring wildfires, and fire naturally plays a vital role in maintaining ecosystem health. The condition and structure of the project area’s forests, woodlands, shrublands and grasslands have changed dramatically from natural conditions, in large part because fire has been excluded due to decades of successful fire suppression efforts. Today, the project area contains uncharacteristically dense forests with many more young trees than were present historically, and climate change is making them vulnerable to more frequent high-intensity wildfires.

The project is intended to address those changed conditions by implementing prescribed fire and non-commercial, mechanical vegetation treatments. Prescribed fire would include broadcast burning and pile burning to reduce fuel levels and tree densities, control conifer regeneration, and promote understory plant vigor. Mechanical treatments would include pruning ladder fuels, mastication, chipping and thinning to remove smaller trees with the goal of protecting larger or older trees by targeting understory and ladder fuels.

The Kaibab National Forest encourages public participation in the development of proposed projects and is seeking input and comments on the Kaibab Plateau Ecological Restoration Project. Specific, written comments should be received no later than Nov. 5.

Comments must be in writing and may be delivered electronically, in person, or by mail or facsimile. Electronic comments, including attachments, may be emailed to comments-southwestern-kaibab-north-kaibab@fs.fed.us. Please include “Kaibab Plateau Ecological Restoration Project” in the subject line. Comments may be submitted electronically in Word (.doc or .docx), rich text format (.rtf), text (.txt), Adobe portable document formats (PDF), or HyperText Markup Language (.html). Submit comments via hand delivery (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays) or mail to: U.S. Forest Service, Kaibab National Forest, Attn: Sue Farley, 800 South 6th Street, Williams, AZ 86046. Send comments via facsimile to 928-635-8280.

For detailed project information, including the full proposed action document, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=54226. For questions, please contact Sue Farley, environmental coordinator for the Kaibab National Forest, at 928-635-8331 or sfarley@fs.fed.us.

A detailed Kaibab Plateau Ecological Restoration Project area map is included on the next page.

Kaibab National Forest information is also available through the following sources:

Kaibab National Forest Website: www.fs.usda.gov/kaibab
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KaibabNF
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KaibabNF
Flickr (photos): http://bit.ly/KaibabNFPhotos

Safety Tips for homemade apple cider

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FLAGSTAFF – The Coconino County Public Health Service District (CCPHSD) advises residents to protect themselves against potential foodborne illness from apple cider. There is an abundance of apples in Coconino County this fall due to the lack of an early frost and people may be using apples to make apple cider.

Foodborne illnesses have been attributed to the consumption of fresh, unpasteurized cider contaminated with a foodborne pathogen like E. coli O157:H7. Certain age groups are at a greater risk of complications from harmful bacteria such as children, the elderly and persons with compromised immune systems.

CCPHSD recommends taking the following precautions to protect against foodborne illness when making homemade apple cider:

Avoid using apples that have visible signs of decay or mold growth.
Wash apples thoroughly before pressing or grinding to make cider.
Use a fruit press or small kitchen appliances to crush the fruit.
Wash hands and sanitizing equipment.
Place washed and rinsed utensils and equipment in a mixture of 1 tablespoon household bleach per gallon of water for at least 1 minute.
Squeeze juice through a clean, damp muslin cloth.
Pasteurize cider to ensure safety. Heat to at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit and pour into warm jars to prevent breakage.
Store cider in the refrigerator for immediate use, or up to five days. Put cider in the freezer if you want to keep it longer.
Be sure to use strong, sound glass bottles that will not break during fermentation.
Boil unpasteurized apple cider before drinking it or drinking pasteurized cider or juice.

Caution: Young children, elderly and immunocompromised individuals should never drink fresh apple cider unless it has been heated to at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

After each day’s cider making, all equipment should be:

Rinsed with potable water to remove apple and cider residue.
Washed with warm soapy water and a clean brush.
Sanitized with bleach diluted with clean, potable lukewarm water in a ratio of one-tablespoon bleach to one-gallon clean water. All utensils and equipment that contacted cider should be rinsed with this sanitizing solution.

Learn more about steps that can help keep you healthy and your fruits and vegetables safer to eat at https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/steps-healthy-fruits-veggies.html.