Tag Archives: Arizona

Arrest made in Cavanaugh Homicide Case

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FLAGSTAFF – On February 28 and March 5, 2020, Shawn Eckard and Jason Eric Johnson were served warrants separately, reference the investigation of the homicide of Craig Cavanaugh.

Both men have been indicted in Navajo County for first degree murder of Craig Cavanaugh. Shawn Eckard is currently in the custody of the Arizona Department of Corrections on unrelated charges, and Jason Eric Johnson is currently in the custody of the Colorado Department of Corrections on unrelated charges.

Both have been served warrants and are pending appearance in Navajo County. This investigation began for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office on July 17, 2019 when the Farmington New Mexico Police Department requested assistance with a missing person case that started on July 4. Craig Cavanaugh was reported missing after not returning to Farmington from a trip to Arizona.

Coconino County Sheriff’s Detectives conducted follow up and a body was located in the woods outside of Heber, Arizona on August 5. This body was later identified by the Pima County Medical Examiner as Craig Cavanaugh. Since this discovery, Coconino County detectives investigating this case as a homicide developed leads and additional evidence that was presented to the Navajo County Attorney’s Office for charging and later presented to a grand jury.

Wet week ahead for Williams

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WILLIAMS – Wet weather is forecast through Saturday. Starting tomorrow, snow is forecast before 10 a.m. and then rain and snow. It is expected to clear up and be mostly sunny Monday.

Monday night the chance of rain runs 20%. Tuesday there is a 60% chance or rain or snow. There could be about 1/2″ of snow Tuesday. Tuesday night and Wednesday there is a 70% chance of rain. Thursday the chance of rain drops to 40% and continues to drop through Saturday.

Winds are expected to be moderate except for Wednesday and Friday when winds could gust up to around 20-MPH.

ADOT mourns highway worker struck and killed Wednesday

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PHOENIX – An Arizona Department of Transportation employee was killed Wednesday while setting up a sign alerting drivers to pavement repairs along Interstate 10 south of the Phoenix area.

Frank Dorizio, 55, was a member of ADOT’s Incident Response Unit, which helps keep Phoenix-area freeways safe by setting up traffic control, removing debris and assisting stranded motorists.

“While the Arizona Department of Public Safety continues its investigation, this is a tragic reminder that drivers must stay alert around construction zones and always be prepared for the unexpected,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “Lives are on the line when dedicated highway workers like Frank Dorizio are making things better for all of us in work zones.”

Dorizio joined ADOT in October 2015 as a highway operations worker with the Little Antelope Maintenance Unit in northern Arizona. In 2017, he joined the Happy Valley Maintenance Unit in Phoenix. He joined the new Incident Response Unit last September.

“Whether or not we worked directly with Frank Dorizio, each of us at ADOT mourns his loss and honors his commitment to getting everyone safely home,” Halikowski said. “His co-workers and friends say the same thing about Frank: ADOT was his family, and he was committed to our agency’s mission and to the people of Arizona.”

Dorizio is the first ADOT worker since 1998 to be struck and killed while working along a highway.

To call attention to the need to stay alert around work zones, many of ADOT’s overhead message boards will show the following over the weekend:

ADOT WORKER KILLED
IN WORK ZONE
DRIVE ALERT

To learn more about Work Zone Safety, please visit FocusOnDriving.com and follow the Work Zone Safety link.

150 business days left until new TSA ID rules take effect

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There are approximately 150 business days left until October 1, and the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division reminds customers to get the AZ Travel ID to make it through federal TSA airport checkpoints starting on that date.

“The clock is ticking and people need to get their AZ Travel ID,” said MVD Stakeholder Relations Manager Jennifer Bowser Richards. “We don’t want to see travel plans ruined because flyers don’t have an ID that the TSA will accept. That’s a very real risk for people who don’t get an AZ Travel ID.”

Customers should begin the application process at AZTravelID.com. They can make an appointment at ServiceArizona.com to visit an MVD office, or visit an Authorized Third Party office that provides license and ID services.

In order to get the AZ Travel ID, customers need to bring in a document such as a birth certificate or valid U.S. passport to prove identity and a second document with their Social Security number. Finally, two pieces of documentation proving Arizona residency such as a utility bill, bank statement or something similar with a current name and physical address (not a P.O. Box) are also needed.

The AZ Travel ID replaces the current license or ID and resets the expiration date. The cost is $25, and under federal law, it’s valid for eight years.

Bowser Richards added, “There are customers who plan to simply use a passport even if they’re just flying to someplace like Atlanta, Denver, or L.A., which is their choice, but we suggest that the AZ Travel ID is more convenient. Other customers have told us they rarely, if ever, travel by air, but having an AZ Travel ID would be valuable in case of an unexpected trip that required air travel.”

For more information and to apply for an AZ Travel ID: AZTravelID.com

Fees to increase in April for Mogollon Rim campgrounds

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CLINTS WELL – Fees for certain developed campgrounds on the Mogollon Rim Ranger District will rise, beginning April 17, due to increased use and in order to continue site maintenance and improvements.

Fees have not increased in more than a decade. A public comment period regarding the proposal of these changes concluded in summer 2019. More than 300 comments were received and analyzed, and the majority of respondents were in favor of a fee increase in order to maintain the sites.

Some campground fees will increase over two phases, as the following image indicates:

Of the recreation fees collected, 95 percent remain on the forest to operate, maintain and improve the facilities and programs at the campgrounds.

For more details regarding what was originally proposed, please visit our fee proposal frequently asked questions web page.

Kaibab National Forest to begin marking trees in early March in Government Prairie Project north of Parks

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WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest will begin marking trees in early March within the 1,400-acre Government Prairie Project north of the community of Parks in order to prepare the area for a future timber sale as part of ongoing forest restoration efforts.

The project area is located about 5.5 miles north of the intersection of Forest Road 141, also known as Spring Valley Road, and Historic Route 66 between Government Mountain and Government Hill. Much of the broader Government Prairie area includes large grassland and savanna ecosystems that have become less healthy over time due to significant encroachment by trees and other vegetation not historically found there.

Crews recently began painting the boundaries of the Government Prairie Project area. Next week, they will start marking trees within those boundaries with a leave-tree mark, meaning that the trees that are intended to remain post-treatment will be marked with paint. Forest Service marking crews make every effort to limit the visibility of tree marking paint where possible, such as along roadways and adjacent to private property, so as to not impede the views of residents and visitors.

There are varying treatments within the 1,400-acre project footprint, which are based on historic conditions in different units. In historic grasslands and savannas, the vast majority of encroaching conifers will be removed in order to encourage species diversity, reduce dwarf mistletoe infection, promote understory grasses and forbs, restore connectivity between grassland habitats for wildlife species, and move the entire area closer to historic and healthy ecological conditions.

Grasslands play an important ecological role, especially for various wildlife species such as pronghorn antelope, and are known for their high biodiversity. Healthy grasslands are better able to carry out natural processes such as nutrient cycling and provide increased water availability and habitat quality.

Other treatment units within the broader project boundary are dominated by stands of ponderosa pine trees. These stands have become overly dense due to fire exclusion and other factors. In these units, treatments will focus on removing trees in order to more closely resemble historic stand structures, which include more openings between groups of trees and fewer areas of interlocking crowns. Goals of these treatments include reducing threats to lives, private property and forest resources posed by unnaturally severe wildfire; improving the overall health of the remaining stand by increasing tree age and species diversity; and enhancing wildlife habitat through improved grass and understory vegetation growth.

Once the project has been marked, which will likely be completed by this summer, it will be offered as a timber sale. Implementation of the Government Prairie Project is anticipated to begin in early 2021, depending on the contractor selected to complete the work as well as weather conditions at the time.

The Government Prairie Project is one of several grassland restoration projects that have been implemented or are planned across the southern two districts of the Kaibab National Forest. Forest managers monitoring the effects of these projects have already documented increased use by a variety of wildlife species.

The efforts to improve conditions in the Government Prairie area are part of the broader Four Forest Restoration Initiative, which seeks to accelerate forest restoration treatments across 2.4 million acres of ponderosa pine forest on the Mogollon Rim of northern Arizona. The project area was part of almost a million acres that were analyzed under the 4FRI 1st Environmental Impact Statement, which approved forest restoration work across more than 580,000 acres of the Kaibab and Coconino National Forests.

To learn more about 4FRI, visit www.fs.usda.gov/4fri.

Grand Canyon School receives approval for ‘game-changing’ fiber project

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GRAND CANYON VILLAGE – A three-year effort by the Grand Canyon School District and the Town of Tusayan to bring high-speed Internet to the region has finally paid off.

A new 60-mile fiber line from near the City of Williams to the School will deliver bandwidth to students whose access to high-speed Internet lags badly behind other Arizona schools.

The $5.6 million project will be funded by the federal E-rate grant program that provides high-speed Internet to schools and libraries, along with a State of Arizona broadband initiative grant contained in Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s fiscal year 2019 budget. Commnet Wireless, a telecommunications company with other projects and assets in Coconino County and the Navajo Nation, won the contract to build the fiber system.

Since its approval in late 2018, the project faced several hurdles, requiring appeals and a federal waiver to extend the project’s time frame. Representatives from the Grand Canyon School District and members of the Tusayan Town Council successfully worked with Arizona’s Congressional Delegation and federal agencies to secure the final approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

“I am beyond thrilled that this game-changing project was approved,” said Grand Canyon School District Superintendent Dr. Shonny Bria. “Our students will finally have the broadband access they desperately need to excel in school and into their future careers and lives. I am thankful for the Town of Tusayan’s teamwork and support in getting this across the finish line.”

Tusayan Mayor Craig Sanderson echoed Bria’s comments. “Since I’ve been Mayor, one of the top needs of local residents, businesses and tourists has consistently been high-speed Internet. This is a great start.” Sanderson said. “I’m proud that the Town of Tusayan could play a role in getting this project going for local students. In the long run, this will benefit us all.”

According to Commnet Wireless, the project is expected to commence in the coming weeks and will take 18 months to complete.

78 Acres of Piles on Government Hill to be Burned Wednesday This Week

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WILLIAMS — Kaibab National Forest fire crews on the Williams Ranger District will be igniting 78 acres of hand built slash piles located approximately rwo-miles south of Spring Valley on the northwest slope of Government Hill on Wednesday this week.

Precipitation received over the weekend has produced beneficial conditions allowing crews to continue with fuels reduction treatments of this type that occur during the winter months of the year. Smaller units such as this pile burn will generally be short in duration and will generate less smoke with very little risk of spread due to dampened surfaces on the landscape.

Smoke is expected to move to the west during the day and may occasionally impact forest road 141 to the north. The burn will be visible to residents in Spring Valley, Pumpkin Center, and Parks including the I-40 corridor to the south, and Route 64 to the west. Ventilation is predicted to be very good with the majority of smoke dispersing by late afternoon leaving only minor impacts by early evening. Air quality will be monitored closely and actions will be taken as necessary to minimize the effects to all adjacent residential areas.All prescribed burns are subject to approval from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Members of the public may view approved prescribed burns for any given day on the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s website at smoke.azdeq.gov/

To learn more about smoke and public health, visit http://bit.ly/SmokeHealthAwareness

Notifications of upcoming prescribed fire projects are provided regularly by news releases throughout the year and through the following sources:

• InciWeb: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5922/
• Kaibab National Forest Website: www.fs.usda.gov/kaibab
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/KaibabNF
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/KaibabNF
• Fire Information Recorded Hotline: (928) 635-8311

Man Arrested on Multiple Charges Related to Shooting Incident in Kaibab Estates West

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Chad Anderson – CCSO Booking Photo

ASH FORK – On February 24, 2020 around 8:30 pm the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting that a person fired shots at residences in the Kaibab Estates West community, which is west of Williams, AZ.

Several people had been gathered at a residence when a disagreement occurred between two individuals. Witnesses and victims advised that the suspect went to his vehicle where he obtained a handgun and fired multiple shots toward the home. He then left the scene and went to a nearby residence where he fired multiple rounds toward another home. Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office also responded to assist in locating and taking the suspect into custody.

Chad Anderson, 46-year-old resident of Kaibab Estates West, was taken into custody and booked into the Coconino County Detention Facility on charges including Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Endangerment, Assault Drive by Shooting, Prohibited (Weapons) Possessor, Disorderly Conduct with Firearm, and Criminal Damage.

No one was injured by the gunfire. The investigation is still on-going and no further information is available at this time.

Kaibab National Forest and Red Rock Ranger District announce March archaeology month events

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WILLIAMS — This March, the Kaibab National Forest will continue its more than decade-long tradition of offering stimulating presentations and outdoor excursions in the Williams area as part of Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month. In Sedona, ancient cultures and their technologies are celebrated during planned events throughout the month at the Red Rock Ranger District.

In Williams, Wednesday evenings throughout March, experts will present a series of lectures starting at 6 p.m. at the Sultana Theatre in Williams covering topics such as the history of sheep ranching in northern Arizona, Fred Harvey’s original farm-to-table legacy, and the role of the Forest Service in shaping Arizona and its lands.

On all four Saturdays in March, Kaibab National Forest archaeologists will lead fun and educational hikes to the Keyhole Sink petroglyph site near the Parks community starting at 2 p.m. The Keyhole Sink Trail offers a short, relatively flat hike to a scenic box canyon where prehistoric residents left their mark carved into the canyon’s gray volcanic walls.

Close-up image of some of the petroglyphs at Keyhole Sink. Photo by Dyan Bone. Kaibab National Forest.

A special addition to the 2020 archaeology month offerings is the Stone to Steel Dam Trail hike, which will be held both March 14 and March 28. Guests should arrive at 9:30 a.m. at the Ash Fork Museum in Ash Fork. The trail is an easy, winding path between two historic dams. The first large steel dam in the nation was built in Ash Fork in the late 1890s by a railroad company. Less than a mile upstream is another dam dating from 1911, which was also constructed by the railroad but with stone blocks.

“We are so fortunate to live in an area that is so rich with history and culture,” said Neil Weintraub, archaeologist for the south zone of the Kaibab National Forest. “There is no better time than archaeology month to learn about and explore the incredible diversity of special places that make the Kaibab National Forest and northern Arizona so unique.”

Archaeology month is intended to generate understanding of and support for the state’s archaeological heritage. Celebrations and events focus on promoting the preservation of archaeological resources and illustrating ways the public can help in protecting and appreciating them.

For detailed information about the Kaibab National Forest archaeology month offerings in the Williams area, download the PDF schedule.

In Sedona, attend one or all of the planned presentations to learn about how Native Americans have thrived in this area for hundreds of years.

March 6: Peter Pilles, Coconino National Forest archaeologist, will give a presentation on the Rock Art of the Verde Valley by describing the many cultural groups that have lived in the Verde Valley and the styles of rock art each created. This event begins at 11 a.m. at the Red Rock Visitor Center and will last about an hour.

March 13: Visitors can learn how natives used agave for food and fiber. A presentation by Wendy Hodgson and Andrew Salywon, entitled Pre-Columbian Agaves in the Southwest – Discovering Lost Crops among the Hohokam and the Verde Valley Cultures, will begin at 11 a.m. at the Red Rock Visitor Center and is slated to last an hour.

March 21: People who are interested to learn about the natives of the V Bar V Ranch area may see more than 1,000 petroglyphs at this site and understand how they used the solar calendar to plant their crops. Jake Newhouse will give a presentation on the Spring Equinox, beginning at 12:30 p.m. at the V Bar V Heritage Site. The presentation will last until 2 p.m.

March 28: Join a demonstration of Ancient Technology, witnessing a wide variety of ancient tools commonly used by Native Americans of the region. Bob Erb will give a presentation at the V Bar V Heritage Site beginning at 10 a.m. until about 2 p.m.

The Red Rock Ranger District visitor center located at 8375 state Route 179, in Sedona, AZ 86351.

Petroglyphs at the V Bar V Heritage Site in Sedona

The V Bar V Heritage Site located 2.5 miles southeast of Interstate 17, Exit 298 on Forest Road 618. Drive east past the Beaver Creek Day Use Picnic Site, then turn right into the V Bar V Heritage Site driveway. Each vehicle requires a Red Rock Pass or equivalent to park, as explained on the V Bar V Heritage Site web page. Passes may be purchased at a vending machine in the parking lot.

For more information about the Coconino National Forest and its heritage sites, please visit www.coconinonationalforest.us. For more information about these events, please contact the Red Rock Visitor Center at (928) 203-2900.