Tag Archives: Kingman

Mohave County storing MRAP vehicles

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No stranger to controversy, Arizona Representative Brenda Barton posted this picture of a mine-resistant ambush protection vehicle being stored in a county yard on Vanderslice in Mohave Valley on her Facebook page.

The heavily armored 4×4 “Cougar” manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems carries 2 crew and 4 troops. It can be outfitted with M240 7.62mm machine gun or M2 .50 cal machine gun. It has a top speed of 65 mph and an approximate range of 420 miles.

Since it is unclear what threat of invasion Nevada and California pose, the question Representative Barton directed to State Senator Kelli Ward was:

Just ask’n what’s this doing in the Mojave County road yard (right next door to the Sheriff’s compound)?

Senator Ward responded:

I have sent this picture to County personnel who would have the answer about what this is and I expect to know by Monday.

Some comments echoed the concern over the controversial move of militarizing police and Sheriff departments across the country.

Katie Miller Militarization of our police and sheriff depts??

Roy Hagemyer So, which one of our elected officials is going to stand up and do something about this??????????

Frank Costigan Intimidating the public. I was a Cop for over 35 years, never once saw a need for military war equipment. This is beyond a police state mentality. The public is not the enemy, it’s the cops employer’s.

Some of the comments were supportive of the vehicle.

David Lipinski Mohave. ..no J. Brenda, this is my neck of the State. Consider some of the issues we have in rural mohave county, and this peice of equipment might come in handy. Better to have it than not.

Don Alexander Navajo County Search and Rescue could use one.

One person commented

Roy Hagemyer This vehicle is sitting in the County yard on Vanderslice in Mohave Valley. I talked with an elected official, whom I will not name at this time, and he said it might belong to FEMA for monitoring a dam breakage…… But why this type of vehicle???

In a video published in April of this year, singer/songwriter and freedom advocate Gianaluca Zanna asked the same question. The video shows two armored vehicles stored by the Kingman Police Department.

Charles Black, veteran of Afghanistan and resident of Kingman, alleges that David Lux, Chief of Police of Kingman is, “…siding with federal agencies.”

Mr. Black said, “He’s fighting State bills going through right now that keep the feds out of our area, and out of our counties, our cities, our State. He wants money from the federal government and he wants federal support.”

He said that the city does not even own the vehicles, but are required to pay for maintenance on it. They are on loan from the federal government which can seize them at any time for their own operations. He mentioned the close proximity of Mohave County to the Bundy Ranch.

Bundy Ranch is in Nevada and the site on which the Bureau of Land Management sent in heavily armored troops to save the desert tortoise.

Gianluca Zanna is a legal immigrant from Italy. His rock music videos can be seen on YouTube. His music can be purchased through his web site.

Motorists traveling from Flagstaff to Kingman should plan ahead, expect delays

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adot-logo-03aPARKS – Motorists traveling along Interstate 40 from Flagstaff to Kingman need to plan ahead and allow extra travel time as the Arizona Department of Transportation continues a rockfall containment project approximately 15 miles west of Flagstaff that will require weekly 30-minute rolling closures due to blasting operations.

Beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 31, a rolling closure for up to 30 minutes will be necessary in both directions of I-40 near Parks (mileposts 180-181) to allow crews to perform blasting rock cuts along the highway and clear debris from the roadway. In preparation for the blasting work, westbound I-40 is currently narrowed to one lane through the work zone until the restriction is lifted on Friday afternoon.

A weekly 30-minute rolling closure is scheduled to occur at 9 a.m. during mid-week until the project is completed. ADOT will notify the public in advance of the weekly rolling closures until the project is completed.

The $1.6 million safety improvement project is necessary to protect motorists and prevent damage to the highway from falling rocks, particularly during monsoon storms and heavy rains, while reducing the frequency of closures due to falling rocks. Work includes rock excavation and scaling, installing rockfall netting and constructing a wider rock ditch.

This is one of four current I-40 projects between Flagstaff and Kingman. ADOT recently started a $13.6 million project to upgrade a 15-mile segment between Rattlesnake Wash, five miles east of Kingman, and the US 93 junction (mileposts 57-72). The paving project is expected to be completed this fall.

ADOT is nearly complete with a resurfacing project from Ash Fork to Williams (mileposts 146-161). The $10.5 million project started last summer, and following a winter shutdown, the project will be completed this year. In the same vicinity, ADOT is also working on bridge rehabilitation projects from Ash Fork to West Ash Fork (mileposts 143-147).

Fun Run blasts from the past hits Williams, Flagstaff

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Williams resident Bob Sarkesian displays his 1930 Model "A" next to a red 1929

Williams resident Bob Sarkesian displays his 1930 model A next to a red 1929

NORTHERN ARIZONA – The horrendous winds we have been experience stopped as the classic cars of the Route 66 Fun Run rolled into town. Each May classic car owners join together for a run down Route 66 to end up in the town of Topock, Arizona.

The Fun Run is sponsored by the Route 66 Association of Arizona which started the run seven-years after Williams became the last Route 66 town bypassed by I-40. They are dedicated to preserving the memory of the Will Rogers Highway which has come to be known as “The Mother Road.” The road has sparked the imagination through movies such as The Grapes of Wrath and Easy Rider—and more recently the hit animated feature Cars. The long-running television series Route 66 staring Martin Milner and George Maharis concerned two men traveling in a Corvette looking for various job opportunities. Though much of the series was not filmed on Route 66.

Richard from Scottsdale stands with his 1957 Chevy Pickup.

Richard from Scottsdale stands with his 1957 Chevy Pickup.

The Run travels through Holbrook to Flagstaff, through Williams and Ash Fork down through Seligman. They stop at Kingman for a 10 am car show tomorrow. The Run ends just short of crossing the Pipeline Bridge into California at the town of Topock, Arizona. Arizona boasts the longest remaining contiguous stretch of Route 66 and these cars travel the entire distance.

Richard, from Scottsdale, drove his 1957 Chevy pickup with a group of hot rods. While the others stayed in Flagstaff, Richard and his wife decided on Williams where they enjoy the dining fare at Rod’s Steakhouse on Route 66.
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Kingman Hualapai Fire devastating

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KINGMAN—While people barbequed and prepared to participate in the Bullhead City fireworks display as spectators, fire and emergency crews had the unenviable task of fighting the Hualapai fire just outside Kingman, Arizona. The tragic loss of eighteen Prescott fire fighters only amplifies the danger of wild fires after a dry winter.

According to an article by Jayne Hanson of the News-Herald, the fire started June 30 by a lightning strike. The fire forced evacuations of home in the path of the fire by Mohave County Sheriff’s Deputies by late Monday morning.

By the 2nd, the fire had scorched over a thousand acres of Bureau of Land Management controlled Arizona property.

On the third, over a hundred fire fighters were having trouble containing the fire because of the rugged terrain. The fire was clearly visible from I-40 on the south side. The exit to DW Ranch Road was closed.

By July 5th, it appeared that fire crews had the fire contained.