FLAGSTAFF – Interstate 17 south of Flagstaff will be narrowed to one lane from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, May 22, for paving. Work is scheduled to occur between mileposts 340 and 338.
Drivers should proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down and watch for construction personnel and equipment.
PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department and agencies across the U.S. and Canada will join forces to promote life jacket use and boating safety as part of National Safe Boating Week.
The annual event begins Saturday, May 20 and ends Friday, May 26. To help mark the occasion, the department’s Boating Safety Education program will hold Life Jacket Exchange events from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the 10-lane boat ramp at Lake Pleasant; Canyon Lake boat ramp; Saguaro Lake boat ramps; the London Bridge Beach at Lake Havasu City and Katherine’s Landing at Lake Mohave.
During the exchanges, people with old, worn and less-effective life jackets can swap them for a new life vest, while supplies last.
“Boating in Arizona can offer great experience for everyone on the water, but only if it is done safely and responsibly,” said Josh Hoffman, AZGFD Boating Safety Education coordinator. “While time on the water can be fun, it can quickly turn dangerous if you’re not prepared. National Safe Boating Week serves as a reminder to all boat and watercraft users to always wear their life jacket. It could very well save your life.”
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey also helped to kick off Safe Boating Week, by issuing a proclamation, encouraging the public to be safe while on the water.
“Year-round, people continue to enjoy all that our natural environment has to offer through the joy of boating. National Safe Boating Week is observed to call attention to important life-saving tips for recreational boaters so that they can have a safer, more fun experience out on the water,” the proclamation states.
National Safe Boating Week marks the launch of the 2017 North American Safe Boating Campaign. This yearlong campaign promotes safe and responsible boating and the value of voluntary, consistent life jacket wear by recreational boaters through the national theme, “Wear It!”
U.S. Coast Guard statistics show that drowning was the reported cause of death in three-fourths of recreational boating fatalities in 2015, and that 85 percent of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets.
“Each year hundreds of people lose their lives in boating incidences, and they might still be alive if they had been wearing a life jacket,” said Rachel Johnson, CAE, executive director of the National Safe Boating Council, the lead organization for the North American Safe Boating Campaign. “It’s not enough to just own a life jacket and store it on a boat, you must wear it,”
New life jackets are much more comfortable, lightweight and stylish than the bulky orange style most boaters know. There are innovative options, such as inflatable life jackets, allowing mobility and flexibility for activities like boating, fishing, paddling or hunting and are much cooler in the warmer weather.
“Completing a boating safety course is also an important step to being a safe boater or watercraft user. Educated boaters are safe boaters,” Hoffman said. “Luckily the Arizona Game and Fish Department offers free boating safety courses.”
For more information on boating in Arizona or to sign up for a free safety course, visit www.azgfd.gov/boating. Those registering for an online safety course through BOATERExam.com can receive $10 off during Safe Boating Week by using the promo code NSBW17.
WILLIAMS – Now is the time to get the tackle box ready, grab the fishing rods, and explore northern Arizona for some spring fishing.
WILLIAMS – Run For The Wall left Williams this morning missing the experience of 2011. In 2011 they arrived in the snow. This year the snow did not start until about 7:30 p.m. after the Vietnam Veterans were long gone.
Snow started about 7:30 with a few flakes falling. It built up to a full-blown snow by 8 p.m. in Williams. It ran until 10. Reports of an inch of snow by 8 were reported outside Williams. An amateur radio operator reported zero visibility on Highway 64.
Tomorrow the sun is expected to shine and temperatures are expected to rise. Tomorrow the high is expected to be 59 rising to the 70s through next Thursday. The lows at night are predicted to be around 40-degrees.
WILLIAMS – While the annual Run For The Wall was greeted with cold wind and rain last night, the sun shined on the group as they left this morning. Williams is the first stop on their annual trek to the Vietnam Memorial Wall. It seems as though Williams has thrown every weather condition imaginable at the group.
The American Legion hosted a dinner for their arrival and Wild West Junction provided a breakfast for their departure.
Mayor John Moore greets veterans of the 2017 Run For The Wall
We would like to remind motorists to watch for the road guards for the Run For The Wall. Their job is to make sure these heroes arrive safe in Washington. Please be patient and follow their instructions. They will not take a big bite out of your day.
WILLIAMS – Rose Newbold, Director of Recreation in Williams, witnessed the release of about a thousand pounds of catfish into the Buckskinner reservoir on a windy Wednesday. Arizona Game and Fish released a couple hundred catfish into the pond this afternoon.
The steep drop in the road down to Buckskinner prevented the delivery truck from reaching the reservoir. So the Arizona Game and Fish personnel had to dump them into a regular truck and tote them down to Buckskinner for release.
WILLIAMS – Bearizona has opened its much anticipated 6,000-square-foot restaurant, Canyonlands. This themed restaurant features soaring canyon walls and ancient ruins that allow diners to immerse themselves in the true spirit of the Southwest. The expansive two-story covered deck includes priceless views of the park’s spectacular jaguar exhibit, which features a 25 foot waterfall.
Canyonlands Restaurant will open its doors at 10:30 a.m. and will close 2 hours after the park’s posted closing time. This restaurant is only accessible to park guests and annual pass holders.
Bearizona is a wildlife park which invites guests to experience a scenic three-mile drive in their own vehicle, witnessing North American animals in their natural environment. In Fort Bearizona, visitors can leisurely stroll along winding walkways through the forest for an up-close view of even more animal antics. Finally, guests are encouraged to catch the complimentary Birds of Prey free flight show, where they will come face to face with hawks, owls and other raptors.
KINGMAN — The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) will participate in a multi-agency enforcement patrol this weekend on the Colorado River, pursuing those who are operating their boats and other watercraft while under the influence (OUI) of drugs or alcohol.
AZGFD, together with the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the National Park Service, will be enforcing Arizona’s OUI legal limit of a .08 blood-alcohol content.
Throughout the weekend, boaters may be required to pass through a checkpoint and be subject to a systematic safety inspection. Operators will be checked for any sign of impairment from alcohol or drugs, and to ensure the required safety equipment, such as proper life jackets and working fire extinguishers, are aboard.
“The responsibility for boating safety among watercraft users is critically important,” said Brandon Carley, law enforcement supervisor for the department’s regional office in Kingman. “The area is growing quickly, and we share these waterways with California and Nevada. It’s becoming very congested, which lends itself to more potential hazards.”
Carley advises boaters and watercraft users should review all regulations prior to launching. That includes having a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket for every person on board and making sure that anyone 12 and under is wearing one at all times. Boats also must be equipped with a fire extinguisher and a Type IV throwable personal flotation device (PFD).
For more information on boating in Arizona, or to sign up for a free safety course, visit www.azgfd.gov/boating.
Abbott has initiated a voluntary recall of specific lots of three catheters: NC Trek RX Coronary Dilatation Catheter, NC Traveler Coronary Dilatation Catheter, and NC Tenku RX PTCA Balloon Catheter.
This recall does not affect patients who have successfully undergone cardiac procedures using these devices. Abbott has already implemented corrective actions to ensure the products perform as intended.
Products from the identified lots may exhibit difficulty in removing the protective balloon sheath, which could cause problems with inflating or deflating the balloon. Potential risks associated with balloon inflation and deflation difficulties include air embolism, additional intervention, thrombosis, and myocardial infarction. In one reported case, failure to deflate the balloon necessitated surgery, which resulted in multiple post-surgical complications leading to death. The FDA has classified this as a Class I recall, where exposure to a device presents a reasonable likelihood of serious adverse health consequences or death. The cumulative frequency of reported events in difficulty of removing the sheath, and inflation and deflation of the balloon, is 0.12 percent worldwide.
Abbott began contacting customers in March who received coronary catheters from the affected lots, and is arranging the return and replacement of all remaining products. The total number of distributed units from identified lots potentially affected is 449,661. Global Health Authorities have been notified of the voluntary recall.
Specific lots of affected product were manufactured between January 1, 2015 to January 2, 2017, and were distributed between January 13, 2015 to March 14, 2017. For more information, please see Abbott’s field safety notice.
For Important Safety Information on NC Trek Catheters see PDF.
PHOENIX – The National Park Service (NPS) has made available for public review its Initial Bison Herd Reduction Environmental Assessment (EA), which evaluates management actions related to bison on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim. The public can view the EA on the NPS website and submit any comments through June 7.
Since the 1990s, the bison population on the Kaibab Plateau herd has grown significantly, impacting Grand Canyon National Park resources such as water, vegetation, soils and archaeological sites. While they are negatively affecting habitat at their current numbers, bison can provide exceptional value to the visitor experience, when managed at appropriate numbers and distribution.
The purpose of the actions evaluated in the EA are to (1) quickly reduce bison population density on the Kaibab Plateau through collaborative efforts and (2) protect Grand Canyon National Park resources and values from the impacts of a steadily growing bison population.
According to a NPS news release, the NPS would work together with cooperating agencies and partners through the preferred alternative to reduce the bison herd to fewer than 200 animals using lethal culling with skilled volunteers and non-lethal capture and removal.
A management action that is not included in the Park Service’s preferred alternative is reducing the bison herd through public hunting. The Arizona Game and Fish Commission and Department have consistently advocated for a model that uses properly licensed hunters as a management tool and allows the hunter to keep the animal.
“Several of the proposed actions in the Park Service EA will cost taxpayers far more than lethal removal by citizen hunters who would pay for the opportunity to assist the NPS,” said Arizona Game and Fish Commissioner Kurt Davis. “This will provide additional hunting opportunities consistent with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and help to properly manage the bison population. This approach just makes sense and supports efforts to alleviate park damage caused by bison, saves tax dollars, funds wildlife conservation and helps protect habitat for other wildlife.”
The NPS will host three in-person open house meetings and one web-based meeting during the comment period. All times are Arizona time (Mountain Standard Time – MST) unless otherwise indicated:
Comments can be submitted either electronically or via U.S. Postal Service at Grand Canyon National Park, P.O. Box 129, Attn: Bison Management Plan EA, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023 or at one of the in-person public meetings listed above.
Comments must be received by June 7. Comments will not be accepted by fax, email or by any method other than those specified above. Bulk comments in any format (hard copy or electronic) submitted on behalf of others will not be accepted.