Monthly Archives: July 2013

Renaissance Dinner a success

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We apologize for the delay in our reports. Computer casualties and vacation time interfered with our timely reporting.


WILLIAMS—The dinner by the Grand Canyon Renaissance Experience group at the Sultana theater catered by Anna of the Grand Canyon Coffee and Cafe seems to have been a success.

Crowds shuffled in to dining, music, magic, and song all with a Renaissance flavor.

Mark Worden explained that the original intent was to have a regular renaissance festival, but had a stroke in February. They have had regular renaissance festivals in Flagstaff over the past few years.

This and other fundraising efforts is to build a castle on five-acres provided by Sean Casey of the Bearizona drive through wildlife park for future renaissance affairs.

Seventy Three Year-Old Parks AZ Man Shot in Chest

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Parks—Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating a shooting in Parks on Sunday. The incident appears to be a case of domestic violence between a seventy-three year old man and his twenty-nine year old wife.

The man was shot in the chest in the community between Williams and Bellemont. The man was treated at the scene by Guardian medical personnel and transported to Flagstaff where he is currently listed in critical condition. Detectives have yet to interview the man because of his condition.

According to the female, she and her husband spent a significant time on Sunday at a bar located close to their neighborhood. According to the female, both of them consumed a significant amount of alcohol during the course of the day. She reported that upon their return home they began to argue with each other and her husband elected to leave the residence and spend the night in his jeep that was parked outside.

She said that at some point during the evening, her husband reentered the residence and the two began to argue once again. According to the female, her husband placed his hands around her neck and began to choke her. At some point during this altercation the male was shot once in the chest with a 22 caliber hand gun.

Detectives are continuing this investigation in an attempt to determine who produced the weapon and who was holding the weapon at the time of the shooting. No arrests have been made at this point. The Sheriff’s Office is withholding the names of the two involved individuals pending further investigation.

Car Pedestrian Collision Claims Life of Two Year-Old Child

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Doney Park—Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies and Detectives are investigating a fatality car pedestrian collision that occurred yesterday on Pioneer Valley Road located in the Doney Park subdivision east of Flagstaff.

On Monday, July 8, 2013 at about 4:41 pm deputies responded to the report of a car pedestrian collision in which the two year-old female victim was described as being in very serious condition. The first deputy arrived before any on-duty firefighters or medical personnel were on scene. The deputy found the child lying in the roadway unconscious, with obvious physical signs of severe head trauma. A retired Summit Fire Department firefighter with prior medical training was knelling over the child and stabilizing her head and neck. The deputy immediately began chest compressions and quickly determined the child had a pulse and very labored breathing. Medical personnel from the Summit Fire Department and Guardian Medical Transport arrived and took over the medical care of the victim. The child was transported to the Flagstaff Medical Center by Guardian ground ambulance.

During an interview with the fifty nine year-old female driver of the vehicle, deputies determined she was driving north on Pioneer Valley road at a speed of about 25 miles per hour when she looked to the west side of Pioneer Valley Road and saw a group of children playing in a residential yard adjacent to the road. According to the driver she slowed her vehicle to about 20 miles per hour. Deputies believe the child was in a yard on the east side of the road when she ran into the street and was struck by the front, passenger side of the car.

The child was pronounced deceased on Monday evening by a physician at the Flagstaff Medical Center. No enforcement action has been taken at this point as the investigation is ongoing.

Woman Dies in Supai Canyon After Being Struck by Falling Tree Branch

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Supai, AZ—Coconino County Sheriff’s Detectives are investigating the death of twenty seven year-old Danielle Marie Harris of Mesa, Arizona who was struck by a falling tree branch in Supai Canyon.

On Saturday July 6, 2013 at about 4:15 pm the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Officers who are assigned to law enforcement duties in Supai Canyon. According to the BIA investigator, Ms. Harris was staying at the designated camp ground in the canyon with nine other people in her group, all from the greater Phoenix area. The victim was seated at a picnic table positioned under a large cottonwood tree located in the campground. BIA investigators believe that as a result of high winds, a large branch that was approximately twelve inches in diameter broke off and struck the victim who sustained multiple injuries to include severe head trauma. A portion of the branch also struck a forty seven year-old male of Peoria, Arizona who was standing in close proximity to the picnic table.

Medical personnel employed by the Havasupai Nation responded and determined that Ms. Harris was deceased. The male who also was struck by the branch was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and flown to the Flagstaff Medical Center by an Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue Helicopter. Coconino County Sheriff’s Detectives are continuing this investigation.

Bullhead City fireworks display; Sima Valley fireworks end unexpectedly

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The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.

I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.—John Adams in a letter to wife Abigail of July 3rd after the ratification of the Declaration of Independence.

BULLHEAD CITY—Hundreds of people lined the boardwalk in Laughlin to watch the spectacular fireworks display across the Colorado river in Bullhead City. The fireworks set off several small fires along the Colorado, as usual. Still the fireworks continued into the night by private parties to celebrate 237 years of independence.

The fireworks finale set off car alarms at the Pioneer hotel and casino across the waterway.

The fireworks display at Sima Valley, California took a tragic turn, however, where the LA Times reports 36 injuries after the fireworks exploded unexpectedly.

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.

19 lost in Yarnell fire

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By Tim Gaynor

PRESCOTT, Arizona (Reuters) – Nineteen elite firefighters were killed in a raging Arizona wildfire stoked by record heat and high winds, marking the greatest loss of life among firefighters from a single U.S. wildland blaze in 80 years.

The Prescott, Arizona, Fire Department crew was killed on Sunday when a fast-moving wildfire they were battling trapped them near Yarnell, a town about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix.

“It had to be a perfect storm in order for this to happen. Their situational awareness and their training was at such a high level that it’s unimaginable that this has even happened,” Prescott Fire Department spokesman Wade Ward told ABC’s “Today” program.

He called the deaths of the crew, known as the Granite Mountain Hotshots, “devastating.” The cause of the deaths was unknown and was under investigation.

Ward told ABC’s “Good Morning America” the men had put up fire shelters, a tent-like safety device designed to deflect heat and trap breathable air, in a last-ditch effort to survive.

Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo said late on Sunday he did not know the circumstances that led to the 19 deaths.

He said one member of the 20-man crew had been in a separate location and survived. There was no immediate information on his condition.

“We teach our people to be safe, to take safety precautions. Sometimes, unfortunately, it just doesn’t work out,” he told reporters at a news conference after darkness fell.

He said the unpredictable weather paired with tinder-dry conditions can be a volatile mix for those on the front lines of wildfires.

Read more at Yahoo!