Sedona International Film Festival and Sedona Smart Meter Awareness offer free smart meter documentary viewing

Sedona International Film Festival and Sedona Smart Meter Awareness groups have teamed up to present a documentary on so-called smart meters.

The documentary, Take Back Your Power, written by Josh del Sol and Daryl Bennett and directed by Josh explores the spying capability built in to the smart meters. The film was released on September 5th.

Smart meters are already in place in Flagstaff, Williams and other northern Arizona cities. Most city and town councils vote to approve them without any idea of the Fourth Amendment violation these meters represent.

The viewing of the film is scheduled for this Monday, September 9th at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre in Sedona. The theater is located at 2030 W. Highway 89A in West Sedona.

The 4 pm and 7 pm showings are booked, so the groups added a special 1 pm showing. To reserve free tickets, you can call 928-282-1177

Brown Amusements returns to Williams

brown-130904-03WILLIAMS—The Zipline gets company this weekend with the return of the Brown Amusements carnival. The carnival is set up on Railroad Avenue across the street from the Wild West Junction and Rod’s Steakhouse. The carnival will run through Saturday. Tickets for rides and events are generally $1 each with an all-day band costing $20. The band allows you to ride the rides as many times are you desire, but do not allow you to play the games.

Monsoons give way to another bad season

Many in Northern Arizona are probably happy that the monsoon season is subsiding. Particularly since at least three deaths were attributed to lightning strikes. This includes two foreign visitors to the region. Twenty year-old Aram Kawewong and his wife Ratchaya Tantranon of Chiang-Mai Thailand were killed at LeFevre Scenic Overlook on July 23rd.

The subsiding monsoons, however, gives way to mosquito season. With the warming temperatures and humidity it seems that mosquitoes are more than plentiful this year.

One method of combating the insect scourge is to make sure you empty containers outside that have filled with water during the monsoons. If you have containers that you intend to collect water, you can cover those. Offenders are old tires, buckets and other containers.

Another method is cutting down or removing weeds and plants. Though some plants are natural insect repellents. You can find information on this online. If you use weed killer, either manufactured or natural variants, remember that will generally kill all plants in the area of use.

There are several sites online that have recipes for natural mosquito and insect repellents if you are concerned about DEET-based repellents.

Thirteen Year-Old Boy Seriously Injured After Fall

Forest Lakes—On Saturday, August 31, at approximately 11:30 p.m. the Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputy assigned to the Forest Lakes area and Forest Lakes Fire Department personnel responded to Forest Service Road 237 at milepost seven on the report of a thirteen year-old boy who fell an unknown distance. At the time of the fall the child and his father were on a Bear Hunt in an area that is located approximately 1,000 feet below the top of Cheveleon Canyon in very rugged and steep terrain. Upon their arrival Emergency First Responders determined they were not equipped to safely access the location where the child came to rest.

The Deputy immediately requested the assistance of the Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue Helicopter, the Gila County Sheriff’s Office Tonto Rim Technical Rope Rescue Team, and the Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Technical Rescue Team. Due to inclement weather including rain and thunder storms DPS helicopters stationed in Flagstaff and Phoenix both responded. Considering the serious nature of the child’s injuries and the inclement weather it was reasoned that with both helicopters responding at least one would be able to reach the location in a safe and timely manner.

Immediately following the arrival of the first rescue helicopter a crew member who was flown to the bottom of the canyon began to hike up to the victim’s location. Once he reached the victim the DPS Medic immediately administered advanced life support for injuries the child sustained as a result of the fall.

The child was removed from the canyon by the Short Haul method during which the victim was secured in medical basket and suspended underneath the helicopter as he was flown to a location where the victim was safely lowered to the ground.

Due to the inclement weather commercial medical air transport was not an option. Once the helicopter landed the aircraft was reconfigured to support a long distance medical flight. The helicopter carrying the victim flew to the Payson Airport where the airship was re-fueled.

The child was then flown to a Medical Trauma Center located in the Phoenix area. The child was then flown to a Medical Trauma Center located in the Phoenix area.

The second DPS Helicopter short hauled the child’s father to a location where he too could be safely lowered to the ground and eventually flew him to a DPS Air Rescue Hanger where he was transported by ground to the medical center where his child was being treated. The child received emergency medical care for serious head, facial and leg injuries.

Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and County Emergency Management offer Community Emergency Response Team Training in Flagstaff

The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and the Coconino County Emergency Management Division will present a three day Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training class in Flagstaff. More than fifty CERT classes have been delivered to urban, rural and reservation communities throughout Coconino County since its inception and we want to continue to share this training with our community members.

The class will be held in Flagstaff beginning Friday, September 27, 2013, from 6 pm to 9 pm, Saturday, September 28, 2013 from 8 am to 5 pm and Sunday September 29, 2013 from 8 am to 5 pm. The class will be held in the Brent F. Cooper Memorial Auditorium at the Law Enforcement Administrative Facility located at 911 E. Sawmill Road, Flagstaff, Arizona.

CERT Classes are offered free of charge by the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and upon successful completion each participant will receive a Community Emergency Response Basic Certification and a back pack containing basic community emergency first responder gear to include a reflective vest, hard hat, eye protection, gloves, a four-in-one tool, and a CERT field response guide.

Successful participants who wish to serve their community will be invited to join a team in Flagstaff that meets monthly for additional in-service trainings and assists local first responders during emergency and non-emergency events. CERT Team members in Flagstaff meet monthly for additional training. CERT Volunteers have been utilized during responses to wild land fires, flooding, tornados, heavy snow storms and many other natural disasters. CERT Volunteers have served in a variety of capacities to include staffing road blocks, assisting with neighborhood evacuation notifications, staffing joint information call centers, assisting with Incident Command Centers, distributing neighborhood safety information and in many other areas.

Community members who would like additional information or who wish to register for the Basic CERT Training in Flagstaff are encouraged to call the Community Programs Office of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 226-5089 or go to the Community Programs & Education page of the Sheriff’s website http://www.coconino.az.gov/index.aspx?nid=354
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