Monthly Archives: February 2014

Three Arrested for Weapons Misconduct

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suspects hernandez campos mastFlagstaff – On February 5, 2014 Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies assigned to the Williams/Grand Canyon Patrol District arrested twenty year-old Jose Manuel Hernandez, eighteen year-old Christian Campos and eighteen year-old Victoria Mast for two counts of Weapon Misconduct and two counts of Harassment on each suspect.

Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a residence located outside the city limits of Williams and within the unincorporated area of Coconino County on the report of explosions and harassment from the same victim on four different occasions. The residence is located in a housing area that borders the Elephant Rocks Golf Course. According to the victim on each occasion he would hear the sound of as many as three loud explosions in close proximity to his home. During each separate response investigating Deputies would observe and collect as many as three plastic bottles that were partially destroyed by an explosion. Most of the bottles collected exhibited signs of melting possibly as the result of a chemical reaction within the bottle and a subsequent explosion. The evidence collected is indicative of chemical bombs created by placing some type of volatile chemical or chemical compound in the bottle and sealing it with aluminum foil.

The reported crimes occurred on January 21st, 22nd, 23rd and the 29th of 2013. On January 22nd one of the investigating Deputies made contact with the office of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and appraised a Federal ATF Agent of the reports, the subsequent investigations and of evidence collected. Deputies became aware that Williams Police Officers were investigating multiple incidents of eggs thrown at parked vehicles within Williams City Limits. A Williams Police Officer informed the Sheriff’s Office he observed the above listed individuals in the area of the harassment victim’s neighborhood.

During interviews with Deputies all of the above three suspects made statement implicating them in the crimes of Weapon Misconduct and Harassment.

Veterans dying because of health care delays

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(CNN) — U.S. veterans are dying because of delays in diagnosis and treatment at VA hospitals.

At least 19 veterans have died because of delays in simple medical screenings like colonoscopies or endoscopies, at various VA hospitals or clinics, CNN has learned.

That’s according to an internal document from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, obtained exclusively by CNN, that deals with patients diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and 2011.

The veterans were part of 82 vets who have died or are dying or have suffered serious injuries as a result of delayed diagnosis or treatment for colonoscopies or endoscopies.

Read more and see more video at CNN

Coconino County Sheriff’s office seeks information on Chase Reed Willet

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missing-chase-reed-willet-300pxFLAGSTAFF – The Coconino County Sheriff’s office and Flagstaff Police are seeking information on a 15-year old runaway.

Chase Reed Willet was last seen getting off of the bus at Mount Elden Middle School in Flagstaff on February 4 at about 7:15 am. When last seen, he was wearing a white sweater with gray skulls on it, blue jeans and white sneakers with red trim.

Chase is a white male, 5′ 4″ weighing 100 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes and a 1-inch scar on his right cheek.

Anyone with information should call the Coconino County Sheriff at 928-774-4523 or 1-800-338-7888. You can also call Silent Witness at 928-774-6111.

Man Arrested for Multiple Criminal Offenses Including Theft of Automobile and Unlawful Flight from Law Enforcement

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Capobianco-300pxFLAGSTAFF – On Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at about 7:30 p.m. Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies Arrested forty six year-old James Capobianco Jr. of Sedona Arizona for Theft of Automobile, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Marijuana, Unlawful Flight from a Law Enforcement Officer, Aggravated DUI on a Suspended License, and Reckless Driving.

On February 4, 2014 at 7:06 p.m. the Sheriff’s Office received the report of the theft of a 1969 Chevrolet pickup truck bearing an Arizona license plate from the owner’s residence located off of Highway 89A in Oak Creek Canyon. A Deputy spotted the vehicle headed north bound on 89A in the area of the Pinedale Subdivision.A second Deputy and an Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer were stopped on 89A in the area of the entrance to Fort Tuthill. As the stolen vehicle and the following Deputy passed, the second Deputy and Officer fell in behind the first two vehicles.

As the suspect vehicle passed the entrance to the Mountain Dell subdivision a Deputy observed the speed to be approximately seventy miles per hour. Deputies engaged their vehicles emergency lights and siren and the suspect failed to yield accelerating as it made a right turn on Lake Mary Road. The vehicle turned onto West High County squealing its tires as it negotiated the turn. The vehicle continued on West High Country at a high rate of speed almost rear ending vehicles in front of it and passing in a reckless manner. At this point and in the interest of public safety the on duty supervisor advised the involved Deputies to terminate the pursuit. A Deputy could see through the trees that the fleeing vehicle stopped approximately fifty yards ahead of the location where the deputies had stopped pursuing the vehicle.

Deputies approached the vehicle and saw the DPS Officer chasing the driver later identified as James Capobianco Jr. on foot. They joined the foot chase and a Deputy was able to make physical contact with the fleeing suspect. Initially the suspect physically resisted arrest but eventually complied and was taken into custody without injury to himself or the arresting Deputies.

During this investigation Deputies learned that approximately four months prior to this incident a female relative of the suspect’s sold her vehicle to the victim. The suspect allegedly retained a spare set of keys to the vehicle and used the keys to steal the vehicle. During an interview with arresting Deputies the suspect made statements implicating him in the above listed offenses.

Two Vehicle Collision on Townsend/Winona Rd. Claims a Life

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Flagstaff – Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies and Detectives are investigating a two vehicle collision that occurred yesterday in the 6300 block of Townsend/Winona Road that resulted in the death of a sixty five year-old Richard Hintz of Flagstaff, Arizona.

On Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at about 1:47 p.m. the Northern Arizona 911 emergency dispatch center received several cell phone calls from motorists who reported a two vehicle head-on-collision in the 6600 block of Townsend Winona Road. Upon their arrival Deputies determined that the drivers of both vehicles were trapped inside their vehicles. Emergency first responders from Summit Fire District worked to extricate both of the trapped victims. Once Richard Hintz was removed from his White Honda four door sedan paramedics immediately began life saving efforts to include C.P.R. Sadly, the sixty-five year old man of Flagstaff did not respond to the medical attention and was eventually pronounced deceased at the scene of the collision.

A sixty-two year old man of Winslow, Arizona was freed from his vehicle and was taken to the Flagstaff Medical Center by Guardian Medical Transport where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries. There were no passengers in either vehicle. Judging from physical evidence at the scene and statements obtained from witnesses, investigators believe the white Honda four door sedan was traveling west bound on Townsend Winona Road and the driver of a white Dodge pickup was traveling east bound and for an unknown reason the two vehicles collided in a head-on fashion.

This collision remains under investigation and no enforcement action has been taken at this point.

South Mountain Freeway Public-Private Partnership Concept Advances

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‘Request for Information’ next step for public-private partnership proposal

Study area. Click on image to go to ADOT site.

Study area. Click on image to go to ADOT site.


PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has released a Request for Information related to the proposal to construct the South Mountain Freeway as a public-private partnership, if the freeway is approved through the ongoing federal environmental process.

Those with an interest in the public-private partnership proposal are encouraged to submit responses to outlined questions to ADOT’s Office of P3 Initiatives by Feb. 25. Comments should focus on the construction of the proposed South Mountain Freeway as a public-private partnership, with an emphasis on procurement methods and structure of a public-private partnership arrangement.

The purpose of this Request for Information is to seek the industry’s perspective and feedback on specific questions, and to provide an opportunity for industry input on the overall procurement process for the proposed project. Interested organizations and individuals are encouraged to submit responses with detailed comments. The information contained in the responses to this Request for Information will help ADOT advance planning and development efforts for the project; help confirm or refine ADOT’s project procurement, financing and delivery approach; and may result in the launch of a formal Request for Proposals.

A forum for industry representatives will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 27 in the ADOT Auditorium, 206 S. 17th Ave. in Phoenix. Seating for the industry forum is limited, and reservations should be made by contacting P3Office@azdot.gov.

This Request for Information is the next step for the unsolicited public-private partnership proposal submitted to ADOT in 2013 – the first unsolicited proposal for a highway public-private partnership submitted to the agency. Under state law, ADOT is required to conduct a review of the proposal before deciding if the concept merits an open solicitation for other companies to submit competitive proposals.

The South Mountain Freeway remains a corridor under study, and this public-private partnership proposal has no impact on the ongoing environmental impact statement that is scheduled to be finalized in 2014. The environmental impact statement must be completed and acceptable to the Federal Highway Administration regardless of how the proposed project is funded or constructed.

Public-private partnerships allow a private-sector entity to participate in the delivery of a transportation project. ADOT has authority to partner with the private sector to build or improve Arizona transportation facilities.

Submissions to the Request for Information for the South Mountain Freeway and RSVPs for the industry forum can be submitted electronically to P3Office@azdot.gov.

For more information on ADOT’s public-private partnership program, or for a copy of the Request for Information, visit azdot.gov/P3.

The Kiss of Life

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by Rocco Morabito

thompson-67This 1967 award-winning photo entitled “Kiss of Life” shows two power linemen, Randall Champion and J. D. Thompson, at the top of a utility pole. They had been performing routine maintenance when Champion brushed one of the high voltage lines at the very top. These are the lines that can be heard “singing” with electricity. Over 4000 volts entered Champion’s body and instantly stopped his heart (an electric chair uses about 2000 volts).

His safety harness prevented a fall, and Thompson, who had been ascending below him, quickly reached him and performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He was unable to perform CPR given the circumstances, but continued breathing into Champion’s lungs until he felt a slight pulse, then unbuckled his harness and descended with him on his shoulder.

Thompson and another worker administered CPR on the ground, and Champion was moderately revived by the time paramedics arrived. Champion survived and lived until 2002, when he died of heart failure at the age of 64. Thompson is still living.

Rocco Morabito (November 2, 1920 – April 5, 2009) was an American photographer who spent the majority of his career at the Jacksonville Journal.

Morabito won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography for “The Kiss of Life”, a Jacksonville Journal photo that showed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation between two workers on a utility pole. Randall G. Champion was unconscious and hanging upside down after contacting a high voltage line; fellow lineman J.D. Thompson revived him while strapped to the pole by the waist. Champion survived and lived until 2002, when he died of heart failure at the age of 64; Thompson is still living. The photograph was published in newspapers around the world.

He served in World War II in the Army Air Forces as a ball-turret gunner on a B-17. He returned after the war and worked for the Journal for 42 years, 33 of them as a photographer, until retiring in 1982. He died on April 5, 2009 while in hospice care.—WikiPedia

SEE ALSO: The Kiss of Life, 40 years later, 10 Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photos And Their Stories

Man-in-undies sculpture causes a stir at all-girls college

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bildeWELLESLEY, MASS. — A remarkably lifelike sculpture of a man sleepwalking in nothing but his underpants has made some Wellesley College students a bit uncomfortable, but the president of the prestigious women’s school says that’s all part of the intellectual process.

The sculpture, titled “Sleepwalker,” is of a man in an eyes-closed, zombie-like trance. It’s part of an exhibit by Tony Matelli at the college’s Davis Museum. It was placed at a busy area of campus Monday, a few days before the exhibit’s official opening, and prompted an online student petition to have it removed.

The sculpture is a “source of apprehension, fear, and triggering thoughts regarding sexual assault,” says the petition, which had nearly 300 signtures Wednesday.

Read more at Detroit Free Press

Brain function ‘boosted for days after reading a novel’

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classic-novelsBeing pulled into the world of a gripping novel can trigger actual, measurable changes in the brain that linger for at least five days after reading, scientists have said.

The new research, carried out at Emory University in the US, found that reading a good book may cause heightened connectivity in the brain and neurological changes that persist in a similar way to muscle memory.

The changes were registered in the left temporal cortex, an area of the brain associated with receptivity for language, as well as the the primary sensory motor region of the brain.

Neurons of this region have been associated with tricking the mind into thinking it is doing something it is not, a phenomenon known as grounded cognition – for example, just thinking about running, can activate the neurons associated with the physical act of running.

Read more at The Independent

SEE ALSO: Lost At E Minor, 100 best novels
Get Free books at Project Gutenberg

Overnight closures on I-17 south of Camp Verde continue this week

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One-hour closure scheduled this week between 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.

This week crews will close Interstate 17 overnight, in both directions, between General Crook Trail and State Route 169 for up to one hour between 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. tonight, Tuesday, Feb. 4 and Thursday, Feb. 6.

The nightly closure allows work on the climbing lane project south of Camp Verde. Each night, from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., northbound I-17 will be stopped at SR 169, and southbound I-17 traffic will be stopped at General Crook Trail, until the work is completed and the roadway can be reopened.

During this construction project, bicyclists are not permitted through the project work zone at any time, as the shoulders along I-17 are closed. Bicyclists can bypass the work zone via State Route 169 for northbound riders or State Route 260 for southbound riders.

The work zone will be clearly marked by temporary barricades and signage. ADOT advises drivers to allow additional time to reach their destinations and to proceed through the work zone with caution, comply with the reduced speed limit, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.

For more information, email projects@azdot.gov or call the ADOT project hotline at 1.855.712.8530. To stay up-to-date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at www.az511.gov or call 511.