Doug Ducey declared the winner in the race for governor

Arizona-electsPHOENIX – As of 8:44 Doug Ducey was declared the winner for the race for governor of the Great State of Arizona. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton blamed “the dark money” pouring into the State. He probably did not mind the nameless, faceless ads run against Ducey by Soros-funded organizations.

Ruben Gallego who beat out Mary Willcox in the primary, was the first race to be called in favor of the Democrat.

Generally across the board Republicans are doing well. In addition to the governors race, they may take the Secretary of State race with Michelle Reagan just over Terry Goddarad and the Office of Attorney General with Mark Brnovice over Democrat Felecia Rotollini.

Across the Federal offices most of the incumbents are winning. The rough race in District 9 looks like it will go to Kyrsten Sinema against Wendy Rogers. Currently it appears that Ann Kirkpatrick could take her race, but there are many precincts to report.

Tom Forese and Doug Little are running 7-percent over Democrat Sandra Kennedy.

The only blight on the night, so far, is Sylvia Allen is running behind Republican turned Independent so he could vote Democrat without the label Tom O’Halleran. Brenda Barton and Bob Thorpe are ahead by about 4-percent over Democrat challenger Lanny Morrison. This is with 38 of 89 districts reporting.

All of the elected State legislators will go in without a pay raise as Proposition 304 is being soundly defeated. Proposition 122 which would retain Tenth Amendment power in the Great State of Arizona is very close 50.67% to 49.33%. Terminally ill patients will likely have the opportunity to opt to take experimental drugs as Proposition 303 is being overwhelmingly approved 78.96% to 21.04%.

In Coconino, the sales tax referendum 403 is overwhelmingly passing.

These are based on unofficial results as the votes will have to be canvassed upon completion of the counting. Some of the races, such as the Secretary of State and Superintendent of Public Schools, currently led by Diane Douglas.

Final pavement work on Interstate 17 south of SR 169 for the next two weeks

The final phase of the project to repave Interstate 17 between Dugas/Orme Road and State Route 169 is scheduled 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4 through Thursday, Nov. 13.

Workers will install pavement markers on I-17 in both directions for the next two weeks and will restripe the SR 169 traffic interchange on Monday, Nov. 10.

Drivers can expect alternating lane restrictions in both directions and a 12 foot width-restriction through the work zone for the next two weeks. Minimal delays expected.

Christmas Tree Tags Available For Kaibab Plateau Nov. 20

FREDONIA – Christmas tree-cutting tags for the North Kaibab Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest will go on sale Nov. 20, and trees may cut as soon as a tag has been purchased.

Tags cost $15 with a limit of one tree per household, and can be purchased at the North Kaibab Ranger District office in Fredonia or by mail. Christmas tree tags will not be sold at the Kaibab Plateau Visitor Center this year.

The North Kaibab Ranger District office is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The office will also be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the following select weekend days: Nov. 29, Dec. 6, and Dec. 13. Cash, check or credit card will be accepted.

Mail requests for Christmas tree tags should include the customer’s name, $15 and a self-addressed stamped envelope. Please do not mail cash. Address mail requests to:  Christmas Tree Coordinator, North Kaibab Ranger District, P.O. Box 248 / 430 South Main Street, Fredonia, Arizona 86022. Expect at least 7 days to receive a permit by mail.

Customers will receive a map that shows what areas are authorized for cutting. Tree species available include: Blue and Engelmann spruce, Douglas fir, Subalpine and White fir, Pinyon and Ponderosa pine, and Utah and Rocky Mountain juniper.

Please be advised that the Arizona Department of Transportation typically closes the winter gate on Highway 67 at Jacob Lake in early December; however, the exact date has not been announced. For the most current information about highway closures and restrictions statewide, visit ADOT’s Travel Information Site at az511.gov, follow us on Twitter (@ArizonaDOT) or call 5-1-1. Visitors can access cutting areas via forest roads, and are urged to monitor weather conditions as most roads on the district are not paved.

For more information, please contact the North Kaibab Ranger District at (928) 643-7395.

Businesses Prohibited from Rewarding Voters

PHOENIX – While the nation’s early politicians offered booze to entice voters, the practice of rewarding people for voting has been forbidden since the days when George Washington won election to the Virginia House of Burgesses with the help of alcohol.

Now, 256 years later, Arizona’s Secretary of State and Attorney General are reminding businesses it is illegal to offer anything of value to someone who has indicated he or she voted in an election.

“While we never want to discourage anyone from voting, it’s important to remind businesses to avoid rewarding people for performing their civic duty,” said Secretary Bennett. “Offering free coffee, hot dogs or anything else is prohibited and they could be found guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.”

“Our office fielded several calls last election cycle asking if businesses were allowed to ‘reward’ people who had ‘I Voted’ stickers by giving them something such as a free cup of coffee,” said Attorney General Tom Horne. “Although a gesture like that is not tied to voting for a particular candidate or ballot measure, it’s still against Arizona law.”

For the record, George Washington lost his first campaign to a candidate who provided “beer, whiskey, rum punch, and wine” in 1755. According to the book, Founding Spirits: George Washington and the Beginnings of the American Whiskey Industry, our first President subsequently utilized the same strategy and was elected with more than eight times the votes. Cheers to our founding fathers!

Survival Rendezvous to be held in Young, Arizona this weekend

Never worry about theory as long as the machinery does what it’s supposed to do. — Robert A. Heinlein

YOUNG, AZ – An event known as the Survivalist Rendezvous will be held in Young, Arizona from Saturday, November 8 to Tuesday November 11. The event will host classes running the gamut in survival skills from food preparation and storage, to electrical survival, to firearms training, to musical instruments.

The theme is based on a quote from Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein:

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

Samples of the classes include long range rifle and other firearms classes. How to make knives and metalsmithing. There will be classes on wild medicinal plants, emergency medicine and even acupuncture.

The Appleseed Project will be holding a course on marksmanship, but is limited to eight people. Nathan will also be conducting a long-range precision rifle course lecture with a possibility of a shoot at the range.

There will also be standard preparedness courses such as amateur radio, land navigation and grappling and wrestling.

The event does not just go into survival skill you know of, but also things you may not have thought of. The event will feature a course on the mindset for survival. Another teaches about living in a third world environment by Dave Megahey who was the son of missionaries in Africa.

There is a course on flute making and basic guitar instruction for entertainment.

In a telephone interview organizer Nathan Charlton said that this is the first such event he has organized and is excited to have instructors such as Peter Bigfoot respond. There will also be some vendors.

The courses will be held at the community center in Young and the Deadbroke Inn. The event will conclude with on Veteran’s Day with a flag raising, a Veteran’s Benefit Breakfast and a lecture on Vietnam Special Forces by Dave Megahey. There will also be a dance Monday night.

The only lodging for the event is the Deadbroke Inn, but organizer Nathan Charlton said that there will be accommodations for RVs and camping.

The camping environment can be used as a survival skill. With cooler weather moving into Arizona, one can set up their survival camp and make a note of what items they are missing or what items are too cumbersome to take along in a bug-out situation. Families or groups can determine who should be responsible for carrying items for an emergency situation.

Flagstaff has chance of snow tomorrow

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FLAGSTAFF/WILLIAMS – The long range forecast predicts a 10% chance of rain and snow for Flagstaff while Williams will enjoy a warming trend.

Flagstaff can expect a 10% chance of rain and snow tomorrow and patchy fog before 11 am with temperatures rising to a high of 48. Winds will calm to about 5-mph. On Tuesday the temperature will rise to about 51 with winds from 9- to 17-mph with gusts up to 23. The rest of the week the temperature should rise to the mid-60s during the day lowering to the low 30s at night.

Williams will enjoy milder weather with winds about the same as Flagstaff. Wednesday shows sunny with temperatures in the upper 60s lowering to the mid-30s at night through Sunday.

Congress does not authorize free cars for welfare recipients

Fart-in-a-Smart-carA “news” report from Empire News from August of this year seems to be making the rounds and into some alternative web sites. The story concerns Congress approving free automobiles for welfare recipients along the lines of the fraud-plagued Obamaphone system.

The only problem is that Empire News is a satirical web site.

While it is probably the only thing they have not done, the fact remains that Congress has not authorized free motor vehicles to welfare recipients. The article and the accompanying e-mail scam are false. This administration is not friendly toward American citizens owning cars and guns. Or even having gasoline to operate the ones they own.

Even lamestream media would pick up an accomplishment such as this and twisted it into a “good” thing such as they did with the Unaffordable Health Care act.

In fact one “prominent” inappropriately named Arizona newspaper reported that health care rates are likely to go up this year. Due to “competition,” however, they are not likely to rise that much. The fact is that Obamadoesntcare has doubled, and even tripled in some cases, the premiums people have had to pay. It is actually the case of the blood and turnip analogy.

Here are some tips for those who might be taken in by satirical articles. Find the source of the original article. Web sites such as National Report and Empire News are the Internet equivalent of the political cartoon run by people who cannot draw. Check for a disclaimer. It might not be posted on their front page, but will be found in their about page or some where else on the web site.

The upside of this article is that we found a way to use the funny Smart car graphic circulating the Internet.

Kaibab National Forest to sell Christmas tree permits later this month

2012 Mountain Village Holiday tree.

2012 Mountain Village Holiday tree.

WILLIAMS – The Kaibab National Forest will sell over-the-counter Christmas tree tags for each of its three ranger districts later this month. The permit will allow the holder to cut a tree of a particular species within a designated area on the Kaibab National Forest until Dec. 24.

The tags will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis until they are gone. Tags are $15 per tree. No refunds will be made, even if weather conditions prevent access to cutting areas. Tags for the North Kaibab Ranger District will be available starting Nov. 20, while tags for the Williams and Tusayan districts will be available starting Nov. 21. Customers will be provided a map that shows the designated cutting areas along with additional Christmas tree cutting instructions. The number of available tags and contact information for each ranger district is as follows:

No. of Permits Available Location Contact Information Hours
800 North Kaibab Ranger District 430 S. Main St., Fredonia, AZ 86022
(928) 643-7395
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

The office will also be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the following select weekend days: Nov. 29, Dec. 6 and Dec. 13.

500 Tusayan Ranger District 176 Lincoln Log Loop, Tusayan, AZ 86023
(928) 638-2443
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

The Tusayan office will be open for limited hours on Nov. 17, Nov. 19, Nov. 21, Nov. 24 and Nov. 25 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Tusayan office will be closed entirely on Nov. 18 and Nov. 20.

200 Williams Ranger District 742 S. Clover Rd., Williams, AZ 86046
(928) 635-5600
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
Note: The Williams Ranger District office will also have 100 tags available for the Tusayan Ranger District.