Robbery at the Highway 89 Express Stop

FLAGSTAFF – On Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at approximately 9:57 pm a 911 dispatcher received the report of a robbery that had just occurred at 4525 N. Highway 89 at the Express Stop.

During the investigation deputies learned that a male approximately 5’6” to 5’7” in height and last seen wearing all black clothing with his face covered, walked into the Express Stop and handed the clerk a note instructing her to empty the register. The clerk gave the suspect an undisclosed amount of cash. After taking the money the suspect exited the business and walked in a westerly direction towards the Wendy’s Restaurant.

Investigators believe the suspect waited until no customers were in the store before he approached the victim handing her the written note. Witnesses who were outside of the store reported seeing a male who was acting in a suspicious manner, possibly of Native American decent loitering in the parking lot just before the robbery occurred.

A Sheriff’s Deputy and her K-9 dog responded to the scene in an attempt to track the suspect’s scent. The dog followed a scent to a wooded area located west of the El Paso Natural Gas facilities at which point the K-9 appeared to lose the scent. No contact was made with any potential suspects.

Individuals who believe they may have information about this robbery or the identity or location of a possible suspect are urged to call the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 774-4523 or toll free at 1-800-338-7888 or Silent Witness at (928)774-6111.

Master Chorale performance Sunday

peaks141209-07FLAGSTAFF – The Master Chorale is having their Christmas program this Sunday (Dec 14) at 3 pm. “Christmas in the Mountains” will be performed at the Ardrey Auditorium, NAU campus. A perfect addition to make this time of year even more special. For more information contact Shaula Watson.

There are still Christmas tree tags available for both the North Kaibab and Tusayan Ranger Districts of the Kaibab National Forest

forestThe North Kaibab Ranger District office will be open tomorrow (Dec. 13) from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to sell Christmas tree permits. Close to 200 remain available. 430 S. Main St., Fredonia, 928-643-7395.

The Tusayan Ranger District office will also be open tomorrow (Dec. 13) from 8 a.m. to noon. About 75 permits remain available. 176 Lincoln Log Loop, Tusayan, 928-638-2443.

(All Christmas tree tags for the Williams Ranger District have been sold. No tags remain.)

Don’t miss this opportunity to start a fun family tradition. Cut your own Christmas tree on the Kaibab National Forest!

Doney Park Neighborhood Watch Meeting

neighborhoodwatchFLAGSTAFF – Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jim Driscoll and District 4 Supervisor Mandy Metzger would like to invite residents of the Doney Park community to attend the monthly Neighborhood Watch meeting on Thursday, December 18, 2014. The meeting will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Summit Fire District Station 32 and Administrative Offices located at 8905 Koch Field Road Flagstaff, AZ. This will be our end of the year Holiday Pot-Luck meeting, so all participants are asked to prepare and bring their favorite Holiday dish.

Chief Deputy Jim Driscoll will be at the meeting to encourage continued neighborhood participation and to share information. District 4 Supervisor Mandy Metzger will be present to share information from Coconino County Government. Doney Park Community Deputies will be available to answer questions and provide support to this partnership between law abiding citizens, law enforcement and county government.

Our guest speaker will be Joe Meehan who is the former director of the Pioneer Museum. Mr. Meehan will give a very interesting and educational presentation on the History of the Doney Park area. All residents of the Doney Park area are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Lane restriction on SR 64 north of Williams required for gas pipeline repair work

WILLIAMS – Restrictions will be in place for a one-mile segment of SR 64 north of Williams for both north- and southbound travel to accommodate emergency repairs on a gas line which runs under the roadway from MP 188 to 189.

The work will be conducted during daylight hours beginning Friday, Dec. 12 at 8 a.m., continuing through the weekend, and is expected to be completed by 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec 19. The repair work will be performed by El Paso Gas.

During repairs, traffic will be reduced to one lane for both north- and southbound travel with access maintained for both directions. The lane reductions will be in place for both day- and night time travel until the project has been completed. There may be delays through the project area so please allow for extra travel time, and drive with caution in the project vicinity.

I-17 southbound exit 337 (Flagstaff Pulliam Airport Exit) to be temporarily closed just south of Flagstaff for three hours

FLAGSTAFF – Access to Exit 337 which accommodates I-17 Southbound travel to the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, and access to Sedona via SR 89A will require a temporary full ramp closure this coming Friday, Dec. 12 from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. This closure is necessary to accommodate the removal of concrete barriers on the ramp.

Southbound traffic can still travel to the Airport and to Sedona via SR 89A (Beulah Blvd.) from the City of Flagstaff or may instead continue on I-17 southbound to Exit 333, then travel back north up to Exit 337.

The temporary closure will be completed Friday morning with no additional closures anticipated. Please allow for extra travel time during the scheduled ramp closure, and drive with caution in the project vicinity.

Alere Initiates Voluntary URGENT CORRECTION for Use of Alere INRatio® and INRatio®2 PT/INR Monitor System

WALTHAM, Mass. – Alere Inc. (NYSE:ALR) has initiated a voluntary correction to inform U.S. users of the Alere INRatio® and INRatio®2 PT/INR Monitor system of certain medical conditions that should not be tested with the system (INRatio® Monitor or INRatio®2 Monitor and INRatio® Test Strips). In certain cases an INRatio® and INRatio®2 PT/INR Monitor system may provide an INR result that is clinically significantly lower than a result obtained using a reference INR system (laboratory method). This issue can arise if the patient has certain medical conditions or can occur if the instructions in the labelling for performing the test are not followed.

The INRatio® and INRatio®2 PT/INR Monitor system should not be used on patients with any of the following conditions:

  • Anemia of any type with hematocrit less than 30%
  • Any conditions associated with elevated fibrinogen levels including:
    • Acute inflammatory conditions (examples may include acute viral or bacterial infections such as pneumonia or influenza)
    • Chronic inflammatory conditions (examples may include rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, infectious liver diseases such as hepatitis, or inflammatory kidney diseases such as diabetic nephropathy and glomerulonephritis)
    • Severe infection (e.g., sepsis)
    • Chronically elevated fibrinogen for any reason
    • Hospitalized or advanced stage cancer or end stage renal disease patients requiring hemodialysis
  • Any bleeding or unusual bruising, clinically observed or reported by the patient

Patients with any of the conditions listed above should immediately be transitioned to a laboratory INR method for monitoring their INR and warfarin therapy.

In addition, healthcare professionals and patient self-testers should adhere to the following precautions in order to obtain the most accurate results:

In addition to the precautions outlined above, Alere also recommends that patients have periodic verification of their INR using a laboratory INR method. Any patient having a significant discrepant low result on the INRatio® and INRatio®2 monitor system as compared to the plasma-based laboratory INR method should immediately be transitioned to an alternative method for monitoring their INR and warfarin therapy. Significant discrepancy in INR results may lead to a delay in an urgent medical decision to reverse a supratherapeutic INR level following the established guidelines for monitoring warfarin therapy. Such discrepancies are of particular concern when the erroneous INR result is within the therapeutic range but the actual value is supratherapeutic, i.e., when the actual INR value is 6 or greater.

Alere also recommends that patients be tested to verify that their hematocrit falls within the range of 30% to 55%. Patients with hematocrit outside this range should be immediately transitioned to a plasma-based laboratory INR monitoring method.

Alere is working on an improvement to the current INRatio® and INRatio®2 meter, which will serve to mitigate further the potential for these discrepant results.

As part of its commitment to ensuring the safety of patients, Alere has reported these device concerns to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is conducting a thorough investigation into these events.

Customers with questions regarding this recall can contact Alere at 1-877-929-2579. For additional information on the recall, including a list of product part numbers affected by the recall, customers should go to www.inr-care.com.

Adverse events or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.

This recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

About the Alere INRatio® and INRatio®2 PT/INR Professional Monitoring System
The Alere INRatio® and INRatio®2 PT/INR Professional Monitoring System, consisting of the Alere INRatio® and INRatio®2 PT/INR Monitor and the Alere™ INRatio® Test Strip, is intended for use in the quantitative determination of International Normalized Ratio (INR) in fresh capillary whole blood to monitor the effect of warfarin on clotting time by health care professionals. The Alere INRatio® and INRatio®2 PT/INR Professional Monitoring System is intended for use outside of the body (in vitro diagnostic use). The Alere INRatio® and INRatio®2 PT/INR Monitoring System is not intended to be used for screening purposes and is not intended for use in patients who are transitioning from heparin treatment to warfarin therapy.

For more information on Alere, please visit www.alere.com.

Night work resumes on roundabout on US 93 at Wickenburg Ranch

Overnight work will resume tomorrow and Thursday, Dec. 10 and 11 on US 93 north of Wickenburg as part of the new roundabout being constructed by the Wickenburg Ranch development.

The north side of the roundabout has been completed and northbound traffic on US 93 will be shifted to the right so crews can continue building the rest of the roundabout.

Drivers can expect intermittent single-lane restrictions between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. during work hours. Flaggers will direct traffic in alternating directions using the single lane that is open and with delays of up to 15 minutes. During nighttime work hours, a 12-foot width restriction will be in effect.

To maximize resources and complete the project quickly, crews are working seven days a week with day and night work for the next three months. Work hours during the day are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and a 14-foot width restriction is in place.

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.

Traffic shift expected tomorrow on southbound SR 89 between Prescott and Chino Valley

Southbound traffic on State Route 89 between Prescott and Chino Valley will be shifted into the new roundabout at Deep Well Ranch Road starting tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec. 10 according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

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.