Monthly Archives: December 2014

Nebraska Firm Recalls Pork Belly Product Produced Without Import Inspection

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WASHINGTON – Quality Meats, Inc., an Omaha, Neb., establishment, is recalling approximately 44,372 pounds of frozen pork belly product because they were not presented at the border for USDA-FSIS Import Inspection, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. This is a Class I recall since the benefit of full inspection, a possibility of adverse health consequences exists.

Product subject to recall includes:

  1. Various weight cases of “rosderra IRISH MEATS Swine Pork Belly”

The Frozen Pork Single Ribbed Bellies product was packaged March 18, 2014 through April 10, 2014. The product subject to recall bears the Ireland establishment number “IE 356 EC.” This product was shipped to retail establishments and distributors in Georgia, Illinois, and Washington where the products would have been repackaged.

The problem was discovered during a routine review using the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) database. ACE is a web-based portal for the collection and use of international trade data maintained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

FSIS and the company have received no reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about a reaction should contact a healthcare provider.

FSIS issues a Public Health Alert for an imported product when the country of origin recalls the product. FSIS issues a recall for imported product when the product is not presented for inspection at the U.S. border.

A failure-to-present (FTP) occurs when importers fail to present a shipment to FSIS for import inspection prior to the product entering U.S. commerce. Failure-to-present will result in the recall of the product.

St. John’s Advent Concert: Traditional Lessons and Carols

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300px-adventThe St. John’s Episcopal-Lutheran Church Advent concert series continues this Sunday at 4 p.m.

On Sunday, December 7 the concert features lectors and the music of the Choristers of St. John’s Church.

Sweat Lodge Provides Inmates Access to Traditional Ceremonies

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SweatlodgeFLAGSTAFF – The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office has several programs to address the traditional needs of our inmate population. One of these programs is the provision of a sweat lodge ceremony, and recently our facility conducted two Sweat Lodge Ceremonies for inmates.

For some Native American cultures the Sweat Lodge Ceremony provides purification and balance of body, mind, spirit and emotions and can serve as a Prayer Circle, or a Healing Circle transforming the Old Self into the New Self. Rocks are heated in a fire pit outside the structure and then brought inside and placed in a small hole in the ground; there is no fire inside the structure. The ceremony is conducted in four parts and might last as long as three hours with breaks. A traditional Messenger helps perform the ceremony. We plan to make Sweat Lodge Ceremonies available to the inmate population on a monthly schedule.
sweatcrow2
This is one of many programs our facility and staff offer to help inmates initiate positive life changes. The programs include opportunities for life changes supported by spiritual, religious, educational, health, and substance abuse treatment approaches. While the Sheriff’s Office strives to make available recognized religious, recovery and a variety of self-improvement programs to the diverse cultures representing in the inmate population, we also recognize that approximately 50% of the people in our custody are of Native American descent. For this reason our programs include Sweat Lodge and a Hogan which may be unique compared to programs offered at facilities elsewhere in U.S. detention facilities. Partnership with the Navajo Behavioral Health Services has been vital to the success of many of these programs.

At the Coconino County Detention Facility we believe that time spent incarcerated can be turned into productive time, and inmates can leave our facility with improved life skills and a determination to make positive changes in their lives. Many of the programs provided to inmates are funded by the Inmate Welfare Fund which comes from commissary and phone usage fees. We are committed to enhancing inmate programs which benefit not only the inmates in custody but also can have broader reaching effects on our community as a whole.

Toolkit for Conducting Electronic Waste Recycling Events Now Available for Use by Border Region Communities

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ADEQ-2PHOENIX – Arizona Department of Environmental Quality officials announced today that free toolkits for conducting free electronic waste (e-waste) recycling events in Arizona municipalities in the border region are now available.

A total of $115,150 is being utilized from a collaboration of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Border 2020 Program, the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission (BECC) and ADEQ to produce educational materials and conduct nine free e-waste recycling events in the southern Arizona communities. As part of the grant, ADEQ entered into a technical assistance agreement with BECC.

The recycling events will be held in Nogales, San Luis, Somerton, Wellton, Sahuarita, Patagonia, Douglas, Sierra Vista and Bisbee beginning early next year through the end of August 2015. ADEQ has retained a certified recycler that adheres to best practices to safely manage e-waste and protect public health and the environment.

The goal of the grant is to recycle, rather than send to a landfill, 100,000 pounds of e-waste in the border region and to have each of the communities develop capacity to hold annual e-waste recycling events.

“ADEQ has had a very successful free electronic waste recycling program focusing on central and northern Arizona the past five years,” ADEQ Director Henry Darwin said. “We are excited now to be offering these free opportunities to border region residents. This is a great opportunity for people to dispose of all the unwanted electronics they have collected over the years while at the same time ensuring that this potentially toxic stream of waste is disposed of responsibly and doesn’t take up valuable landfill space.”

ADEQ and the non-profit group Keep Arizona Beautiful will be conducting workshops in how to conduct the e-waste events during December throughout southern Arizona.

The toolkit, available in both English and Spanish, contains templates of media releases and flyers, options for selecting e-waste recycling companies, a how-to guide in conducting an e-waste event, educational materials, and volunteer sign-off forms. The toolkit will also be available in Spanish to facilitate these events in the border, ultimately benefitting the broadest communities.

“Every year, households in the U.S. discard more than two million tons of obsolete electronic products such as computers, cell phones and televisions,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “The goal of this toolkit is to educate communities on proper electronic recycling and prevent valuable materials from being thrown away.”

Border 2020 is a bi-national collaborative effort with a mission to protect human health and the environment along the U.S.–Mexico border. For more information on the Border 2020 Program, please visit www.epa.gov/border2020.

Walmart receipt scam may be a hoax

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10488232_10201272146525278_5503251707837464755_nWalmart receipts, such as the one shown here, are appearing on Facebook with a scam warning. The recent one I saw indicated that it was a personal experience.

The basic scam claim is that the person checked the receipt after the cashier rang up and found $40 cash back on the receipt. The cashier claimed they could not take it off and offered up the $40. The supervisor called to the scene claimed the same thing and ordered the cashier to cancel the whole order and start again. The person claimed there was $20 cash back on this receipt, but it was corrected the third time.

Hoax web sites across the Internet universally agree that this is probably a false scam claim. Walmart has been attacked by several organizations and this could be another attack.

This, however, does not mean that you should let your guard down this holiday season. You should check the receipt for any irregularities and challenge them immediately. Look for double-charges and any extra charges. Most likely you will find only honest human errors.

You should access your account regularly to see if any charges are added to your credit card that you did not make. Report them immediately to your credit card issuer.

If something like this scam were to occur, Walmart or any other retailer would likely fire the person caught, at the very least.

Missing Person Thomas Lang Found Deceased

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thomas langFLAGSTAFF – Sadly, searchers believe they have located the skeletal remains of 22 year old Thomas Lang who was originally reported as an overdue hiker on December 18, 2013. His parents have spent many weekends since the formal search was suspended, hiking areas where they believe their son might be located.

On Saturday, November 29, 2014 Thomas’s parents were searching for their son in the Secret Canyon area located within Yavapai County. Thomas’ mother, called the Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue advising she believed she found a jacket and shoes that possibly belonged to her son.

Yavapai and Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue units coordinated a further search effort. The Arizona Department of Public Safety launched one of their Air Rescue Helicopters with a Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue volunteer on board to conduct overflights of the area where the items were located. During the flight two additional items consistent with what Lang was believed to have taken with him on his backpacking trip were located from the air.

640px-LANG1On Sunday morning a multi-agency intensive ground search was commenced. Agencies who assisted with the search included Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, Yavapai County Sheriff’s helicopter and Thomas Lang’s parents. At about 10:00 am the crew aboard the Yavapai Sheriff’s helicopter confirmed that the items spotted the previous day were a backpack, tarp, and a guitar. Teams from Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, including two search dogs, and Yavapai Sheriff’s Search and Rescue hiked in very rough and steep terrain reaching the items spotted from the air at approximately noon. At 12:45 pm the team located what they believed to be the remains of Thomas Lang.

The remains have not been positively identified and have been released to the Yavapai County Medical Examiner. The Yavapai County and Coconino County Medical Examiners are working together in an effort to identify the remains and determine the cause and manner of death.

The initial search was started after Lang’s father dropped him off at the Manzanita Campground on December 18, 2013 at about 11:00 am. It was Lang’s intention to hike in the area and return on December 22, 2013. When Lang did not return his family members called the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and reported him as a missing person. It was at this point that a multi-agency, intensive ground and air search was commenced.

Agencies and resources that were involved with the initial search efforts in 2013 included the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO), the YCSO Search and Rescue Unit, the YCSO helicopter, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), the CCSO Search and Rescue Unit, Lang’s parents, the Civil Air Patrol, the Maricopa County Search and Rescue Unit, the Mojave County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team and the Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue Unit. The formal search was suspended on December 27, 2013 after an extensive five day search.

In addition to the initial search effort, the Civil Air Patrol flew over the search area and took photographs utilizing a high resolution camera in April 2014. On several different dates hikers reported seeing items that they believe might belong to the missing person. In response to these reports the YCSO helicopter flew multiple missions.

Until the recent discovery of items by Lang’s mother, all of the previously reported items were determined not to belong to Lang. Throughout 2014, both the YCSO and the CCSO Search and Rescue Units conducted numerous training missions in the area where Lang went missing with the dual purpose of training as well as possibly uncovering more clues about his disappearance. It is common to conduct training missions in areas where outstanding missing persons are believed to be.

Sheriff of El Dorado County strips federal law enforcement of their law enforcement powers

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dagostini-01El Dorado County Sheriff John D’Agostini has stripped the power of the forest service law enforcement to enforce State laws in his county according to CBS Sacramento.

In a letter they obtained, Sheriff D’Agostini wrote:

“I take the service that we provide to the citizens of El Dorado County and the visitors to El Dorado County very seriously, and the style and manner of service we provide. The U.S. Forest Service, after many attempts and given many opportunities, has failed to meet that standard.”

The Sheriff said that he took the action after numerous complaints.

Sheriff D’Agostini is also known for a January 2013 letter to Vice-President Biden over the proposed gun ban according to KRNV in Nevada. In the letter he wrote:

“The purpose of this letter is to go on record of re-affirming my oath of office and making it clear that I and my staff will never violate [our oath of office] by being pressured into enforcing any unconstitutional provision, law or executive order.”

He noted that disarming law-abiding citizens would not prevent guns from falling into the hands of criminals.

Camp Civitan still has tickets for aghan drawing

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afghan-raffleWILLIAMS – The Camp Civitan Thrift store has tickets for a drawing for a beautiful afghan created by one of the employees. The tickets are only $2 each or 3 for $5.

The afghan, created by Pam, contains 85 different colors with only one color used more than once. White was used 3 times. The afghan represents over 450-hours of work.

The raffle will be held at noon on December 23 and will be shipped if necessary. Tickets may be purchased at the Camp Civitan Thrift store at 129 W Route 66 in Williams. Call 928-635-1144 for more details.

Cromer School Burglarized Twice

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FLAGSTAFF – Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies and Detectives are investigating two burglaries that have recently occurred at Cromer School and are requesting assistance from the community in identifying and locating potential suspects.

The first burglary occurred sometime between the evening of Wednesday, November 19, 2014 and the morning of Thursday, November 20, 2014. The second burglary occurred sometime between the evening of Friday, November 21, 2014 and the morning of Monday, November 24, 2014. Both burglaries occurred in the FACTS building which houses Cromer’s after school program. The FACTS building is a structure that is separate from the main school building. During the first burglary not only did the suspect or suspects take valuable equipment but also vandalized the interior of the structure.

Items taken during these two crimes include a portable blue ray player, a 42” LG flat screen television set, a Dell Computer, 5 Bantam Portable Radios, 4 Cobra portable radios, and cash in excess of $300.00. Several of the stolen items to include the LG television set had been purchased with funds raised by the students.

Anyone with information about these burglaries is urged to call the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 774-4523 or toll free at (800) 338-7888 or Coconino County Silent Witness at (928) 774-6111. We need your information not your name. Your information could help solve these cases.

(Opinion) Letter to the editor: PETA unhappy (Again)

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December 2, 2014

Editor:

Anyone who cares about animals will steer clear of Bearizona. This
roadside zoo churns out bears, traumatically separates the cubs from
their mothers, and unloads bears to other awful breeders and dealers.
This outfit is owned by brothers Sean and Dennis Casey, of the same
family that owns and operates the notorious Bear County USA in South
Dakota.

In the forests where they belong, bears range over vast distances,
establish territories, dig, climb, build dens and explore. They are
inquisitive, active, and dexterous. The make decisions and live
autonomously. In captivity, everything that gives their lives meaning
is gone. Being jammed in cramped, barren cages often causes these apex
predators do go insane. Captive bears spend much of the day pacing,
walking in tight circles, swaying or rolling their heads, and showing
other signs of psychological distress.

People who care about bears will never support their misery in
captivity.

Sincerely,

Jennifer O’Connor
Staff Writer
PETA Foundation
501 Front St.
Norfolk, VA 23510
757-622-7382, ext. 8003