COTTONWOOD — Night work is scheduled tomorrow and Wednesday, March 24 and 25, on State Route 260 on a six-mile segment approximately three miles east of Cottonwood between Ogden Ranch Road and Cherry Creek Road (mileposts 209 to 215) between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. each night.
Crews are gathering soil samples along the roadway in preparation of the widening of State Route 260 between Thousand Trails and I-17. The two-lane roadway will be narrowed to one lane during work hours and drivers will be guided through the work zone with a pilot car and flaggers.
The speed limit through the work zone will be 45 mph and law enforcement will be present.
ADOT advises drivers to proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.
FLAGSTAFF — On Monday, March 23, 2015 at approximately 2:40 p.m., the Flagstaff Police Department received an anonymous call from a subject stating they were suicidal, had a firearm and were near Thomas Elementary School in the 3300 block of East Lockett.
The caller used an administrative line, and when transferred to dispatch stated they were suicidal, armed and near children. The caller did not respond to any other questions asked my dispatch and hung up.
Officers immediately were sent to the area. The school had already activated their lockdown procedures. Officers conducted a room by room search of the school, including the playground area and surrounding residential area with negative contact with any armed subjects or suspicious persons. Area schools were contacted and provided the information regarding the suspicious call.
The Flagstaff Police Department will continue to investigate this call, but at this time we believe the call to be a hoax.
WILLIAMS — Arizona Archaeology month is nearing the end. This weekend will be the last opportunity for the guided tour of the Keyhole Sink site east of Williams. The site is four-miles west of Parks.
Traveling from Flagstaff, exit at Parks road and follow historic route 66 west. The tour starts at 2 p.m. Neil Weintraub reports on Facebook that you might expect to get wet from the water fall. There is no cost.
The Keyhole Sink is open to the public year around, but this is one of the few chances to get a guided tour.
NAME: Robert Curt Lee AGE: 54 HGT: 6’01” WGT: 160 HAIR: Brown EYES: Brown ADDRESS: 124 S. San Francisco St Flagstaff, AZ 86001
COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION
LEVEL 2 SEX OFFENDER ALERT
The Flagstaff Police Department is releasing the following information pursuant to ARS 13-3835, the Community Notification on Sex Offender Law. The offender in this publication is living in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Notification must be made when certain sex offenders are released from the Arizona State Prison, accepted under an interstate compact or released from the county jail back into the community. Offenders are categorized into three levels; Level One (low risk to the community), Level Two (intermediate risk to the community), and Level Three (high risk to the community).
The individual who appears on this notification has been convicted of a sex offense, which allows for community notification. He is not wanted by the Flagstaff Police Department at this time.
This notification is not intended to increase fear: rather, it is our belief that an informed public is a safer public. CITIZEN ABUSE OF THIS INFORMATION TO THREATEN, INTIMIDATE, OR HARASS SEX OFFENDERS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. The Flagstaff Police Department may be reached at 928-774-1414 and is available to help you join or start a neighborhood watch program as well as provide you with useful information on personal safety. If you have information regarding current criminal activity on this or any offender, please call 928-774-1414 or Silent Witness at 928-774-6111.
SYNOPSIS: Robert Lee was convicted in 1990 for Child Molestation out of Sarasota, Florida.
Please contact the Flagstaff Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at 928-556-2201 with any questions or concerns. If you have information and do not want to leave your name please call SILENT WITNESS at 928 774-6111.
WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest is seeking comments on a proposed grassland restoration project on the forest’s Williams and Tusayan ranger districts that would restore the structure and function of grasslands and woodland areas by reducing tree densities, reestablishing natural fire regimes, and promoting grassland-associated wildlife species.
The detailed proposal and associated documents, including maps, are available on the Kaibab National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=44132. Interested individuals are encouraged to submit comments during the 30-day scoping period, which will run from March 24 to April 22.
Comments may be written, hand-delivered, oral, or electronically-delivered. Hand-delivered comments can be submitted to the Williams Ranger District office from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, at 742 S. Clover Rd., Williams, AZ 86046, or to the Tusayan Ranger District office from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, at 176 Lincoln Log Loop, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023.
Comments may also be submitted via electronic mail to comments-southwestern-kaibab-williams@fs.fed.us. Please include “South Zone Grassland Restoration Project” in the subject line of the email.
The Southwestern landscape, including the Williams and Tusayan districts of the Kaibab, has been greatly altered over the past century by the encroachment of woody plants, particularly juniper, pinyon, and ponderosa pine, into areas that were formerly grasslands and open pinyon-juniper woodlands.
Many factors have played a role in this transition, including historical livestock grazing, fire suppression, changes in wildlife populations, and climate change. These factors have eliminated the vegetation necessary to carry low intensity surface fires across the landscape, thereby altering the natural fire regimes and allowing uncharacteristic forest succession to take place. Encroachment can alter water and nutrient cycling, impact soil integrity, and negatively impact wildlife habitat.
Forest managers are seeking to reduce this encroachment and move toward desired conditions by thinning conifer trees, conducting prescribed burns and implementing associated actions on a broad scale across the two southern districts of the Kaibab National Forest.
“Grasslands serve an important ecological role and provide habitat for wildlife including birds and mammals,” said Roger Joos, wildlife biologist and project lead. “Functional grasslands are much less abundant than they were historically, which reduces the amount of available habitat for grassland-associated species. Understanding the value of these grasslands and the threats they are facing, we recognize the need to work toward restoring them to healthier conditions.”
Work continues on the expansion project on US 93 (mileposts 185-190) west of Wickenburg and will require minimal delays this week on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 24 and 25 between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. as crews place temporary concrete barrier and restripe the roadway. Drivers will be guided with flaggers and stopped intermittently at various locations throughout the work zone.
ADOT began this expansion project in February to widen US 93 between State Route 71 and State Route 89. The $12.5 million project, reconstructing the highway into four lanes, is expected to be completed in 2016.
Laura Leinaar, Animal Care specialists, gives guests a close-up look at the cubs.
WILLIAMS — Last Friday we got to visit Bearizona Wildlife Park (Facebook) in Williams Arizona to see the newest addition. Three bear cubs born around 7 weeks ago in January. The cubs are Klondike, Blue and Captain.
Laura Leinarr, Animal Care specialist at Bearizona, explained that they are separated from their mothers because male bears will attempt to kill the cubs in an attempt to make the mothers go into heat.
In the wild, mother bears can hide their cubs, but this is not an option at Bearizona. They are also very protective of their cubs in the wild. That is why you should use extreme caution if you encounter a cub or bear in the wild. Immediately begin to slowly back up the way you came until you are well clear. Laura explained that they are currently being kept in the enclosure in the Mine Shaft so they can remain under constant observation to ensure their best chance of survival. While they are under constant observation by gleeful children, we think she meant professional observation.
The bear cubs will remain in the enclosure until about May. They will then be transferred to an enclosure near the new gift shop that is currently being constructed. If that is not finished, they will be located at the normal cub enclosure at the walk-through area. Like any newborns, the cubs are still developing eyesight and learning to walk. Yet they have a highly developed sense of smell that they rely on to identify their mothers. In this case, they know Laura’s smell and get excited hoping that it is feeding time. If you get a chance to see the cubs around feeding time, Laura might even give you a close-up look.
Bearizona is a drive-through wildlife park and the animals ARE considered wild. Laura explained that it is extremely important to keep windows rolled up and doors locked while in the drive-through section. Bears are intelligent and if they smell something interesting in your vehicle, they can actually operate your door latch. That includes the latch to the back door in many SUVs.
If you do not enjoy the option of shooting pictures through window glass, you can opt to take the windowless bus. You can catch the bus at the entrance to the walk-through area.
Do you hate Windows 8.1? You are probably not alone. But the hate may be over. The constant switching from the Desktop screen to the App screen is coming to an end with Windows 10. That is the good news. The other news might not be so welcome. The upgrade might be free and it is right around the corner.
Windows is apparently so set on limiting piracy that they originally intended to give Windows 10 free to anyone who is currently operating Windows 7 to the terrible 8’s. Also those who purchased a Microsoft phone. ZDnet is reporting that is a big maybe. The gist of the article is that it all depends on where you obtained the copy of that Windows that you are using. It appears that if you are operating an OEM machine—a manufactured computer that you purchased with an aforementioned version of Windows on it—you will get a free upgrade to Windows 10.
If you built your own computer, you should be okay so long as you obtained a “genuine” copy of either Windows 7 or 8.1.
I was forced into Windows 8.1 by a traitorous computer running XP that turned on me and failed. With some practice I was able to move around Windows 8.1 with a certain amount of comfort. Not with like, mind you; just comfort. I found a function to add features to Windows 8.1—quite by accident. When I tried it, I received the window in the following Figure to the left. The bottom of my PC did not have the Microsoft XXXX-XXXX-XXXx-ad naseum key required by Microsoft on the label. I searched the computer system information and found the only key I could find. I pressed the I Already Have a Key button and my key was not accepted in the Window that resulted shown in the Figure to the right. Adding new 8.1 features was not that critical, at that point. I am still busy trying to relearn yet another Windows operating system while attempting to continue getting other work accomplished. My only purpose was to see what cool 8.1 features I was missing. It begs the question, however, if my operating system is “genuine” enough to qualify for the free Windows 10.
Originally Microsoft intended to distribute this free Windows 10 through a normal update. If you recall, manufacturers had an agreement with Microsoft to upgrade their recently sold XP machines to Windows 7, if you did so within a specified time frame. While some may get the new upgrade, others may not. At least not without some difficulty. The big losers appear to be large corporations.
Another problem that has surfaced is for those who add alternative operating systems such as Linux or even previous versions of Windows to their machine. This applies only to OEM machines and not to home-built machines. The complexity of the issue is beyond the scope of this article and may be found at ARS Technica. Essentially Microsoft is working with OEMs to lock out the ability to incorporate alternative operating systems into the OEM machine. This is a nerd-exclusive subject that should not bother the average user.
Many people do not create a restore disk when prompted to do so. When their hard drive crashes and they have to replace it, they are surprised when they put in the new hard drive and it does not automatically come up like it did when they bought it. There is a reason for the restore disk, folks. My concern is that if my hard drive crashes five-years from now and and I use the restore disk that I created because I am smart, will I still be able to upgrade to Windows 10? (Or Windows 12, by that time)
Another concern that I have is software. I have some older software that blistfully resides in my Windows 8.1 machine. Thus far I have been surprised to find only one that does not. Will the new Windows 10 wipe out the remaining remnants of XP programs?
The issue to the average user is what the new Windows will look like and how it will act. For those who were frustrated at having to learn a whole new Windows, the bad news might seem that you will have to learn a new Windows. In reality, however, you will be learning an update of the old Windows. The Windows Start button is back!
When you press the Windows Start button on the taskbar, you will not be treated to the Apps page. You will get, well, a menu. The menu, however, is different. The Apps will be included in the menu. They are customizable as they are on the Start Page in Windows 8.1.
Users of the Beta versions are giving Windows 10 good reviews. Not rave reviews, yet. But good reviews. It appears that Microsoft is committed to handing out the new Windows 10—Internetally speaking—to Windows 7 and 8.1 users for free as long as you upgrade within a year from the date of the release of Windows 10. The latest on the release date is simply sometime this summer. Some are saying as early as June.
If any of this is distressing you because you love Windows 8.1 and cannot do without it, you might want to consider seeking professional attention.
WILLIAMS — One of the historic Route 66 restaurants in Williams re-opens tomorrow. Almost like the Phoenix, Old Smokey’s restaurant is rising from the flood to move onto Route 66.
The restaurant opens tomorrow at 125 W. Route 66 at 6 a.m. They plan to open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., initially, adjusting the hours as necessary. The old Old Smokey’s only served breakfast and lunch, but the owners have added a dinner menu at the new location.
Owner Dan Barnes explained that they had a lease at the old building—located across the street from Dairy Queen—with an option to buy. The building fell into disrepair and there was some difficulty getting repairs causing the restaurant to be closed for several years. Mr. Barnes had acquired the rights to the name and the Old Smokey image and kept the LLC open. The image of Old Smokey is the same, albeit a little flashier.
The restaurant boasts a better menu with hamburgers and a chicken sandwich you can build to your taste from the menu. They recommend checking out the pretzel and corn meal dusted sandwich buns. They also recommend trying out their chicken, pork or beef barbeque. They still offer the old familiar breakfast favorites that made old Old Smokey’s famous.
COTTONWOOD — Night work is scheduled tomorrow and Wednesday, March 24 and 25, on State Route 260 on a six-mile segment approximately three miles east of Cottonwood between Ogden Ranch Road and Cherry Creek Road (mileposts 209 to 215) between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. each night.
