Monthly Archives: July 2015

Multi-Agency Response to Injured Hiker in the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon

Posted on by

Coconino County Sheriff photo.

Coconino County Sheriff photo.

OAK CREEK — On Saturday, July 18, 2015 at approximately 4:07 pm the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a representative of the Arizona Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) advising that a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) had been activated with GPS coordinates in Illusions Canyon located within the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon. ADEM personnel determined who the registered owner of the device was and also advised that Air Force Personnel received the emergency signal as well. A multi-agency response was initiated.

Participating agencies included Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, US Air Force 55th Aerial Rescue Squadron based out of Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Sedona Fire District (SFD), the Arizona Department of Emergency Management and Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) Air Rescue based in Flagstaff.

At about 4:52 p.m. the Northern Arizona 911 reception center received a cell phone call from an individual who identified himself as a member of the hiking party that included the victim who was the subject of the activated PLB device. The caller advised that the victim was located in the area of the confluence of West Fork. According to the caller the victim suffered a broken leg at approximately 11:00 am that day and members of his party were not able to access cell phone service from the victim’s location. The caller hiked out of the canyon to a location where he could access cell phone service.

By 5:20 pm the CCSO resident deputy in Oak Creek Canyon and a Sedona firefighter were at the Call of the Canyon which is the trail head for West Fork. Two Sedona Fire Department Technical Rescue Teams were deployed into the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon on foot in an attempt to locate the victim. DPS Rescue Helicopter was not able to assist on Saturday due to active thunderstorms in the area. By 7:50 pm two CCSO SAR teams were at the top of the rim and established an Incident Command Post (ICP) off of Woody Mountain Road. Because of the weather and inability to launch a heli-rescue, the victim and others in the party were asked to shelter in place. Rescue crews on the ground also staged at the ICP overnight, camping in the rain and thunder storms.

At about 6:00 am on Sunday morning rescuers received a break in the storm activity. The DPS helicopter with a CCSO SAR technical rescue operator on board flew the area and located the party of six including the victim.

Two SFD technical rescue operators were inserted into the canyon via a helicopter rappel from the DPS aircraft. A CCSO SAR technical rescue ground team was staged at the rim. The DPS Ranger helicopter extracted the victim and a SFD rescuer using the Short Haul method during which the rescuer and victim are suspended on a line underneath the helicopter and flown to a safe area in this case the parking lot of the West Fork of Oak Creek trail head.

Sedona Fire transported the victim to the Flagstaff Medical Level One Trauma Center via ground ambulance. Two HH 60 Pave Hawk helicopters from the USAF 55th Air Rescue Squadron extracted the remaining 5 members of the victim’s party by hoisting them from the ground into the hoovering helicopters.

Williams City Council meeting July 23

Posted on by

williams-city-logoWILLIAMS — This Thursday July 23 the Williams City Council will meet in the council chambers of City Hall on 1st Street. The council will discuss and may approve on two matters.

The first is whether or not to approve a one-year extension with Coconino County on the waste transfer station.

The second item is to discuss the possibility of purchasing body cameras for the Williams Police Department.

Clouds threatening rain overnight

Posted on by

clouds-072015-00WILLIAMS — Clouds roll in for another day keeping the temperatures in Williams down and bringing moisture. The nice thing is that it has kept the forests open for hiking and camping.

There is a 50% chance of rain and thunder this afternoon dropping to 30% overnight. Tomorrow there is a 10% chance after 11 a.m. clearing up to mostly cloudy over Tuesday night. Wednesday through Saturday night it is expected to be clear and warm with some cloudiness.

In Flagstaff, a slight chance of rain is predicted over Tuesday night and Wednesday. The weather in Flagstaff will clear up Thursday through Saturday night.

The chance of rain begins to develop again Sunday.

Bridge work complete on SR 260 east of Payson

Posted on by

The Arizona Department of Transportation has completed a bridge rehabilitation project on State Route 260, approximately 20 miles east of Payson and will remove all existing traffic control devices today on Monday, July 20.

Last year, ADOT upgraded five eastbound bridge approaches on State Route 260 and then returned in the spring to replace and repave three westbound bridge approaches between mileposts 272-277.

The $2.9 million improvement project included the removal of the existing bridge approaches and departure slabs, repaving the roadway at the bridge approaches, guardrail reconstruction and the replacement of existing pavement markings.

Crews will repair a dip in the roadway on SR 260 eastbound at milepost 271 starting on Monday, August 3 which will require a single lane restriction through September 11.

Nation of Patriots motorcycle ride comes to Williams

Posted on by

800-NationofPatriots-15-07-19-07

WILLIAMS — In the shadow of the Bill Williams statue, the group Nation of Patriots rolled into Williams today. A ceremony was held at the Williams Own Veterans Memorial at the Memorial Park on the west end of town. Williams Mayor John Moore was on hand to give and receive a proclamation for the event.

640-NationofPatriots-15-07-19-11The group carries an American flag starting in Wisconsin on Memorial Day through the continental United States with local flag bearers in each of the 48 States. It returns to the Wisconsin Harley Davidson in on Labor Day. The proceeds of the ride are intended to benefit veterans.

Bob Sherer reads a proclamation from Nation of Patriots to the City of Williams.

Bob Sherer reads a proclamation from Nation of Patriots to the City of Williams.

Dan Smith, flag bearer for the State of Arizona, introduced Bill Sherer, the founder of the group ride. Sherer and Mayor Moore exchanged proclamations. The proclamation of the City of Williams declared July 19 as Nation of Patriots day. The proclamation claimed that 100% of the proceeds of the ride go to help benefits.
640-NationofPatriots-15-07-19-16After the exchange, taps was played with a gun salute.

ADOT enhances security of driver license application process

Posted on by

PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Transportation is taking an active role in curbing identity theft and fraud by implementing facial recognition technology in the application process for state-issued credentials.

An applicant for a new or duplicate driver license or state ID card at an ADOT Motor Vehicle Division or Authorized Third Party office will have their photo taken at the beginning of the process. Facial recognition during the “Photo First” review process occurs seamlessly and without delay as the customer continues through the application process.

In 2012, ADOT Motor Vehicle Division implemented a Photo First approach to aid in the detection of and prevention of fraud, forgery and identity theft. In 2014, ADOT Motor Vehicle Division implemented Central Credential Issuance, eliminating credentials being issued at the MVD or Authorized Third Party offices. Both processes have contributed to a more comprehensive review of applications along with providing more time to identify possible fraudulent submissions.

One of the best screening formats in the detection of identity theft, attempted fraud or forgery in the application process has always been the ADOT Motor Vehicle Division customer service representatives who initially review all documents submitted in the application packet. During this initial screening process of the application packet by ADOT employees, possible file errors or fraudulent submissions are detected.

“Facial recognition technology supports the commitment by ADOT to protect the privacy of its customers, and to maintain the integrity and accuracy of the credential issuance process,” said ADOT Director John Halikowski. “This technology enables us to fight against fraud and identity theft.”

The technology provides an effective screening method to identify errors in customer records in the state driver license database and to prevent fraudulent attempts to obtain an Arizona driver license or identification card. It also allows ADOT to develop the new federally compliant Voluntary Travel ID according to the requirements outlined in the federal REAL ID Act of 2005.

When a credential application record generates an alert resulting from the facial recognition technology, the system will automatically perform an additional review of the record to identify and correct any possible file errors. If the system verifies it is not a file error, the record will then undergo a comprehensive review by personnel in the ADOT Office of the Inspector General.

“This technology allows us to take a proactive approach to protecting people’s identities and stopping fraud,” said ADOT Assistant Director Terry Conner, who leads the Enforcement and Compliance Division. “Our detectives are already working investigations after reviewing reliable information provided by the system.”

US 180 lane restrictions to begin early Monday

Posted on by

US 180 will have lane restrictions for east- and westbound travel beginning Monday (July 20) and continue daily through the week until Friday (July 25) for roadway striping.

The work will be performed from Columbus Avenue to Bader Road (milepost 216 to 224) from 3 a.m. to noon daily.

Please allow for extra travel time while in construction area and exercise caution while driving in the work zone.

I-40 restrictions between Williams and Ashfork begin Monday

Posted on by

Westbound Interstate 40 will be narrowed to one lane at Exit 149 (County Line) milepost 148 for bridge work.

The lane restriction will begin Monday (July 20) to Thurs (July 23) from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Please allow for extra travel time while in construction area and exercise caution while driving in the work zone.

This New Bill Could Ban GMO Labeling for Good

Posted on by

Natural Society Photo

Natural Society Photo

According to the Natural Society website, this piece was rejected by Facebook. It is interesting that their “security systems” would block this. We’ll do our part to help. If this is rejected on our Facebook page, you can find the link to the full article below. Our thanks to Anthony for covering this important topic.
“Thousands of our fans, including those with March Against Monsanto, have found this post to be blocked on Facebook. Why is this being blocked? When I tried to post this article to both the Natural Society page and my Anthony Gucciardi Facebook page I was met with a warning that this post was blocked due to ‘security measures.’ Needless to say, this raised many questions. What do you think?”

640usda-monsanto-gmo-labels by Anthony Gucciardi

Want some more proof that Monsanto and other biotech giants are deathly afraid of GMO labeling initiatives passing within the United States? A new bill introduced by Monsanto’s star representative, Mike Pompeo, could soon ban all mandatory GMO labeling in the US.

The worst part? It was just approved by the House Agriculture Committee, which means it’s one step closer to becoming a full-fledged law. The bill is formally known as H.R. 1599, or the ‘Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015.’

More precisely, it has been dubbed to be the ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ on steroids.

Read more at Natural Society

Sixty-Two-Year-Old Man Falls to his Death

Posted on by

coco-sheriff-300pxFLAGSTAFF — On Thursday, July 16, 2015 at approximately 2:27 pm Sheriff/Police Emergency Dispatchers received the report of a man and his dog who had fallen off of a cliff. The location of the accident was off of the north end of Forest Service road 237 in the area of Chevelon Canyon located north of Forest Lakes.

Coconino Sheriff’s Deputies, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue unit, Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, United States Forest Service personnel, Forest Lakes Fire Department and the Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue Crews based in Flagstaff and Phoenix assisted with this call.

Emergency First Responders met with the reporting party on Forest Service road 237 to obtain more information regarding the accident. According, to the reporting party, the victim and his blind dog were walking along the top of the rim when they both fell off of a cliff that was about 500 to 600 feet above the canyon floor. The AZ DPS Air Rescue crew from Flagstaff flew the area and spotted the victim about 300 feet below the cliff he fell from. Due to the extremely rough terrain on the canyon floor the helicopter was not able to safely land at the location where the victim came to rest. A crew member described the victim as not moving and unresponsive. A second AZ DPS Air Rescue crew responded from Phoenix and was able to lower a DPS Technical Rescue Officer to the deceased victim’s location. The technician prepared the body for transport and they were flown out of the area utilizing the short haul method. The dog was found deceased approximately 10 feet from the victim’s location.

The victim has been identified as 62 year old Glen Dickinson of Tucson, Arizona.