Monthly Archives: November 2016

Strong thunderstorms possible tonight

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WILLIAMS — The NOAA warns of severe thunderstorms possible through tonight. The issued a severe weather warning which reads:

MOISTURE IS BEING DRAWN NORTHWARD AHEAD OF A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM
AND WILL BRING INCREASING CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND A FEW
THUNDERSTORMS TO MOST OF NORTHERN ARIZONA THROUGH TONIGHT. ISOLATED
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS COULD DEVELOP WITH SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY
WINDS.

ON FRIDAY, THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE SLOWLY NORTHWARD
ACROSS ARIZONA. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
WILL CONTINUE, WITH THE GREATEST COVERAGE OVER NORTHEASTERN
ARIZONA. ISOLATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE WITH SMALL
HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS. MINOR FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE
HEAVIEST SHOWERS. EVENT TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 0.50″ TO 1.50″
ARE FORECAST, WITH THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL OVER SOUTHERN NAVAJO AND
APACHE COUNTIES.

It is recommended that you keep pets indoors.

Forest restoration work near Williams to increase log truck traffic

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WILLIAMS — As two additional timber sales supporting forest restoration efforts begin on the Williams Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest, members of the public can expect to see an increasing number of log trucks traveling through the Williams community and heavy, mechanized equipment in the project areas on the forest.

The 1,108-acre Shiner Timber Sale is located about 4 miles south of Williams in the vicinity of Sevier Flat and Shiner Tank. It is bounded on the north by Forest Road 140, on the east by FR 48A, on the south by FR 3258 and on the west by County Road 73.

Log trucks traveling from the Shiner Timber Sale will start on FR 140 or FR 3258, travel north on County Road 73 to Railroad Avenue in Williams, continue west to enter Interstate 40 at the 161 interchange, then travel east to exit at Garland Prairie for the Newpac Fibre mill. During the height of operations, as many as 11 trucks per day could be traveling the route from the forest to the mill Monday through Saturday. Log trucks could begin operations as soon as this week.

The 839-acre Round Mountain East Timber Sale is located about 13 miles southeast of Williams in the vicinity of Round Mountain. It is bounded on the north and west by FR 138, on the south by FR 105 and on the east by FR 11.

Log trucks traveling from the Routh Mountain East Timber Sale will start on FR 11 or FR 138, travel FR 105 east to FR 110, follow FR 110 west to County Road 73, travel north on County Road 73 to Railroad Avenue in Williams, continue west to enter Interstate 40 at the 161 interchange, then travel east to exit at Garland Prairie for the Newpac Fibre mill. During the height of operations, as many as 21 trucks per day could be traveling the route from the forest to the mill Monday through Saturday. Log trucks are expected to begin operations in mid-November.

At the project locations within Kaibab National Forest, visitors will see tree thinning operations that will include use of feller bunchers, skidders and processors. Members of the public are urged to use extreme caution near timber removal and hauling operations. Besides the presence of heavy equipment and log trucks, there will also be trees being felled and stacked into log decks, which can be unstable. Visitors to the area should not camp near nor climb on them, as they often shift and have the possibility of collapse.

The goals of the Shiner Timber Sale are forest health and wildfire risk reduction, with a special emphasis on restoring a historic antelope migration corridor. Work in the Shiner area could continue until June 2018, but forest managers expect it to be completed sooner than that. The overarching goal of the Round Mountain East Timber Sale is the restoration of a ponderosa pine, oak and juniper forested area. Forest managers expect work to continue in the Round Mountain area for the next several months.

Besides the Shiner and Round Mountain East projects, tree removal also continues on the 3,571-acre McCracken Task Order, which is located about 6 miles south of Williams in the vicinity of Coleman Lake and McCracken Knolls. A contractor recently started harvesting operations off of roads 108 and 728. The McCracken project area is bounded on the north by FR 122, on the east and south by County Road 73, and on the west by FR 42. Log trucks are hauling from both FR 108 and FR 728, feeding into County Road 73 and then following the haul route into Williams and onto eastbound Interstate 40.

The objectives of the thinning operations in the McCracken area are to reduce fuel loading and the potential for future high-intensity wildfires, to improve forest health and watershed conditions, and to provide wildfire protection for the City of Williams and its surrounding residences.

“We have a lot of great work getting accomplished on the Williams Ranger District in terms of improving forest health and reducing wildfire risk through these projects,” said Tom Dauenhauer, timber sale administrator. “However, we also need members of the public to be aware that there is going to be a significant increase in the number of log trucks traveling near and through the Williams community. We urge people to use caution and be aware of this traffic over the coming months.”

All of this logging and thinning work on the Williams Ranger District is associated with the Four Forest Restoration Initiative. The goal of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative is to accelerate the pace and scale of restoration within 2.4 million acres of ponderosa pine forest in northern Arizona to increase resilience and proper functioning. Restoring this fire-adapted ecosystem is accomplished with a suite of restoration activities – from watershed maintenance and habitat improvements to prescribed burning and thinning.

Nov. 3 is deadline to update credit card information for online spring draw

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PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department reminds hunters who applied online for 2017 spring hunt permit-tags that 11:59 p.m. (MST) Thursday, Nov. 3, is the deadline to update their credit card or debit card account information, as well as purchase PointGuard to protect coveted bonus points.

Online applicants are responsible for keeping their account information current. If a credit card or debit card is invalid for any reason at the time when the computerized draw is performed, an online application could be rejected.

Online applicants who have been issued a new credit card or debit card, a new expiration date, or had a change to their card’s number should visit https://draw.azgfd.gov/. Scroll down the page, select “Update My Payment Information” and follow the prompts. Note: It is important to update payment information for each species for which an online application has been submitted.

If payment has been declined, the department will make three attempts within two business days to contact the payee and/or “Applicant A” on the online application. That individual then will be afforded a means of providing alternative payment within a specified timeframe. If payment has not been received by the end of that specified timeframe, applicants will be rejected. No exceptions will be made for online applicants who do not respond to the department’s attempts to contact them.

Meanwhile, applicants can purchase PointGuard, as part of their online application, through 11:59 p.m. (MST) Thursday, Nov. 3. All applicants must sign up for a free AZGFD Portal account to purchase PointGuard (visit www.azgfd.gov, click on the “Sign in to Account” button in the upper right-hand corner of the home page, then select the “Create an Account” option). PointGuard is $5 per species, per applicant.

PointGuard ensures that if a successful applicant is unable to participate in a hunt for any reason, the accumulated bonus points that were expended to draw that hunt permit-tag will be reinstated. Information: https://www.azgfd.com/hunting/pointguard.

The department will post an announcement on its website when results of the spring draw become available. All hunt permit-tags will be mailed by Dec. 14; all refund warrants will be mailed by Nov. 30.

For more information, call the department at (602) 942-3000.

OPINION: So John McCain withdraws support for Donald Trump

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OPINION
Glen Davis

JOHN-MCCAINOn October 08, John McCain withdrew his support for Donald Trump with the following statement:

“In addition to my well known differences with Donald Trump on public policy issues, I have raised questions about his character after his comments on Prisoners of War, the Khan Gold Star family, Judge Curiel and earlier inappropriate comments about women. Just this week, he made outrageous statements about the innocent men in the Central Park Five case.
“As I said yesterday, there are no excuses for Donald Trump’s offensive and demeaning comments in the just released video; no woman should ever be victimized by this kind of inappropriate behavior. He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences.
“I have wanted to support the candidate our party nominated. He was not my choice, but as a past nominee, I thought it was important I respect the fact that Donald Trump won a majority of the delegates by the rules our party set. I thought I owed his supporters that deference.
“But Donald Trump’s behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy. Cindy, with her strong background in human rights and respect for women fully agrees with me on this.
“Cindy and I will not vote for Donald Trump. I have never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate and we will not vote for Hillary Clinton. We will write in the name of some good conservative Republican who is qualified to be President.”

I have to say that I agree with John McCain on the Central Park Five case. I have read of two-or-three cases where minorities have been tried and convicted only to have those convictions overturned due to DNA evidence. It has been documented that minorities tend to receive heavier sentences for drug crimes than Caucasians. And I don’t like it. I do not know the answer to this dilemma except to recommend that you question judges up for election on their Constitutional knowledge. And everyone should train themselves on the true nature and power of the jury.

I notice, here, that he mentions the comments of Donald Trump on “prisoners of war.” This was used by Clinton during the debates. The comment that he made was directed at Senator John McCain, though what came out did allude to other prisoners of war. His statement was:

He’s [John McCain] a war hero ’cause he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.

Prisoners of war do not go to war hoping to become prisoners of war. They, in fact, are witness to the most ugly aspect of war. They have my unending respect.

I agree that Trump, who never served, probably has no right to disparage the service of John McCain. After all, John McCain is the only Vietnam POW who had a statue erected in his honor in Hanoi.

Those who served with John McCain have long questioned his imprisonment. In addition, for the first time ever, the United States national government has sealed the records of prisoners of war—even preventing Vietnam prisoners of war from getting their OWN records. McCain, no champion of Vietnam prisoners of war, applauds the action.
Not to excuse the comment that Trump made, but he meant to direct the comment at John McCain after the Senator called 15,000 Trump supporters—no doubt a number of the Senators constituents—crazies.

In fairness, there are those who support John McCain

Like everyone else, McCain brings up an 11-year-old video reported as if no one can change. As if an 11-year-old video represents Trump today. And Trump’s apology seems ineffective. Wonder if we should accept McCain’s apology for a crude joke made 18-years-ago.

I don’t care for Trump and would much rather see a Constitution-loving presidential candidate. Qualified to be president in political parlance usually means one of the good ol’ boys. I do not like the single-payer health insurance plan he intends to replace Obamadoesntcare with. Like the founding fathers, I do not like megacorporations—in their day known as monopolies—squeezing out the small business owner with cheap Chinese imports. He is, however, better than the alternatives.

I do agree that anyone that cannot be positively identified by intelligent sources as escaping actual persecution should not be given a free ticket into the country. I do agree that our educational system should be geared toward preparing our youth in some sort of marketable and useful skill such as vocational skills. Something in which they can achieve $15, or more, an hour for doing. iPad operator and scholar in Communist theory just doesn’t cut it.

What I would much rather vote for is someone who knows and will uphold the Constitution of the United States. So I intend to “write-in” someone more qualified to be Senator for the Great State of Arizona. Someone who understands the Constitution. Someone more Republican than John McCain.

You can now print duplicate temporary driver licenses or IDs at home

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PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division has added another transaction to the growing list of things drivers can do at home to avoid lines at MVD offices.

Customers applying for a duplicate driver license or ID card can now print their temporary credentials at home using plain paper. MVD has eliminated the requirement that those credentials be printed on special blue-tinted stock used only at MVD locations.

“There was a misconception that the paper used by MVD to print temporary credentials added a level of security, but that wasn’t the case,” Motor Vehicle Division Director Eric Jorgensen said. “Making this change means people can do this from the comfort of their home on ServiceArizona.com and MVD staff have more time to serve people who need to visit an office. It’s one more way that MVD is getting customers out of line and safely on the road.”

A temporary credential, a receipt showing that the customer has applied for a duplicate driver license or ID, is used until the customer receives the permanent credential through the mail.

Processing duplicate or replacement credentials is the second most common transaction in MVD offices. Lowering the number of transactions that must be done in person helps the division reduce office waiting times and serve customers more efficiently.

The change doesn’t entirely eliminate the use of the blue-tinted MVD credential form, which will still be required for commercial driver license and permit applications. Customers obtaining their first driver license or ID or who need a photo update will also need to come to an MVD location.

A tale fit for Halloween: ADOT’s bat man to the rescue

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bats-th-spe_cropJust in time for Halloween, we have a not-so-scary tale of bats, a bridge project and an ADOT biologist.

It begins a day or so after Labor Day, just before crews are to start rebuilding the State Route 92 bridge over the San Pedro River between Sierra Vista and Bisbee, Arizona Department of Transportation crews make one last check under the bridge to be sure we’re good to go.

We were not. Two lesser long-nosed bats had made a temporary home under the bridge. The photo above shows them in their perch.

The bats are an endangered species, which means we had to stop most work to avoid disturbing them. Most of the time, these migratory bats head to Mexico and farther south well before Labor Day, but our friends decided to hang out a little longer in southern Arizona.

ADOT and the Federal Highway Administration, in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, decided it would be best to wait until cooler weather encouraged the bats to move on. Our best estimate for that to happen was mid-November.

Enter Josh Fife, a biologist with ADOT Environmental Planning who made several visits to the remote, 61-year-old bridge to check on the bats. The other day, he noticed that they appeared to have flown on. After three straight bat-free days, he gave the OK for work to resume.

In addition to protecting the bats, Fife’s checks saved a month of delays on the project, which is expected to be complete by early summer, and the costs associated with waiting.

As Bill Harmon, ADOT’s district engineer for southeast Arizona, put it, “Josh batted 1.000 on this one.”

Plan for US 180 restrictions north of Flagstaff during controlled burn Tuesday and Wednesday

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FLAGSTAFF — Traffic on US 180 will be restricted to one lane on Tuesday and Wednesday, near Kendrick Park, approximately 17 miles north of Flagstaff, as forest crews conduct a controlled burn in the area.

The scheduled burn will begin at 9:30 a.m. and is expected to last throughout the day and potentially through Wednesday if conditions allow.

Fire managers will be coordinating with ADOT, which will provide pilot vehicles to lead traffic through the restricted area and determine when to lift the restriction. ADOT will be on scene during ignitions and monitoring smoke impacts to the highway overnight, if necessary.

Drivers should allow for extra time for travel, slow down and proceed with caution with the potential reduced visibility conditions in the area.