Tag Archives: Payson

24th Annual Payson Wildlife Fair Set for Saturday, May 12

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PAYSON – On Saturday, May 12, Green Valley Park comes alive with a multitude of wildlife and outdoor fun activities for the whole family at the 24th Annual Payson Wildlife Fair.

Catch a rainbow trout, cruise the lake in a canoe, or touch a live snake … there is something for everyone. People come from all over the state for this outdoor event. It’s a great day up in the cool mountain air of Payson, at a time of year when the Valley is really heating up. And it’s all free.

There will be booths from many local and state organizations, hands-on activities, an archery range, and (out)door prizes for the kids such as fishing rods and lures. Live birds of prey will be on display, as well as snakes, Gila monsters, tortoises and other wildlife. The fair celebrates Arizona’s great outdoors and our state’s diverse wildlife.

Green Valley Lake will receive more than double its normal stocking of trout in preparation for the Fair, thanks to the generosity of the Mogollon Sporting Association (MSA). No fishing license is required for fair attendees, and equipment and bait are provided at the free fishing booth at the fair.

The Payson Wildlife Fair is a cooperative effort between the Arizona Game and Fish Department, USDA Forest Service, Mogollon Sporting Association, and Payson Parks and Recreation Department. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 12 at Green Valley Park in Payson.

Public input sought on proposed 4FRI forest restoration alternatives for Rim Country

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PHOENIX — The U.S. Forest Service and the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) Stakeholders Group are seeking public input regarding draft alternatives for proposed forest restoration activities along the Rim Country of Arizona.

Two public workshops are scheduled this month for the U.S. Forest Service to present, and obtain public comment upon, the alternatives for the 4FRI Rim Country project area. The draft alternatives describe various ways to meet restoration goals, and input is desired by 4FRI project proponents to ensure the public’s interests are included.

The meetings/workshops are scheduled for:

Thursday, April 13, Payson, 5-8 p.m., Julia Randall Elementary School Gymnasium, 902 W. Main St., Payson, Ariz.

Tuesday, April 18, Show Low, 4:30-7 p.m., Show Low City Hall, Deuce of Clubs meeting room, 180 N. 9th St., Show Low, Ariz.

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The Rim Country environmental analysis covers 1.2 million acres of National Forest lands. Treatments are planned for the Black Mesa and Lakeside Ranger Districts of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, the Mogollon and Red Rock Ranger Districts of the Coconino National Forest, and the Payson and Pleasant Valley Ranger Districts of the Tonto National Forest. This environmental analysis is the largest of its kind in the country, and will set the stage for forest restoration treatments in its footprint for the next 10 or more years.

The alternatives were developed in response to comments from earlier public scoping as well as National Forest staff’s continuing research and analysis of the Rim Country project area.

Once alternatives are finalized, the specifics of each will be analyzed and presented to the public in the form of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) next year.

More information about the project can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/4FRIRimCountry.

The Rim Country EIS is the second landscape-scale, multi-forest environmental assessment for the Four Forest Restoration Initiative, a collaborative effort between the U.S. Forest Service, the public, and a stakeholder group representing nearly 40 individuals, organizations, and government entities (including the Arizona Game and Fish Department). For more information, visit www.4fri.org.

ADEQ and Partners Host Free Environmental Resources Roadshows in Payson and Holbrook

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PHOENIX — Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) officials announced today that ADEQ, Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) Adopt a Highway Volunteer Programs and Keep Arizona Beautiful (KAZB) staff will conduct two “Environmental Resources Roadshows”:

Payson
Wed., Dec. 2, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Payson Council Chambers
303 N. Beeline Highway
Payson, AZ 85541

Holbrook
Thurs., Dec. 3, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Navajo County Courthouse Auditorium
100 E. Arizona St.
Holbrook, AZ 86025

ADEQ encourages community members, business people, public officials, and school representatives in Payson, Holbrook and the surrounding area to attend one of the no-cost, two-hour events. Following brief presentations, attendees can engage in open dialogue and participate in a question and answer session.

Topics

  • ADEQ: successful municipal recycling programs such as electronic waste and food recovery
  • ADEQ: how communities can benefit from ADEQ’s brownfields grants and technical expertise
  • ADOT: volunteer process for adopting sections of Arizona highways for litter cleanup
  • KAZB: statewide litter prevention, recycling and beautification programs

If you are interested in the Environmental Resources Roadshow presenting in your community in 2016, please call one of the listed contacts.

Background
ADEQ’s recycling program, which began 1991, has facilitated recycling initiatives in every county in Arizona. Currently, the program focuses on hosting environmental roadshows across the state, particularly in rural areas, to educate Arizonans about what they can do to establish or enhance recycling programs to protect and preserve their environment. For detailed information, please visit:

  • Recycling: http://www.azdeq.gov/environ/waste/solid/recycle.html
  • Electronic waste recycling: http://azdeq.gov/environ/waste/p2/ewastetoolkit/index.html
  • Food recovery: http://www2.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food

Brownfields are properties with active redevelopment potential hindered by known or perceived environmental contamination. ADEQ’s non-competitive brownfields grant program has funded more than 50 projects assisting local governments and nonprofits in completing environmental assessments and cleanups. Currently accepting applications, ADEQ’s brownfields grant program conducts projects through Arizona’s State Response Grant using funds provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Visit http://www.azdeq.gov/environ/waste/cleanup/brownfields.html.

Pavement repair on SR 260 east of Payson for the next five weeks

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PAYSON — The Arizona Department of Transportation will repair a dip in the roadway on State Route 260 eastbound near Kohl’s Ranch, approximately 19 miles east of Payson starting tomorrow between mileposts 270 and 271. Crews will be working on the roadway through Oct. 17.

Work will require the roadway to be narrowed to one lane through the work zone and a 14-foot width restriction will be in place.

Bridge work complete on SR 260 east of Payson

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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.

Electronics Waste Recycling Event will be held Saturday, April 4 at Town of Payson Multi-Event Center

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PAYSON — Arizona Department of Environmental Quality officials announced today that the Sixth Annual Payson Free Electronics Waste Recycling Event will be held Saturday morning, April 4 from 8 a.m. until noon at the Town of Payson Multi-Event Center, 1400 S. Beeline Highway.

ADEQ and its partners – Payson Water Department, Gila County, Tonto Apache Tribe, Northern Gila County Sanitary District, Pine-Strawberry Water Improvement District, CH2MHill and eGreen-IT Solutions of Phoenix — anticipate collecting tons of unwanted televisions, computers, monitors, batteries, chargers, cell phones, VCRs, CD and DVD players, printers, small appliances, fax machines, cables and cords during the event. No more than two televisions or monitors per vehicle will be accepted during the event.

The recyclable material will be collected at the Multi-Event Center, in the south part of Payson across Beeline Highway from Mazatzal Hotel and Casino. eGreen-IT Solutions uses state of the art software to erase all hard drives and will provide companies and individuals donating e-waste a certificate of disposal for their records. The event has grown in popularity since its inception with 10,601 pounds collected in 2010, 20,345 pounds in 2011, 23,350 pounds in 2012, 29,842 pounds in 2013 and 29,047 pounds last year.

“It’s been exciting to see the Payson area get behind this event,” ADEQ Director Henry Darwin said. “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 does not take up valuable landfill space.”

“The Town of Payson looks forward to the opportunity to work with ADEQ and our other partners to offer this much-needed recycling event,” said Buzz Walker, Payson’s Water Superintendent. “These events are typically some of the most well-attended of all our various town events.”

For more information, call (928) 474-5242 Ext. 381 or (928) 337-3565.

Bridge work resumes on SR 260 east of Payson next week

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adot-logo-03aAfter upgrading five eastbound bridge approaches on State Route 260 last fall, the Arizona Department of Transportation is returning this month to replace and repave the approaches to three westbound bridges between mileposts 272-277, approximately 20 miles east of Payson.

Motorists traveling along SR 260 should allow extra travel time and be aware that westbound traffic will be shifted to the eastbound lanes, which will become a two-way roadway through the five-mile work zone, beginning on Tuesday, March 24. A 10-foot width restriction will be in place throughout construction and drivers should be aware of heavy traffic during peak travel times.

The $2.9 million improvement project, which is expected to be completed in August, includes 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.

Payson man does not yet show symptoms of Ebola virus

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PAYSON – The Mann family of Payson, Arizona are members are missionaries with CrossWay International. They work to share the Gospel of Grace and serve the Body of Christ.

According to the Payson Roundup, Allen Mann recently returned to Payson from missionary work in rural Liberia, one of several African countries beset by the Ebola epidemic.

He was contacted about his trip by the Roundup and found that he had simply voluntarily quarantined himself as a precaution, as reported by Channel 3.

Currently he displays no symptoms of the disease. According to the Roundup:

Mann was asked what he and his doctor felt were the odds he’d been exposed to Ebola on a scale of one to 10 scale. “A ‘one,’” Mann said.

The terrible effects of the disease may have already been felt in Arizona however. That of unreasoning fear.

Because of this incident, fear-mongering web sites have already spread the news that Ebola is now in Arizona. None of them report that the only way to contract the disease is by direct contact of an infected person or the fluids of the infected person. Is is not a disease contracted through the air. Ebola is not always fatal and patients generally make a full recovery.

This is one of the few areas in which Franklin Delano Roosevelt could be considered correct. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Woods Canyon Fire 40% contained

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Springerville – While the Slide Rock Fire is garnering much of the headlines, firefighters are also battling a human-caused blaze in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. The 88-acre Woods Canyon fire approximately 22 miles west of Heber Overgaard is said to be 40% contained as of yesterday.

Dozer and handlines have been created on the east and west sides of the fire. Crews are still battling spot fires on the north side. No structures or powerlines are threatened at this time.

Resources on the scene include a single engine air tanker, hotshot crew, two Type 3 helicopters, two Type 2 crews, one water tender, and several engines. Helicopters are dipping water from Woods Canyon Lake. No injuries have been reported.

All campgrounds in the Woods Canyon Lake area and the Woods Canyon store are open. Some parking in the area is closed to visitors while it is being used for fire logistics. The Rocky Point day use area is open.

To make matters worse, there are reports of lightning-caused fires in the Clifton Ranger district 5 miles NE of Clifton near Sunset Mountain, 13 miles NE of Clifton near Pat Mountain and 35 miles N of Clifton, 18 miles SW of Alpine. The largest of these is the Sunset Mountain at 20-50 acres and all were reported at 0% containment as of yesterday. The Sunset Mountain fire is being fought by a Hotshot crew and helicopter and the others are being worked on by local fire firefighting responders in the area. They are mainly brush fires in contrast to the pine fuels burning in the Slide Rock and Woods Canyon fires.

The Apache-Sitgreaves and counties in the area have initiated Stage II fire restrictions. This means not open fires of any kind, including charcoal fires, even in developed campgrounds. No smoking except in vehicles or buildings and no operation of internal combustion engines that might create sparks. The use of explosive targets or tracer ammunition is prohibited, but the use of firearms is not prohibited as reported by Phoenix television—though it is probably not a smart idea.

Bridge work on SR 260 starts tomorrow east of Payson

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PRESCOTT – The Arizona Department of Transportation will begin a bridge rehabilitation project on Tuesday, April 29 along a 10-mile stretch of State Route 260 (mileposts 267-277), approximately 17 miles east of Payson.

This $2.9 million project consists of reconstructing the existing bridge approaches of eight structures on the eastbound and westbound roadways. Work also includes milling and replacing the existing pavement at the bridge approaches, guardrail reconstruction and the replacement of existing pavement markings.

Work will begin tomorrow, April 29 at 6 a.m. in two locations, and will be in place for the next three months. Drivers can expect the eastbound lanes, at both locations, to be closed and traffic switched over to one of the westbound lanes creating a two-way roadway. Work hours are 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The first will be at the Tonto Creek Bridge (mileposts 267-268) near Kohl’s Ranch Road and the second will start at the Christopher Creek Campground (mileposts 272 -277) and work eastbound for five miles.

Delays are possible and drivers need to allow extra travel time to reach their destinations. The closures and detour will be in effect for the next three months.

The work zone will be clearly marked by temporary barricades and signage. ADOT advises drivers to proceed through the work zone with caution, comply with the reduced speed limit, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.