Flagstaff Today - News and Photos

WASHINGTON, D.C.- President Joe Shirley, Jr. affirmed the Navajo Nation’s full support for the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act (S 1171) at a Senate hearing today.

“The Navajo Nation overwhelmingly supports the settlement of our water rights claims on the San Juan River, the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, and the framework to provide sustainable water to the Navajo Nation, the City of Gallup, and the Jicarilla Nation,” said President Shirley before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

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A house under construction went up in flames and sent firefighters chasing down wind-whipped spot fires Friday morning.

According to Flagstaff police and firefighters, at about 9:18 Friday morning, an FPD officer noticed smoke and flames in the area of the 1200 block of North Fourth Street.

The fire department responded to find 60- to 70-foot flames shooting from a framed-out house in a neighborhood under construction, on N. Fourth Street just south of Interstate 40, said Capt. Mark Johnson of the Flagstaff Fire Department.

azdailysun.com

A Coconino County Sheriff’s deputy has located Roosevelt Sims, the 65-year-old man aboard an Amtrak train who was ejected for appearing drunk and out of control about 5 miles outside of the city of Williams in Northern Arizona.

Sims was diagnosed with diabetes just last week. His family says that explains his strange behavior on an Amtrak train, not intoxication. Sims was transported to Flagstaff Medical Center for observation and will be interviewed by police when cleared by medical staff.

Other Amtrak passengers say Sims was left in a desolate area late Sunday night. Earlier, police spotted Sims shortly after he was asked to leave the train, but he ran away into the forest.

KPNX

Change of plea in brutal murder
On Tuesday, Kenneth A. Moore, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder in the death of Lori G. Justus. The plea agreement traded possible execution for a life prison sentence.

Izabel fire costs pegged at $20,000
The cost of last week’s Izabel fire will take some time to officially tabulate, but officials at the Flagstaff Fire Department estimate it to come to about $20,000.

Most Arizonans say they’d let illegal immigrants stay
Most Arizonans are willing to let those already in the country illegally stay — if they meet certain conditions — according to a new survey.

Fallen feathers
Nowadays, motorists zip by Exit 219 on Interstate 40 from Flagstaff to Winslow, unaware that the Twin Arrows exit was once a favorite and convenient stopping point for travelers driving east and west on old Route 66.

azdailysun.com

Arizona lawmakers consider Dan Frazier to be such an entrepreneurial hyena that they passed a bill that would cut into his profits and then attached an emergency tag to the bill so that it would go into effect immediately.

Frazier sells T-shirts.

“I never expected it to come to this,” he told me. “But I’m not backing down.”

Frazier also sells bumper stickers. In fact, it was a bumper sticker that led him to manufacture the T-shirt that got the state Legislature to pass the measure to shut him down. Or at least to shut him up.

“It hasn’t stopped me,” he said. “I’m still selling the T-shirt, and I will continue.”

Arizona Republic

Three young boys have confessed to accidentally setting last week’s Izabel fire while playing with fireworks in the woods, and could face felony criminal charges in connection with the blaze.

The fire burned about 5 acres on the east-facing slope of McMillan Mesa Friday afternoon before being contained. The fire apparently started within about 100 yards of homes in the densely populated Sunnyside neighborhood.

No structures were damaged or homes evacuated, but the Flagstaff Fire Department sent seven engines and two crews out to the scene, spending several hours attacking and mopping up the damage. U.S. Forest Service firefighters also helped battle the flames.

Although the boys have not yet been formally charged, police say criminal charges are pending — the specifics will depend on the findings of fire investigators.

azdailysun.com

A wildfire that burned within the city limits of Flagstaff on Friday was believed to be started by juveniles playing with fireworks.

The “Izabel Fire” that spread five and a half acres near the Sunnyside neighborhood in eastern Flagstaff has been contained, said Mark Brehl, coordinator of Community Fire Wise for the Flagstaff Fire Department.

Homes were about 75 to 100 yards east of the fire, Brehl said. But no homes were lost, and no one was injured in the blaze. 

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Six brand-new Acuras are toast after the car carrier hauling them to Denver went up in flames on Interstate 40.

DPS officers say bearings in the trailer’s rear axle overheated and seized yesterday, sparking the blaze on an open stretch of highway about 25 miles east of Flagstaff.

The driver of the big-rig was able to disconnect his tractor from the blazing trailer and it was not damaged.

KVOA

Following an early morning board meeting on Friday, Coconino Community College now has a new president: Leah L. Bornstein, currently chief executive officer of Colorado Mountain College.

The CCC District Governing Board met in special session and voted unanimously to appoint Bornstein to head Coconino Community College, according to a CCC press release.

CCC is a Flagstaff-based community college that serves approximately 5,000 students throughout northern Arizona on six campuses, including two in Flagstaff.

The move to appoint Bornstein comes after she agreed to a contract offer by CCC worth approximately $171,500 per year in salary plus $18,000 in housing allowance, according to Jami Van Ess, CCC’s vice president of business and administrative services.

azdailysun.com

Firefighters are battling two wildfires in the Flagstaff area with one blaze prompting evacuation warnings for residents of one neighborhood.

The “Izabel Fire” is burning in east Flagstaff, just west of Izabel Street and north of Second Avenue.

Police were telling residents to be prepared to leave.

Fire crews from several agencies and Coconino County Animal Services were on hand in the event of an evacuation.

The “Wing” fire near Wing Mountain is burning six miles north of Flagstaff, or about two miles west of Baderville, off Forest Road 519.

The Coconino National Forest said it requested three engines, a water tanker, a fuels crew, a helicopter and a slurry bomber.

KTAR

NEAR FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Standing on the top of Deadman Butte, the damage spreads as far as the eye can see.

Across the broad, parched plain below, stands of dead pinyon pine trees mingle with still-living junipers, grey death amidst green life.

“This used to be a pinyon and juniper woodland,” Neil Cobb, an ecological research scientist at Northern Arizona University, remarks sadly. “Now it’s just juniper.”

To the south and west, the San Francisco Peaks are slashed and even denuded from forest fires, which have been increasingly intense and numerous in recent years. 

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Thanks to the Arizona Lottery, the state has two new millionaires today.

Erik and Crystal Brown of Flagstaff were the lucky winners of the $13.5 million The Pick jackpot, one of the top 10 largest payouts for that game. The largest jackpot was $23.2 million in March 1993.

The Browns regularly play The Pick, and said they usually purchase more tickets when the jackpot is big. On Wednesday night, Crystal purchased $40 worth of The Pick tickets with computer-picked numbers at the Flagstaff One Stop. The second ticket Erik checked Thursday morning was the big winner.”The first ticket I checked won us $3, which I was happy about,” Erik said. “But the second ticket made me even happier.”

Erik called the Lottery’s toll free line to check the numbers at 5:30 a.m., and once he found out they won, he and Crystal double-checked the hotline and the Web site, then headed down to Phoenix to claim their prize.

azcentral.com

The future of economic development in Flagstaff was decided Tuesday night, with the Flagstaff City Council deciding to sever its contract with its long-standing economic development partner, the Greater Flagstaff Economic Council.

The 5-2 decision ends months of wrangling between city staff and GFEC over their two competing visions for driving future economic growth in the city.

The $447,000 proposal, which redirects $367,000 the city had initially set aside for GFEC next year, differs from the proposal Community Investment Director Michael Kerski outlined in a city budget retreat held last February.

While the proposal still include Kerski’s initial request for two new staff positions related to economic development, the title of one of the positions — initially described as a economic analyst — has been changed to business retention and expansion. The two positions will cost the city $170,000 in salaries and benefits annually.

Roughly $80,000 had already been set aside to fund the business attraction specialist prior to the council decision Tuesday night to cut GFEC’s funding.

The bulk of the funding will go to new programs and initiatives never publicly discussed prior this week’s council meetings.

azdailysun.com

When Fido dies and an owner wants his dog’s body kept out of a local landfill or backyard, Flagstaff-area resident Russell Mann would like to pick it up, take it home and cremate it.

But the Pine Del resident and former county morgue assistant is facing opposition from at least 21 of his neighbors over his plan to build a 1,600-degree crematorium on his half-acre residential lot.

Some say the proposed business, located south of Flagstaff, might add traffic to the neighborhood, result in dead animals accidentally being left on the wrong doorsteps, and hurt the value of their homes.

“By and large, people are uncomfortable with this sort of facility in a neighborhood, and that will reduce property values,” homeowner Charles Grogan said.

azstarnet.com

Flagstaff officials also plan to hire a downtown manager and create 438 new parking spaces.

Flagstaff city officials have finalized a plan and set aside nearly $1.5 million over the next two years in an attempt to end a critical shortage of parking downtown.

The city wants to use the funding to build at least two lots designed for downtown employees, the purchase of solar-powered multi-space parking meters as well as the salaries of a downtown manager and several “parking ambassadors.”

In all, the city intends to create as many as 438 new parking spaces downtown and in Southside along Beaver and San Francisco streets.

azdailysun.com

A scary sight Saturday morning when residents near Flagstaff watched a wild fire burn dangerously close to their homes.

The 18 acre Manning fire burned in a pine forest about six miles northeast of Flagstaff along highway 89. Firefighters from four agencies battled blaze. As a precaution residents of 15 homes were asked to evacuate. Power was also cut in the area for a short period.

By late afternoon, firefighters had contained the fire. Residents were allowed back in their home. The cause is under investigation.

KPNX

Flagstaff police say they plan to step up forest patrols in an effort to find homeless camps as the fire danger increases.

The effort will target transients who have set up permanent camps in the forest surrounding the city. Although camping is legal in the Coconino National Forest if campfires aren’t used, any unimproved camp using a fire or in place for more than 14 days is illegal.

As the height of fire season approaches, the danger from inadvertent fires started at such camps goes up. Police say they will add several extra forest patrols per week, and fly along with a Department of Public Safety helicopter crew to try to find camps.

Flagstaff Fire Department crews will call in campsites they find and the public is being asked to call them in as well.

KTAR

The former city manager for Nogales and the current town manager in Fountain Hills are vying to the be the next city manager for Flagstaff.

Former City Manager Dave Wilcox left the city six months ago, after 14 years with the city. The current city council opted not renew Wilcox’s contract last October.

Both finalists have years of experience running a small government, but their experiences leading up to their positions are different.

One has spent his entire career working for cities and towns, while the other has bounced back and forth between municipalities and private organizations.

azdailysun.com

Northern Arizona University President John Haeger will join more than 250 other college and university presidents in formally committing to reduce and eventually eliminate NAU’s global warming emissions.

The American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment will be adopted June 11 and 12 at a summit of higher education leaders in Washington, D.C.

“Northern Arizona University is a leader in climate change research and curriculum, and through collaborative efforts throughout campus we are assessing ways to reduce our own greenhouse emissions,” Haeger said. “We are pleased to officially commit to developing the diversity of skills needed to reverse global warming.” 

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Lobsang Tenzin is calm and his touch gentle, as he places the three middle fingers of his right hand on an older woman’s right wrist.

Dressed in maroon and saffron-colored clothing, the monk is evaluating what he calls the woman’s pulse.

“I am looking for nerves, how deep, how strong,” said Lobsang Tenzin, an ordained Tibetan Buddhist monk and doctor of Tibetan medicine. “I look at patients’ tongue, eyes, face and color.”

Tenzin arrived in Flagstaff May 11 on an Amtrak via Los Angeles.

He is staying with local residents Marsha and John Ashurst. Tenzin will see patients through mid-June, thanks to the Ashursts and donated office space.

Tenzin is in Flagstaff to give Tibetan medical evaluations and to dispense herbal treatments.

KVOA