Flagstaff Today - News and Photos

The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and the Coconino County Sheriff Search and Rescue Unit are requesting assistance from the public in locating missing person Fredrick Daniel Boone.

Mr. Boone is described as a white male, 50 years of age, 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing about 189 pounds, with short gray hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing tan coveralls, a black baseball cap and work boots. His vehicle is described as a maroon and gray 1990 Ford F-250 truck with Arizona license plate 439PRY. Mr. Boone was last seen near Winona at about 8 a.m. Sunday.

The investigation has revealed that he intended to hike in on Forest Road 82 to locate his vehicle that was stuck somewhere off that road. Search efforts are being conducted in the area surrounding FR 82 between I-40 and Lake Mary Road.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Mr. Boone are urged to call the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 774-4523.

azdailysun.com

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Horizon Air announced today that it will offer twice-daily nonstop service from Los Angeles to Flagstaff/Grand Canyon, Ariz., starting June 23.

Introductory one-way fares from Flagstaff will start as low as $89 to Los Angeles, $139 to Seattle, and $129 to Portland, Ore., with similarly low fares to other cities throughout the West, including Mexico.

As an extra bonus, passengers with Horizon Air/Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan frequent flier program accounts can earn Double Miles on the route through Aug. 31, 2008.

“Travelers from Flagstaff can say goodbye to missed connections or the long, unpredictable drive to another airport,” said Dan Russo, Horizon’s director of marketing and communications. “Instead, they’ll enjoy a relaxing, affordable Horizon Air flight from their hometown airport to Los Angeles. Visitors to the area from around the world will also gain a new, easier way to experience the Grand Canyon, Sedona and the other beautiful natural attractions nearby.” 

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AT&T Inc. plans to invest more than $68 million this year to expand wireless voice and data coverage for its Arizona network.

The 2008 investment will bring AT&T’s (NYSE:T) three-year network investment in Arizona to more than $254 million, officials said in making the announcement.

The project will include 57 new cell sites as the company continues to roll out its high-speed wireless network. San Antonio-based AT&T also has been working to increase the overall data capacity in the Phoenix area and will expand its third-generation wireless network in Flagstaff.

Phoenix Business Journal

The future of Flagstaff Unified School District’s budget is clear: Lower enrollment means lower state subsidies and lower spending.

But FUSD governing board budget priorities are also clear: Lay off no current employees and eliminate no programs. Because of a net drop in enrollment of 180 students this school year, FUSD can anticipate a decrease in state funding of approximately $455,000. This decline necessitates a reduction in teaching staff of approximately 6.7 full-time employees (see table on Page A6).

However, due to teacher retirement and resignations out of a teaching staff of more than 600, FUSD Superintendent Kevin Brown anticipates no one will be laid off.

azdailysun.com

Road construction, Traffic restrictions

MONDAY-FRIDAY Butler Avenue: Work on the medians is in progress, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. through May. Area businesses, residents, motorists and pedestrians can expect to see traffic control signs and construction activity on Butler Avenue from Milton Road to Beaver Street. There will be no restrictions to property in the construction area and there will be at least one lane of traffic open at all times. Motorists and pedestrians allow extra time when traveling through the construction area, or use alternate routes. For more information, call project manager Trevor Henry, at 226-4856.

Huntington Drive: Crews are working on underground utility relocations on Huntington Drive between Bronco Way and Enterprise Road. Traffic will be detoured around the areas of construction, which may include full closure of the roadway. Utility relocation work is expected to continue intermittently for the next four to five weeks. For more information on the roadway construction, contact project manager Christine Cameron at (928) 226-4863.

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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - On March 21, indigenous spiritual leaders, environmental groups, tribal officials and community members welcomed more than 100 participants of the Longest Walk II.

The Longest Walk II is a five-month journey that began in San Francisco and will finish in Washington, D.C., bringing attention to environmental protection and Native rights. It marks the 30th anniversary of the original Longest Walk of 1978, which resulted in historic changes for American Indians.

”We’ve crossed 18 mountain ranges. We have walked 980 miles to be here,” said Dennis Banks, co-founder of the American Indian Movement and lead coordinator for the southern route of the Longest Walk II. ”Thirty years ago, a walk took place across this country and one of the issues that we brought before members of Congress was the issue of the San Francisco Peaks, the holy mountain. Thirty years later, we are still concerned about the destruction and the violation of the holiness of this mountain.”

A sunrise prayer gathering was held on Arizona’s San Francisco Peaks, where Snowbowl, a small private ski resort, has been attempting to expand and make snow from treated sewage effluent. More than 13 indigenous nations hold the peaks holy and are unified in resisting the desecration of this sacred site.

Indian Country Today

The city council/mayoral race has begun to heat up, with five debates scheduled at this point. Here is the tentative debate schedule:

April 2 — The League of Women Voters will hold a forum on Mountain Line ballot issues and the other ballot issue related to city contracts. The forum will be held at the Federated Church at 6 p.m. April 3 — Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce/ASNAU are hosting a candidate debate at Cline Library on the NAU Campus. All eight candidates are expected to attend. The debate starts at 6 p.m.

April 17 — BOTHANDS/KNAU will hold a debate on housing for the mayoral and council candidates from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Mayor Joe Donaldson is not expected to attend.

Donaldson recently said he will be out of town attending a ceremony where his son will receive his “Gold Wings.” He may be referring to the Naval Aviator Insignia, which is given to military service members who have completed training to pilot military aircraft.

April 24 — The Friends of Flagstaff’s Future will hold a “candidate roundtable” at the American Legion starting at 7 p.m. This “candidate roundtable” does require an RSVP due to limited seating. Call 556-8663 for more information.

April 25 — The Peaks Senior Living Community will host a candidate debate, expected to be on transportation, at The Peaks from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

azdailysun.com

MEADOW LAKE, N.M.—A teenager accused in the death of a Meadow Lake man has surrendered to authorities.Brittany Brylowe, 19, turned herself in Friday night, Valencia County sheriff’s deputies said.

Brylowe and Daniel Penrod were arrested Thursday in Flagstaff, Ariz., driving a stolen car, but Brylowe was released before authorities there discovered she had been charged in last week’s death of George Burns, 59.

Investigators said Burns had wounds on his upper body and head. Both suspects are facing murder charges.

Brylowe was being held at the Valencia County Detention Center on a $200,000 cash-only bond.

Penrod was in custody in Arizona, also on a $200,000 bond.

Las Cruces Sun-News

About two miles west of Grand Canyon Village sits a tall metal tower, fenced off from the public.

The walking trail along the canyon’s South Rim detours around it, and hikers are told to avoid drinking the radioactive water that flows from it. Formerly a copper mine beginning in 1983 and later one of the richest uranium deposits in the United States, the Orphan Mine once fed uranium mills near Tuba City and Grants, N.M., during the Cold War.

The mine went bust, along with the rest of the uranium industry, shortly after President Ronald Reagan opened the uranium market to global competition. By the 1990s, Russia was selling nuclear weapons to the United States to be downgraded into fuel for nuclear plants, said Michael Amundson, Northern Arizona University history professor and author.

azdailysun.com

UCLA coach Ben Howland’s first college head-coaching job was at Northern Arizona (1994-99).He built the program from the bottom and got it to the NCAA Tournament before building Pittsburgh (1999-2003) into a national power and now making UCLA a regular to these big games.

“It was a great experience raising a family in Flagstaff,” Howland said. “It was enjoyable living there.”

When Pitt hired Howland from NAU to be its coach in 1999, Pitt alum Sean Miller, now the head coach at Xavier, initially thought that “the people at Pitt were confused.”

“I wondered how that (hire) could be made,” Miller said.

But, as it turned out, Miller said, “That choice was one of the all-time great choices.” He said the school and city should be eternally grateful for how Howland restored Pitt to national prominence and that his top assistant at NAU and Pitt, Jamie Dixon, has continued that after Howland left.

Arizona Republic

A construction stimulus program that is framed around the capital needs of the state’s public universities could keep Arizona from the grips of recession by pumping more than a billion dollars into the state’s economy and creating about 31,000 jobs during this current downturn in Arizona’s construction industry.

The plan proposes to invest $1.4 billion in revitalizing decaying buildings at the state’s three universities and in constructing much-needed new facilities. At Northern Arizona University, it would mean $310 million in construction projects–$169 million to address critical building maintenance issues and $141 million to construct a new health professions facility and a high-tech classroom building.

The program calls for the universities to pay 20 percent of the debt service on the projects for the next 25 years. The state would phase in paying its share of the debt service beginning in 2010. NAU’s annual debt service payments on the capital projects at full build-out in 2012 would be about $6 million annually. 

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The Flagstaff Family YMCA’s ongoing search for a home began a new — and possibly final — chapter Tuesday.

The Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a conditional use permit for a 19,895-square-foot complex on a 5-acre parcel on North Turquoise Drive in Switzer Canyon. The planned two-story facility will include a child daycare center, teen activity rooms, fitness rooms, a basketball court, climbing walls and two outdoor play areas.

A proposed swimming pool was scrapped after the city announced plans for the Flagstaff Aquaplex on Fourth Street in 2004.

A branch of the Flagstaff Urban Trail System will connect the complex to other parts of the city.

azdailysun.com

Flagstaff, Arizona - March 29 Winners of the the 11th International Competition for Guitar Duos in Montelimar (France), the duo Giuseppe Caputo and Luciano Pompilio have received international recognition, imposing themselves on the attention of the press and the music experts.

Grand Canyon Guitar Society Presents Duo Caputo-Pompilio, Coconino Center for the Arts, 7:00 p.m., $18 advance, $20 at-the-door, 928-213-0752, www.canyonguitar.org. Grand Canyon Guitar Society presents Italian guitar duet Giuseppe Caputo and Luciano Pompilio in their first ever Flagstaff concert.

Duo Caputo-Pompilio, born in 1994 with the clear aim to search and go into the original repertoire for two guitars of 1800 and 1900, has recorded three CDs: “Works for guitar duo” dedicated to the repertoire of 1900; “Petit déjeuner” dedicated to the age transcriptions of 1800 for two guitars; and “Spanish Atmospheres” in cooperation with the English Soprano Anita Biltoo.

Duo Caputo Pompilio
March 29, 2008 • 7:00pm
Coconino Center for the Arts
www.duocaputopompilio.com

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Navajo Nation took a giant leap forward toward developing renewable wind energy this month by signing an agreement with Citizens Enterprises Corporation, the energy development subsidiary of nationally-renowned Citizens Energy Corporation and the Navajo Nation’s wholesale energy enterprise, the Diné Power Authority (DPA), to move work forward on the development of utility-scale wind energy projects on Navajo lands.

The agreement, signed by Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., Citizens Energy Chairman and President Joseph P. Kennedy II, DPA and other key Navajo entities solidifies an on-going partnership that anticipates the development of more than 500 MW of wind energy in several locations throughout the Navajo Nation. 

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A man died Wednesday on the Bright Angel Trail at Grand Canyon National Park.

According to information from the National Park Service, park dispatch learned at about 2:42 p.m. that a man was lying unresponsive on the trail about Ñ-mile below the rest station a mile and a half below the rim. The itinerary of the victim and his hiking companion are unknown at this time. A Good Samaritan started CPR receiving instruction from park dispatch. Park personnel arrived on scene and continued CPR without success.

The man’s body was carried by litter to a helicopter at the “Mile-and-a-Half House,” where it was transported to the South Rim Helibase and turned over to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The victim’s name and age have not been released, pending notification of next of kin.

The National Park Service is investigating.

azdailysun.com

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 27, 2008) –NAU Opera announces the Arizona premiere of Handel’s comedic opera Serse (Xerxes) in the original Italian. The performance will take place on April 3, 5 and 6 in Ardrey Auditorium with English supertitles.

A production of this opera in an English translation was performed by ASU Lyric Opera in 2003.

The production, directed by Nando Schellen and conducted by NAU Orchestra director Darko Butorac, will feature the NAU Symphony Orchestra, the NAU Opera chorus and student soloists. 

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Ron Crawley felt like he was on a movie set. But he was sleeping inside his historic stone cabin, a cozy, century-old building in Fort Valley.

And he was surrounded by flames. “When I opened up my eyes the whole place was ablaze,” Crawley said. “I looked up and the flame literally went streaking across the ceiling, and it went up every single wall.”

A blaze Tuesday night consumed the cabin and everything in it after an explosion triggered by a gas leak. The building was gutted and cracks in the walls rendered the building so unsafe it had to be demolished — a dramatic end to a home about as old as Flagstaff itself.

azdailysun.com

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 27, 2008) — As a high school student during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Raymond Michalowski could not understand why his life was in danger because of the small island country.

In 1985 he had the chance to satisfy his curiosity about the island through visits and research projects. Since then, he has visited Cuba extensively and lived there in the spring of 1989 to conduct research on Cuban law.

Michalowski, a Regents’ Professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northern Arizona University, said the Cuba of today is not the same Cuba he began studying, but many of the same questions regarding its role in U.S. politics remain the same as years past. 

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A former Flagstaff High School teacher accused of having improper relationships with several students has pleaded innocent to a charge of sexual misconduct with a minor.

Tawni L. Wimberley, 29, entered the plea at her arraignment Tuesday in Coconino County Superior Court. Flagstaff police announced they were pursuing the charge against Wimberley in February, following a five-month investigation that had detectives tracking down “multiple” young men with whom the computer and technology teacher had allegedly had consensual sexual liaisons while she was on a leave of absence.

A county grand jury indicted Wimberley on one count of sexual conduct with a minor on March 12. The charge stems from an alleged encounter with a 17-year-old boy last summer.

azdailysun.com

CHANDLER - On March 22, 2008, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a reported missing adult who is identified as James Allen Martinson, age 37, from Chandler, Arizona. Martinson last spoke to his family via telephone from Flagstaff in mid March where he is employed on a Monday through Friday work schedule. Martinson was expected to return to Chandler on the evening of Friday, March 21, 2008.  Since this phone call, no one in the family has heard from Martinson or been able to determine his whereabouts.

On March 22, 2008, while returning home from Flagstaff in an attempt to locate Martinson, family members found his unoccupied car on the southbound I17 at the Stoneman Lake exit. The vehicle, a dark green Nissan Pathfinder with Arizona plates, contained some of Martinson’s personal property including his wallet and cell phone. A search of the area provided no clues as to his location. 

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