Planned power outages for Quartzsite - Sunday, June 2nd

Quartzsite - APS announced planned Power outages for Quartzsite on Sunday, June 2nd. 

The first will be at 6 am for 5 minutes. 

The second will be at 10 pm for 5 minutes.

La Paz County Teens join Global Fight to End Tobacco Use May 31st

Month-long effort culminates on 

World No Tobacco Day – May 31, 2013

La Paz County, AZ –Teens from La Paz County will join youth from across Arizona this month in the global fight to end tobacco use. As members of the statewide anti-tobacco youth coalition STAND (Students Taking a New Direction), they are working to shed light on the dangers of tobacco use and will host a variety of events to mark World No Tobacco Day on May 31.

The students, who have set up No Tobacco Pledge Walls in high traffic areas such as city and town halls, local super markets and other businesses, work year-round to increase awareness about tobacco use in their local communities, encourage others to reject the tobacco industry’s deceptive messages and urge local leaders to protect kids from being recruited as a new generation of smokers.

In La Paz County, the teens will conclude their May initiative with a special surprise for local community members who come out to their World No Tobacco Day event at 4:30 p.m. May 31 at Basha's Grocery Store in Parker.

The theme of this year’s World No Tobacco Day, a global initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO), is “Ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.”

“What better way to support this year’s focus on banning tobacco promotion than for us to be out here promoting our own anti-tobacco message,” said Tammy Minor, Teen Solutions Coordinator with the La Paz County Health Department. “Plus, we will have a fun surprise for everyone. So come out, make a pledge and join us,”

According to WHO, tobacco kills nearly six million people worldwide each year, of which more than 600,000 are non-smokers dying from breathing second-hand smoke. In the United States alone, more than 500,000 people die from tobacco use annually, which is more than 1,400 each day, and 50,000 die from the effects of second-hand smoke.

Arizona Tobacco Stats at a Glance:

·         17.4 percent of Arizona high school students smoke

·         6,000 Arizona kids under 18 become new daily smokers each year

·         227,000 Arizona kids are exposed to second-hand smoke at home

·         10.4 percent of male high school students use smokeless or spit tobacco

·         19.2 percent of adults smoke

(Sources: U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids)

Update on Island Lake Fire north of Yuma

Below is the update on the Island Lake Fire on the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge from BLM:

FIRE NAME:  Island Lake Fire  

LOCATION:  The fire is located in the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge on the Arizona side of the Colorado River. 

TIME REPORTED:  May 19, 2013, at 1 p.m.  

ACRES BURNED:  Approximately 500 acres 

RESOURCES:  There are currently 1engine, 1 Type II crew, 2 fire boats, 1 law enforcement boat, and overhead personnel totaling approximately 50 people.  A helicopter is on order at this time.

AGENCIES:  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Arizona State Forestry Department 

LAND STATUS:  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

VEGETATION:  Primarily salt cedar and phragmites

WEATHER:  Temperatures between 95 – 100 degrees with single digit humidity.  Winds will be northwest at 5 -18 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph.

RESOURCES AND STRUCTURES THREATENED:  Norton’s Landing

CONTAINMENT:  5 percent contained at this time. 

CAUSE:  The cause of this fire is under investigation.  

CURRENT STATUS:  The Island Lake Fire is moving upstream at this time and is only accessible by the Colorado River.  The southern portion of the fire has a fireline around it and the eastern portion of the fire is desert.  The western portion of the fire is the Colorado River and it is holding the fire at this time.  The plan for today is to prepare the line for a burnout operation along the northern side of the fire to protect Norton’s Landing which is a private inholding on Imperial National Wildlife Refuge.

CURRENT STATUS:  The Island Lake Fire continues to burn upstream on the Arizona side of the Colorado River.  Fire personnel are conducting a burnout operation on the north side of the fire to stop the fire’s progression. 

RESOURCES AND STRUCTURES THREATENED:  Norton’s Landing and Picacho State Recreation Area.  Two ramadas in the Picacho State Recreation Area have been destroyed.

The forward progress of the fire on the California side of the Colorado River has stopped.  There was an additional spot fire north of Picacho State Recreation Area and it has been confined.

Firefighter and public safety, along with structure protection at Norton’s Landing and Picacho State Recreation Area continue to be top priorities for this fire.  With winds coming from the north, smoke will continue to carry into the Yuma area.  Please take precautions if you are sensitive to smoke.  

River Medical offers FREE CPR training in Quartzsite, May 22nd

River Medical Offers Free CPR Training on May 22 

to Save Lives as Part of Nationwide Community Initiative

If a person crumpled to the ground near you, would you know what to do? If you checked for a pulse and found that their heart had stopped, what would you do next?

 

On May 22, in observation of National Emergency Medical Services Week, River Medical, an American Medical Response (AMR) company, will join multiple AMR operations across the country  to train as many people as possible to save lives through chest compression-only CPR. Compression-only CPR is easy, less invasive and has the ability to keep a cardiac arrest victim alive during the precious minutes until first responders can arrive.

“While our first responders often can get to an emergency within minutes, during cardiac arrest seconds can be critical,” said John Valentine, General Manager of River Medical. “This type of CPR can help save lives and is easy to perform. We hope that schools, businesses and other groups will take this opportunity to get trained in compression-only CPR at no cost, making our community an even safer place to live.”

Compression-only CPR takes less than two minutes to learn and can drastically improve the chances of survival of a person suffering from cardiac arrest.  According to the American Heart Association, compression-only CPR allows bystanders to keep life-saving blood flowing through a victim’s body just by pressing on the chest in a hard, fast rhythm. It does not require mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and has been found to be effective in saving lives.

 River Medical has partnered with schools, local businesses and other interested groups to teach the compression-only CPR technique, which takes less than 2 minutes to learn.  River Medical would like to offer a special thank you to Tri-State Careflight, Native Air, Guardian Air, Quartzite Fire Department and Northern Arizona Consolidated Fire District for assisting River Medical in this community CPR initiative.  Our agencies will be at the following locations on May 22^nd:

Quartzite:   Quartzite Community Center -  8am-5pm

Lake Havasu Locations                                                          Kingman Locations

                        MCC Room 108                                             Smith’s Grocery

                        ASU Campus, Santiago Room 105                Safeway

                        Aquatic Center, Rm 155/156                         KRMC Wellness Center

                        Lake Havasu High, Old Gym                         KRMC Professional Building

                        Basha’s Grocery

                        Smith’s Grocery

                        Albertson’s Grocery

                        London Bridge Racquet/Fitness

To find out more about compression-only CPR and find out how your group can be part of this event, please visit www.worldcprchallenge.com  or call Jennifer Richards at 928-854-8554. 

                       

American Medical Response Inc. (www.amr.net), America’s leading provider of medical transportation, provides services in 42 states and the District of Columbia. More than 17,000 AMR paramedics, EMTs, RNs and other professionals, with a fleet of 4,100 vehicles, transport more than three million patients nationwide each year in critical, emergency and non-emergency situations. AMR, a subsidiary of Emergency Medical Services Corporation, is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colo.

Quartzsite Solar Energy Project receives go-ahead from Western Area Power

Western Area Power Administration (Western), an agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), received a request from Quartzsite Solar Energy, LLC (QSE) to interconnect its proposed Quartzsite Solar Energy Project (Project) to Western's Bouse-Kofa 161-kilovolt (kV) transmission line. 

The proposed Project site is in an undeveloped area in La Paz County, Arizona, east of State Route (SR) 95, approximately 10 miles north of Quartzsite, Arizona, on lands administered by the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

On December 21, 2012, the Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Yuma Field Office (Yuma) Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment (PRMPA) for Quartzsite Solar Energy Project was published in the Federal Register (77 FR 75632). After considering the environmental impacts, Western has decided to allow QSE's request for interconnection to Western's transmission system on the Bouse-Kofa 161-kV transmission line and to construct, own, and operate a new switchyard and its associated communication pathway.

The proposed Project is a 100-megawatt solar electric power plant that would use concentrating solar power technology to capture the sun's heat to make steam, which would power a traditional steam turbine generator. The proposed Project would contain the central receiver or tower, a solar field consisting of mirrors or heliostats to reflect the sun's energy to the central tower, a conventional steam turbine generator, insulated storage tanks for hot and cold liquid salt, ancillary tanks, evaporation ponds, a temporary construction laydown area, technical and non-technical buildings, transformers and a 161/230-kV electrical switchyard, roads, and water wells. All components of the proposed Project would be located on BLM-administered land. A new 1.5-mile long 161/230-kV generation tie line would extend from the southern boundary of the solar facility boundary to a new switchyard to be constructed adjacent to Western's existing Bouse-Kofa 161-kV transmission line.

 Western is a Federal agency under the DOE that markets and transmits wholesale electrical power through an integrated 17,000-circuit mile, high-voltage transmission system across 15 western states. Western's Open Access Transmission Service Tariff (Tariff) provides open access to its electric transmission system. In reviewing interconnection requests, Western must ensure that existing reliability and service is not degraded. Western's Large Generator Interconnection Procedures provide for transmission and system studies to ensure that system reliability and service to existing customers are not adversely affected by new interconnections.

In compliance with the NEPA, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, Western as lead agency, with the BLM as a cooperating agency, prepared and released the Draft EIS/PRMPA on November 10, 2011, and subsequently held public hearings on the document in Yuma, Arizona, on December 13, 2011, and in Quartzsite, Arizona, on December 14, 2011. Following the release of the Draft EIS/PRMPA, Western and the BLM prepared a Final EIS/PRMPA which was released on December 21, 2012 (77 FR 76477). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Army Garrison-Yuma Proving Ground, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) were also cooperating agencies.

 Western's decision is to allow QSE's request for interconnection to Western's transmission system at its Bouse-Kofa 161-kV transmission line and to construct, own and operate a new switchyard, which now goes to BLM for approval. Western's decision to grant this interconnection request satisfies the agency's statutory mission and QSE's objectives while minimizing harm to the environment. 

Quartzsite Shows (Big Tent) canceling Craft/Car Shows in 2014

Quartzsite, AZ - It was recently announced that the 17th Annual Quartzsite Hobby, Craft & Gem Show and the 16th Annual Quartzsite Rock & Roll Classic Car Shows, that ran concurrently, have been canceled. Promoter Kenny King stated that after the economic slump in 2008, attendance and participation had been in decline and the decision was made to eliminate the shows as of 2014.

King also said that they are looking for new ideas for an additional new show that may spark more interest in people staying over after the big RV Show closes and would even consider co-promoting or leasing their show facility to another promoter. 

It was also stated that the 31st Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show will go on as planned from January 18th - 26th in 2014 and that the RV Show has continued to draw huge crowds and exhibitor participation.

More information on the 2014 event is available at www.quartzsitervshow.com.

Pavement maintenance scheduled this week east of Quartzsite

Pavement maintenance scheduled next week on I-10 east of Quartzsite

Pavement maintenance scheduled this week on I-10 east of Quartzsite

Motorists advised to plan ahead and allow extra travel time

Arizona Department of Transportation maintenance crews will begin asphalt repairs along a 22-mile segment of Interstate 10 east of Quartzsite beginning Monday, May 13 through May 24.

What to expect:

• Work will take place weekdays between 5 a.m. - 7 p.m.

• One lane will be restricted in each direction from mileposts 30-52.

• Motorists are advised to plan ahead and allow extra travel time.

• Message boards will be displayed to inform drivers of lane restrictions.

• Law enforcement will be on-site to control traffic and monitor speeds.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule.

For more information, please visit www.azdot.gov/statewide or contact the Project Hotline at 1-855-712-8530, or email at Projects@azdot.gov. To stay up-to-date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at www.az511.gov or call 5-1-1.