News

APS Customers in the towns of Bouse and Utting will experience another short planned outage Wednesday, April 25th from approximately 9 a.m. through approximately 10 a.m.

APS says it expects this to be the last major outage affecting so many customers for the project, which is installing new power lines along Highway 72.

The Arizona Department of Transportation will continue working on a pavement repair project along State Route 95 north of Parker beginning Wednesday (April 25).

The project consists of repairing cracks in the pavement between mileposts 152-161 and mileposts 142-148. The project is scheduled to be completed by May 2012.

What to expect during construction:

• Daily intermittent lane closures are scheduled between 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Workers will temporarily stop traffic and escort them through the work zone.
• Motorists are advised to plan ahead and allow extra travel time.
• Message boards will advise drivers of lane restrictions.
• Speed limit will be reduced to 45 miles per hour in the work zone.
• Law enforcement will be on-site to control traffic and monitor speeds.

ADOT advises drivers to proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.

Former Parker vice mayor Frank Hernandez was arraigned yesterday at around 1:30 p.m. for seven (7) counts of Sexual Conduct with a Minor and three (3) counts of Molestation of a Child.

Hernandez was arrested last week and has been in custody at the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office Adult Detention Facility since.

All of the alleged criminal conduct took place “on or about or between March 1, 2011 and April 10, 2012 in Parker, AZ”, according to La Paz County Attorney Sam Vederman, whose office is handling the case.

Vederman also confirmed that the allegations involve a single victim of 12 years of age or younger. This classifies his case as a Dangerous Crime Against Children.

‘Sexual Conduct with a Minor’ is one of the most severe charges that can be leveled against someone in the state of Arizona besides First Degree Murder. It carries with it a presumptive sentence of 20 years per count (minimum 13 years per count) without the possibility of early release, and the sentences must be served consecutively (one after another). Hernandez is facing 7 counts.

Mr. Vederman declined to speculate on a sentence, saying: “There are many variables to sentencing and I am not going to comment or speculate on what the potential sentence may, or may not be, because Mr. Hendandez has not been convicted of any crimes related to this case.”

He also reiterated, “The State has the burden of proof and the defendant / suspect is not required to present any evidence on his own behalf or prove his innocence. In addition, all defendant’s / suspects are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial.”

Hernandez formerly held a seat on the Parker town council, and recently announced his intention to run for office as La Paz County Supervisor District 1.

La Paz County Health Department is announcing National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW); an annual observance to highlight the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases, April 21st-28th. In celebration, the county health department will be raffling off a $25 gift certificate to Basha’s. Anyone who is vaccinated between now and May 17th will be eligible to win.

“One of the most important ways parents can protect their children against serious childhood diseases is through immunizations,” said Diana Grazier, Director of Nursing for La Paz County Health Department. “Now is the time to check the vaccination status of everyone in your family. The goal is to have every child fully vaccinated by their second birthday and the key to healthy infants is to surround them with healthy, vaccinated families until they can be fully vaccinated.”

Each day nearly 12,000 babies are born in the United States who will need to be immunized against 14 vaccine preventable diseases before the age of two. Infants are particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases, such as polio, measles, mumps, whooping cough, diphtheria and rubella. La Paz County Health Department cautions these diseases still exist and it is necessary to protect everyone from potential outbreaks through continued vaccinations. Vaccines are among the most successful and cost-effective public health tools available for preventing disease and death. They not only help protect vaccinated individuals, but also help protect entire communities by preventing and reducing the spread of infectious diseases.

Because of the success of vaccines in preventing disease, parents may not have heard of some of today’s vaccines or the serious diseases they prevent. These diseases can be especially serious for infants and young children. Vaccine-preventable diseases still circulate in the United States and around the world, so continued vaccination is necessary to protect everyone from potential outbreaks. Even when diseases are rare in the U.S., they can be brought into the country, putting unvaccinated children at risk. One example of the seriousness of vaccine-preventable diseases was the California whooping cough epidemic of 2010, resulting in the death of 10 infants. Nationally, more than 21,000 cases of the whooping cough were reported in 2010 and Washington State is reporting soaring numbers this year, which are on track toward breaking their state’s record for highest number of cases in a given year.  Due to the proximity of Arizona to these states, our families are at increased risk.

Visit co.la-paz.az.us for vaccination clinic hours or call (928) 669-1100 for times.

An emergency drill today simulated a two-vehicle drunk-driving accident involving a total of 9 people. It served as training for all agencies and organizations involved in emergencies in the region, and was a demonstration for hundreds of students of Parker High School ahead of their Prom next week.

The initial call was made just after 9 a.m. by La Paz County Emergency Management’s Greg Bachmann, who let the dispatcher know he was initiating the drill. He then passed the cellphone to the only occupant who had managed to crawl free through the sunroof of the Chevy Tahoe she had been a passenger in, now lying on its side. The girl tearfully explained where she was to the dispatcher, who then responded, along with the rest of the agencies, as though the incident were real.

Arriving on the scene first were Parker Police Department, CRIT Police Department and the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department. They carefully checked the conditions of the vehicle occupants and facilitated the arrival of Parker Fire Department. Arriving afterward were River Medical, Buckskin Fire Department, Care Flight, Native Air and others, including Parker Funeral Home which came to receive one simulated fatality.

Some occupants had vehicles cut from around them using the ‘jaws of life’. Access was gained to one occupant only by cutting the roof off the Tahoe.

The actors involved were taken to La Paz Regional Hospital and the Indian Health Service for treatment, some by road and some by air, giving area hospitals the chance to simulate a medical response to the arrival of several patients in serious condition at the same time.

The vehicles involved in the drill were from actual crashes, both involving real fatalities.

Bachmann narrated some of the events as they happened, citing the statistics that once every half hour, someone dies due to drunk-driving. Former student Mary Beckham took to the podium as the responders were wrapping up the scene to tell the story of her dad being killed in an accident involving alcohol, followed by Youth-4-Youth members reading some sobering statistics from Parker High School surveys on the subject.

The emergency response was regarded as having gone very smoothly and successfully by the agencies involved, who didn’t run into any significant problems at the scene. PAACE, La Paz County, Parker High School and the others involved in organizing the simulation hope it will prevent people drinking and driving, or getting into a vehicle with someone who has been drinking.