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The year 2018 seems to have flown by, but area residents still found time to accomplish much over the past 12 months, as reflected in the following summary.
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January
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William “Willie” Nelson took the helm as the new chief of the Taylor Snowflake Fire & Medical Department. Nelson, who served as assistant chief since 2015, stepped in after Chief Clint Burden decided to retire.
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The Winslow School Board elected new officers for 2018 with Sharon Greenwood as president, Joey Hartnett as vice president and Marilee Ervien elected as clerk.
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The Winslow Police Department sought to eradicate transient crime by placing barricades at a lot on North Park Drive following reports that Winslow had one of the highest violent crime rates in the state per capita.
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In an effort to help local youth, the Holbrook and Winslow justice and magistrate courts developed the Teen Court program to help divert juveniles away from destructive activities and behavior. The program allowed first time offenders who admitted to misdemeanor crimes to be sentenced by their peers.
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Navajo County Supervisor Steve Williams and Supervisor Dawnafe Whitesinger were named the new chairman and vice chairman respectively for 2018 of the Navajo County Board of Supervisors.
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The U.S. Department of Education reported that teacher shortages were prevalent in almost all school districts. Reasons cited included low pay, low morale and testing requirements that teachers were required to adhere to.
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As of the first of the year, the minimum wage rose to $10.50 per hour with the rate scheduled to go up by another 50 cents in 2019.
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Holbrook resident Frank Turley was honored by Northern Arizona University, for his 1955-56 basketball legacy. As a senior attending NAU, Turley set a standing single game record of 46 points against West New Mexico University.
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February
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Holbrook High School senior Harry Edwards was featured in climbing magazine Rock and Ice, after he brought a new challenge to the world of sport climbing when he completed the first ascent on Frequency, a route that he created with the help of his dad, trainer and climbing partner, Rob Edwards.
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Navajo County approved the use of drones to assist in surveying, inspection of signage, roads and striping, structures, washes and waterways, disasters, and education and training.
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Opioid abuse was announced as a major health crisis in Navajo County and the rest of the country, with the Center for Disease Control calling the epidemic the “worst public health crisis in American history.”
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Holbrook High School graduate Karson Hatch started her dream job at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., after five interviews and some tough competition.
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The Hashknife Posse took part in the 60th Annual Pony Express Ride as riders on horseback running relay to bring the mail from Holbrook to Scottsdale.
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The medical marijuana growing facility, Copperstate Farms in Snowflake, reported major accomplishments, hiring 190 full-time fully insured greenhouse employees in just 18 months. The company also supports many local charities, and donated $63,500 to the town to purchase property to assist with the Northern Solution flood control project.
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A pipe burst at the wastewater treatment plant in Holbrook sending more than a million gallons of raw sewage into a catch pond created by the levee that surrounds the plant. The incident was blamed on the poor design of the plant as there was no shut-off valve installed.
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March
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The City of Winslow purchased an aerial ladder truck for the Winslow Fire Department, something that the council felt was needed as the nearest aerial ladder was hours away during an emergency.
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The Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency announced that ranchers and livestock producers could be eligible for assistance from the Livestock Forage Disaster Program for the grazing losses that occurred in the year due to the drought.
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Reviewing the previous year’s annual report, Winslow City Manager reported that Winslow was it’s most vibrant in the four years that he had been there stating, “our strength as a community is within our people and our organizations.”
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Winslow’s Vargas Field received a $140,000 facelift. The baseball stadium, originally built in 1937, received a newly leveled playing field, new turf, pitcher’s mound and “batter’s eye” backdrop in the outfield.
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Snowflake School District noted that their graduation rate for the district was at 95 percent, compared to the state average of 80 percent. The poverty rate is at 23 percent but that is in line with the state average of 22 percent. The attendance rate was also in line with the state average.
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Holbrook teen Mylee Demuth ruled the region as the top girl hoop shooter, with her next stop in Chicago for her third try at becoming the Elks Hoop Shoot National Champion.
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A massive fire broke out at a log mill on the west end of Winslow sending flames hundreds of feet into the air, with crews from the Winslow, Joseph City, Holbrook and Blue Ridge fire departments battling the blaze. The fire consumed about half of the logs on the premises.
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The Holbrook Police Department reported a significant drop in crime over the previous two years. In 2015, for the months of January and February, the department reported 1,181 incidents. During that same time period in 2016, there were 1,255. Last year in 2017, there were a reported 768 incidents and this year from January through February there were a total of 334 reported incidents.
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The Snowflake Town Council unanimously voted for Greg Brimhall to fill the council seat made vacant by Terril Kay who was elected to the council in 2014. Kay resigned from the position for personal reasons in late 2017.
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The Navajo County Supervisors presented the Winslow Bulldogs basketball team with medals at the Navajo County Board of Supervisors meeting as a way of honoring the players for winning the 2018 3A State Basketball Championship.
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Kenadi Stuart, a 10-year-old fifth grader attending Snowflake Intermediate School, competed in the Elks Hoop Shoot and won her third consecutive state championship. She headed from there to Chicago for the finals.
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Mark Vest was named as the new president of Northland Pioneer College following the retirement of Dr. Jeanne Swarthout. Vest had served the previous 13 years as Vice President for Learning and Student Services.
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The Winslow Police Department formed a citizen liaison committee to address the goals of the city’s residents including decreased crime, increased communication with law enforcement and addressing the roots of community issues.
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April
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The Gila County Information Technology Education Consortium (NGCITEC) received approval for initial funding of nearly $5.2 million from the State of Arizona, with a potential match from federal sources, to install over 1,000 miles of fiber optics between Navajo and Gila counties.
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Thin Air Off Road, LLC, operated by Craig and Katie Johnson of Winslow, began construction on a racetrack at the east end of Winslow that will host utility vehicle, dirt bike, buggy and other off-road races. The Winslow City Council supported the development by approving the use of a city owned water truck to assist with the construction and maintenance of the track.
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Winslow began a $1 million water meter replacement project to replace approximately 2,800 water meter models in the city that were over 20 years old.
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The National Football League took their draft days on the road and the Arizona Cardinals chose Winslow for the third day of the draft. According to City Manager Steve Pauken, “The man who is in charge of picking the destination for the draft day takes daily walks. One day, while on his walk, the song, ‘Take it Easy’ came on and he chose Winslow!”
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Snowflake businessman, Terril Kay was presented with the Businessman of the Year Award, as well as the Large Business of the Year Award for All Custom Exteriors and Businesswoman of the Year was awarded to Francis Valdez and she accepted the Small Business of the Year Award for Emalee’s Carniceria as part of the Snowflake Taylor Chamber of Commerce awards banquet.
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NPC Friends & Family, the scholarship organization that supports Northland Pioneer College students, collected over $30,985 on Arizona Gives Day for student scholarships.
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The city of Holbrook expanded the soccer fields in the community to allow for more games to be played and regulation tournaments to be held.
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Teachers, administrators and supporters gathered outside of schools in Winslow and Holbrook for a staged “walk-in with teachers.” They did this as part of a movement of Arizona teachers they are calling #RedForEd in which they inform communities and lawmakers of their needs as educators.
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Psychologist Gaylan Jones retired after 42 years of service to the Snowflake Unified School District with over four dozen residents, district employees and family members in attendance at the governing board meeting to thank him for his service.
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May
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Sheriff KC Clark was named the 2018 Sheriff of the Year by the WeTip Foundation. At the Navajo County Board of Supervisor’s meeting Clark said, “Our deputies go out every day and make this recognition possible. Without the work they do in our communities, this would have not been possible.”
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Holbrook Constable Phyllis Romo was recognized for receiving the “Service Above and Beyond” award from the National Constables and Marshals Association.
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Holbrook Police Chief Mark Jackson and Lt. Jack Arend retired after each serving for more than 25 years in law enforcement both in the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office and the Holbrook Police Department.
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Retiring Northland Pioneer College President Dr. Jeanne Swarthout was honored as the 2018 Woman of the Year at this year’s conference of Arizona Women in Higher Education, at the High Country Conference Center in Flagstaff.
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Winslow community members came together to assist in relief for victims of the Tinder Fire, which at the time had taken 33 primary residences, 55 minor structures and consumed over 12,000 acres. Gina Gose spearheaded the group in Winslow “to show our neighbors that in their time of need, we are here for them.” Members organized to gather donations of toiletries as well as monetary donations to assist residents and fire crews.
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The final report for the Regional Economic Assessment Study was presented to the Board of Supervisors, indicating that coal-related employment accounted for only three to five percent of the overall job market in the county, and that the emphasis for change needs to be in implementing broadband, encouraging small businesses, bringing in more education and increasing tourism marketing.
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Arizona Public Service sought support opposing the “NextGen Climate Action” ballot initiative, which APS representatives said would force Arizona to have 50 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. The initiative was the brainchild of a group in San Francisco that was funded 100 percent by California billionaire Tom Steyer.
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The Navajo County Historical Society informed the Holbrook City Council that the Historic Courthouse in downtown Holbrook was in dire need of a new roof at an estimated cost of $175,000. The roof of the building was put in place in 1929.
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Jeffrey Jones of Holbrook High School was a two-time state track champion after claiming titles in both the long jump and the triple jump at the Division III state track meet held at Mesa Community College.
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The Navajo County Superintendent of Schools presented Jett Jue, an eighth grade student from Winslow Unified School District and three-time champion of the Navajo County Spelling Bee, with a certificate of achievement.
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The abandoned Knights Inn Motel on Navajo Blvd., which occupied half a block in Holbrook, was set ablaze. According to Assistant Fire Chief Alex Baker, two fires were started in the same facility, one on either side of the motel parking lot.
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Snowflake High School girls’ track team was recognized for their Division Three Track and Field State Championship. The Lady Lobos team entered the Division III state meet as one of the favorites to claim a team title and they didn’t disappoint. Snowflake won the girls state team title with a total of 90.5 team points.
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The Snowflake Unified School District honored five retiring teachers including Highland Elementary School third grade teachers, Sheri Brown, with 39 years of teaching and Lynn Smith, with 32 years of teaching; Snowflake Intermediate School fourth grade teacher Donna Porras, with 30 years of teaching and fifth grade teacher Kelly Mortensen, with 23 years of teaching; and Snowflake High School physical education teacher, Bruce Palmer, with 21 years of teaching.
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Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed SB 1098 to provide funding for the Arizona Department of Agriculture’s (AZDA) pilot industrial hemp program allowing universities and those with proper licensing from the AZDA to begin cultivating industrial hemp.
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Upheaval between City of Holbrook and the Holbrook City Council continued with the resignation of City Manager Randy Sullivan. This marked the third member of city staff that left in one month, with Police Chief Mark Jackson and Lt. Jack Arend retiring just one week prior.
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Jessie Spangler was recognized for leading the Presentation College Saints of Aberdeen, S.D., to their first ever appearance in the North Star Athletic Association Championship Game. Spangler, an HHS Class of 2013 graduate, was named First Team All-conference as a junior and received Second Team honors and the Golden Glove Award as a sophomore.
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The Magnuson Hotel, a two-story, 54-room hotel built in 1963 and renovated in 2012, located at 615 W. Hopi Drive in Holbrook was consumed by fire. The fire was the second hotel in a week to be set ablaze.
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Winslow citizens elected Thomas “Tom” McCauley as their mayor and the three vacant city council seats were filled by Samantha Crisp, Rickey Jackson and former mayor Robin Boyd.
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Hundreds of riders taking part in the annual Run for the Wall made their way through Winslow and Holbrook. The riders stopped for lunch at Holbrook’s American Legion Post 37 before continuing on their journey to the Veteran Memorial in Washington, D.C.
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Holbrook Vice Mayor Wade Carlisle announced his resignation from the city council in order to run for the Arizona State Senate seat. Carlisle had served on the council for 13 years.
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Kendrick Taylor of Holbrook won first place in the local Masonic Essay Contest and took second place in the state competition for her paper on the history of Navajo Code Talkers.
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June
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The three-year restoration of Holbrook’s Methodist Church, which was built in 1913, was completed. The final renovation involved the planks that were carefully restored, and wainscot that was placed on the upper edge of the walls to blend the original ceiling into the molding above the windows.
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Loren Silver, Navajo Language Teacher at Holbrook Junior High and Holbrook High School, was presented with a plaque for Teacher of the Year from Jonas Yazzie, board member with the National Johnson O’Malley Association.
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Several residents voice concern over potential fracking in the county in an area located three to six miles south and southeast of Woodruff. The fracking concern arose due to the exploration mining for helium in that area.
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The owners of Kompo Medical Dispensary in Taylor noted that the stigma was falling away as cannabis use for health concerns increased in Navajo County.
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Recall petitions were submitted against Holbrook’s Mayor Bobby Tyler and Councilman CJ Wischmann citing unprofessional and unethical behavior.
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Teachers at Snowflake Unified School District provided a 12 percent raise to their teachers with additional funding provided by the state.
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Navajo County Manager Glenn Kephart visited city councils with an overview of the direction Navajo County is headed following the imminent closure of the Navajo Generating Station near Page slated for 2019 and the Cholla Power Plant in Joseph City expected to close by 2025. Kephart anticipated the closures would result in a $1.6 million annual loss in county sales tax and state shared revenue, as well as an annual loss of $925,000 in property taxes for the county.
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The National Park Service and International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) announced that Petrified Forest National Park has been officially designated as an International Dark Sky Park. An IDA International Dark-Sky Park is a land possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment.
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Holbrook resident Atsuo Sakurai received international acclaim for his label Arizona Sake, winning first place for best sake brewed outside of Japan at the Sake Competition 2018 held in Tokyo, Japan.
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***
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Part II will be published in the Dec. 26 edition of the newspaper.
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