By L. Parsons In last week’s Navajo County Board of Supervisors meeting, an update on COVID-19 in the county was given. County Public Health Director Janelle Linn said, “Just to give you a comparison, in July we had 304 new cases of COVID reported to us for off tribal lands. In August, we had 760 and now, with just a few days left in September, we are at 817 new cases for the month.” She reiterated what other health authorities have been saying the last few weeks that the majority of cases are being seen in those who have not been vaccinated. “We were hoping that we were leveling off at the top of our peak, but the last few weeks have shown us that is not the case. Last week we had 140 cases and five new hospitalizations. Of those 140, only 12 of those were people who had been vaccinated. None of the hospitalized patients were vaccinated. Most of our cases are still coming from our unvaccinated population. Vaccine is effective in preventing disease and it is highly effective in preventing severe disease.” She then went on to say, “We are seeing higher mortality rates with this surge than in past surges. Deaths do lag behind in reporting due to the vital records process. We have had 12 new deaths off tribal lands in the last two weeks.” Not only are the unvaccinated being affected in larger numbers, but also, a younger population as well. According to Linn, “53% of our cases last week were in people under the age of 40. Adolescents who are not able to be vaccinated yet, and those who have refused vaccine are being affected. We are still really encouraging vaccination.” Pfizer, a vaccine manufacturer has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to administer a third dose of the vaccine. Linn said, “Formal booster dose recommendations came out. Some of those recommendations were for the Pfizer product only and they are recommending people ages 65 and older, people in long term care centers, those 50 and up with underlying health issues and anyone who works in a high risk situation should get a booster dose six months after their second dose.” She explained that those people who were given other brands of the vaccine should wait until those are approved for booster use. “You should stay with the preparation you originally received, so these booster recommendations are for those who received the Pfizer vaccine initially.” In other business, the board: * Heard a presentation from the Navajo County Fair Board thanking the Supervisors for their support of the recent Navajo County Fair. * Recognized Debra Chapman of the Board of Supervisors office for her 14 years of service and congratulated her on her retirement. * Heard a presentation from the Navajo County Recorder’s Office concerning their upcoming voter registration outreach events. Recorder Michael Sample explained the office would be making appearances at outlying county locations throughout October to register voters. * Approved a purchase agreement with ClairVista, LLC for software subscription, services and equipment for the Navajo County Recorder’s Office in the amount of $56,750. The agreement would allow the office to obtain five desktop kiosks to be placed in Heber, Pinetop-Lakeside, Show Low, Snowflake and Winslow to give residents in these communities access to document recording with live customer service, without a required trip to the County Seat in Holbrook. * Approved the sale of 11 back tax land parcels sold over the counter in the amount of $6,637.31. * Approved an amendment to the ground lease agreement with Cellular One to expand the area used by Cellular One for the purpose of installing infrastructure for public safety use in the Show Low area allowing first responders priority access to this equipment and improve communication during emergencies. * Approved the use of ARRF (Anti-Racketeering Revolving Funds) monies for The Darrin Reed Foundation in the amount of $1,250. The foundation assists law enforcement officers in training and equipment not covered by their department to help them fight drug trafficking in the area. * Appointed Julian David Baxter of Overgaard as Democratic Precinct Committeemen for the Mogollon Precinct until Oct. 1, 2022. * Appointed Jerry Kenneth Hubbard and Joan Christie Hubbard, both of Overgaard as Republican Precinct Committeemen for the Mogollon precinct until Oct. 1, 2022. * Approved a revised memorandum of understanding for the Northeastern Arizona 9-1-1 User’s Association through June 20, 2022. The agreement between the NCSO (Navajo County Sheriff’s Office) and the Arizona Department of Administration’s Office of Grants and Federal Resources outlines the responsibilities of both parties in the processing of all bills associated with the 9-1-1 network for NCSO, Apache County Sheriff’s Office, Snowflake-Taylor Police Department, Show Low Police Department, Pinetop-Lakeside Police Department and White Mountain Apache Tribe. * Authorized acceptance of a contract of award of $20,000 from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) to the NCSO for DUI enforcement overtime efforts. The Governor’s Office reimburses overtime and 40% of employee related expenses up to $20,000 upon receipt of quarterly reporting. * Authorized acceptance of a contract of award from the GOHS in the amount of $9,000 in overtime and employee related expenses and $15,078 for the purchase of a laptop with docking station, scanner, printer and hardware from the Police Traffic Services program. * Approved the amendment of a contract with Trinity Services Group, Inc. for inmate food services in the Navajo County Jail. The amendment is the second renewal of the contract, extending the length until Nov. 3, 2022, in the amount of $1.04 per meal for up to 1,500 meals. * Approved letters of sympathy to Mario Sandoval, Nicole Perkins, Chrystal Sewell, Chris Frayer and Navajo Nation First Lady Phefelia Nez. * Approved an agreement with Advanced Correctional Healthcare, providing electronic medical records. The agreement outlines the responsibilities of Advanced Correctional Healthcare to provide technical support to the county at all times and to not violate any medical reporting laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). * Approved a liquor license application for Benjamin Ramos at Casa Ramos, Inc. located at 1855 State Route 260 in Heber. * Approved the modifying of memorandum of agreement between the county and the Arizona State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting system to update a mistaken reference number. *Approved the 2021 State Homeland Security Grant Application for cyber security protection for local and tribal governments. The grant of $56,684 will be managed through the Arizona Department of Administration and used toward maintaining a high level of awareness of cyber security issues. * Approved a task agreement to the agreement between the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Navajo Region and Navajo County that authorizes funding assistance for the Chinle and Western Agencies to provide culvert pipes. The impact on the budget will be $30,000 from the Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF). * Approved a contract signed by County Manager Glenn Kephart for professional services with JE Fuller/Hydrology and Geomorphology, Inc. for Millet Swale Reservoir (Taylor) support in an amount not to exceed $60,000. The existing Millet Swale Dam sustained a breach due to heavy July rains and the contract includes installation of two ALERT rain stations, one ALERT stage sensor and two cellular based trail cameras. * Authorized the amendment to the professional services contract with JE Fuller Hydrology and Geomorphology, Inc. for coordination and installation of the Winslow Levee Siren. The amendment extends the original terms of the contract for one year, through March 26, 2022. * Held a public hearing for consideration of an amendment to the Navajo County Justice Court Administration Fees Ordinance to remove reference to notifying the Motor Vehicle Department on certain civil traffic violations. The amendment conforms to state legislation which removes the court’s authority to suspend driver licenses for failure to pay and appear on civil traffic violations. No public comment was made and the board unanimously approved the amendment. * Recognized the following employees for their continued service to Navajo County: April Shabi of jail operations and Paul Ridder of Public Works, each for five years; Torel Nichols of the County Attorney’s Office and Catherine Solomon of the Health District, each for 10 years; and Jackie Walker in administration, 20 years. The next meeting of the Navajo County Board of Supervisors will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 12, in the board meeting room, located at 100 E. Code Talkers Drive.
