Rodeo Pageant Royalty Receive Their Crowns

Aside from the staggering 2,412 fair entry ribbons awarded, the 2015 event would have been incomplete without crowning the winners of the 2015 Rodeo Queen Pageant, held Oct. 2 and 3.

The Navajo County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday bestowed its official honors on this year’s winners.

Navajo County Rodeo Queen Coordinator Jill Williams expressed to the board the winners’ merits: “This year’s pageant was a huge success. A rodeo queen pageant is much different from any pageant that you’ll go to; it’s not just a beauty pageant. These girls work very hard leading up to and during the pageant.

“They participate with their judges in horsemanship, private interviews, speech, and formal and informal modeling, so there is a lot that goes into running for rodeo queen,” she explained.

The winners eloquently introduced themselves and expressed their aspirations to the supervisors and the audience.

Navajo County Rodeo Queen Aubrey Toler of Chino Valley is attending school to become a certified massage therapist and chiropractor’s assistant, with the goal of eventually entering sports medicine, becoming a dietician and athletic trainer to lend her talents to the Wounded Warrior Project in support of wounded cowboys.

Navajo County Rodeo Teen Queen Kaevin Whitmore is a 16-year-old high school junior from Heber. After graduating high school, Kaevin says she plans to undertake equine rehabilitation and holistic medicine university studies.

Eleven-year-old Navajo County Rodeo Princess Gracie Jo Perkins of Pinedale and Navajo County Rodeo Lil Buckaroo co-winner, eight-year-old Ally Finch of Taylor, will no doubt follow the academic and equestrian examples of the older winners.

Fair Board President Michael Sample also conveyed to the supervisors a specific nod received during the fair from Governor Doug Ducey. “He was really impressed with our finance department and how they came in and managed our finances during the fair, so we’d like to thank County Finance Director James Menlove and his crew for all their hard work and the many hours they put into it,” said Sample.

The 85th annual Navajo County Fair will be held Sept. 14-18, 2016, in Holbrook.

In other action Oct. 27, the board:

* Approved the consent agenda, including Oct. 13 meeting minutes, September 2015 constable reports for Snowflake Precinct No. 3 and Pinetop-Lakeside Precinct No. 6, September 2015 Justice Court Reports for Holbrook Justice Court Precinct No. 1, Winslow Justice Court Precinct No. 2, Snowflake Justice Court Precinct No. 3, Kayenta Justice Court Precinct No. 4, Show Low Justice Court Precinct No. 5 and Pinetop-Lakeside Justice Court Precinct No. 6.

Also approved were Clerk of Superior Court and Juvenile Probation Reports for September 2015, and a memorandum of understanding between the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to delineate the responsibilities of the Northern Arizona Safe Streets Task Force.

Revenue collected by Superior Court, Clerk of the Court, and the Justice Courts of Holbrook, Winslow, Snowflake, Show Low, Pinetop and Kayenta was certified. The funds allow the courts, county attorney, public defender and legal defender to utilize this revenue to supplement other funding sources to carry out the administration of justice.

* Approved acceptance of the back tax land list and authorization to publish the notice of the same, scheduling the 2015 back tax land online auction to begin at 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 16.

* Accepted a bid of $2,075.52 for five tax deeded properties located in the Perkins Addition of Holbrook, specifically parcels 109-20-040A, 109-20-040B, 109-20-047, 109-20-052 and 109-20-067. These properties are in a flood plain and unable to be sold as part of the county back tax land auction. The City of Holbrook is interested in these properties.

* Approved a memorandum of understanding between the Navajo County Public Health Services District and the Apache County Public Health Services District for the position of a fulltime Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program registered dietitian for the Navajo County WIC Program, that is to be shared by the two counties’ WIC programs.

* Heard a presentation by American Red Cross of Northern Arizona representatives, including Executive Director Frank Bourget and Disaster Program Manager Nick Nunn-Faron, and approved a memorandum of understanding between the American Red Cross and Navajo County. The memorandum will provide a clearly written plan for the response efforts in Navajo County.

* Approved the county employee health plan for 2016.

* Received a county finance update from Menlove.

The next regular board meeting will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the county complex in Holbrook.