Local

Friday, July 30, a Cottonwood Police Department traffic stop led to felony charges and three arrests.

Krupa has been working with clients that are owners of businesses affected by COVID-19. Some of those businesses are eligible for Paycheck Protection Program loans.

Fire officials have determined the Pig Fire, which has now grown to 480 acres, was started by a piece of catalytic converter discharged from a vehicle traveling along Interstate17.

Tuesday, Aug. 11 from 7:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Aug. 12 from 11 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., Community Health Center of Yavapai will offer back-to-school checkup days at 51 Brian Mickelson Parkway, Cottonwood.

In the search, detectives found a clear plastic baggie containing 60 blue fentanyl pills marked M30 by the driver’s seat. Also located was a glass meth pipe and a hollowed out grey pen with apparent fentanyl residue.

The baseball field at the former Big Park Elementary School in Sedona will be given new life as a garden.

Multiple fire agencies continue to battle a wildfire just north of the State Route 179 exit on Interstate 17 near Sedona.

The two items listed as unfinished business are to finish interviewing applicants for vacancies on the city’s Airport Commission and to hold the second and final reading of Ordinance 682. That ordinance was pushed forward by Vice Mayor Michael Mathews and Council Member Tosca Henry after Mayor Tim Elinski went against the council majority with a proclamation requiring masks be worn in the city. It binds the mayor to Council-majority emergency resolutions for 30 days.

Garrison said nothing in the report would lead the Board of Supervisors to pursue the no-build alternative.

Camp Verde and Beaver Creek schools open their virtual doors Aug. 3, Cottonwood-Oak Creek on Aug. 5, Mingus Union on Aug. 6, Clarkdale-Jerome on Aug. 10.

“As we begin the new school year, we will continue to provide our students with a high quality educational experience,” the district wrote in its July 31 letter to families. “Our teachers are participating in ongoing professional development, training, and collaboration to ensure we are offering the same quality program in our distance learning format as we would in a traditional setting.”

With Arizona Primary Elections just a few days away, Yavapai County Recorder Leslie Hoffman sent out a news release Thursday encouraging poll workers to show up on time and what COVID-19 protocol and supplies they can expect to find.

A man convicted of the 2008 murder of a 62-year-old disabled Tucson woman may get the chance for a new trial.

How much should the City of Cottonwood be expected to fund its local Chamber of Commerce, both in a pandemic and during a regular year?

Should city taxpayers help fund their local chambers of commerce by way of municipal funding?

Even though county election staff members have successfully encouraged a great deal of early voting, there still will be many Verde Valley residents voting in Tuesday’s Arizona Primary in person.

Local fire departments are busy Thursday as they respond to dehydrated individuals on hiking trails. Excessive heat warnings have been issued for the Verde Valley by the National Weather Service.

Spectrum Healthcare has resumed Saturday COVID-19 drive-through nasal or throat swab testing from 8 a.m. to noon, Saturdays, Aug. 8, 15, 22 and 29 at 651 W. Mingus Ave., Cottonwood.

A retired registered nurse with more than half of her almost 50 years spent in public health, the former Yavapai County Community Health Services clinician admits the COVID-19 pandemic ignited a not-yet-dormant desire to deploy her expertise and fight back against the invisible foe in the place she calls home.

“In Yavapai County, there’s no area that is seeing far more spread than others.”

When it comes to identifying COVID-19 risks and trends, state and local health officials are clear that communal living spaces, nightclubs and gatherings where people must be close together are fodder for the spread of this contagious disease that can prove deadly, particularly for adults older than 55.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Yavapai County prepared and approved the Final Environmental Assessment (EA), and FHWA approved the Finding of No Significant Impact for the Verde Connect project.

The coronavirus stole what students and faculty agree is the best part of in-person classes: human interaction.

Here are some events and other announcements about things happening in the Verde Valley.

Jayla Shepard of Cottonwood was arrested July 23 for possession of narcotic drug for sale (heroin), possession of a narcotic drug, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.