Yuma-area's fourth Wal-Mart to open Friday

The San Luis, Ariz., Wal-Mart Supercenter, the fourth store for Yuma County, is set to open its doors to customers at 8 a.m. Friday. But first, there will be a welcoming ceremony at 7:30 a.m.

In the meantime, the new store's 380 employees have been busy training and stocking, said store manager Jin Porter.

The store is located at 1613 N. Main St. in San Luis and can be reached at 722-7278.

With 187,000 square feet, it will offer a full line of groceries, dry goods, electronics, health and beauty aids, lawn and garden center, tire sales and other departments as well as a pharmacy.

Leased spaces inside the store include a SmartStyle Family Hair Salon, a Sun Bank branch and a Subway restaurant.

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Yuma's welcome lady Carol Stebner has closed her business, Newcomer Greeting Service.

She said she decided to retire and now is enjoying having more time for her home and family.

Stebner said at this time no one else is offering the service that provided a Yuma welcome to new residents with a variety of information about the community.

However, the Newcomers Club is still going strong, she said.

For more information about the club, call her at 317-0328 or Marilyn Hilterbrand at 341-0685.

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This is an eventful week for Coldwell Banker Crimson Sky Realty.

Broker/owner Doug Calvet expects to be open for business Monday morning in the agency's new home in the building at the corner of 16th Street and 2nd Avenue, where he has leased 4,800 square feet in the west half.

Look for the front door on the north side of the building.

Calvet said the new location will suit his business well with high visibility, doubles the office space and will provide a comfortable and attractive environment for agents and their clients.

He's also looking forward to having all three arms of his business in one location. They previously had been located in several scattered offices at 250 W. 24th St.

Each will retain its phone number of 783-5939 for real estate sales, 783-0270 for property management and 257-8116 for mortgage services.

Katie Calvet, business manager, is looking for "premiere real estate agents" to add to the sales staff. If interested, give her a call 246-9165.

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In other news for Crimson Sky Realty, the real estate agency has opened a third office - its second for the Foothills - at 11361 Foothills Blvd., Suite 1.

The new office is under the management of Sandy Hodges Baas, associate broker. The phone number is 342-0422.

A grand opening/open house is scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. March 15.

Area residents are invited to come by to see the office, meet Baas and enjoy refreshments. By the way, Baas is seeking additional agents, both new and experienced - give her a call if interested.

Baas is a fourth-generation Yuman and member of the Hodges family.

She has 12 years' real estate experience. And if her last name sounds familiar, that's because her husband, John, is the golf pro at the Coyote Wash Golf Course.

"We felt we needed greater representation in the Foothills" with the growth in there, Calvet said, adding that the Foothills branch at 11274 S. Fortuna Road, Suite D-1 (call 345-2000) has been doing well.

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The new Jack in the Box at Las Palmillas has been granted a temporary certificate of occupancy and may be ready to open its doors for business sometime this week, reported Alan Kircher, city of Yuma assistant building official.

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The Mid-week Farmers Market has moved and as of this Wednesday will be at St. John Neumann Church, 11750 S. Mesa Drive just east of Fortuna Road.

Owner Diana Dickson said she is excited about the new location and being able to bring the market to the Foothills.

Look for it in its new home from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through March 26. Then it will be back in November.

For more information about the market, call Dickson at 1-719-213-3323.

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The old 84 Lumber building at 3260 S. Arizona Ave. has been rented out as a storage facility, said Ron Martin, co-owner of the property.

It also will be used by Robertson Auto Auction - watch for auction notices.

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Kamaran Gordon has opened an aesthetician practice at 1951 W. 25th St., Suite B, in the Picacho Medical Center.

A fourth-generation Yuman, she had received her training in Scottsdale and worked there awhile.

She has now returned home and opened her own business. Gordon offers facials, chemical peels and other skin care services as well as permanent makeup.

She's open Mondays through Saturdays; for an appointment, call 920-0004.

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Hotel Lee's "permanent resident," Sarah, who quite literally haunts the historic downtown hotel, will have a roommate this week. The producer for a show on Yuma ghosts for the Travel Channel will be staying in Room 12.

"That's Sarah's room," said hotel manager Patrick Sullivan, although he hasn't seen her.

Wonder if her roommate will.

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Bradley Holcum, developer and businessman in southern Yuma County, has purchased the RE/MAX franchise in Somerton from Xiomara Ramirez and moved the agency to his office complex at 725 Main St.

Holcum also has the RE/MAX real estate office in San Luis, Ariz. RE/MAX Realty Pros is located at 1233 N. Main St., Suite 1B.

The phone number for both offices is 627-0808 and Web site is www.yumavalleyhomes.com.

Holcum said this will allow him to focus on the south county where his company is developing subdivisions.

Ramirez will focus on Yuma and the Foothills as the owner and broker for the RE/MAX offices at 2833 S. 4th Ave. (344-4848) and 11665 S. Fortuna Road (342-7350).

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Qwest rolled out the carpet last week for a grand opening of its new Yuma store, 1401 S. Yuma Palms Parkway, Suite 3, next to Lenscrafters at Yuma Palms Regional Center.

The phone number is 782-3063.

"With it's tremendous growth, it was imperative that we opened a freestanding store in this market," said company spokesman Jeff Mirasola.

So far, he added, customers have responded well to the opportunity to talk with a sales representative in person.

Qwest offers local and long distance phone service, digital TV, broadband Internet, Small Business Solutions and wireless services, including Pay As You Go.

For more information about Qwest, visit www.qwest.com.

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Some new residents of PetSmart are ready for adoptive homes, said Store Manager Billie Wooten.

The pet store, located at Yuma Palms Regional Center, now has snakes along with accessories for them.

The store has striped and banded California king snakes that are now about 10 inches and at maturity will be 48 to 72 inches.

It also has a variety of corn snakes. They all sell for $50 to $70.

For more information, call the store at 329-8218.

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The Yuma County Library District is partnering with In-N-Out Burger to offer books for burgers to children ages 4-12.

Stop by any branch of the Yuma County Library District and sign up for the Food for Thought reading program.

Read five books between March 8 and April 19 and receive an award certificate with a coupon for a free hamburger from In-N-Out. Parents may read aloud to young children unable to read on their own to earn a coupon.

Children are limited to earning three coupons each during the program.

For more information, call 373-6468 or visit www.yumalibrary.org.

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The Hook LLC, a strategic marketing agency based in Yuma, was recently honored with nine awards for outstanding marketing and advertising products.

The annual awards, known as ADDYs, are the advertising industry's premier creative awards competition.

The Hook took home two gold, four silver and three bronze ADDYs in the local competition. Their gold-winning entries will now be forwarded to the regional competition.

"This is our second year winning ADDYs for Yuma clients, and it's really rewarding," said Julia Hook, president and CEO of The Hook.

"As the area grows, businesses are becoming more sophisticated with their advertising programs and with their messages.

"This is a terrific place to be in the advertising business. We're having a blast."

The Hook LLC serves clients throughout the Southwest and specializes in strategic planning, media planning and buying and branding. For more information, call 329-6639.

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Report Comings and Goings to jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853.