2013 Archive Stories

As master of ceremonies John Blabe announced Bernie Montoya's name for the boys track and field player of the year award, something Montoya had never seen started happening.People rose to their feet as they applauded the three-time Yuma Sun/Yuma Rotary Club Male Athlete of the Year. Cibola runner Monica Huston won female Athlete of t

Mike and Amy McLaren, of Yuma, would like to announce the engagement of their son, Brandon James McLaren to Amy Catherine Muir, the daughter of Mary and Dana David and Roger Muir, of Calias, ME. Brandon is a Kofa High School graduate and served 2 years on an LDS mission in Fresno, CA. He is employed by the City of Yuma. Amy is currently

UPDATED 6:45 p.m.: A wildfire along the Colorado River has charred 500 to 1,000 acres in the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge and the Picacho State Recreation Area. As of Monday afternoon, it was reported as about 50 percent contained. The fire is burning primarily salt cedar and phragmites about 25 miles north of Yuma. Accordin

Charges were filed in Yuma County Justice Court Monday against the man and woman arrested in connection with a recent gang-related attempted homicide. In a brief arraignment hearing, Yuma Justice of the Peace Greg Stewart told 32-year-old Miguel "Capone" Rodriguez that the Yuma County Attorney’s Office had decided to charge him wit

Jack Kretzer says his rights are being denied, and he doesn't know why. Specifically, he says it's his right to a restroom where somebody with disabilities, like him, can be accommodated while at the Yuma County Fair, and he wants Yuma County to do something about it.Kretzer's frustrations with the restrooms at the fairgr

Only a month after tempers flared at a Yuma City Council meeting over the mayor's request for additional travel dollars, how much money to allot for travel by elected officials again drew heated discussion as the council began work on the fiscal year 2012-14 budget.Although only a small part of the city's approximately $200 mill

Of the almost 30 schools in the state that are a part of the Arizona Association of Junior High Student Councils, eighth-grade student Wade Sumner, 14, was recently named the Student Council Officer of the Year.During the 47th Annual Convention, Sumner, Castle Dome Middle School's student council president, found out that he had been

Yuma High School student Josh Owl, 18, recently received a number of scholarships that will help him pay for his tuition at the University of Arizona, where he hopes to use his education to ultimately become a biomedical engineer and help eradicate diabetes.In addition to a $40,000 Baird scholarship and the renewable Wildcat Excellen

The Yuma University of Arizona Alumni Club has awarded $60,000 in scholarships to 37 high school seniors or junior college students heading to Tucson in the fall.Since 1991, the Yuma Chapter has awarded over 500 scholarships worth $877,000 to Yuma youth. The club's goal is to become the first non-profit organization to award over $1

Border Patrol agents from the Yuma Sector arrested a suspected smuggler attempting to transport methamphetamine and cocaine through a checkpoint, while U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a man wanted on an Alabama murder case.According to agent Kyle Estes, public affairs officer, a man was attempting to drive a Chev

Yuma County is closer to purchasing and renovating a Main Street building for more offices.Regular citizen watchdog Jack Kretzer made the only reply at a public hearing Monday regarding the project's planned financing, a $7.5 million loan. He said there are other, less expensive ways to free up space at the Adult Probation office, wh

Rural/Metro’s Brian Wolgamot and Dustin Gray, along with Yuma Fire Department’s Jordan Bowers and Ashley Taylor were recognized as the Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians and Emergency Medical Dispatchers of the Year during a ceremony at Fire Station 3 in recognition of EMS Week.

The U.S. Post Office is not a part of the U.S. government. It is, however, overseen and subsidized by it.If the high-ranking officials in our government are so concerned about our burning of fossil fuels to power our cars, why don't they pressure the post office to buy electric delivery vehicles?Just think of the jobs and

Watching the latest House hearing on the activities of the IRS revealed two starkly different groups in their attempt to learn what IRS employees did for the past two years.One group of questioners attempted to get the facts while the responder offers volumes of meaningless verbiage. What I learned from this was everyone in a positio

When is this country going to wake up to the fact that the U.N. is just a waste of U.S. taxpayers money? It was commendable idea in the 1940s when it was conceived, but in practice it has become a money pit which does nothing to better our country. We pay the most per country to keep this ineffectual entity going and get the least benefits from

At the Yuma City Council work session on May 14, I had the opportunity to suggest to the council that the population growth of feral cats in our community might be further decreased by using the current voucher system to also offer a TNR $20 coupon (trap, neuter and return) by amending the city code to allow the $20 voucher to be used to reduce

Yuma is taking a major step forward with the Yuma Regional Cancer Center.With it, cancer patients in Yuma will be able to undergo treatments right here in Yuma, with state-of-the-art facilities. Yuma Regional Medical Center is now part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, which brings a higher level of care to patients by providing speci

Technically in Yuma, it's always sunscreen season. But just as the heat is settling in to stay, experts are issuing some new guidelines on that oh-so-important summer staple.New federal requirements ban terminology such as “waterproof” because it's misleading to consumers, according to the Associated Press. Sunscreens mus

SAN LUIS, Ariz. — A consultant is recommending a sewer rate increase of up to 30 percent and a smaller water rate hike to fund improvements to this city’s utility systems and to make the services pay for themselves. The increases would take effect in July and would be followed by additional hikes through 201

Little by little, piece by piece, Timmy Reese has been progressing as a dirt track racer.Ever since coming on the scene during the inaugural Cocopah Speedway season in 2010, Reese has driven hard, sometimes too hard, and paid the price. He's endured crashes, including a rollover, and heartaches, having come close to tasting victory o

In the words of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons: “See You in September” — actually, it'll be August. I have enjoyed writing this past year, mainly because of the responses I get from wonderful readers of the Yuma Sun. Your emails and letters more than make up for the lack of salary the Sun pays me.Bef

A wildfire north of Picacho Peak had consumed about 300 acres as of Sunday night. Smoke could be seen from Yuma.The Island Lake Fire is burning completely inside Arizona and was zero percent contained as of about 9:30 p.m., according to the Rural/Metro Fire Department. The blaze is burning mostly to the north, following the river, an

An American flag measuring 65 feet in height and 112 feet in length was unfurled for all of the drivers and crew at Cocopah Speedway to hold in honor of Armed Forces Night Saturday. Yuma resident Bob Tuffly commissioned the flag in honor of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks nearly a decade ago, and it was constructed by Sew

SAN LUIS, Ariz. — Youth groups were the first beneficiaries of a new fund set up to finance arts, culture and community service programs in this city.In what are the first distributions from the San Luis Community Fund, $5,000 in grants has been divided among five organizations over the past year.The most recent all

The field of potential candidates for Yuma city mayor has grown with Karen Watts recently taking out a nomination packet for the position. Incumbent Mayor Al Krieger has announced he will not run for re-election. Others who have taken out nomination packets to run for mayor include Douglas Nicholls, Jack Kretzer