Author: KYMA

Adrik Vargas

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – First responders from across Imperial County came together this week for a full-scale emergency drill that looked and felt like the real thing.

Led by Imperial County Public Health, the training simulated an active shooter scenario and included over 100 participants from local fire departments, police, medical teams, and the bomb squad. The goal: To test how well agencies communicate, coordinate, and respond under pressure.

“This is a pretty elaborate drill,” said Cedric Ceseńa, Deputy Chief. “It had probably over a hundred participants, and that’s just the first responders. It’s very realistic.”

From handling mock injuries to working through a simulated explosive threat, teams had to act fast and work as one.

“We encountered an IED inside of a building, so coordination with the SWAT team was one of the things we discussed today and learned from,” said Aaron Castro, Fire Captain and Bomb Commander.

Officials say these drills are about more than just checking boxes, they help make sure that when a real emergency happens, everyone knows their role and can work together.

“It really helps tie our functions together,” Castro added. “It puts faces to names.”

While the scenario may have been staged, the preparation was very real, and could make all the difference when seconds count.

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Danyelle Burke North

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Court Appointed Special Advocates, or “CASA,” advocates for abused and neglected children in the foster care system.

“As an advocate, you get to know the child. You meet them a minimum of once a month. You attend events with them that they’re involved in, extracurricular activities,” said Yuma CASA coordinator Veronica Davis. “Then you report to the judge every 3 to 6 months on what’s in the child’s best interest and what they need to thrive while they’re in the foster care system.”

Davis says every county in Arizona has an active CASA program.

There was nationwide reaction after the Trump administration cut funding for CASA services. However, Davis says they are not impacted here locally and are still able to serve youth.

“Government cuts have not impacted the local programs here in Arizona. So, CASA of Yuma County is part of CASA of Arizona, and we are all under the national CASA G.A.L umbrella. However, our funding does not come from the National CASA program. On the national level, they have experienced some cuts, but fortunately those cuts have not trickled down to affect our programs. We still have maintained the funding that’s being provided to us,” shared Davis.

With the growing number of children in the foster system, there is a growing demand for more CASA volunteers. They say you can apply online to become a volunteer and help make a difference in the community.”

“You know, you get joy from it,” said CASA volunteer Bernadette Presloid. “You see the children have joy, so it’s a good thing, so please volunteer.”

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Abraham Retana

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – Two people connected to the murder of a Calipatria resident were back in court Thursday, where they learned about DNA evidence tied to the case.

22-year-old Johvan Herrero and 25-year-old Xochitl Arce were arrested for the murder of 28-year-old Nicholas Spence in January.

Herrero’s defense attorney asked the judge for more time to receive DNA results that could be used as evidence in the case.

Herrero remains in custody and is charged with murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

Arce is out of custody and is charged with being an accessory to the crime.

They’re both expected back in court in July.

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Abraham Retana

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – A fire broke out Friday morning in the area of Engler Avenue and 13th Street.

Rural Metro Fire and Yuma Fire worked together to contain a fire at an auto parts shop north of Yuma Palms.

The fire started around 9 a.m. at Engler Avenue near 13th Street.

Rural Metro says a brush fire got into the building and spread to the lot with crushed cars and chemicals.

One person working on-site was burned and taken to Onvida Health.

Two Rural Metro firemen were injured.

“We got one person burned that was working at the facility. We transported him and we got two of our personnel injured, one of them was transported and the other chose not to seek treatment,” said Rural Metro Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Woodruff. 

A witness who works at a nearby auction barn said he heard an explosion followed by a cloud of smoke. He then took safety measures for his workplace.

“We were making sure people were safe inside. We let everyone know there was a fire nearby just in case something happened if we have to evacuate but it was far enough down the road so we should be safe,” said Isaac Yablonsky, a Yuma resident.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Local families got the chance to celebrate Mother’s Day in a very unique way Saturday.

The Mother’s Day event started at 10:00 a.m. and took place at the Garden Center of the Walmart located on Pacific Avenue.

During the event, families got to meet and take photos with Minnie Mouse, participated in making a Mother’s Day card as well as other fun activities.

In addition, families also bought gifts such as candles, coffee mugs, teddy bears and more, with prices ranging between $5 and $15.

According to Otilia Condie, the store’s manager, if you missed out on the event, Walmart will host it again on Sunday.

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Residents across Yuma County attended the annual Women’s Expo Saturday morning.

The event, hosted by the Yuma Territorial Charter Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA), started at 8:00 a.m. in the Yuma Civic Center.

Local businesses and organizations, such as Onvida Health and Shear Skills School of Cosmetology, participated in the annual event.

Cathy Hansen, President of the ABWA Yuma Chapter, explains the importance of the expo saying, “In a rural community, there are not as many options for education and equipping and access to tools, you know, that can further you and help you along…We do all that and try to help women get better equipped to build their business and grow.”

During the event, there was a fashion show, gift raffles, food, and the first 200 people who attended the event got a swag bag.

The expo lasted until 2:00 p.m.

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Eduardo Morales

WELLTON, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – 31-year-old Ramon Marquez appeared back in court Thursday with more charges after being accused of getting sexually involved with a 16-year-old girl.

The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent was read the 15 counts he is being charged. These include sexual intercourse, oral sexual contact, and sexual exploitation of a minor.

The complaint states that Marquez knowingly recorded, filmed, or photographed the minor he is accused of sexually abusing.

According to documents we obtained, the alleged abuse happened multiple times, from December 2024 to April of this year.

The judge told Marquez to not have any contact with the alleged victim.

“Do appear at all scheduled court proceedings, do obey all laws, I’m going to order you not threaten or initiate any contact with any alleged victims, and when I say no contact, that means absolutely nothing,” said Judge Russ Jones.

We reached out to CBP to see if Marquez is still employed by them, but they declined to comment.

Marquez posted his bond earlier this week and is no longer in custody.

He is set to appear in court again later this month.

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Danyelle Burke North

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – During the summer, a lot of kids and adults suffer from food insecurity. During the school year, cafeterias provide students with a nice warm meal, but when summertime comes around, some students are worried about where their next meal is going to come from.

“During the summer, of course, we all know those kids are getting meals from the schools, so now schools are going to shut down, kids are going to go home, and those kids are now going to be home with their families. So the burden is going to be on the families now,” said Yuma Community Food Bank Chief Operating Officer Michelle Merkley.

It’s why the Yuma Community Food Bank helps fill food pantries on several local campuses, all to make sure no student goes hungry. Those include Yuma’s Northern Arizona University and Arizona Western College campuses along with O.C. Johnson. They say there’s a huge call to action during the summer.

“More and more people come to us during the summer, so we’re always asking for food donations. You know help do a food drive, you know, clean out your pantry. You can drop off food right off here at the main location here, said Merkley.

May until the end of July, the food bank is partnering with Pilkington Construction to support families through the summer.

“Pilkington construction, they’ve agreed that until the end of July, they will match up to $5,000 in total for every dollar donated,” said Yuma Councilman Art Morales. “With this initiative, we’re hoping to get the Yuma Community Food Bank through the summer to support the families.”

If you’d like to help support families and students in need, you can volunteer here, or donate at the Yuma Community Food Bank.

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Manoah Tuiasosopo

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – As we celebrate Nurse Week, we share the story of a Yuma woman closer to achieving her career dreams after some much needed help from Onvida Health.

“At Onvida Health, we want to help develop our employees and develop their career,” says Laura Wisniewski, the Administrative Director of Human Resources at Onvida Health.

That’s exactly what their doing with Carolina Martinez who says it’s her dream to one day become a registered nurse.

That dream is well on its way to becoming a reality after she was chosen for the first Internal Nurse Sponsorship program at Onvida Health.

“Now I’m closer to my goal of becoming an RN,” says Martinez.

The program covers tuition and allows employees to study while maintaining full-time pay and benefits.

“As our organization grows, we know our workforce needs to grow. Sometimes we need to be creative on how do we train high-potential, high-performing employees to get to that next step in their career,” says Wisniewski.

Martinez says as a mother, military spouse, and full-time nursing assistant, stopping work to further her education would be a stretch.

But after graduating from the 9-month program, on top of her 15 plus years of experience, Martinez is now a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).

Martinez says, “Nursing programs are pretty intense. Sometimes people have to work part-time, PRN (“Pro re nata” which translates to “As needed”), or not work at all. With this opportunity we didn’t have to. We were paid to go to class and clinicals. I thought it was a great opportunity.”

She says she’s in it for the long run.

“To be a nurse, you have to have big heart and a lot of patience,” says Martinez.

Martinez was one of five employees selected for the program.

Onvida Health says they would like to expand the group to 20 employees starting this summer.

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Andrea Turisk

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The Yuma Fire Department (YFD) says they’re responding to more emergency calls now then ever before, but with limited resources, keeping up with this demand has been an ongoing challenge.

Firefighters say they’re doing everything they can, but they need support. 

This year, YFD broke records for emergency calls. 441 in a single week. Thats about 100 more than their weekly average.

YFD Public Information Officer David Padilla says, “What we’ve seen in previous years as kind of the base is now becoming the new norm for us.”

Padilla says Yuma is seeing large population growth, especially on the east side, which had affected the departments ability to respond to calls.

“The community has outgrown the our fire department, and its time for the fire department to catch up,” Padilla shared.

The growing demand is especially visible in emergency medical services. YFD EMS Division Chief Daniel Espino says crews are working overtime to keep units in service.

“We’re running two units right now on overtime. Medic 7 is running overtime 24 hours a day, and we’ve up-staffed a day car that’s also running from 9 to 5…also with overtime,” Chief Espino said.

And while no one is forced to work extra hours, the department relys on dedication and volunteerism to fill in the gaps.

“It’s voluntary, no one’s made to work overtime. So I think its really good that we’ve got good guys that are electing to pick up the shifts on their days off,” Espino explained.

The workload is not only intense. It’s personal. John Dunbar, Chapter President of the United Yuma Fire Association says for many firefighters its about doing more, with less.

“We’ve seen a large increase in call volume which puts more strain both physically and mentally on our members, but staffing levels haven’t changed,” Dunbar spoke. “Whether it’s an EMS call and you’re running a cardiac arrest with two or three people instead of the recommended five or six, we’re going to do it. It just puts more strain on our members.”

Dunbar says the extended shifts and rising call loads are becoming stressful: “The increased workload, overtime, extended shifts, working 3 to 4 days in a row, that takes a toll.”

Still, the department is pushing forward. Padilla says they’re actively looking at how to position the resources they do have: “We are currently undergoing some adjustments to be able to better serve out community. The Yuma Fire Department is always looking to allocate resources the best way we can across the city.”

With recruitment coming soon, YFD says anyone can apply with training provided for those who qualify.

“We allow anybody to apply as long as your the minimum age and have a drivers license and then we will put you through all the training to become a firefighter EMT and work for the Yuma Fire Department” Padilla remarked.

While challenges continue firefighters say their mission hasn’t changed, and neither has their commitment to the community 

“Rest assured the united yuma firefighters is 100% willing to, and were able to work with both the city and fire administration to come up with real solutions,” says Dunbar.

YFD says they’ll continue to push for additional funding and staff, but until changes are made firefighters will continue to feel strain and emergency response times could be affected.

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