Author: KYMA

Eduardo Morales

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Brooke Rollins, the United States Secretary of Agriculture, announced the suspension of importing live cattle, horse, and bison from Mexico, because of a parasitic fly.

The New World Screwworm, which the USDA describes as a deadly parasitic fly has been spreading through Mexico.

According to Oklahoma State University, from 2004-23, 1.17 million heads of Mexican cattle were imported into the U.S.

This year alone has seen 148,035 cattle imported into Arizona from Mexico, according to the USDA.

“It’s not really anything we want to see back in the United States again, certainly don’t want it to impact cattle markets, and we don’t want it to impact wildlife or livestock,” said John Boelts, the President of the Arizona Farm Bureau.

A few weeks ago, Sec. Rollins spoke on how they are trying to combat the spread of these flies.

“Planes [with sterile flies] that we’re trying to land, that is what will push that New World Screwworm back into the south of Mexico and into southern Latin America,” said Rollins.

This was a strategy they used to originally remove the fly from the United States decades ago.

“This dangerous pest was originally eradicated in the US in 1966 and was successfully pushed down to the south of Panama using a sterile fly program,” says Rachel Andrews, the public information officer for the Arizona Department of Agriculture.

The AZDA describes the process of how using sterile flies works.

“Essentially the flies mate only once, so if a sterilized male mates with a wild-fertile female, the life cycle ends because she produces unfertilized eggs thereby decreasing the fly population,” Andrews said.

Meanwhile, Boelts describes what effects this could possibly have on the market.

“This will probably have an impact on beef prices, we do a lot of beef trade with Canada, and so, the U.S and Canada will probably supply the bulk of the U.S. beef demands,” Boelts says.

Any livestock that is currently in holding for entry will be processed but also examined to ensure they are not carrying the fly.

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Danyelle Burke North

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – There is a big need for more speech language pathologists (SLPs) in Yuma, and local graduate students will help make a big impact in the classroom.

Summer Track program coordinator Dr. Sandra Stewart, says two years ago, Northern Arizona University (NAU) launched a Yuma-based speech-language pathology master’s degree program.

Yuma special educators asked the university to make the program available to students in Yuma to help with the shortage of SLPs.

“This was our first launching of a program actually based in Yuma,” said Dr. Anna Sosa, NAU department chair of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

She says the first full cohort is now set to graduate, with more than half staying in the Yuma area to work in local schools.

“We will essentially, with this cohort, double the number of SLPs working in the school districts in Yuma,” said Dr. Stewart.

Speech language pathologists help support the learning and development of children with communication disorders. They say over 90% of this Yuma cohort is bilingual, Iike many of Yuma’s school children, which will help strengthen K-12 learning.

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Eduardo Morales

UPDATE (05/12): One person is without a home after an afternoon fire in Yuma.

The fire ignited near 20th Avenue and 10th Street, a couple blocks west of Kiwanis Park in Yuma.

At the scene, Rural Metro Fire and Yuma Fire Department (YFD) found a home and fifth-wheel trailer fully engulf.

Crews quickly began to get the fire under control. YFD was assigned structure protection.

Fire crews remained on scene to check for hotspots. One person was displaced due to the fire and is now working with the Red Cross.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Both the Yuma Fire Department and Rural Metro Fire were on scene to battle a fire Monday afternoon.

The fire happened by 20th Avenue and 10th Street, a couple of blocks west of Kiwanis Park in Yuma.

The fire appeared to have spread to two lots, burning a house and a trailer.

KYMA will keep you updated on this developing story.

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Manoah Tuiasosopo

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – A local Veteran in Yuma celebrated his 102nd birthday on Monday.

The Arizona State Veterans Home in Yuma is home to Donald Bradbury, the 102-year-old World War II Veteran.

That’s where dozens of friends and fellow Veterans came out to celebrate him on Monday.

His wife, Lyn, says he’s a man who loves art, has quite the sweet tooth, and can also be a social butterfly.

“He’s always been the guy people went to. He’s been friendly. Now that we’re at the VA, he’s met more people. I’ll take him down the hall and he’ll say, ‘That’s my friend, that’s my friend,'” Lyn shared.

Donald served as a machinist in the United States Navy during WWII.

He was married to his previous wife for 65 years and his current wife for 15 years, that’s 80 years of being a husband.

Lyn says, “I asked him the other day, ‘If something happened to me would you remarry?’ He said, ‘I don’t want try my luck.’ He’s a very funny fellow.”

Donald says he’s just glad to see the day.

“Thank you everybody, I’m lucky,” he shared.

Lyn adds, “When everybody sang happy birthday, he was the only one who said “and many more.”

Donald comes from a military family as he is the son of a World War I Veteran and the father of two sons who also served.

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Karina Bazarte

HOLTVILLE, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – A Holtville man was injured after he tried to save his home from being destroyed by a fire.

The Holtville Fire Department (HFD) says if the other fire agencies hadn’t helped, it could’ve been a different story.

Holtville locals had to evacuate their homes for more than two hours after a house caught on fire.

“When I arrived on scene, the house was fully engulfed,” said Fire Chief Alex Silva with HFD.

HFD says the fire happened Sunday morning on Mesquite Avenue and Fifth Street.

“The fire started in the car port…electrical…the owner had a motorcycle that had an electrical charger on and it shorted out and caught on fire,” Chief Silva shared.

The victim tried to save his home by using a water hose. Unfortunately, he was not successful.

“The gentleman got up during the night and went to put some food in his microwave…he went to take a shower. When he got out of the shower, he went to get his food. He saw a glow in front of his house and he went outside and tried to extinguish the fire. Unfortunately, by the time, he got to the front the fire had spread into the attic.”

Alex Silva, Fire Chief, Holtville Fire Department

Silva says he’s thankful for all the agencies who helped fight the fire saying, “Without their help, we might have lost more than one home.”

Silva says the fire burned the owner and he was taken to the hospital. He was the only person inside the home.

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Dillon Fuhrman

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is investigating a crash which left three people dead.

The crash happened at around 8:15 a.m. Saturday when a 21-year-old Yuma man was driving a 1993 Honda Civic eastbound on Interstate 8 east of Mountain Springs Road.

CHP says, “For unknown reasons, the driver of the Honda veered to the left onto the center median, crashed and rolled over onto its roof.”

As a result, the driver and his passenger, a 21-year-old woman also from Yuma, “were ejected from the vehicle” and died from their injuries. Another passenger, a two-year-old boy also from Yuma, was found inside the Honda, and was pronounced dead on scene.

CHP says the Imperial County Coroner’s Office was called to to take the body, and says their names will be released pending next of kin notification.

CHP says both the driver and passenger were not wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash while the child was found inside a child seat.

While it is unknown if impairment was a factor in the crash, the investigation is ongoing.

Three party 11-44 I8 EB east of Mountain SpringsDownload

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Dillon Fuhrman

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is investigating a crash which left one person dead and two people injured.

The crash happened at around 9:20 a.m. Monday when a 71-year-old woman was driving a black 2017 Toyota Camry northbound on Forrester Road, north of Keystone Road, when she drove “into the direct lane of travel of a white 2015 Honda Accord,” driving southbound Forrester Road.

As a result, the front end of the Toyota crashed into the front end of the Honda. Following the crash, the driver of the Toyota was pronounced dead on scene.

CHP says the Imperial County Coroner’s Office was called to take the body, and says her name will be released pending next of kin notification.

In addition, the driver of the Honda, a 31-year-old woman, suffered major injuries and was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center while her passenger, a one-year-old girl, also suffered minor injuries, according to CHP.

CHP says both vehicles were equipped with air bags and were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash.

2 VEHICLE FATAL CRASH ON FORRESTER NORTH OF KEYSTONEDownload

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Karina Bazarte

HOLTVILLE, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – A 59-year-old man from Holtville was killed Friday by a minor who was driving near Sixth Street and Pine Avenue.

The Imperial County Sheriff’s Office (ICSO) says the victim was apparently walking when he was struck by the driver, killing him at the scene.

According to ICSO, the minor stayed on scene and fully cooperated with law enforcement.

ICSO says the driver did not appear to be under the influence, but the case is still under investigation.

If everyone knows anything about the case, please contact ICSO

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Miriam Ordonez

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – A family of five is without a home after an early morning fire in Yuma.

It happened at around 3:00 a.m. Sunday in the area of South Engler Avenue and East 15th Street.

Courtesy: Rural Metro Fire

Fire crews arrived to find a double-wide trailer fully engulfed with flames threatening nearby homes.

According to Rural Metro, the fire was quickly contained and no injuries were reported.

Courtesy: Rural Metro Fire

The Red Cross is helping the displaced family and their three dogs.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. To learn more about the story, click here.

The family has also made a gofundme page: https://gofund.me/76662f39

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Miriam Ordonez

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) is recognizing the work of its field crews with Zanjero Appreciation Week, which is set for May 19 through May 25.

Zanjeros, or ditch riders, work around the clock to ensure Colorado River water is delivered to farms, businesses and communities across the Imperial Valley, according to IID.

Courtesy: Imperial Irrigation District

The district says these 129 employees are essential to keeping 2.6 million acre-feet of water flowing each year.

The appreciation week falls during the peak of water season and highlights the role these workers play in the face of drought challenges.

To learn more about this, click here.

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