Author: KYMA

Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Yuma Union High School District (YUHSD) said the Kofa High School Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (MCJROTC) has been named a Naval Honor School.

In a press release, this is the fourth consecutive year Kofa MCJROTC has earned the title, as well as sixth time overall.

“We are very proud of our cadets who worked so hard planning events, community service, public events, competitions, and executing these to their very best ability,” Kofa MCJROTC Instructor Maj. Todd Birney said. “Part of the Naval Honor School award was the formal compliance inspection conducted last February, in which our cadets did a fantastic job of showing how student led programs can flourish.”

YUHSD said the selections were based on the following:

Superior performance throughout the school year such as annual commanding general

Inspector general inspection, unit enrollment

Cadet citizenship (school and unit activities, clubs, leadership, community service, and public affairs)

Scholastic achievement (academic awards, scholarships and enlistments)

To learn more about this, read the press release below.

PR – Kofa MCJROTC program named Naval Honor School for sixth time.docx (1)Download

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Jessamyn Dodd

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – Courage, a facility dog with an important job has joined the Imperial County Fire Department (ICFD).

Courage came through a program run by Imperial County Behavioral Health. The program partners with the Humane Society, training dogs to become facility dogs.

After spending about eight months with Behavioral Health, Courage was adopted by the fire department, and has been with them since February..

He is part of the department’s peer-to-peer support team, which focuses on firefighter’s mental health.

When firefighters respond to traumatic calls, Courage can help with crisis intervention, giving firefighters a chance to decompress, and get grounded.

Firefighters often respond to traumatic calls like child abuse, overdoses, and death. And sometimes just having Courage there is enough.

“In a person’s lifespan, they’ll experience one to three traumatic events in their life. And in the career of a fire fighter or first responder, we’ll experience anywhere in the thousands so, on average I think it’s one to two thousand events. That’s why the fire service has been pushing for support dogs,” said Fire Captain Daniel Martinez with ICFD.

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation estimates that at least 100 firefighters die by suicide each year due to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and depression.

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Consumer Reports

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – More people are turning to artificial intelligence for answers to their health questions, but experts warn that the information provided by AI chatbots isn’t always accurate, and could come with privacy risks.

AI tools including ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini can provide detailed answers within seconds. For many people, that convenience makes them an appealing first stop when they have questions about their health.

One survey found that 17% of adults ask AI chatbots health-related questions at least once a month.

“There are a lot of reasons you might go to a chatbot for answers,” said Kevin Loria, a health reporter for Consumer Reports. “They can be quite good at generating a lot of information, and they’re very comprehensive and easy to understand.”

But experts say the technology can also get things wrong.

AI chatbots can make up information, known as “hallucinations,” or mix up important details while presenting their responses with confidence. Those errors can be difficult for users to recognize, particularly when the information sounds authoritative.

A recent study also found that people can be prone to overtrusting AI-generated medical advice. Some respondents were unable to distinguish between answers generated by AI and information provided by a real doctor.

Privacy is another concern.

AI systems are not subject to all of the same privacy protections that apply to a doctor’s office. That means users should be cautious about sharing sensitive personal health information with a chatbot, as that information could potentially be exposed, used or compromised in a data breach.

Consumer Reports recommends using AI as a starting point for health information, not as a substitute for a medical professional.

People should avoid entering sensitive personal health information into AI tools and verify anything they learn with trusted sources, including MedlinePlus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and recognized medical organizations.

And when a health question could affect a person’s treatment or other medical decisions, experts recommend talking with a doctor.

AI can provide information quickly, but experts say it shouldn’t replace professional medical advice.

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) is reminding residents that the 2026 Dove Hunting Season is happening soon.

In a press release, the season will open Tuesday, September 1, at half-hour before sunrise and it will go until Tuesday, September 15, at sunset.

During that time, YCSO is also reminding those participating in Dove Hunting Season to remember the following laws:

Prohibited areas: Individuals are prohibited from hunting within all municipal and county parks and preserves, including the Yuma East Wetlands, West Wetlands Park, golf courses and airport properties.

Discharge firearm within 0.25 miles: It is unlawful to discharge a firearm while taking wildlife within 1/4 mile of an occupied structure without permission of the owner or resident.

Shoot across roads: No person may knowingly discharge any firearm or shoot any device upon, from, across, or into a maintained road or railway.

Trespassing: A person may not trespass on private property for taking wildlife if that property is posted “No Hunting,” “No Trespassing,” or if a person is asked to leave by the owner.

Destroy crops or private property: Individuals may not destroy growing crops, personal property, notices or signboards, or other improvements while hunting.

Littering: Pack it in, trash left behind is unacceptable. This can include shotgun hulls and remnants of dead wildlife.

YCSO said, “Violations of these laws can result in revocation of hunting privileges or criminal charges,” and said, “Other restrictions apply to incorporated areas,” meaning hunters should check with local jurisdictions.

Meanwhile, Sprague’s Sports is gearing up for locals and outsiders as dove hunting season is the busiest time of the year for them.

Customers flooded into the store, purchasing different hunting items, along with hunting licenses.

Sprague’s Range Manager Matt Dusek called it their Christmas when it comes to the turnout.

“We get a heavy influx of state hunters, and obviously, with the gear purchases and the shotgun shells and shotguns and all equipment that goes with that…it definitely increases our sales,” Dusek explained.

Sprague’s also holds events and raffles that customers can enter to win big prizes worth over $100,000.

For more information on state law and requirements, click here. If anyone has any questions or needs any additional information about dove hunting, visit the Arizona Game and Fish Regional Office in Yuma, located at 9140 E. 28th Street, or call 928-342-0091.

PR-75-2026-Dove-Hunting-SeasonDownload

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Wesley Williamson

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Onvida Health held a “Go-Gold” walk and lighting ceremony Saturday.

Participants gathered at the cancer center garden and simultaneously lit gold necklaces in honor of the children and families who have faced a pediatric cancer diagnosis.

The illumination was followed by a meaningful walk around the hospital exterior which will also stay illuminated gold for the entire month.

Organizers hope when you’re driving around town and you see the hospital and others lighting up gold that you remember those families that are effected.

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Wesley Williamson

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Friends of the Lower Colorado River held a river clean up event Gateway Park Saturday morning.

Clean up volunteers focused their efforts on picking up small debris and trash left behind by park visitors.

While the area is maintained by the City of Yuma, volunteer clean up efforts are an important part in areas that need more attention.

The Arizona Office of Tourism recently recognized Friends of the Lower Colorado River with an award for their efforts in their region.

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Adrik Vargas

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – A landmark settlement with Meta could change how social media companies protect teens.

The settlement includes changes for teen users, including age verification, limited scrolling and fewer notifications during school.

Megan Shahi, Director of Technology Policy at the Center for American Progress and a former policy employee at Facebook and Instagram, said the settlement is different from past debates over social media because it focuses on how the platforms are designed, not just the content users see.

Shahi says features like infinite scrolling are central to the way social media companies keep people on their platforms, making the changes especially significant.

She also says the settlement could put pressure on other platforms, including TikTok and YouTube, to make similar changes.

Shahi says the next year will be important as Meta works to put the changes in place and the industry responds.

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Moses Femino

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA) – A Somerton man is now facing multiple felony charges after the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) said he broke into a home and vehicle.

David Ruiz-Martinez, 23, was formally charged Friday with second-degree burglary, criminal damage and theft. His bond remains at $5,000.

Ruiz-Martinez was arrested Tuesday, August 25, after trying to run from YCSO deputies at his home.

On Wednesday, YCSO searched his home and found evidence related to the burglary as well as narcotics.

Ruiz-Martinez was also on probation for a prior case, and is now facing a probation violation.

In addition, he is facing charges for dangerous drug possession, drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana for sale.

He is scheduled to be back in court next Tuesday.

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Lauren Duffel

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The man who pled guilty to a deadly Yuma house party shooting was sentenced to 30 years in prison Friday.

Abraham Colin, 22, pleaded guilty earlier this month to second-degree murder and aggravated assault charges.

Under the plea agreement, Colin will serve 20 years for the murder charge, and an additional ten years for the assault charge consecutively.

The shooting happened in May of 2023 at a house party in Yuma, with prosecutors saying Colin and others arrived at the party with firearms, and Colin fired 21 shots.

Danny Garcia, 19, and Ande Blackthunder, 20, were killed, and other minors were shot.

Following his release from prison, Colin will also serve two years of probation.

A second suspect in the case, 22-year-old Aden Arviso, is still scheduled to go to trial in September.

Arviso is accused of second-degree murder in connection to the shooting.

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Lynette Niebla

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) – Flashing red and blue lights in your rearview mirror usually mean an officer approaching your window with a traditional pen and notepad.

In El Centro, however, that familiar sequence is getting a high-tech makeover.

The El Centro Police Department (ECPD) has fully deployed a mobile upgrade across its patrol division, trading out traditional paper ticket logs for specialized handheld devices.

However, local authorities stress that this upgrade goes far deeper than just handing out paperless traffic citations.

Under the new system, field officers utilize department-issued smartphones to input traffic violations and scan driver identification cards instantly.

The devices pair directly with compact, belt-worn Bluetooth printers to generate physical receipts for drivers on the spot, entirely bypassing the need for handwriting.

Beyond replacing traffic pads, these units function as computer terminals. Patrol forces can now look up case histories, draft reports, and even review their own body-camera recordings right from the sidewalk.

For the officers working the beat, this means no longer being chained to the laptop mounted inside their police cruisers.

“The department has now implemented our CAD (Computer-Aided Dispatch) system onto our phones,” said El Centro Police Officer Jason Flores. “So instead of going back to our cars and checking our computers, we’re able to get real-time information and live updates from our dispatcher right on our phones.”

This constant connectivity serves as a critical safety net. Even if an officer temporarily loses radio contact in a building or remote area, the smartphone screen continuously updates with new emergency calls and dispatch notes.

By transferring administrative burdens onto a cellular network, leadership expects to dramatically optimize how officers split their time. Slashing the duration of standard traffic encounters directly translates to increased community presence.

“It shortens the time frame on our calls, so we’re able to efficiently handle more calls and serve the community in a better way,” Flores noted, emphasizing that the system fundamentally simplifies field tasks to maximize active street coverage.

Commanders recognize that observing a uniformed officer staring intently at a cell phone screen during an investigation might initially look unusual to passersby. Because of this, the department is prioritizing absolute transparency.

Police emphasize that these devices are highly secured and restricted strictly to official law enforcement business. Far from trying to hide the new tech, the agency is actively inviting the public to take a closer look.

If you spot an officer using one of the new mobile setups in town, the department welcomes you to walk up, initiate a conversation, and ask questions.

By fostering these one-on-one chats, El Centro officials hope to give residents a firsthand look at how modern tools are being used to protect and serve the Valley.

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