Category: kyma-local-news

Lauren Duffel

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Somerton school teacher accused of having drugs on campus pleaded not guilty during a court appearance Monday.

Deana Lynn Salter, 55, is facing charges of possession of dangerous drugs in a school zone, possession of dangerous drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia and reckless child abuse.

Salter was arrested earlier this month after the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) said a staff member found a makeup bag, but as the staff member was looking inside to figure out who it belonged to, they found a plastic bag containing an unidentified substance.

The staff member, according to YCSO, “turned the bag over the the YCSO School Resource Officer who identified the substance as Methamphetamine.”

During an additional search of the bag, YCSO identified Salter as the bag’s owner, leading to her arrest.

After that, the Yuma County Narcotics Task Force took over the investigation, and YCSO said, “The total amount of Methamphetamine was approximately 4.35 grams.”

Salter, who is no longer in custody, will be back in court on September 18 for a case management hearing.

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Madeline Murray

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA) – The former San Luis High School (SLHS) teacher accused of sexually abusing an underage student pleaded not guilty during a court appearance Monday.

Genesis Alvarado, 27, is facing two felony charges, including sexual misconduct with a minor.

Alvarado, who was a digital photography teacher at SLHS, was taken into custody earlier this month, and the San Luis Police Department (SLPD) said the investigation involved a 17-year-old student.

SLPD also believes there’s multiple victims.

Alvarado, who is out on bail, will be back in court September 18 for a case management hearing.

To watch the livestream of the story, see attached video.

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NBC News

(NBC, KYMA) – The Lundberg Survey says the national average price of gasoline has dropped a few cents, but oil prices are rising, raising concerns about a price hike.

The survey says the average retail price of regular grade gasoline dropped three cents in the past two weeks to $4.15 a gallon.

However, oil prices are rising, jumping nearly $9.00 a barrel during the past two weeks.

As a result, The Lundberg Survey says gas prices are likely to follow oil prices upward, perhaps a dime or more very soon.

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Lynette Niebla

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) – Dust off your old family photos, letters, and keepsakes. The El Centro Library is launching a new community archive project to ensure the history of the Imperial Valley is preserved for generations to come.

From now through September 12, residents can bring historical memorabilia to the library, located at 1198 N. Imperial Avenue, to be scanned, photographed, and added to a permanent digital archive.

Project creators say the effort is born out of a need to document a region that is often left out of standard history textbooks.

“In our area specifically, we’re not really in history books, so I feel like it’s very important to archive the Imperial Valley, our community, and everyone that’s here,” said Ruby Duran Ramirez, the archive project creator and library assistant. “We want future generations of people from the Imperial Valley, and even outside of the Imperial Valley, to know who we are, what we are, and the community that we are.”

The initiative aims to build a comprehensive look at the region by collecting family traditions, neighborhood business records, and personal journals that reflect everyday life in the valley. The project also aligns with the nationwide commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, highlighting how local stories weave into national history.

Organizers emphasize that items do not need to be ancient to be valuable to the archive.

“For things to be archived, they don’t have to be 50 years old or 100 years old. History is in the making,” Duran Ramirez said. “If something is current right now, it’s going to be history 50 to 100 years from now. Where we live is going to completely change…Everything needs to be recorded because once these things are lost and forgotten, they’re lost and forgotten forever.”

While library staff is eager to collect a wide array of visual items, they stress that a picture is only worth a thousand words if they know who and what is in it.

“We love pictures, but we also need the names of the people in the pictures,” Duran Ramirez explained. “We need the stories behind the pictures because if we don’t have that information…how are people going to be able to look back in the future and understand who these people are and the history behind them?”

To protect family heirlooms, residents do not need to permanently surrender their treasures. Library staff will carefully digitize the artifacts and return all original pieces to their owners immediately.

Residents looking to participate can bring in a wide variety of items, including old photographs, letters, documents, local historical items, and family memorabilia. The library will be accepting these submissions through Saturday, September 12. 

Following the collection period, selected artifacts will be displayed in the Library’s Community Room from September 14 through September 30 during regular hours, with a broader community showcase officially kicking off the week of September 21.

Participation is entirely free, but community members must schedule an appointment in advance. To book an appointment to share your story, call the El Centro Library at (760) 337-4565.

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Lynette Niebla

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) – The California Highway Patrol is officially packing up its gear and relocating to a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility designed to better serve the community and speed up emergency response times.

Starting Monday, August 24, the CHP El Centro Area office will officially open its doors at 2802 South Fourth Street in El Centro.

The agency is moving away from its decades-old home at 2331 Highway 86 in Imperial.

The move represents a staggering expansion for local state troopers. The new headquarters scales up the agency’s operational footprint from a tight 4,000 square feet to a massive 40,000 square feet.

Our team caught a first look inside the facility, which replaces cramped, multi-use quarters with dedicated operational areas.

“At our current location, we don’t have a training room per se. It’s a training room, briefing room, and everything else all in one,” said Capt. Ernesto Ruedas with CHP. “So here, we actually have a training room. We have a briefing room. We have a conference room.”

Capt. Ruedas noted that the extra room expands capabilities far beyond the CHP itself.

“We’ll be able to train people here and have other agencies come and train with us, so I think it’s a big benefit not only to the highway patrol but also to the community,” he explained.

Beyond modern amenities, commanders say the centralized hub will drastically slice down response times when seconds matter most.

“It’s gonna improve our response time to calls on the freeway,” Ruedas explained, noting that highway incidents are frequently severe. “Easy access to the [I-8] Freeway is good. Being a little bit more centrally located means we will be able to get to our calls a little bit faster than before.”

Packing up decades of police history is no small task. The transition has become a team-building event, drawing in help from across the department.

“We have been waiting for this day for a very long time,” Ruedas said. “We’ve had a lot of people come in and volunteer to help us move. We have volunteers who are coming in on their days off. Everybody is super excited to be a part of this new building and this big move.”

While the staff says goodbye to an office steeped in local history, they emphasize that the underlying mission remains exactly the same.

“That old office has a lot of history and it served us super well for decades,” Ruedas said. “It’s a new office, but we’re going to continue to provide the same ultimate level of service as we did at the old office. Nothing has changed.”

The relocation process will not disrupt active emergency services. The old Imperial office will remain open during regular business hours throughout the moving weekend.

Official Opening: Monday, August 24, at 8:00 a.m.

New Address: 2802 South 4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243

All administrative office phone numbers and community services remain completely unchanged.

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Jessamyn Dodd

IMPERIAL, Calif. (KYMA) – Sensory Xplorers is officially expanding with a new location in the City of Imperial. The new location held a ribbon-cutting and grand opening Thursday.

Activities include sensory based movement, obstacle courses, music and art designed to adapt to each person’s abilities.

“He loves it,” said Rozeanne Silver, who explained that one of her children is on the spectrum. “He loves the coaches. What they do is geared towards him and what I’ve asked them to do and they have worked.”

She said that her family has been going to the Brawley location, but now will transfer to Imperial.

The company is committed to making sure everyone has access to the programs they need.

Program Director Arieauna Escarcega spoke to News 11 at the event.

“We’re open in Calexico and Brawley and now Imperial. We’re really excited to serve our community throughout the Imperial Valley,” Escarcega said.

“We worked really hard to make this happen for everyone. We wanted to be accessible to everybody,” she added.

The goal isn’t to make everyone fit into the same routine, but to give each client the opportunity to participate at their own pace.

“We’re a physical fitness program, and we work with children, teens and adults,” said Escarcega, explaining the premise of the facility. “We do adaptions to our clients that have special needs. And we work with San Diego Regional clients.”

Sensory explorers say this new location is part of their expansion across the Imperial Valley, giving more families access to sensory-friendly activities.

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Connor Emery

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Humane Society of Yuma (HSOY) are looking for new homes for 28 new animals they received earlier this week.

22 cats and six dogs all came from one home as it’s part of an ongoing case with the Yuma Police Department.

With the shelter at limited capacity, they are looking for community support.

“We initially thought it was 27 but it was actually 28 animals. 22 of those animals were cats and so the cats plus the dogs that come in all in from one home really put us at a bit of a strain,” Hilary Mulherin, development manager said.

Since the NICU opened in April, the shelter has had over 400 neonate kittens.

One of the ways they say the community can help is with fostering to open up more space.

“While you may not foster some of the animals that may just come in from cases like this one, you will still help get an animal out of the shelter temporarily, and it opens up a kennel space for the next animal that will be coming in,” Mulherin said.

HSOY also asks for donations and supplies to help out with the new animals. If anyone wants more information on that, click here.

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Lauren Duffel

WINTERHAVEN, Calif. (KYMA) – Theresa Caputo Live! The Experience is happening this weekend, and she spoke with News 11 to talk about the upcoming show.

Caputo, who is known as the “Long Island Medium,” will be at the Quechan Casino Resort’s Pipa Event Center Saturday, August 22, at 8 p.m., with the doors opening at 7 p.m.

During the show, Caputo, according to the resort, will bring an evening “filled with personal stories, humor, and emotional moments as she connects with audience members and delivers messages from loved ones.”

“I come out on stage, I give a little quick speech on how I communicate with spirits, and then once I start sensing and feeling things, I allow the spirits to guide me around the theater,” Caputo explained.

For more than 20 years, she has touched the lives of millions of people, healing fans and comforting supporters when they needed it most.

Caputo said changing people’s lives is the most rewarding part of sharing her gift.

“People that come to the show don’t know how to live after the loss of a loved one, and in some cases, people don’t want to live,” Caputo explained.

Before audiences leave the show, Caputo wants them to know “there is truly an afterlife.”

“There is more to life than in the physical world and that they have the connection within loved ones that have died this is a soul bond that can never be broken. I want people to know that what they sense and feel that remind them of their loved one who has died is truly them,” she added.

To learn more about Caputo, click here. To purchase tickets for the show, click here.

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Abraham Retana

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – A local real estate broker has earned nationwide recognition.

Realty One Group Gateway broker Matias Rosales has been ranked a no. 15 in the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professional’s Top 250 Latino Agents Report, and no. 4 in the Southwest Region.

Rosales said the results are thanks to the commitment to serve the community.

“I love serving people, I love serving them, I love seeing their smiles when they get the keys, the final moment,” Rosales expressed. “I’ve been doing it for 18 years and I wouldn’t stop doing it. It’s a great profession.”

Rosales also said the goal is to continue serving the Yuma community and be a mentor to generations to come.

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Connor Emery

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma Union High School District (YUHSD) announced last week that dropout rates for students are at an all-time low.

The seven high schools in the district each have a dropout specialist who reach out to students before considering dropping out.

Dropout specialist Arisbey Ojeda-Garcia says students’ success is their top priority.

“Lower dropout rates show that we’re actually working hard to help our students succeed in school. And at the same time, we’re trying to take away as many barriers as possible so that they can be successful in high school and beyond,” Ojeda-Garcia said.

Each dropout specialist works with the students, whether it be home visits or one-on-one conversations.

Ojeda-Garcia said she loves what she does in helping students in the long run.

“I love what I do because I’m able to support students. I’m able to help them and I’m able to be part of them reaching success. I love what I do every single day. We’re able to verify that students are successful, which makes a very big difference as well,” said Ojeda-Garcia.

The average dropout rate in Arizona is around 4% while Yuma averages around 1%.

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