Category: kyma-local-news

Andrea Turisk

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Whether its a ladder truck or ambulance chances are Floyd Friar has had his hand in maintaining it.

Since 1985, he’s been Yuma Fire Department’s (YFD) fleet expert making sure everything and everyone gets where they need to go safely.

Inside Yuma Fire Station, Floyd Friar is right at home. Floyd joined the YFD in 1985. Since then, he’s helped design, modify, and maintain every vehicle in the fleet. 

“I feel like I contribute to trying to supply them with the equipment they need to do their life saving jobs and stuff like that,” says Friar.

Through changes in technology and equipment Floyd has stayed ahead. Helping spec out new engines, custom building tools, and making real time repairs that can help save lives. 

David Padilla, Public Information Officer for YFD, says, “There is not a truck, or ambulance, or engine at the Yuma Fire Department that doesn’t have Floyds fingerprints on it.”

Chief Dustin Fields says Floyd worked with his dad in 1985. Then, when he joined the department, he was able to witness Floyd’s dedication himself. 

“I’ve always heard good stories about Floyd and when I joined the department, I was just blown away at his creativity and his ability to solve problems,” says Chief Fields.

Floyd says he’s not quite ready to hang the wrench yet, but he’s proud of the work he’s done thus far.

“I’m doing what I wanna do. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been here 40 years. I’m not that person that’s looking to retire,” says Friar.

Friar says what he’s most proud of isn’t just trucks, but the trust his team has in him and after 40 years the trust runs deep.

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Abraham Retana

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – With back to school right around the corner, a local law firm is helping boys and girls hit the books in the Yuma community. 

Lerner & Rowe law firm is giving away 1,000 backpacks at the Yuma fairgrounds Wednesday afternoon.

The goal is to help local students reach their academic success.

“To help alleviate at least one of those obstacles or burden that are in their way and that’s providing backpacks and school supplies the tools they need to succeed,” said Kevin Rowe, Lerner & Rowe co-founder.

The Lerner & Rowe backpack giveaway will be at the Yuma fairgrounds on July 23 at 4p.m.

It’s on a first-come first-serve basis.

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Manoah Tuiasosopo

SOMERTON, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Low-income families in Somerton are receiving some useful assistance this week as the Housing America Corporation (HAC) hosted the First Back To School Giveaway.

At the Del Pueblo Apartments in Somerton, children from low income families were able to receive some fresh new gear ahead of the new school year.

Wendy Ramirez, a local, shares, “This helps us because you know the economic is really high now and families with a lot of kids they don’t have a lot of money, it’s not enough. So, this helps a little.”

As part of the giveaway, the HAC is providing free school supplies to children living in its low-income housing units.

Over 60 young students received learning tools like back packs, notebooks, and reusable water bottles on their first stop.

Five of those students were the lucky winners of a golden ticket, a $60 gift card to the local store Journeys.

“We’re just happy that he was one of the lucky winners. So, now he has his shoes for school,” says Ramirez.

The organizer says aid for low-income families extends far beyond just housing.

Yolanda Galindo, Executive Director for HAC, explains, “So, we have 60 kids within these 56 units that we have and the needs always there, so why not alleviate the burden on these families by providing a simple backpack with the utilities, with all the utensils needed to start your school year? I mean, it always brightens the kid’s face.”

The giveaway includes two more stops at low-income housing complexes, providing supplies to over 70 units.

They’ll also be stopping at Wellton Elementary School.

Galindo says this wouldn’t be possible without her sponsors adding, “Just a simple idea that I had, I reached out to the local contractor that we work with and it was overwhelming the response that they had.”

As to the future of the event, Galindo says, “It’ll get bigger and better. Maybe next time we could partner up with the City of Somerton. Just being the response, we were able to gather 180 backpacks full of all supplies.”

The giveaway will continue Wednesday at the Amistad Apartments in Somerton then the Colorado Street Apartments in Yuma on Thursday.

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Karina Bazarte

CALEXICO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – After more than 14 months without a permanent city manager, the City of Calexico has official appointed Ben Martinez as the new city manager.

Ben Martinez was appointed to be the new Calexico City Manager Tuesday morning.

Calexico Mayor Diana Nuricumbo says Martinez has an extensive career, from working with multiple cities in San Diego to L.A. County.

“We wanted to be very careful about who we selected because this city you know it has a reputation of having a high turnover of city managers so we wanted to ensure that this time things were going to be different,” said Mayor Nuricumbo.

However, locals on social media expressed their concerns about Martinez controversial departure from National City.

“Sometimes things don’t work out in other cities. we know this position is a very political position so it all depends on who you have as a council,” said Nuricumbo.

Martinez says he was let go due to political reasons.

Martinez says although he is not from Calexico, He does have strong ties to the community and he’s committed to helping the city grow.

Lizbeth Carbajal, a local, she is excited Calexico finally has a permanent city manager that can help the city bloom like fixing the streets. 

“Homelessness is a big issue and something has to be done to protect them to help them but at the same time to protect our city and make it clean and beautiful,” said Carbajal.

Martinez says beautifying Calexico is in his plans.

“When I look at the appearances of Calexico, our streets, our sidewalks, our parks and other things, I don’t know if the pride is showing, so we need to do that together. We need to work on that together I want to see the image of Calexico improve for the better,” said Martinez.

Martinez says he signed a three-year contract with a possible extension and hopes to retire in the City of Calexico.

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Andrea Turisk

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) remain a growing concern nationwide, but in Yuma County, they’re seeing some of the highest infection rates in the state.

According to the CDC and a recent study by Invigor Medical, Yuma County reported over 700 new STD cases per every 100,000 residents in 2023.

Health experts say those numbers reflect more than just testing, they highlight gaps in care and education.

In Yuma County, the numbers are raising red flags. According to Invigor Medical’s breakdown of CDC data, chlamydia led the list with over one thousand new cases in 2023.

Syphilises followed with 254 reported cases. Gonorrhea and HIV were also reported, though in lower in numbers.

Dr. Karen Melara with Onvida Family Medicine Clinic says these high numbers could be due to lack of education and stigma.

“Efforts for education is definitely something that should be worked on particularly so we can address this stigma you know that surrounds STDs as a whole so that patients can understand this is something that is apart of their healthcare,” Dr. Melara explained.

According to the study, STD rates have risen significantly over the past decade, reporting nearly 2.5 million new infections across the country in 2023, with Arizona being ranked number 11 in highest STD rates.

Melara says STD rates often rise in the summer because of more travel and social activity.

“Whenever we have that shift in population, we do see the numbers in different conditions change, so I would say that would be part of the reason,” Melara shared.

Experts stress personal responsibility plays a big role. If you think you may need testing, contact your local physician.

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Madeline Murray

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Local radio station KAWC is located on the Arizona Western College Campus and is just one of the many public radio stations that will be affected by the defunding of The Corporation of Public Broadcast (CPB).

Dave Riek, the General Manger of KAWC, “We’re planning not to have about a fifth of our budget, $200,000 this year, in this most recent budget. So that’s about 20%.”

KAWC says they are working with networks they partner with to receive discounts, and they have unfortunately laid off some of their part-time staff.

Despite these budget cuts, the station says they will stay on the air and they are holding onto hope.

“We have been told by several of the Congress people who actually voted in our favor on that measure, that they will propose more funding for CPB going forward, but it won’t be on a two year stager, specifically for this year. So we’re still hoping this will get reversed,” says Riek.

Students on campus also shared their opinions on the defunding of public media.

Gerardo Soto says, “I would assume some people are about to loose their jobs, and there might not be as much opportunity for more people to get into it.”

While others find the defunding to be very tragic news for public media all around.

“Honestly, I am kind of disheartened with that whole radio station being cut, just due to people having jobs here at the campus and removing that availability for those people to be able to pay for services is just never a good thing,” says David Hilpert, a student.

KAWC plans on bringing in more community support, like fundraising, during these difficult financial times.

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Eduardo Morales

YUMA, Arizona. (KYMA, KECY) – On Tuesday’s HomeGrown, we highlight a local water district, Bard Water District.

The district is a part of the Yuma Project, one of the first federal projects on the Colorado River.

Bard Water delivers water to farmers throughout the Winterhaven area.

Nick Bahr, the general manager of Bard Water, explains how the process of ordering water works.

“After you’ve placed your water order, in our system, that system tells our operation system how much water needs to be delivered at what time, it sends a signal to our automatic gage similar to this one,” Bahr says.

Bard Water is currently working on an automation system for their district.

This will make adjustments on it’s own without human input.

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Jalen Fong

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The man accused of crashing his pickup truck into a Border Patrol checkpoint in Yuma has accepted a plea deal in court.

67-year-old Rogelio Sanchez agreed to plead guilty to one count of attempted aggravated assault during a change of plea hearing Tuesday afternoon.

Sanchez crashed his Ford F-150 pickup truck into a Border Patrol checkpoint back in October of 2023, injuring two Border Patrol agents.

All other counts related to this case have been dismissed.

Sanchez’s punishment will be determined at the discretion of the court at his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for September.

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Jalen Fong

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The trial of a former Yuma doctor accused of sexually abusing his patients has been delayed.

Edsel Sandoval was expected to begin his trial in September after pleading not guilty to seven counts of sexual abuse and sexual assault.

A total of eight women have come forward with allegations against him with the alleged abuse dating back to April of 2022.

During a final pre-trial conference, both the state and Sandoval’s defense attorney agreed to move forward with the trial, but requested it be set back.

Judge Darci Weede moved the trial, which is now set to begin in January.

Sandoval will be back in court in September for a status conference.

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Dillon Fuhrman

(KYMA, KECY) – Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) will host Emerald Warrior 25.2 from July 21 to August 11.

It will take place at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and at multiple locations across Arizona and California.

The exercise is a benchmark for the AFSOC’s training schedule, as it will include advanced training scenarios for special operation forces.

Training includes large-scale missions in unfamiliar environments to boost the skills of all units involved, says AFSOC.

According to a press release, anyone living near training locations may see more military presence during the exercises.

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