Category: kyma-local-news

Eduardo Morales

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The City of Yuma is looking for the public’s input on how to improve road safety.

The city received a grant worth over $400,000 as part of a safe streets for all project. The goal is to reduce crashes by improving Yuma’s roadways.

They plan on doing this by looking at locations, posted speed limits, and types of crashes.

The city is asking for people to share their ideas on what kind of improvements they should make.

“I truly believe that safety is a responsibility that we all share, and identifying where we have safety issues comes from a lot of different sources, one of them being the public,” said Steve Wilson, Assistant Director of Engineering.

Patricia Quiroz, Shares what kind of improvements they would like to see. 

“Maybe pedestrian crossings, I know there’s been a lot of accidents lately, lot of hit and runs, I don’t know maybe installing cameras,” Quiroz says.

There will be a virtual public meeting on October 20.

If you would like to share your thoughts on how to improve the roads, click the link HERE.

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Adrik Vargas

HEBER, Calif. (KYMA) – A new program in the Imperial Valley is helping local residents gain skills in sustainability while creating opportunities for meaningful work.

The From Waste to Green Project, led by Southern California nonprofit Raizes Inc., combines technical training with entrepreneurship education.

Participants learn how to launch their own sustainable businesses while contributing to environmental solutions.

The program lasts five and a half months and provides participants with job-search support, a Horticulture Certificate, and a laptop to support their learning and future work.

The program is free for eligible individuals who are unemployed, underemployed, or from low-income communities.

Learn more about Raizes Inc. and the From Waste to Green Project at Raizes.org

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Eduardo Morales

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – In Tuesday’s Home Grown report, we highlight a local insect trapping network that monitors trends of insect activity.

The network was established 12 years ago, with the more common insects in the area being worms, thrips, aphids, and whiteflies.

It functions as an early warning system, detecting pests found in higher numbers than usual.

“Think about it as an early warning system for the PCAs so that they can be more vigilant or be more alert on where to look for the pests,” says Dr. Samuel Discua Duarte, the interim Director of the Yuma AG Center.

The Yuma Agricultural Center is currently making efforts to expand this network into Mexico.

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Madeline Murray

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma County Board of Supervisors proclaimed the month of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month on Monday.

Domestic violence in Yuma County is a prevalent issue.

According to Amberly’s Place, there is not a single neighborhood in the county their staff has not responded to a call for domestic violence.

On an annual basis, Amberly’s Place provides service to roughly three-sound victims, and 65% of the victims are domestic violence calls.

Tori Bourguignon, Executive Director of Amberly’s Place, shares a message to the community.

“It behooves everybody in our community, if you see something say something, if you need help there are so many resources available in our community from shelter to crisis intervention services,” Bourguignon expressed.

The community can participate in a Domestic Violence Awareness Walk in Somerton on October 29 to show support for those affected.

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Madeline Murray

Reporter Madeline Murray spoke with the department about what the program is and how it will benefit the community.

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Human Resources Department presented a new leadership program to the Yuma County Board of Supervisors Monday.

The Yuma County Governance, Operations and Vision (YUGOV) program is the first of its kind and is designed to help county directors learn how to become strong leaders.

“It’s to help develop the deputy directors and succession planning to learn about county governance, fiscal operations, to really prepare them for the future,” said Nayeli Flores, Human Resources Training Supervisor.

The program is a nine-week course that has been developing for over a year.

YUGOV teaches skills like budget management, legal responsibilities, and interpersonal development, to management level employees.

The program will be facilitated by county leaders from various departments.

Flores explains how this training will benefit the community.

“In developing our leaders, it also develops a strong work force from all levels, so being that having that training and all of those skills, its going to help the customer service and effectiveness of our community,” Flores shared.

The first launch date of the program will be October 15, and Yuma County is excited to see the benefits that come with this learning opportunity.

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Madeline Murray

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Yuma Fire Department (YFD) candidates are training every Saturday for eight weeks to prepare for the candidate physical ability test.

The test has eight tasks, including a stair climb, hose drag and forcible entry.

The test must be completed in ten minutes and 20 seconds or less and has a pass-fail rate of about 50%.

Currently, there are 89 candidates aspiring to become firefighters in Yuma.

Francisco Leon, the Public Information Officer for YFD, talked about why the test is an necessary step to becoming a firefighter.

“It’s important to ensure that we’re hiring the right people, the right candidates that are physically capable of doing the job. Firefighting’s a lot, it’s very physical strenuous work, especially here in Yuma in the heat,” Leon explained.

The candidates will complete the test at the end of this month.

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Madeline Murray

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA) – A local mother was placed in hospice care last week after battling pancreatic cancer for three years.

Amy Tutell was told ten days ago by her doctors that there was nothing else they could do and that she should chose quality over quantity.

Katrina Cushner, Tutell’s close friends says, “Amy is handling it like she’s handled the last three years, with grace, and she’s never complained.”

Both Tutell and her husband, Seth, were born and raised in Yuma and together they have two teenage boys.

Three years ago, Tutell was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has gone through many procedures and tons of chemotherapy, until recently being placed on hospice.

“We’ve just really been having to come together because like I said, she’s spent more time in the hospital than out of the hospital,” said Cushner.

Cushner says that it’s hard since Tutell’s husband still works and now, all the family wants is to spend time together.

“He is trying to spend as much time with her and the boys as we progress forward, and so I started the GoFundMe,” explains Cushner.

The family would like to thank the community for their continued support.

The GoFundMe has passed it goal of $25,000, but if anyone would like to donate to the GoFundMe, click here.

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma Fire Department (YFD) responded to two separate calls in one week where an automatic fire sprinkler system controlled the fires, preventing further damage and injuries.

The first call happened Saturday, October 4 at around 2:20 p.m. at a business in the area of S. Florence Lane, near E. 33rd Place, according to YFD.

Upon arrival, YFD says crews saw smoke and “initiated a fire attack,” where firefighter entered the building and found a linen bin actively burning, but said a sprinkler system suppressed the fire, which extended to an additional bin.

YFD says crews contained the fire and no injuries were reported.

The second call happened early Tuesday morning, at around 4:00 a.m., at an apartment complex located in the area of W. 22nd Place and 35th Avenue.

Upon arrival, YFD says crews found a “single sprinkler head wetting down charred debris on a rear patio,” and says there wasn’t an fire nor damage inside the apartment.

In addition, no injuries were reported.

033 Alsco and El Dorado Sprinkler SavesDownload

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Abraham Retana

UPDATE (12:39 PM): Tadeo de la Hoya was in court Tuesday where he is facing one count of unlawful flights.

He pleaded not guilty and will be released from jail sometime later on Tuesday. However, no bond was set.

De la Hoya will be back in court on Thursday.

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) says the San Luis, Arizona vice mayor was arrested Monday for fleeing from law enforcement.

According to YCSO, Tadeo de la Hoya was booked for felony unlawful flight following an incident which happened last month. We’re still working on confirm the exact details of that incident.

De la Hoya is still in custody as of Tuesday morning. No word on when he will be seen by a judge.

KYMA will keep you updated on this developing story.

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