Category: kyma-local-news

Dillon Fuhrman

SOMERTON, Ariz. (KYMA) – The City of Somerton hosted their annual Corn Fest Saturday afternoon.

The festival kicked off at noon along Main Street, with Somerton High School band performing the opening ceremony.

There was a variety of food and beverage vendors, live music, and other activities for families during the festival.

Chris Morris, a member of the Yuma City Council, was also in attendance, and he shared how this event benefits Yuma County.

“It is really good to see all of our communities collectively getting together to celebrate this festival. This is what our community is really about,” Morris explained.

There was also a car show hosted by Mi Vida Car Club, where they showcased a variety of cars and motorcycles.

The festival will go until 9:00 p.m.

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Eduardo Morales

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego from Arizona hosted mobile office hours Thursday at Yuma City Hall.

The senator’s Constituent Service Team was there in person to hear and help Yuma locals in need. They focused on helping Arizonans navigate services like VA benefits, Social Security, the IRS, and immigration services. 

Gallego says that despite the shutdown, he recognizes Arizonans are still facing challenges and would like to help.

“To hear from the actual people from their mouth directly is what really matters, so we’re here to listen, try to help folks where we can, and to direct them somewhere else when we might not be able to get them the direct answer they need right away,” said Zak Royse, the Southern Arizona Director in Sen. Gallego’s office.

Deb Chinn is a Yuma local who came down to talk to Gallego’s team looking for help on getting VA disability benefits for her husband.

“He has cancer that is not in remission, and we’re being killed by copays and things with the VA,” she explained.

Chinn shares how it feels to have someone hear them out.

“I like to know that people hear us, I mean, right now, we don’t have representation because Adelita has not been signed in yet, so anybody that we can get to hear us is a good thing,” she says.

Emiliano Rodriguez, another local, shares that although he did not vote for Gallego he likes what he is doing.

“That’s what the Senator and Representative should do, come down to the local area, and hear the people’s voice, and take back their ideas and take what they have heard and put it together in law or whatever they have to do you know,” Rodriguez says.

The event took place from noon to 3:00 p.m., and around 25 people RSVP’d for the event.

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Adrik Vargas

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – California voters have approved Proposition 50 in Tuesday’s special election, a measure introduced in response to recent redistricting efforts in Texas.

In Imperial County, Elections Coordinator Francisco Badilla said voter turnout so far sits at 14.76%, out of nearly 95,000 registered voters.

“We still have a lot to account for,” Badilla said, noting that ballots are still being processed.

So far, about 60% of votes counted in Imperial County are in favor of Prop 50. Despite the quick turnaround to organize the election, Badilla said the process went smoothly.

“I feel like it was very smooth. Didn’t have any problems at the precincts or drop boxes,” he said.

With Prop 50 passing, California will now update its congressional voting maps, changing how districts are grouped for future elections.

Some Imperial County residents said they felt well-informed heading to the polls.

“I think people are pretty knowledgeable,” said voter Cynthia Jimenez. “I’ve seen it on social media, billboards, and signs everywhere.”

Badilla said final numbers won’t be available until all ballots, including those received by mail, are processed.

“We have to account for everything that happened on Election Day and process everything that comes in through the mail,” he said.

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Adrik Vargas

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – Federal furloughs and cuts to food aid are leaving more families across the country turning to food banks, and the Imperial Valley is no exception.

The region already struggles with one of California’s highest rates of food insecurity, and the recent halt in SNAP benefits and furlough of federal employees has only increased the need.

John Reed, Director of Operations at the Imperial Valley Food Bank, said, “We’ve been seeing anywhere from 60, 80 to 100 people a day coming in asking for assistance.”

The food bank has helped nearly 200 furloughed federal workers and their families, but Reed noted that lost federal funding has made it harder to keep up with demand.

“Food banks in general lost federal funding which then meant less food that could be distributed to people seeking food assistance,” he said.

In October, the food bank served hundreds of more families than the previous month, rising from 6,697 to 7,816. The organization also handed out an additional 300,000 pounds of food.

Reed stressed the importance of community support, saying, “That is why we are requesting assistance from the community in form of donations so that doesn’t happen.”

He cautioned that if supplies run low, the amount of food available per family could be reduced.

Volunteers are also crucial to keeping the food bank running. Norma Garcia said helping her community felt like a calling.

“Since there’s a lot of need right now, like with people losing their snaps, there’s so many families with kids and they need sustenance. Come and help…it’s really important,” she said.

The Imperial Valley Food Bank says it is prepared to continue serving the growing number of families in need but emphasizes that donations and volunteers are vital to maintaining its programs.

You can head to the Imperial Valley Food Bank’s website to learn how you can donate or volunteer.

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Danyelle Burke North

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Local biker crew Gorditas BMX is inviting the community to their third anniversary this Saturday, November 8.

The fun starts at 11 a.m. at Joe Henry Park with raffles, merch, and bike giveaways. They’ll head out at 2 p.m. for a 28-mile bike ride-along around the City of Yuma.

They say biker crews travel from all over like Texas, Vegas, and California to come out and support.

“We’re going to have a lot of cool sights for everybody to see and enjoy and have a great time,” said Gorditas BMX president Kristina Beas.

“I just ask that the Yuma community be aware that we’re going to be out on the streets,” said route leader Theresa Straub. “We stay on the bike routes, we stay in the bike lanes, but we are going to have to cross some major roadways, so please just be patient with us again. Show them what Yuma is about.”

It’s a family friendly event for all ages. A portion of the raffles goes to the Yuma community to give back this holiday season.

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Eduardo Morales

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Arizona Western College (AWC) is currently searching for its new president after Dr. Daniel Corr announced his retirement.

This past week, AWC held four town halls with candidate Rheetika Dhawan.

In search for their new president, the college says they have decided not to spend a lot of money because they have a well-experienced candidate within the college.

Olivia Zepeda, the secretary of the AWC governing board, shares what kind of qualities they are looking for in the future president.

“We want someone who is committed to supporting the community, committed to students, committed to the growth of the college, and who has experience with that, who has experience with looking for funding for the college,” Zepeda says.

Dr. Corr has been president of the school for almost a decade.

The governing board has a message for him as he is getting to ready to retire in July of next year.

“We are going to miss Dr. Corr, Dr. Corr came in ten years ago, he took us to the next level, we made tremendous growth under his leadership, and definitely we are going to miss him,” Zepeda said.

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Joaquin Hight

Reporter Joaquin Hight spoke to several businesses in Downtown Yuma to see how they are preparing for the visitors, and if they are at all worried about a drop in winter visitor population.

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – With the ongoing trade wars with Canada and the U.S., it has locals worried about how many of our Canadian winter visitors will be here this year.

The Yuma County population grows by almost 80,000 people during the winter months, and winter visitors contribute $452 million to Yuma’s economy every year, according to the Economic Development Basics on the Yuma County website.

With Downtown Yuma being a hotspot for tourists, many of the shops in the area are already seeing more customers.

Serena Koogle, owner of the local shop Rebel and Rove, shared how she is already beginning to see Canadian visitors and that she is not worried about a drop in numbers.

A new local business owner, Benya Blonski, says that even if the numbers drop, he believes Yuma’s local customers will be more than enough to continue to support shops.

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Danyelle Burke North

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – A man is hospitalized with serious injuries after a severe crash in Somerton.

Local 18-year-old father Merardo Cebreros was driving near West County 19th Street and South Avenue H when the crash happened.

He was flown from Yuma to Phoenix for emergency treatment. He suffered brain trauma, broken ribs, a punctured lung, multiple facial fractures, and fractured a critical bone in his neck.

“For him to even like be alive is a miracle,” said Merardo’s partner Maria Jimenez. “I was able to speak with the sheriff with the deputy. His vehicle rolled and he ejected out of the vehicle, and according to the deputy, they found him laying on the ground unresponsive.”

His family says any prayers and contributions big or small make a meaningful difference. If you would like to help support the family, you can find the GoFundMe link here.

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Eduardo Morales

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA) – San Luis City Council members are reacting to the early results on Proposition 434.

Prop 434 would have completely cut the pay for the San Luis mayor and City Council members, meaning they would serve the public without compensation, benefits and travel allowances.

The City Council members we spoke to are thrilled with the early results. 

City Council member Lizeth Servin told KYMA Tuesday it would have been difficult and very hard to afford to be able to do the job without this pay and benefits.

She describes how being a council member takes time and money, and how difficult it would be to serve the community if this prop were to have passed.

“I have my job, I have my family, I have things that I do, and it would be hard for me to come out with my paycheck, and instead of paying my mortgage payment trying to fly to Washington to communicate with our Congress people, it would be difficult for me to do my job,” Servin says.

City Council member Luis Cabrera shares how it feels that the majority of votes counted so far are against the prop. 

“I am very thankful to the community that they observed, they did their research and that they actually voted for something that benefits the entire community,” Cabrera said.

San Luis City Council member Esteban Rosales also appreciates the voters and explains how traveling to get things done has helped the city.

“The growth that we’ve had in this city in the last 12 years is because of the travel that we have done in making sure that we are representing the city and making sure we stay on the map,” Rosales says.

The council members say they will continue to work hard for their constituents and the City of San Luis.

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Joaquin Hight

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Onvida Health hosted their annual Quality Hall of Fame and Shark Tank event Wednesday morning.

The event, which began at 10:00 a.m., provided an opportunity for various teams at the hospital to be recognized for their work and innovative ideas.

The two grand winners for the awards were the Human Resources Department and the Laboratory Department.

The Shark Tank event provided an opportunity for entrepreneurs to pitch their innovations to judges. The judges then sat in a conference to decide on which project would be funded.

The judges consisted of Senior VP of Strategy Justin Farren and foundation board members Frank Rascon, Barbra DeWitt, Tom Hurt, and Dr. Linda Elliott-Nelson.

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