Free Republic

BISBEE — Over the next three years, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors will be busy trying to reach the goals of the Strategic Plan they and county staff developed. Supervisors Ann English, Pat Call and Peggy Judd have agreed to the ambitious agenda that reflects the determination to make the county government more efficient and effective, to improve the county’s economic position, and to continue to maintain and improve infrastructure. Over the past few months, the supervisors met with department heads and County Administrator Ed Gilligan to focus thoughts, determine feasibility and set timelines. They met with Facilities Director...

WILLCOX — The coyote that charged a bow hunter in the Chiricahuas has tested positive for rabies. The attack occurred at 6 p.m., Jan. 13, on a trail in Green Canyon, according Mark Hart, with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “A hunter just down from a tree stand was charged by a coyote with teeth bared,” he told the Range News. “He struck it with his bow to fend off the attack, then shot the coyote with an arrow when it was down.” Just prior to the attack, the coyote may have attacked a calf, “but was then rushed...

WILLCOX – Willcox Border Patrol Agents, from the State Route (SR) 80 Immigration Checkpoint near Tombstone, stopped a hearse and found more than 67 pounds of marijuana concealed in a casket. Early Saturday evening, agents working near the immigration checkpoint noticed a white hearse travelling north of Tombstone. Upon further investigation of the hearse, agents conducted an immigration vehicle stop at the intersection of Highway 90 and Highway 82. After several inconsistencies and based on the totality of the circumstances, a Border Patrol canine unit was requested and alerted to an odor it was trained to detect emitting from the...

BISBEE - Johnny Lee Williams, who is accused in a Texas abduction case, waived the formal extradition procedure Friday with an understanding that local attempted armed robbery charges will be dropped. A copy of the Texas warrant was present in Cochise County Superior Court Presiding Judge Tom Collins' Division 1 courtroom Friday at the 2:30 p.m. hearing. The warrant "is typically sufficient for purposes of waiving extradition," said Teri Goral, Williams county-appointed legal counsel. Williams' waiver of extradition stops the formal extradition procedure by the governor's offices in Texas and Arizona. Cochise County Spokeswoman Carol Capas said Williams would probably...

One person died and at least 15 others were seriously injured Saturday when a pickup truck loaded with illegal entrants crashed while trying to evade police on U.S. 191 south of Willcox. About 6 p.m., a Department of Public Safety officer on patrol saw the Ford F250 northbound on the highway near Sunsites, about 25 miles south of Willcox. The officer checked the vehicle's license plate, which confirmed the truck was stolen, said Officer Frank Valenzuela, a DPS spokesman in Phoenix. The officer tried stopping the truck, which then fled. About the same time the officer called in a pursuit...