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COLLEGE HOOPS

SPORTS | PAGE 6

Arizona dominates Northern Colorado to remain undefeated

GOOD MORNING!

TODAY’S

FORECAST: Times of clouds, sun

SEE PAGE 1262 44

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

Local and national numbers are updated as of 7 p.m. Wednesday

LOCALCases in Lake Havasu City: 8,663*Cases in Mohave County: 37,439New Cases in County: 72Deaths in Mohave County: 1,113Source: Arizona Department of Health Services* Mohave County no longer reports case numbers on a daily basis.

ARIZONAPositive cases: 1,323,997Deaths: 23,324Percent positive: 9.9%Source: Arizona Department of Public Health

NATIONALPositive cases: 50,181,003Deaths: 797,877Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Volume 56, No. 350

Classifieds: 8-10

Comics: 11

Marketplace: 10

Opinion: 4

Orchids & Onions: 11

Sports: 6, 7

Nation: 13, 14

INDEX

WEEKDAY

NATION: US faces a double coronavirus surge as omicron advances.

NATION: Biden pledges ‘whatever it takes’ to assist tornado victims.

SEE PAGE 14

SEE PAGE 13

TO READ INSIDE TODAY3

No new notices in today’s paper. See recent listings at HavasuNews.com/obituaries

OBITUARIES

THE WEST: Texas pipeline company charged in California oil spill.

SEE PAGE 12

DROUGHT IMPACTS | COLORADO RIVER

File Lghtning strikes over Lake Mead near Hoover Dam that impounds Colorado River water at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Arizona in this 2014 photo.

WATER LEADERS IN ARIZONA, NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA SIGNED DEAL WEDNESDAY

By BRITTANY PETERSON and FELICIA FONSECAASSOCIATED PRESS

LAS VEGAS — Water lead-ers for Arizona, Nevada and California signed an agreement Wednesday to voluntarily reduce their take from the Colorado River to help stave off mandatory cuts in the upcoming years.

The signing took place at the Colorado River Water Users Association annual meeting in Las Vegas, amid urgency to nego-tiate new rules for managing the dwindling river — which serves

40 million people — beyond 2026, when current guidelines and an overlapping drought plan expire.

The newest agreement, known as the “500+ Plan,” requires the states to cut 500,000 acre-feet in 2022 and 2023, or enough to serve 1 million to 1.5 million households annually, depending on water usage and conservation in the area.

It also requires the states to put up millions of dollars — $60 million from Arizona and $20 million each from Nevada and California. The federal govern-

ment would match the funding, for a total of $200 million.

The money would fund water efficiency projects and programs to reduce usage throughout Arizona, Nevada and California, which are in the river’s lower basin.

The stop-gap measure upstaged what water managers had hoped to be the focus of the Las Vegas gathering — the start of negotiations for the next plan. That will have to wait, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton told attendees

Unique home plan clears a hurdle with City CouncilBy MICHAEL ZOGGTODAY’S NEWS-HERALD

Plans to build a 350-plus unit manufactured housing develop-ment on nearly 40 acres on the north side of Lake Havasu City cleared the first of several hurdles on Tuesday.

The City Council voted unan-imously to approve a request by Havasu-based North American Assets to change the future land use designation of 39.54 acres located immediately northeast of Lowe’s from “employment” to “high densi-ty residential.” Waylon Gates, with North American Assets, told the council that this is the first step in the zoning process for the devel-opment called Villages at Victoria Farms. Now that the land use des-ignation has been changed, the developers plan to seek a rezone of the property from to a manufac-tured housing district.

Gates said the plans for the manufactured housing develop-ment are still being finalized, but planning should be able to move a little more quickly now that the land use designation has been approved. Currently, Gates said the idea is to create between 350 and 400 residential units on the proper-ty located between Victoria Farms Road and Chenoweth Drive. The units will be a mix of sizes from 400 square foot one bedroom “tiny” manufactured homes, scaling up to

BY HOWARD FISCHERCAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES

PHOENIX — State health offi-cials are seeking federal help for 14 Arizona hospitals, including facili-ties throughout Mohave County, as they attempt to deal with the covid-19 pandemic.

Havasu Regional Medical Center was not included in the request.

Documents obtained by Capitol Media Services shows the health department is asking FEMA to give top priority to hospitals in Mohave County where the Kingman Regional Medical Center, which reported 41% of its patients have covid-19, says it immediately needs additional registered nurses and respiratory therapists.

“KRMC is worried that we may have to close beds in the near future if this surge continues as expected,’’ the FEMA application states.

The same application details problems up the road at Western Arizona Regional Medical Center in Bullhead City.

A request sent Wednesday after-noon to Havasu Regional Medical Center officials wasn’t immediately answered.

State health officials are giving second priority to Yuma Regional Medical Center where officials say

County treasurer retires, new treasurer to be appointedBy BRANDON MESSICKTODAY’S NEWS-HERALD

Mohave County Treasurer Cindy Cox will retire at year’s end, and the county’s governing board is expected to choose her interim replacement next week.

Cox submitted her resigna-tion from the position earlier this year due to health concerns, and her resignation was approved by the Mohave County Board of Supervisors last month. The board will be tasked with choos-ing Cox’s replacement, who will serve until a formal election can be held next year.

Candidates for interim-Mo-have County Treasurer include Court Administration Services Assistant Julia Dollarhyde; Former Chief Deputy Assessor and County Appraiser Kenneth Fielder; and Kingman City Councilwoman SueAnn Mello.

Dollarhyde boasts more than two decades of experience in the financial service industry, hav-ing served as senior vice presi-dent and chief operations officer at Baltimore Bank of Arizona, in Phoenix, prior to moving to Kingman in 2014.

Fielder is also an experienced banker, and was an employee

of Mohave County for 31 years, until his retirement in April. Prior to his positions as chief deputy assessor, chief appraiser and auditor analyst for Mohave County, Fielder worked in the banking industry from 1965 until 1990 under multiple finan-cial institutions throughout California. Fielder’s references for the position included Mohave County Assessor Jeanne Kentch and former Mohave County Supervisor Gary Watson.

Mello has been an employee of the Mohave County Treasurer’s

Crystal Beach among roads that could be improved under $3M county planBy BRANDON MESSICKTODAY’S NEWS-HERALD

Big plans are coming from the Mohave County Public Works Department next year, with $3.2 mil-lion in road maintenance projects planned.

The county’s 2022 Road Program will include 102 miles of capital pavement preservation proj-ects. According to Public Works Director Steven Latoski, this year’s budget appropriated $2 million for road materials and $500,000 for preservation work to be identified at a later date. Now that work will come before the Mohave County Board of Supervisors, to begin next year.

According to Latoski, the Public Works Department is expected to have $15.5 million on

hand for renovations next year in Highway User Revenue Funding for the project. That project will include chip seal treatments, structural pavement rehabilitation and hard surfacing of roads that were previously gravel-only. Latoski says the county’s total expense for the program will be $3,259,855.

Crystal Beach, a popular venue for outdoor rec-reationists in the area of Desert Hills, has been list-ed among 10 thoroughfares that could see improve-ment next year. According to Latoski, the county’s road division will adopt a community-centered theme next year, addressing needs on several local and community-collector roads.

The Mohave County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on proposed budget allocations for the work at its Dec. 20 meeting in Kingman.

Courtesy

States offer more

cuts in river water

See WATER, Page 5

See TREASURER, Page 5

See HOMES, Page 7

14 Arizona hospitals seekfederal assistance to handle pandemic, Havasu not included

See HOSPITALS Page 5