12/30/2009 11:31:00 AM 2009 Williams Year in Review: Part V Steam engines and shooting competitions; more of the top news stories in Williams from the past year
Photo Grand Canyon Railway
The Grand Canyon Railway celebrated it's 20th anniversary by resurrecting the company's 4960 steam engine.
Patrick Whitehurst/WGCN
'Gil T. Azell' blasts away during a competition July 3.
In honor of the Grand Canyon Railway's 20th anniversary, officials offered a special run of the company's historic 4960 steam engine Sept. 19.
What made the trips interesting, however, is that the engine was powered by waste vegetable oil.
Sam Lanter, chief mechanical officer for the Railway, explained how the steam engine will "burn" the vegetable oil.
"Being a steam locomotive, it's externally fired, so it's not as big a deal as converting a diesel. We're not actually burning bio-diesel, which is what most people think of when we talk about burning waste vegetable oil. Because it is externally fired, it's mostly a matter of having oil heaters on the locomotive and having the waste vegetable oil in a good condition so that we can light it off and burn it in our regular burner," Lanter said.
Besides steam engine trips, the 20th anniversary celebration included live music, photo opportunities with the steam engine, a christening of the oil-powered engine prior to its inaugural run, a ribbon cutting and remarks from local dignitaries.
Cinder pit transformed into shooting range
The city of Williams was granted a conditional use permit from the Kaibab National Forest this year to host shooting events at the cinder pit located on the west side of Highway 64 approximately a half mile north of Interstate 40.
The pit has been used as a shooting range for a number of years for training purposes by law enforcement agencies including the Williams Police Department, DPS and Coconino County Sheriff's Office, but has not been open for public use.
The city of Williams Parks and Recreation Commission hopes to bring shooting events back to town and create a shooting range open for public use at least one day per week. To meet that goal, a Range Advisory Committee was created in order to draft a five-year plan for development of the shooting facility.
Dirt work has been completed at the cinder pit, dividing the area into a rifle bay, four pistol bays and one archery bay. A Single Action Shooting Society competitive event was held at the location in July.
Bob McCarty, range advisory committee chairman, said that the five-year plan will be developed in cooperation with the Forest Service in order to stay within the parameters of the use permit. In order to open the facility to the public, the Advisory Committee will need to train volunteers to staff the shooting range and monitor activity.
"One of the short term plans is to train sufficient range safety officers to keep the range open. Our first goal would be to keep the range open for public shooting at least one day a weekend," McCarty said.
Railhead returns to Williams
Over 160 people turned out for the return of the Railhead shooting competition in Williams over the long Fourth of July weekend. While organizers hoped for a big turnout, the number of visitors to the event proved to be even bigger than they expected.
When it comes to dressing in period attire, Arizona Cowboy Shooter's Association President "Big Tim" said the competition's rules mandate that participants dress to match history.
"Everything is 1890s or older," he said. "You have to dress according to that timeframe if you're going to compete. Within the competition itself there are categories and those categories, some of them have specific requirements for that category; they have to wear certain types of clothing to compete in it."
Railhead, Tim said, is an institution among shooting enthusiasts. The shooting competition was held July 3-4 at the cinder pit along Highway 64 just south of Kaibab Lake.
"Railhead is our annual match," Tim said. "This match draws shooters from all over. We've got folks here from California, Nevada, (and) we were fortunate to have some folks from Australia. The actual Railhead shoot has a big history with shooters, so we get a big draw from all over the place. It started 20 years ago and it stopped in 2003, so this is like the inaugural comeback of Railhead."
Many in Williams may remember the old competition, which was once held at Buckskinner Park. According to Big Tim, the new location has been well received by competitors at the event.
"The Forest Service and the city of Williams gave us a special use permit for this facility and us as cowboy shooters, we are grateful for that, both for the city of Williams for getting it and to the Forest Service for issuing that permit. It's just been wonderful thing," Tim said.
City of Williams settles Highway 64 lawsuit
The city of Williams' insurance company settled with the family of James A. Innes of Mesa who died after colliding with a Williams Police vehicle May 20 on Highway 64.
Travelers Insurance settled the wrongful death lawsuit filed against the city of Williams in December for $2.3 million.
Interim City Manager Joe Duffy said the city was not consulted before Travelers settled the lawsuit.
"The insurance companies have the ability to settle these things without our input," Duffy said. "That's standard in most insurance coverage. We had no input whatsoever. The claim was submitted to the insurance company and we were just notified that it was settled."
Duffy said that because there is not a deductible on the city's insurance coverage, the settlement will not affect the city's general fund but, upon renewal next year, rates may increase. He went on to say that the city does not expect the increase to be substantial.
"Really, the bottom line is, this is why we take out this type of insurance because we have employees out doing things on a regular basis and things happen and the insurance company takes care of it," Duffy said.
The fatal collision between Williams Police Officer Brandon Hernandez and Innes occurred north of Williams on SR 64 near milepost 185.
Colors of the West awarded preservation grant
Colors of the West, a retail store located on Route 66 in Williams, was awarded a cost-share grant from the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. The program provides assistance for eligible historic preservation projects along Route 66.
Owner Mike Bessler plans to use the grant funding to upgrade the electrical system and eliminate unused wiring, circuits and exposed conduit.
"Over 60 years of electrical has been added and changed. Nothing is at code anymore," said Bessler.
Michael F. Vasquez, owner of Alternative Impressions located next door to Colors of the West, was happy to hear that one of the Preservation Program grants had been awarded to a business in Williams.
"Improvements to the downtown area are always good for tourism because we're cleaning up. People want to see not only historic buildings but historic buildings that look good and these grants are enabling us to be able to do that and share in the cost of trying to update these buildings," Vasquez said.
The building that houses Colors of the West was originally constructed by prominent Williams developer C.F. Boyle in 1912. Known as the Duffy Brothers building, it housed a grocery store until 1954 when it then became the Indian House, selling Indian crafts and tourist souvenirs.
The grant is one of three awarded last year by the National Park Service. Since the program's inception in 2001, 86 projects have been awarded $1.3 million, based on funding availability.
Record number of tickets sold for Polar Express
Children grow up writing letters to Santa Claus and imagining what his workshop must look like. Most never dream that one day they might have the opportunity to hop a train straight to the North Pole.
The Polar Express began transporting children of all ages to the North Pole in November.
Steven Martin, Public Relations Manager for the Grand Canyon Railway, said close to 70,000 tickets had been sold as of Novmeber with the Railway expecting to sell at least 75,000.
Even with the economy struggling to right itself, Martin said sales this year topped last year's numbers likely due to the popularity of the attraction.
"To many families, it's the official start of their holiday season," Martin said. "For others, it's a great way for mothers and fathers to bond with their children and share the magic and spirit of Christmas."
