The Prescott Valley Town Council will discuss the process to fill a vacancy at 5:30 tonight. Councilman Henry Schmitt resigned on January 23rd with 3 years left on his term. According to Town Manager Larry Tarkowski, the passage of Senate Bill 1318 last year modified the method of filling vacant seats. If the vacancy occurs more than 30 days before the nomination deadline, the appointment runs until the next regularly scheduled Council election. Since there is an election scheduled for next year, Council will now appoint a replacement until that time. Staff is seeking direction from Council as to whether it wants to follow prior examples and accept applications from all interested parties and if so, how long it wants to advertise for the position. If a large number of applications are received, Council needs to come up with a method on how to narrow the field and how many applicants should advance to a second round for presentations and interviews. The study session will be held in the Library Auditorium on Civic Circle.

Yavapai College will conduct a no-cost early child care professional training session starting at 8 tomorrow morning. This course titled “Early Child Care Professional Training,” is being done in conjunction with the Arizona Department of Economic Security. The 60 hour course is designed for those interested in pursuing careers working in child care centers, pre-schools, Head Start programs or in-home child care. Pertinent topics such as child development, appropriate learning environments, nutrition and menu planning and early reading and math activities to encourage skill development will be presented. The class will meet over the next 6 Fridays and Saturdays from 8 to 2 in Building 3, Room 269 on the Prescott Campus on East Sheldon Street.

The Yavapai Humane Society is issuing a health alert on 2 potential new strains of distemper. Distemper is an extremely contagious whole body viral disease that is spread by inhalation and is often fatal to dogs. Once inhaled, the virus moves to the lymph nodes where it begins reproducing and spreads. Symptoms vary from dog to dog, but often include discharge from the eyes and nose, coughing, lethargy, lack of appetite, callusing of nose and foot pads, vomiting, diarrhea and seizures. Dogs suspected of having distemper need to be checked by a veterinarian immediately and isolated from other dogs in the home. For more information, call the Humane Society at 445-2666.

The Yavapai County Superior Court is accepting public comments on the 4 finalists for the Judge Pro Tem position. The vacancy is created by the resignation of Judge Pro Tem Warren Darrow on February 10th. The candidates include Camp Verde Attorney Joseph Buttner III, Prescott attorneys John Napper and Ethan Wolfinger and Cottonwood attorney Paul Schlegel. Written comments can be mailed to the Superior Court in Yavapai County, Attention: Deborah Schaefer, Court Administrator, 120 South Cortez Street #410, Prescott, AZ 86303. Anonymous comments will not be considered so names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses should be included to allow for follow-up and clarification. Comments must be received by February 10th and the County Board of Supervisors is expected to make a decision on the appointment by the end of the month.

A meth sales syndicate has been taken down by the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Special Crimes Unit. Following an investigation that started last November, Special Crimes Unit Detectives confirmed the intent by 48-year-old Stephen Schreur to sell 2 pounds of meth in Black Canyon City for $28,000. While that transaction never materialized, Schreur was later arrested for transportation of dangerous drugs for sale and 20 grams of meth were recovered from his Glendale home. His girlfriend, 44-year-old Kelly West and 26-year-old Jess Chacon were also arrested at that location for possession of dangerous drugs for sale and drug paraphernalia. Later, 40-year-old Castulo Gomez was arrested on transportation charges after he drove to Black Canyon City with 2 pounds of meth looking for the buyer from the initial planned transaction. Twenty-year-old Marco Sandoval, who played a key role in arranging delivery of the meth that was seized, was arrested on possession and transportation charges in Phoenix. Glendale Police detectives and Phoenix Police SWAT officers assisted in the arrests.

The Humboldt Unified School District Certified and Classified Meet and Confer Committees will hold a joint meeting at 3:45 this afternoon. Agenda items include discussion regarding the state and local economy, student enrollment and finances; EduJobs funds, encouraging ideas, review of other Meet and Confer topics identified by members, prep time, psychologist work days and between meeting assignments. The meeting will be held in the Transportation Training Facility located on North Robert Road, Building 500 in Prescott Valley.