Prescott area residents and visitors are invited to have a harvest of fun starting today. The 2009 Yavapai County Fair opens with exhibits at noon and rides at 4 at the County Fairgrounds on highway 89A in Prescott Valley. All kids get in free and seniors are half price. Tomorrow exhibits open at 9 and once again, all kids get in free and seniors are half-price. Entertainers, food concessions and the carnival will stay open until 10 pm. The fair has a theme of “A Harvest of Fun” and will feature school and commercial exhibits, a pie contest, agriculture and horticulture displays and a horseshoe tournament. A 5 dollar super carnival discount coupon is available for download at funbiz.com.

The Yavapai Combined Trust will hold 2 meetings tomorrow morning. The Trust Board will meet at 8 in a closed executive session. The Board will consider an appeal before reconvening into an open session to take action on that appeal. The Trust Advisory Group meets at 9 to discuss financial statements, a group to do list, a request for proposals consideration for September 10th vendors, an urgent care amendment and the flu shot schedule. The Plan Administrator is scheduled to give an update to the Group. Both meetings will be held in the downstairs conference room at Prescott City Hall. The trust is comprised of Yavapai College, Yavapai County, the City of Prescott and the Town of Prescott Valley and provides health insurance for those employees.

The Arizona Sundogs and National Bank of Arizona have launched Sundogs checking. Fans can sign up for the checking at any National Bank branch or by clicking on the bank button at arizonasundogs.com. This program includes Sundogs themed credit and debit cards, Sundogs logo checks, unlimited check writing, online and phone banking, direct deposit and free ATM transactions.

Arizona Sundogs players Chris Bartolone, Konrad Reeder and Steve Potvin recently helped build 2 houses for Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity. The 3 installed exterior insulation on homes in Chino Valley before posing for pictures and signing autographs with volunteers. The Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity’s first home was built in 1990 in Prescott Valley and homes 56 and 57 were recently completed.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is celebrating its Octoberwest homecoming. At 2 tomorrow afternoon, Bill Voss, President of the Flight Safety Foundation is scheduled to give a presentation for individuals interested in the future of flight training and new regulations for airlines and pilots. The presentation will be held in the Davis Learning Center Auditorium. At 4 that afternoon, Embry-Riddle will welcome back Harry Robertson for the dedication of the new Robertson Aviation Safety Center 2. This building is dedicated to aviation safety and education. On Saturday from 10 to 4 on the Prescott campus, there will be games, crafts, inflatables, bands, face painting, a climbing wall and men’s and women’s soccer matches as part of the Octoberwest Festival, which runs from 11 to 5. The College Motorsports Association Car Show runs from 10 to 4.

The Sycamore Ranch in Mayer is receiving an almost 20 thousand dollar grant. District one Representative Ann Kirkpatrick has announced the United States Department of Agriculture has awarded a Rural Energy for America program grant to the Ranch. The company will use the funds to help develop renewable energy systems and make their operations more energy efficient. The Ranch will install a more than 10 thousand kilowatt solar photovoltaic electric generation system to provide power for their facilities. Kirkpatrick says this project has its benefits:

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Kirkpatrick adds the Ranch is 1 of 5 small businesses in Arizona receiving this type of grant this round. In total, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is releasing 62.5 million dollars in rural energy grants and loans to help rebuild and revitalize rural America.

Community involvement and aggressive detective work help lead to the arrest of alleged Williamson Valley burglary suspects. On Monday at noon, a resident saw a suspicious maroon colored vehicle pull into his neighbor’s driveway in the 22 hundred block of Granite Oaks. Spokesman Dwight D’Evelyn explains the resident called the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office immediately:

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D’evelyn adds that resident helped with the arrests:

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Although the vehicle left the property likely due to the resident watching them from across the street, it was later stopped by patrol units. Fifty year old William Wildman and 40 year old Jerri Cox, both from Phoenix were arrested on charges of burglary, theft, defacing property and prohibited weapons possession related to a burglary at the Granite Oaks residence.