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From the KATO Newsroom
William Perry - News Director

June 2007 Archive

Arizona State lawmakers finished their 2007 legislative session over a week ago after 164 days.

Many new state laws will go into effect this year, most of them on September 19, 2007.

In the field of public safety, several new laws were passed.

Anyone convicted of drunken driving must have an ignition interlock system on their vehicle for 1-year. Jail time when caught driving a vehicle while intoxicated was increased for those who are extremely intoxicated.

People arrested for certain crimes must submit DNA samples to a state database, regardless of whether they're convicted.

The jail term was increased for theft of copper wire and tubing, and damaging property to steal metals.

More money was placed into the budget for 6,000 more new prison beds.

Most of these new laws will go into effect on September 19, 2007.

       

The Bureau of Land Management is joining the National Park Service in initiating fire restrictions in the Coronado National Forest in Eastern and Southern Arizona, beginning July 1st.

The Forest Service and BLM are issuing fire restrictions due to very dry conditions in Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Santa Cruz, Apache, and Navajo Counties and parts of Gila, Pinal, and Pima Counties.

Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, charcoal, coal, or wood burning stove, except within a developed recreation site, or improved site will be prohibited.

Smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle or building will also be prohibited.

Violations are punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 and/or imprisonment for up to 12-months. Violators can also be held personally responsible for starting wildfires and can be charged for expenses incurred in extinguishing the fire.

Fire restrictions go into effect on Sunday, July 1st.

       

Safford Police Officers were called to single vehicle accident just off of South 8th Avenue near Discovery Park Boulevard, at around 1:45am, Thursday morning.

When officers arrived at the scene, they observed a Dodge Durango off of 8th avenue about 75 feet to the East in the 3100 block.

The truck had apparently rolled over several times and was severely damaged. An ambulance had arrived at the scene and the driver, Javier Borjon Jr., was walking around but was complaining of and injury to his arm.

Borjon was taken to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center by ambulance

       

Democratic party activists are warning that the louder the anti-immigrant rhetoric gets, the more Republicans will see their gains among Hispanic voters slip away.

Democrats predict that without support from heavily Hispanic parts of the country, Republicans have little chance of winning the 2008 presidential election.

Some G-O-P politicians echo the sentiment.

Thanks to courting by President Bush, Republicans captured 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004. But in last year's election, that dropped about 29 percent.

Democrats predict that without support from heavily Hispanic parts of the country, Republicans have little chance of winning the 2008 presidential election.

       

Half the world's population will be in cities soon

A U-N report says some three-point-three (b) billion people -- more than half the world's population -- will live in cities by next year. And by the year 2030, there could be nearly five (b) billion people living in cities.

But the "State of the World Population 2007" says without proper planning, the cities won't be ready for the increased population.

It says if cities across the globe aren't prepared, they face the threat of overwhelming poverty, limited opportunities for youth and religious extremism.

The report says birth rates are driving urban population growth, not migration from rural areas. It says family planning policies will be most effective in slowing urban growth.

The population growth mainly will affect smaller cities -- with 500-thousand people or more.

The report found cities often try to keep the poor away by limiting migration and cutting lower-income housing. But it says investing in the poor can generate economic growth for cities.

       

A new poll says most Arizona voters would support a proposal allowing immigrants to receive U-S citizenship if they met conditions like learning English. Sixty-eight percent would support that idea in a new Senate bill, 26-percent would oppose it and six-percent don't know or have no opinion.

The poll says 65 percent of the state's voters would also support a proposal to give temporary visas to non-citizens who want to work legally in the United States.

Twenty-eight percent would oppose that idea and seven-percent aren't sure or have no opinion.

The statewide poll of 386 voters was conducted from June 18 to the 20th by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University and K-A-E-T T-V.

It has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.

       

Today, June 27, 2007, is the 10th anniversary of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that proclaimed that the Brady Bill was unconstitutional.

The person who led the fight against the Brady Bill, 10-years ago was former Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack, of Thatcher.

More than 10-years ago, the Brady Bill was passed in Congress and then U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno ordered that all county Sheriff's in the U.S. would be responsible for registering guns and keeping records of who purchased those guns in those counties.

No federal money was offered to County Sheriff's Departments to coordinate the task of registering all of those gun purchases, so former Sheriff Richard Mack began his crusade to fight the Brady Bill.

10-years ago today, the Brady Bill was ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

       

Arizona lawmakers finished the 2007 session, last Thursday after 164 days. New health and environmental laws were passed during the past session.

Lawmakers agreed to let a very low-cost health-care program for children of the working poor be promoted in public schools.

Cochise County will be allowed to set up a special district to help preserve water flow in the San Pedro River.

An expanded eligibility for a program that provides free prenatal care to working poor women was passed.

An extra $3-million was allocated for graduate medical education programs designed to recruit and retain physicians in Arizona.

And Pharmacists will be able to dispense a limited supply of some regulated drugs without a prescription during emergencies.

Most of the new laws will take effect on September 19, 2007.

       

A homeless man was found dead under a tree, along Highway 70 in Safford, across from Pizza Hut, at around 12:30am, Tuesday morning.

When Safford Police arrived at the scene, they spoke to a couple who had been with the homeless man earlier in the day and had discovered him Tuesday morning, not breathing and with no pulse.

The man and the woman said that they new the homeless man as Frankie Espinoza.

They told investigating officers that Espinoza had been having seizures earlier in the day and complained of not feeling good. They also advised that he had been drinking alcohol heavily that day. The man and the woman also stated that they last heard from Espinoza sometime between 7:30 and 8:00pm, when they heard him snoring.

The next of kin were located in Pima and told of Frankie Espinoza's death.

Safford Police and the County Medical Examiner feel that the Espinoza death was from natural causes and no foul play was suspected in the death.

       

Officials in Catron County in New Mexico says they will trap and remove a Mexican gray wolf it says has been stalking a southwestern New Mexico ranch.

The female wolf -- which previously killed two cows -- was released in the county April 25th.

The county immediately demanded that the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service remove her.

Fish and Wildlife refused.

Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Charna Lefton says the agency has no reason to remove the wolf under the rules of the 1998 program to reintroduce endangered Mexican gray wolves into eastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.

The rules call for Fish and Wildlife to remove any wolf linked to three livestock killings within a year.

       

Graham County Deputies, along with Thatcher Officers were called to the Stadium Club, early Sunday morning, to a report of a couple of men with baseball bats in the parking lot.

Officers arrived at around 1:00am, and were told by Stadium Club employees that the two men with the baseball bats were around the building in the West parking lot.

The Deputies and Thatcher officers walked around the building and observed one man on the ground and another man attempting to help him up.

The officers asked what was going on and they spoke to a man identified as Roger Goldtooth who was getting up off the ground.

Goldtooth was slurring his words so bad that the officer could not understand him, and he had a bloody nose.

Goldtooth finally explained that the second man, identified as Rickey Chacon, had punched him in the nose, but he didn't want to press charges.

The officers ran the two men's identification through dispatch and found that there was an arrest warrant out for Rickey Chacon in Greenlee County.

There were no warrants out for Goldtooth.

Officer were give the O.K. to search the vehicle that Chacon was driving. It was registered to his mother and nothing illegal or any baseball bats were found.

Chacon was transferred to the Greenlee County line where he was transported to the Clifton Jail by Deputies.

       

Arizona State lawmakers finished their 2007 session on Thursday, June 21st, and adopted a new $10.6-billion state budget, up from $10.3-billion, last year.

Last Friday, Governor Janet Napolitano signed 253 bills into law and vetoed 17.

Some of the new education legislation includes: Public-school teachers will get $46-million in extra cash for pay increases. - University employees will receive a 3.25-percent pay raise - like other state workers.

High School students who graduate at least a half-year early will get scholarships, good at in-state colleges, universities, or trade schools. And a college loan program was created to encourage students to become math, science or special-education teachers by writing off the debt for those who do become teachers.

Most of the new state laws will take effect on September 19, 2007, with exception to the state budget, which will take effect on July 1.

       

On Sunday morning, at around 6:30am, a call from the Morenci Clinic to the Greenlee County Sheriff's Office ended the search for a missing Duncan woman.

Leah Mae Gillespie of Duncan, who was last seen on Tuesday, June 19th, and authorities had been searching for since Wednesday, June 20th, apparently hitched a ride to the Morenci Clinic, early Sunday morning and was found to be dehydrated but in good shape.

According to Greenlee County Sheriff, Steve Tucker, Search and Rescue volunteer teams from Greenlee, Graham, and Cochise Counties, along with DPS officers, a DPS Helicopter, and Greenlee and Graham County Deputies began a search for Gillespie on Wednesday in the Black Hills between Safford and Three-Way.

By Saturday, the search teams had just about given up searching the area where they had found Gillespie's vehicle.

According to Tucker, Gillespie had gone out into the Black Hills because she thought people were "out to get her".

Gillespie was able to find water and was hiding from search teams for four days until she decided to walk to Highway 191 and catch a ride to the Morenci Clinic.

       

A high-speed pursuit of a driver suspected of allegedly possessing illegal drugs ended in a single-vehicle crash on Palmer Lane and Webster Road, early Wednesday morning.

A DPS officer observed a vehicle not stop at a stop sign on 4th Avenue in Thatcher and attempted to stop the driver.

The vehicle turned on Robinson Ranch Road and began to speed to apparently try and "ditch" the pursuing DPS officer.

The chase went on, North on 1st Avenue - to 1st Street and 1st Avenue - on to Reay Lane - and finally the driver lost control and wrecked on Palmer Lane and Webster Road, East of Thatcher.

According the DPS, the driver then jumped out of the wrecked vehicle and ran to a near-by residence.

The chase lasted about 6-minutes and by the time the vehicle wrecked, Graham County Deputies along with Thatcher Police and Safford Police standing by, were involved and Thatcher Police and DPS were able to bring the suspect out of the residence and arrest him.

A warrant was obtained to search the suspects residence but according to a DPS spokesperson, "We were too late. They knew we were coming."

Officers were looking for illegal methamphetamine but found only weighing scales and packaging material.

The suspect, who name was not released, was arrested and take to jail for wreckless driving and Felony Flight to avoid arrest, and taken to the Graham County Jail.

       

Several Indian tribes are gathering their forces in opposition to a plan to mine copper underneath land considered sacred.

San Carlos Apache officials say they've hired a lawyer and plan to fight for the three-thousand acres of Tonto National Forest subject to a proposed federal land exchange with Resolution Copper Mining in Superior.

The mining company's plan for Superior involves opening the most productive copper mine in North America and pumping nearly two (b) billion gallons of treated wastewater from previous mining operations into an irrigation district between Florence and Queen Creek.

Culling pure copper from the new mine's underground ore deposit would require an additional six and a-half (b) billion gallons of water each year.

A resolution addressed to President Bush says the proposed mine "is exclusively driven by the need to obtain the greatest profit for its mostly foreign shareholders."

       

Arizona legislators approved a bill to punish employers who hire illegal immigrants by suspending or revoking their government licenses.

It's a step that would put violators out of business at least temporarily.

With passage, the bill was sent to Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano and capped a three-year push on the issue.

The bill was seen as a top priority for Republican majority lawmakers during the 2007 session that ended late last night.

The session's 164th and last day also saw lawmakers approve a bill to combat air pollution in the Phoenix area.

Lawmakers also raised a cap on workers' compensation benefits while rejecting an attempt to roll back a recently enacted requirement that first-time D-U-I offenders install breath-test interlock devices in their vehicles. That means that first-time DUI offenders will have to bear the cost of installing a breath- test system in their vehicles after a first-time DUI.

       

A new White House report linking marijuana use to juvenile violence and gang activity is being called a deliberate misuse of scientific data by advocates looking to reform the nation's marijuana laws.

John Walters, the director of National Drug Control Policy, says marijuana use increases the risk a child will become involved in gang activity fourfold.

The drug czar adds that the public has a "blind spot" when it comes to pot smoking and alcohol, regarding them as "soft" drugs in comparison to others like heroin, crack cocaine and meth.

But the Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates the decriminalization of marijuana, says while there are plenty of reasons for children not to smoke pot, the research doesn't support the link with violence.

Spokesman Bruce Mirken says the problems would "disappear overnight" if marijuana were to be legalized and regulated like alcohol.

       

El Paso Natural Gas Company will be performing a "Blow Down" operation on a 10-inch gas pipeline to complete an upgrade and replacement project that the company has been working on.

The "Blow Down" was scheduled to be completed on Tuesday, June 19th, but El Paso Natural Gas were not able to complete the operation due to an unforeseen equipment malfunction, so they will it try again.

The "Blow Down" operation is scheduled to begin between 7:00am and 8:00am, and is expected to be very noisy while the gas line is being Blown Down.

The project should take about 2-hours.

A purge operation is scheduled to take place later in the day as the gas pipeline is made ready for return to service.

For any questions contact El Paso Natural Gas at 348-7127

       

Arizona's corrections chief says the state has nearly filled vacancies in the ranks of its corrections officers but still lacks space for thousands of inmates.

Corrections Director Dora Schriro says pay raises have helped the department hire new officers and retain experienced ones, while dramatically reducing the vacancy rate and providing savings on overtime that officers formerly had to work.

However, Schriro says Arizona's shortage of beds puts it on the verge of sending more prisoners out of state as growth of the inmate population continues to jump each month.

Arizona halted transfers of inmates to a prison in Indiana just before an April 24th riot involving Arizona and Indiana prisoners. Schriro says the state is close to deciding whether to send more.

       

Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Incorporated's purchase of Phoenix-based Phelps Dodge Corporation is turning out better than expected.

The company, now the largest publicly traded copper producer, is surging from copper prices that remain three times what they were in the 1990s.

C-E-O Richard Adkerson tells The Associated Press that by the end of this year the company could pay off ten (b) billion dollars in debt that came from the Phelps Dodge deal.

Meantime, the company's stock has shot upward 48 percent since Freeport announced the acquisition of Phelps Dodge in March. And the copper market has blessed the deal with prices remaining well above three dollars per pound, compared with a dollar per pound throughout the 1990s.

       

A fugitive who was wanted by Safford Police for fleeing from officers, beginning Friday morning, was caught Tuesday morning in Tucson by U. S. Marshalls.

Not much information was released by Safford Police, but a Safford Detective spoke to a U.S. Marshall, Tuesday afternoon, and the Marshall said that they were successful in capturing Blaine Young, age 44, formerly of Greenlee County, with help from a Pima County Task Force.

Young was arrested by the Task Force and U.S.Marshalls early Tuesday morning in Tucson. Several other suspects were also arrested along with Young.

Young and another suspect, Richard Bachur, took off in his girlfriend's 1999 Buick and ran from a Safford Patrol Officer, last Friday morning, during a traffic stop. The vehicle had been listed as stolen out of Tucson.

Young, who was driving and Bachur in the passenger seat, led Safford officers along with DPS, and Graham County Sheriff's Officers on a high-speed chase through Graham County, ending with the Young vehicle breaking down on a dirt road off of Haekel Road and both suspects disappearing into the desert.

Young had warrants for his arrest in Pinal and Greenlee Counties and also warrants had been issued for Young in New Mexico's Clark County.

Police are still looking for Richard Bachur, although it is unknown whether he is wanted for any crime.

       

A Graham County Deputy was dispatched to 939 South 4th Avenue in Thatcher, at around 7:30pm, Monday evening, to investigate a complaint of 4 goats wandering around the neighborhood.

The goats had apparently escaped from their home on West Ridge Drive and were cruzing the neighborhood in search of something to eat.

When the deputy arrived he couldn't find any goats. This made him think that someone was pulling his leg.

The deputy then spoke to a neighbor, identified as Darin Web, who had witnessed the goats wandering around the neighborhood.

Darin stated that there were 4 goats in his and his neighbors yard. He did not know who the goats belong to.

Darin also stated that the goats had gotten out a number of times before and he was concerned that the goats might get into his garden.

Although the deputy didn't see any goats, he told Darin that if he had anymore problem with those goats getting into his yard to be sure and call the Sheriff's Office.

No arrests were made.

       

Graham County Deputies were called to the Gila River, Saturday afternoon, to investigate a serious injury to a Safford man who had wrecked on an ATV.

Information from witnesses at the scene told Deputies that Robert Grove, 32, had been riding his ATV on the river bed since around noon, Saturday, when he began speeding Westbound and apparently hit some bumps in the sand, lost control, and flipped the ATV about three times and was thrown off.

When the witnesses got to where Grove had landed, he was unconscious.

Deputies and an ambulance arrived at around 6:30pm, and took Grove to the Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center.

Grove was then flown to University Medical Center by Helicopter.

A Deputy called University Medical Center on Sunday at around 5:00pm and the information on Grove was that he was in stable condition but did have a head injury.

Grove was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

Meanwhile, another ATV accident occurred Saturday night in the area of Stockton Road, South of Safford.

A deputy interviewed John Ortiz in the emergency room of the Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center.

Ortiz told the deputy that he was riding his ATV near his home when the ATV rolled down a hill and hit a tree. The impact launched him forward off the ATV and Ortiz landed on his hip.

Ortiz was having his hip checked out. He said that the ATV was not damaged. There was no word on the extent of his injuries.

       

El Paso Natural Gas Company has announced that they will be conducting construction repair activity on Tuesday, June 19th, on a 10-inch gas pipeline in several areas in Graham County.

The "Blow Down" operation, as they call it, will begin between 7:30 and 8:00am, Tuesday morning on 20th Avenue, just east of the Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center. Also at the intersection of 8th Street and Dusty Trail in Thatcher. And at a point approximately 1-mile South of Glenbar and 1-mile West of Tripp Canyon Road in Glenbar.

The "Blow Down" operation is expected to create loud noise in the pipeline and natural gas odor may be detected in the work areas.

Questions and concerns can be taken up with El Paso Natural Gas at 348-7127.

       

A suspicious Safford Police Officer began a chase of a stolen vehicle that began in Safford and ended with two suspects disappearing in the desert, east of town, Tuesday afternoon.

The Safford Officer noticed two suspects in a light blue, 4-door 1999 Buick sedan with faded and illegible license plate registration.

The two suspects in the Buick looked at the Safford Officer and then looked away quickly. The suspicious officer began following the vehicle through Safford and finally made a traffic stop near 20th Street and 1st Avenue.

As the officer got out of his patrol car and walked toward the Buick, he noticed one thin, white male driving and a darker male in the passenger seat.

The vehicle suddenly took off at high rate of speed and turned south onto Highway 191, trying to get away from the officer.

The Buick turned left onto Solomonville Road, heading East at speeds of at least 110-MPH, passing other slower vehicles.

The vehicle turned right onto cemetery road South of Solomon, crashed through a barbed wire gate, and spead Southeast on a dirt road toward Haekel Road.

Safford Detectives, DPS officers, Border Patrol, Graham County Deputies, and a DPS "Ranger" Helicopter were called into the chase and because of the remoteness of the area it was unsafe to try and pursue the 1999 Buick at 100-MPH on Haekel Road.

Officers continued to follow the speeding vehicle from a distance. Meanwhile, the Buick had turned off of Haekel Road onto a powerline dirt road, traveling east on a flat tire and eventually destroying the undercarriage of the vehicle and the front axle.

Safford officers spotted the Buick and drove to the scene. The suspects were no where to be found had taken off into the desert on foot.

DOC dog tracking teams were called in but the suspects could not be located.

The search was called off Tuesday night at around 7:30pm.

The 1999 Buick had been stolen out of Tucson. A woman living at the address where the vehicle was registered told Safford Detectives that she had loaned the car to a friend, identified as Blaine Young, on Saturday, June 9th, and reported it stolen to the Pima County Sheriff's Department on June 12th.

Blaine Young, 44, who has several warrants out for his arrest in Pinal, Greenlee, and Clark County, has been identified as the driver.

Safford Investigators think that the passenger riding with Young was Richard Bachur, although he could not be positively identified by the Safford Officer who briefly saw him.

All Southeastern Arizona Police agencies continue to search for Blaine Young and Richard Bachur.

       

Safford City Manager, Huey Long has started a City Manager Service Award Program to award Safford City Employees for dedication above and beyond the call of duty.

Mr. Long is asking city residents to nominate any City of Safford employee who is seen going above and beyond their daily duties to help someone in the community; who is demonstrating outstanding leadership or volunteering for special duties, being extra helpful, or handling a situation unusually well.

These City employees can be nominated for an award from the Safford City Manager by calling the City Manager's office at 432-4012.

Nomination forms are also available at all City Offices.

This is the time to recognize an individual who you feel deserves something "just a little extra."

       

63-years after the fact, local World War 2 veteran Emilio Membrila will finally receive his award of the "Purple Heart" he earned while a prisoner of war in a German prison camp.

After World War 2, Mr. Membrila went to work for Phelps Dodge in Morenci. He and his wife raised a family in Morenci and Mr. Membrila retired from Phelps Dodge with well over 30-years of service.

U.S. Army records had no information on beatings that were inflicted on Membrila while a prisoner of war, so over the years he has had to find witnesses and provide proof of his injuries while a P.O.W.

86-year-old Emilio Membrila will be presented the order of the Purple Heart, this afternoon, June 14th, at 2:00pm, at the Swift-Murphy Post #32 of the American Legion in Safford.

All veterans, friends, and especially members of the American Legion and V.F.W. in Safford, Thatcher, and Solomon, are encouraged to attend.

       

As companies around the state scramble to open copper mines, like the Phelps Dodge mine in Safford, and expand existing ones, regulators, county planners and environmentalists say they're worried about the possible effect on the state's limited water supply.

The companies want to take advantage of soaring metals prices, but mines consume huge amounts of water and Arizona's aquifers are already suffering from decades of overpumping.

Besides the ongoing expansion of existing mines, at least seven new mining projects are being planned around the state.

The projects will require 40-thousand acre-feet of water annually, enough to support a city of 200-thousand people. The Safford Mine will require 5,500 acre-feet per year.

Regulators say they often have little authority to deny a project based on its potential impact on the water supply, and state and federal law favors mining.

Most companies will rely on groundwater wells for their projects. Some are looking for alternative water sources, which could include the Central Arizona Project, effluent and contaminated water from old mines.

       

A retirement--good-bye party was held Wednesday for the retirement of former Safford City Clerk Sherry French and a good-bye party for Safford City Attorney Garn Emery.

Hot dogs, hamburgers, and cake were served to many well-wishers and friends at the City of Safford Annex, on 8th Avenue.

French has tried to retire before but was called back into service because of her vast and invaluable understanding of city operations.

City Attorney Garn Emery said that he has been hired as a Deputy City Attorney for the City of Glendale, Arizona.

He and his family will live near the White Tank Mountains, West of Glendale, and will go to work July 2nd in his new position.

As of last Monday, the City of Safford had approved a six-month contract with local Attorney, Jared O. Smith, for city prosecution services, but the final decision on who will be hired as the new Safford City Attorney has not been made, as of Wednesday.

       

The Arizona House signaled its support today for repealing a new requirement that first-time drunken driving offenders install breath-testing ignition interlocks on their vehicles for at least a year.

Republican Representative John Kavanagh of Fountain Hills urged lawmakers to back out of the earlier decision.

Kavanagh says he has since reviewed studies that conclude the devices don't lead to a reduction in traffic accidents or repeat offenses by first-time offenders.

Kavanagh had previously voted for the bill containing the interlock requirement.

After clearing its first hurdle at the Legislature, the proposed repeal now moves to a formal vote by the House.

A drunken driving sentencing bill signed into law nearly a month ago by Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano made Arizona the second state in the country to have an interlock requirement for first-time drunken driving offenders. The law would take effect later this year.

       

The Safford City Council is in the process of trying to add the name "Old West Highway" to Highway 70.

Highway 70, which starts in Lordsburg, New Mexico, was originally dubbed "Old West Highway" as an Apache Junction marketing tool to attract visitors to the highway, according to Bill Civish, former Safford BLM Manager, who is working with the Graham County Chamber of Commerce to suggest the name change.

Safford Vice-Mayor J.T.Cotter had Civish present the name change idea to the Safford City Council, Monday night.

The Safford Council would like to communicate with Thatcher and Pima, and get their input in the idea, according to what was said at the Council meeting.

Highway 70 that runs through Thatcher is called Main Street. Highway 70 running through Safford in places is called; 5th Street, Thatcher Blvd. Highway 70, and now it is being suggested that the new name be the "Old West Highway".

The process of changing the name of Highway 70 to "Old West Highway", in Safford, would have to go through the Safford Planning and Zoning Department and then back to the Safford City Council for final approval.

The City of Safford is looking for public opinion on this name change, especially from business owners along Highway 70.

       

A Safford Police Officer observed a white Dodge pickup that was speeding westbound, coming into Safford on Highway 70, Sunday afternoon.

The officer turned around and followed the truck. When he caught up to the vehicle, it had slowed down to the posted 35-MPH. The truck then quickly changed to the right hand lane and made a complete stop near Haralson Tire.

The officer drove past the truck and turned into a dirt lot, East of the Mini Market on Highway 70, to observe the vehicle.

The truck then began rolling at a slow speed and finally came to rest in the East 200 block of Highway 70.

The Safford officer pulled in behind the truck observing that there was one male driver.

The driver told the officer that he thought that he was going to be pulled over for speeding and that is why he stopped his vehicle.

The driver seemed nervous, his hands were trembling and the officer said he could smell alcohol coming inside the truck.

The officer asked the man, identified as Jose Garcia, if he could search his vehicle for guns, knives, or drugs and Garcia gave his permission.

The officer found a pocket knife and a meth pipe with residue in Garcia's shorts pocket.

Garcia was placed under arrest and he told the officer that there was a brown paper bag in the driver's side door pocket that contained marijuana and meth.

The officers also found an open beer container in a paper sack behind the seat.

Because Garcia was cooperative with the officer, he was allowed to call a friend to drive his truck and take him to the friends house.

The drugs and pipe were confiscated and sent to the DPS lab for analysis and a copy of the arrest was sent to the Graham County Attorney's Office.

       

The Safford Fire Department and Safford Police were called to the scene of a house on fire at 1002 3rd Avenue, last Tuesday, at around 1:00pm.

Safford Fire was able to put the burning house out, which at one time was fully engulfed in flames. The house looked as though it had not been lived in for several years.

An investigation was begun and Safford Investigators spoke to two men who were employees of the Union Canal. They told officers that they saw two boys walking fast and heading Northbound on 3rd Avenue just before the abandoned house broke out into flames. They gave investigators a description of the boys.

Once the house fire was extinguished, investigators observed multiple sets of shoe prints on the ground, going to and from the house.

At around 3:00pm, Tuesday afternoon, as the Safford Fire Department were clearing the scene, Fire Chief Mike Rhodes called dispatch and reported that he observed two boys near the railroad tracks on 3rd Avenue who fit the description of the two boys leaving the scene just before the fire started.

The boys were asked by police to come to the scene and were identified as the boys leaving the scene by the Union Canal witnesses.

The two boys who were juveniles and were cousins, were taken to the Safford Police Department where they were questioned and turned over to one of the boy's mothers.

The owner of the property, who was on vacation, was contacted by Safford Police and said that she would like the two boys prosecuted. She said the approximate value of the property was $125,000.

       

A local veteran of World War 2, Emilio Membrila, will receive the award of "The Purple Heart", from the U.S. Military for injury sustained in battle during World War 2.

Mr. Membrila was injured in combat in Europe during World War 2. He was captured by the Germans and imprisoned in a German prison camp for the duration of the war.

The Swift-Murphy Post #32 of the American Legion in Safford will hold a ceremony on Thursday, June 14th at 2:00pm, to present the award of the Purple Heart to Mr. Membrila.

All veterans, friends, and especially members of the American Legion and VFW are encouraged to attend.

       

A two vehicle accident on 14th Avenue, near Safford High School sent two people to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center with minor injuries, Monday night.

According to a Safford Police report, a vehicle driven by Vivian Villalba was traveling Northbound on 14th Avenue at around 8:20pm, Monday.

Vivian told the Safford Officer that she saw a vehicle traveling toward her and thought that it was far enough away for her to turn left. When she made the turn, the vehicle struck her car at the entrance to Safford High School.

There were three people in the vehicle that Vivian hit.

Gabriel Gauna was traveling Southbound with two of his brothers, Daniel and Pete. During the collision, Pete sustained a cut on the top of his head and the driver Gabriel complained of neck and back pain after the accident. They were both taken to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center for treatment.

After speaking to witnesses who observed the accident and talking to the victims, Vivian Villalba was issued a citation for the collision.

       

A team of Arizona researchers think they've found a gene that could help better predict a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

According to research by the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute and Banner Alzheimer's Institute, the gene seems to affect the odds that some people will get the progressive neurological disease that afflicts about five (m) million Americans.

Researchers worldwide are not sure what causes the disease. They do know that sufferers' brains are harmed by plaques and tangles that block signals and ultimately cause cells to shrink and die.

About 78-thousand Arizonans suffered from Alzheimer's in 2000, according to Banner Alzheimer's Institute.

       

Just in time for summer.... the EAC swimming pool is closed, indefinitely. According to a press release from the EAC Public Information Office, "The College is aware of the pool's importance to Gila Valley residence and having exhausted all repair options to the pool, the College is considering opportunities for a long term solution."

All of the classes and activities in the pool have been cancelled including water aerobics, swimming lessons, and the pool portion of College for Kids.

If you have signed up for some of these summer swim classes, according to the press release, full refunds for the programs cancelled will be available for pick up at the Fiscal Control Office in the Student Services building during regular business hours beginning June 15th.

       

It was the largest invading armada of ships and men in the history of the world, when troops representing the American, English, and Canadian armies landed on Normandy beach in France, during World War 2, 63-years ago today.

The military calls it D-Day but it ended up being called the Battle of Normandy. Code named "Overlord", today's date, June 6th, is still remembered as the largest sea-borne invasion in history, involving almost three million troops crossing the English Channel from England to Normandy, France.

The Normandy invasion began with overnight parachute and glider landings, massive air attacks, naval bombardments, and an early morning amphibious troop landing the morning of June 6th, 1944.

Fierce combat took place as the allies landed on the beaches of Normandy, the morning of June 6th, with U.S. troops taking the brunt of the Nazi defense, facing multiple machine gun emplacements as they landed on Omaha beach.

By nightfall on June 6th, more than 9,000 Allied soldiers were dead or wounded, but more than 100,000 men made it ashore and secured French coastal villages.

There is no official casualty figure for D-Day, but it is estimated that more than 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded, or went missing during the battle.

The Battle of Normandy was the beginning invasion of Europe to end the tyranny of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi oppression of the Third Reich.

       

A former Greenlee County court clerk in Clifton faces up to 12 and a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to embezzling more than 55-thousand dollars over a period of six and a-half years.

The Attorney General's Office says 42-year-old Christian Correlejo, who now lives in Lordsburg, New Mexico, took the money

while working as a clerk at both the Greenlee County Justice Court and the Clifton Magistrates Court.

       

For the first time, doctors say they have found a pill that improves survival for people with liver cancer, a notoriously hard to treat disease diagnosed in more than a half-million people globally each year.

The results in a multinational study of 602 patients with advanced liver cancer are impressive and likely will change the way patients are treated, according to cancer specialists involved in the study.

The test involving two tablets daily of "sorafenib", increased the life expectancy of some liver cancer patients by almost 4-months.

"That may not sound like a lot of time," but for liver cancer, "this is actually a quite impressive gain, " said Dr. Nancy Davidson of Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health. "It is the first effective systemic treatment for liver cancer, which is such a huge problem internationally."

The drug is sold in the United States under the name Nexavar.

       

Whether it's summer or winter, Circle K's in Safford and especially the Circle K on East Highway 70, just outside the Safford city limits, have become the target of what law enforcement are calling "Beer Runs".

A beer run usually takes place late on a Friday or Saturday night, when one or more young men come into the store - grab either several six-packs or even several 30-packs of beer and run out the door to waiting vehicles - without paying. The waiting vehicles speed out of the parking lot and are rarely caught by law enforcement.

That's exactly what happened at the Circle K on East Highway 70 at around 9;00 pm, last Monday night, and two Saturday night's ago, at around 1:04am, at the same Circle K.

The "Beer Run" on Saturday, May 26th, involved two young male subjects who entered the Circle K, and walked out with 2-30-packs of beer, each, a total of 4-30 packs of beer. The two thieves ran out the door to two waiting vehicles and drove off, while the clerk called 911. Officers were never able to find the culprits.

       

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers have been very busy in Nogales, Naco, and Douglas, since the end of May.

Four people were arrested at the Douglas Port of Entry between May 27th, and May 30th, including a 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, both of them trying to smuggle marijuana into the U.S.

18-drug-smuggling attempts were thwarted by Border Officials since Friday. The busts resulted in the seizure of 2,037-pounds of narcotics as well as 23-arrests, according to a Customs and Border Protection news release.

Border Protection scored its biggest drug bust in at least two years in Nogales, Saturday evening, when they found more than 3-tons of marijuana hidden inside a refrigerated trailer full of tomatoes at the Mariposa port of entry.

Officers were screening a commercial tractor-trailer from Mexico when a drug dog alerted to an odor coming from the trailer and the port's truck x-ray system revealed abnormalities in the load of tomatoes. Officers removed the pallets and discovered 267 bales of marijuana, weighing 6,160-pounds; which has an estimated street value of $6.16-million, according to figures from the National Drug Intelligence Center.

Since October 1st, Customs and Border Protection have stopped 154 attempts to smuggle marijuana into the U. S. at the Nogales Port of Entry.

They have seized more than 30,500- pounds of pot; a 56-percent increase from the same time last year.

       

Authorities on car accidents say crashes are the number one killer of teenagers in the United States.

To reduce those risks, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano recently signed the Teenage Driver Safety Act into law.

Under the new law, beginning drivers will have new restrictions for the first six months after receiving their license.

They'll have restrictions on:

- Nighttime driving;

- The number of passengers in a car;

- And they'll have to obtain more hours of instructional driving before getting an unrestricted driver's license.

The Teenage Driver Safety Act will take effect on July First, 2008.

       

The U-S Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking information about the shooting death of a Mexican gray wolf whose carcass was found about 20 miles east of Reserve, New Mexico. The remains were found May Ninth in the Gila National Forest.

Tests at Fish and Wildlife's national forensics laboratory in Oregon determined the animal was an endangered Mexican gray wolf and that it had been shot.

Fish and Wildlife offers a reward of up to ten-thousand dollars for information leading to the conviction of anyone responsible for the shooting deaths of Mexican gray wolves.

Killing a Mexican gray wolf is a violation of the Endangered Species Act.

That's punishable by criminal fines of up to 50-thousand dollars and-or up to a year in jail.