Local News National News Local Sports National Sports Community Events News Archives Sports Archives Entertainment Stock Market Government Kids Contact Us

From the KATO Newsroom
William Perry - News Director

January 2007 Archive

An Arizona-Eastern train headed East-bound from Miami, derailed just east of the Eastern Arizona College campus in Thatcher, early Tuesday morning.

Arizona-Eastern track workers said that the recent cold temperatures in the Gila Valley caused a rail that the train travels on to crack. The crack starts out small and as the train travels over it many times, the crack becomes longer and longer and if not detected, the rail will break under the weight of the train, sometimes causing a derailment.

The train was east-bound and was derailed about 150-yards east of College Avenue, behind the College Park Patio Apartments in Thatcher.

The train was pulling several empty copper concentrate container cars and several were damaged in the derailment.

The derailment happened at around 3:30am, Tuesday morning. No one was injured and the track that was damaged was quickly replaced and the track repaired by local Arizona-Eastern track crews.

       

The Safford Unified School District has announced that their students will have to attend school on Monday, February 19th, which is President's Day, to make up for the day of school missed on January 22nd, because of the snow storm that hit the Gila Valley.

School Districts in Flagstaff, Payson, and Show Low, in the northern part of the state, allow for "Snow Days" in their school year. Arizona schools are required to offer classes a minimum of 180-days per school year.

Since schools in the Gila Valley had not been cancelled in 40-years because of snow, this year the Safford School District has not allowed for students to be out of school because of bad weather.

The Safford School District is announcing that Monday, February 19th, will be considered an instructional day for students and classes will be in session to make up for the classes missed on January 22nd.

       

A Safford Officer needed backup and use of his tazer to subdue a Safford man wanted on an outstanding warrant, last Friday afternoon.

The officer observed Santiago Romero get into to a vehicle with two other subjects, Friday afternoon at around 3:30pm. The officer ran wants and warrants on Romero and found that he had an outstanding warrant from the Safford Justice Court.

The officer followed the vehicle to Minit Market on 8th Street and 8th Avenue and pulled up behind the vehicle that Romero was in.

The officer walked up to the driver and told him to wait at the back of the car. He then asked Romero to get out of the back seat. At first, all of the doors were locked and Romero was hiding and wouldn't open the door or respond to the officer.

Finally Romero opened the rear door. The officer told him to get out of the car, he was under arrest for the warrant.

Romero then accused the officer of harassing him. The officer grabbed Romero's wrist while Romero started yelling that he was harassing him.

Romero and the officer struggled for a while and Romero broke free from the officer's grip. He ran toward the front door of the Minit Market. The officer grabbed his tazer and shot and missed Romero.

Romero ran into the Minit Market. Other Safford officers arrived at the scene and witnesses at the scene told the officers that Romero had run to the back of the store.

Several officers searched the Minit Market and finally found Romero behind the storage room door. They grabbed him and took him to the floor. Romero continued to resist arrest so he was shot with a tazer and handcuffed.

He continued to yell and scream and was finally placed in the back of a patrol car and taken to the Graham County Jail.

When asked, why he resisted arrest and ran from the officer, Romero said, "He just wanted to talk to an attorney."

       

Safford Police were called to the Bull Pen, at 912 W. Thatcher Blvd, to a report of a stabbing, at around 11:30pm, Saturday night.

When the Safford Officer arrived, an officer from the U. of A. Police Department had arrived earlier and was ordering two men to get down on the ground in the parking lot.

Both men, identified as Logan Matthew Stroop and George J, Green, were bleeding from their heads.

A witness told the Safford Officer that the bouncer at the Bull Pen, identified as John Vitale, had been stabbed three or four times inside the bar.

The witness identified Logan Matthew Stroop as the one who stabbed Vitale during a fight.

Stroop told the Officer that he was inside the bar dancing and all of a sudden he was being hit. He was getting hit all over, he freaked out, and pulled out his knife to protect himself.

An ambulance was called to transport Vitale to the Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center.

Stroop was taken to the Safford Police Station for questioning. He was later arrested for the stabbing and transferred to the Graham County Jail.

Information on the severity of the stab wounds to the Bull Pen bouncer, John Vitale was not released.

       

Copper mining giant Phelps Dodge reports its fourth-quarter earnings surged due to sharply higher copper prices, even as production slipped.

The Phoenix-based company says net income grew to one-point-three (b) billion dollars, or six-dollars-50 cents a share, in the three months ended December 31st.

Revenue climbed 43 percent to three-point-two (b) billion dollars.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of four-dollars-28-cents per share, excluding one-time items, on three and a-half (b) billion dollars in sales.

Phelps Dodge agreed in November to a 26 (b) billion-dollar cash-and-stock takeover by Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold. The deal, expected to close in March, would create the world's largest publicly traded copper company.

Phelps Dodge shares rose 73 cents to 125 dollars in premarket trading.

       

A patrolling Thatcher Police Officer caught three suspects in two different traffic stops with drugs last Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Tuesday, January 23rd, a Thatcher Police Officer observed 29-year-old Richard Anzar of Safford run a stop sign at the intersection of 8th Street and 1st Avenue in Thatcher.

The stopped the vehicle and gave Anzar a warning for running the stop sign. He then asked Ansar for permission to search his vehicle for weapons or drugs. Anzar allowed the officer to search his vehicle.

The officer found 4-1/4-ounce baggies of crystal methamphetamine in the vehicle. Anzar was arrested and taken to the Graham County Jail for possession of dangerous drugs.

On Wednesday, January 24, the same Thatcher Officer noticed a vehicle with a cracked windshield and pulled the vehicle over. During the stop the officer observed the passenger appear to be hiding something under the seat.

The officer issued the driver, Samuel Norton, 18, a repair warning to replace the broken windshield. The officer then asked Norton if he could search his vehicle for drugs or weapons. Norton allowed the officer to search his vehicle. He discovered 5-quarter ounce bags of marijuana under the passenger side of the vehicle.

The officer also found four more quarter ounce baggies of marijuana in Norton's underwear.

Both Samuel Norton and his passenger Jonathan West, also 18, were both arrested and taken to the Graham County Jail for possession of marijuana for sale.

       

The U-S Fish and Wildlife Service has finished a survey of the population of endangered Mexican gray wolves in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona.

Members of the wolf reintroduction team saw 49 wolves during ground and aerial surveys while tracks, scat and other indications point to another 10 wolves living in the region.

Last year's survey estimated the population to be between 35 and 49.

The agency says the team increased its surveying time this year to increase its accuracy.

Federal biologists began releasing wolves on the Arizona-New Mexico border in 1998 to re-establish the species in part of its historic range after it had been hunted to the brink of extinction in the early 1900s.

       

For families and individuals searching for a place to stay in the Gila Valley, the opening of the Gila River Apartments might help but probably won't solve the housing shortage.

According to Clare Reynolds, site manager at the brand new, Gila River apartments, located off of Alred Lane in Thatcher; "We have 40-units for seniors and 40-units for families. We already have 70 families on our waiting list for apartments."

The Gila River apartments are two and three bedroom, low income, tax credit properties, that rent to those with limited income.

For example, the income of a family of four cannot exceed $24,500-per year. If so, the family is asked to move elsewhere.

The beautiful, new, Gila River Apartments are filling up now and 40 lucky families in the Gila Valley will soon have brand new facilities to live in.

       

A patrolling Safford Police Officer stopped a Chevy truck headed Eastbound on Highway 70, Tuesday night, and discovered that the driver had in his possession several baggies of marijuana packaged and ready for sale.

24-year-old Peter Waller Jr., of Thatcher, was pulled over near Phoenix Fuel by Safford Police for not having mud flaps on the rear of his truck, which was raised above factory specifications.

Waller had a drivers license but no proof of insurance or registration. A search of Waller's truck found 9-quarter ounce bags of marijuana in a paper bag, a 1-gallon ziplock baggie containing approximately one pound of marijuana, 5-quarter ounce baggies of marijuana in clear plastic bags, approximately 3/4 of a pound of marijuana in a baggie, $525.00 in cash, and an expensive digital scale.

Waller was arrested and taken to the Graham County Jail. The marijuana was placed into evidence.

       

If you are new to the Gila Valley or have lived and worked here for a while, you probably already know that there are no apartments available for rent in Safford, Thatcher, Pima, or the surrounding area. If you are able to find a a place to live, the cost of a rental has gone sky high.

Anna Sthultheis (Stew-the-us), manager of the College Park Patio Apartments in Thatcher, says that she has no apartments available for rent at this time.

She has 8-one bedroom apartments and 82-two bedroom apartments and all of them are full. Sthultheis says, "We're allowing renters to share apartments with a maximum of four people - per two bedroom apartment."

To rent a 2-bedroom apartment at the College Park Patio Apartments, four people moving in are looking at a $400.00 deposit, plus a background check, plus $725.00 per month rent, with a $20.00 application fee tacked on.

Most of the renters didn't know each other before renting the apartment.

The story is pretty much the same through out the Gila Valley.

Amber Apartments in Safford give most of their information on their telephone answering machine.

The voice says, "We require a $300.00 deposit - our apartments are $600.00 per month - and we have no vacancies."

And Valley Apartments, which has 56-units, are also full. The rent at Valley Apartments, on South 12th Avenue in Safford, runs $500.00 to $550.00 for a two bedroom per month. A one-bedroom will run $425.00 to $475.00 with a $400.00 security deposit.

Valley Apartments Manager Holly Kelly said that she's been receiving calls from people claiming to be sleeping in their cars and pleading with her to rent them a room.

       

With real estate prices booming and people paying top dollar for housing in the Gila Valley, state regulators are on the lookout for scammers involved in fraudulent mortgage schemes.

The so-called "cash-back" scams promise quick payoffs.

Here's how it works -- A scammer will get a home loan for more than the asking price based on an inflated appraisal.

Once the house is bought, the scammer will split the extra cash with the mortgage broker and real estate agent.

Regulars say a lot of people involved in the scams don't realize they're breaking the law.

They say the scam has become popular in cities all across the state.

       

Two new proposals by a state lawmaker from Phoenix would raise the legal limit for extreme drunken drivers and extend the time they spend in jail.

State Republican Senator Jim Waring wants to force first-time extreme offenders to serve a full 30 or 45 days in jail with no reduced time for attending treatment programs. Another of his proposals would raise the current blood-alcohol limit for extreme D-U-I from point-one-five percent to point-two-zero percent.

The proposals have been endorsed by both the Arizona Senate Transportation Committee and the Senate Public Safety and Human Services Committee.

       

Safford Animal Control Officer, Randy Damron called for backup when he was called to 814 11th Street in Safford to investigate a Javelina in the residence backyard.

Damron called Safford Police Chief John Griffin, Safford Police Captain Dennis Whisman, and another Safford Officer for backup, to determine what to do with the wild javelina that was very agitated and was creating a threat to the public in the area.

The agitated Javelina dug itself out of the backyard and was trapped in another backyard. The animal continued to run through the streets and charge at fences and rock walls.

Chief Griffin gave Damron permission to shoot the animal with a .22 rifle.

The animal was shot once but continued to roam through Safford streets near the Safford Middle School.

Finally, Chief Griffin had a clear, safe shot at 913 8th Avenue, and was able to kill the animal with the .22 rifle.

Officer Damron recovered the javeline and disposed of the body in the animal pit at the Safford Land Fill.

       

Safford Police officers were called to assist Border Patrol agents, early Sunday morning, who were chasing a white pickup truck traveling North on Highway 191 at speeds up to 100-MPH.

At around 4:00am, Sunday morning, Safford officers set up patrol cars on side streets off of Highway 191, and waited for the speeding truck to come into town.

Information from Border Patrol was that the truck was carrying a load of drugs.

When the truck came into town, one Safford officer deployed "stop sticks" to flatten the tires of the vehicle and another officer activated his emergency lights and chased the white pickup.

The pickup slowed down and pulled over to the curb at the bottom of Jensen hill. There were three people in the truck and they jumped out and scattered in three different directions while the truck kept traveling down the highway.

According to Safford Police Chief John Griffin, one of his officers pulled in front of the moving truck and used the rear of his patrol car to slowly stop the passenger-less truck.

When the Border Patrol arrived at the scene, they began searching for the occupants of the truck, who they suspected to be illegal immigrants with a load of drugs.

They searched for several hours and never located the three occupants of the speeding truck.

The truck was towed to the City of Safford's Mesa Yard Garage. A drug dog had alerted to drugs in the vehicle. City mechanics removed the gas tank but found no drugs.

       

The unusual freezing weather that has come to the Gila Valley since Sunday night has professionals in the plumbing and plumbing supply business working hard to provide service to those with broken water lines and to answer all the calls.

The freezing temperatures Sunday and Monday nights froze many water lines to peoples homes and appliances causing those lines to break.

Betty Huntington from Mt. Graham Supply in Safford said that all day Monday and Tuesday, they received 40 to 50 phone calls from people with broken water lines, looking for service or supplies and insulation to fix the problem.

Kay Stone at Joe's Plumbing in Safford said that they received 25 to 35 calls from home owners needing a plumber to repair broken water lines. Unfortunately, Joe's Plumbing was tied up with new construction work and could not service anyone.

B and D Refrigeration and Heating in Safford said they were swamped with callers who's heating units needed some kind of work done to them.

And workers at Sunrize Mobile Home Park, in Safford said that several of their water lines to homes were frozen Monday morning. They said they were lucky and did not suffer much damage.

       

A Pima Police Officer, ambulance personnel, and Graham County Deputies were dispatched to an area approximately 16.7-miles south of Highway 70, on Klondyke Road in response to a report of a man who had been shot with a rifle.

According to Graham County Under-Sheriff David Boyd, three men from Ohio, who had been coming to the Gila Valley for several years to bow hunt for Javalina were camped off of Klondyke Road. All three men were successful hunting Javalina and Monday morning were "varmit hunting".

25-year-old Milan M. Hershberger was using a 25-ot-6 rifle and a shotgun while varmit hunting. Hershberger had decided to use the 25-ot-6 to shoot a varmit that he was calling and then at the last minute decided to use his shotgun. Hershberger was standing near a gully and put the 25-ot-6 down in some rocks and picked up the shotgun. The 25-ot-6 slipped down the side of a rocky bluff, landed on the stock, the rifle discharged and the bullet hit Hershberger underneath his right arm-pit while he was aiming the shotgun.

According to medical personnel, the bullet hit an artery and exited out his shoulder blade. The other two hunters were not able to stop the bleeding and Hershberger bled to death.

The call came into dispatch at 8:15am, Monday morning, and Hershberger was pronounced dead at 8:59am.

The two Ohio men told Sheriff's Deputies that they had arrived in the area on December 31st.

       

Middle-class families in Arizona could get help paying for health insurance for their children if the state Legislature adopts a proposal by Governor Napolitano.

Napolitano wants to expand the low-cost state health insurance program KidsCare to include children of families up to 300 percent of the poverty level.

That's about 60-thousand dollars a year for a family of four. She also wants to increase outreach efforts to get more eligible

families enrolled in the state health plan in hopes of reducing the number of uninsured children in the state.

The proposal is likely to meet strong resistance from some conservative lawmakers who say 60-thousand dollars a year for a family of four doesn't meet the poverty level.

The plan is expected to cost about six (m) million dollars next year and is part of the budget plan Napolitano released Friday.

       

There is an extreme housing shortage in Graham County and the need for affordable housing is extreme as construction on the new Phelps Dodge mine continues to bring more people into the area.

"We have more buyers than sellers," says one real estate broker in Graham County.

Real estate brokers say that as of now they have 61-homes available for sale in Graham and Greenlee Counties. Just a few years ago there were more than 200 affordable homes listed and available for sale.

The cost of land in the Gila Valley has doubled and building materials have gone up.

According to a source, some local apartment landlords have decided to not renew renters leases in an effort to rent to a new tenant at double the rental cost.

As far as the availability of apartment rentals, the real estate people say that "there are none."

If there are no homes available for those who can afford to buy them, then there is definitely no housing available for those needing low income housing.

Sharon Dominguez, a case manager at the Southeastern Arizona Community Action Program says that she has been swamped with calls from people who need low income housing.

She has been able to place a few families in the new Gila River Apartment Complex that has just been built in Thatcher.

Dominguez says that the average price for a two bedroom apartment in Graham County is $850.00 per month.

The shortage of housing in the Gila Valley is getting worse. A local real estate agent said that as of Friday, January 12th, there were three houses listed for sale, priced at under $100,000.

       

Customs and Border Protection officers at the Douglas Port of Entry seized 803-pounds of marijuana found hidden Wednesday in the walls of a tractor- trailor.

The marijuana, the largest seizure in the current fiscal year at Douglas, was found using the Vehicle and Container Inspection System to look at the structure of the truck.

The inspection turned up anomalies that led officers to remove portions of the walls, revealing 1,130-packages of what proved to be marijuana inside.

Officers seized the tractor-trailor and arrested the driver from Agua Prieta.

Customs estimates the street value of the pot at $2.5-million.

From October 1st through December 31st, of last year, agents in the Tucson Sector seized 216,734-pounds of marijuana, an increase of 28-percent from 2005.

       

The founders of a Pima, Arizona church that deifies marijuana are now scheduled to go on trial February 20th in Albuquerque. Dan and Mary Quaintance had been scheduled to go on trial next Tuesday.

But a federal judge granted them extra time to prepare. The Quaintances and their lawyers had asked for a 30-day extension in light of the judge's recent ruling that the Quaintances do not have a "sincere" religious belief.

The Quaintances face criminal charges of possessing more than 100 pounds of marijuana and of conspiracy to distribute it. They were arrested nearly a year ago in Lordsburg, New Mexico.

The couple say they don't grow their "sacrament" but rather rely on donations of it, which they pick up from church "couriers."

The pair founded their Church of Cognizance in Pima, in 1991.

       

A Silver City woman who allegedly shot and killed her live-in boyfriend was bound over to Silver City District Court on a charge of manslaughter during a preliminary hearing Wednesday, in Silver City Magistrate Court.

Larel Crespin, 36, admitted to shooting 29-year-old Matthew Miranda in the early morning hours of December 17, 2006.

Silver City police were dispatched to Crespin's residence, where they found her on the front porch with a small handgun lying nearby. Miranda was found dead inside the house.

Crespin's son, Jackie Sanchez, testified that Miranda physically abused him and his mother over the past 8-years.

An argument between Miranda and Crespin ended with Miranda receiving two shots from a small caliber pistol to the chest.

Crespin will be arraigned at the Silver City District Court on a future date.

       

The 14th annual Wings Over Willcox Birding and Nature Festival will be going on this weekend, through Sunday, January 14th.

According to Homer Hansen, Chairman of the Wings over Willcox Festival, several new tours will be offered this year.

The idea of Wings over Willcox is to provide tourists a means to be able to watch the annual migration of Whooping Cranes that migrate to the Willcox area every year at this time.

The official count as of Tuesday, January 9th , was 28,500 cranes in the Sulfur Springs Valley.

New tours available to those attending will be "Flora of Texas Canyon", which is an informational tour of the plants in the 4,600 to 5,500 foot elevation in the Texas Canyon area.

Other tour include; Spanish Beginning Birdwatching which is a tour in Spanish, "Owls by Day", where visitors get glimpses of Great Horned, Barn, and Screech Owls, and numerous other tours available through Sunday.

There will be a trade show on Saturday at the Commmunity Center and an annual Banquet and speaking presentation.

Tickets are $25.00, which includes dinner, presentation, and silent auction.

The event will be held at the Willcox Elks Lodge from 6 to 9pm, on Saturday, January 13.

       

Reports from medical experts like the Journal of Medicine and the Mayo Clinic were asked; what was better for you, liquid or pill vitamins?

Drinkable liquid Multi-Vitamin supplements were more expensive then pill form and are allegedly easier to swallow and absorb into the bloodstream because they were already liquid.

Pills and capsules were said to be better because a pill could provide a more exact dosage of vitamins A, C, D, E, K, B6, B12, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and other vitamins.

Liquid vitamins boast that they are absorbed into the body faster but according to a Mayo Clinic study, faster absorption isn't an issue. In some cases, you don't want quick absorption because your body needs smaller doses over the day, such as vitamin C. Liquid vitamins also have to be refrigerated after opening.

The bottom line to the report: Stick to pills unless you can't swallow them or if you dislike them. Liquid vitamins are best for general supplementation, not for a specific deficiency.

       

A Cochise County rancher has been charged with five felony counts and one misdemeanor count of cattle rustling after four of his neighbor's calves and a cow were found on his property.

Larry Hubbard was charged with rustling late last month by the Cochise County Attorney's Office.

A report shows that sometime last year, four of neighboring rancher Doug Kuhn's cattle had wandered onto Hubbard's property.

Hubbard eventually called Kuhn to return three cows, he neglected to mention, or return, four calves and a cow that was pregnant.

When Hubbard denied the calves came from Kuhn's cattle, court-ordered DNA testing showed that the calves did belong to Kuhn.

It's the first case of cattle rustling in Cochise County in 40-years.

       

Safford officers were dispatched, Tuesday morning, to 6 calls of vehicle tires that had been slashed with a knife and one call of a rock being thrown through a church window.

All of the tire slashing calls came from residents who live on Central Avenue in Safford.

The residents woke up and discovered that one or more of their tires had been slashed.

More criminal damage was reported in Downtown Safford, Tuesday morning, when an employee from Hard Rock Beauty Shop found that a mirror had been broken, a door latch was off, and the door jam on the back door was also broken. Someone had apparently kicked the back door several times damaging the door jam.

At this time, Safford Police have no suspects and the cost in criminal damage has not been totaled up.

       

A patrolling Safford Police Officer noticed a brown Chevy pickup backed up to the front door of the SEABUS building at 1615 S. 1st Avenue, and decided to investigate, at around midnight, Tuesday night.

The officer approached the truck and saw a man sitting in the passenger side.

He asked the man, identified as Jared Hensel, 24, what he was doing there.

Hensel told the officer that he was waiting for his parents who were inside the SEABUS building, cleaning.

The officer identified Hensel from a previous drug investigation and asked him if he could search him and the truck for drugs or weapons.

The officer found a quantity of methamphetamine in a clear plastic cigarette box, inside the glove compartment of the truck.

Hensel admitted to the officer that the meth was his.

Because of his cooperation, Hensel was released to his parents. The officer told Hensel that he would send a copy of the incident to the Graham County Attorney's Office and it would be up to them to file charges on the meth possession.

       

A secretary from the Open Bible Fellowship Church in Safford called Safford Police, Monday morning, to report the theft of a Utility Box trailer that had been parked behind the church building. The church secretary said that the trailer had been missing for about two weeks and was not sure where it was or when it was taken.

After the church secretary described the missing trailer a Safford Detective told her that the trailer had been recovered in December when a burglary ring had been broken up by Thatcher, Safford, and Graham County Deputies.

During the investigation, numerous items were recovered including the churches trailer and the tools inside.

The trailer had been recovered in the parking lot of the Mt. Graham Apartments in Safford and had been taken to the city's Mesa Yard.

The secretary was issued a victim's affidavit to fill out so she could claim the churches property.

The trailer was valued at $2,500.00.

       

U.S. Border Patrol agents seized 1,300-pounds of marijuana from a Chevrolet Tahoe, Monday night that drug smugglers drove through the southbound lane at the Douglas Port of Entry before getting stuck in a wash west of Douglas trying to escape back to Mexico.

Customs agents called Border Patrol for assistance at around 10:30pm, Monday night, after the Tahoe sped through the port of entry lane and into Douglas.

The SUV, with three people inside, tried to elude authorities by driving west of the port of entry on border access roads, while Border Patrol Agents tried to throw spike strips down to slow the vehicle.

Finally, the men attempted to drive the Tahoe back into Mexico, through the barbed wire on the access road and got stuck in a wash. The three men jumped out of the SUV and escaped back into Mexico on foot.

Officials found 73 bundles of marijuana in the vehicle weighing 1,318-pounds.

The marijuana had an estimated street value of approximately $659,000.

       

A cement truck rolled on its side and into ditch at around 12:30pm, Monday, in the area of Safford-Bryce Road, North of Marshall Lane.

When a Graham County Deputy arrived at the scene, an ambulance had already arrived and the driver, Richard C. Hodge, was being looked at.

The deputy interviewed Hodge and he said that the cement truck, owned by Smith and Bell Construction, had an electrical fire earlier in the day and Smith and Bell mechanics had worked on the vehicle. Hodge said he started back, westbound on Safford-Bryce Road to deliver the load of cement.

When he got to a 90-degree turn to the right, Hodge applied his brakes and the brakes did not work. He tried to make the turn but the cement truck rolled over and into a ditch.

Hodge was taken to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center. It was reported he was suffering from minor cuts and bruises, and was not seriously injured.

The cement truck had extensive damage to the cab, front end, and concrete drum.

The vehicle was removed by Smith and Bell.

       

An off-duty Thatcher Police Officer witnessed an 18-year-old Safford man attempt to steal a can of beer from a Safford Circle K, last Thursday night.

According to a Safford Police report, Thatcher Police Sergeant Edward Cauthen was outside the First Avenue Circle K in Safford when he observed Preston Franklin Johnson, 18, walk inside, go to the beer cooler, take out a 24-ounce can of beer, and put it in his pocket.

Cauthen then observed Johnson walk to the counter to pay for some juice. Cauthen went inside the Circle K, presented his badge and asked Johnson where the can of beer was.

Johnson then took the can of beer from his pocket and placed it on the counter.

A Safford officer was called and he took Johnson outside to his patrol car.

A search of Johnson found a small zip-lock plastic baggie that contained a white powdery substance.

Johnson was arrested and taken to the Safford Police station.

The white powdery substance tested positive for cocaine.

       

District 5 Representative Bill Konopnicki was the guest speaker Friday morning, at a Graham County Chamber of Commerce sponsored Legislative Preview breakfast that was held in the General Services Building.

Following a Chamber breakfast that was catered by Bricks Restaurant, Representative Konopnicki spoke about top issues facing the Arizona Legislature in the up coming session.

Konopnicki focused on rural transportation needs, teachers salaries, health care, Public Safety and prisons, county retirement problems, and he spoke about another attempt at turning Eastern Arizona College into a 4-year school.

Konopnicki stated that the state is suffering from a shortage of people with 4-year college degrees and as far as EAC becoming a 4-year school Konopnicki says, "at some point, that will happen."

Konopnicki also said that Graham County needs to protect their water and control it, and says that as far as water goes, Graham County is in good shape.

       

A Safford Police Officer was dispatched to a location on Highway 191, in front of Cecil's Garage, Thursday afternoon, in reference to a 2-year- old boy who was found standing in the middle lane of Highway 191.

The boy was found by a passer-by, Anissa Bejarano, who saw the 2-year- old and stopped and picked him up.

She walked into Cecil's Garage and asked who the boy belonged too. Workers directed her to a home behind Cecil's Garage.

The officer spoke to the owner of the home, Justin Cody Gojkovich. He said that he had just returned home from work. The boy was playing in the fenced-in back yard and Gojkovich accidently left the gate open.

The boy must have walked out into the street when no one was looking.

The boy's mother, who is very pregnant, was inside the house laying down.

The incident was left as an accident and know one was sited by police.

       

Dieters counting on products like CortiSlim and TrimSpa may be in for a disappointment. The Federal Trade Commission says the marketers have been making false advertising claims.

The F-T-C is slapping 25 (m) million dollars worth of fines on those companies, along with the marketers of One A Day Weight Smart and Xenadrine E-F-X.

The products are supposed to help with everything from quick weight loss to reducing the risk of cancer and Alzheimer's.

According to the feds, there has to be science to back up marketing claims -- but there isn't.

Yet customers will still find them on store shelves. The F-T-C says it's not in the business of banning them.

       

A Silver City man, two firefighters and three police officers were sent to a Silver City hospital, Wednesday, following a chemical spill at a residence.

At around 1:00pm, Wednesday afternoon, fire crews and police arrived at the residence of an elderly man who was suffering from chemical burns that he received at his home in Silver City.

According to a fire department spokesperson, the elder resident had mixed two types of drain cleaner to try and unclog his bathroom drain. The combination of the two drain cleaners burned the elderly resident.

Three Silver City policemen, who were the first to respond to the scene, went inside the home and inhaled the toxic fumes. The were sent to a Silver City Hospital complaining of head aches.

Two firefighters also went inside the home and inhaled the fumes. They had to be taken to the hospital for observation. They were released later in the day.

A spokesman for the Silver City fire department said the two drain cleaners mixed together would cause burns to the skin. He said the fumes from the mixture would have been a chlorine, causing burning to the eyes, mouth, nose and lungs when inhaled.

       

Customs agents arrested a 27-year-old Nogales, Arizona woman, Tuesday evening, who was trying to smuggle 81-pounds of cocaine into Arizona.

The cocaine has an estimated street value of $515,500.

The woman, whos name was not released, concealed the cocaine in the front wheel wells of a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu.

A Customs and Border Protection drug dog alerted officers to the narcotics.

Meanwhile, officers at the Douglas Port of Entry arrested a 39-year-old Canadian woman, on December 31st, who was trying to smuggle 140-pounds of marijuana into the U.S.

She hid 68-packages of marijuana in the gas tank and quarter panels of a 1999 Dodge Durango.

The woman was arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

       

Sierra Vista Police arrested a man Wednesday who had escaped from Bisbee Police on November 27th, at a Sierra Vista apartment.

Jason W. Peebles, 29, had escaped from Bisbee Police, November 27, while he was handcuffed to a chair. According to Bisbee Police, Peebles took the chair with him as he made his escape.

Bisbee Police had arrested Peebles as he occupied a vehicle stolen from a local auto dealer in Sierra Vista.

He was charged with second-degree escape, unlawful use of a vehicle and theft of a vehicle.

No word on whether Bisbee Police got their chair back.

       

The new Southeastern Arizona DUI Task Force were out patrolling in the Gila Valley during the New Year's weekend.

On Saturday night the Task Force handed out 7 DUI's and Sunday night, New Year's Eve they made 10-DUI arrests. A total of 37 DUI arrests were made by the Task Force since December 13th.

The new DUI Task Force was started with grant money from the State of Arizona and is made up of law enforcement officers from Safford, Thatcher, and Pima Police Departments, along with DPS officers and Graham and Greenlee County Sheriff's Deputies.

The Southeastern Arizona DUI Task Force have been given a van to use as a headquarters when they are deployed in the field.

The Task Force plans to set up sobriety check points in the future along highways in Graham and Greenlee Counties to look for impaired drivers.

       

Arizona State Representative for District 5 and Safford resident Bill Konopnicki will speak at a Graham County Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting to be held Friday, January 5th, at the Graham County General Services Building in Safford.

Representative Konopnicki will present current information on the up-coming Arizona Legislative session and will be available to answer questions during the session.

The Graham County Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the Legislative Preview breakfast and say that this meeting will present an excellent opportunity for the public to learn about the top issues facing the Arizona Legislature in the coming session.

Reservations are required for the breakfast meeting, which will begin at 7:00am, Friday morning, and can be made by calling the Graham County Chamber of Commerce at 428-2511. Cost of the breakfast is $10.00.

Again call the Graham County Chamber of Commerce for reservations at: 428-2511.

       

An emergency plea for blood donors has been requested by the American Red Cross for Southern and Southeastern Arizona.

Supplies of the most urgently needed blood type have run out in Tucson.

By Tuesday, the agency sent the last bags of O-negative blood to local hospitals, emptying its shelves of the blood type most needed for treating trauma patients and life-threatened newborns.

Also in dangerously short supply are O-positive, A-negative and B-negative blood.

A severe blood shortage is not unusual during the holidays, when schools and businesses close, people leave town, and colds and flu prevent donation.

       

Thatcher Police are still investigating the death of a 37-year-old mother and her 2-year-old son.

The bodies of Paula Parmeter and 2-year-old Ryan Parmeter were discovered at around 11:23am, Saturday morning in the garage of their Quail Ridge home.

They were found by the husband and father, Tim Parmeter, head basketball coach at Eastern Arizona College.

According to Thatcher Police Chief Mike McEuen, the cause of death is still under investigation.

The bodies of Paula and Ryan Parmeter have been taken to the Pima County Medical Examiners Office for autopsy and to determine the cause of death.