Winter returns
by
Peter Aleshire
roundup editor
A second winter storm expected this weekend will probably bring only a couple of inches of snow to Payson by Saturday, according to National Weather Service forecasts. However, the storm will most likely dump more than a foot of snow on Christopher Creek, Pine, Strawberry and Tonto Village. The series of storms through Saturday night could leave two feet of snow up on the Rim in places like Rimtop Trails and Happy Jack. The Weather Service for a time expected the Friday-
• See Winter storms, page 6
PAYSON ROUNDUP
ARIZONA NEWSPAPERS AND NATIONAL LOCAL MEDIA ASSOCIATIONS’ NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
Payson faces fire danger
Fossil Creek crisis by
by
Peter Aleshire
The Forest Service has failed to address a public safety emergency in Fossil Creek, Pine-Strawberry Fire Chief Gary Morris wrote this week in response to the latest proposed management plan. The creek generated the need for 325 arduous, time-consuming rescues and two fatalities in 2015. Imposition of a permit system in 2016 cut the number of rescues to 165, which still posed an enormous burden on volunteer-dependent search and rescue teams, said Morris. The Forest Service refused an offer for free, partial maintenance by Gila County of Forest Road (FR) 708 leading down to the creek, he said. The county, the Pine Fire Department, Tonto Rim Search and Rescue and the Gila County Mounted Posse all wanted the road maintained enough to allow a quad carrying a side-by-side stretcher to reach the canyon bottom from Strawberry. The road has deteriorated in the several years it’s been closed. Runoff has blocked drains and started to erode the roadbed. Morris pointed out that soon the road will become “impassable.” Moreover, the Forest Service without consultation closed the service road and dismantled a bridge that once led from the old Irving Power File photo by Alexis Bechman/Roundup Plant nearly to the headwaters of the Rescues in Fossil Creek have strained the resources of Pine Fire and Tonto creek. This allowed rescuers to get Rim Search and Rescue, but the latest management plan makes few changes See Fossil Creek, page 8 to reduce rescues or the time rescues take, say fire officials.
Pine fire chief hits proposal
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Flu rising in Rim Country Teresa McQuerrey
Did you know?
roundup staff reporter
Every county in Arizona has had confirmed flu cases since the start of the 2016-17 flu season. According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, more than 1,000 cases have been confirmed this season. “Currently, we have seven confirmed cases of the flu in Gila County; five in Northern Gila and two in Southern Gila. The age group for these seven cases goes from a 3-month-old baby up to an 86-year-old. So, right now there is no identified pattern in any age group, which is why I like to tell everyone to get their flu shot,” said Michael O’Driscoll, director of Gila County Health and Emergency Management. O’Driscoll was also asked about the severe cold a lot of Northern Gila County residents seem to suffering. “As for the really awful cold, I haven’t heard anything about that and could only speculate that it might be the flu. Having a laboratory test would help in determining if it is the flu or something else,” he said.
Photo © ALDECAstudio — Fotolia.com
It’s that time of year — the state health department reports an increase in flu activity throughout Arizona.
difference, and how to properly treat each virus, can speed recovery. Similar yet different
While cold symptoms come on slowly and are limited to the head and upper respiratory system, flu symptoms affect the whole body and come on quickly. How to tell what you have Telltale signs of the flu are fever and While each year millions in the U.S. body aches. However, these are also are sickened during flu season, many symptoms of stomach flu, which isn’t can’t distinguish between symptoms related to a flu virus at all. of the seasonal strain of the flu, a cold See Flu, page 6 and the “stomach flu.” Knowing the
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WEEKEND: Snow and rain expected with 1 to 3 inches expected in Payson. Highs around 40, lows in the mid to upper 20s. See page 6
See our ad and upcoming events on page 18
What to do if you’re sick • Stay home and rest. • Drink non-caffeinated fluids. • Use acetaminophen or ibuprofen for fever and body aches. • Wash your hands often. • Avoid getting close to other people, especially when coughing or sneezing and cover your mouth. When do you call the doctor? • A fever above 101° for 3-4 days. • Extreme dizziness. • An adult unable to take fluids for 24 hours. • An infant not drinking so dehydrated they’ve stopped wetting diapers. • Most people get better just with rest and fluids. What can the doctor do? • May start antiviral medicine for people at high risk for complications. • Decide if you need additional medicines. • Decide if you need intravenous fluids or hospitalization if you’re having trouble breathing, become confused or incoherent, have a seizure. • For these problems, take the ill person immediately to an emergency department, or call 911.
After years of inaction, Payson hopes to overhaul its fire codes and spur community education and action in clearing brush and creating a Firewise community. The town has scheduled a work study session at 4 p.m. next Tuesday in the council chambers on how to protect residents from wildfire. The agenda deals with all things fire. The council will hear from Vice Mayor Fred Carpenter and Jim Tye, chair of the ad hoc Payson Volunteer FireWise Committee, on cleaning up homes and lots to meet Firewise standards. Fire experts say brush clearing and trimming trees that overhang houses can dramatically reduce the risks posed by an approaching wildfire, which can throw huge, glowing embers onto homes and lots from as much as a mile away from the fire line. Fire Chief David Staub will then discuss the Wildlife Urban Interface code and how the town could adopt various parts of the code to protect the community. The fire department recommended the town adopt a WUI code similar to those already in place in Prescott and Flagstaff, but the town council essentially
• See Payson ponders, page 8
Land up for grabs New rules for federal transfers by
Brian Kramer
roundup publisher
Emboldened with a change in the White House, House Republicans this month approved a rules change with a party-line vote that could make it easier for federal lands to be transferred to states and other entities. The concept is particularly significant for the West and Arizona, with much land held by the federal government through a combination of national forests, national parks and monuments, national conservation lands and Bureau of Land Management lands. Photo courtesy of DJ Craig Similar legislation has been This summer a fire along the face of the proposed on the state level in Rim on federal land made for lurid sunArizona in recent years, but has sets. A proposal to make it easier to transnot made it past the governor’s fer federal lands to the states has spurred desk. The changes approved by a debate about whether the states could the House would waive current better manage those lands. requirements to analyze how the transfer would affect federal revenues. Some Republicans, like House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, feel state and local governments will be more responsive to local concerns about federal lands, which justifies more land transfers. In some cases, lack of upkeep of federal lands imposes a burden on surrounding areas, House Natural Resources Committee spokeswoman Molly Bock told The Washington Post. “Allowing communities to actually manage and use these lands will generate not only state and local income tax but also federal tax revenues,” she said, referring to using lands for ranching, mining and harvesting timber. The change still needs Senate approval, but outdoors enthusiasts and environmental groups say states don’t have the resources to manage federal lands and the move could harm the country’s natural resources, impede recreation and endanger wildlife. Making the proposal even more complicated, Rep. Ryan Zinke, Presidentelect Donald Trump’s nominee for interior secretary, has traditionally opposed the idea of federal land divestiture to states, but did vote to approve the change
• See Federal lands, page 6
Another drug bust Roundup staff After another drug investigation, police arrested two reported drug dealers last week. The Payson Police Department, in coordination with the Gila County Narcotics Task Force and Gila County Sheriff’s Office, served a search warrant at 717 W. Frontier St. where investigators believed methamphetamine was being sold. Police stopped Alleene Bishop, 48,
and Jack Thompson Jr., 60, both of Payson, from leaving the residence. Thompson reportedly had several grams of meth packaged for sale on him and Bishop allegedly had meth, marijuana, Oxycodone pills and mushrooms. At the home, police found a firearm along with other items of drug paraphernalia. Both subjects remain in the custody of the Gila County Sheriff’s Office.
PAYSON AREA FOOD DRIVE
GOAL: 30,000 lbs.
Please help us meet our goal of raising 30,000 pounds of food and $50,000 in financial donations for local food banks. Mail your check to Payson Area Food Drive, P.O. Box 703, Payson, AZ 85547 or drop off donations at the library.
27,000 lbs.
volume 27, no. 6
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
roundup editor
by
75 CENTS
F riday | J an u ary 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 | P A Y S O N , A R I Z O N A
payson.com
24,000 lbs.
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