MERGED
Grandpa’s got it all under control: 1B
Town, county to combine dispatch centers: 2A Photo courtesy of DJ Craig
Photo courtesy of Ilana Aleshire
Team struggles to break through: 8A
ARIZONA NEWSPAPERS AND NATIONAL LOCAL MEDIA ASSOCIATIONS’ NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
payson.com
PAYSON ROUNDUP FRIDAY | JANUARY 22, 2016 | PAYSON, ARIZONA
Backup plan
New kid in town
Payson seeks safeguard for phone, Internet service by
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
Three Internet outages in the Rim Country within a year have revealed the vulnerability of the network, which relies on a single fiber optic cable from the Valley for service. Improving that system is a critical economic development priority for town officials who are working with other northern Arizona communities and providers to add a backup system. Later this month, Payson Mayor Kenny Evans will speak at the Apache and Navajo Counties Mayors and Council Members Association about efforts to
add a fiber optic cable from the Forest Lakes area to Payson. This would tie Rim Country into northeastern Arizona, which receives Internet service from a Frontier Communications line. That system in Navajo County has also suffered outages. In July, someone shot a fiber optic conduit, one of four outages in that area last year, Evans said. Payson’s three outages occurred for a variety of reasons. In December 2014, a line was cut in Camp Verde, knocking service out for hours; in February 2015, vandals cut a CenturyLink cable in the desert just north of
Reader Ralph Roberts photographed the new eagle in flight.
Young eagle looking for love delights Green Valley visitors
• See Payson, page 2A
roundup editor
Green Valley Park has a new star — a young bald eagle still in his juvenile plumage. Turns out, he was born four years ago on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. That means he’s nearly old enough to find a good-looking wife, settle down and start producing fledglings of his own. Lots of folks are hoping he likes the look of Green Valley Park and will end up moving in. Green Valley Park visitors have long enjoyed the antics of a migratory bald eagle, who spends much of the year fishing in the trout-stocked lakes. But he heads north for the breeding season — probably going to Canada or Alaska. However, Arizona also has a population of 76 pairs of nesting bald eagles — which last spring produced about 66 young who survived long enough to take flight. Those young eagles spend about five years wandering the world before reaching sexual maturity. After that, they usually seek a partner and a nest site near water with fish to raise their own families. They generally mate for life and come back to the same nest site year after year. Photographer DJ Craig got a close-up shot of the young eagle’s leg band and Game and Fish officials confirmed he was born in 2012 at the Suicide Breeding Area on the San Carlos Reservation. The sooty looking plumage on his head indicates he’ll finish maturing this year or maybe next.
Heart 6 Ranch supporters jam Star Valley council meeting Teresa McQuerrey
roundup staff reporter
The Heart 6 Ranch must reduce the number of horses on the property to 12 by June 1, if it is to get its conditional use permit (CUP) from the Town of Star Valley. The Star Valley Town Council issued the order as part of the CUP tentatively granted to owner Connie Agnes at its Jan. 19 meeting. Agnes operates a free riding program to anyone who volunteers to clean up after and care for the rescue horses she keeps on the three-acre property. Agnes also provides boarding for a fee. The council had received complaints from several neighboring property owners with concerns about the piles of manure, flies, the smell and potential for contamination of the water table in the area and downstream. A county official submitted a report prior to the meeting citing “several piles of horse manure located very close to and on the banks of a wash.” He went on to say he was told the recent bad weather has made removal difficult. Complaints from residents stated the manure piles are freTHE WEATHER
Weekend: Sunny Friday and Saturday with a high of 59, low of 32. Some clouds Sunday, high dropping to 50. Details, 9A
quently present. Agnes said they are removed daily. Councilor Bob O’Connor said he personally has visited the site several times and has always counted more than 30 horses on the property. The Heart 6 Ranch is zoned as transitional residential, which allows no horses. The CUP was sought to make it possible to keep horses and operate a business offering the free riding program supported by the boarding operation. While evidence shows horses have always been on the property, the town’s attorney/manager Tim Grier said the property still doesn’t have a “grandfathered” right to keep horses in violation of current restrictions. An overflow crowd filled the council chambers, mostly Agnes’ supporters. Many spoke to the council telling them how important the operation was to them, their children and the rescued horses. Mayor Ronnie McDaniel told the audience the council admired Agnes for her efforts on behalf of the rescued horses and the people benefiting from the riding program. However,
• See Star Valley, page 6A
Peter Aleshire
by
Overflow crowd by
75 CENTS
Photographer DJ Craig spends hours photographing eagles fishing in the Green Valley Park lakes and quickly recorded the newcomer — even getting the number on his leg tag. Odds are, he’ll eventually try to set up a nesting territory closer to his birthplace along the Gila River as it passes through the San Carlos Apache Reservation. Normally, eagles don’t build nests in areas with as many people as Green Valley Park. However, Game and Fish biologists say they could easily nest along the East Verde, Tonto Creek, Fossil Creek or the lakes atop the Rim. In the meantime, the fierce-eyed youngster has added to the excitement of a visit to Green Valley Park.
Pine schools reopen mercury-tainted gym by
Michele Nelson
“It was used in the ’70s and late ’80s as a catalyst to level the floor,” said Barlow. The contractor, Dominion Environmental Construction, sent samples to the Apex Environmental Laboratory. The lab came back with a reading that caused alarm. Once the Pine-Strawberry School discovered the mercury, they immediately shut down the gym for further testing. Barlow said so many Tartan floors were installed in schools, hospitals and other institutions around the state, the School Facilities Board created
roundup staff reporter
The Pine-Strawberry School Board at its meeting on Jan. 11 voted to re-open the gym it had closed last year. No one has used the gym since October of 2015 due to the fear of mercury in the spongy rubber Tartan brand floor. “The floor was installed when the school was built in 1988,” said Principal Cody Barlow. Barlow said the school found out about the mercury during a grant application process to the Arizona School Facilities Board to fix a crack in the floor.
a task force with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and Health Department to study the floors to determine the full extent of the danger. In Pine-Strawberry’s case, after two months of research and numerous tests, the task force told the school it could re-open the gym. The task force advised the school to keep the gym well ventilated whenever it’s in use. Reassured, the board voted to re-open the gym — a centerpiece of the school and community. “They are telling us it is safe to go in there,” said Barlow.
“We’re ventilating it per their recommendation.” All of the controversy has upset some parents and raised concerns in the community, said Barlow. To reassure the public, the Pine-Strawberry School will hold a public meeting on Feb. 2 at 5:30 p.m. in the gym. The task force from the state of Arizona will answer any questions. To see the documents the Pine-Strawberry School Board received to make its decision, please go to the school’s website: http://www.pineesd.org.
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. Look for the drop boxes around town, or mail your check to Payson Area Food Drive, P.O. Box 703, Payson, AZ 85547.
27,000 lbs.
24,000 lbs.
43,667 $ $ 40,000 45,000
21,000 lbs.
18,000 lbs. 18,983 lbs.
15,000 lbs.
12,000 lbs.
6,000 lbs.
9,000 lbs.
3,000 lbs.
0 lbs.
5,000
$
$
volume 26, no. 7
GOAL: $50,000 Feb. 2, 2016
Locally Owned & Operated
35,000
$
& MORE
Located in Safeway Center • 928-468-8568 MattressExpertsandmore.com • Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm
30,000
$
$
25,000
See our ad and upcoming events on page 8B
20,000
$
$
15,000
$
10,000
$
0
Nov. 1, 2015
Sell your home with an experienced full service Realtor® for a commission as low as $ .
990
where the experts are™
MAUREEN BUCHANAN R����� E��������� ~ N������� A������ 928.951.0525 Maureen@SoldMyHome.net