Payson Roundup 012717

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Mazatzal Sunrise

Michele Nelson/​Roundup

The third big storm to hit Rim Country broke Tuesday morning, producing this spectacular sunrise over the Mazatzals. It may have also officially ended the drought. See the story on page 2.

PAYSON ROUNDUP

75 CENTS

F r i d a y | J a n u a r y 2 7 , 2 0 1 7 | P AY S O N , ARI Z O NA

payson.com

Finally focused on fire Payson council will hold two hearings before adopting code “I have been doing this for 15 years and it is finally time we got to talk to the council. It is pretty cool.” Capt. Toby Waugh

Payson Fire Department

by

Mayor Craig Swartwood and two new councilors, sang a far different tune. They voted to begin the process of overhauling building and fire codes to require defensible yards and homes built with fire-resistant materials to increase the chance firefighters can save buildings from the impact of embers raining down from an approaching wildfire. The council will likely discuss this issue next at the March 2 council meeting, but no firm date has been set. Before adopting a new code, the council will hold at least two public hearings. For many, adopting the WUI code is a long time coming, given Rim Country sits in an area ripe for a forest fire thanks to dense, dry forests, tons of dead fuels on every acre, hot summers and the second highest frequency of lightning strikes in the contiguous U.S. “Our No. 1 disaster risk is wildfire,” said Payson Fire Chief David Staub. For many years, some neighborhoods

Alexis Bechman

roundup staff reporter

After years of inaction, the Payson Town Council this week finally moved to protect the town from wildfires to the top of the priority list. The council unanimously voted to move forward with adopting the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fire code, which would impact construction of new homes and landscaping of existing homes. The vote Tuesday represented the first step in a long process. “Thank you for doing the WUI code,” said Capt. Toby Waugh, with the Payson Fire Department, who gave an overview of the town’s current Firewise program during the work-study session. “I have been doing this for 15 years and it is finally time we got to talk to the council. It is pretty cool.” The move comes almost three years after the former council decided not to adopt the WUI code, saying they did not support heavy-handed, “draconian” government telling people they had to chop down their trees. This council, under the leadership of new

Photos courtesy Payson Fire Department

Before and after images of a Firewise property. Thinning greatly See Payson council, page 7 reduces fire risk, but doesn’t leave a “moonscape” behind.

County boondoggle: Key building a teardown? by

Teresa McQuerrey

roundup staff reporter

Teresa McQuerrey/Roundup

The NAPA building next to the Gila County Sheriff’s substation in Payson was purchased in 2014 to expand county facilities to serve northern residents, but it remains vacant.

After at least a decade of studies, Gila County may have to tear down a building it bought to expand court and jail facilities in Payson and come up with a whole new plan. Officials in Payson have pleaded for a “Whether the building is safe, adequate court and jail setup. But sound enough has always despite buying the NAPA building for a cut-rate expansion the county still doesn’t been a question and the know if the building is structurally sound answer depends on who enough to use. By contrast, the county did a $2 million you are talking to.” remodel of a modular office building in Tommie Martin Globe in less than a year in 2016. North Gila County supervisor County has the bulk of the population and pays the lion’s share of the property taxes, but Gila County spends most of its money in Globe. However, the county courts in Payson don’t have enough room to even seat a full jury and the sheriff’s office has no secure way to conduct prisoners from the

• See County expansion, page 6

Mogollon Moose: A rough life, a sweet reward by

Cable out for days by

It depended on the luck of the draw if you had cable service from Suddenlink by midweek after the big APS power outage over the Jan. 21-22 weekend. Customers, who did not wish to be named, said they and their neighbors on the same street did not have service from Friday, Jan. 20 to Wednesday, Jan. 25 — and they were not happy with the customer service that refused to explain what happened — or when the cable would come back on. One man from the Alpine Heights area of Payson said he finally went down to the Payson Suddenlink office after the automated customer service line refused to give him answers. He said the office told him it had to do with the “hub” on his street going out. But no one would tell him when to expect a fix. When the Roundup went to the Payson Suddenlink office to ask the same question, another customer had her own complaint. “They locked me out of talking to them after I told them I needed repair ... I said, ‘I’m paying for this and you’re not going to talk to me?’” said the woman who lives over by Payson Golf Course. A Suddenlink customer service representative cut the interview short by insisting the office was private property and asking the reporter to leave. After numerous phone calls, a company representative finally confirmed the outages and the link to the weekend power outages. “We do have active electronics in the neighborhoods where one could get damaged due to a power surge,” he said. “The signal requires a power signal. If we did straight 120 AC on there that would not be a good signal, (however) it’s low voltage so there is no danger (like) an electrical line.” Some of the electronic “hubs” spread around town burned out due to the power outages, said the company spokesperson, who asked not to be named. Customer Kit McGuire said his service came back on after five days. However

Suddenlink customers get only a frustrating runaround

Alexis Bechman

roundup staff reporter

Her life hasn’t always been this sweet. Kristi Church’s beginning wasn’t anything like it is now. Last week, Church celebrated moving her business, the Mogollon Moose, to a new, larger location on Historic Main Street. Since the Moose opened in August, it has garnered a cult-like following. Diners just can’t get “With every loss, I enough of Church’s reciate. Food was the pes, such as the butter braids, the ham and cheese only thing I could on a buttered croissant or control.” the quiche of the day. The eatery also has a Kristi Church Owner of Mogollon Moose monthly salad special, a daily tea and lemonade flavor, crockpots of soup on rainy days and carafes of coffee. Church believed the Moose would succeed, but never thought it would grow so popular so quickly that she would be thinking of moving from her initial, tiny location off Longhorn Road just two weeks after opening. WEATHER: Sunny on Saturday with a high of 44, low of 25. Warming up heading into the week, with highs expected to be near 60 by Tuesday. See page 7

Alexis Bechman/Roundup

Kristi and Brian Church (center) with sons Beau and Brandon Bilkey recently relocated the Mogollon Moose to Historic Main Street.

After months of work, the Moose opened in the new location on Jan. 9. Church said she cries at the end of nearly every long day, not because she is exhausted (which she is), but from the outpouring of love and support. The countertops are full of flower bouquets from well-wishers and a steady stream of customers waits at the counter.

• See Mogollon Moose, page 6

volume 27, no. 8

• See Cable outage, page 6

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.

See our ad and upcoming events on page 18

Michele Nelson

​roundup staff reporter

24,000 lbs.

21,000 lbs.

18,000 lbs. 32,077 $ 30,000

15,000 lbs.

12,000 lbs.

6,000 lbs.

9,000 lbs. 9,501 lbs.

3,000 lbs.

0 lbs.

5,000

$

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GOAL: 50,000 Feb. 5, 2017 $

45,000

$

40,000

$

35,000

$

25,000

$

$

20,000

15,000

$

10,000

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$

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