Prop. 123 blasted: 5A • Corporation commission corruption: 8A • Longhorns triumph: 3B ARIZONA NEWSPAPERS AND NATIONAL LOCAL MEDIA ASSOCIATIONS’ NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
payson.com
PAYSON ROUNDUP FRIDAY | APRIL 29, 2016 | PAYSON, ARIZONA
75 CENTS
The system fails, a child dies Roundup investigation probes tragedy Michele Nelson
from the system’s point of view. Worse yet, no one did a thing to protect Calandra. No one called Child Protective Services. Seven-year-old Calandra Balas saw it all. She Police didn’t remove her from the home. No one watched as her father cut off his girlfriend’s hair, intervened, according to a yearstuffed it in her mouth, hit her, long Roundup investigation — choked her, cut her with the sciswhich included a long struggle to sors. obtain the sealed Child Protective Calandra heard everything Service records detailing the — the screams, the yelling, the seven years Calandra spent pleading to stop, the police bangbouncing in and out of the system ing on the door. — in and out of the custody of her A ROUNDUP INVESTIGATION Finally, someone came — troubled, intermittently violent someone stopped the violence, and drug-addicted father. the terror. The results proved fatal for Calandra. Calandra (left) died when she was ejected Well, not exactly. Police arrested her father A year after that ignored flare of domestic from a car driven by her father, Gasoa “Josh” for the assault — but prosecutors decided not to Balas (above), as he fled police. charge him. That failure meant it never happened See Case records, page 6A by
roundup staff reporter
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Rollover near Payson kills driver, three children by
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
A man and three children were killed Monday night just north of Payson when the man reportedly fell asleep at the wheel. Jason Jeffrey Bob, 28, of Mesa, was driving northbound on State Route 87 in a Ford station wagon when it appears he fell asleep around 10 p.m., said a spokesperson with the Department of Public Safety. The vehicle went off the road and struck a tree head-on, spinning the station wagon around where it came to rest facing southbound,
about 1.5 miles south of Pine. Bob died on scene along with a 6-year-old boy, 15-month-old boy and 5-month-old girl. Passenger Ophelia Stephanie Begay, 27, of Pinon, Ariz., got herself out of the vehicle, walked 10 to 15 feet up an embankment to the road and flagged down a passing motorist, said Capt. Robert McCormick with the Pine-Strawberry Fire Department, who was acting as chief since Gary Morris is out of town. No one witnessed the accident. Begay complained of chest and ankle pain and was taken to
Council challengers lining up by
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
One more person has turned in the paperwork to run for Payson Town Council. Craig Swartwood has indicated he will run for mayor. Swartwood, a Realtor and developer, was Payson’s mayor from 1990 to 1994. Swartwood, a longtime real estate agent, helped launch the Mogollon Sporting Association. Most recently, Swartwood was a vocal opponent of the American Leadership Academy opening a charter school in town. Besides Swartwood running for mayor, incumbent Councilor Richard Croy has taken out the paperwork to run for re-election. Also filing for a council seat are Kim Chittick and Barbara Underwood, a school board and Planning and Zoning Commission member. Incumbents Vice Mayor Michael
Craig Swartwood plans to run for Payson mayor. Hughes, Councilor John Wilson and Mayor Kenny Evans have not said if they plan to run for re-election. Candidate packets must be filed
with the town clerk by June 1. Candidates must collect between 124 and 248 signatures and submit either a Political Committee Statement of Organization or a $500 Threshold Exemption Statement before accepting contributions, making expenditures, distributing campaign literature or circulating petitions. If candidates plan to collect more than $500, they must create a political organization. In Payson, the mayor serves two years and councilors serve four. The town holds an all-mail ballot. Early voting for the Aug. 30 primary starts Aug. 3. Elsewhere, Star Valley has three seats up for election on the town council. In Gila County, offices appearing on the ballot include three board of supervisor seats, county attorney, assessor, treasurer, school superintendent, recorder, sheriff, Superior Court judge Division I and precinct committeemen.
Star Valley rejects plea of RV owner by
Teresa McQuerrey
roundup staff reporter
Initial impressions may lead travelers driving through Star Valley to believe there is no rhyme or reason to how the community is cobbled together. Only 10 years old, Star Valley’s zoning and building codes haven’t yet been imprinted on the face of a much older community. A move was made to change that THE WEATHER
Weekend: 20% chance for rain on Saturday, increasing to 40% on Sunday; highs in the mid 60s, lows near 40. See 10A
volume 26, no. 37
earlier this month. The town, in January, received a request for a conditional use permit to use a recreational vehicle as a residence on a commercial property (C3 zoning). The request was submitted by Peter Dennis McCorry and signed off on by the property owner, Steve Glissendorf. The property sits behind Rim Furniture and Appliances. Documentation from a neighboring property owner, Eugene O’Neill, indi-
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cates McCorry was already living on the property. McCorry said the property is used for storage of RVs and he just wants to live in his. He told the council drivers can’t even see the RV from the highway. The town’s Planning & Zoning Commission recommended the council deny the request. Robert Rippy, inspected the site. He told the commission, “Staff is concerned that if this is allowed, it will open up the door for other commercial operators to place recreational vehicles on their property. This would lead to a drastic decline in the appearance of the commercial corridor in Star Valley. “Further, the property ... is zoned Commercial 3 (C3), which only allows a residence ‘located above the first floor or commercial buildings.’ … This section of the code states nothing about a recreational vehicle, and therefore
• See Star Valley, page 2A
Maricopa Medical Center. She was wearing a seat belt. She is the mother of the oldest child. Six feet away from the vehicle, firefighters found the body of the 6-year-old boy. They found the 15-month-old boy still inside the vehicle, but under a pile of debris, unrestrained. McCormick said there were many personal items in the vehicle, including clothes. Firefighters found the 5-month-old girl still in her car seat and alive. The car seat, however, was not properly attached. The girl was
• See Fatal crash, page 2A
Highline Trail race makes marathons look easy
Amy Novotny captured this image of one of the other runners on the 50-mile Zane Grey race — twice as long as a marathon with killer views. by and
Alexis Bechman Bret Sarnquist
Rim Country is home to one of the toughest, roughest and most beautiful ultra marathons in the country and most residents have never heard of it. On Saturday, April 23, 133 athletes set off at 5 a.m. for the 27th annual Zane Grey 50 on the Highline Trail. Greeted by windy, but unusually mild weather, 72 percent of the pack went on to finish the grueling race, with the winner coming in just under 9.5 hours and the 96th and final finisher, just over 16 hours. They call it a 50-mile race, but it tops out at just under 53 miles — but who’s counting. The race runs end-to-end on the Highline Trail just below the Mogollon Rim, starting at the Pine Trailhead and finishing at the 260 Trailhead. The trail is well known in the running community for its rockiness, frequent washouts, river crossings, and exposure to the sun, especially after the Dude Fire burned over the middle of the course and destroyed the tall ponderosa stands that used to provide shade, said runner Bret Sarnquist, who also provided the information for this article. “The route is extremely rugged,” said Joe Galope, race director. “Entrants
Runners flock to 50-mile long, Zane Grey race
• See Grueling 50-mile race, page 2A
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