Longhorns in the playoffs Thrilling victory for the girls. Brave loss for the boys. See SPORTS: 1B
PAYSON ROUNDUP
ARIZONA NEWSPAPERS AND NATIONAL LOCAL MEDIA ASSOCIATIONS’ NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
payson.com
TUESDAY | MAY 3, 2016 | PAYSON, ARIZONA
Schools Cinderellas at the Ball hope for the best by
Driver warned Stopped for lack of baby seats before crash that killed children by
The Roundup has learned a man who crashed his vehicle north of Payson last week, killing three children and himself, was pulled over just before the wreck, but allowed to keep driving with the children unrestrained. An Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper pulled Jason Jeffrey Bob, 28, of Mesa, over around 8 p.m. at the Walmart parking lot in Payson for driving without headlights, said Bart Graves, media specialist with DPS. The officer then cited Bob for driving without having the chil-
Peter Aleshire
Prom turns into a fairy tale night With the theme based on the musical movie, “Into the Woods,” the 2016 Payson High School prom didn’t disappoint. The girls wore fairy tale princess dresses, long, flowing and sparkling with bling, while the boys had on tuxes with shades of green and silver. The girls did their hair in complicated braids and buns reminiscent of the middle ages, while the boys made sure theirs didn’t look shaggy. During one song, almost all of the 240 students who came to the dance got into a line to dance to the right and left, front and back in an astonishingly cooperative manner. In another sweet move, the student body elected Brandon Nicholson, a special needs student, as Prom King and Mackenzie Mann, a track and field star as Prom Queen. The two danced for all of the attendees under the bright lights set up in the huge Mazatzal Casino hall. Most of all, it seemed the students who attended, either with a date or with a friend, had a magical night until midnight when the clock struck and all had to rush home before their parents turned them into pumpkins — or maybe squash.
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
roundup editor
Could be the best of years for Payson schools — raises for everyone (finally), reading specialists for the little tykes, mentors to help teachers boost test scores, a new bus (finally), stipends for coaches and music directors, better computers, new textbooks (finally) and a chance to dig the insurance plan out of a hole. On the other hand, could also be the seventh year without a raise, looming school bus breakdowns, more budget cuts — another budget held together with duct tape and teacher grumbles. All depends on state legislators — and state voters. PUSD Superintendent Greg Wyman offered the Payson School Board a “best of times, worst of times” budget analysis recently, with the difference hanging on stuff the school board has no control over. For instance, the budget state lawmakers will consider this week has several major unknowns, including whether the state will switch to current-year funding and how quickly lawmakers will phase out the extra money the district had been getting to operate Payson Center for Success as a charter school. Those two items alone could represent a $500,000 hit to the district’s roughly $13 million maintenance and operations budget. Moreover, if voters approve Proposition 123 in the May 17 special election, the district would pick up an extra $480,000 in the current, nearly finished fiscal year and similar dose in the fiscal year that starts in July. And if that’s not enough, the budget included a couple of other unknowns, like whether the district will get $300,000 in “forest fee” money from the federal government to compensate for the high percentage of non-tax-paying federal lands in the rural district of 2,400 students. So Wyman broke the budget down into bestcase and worst-case scenarios, with a mind-bending series of steps in between. Overall, the best-case scenario represents a 4.5 percent increase in the base budget, while the worst-case scenario would produce a 1.8 percent increase. The school board has already decided to give the 300 employees an average raise of 4 percent if voters adopt Proposition 123 — the first raise in seven years, except for a one-time stipend bonus last year. Roughly 64 percent of that pay boost would go to classroom teachers. The school board focused mostly on the pay raise at a recent meeting, voting to adjust the salary schedule after a long discussion. Mostly the school board agonized about whether to raise the maximum salary by category by 4 percent — or leave the pay for each position capped. The board ultimately decided to leave the current salary caps in place pending a formal salary study, which means administrators, teachers, bus drivers and everyone else at the top of the pay range
75 CENTS
dren buckled in. He had two children with him at that point. The officer also cited him for not having insurance. It is unclear if the driver then subsequently bought any child seats. Bob was released and the family continued out of Payson. Two hours after that initial stop, they crashed about 1.5 miles south of Pine. Graves said no state law allows officers to hold a vehicle for not having the proper child restraints. Graves said the officer “strongly encouraged” Bob to get child seats.
• See Driver warned, page 2A
Prison for assault Man also fled scene of accident by
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
Photos by Peter Aleshire/Roundup
A Payson man will spend the next 5.75 years in prison for a series of crimes. On April 18, Judge Gary Scales sentenced David Meredith, 38, to the Arizona Department of Corrections for aggravated assault, endangerment and leaving the scene of an injury accident. Meredith pleaded guilty to all of the charges. At 11:30 p.m. on May 3, 2015, Payson Police Department officers went to a single vehicle collision where they learned Meredith had wrecked the vehicle and then fled on foot,
according to Deputy Gila County Attorney Duncan J. Rose, who prosecuted the case. Two passengers in the vehicle were seriously injured. In a second case, at 11:40 p.m. on Oct. 20, officers responded after Meredith attacked two females. Meredith again fled the scene. Officers arrested him two days later. As part of the plea agreement, Meredith admitted to eight prior felony convictions and received an enhanced prison term. Meredith was also placed on two years of supervised probation, which will be served consecutively to his prison term.
Game & Fish crashes Tonto Basin fundraiser by
Michele Nelson
roundup staff reporter
The Lorraine Cline Poker Run will again surpass donations of $30,000 and delivered a ton of fun, despite Game and Fish. Laci Sopeland, whose grandmother inspired the Poker Run, reported that Arizona Game and Fish wardens waited near the end of the run and issued tickets for a lack of helmets and goggles for the kids, open containers of alcohol, lack of OHV stickers,
out-of-date registration or DUIs. “We did advertise you needed helmets and goggles,” said Sopeland. “We’re always about safety. There were (about) 500 people out there that are avid hunters. They have been in the woods, they are all about coming back safe.” Sopeland said if Game and Fish had come to her and requested a time to brief everyone on what’s required for safety out on the trail, she would have
• See Game & Fish, page 10A
• See Payson schools, page 5A THE WEATHER
Outlook: Sunny with highs near 80, lows in the mid to upper 40s. Chance for rain by Friday. Details, 9A
volume 26, no. 38
See our ad and upcoming events on page 6B
Peter Aleshire/Roundup
Clay Sopeland’s Mafia Moonshine entertained at a Friday night fundraiser intended to raise funds for folks coping with illness. At right, one woman talks about surviving cancer.
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