Mystery of the boulders: 1C • Heartache and Triumph: 1B
ARIZONA NEWSPAPERS AND NATIONAL LOCAL MEDIA ASSOCIATIONS’ NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
PAYSON ROUNDUP How low can it go? Monstrous
75 CENTS
FRIDAY | MAY 13, 2016 | PAYSON, ARIZONA
payson.com
Payson crime rate keeps falling, despite chronic shortage of officers
by
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
Despite being down a number of officers, the Town of Payson once again saw its crime rate fall for the third year in a row. Police Chief Don Engler heralded the news at Tuesday’s council meeting, saying it is amazing and thanked officers and staff for their hard work. Engler attributed the drop in the Index Crime Rate, a combination of violent and property crimes, to both the work of officers and residents doing a better job securing their homes, businesses and Keith Morris/Roundup
Payson’s Monster Mudda could draw 900 participants this year to test themselves against a tough course.
Monster Mudda attracts a dirty crowd by
Play dirty. Have a great time. For the fourth year, town staff is getting the Payson Event Center ready for the Monster Mudda, a mud run that has evolved into one of the most popular in the state. This year, organizers expect at least 900 participants in both the adult and juvenile runs on Saturday, June 4. When it first kicked off in 2013, the run attracted just a few hundred. Last year, it drew 677 registered runners in the adult event, 77 percent from out of town. Cameron Davis, with Payson Parks, Recreation and Tourism, said as organizers fine tune the event every year, adding in more difficult and creative elements, word spreads that the run is not only challenging, but good. clean fun — well sort of. The Mudda is part of the 8th annual Mountain High Games June 3-5. The games have come a long way from their lumberjack origins. The original Payson Sawdust Festival drew fans and onlookers from around the state to the old rodeo grounds in Rumsey Park where competitors tested their mettle with axes and saws in a manner typical of lumberjacks of the area. After the festival moved to the Payson Event Center, excitement seemingly died out and organizers discontinued it in the early 1990s. After a 16-year hiatus, the town THE WEATHER Weekend: Sunny. Saturday H84, L51; Sunday H79, L46. Details, 11A
volume 26, no. 41
Michele Nelson
roundup staff reporter
Alexis Bechman
With a scant six months left in his school board term, Jim Quinlan announced his resignation at the May 9 board meeting. His post will be open until December when his position was up for reelection. Quinlan told the board the reason for his early resignation centered on the necessity of his wife to return to teaching at Payson Unified School District. “We did this as long as we could,” he said. “She resigned from PUSD so I could be on the board.” Jim’s wife Barbara had left the district to work for the Payson Education Center revived the festival in 2009, adding new games and races and changing the name from the Sawdust Festival to the Mountain High Games. However, it attracted few spectators and only 43 contestants — the Dutch oven cooking competition just was not as successful as everyone had hoped. Then Davis cut the number of events down to four and decided to add something dramatic. “We needed to do something that would make the games a real, viable thing that could happen each year,” he said. Davis jumped on the mud run band-
• See Monster Mudda, page 2A
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• See Payson Crime, page 2A
Quinlan quits board by
roundup staff reporter
vehicles from thieves. But theories abound as to why crime rates rise and fall. Some say it is because of increased incarceration rates. Others think it is because of better policing, the health of the economy or overall alcohol and drug use. Most experts agree there isn’t one reason, but likely a combination. Payson seems to defy all odds. We are down officers, drug arrests are up and while the economy is doing better, it still lags behind the rest of the state. Last year, the index crime rate in
run by the Gila County Superintendent’s office. Two years ago, the Payson campus closed, so Jim said Barbara took a job at the Globe campus. This year, that campus closed as well. With both schools closed, Barbara had nowhere to go to teach other than PUSD. Jim said Barbara would teach 5th grade. She has taught middle school science in the past. Yet this move will prove a hardship for the couple, said Jim. “She will go in with a first-year teacher’s salary,” said Jim. “It is a hardship both personal and financial.” Barbara will be hired through the
• See Quinlan quits, page 5A
Two schools take a fling at spring
Michele Nelson
roundup staff reporter
Two hundred parents and students from both Julia Randall Elementary and Payson Elementary School converged on the JRE campus for the May 6 Spring Fling to dunk school officials and staff in the dunk tank, eat cotton candy and popcorn, and participate in all sorts of other activities. Shelley Hobson, volunteer coordinator for JRE, said the Parent-Teacher Organization hosted the event. “We do it for the kids to have fun,” she said. “We don’t put on the carnival to make money.” That being said, Hobson said the event did raise about $1,000 for both schools. The PTO runs the Spring Fling like a carnival with attendees purchasing wristbands. Those bands then open up activities such as face painting, a Frisbee throw, a cakewalk and rope toss booths. Other activities included adopting a stuffed animal, bouncing in bounce houses, a sucker pull and a dunk tank. Payson Unified School District school board member Angie Prock volunteered for students to
• See JRE, PES celebrate, page 11A
Photos courtesy DJ Craig
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