Meteor blasts into atmosphere above Rim Country by
Michele Nelson
roundup staff reporter
Around 4 a.m. on June 2, a boom and bright light in the sky awakened people in and around Rim Country. NASA called the cause of the event a small asteroid. Based on eyewitness
accounts, scientists estimate the size at 10 feet in diameter, with a mass of 10 tons. Whatever the exact size, local resident Tim Cotton said he’s never been so scared in his life — especially since he’s ex-military. He was starting work at The Door Stop just about ready to clock
in at 4 a.m. when he saw it. “All of a sudden, it became brighter than daylight,” he said. “The first thing that came to mind, ‘Who is going to bomb Payson?’ It sounded like a bomb with a flare and a fireball, pink and red and the flames were pouring over it.” Cotton said it took all of two seconds
for him to watch it move away toward what he thought was California. Instead, the meteor broke apart and landed somewhere outside of Show Low, according to NASA. Cotton wasn’t the only one in Payson that had concerns. Four people called the Payson Police Department between
the hours of 3:59 a.m. and 4:11 a.m. to report either an explosion or lights outside of their homes. Officers followed up on each call. Not all feared this event. Laurence Garvie, research professor at ASU’s
• See Meteor blazes, page 2A
ARIZONA NEWSPAPERS AND NATIONAL LOCAL MEDIA ASSOCIATIONS’ NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
payson.com
PAYSON ROUNDUP FRIDAY | JUNE 3, 2016 | PAYSON, ARIZONA
Payson council contests by
Smoky skies
Fires spread but firefighters happy by
Alexis Bechman
Payson candidates
Council Barbara Underwood, Hallie Overman-Jackman, Janell Sterner, Kim Chittick, Richard Croy (incumbent), Tracy Fitzpatrick Mayor Michael Hughes, Craig Swartwood
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
roundup staff reporter
Six people are running for three spots on the Payson Town Council in August and two are vying for the mayor’s seat. Candidates had to turn in their signatures for council and mayor by Wednesday to appear on the Aug. 30 primary ballot. Craig Swartwood and Michael Hughes are both running for mayor, a two-year term. Swartwood served two terms as Payson’s mayor in the early ’90s and Hughes is currently the town vice mayor. For council, only incumbent Richard Croy is running for another four-year term. Councilor John Wilson chose not to run again. New council candidates are Barbara Underwood, Hallie Overman-Jackman, Janell Sterner, Kim Chittick and Tracy Fitzpatrick. Town Clerk Sylvia Smith said each candidate had to turn in between 124 and 248 signatures to make the ballot. To win a seat, candidates must garner at least 50 percent of the votes, plus 1. If needed, a runoff will occur during the general election in November. Mayor Kenny Evans announced he will not run for re-election and has opted to seek a seat on the three-member Gila County Board of Supervisors instead. Councilors Su Connell, Fred Carpenter and Chris Higgins’ seats will appear on the 2018 election.
75 CENTS
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service
The Pivot Rock Fire near Pine has grown to more than 5,000 acres, but remains contained by burnout operations.
With above-normal temperatures expected this weekend, fire managers are closely watching several lightning-sparked forest fires. Crews are so far pleased with how the fire south of Payson and several on the Mogollon Rim are burning. Officials are letting the fires burn within contained areas to help eliminate low-level fuels, which should help prevent future larger blazes and benefit the health of the forest. The biggest fire in the area is the Juniper Fire 10 miles south of Young. That fire started May 17 and was at 12,682 acres as of Thursday afternoon. There are 403 crew members working the fire, including several firefighters from Payson, Houston Mesa and Christopher Creek fire departments. Because of the fire, State Route 288 is closed. The road will be open temporarily on Friday and Saturday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., with a pilot vehicle escorting traffic. See Wildfires, page 10A
•
Bear drawn by trash claws camper in Young by
Peter Aleshire
roundup editor
A man in his 20s was injured early Wednesday morning when a bear scratched him through his sleeping bag in a dispersed camping area near Cherry Creek in Young. The bear was investigating the man’s camp and apparently injured the man when pawing at the sleeping bag. The bear reportedly “nibbled” at his backside through the sleeping bag — breaking the skin. Campers responded to the man’s cries for help with noise and bear spray and the animal retreated. The man was seen at a local hospital and released. Game and Fish officials said it sounded like the bear was young — and attracted to the campground by improperly stored food and trash. Investigators discovered several bears had come into the campground during the Memorial Day weekend, drawn by trash and food left out in the open. Game and Fish officers trapped and euthanized the black bear. The subadult (1-1/2 to 2-1/2 year-old) male bear was caught in a culvert trap set by a highly trained team of wildlife officers. They confirmed this was the bear involved in the incident based on descriptions from other campers and because it had a unique hind
paw pad that matched tracks found at the scene. The bear was euthanized per department policy because it attacked a human and was deemed a threat to public safety. The Anasazi Foundation uses the campground as part of its program. After the incident, campers said several bears had been seen in the campground area over the Memorial Day weekend. At least three different bears were identified by the campers as coming into camp and raiding food sources. The bears did not fully retreat when bear spray was used. Unfortunately, campers did not notify officials of this bear activity, vacate the area or remove the food sources after the sightings, according to an Arizona Game and Fish Department release. The department asks people to report any nuisance bear activity immediately and recommends that all campers take a few simple precautions to protect both people and bears, including securing all potential food sources. Campsite food sources can include uncleaned barbecues, used plates, discarded wrappers, food stores and pet food. Bears have a very keen sense of smell — approximately seven times better than a bloodhound and 100 times better than a human.
• See Bear claws camper, page 9A
File photo courtesy of Mary Jane Coffee
‘Dark money’ laws loosen regulations on special interests Lawmakers’ ploy designed to frustrate referendum by
Peter Aleshire
roundup editor
The U.S. Supreme Court upended campaign finance reform several years ago with its controversial Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgates to virtually unlimited corporate and speTHE WEATHER Weekend: Sunny and hot, highs hovering around 100, overnight lows in the low 60s. Details, 9A
volume 26, no. 47
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cial interest campaign spending without even having to disclose the source of the money. Since then, “dark money” spending by shadowy independent groups has increasingly dominated elections. Arizona Public Service gained notoriety in the last election cycle by spending heavily through a still unacknowledged dark money campaign to help two members of the Arizona Corporation Commission who set utility rates. APS reportedly spent some $3.2 million to influence the race, dwarfing all other spending by the candidates themselves — and a second, “dark money” group funded by solar energy companies that supported the Democrats in the race. “Dark money” campaigns also benefited Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Arizona Attorney General Mark Bronovich and a host of other candidates. Gov. Ducey benefited from an estimated $8 million in spending by dark money groups. Most incumbents — including all three of Rim Country’s represen-
tatives — also benefited from campaigns by dark money groups not required to disclose their donors. The U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United ruled that corporations and special interest groups have free speech rights equivalent to individuals — but hinted broadly in their ruling that Congress and the state legislatures remain free to at least require dark money groups to disclose their spending and their donors, even if the state can’t limit that spending. So did the Arizona Legislature take the hint? Not exactly. In fact, one of the bills that slipped through the Legislature and quickly over the governor’s desk this session eliminates most of the flimsy remaining limits on disclosures of dark money spending. Gov. Ducey signed Senate Bill 1516 saying it would increase political participation. However, Democrats complained the bill would virtually end any regulation of the dark money groups by turning the responsibility over the federal Internal Revenue Service. The bill allows the state to seek donor names from dark money groups only if they are
nonprofit corporations that aren’t in good standing with the IRS. Federal tax rules allow groups to set up “nonprofit” corporations to mount their own political efforts so long as they do some non-political work and don’t directly coordinate their campaigns with candidates. The bill would also allow candidates, groups and politicians to move money around — shifting money received from a dark money group to another candidate or campaign without revealing the original source of the money. Opponents of the measure immediately announced plans to gather 75,000 signatures to put a referendum on the ballot to repeal the loosened restrictions — and perhaps to impose new disclosure requirements on dark money groups. Lawmakers then passed a second, almost identical bill — House Bill 2296. This law had a different effective date. That means opponents will have to mount two separate referendums — each requiring 75,000 — to do away with both measures. Backers have now launched twin, all-volunteer efforts to gather the necessary signatures.
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