Outdoors: Harebrained History: 10A
PAYSON ROUNDUP
Photo courtesy of Andrew Fialia
payson.com
TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 10, 2015 | PAYSON, ARIZONA
Survival in doubt by
Max Foster
special to the roundup
Pete Aleshire/Roundup
Some 200 people crowded into the Mazatzal Hotel & Casino ballroom to celebrate the 240th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps, part of a tradition stretching back to 1775.
Oorah
by
Michele Nelson
roundup staff reporter
Tim Roemer served in the Marines from 1964 until 1968, seeing tough action in Vietnam during a 14-month stint in an artillery unit. That service meant so much to him that he came all the way from Louisiana to celebrate the 240th birthday of the Marine Corps with the Rim Country Marine Corps League.
Veterans Day celebrations by
Teresa McQuerrey
roundup staff reporter
Everyone knows someone who has served or is serving in the U.S. military. So everyone in the Rim Country is encouraged to participate in a celebration of those veterans and active duty personnel and their families at a ceremony for Veterans Day. Payson’s Veterans Day 2015 program is at the Payson High School Auditorium at 11 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 11. The theme is: Our American Veterans ... they earned our respect and deserve our unwavering support. The program will include musical tributes to the services, addresses by the Payson mayor and police chief, presentations by the Payson Choral Society and others. After the program, Rim Country Classic Auto Club members will take a selected number of veterans to lunch, escorted by members of the Vietnam Legacy Motorcycle Club.
Marines party on 240th birthday Some 200 people from across the country gathered at the Mazatzal Hotel & Casino Saturday to celebrate the Marine Corps birthday — a tradition as old as the nation. Roemer said every year on Nov. 10 he celebrates the Marine Corps birthday, no matter what else he’s doing. Even in Vietnam, his artillery unit paused to eat a piece of cake — not easy in the jungle. As Roemer put it, “I’ve never been to hell, but it was close.” Roemer said he and his buddies celebrated the Marine birthday in Vietnam with a Spam sandwich, a cup of coffee and a piece cake the cook threw together because, well, it’s tradition. “We ate birthday cake in shifts,” he said. “Two awake and one man asleep, we’d send someone to get us a piece.” Roemer added, “We all learned the birthdate of the Corps in basic training, Nov. 10, 1775 — in Tun Tavern in Philadelphia,” he said with a gleam in his eye. “It’s the only service ever formed in a bar and we’re proud of it.” He laughed, but his pride in the Corps and his service clearly showed as he told the story. The event on Saturday, Nov. 7 reflected the same pride and determination to celebrate the birth of the all-volunteer Marine Corps. Colonel Bill Sahno emceed the event attended
• See Marines, page 2A
An enthusiastic crowd of about 50 Pine Strawberry residents gathered Saturday in the cultural hall to mull over the future of the financially strapped Pine Strawberry Fuel Reduction committee’s brush pickup program. No firm decision was made on how to continue the pickups after more than an hour of discussion and debate. But people offered many suggestions on ways to raise the estimated $63,500 needed to continue the pickup program in 2016. The ideas included assessing every resident in the two towns a $25 or $30 pickup fee, more volunteer help, turning the program over to a private contractor, making public pleas for more donations, imposing a Firewise tax on local properties and expanding fundraisers such as the benefit dinners held the past two years at the StrawBeary Bear Restaurant. The consensus of the PSFR committee members
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Pine Strawberry Fuel Reduction Committee seeking a way to continue seemed to reach during the meeting was, “we’d like to continue if we can,” but it’s going to take a Herculean effort to overcome the challenges of hosting a third consecutive pickup program. Among those challenges, which PSFR has not faced previously, was paying Gila County $17,250 to dump collected brush, needles and leaves at the Buckhead Mesa Landfill. The past two years, the dump fees have been waived, but Gila County Supervisor Tommie Martin and others have told committee members to not expect a fee waiver in 2016. PSFR’s financial shortcomings date back to last spring when the truck and trailer used in pickups needed extensive mechanical repairs. Although the truck is owned by Pine Strawberry Fire, the department could not come up with the money needed for repairs and the committee paid the bill. Committee member Darwin Huber offered a PowerPoint presentation that showed in 2015, PSFR
• See Pine brush-hauling, page 2A
Broken pot promises Few donations despite $2 million in sales by
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
Despite the protest of the mayor, the Payson Town Council last week went ahead and allowed the medical marijuana dispensary to expand its hours of operation. Uncle Herbs Health Center petitioned the town to let it stay open longer, saying it wanted to reach working customers and weekend travelers. The dispensary off North Tonto Street is currently open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., its hours set under a town code before the dispensary even opened several years ago. Because the town decides where and when a dispensary can operate, Uncle Herbs could not stay open later despite many patients’ requests. On Thursday, after two public hearings, the council voted 4 to 2 to let Uncle Herbs operate between 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. Mayor Kenny Evans voted against the amendment “out of protest” because Uncle Herbs had not
fulfilled promises to give the town its net profits to distribute throughout the town. So far, the town has received roughly $6,000 from the dispensary even though the dispensary reported sales in 2014 of $2 million. At the first public reading on this issue, Councilor Su Connell also said she was concerned with extending the dispensary’s hours and would find it difficult to support because the dispensary had not fulfilled promises it made the town. Connell was absent from Thursday’s council meeting. Besides Evans, Vice Mayor Michael Hughes voted no. Andrew Provencio, with Uncle Herbs, told the council in 2012 that as a not-for-profit as much as 75 percent of excess revenue would stay within the town. The partners running the medical marijuana dispensary have since become embroiled in a nasty legal dispute about spending and purchases.
Tonto Basin Veterans Day Parade
Once again the Pvt. Joe Hardt Marine Corps League 881 and many volunteers are putting together a Veterans Day parade for Tonto Basin. It starts at 11 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 11 at the post office and goes south on old Highway 188 to Punkin Center. Before the parade, at 8 a.m., the Kiwanis will have a pancake breakfast at the Kiwanis Thrift Store. Elks Veterans Day program
All veterans and their spouses are invited to join the Elks Wednesday, Nov. 11 for a Veterans Day Celebration and Dinner. The meal will be roast pork and all veterans eat free. The cost for spouses and guests of veterans is $10 per person. Get your tickets at the Elks Lodge. For information, call 928474-2572. THE WEATHER
Rain likely today, then sunny for the remainder of the week. Highs climbing to the low 60s by week’s end. See 9A
volume 25, no. 88
Roundup reader Linda Esser took this spectacular photograph of snow on the Rim last week and allowed us to share it with you. The National Weather Service expects a cold front to pass through the region today. The forecast calls for about two inches of snow on the Rim. The Arizona Snowbowl ski resort in Flagstaff expects to open on Nov. 20. If you want to share a photo, send it to editor@payson.com.
Weather Service: More snow on Rim today by
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
See our ad and upcoming events on page 6B
Monday’s sunny skies today should give way to a winter storm, with several inches of snow on the Mogollon Rim, according to the National Weather Service in Flagstaff. In Flagstaff, forecasters expect perhaps four inches of snow today, on top of about five inches last week. With crews making snow and the help of Mother Nature, Arizona Snowbowl is set to
open Nov. 20. In Show Low, Sunrise Park Resort received more than a foot of snow last week, but has not announced when it will open. The Weather Service says a cold front moving through central California will hit northern Arizona Tuesday afternoon, bringing with it chilly temperatures. Payson’s high will be around 50 with a 60 percent chance for showers. The odds of rain will peak between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday. Snow levels in Coconino County will be above 5,000 feet with snowfall totals between a trace
and two inches. Elevations above 7,500 feet should see between two and four inches, said Tony Merriman, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service Flagstaff. Tuesday’s storm should pass through quickly, with warmer, sunnier weather returning Wednesday and into the weekend. Expect highs to return to the low 60s by Friday. So far for the year, Payson has received 19.07 inches of rain. August proved the wettest month with 2.45 inches according to weather.astro50.com.