Hohokam power debated: 12A
Surprising power of SNOW: 1B
PAYSON ROUNDUP
ARIZONA NEWSPAPERS AND NATIONAL LOCAL MEDIA ASSOCIATIONS’ NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
payson.com
TUESDAY | DECEMBER 29, 2015 | PAYSON, ARIZONA
75 CENTS
Child abuse deaths rise
Department of Child Safety remains in disarray by
Peter Aleshire
roundup editor
The number of Arizona children killed as a result of abuse and neglect has climbed 24 percent since 2009, as the effort to reform the agency charged with protecting children from abuse flounders. About half of the children who died had recent or active cases open with Child Protective Services, which two years ago was rocked by a scandal after whistleblowers revealed the agency had dismissed some 16,000 reports the initial intake worker considered worth investigating. Abuse and neglect account for 9 percent of the child
deaths in the state. Then-Gov. Jan Brewer reorganized the agency and the Legislature increased funding, but after initially cutting the backlog — the numbers have grown again. In the meantime, the annual Child Fatality Review Report issued each year by the state has documented a rise in child deaths due to abuse and neglect. The mortality rate from abuse rose 30 percent in 2013, but dropped 18 percent in 2014, according to the report. Trends show a rise again in 2015. In 2014, 75 children died from abuse and neglect. Physical abuse accounted for 59 percent of those deaths and neglect
• See Child abuse deaths, page 2A
Wind snaps power lines by
Michele Nelson
the clock to complete the task. Pat Johnson of Whispering Pines had nothing but praise for the crews that braved cold temperatures made more freezing by the wind chill factor. On her Facebook page, Johnson wrote, “My power went out last night and didn’t come back on until a little while ago. Somehow, Arizona Public Service — APS sent crews out in this miserable cold, the 35-40mph winds and the snow still on the Rim and found the source of the outage and fixed it. Thank you, thank you, thank you! (My house is now at 40 toasty degrees) ;))”
roundup staff reporter
Michele Nelson/Roundup High winds during the night of Saturday, Dec. 26 Chef Richard Erskine shows Payson High School culinary arts students the fine art of putting a blew over trees in four different locations, taking out roof on a gingerbread house. The houses were donated to needy families. Vocational training nine APS poles that knocked out power to 2,800 cusprograms like this and others locally could shut down if the Legislature doesn’t reverse deep cuts tomers in the Rim Country. in the budget for programs statewide. “Service interruptions began at around 7 p.m. Saturday night,” said Steven Gotfried, APS media relations. “We restored service to customers systematically throughout the night and into the next day until everyone was back on by 8:30 p.m. Sunday.” See Storm, page 2A Gotfried said APS had four crews working around Weber and his fellow superintendents as having by Michele Nelson roundup staff reporter ulterior motives. “When they see me coming down the hall, they Unless the Arizona Legislature votes to remove think, ‘Oh, you’re trying to save your job,’” he said. four pesky paragraphs from the language in the But it’s really the local businesses that lose if budget bill it passed earlier this year, statewide NAVIT and other JTEDs lose the funding. “If you vocational educational districts will lose half their get your money cut here, it’s your local businesses funding in January. that suffer,” said Weber. “Educating then falls to Matt Weber, the superintendent for NAVIT, the the local businesses.” vocational training education district for Northern The JTEDs teach certifiable skills in the Rim Arizona, came to a recent Payson Unified School Country — cosmetology, medical assistant, fire District board meeting to ask the board to help by science, business, technology, construction arts, approaching local businesses. auto shop, agriculture and culinary arts. “What we are asking you to do in networking If high school students need to take classes with your business leaders in Payson is for them at the local community college, the JTED covers to contact their state legislators (to vote against their tuition. They also pay the high schools for the those paragraphs),” he said. “If those four para- vocational classes taught on the campus — that’s graphs don’t change, your CTE goes away and the where the more than a quarter of a million comes JTED goes away.” into the PUSD. Michele Nelson/Roundup The NAVIT superintendent said PUSD is one of Weber did say the public might be confused the more successful districts that has consistently because the recent education settlement included brought in more students each year it has offered JTEDs. “You’ll hear people say, ‘Wait a minute, we At noon on Monday, Dec. 28, a red Chevy Trailblazer made a left hand turn off of Highway 87 at NAVIT programs. took care of that in the special session,’” he said. Frontier Street in front of a gold Chevy Tahoe SUV creating an accident. The accident caused police to “Not every district we serve is increasing their “(However), if these four paragraphs pass, JTEDs shut down traffic to one lane in front of the post office on Frontier. Traffic backed up to Bonita Street. numbers,” said Weber. “In these times to be able will lose $1.6 million.” A man from Phoenix, who withheld his name, said he was visiting the Rim Country for the holidays to jump those kinds of numbers — you should be Weber said that would be half of the budget for when the red SUV turned in front of him. He said neither driver was hurt, but paramedics took the pasproud.” the vocational districts. senger of the Trailblazer to the hospital. He said for many students, vocational training brings academic classes to life. Weber reported that currently, NAVIT brings in $253,000 to PUSD, however, if those four paragraphs remain, that money would evaporate from the PUSD budget. The NAVIT superintendent has not sat idly by as the drastic cuts draw near. “I’ve met with every legislator in Districts 6 and students that joined the cause, she was able by Michele Nelson 7,” he said. roundup staff reporter to raise over $1,200 selling fruit from her own Weber said the JTEDs have a champion willing Acknowledging that so far the Heroes of trees and from those of other Payson community to sponsor the Legislature to remove the paraEducation recognized by the Payson Unified members.” graphs — Chris Ackerley, a representative from With that money Brooklyn purchased: School District have only been adults, Tucson. • A large whiteboard and markers Superintendent Greg Wyman couldn’t hide “I met with Chris Ackerley,” said Weber, “he • $100 of snacks for Ellie, her younger sister’s his pleasure as he introduced fourth-grader drove all the way up to see how it’s done in a rural kindergarten class. Brooklyn Klein as this month’s recipient. area.” • $200 in supplies for one classroom and sup“I will tell you that heroes of education for But Weber said the JTEDs need more conplies for another classroom. the majority of people across the state tend to stituents to speak up in support of removing the • A large rolling cart for P.E. to move equipbe a little bit taller, a little bit older, but not less paragraphs because legislators can easily write off important,” he said. “And I just want to read you ment outdoors. • Supplies for testing for her classroom. a little bit about what Brooklyn’s doing. She’s • Expo markers for her classroom. doing it on several fronts and these are the types THE WEATHER Wyman said Brooklyn plans on fundraising of kids we have in our system that I don’t think Outlook: Sunny again this upcoming summer for the same cause, people understand just how fantastic they are.” with highs in the Wyman told the crowd that Brooklyn spent but while she waits for the Farmers Market seamid 40s, overnight lows in the low 20s. her summer at the Farmers Market raising son, she’s still raising funds for good causes. Because her family belongs to Expedition See our ad Details, 10A money for the teachers and students of PUSD. Church, she found out about the troubles chil“This year she branded her project, ‘Peaches and for Teachers.’ Her mission was to raise money dren have in Rwanda getting enough to eat. So, upcoming for the upcoming 2015-16 school year to distrib- she now paints a picture of life in Rwanda each Michele Nelson/Roundup ute to teachers in the form of supplies for their month that she sells for $35. That money supevents on Brooklyn Klein receives a Hero of Education award classrooms and programs,” he said. “Over the ports the child she sponsors in Rwanda. page 8B course of the season, with some help from a few from PUSD Board President Barbara Underwood. See Student, page 2A
Vocational programs at risk
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Accident snarls traffic on the Beeline
Pint-sized hero of education – Brooklyn Klein Student raises thousands to help others
volume 25, no. 102
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