The Payson Roundup / The Rim Country's news and information source

Vicki Dietz, RN and Transition Care Manager at Payson Care Center, will speak on the medical and physical changes that affect seniors at 11 a.m. Monday, May 21 at the Senior Center. Enlarge photo Contributed photo

May 15, 2012

Precious are those memories we hold of once competing in a high school state sports tournament. We cling to them knowing they cannot be dulled by the passing of time. They are treasured for lifetimes because every athlete dreams of qualifying for the postseason to play against the state’s finest teams. A legendary Arizona high school football coach once said, “if a player’s goal as a freshman is not to someday make it to state, I don’t want them on my team.” Around the country, senior citizens vividly recall the smallest of details of state tournaments that occurred decades ago. Some might forget their phone number, but they remember the exact moment they lashed a base hit that scored the winning run or recovered a fumble that preserved a victory.

Video

May 15, 2012

this weekend was a busy time, a fire, a softball tournament, a wildlife fair, an open house for Shelby School, a poker run to raise money, whew! Everything but the proverbial Kitchen sink.

Local news

May 15, 2012

When the Dude Fire ripped through the homes of Lorna and Bill Glaunsinger and 50 of their neighbors more than 22 years ago, the couple wasn’t sure they could rebuild. After raging 10 days, the forest fire had claimed the lives of six firefighters and left a moonscape behind. It took six years, but the couple eventually rebuilt. Today, Bonita Creek is once again a quiet community of more than four-dozen homes tucked in the woods northeast of Payson. But a remarkable thing has happened since the Dude Fire: Almost all of those homeowners have made their property “firewise.” Vegetation no longer clogs the yards and brushes up against homes. Tiny wooden green tree stakes at the foot of driveways throughout the community proudly declare: this home is firewise.

News from our neighbors

May 15, 2012

Schools

May 15, 2012 · 1 Comment

Kalynn Roggenstein, a junior at Payson High School (PHS), reached between the rocks to grab the gigantic spider. Her classmates gasped at her boldness. They wanted nothing to do with the eight-legged creature until Roggenstein safely put the 2.5-inch-long arachnid in a sieve. “We let everybody look at it,” she said, “then we took measurements and wrote down information to identify it.” Roggenstein loves to study macro-invertebrates, the scientific name for spiders and other critters that have a hard outer shell. She found the spider during a field trip with PHS science instructor Beverly Adams. Adams takes her ecology students to test the waters of the East Verde River to study the science of the environment, macro-invertebrates like the spider, are a vital part of the lesson.

Sports

May 15, 2012

Bo Althoff, the Payson High track and field team’s pole-vaulting coach and the school record holder in the event, is beaming with pride. His satisfaction is the result of having one of his students, Keith Williams, win the Division III state pole vault championship by clearing 14 feet, 3 inches in the finals held May 11 and 12 at Mesa Community College. Just over 20 years ago, it was Althoff being crowned a state champion in the grueling event that requires upper body strength, speed, exceptional coordination and a healthy dose of confidence. While Williams did come up a bit short of the 15 feet Althoff predicts he is capable of vaulting, the state mark was three inches higher than runner-up T.J. Ryan of Sedona. Also in the pole vault, PHS senior Levi Sopeland cleared 13 feet to finish sixth in a field of 16 qualifiers who competed in the event.