Payson Roundup

Marooned Pine hiker rescued from cliff Sunday

By Alexis Bechman

February 3, 2012

Volunteer searchers rescued a 68-year-old hiker from Pine Sunday after he found himself marooned on a cliff, unable to climb up or down. Ground searchers and a helicopter crew worked together to locate the man and get him safely back to his vehicle. The man had set out at Geronimo Trail to do a loop hike that went up on the Mogollon Rim and back to the trailhead, said Bill Pitterle, commander with Tonto Rim Search and Rescue. Somehow, however, the man got disoriented on the return trail and was soon lost. The man continued hiking down until he came to a 25-foot cliff that he could not descend. He found he could not go back the way he had come and was “ledged out,” Pitterle said.

Arizona Centennial exhibit will be unveiled at Rim Country Museum

February 3, 2012

Arizona will celebrate 100 years of statehood on Feb. 14. The Rim Country Museum will feature a Centennial Exhibit titled: Arizona’s Story — A Rim Country View. The exhibit features a section about Arizona’s Territorial Years from 1863 to early 1912 and will feature Rim Country personalities who contributed to Arizona’s growth toward statehood.

County has record rate of foreclosures

Forced sales at 459 in 2010; forced sales in 2011 dropped to 395

By Michele Nelson

February 3, 2012

Foreclosures in Gila County declined sharply this year, but still account for 27 percent of property sales. Forced sales peaked in 2010 at 459, then dropped to 395 out of 1,120 property sales in 2011. That’s encouraging, except the share of foreclosures pursued to the bitter end — a forced sale — has actually increased. In 2010, 64 percent of foreclosures filed ended in the forced sale of the property. In 2011, that percentage increased to 78 percent. That means a record number of Gila County homeowners have suffered foreclosure in the past two years. “Almost all people going through foreclosure have financial problems,” said Cliff Potts, a broker for Prudential Realty. Potts told the story of a family who lost their home because of job loss. The father worked in construction, but couldn’t find work in Payson after the housing market collapsed. Desperate for work, he found a job in Prescott.

90-year sentence in child porn case may be reduced

By Alexis Bechman

February 3, 2012

A 74-year-old man who received a 90-year sentence for possessing child pornography may be out in as little as five years if the governor approves a sentence reduction. A jury in August convicted Robert Thomas Flibotte on 10 counts of dangerous acts against children after prosecutors presented dozens of pornographic images and videos of underage children engaged in sexual acts, some as young as 3. The images were found on both Flibotte’s home and work computers and several other media devices. Superior Court Judge Peter Cahill sentenced Flibotte to nine, 10-year sentences served consecutively, the minimum under state law. While Cahill said that Flibotte’s consecutive sentences totaling 90 years was “clearly excessive” Cahill found that Flibotte’s 10-year sentence on each count was not.  

Gila County sheriff planning to retire

By Alexis Bechman

February 3, 2012

Just as election campaigns are kicking off, Gila County’s three-term sheriff has announced he will not run again for office.

New, quarterly financial report shows Payson not ‘thriving’ but still ‘strivin

Building permits show sharp rise

By Pete Aleshire

January 31, 2012

Could have been worse. Might even get better. That’s the gist of the Payson Town Council’s first-ever quarterly financial report, offered by finance director Hope Cribb at a recent regular meeting. “We’re not thriving,” said Payson Mayor Kenny Evans after hearing the report, “but we’re striving to get to the next step.” The most hopeful tidbit in the report lay in the big jump in building permits issued by the community development department, after three years without a single significant new housing development. Building permits for the first half of the fiscal year totaled $95,000, a 35 percent jump from the year previous. That’s still far below the boom times in 2008 and 2007, when the building department approved permits for an average of more than 250 new homes annually.

Whispering Hope Ranch receives $350,000 grant

January 31, 2012

A Payson-area horse camp that helps children and adults with special needs has received a $350,000 grant for facility improvements and a scholarship fund. The Agnes Varis Charitable Trust awarded the Whispering Hope Ranch with the funds earlier this month based on the work the center does with children and adults facing life-altering or limiting illnesses, physical, emotional or developmental challenges and sudden loss. The grant will establish the Agnes Varis Center for Interaction, Hope & Healing at the retreat facility east of Payson. The healing center will consist of three new amenities, providing greater service and access for camp attendees. Additions include a Center for Human-Animal Interaction, the Jazz-n-Jets Splash Zone and the Hope and Healing Scholarship Fund, all named to honor the memory of Dr. Agnes Varis.

Man burglarized, then assaulted by man who stops to help

By Alexis Bechman

January 31, 2012

It was a bad day for one camper near Tonto Basin Jan. 20. First, the man’s campsite was burglarized and then he got in a fight with one motorist who stopped to help, according to authorities. Shane Wagstaff was camping in the Tonto Basin area and had gone for a hike. When he returned, he found his cell phone and other items were missing from camp, said Lt. Tim Scott with the Gila County Sheriff’s Office.

Surprise vote gives GCC a new president

Payson board member’s unanimous election changes dynamics on an often-feuding board

By Pete Aleshire

January 31, 2012

A thunderstruck Larry Stephenson found himself unanimously elected president of the Gila Community College board on Friday, signaling a potentially dramatic shift in the politics of that contentious board. Outgoing President Bob Ashford took Stephenson completely by surprise when he suggested the Payson board member take the gavel at the beginning of the long-delayed January meeting. Northern Gila County board members Stephenson and Tom Loeffler both said they expected Ashford’s election to a sixth term with the predictable support of the two other members with districts dominated by voters from southern Gila County. Ashford offered no explanation for his decision to support Stephenson, although he has reportedly struggled with serious health problems in recent months. “I was thrown for a loop,” confessed Stephenson, who has clashed often, but politely, with Ashford in the past two years. Stephenson and Loeffler have both persistently criticized GCC’s contract with Eastern Arizona College, which provides academic credentials for the provisional community college district and imposes a 25 percent surcharge on everything GCC spends. Flummoxed, Stephenson objected saying the board should go through a formal nominating process before voting on new officers. Ashford agreed.

Still time to fill the food bank boxes

By Alexis Bechman

January 31, 2012

As the food drive ends Super Bowl Sunday, organizers are pushing for one last round of donations, hoping to wrap up the drive with enough food to carry local food banks through at least part of the year. So far, donations have been steady since the drive kicked off Thanksgiving weekend. A $30,000 goal was met several weeks ago after a $3,400 donation from a pilots’ group rounded out the total to $31,798. Food contributions have also been strong with donations nearly meeting the 55,000-pound goal last month. Organizers decided things were going so well they bumped the food goal up 10,000 pounds. On Monday, the Payson Area Food Drive was 4,830 pounds short of hitting that goal. Residents have until Feb. 4 to donate. Drop food contributions off at any PAFD marked box located at businesses and government agencies around town. Checks can be sent to PAFD, P.O. Box 703, Payson, AZ 85547.

Historic thinning plan could save Rim Country

Projects included in first phase of ambitious plan to revive timber industry and protect the forest

By Pete Aleshire

January 31, 2012

At least 2,000 acres in Rim Country will be included in the first, historic 10-year contract with a new generation of loggers to protect forested communities through massive thinning projects, a Forest Service team told top elected officials in Payson last week. Loggers will thin two huge tracts of overgrown forest along the Control Road between Tonto Village and Whispering Pines as part of the 4-Forests Restoration Initiative (4-FRI), which ultimately hopes to thin 2.5 million acres in four national forests. “This is the largest environmental impact statement ever done and the largest statewide contract in history,” said Dick Fleishman, assistant team leader in the sweeping attempt to restore the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest. The Forest Service team made the presentation at the Payson Town Hall last Thursday before Gila County Supervisor Tommie Martin, Payson Mayor Kenny Evans and other Rim Country leaders.

Teen dies after gas pedal sticks

By Alexis Bechman

January 31, 2012

A teen that friends say always had a smile on her face was honored Monday night for her life and her final actions that likely saved others. Besides avoiding traffic as her vehicle careened out of control when her accelerator stuck Friday, several of the teen’s organs were donated after her death Saturday afternoon. Saige Bloom had just purchased a used white Ford Escape in the Valley and was driving home to Payson when the SUV’s accelerator reportedly stuck, according to authorities. Police say Bloom’s driving saved the lives of others on the Beeline Highway Friday. At the Walmart intersection, Bloom swerved to miss a vehicle holding a large family. Her SUV clipped the family’s vehicle, flipping her vehicle several times, but leaving the family uninjured. On Monday night, hundreds of people gathered at the hillside near the intersection where the wreck occurred, paying homage to a teen most said was an amazing friend.

Blasting on SR 260 east of Payson will continue through February

January 31, 2012

The Arizona Department of Transportation will continue blasting operations on a two-mile segment of State Route 260, approximately 20 miles east of Payson, through the end of February.

Prescribed fire operations planned for Houston Mesa area this week

January 31, 2012

Payson Ranger District fire specialists plan to conduct a 300 acre burn east of the Houston Mesa Horse Trail extending to the Mesa del Caballo area Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 1-2.

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