Roaring into the
PLAYOFFS
Payson High’s top-ranked softball team begins its quest for a state championship on Wednesday, but it was the Longhorns’ long-shot baseball team that had everyone talking after rallying from a 1-0 deficit with four runs in the final two innings to upset Chino Valley in a
first-round playoff game on Saturday. Read all about the baseball team’s upset win and their upcoming schedule on page 5B. You’ll also find an extensive look at the softball team in our special state tournament B section inside.
Keith Morris/Roundup
PAYSON ROUNDUP THE RIM COUNTRY’S NEWS SOURCE
payson.com
TUESDAY | MAY 5, 2015 | PAYSON, ARIZONA
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Heroin death
Tragic tale of brothers with a shared addiction by
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
Payson’s heroin scourge has claimed another victim. A pair of brothers who swore to stand together and shared matching tattoos, also shared a drug habit. HITS But now one lies in a coffin, the other, facing drug charges. Police say they found seventh in a series Nicholas Whittington, 23, and Samuel Whittington, 25, at a Main Street apartment complex Wednesday morning. Nicholas lay dead inside from a heroin overdose. Outside, Samuel was reportedly trying to cover up what had happened. Nicholas’ death is the second heroin-related death since October in Payson.
HEROIN HOME
Crazy about Color
• See Heroin overdose, page 9A Photographer DJ Craig captured this awesome image of some of the 150 runners in Saturday’s 5K Color Run. The fun event started in Star Valley and set out to raise money for Payson High School’s Adventure Club. For a story and more photos, see page 12A.
Prank call spurred juvenile court reform Gila County judge unearths, sets right, historic wrong by
Pete Aleshire
roundup editor
Mrs. Cook picked up the phone, with no sense of impending history. “Cookie, just a minute, said a vaguely familiar voice. “My friend wants to talk to you.” Then another teenaged boy’s voice came on the line. “Are your cherries ripe today?” he asked. She stared at the phone, aghast. “Do you have big bombers?” the voice said, on the edge of a giggle. She thought she recognized the voices. She thought one was the Gault boy, who lived in the trailer court and sometimes answered the phone and took messages. And the other boy — that sounded like the Lewis boy. So she called the sheriff’s office. That childish prank in Globe in 1964 and Mrs. Cook’s firm response set in motion a
chain of events that would force far-reaching change in the way the criminal justice system deals with juveniles. The case ended up in front of the United States Supreme Court, although winning ultimately did nothing whatever for that young teenager. It did, however, ultimately overshadow the career of a distinguished Gila County judge, who found himself castigated by the highest court in the land for running a “kangaroo court.” And finally, the strange 1964 case of Gerald Gault has offered a complex grace note for Gila County Superior Court Judge Peter Cahill, who finally rendered justice 50 years delayed. After a distinguished career on the bench now nearing its end, Cahill has taken up explaining to lawyers and law students the way in which a brave and determined woman attorney changed the law of the land, wearing a frowned upon hat.
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
Help run local law enforcement out of town Wednesday during the annual Special Olympics Torch Run on the Beeline Highway. As part of Special Olympics 50th celebration, members of Arizona law enforcement community are teaming up with Special THE WEATHER
volume 26, no. 36
Outlook: Mostly sunny through the week, with a slight chance for rain by the weekend. Highs in the mid to upper 60s, lows around 40. Details, 11A
Olympic athletes around the state for the annual Olympic Torch Run, which kicks off the summer games. In Payson, officers will meet at Chapman Auto Center at the corner of Highways 87 and 260 Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Local residents can walk along with the athletes as they head to Western Village with the torch. From there, the officers and other supporters will ride bicycles to the Highway 188 turnoff. Det. Karen Baltz, with the Gila County Sheriff’s Office, said they had planned to ride to Sunflower, but because of road construction, will stop at the area at the Highway 188 turnoff. The Payson Posse will escort riders safely down the highway. Bikers will then be
SAX
This reconstruction of the case comes mostly from the court records Judge Cahill meticulously assembled, after months of research with the help of Lisa Pferdeort. He presented the case recently to a group of students at Summit Law School in Phoenix and to an expanding number of professional gatherings of lawyers since. Juvenile defendants had no rights
The juvenile justice system in 1964 bore little resemblance to the system today. Juveniles had few of the rights accorded to adult defendants — and judges had few constraints on their power. So when the Gila County sheriff got the complaint from Mrs. Cook, a deputy went straight to Gerry Gault’s house at 10 a.m., made the arrest and took the 15-year-old boy down to the jail.
• See Gila County, page 8A
by
Torch run trots through town Wednesday by
Now, that’s a big
shuttled back to Payson. Baltz started volunteering with Special Olympics years ago in California as a “hugger,” someone who helps and encourages special-needs athletes through their events. She said she loves helping the group and wishes she could do more, but given her heavy caseload at the sheriff’s office, she can only help organize this annual event. Jonathan Manley, law clerk at the Payson Gila County courthouse, said he is excited to participate in this year’s ride. The Payson area Torch Parade is at 9 a.m., Wednesday, May 6 starting at Chapman Auto Center; meet there at 8:30 a.m. The route continues south on Highway 87 to Western Village.
See our ad and upcoming events on page 10B
Michele Nelson
roundup staff reporter
In a treat for the ears, eyes and mind, the Tonto Community Concert Association presented SAXational, by Ron Verdi for its last concert of the season. As an added bonus, Verdi performed with the Payson High School Concert Band adding a decidedly local spin on the event. Verdi and the band offered a history of the saxophone (including props) with samples of jazz and pop music spanning 50 years. The professional musician with a music degree from the University of Arizona, has amassed a collection of 100 saxophones in addition to 150 rare wind, brass and percussion instruments. After a career in
education and playing with the Phoenix Symphony, he moved to Southern California to found the Side Street Strutters Jazz Band. The Strutters became the house jazz band of Disneyland Resort for 22 years. He effortlessly and humorously combined a description of the instruments with an introduction into the song he and the band would play. Starting at the beginning of the creation of the saxophone, Verdi introduced Adolphe Sax, a Belgian musical instrument inventor who created the instrument in the late 1800s. But Sax did not have much luck with the patents he filed on the instrument Verdi told the audience.
• See Saxophone, page 2A
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