PAGE 1B
THE RIM COUNTRY’S NEWS SOURCE
payson.com
PAYSON ROUNDUP TUESDAY | JULY 21, 2015 | PAYSON, ARIZONA
Storm pummels parts of Payson Town gets more than an inch of rain over weekend by
Roundup staff An 18-year-old man from Mexico drowned in Roosevelt Lake near the Windy Hill Campground Saturday. David E. Ochoa was swimming in the lake around 10 a.m. when he went under the water and did not resurface, according to the Gila County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies, along with the dive team, Tonto Basin Fire and Arizona Game and Fish went to the area of the Windy Hill Campground to search for Ochoa’s body. At 2:20 p.m. the dive team recovered Ochoa’s body.
Alexis Bechman
• See Parts of Payson, page 12A
Few details on bomb-bearing Hummer by Alexis Bechman/Roundup
A truck drives through the low water crossing on West Forest Drive Friday evening during the storm. Payson police monitored the crossing and decided to close it briefly when the water became too deep for motorists to cross safely.
Rio Rico Little League parents upset with treatment in Payson by
Keith Morris
roundup sports editor
Contributed photo
Glen Dickinson of Tucson and his dog Eddie, shown here on a previous outing, died Thursday afternoon when they fell off a cliff at Chevelon Canyon, east of Payson, in Coconino County.
Man and his dog fall to their deaths by
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
A Tucson man with a passion for rock climbing and the outdoors died Thursday when he fell off a cliff in Chevelon Canyon along with his blind dog. Glen Dickinson, 62, was hiking along the rim of the canyon east of Payson with his black lab, Eddie, his brother-in-law Steve and a friend. The men were celebrating Dickinson’s birthday and Steve had flown in from Alaska to celebrate with Dickinson in one of his favorite places, said Richard Stone, a friend of Dickinson’s who was not on the trip THE WEATHER
Outlook: Sunny with highs in the mid 80s, lows around 60. Slight chance for rain by the weekend. Details, 11A
volume 25, no. 58
18-year-old drowns at Roosevelt by
roundup staff reporter
Several streets throughout Payson, including portions of the Beeline Highway, were briefly flooded Friday when a storm dumped nearly an inch of rain. From Thursday through Saturday, the Payson area received 1.34 inches. There were no reports of storm damage, injuries or street closures. Elsewhere around the state, the storm dumped upward of four inches of rain in Wickenburg, causing major flooding on the roadways. At least one street in Wickenburg was clotted with several feet of mud, flooding a dozen homes. On Interstate 10, the Tex Wash Bridge collapsed east of the Coachella Valley late Sunday afternoon. Traffic to Los Angeles is now being redirected on State Route 95 north to Interstate 40. The storm peaked in Payson Friday around 6:30 p.m., with water overflowing West Forest Drive, and leaving the small creek crossing on McLane Road south of Main Street under several feet of water. Payson police kept a watchful eye over
75 CENTS
but later learned of the events. The men were walking along the canyon rim around 2:30 p.m. when the dog, Eddie, fell into the canyon. Dickinson’s friend shouted that the dog had gone over. The men looked into the canyon and when they turned back around Dickinson was no longer standing on a boulder on the rim. It appears Dickinson may have slipped and fell when he went to look after the dog, Stone said. Dickinson fell about 300 feet to the canyon floor. The canyon is located at the north end of Forest
• See Tucson man, page 12A
BACK TO SCHOOL
Take Charge Challenge: 5A New Elementary and Middle School Principals: 5A & 8A Gear Up grant returns: 9A School Bus Schedules 4B-5B
Parents of players on a Tucson area Little League baseball team are upset with how their children were treated last week at an all-star tournament in Payson. The team from Rio Rico representing District 8 was disqualified from the Intermediate 50/70 Baseball All-Stars State Tournament held July 10-16 at Rumsey Park after District 1 administrator Kevin Mullaney found the players didn’t play the required 12 regular-season games and therefore weren’t eligible to compete in the five-team double-elimination tournament. Rio Rico earned a first-round bye and beat Flowing Wells 13-3 in the second round on Saturday, July 11. Flowing Wells coaches protested the game, claiming Rio Rico hadn’t submitted its paperwork by the deadline. After Mullaney had time to go through the forms and discovered problems, he informed Payson Little League president Barbara Rasmussen of the disqualification prior to Rio Rico’s next game on Monday, July 13. When the team showed up for the game, Rasmussen informed coaches the team was disqualified. But there are varying accounts of what happened next. Some parents of Rio Rico players said six police officers escorted the players off the field. Tucson News Now Channel 13 ran a story on the incident based on reports from parents, coaches and Rio Rico Little League president Raul Garayzar. In a statement posted at tucsonnewsnow.com, Garayzar said “it was not necessary to have them removed from the field by six police officers.” In the story, Rio Rico All-Stars coach Alejandro Alvarez said of the claim by parents that six officers escorted the players off the field, “I just felt it was unnecessary. It just added to the sadness of the whole thing.” Tournament director Ken Schneider disputes that account.
• See Payson officials, page 12A
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
Officials are giving out few details on the Hummer that wrecked in Strawberry July 11 with a homemade bomb strapped to the gas tank. The driver, Alfred Lee Vail, 55, of Glendale, has been arrested on two counts of misconduct involving Alfred Vail a weapon, according to the Department of Public Safety. He was booked into the Gila County Jail on a $50,000 bond. Vail was flown from the scene after his Hummer rolled into a ravine just outside of the Strawberry Market. He was taken to a Flagstaff hospital with injuries. He was later released to the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and then transferred to Gila County Sheriff’s Office officials. In the early morning hours of July 11, Vail was heading south on State Route 87 when his black Hummer rolled. Responding firefighters spotted what they thought was a bomb strapped to the underside of the overturned vehicle. A DPS bomb squad removed one homemade explosive device, which had a fuse running to the driver’s seat. The fuse had not been lit. One official would only say that the incident appeared to be domestic related, but because the investigation is ongoing could not elaborate. Vail may face additional charges. In 2014, Vail pleaded guilty to speeding and driving without current registration, according to online court records.
Proudly serving Rim Country Since 1969 See our ad and upcoming events on page 8B
431 S. Beeline Hwy. (928) 474-2265
www.weinsurepayson.com
http://thewonderfulworldofinsurance.blogspot.com/
AUTO • HOMEOWNERS • LIFE HEALTH • BUSINESS