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A good cause, a brave survivor, a bad blunder Police roust rider and his saddle gets stolen
Nearly a statistic – now he makes a difference BY
ALEXIS BECHMAN
BY
ALEXIS BECHMAN
ROUNDUP STAFF REPORTER
ROUNDUP STAFF REPORTER
Every day, at least 22 veterans commit suicide. Marine veteran Matthew Litrell thinks about that number every day. “January 2013 I almost became one of those 22. I sat there and I stared at a pistol on the table in front of me,” he said. After two tours in Iraq, Litrell had returned to Colorado and his life as a farrier. But things had changed. “I came back, and like so many guys, I had a really hard time coming back. It seemed that things just didn’t matter as much,” he said in a slow, deep voice, his eyes shaded beneath a cowboy hat. “You go from a situation of, I know this matters, to being a barista or a landscaper and just being essentially forgotten.” Scared and confused, Litrell called a Veterans Affair suicide hotline. He did get a live person on the other end of the line, but he felt like they were reading a script without understanding what he’d experienced — the enemies he’d faced and the demons he brought home. And it infuriated him. If he couldn’t get help, beyond a prescription
Payson got an unwelcome dose of national publicity this week when a veteran Marine making his way cross-country on a charity ride had his saddle stolen in the middle of the night from the Payson Event Center. The theft came after Payson Police reportedly rousted veteran Matt Litrell’s riding partner Ray Avery from the group’s horse trailer at 1:20 a.m. Avery, 64, said the cops booted him from the event center even though the riders had permission from the Town Parks and Recreation Department to camp. While he was away, someone stole Litrell’s saddle from his untended trailer. Litrell said he holds officer Josh Cadwell responsible for the theft because he didn’t have to kick Avery out. The Payson Police Department said it was an unfortunate misunderstanding. “There were obviously two different perspectives. Mr. Avery believed that he was asked to leave by our officers. Our officers indicate to me that they did not tell him to leave, that he left on
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See Rider, page 2A
Alexis Bechman/Roundup
Marine Corps veteran Matthew Litrell is riding across the country to raise money to help treat fellow combat veterans struggling with PTSD and adjusting to civilian life.
See Police, page 2A
Residents protest 40-foot, view-destroying APS poles Bulla homeowners say property values hit by power lines BY
MICHELE NELSON
ROUNDUP STAFF REPORTER
Michele Nelson/Roundup
New APS power poles block the view of the Rim for many.
Quarantine ends BY
TERESA MCQUERREY
ROUNDUP STAFF REPORTER
Allen Mann’s self-quarantine following a missionary trip to Nigeria ended a week ago. Mann, who works with Crossway International Missions, went to Nigeria in September and upon his return, quarantined himself, his wife and their four children in their home. “We were well prepared, we had enough groceries and other supplies, so it wasn’t that difficult,” he said in a phone interview with the Roundup Thursday. Mann said it is a lot harder on people who find themselves suddenly quarantined with no opportunity to prepare. The mission to Nigeria had been planned for some time. Knowing the risks, Mann and his THE WEATHER Weekend: Sunny tomorrow with a high of 77, low of 52. Expect daytime and nighttime temps to drop by nearly 10 degrees by Sunday. Details, 9A
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VOLUME 25, NO. 85
family took measures to prevent exposure while he worked in the rural area of the country and then safeguarded others as much as they could when he returned in the event their preventive actions failed. “When I am home, we are together all the time. The kids are well adapted, so there was nothing awkward,” he said. His wife home-schools their children, so lessons continued as usual. Still there were a couple of lessons learned over the course of the 21-day confinement. “It reinforced my feelings about humanity. Unfortunately, too many people said just let them be in Africa and stay here and (let Americans) be healthy,” he said. The rumors were incredible he said. An acquaintance told him he was in Show Low and overheard someone say they were never going back to Payson because “there is Ebola in Payson. A man in Payson has Ebola.” The friend got up from his table, went over to the woman and corrected her. On the other hand, he and his family got acquainted with a neighbor they had not had much to do with in the past. She offered to get them groceries and help in other ways, as did many other See Minister, page 9A
See APS, page 8A
Two wrecks hospitalize couple, mother and child BY
ALEXIS BECHMAN
ROUNDUP STAFF REPORTER
A hair-pin curve with a long history of serious vehicle and motorcycle wrecks sent an elderly couple 150 feet down its slope Thursday afternoon. The couple, both in their 70s, were heading south into Strawberry just before noon when the husband reportedly lost control just three miles outside of town and drifted across the centerline. He overcorrected and the SUV skidded across the road, went airborne and tumbled nearly 150 feet down a slope, said Pine-Strawberry Fire Chief Gary Morris. The wife climbed out of the car through an open sunroof and was crawling part way up the steep embankment when firefighters arrived, he said. However, the slope was so steep that firefighters had to use ropes to safely descend to the SUV where the husband was still inside. Tonto Rim Search and Rescue set up a rope haul system on the roadway and pulled the couple up individually in a metal litter. It took nearly two hours. Both were flown to Scottsdale Osborne Hospital trauma center in serious condition. Morris said the curve at milepost 273 has a “long history” of serious crashes. Star Valley accident
A near head-on collision east of Star Valley last night sent a mother and child to Payson Regional Medical Center, but fortunately left
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effect. Residents say that a legal precedent called “private nuisance” may provide a basis for legal action. “Private nuisance covers the invasion of the private interest in the use and enjoyment of the land,” said Myron Fink, professor of law at the University of New Mexico School of Law on the law school’s website: (/lawschool.unm.edu/ nmlr/volumes/04/2/01_fink_private.pdf). In Arizona, the Del E. Webb Development Company won a case against a nearby rancher because the expansion of the ranch affected the quality of life of the residents in the development. The court ruled the ranch had affected the value of the Del Webb development and the quality of life for the homeowners. (http:// www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00845566 .1972.10396436?journalCode=rzzd20#preview)
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No hint of Ebola in Payson
Get ready to lose your Rim views Rim Country residents — APS has decided to install 40-foot metal electrical poles. APS started a long-term plan to replace 26foot wood poles with 40-foot metal poles all along Bulla Street. But the giant new poles have electrified the neighborhood, since the towering poles have strung a tangle of wires smack dab into the middle of homeowners’ view of the Mogollon Rim, a likely portent of things to come for many Payson residents.
An investigation by the Roundup has revealed that the new poles rise at least 13 feet higher than the national standard required by the Arizona Corporation Commission, which the old poles met. APS officials said the higher poles meet the company’s own standards, but at press time had not provided a detailed rationale for the change. “It’s very shocking indeed, that APS would show such little regard to its customers,” said Susan Walker a Bulla homeowner, “Home values are already compromised in these economic times, I surely cannot afford a further depreciation of value nor do I feel Payson can afford an unnecessary project negatively affecting the aesthetics of a town that heavily relies on its serene landscape to attract both residents and visitors.” Walker and other residents have sent emails and had numerous phone calls with APS and town officials, with apparently little
704 S. Meadow St., Payson 928-478-8425 www.frontierdentalarts.com
Photos courtesy of the Pine-Strawberry Fire District
Pine-Strawberry Fire, Gila County Sheriff’s Office and Tonto Rim Search and Rescue set up a rope haul system and pulled a couple up a steep hill north of Strawberry Thursday. four other people uninjured. A man was driving east on Highway 260 around 7:15 p.m. when he went to turn into the neighborhood east of the Diamond Point Shadows Restaurant. The man reportedly turned right in front of another vehicle heading west on 260 and the two vehicles hit nearly head-on, said Hellsgate
Fire Chief Dave Bathke. David Carroll, 54, of Chandler was arrested on charges of extreme DUI with a BAC .200, aggravated DUI with a suspended license and driving with a suspended/revoked or canceled license. The highway was closed in both directions for roughly two hours.
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