April 20, 2016
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AZGFD draw results for elk and pronghorn now available NORTH VALLEY – The Arizona Game and Fish Department has completed its 2016 hunt draw for elk and pronghorn. The results are available by visiting https://draw.azgfd.gov/ and scrolling down to “View results and bonus points,” or by calling the department at (602) 942-3000 and pressing “2.” By the numbers: • 26,483: The total number of permit-tags issued. • 159,978: The total number of those who applied for hunts or bonus points. • 119,743: The total number of applications submitted (paper application and online). Permit-tags for successful applicants, along with refunds for those who were unsuccessful in the hunt draw, are expected to be mailed by Friday, April 22. In the meantime, there are 73 leftover elk permit-tags that will be available for purchase on a first-come, first-served basis as follows: By mail: Applications will be accepted by mail beginning at 8 a.m. April 25 and must be addressed to: Arizona Game and Fish Department, Attn: Draw/First Come, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086. Do not mail applications to a Post Office (P.O.) box. In person: If any leftover permit-tags remain, they also will be available for purchase beginning at 8 a.m. May 2 at any of the seven department offices statewide. Some of the leftover elk tags are for Hopi hunt open areas and are available to everyone, both tribal members and nontribal members, through the first-come, first-served process. A number of leftover elk tags remain for military hunts at Camp Navajo, for those who qualify. For more information, visit https://dema.az.gov/ army-national-guard/campnavajo/garrison-operations/ camp-navajo-huntinginformation. Now that the draw is over, it’s time to start planning that hunt. The first step is to open
an AZGFD Customer Portal account. Just visit www.azgfd. gov, click on the “Sign in to Account” button in the upper right-hand corner of the home page, then select the “Create an Account” option, filling in the requested information. As a reminder, all fields requesting information must be completed. The Portal allows customers to create a secure account where they can manage and view their contact information, as well as their license and draw results history and bonus points, in their personal “My AZ Outdoors” section. A Portal account is a mobile-friendly, convenient way to access the online license purchase and hunt draw application systems. Another benefit of having a Portal account is the opportunity to sign up for the “I Support Wildlife” program, which helps fund wildlife conservation in Arizona. An annual membership for $25 includes access to the new “premium” version of the Recreational Access Arizona (RAA) mapping application, the latest fish stocking reports, an “I Support Wildlife” window decal and a one-year subscription to the award-winning Arizona Wildlife Views magazine. The premium RAA mapping application is designed to work on all mobile devices and lets you see your current location in reference to different data layers, including Game Management Units, wildlife waters, Arizona land ownership, an ESRI USA Topographic (USGS 24k Topo) basemap and more. Even better, the premium mapping application allows you to create your own point locations and automatically save and sync that data to all of your devices. “I Support Wildlife” bridges the widening gap between wildlife facing new threats and a sharp increase in the cost of conservation. The department receives no Arizona tax dollars to support its mission to conserve and protect more than 800 wildlife species, the most of any non-coastal state in the U.S. For more information, call the department at (602) 942-3000.
The Foothills Focus
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page 9
Judge Williams’ Column
Pay Attention If Your Spouse Gets Sued
JUDGE GERALD A. WILLIAMS NORTH VALLEY JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
Most people know that Arizona is a community property state. However, perhaps few realize that their salary can be garnished for what they thought was their spouse’s debt. With very few exceptions, community property means that all property acquired during a marriage belongs to both the husband and to the wife equally. Community debt works basically the same way. By way of example, say that your husband does not pay his credit card bill to the point that he is considered to be in default. The credit card company files a lawsuit against him; but they don’t know your name because the card is only in his name. As a result, the case is called Discover Card v. Tim Johnson and Jane Doe. Should you be worried even if
your name is not on the original lawsuit? Absolutely. There are a couple different ways to add your name to the lawsuit. Depending on who opens the mail or the front door, there is a chance your name will be added to your husband’s credit card case without you knowing about it. However, that is not as unfair as it might initially sound. Arizona requires a judgment against both spouses before any community property (e.g. a joint bank account) can be used to pay a judgment. If you are injured in a car wreck, and you cannot determine whether the driver who hit you was married because he is ignoring the lawsuit, you may end up with a default judgment against only him. If you later discover that he has been married for 10 years, it may be difficult to ever collect on that judgment. Identifying possible spouses perhaps became more difficult last year. After the Supreme
Court redefined marriage to include same-sex couples, a plaintiff ’s search for a defendant’s potential spouse can no longer be restricted to searches based on gender. In addition, Arizona does not maintain a centralized data bank of marriage and divorce records. Even if it did, many married couples living in Arizona were married in another state. The bottom line is that you can, and you likely will, be sucked into any lawsuit that names your spouse. Don’t ignore it just because your name is not on the first set of paperwork. If you are not paying attention, you may miss your opportunity to challenge the allegations. And yes, if you are named in a lawsuit, you really should tell your spouse. Judge Williams is the Justice of the Peace for the North Valley Justice Court. His column appears monthly in The Foothills Focus.