Northrup adding space, jobs to Gilbert footprint
Abused victims find ‘Hope’ in downtown office
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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
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This Week
COMMUNITY.......... 16 Gilbert quilters busy as bees.
BUSINESS................. 22 Gilbert jeweler’s baubles may improve health.
GET OUT................... 30
Have a knight on the town at Renaissance Faire
COMMUNITY...................... 16 BUSINESS............................22 OPINION...............................25 SPORTS.................................26 GETOUT............................... 30 CLASSIFIED.........................35
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE OF GILBERT) | GilbertSunNews.com
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Cook among 2 Gilbert politicos eyeing assessor job
BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
G
ilbert Town Councilman Eddie Cook has applied for the Maricopa County assessor job left vacant by Paul Petersen, who resigned Jan. 7 after his arrest in a “baby mill” adoption scandal. Cook is one of 11 candidates vying for the appointment to a term that ends Dec. 31. Also throwing his hat into the ring is another Gilbert resident – Hendrix, a former state House representative and a current member of the Maricopa County Community College Governing Board. “I’ve always been interested in serving in a greater capacity,” said Cook, who has been on council for nine years and embraces the role of a public servant.
The county assessor is responsible for overseeing over 1.7 million real and personal property parcels and/or accounts that had a full cash value of more than $553 billion in 2020. In his application, Cook touted his 30 years of business and technology experience and accomplishments that include developing a partnership with the county to bring the Gilbert Regional Park to fruition and championing lower taxes in the town during his time on council. He also serves on a number of state, county and local government and nonprofit boards. Gilbert Mayor Jenn Daniels and Chandler Mayor Kevin Harke both submitted letters of endorsements for Cook, noting his integrity and his problem-solving skills and com-
mitment to serving the community. The other candidates include Ned Chapell, Thomas Galvin, Rodney Glassman, Jack Harper, Hos Hoskins, Lesley Kratz, Darren Rasmussen, Marie Soja and Karrie Stickler. Michael E. Farrar, a Carefree resident, withdrew his application last Thursday. “My experience in the real estate, construction, business and legal fields have prepared me to serve in this capacity,” wrote Hendrix in his cover letter. “I have also served in the political arena, drafting legislation that enables Arizonans to enjoy fair and equitable home values and assessments.” The candidates also were asked in the application if they planned on running for the
see ASSESSOR page 3
In suspicious fires, this Gilbert dog is on the case BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
Z
eta sniffed the several T-shirts spread out before her on the floor until she detected a chemical odor on one and alerted her handler by sitting in front of it. “Show me,” commanded David Zehring, an investigator with Gilbert Fire and Rescue. The black English Labrador retriever then pointed with her nose to the shirt’s logo, where earlier Zhering had put a tiny drop of accelerant. “Good girl,” Zehring said as he reached into the food pouch strapped around his waist and rewarded Zeta with dog kibbles. For an hour, Zehring trained the 19-month-old arson dog to detect six dif-
ferent classifications of ignitable liquids such as gasoline, lighter fluid, diesel, paint thinner and charcoal fluid along with the different brands of those accelerants. Zeta is a rare dog. She is the only canine trained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in trained accelerant detection working in Arizona - and one of only 61 in duty in the country. She replaced Spring, the department’s first arson dog, a black lab that retired in October. Although new to the force, Zeta already was called out to three suspicious fires – in Sedona, El Mirage and Mesa – according to Zehring, who could not go into detail
see ZETA page 6