December 2015
Relentlessly local coverage of Gilbert and our neighboring communities
Gilbert Days Parade
Genevieve Kelley, Lexi Guy, Gianna Jensen, Desarae Guy and Jennifer Jensen are dressed in their spirit uniforms.
Montgomery fighting war against crime
New buses, pay hikes planned with approved override
BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
BY KEN ABRAMCZYK
Seventeen-year Gilbert resident Bill Montgomery has promised to fight crime, honor victims’ rights and protect and strengthen the community as Maricopa County attorney. As part of his position, he’s seen some of the county’s most notorious cases, including the Jodi Arias trials. That may be noteworthy, but to Montgomery, his primary accomplishment has been what he achieved during the Gulf War. “It was a great time of uncertainty,” Montgomery said during a recent interview. “When I graduated from West Point in 1989, the Berlin Wall was coming down. The U.S. was expected to be able to capitalize on a peace dividend at the see MONTGOMERY page
14 Bill Montgomery. Submitted photo
Gilbert Public Schools officials will plan facility improvements, bus purchases and an increase of teachers’ and staff pay now that voters approved a 10 percent maintenance and operations budget override and $98 million in bonds. Just less than 59 percent of the voters supported the bonds, 19,061 to 13,456, and 54.6 percent backed the override, 17,205 to 14,291. An override approved in 2007 expired at the end of the 2014-15 school year, so GPS officials asked voters for a new override and the bonds. The owner of a home valued at $170,000—the average assessed value in the district—now will see OVERRIDE page
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