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Arizona Synergy Artistic Swimming comes to WV
September 9, 2021
Peoria fire chief remembers 9/11 BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Peoria Times Executive Editor
SPORTS......... 14
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Peoria Fire Chief Bobby Ruiz’s voice softens when he talks about the horrors he saw in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Employed by the Phoenix Fire Department in 2001, Ruiz headed to the Twin Towers as part of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Urban Search and Rescue Arizona Task Force 1. One day in particular stands out. “I think the roughest day we had — and I think all the members had — was the day we found about 20 or 30 firefighters in the south tower stairwell,” he said. “Bodies were mangled and every which way.” When remains were recovered, an air horn sounded and everything stopped.
Peoria Fire Chief Bobby Ruiz witnessed the nightmarish aftereffects of 9/11. (Photo courtesy of the Peoria Fire-Medical Department)
“If we thought that member belonged to the Port Authority, we would back out and let the Port Authority come in and retrieve their own members,” Ruiz said. “We would allow the NYPD or NYFD to retrieve their own members, too. For civilians, we would pull them out.” The remains were transported via a golf cart to a makeshift morgue in a nearby church. “I just remember all day long, it was one firefighter after another and we just saluted as they went by,” he recalled. “I think that was the toughest day for all of us. We spent most of the day just standing by, watching New York’s bravest taking out their own members, putting them on a cart and taking them out. That was tough.” SEE 9/11 PAGE 7
Peoria assures residents the city is prepared for drought FEATURES..... 18 Peoria Film Festival returns to Harkins Arrowhead 18
OPINION...................9 BUSINESS...............12 SPORTS...................14 FEATURES...............20 RELIGION................24 CLASSIFIEDS...........28
BY LAUREN SERRATO Peoria Times Staff Writer
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation declared a Tier I Colorado River water shortage, leaving many Peoria residents questioning what this means for their water supply. The short answer, Peoria’s water supply is not impacted in these early stages. As the drought continues and if the shortage levels on the Colorado River continue to worsen, the city has plans in place to ensure its residents aren’t affected.
“A shortage on the Colorado River doesn’t necessarily equal a shortage at your tap,” said Cape Powers, Peoria’s water services director. “And from a Peoria perspective, our water rights or water allocation from the Central Arizona Project is such a seniority level, we will not see actual wet water decreased delivery decreases in Peoria. So we’re just not from a water resource perspective affected at a tier-one shortage level.” While the declaration looks alarming for residents at first glance, only 34% of
Peoria’s water supply is directly from the Colorado River and Central Arizona Project (CAP). Additionally, the city uses 61% of the available CAP supply, and the rest is stored underground for later use. The city has stored more than 180,000 acre-feet of water underground. The amount of water the city has banked for the community is approximately five years of Peoria’s total water demand. Powers assures residents that the city has SEE DROUGHT PAGE 4
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