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June 3-16, 2017
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June 3-16, 2017 www.SanTanSun.com
Police Chief Duggan shares officers’ sacrifices with President Trump BY JIM WALSH
At an impromptu meeting at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service, Chandler Police Chief Sean Duggan made sure President Donald Trump was aware of his officers’ sacrifices. Duggan handed Trump a commemorative memorial badge worn by Chandler officers in May, after Trump spoke at the annual ceremony. In Duggan’s mind, he was representing his officers and the police profession and there was nothing political about his interaction with Trump, who has been a lightning rod for controversy since his upset victory over Hillary Clinton in November. “It’s an honor to meet any president and I have had the honor of meeting several,’’ Duggan said. The service took place on the Capitol Mall on May 15, which was proclaimed National Peace Officers Memorial Day in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy. It is routine for all presidents to speak at the service. Duggan said he has met former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush at previous ceremonies. Duggan said he also was in the White House
(Photos courtesy Chandler Police Department)
Chandler Police Chief Sean Duggan talks to President Trump at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service in Washington, D.C. on May 15.
during last year’s police week festivities and watched former President
Barack Obama award some Medals of Valor, but he did not have an opportu-
nity to meet Obama. The ceremony is part of National Police Week, during which police departments honor fallen officers at their own police departments and at the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C. But at this year’s ceremony, Duggan said he was proud to hand Trump the memorial badge, designed by Chandler police detective Nikky Kallberg. A photo of Duggan presenting the badge to Trump appeared on social media, even though Duggan said he was not seeking any notoriety for the meeting. “It was a matter of representing my department and our officers,’’ Duggan said. The Chandler police website lists four officers who were killed in the line of duty: James Snedigar, Rob Nielsen, Carlos Ledesma and David Payne. In addition, officer Bryant Holmes was killed in a traffic accident in Gilbert while riding his motorcycle to work. Last week, Duggan attended a Cofsee
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Freeway right-of-way acquisition further along than spokeswoman reported BY PAUL MARYNIAK
(Photos by Kimberly Carrillo)
Firefighters with the Chandler Fire, Health & Medical Department polish their skills battling blazes at a training center last month. The city is building a new fire station on the southeast side.
New fire station will respond to emergencies on southeast side BY COLLEEN SPARKS
The City of Chandler is hoping to break ground next month on a new fire station in order to speed up response times to fires and other emergencies on the southeast side. The new station, which will be on the
west side of Gilbert Road, about a quarter mile south of Ocotillo Road, also aims to address the increase in call volume in that part of the city, according to Keith Hargis, assistant fire chief for the Chandler Fire,
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The spokeswoman for the South Mountain Freeway developer apparently could have been clearer when she told Chandler business leaders last month that 47 percent of the highway’s right of way still had to be acquired. A spokesman for the Arizona Department of Transportation said the 1,387 acres of land it has acquired for the freeway corridor constitutes “90 percent of the total area needed for the project.” “The total amount of land that ADOT/C202P still needs to acquire on the SMF project is approximately 10 percent of total right-of-way acquisitions needed for the project,” ADOT spokesman Dustin Krugel said. Theresa Gunn, spokeswoman for Connect 202 Partners (C202P), which is developing and will be maintaining the 22-mile freeway for the next 30 years, told the Chandler Chamber of Commerce on May 12 that 47 percent of right-of-way still had to be acquired.
“What Theresa Gunn was referring to was the percentage of right-of-way that C202P still needs to complete, which was accurate but does not take into account the right-of-way acquisitions that occurred before their involvement,” Krugel explained. He added that prior to last August, “ADOT had previously negotiated on the right-of-way acquisitions and thus, most of the land needed for the project was acquired before the developer started to handle those responsibilities.” Most of that remaining 10 percent is in the area of west Phoenix, where the freeway will connect to 59th Avenue, Krugel added. Meanwhile, ADOT also issued a news release that updated the status of work on freeway bridges over the Salt River at 59th Avenue. It said work was progressing in the see
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