School District AIMS Test Scores Are In
Results are mixed
By Betty Swanson
The News
   Academic progress by Apache Junction Unified School District students, as measured by 2010 AIMS (Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards) results released on July 14 by the Arizona Department of Education, show generally mixed results when compared with scores from 2009 (see accompanying chart) and three years ago (2007).
   “Test scores give us directions on where we need to perform better,” said AJUSD Superintendent Dr. Chad Wilson. “There were some gains to celebrate and, in other areas, particularly math, there is ‘still a lot of work to do.’”
   Scores on AIMS test are expressed in the percentage of students who “Exceed” or “Meet” (Pass) state standards on the tests. Thus, a 72 score means that 72 percent of the children at the grade level taking the test were able to pass it.
   Scores at the 10th grade level at Apache Junction High School are up in reading and writing over 2009, and the percentage of students passing was higher than that of Mesa Unified School District (MUSD), while the 10th grade math score of 56 percent has dropped appreciably from prior years and trails Mesa’s 10th grade math score.

See A-1 and see AIMS, A-8

Vigil Set For U.S. Hikers

Trio held captive in Iran for a year
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
The grandmother of a hiker being held captive with two friends in Iran will hold a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 31, at the City of Apache Junction gazebo to honor the one-year anniversary of their detention.
   For the last 12 months, Apache Junction resident Mary Schmidthuber has prayed for the release of her grandson, Shane Bauer, his fiancée, Sarah Shourd and his friend, Josh Fattal, all of whom are graduates of the University of California at Berkeley.
   “It’s been tough,” Schmidthuber said. “It’s really hard.”
The three Americans are being held at Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran, for allegedly straying into Iraq’s Kurdistan region. They have not been charged with any crime. The Iranian government claims the three hikers are spies.
   According to reports, they were hiking in a peaceful region of Iraq that is increasingly popular with Western tourists. However, The Nation magazine reported in June that two witnesses have said they saw Iran’s national police force cross into Iraq to apprehend the three hikers.

See A-1 and see Hikers, A-9

Search Begins For County Manager
Doolittle to retire in October
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
Pinal County has started a nationwide search for a new county manager, according to a human resources website.
   CPS Human Resource Services has listed the job on its website, cmas.cps.ca.gov/es. The application deadline is August 6.
   Pinal County Manager Terry Doolittle announced in early April that he planned to retire in October.
“I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish in the few years that I’ve been county manager,” Doolittle said. “We have achieved more progress for current and future residents and businesses in the last four years than in the 10 years before that.”
   Doolittle was promoted to county manager following the departure of County Manager Stan Griffis, who was on administrative leave just prior to his retirement.
   Griffis was sentenced to 3½ years in prison after he pleaded guilty to three counts of felony theft and fraud in January 2007 on charges he used his financial expertise and position as a public official to steal more than $500,000 from the county. He was released from the Arizona Department of Corrections in February.

See A-1

10 More Tourney Wins For AJHS Volleyball
By Chuck Baker
The News
For the second Summer tournament in a row, the Lady Prospector varsity volleyball team won double-digit matches, this time going 10-4 overall in the Florence Tournament played July 17. Officially, the AJHS girls placed seventh overall out of twenty teams.
   Apache Junction also fielded two other teams in the Florence Tournament. The junior varsity girls went a combined 5-8 overall and placed 10th, while a third AJHS team of mostly incoming sophomores and incoming freshmen went 6-9 overall and placed 13th.
   For their efforts in the tournament, setter Norelle Justice was chosen “athlete of the week” on the AJHS volleyball website, Erin Herbert picked up the nod for junior varsity players, and Selena Quiroz, who will be a sophomore this Fall, earned the nod playing for the youngest team in the tournament.
   Apache Junction was also scheduled to compete this past Saturday in the Payson Tournament but results were not yet available.

See B-1 and see Volley B-6