City Manager Asks Council To Continue 2/10 Of 1¢ Sales Tax
Decade-old tax paid for city infrastructure -  Amounts to 1¢ on $5, set to expire Sept. 1
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
City Manager George Hoffman During an impassioned speech to the City Council Tuesday, February 2, City Manager George Hoffman asked the governing body to consider extending a two tenths of a cent sales tax that is set to expire on September 1.
   A decade ago, the City adopted the sales tax that was dedicated to the development of infrastructure improvements in the community, such as the pool, skate park, Superstition Shadows Park, City Hall, the Multigenerational Center, the library and rodeo grounds.
   “With the exception of the library, all those projects will be paid off in full this year,” Hoffman said. “I might add that, thanks to the council’s foresight, we have been able to build award-winning facilities that have become a source of well-deserved community pride. Apache Junction has been recognized in the state and in the nation for its innovative and energy-efficient facilities.”
   Hoffman noted that the City has dramatically reduced its operating budget by $5.6 million. The police department cut its budget by $1.1 million. Parks and Recreation has already been reduced by 28 percent and the library by 31 percent.

See A-1 and see City Council, A-5

A.J. Couple’s Grandson Is Iranian Prisoner
Bauer held after accidentally hiking into country
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
Every day is a battle for Mary Schmidthuber of Apache Junction. For six months, her grandson, Shane Bauer, along with Bauer’s girlfriend, Sarah Shourd, and friend Josh Fattal, have been held in an Iranian prison for accidentally crossing an unmarked border during a hiking trip in the Iraqi Kurdistan mountains. According to reports, they were in a peaceful region of Iraq that is increasingly popular with Western tourists.
   The three Americans, all graduates of the University of California at Berkeley, are being held in Evin Prison in Tehran. They have not been charged with any crime and have not had any contact with their families.
   “(I) cry a lot,” she said somberly. “I light a candle every day in the afternoon because it’s night there. It’s really tough.”
   Last week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he would consider releasing the three detained American hikers in Iran in a prisoner swap with Iranian citizens held in the United States. On Wednesday, February 3, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ruled out Ahmadinejad’s suggestion. According to the Associated Press, Clinton said that the hikers, along with other Americans jailed in Iran, should be released immediately on humanitarian grounds. She said there is no basis for their continued detention.

See A-1 and see Iran, A-9

TMMS Band Invited To ASU
Will play at half-time of Sun Devil basketball game
TMMS Band Invited To ASU Will play at half-time of Sun Devil basketball game The Thunder Mountain Middle School band, under the leadership of Instrumental Music Director Dave Balogh, has been invited to perform during the half-time at the Arizona State University’s men’s basketball team’s game on Saturday, Feb 13. The game begins at 4 p.m..
   “This is indeed a privilege and a first (as far as we know) for an Apache Junction school,” Balogh said. “But, the fact is that it is very rare that ‘a middle school’ rather than a high school/ college/ university band is invited to perform. The students, as well as their families and friends, are very excited.”
   The 100-member band will perform a program that includes the percussion ensemble playing a student composed piece called “Road Trip.” Following that the entire band will play John Lee Hooker’s “Boom-Boom.”

AJHS Girls Split Final Region Games
4A-I State Tournament begins February 16; Can the AJHS girls get a home game in the first round?
By Chuck Baker
The News
The Lady Prospector varsity basketball team will advance to the 4A-I State Tournament. That much we know. But can they finish the regular season with a high enough power ranking to land them a home game in the first round?
   Apache Junction began last week at number nine in the 4A-I power rankings. They knocked off Scottsdale Saguaro on Tuesday and by Wednesday, had moved up a spot to number eight in the rankings. But the Lady Prospectors also lost for the second time this season to region-leading Cave Creek Cactus Shadows on Friday.
   It remains to be seen what impact on the power rankings the loss to Cactus Shadows would have. Perhaps very little considering Cactus Shadows was number three in the overall rankings.
   And with just two games remaining in the regular season, today, Monday, February 8 at Williams Field, and this Wednesday, February 10 at home against Tucson Pueblo, would a victory or two land the AJHS girls with an eighth seed or higher in the final rankings.
   That’s what it will take for the Lady Prospectors to get a home game in the first round of the State Tournament. The top sixteen teams in the final power rankings all advance to the State tournament. The top eight seeds all get a home game in the first round.

See B-1 and see HOOPS, B-2