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Injured Hiker Rescued
After Six Days
 By Jill Jones
The News
APACHE JUNCTION- A detailed
itinerary may have saved the life of
an Apache Junction man who lay
injured in the Superstition Mountains
for six days before being rescued
by Superstition Search and
Rescue.
Lon McAdam, 56, a Gold Canyon
Elementary School employee and
accomplished photographer began
a nine-day hike into the Superstition
Mountains on Saturday, April
7. An experienced hiker familiar with
the Superstition Wilderness,
McAdam had plenty of food and
water and as was his custom, provided
his wife with an itinerary of
his hike.
Three days into the nine-day trip,
while in Rough Canyon near Reevis
Ranch, McAdam slipped, striking
his left knee against a rock, rendering
him unable to walk.
McAdam’s water pouch burst
during the fall and damaged his
satellite
phone, severing hope of contacting
help. His food, which had survived the
fall,
was both a blessing and a curse. He was
in bear territory,
and had no way to protect his food from
animals,
so armed with a can of bear repellent;
McAdams
relied on his voice and began yelling to
keep any
bears or other animals at bay.
See
A-1
and see Rescue,
page
A-5
Governor Urges Caution
In Fire Season
 Dry weather adds to hazard— Now is the
time to prepare.
By Cindy McSperitt
The News
APACHE JUNCTION- With summer
fast approaching, Arizona Governor
Janet Napolitano is urging
residents to utilize this time to
prepare
for the upcoming fire season.
This is an issue so important to the
governor that she has been taking
time out of her busy schedule to
talk personally with many editors
of local newspapers.
In a phone conversation with the
Apache Junction News last week,
the governor warned that, “A
higher than normal fire season,” is
anticipated for this year. “The
Apache Junction area is very dry,” she
said, “partly because of the
lack of rain.”
The governor also said, “Fire season
is also expected to go longer,
because monsoons are predicted
to come later than normal this year
and that is typically the end of fire
season.”
Governor Napolitano stated that,
“Over 50 percent of fires in Arizona
on average are caused by people,”
adding that if everyone would take
responsibility when handling fires,
that number could be greatly reduced.
She had several suggestions for
reducing forest fires. She urged
using extreme caution when handling
campfires. Campfires should
be in approved areas only and,
upon leaving a campsite, be sure
the fire is dead out.
See
A-1
and see Fire
Season, page
A-3
A Rose By Any Other
Name . . .
 Apache Junction Fire District to keep
original name
APACHE JUNCTION- The
Apache Junction Fire District recently
completed an extensive
community survey process to
gauge the interest and support of
possibly changing the name of the
fire district to better reflect the
entire
area that they serve.
As a result of the information gathered
from community surveys, the
Board of Directors of the Apache
Junction Fire District voted not to
proceed with a name change at this
time. The decision was made during
the regularly scheduled April
Fire Board meeting.
The fire district was formed in 1955
as a volunteer fire department and
was organized as the Apache Junction
Fire District in 1984, covering
the City of Apache Junction, the greater
Gold Canyon area, the Goldfields
and the western slopes of the
Superstition Mountain area.
As advertised, the
surveys were
available to the general public at
each fire station, at several public
facilities, on-line at the fire
districts
web site and were also available by
phone. The final results of the surveys
favored not changing the
name of the fire district 54% to 46%.
The Apache Junction News also
chose this question for its News
Opinion Poll in their March 19th
edition, with the unofficial results
of 71% to 29% in favor of not
changing the name of the fire district.
As an organization, the fire district
values and welcomes the community
input, participation and
support as they continue to serve
your needs.
The Fire District is community
owned and operated for the sole
benefit of the citizens they serve. If
you have any questions or comments,
please feel free to contact
the Fire District at (480) 982-4440.
See
A-1
AJHS Boys Chalk Up
Another Track Victory
 By Chuck Baker
The News
Sweeping the field events at
last Wednesday’s three team
track and field meet, including
Louie Crespo’s double wins in
shot put and discus, the Prospectors
chalked up another top
finish beating teams from
Scottsdale Coronado and Notre
Dame Prep.
Crespo threw the shot put 50
feet and six inches, a season
best, and tossed the discus 145
feet to lead the AJHS boys.
Daniel Ambrosio won high jump
with a leap of 5-10, Josh Morgan
captured the triple jump with
a leap of 41-6, Shane McCullen
won long jump with his leap of
20-2 and Kevin Clark took first
in pole vault, giving the Prospectors
a sweep of the field
events.
Also for the AJHS boys, Rusty
Fernando won the 300 meters
intermediate hurdles with a time
of 43:00 and both the 400 meter
relay (45:00) and 3200 meter relay
(9:21) teams finished first
as the Prospectors totaled 73
team points to 57 points for
Coronado and 45 points for
Notre Dame.
See
C-1
and see Track,
C-6
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