Change In The Air For AJ Fire District
Firefighters’ union supporting slate of candidates for fire board in November’s election
By Meghan McCoy
The News
APACHE JUNCTION —
There’s a buzz of change rising from the Apache Junction Fire District (AJFD) firefighters’ union as November 4th nears and three of the five seats on the fire board are open for election. The union is supporting its own slate of candidates, hoping to capture all three of the board’s open seats.
   The union-supported candidates are Jeff Cross and Justin Jackson, both Mesa firefighters and members of the firefighters union local No. 2260, the same local that represents Apache Junction firefighters. The third candidate on the union slate is Mike Weaver, a consultant for the Arizona Education Association (AEA), a union for teachers and other educators. There are two other candidates running for the fire board, former Fire Chief Jim Geil and current board member Chet Haines, who is running for re-election. Two other current board members, Steve Stockton and Chairman Jim Cowles, have decided not to run for re-election.
   Stockton said he feels the three members the union is supporting in this upcoming election will be “a fire board controlled by a special interest (the union).” Even though Stockton is not running for reelection, he added, “I would like to see a board that makes up the community, people who represent the true community, I do care about what happens out here.”

See A-1 and see Fireboard, page A-3

A Community Grows Into the Future
The City of Apache Junction Police Department
Final part in a series on city government for FY ’07-’08
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
Since Jerald Monahan took over as Apache Junction police chief at the end of fiscal year 2007-2008, he has shown his strong support for a variety of programs, particularly in terms of training and participating in task forces.
   “We’re now involved in the Pinal County Drug Task Force. That’s one of the things he was instrumental in getting approval from the City Council,” said Criminal Investigation Division Capt. Thomas E. Kelly. “We have an officer assigned there permanently now.”
   During the remaining portion of fiscal year 2007-2008, Monahan also assigned a sergeant from the Criminal Investigation Division to the state’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team.
   Before Monahan jumped on board, the police department was just as active.
  “In the (Criminal) Investigation Division, we instituted several new programs, one was a tactical unit and they deal mainly with problematic areas where we might have a significant amount of burglaries or auto thefts,” Kelly said.

See A-1 and see Future, page A-5

Toads Wreak Havoc On Home
Colorado River Toads poisonous to animals
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
Rebecca Bridgewater’s dog Buster begs to go in the back yard. But if he enters the area, it could prove fatal.
   Bridgewater’s property has been inundated with Colorado River Toads, a carnivorous amphibian with glands that produce a poison potent enough to kill a full-grown dog.
   She said the toads have migrated from an adjacent retention pond in the 4900 block of South Las Mananitas Trail in Gold Canyon. Bridgewater said she has included notes with her monthly bills about the problems with the pond.
   “For over a year, we have requested of the Superstition Foothills (Community) Owners Association that they remedy a drainage problem with one of the retention ponds,” Bridgewater said.
   “Every time it rains, it holds the water for two weeks or more. And as such, it then becomes a murky green, insect infected area. We also are now inundated with the toads, which are poisonous with the pets. They have migrated into the neighbors’ yards, including my pool. There are thousands of them in my pool and in my yard this morning,” she added on Wednesday, September 10.

See A-1, and see Toads, A-3

AJHS Swim & Dive
By Chuck Baker
The News
Both the boys and girls swim and dive teams from Apache Junction High School hosted their first two home meets of the season last Tuesday and Thursday and finished second on Thursday with three schools competing.
   In the boys competition, Phoenix Shadow Mountain took first place with 61 team points while AJHS came in second with 38 team points and Glendale finished a distant third with three team points.
   In the girls competition, Shadow Mountain scored 54 points to finish first, Apache Junction garnered 37 for a second place finish and Glendale was third with seven team points.
   Individual race results or any results from Tuesday’s home meet against Scottsdale Saguaro were not reported when The News went to press.
   The AJHS swim and dive teams will return home this Tuesday, September 16, hosting Sandra Day O’Connor and Cottonwood Mingus. The meet is scheduled to begin around 3:30 p.m. The team’s next meet will be on Wednesday, September 24, at Tempe McClintock and additional home meets are scheduled for September 25 against Cave Creek Cactus Shadows and October 2 against Phoenix Christian and Coolidge. More pictures from last Tuesday’s home meet are shown on page C-6 of this edition of The News.

See C-1