Dietz Named Vice Mayor
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
The Apache Junction City Council voted unanimously Tuesday, October 5, to name member Rick Dietz as the vice mayor in light of R.E. Eck’s resignation from the position.
 On September 24, Eck wrote a brief letter to Mayor John Insalaco expressing his wish to quit the vice mayor’s position. Eck reiterated his letter before the council approved his move.
 “I, Robert ‘R.E.’ Eck, hereby resign my position as Apache Junction vice mayor,” he wrote. “It has been an honor to serve in this capacity, but I believe it is time to pass the baton to another councilmember. “In talking to the city attorney, it is my understanding that I will revert back to councilmember status upon acceptance of my resignation by council.”
 Eck, who was vice mayor for seven and a half of his 13 and a half years on council, said it has been an honor and “extreme privilege to be in that position.”
 Councilmember Doug Coleman, in voting “yes” for Eck’s resignation, said he was pleased with Eck’s performance as vice mayor when he served as mayor. He said he appreciated his help and support and willingness to take over when Coleman was absent.

See A-1 and see Council, A-3

Forensics Clears Deputy
DPS testing contradicts media reports
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
The investigation into a Pinal County Sheriff’s Office deputy’s shooting by suspects in the Vekol Valley has been closed after Arizona Department of Public Safety testing proved he was telling the truth.
  “Today, the Arizona Department of Public Safety has concluded their testing,” said Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Tim Gaffney in a press release on Thursday, October 7, about the Deputy Louie Puroll case.
  “The test results are a hole was located on the back left side of the T-shirt. ‘The area around the hole was microscopically and chemically processed for the presence of gunshot residues. Bullet wipe was found which is consistent with the passage of a bullet; however, no gun power was detected.’ This testing further confirms that the gunshot wound was not a close contact shot as had been reported by the two doctors through a local media entity.”
  Gaffney is referring to two renowned doctors—Michael Baden and Werner Spitz— who spoke to local media and said Puroll was shot at close range, not from a distance as he had reported.
  On April 30, Puroll was involved in a shooting with individuals in the Vekol Valley that drew local and national attention. At the time of the shooting was assigned as the Counter Terrorism Liaison Specialist for the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office and a member of the Pinal County Search and Rescue.
  The shooting was investigated by the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, along with the assistance of other law enforcement agencies. The criminal investigation had concluded and the facts of the case confirmed the accounts of the event as Puroll described.

See A-1

Silly Mtn. Walk Dedication Set
Pathway lined with native Sonoran desert plants
A new Botanical Walk, developed by the Superstition Area Land Trust (SALT) and the Apache Junction City Parks and Recreation Department at the base of Silly Mountain, will be dedicated and opened to the public at 10 a.m. Saturday, October 30.
   The Botanical Walk is a gradual one-third mile pathway laid out in a figure-eight design, paved with compacted crushed granite and lined with native Sonoran desert plants. The path can walked easily by people of all ages and is wheelchair accessible. City officials and SALT President Pat Prince will officially open the Botanical Walk.
  Participants from the City will include representatives of the mayor’s office, the City Council, and the Parks and Recreation Board. Businesses, organizations and volunteers from throughout the community that made the construction of the walk possible will be recognized and the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust will be honored for providing primary funding for the project through a major grant to SALT. Others to be recognized include Apache Landscaping, Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Shady Way Landscaping, Siglo Landscaping, and Smiling Dog Landscapes.

See A-1 and see Silly Mtn., A-3

AJHS State Swim Qualifiers
By Chuck Baker
The News
The boys and girls swim teams from Apache Junction High School wrapped up their regular season this past week with an away meet at Cave Creek Cactus Shadows and will now have a month before the Division II State Championships on November 5 and 6 at Mesa’s Kino Aquatics Center.
 This is a new wrinkle in the state-qualifying process recently adopted by the Arizona Interscholastic Association. In past years, AJHS swimmers competed in a region swim meet following the conclusion of the regular season with state-qualifying at stake.
 There is no region meet this year and the only way a swimmer or diver can qualify for the Division II State Championships is by competing in an invitational meet during the 2010 season and posting a time that is better than a pre-set qualifying standard.
 For AJHS swimmers, the first invitational meet was the Wolves Classic hosted by Chandler High School back on September 11. And based on the results at the Wolves Classic, along with the preset qualifying standards, only junior Jim Huynh in the 50 freestyle (22:92) and the boys 400 freestyle relay (3:33.15) team of Huynh, senior Mackenzie Hvidsten, senior Richard Penick and sophomore Cody Ploense have received an automatic bid to the State Championships.

See B-1 and see Swim B-3