Councilman Coleman To ‘Resign To Run’
To enter race for State Legislature #16 - Move creates vacancy on City Council
By Ed Barker
The News
   Long time City Councilman and former Apache Junction Mayor Douglas
 Coleman has announced his intention to resign from the council in order to run for a seat in the Arizona State House of Representatives.
   Coleman earlier formed an exploratory committee and has decided to run in the newly created Legislative District #16, which covers Gold Canyon, Apache Junction, East Mesa from Power Road east and part of San Tan Valley.
   Coleman told the News he will submit his resignation to Mayor John Insalaco this week.
 The City will then begin to accept applications for Coleman’s vacant seat and start the process of filling the vacancy. The vacancy will be filled by a majority vote of the council after reviewing the applications of those interested in serving on the City Council. The replacement would finish out Coleman’s four-year term which is up in June, 2013.

Sheriff’s ‘Mismanagement’ Of Budget Riles County Board
$47 million budget to exceed $51 million by July
By Ed Barker
The News
   Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu has been overspending county money and is expected to exceed his $47 million budget by more than $3.2 million before July 1, 2012, county officials say.
   The excess, which amounts to about 7 percent of the sheriff’s total budget, is mainly the result of “personal services” such as wages and employee-related expenses including overtime pay for deputies and detention staff, as well as patrol fuel costs, according to Leo Lew, county finance director.
   The County Board of Supervisors blame the budget overrun on poor money management by Babeu, but sheriff’s administrators say the additional spending is because of fuel costs, which are higher now than in 2009. However, personal services account for about $1.35 million of the budget overage in patrol and about $1.13 million in detention. The remaining $653,740 was for other expenditures, including fuel costs.
   Supervisor Bryan Martin, a supporter of Babeu, characterized Babeu’s handling of the budget as “mismanagement,” saying, “If somebody is not living up to the contract or failing to negotiate, well, that’s where I have heartburn. If the sheriff needed $3 million more dollars, dammit, the sheriff needed to ask for $3 million. You can’t leave us hanging like this. We have worked too hard to let mismanagement affect the bottom line.”
   Babeu is a Republican who is seeking his party’s nomination for Congress this year. Apparently with that in mind, Board Chairman Pete Rios asked, “You’re telling me, at this point in time, the sheriff is well on his way to exceeding his budget by over seven percent as he’s out there campaigning, telling people he reduced his budget by 10 percent?”
   Martyn pointed out that there are 39 departments in the county, and 37 of them are at or under budget. The only other department over budget is the School Superintendent’s Office, expected to exceed its budget by $13,633.
   Lew told the board that he is meeting with sheriff’s finance officials to identify any changes that can be made to stop the overflow of spending and to identify any possible new sources for funding.
   Babeu was not present at the meeting. His spokesman, Elias Johnson said the Sheriff and a number of his deputies and staff are in Washington, D.C. at the National Sheriff’s Association.

The Old Magma Railroad
By Tom Kollenborn
(c) 2012 The News
   Arizona will be celebrating its centennial on February 14, 2012. The 48th Annual Lost Dutchman Days, Feb. 24-26, will honor the statewide celebration of Arizona’s 100th birthday by featuring a President Theodore Roosevelt re-enactor as the Grand Marshall for the annual Lost Dutchman Days Parade (Feb. 25). After the parade he will drive to locations on the historic Apache Trail to speak about the building of the road to carry materials for the construction of the Roosevelt Dam.
   This is the third in a special centennial series about Arizona by Tom Kollenborn.
 Arizona’s transportation began on foot, then horseback, then by wagon, then the railroads, and finally a network of highways that crisscrossed the state. The history of the now abandoned Magma Railroad line shares Arizona’s rich transportation history.
   Construction began on this short line two years after statehood in February of 1912.
 Today, the abandoned Arizona Magma Railroad lies along the southern limits of the Superstition Wilderness Area. When this railroad was first constructed its purpose was to haul copper concentrates to the smelter in Hayden, Arizona. The development and construction of the railroad was an interesting part of early Arizona history.

See A-1, and See Kollenborn A-7

Super ‘Senior Night’ Of AJHS Soccer
By Chuck Baker
The News
   With the Prospectors beating Globe 9-0 and the Lady Prospectors pitching a 6-0 shutout, I can’t imagine a better “Senior Night” of soccer for AJHS this past Wednesday at Davis Field. Of course, had Apache Junction senior Breanna Milkey put her penalty kick in the net with time running out in the girls match, that would have been a perfect ending to a great night of AJHS soccer. Instead, Milkey’s shot, one of four on the night for her, was, like the other three, turned away by the Globe keeper.
   The Prospectors were up first, and led by a three-goal “hat trick” from Alex Barraza, and two goals each from Ricardo Martinez and senior Jesse Gonzalez, Apache Junction rolled over the Tigers. Alex Perez and Marlon Figueroa scored the other AJHS goals.
   The Prospector defense was just as stellar as the offense. Credit defenders Andrew Gyenizse, a senior, and Daniel Hernandez and Eduardo Celaya, along with keeper Sergio Gamez for the shutout. 
   The Prospectors other senior players were Jose Medina and Andres Juarez, and rounding out the Prospector roster were Jesus Montes, Diego Castaneda, Avery McAllister, Jorge Celaya, Gerardo Martinez, Saul Delgado and Kris Mazurkewicz.
   The Lady Prospectors then took the field and dominated Globe from start to finish. Senior Lauren Brownlee knocked in a penalty kick with 14:56 left in the opening half, and then Jacqui Whitrock put two in the net before intermission to give the Lady Prospectors a 3-0 lead at intermission. One of Whitrock’s goals was assisted by Milkey.

See A-9, and See Kollenborn A-14