Primary Results Set Stage For Nov. 2
Pinal County voter turnout was 23 percent
By Betty Swanson
The News
Some, including writers for U.S. Politics Today, felt that the Mother Nature intervened to dampen the voter turnout in last week’s Primary Election held in Arizona.
   Excessive heat warnings and high temperatures in the state’s two main population centers could have influenced the turnout which was posted at just a little more than 25 percent of the state’s registered voters.
   In Pinal County, including Apache Junction, a late afternoon monsoon may also have discouraged some planning to vote on the way home from work.
   But the Pinal County voter turnout was 23 percent, only 2 percent below the state turnout, and well within the range of 20 to 25 percent that had been predicted earlier by state election officials. Poll watchers state that primary vote totals are often low in off-year elections.
 

See A-1

League Honors Sen. Rios
Named ‘Legislative Champion’ last week
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
Sen. Rebecca Rios (D-23) was one of 19 “Legislative Champions” honored by The League of Arizona Cities and Towns during its annual conference at the Renaissance Glendale Hotel last week for their “support of local government decision making and revenue sharing, and their opposition to unfunded mandates.”

“This bi-partisan group of legislators is committed to serving the people of the state of Arizona,” said Chandler Mayor and League President Boyd W. Dunn. “They put people ahead of partisanship and demonstrated their commitment to keeping cities attractive places for people in which to live and work.”
   The league’s legislative agenda includes two basic core principles: Commitment to local decision making by the elected leaders of cities and towns, and a commitment to the revenue sharing system established by the voters through a series of initiative measures.
   Rios said in a phone interview from California with the Apache Junction/Gold Canyon News that she was thrilled with the honor. This is the fifth year she’s been honored by the league, she said.
   “For me, receiving the award, it’s just an affirmation that I’m doing the job I’m supposed to be doing,” Rios said.

See A-1 and see Rios, A-5

Tree Lighting Begins In A.J.
Councilwoman Barker honors late daughter Emily
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
In celebrating her late daughter’s life, Councilwoman Robin Barker did not want a ceremony that was “morose.” She strived for an upbeat event that would reflect Mary “Emily” Tomazin’s zest for life.
   Barker and her family chose to light the first tree in the Focal Point during a ceremony on Thursday, August 26. It was part of a project that allows folks to purchase a tree and accompanying plaque for $530. The plaques were created by Ray’s Printing.
   “I think that lighting this tree served several purposes,” Barker said. “The first, of course, was to give the family and all of our friends the opportunity to celebrate Emily’s life by lighting this tree the way she lit up our lives.
   “But then it also leaves the opportunity to show the community that the City is serious about restoring the Focal Point to be a showcase for the community.”
   Sometimes, she said, projects move slowly and residents may not think that anything is being done—especially with this effort, which was 20 years in the making.
   “This isn’t a new thing,” Barker said. “This started 20 years ago when the City joined with the Arizona Main Street program. They did a couple of streetscapes of the downtown and the Focal Point was part of that, with lit trees, etc. We got the Focal Point part but hadn’t gotten the lit trees. This is the beginning of lighting those trees.”

See A-1 and see Tree, A-8

Wolfpack Triumph 36-16 In Historic Football Game
By Chuck Baker
The News
Apache Trail High School first-year head football coach Greg Garland can breathe. His Wolfpack began a successful defense of their Arizona Charter Athletic Association (CAA) State Championship title with a 36-16 victory over the Imagine Prep Panthers in a historical game played last Friday night at Prospector
Park.
   It was the first time two Apache Junction high schools met one another in a football game. And it was Coach Garland versus Coach Dave Wagner, who last season was the head coach of the Wolfpack, but is now coaching the Panthers in their inaugural season of eight-man tackle football.
   In a game truly defined as a tale of two halves, Apache Trail won the game behind a defensive adjustment made right before the end of the first half and sealed the victory with a great call on a halfback pass that went for a 34-yard score in the fourth quarter.
  Trailing 16-14 at halftime and giving up 160 passing yards and two touchdowns in the first half, the Wolfpack defense rose to the occasion in the second half, holding the Panthers to just 14 total yards. The biggest adjustment was going from a 3-man zone coverage to a four-man zone coverage according to Coach Garland.  

See B-1 and see History B-3