Council OKs Limited Use Of Cargo Containers
Minimum residential lot size of 1.25 acre
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
APACHE JUNCTION- After more than six months of discussion and controversy, the Apache Junction City Council passed an ordinance last week allowing the permanent use of cargo storage containers on residential lots of 1.25 acres and larger as well as commercial and industrial locations.
   The vote was 4-2 with Mayor John Insalaco and Vice Mayor R.E. Eck opposed to passage of ordinance 1302. Councilman Rick Dietz missed the meeting due to illness and Eck unsuccessfully tried to postpone a vote on the matter until March 4 because of Dietz’s absence.
   “I realize this is open for public discussion tonight but due to the fact that we’re missing one of our colleagues due to being hospitalized, I recommend that we continue the consideration,” Eck said as the audience jeered. “We also should suspend any enforcement of the ordinance until there has been a vote on the ordinance 1302.”
   “You don’t work on something for 10 months and then make a decision when you have a councilman missing,” he added.
   Resident John Kantowski told the Council at “Call to the Public” that he did research about the ordinance and found it was originally discussed in October 2006. He sided with Eck and encouraged the Council to wait until Dietz’s return to vote on the item.

See A-1 and see City Council, A-5

Quick— Whose Picture Is On A $100 Bill?
Bogus bills bore image of Lincoln
By Jill Jones
The News
Mesa resident Scott Martin APACHE JUNCTION- A Mesa man who was out on bond on forgery charges from Apache Junction was reportedly jolted into submission by a Mesa shopkeeper armed with a Taser gun last week.
   Scott Martin, 37, was arrested on Saturday, February 16, 2008 ,after he reportedly attempted to pass two fraudulent $100 bills that bore the image of Abraham Lincoln.
   The store keeper at Big Sticks Fine Cigars in Mesa reportedly confronted Martin regarding the bogus bills and, when Martin became aggressive, the clerk allegedly responded by subduing Martin with a Taser.
   Paramedics were called to shop in the 1000 block of North Dobson Road. When they removed Martin’s shirt to treat him, they reportedly found more counterfeit $20 and $100 bills hidden beneath his shirt and under his armpit. During treatment he also reportedly claimed to have swallowed a bag of methamphetamine.
   Martin was booked into Maricopa County Jail on one count each of forgery - offers forged instrument and theft - control property.
   Martin should have brushed up on his U.S. history trivia before allegedly attempting to pass the $100 bills. Benjamin Franklin is on $100 bills while Abraham Lincoln is depicted on the $5 bill.

Gold Canyon Man Arrested In Home Invasion & Robbery
By Meghan McCoy
The News
GOLD CANYON — An East Valley car salesman from Gold Canyon was arrested by the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Detectives last week in connection with a home invasion and armed robbery.
   On Monday, January 21, at approximately 9 p.m. a suspect armed with a black handgun entered a Gold Canyon residence, robbing the homeowners of jewelry and currency valued at approximately $15,000. The victims, who were not injured, contacted the sheriff’s office after the suspect left the residence.
   The case was turned over to PCSO’s Robbery and Homicide Unit, which, after an extensive investigation in cooperation with Mesa Police Department Detectives, connected Jamin Joel Martinez, 27, of Gold Canyon with the crime. PSCO deputies arrested Martinez on Wednesday, February 20, at approximately 3 p.m.
   The investigation recovered several stolen items from local pawn shops after a search warrant of the suspect’s Gold Canyon residence. Police located the majority of the remaining stolen items as well as a firearm.
   The case remains active as an ongoing investigation into other possible involvements.
  Martinez was booked into the Pinal County Jail for felony counts of robbery and possession/ trafficking of stolen property.
  

Marathon Boasts Record 2,227 Runners
New record set in women’s race
By Chuck Baker
The News
Despite somewhat soggy racing conditions from a day of rain two days before the running of the 2008 Lost Dutchman Marathon, 28-year-old Tracy Thelen of Colorado Springs, Colo., set a new race record in winning the women’s marathon on Sunday, February 17, with her time of 3:04.43. That breaks the previous best mark of 3:05.55 set back in 2004 by Heather Gilbertson of Eagan, Minn., and earned Thelen a $500 cash bonus from LD Marathon officials for establishing a new record.
   The 2008 Lost Dutchman Marathon also set a new attendance record with a total of 2,227 participants in five events, breaking the previous record of 2,043 set a year ago. Much of that can be attributed to the high turnout for this year’s half marathon with a total of 843 runners, way more than the 755 runners from last year.
   Another key contributing factor to the record turn-out was that the National Black Marathoner’s Association chose the Lost Dutchman Marathon as their official race in 2008 and several association members were on hand to compete.

See C-1 and see Marathon, C-3