|
Driver Faces Assault
Charges
 Charges stem from incident in store
parking lot
By Jill Jones
The News
APACHE JUNCTION- An Apache Junction man
is facing charges of
Aggravated Assault with a Deadly
Weapon/Dangerous Instrument following
an alleged hit and run incident on May
11, 2007.
The incident reportedly occurred around
6:27 p.m. in the Fry’s Food and
Drug Store parking lot at 185 W. Apache
Trail. The victim told authorities
he was in the crosswalk when he was
intentionally hit by a car later
determined to be driven by Robert Rees,
66, of Apache Junction.
The victim reportedly said that Rees had
been speeding through the lot
and came to a stop in front of him. Rees
allegedly honked his horn at the
man and then hit him with the car and
then sped away. According to
authorities a witness corroborated the
victim’s story.
Apache Junction Police located Rees’
vehicle and when they questioned
him regarding the incident, Rees
reportedly admitted to being
involved but said he did not hit the
man. He claims that after he stopped
his car and honked, the victim
deliberately walked into the front of
his
vehicle.
Photographs were taken of the victim’s
injuries which included contusions
to his leg. Rees was subsequently
arrested on May 25, 2007 and
booked into the Pinal County Adult
Detention Center in Florence.
Student Wins National
Award
 Caitlin Kessler receives English merit
award
By Sarah Owen
The News
Caitlin Kessler, an Apache Junction
middle school student,
has received a national award
recognizing her outstanding
academic achievement. Kessler, 13, a
student at
Thunder Mountain Middle School, won the
United States
Academic Achievement National English
Merit Award.
Kessler’s Language Arts teacher, Gwen
Phifer, nominated
her for the award.
The academy selects winners based on the
recommendations
of teachers, coaches and counselors.
Students’ academic
performance, interest and aptitude,
leadership qualities,
responsibility, enthusiasm, motivation
to learn and improve,
citizenship, attitude and cooperative
spirit are the
criteria for selection.
Kessler, who will be entering 8th grade
in the fall, has
maintained a 4.0 grade point average.
She is also active in
the community of Apache Junction.
Kessler is a Girl Scout
and a member of her church’s youth group
and choir. She
also enjoys sports, including track,
volleyball and basketball.
Winners of merit awards are eligible to
receive scholarship
cash grants, which are designated for
educational purposes.
Kessler plans to attend the University
of Arizona after graduating from high
school. Her mother, Lynda,
says Caitlin is an animal lover and may
eventually
pursue a career in the field of
conservation.
Kessler will also be featured in the
USAA National
Awards Yearbook along with other award
winners.
Shooter At Large
Man
wounded twice, gunman escapes unseen
By Jill Jones
The News
APACHE JUNCTION- An
Apache Junction man was shot
twice as he was getting ready for
work Thursday morning, May 31,
2007 and the shooter escaped unseen,
leaving authorities with little
to go on.
The victim, an adult male, was
reportedly
at home in the 500 block
of West 16 Avenue, getting ready
for work when he heard a knock at
his door around 5 a.m.
When he answered the door, he
reportedly found no one around
and returned to his bedroom to finish
getting ready for work. That’s when he
heard glass breaking before
being shot twice; once in the
upper right thigh and once in the
left hand.
The victim was treated at
Scottsdale Osborne Hospital for
non-life threatening injuries. The
perpetrator, who allegedly fired
the shots from outside the window,
escaped without being seen
by the victim. The Apache Junction
Police Department is without
witnesses or leads in the case.
If you have information regarding
this incident please call the
Apache Junction Police Department
at 480-982-8260 or Silent Witness
at 474-8585.
Summer Passing League
Starts Up
 New coach Rich Milligan’s first task
might be to find wide receivers
By Chuck Baker
The News
The Prospector football team
took the field for the first time
under new head coach Rich
Milligan when they opened up
the 2007 Summer Passing
League this past Thursday at
Davis Field. Apache Junction
is hosting the annual summer
league which involves several
local high school teams in an all
passing
league as they compete
against one another in twenty minute
scrimmages either on
offense and defense. Time permitting,
each school competes
in three scrimmages on offense
and three on defense. No official
scoring is kept for the summer
league and players wear no
padding or equipment other than
shorts, t-shirts and cleats.
The next night of the passing
league will take place this
Thursday, June 7 beginning at
5:00 p.m. at Davis Field. The
practice field at AJHS is also utilized
for scrimmages. The
Summer Passing League will
also be in action on Tuesday,
June 12, again starting at 5:00
p.m. at AJHS.
In one of Apache Junction’s
offensive scrimmages from last
Thursday versus Tempe Corona
Del Sol, it was fairly evident that
the Prospector passing game
will greatly miss six-foot, threeinch
wide receiver Justin
Higuera, who graduated twelve
days ago. Higuera was a dominant
factor in prior passing
leagues and led the Prospectors
during the regular football season
in 2006 with 22 receptions
for 400 yards.
See
C-1
and see FootBall,
page
C-3
|
