A Weekly View- Compelling articles from weekly papers around the state

Prescott Newspapers Online Four juveniles are in custody on multiple felony charges in connection with an alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl in Prescott Valley. Another juvenile and an 18-year-old Humboldt resident, Joshua Donald Excell, remain at large. Authorities have issued a warrant for Excell’s arrest considering that he was on probation when the alleged incident took place. Navajo-Hopi Observer POLACCA — Two minors have been arrested on suspicion of calling in bomb threats to Hopi Jr/Sr High School. The case is being handled in Hopi Tribal Courts where the minors face 365 days in jail, or a $5,000 fine or both if convicted. The arrested minors also face long-term suspension and eventual expulsion from the school. There have been seven bomb threats during the second quarter at Hopi Jr/Sr High School. The governing board members discussed the problem during its monthly meeting Dec. 8 in the school’s conference room. The Payson Roundup: "Hackers ran up thousands of dollars in charges on the Coldwell Banker Bishop Realty phone lines, and now, broker Ray Pugel is alerting Rim country businesses of the intrusion. Businesses with computer-operated or private branch exchange (PBX) phone systems are most at risk. The hackers are able to break into the computer and PBX systems and use 10-10 long distance services to make international calls." Buckeye violating public records laws, lawyer says In the past five weeks, the West Valley View has received four single-page documents of the more than 30 individual documents requested from Buckeye town officials under the federal Freedom of Information Act and state public records laws. Some of those documents exceed 400 pages. “Public records laws require that you respond promptly, so Buckeye is already in procedural violation of the public records law,” said Dan Barr, media-law attorney with the law firm Brown and Bain, P.A. Barr is also counsel for the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona Inc. and works with the Arizona Newspapers Association on its media law hotline. Since Nov. 12, the West Valley View has delivered more then 15 Freedom of Information Act requests to Buckeye for various public records regarding lawsuits and investigations involving the town and the exodus of town employees since the May election. “The law states they have to provide them to you in a reasonable amount of time, and that would depend on the document. One day might be reasonable; one week might be reasonable, it depends on the document — but three weeks is an unreasonable amount of time,” Barr said. It has been five weeks since the first requests were sent. Kingman Daily Miner Online KINGMAN – The date cities and municipalities can implement quiet zones for railroad whistles has been pushed back, Kingman City Attorney Robert Taylor said. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently delayed from Dec. 14 to April 1 the implementation of a proposed interim rule allowing creation of the quiet zones. Williams Grand Canyon Tourguide Grand Canyon School Superintendent Sheila Breen is putting out a call for substitute teachers to address a critical shortage in the district. “We really need them,” she said. “We don’t have enough. We can go several days without needing one and then need five at a time.” There are only about five that the district can call upon, Breen said, but none live in the Grand Canyon community and all are also subject to call-up by other districts like Williams. The Payson Roundup: 'Flat Stanley' shipped off to Afghanistan: "The fictional character Flat Stanley was once an average boy who was flattened by a falling bulletin board. Life quickly changed for Flat Stanley who now measures four feet tall, one foot wide and a half inch thick. After reading 'Flat Stanley,' last year, Fisher's class drafted letters to send to friends and relatives including the HALO unit. Accompanying the students' letters were large pictures of Flat Stanley that each student had colored, along with a letter from Fischer explaining what was going on. The idea was to get the recipients to write back and send photos, and other items representative of their locales." WMICentral: "ROUND VALLEY - Round Valley High School hosted the 9th Annual Academic Decathlon Invitational Team Tournament on Nov. 13. Ten teams from around the state participated in this year's competition including teams from Casa Grande, Sierra Vista, Douglas and Kingman. Round Valley won the tournament defeating the defending 3A State Champions Blue Ridge High School and 2A State Champions St. Johns High School." Verde Valley Online: "Stanley Jordan is a guitarist who has toured internationally and been nominated for several Grammys because of his rare skill and an innovative sound. Jordan will perform one show Saturday, Dec. 18, at 9 p.m. as a benefit show for Random Acts of Coffee in West Sedona. He may invite some Random Acts regulars to join to the stage to give a flavor of the coffee shop scene."