Compelling Articles from Around the State

From Somerton to Sundance "How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer," written and directed by former Yuma-area resident Georgina Garcia Riedel and filmed in Somerton, has been accepted to Sundance Film Festival, which begins today in Park City, Utah. Riedel, a Cibola High School graduate and daughter of David and Neives Riedel, said finding out that her first feature film was accepted to the festival was surreal. Youngster bags trophy game It takes enormous luck and superior skill to be drawn for two big game tags in a prime hunt unit and then successfully bag both animals. As difficult as pulling off the two feats might be, Payson Community Christian School seventh-grader Austin Brazeau was able to accomplish both during 20 days in December. ELOY - Three men were found dead Monday morning in a home under construction in Eloy. All three were Mexican nationals, ages 19, 21 and 27, according to Detective Lee Sherwood of the Eloy Police Department. He said officers responded to a call at 1118 N. La Siesta. The bodies had been found by the construction foreman, who reported them around 11 a.m. They were part of the crew, Sherwood said. The owner knew they were staying there and had offered to pay for a room for them, but they refused the offer. Scuffle in court follows Harris' verdict BISBEE - Emmanuel Wayne Harris was found guilty Wednesday of causing the deaths of Melissa Griffey and her stillborn baby, but insane. The verdict touched off a wild melee in the courtroom of Presiding Superior Court Judge Tom Collins on Wednesday afternoon, when two men rushed up from the audience in an attempt to reach Harris as he was led out the door. Lions attend rededication in Fort Thomas A 50-foot tower stands in Fort Thomas, its whiteness reflecting the winter sunlight, as members of Lions clubs throughout the world pay tribute to their founding father each year. It's a memorial anyone traveling through Ft. Thomas can see, but few understand the meaning behind it. Bomb threat causes school evacuation SHOW LOW - Show Low High Principal Kevin Brackney supervised the evacuation of the high school Jan. 19 following a bomb threat. Brackney said, "We had an employee driving into the parking lot at about 11:10 a.m. He noticed a couple of young men in a pickup truck. The driver was waving him over. The employee pulled over to see what he wanted. The driver said, 'There's a bomb in the high school' and they drove off laughing their heads off." Council votes unanimously for investigation The City of Winslow is looking to hire a private investigator to determine how a memo from the city attorney to Council members found its way into a private citizen’s hands since no one admitted to being the source at the Jan. 11 council meeting. The leaked memo became serious enough to city officials that five council members, the City Administrator and City Clerk were asked under oath if they were responsible for passing on what City Attorney Dale Patton called a confidential letter. Live from Iraq, L. Park soldier describes pre-election tensions “There is a little increased tension” is how Jeffrey Koontz describes the atmosphere that surrounds him. It’s not difficult to believe. At the moment he spoke via a long-long-distance telephone call, Koontz — a Litchfield Park resident and district sergeant major for the Army — had just left the beleaguered Iraqi city of Baghdad and was on his way to the formerly beleaguered city of Fallujah. Mesa Air pulls up its stakes in Page PAGE — As expected, regional carrier Mesa Air Group appears to be pulling out of Page Airport. Mesa, which had operated daily flights from Page to Phoenix by way of Prescott since last May under its America West Express label, canceled all flights after Jan. 15 and is no longer accepting reservations. Richard Jentzsch, Page’s airport director, said the company is supposed to give 30 days’ notice prior to vacating its lease with the city, and that no such notice had been given. But Jentzsch said last week that Mesa officials appeared to be in the process of uprooting their operation at the municipal airport, and that the cancelled flights seemed to confirm that fact. Wickenburg will ride Tsunami 'Wave' Wickenburg civic organizations are working together on a community project for Tsunami victims. The project is called Wickenburg Wave Rider and gives the entire town an opportunity to contribute to the Tsunami-damaged countries in Asia. OSM holds scoping meeting in Flagstaff FLAGSTAFF — In response to a permit revision application by Peabody Western Coal Company, the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement (OSM) held a public scoping meeting in the Coconino County Supervisor’s meeting room in Flagstaff on Jan. 13. It was the last of eight scheduled meetings held across northern Arizona both on and off the Navajo and Hopi reservations. Chairing the meetings was Richard Holbrook, Chief of the Southwest Branch of OSM. Holbrook opened the Flagstaff meeting by outlining points of four proposed alternatives, including some history of Peabody’s application process regarding the Black Mesa and Kayenta mines. He also acknowledged the concerns of members and governmental entities of the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe over the continued use of the N-Aquifer. Young artist left big impression in wake of canoeing accident Luke Agosta was just 21 years old when he and his friend, Brian Gianelli, 25, died in a tragic canoeing accident in the fast-moving waters of Granite Creek on Dec. 29. The young artist recently had received a scholarship from the San Francisco Art Institute and had completed his first semester when he returned to Prescott for Christmas break. Show will go on - council approves community theater Citing a significant change that has taken place within the Theater Works operations, City Manager Terry Ellis began introductory comments at last week's special city council meeting that led to the eventual approval of an almost $10 million construction project that will become the city's first performing arts center. Ellis said Theater Works had "overcome a lot of adversity."