rainy night in AF

It's a rainy night. I know it all too well. The floods, the mud, the streams flowing. Ash Fork monsoon season is here.

Fire Board President Assaulted

Conflict between a volunteer fire board and a segment of the rural community it serves appears to be intensifying north of Ash Fork.
This follows an overhaul of volunteers at the fire station amid allegations from the new board that former managers misspent thousands in tax money for personal purposes.
Jim Nelson, president of the Kaibab Estates West volunteer fire board, was attacked in his driveway Friday night following a contentious public meeting outside of the fire station.
Nelson went with his dogs to lock the gate outside his home for the night and was struck on the head with a heavy object. He turned to fight off two men who had been waiting for him in the dark, one of whom he thought he recognized from that night's meeting.
"It's escalating," Nelson said.
Deputies from Coconino and Yavapai counties responded to Nelson's call for help, as did his new volunteer fire chief, but the dispatcher from his own fire department did not acknowledge the call, he said.
The Coconino County Sheriff's Office is planning to question one local resident who has recently stepped forward to speak to investigators.
There have been no arrests or charges related to the assault or any other part of the case, said Coconino County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Jim Driscoll.
This comes after Nelson and fellow board member Lisa Monville found what they said was thousands in taxpayer dollars used for personal purposes at Kaibab Estates West's fire department, a volunteer agency where firefighters are supposed to be paid small stipends and for expenses like duty-related travel.
They reported their findings to county investigators and the Coconino County Attorney's office is now weighing the case.
Investigators have said that the spending does not appear improper or out of line with spending for a fire department.
"We don't see at this point that there is a criminal act, but we're still going to be sending that to the county attorney's office for review. These were customary expenditures and it did not involve a lot of money for a fire district that size," Driscoll said.
The former fire chief has previously denied any wrongdoing or misspending of public money.
As the two started raising questions and terminating some volunteers in June and July, Nelson found a dead skunk at his gate, Monville said she received a verbal threat on her life, and a mysterious fire destroyed the department's only ambulance -- inside the locked fire station.
No firefighter responded to extinguish the fire inside the fire station.
Later, a friend of Monville's found her puppy with its neck broken, and the animal partially skinned, Monville said.
One or more individuals moved around the furniture outside Monville's home the same night Nelson was attacked, she said.
The fire department's radio repeater came unplugged several times in recent weeks.
Investigators have not determined what ignited the fire inside the fire station.
"We don't have a suspect. We have lots of rumors. We can't prove it's arson," Driscoll said.
The fire board met Friday to consider 26 different fire department matters, but was frequently interrupted by a crowd that brought chairs and drinks, Monville said.
Coconino County Sheriff's deputies planned to attend Tuesday night's meeting, as did Nelson.
"I'm going to bring a big stick and put a football helmet on for this one," Nelson said.

via: arizona daily sun

Reward offered for info on Ash Fork elk poaching case

Arizona Game and Fish and an anonymous donor are offering up to $3,000 for information leading to a conviction in the suspected poaching of a bull elk north of Ash Fork.
The elk was found at Partridge Creek and was believed to have been shot and killed illegally, then left to decompose.
Anyone with information regarding this case can call (800) 352-0700 and reference case number 11-000959. Web submissions can be reported via the internet by going to www.azgfd.gov/thief. Identities will remain confidential.

Via: Arizona Daily Sun