SanTanValley.com

If you own real estate in Pinal County, watch for your 2014 Notice of Value in the mail this week.  The notice is not a tax bill but it does contain important information that will influence how much you pay in property taxes next year.  The Full Cash Value (FCV) should reflect the market value of your property as of the beginning of this year.

Almost half of all animals taken in by Pinal County Animal Care & Control in 2012 were released for rescue or public adoption.  That’s a stark contrast to 2010 when Pinal County took in 8,176 animals and less than a quarter were released.

“Our relationship with animal rescue groups coupled with increased public outreach efforts has resulted in dramatically higher live animal releases – an 81 percent increase from 2010 to 2012,” Kaye Dickson, Animal Care & Control Director said. 

Level 2 Sex Offender

Erwin Hickman

Convicted in 1997 of Sex with a minor in California.

Convicted in 2007 of lewd and lasvi acts with a child in California.  His victims were young girls known to him.

County Manager discovers that jail is losing millions on federal contract

Early last year, Pinal County Manager Fritz Behring directed county finance staff to look into why the Pinal County Jail seemed to be loosing revenue. The audit revealed that the county had been losing money on it’s biggest contract— housing immigration detainees for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The amount of potential revenue lost runs in the millions.

Last week, Pinal County Assessor Douglas Wolf delivered the 2013 official report of property values to the Pinal County Budget office.  The number for 2013 was slightly over $18 billion, a decline of over $900 million from last year’s figure of $18.9 billion.  The total for 2013 also included $364.7 million in new construction.  There were 247,931 parcels and accounts in this year’s report compared to 247,526 in 2012.

Crash at Casa Grande Airport Under Federal Investigation

On Wednesday at approximately 11:30 AM, a Beechcraft King Air twin engine turboprop aircraft crashed just north of the runway at Casa Grande airport.  The crash occurred on airport property.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration.  

At its Feb. 6 meeting, the Queen Creek Town Council called for an election on May 21, 2013 to ask voters to give the Town of Queen Creek the authority to purchase the H2O, Inc. Water Utility. This will be an all mail special election, with the official ballot and election materials mailed to all qualified electors beginning April 25, 2013. H2O is a family owned business that has served the Pinal County/Maricopa County area for more than 40 years. 

Sheriff Paul Babeu’s desperate Adam4Adam rehabilitation tour continues to drive the embodiment of ethical conduct into previously unreached heights of self-delusion.

Grants to Focus on Math, Science, Technology and Social Studies

SRP is offering grants for teachers looking for ways to engage their students in the classroom.

Teachers are invited to apply for classroom grants to enhance learning in the classroom in the areas of math, science, technology and social studies.

The SRP Classroom Connections program offers up to $180,000 in funding and consists of:

The Wolverines did an outstanding job representing the Coolidge Unified School District #21 on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at the Regional Future Cities Competition.

Mountain Vista Middle School was one of 30 schools to participate in the competition this year – one of only two schools in Pinal County.

Congratulations to Biviana Rodriquez, Nathan Pugh, McKenzie Banks, Tatyana Williams and Keegin Juden for their hard work and dedication to this endeavor.