Hidden Valley road work delayed
Drivers expecting to see a brand new coat of Asphalt and Rock, Dust Palliative on Hidden Valley Road will have to wait a few days to see improvements to the road.
The original plan was to have Hidden Valley Road completed by August 24th, but inclement weather and safety concerns pushed the timeline back nearly two weeks. Public Works crews will be on Hidden Valley Road this week improving the curve approaching McDavid Road. The ARDP application was anticipated to begin today, September 2nd, with a completion date of Tuesday, September 7th. Drivers using Hidden Valley from Farrell Road to McDavid Road are urged to slow down and drive carefully as work is being completed to improve the roadway.
Pinal County Public Works crews will be placing a new road surface on Farrell Road beginning on Thursday, September 9th.
Read more
Snider to hold September office hours in Maricopa
Pinal County District 3 Supervisor David Snider will be holding his monthly office hours in Maricopa on Tuesday, September 7th.
Supervisor Snider will be at the Interim Maricopa City Hall, 45145 West Madison Avenue, from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm.
“We just passed our fiscal year budget, along with the tax levies for the county and the various taxing districts throughout the area,” Snider said. “This is a good news, bad news scenario for the Board of Supervisors. The good news is that we were able to hold our spending to a level where we could actually lower our part of the tax bill. The bad news is that the state legislature hit not only our county, but all Arizona counties with additional costs to provide mandated services. You will see an extra line in your upcoming tax bill that will explain the additional 28 cents added to your tax bill due to the state legislature’s cost shifts.”
Read more
Pinal County to begin scheduling flu shots
FLORENCE – The Pinal County Public Health Services District will begin providing flu shots to the public on Friday, October 1st, 2010 by appointment only. For your convenience, and to ensure short wait times, we will begin scheduling appointments starting Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 and continuing through the end of October. In order to schedule appointments for adults, please call toll free 1-888-431-1311, Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm.
Flu shots through the Pinal County Public Health Services District are just $15, a bargain compared to the cost of cold and flu medicines or trips to the doctor’s office and missed work. If you are unable to schedule an appointment, the opportunity to receive a flu shot as a “walk-in” will be available on the following days after October 23rd, 2010:
Read more
Body found in gravel pit near Maricopa
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a body found at a County gravel pit near Farrell and Hidden Valley Roads.
Pinal County workers were using heavy equipment in pit, early Tuesday afternoon, when they discovered the body. The responding deputies found obvious signs of foul play and summoned homicide investigators to the scene.
According to PCSO spokesman Tim Gaffney, the victim was 45 year-old Carlos Pablo, a member of the Ak-Chin Indian Community. ”The case is being investigated as a homicide and the cause of death is blunt force trauma,” said Gaffney. Detectives have no suspect information at this time.
Anyone with information regarding the homicide is asked to call Pinal County Sheriff’s Detective Landon Rankin at (520) 866-5163.
Sheriff seeks to better arm deputies against rising border violence
Citing rising border-related violence, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu is seeking public help in raising money to arm his deputies with semi-automatic with semi-automatic weapons.
A statement released by PCSO last week said “Dangerous incidents have increased through the past few years and are now escalating to a point where deputies are involved in high speed vehicle pursuits, shoot outs between deputies and smugglers, incidents of ambush, as well as the deputy who was injured in a shooting (Related story). Babeu stated, “My deputies are outgunned and we are outmanned. We need help to raise money to buy Arizona-made semi-automatic rifles to fight this threat against our citizens.”
Read more
West Nile Virus, a serious health concern in Pinal County
In all of 2009, Pinal County had no reported cases of West Nile virus in humans and little of the disease found in its carrier, mosquitoes. In just the last 2 months, Pinal County has had six cases of West Nile virus in humans, all of them with meningitis, one of the most severe complications of the disease.
According to state health officials, Arizona is leading the nation in the number of human West Nile cases as of this date.
Substantial West Nile virus activity has been reported in portions of Maricopa and Pinal counties as evidenced by mosquito surveillance and documented human cases in the past two months. The area of most intense activity has been in the suburban east valley area of Phoenix including Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, Queen Creek, and San Tan Valley. Surveillance activities are now indicating a further spread into Pinal County with positive mosquitoes identified in Maricopa, Florence, Coolidge, Casa Grande, Arizona City and Stanfield.
Read more
Pinal County Library District launches live, online tutoring for students of all ages
The Pinal County Library District has launched a new program that offers students of all ages live, one-to-one help from certified tutors online. The program also offers professional writing help for job seekers interested in creating or improving their resume.
The K-12 Student Center, College Center and Adult Career Center from Tutor.com includes live, one-to-one tutoring, a real-time writing center and 24/7 access to worksheets, videos and tutorials in just about any subject. Any patron with a Pinal County library card can access the new online services from the library or right from home.
The live, online tutoring and resume writing service is available every day from 1:00 pm until 10:00 pm. The service is completely free for Pinal County library patrons. To access the service visit the library’s website at http://catalog.pinalcountyaz.gov.
Read more
Snider named to Water Resources Commission
Pinal County Supervisor David Snider has been appointed to serve on the recently formed Water Resources Development Commission.
The creation of the Water Resources Commission is a result of legislation passed earlier this year. The bill charges the new commission to examine the current and future water needs of Arizona and make recommendations to guide future legislative and policy deliberations. The Commission is comprised of 15 members who represent a cross section of the state. All were chosen based on their expertise in the area of water resources and water management.
Read more
Road work to begin in Hidden Valley
Pinal County work crews will for the next three weeks be busy with the ARDP phase (weather permitting) of road improvements which have been ongoing for the past several months on parts of Hidden Valley Road and Farrell Road.
“The crews will be placing what is known as an Asphalt and Rock Dust Palliative or ARDP,” said District 3 Supervisor David Snider. “It is similar to a heavy chip seal for dirt roads but much more cost effective than hot mix paving. This will go a long way to knocking down dust that comes with dirt roads. I urge drivers in the area to be careful for the next three weeks when they are driving on Hidden Valley Road and Farrell Road.”
Read more
Snider: August happenings around Pinal County
Can it really be true? Is it really August already? Yes, Virginia – it’s once again time to report to the classroom for another scholastic year of academic achievement and excellence. For some the month of August is also the last gasp of summer vacations as at least one more trek into Arizona’s mountains or long weekend trip to San Diego is undertaken. However, the one thread that’s common to all of us is the need to once again practice vigilance when we drive through school zones and crossings: slow down to 15 mph, don’t pass one another, and keep an eye out for children who don’t always wait for the crosswalk and a crossing guard.
Read more
