Maricopa’s Easter Egg Hunt

Maricopa, AZ. – Community of Hope Church www.cohmaricopa.com will be hosting their 8th annual Easter Egg Hunt. It will take place on March 30th 2013 at the Ak Chin UltraStar Multi-tainment Center located at 16000 Maricopa Road – Maricopa, AZ The Hunt will run between 10:00am and 1:00pm.

The Egg Hunt takes place on the lawn directly North of the Multi-tainment Center. Hunts take place every 20 minutes. There will also be carnival games, inflatables, a petting zoo, and of course the Easter Bunny will be on hand for pictures. All of this is free of charge and is open to the entire community of Maricopa.

Find us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cohEggHunt
For more information about Community of Hope Church, please visit : [www.cohmaricopa.com]

Yo, Ho, Ho, and a Bottle of FUN!

Maricopa, AZ – March 7th, 2012–Shiver me timbers and bless me soul.  Maricopa Children’s Theatre is at it again as their young cast gets ready to perform Treasure Island: A Young Pirates of the Caribbean.  The group of approx twenty children ages five to fourteen will be performing at the Maricopa High School Lecture Hall this Friday (8th) at 7pm and Saturday (9th) at 4pm.

Adventure seekers of all ages looking for something refreshing and inexpensive to do this weekend can come enjoy the show for $5 per ticket.  The cast has been rehearsing one night per week for the past eight weeks.  Save time and gas money while supporting a growing program for kids, by keeping the family right here in Maricopa this weekend for some local entertainment.
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Opinion/Editorial: Man Up and Lead

(Steve Miller/Maricopa360.com) Whether or not you’re a Sheriff Paul supporter, you have to admit that what’s right is right.  In this case, I think the Sheriff Paul Babeu has his act together.  The federal government’s release hundreds of illegal border crossers into the public once they’ve been arrested is an absolute insult to the law enforcement community that did their job in bringing them in.  Even more, it’s an affront to the people who live in the community where illegal aliens were released.

It’s time to decide:  Are these people a danger to the public and, once they have been arrested, shouldn’t they follow the same criminal process as any American citizen would?  If an American who’s charged with a crime presents a flight risk because he hasn’t established residence, or for any other reason, he’s not afforded bail.  The illegals in question here weren’t arrested for being darker skinned than most of us.  They were arrested because they committed crimes, even misdemeanors – including crossing our border illegally.

If the case is being made that these people are not worth the cost of incarceration because their crimes are too petty, then perhaps they should be released immediately after they are arrested and charged – only taken to the border and let go on the other side.  Many of the petty crimes that illegals commit are a direct result of them being illegal.  Things like trespassing, petty theft, and vagrancy are examples.  Catch and deport seems to be a much more humane and less expensive policy than pretrial incarceration.
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Babeu Promotes Congressional Investigation over Illegal Alien Release

On February 26th, 2013 Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu sent out the attached News Release after “Whistle Blowers” from ICE and U.S. Border Patrol reported to him the release over 500 criminal illegal detainees from detention facilities in Pinal County. ICE attempted to release all of the criminal illegals under secrecy. ICE later admitted they had released 2,000 illegals from detention facilities throughout the United States and plan to release another 3,000 more this month.

Sheriff Babeu attempted to get information about the illegals who were released since “Whistle Blowers” have informed him many of them have criminal records here in the United States. ICE officials have refused to provide our office with information related to their names, criminal records, or security threat level.

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PCSO Reports Three Pursuits Tied to Smuggling

On Monday, February 25th, 2013 at 3:07 p.m. a Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Deputy was traveling eastbound on Highway 84 from Russell Road. The deputy attempted to stop a vehicle after he had observed it speeding. The driver failed to yield and a pursuit was initiated. The vehicle was traveling at 80 mph in a 55 mph zone. The vehicle slowed down suddenly and then turned back westbound onto Highway 84. When the vehicle turned around, the driver’s side rear tire came off of the vehicle.

The vehicle accelerated and continued westbound. The vehicle eventually turned into a muddy farm field and attempted to get away. The vehicle became stuck and the driver and passenger ran from the vehicle.
The driver and passenger were both caught and identified as Dimas Daniel Orundo-Lopez (age 40) and the passenger was identified as Claudio Santiago Orduno-Canez (age 27). Both admitted they were in the United States illegally.
Inside of the vehicle, deputies located 35 bundles of packaged marijuana which weighed 759 pounds. The marijuana had a street value of $569,250.

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Tim Schickendanz Memorial to be held March 6

On February 27, 2013, a tragic motorcycle accident in Maricopa took the life of 71-year-old Tim Schickendanz. He was very highly thought of in the community.

For those who would like to celebrate his life, memorial services are to be held Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at the Mt. View Chapel located at 15506 Skyway Drive, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 (next to Mountain View Cemetery). Services will begin at 10:30 AM.

Babeu Letter Challenges Napalitano

Dear Secretary Janet Napolitano,

I’m writing to formally request information about the hundreds of criminal illegals who were released from custody and set free in Pinal County this week. I am requesting detailed information about the identity, criminal history, and threat assessment on every single criminal that your agency released under your recent budget pardon. I have already requested this information from your staff here in Arizona, however it has been denied.

You can’t have it both ways! Your office now says these are low risk and non-violent criminals, yet Director John Morton, yourself, and President Obama have consistently argued that ICE lacks the funds to house all criminal illegals and you only focus your limited financial resources to identify, imprison, and deport the worst 34,000 of the estimated 11 million illegals here in the United States. This is the same group that we are talking about here and the same criminal illegals that even you and President Obama has said you wanted to deport.

Protocol and logic should have required your staff to formally notify me, as the top law enforcement official in the county where this occurred, about this mass release of hundreds of foreign criminals into my county and elsewhere, yet regrettably this never happened. Even as the constitutionally elected Sheriff, I do not have any authority to release inmates or detainees in my jail without judicial action. The silence from ICE in failing to answer if any judge was involved with this release or the change of the terms of their detention is what we in law enforcement call a clue.

Supervised release for any foreign criminal is laughable. What incentive do criminal illegals have to report in to the authorities or for them not to cut off their ankle bracelet? What is the worst punishment would they face – deportation? Recidivism rates are extremely high for any incarcerated individual, yet this population will be higher. Those who were released had no prior notice of being set free, which is important for each of them, as well as your staff to assist in preparing for transition into the community and to ensure some safety net. They lack the money, family support, and ability to get a job – not just because they have a criminal record, but because they’re NOT U.S. citizens. This mass release is a recipe for disaster. Future victims of likely crimes will hold you and your administration responsible.

In an effort to mitigate the threat to the public’s safety, I again formally request the names, location provided for their supervised release, criminal charges for detention and their criminal history.

Your immediate attention and response is requested.

Respectfully,
Paul Babeu, Sheriff
Pinal County, Arizona