Arizona Daily Sun from Flagstaff, Arizona • A3

ArizonA DAily Sun Thursday, June 28, 2018 A3 1 EMERY COWAN Sun Staff Reporter The Coconino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a $182 million final budget for the coming fiscal year that includes nearly 20 new positions and pay raises of up to 5.5 percent for county employees. The payroll expansion is made possible mainly through surging sales tax revenues and a drawdown of general fund reserves. Unique to next budget is a one-time bo- nus for employees based on pay grade, with those at a lower pay grade getting a 2.5 percent bonus and those at higher pay scales getting a smaller amount. on top of a 3 percent base raise that all employees will receive. The idea is to give a bigger financial boost to those making less.

Megan Cunningham, as- sistant finance director with the county, said the first time she can remember the county awarding bonuses calibrated to different pay grades. Next budget also includes $400,000 in new dollars for a pilot program for top-performing employ- ees to get another one-time bonus. As in years past, the county will increase the amount of tax revenues it is allowed to collect by the maximum allowed under state statute, which is 2 per- cent plus revenues tied to the value of new construction. About $9.6 million, or 5 percent, of the to- tal revenues will come from property taxes. The Office will receive the largest boost in new staff of any county department, with the allo- cation of $700,000 to add four deputy positions.

In a presentation to super- visors in the spring, County Sheriff Jim Driscoll said his workload has increased significantly over the past 10 years and over that time his officers have taken on additional roles in the field. getting one to three calls a day involving suicide or attempted sui- Driscoll said. years ago that Deputies are then ex- pected to provide some of the counseling that is needed to talk people out of whatever attempting to do, Driscoll said. No longer is 911 solely for emergencies, a referral he said. call when they light their pilot light at night, when they manage their he said.

Visitation to the county is growing as well, which cre- ates more accidents, traf- fic and parking issues and search and rescue requests that demand his attention, Driscoll said. Another $2.5 million in next budget will go to start a law enforcement re- tention fund to reduce turn- over. Each detention or pa- trol officer who stays at the county for 10 years or more will be eligible for a $20,000 payout from that fund. Other new funding in the budget includes $500,000 for a behavioral health and substance abuse initiative, the multi-agency Criminal Justice Coordinating Com- mittee and a program to help families where multiple gen- erations have had significant contact with the justice sys- tem. Sheriff to get four more deputies via county PHOENIX (AP) An Ar- izona court has ruled that medical marijuana patients can still face arrest when in possession of hashish be- cause it mentioned or included by name in a vot- er-approved pot initiative passed in 2010.

The Arizona Court of Appeals handed down the decision Tuesday in the case of Rodney Jones, a cardholder in the medical marijuana program who was arrested in March 2013 at a Prescott hotel and indicted on a count each of cannabis possession and drug paraphernalia pos- session. Police said at the time they had found Jones had 0.05 ounces of hashish in a jar, according to the appeals court ruling. After spending a year in jail, Jones waived his right to a jury trial in the case. He was later convicted and sentenced to more than two years in prison with credit for time served. In his appeal, Jones had sought to have his convic- tion and sentence over- turned by the court.

But two of the judges on the three-member appeals court panel rejected his request, saying that the medical marijuana act approved in 2010 on hashish. the drafters wanted to immunize the posses- sion of hashish they should have said the ruling said. cannot con- clude that Arizona voters intended to do Hashish is a resin ex- tracted from cannabis plants, and it is often used in oils and other medical marijuana products that are a part of the burgeoning, multibillion pot market. The ruling had found that hashish is recognized un- der state law as a narcotic distinct from marijuana by the Legislature because of its potency levels. attorney did not immediately return a call requesting comment Wednesday.

Sarah Mayhew, who represented the Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice in supporting Jones in the lawsuit, said the par- ties would appeal the case to the Arizona Supreme Court. are several things in this ruling that are just flat-out said May- hew, also an attorney in the Pima County Public De- office. She said the court had sought to apply marijuana and cannabis definitions in the criminal code to the language drafted by medical marijuana advo- cates in the 2010 ballot initiative. Voters had approved the medical marijuana act in order to provide broad pro- tections to people seeking to access pot for medicinal reasons, she said. By taking this step, the court narrowed the intent of the voters, Mayhew ar- gued.

Arizona court: Hashish not considered medical IRFAN KHAN a marijuana plant growing in a marijuana cultivation business in adelanto, Calif. REBECCA SPIESS Cronkite News PHOENIX Seven- teen-year-old Faisa Ahmed moved to the United States when she was nine years old, brought by parents who fled the Somali civil war. For her, President travel ban on certain coun- tries is personal: her rel- atives are still trapped in Somalia. people are fleeing these countries for a she said. lot of my family members in Somalia are try- ing to come Last year, aunt attempted to immigrate to the U.S.

from Somalia, but her visa was denied. Now, she plans on moving to Kenya to try again. all out there suf- said Ahmed, whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from Kenya. She said the U.S.

Supreme decision Tuesday to uphold the travel ban means her aunt will struggle to find a way into a country that has sheltered Ahmed from harm. The Trump administra- tion has placed travel re- strictions on immigrants from countries like So- malia, Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen and North Korea. President Trump called it a move to combat terrorism and extremism and secure the borders. Arizona Rep. Paul Go- sar, R-Prescott, said the Supreme decision keeps terrorism at bay.

of these countries really have an organized central government that can actually discern good, bad, who meet the he said. that com- ing to this country is not a right, a Gosar said many would-be immigrants want to leave their home countries and are instead being forced to flee. He said alternatives to immigration to the U.S. included mea- sures like safety zones for refugees and other asylum seekers to inhabit during conflict. think that the U.S.

job to do that for the he said. be the United job to be the sole po- lice Gosar said that to be considered safe, countries would need to have a central government, with public documents to vet backgrounds. In countries like Somalia, in the midst of decades-old civil war, public records are tough to come by but Gosar said up to other coun- tries to develop safe zones for refugees of conflict-rid- den countries. Ruling on travel ban stuns Muslim community PHOTO BY NICK SERPA, CRONKITE NEWS Faisa ahmed, an immigrant from somalia, said she came to the u.s. after her parents fled war in their home country.

people are fleeing these countries for a she said. Red Flag Warning issued for Flagstaff Thursday Strong, gusty winds will create critical fire weather conditions Thursday in Flagstaff and across much of the region. The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning starting at 11 a.m. for most of north- ern Arizona, including the Yavapai Mountains and central Apache County. Winds will blow between 15 and 25 mph, with gusts to 40 mph.

Most of the region is un- der Stage 2 fire restrictions, meaning no campfires or smoking outdoors is per- mitted. In addition, major parts of four national forests are closed to the public. High court says lawmaker kicked out for sexual harassment can run again PHOENIX (AP) The Ar- izona Supreme Court says a former state lawmaker who became the first kicked out of his seat since the movement started can run for state Senate. The justices ruled Wednesday that Don name can appear on the ballot in the Aug. 28 Republican primary be- cause it appears still a resident of the district he wants to represent.

An opponent, Brent Backus, had filed a legal challenge earlier this month saying Shooter live at an address in the south- ern Arizona city of Yuma as he claims. The state House expelled Shooter in February after investigators concluded that he sexually harassed at least seven women, includ- ing fellow lawmakers. Shooter previously rep- resented a district that in- cludes parts of Yuma and Phoenix. GOP lawmaker says immigration remarks taken out of context PHOENIX (AP) A state representative who was asked to resign after saying enough white kids to go when discussing immigration in schools says his comments were taken out of context. State Rep.

David Stringer, a Prescott Republican run- ning for re-election, met with Reverend Jarrett Maupin and a group of cit- izens at a Phoenix restau- rant. Stringer apologized to anyone in the room he of- fended and said his remarks were taken out of context. Stringer was videotaped earlier this month saying immigration is an tential to the United States among other com- ments. A statewide Demo- cratic candidate circulated a clip of the video on social media. The state party chairman Jonathan Lines and Repub- lican Gov.

Doug Ducey had called on Stringer to resign immediately. BRIEFS Man arrested after 5 hour standoff with police A man on probation for attempted sexual assault was arrested after a 5 hour armed standoff with police in Kachina Village Tuesday afternoon. County deputies responded to a report of a domestic violence incident Tuesday morning at a home on the 2000 block of Kona Trail. According to police, the call came from a female victim and her father, stat- ing her boyfriend had be- come aggressive with the father, and later physically assaulted the woman when she found a bag of suspected methamphetamine in the possessions. The woman also reported the suspect had a handgun on his person during the phys- ical assault.

Following the assault, the woman and her father left the home and reported the incident. Officers re- sponded and attempted to locate the sus- pect at the home but he refused to answer the door or respond to authorities. Surrounding neighbors were evacuated and two streets were closed during the incident. The Flagstaff Police Departments Joint Tactical Operations Team responded at the request of the Office and af- ter several hours, a chemical irritant was introduced into the bathroom of the home, and the suspect exited and surrendered to officers. Spencer William Bird, 26, was booked into jail on a felony warrant with possible additional charges pending.

Bird POLICE LOG LOTTERIES POWERBALL: 07- 28-37-62-63 (15) THE PICK: 03-16- 23-34-36-39 FANTASY 5: 01-04- 17-25-33 PICK 3: 7-3-1 Anne Marie Nelson Anne Marie Nelson passed away unexpectedly on June 20th, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. She was born January 16th, 1979 in Flagstaff, Arizona. She is survived by her husband Charles Thomas II, her children Trinity and Taeshawn, her parents Nannette (Monti)Walker and Danny Stafford, her four sisters (Caroline, Sarah, Crissy and Merrie), her three brothers (Keith, Danny Jr and John), her seven nieces (An- drea, Brianna, Aubrianna, Vanessa, Caylee, Ariel and Kimora), Her nine nephews (Tyler, Craig, Hector Jr, Ethan, Elijah, Carlos, KC, Ernesto and Henry) and many aunts, uncles and cousins. She is preceded in death by her grandparents Carolyn Nelson, Edward Nelson, Barbara (Dale)Walker, John (Jack) Grace and Barbara Grace, her brother Michael Nelson and her sister CrystalWalker. She was kind hearted and very family oriented.

She enjoyed going on family outings like camping, hiking, and unplanned adventures. She is loved by many people and will be missed dearly. Services will be held Friday June 29th, 2018 at San Francisco de Asis, 1600 E. Route 66 Flagstaff, AZ 86001. Rosary will be held at and Mass at Donations can be made to Norvel Owens Mortuary or to a Go- FundMe account under Anne Marie Nelson Funeral to help with expenses.

Memories and condolences can be shared with family directly or online at www.norvelowensmoruary.com January 1979 July 2018.