Meta helps QC schools/ P.7
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
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NEWS ........................ 3 Relief for school districts’ finances may not come soon.
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3 Arizona counties may sue feds over QC water deal BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer
Q
ueen Creek Town Council has given final approval to the transfer of a $27-million purchase of Colorado River water from GSC Farm in Cibola that could provide 2,033-acre feet of water a year – enough to meet the average annual water consumption by more than 7,100 households.
But in addition to federal and geographical hurdles, the town may find the so-called Greenstone deal mired in a new threat – a lawsuit by three Arizona counties against the federal Bureau of Reclamation for signing off on it. Mohave County Supervisor Travis Lingenfelter told the Queen Creek Tribune that his county, as well as La Paz and Yuma counties, are poised to join forces and sue the bureau over its “finding of no significant impact” in a
In 11 months, QC Police Let it rain answered 25K service calls
SPORTS .................. 21 Perry High alumn debuts today as starting NFL QB.
GETOUT ...................23 QC thespians shine in new “Les Miserables” musical.
COMMUNITY ..........................14 BUSINESS................................16 OPINION.................................... 19 SPORTS....................................... 21 GET OUT.................................... 23 CLASSIFIEDS............................ 27
Sunday, December 11, 2022
review of the deal. “It’s not only a transfer of water, but a transfer of wealth,” said Lingenfelter. “This is like a reverse Robin Hood scenario where they are taking from the poor and giving to the rich. We already don’t have water to spare. It’s still like the wild, wild west out here and the Legislature has done a terrible job or protecting rural people.”
see WATER page 11
BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer
W
ith nearly a year under its belt, the Queen Creek Police Department has responded to nearly 25,000 total service calls ranging from traffic stops and noise complaints to violent crimes and human trafficking cases. That is up from between 6,000 and 7,000 annual calls prior to the department’s formation, when Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies patrolled the town and were stretched to keep up. “But you see, we have more proactive calls than we have reactive calls,” Queen Creek Police Chief Randy Bryce told the town Economic Development Commission recently. Proactive policing involves getting out in front of crimes to prevent them before they happen, and working with the community to reduce criminal activity as opposed to reactive policing, which occurs when officers respond to a crime that has already happened, according to the National Institute of Justice. “Proactive policing strategies hold great promise to prevent
see BRYCE page 6
That seemed to be the motto of Queen Creek residents on Nov. 4 when steady rains left the town’s annual Christmas parade soggy but unbowed. Scores of people turned out anyway for the celebration, including the Queen Creek Tribune, which provided a photo booth for spectators and participants to capture the moment. Some of those photos can be seen on page 14. (Quinton Kendall/
Tribune Contributor)
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