Marguerite Hensley, McCain mother-in-law, dies
Thomas Ropp
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 23, 2006 12:00 AM
Marguerite Hensley, Sen. John McCain's mother-in-law, died Sunday morning in Phoenix following a long illness.
With daughter Cindy McCain at her side, Hensley, 87, passed away peacefully, according to McCain spokeswoman Melissa Shuffield.
"She was a wonderful woman who played such an important role within our family, and always demonstrated her unending support, love and wit," McCain said in a news release. advertisement
McCain canceled an appearance at a Rochester, N.Y., luncheon for Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-N.Y., to be with his family.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday for Hensley, whose late husband, James Hensley, founded Hensley & Co., the Phoenix-area Anheuser-Busch distributor. James Hensley died in June 2000.
Shuffield said it was too early to tell whether McCain would cancel more events in the coming week.
Hensley is also survived by another daughter, five grandchildren, one great-grandchild, two great-great-grandchildren and a sister.
Pot discovery leads to shooting
Brent Whiting The Arizona Republic Oct. 23, 2006 10:15 AM
A man was shot by a law enforcement officer for the U.S. Forest Service after a marijuana grove was discovered Sunday on public land near Sunflower in northeastern Maricopa County, authorities said Monday.
The shooting occurred while officers were attempted to destroy about 3,100 plants that were spread over about a four-acre area, said Paige Rockett, a spokeswoman for the Tonto National Forest.
They encountered four armed suspects, one of whom aimed a rifle at them, Rockett said. An officer fired three times and wounded the man, she said.
The 20-year-old suspect, whose name has not been released, was taken to a hospital with wounds that were not considered life-threatening, Rockett said. He was reported in stable condition Monday and was cooperating with authorities.
In the meantime, the other three men fled and were the object of an overnight search by Forest Service officials, assisted by Maricopa and Gila county sheriff's deputies and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Maricopa County deputies sent a helicopter as well as K-9 units, said Lt. Paul Chagolla, a sheriff's spokesman. The Forest Service is conducting the investigation, he said.
On Monday morning, there was a preliminary but unconfirmed report that Gila County deputies had caught one of the three men, Rockett said.
She said authorities were to return to the grove Monday and continue eradicating the pot. No estimated street value was given.
The shooting came nearly three months after 30,000 marijuana plants were found on the slopes of a canyon about 20 miles east of Payson. That pot bust, one of the biggest in Arizona history was not a surprise to Tonto officials, who said they are stretched then in patrolling all 2.9 million acres of the public land.
The forest runs for more than 50 ragged miles past Cave Creek, Scottsdale, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and all the way past Mesa and Apache Junction.
So far this year, Arizona authorities have shut down at least six marijuana gardens found on state lands.
In 2005, there were seven majors busts that yielded a total of 220,000 pounds of pot with a street value of about $110 million, authorities said.
Rim country has been home to most of the crops. It's rugged, remote, blanketed in forests and teeming with streams, making it a good place for trafficking, authorities said.
Reach the reporter at brent.whiting@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-6937.
Man with knife robs ice cream store
Judi Villa The Arizona Republic Oct. 23, 2006 06:53 AM
A robber wielding a hunting knife robbed an Ahwatukee Foothills ice cream store of $85, police said.
Phoenix police said a man in a black hooded sweatshirt and white ski mask waited for customers to leave the Baskin Robbins at 4025 E. Chandler Boulevard on Sunday afternoon, then displayed an 8- to 10-inch hunting knife. The man demanded cash and ordered the clerk to lay on the floor.
He escaped in a white Ford Mustang. The suspect remains at large this morning. He is described as 17 to 20 years old with a thin build.
Hurricane threatens southern Baja California
Associated Press Oct. 23, 2006 09:29 AM
MEXICO CITY - Hurricane Paul neared Category 3 status Monday with winds as high as 110 mph as it began curving toward the Baja California peninsula.
Paul was moving northwest at about 5 mph. Forecasters predicted it would strengthen further and could hit Mexico's Pacific coast in the next few days.
A hurricane watch was issued for the southern tip of Baja California, a resort area that has been battered by two other hurricanes this season.
The storm was on a course that would bring it just south of the peninsula late Tuesday before plowing into Mexico's Pacific coast near the resort of Mazatlan.
At 8 a.m. Arizona time, the storm was about 455 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas, known for deep-sea fishing and upscale hotels popular with Hollywood's elite. It had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, just one short of becoming a Category 3 storm.
Mexico was struck by two Pacific hurricanes last month. Hurricane John battered Baja California, killing five people and destroying 160 homes, while Hurricane Lane hit the resort town of Mazatlan, causing relatively minor damage.
2 killed in ultralight crash Valley residents
Brent Whiting The Arizona Republic Oct. 23, 2006 09:46 AM
Authorities on Monday identified the two people, including a posse volunteer, who were killed Sunday in an ultralight plane crash in the Southwest Valley.
They are Ken Wilson, 77, and Helen Gene Mercer, 83, both of Sun City West, said Lt. Paul Chagolla, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.
Wilson, 75, a retired test-system engineer from Willow Grove, Pa., served as a lieutenant with the Sun City West Sheriff's Posse. He joined the group shortly after arriving in the retirement community 16 years ago.
Mercer, a retiree from Zumbrota, Minn., is believed to be a friend of Wilson's fianc? Chagolla said.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash, he said.
"It's a sad situation," said Sheriff Joe Arpaio. "It's a sad day for the sheriff's office, a sad day for the posse."
Deputies said the crash occurred southwest of Buckeye near 320th Avenue and Arlington Canal Road.
The accident was called in at 10 a.m. Sunday by a nearby resident who saw the ultralight strike power lines, said Deputy Lindsey Smith, a posse spokeswoman.
Wilson served on the midnight shift for the posse, as well as a training officer.
In addition, he would keep posse bicycles in working order and would build rocking horses and other toys that were used by the posse as Christmas offerings to area needy families. He described the rocking horses as "a labor of love, saying he would spend 80 hours or more building them in his home workshop. "I've always believed in giving something back to the community," Wilson told The Arizona Republic during a 2004 interview. "You get to meet a lot of fine folks through posse service." Zoe Schreibman, a posse volunteer, described Wilson as "a fabulous, caring and wonderful man, a tremendous asset to the community." Reach the reporter at brent.whiting@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-6937.