Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 3

TIIE ARIZONA REPUBLIC SPECIAL TOPICS Wednesday EDUCATION FrldsT SCIENCE ft DISCOVERT Saturday CONSUMER ISSUES THURSDAY DECEMBER 3, 1998 Senior Editor, David Fritze 444-8222 david.fritzepni.com Od15EI5I5T5ET5IdI5ETdI5T5I5I5 7a ft. 4. Ic I 1- -sflPWPBB MOT ram air para proposecii 8 miles Phoenix JQi 8 Chandler I an pant s. INDIAN X. AK-CHIN INDIAN Cargo facility pitched for Gila River land On Wednesday, Carr presented the idea to the Gila Indian River Community south of the Phoenix metro area.

His pitch: Give his partnership vacant land in the southwest corner of the reservation, and he will build a two-runway airport, with freeway and rail links, that would lure distribution companies away from the congested ports of the West Coast. Construction could begin in 2001. The Indian community would then own the facility, with Carr's firm receiving the contract to run it. districts. Several Gila River Indian Community officials, including Gov.

Mary Thomas, said they've had presentations like this in the past that didn't go anywhere. "I still think it's worth looking into," councilman Harry Cruye said. Tribal attorney Rodney Lewis said the community will consider signing the letter of intent. "It's a massive operation," he said. "Once we get solid information, we may move on this." Carr said Indian artifacts would be a possible environmental issue.

would create thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in economic development, said Dick Carr, president of Infrastructure Solutions Inc. But it also is an idea in its early stages, lacking the clients and $200 million-plus in financing needed to make it fly. exeai Scared by St. Nick to foster care? i The project would be privately financed by revenue bonds with no liability for the Indian community. Carr is pressing for a commitment by month's end.

The idea of a "transportation park" already is being explored in Yuma, San Diego, Los Angeles and outside Las Vegas, he said, adding that experts believe there is room for only one in the Southwest. "It's a footrace," he said. Gila River leaders were circumspect They said they need time to discuss the proposal with residents in the sprawling community's seven It's that portion that Rio Salado Crossing backers are hoping to extend, pairing it with the 20-year quarter-cent stadium tax, to pay off $375 million in construction bonds, said Michael Rushman, a financial consultant for the Rio Salado Crossing association. "The (Quality of Life) sales tax would be in place for the time it was intended, and would still pay for the things it was intended for," said Rushman, who is preparing a detailed Please see CROSSING, Page B3 State, researchers dispute incidence By Karina Bland The Arizona Republic Thirteen-year-old Andy wore two or three pairs of underwear under his jeans and slept fully dressed during the months after he got home from spending half a year in foster care. Now 14, Andy averts his eyes when he talks about what happened to him at that Mesa shelter in late 1996 and 1997.

"Basically," he says, sinking down in a cushioned chair in his mother's office, "I was raped." Andy had been taken from his mother because child welfare officials said their house was too By Mary Jo Pitzl and Betty Beard The Arizona Republic A group of private investors is proposing a airport and manufacturing center on the Gila River Indian Community to lure cargo to the central Arizona desert. The Sonoran Global TransPark Wayne's last ranch for sale Actor hoped to build home on Duke's Hill By Carol Sowers The Arizona Republic Thirty years ago, John Wayne, America's hero, climbed atop a rise overlooking the handsome Santa Cruz Valley near the Mexican border and envisioned building a huge compound for his family there. The rise, known as Duke's Hill, is the highest point of Wayne's 670-acre spread of Sonoran Desert, just six miles from Nogales, Sonora, one of the actor's favorite haunts. But Wayne died in 1979 before he could start building on his 100-acre hill. His partner and longtime friend, Ralph Wingfield, 89, said the scenic land was never developed because "John got sick and I got too damned old." Now the spread, adjacent to the Nogales International Airport, is for sale for $2.3 million, put on the market in October by the actor's sons, Michael and Ethan.

When the ranch sells, it will be the last of the Wayne land legacy in Arizona, which served as the landscape for some of the actor's he-man movies. Wayne's ranch near Springerville is now owned by the Hopi Tribe. Another of his spreads near Casa Grande is in a trust, and once was the proposed site of a war museum. Lou Perna, a Scottsdale Realtor specializing in luxury properties, is handling the latest sale, which has prompted stories in the Wall Street Journal and a two-page spread in the duPont Registry, a national real estate publication featuring upscale properties. Development at neighboring Kino Springs golf community once a working ranch belonging to Wayne friends, actors Stewart Granger and Please see DUKE'S, Page B2 SAVING ARIZONA'S CHILDREN Tim KoorsThe Arizona Republic Santa was a little scary to 16-month-old Baylee Galloway when the two were introduced Wednesday at a Mesa Target store.

Baylee's grandmother Maria Wilmont looked a little more jolly about meeting St Nick. needs more funds COMMUNITY The Arizona Republic Noise also could be a problem, although there are no homes for at least a mile and a half in any direction. Please see REGIONAL, Page 62 abuse So far, no one has specifically identified the 210 children who may have been abused in foster homes. The team of researchers based its estimate on its review of a random sample of 287 CPS cases filed over two six-month periods; 7.3 percent suggested that sexual abuse had occurred while the child was in state custody. The researchers concluded that, based on the random sample and using the same methods, there would be a total of 210 children who had been sexually abused in foster care over a decade.

They issued a preliminary report concluding that the state's computer system should be able to identify the children. The state contends that such incidents of abuse occurred before the children lived in foster homes and that it would be almost impossible to review the half-million case files in search of such allegations. The researchers were appointed by Pima County Presiding Judge Michael Brown to look into complaints contained in the 1994 lawsuit. Brown is considering whether to declare the case a class action suit, which ultimately could cost the state millions in restitution. Attorneys predict a decision before the end of the year.

The case has caught the attention of state officials at a time when child welfare is a top political concern. "If the facts as alleged are true, they are very troublesome," newly elected state Attorney General Janet Napolitano said. Laura Knaperek, R-Tempe and co-chairwoman of a joint legislative committee studying child wel- Please see FOSTER, Page B2 Phil Gordon Tyson sex offender registration possible PHOENIX If Mike Tyson settles his legal problems in Maryland and follows through on plans to make the Phoenix area his new home, he'll have to register with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office as a sex offender. Tyson has been living in Scottsdale while he trains for his first fight. He would have to register as a sex offender because of his 1992 rape conviction in Indiana, Scottsdale police Sgt.

Doug Dirren said. Tyson pleaded no contest in a Maryland courtroom Tuesday to misdemeanor assault. Indiana authorities must decide whether the plea violates his probation which could send him back to prison. 1 filthy. Now he is in the middle of a battle over how many Arizona children have suffered sexual abuse after being placed in foster care.

A court-appointed team of Arizona State University researchers has estimated that Andy may be among as many as 210 Arizona children who experienced abuse in foster homes since the mid-1980s. The team was appointed after a lawsuit was filed in Pima County Superior Court by Tucson attorney Larry Berlin in 1994 on behalf of four children reportedly subjected to abuse. The state maintains that the claim of so many children being abused in foster care is ludicrous. "The numbers being quoted in that lawsuit are totally outrageous," says Sally Ordini, spokeswoman for state Child Protective Services. "Incidents of sexual abuse in foster care are extremely rare." Crossing Backers seek piece of recent sales tax hike By Robbie Sherwood The Arizona Republic A proposed quarter-cent sales tax increase would fail to cover Mesa's share of the $1.8 billion Rio Salado Crossing stadium and convention cen Store gala ter, financial experts working on the project have concluded.

So backers are pushing a new plan that would not only ask Mesa voters for the quarter-cent increase, but would also extend a portion of the "Quality of Life" sales tax passed last May for up to 12 years to cover the shortfall. A quarter cent of that half-cent tax passed by voters to pay for transit parks, public safety and an arts and entertainment center was scheduled to shut off after eight years in 2006. goes from 'grand opening to grand theft' 3 miles jf 3km I John Wayne's I Nogales Zf gj International -p Phoenix 5Nogales area area, both as a convenience and also as a sign that the area was not in decline. City officials said PriceRite also hired 84 people from the area; spent $2 million to renovate the store; donated $10,000 to neighborhood leaders for activities and programs for area kids; and provided two rooms there for use by the community, city staff and police. Gordon downplayed the effect the theft could have on the neighborhood image.

"They left the key in the truck," he said, adding it "could happen anywhere." nearby and, after a short chase, arrested the driver, Kirby Zuerlein, 36. Police at the scene told Gordon the man was a former truck driver who was on parole. The truckjacking wasn't exactly on the schedule of events for the opening of the PriceRite Grocery Warehouse at 19th Avenue and Indian School Road. Residents in the area had applauded the store's arrival, after Albertsons pulled out last summer. Residents and neighborhood leaders said having a grocery store there was vital to the struggling ONLINE: Read previous stories about Westwood 's efforts to keep a supermarket on Arizona Central, at www.azcentral.com.

store. At least until about 8 a.m. when a man unhooked the trailer from a Coke delivery truck and left with the cab. Bicycle officers gave chase to no avail, although the driver was later arrested. Phoenix Councilman Phil Gordon noted that the morning went "from grand opening to grand theft." Phoenix police caught up with the rig By Chris Fiscus The Arizona Republic The grand opening of a grocery store Wednesday morning in the Westwood neighborhood was big.

The governor was coming. The Phoenix mayor and a councilman were there. TV crews were going live. There were plenty of police, too. There were a half-dozen officers, Assistant Police Chief Tim Black and Squaw Peak Precinct Commander Marcia Florian.

But there weren't any cops behind the The Arizona Republic Corporation commission challenger seeks overturn of West's victory VALLEY STATE Maricopa County's new area code: 480 PHOENIX Maricopa County's next area code is 480. The Arizona Corporation Commission voted last month to create a new area code because of expectations that all phone numbers in the county's 602 area code will be taken by mid-1999. Under the plan, homes that already have the 602 area code will keep their phone numbers. But any new phone lines installed after June 1, 1999, will be in the 480 area code. In February residents will get a prompt when they make a seven digit phone call, reminding them that in the future to add the area code.

fJEWSlfJ BRIEF Suspect charged in fatal hit-run PHOENIX The woman arrested in the hit-and-run deaths of two pedestrians and an unborn baby on Indian School Road last month was charged Tuesday with one count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Tammy Sasek, 34, turned herself in Sunday after police made it known they were seeking her in connection with the Nov. 21 deaths of James Sobansky and Christina Groseclose, who were struck while crossing Indian School at 23rd Avenue. Groseclose was pregnant at the time, and her unborn baby was also killed. A spokesman for Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley said Tuesday that the charge carries up to 8.75 years in prison.

555 years considered in sex with minor case PHOENIX A man who made videotapes of himself having sex with his girlfriend's 10-year-old sister faces up to 555 years in prison after being convicted by a Maricopa County Superior Court jury Tuesday. Charles Marshall, 36, a former nursed aide for a Glendale care center, was convicted on 21 counts of sexual conduct with a minor and other related charges. His victim had been living with him and her sister since her mother died when she was 5. Marshall is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Anna Baca on Jan. 25.

He faces a minimum of 250 years in prison. ultimately hold another election. Tim Hogan of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest said the statute means that West would have to give up his license before taking office. The National Association of Securities Dealers lists West as holding a securities license for Uinta Investments. West said that he would give up the license if his legal advisors said that was required.

He said he brought the issue to the commission staff himself to ensure he had no conflict of interest. PHOENIX The Democratic candidate for the Arizona Corporation Commission said he will seek to overturn the election of his opponent, Republican Tony West, after learning that West held a securities license while he ran for the office. Paul Newman quoted a state law that says a person who works in a business regulated by the commission "shall not be elected, appointed to, or hold the office of commissioner." The commission regulates securities. Newman said he will ask the state Attorney General to call for a special action before the state Supreme Court to overturn the election and.