Citizen Staff Writer

MARY BUSTAMANTE

mbustamante@tucsoncitizen.com

None of Tucson Unified School District’s tenured librarians or counselors will be laid off next year.

An e-mail went out Wednesday to all 75 librarians and 141 counselors who in early April received a notice of a possible reduction in force.

The notification by Interim Chief Human Resources Officer Nancy Woll said, “I understand, however, that there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding placements for next year.”

Because of budget shortfalls, some schools have opted to do without counselors and/or librarians next school year.

“All of us in Human Resources understand how difficult this is and we will be working closely with those of you who have been displaced for the next school year to bring you that certainty about your placement as soon as possible,” Woll said.

Citizen Staff Writer

Compiled by M. Watt. For information call, 573-4561.

Margaret Mary Apland, 86, March 17, homemaker. Adair Funeral Homes Avalon Chapel

Reynaldo Arrebollo, 78, of Green Valley, March 18, heavy equipment operator. Green Valley Mortuary

Arlene L. Bennett, 89, of Oro Valley, March 19, homemaker. Adair Funeral Homes Avalon Chapel

Dean Marlin Branson, 65, March 6, scheduler. Desert Rose Cremation & Burial

Roger A. Buzan, 61, of Catalina, March 18, copper miner. Desert Sunset Funeral Home

Margaret Glenn Bybee, 87, March 18, restaurant owner. Desert Rose Cremation & Burial

Linda A. Coggins, 50, March 15, construction foreman. Desert Sunset Funeral Home

Evan Jacob Cueto, 17, March 18, student. Adair Funeral Homes Avalon Chapel

Jennifer Curtis, 30, March 12, homemaker. Desert Sunset Funeral Home

Mary Margaret Duggan, 87, March 6, writer. Desert Rose Cremation & Burial

Maria Hilda Escobar, 56, Feb. 28, homemaker. Desert Rose Cremation & Burial

Cora Beckwith Hendrix, 84, March 17, homemaker. Adair Funeral Homes Avalon Chapel

Douglas James MacGregor, 56, March 17, heavy equipment operator. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Jerald James Mitchell, 64, March 17, business owner. Adair Funeral Homes Avalon Chapel

Gilbert A. Montes, 69, March 16, electrical engineer. Desert Rose Cremation & Burial

Carol Ann Murrah, 67, March 15, salesperson. Desert Rose Cremation & Burial

Josephine Nazzaro, 77, March 10, housekeeper. Desert Rose Cremation & Burial

Howard Curtis Ness, 87, March 18, salesperson. Adair Funeral Homes Avalon Chapel

Helen M. Popovich, 76, March 14, clerk. Desert Sunset Funeral Home

Robert Lee Ross, 71, of Montana, March 19, food merchandiser. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Johnnie Ray Rucker, 58, of Arivaca, March 13, ranch caretaker. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Corvin Lee Skaggs, 27, March 16, heating and cooling systems installer. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

John Louis Stearling, 73, Feb. 16, mechanic. Desert Rose Cremation & Burial

John E. Strauss, 73, March 15, manager. Desert Rose Cremation & Burial

Rosalyn Valdez, 39, March 12, cashier. Desert Rose Cremation & Burial

Betty Wilkins, 78, March 7, secretary. Desert Rose Cremation & Burial

Jeffry Scott Woodhouse, 53, March 16, salesperson. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Citizen Staff Writer

Compiled by Daniela Vizcarra. For information, call 573-4561

Hubert “Jonesy” Jones, 79, of Oracle, March 3, construction. Vistoso Memorial Chapel

Peggy A. Payne, 57, of Marana, March 4, educational tutor. Desert Sunset Funeral Home

Robert “Bob” Reichard, 71, of SaddleBrooke, March 9, claims manager. Vistoso Memorial Chapel

Elizabeth Kay Rich, 52, March 11, secretary. Vistoso Memorial Chapel

Guy Spiller, 65, of SaddleBrooke, March 4, U. S. Postal Service. Vistoso Memorial Chapel

Citizen Staff Writer

Compiled by Daniela Vizcarra. For information, call 573-4561

Hermelinda O. Cady, 87, March 6, homemaker. Bring’s Memorial Chapel

Allen Charles, 23, March 3, cook. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Belvia Gwin, 84, March 1, retail sales. Bring’s Memorial Chapel

Thomas Hagerty, 74, Jan. 23, occupation unavailable. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Norma R. Morando, 59, March 6, homemaker. Bring’s Memorial Chapel

Daniel R. Morris, 54, March 1, house painter. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Ernestine M. O’Hara-Foss, 82, March 1, homemaker. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

August A. Scrima, 87, March 8, business owner. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Chloe Ambia Timm, 84, March 9, homemaker. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Citizen Staff Writer

Compiled by Savannah Kurowski. For information, call 573-4561

Maria Cortez, 92, Feb. 28, cook. Funerarias Del Angel South Lawn

Steve Diaz, 84, Feb. 27, maintenance. Funerarias Del Angel South Lawn

Maria Grajeda, 83, Feb. 25, homemaker. Funerarias Del Angel South Lawn

Leo T. Gregerson, 86, Feb. 27, brakeman. Funerarias Del Angel South Lawn

Katherine C. Klepfer, 90, Feb. 26, teacher. Funerarias Del Angel South Lawn

John McNair, 78, Feb. 14, bus company. Funerarias Del Angel South Lawn

Rosario B. Trujillo, 85, March 1, cook. Funerarias Del Angel South Lawn

Citizen Staff Writer

Citizen Staff Report

news@tucsoncitizen.com

Drills paid off and everyone was safe after a fire broke out Friday in the attic of the Manzanita dormitory at the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.

Tucson Fire Capt. Trish Tracy reported that the blaze at 1200 W. Speedway Blvd. was controlled at 8:37 p.m.

It was called in at 7:41 p.m.

Fourteen units and 50 firefighters battled the blaze.

Three children and two staff members were evacuated from the dorm. They will be housed elsewhere on campus.

During the week, the dorm houses nine students and five adults.

“They have audible and visible fire alarms and smoke detectors, and practice their escape plan once a month,” Tracy said. “Everybody understood that when they noticed a fire they went ahead and went to the meeting place.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation, she said.

No one hurt; blaze controlled at Az Schools for the Deaf and the Blind

Citizen Staff Writer

Compiled by Daniela Vizcarra. For information, call 573-4561

Kevin Anderson, 53, Feb. 23, laborer. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Michael D. Coyne, 54, March 3, arborist. Desert Sunset Funeral Home

Helen Margarette “Helene” Goetz, 94, March 4, professor. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

James Lee Howell, 64, Feb. 8, iron worker. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Mary Margaret Luke, 92, March 2, homemaker. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Robert G. Marsland, 90, March 3, construction. Desert Sunset Funeral Home

Martha Meyer, 89, Feb. 26, office clerk. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Joseph John Parisella Sr., 79, March 1, engineer. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Consuelo C. Ruiz, 92, March 3, homemaker. Adair Funeral Homes Avalon Chapel

Joan Shields, 79, March 2, purchaser. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Citizen Staff Writer

Compiled by Daniela Vizcarra. For information, call 573-4561

Mary Bambauer, 96, Feb. 14, grocery clerk. Bring’s Broadway Chapel

Joyce L. Collins, 67, Feb. 16, airline agent. Bring’s Broadway Chapel

Diana Dudley, 72, Feb. 15, nurse. Bring’s Broadway Chapel

Phillip R. Engelhardt, 73, Feb. 18, engineer. Bring’s Broadway Chapel

Billie P. Gay, 82, Feb. 17, construction manager. Bring’s Broadway Chapel

Hattie Gould, 100, Feb. 17, assembly line worker. Bring’s Broadway Chapel

Ruby M. Gregory, 87, Feb. 17, homemaker. Bring’s Broadway Chapel

Donna Laughner, 70, Feb. 17, homemaker. Bring’s Broadway Chapel

Virgil G. Lorenzini, 88, Feb. 17, salesman. Bring’s Broadway Chapel

Wayne Frederick Priehs, 83, Feb. 17, manager. Adair Funeral Homes Avalon Chapel

Ronald Rushlow, 55, Feb. 4, system analyst. Adair Funeral Homes Avalon Chapel

Audrey M. Sands, 84, Feb. 17, homemaker. Bring’s Broadway Chapel

Ralph Simons, 79, Feb. 14, business owner. Bring’s Broadway Chapel

Joseph A. Walker, 76, Feb. 14, business owner. Bring’s Broadway Chapel

Citizen Staff Writer

HEIDI ROWLEY

hrowley@tucsoncitizen.com

All 15 of El Rio Community Health Center clinics will be closed Friday afternoon so workers can attend the funeral of longtime employee Mercedes Sumner, who collapsed and died Feb. 13.

Sumner, called Mercy by her friends, had been a nurse in southern Arizona for more than 40 years. She was 70 when she died.

“We have an individual that has touched the hearts of many,” said Dr. Arthur Martinez, El Rio’s chief medical officer. “Many of our staff will want to be at services. It was too difficult to pick and choose. . . . We just wanted to allow everybody the opportunity to attend (the funeral).”

Services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday at St. Francis de Sales Parish, 1375 S. Camino Seco.

El Rio spokeswoman Jill Rodriguez said Sumner was raised in Sonoita on a cattle ranch. After high school she received a registered nursing degree from St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Tucson, which closed in 1966.

She worked at St. Mary’s Hospital for a short time and then worked at Copper Queen Hospital in Bisbee. She was an instructor at Cochise College in the late 1960s.

Sumner returned to Tucson to work at Tucson Medical Center, where she spent 22 years. She left TMC to work at El Rio, where she had been for the past 14 years.

Rodriguez said Sumner began to experience pain in her legs five weeks before her death. Martinez said she had been moved to a position where she was writing policies and procedures, which enabled her to sit more frequently.

However, on Feb. 13 she collapsed while working and was unresponsive. She was taken to a local hospital, where she died of a pulmonary embolism.

“It’s been very sad,” Martinez said. “It was unexpected and as a result it was quite traumatic.”

He said counselors have been brought in to help staff members.

To close the clinics, Martinez said some appointments had to be rescheduled and signs have been placed on all doors to let patients know of the closure.

Martinez said closing the clinics for a funeral is an unusual act for El Rio. But because Sumner had supervised and been a mentor for most of the nurses and has worked with many of the doctors, it was important to let everyone attend her funeral.

SERVICES

Memorial services for Mercy Sumner will be at St. Francis de Sales Parish, 1375 S. Camino Seco, at 2 p.m. Friday.

Citizen Staff Writer
LAW AND ORDER REPORT

DAVID L. TEIBEL

dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com

Sheriff’s deputies likely will not seek charges against a driver who left the scene of a fatal motorcycle crash Friday, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said.

The driver probably didn’t know the motorcyclist in front of him or her had gone down on the roadway, Deputy Dawn Barkman said.

The motorcycle did not make contact with the other vehicle, Barkman said.

Zachary J. Miller, 22, of Ohio was killed, Barkman said.

Miller was riding west on West Wetmore Road about 6 p.m. when an eastbound driver turned left in front of Miller to head north on North Schafer Street, near North Romero Road, Barkman said.

Miller and his motorcycle went down and he died when he hit the roadway, Barkman said.

Witnesses told deputies Miller was riding at high speed when the wreck happened, Barkman said.

She did not have an estimated speed for the motorcycle.

Miller apparently was wearing a helmet that may have come off in the wreck, she said.

Barkman said there was no way to tell if Miller intentionally laid the moving motorcycle down to avoid a collision or if he lost control.

There was evidence he locked the brakes before the motorcycle went over on its side, Barkman said.

She said the driver who left has not been found and that person “probably didn’t know the motorcycle went down; the motorcycle never made contact with (the vehicle),” Barkman said.

Charges unlikely against driver who left fatal crash

Citizen Staff Writer

SHERYL KORNMAN

skornman@tucsoncitizen.com

Southern Arizona Legal Aid is suing AHCCCS, the state’s Medicaid administrator, and Mercy Care Plan Inc. to get a liver transplant for a 50-year-old Tucson woman who will die within months without one, said her lawyer, Wendy H. Ascher.

Ascher said Thursday that anyone receiving public benefits has a “constitutional right to appeal the denial of those benefits.”

The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and Mercy Care, Lenna Kwon’s HMO, denied the transplant, in part based on their medical expert’s opinion.

The opinion said Kwon has a 50 percent chance of surviving for five years after a transplant.

Ascher said in an interview that Legal Aid’s medical expert told an administrative law judge in an appeal of two denials by AHCCCS that Kwon has a 70 percent chance of surviving one year after transplant, based on her current medical condition.

“This case has implications for any AHCCCS member who is elderly or who has an estimated life expectancy of less than five years,” Ascher said.

Kwon had a liver transplant about 18 months ago as part of her treatment for liver cancer, but the surgery was “flawed,” Ascher said, and the transplanted liver is failing.

She said that without a transplant, Kwon has months to live and that University Medical Center’s liver transplant team is willing to perform the surgery.

Kwon had metastasized tumors removed from a lung last winter and is doing well enough now to have a successful liver transplant, Ascher said.

A new liver would allow her chemotherapy treatment – aimed at preventing more tumors – to be made more aggressive, because she would have a better-functioning liver, Ascher said.

The denial by an administrative law judge was based on the state’s definition of “medically necessary” and how AHCCCS interprets the law, Ascher said.

It states that medical services must “prevent disease, disability or other adverse health conditions or their progression” or be “to prolong life.”

“The practical impact of AHCCC’s narrow definition of ‘medical necessity’ is that it denies Lenna a lifesaving treatment even when experts agree that a transplant is the only appropriate treatment,” Ascher said in statement released Thursday.

The suit was filed Jan. 30 in Pima County Superior Court.

Kwon is divorced and has a son, 12, living with her in Tucson, and two adult children.

She worked as a tailor and seamstress for more than 20 years and has lived in Tucson with her family for 20 years, Ascher said.

Citizen Staff Writer

RENÉE SCHAFER HORTON

rshorton@tucsoncitizen.com

and ALAN FISCHER

afischer@tucsoncitizen.com

In an example of doing more with less, the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park reported an increased economic impact over the past four years in spite of Tech Park employment being down nearly 1 percent.

The figures were released Thursday in an economic impact study by Jaewon Lim, senior economist with the UA Office of Economic Development.

The park, at 9070 S. Rita Road, had 6,175 direct jobs in 2007 compared to 6,226 direct jobs in 2003-2004, the last time an economic impact study on the tech park was completed.

Direct jobs refer to employees of the tech park’s 32 business tenants that occupied the park in 2007.

The park’s total dollar impact – which includes includes wages, sales and tax revenues – jumped 25.9 percent in the past four years, from $1.9 billion in 2003-2004 to $2.4 billion in 2007.

An additional 6,850 indirect jobs were generated in the local economy by the tech park, as well as 220 in construction, according to the report.

The park has almost 2 million square feet of developed space situated on 1,345 acres, and the next large development planned there will be a 123-room hotel and 7,400-square-foot conference center.

In September, the Arizona Board of Regents approved UA selling up to $23 million in tax-exempt bonds to finance the hotel and conference center at the tech park.

The decision came with some controversy because Regent Anne Mariucci of Phoenix dissented, believing that investing in a hotel so far from the university was a large risk for UA in uncertain economic times.

At the time, UA President Robert N. Shelton said he supported building the hotel, slated to open in fall 2010, because it would provide a revenue stream for the university.

UA is facing more than a $40 million cut to its fiscal 2009 budget in a budget proposal, which is expected to be approved by Feb. Sunday.

The park started 10 years ago with 17 tenants and is now home to 41 technology companies and business organizations including IBM, Raytheon, Canon, Citigroup and General Dynamics, according to 2009 tech park figures.

Study: UA tech park added $2.4B to local economy in ’07

Citizen Staff Writer

Compiled by Daniela Vizcarra. For information, call 573-4561

Brandy Trumbo-Gonzalez, 31, Jan. 17, security guard. Funeraria Del Angel

Lorraine Harsh, 96, Jan. 20, broker. Funeraria Del Angel

Robert L. Nichols, 73, Jan. 25, insurance agent. Funeraria Del Angel

Robert Pickell, 84, Jan. 28, plumber. Desert Sunset Funeral Home

Maria Romero, 24, Jan. 21, manager. Funeraria Del Angel

Jesus Torres, 87, Jan. 26, agriculture. Funeraria Del Angel

Citizen Staff Writer
LAW AND ORDER REPORT

SHERYL KORNMAN

skornman@tucsoncitizen.com

Maria G. Romero, 23, was fatally shot Wednesday night at a Southwest Side apartment complex, Tucson police said Thursday.

One of her brothers, a 25-year-old, was injured by gunfire at 10:55 p.m. at La Posada Apartments, 6300 S. Headley Road, police said. The man, who is expected to recover, is not being named because he is a crime victim. He was at a hospital on Wednesday.

“Detectives have learned that Ms. Romero was inside her apartment along with two brothers and two male visitors when an undetermined number of male visitors arrived,” Tucson police Sgt. Fabian Pacheco said in a Thursday news release.

He said detectives believe both groups involved in the incident have gang affiliations.

Romero, her brothers and their visitors got into an “altercation” in the parking lot that “escalated into a shooting,” Pacheco said.

Romero was killed in the exchange of gunfire, Pacheco said. The motive for the shooting is under investigation.

No suspects were in custody Thursday afternoon.

Anyone with information about the incident or the participants is asked to call 88-CRIME or 911.

Citizen Staff Writer

Compiled by Daniela Vizcarra. For information, call 573-4561

Charles Blankstrom, 80, Jan. 4, electronics repair. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

Gloria Buehler, 85, Jan. 2, librarian. Funeraria Del Angel

Leonard Catrone, 84, Jan. 4, maintenance. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

Ralph Cortez, 52, Jan. 10, electrician. Funeraria Del Angel

Charles Fraint, 94, Jan. 6, supervisor. Funeraria Del Angel

Marjorie Gill, 85, Jan. 8, homemaker. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

John Goodridge, 87, Jan. 11, banker. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

William K. Greenburg, 84, Jan. 10, aerospace engineer. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

Dorothy Hillgrove, 72, Jan. 19, secretary. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

George Kay, 84, Jan. 3, police officer. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

Michael Lee, 27, Jan. 9, salesman. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

Norman Leiniger, 87, Jan. 6, bus driver. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

Francisco Leon, 78, Jan. 6, chauffeur. Funeraria Del Angel

Steven Lohrenz, 48, Jan. 3, manufacturing. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

Robert F. Mellen, 78, Jan. 20, land surveyor. Desert Sunset Funeral Home

Charles Miles, 90, Jan. 1, engineer. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

Enrique Morales, 80, Jan. 12, carpenter. Funeraria Del Angel

Gordon Noble, 81, Jan. 6, professor. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

Neysa Ojalvo, 81, of Washington D.C., Jan. 20, artist. Adair Funeral Homes Dodge Chapel

Elizabeth Parkman, 98, Jan. 1, philanthropist. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

Zada Pilster, 92, Jan. 8, nurse. Funeraria Del Angel

Juanita Rutledge, 87, Jan. 8, administrative assistant. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

Judith Schrear, 61, Jan. 3, word processor. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

Donna Temple, 76, Jan. 3, housekeeping. Funeraria Del Angel

Robert Welding, 82, Jan. 6, U.S. Navy. East Lawn Palms Mortuary

Charles Williams, 50, Jan. 3, cook. East Lawn Palms Mortuary