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Verdicts Favor Lake Havasu City
In Wrongful Injury Trial - Posted: September 25, 2008 4:14 PM
KINGMAN - Plaintiffs end up with very little after five years of litigation and a 16-day trial in a wrongful injury civil trial against Lake Havasu City. They were ultimately awarded a total of $24,300 for their claim that Lake Havasu City and former Lake Havasu police officer Leo Grillas were responsible for the traumatic brain injury suffered by Ryan Meehan at the end of a police chase in 2002.
Plaintiff attorney Charles Richards argued that Meehan, now 30, was the passenger in his mother's Chevy Blazer and that its driver first committed a speeding violation, before fleeing when officer Grillas tried to initiate a traffic stop. Richards told the jury that Grillas violated Department Policy for failing to halt the pursuit before Meehan was ejected and tossed against a home when the Blazer rolled.
Defense attorney William Fairbourn countered, however, that Meehan was the driver and responsible for any resulting injuries and suffering. Fairbourn argued that Meehan was legally intoxicated and reckless in leading the police chase.
The jury found in favor of the defense that Meehan was the driver and that he assumed further responsibility for his injuries for failing to use his seatbelt. That Meehan was intoxicated and that the Blazer exceeded the speed limit were issues that were not contested at trial.
``We came to a concensus that Ryan broke the law," one juror said Thursday. ``That was my major argument, was that Ryan chose to do those things and the family that raised him, that trained him, that taught him his values---I just couldn't see giving them a lot of money."
The foreman told attorneys that "sympathy" guided the jury's award of $12,150 to each of Meehan's parents. That figure was the product of liability determinations and application of math.
The panel actually awarded each of the parents $675,000. That figure, however, was reduced to $67,500 because the jury determined that Meehan's failure to buckle up should lower compensation by 90%.
The $67,500 for each parent was further whittled to $12,150 apiece given the jury's previous assessment that Meehan was 82% responsible for the police chase while the City was 18% liable. One of the panel members said she and two other female jurors thought that the City was not responsible whatsoever, but that the 18% liability determination was a compromise.
The juror, when asked, agreed that the plaintiff's case lacked merit. ``I guess it really was unnecessary and uncalled for," she said of the lawsuit.
Fairbourn said the defense remains adamant that officer Grillas acted appropriately given the circumstances and that the City should not be liable for the chase or Meehan's injuries.
``I feel terrible for Ryan, for sure," Fairborn said, outside the courtroom following the verdict. ``But he made some choices that were not the right choices."
Richards said plaintiffs plan to file several post trial motions and that an appeal is very likely.

Meehan Verdict - Posted: September 25, 2008 11:51 AM
Verdicts favorable to Lake Havasu City were returned late Thursday morning in a family's wrongful injury lawsuit against the City. Plaintiffs sought money for suffering and injuries resulting from a 2002 police chase that resulted in severe injuries for Ryan Meehan.
Stripping through the complexities of the verdicts, Meehan is awarded no money for damages at the conclusion of trial. Each of Meehan's parents gets a little more than $12,000 for their suffering.
Plaintiff counsel indicated an appeal is likely.
(More details will be provided later today in a more comprehensive story)

Mohave County Animal Control
Receives Grant - Posted: September 25, 2008 11:34 AM
MOHAVE COUNTY - Sheriff Tom Sheahan and Captain Greg Smith were presented with a $9,225 check by CARE-Net Co-Presidents Jen Miles and Roy Hayes at the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, September 23, 2008.
CARE-Net is a coalition of organizations and individuals whose mission is to work collaboratively to transform the quality of life for companion animals (dogs and cats) in Mohave County. For more information refer to http://mohavecarenet.org.
For 18 months members of CARE-Net have been diligently working to gather shelter statistics and applying for Shelter Grant monies within the Maddie’s Fund. Recently, partners of CARE-Net which include Bullhead City Animal Control, For the Luv of Paws (FLP), Help Animals Lives Today (H.A.L.T.), Mohave County Animal Control and Western Arizona Humane Society were awarded grant monies from Maddie’s Fund.
Maddie’s Fund awards millions of dollars through five and ten-year grants to coalitions of humane organizations across the country. According to Jen Miles, this is the beginning of many grants that are available to partners within the CARE-Net coalition.

Feds Seek Pilfered Petroglyph
COLORADO CITY - Someone went to great lengths to steal a prehistoric petroglyph from extreme northern Arizona and the government is offering reward money to get it back. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said the petroglyph depicting a human figure with two arms and one leg was chiseled out of a cliff face in the Cottonwood Point Wilderness Area, near Colorado City.
``Where there was once a petroglyph of a human figure, now only a large cavity in the sandstone cliff remains," said BLM public information officer Carrie Templin. ``These cultural sites are fragile and irreplaceable traces of an ancient history."
Templin said the act of vandalism constitutes a crime punishable by up to five years in jail and a fine of up to $100,000.
Up to $5,000 in reward money is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Special Agent Robert Babb at (602) 417-9332 or by email at Robert_Babb@blm.gov. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call the BLM Law Enforcement OFfice at (623) 580-5515.

Police Canine Career Ends In Bullhead City
BULLHEAD CITY - After five years of service to Bullhead City in the local war against drugs, K-9 Ringo is retiring Friday. The nine year-old Belgian Malinois has partnered with Bullhead City police officer Jill Menard in narcotics detection, item retrieval and suspect apprehension efforts.
``Thanks to Ringo, there have been hundreds of successful narcotic searches resulting in multiple arrests and drug busts," Menard said. ``Ringo has been a great asset to the City,"
Police spokeswoman Emily Montague said Ringo will continue residing with officer Menard and her other pets. Menard will next be partnered with "Kaia", a four year-old Belgian Malinois.
Menard and Kaia will attend patrol and narcotics schools together for the next four months in Riverside, California.

Parents Asked To Attend School District Workshop Series
KINGMAN - The parents of the 7,600 students enrolled in the Kingman Unified School District (KUSD) are invited to attend class this evening. The KUSD is kicking off a series of monthly workshops that aim to teach parents how to help their children get the
most out of their education environment.
Some of the various issues and topics covered during the series will include peer pressure, bullying, self esteem and anger management. Tonight's workshop will focus on proper nutrition and sleeping habits.
Registration is not required and there is no fee for the Positive Parenting Partnerships workshops. This evening's session in Kingman begins at 6:30 at the District Office at 3033 MacDonald Avenue.

Meth Awareness Meeting Held In BHC
BULLHEAD CITY, AZ - The public awareness subcommittee for the Mohave County Substance Abuse Treatment Education Program (MSTEP) held its first meeting in Bullhead City yesterday. The group is currently seeking new members and will me rotating meetings monthly between Bullhead City, Lake Havasu and Kingman.
"What we're doing is contacting community leaders and people who are interested," Vice Chairwoman Doris Goodale told TSN. She added that, "If anybody in the community is concerned about methamphetamine, then we'd like them to come and introduce to them why we have MSTEP and how they can help."
Goodale said the next meeting is planned for Lake Havasu City but a specific date and time have not been announced.

Want To Fight Fires?
BULLHEAD CITY, AZ - Mohave Community College is holding a Firefighter Academy starting in January and graduates will receive state certification, making them eligible for hire by any fire department throughout the state.
The eight credit hour class offers Firefighter I and Firefighter II training and will run January 10th to June 27th at Bullhead City Fire Station Number One on Hancock Road. Classes will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6pm to 10pm and from 8am to 5pm on Saturdays, as well as some Sundays.
Applications for the academy must be turned in by October 24th and are available at any MCC campus. Eligibility for the course depends on a candidate successfully completing: a written exam on November 8, the physical ability test orientation on November 20-21, the physical ability test on November 22 and a background investigation and drug screening.
The classes offer basic firefighter skills and are open to anyone 18 years or older - up to a maximum of 30 students. When they graduate, the firefighters will also have earned eight credit hours toward an associate's degree in fire science.
For more information call 928-757-0831. To sign up for the class, call 928-758-3926.

Woodbury Steps Down From RTC
LAUGHLIN, NV - Longtime Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, Laughlin's representative in Las Vegas, is winding down his long career in Clark County government. Woodbury resigned his post this week as chairman of the Regional Transportation Commission and was replaced by Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown. Woodbury joined the RTC in 1985 and became the board's chairman six years later.
His accomplishments include spearheading the Question 10 initiatives in both 1990 and 2002, which were approved by voters and raised sales taxes to build new local roads and improve public transportation. One of those projects was the Las Vegas Beltway, a 53-mile stretch of highway that links the southwest and northwest parts of the valley with Interstate 15.
Woodbury's terms on both the RTC board and as District A Commissioner will end in January, due to a recent ruling by the Nevada Supreme Court making him ineligible to seek another term. Republican Brian Scroggins and Democrat Steve Sisolak are now running for Woodbury's commission seat.