e-Press

Verdicts Favor Lake Havasu City In Wrongful Injury Trial
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.

Lake Havasu Homicide Probe Detailed In Pretrial Hearing
KINGMAN - Two Lake Havasu City police detectives, during pretrial testimony in Kingman, have explained how a Lake Havasu City woman became a suspect after being brought in for questioning following the murder of her husband over the Labor Day weekend in 2007. Detective Clint Campbell said Candice Wright, 59, called police to report finding her husband dead in the kitchen of their home in the 4000 block of Bear Drive.
William Horsburgh Wright, 73, died of multiple gunshot wounds. Campbell and detective Cindy Slack told Mohave County Superior Court Judge Bob Moon that Mrs. Wright was removed from the crime scene and taken to the police station where she could be questioned to provide background information as the homicide investigation began.
``On the way to the police station I noticed an odor of what I believed to be an intoxicating liquor from her," Campbell said of Wright during the the drive to police headquarters. Campbell and Slack said Wright she didn't become a suspect until some two hours after the voluntary interview began.
Campbell said Wright told them that she left her husband to go the grocery store to get some more steak for their barbeque. He said that was puzzling because they already had two steaks at home to cook and weren't expecting company.
Campbell said Wright claimed she found her wounded husband after a 40 minute trip to Smith's, yet detectives in the field learned she spent only eight minutes in the store. He said a blood alcohol measurement of .14 at the police station didn't match Wright's claim that she consumed only three drinks that day.
``Her story was inconsistent with what investigators were learning," Campbell testified. ``Things were not adding up."
Campbell and Slack told the Judge that they read Wright her rights when they became suspicious of her story. Slack said Wright's demeanor seemed "uncaring and detached" throughout the interview that stretched more than seven hours.
Defense attorney Carlene Lacy is asking that Wright's statements to police be suppressed because many were made before she was read her rights while she had every reason to believe she was in custody in a police investigation. Prosecutor Ross Saciuk argued the statements should be admitted at trial because Wright was a willing participant and was not considered a suspect during the initial part of the interview.
Judge Moon took the suppression motion under advisement for future ruling. Judge Moon also vacated the murder trial that was set to begin October 22.
Moon said his calendar is busy through the fall and winter and that he may not be able to reschedule Wright's trial before he leaves the bench at the end of the year. A status hearing is set October 7.

Tax Bill Gets A Makeover
KINGMAN, AZ - Mohave County residents will soon see redesigned tax bills. The treasurer's office says the paperwork has a new layout to coincide with the office's new lock box system and added that some 260,000 tax bills were mailed to property owners last week.
Meanwhile, county tax levies were not approved by county supervisors until mid-August.
Additionally, tax information must be checked by both the Treasurer's and the Assessor's offices before taxpayers receive their bills. The redesigned bill also means more tax information must be squeezed into a smaller area.
Mohave County requires the first half of all property tax payments by October 1st.

Gas Prices Plunge Amidst Volatile Trading
ARIZONA - Despite oil trading furiously on Wall Street this week along with reports that gasoline supplies are stretched thin in some parts of the U.S., pump prices continued to drop this week in Arizona. Statewide, AAA of Arizona says drivers are currently paying an average of $3.496 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, a drop of just over seven cents from last week. The current nationwide average sits at $3.700, a drop of 13.5 cents in one week.
Although damage sustained from Hurricane Ike was far less than expected, gas has been in short supply throughout much of the southeast -- in some areas, supply outages have occurred. Meanwhile, oil prices jumped $16 per barrel on Monday. The increase marked the largest single day price hike since 1984. However, oil prices traded sharply lower from Wednesday on and are now going for around $100 per barrel.
The cheapest gasoline in the lower 48 is in Oklahoma, where unleaded regular is $3.411 per gallon. Georgia drivers are paying the most at $3.962 per gallon.

Fire And Ice Cream
LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ - October is Fire Prevention month and the Lake Havasu Fire Department is inviting the community to tour the city’s stations and enjoy a free bowl of ice cream. In addition to the tasty treat, plastic fire helmets and stickers will be available.
The first year event has firefighters meeting with residents and providing them with information to use during an emergency. The open houses are on two Wednesdays next month -- October 8th and October 22nd -- from 5pm to 8pm. All neighborhood fire stations are participating in the event.
For more information about the department's "Ice Cream Social," call the Fire Prevention Bureau at 928-453-3313.

MCC Workshop Deadline Is Today
KINGMAN, AZ - The deadline for employer exhibitors in Mohave Community College's Career Expo has been extended to today. Three Career Expos will take place from 1pm to 7pm on October 14th at the Bullhead City campus, on October 15th in Kingman and on November 6th at the Lake Havasu City Campus.
Business owners and managers can participate in a half-hour workshop at 2:30pm or at 5pm designed by the One Stop Center for employers. Those looking for work can take advantage of a workshop called "Extreme Workforce Makeover: Job Seeker Edition" -- presented by the Mohave County One Stop Career Center. The half-hour workshop takes place at 2:30pm and at 5pm.
For more information, call (928) 692-3016 or go online to www.mohave.edu.

NPS To Waive Fees For Lake Mead
And Lake Mohave This Saturday
BOULDER CITY, NV – On Saturday, Sept 27, all entrance fees into Lake Mead National Recreation Area will be waived in honor of National Public Lands Day. In addition on Sept. 28, fees will be waived for newly naturalized citizens.
Nine federal agencies, 125 state and local partners, dozens of non-profit organizations, tens of thousands of individuals are expected to participate in more than a thousand volunteer projects across the country. Please visit http://www.publiclandsday.org for more information.
One third of the land in the United States has been set aside as open space. 600 million acres of parks, refuges, forests, wetlands, cultural sites, and other shared areas provide a variety of public resources.
National Public Lands Day is the only time that entrance fees are waived systematically on public lands throughout the country. Normally, 147 of the country’s 391 National Park Service sites charge entrance fees ranging from
$3 to $25. The other 244 areas do not have entrance fees.
The other federal agencies not charging for admittance that day include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service.

Good Sunday Hits the Saloon
The Western Channel’s Bob Boze Bell returns to Good Sunday in a one-on-one with host Roger Galloway on Wyatt Earp, Colt 45s, and saloon happenings in the Old West. Then, Joe Staples joins Roger for a look at customer service –the viewpoint of workers who get all kinds of zany requests and complains from somewhat clueless consumers. Then, it’s off to Hollywood, Nashville, and New York as celebrity reports Don Hinson, Andre Fortin, and Jack Russell look at the latest on the dismal Emmy Awards, the upcoming Oscars, Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton, and Donald Trump’s latest shenanigans.

Catch it all this week on "Good Sunday."

Times for the one-hour show airing on all four Murphy Broadcasting stations are listed below.

KVAL (K-Hits) - Good Sunday 5am-6am

KRRK (K-Rock) - Good Sunday 6am-7am

KRCY (Krazy) - Good Sunday 7am-8am

KZUL (Kazual) - Good Sunday 8am-9am

Also tune to 980AM KNTR for "Good Sunday" at 6am.

Too Good To Be True? – Never!
When nice things happen, it’s in the “Good News Report.” TSN is zeroing in on positive, uplifting stories with a special type of news reporting. We all know there are plenty of bad things happening out there on a daily basis. Is the good news being overlooked or too often put aside? The “Good News Report” will focus on uplifting and yes -- feel-good stories.
It might be about something heroic in which a life is saved, a dog finding its way back home after a 400 mile journey, a new business opening up providing jobs and a better economy for the Tri State, or a good deed that is worth remembering. The “Good News Report” will air news from the area, state, region, nation, and world and show that sometimes hidden out there among the bad, are many special happy occurrences worth reporting.
If you know of something personally or hear of a story being unnoticed, perhaps from the Internet, let us know. It might make the “Good News Report” and thus, make others feel better that day as well.
Please send your ideas to rgalloway@maddog.net.