South Tucson's El Independiente, 1978-03

              iäÓPsflies recall petitions
By PATRICE STEADMON
Petitions to recall South
Tucson Mayor Dan W.
Eckstrom and three city council
members were filed March 3 by
¡rina Villa, the chairman of
Citizens Organized for Public
Service (COPS).
No date for the recall election
lube set until the signatures on
the petitions have been verified.
The petitions were submitted
to South Tucson City Clerk
Richard E. Kaffenberger who
has until Friday, March 17, to
count the names on the
petitions.
Each petition must have a
minimum of 171 signatures0
Kaffenberger says. He must
notify Villa by letter itthere are
not enough signatures.
If there is a sufficient number
of signatures, Kaffenberger
says, he will submit the petitions
to the Pima County Recorders
office so the names can be
checked against a list of Pima
County registered voters.
Pinia County officials have 60
days to certify the signatures,
Kaffenberger says, and then the
petitions will be returned to him.
The City Clerk is then
required by Arizona law to set a
date for the recall election that is
not less than 100 and not more
than 120 days from the day the
. county returned the petitions,
Kaffenberger says.
The petitions filed at City
I
Bsrbea M. WUMams, 3034 E. 12th St., portrays an African girl
li nebsated by a fish [Willie Bell, 920 E. 33rd St.] In Ododo Theatre's
most recent production entitled "Folktales." Combining live music
sith a variety of dance tonus, Ododo has added several new werks
tøtelr repertoire. See s$ory Page 4. Photo by Harban Laing.
SURVEY - A
survey to determine the
size of the labor force
and unemployment
rate in South Tucson
has been conducted by
the Center for Em-ployment
Training.
Hall contain 351 signatures to
recall Eckstrom, 349 to recall
Councilman Frank A. Lopez,
480 signatures to recall
Councilman Felix Robles, and
485 signatures to recall
Councilman John G. Garcia.
COPS began circulating the
Garcia/Robins petition Nov, 6,
South Tucson's
Ei Independiente
Volume H, Number 8 MARCH 1978
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Arrests slowed by insurance
By LES M. MUCHMORE
A cutback in South Tucson
Police Department (STPD)
liability insurance caused of-ficers
to stop making arrests of
suspects on sight, STPD Sgt.
Charles R. Kalak says.
Kalak says officers were
making arrests only after a
c, plaint was filed and the
tinned
unspecified period of time after
ôffiài!s leatñed of the insurance
cutback. . Officers have been less
reluctant to make arrests
following the reinstatement of
part of the insurance coverage,
Kalak says.
'They (STPD officers) are
still cautious, but not overly
cautious like they were for a
while. They were just not
making on-sight arrests," Kalak
says.
Records "do not sub-stantlate"
statements by KaIak
Acting Police Chief Donald E.
Lowe says.
The number of arrests for the
last week in May 1977 was two
less than the number of arrests
in May the same week in 1976,
he says.
There were I I arrests the week
following the period in which
qsre was STPD Insurance,
EL TIRADITO
La única capilla en los
Estados Unidos
dedicada al alma de un
pecador, podria tener
poderes especiales.
Vea el articulo en la
P6g1na6
and the Eckstrom/Lopez
petion Dec. 16.
Villa said she submitted all the
petitions together so the city
clerk could set one recall
election date for all four
councilmen.
"Not only will there be a
better turnout, but if we had to
and 13 during the same period
the preceeding year, according
to Lowe.
The number of total arrests
for each month July through
December 1977 are 70, 43, 46,
37, 58, and 77 respectively,
Lowe says.
Lowe says he is not certain of
the reasons for few1er arrçsts ja
AugustThYOugh ?Ib14.
comparison to arrests for tTié
months of July and December,
but speculates that it could be a
number of reasons including the
weather or a shortage of
manpower in the STPD force.
On May 18, 1977 STPD's
insurance policy provided by
American Home Insurance Co.
ran out and could not be
renewed , according to Robert J.
Mejias, South Tucson's ad-ministrative
assistant for
financing and purchasing.
Mejias could not give a reason
for the company not renewing
the policy but he says,"It is
important to point out that
American Home at that point
was not writing any more in-surance
in Arizona."
For the week of May 18 to
May 25, 1977, STPD had no
insurance, Mejias says.
"Our coverage (under
American Home) was 250/500.
have two elections that would
cost the town more money,
which in the end would have
cost us, the taxpayers," Villa
says.
Eckstrom says he was not
aware the petitions were filed,
IContinued on page 10)
-J J J -J r J í'J
Now what that means is: the
first part says $250,000 per
person - and $500,000 per
incident," Mejias says.
"From May 25. 1977 to Dec.
31. 1977, we were insured by
North East Insurance Company
of North America. And their
coverage was 50/100. Premiums
were abut ' . '. : : . (hC
Mejiac sayc North Fast dId
notrnewon Dec. 31, andsays
the Sinohul incident was
probably the for not
renewing.
"From Dec. 31., 1977 to our
present time, we're currently
insured by Jefferson Insurance
Company of New York. And
our coverage has gone up a little
bit . It's I 00/1 00 with a 20
percent deductible. And our
premiums went up a little bit
$3,100," Mejías says.
He says the premium under
American Home was $2,900 per
year.
Mejias points out the personal
coverage is higher on the new
.policy.
"At least this covers the
officers a little bit more," he
says.
The administrative assistant
[Continued on page 9J
_M«rch A
HOSPITAL
Douglas A. Bruce, new
administrator of Pima
County's Kino
Community Hospital,
talks about hospital
finances and services
and his position.
Story p. *
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