The Navajo County Board of Supervisors held a regular meeting Tuesday, March 25, during which the board recognized the Joseph City High School girls basketball team for earning the 1A state championship, with a 64-55 win over Fort Thomas under the direction of Coach Dan Bushman. Bushman addressed the board, thanking them for the recognition. He became emotional when talking about his team stating, “We love them. We’re proud of these ladies. They’ve fought through thick and thin. We’ve got a great community, we’ve got a great school, we’ve got a great county board that supports us well and we’ve got great parents.” He noted some of the highlights stating, “We’ve got four seniors this year and they’re always the heartbeat but everyone on the team has a role to play and they do their job. They accepted it, they trusted us as coaches, they bought into the program and they win. Our record was 31 and 5. We lost five games and those were 3A and above (teams) and we didn’t lose any games to any 1A team or 2A team that we played. We averaged about 22 steals a game and averaged 14 turnovers a game; which I’m pretty proud of the ladies for that. Our average points per game was 59 points and our opposing teams’ points per game was about 29. Our field goal percentage was just over 50%. This is a phenomenal team.” He also noted that nine of the 12 athletes on the team are on the 1A through 3A All-Academic team, meaning that they have a 3.5 or higher grade point average. Bushman also acknowledged the hard work and dedication of his assistant coaches, Aaron Neil, Micah Brawley and Dan Hutchens. Michael Romero of Winslow High School, who earned the Division IV 144-pound state championship, was listed for recognition but was unable to attend and will be recognized at the next meeting. The board also recognized Show Low High School student Ruthie Wilhelm for winning the 100-pound wrestling state championship. In other business, and in the absence of board members Jason Whiting and Daryl Seymore, the board: * Approved an amendment to the code enforcement facility contract with JWA Architects, LLC. This amendment includes additional services for Arizona Department of Environmental Quality paperwork and certifications related to the facility’s septic system and increases the contract price accordingly. * Approved the exchange of an existing Navajo County highway easement in Taylor. Taylor is requesting the exchange of a public highway easement recorded as a “Navajo County Highway Easement” over and across Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN): 202-05-005G and is associated with Papermill Road and within the town’s limits. * Approved tax exemptions filed pursuant to ARS §42-11153 as a Request for Redemption of Waiver. * Approved the appointment of Mary Karen Sechrist and Roger Robison Harston as Republican Precinct Committeemen for their respective precincts. * Approved a sympathy letter to the family of former employee William Tracy Young. * Approved an application from the Big Red Barn Marketplace, LLC for a class A bingo license at 3402 Kimball Street in Heber. * Approved a proclamation declaring April 6 through April 12, as Victim’s Rights Week.
