Looking back at the most popular stories among readers in 2022, one thing is clear: Candidates running in the primary and general elections were top of mind this year.
Analytics for YourValley.net from Jan. 1, 2022, through mid-November illustrate what was most important to Apache Junction/Gold Canyon Independent readers this year. Of the thousands of stories posted throughout the year, five of the most popular Top 10 stories were related to local elections and politics.
Other stories that were most-read? Crime stories and a single upcoming event.
As a new calendar year begins, take a look at the most popular stories for 2022.
The Arizona Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association was hosting a one-day show in Apache Junction March 12 at the Apache Junction Rodeo Grounds, 1950 E. Lost Dutchman Road. Admission was a $5 donation per person over 12.
Activities were to include: Tractor pulls and parade; engine displays and demonstrations; garden tractor events, racing and pulling; silent auction; food vendors; antique cars and trucks; historic tools and implements display; and free kids’ drive all day.
Arizona Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association is a 501(c)4 non-profit organization. For information, call 623-435-3955 or go to aedgeta.org.
The 2022 primary election included two candidates for the office of mayor: Mehmood Mohiuddin and Chip Wilson.
The Independent conducted Q&As with each mayoral candidate to get his opinion on various topics to do with the city of Apache Junction. In this, the second installment of the Q&A series, they were asked, “What do you think should be the city’s priorities?”
Two people riding a three-wheeled motorcycle were killed the evening of April 9 at an Apache Junction intersection by a vehicle suspected of running a red light, Apache Junction police said.
“The driver of the sedan was believed to be impaired at the time of the accident,” according to a release from AJPD.
Daniel Sitar, 67, and Valerie Lewis, 63, were killed in the accident that occurred about 6:30 p.m. at Ironwood Drive and Superstition Boulevard, police said.
Sitar and Lewis lived in unincorporated Maricopa County just west of the Apache Junction city limits.
According to the initial investigation, the three-wheeled motorcycle was traveling east on Superstition going through the intersection when a sedan traveling north on Ironwood ran a red light, hitting the motorcycle, police said.
The suspect in the accident, Robert Anderson, 42, of Litchfield Park, was treated at a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries, police said.
Apache Junction Police officers responded about 9:15 p.m. Jan. 24 on a report of gunshots at a residence in the 1800 block of East Second Avenue.
After officers secured the scene they discovered a suspect, identified as Billy Wyatt, 71, fired several rounds at the ground during the course of a domestic dispute. No one was injured as a result of the shooting, police said.
Wyatt was on scene when officers arrived and cooperated with officers. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Pinal County Detention Center where he was booked on one count of disorderly conduct involving weapons, one count of assault/domestic violence and one count of disorderly conduct domestic violence.
In 2021, AJPD officers responded to this same residence on four separate occasions including for one incident that involved the shooting death of 53-year-old Daniel Vance. No one was charged in that incident as it was determined by investigators to be an act of self defense, police said.
It should be noted, all suspects are considered innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law, police said.
Five candidates for two Apache Junction Unified School District No. 43 seats filed signatures to be on the ballot at the Nov. 8 election. They were Chelsea Connolly, Valerie Fleming, Barbara Kanzler, Dena Kimble and Gail Ross.
AJUSD has three elementary schools, a junior high school and a high school. The district is from Meridian Road on the west to the town of Queen Valley on the east and from the Goldfield Mountains to the north, south into the San Tan Corridor. Communities served include Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, Peralta Trail, Queen Valley and unincorporated Pinal County land in-between.
The Independent conducted Q&As with each candidate to get their opinions on various topics. In this, the fifth installment, they were asked, “What can the school board do to attract parents to enroll their children at Apache Junction Unified School District?”
Due to unprecedented demand for in-person ballots at the Aug. 2 election, Pinal County experienced a ballot shortage in certain, limited precincts, the county elections department said in Twitter and Facebook posts.
Pinal County printed additional ballots and distributed them to each precinct polling place for voters showing up at the polls by 7 p.m.
Early unofficial election results for the Aug. 2 Apache Junction mayor and council elections had come in for Maricopa County but not Pinal County as of 11 p.m. Aug. 2. The 2022 primary election included candidates for the office of Apache Junction mayor, three council seats and one additional write-in council seat.
Prior to election day, seven cities and towns — including Apache Junction — had local races left off early ballots that required the county to mail more than 60,000 supplemental ballots.
What was not part of the story, but was later learned, was the Pinal County primary election was beset with multiple issues that led to the firing of its election director.
A 28-year-old Apache Junction woman critically injured on a Sunday afternoon in a shooting died of her injuries.
The victim, identified as Maria Guadalupe Godinez Ramirez, was found May 1 in a vehicle by police officers after a 911 call during which the dispatcher heard gunshots.
The woman had multiple gunshot wounds and was hospitalized in critical condition, police said.
Dispatchers were able to determine that the 911 call, which was received about 4 p.m., came from the area along Old West Highway, near Colt Road, east of Idaho Road.
After the dispatcher heard the gunshots, communication was lost with the caller. Officers found the victim in a vehicle in the 500 block of East Old West Highway.
Investigators believed the case to be an isolated incident and the suspect remained outstanding, police said.
An Apache Junction man was arrested Jan. 25 on the charges of multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, police said.
The arrest was the result of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigation that began in Portland, Oregon. Investigators in Portland received a tip from a social media platform that sparked an investigation into a nationwide child porn ring. That investigation eventually pointed to two different addresses in Apache Junction, Apache Junction police said.
In addition, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip from another social media platform. That tip pointed investigators to one of the same addresses they were looking at in Apache Junction, police said.
The information in those investigations was forwarded to Apache Junction Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division. In conjunction with HSI Casa Grande, AJPD Detective Steven Jeansonne drafted and executed a search warrant on residences in the 2100 block of South Descanso and in the 2700 block of South Starr Road.
More than 100 images and videos featuring the sexual exploitation of infants and toddlers were seized, police said.
Jeansonne and an HSI investigator were conducting forensic examinations of the electronics that were seized, police said.
Dale Albert Ray Lenz, 29, was arrested and booked into the Pinal County Detention Center on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a child.
All suspects are considered innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.
Unofficial election results — with 92.86% of precincts reporting — for the Aug. 2 Apache Junction mayor election showed incumbent Chip Wilson was leading.
Wilson, 74, is retired, but worked for 22 years in the U.S. Air Force and 17 years at the Boeing facility in Mesa as an electronic repair technician and certified electronic test equipment. He has lived in Apache Junction for more than 32 years.
Votes cast for mayor according to unofficial results posted at 7:04 p.m. Aug. 8 in Pinal County and at 6:26 p.m. Aug. 8 in Maricopa County, were:
Mohiuddin “Mo” Mehmood, 1,206 — 1,172 in Pinal County and 34 in Maricopa County.
Chip Wilson, 4,339 — 4,273 in Pinal County and 66 in Maricopa County.
Mohiuddin, 62, is a businessman and owner of the Hitching Post restaurant. He has lived in Apache Junction for 12 years.
Wilson ended up winning the election. Per city code, the salary for the position of mayor is $1,000 per month. For vice mayor it is $900 per month and for council member it is $800 per month.
The 2022 primary election included two candidates for the office of mayor: Mohiuddin and Wilson.
The Independent conducted Q&As with each mayoral candidate to get his opinion on various topics to do with the city of Apache Junction. In this, the first installment of the Q&A series, they were asked, “Why are you running?”
Richard Dyer Managing Editor | East Valley @RHDyer
Meet Richard Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.
Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions.
Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.
Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.
Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.
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