Buckeye man accused of firing gunshots into air on New Year's

BUCKEYE, Ariz. - A man accused of firing shots into the air in Buckeye on New Year's Day has been arrested.

Police say the incident happened just after midnight on Jan. 1 near Yuma Road and 241st Avenue. Officers responded to the scene after receiving reports of a man firing gunshots outside the window of a home.

Once at the scene, officers searched the home and found firearms and 50 spent shell casings. Alexander Cain, 55, was arrested and booked into jail. He is accused of unlawful discharge of a firearm in city limits.

Hay Fire rages in Buckeye

Firefighters have been battling a hay fire in Buckeye Valley off 291st Ave and Broadway Rd

Young boy falls down 20' hole at Odyssey Academy, Buckeye Fire and Rescue on the scene

This past Friday evening your City Of Buckeye Fire Department, along with assistance from Avondale Fire, Peoria Fire, and Phoenix Fire Technical Rescue Teams, were called to Odyssey Prep School for a report of a person who fell into a hole. The first on scene crew, E702, found a young boy who had fallen into a hole 20 feet deep and 3 feet wide. The assignment was quickly upgraded to a confined space rescue. The City Of Buckeye Fire Department's Technical Rescue Team, led by Captain Chad Gilliam from L703, were able to rescue the young boy quickly by deploying a ladder into the hole with an attached rope system and harness. The boy was uninjured and able to climb up to the top of the ladder where he was assisted by crews at the top of the hole. Our crews train for the unknown, to be sure we are able to make a quick assessment and deploy the correct resources to ensure we are successful in our efforts to provide the life safety of our citizens. We thank you for letting us serve the citizens of Buckeye!
Also, we would like to thank firstonscenephotos.com and photographer Chuck Grow for the use of the pictures seen in this post. We appreciate it.

Buckeye Residents go the City Hall with Water Woes

Somethings fishy with Buckeyes water

Somethings fishy in buckeye, it may be wet, but it dont swim, its the water. The poor undrinkable water quality mixed with outrageous bills for massive amounts used by residents is outrageous. The only answers the water company has is everyone has leaks. Many residents have had their pipes tested and no leaks are found, yet thousands of gallons of water are being reported as used and people are being presented with high bills, some in the thousands of hard earned dollars. Residents are outraged and ready to take action. Sunday a group of citizens , set up by Heather Wilson , Bruce Medina and others met at the park to discuss the issue with local news agencies and buckeye residents. Channel 12 was present as well as West Valley View and Buckeye Gazette. Buckeye City Council member Craig Heustis gave up a afternoon of Cardinals football to hear the concerns of the angry residents. At times tensions got heated but Councilman Hustis promised he would take the bills and concerns straight to the mayor on Monday. He stated he knows the water is crap, they are trying to get it fixed and he most defiantly sees why the residents are upset over these bills. We urge everyone to come out to City hall Tuesday Nov 1st at 6pm, make your presence seen and voice heard. Its great to see the community working together to make change.

Crime Down in Buckeye

Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall said this week that overall crime statistics are down more than twenty percent over the last three years, despite a steady increase in the city’s population.

In a brief presentation to the Buckeye City Council Tuesday night, Hall attributed the decrease in crime numbers to the proactive community policing efforts by his officers and residents responding positively to that work.

“We can’t do it alone,” Hall said. “Our citizens have remained vigilant, they’ve been doing a great job of calling things in.”

According to the crime statistics for the first nine months of 2016, crime is down in Buckeye some 21 percent in the past three years, including a four percent drop so far this year

Violent crimes are down 17 percent from the first of the year, Hall said. While there has been a spike in robberies, police feel a recent arrest may have stemmed the tide in that area.

Burglaries are also down by almost half compared to last year, but vehicle thefts have spiked; many are attributed to people leaving their vehicles unlocked overnight.

“This is systemic county-wide, and we are meeting with the Arizona Auto Theft Authority to strategize on how to decrease those numbers,” Hall said. “Education may be a key to stopping those numbers from rising.”

Arsons are down to just one so far this year, Hall said. Police feel that may be the result of the arrest of a serial arsonist who was associated with many of the arsons that occurred last year.

Hall also told the Council he would learn more in early November about the department’s efforts to earn a prestigious accreditation from an international law enforcement agency.

Representatives of the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies were in Buckeye in June for an on-site assessment of the department that included interviews and testimony from business owners, residents and other community stakeholders.

The assessment reviewed the department’s standards on policy and procedures, administration, operations and support services. Hall said he hoped that based on the group’s preliminary report, his department would receive the accreditation that has gone to just one percent of law enforcement agencies across the nation. Via http://www.buckeyeaz.gov/buckeye-crime-21-percent-past-three-years-chief-reports/