Sheriff’s Office: Fountain Hills man assaulted, robbed at home

A Fountain Hills man was assaulted in his home recently, and two men took cash, cellphones and other items, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office said the men entered Randy Vogelzang’s house in the 12000 block of East Chana Drive through the garage door about 1 a.m. on July 15.

The men bound the hands of Vogelzang, his girlfriend and her daughter, and locked them in a bathroom.

Officials said the two suspects stole Vogelzang’s silver Volvo when they left.

When authorities arrived, they treated a small cut on Vogelzang’s face and found his Volvo abandoned just a halfmile down the road.

The MCSO said the men had not been found; no descriptions were released.

Apartment-complex residents evacuated due to chemical odor

About 20 residents were evacuated after a strong chemical odor originated in an apartment complex on 33rd and Peoria avenues Sunday afternoon.

Phoenix and Glendale fire crews were dispatched to the scene around 1 p.m. and confirmed the odor was from cleaning products, Capt. Larry Subervi of the Phoenix Fire Department said.

A hazardous-materials team found vapors emanating from the scene, but they determined the vapors weren’t at a level that would cause any long-term health effects, Subervi said.

All the chemicals causing the odor were removed, and a fan was being used to get rid of remaining fumes. The residual chemical levels were close to zero later Sunday, Subervi said.

Two residents who complained of nausea from the odor were evaluated but didn’t go to the hospital. Some of the residents were allowed to go back into their apartments Sunday afternoon.

The name of the apartment complex and the chemical products that caused the odor were not available.

No-wake, restricted zones proposed for Havasu refuge

A new proposal being floated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service establishes a series of no-wake and restricted zones throughout the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge’s backwaters.

The proposal released Wednesday is a compromise after public outcry against stricter proposals in 2016, refuge manager Richard Meyers said. While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service has restrictions in mind for boaters in the refuge, Meyers said those restrictions will do little to obstruct recreational boating in the refuge or on the Colorado River.

“We wanted to make sure there was no confusion,” Meyers said. “We heard from all sides last year. There was a lot of confusion in the public … people believed we wanted to make the entire refuge a ‘no-wake’ zone. That isn’t the case.”

There will be few changes to regulations at the refuge’s southern end, although the document would prohibit kite-boarding and hydro-flight equipment in waters south of Interstate 40.

— Staff and wire reports