State Glance
Navajo Nation: Girl fatally struck by suspected drunk driver
CHILCHINBETO, Ariz. — Navajo Nation officials say a juvenile has been fatally struck by a suspected intoxicated driver as she got off a school bus near Chilchinbeto.
According to the Navajo Division of Public Safety, the incident occurred shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday.
An Arizona Department of Public Safety officer detained the driver and passenger of the suspected vehicle.
The girl was transported by medical helicopter to the Kayenta Medical Center, but died of her injuries.
Authorities didn’t immediately release the names of the driver and the girl or disclose her age.
Phoenix airport removes 3 padded benches due to bedbugs
PHOENIX — Several padded benches near a security checkpoint in the largest terminal of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport have been removed due to bedbugs.
Airport spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez says the problem involved only the three benches removed Tuesday night from Terminal 4.
According to airport officials, a professional pestcontrol company will follow up to confirm the area is clear.
Police helicopter rescues father, son stranded above cliff
LITTLEFIELD — Authorities say search and rescue teams from two states and a police helicopter rescued a man and his 5-year-old son who got stranded on a dark hillside above a cliff while hiking in northwestern Arizona.
Rescue teams from Arizona’s Mohave County and Utah’s Washington County responded to the father’s call for help and the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Kingman-based helicopter perched with one skid on the hillside to pick up the hikers before flying them to safety.
The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office says the incident happened Sunday evening near Cedar Pocket.
The office says the father and son got disoriented in the dark while returning from a hike to an old plane crash site in the Virgin River Gorge area.
School principal pleads guilty to attempting to lure minor
FLORENCE — The former principal of an elementary school outside Phoenix has pleaded guilty to attempting to lure a minor for sexual exploitation after authorities say he had inappropriate conversations with an undercover officer posing as a 14-yearold girl.
The San Tan Valley Sentinel reports that 59-yearold Karl Waggoner on Friday reached the agreement in exchange for supervised probation for at least 10 years. He must also register as a sex offender and undergo treatment.
The former principal of Four Peaks Elementary School in Apache junction was arrested in September after authorities with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office say he posted an online advertisement soliciting sex.
Waggoner’s attorney says his client’s text conversations never resulted in a meeting, and Waggoner ended the conversation stating the teenager was too young for him.