School budgets to poker player highlighted the year

From budget disputes to tearful goodbyes, 2006 saw it all. Two longtime educators stepped down. But two others were ushered in. Here's a look at happened in education in the past year.

Teacher salary dispute: The Lake Havasu City Education Association in October asked its attorneys to check whether the Lake Havasu Unified School District spent more than $8 million in state funding on what it was supposed to and in the correct time period.

The attorneys did not find any wrongdoing and no lawsuit was filed. LHUSD was one of about 20 school districts statewide that the Arizona Education Association investigated.

Kindergarten money: The state gave the Lake Havasu Unified School District $628,934.47 in full-day kindergarten funding for fiscal year 2007. The district said it probably would use the money to hire more teachers to reduce class sizes.

In June, the state Legislature earmarked $80 million for full-day kindergarten for the 2006-07 school year. The district's cut is based on how many kindergarteners it has.

In May 2005, Lake Havasu City voters passed two budget overrides totaling $3,331,002. Of that, $853,960 was earmarked for kindergarten through third-grade programs.

Lee Barnes: Lee Barnes stepped down in December after 12 years on the Lake Havasu Unified School District's Governing Board.

Barnes, who has been with the district more than 30 years as a teacher and board member, will continue to work for LHUSD as a hearing officer, overseeing discipline hearings. Ross Hobday, owner of A & B Supply, will take over for Barnes.

MCC president: Mohave Community College in July named Nicolas Sanchez president of the Lake Havasu City campus.

Sanchez is the campus' first Hispanic president. He oversees 35 staff and faculty and helps manage a $34.3 million budget.

€ MCC election: Kathy Hodel, a Lake Havasu City businesswoman, won a seat in November on the Mohave Community College Board of Governors, defeating her opponent Carolyn Bruce 3,885 to 2,714.

Hodel, who will be sworn-in in January, will help manage a $34.3 million budget, and her decisions will affect more than 14,000 students. She replaces Sally Eggers-Hero, who held the District 2 seat for 25 years.

Sally Eggers-Hero: Sally Eggers-Hero stepped down in November after 25 years on the Mohave Community College Board of Governors.

Eggers-Hero was the first woman to serve on the board and has served longer than any other board member. She said she stepped down to take care of her husband, Leonard, who passed away Dec. 28.

She recently came under fire for allegedly using MCC credit cards for personal expenses, a charge she denied.

“Absolutely not,” she said in June of whether the credit card allegations factored into her decision. “It all has to do with personal reasons; nothing else.”

Outside the education world, stories of life also grabbed headlines.

Stolen van: Lake Havasu City residents gave more than $16,000 to the Martin family, who used the money to turn a conversion van into a makeshift ambulance for their son Nathan, 12, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder.

In August, a benefit account was set up at Mohave State Bank for the Martin's, whose home was burglarized Aug. 6. The burglars also stole the family's van, using it as their getaway vehicle.

Police later recovered it, but the van was severely damaged and nearly $13,000 in medical equipment and electronics was ripped out, according to the police report.

Poker player: March Schwartz, a Lake Havasu City FedEx delivery driver, won $20,617 in August at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. He finished 613th out of 8,773 entrants.

He earned his spot in April by winning an online satellite tournament through PartyPoker.com. Anyone who pays a $10,000 entry fee can play in the World Series of Poker. But because Schwartz won a satellite tournament, PartyPoker.com paid his entry fee plus a week's lodging at the MGM Grand.

“It was a hell of an experience,” he said afterward. “It was just really exciting. I've never seen anything like it.”

Three generations, one birthday: Andria Hundley gave birth on her birthday, Sept. 27, to a pair of twin girls, Kaitlin Marie and Malia Rose Zeh, at Havasu Regional Medical Center. The three also share a birthday with their grandmother, Rose Caracciolo.

“Everybody kept saying, ‘Oh, wouldn't that be cool if you had them on your birthday.' And I'm thinking, ‘Nah, I'll probably have them like a week later so we all don't have to share birthdays.' And it just happened. And now that I think about it, wow, it's a miracle,” Hundley said.

The twins were not due until Oct. 20.

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