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Pinal County Supervisor Pete Rios
FLORENCE – Pinal County Supervisor Pete Rios said he is pleased with the decision of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to continue to allow roadside memorials.
“ADOT does right by continuing roadside memorials,” the District 1 Supervisor said. “This is a way families and friends remember loved ones lost in automobile or other vehicle accidents. My thanks goes to those who wrote and called ADOT and the Governor’s Office to express their dissatisfaction with the removal of many of the memorial crosses. It was their action that made this policy change possible.”
Supervisor Rios became the champion in the fight to keep the roadside memorials in April when he had received calls about many crosses missing from highways in parts of Gila and Pinal Counties.
“They had called because they thought that Pinal County did this,” Supervisor Rios recalled. “I was as surprised as they were that those memorials went missing. So after placing some calls, I found out that it was ADOT who was doing this. There was no warning that this was going to happen.”
The Supervisor sent out a press release in April alerting residents that the removal was taking place on state highways. That press release was soon picked up by statewide media and some national media outlets as well.
“Looks like many citizens were as upset as I was over this,” Rios said in the overwhelming response to State authorities. “But I have lost friends who are memorialized on the side of the road. I know many, many families who have lost loved ones in traffic accidents. This became an issue close to my heart.”
For those who had their memorials taken down or for anyone wanting to place a memorial, they can go online to: http://bit.ly/2brU7dy.
“I really want to thank the ADOT Director and his staff for their willingness to work with me on this policy. They have one of the hardest jobs out there trying to keep people safe on the roads with limited resources. Their crews do great work,” Supervisor Rios stressed. “But on a State-wide policy to remove of all memorial crosses, I couldn’t agree with them. I appreciate them reevaluating their policy and allowing these roadside memorials to remain so long as they are not a hazard to the motoring public.”
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