by 
Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb presents certificates of appreciation to Pastor Anthony DeCunha and the San Pedro Valley Baptist Church.
It is amazing how a community can come together in a time of crisis. This couldn’t have been demonstrated any more clearly than in Dudleyville during the Roach Fire.
Neighbors helping neighbors.
Neighboring towns and communities offering their help in that time of crisis and chaos.
The San Pedro Valley Baptist Church opened its doors to the community and offered to serve as the command post for the fire departments and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.
Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb wanted to show his appreciation for this offer and, during a meeting late last month in Dudleyville, presented Pastor Anthony DaCunha framed Certificates of Appreciation for the church’s assistance during the fire. He thanked the Pastor for all the services they helped out with. Pastor DaCunha later asked those in attendance to applaud all the deputies and first responders for the work they did in fighting the fire. Everyone applauded.
Over 30 people attended the Sheriff’s meeting. Sheriff Lamb and some of his deputies were in attendance. Pete Rios, District 1 Supervisor, was also in attendance. The meeting as explained by Sheriff Lamb was an informational meeting for the public to share their views about the response to the recent Roach fire in the Dudleyville area and to learn from the information so an emergency such as the fire can be handled in a better manner.
Some of the issues and general concerns brought up by the public were:
• There was no warning to the townspeople about the fire;
• What the rights are of a citizen in staying at their house and not evacuating;
• People could not talk to the Command Center;
• Many inconsistencies;
• People were concerned about leaving their homes because there is a lot of thefts in the area;
• Miscommunication;
• People had trouble trying to get to their homes to check on things or pick up badly needed items such as vehicles or medication for their elderly parents;
• Some people felt they were treated like criminals by deputies, some who were yelling at them;
• Evacuation communication problems;
• What can we do about prevention, cutting back underbrush, potential for flooding etc.;
• The Dudleyville and Hayden Fire Departments were run off and could have helped;
• People would like to see more patrolling and police presence in Dudleyville and the Copper Corridor.
Sheriff Lamb told the audience that one of his priorities is to get more officers out to the Copper Corridor communities. Pinal County is trying to hire more officers. He also said that people have a right to remain at their homes during the fire. The arrest of James Brumley for allegedly starting a fire that got out of control was announced.
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
by by