Peoria Police officer  Mike Gauchet was killed in a helicopter accident last week.  Mike was a respected member of the ARPA Safety Transportation Committee; he was very involved and consistently helped members with compliance related issues.

We will miss him.

Here's an article about the accident that appeared in the Arizona Republic. 

"The two people killed when a private helicopter crashed near Black Canyon City last week were identified Wednesday as Peoria Police Department employees.

Officer Mike Gauchat and police services Officer Donna Cullum died Friday when their two-seat home-built Safari helicopter crashed about 1:30 p.m. west of Interstate 17 and south of Black Canyon City.

Peoria police spokesman Mike Tellef said the 41-year-old Gauchat was a traffic officer who enjoyed flying helicopters and was at the controls when his aircraft went down. Cullum, 45, was his girlfriend.
"This is a major tragedy for the families involved and for members of the department," Police Chief Larry Ratcliff said in a written statement. "Both Mike and Donna are highly respected members of the department. Our thoughts and prayers are with Donna and Mike's families and the members of our department who are processing this tragic event and continuing to provide law-enforcement services to the community."

Services for Gauchat and Cullum are set for Saturday."

The Business Journal has this story. 

Commissioner Mark Winkelman resigned as the head of the Arizona State Land Department Monday.

Winkelman said he is returning to work in the private sector but did not elaborate, saying only: “I plan to stay actively involved in real estate.”

In a long letter distributed via email Winkelman recited some of his accomplishments, including revenue exceeding $1.7 billion from state land sales and leases during six years on the job. That number is larger than the total of all state land transactions in the previous 90 years, Winkelman said.

“I am proud that the land department was able to set numerous records during my tenure ... these records reflect increased proceeds from the sale and lease of land that go directly into the State Land Trust, which provides vital funding for education in Arizona,” he said.

Last year, according to Winkelman’s resignation letter, the State Land Department contributed more than $100 million to the Arizona Classroom Site Fund.

Winkelman also mentioned some shortcomings, including the inability to enact legislation to help curb poorly executed development on former state lands.

“I regret that we were not able to reform the laws that govern the state trust lands during my years of service and I hope that these efforts will continue and ultimately be successful,” he said. “I also hope that during these difficult budget deliberations, the legislature will see the wisdom in providing the land department the resources to continue to produce substantial revenues to help fund education in our state.”

His last day will be May 22. Deputy Land Commissioner Jamie Hogue is staying on, but there was no mention of a replacement.

Gov. Jan Brewer is charged with appointed a new commissioner to head the department, which oversees about 9.3 million acres of state trust lands, representing about 13 percent of Arizona.