Widow's hefty donation to Arizona parks is poached

[azdesertfather]

Widow's hefty donation to Arizona parks is poached
by Casey Newton - Jan. 4, 2010
The Arizona Republic

In their latest effort to solve Arizona's budget crisis with cuts, lawmakers turned to a woman who couldn't make a fuss. After all, she has been dead for eight years.

Alta Forest, a Danish immigrant who fell in love with Arizona after moving to Fountain Hills with her husband, left nearly $250,000 to the Arizona State Parks Board when she died of cancer at age 82.

When parks officials received the money in 2003, it was the largest private donation the parks system had ever received. They were unprepared for such a large gift, said Ken Travous, who served as state-parks director for 23 years before retiring in June.

"We had never received anything of that magnitude before," he said, adding that he began "looking for something that was big enough to really make her proud."

While parks officials considered what to do with the money, Arizona's budget deficit ballooned into the billions. Last month, when the Republican-led Legislature met in special session to cut $140 million from the budget, it swept up half the money in the parks system's donations fund, which included most of Forest's donation.

"It was like they had kicked me in the stomach," Travous said. "Surely, I thought, they have some shame. But they're shameless."

Legally, a parks spokeswoman said, the Legislature can take any donations that have not been earmarked for a specific purpose, such as restoring trails or acquiring land. But donations like Forest's, along with any money tossed into the donation coffers found throughout the parks system, can be reappropriated by lawmakers.

Forest's friends said she would have been devastated to learn that her donation will not go to support the parks system, but instead to pay for operating expenses, such as building maintenance and electric bills.

"She would have been totally nauseated," said Roger Essenburg, a close friend and the executor of Forest's estate. "She would have never have given the money if she had known the state was going to take it way from the parks board."

Born in Aalborg, Denmark, in 1919, Forest immigrated to the United States in 1950 with her first husband, Will Timm, a German scientist who worked for NASA. She learned English out of a dictionary, memorizing 10 words a day, friends say.

Timm died in 1971, and four years later, she married engineer Edward Forest. They moved to Fountain Hills in 1990, where Alta Forest worked as a dental assistant and an office manager.

The Forests never were rich, friends say, but they were prudent with their money and saved carefully. Edward Forest died in 1993. In her last years, Alta Forest became involved in a variety of other causes.

Friends say she called Arizona her "Garden of Eden."

"She just loved everything about Arizona - its beauty and all the natural scenery," Essenburg said.

Reese Woodling, chairman of the state-parks board, said officials now are reconsidering the way they solicit donations. Woodling wants to make sure money donated to parks stays there, particularly given that budget cuts could close up to half the state's parks in the next six months.

"We'll do whatever we can to keep those donations flowing in," he said.

"For our Legislature to take that money and not give it a second thought is unconscionable."

[dysfunction]

Ya know, I'd really like to be shocked about this.

[big_load]

I can only imagine the money going to fund tax breaks for corporations mining on state lands.

[dysfunction]

In response to big_load:
But of course! That's the nature of Arizona politics, we must subsidize mining at all costs! We can toss recreation, public lands and education.. they're absolutely not necessary to keep the minerals coming out of the ground.. in fact all of them are counter-productive to it

[Sredfield]

They "poached" most other funds also, including professional licensing fees. My particular profession pays fees to ensure policing by a state board, but the elected wise-people "swept" those funds and now the board has no funds to do what it was created to do.

In a similar rant: When will they realize education is the ultimate economic development spending, and rearrange priorities accordingly.

[JimmyLyding]

Make sure to remember this come Election Day

[Jeffshadows]

This is just the sort of thing that makes me ill. At least the Romans did this kind of stuff at sword-point; there's a little more honesty, there...

[PaleoRob]

Good god. Remember this at election day - to quote someone famous, "you betcha."

[cathymocha]

This is revolting...and will be remembered on election day.

[chumley]

Despicable.

And I'd like to pretend it matters if any of us remember this on election day. But it doesn't. It doesn't matter who we elect ... they'd all do the same thing (though perhaps to the benefit of a different special interest). The letter after their name doesn't matter. The individual who seeks office with a pure heart (extremely rare) is quickly intoxicated with greed and power because they are surrounded by it.

[desertgirl]

Public Service cannot become a career-- limit terms for all politicians to 2 terms and a lot tof this will clean it self up.

[PaleoRob]

Public Service cannot become a career-- limit terms for all politicians to 2 terms and a lot tof this will clean it self up.

I agree.

[Tortoise_Hiker]

I agree! I don't know if it would clean it up but I agree. There should be no career politicians.

[SuperstitionGuy]

Despicable.

And I'd like to pretend it matters if any of us remember this on election day. But it doesn't. It doesn't matter who we elect ... they'd all do the same thing (though perhaps to the benefit of a different special interest). The letter after their name doesn't matter. The individual who seeks office with a pure heart (extremely rare) is quickly intoxicated with greed and power because they are surrounded by it.

AMEN!
Limit them to two terms for Senators and three terms for Congressmen and require them to be on the same health benefits that we are!

[JimmyLyding]

Public Service cannot become a career-- limit terms for all politicians to 2 terms and a lot tof this will clean it self up.

There's a good chance that it would make things worse. Candidates would be beholden to their political parties in order to have enough cash to spend to win an election instead of individual special interests. The individual special interests would be funding the political parties instead of candidates.
I think the typical Arizona politician isn't worth his/her weight in all-natural fertilizer, but I would rather have them running as individuals instead of as tools of a political party (which are run by loony private citizens for the most part).

I feel a better way to get rid of bad politicians would be to do away with public financing of elections. All this has done is allow loons to spend tens of thousands of OUR tax dollars merely by gathering a nominal amount of signatures and $5 donations.

It would also help if more than 20% of the electorate voted in the primaries.....

[dysfunction]

Well, since I'm not declared D or R.. I'm not allowed to vote in our primaries... that's a problem, right there. I also refuse to become partisan simply to make some pork ridden politician happy that another D or R is registered in Arizona.

[PaleoRob]

Well, since I'm not declared D or R.. I'm not allowed to vote in our primaries... that's a problem, right there. I also refuse to become partisan simply to make some pork ridden politician happy that another D or R is registered in Arizona.

Actually, starting this election year, you should be able to IIRC. Independents can vote in primaries.

[dysfunction]

Good, I don't miss an election.. I even bring my kids.. they like the "I voted" stickers, and I think it starts a habit ;)

[azbackpackr]

I switched to Independent for that very reason: I can pick any party's ballot in the primary. I was not aware that this was a new thing--I thought a registered Independent could always have done that.

[cathymocha]

Public Service cannot become a career-- limit terms for all politicians to 2 terms and a lot tof this will clean it self up.

I agree with this, and am glad to hear that independents can vote in the primaries.