HEBER/OVERGAARD - Citizens and both current and aspiring politicians converged at Mountain Java as three local women hosted a political tea party Sept. 2.
     Around 150 people stuck it out through a light rain to discuss the issues of the day and listen to various speakers. State Sen. Sylvia Allen was one of the featured speakers, along with gubernatorial candidate Robert Graham and District I candidates Bruce Olsen and Bradley Beauchamp.
     Three Heber/Overgaard women organized the event: Jan Brooks, teacher of a concealed weapons class in town and worker on Allen's campaign, Ann Henning, a substitute teacher at Mogollon High School, and Cindy Lee, a secretary at the First Southern Baptist Church of Overgaard.
     All three said they were surprised and pleased with the turnout.
     "We never expected this many people here today," Brooks said.
     Lee said, "I think it's an awesome turnout. It just blew me away. I'm very delighted."
     Brooks urged respect with everyone in attendance, as she saw many with different viewpoints attend the event. Henning said the event was crafted with the intention of informing guests on different issues.
     "We are trying to discuss the issues, get people informed and let them hear some of the candidates," she said.
     Henning said there were a couple different issues that led her to help organize the tea party. Chief among them was health-care reform legislation, dubbed "Obamacare," and immigration reform.
     "We're just disgusted with what's going on in the country and want to do something about it," she said.
     Lee said health-care reform was a concern of hers as well as of many she talked to, saying they did not want government involvement in health care. She was also concerned about first amendment rights, gun rights and states' rights.
     While national issues were a hot topic of discussion, participants also devoted some time to crucial issues facing the state of Arizona.
     Allen, during her time, talked about the state's budget shortfall, using Arizona's natural resources as a way to rebound the economy and Gov. Jan Brewer's proposed one-cent sales tax increase.
     Lee said the tea party took about a month to plan. After sharing her frustrations with others, and hearing them share the same frustrations, their grass roots effort truly began.
     "We're concerned about the way our country is headed and we wanted to put this together before Congress reconvened," she said. "We just started e-mailing people, putting out flyers, telephone calls and it just blossomed from there."
     Lee said they also wanted to put together an event in which elected officials could attend as well.
     "We asked several congressmen and senators to attend and we did get responses, but unfortunately their schedules kept them from coming to this tea party," she said.
Lee added she contacted Trent Franks, District II representative, and senators      Jon Kyl and John McCain. She got no reply from McCain, but Franks and Kyl did respond, although they could not attend.
     Henning said an invitation was also sent to District I Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, but she did not respond.
     But those who did show up seemed to be pleased with the event. Allen, who called Heber/Overgaard her home, said she considered tea parties and other such events testaments to the freedoms of this country.
     "It takes a lot of work to do something like this, but this is what makes America work," she said.
     Linda Halloran, a Wagon Wheel resident, also took part in the White Mountain Conservatives Town Hall the week before. She said she enjoyed the tea party, as she saw people becoming fired up and getting more involved in the issues.
     "It's like there's this huge forest fire and, unfortunately, all we have are garden hoses," she said. "That can change as people become informed."
     Taylor resident Billy Breedlove said what excited him about the tea party was seeing people come together.
     "It's nice to see small communities standing up to make a difference," he said. "I'd like to see an organization like this in every town and every community."
     Heber resident Rebecca Bentley said she attended the event because she works in the health-care industry but is concerned with proposed health-care reform. She would like to see privatizing of insurance companies to increase competition, including across state lines, which she believes would decrease costs.
     "So you can shop around, like with auto insurance," she said.
     Overall, Bentley said she would like to see more people get involved and she considered the tea party a good start.
     "People need to get more involved in these decisions," she said. "It's just sad people don't get more involved and vote."