December 19, 2018 • Vol. 17, No. 5
POSTAL PATRON CAVE CREEK
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ECRWSS Carrier Route PreSorted Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 371 Cave Creek, AZ
Anthem | Black Canyon City | Carefree | Cave Creek | Desert Hills | New River| North Phoenix | Tramonto | Peoria
More than half the residents living in New River, Desert Hills say quality of life has declined in the last five years BY TARA ALATORRE
DESERT HILLS – Maricopa County held on open house on December 12 at Desert Mountain School, to update the community on its preparations to draft a revised New River Area Plan, while also sharing results from a previous survey it conducted and gathering more feedback from residents. Once finalized through public hearings and approved by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, the updated New River Area Plan will replace the 20-year-old plan that is currently being used to guide land use locally. The new adopted plan
will identify policies for future growth in the unincorporated areas of New River, Desert Hills, Anthem and parts of north Phoenix. The county is still in the beginning stages of researching the community’s concerns and wants regarding future growth and analyzing public feedback that will guide planners when they create the draft plan. Last week at the open house the county displayed the results of a survey residents participated in previously at public meetings and online. According to the responses gathered by the planning
Will Arizona’s saguaros survive climate change and drought?
department the top three things resident like most about living in the New River Desert Hills area is natural desert open space, its small town feel and quiet neighborhoods, and the large lots. Locals are nearly split on their opinion of the most critical issue the area faces, with 47 percent saying it is water and 43 percent saying it is growth and development. Also, 57 percent of residents said that the quality of life has declined over the past five years, according to the
DRAFT AREA PLAN continued on page 10
Cave Creek 'Mompreneur' launches first of its kind baby bib line
Pictured right: Tom Orum measures a saguaro and his wife Nancy Ferguson records the measurement in Saguaro National Park. The couple has been recording measurements of saguaros in the park for nearly forty years. Their research shows not as many new saguaros are taking root, and that rising temperatures and ongoing drought may be the reason why. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Cronkite News) BY STEPHANIE MORSE CRONKITE NEWS
Pictured: The Little Monkey Company's unique line of environmentally friendly bibs (patent pending), which were created by local Cave Creek mom, Beth Schutte. (Photo courtesy of Little Monkey Company)
LOCAL MOMPRENUER
STORY INSIDE ON PAGE 8
TUCSON – The click of container lids and swoosh of zippers filled the air on a still morning in Saguaro National Park East. Tom Orum and his wife, Nancy Ferguson, pulled measuring equipment from the trunk of their dusty white truck, parked in a flat landscape of majestic saguaros towering over teddy bear cholla, prickly pear, woody shrubs and spiny plants. Orum, 71, and Ferguson, 74, have visited this spot for four decades. Their job is always the
SCOTTSDALE:
CAVE CREEK:
ADOT:
Meet Santa at the Unicorn
Museum announces new
Wrong-way detection system
Cupcake Boutique
director of development
nationally recognized
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same: to monitor the health of more than 600 saguaros on 60 acres of the park. They’re the third generation to measure and monitor these iconic symbols of the West since 1941, and the work has become a treasured ritual for them. “It’s sort of like having roots yourself to get back to the same place and repeat a process year after year,” said Ferguson, a retired biologist dressed in jeans, a baseball cap, and a gray T-shirt decorated with green saguaros.
FATE OF SAGUAROS continued on page 3
OTHER : • Bluhm Column
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• Service Directory
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• Classified Ads
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