February 25th, 2015 / Vol.13 / No.14
Postal Patron Cave Creek
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
SCOTTSDALE – “Please, sir, I want some more.” So says little Oliver in Charles Dickens’ classic ‘Oliver Twist.’ For over 25 years, the Cactus Shadows Fine Art Center has been giving the community more – more art, more music, more entertainment, and more classic fun. As the Fine Arts Center celebrates its anniversary in the community, the talented cast is reenacting the first show ever performed there – ‘Oliver!’, the musical adaption of Oliver Twist. ‘Oliver!’ opens March 5 with 7:30 p.m. performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through March 14, and a Sunday matinee on March 8, at 2 p.m. “’Oliver!’, the musical adaptation of the famous Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, was the very first show performed at the Fine Arts Center when it opened,” said Evelyn Holbrook,
Read More Continued on pg. 10
Quagga mussels: Understanding the enemy Becky Brisley Cronkite News Service
Inside: Community News........ 4 Movie Review............... 9 Council........................ 10 Arts............................. 11 Services ...................... 14 Classifieds .................. 17 Pet of the Week ......... 18
PHOENIX – As the invasive species coordinator for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, part of Tom McMahon’s job is to stop the destructive quagga mussel from spreading. The mussels have been wreaking havoc in the Great Lakes regions since the 1980s, and since 2007 or before they’ve been colonizing waterways in Arizona. Here’s McMahon’s take on the threat. The enemy The quagga mussels are striped, freshwater mollusks that can live for three to five years. In a single breeding cycle, they can release 30,000 to 40,000 fertilized eggs, or 1 million fertilized eggs in a year. “In the Great Lakes, they were
reproducing two, maybe three times a year,” McMahon said. With the warmer waters in Arizona, McMahon said that the general thought was the quagga mussel wouldn’t thrive here. However, they began to reproduce five to six times a year, quickly establishing themselves along the Colorado River and hitching a ride on the Central Arizona Project. Potential damage There is a looming threat of damage to Arizona waters. As a filter feeder, the quagga mussels suck from water the phytoplankton that serves as the base of the food chain. In large enough numbers, they can disrupt ecosystems. McMahon said that recreational activities could also be affected. This includes detrimental effects to fishing, some-
thing that hasn’t happened yet, as well as fouling propellers and causing other damage to boats. The main threat, though, is quagga mussels’ ability to
block Arizona’s most precious resource if colonies disrupt in-
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