March 12, 2014 • Vol. 12, No.17
• Anthem
• Black Canyon City
Police blame deaths on murder-suicide
The Phoenix Police Department is reporting that two teenagers from Sandra Day O’Connor High School that died Friday in a shooting were part of a murdersuicide that unfolded within a few miles of the school along Happy Valley Road. Authorities believe that one student, 15-year-old Matthew Bolton, gunned down his former girlfriend Anastasia Greer, 16, at the home of a friend before Bolton turned the gun on himself. Both students were sophomores. The emergency call reporting the shooting had come in around noon March 7. In addition to the apparent murder-suicide, AZfamily.com reported that police are investigating a claim that Bolton had previously choked another ex-girlfriend in a classroom. A request for further comment on the murder-suicide and related developments was not answered by Phoenix police in time for publication. Following the incident, multiple vigils have sprung up in the community. One was held Saturday night at the high school. Another tribute to Greer developed at Anthem Preparatory Academy where her mother works. To help with funeral expenses, an account at Midfirst Bank has been established to benefit the Greer family. The public can also contribute to the cause by helping Hands Across Anthem collect online donations at handsacrossarizona.com.
Inside: Author.....................2 Events.......................9 Movie Review.......12 Bluhm..................... 17 Editorial.............. 19 Services................. 20 Crossword......... 23 Classifieds.......... 24
Postal Patron Cave Creek
• Carefree
• Cave Creek
ECRWSS Carrier Route PreSorted Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 371 Cave Creek, AZ
• Desert Hills
• New River
• North Phoenix
• Tramonto
Youngsters dig learning at Arizona SciTech Festival
Eric Quade photo
Am I rich? — Cave Creek Museum volunteer Brandon Summers analyzes 7-year-old Dylan Fincham’s find from the panning for gold exhibit Saturday. The event was one of many held in conjunction with the Arizona SciTech Festival.
Experts explain need for Anthem wireless tower New panel to boost town Eric Quade Editor
Armed with color-coded maps and lots of knowledge about wireless communications, a panel of experts from Coal Creek Consulting spoke in Anthem March 5 about the need for a new cell tower on the edge of the community. Declan Murphy, Jim Caciola and Ozgur Celik of the consulting firm, working on behalf of AT&T, led last week’s discussion about the cell tower. Murphy said that AT&T has a coverage gap in the northeastern portion of Anthem, and the preferred remedy is to erect a new cell tower next to the Daisy Mountain Fire Station on the community’s east end. Rather than putting up a bare pole, Murphy said that AT&T wanted to camouflage the tower as much as possible, so the current proposal calls for a tower resembling an elevated water
tank. Other options for disguise, such as making it appear like a saguaro, pine tree or palm tree, were considered less effective due to height and placement issues. The proposed tower would stand 65 feet tall and be surrounded by a 10-foot masonry wall. In addition to boosting signals for AT&T customers in the northeast part of Anthem, southeast Anthem and surrounding areas would also experience better service, according to the panel. If built, then the new structure could also accommodate other wireless carriers looking to improve their signals in the area. Among the chief concerns raised by members of the public at last week’s meeting were questions about tower placement and appearance. Some commented that a water tank-style tower would be an eyesore or otherwise make too large of an imprint on the desert horizon, and they suggested either
going with the slimmer profile of a regular pole or moving the tower’s location entirely. Murphy said that zoning hurdles have basically pinned the tower proposal to its current suggested location at the Anthem Equestrian Trail site, which is also at the fire station. As to the tower’s height and profile, Murphy said that the 65foot height limit and water tank camouflage proposal were in response to community feedback. Neal Shearer, community operations officer at Anthem, said that the cell tower project had come to the ACC board’s attention after receiving scrutiny from the New River/Desert Hills Community Association, and the board has honored those informal agreements so far. The ACC board would have to formally approve the proposal before it could move forward, and the soonest that could happen would be its next meeting later this month.
Tara Alatorre
The Carefree Town Council unanimously agreed at its March 4 meeting to form a new public committee composed of town council members, business owners and residents. The formal committee was charged with the goal to bring the community together to create a village-like atmosphere in the downtown area. The new “village committee” will be led by Mayor David Schwan and Vice Mayor Les Peterson, with councilmemebers Melissa Price, John Crane and Michael Farrar serving on it, as well. “It’s moving the effort to bring cooperation, to bring the local business community together,” said Schwan during last week’s council meeting. The town has $400,000 allo-
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