January 21st, 2015 / Vol.13 / No.9
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
Community members and government representatives, including Sheriff Joe Arpaio (right), gathered in Anthem on Jan. 14 to confer on MCSO policies.
Inside: Community News........ 4 Arts .............................. 9 Movie Review............. 10 Concert ...................... 11 Services ...................... 14 Classifieds .................. 17 Pet of the Week ......... 19
NEW RIVER – The patio at the Roadrunner Bar and Saloon in New River gathered a small crowd of people for an unusual send-off celebration on the night of Jan. 15. After selling his business and nearly everything he owns, Robert Hammond, whose earthly possessions now fit in a large pack on his back, was set to embark on a 3,000-mile solo journey from New River, Ariz., to Seattle, Wash., to raise awareness for depression and anxiety, while also raising funds for the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. Having suffered from severe anxiety and depression as far back as he can remember, New River resident Hammond, 58, hit rock bottom last summer and left town in his Jeep seeking a solution. “I went driving about 15,000 miles just trying to figure out how to kill myself and not bum out my family,” Hammond said. “Because that’s the main thing is my family.” Thankfully for his family, Ham-
mond’s plans changed while he laid watching television in a Roswell, New Mexico, hotel room. “I saw that Robin Williams had committed suicide,” Hammond said. “And then they started talking about his daughter Zelda and his son, and I was thinking ‘How could he do that?’” Hammond decided then and there that suicide was not an option. “I came back home but I was just a mess,” Hammond said. “I walked into my place, fell on the floor and just started bawling.” Hammond is not alone. According to its 2012 study, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that an estimated 16 million adults aged 18 or older experienced one or more major depressive episodes in the past year (http://www. samhsa.gov/).
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ANTHEM – Since October 2013, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has been under court monitoring over profiling and detention practices. A community meeting was held in Anthem on Jan. 14 to discuss how local residents feel about MCSO practices. Since that Jan. 14 meeting, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow has announced that he will be overseeing civil contempt of court proceedings against Arpaio due to lack of compliance with the judge’s orders. A mini-trial is planned for April.
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