November 21, 2012 • Vol. 11, No. 2
POSTAL PATRON CAVE CREEK
www.thefoothillsfocus.com
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 • N. Phoenix • Tramonto
Jakscht sentenced to 26 years STAFF REPORT
Arizona dump truck driver Michael Jakscht, convicted of numerous charges for the 2010 deaths of four motorcyclists, was sentenced to 26 years in prison on Friday. Jurors returned guilty verdicts against Michael Jakscht, 48, on 13 charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault and endangerment at an August trial. Jakscht crashed his 12ton truck into a group of motorcyclists stopped at the intersection of 27th Drive and Carefree Highway on March 25, 2010. Clyde R. Nachand, Stephen Punch, Daniel L. Butler and Dayle Downs-Totonchi all died in the accident while five others were injured. Phoenix police said toxicology tests showed Jakscht had methamphetamine in his system. Jakscht’s attorneys had argued that he had taken diet pills and that the brakes on his truck weren’t working well. In 2011, a judge declared a mistrial when jurors deadlocked over whether to convict Jakscht of manslaughter or endangerment.
Inside:
Professional musician performs for Cave Creek students MARC BUCKHOUT MANAGING EDITOR
There’s an old adage that seeing is believing. After Thursday’s assembly students at both Horseshoe Trails Elementary and Desert Sun Academy in the Cave Creek Unified School District would say that hearing is also a pretty powerful tool. A program now in its third year at Desert Sun Academy gives students in grades 3 – 5 an opportunity to learn to play the ukulele and students in grade 6 a chance to play the guitar. Musicfest Strummers came to life in 2010, when Arizona Musicfest, a non-
profit organization, shared a desire with the John & Joan D’Addario Foundation to support a program that would enable children to play musical instruments. “Emphasis is also placed on connecting these young new string players to the string instruments of the symphony orchestra: violin, viola, cello, bass and harp,” said Robert Moody, Arizona Musicfest Artistic Director and conductor of the Arizona Musicfest Orchestra. This is a win-win scenario for students, educators
MUSICIAN
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Marc Buckhout/The Foothills Focus
Jake Shimabukuro performed for third grade students from Horseshoe Trails Elementary and Desert Sun Academy Thursday at Horseshoe Trails Elementary. Arizona Musicfest sponsors a program where students get the opportunity to learn to play the ukulele. To view video of the performance go to facebook.com/thefoothills.focus.
Cactus Shadows bids for 3rd straight post season appearance MARC BUCKHOUT MANAGING EDITOR
Marc Buckhout/The Foothills Focus
Cactus Shadows senior forward Mike Rabbani is a returning starter from last season’s 14-11 squad that qualified for the state tournament. Rabbani and the the Falcons will attempt to run the program’s state playoff streak to three straight seasons.
UTILITIES:
APS plans to start installation of Desert Hills power lines in January
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BUSinesS:
In only two years the Cactus Shadows Falcons boys basketball team has performed an overhaul on the program’s image. After missing the state tournament for four consecutive seasons, Jamaal Scott was an assistant under Tyler Dummett during the team’s 14-11 2010-2011 season, which saw the Falcons end their postseason drought. Last year, with Scott as the head man, the Falcons produced another 14-11 campaign and a second consecutive trip to the state tournament. As the 2012-2013 season gets under way Scott said that despite graduating a large core from last year’s success he sees
SHOOTING:
no reason why his team won’t return to the postseason. “We’re not as experienced as last seasons team was, but this group really enjoys playing together. They’ll protect each other. They don’t want to let each other down so I’m very comfortable that we’ll improve throughout the season.” To do that Scott’s club will look to play a fast paced game, taking advantage of their athleticism and trying to neutralize their relative lack of height. “You’d be hard pressed to find a team as well conditioned as we are,” Scott said. “We’ve got a bunch of wings and guards that all can run. We’re not as strong inside, but we
appearance
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OTHER :
Anthem woman gets green start-up off ground
Gun enthusiast injures himself during target practice north of New River
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