December 11, 2013 • Vol. 12, No.4
• Anthem
• Black Canyon City
NVSO performs holiday concert this Saturday
Mike Spinelli photo
Coming this Saturday, North Valley Symphony Orchestra will present Holiday Toys, a musical concert tailored for the season. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online at northvalleysymphony.org. The concert begins at 7 p.m. at North Canyon High School Performing Arts Center, 1700 E. Union Hills Dr. in Phoenix. NVSO will perform “The Nutcracker Suite,” Tchaikovsky’s concert version of eight of his favorites from this classic holiday music, including the popular Russian dance “Trepak,” and “Waltz of the Flowers.” The orchestra will also play Victor Herbert’s “March of the Toys” from “Babes in Toyland.” Continuing the theme, the Youth Orchestra will perform the “Toy Symphony,” which features
CONCERT
continued on page 2
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
Surge in demand poses food bank challenge Morgan Rath
The number of hungry families seeking help from the Foothills Food Bank and Resource Center in Cave Creek has doubled to a total of 400 since it moved locations on June 1. However, the large increase in families has left the food bank’s administrators worried that they will not have enough food to begin stockpiling. October, November and December are the months when cash and food donations are greatest at the food bank in Cave Creek, according to its executive director, Pam DiPietro. So, normally, the facility starts storing away excess food now, but increased demand has complicated the flow of aid. “The food goes out as quickly as it comes in, which is not a good thing for us because come January it starts to drop off, donations begin to drop off,” DiPietro said. The Foothills Food Bank and Resource Center, located on East Hidden Valley Drive, serves clients as far north as Black Canyon City, as far west at I-17, south to Pinnacle Peak Road and east to Rio Verde. The food bank receives the majority of its items through donation from individuals as well as stores like Fry’s, Albertsons, Walgreens and Starbucks. DiPietro said she estimated that, because of the 200 new families, the food bank has had an additional 600 mouths to feed. The food bank does see numbers increase around the holiday
FOOD BANK
continued on page 12
Morgan Rath photo
Content counts — Rich Pagni looks through the supply to find food that suits the specific dietary needs of the families. The food bank makes sure to give families food they can actually use or else it will all go to waste. This week stocks are high, Pagni said, but last week the fridges were practically empty. His favorite part of volunteering is the thanks he gets from those who appreciate all the food. Some clients even cry with joy, he said, and then sometimes he does, too.
Inside: Cave Creek school superintendent honored among peers Teen Film.................... 2 Bluhm........................5 Events.......................6 Photo Contest.. 11 Editorial.............. 16 Services................. 17 Crossword......... 20 Classifieds.......... 21 Debbi Burdick
Debbi Burdick, superintendent of the Cave Creek Unified School District, has been chosen as the Arizona School Administrator’s Association’s All Arizona Superintendent Award winner for large districts. As the leader of the Cave Creek Unified School District and the five distinct municipalities that it serves, Burdick was described by the association as having student outcomes at the forefront of her goals. Several examples of her positive influence were offered. One was that Cave Creek Unified School District offers a world languages program with the district becoming the first in Arizona to teach Spanish, French and Chinese as a core curriculum to all students in grades K-12. Another was that Burdick imple-
mented the CCUSD technology plan with full implementation of WiFi in all schools and a new infrastructure and broad band to support leading edge technologies. Additionally, her strategic plan for CCUSD was cited as being the framework that poised the district to become designated as an “A” District from the Arizona Department of Education for the past 3 years. Colleagues describe Burdick as being visible, open, honest and possessing an open door policy that shows how devoted she is to every student, staff member, parent and community organization in the district. The Arizona School Administrator’s Association added that Burdick models the professional behavior and expectations she wishes to see in everyone.