April 6, 2016 • Vol. 14, No.21
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| North Phoenix | Tramonto
YCSO deputy conducts traffic stop, recovers stolen vehicle NORTH VALLEY – A stolen vehicle was recovered after a Yavapai County Sheriff ’s deputy conducted a traffic stop on a truck towing a trailer with no visible license plate. According to a release from YCSO, on March 29, a YCSO deputy driving south on I-17 in the New River area stopped a black 2011 Dodge Ram truck towing an apparent identical truck on a flatbed trailer. The trailer had no visible license plate. The driver was identified as Brian Byce, and he was abnormally nervous while speaking with the deputy. Byce could only produce registration for the truck he was driving. He did not have any paperwork for the trailer or the truck being
Scammers posing as APS representatives targeting local residents ELIZABETH MEDORA STAFF
Pictured: The stolen truck that was recovered by YCSO.
towed. Byce explained that he was coming from Colorado and heading to the Anthem area to sell the truck under tow. YCSO reported that during questioning about both trucks, Byce’s answers were confusing as to ownership of identical vehicles. Byce became increasingly nervous as
YCSO photo
the deputy attempted to gain information. Byce could not adequately explain why he did not have the title for the truck he was about to sell in Anthem. Byce claimed it was a model year 2005. The deputy, who had owned a 2005 Dodge truck,
STOLEN VEHICLE continued on page 7
NORTH VALLEY – “Your electricity is going to be shut off in 45 minutes.” So said a man identifying himself as “Joshua,” who called The Foothills Focus office last Wednesday, claiming to be an APS representative – the supposed “past due” account was fully paid, and the staff member who spoke to “Joshua” was aware of that and recognized he was one of the scammers APS recently has been warning residents about. These phone scammers are targeting residents and businesses around the Valley,
threatening immediate shutoff of electricity if they don’t receive payment. If you receive one of these calls, hang up and call APS Customer Care Center directly at (602) 371-7171. “APS will never contact a customer over the phone and demand payment,” said Jenna Shaver, Spokesperson for APS. “And, we would never accept credit card information over the phone.” In a March 23 consumer alert, APS reported that over 50 customers had called APS to report being targeted
SCAMMERS
continued on page 8
Arizona Game and Fish caring for orphaned mountain lion kitten ELENA MENDOZA CRONKITE NEWS
PHOENIX – The Arizona Game and Fish Department is caring for an orphaned mountain lion kitten after it was found trapped in a tree in Sells. “Her condition is about as bad as I’ve seen, maybe even a little bit worse,” said Anne Justice-Allen, the Wildlife Health Specialist who evaluated the kitten when she arrived at Arizona Game and Fish last week. Arizona Game and Fish officials credit the Tohono O’odham Reservation Animal Control for capturing her and surrendering her to them. They reported that the kitten had a sibling that was found dead at
the bottom of the same tree in which the kitten was trapped. Justice-Allen said she suspects the mother died, too, because she would have brought her kitten down from the tree. “This kitten would have died without intervention,” said Amy Burnett, spokeswoman for Arizona Game and Fish. “Normally we wouldn’t interfere with a mountain lion with kittens. In this case, we could tell from the weight of the kitten that was trapped that the mother was not in the picture.” Justice-Allen said it’s likely the kitten had been separated from her mother for several days. Blood work from the kitten indicated her emaciation and
dehydration is significant, but does not appear to have caused any long-term damage to her body. Burnett said the main goal
EVENTS:
RECYCLING:
HOME EXPO:
Charity golf tournament
Phoenix Public Works notes the
Cave Creek Home Expo
to be held April 25
Top 10 Recyclable Materials
to be held April 16-17
• Classified Ads 18
Page 3
Page 7
Page 13
• Service Directory 19
AZGFD photo
Pictured: The mountain lion kitten now in the care of AZGFD.
is to get some more weight on her because the kitten, who is 5-6-months-old, weighs only about 15 pounds when she should weigh about 30 pounds.
“The good news is that she ate half a rabbit this morning, so those are the kind of things we’re excited about,” Burnett said. Justice-Allen said they haven’t decided whether they will release the kitten back into the wild if she makes a full recovery. “We’re going to do what we can, but just bring a young animal, a young mammal in like this, they very quickly get used to having people around them,” Justice-Allen said. Burnett and Justice-Allen said anyone who sees a mountain lion kitten or any other baby wild animal should leave it alone because its mother is probably nearby.
OTHER : • Bluhm Column
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