July 8, 2015 • Vol. 13, No.29
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
Two fires in one week
Fires in Carefree highlight fire risk, importance of fire prevention ELIZABETH MEDORA STAFF
CAREFREE – For the second time in seven days, a small brush fire burned near the Ridgeview Estates in Carefree. Colin Williams, Rural Metro Public Information Officer for the area, noted that the Carefree Fire Department Chief confirmed the fire was lightning caused. In the early hours of the morning on June 30, a phone box on a telephone pole caught fire, after being struck by lightning. The fire melted the interior of the phone box and traveled along the ground. The fire burned about 30 feet along Cave Creek Road and approaching the Ridgeview Estates homes. No homes were damaged in the
fire; Rural Metro/Carefree Fire Department crews were able to extinguish the fire before it spread further. The June 30 phone box fire caused phone outages to local residents. CenturyLink
Arrest made after laser pointed at aircraft PHOENIX – A 26-year-old Phoenix resident was arrested on July 1 after reportedly pointing a laser at aircraft that was approaching the Deer Valley Airport. According to a release from the Phoenix Police Department, on the evening of July 1, Phoenix Police Air Unit pilots were notified by Deer Valley Airport of a person pointing a green laser at aircraft approaching the airport. The general area of the laser was indicated to be near Bell Road and 19th Ave. “The police pilots went to the area, climbed to around
3,000 feet and acted as if on approach to the airport, and the helicopter was immediately hit with the green laser,” the Phoenix Police report stated. After that, the pilots were able to guide patrol officers to an apartment complex on 19th Ave. that was surmised to be the source of the laser strikes. An officer observed Scott Hines pointing a green laser at the police helicopter. Hines was subsequently arrested and booked into jail on four counts of endangerment, one count
LASER
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crews were on-scene that day, working to repair the damage. CenturyLink representatives could not be reached by press time to report how long phone service was affected. Both recent brush fires spread easily due to the prolific non-native vegetation in the area, particularly the buffelgrass covering the ground. Buffelgrass, also known as African foxtail grass, is a nonnative grass that was originally planted in Arizona to prevent soil erosion. This grass is fastspreading and fast-burning. The United States Department of Agriculture calls buffelgrass
FIRES
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CCUSD names district Teacher of the Year and honorees
Pictured is CCUSD Teacher of the Year Lisa Fryer with students.
CAVE CREEK – The Cave
of the Year for 2015. This is
Creek Unified School District
the second annual CCUSD
has named the district Teacher
Teacher of the Year celebration.
WILDLIFE:
TV SERIES:
BOATING:
Game and Fish warns
Local screenwriter’s miniseries
Life jacket loaner stations
against feeding wildlife
premiering in August
now at Lake Pleasant
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Page 10
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This year, Lisa Fryer at Lone Mountain Elementary has been chosen as Teacher of the Year. Two honorees have also been named: Dominique Flamm at Sonoran Trails Middle School and Ron Richards at Cactus Shadows High School. As Teacher of the Year, Fryer will receive $3,000; honorees Flamm and Richards will each receive $1,000. Awards are made possible by Barbara and Richard Gunderson, who have pledged $5,000 per year for three years to honor the Best of the
CCUSD
continued on page 8
OTHER : • Bluhm Column
6
• Service Directory
14
• Classified Ads
18