Parks ban fires

VALLEY – Due to dry conditions, Maricopa County Parks & Recreation Department has initiated its annual fire ban. Campfires, fire pits and charcoal grills are banned, but gas/propane grills may still be used in designated areas. Smoking is permissible, but cigarettes must be extinguished and placed in trash receptacles.

Cave Creek Regional Park and Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area are included in the ban, as are Lake Pleasant, White Tank Mountain, Adobe Dam, Buckeye Hills, Estrella Mountain, San Tan Mountain, Usery Mountain and McDowell Mountain Regional Parks.

Violation of this Park Rule 113, may result in a citation. A date to lift the fire ban will be determined by future rainfall. For questions, call (602) 506‑2930, or visit www.maricopa.gov/parks.

Melt gold into ‘magic’

DESERT HILLS – A “Meltdown Party” with live music by Byrne Donaldson, artist reception with Lance Headlee, and free refreshments are all part of an open house at Alyssa Jewelers Work Bench & Gallery on May 11 from 3 to 9 p.m.

Everyone is encouraged to bring in old gold such as broken chains and single earrings, and have it melted and reformed into a new piece of jewelry by Alyssa during the event’s live demonstrations. An appraiser will also be on site at Alyssa Jewelers, 711 E. Carefree Highway in Tuscani Pointe Center.

Rotary donates computer to library

DESERT FOOTHILLS – The Rotary Club of Carefree and the Desert Foothills Library will dedicate a new, state‑of‑the‑art Dell computer system it donated to the library and installed for public use. The system is the library’s only one to have a flat screen monitor and matching components.

Members from the club, the library’s board of directors, and Library Director Kris Proskus will attend the ceremony. The dedication will be held May 12 at 10 a.m. The library is located at 38443 North Schoolhouse Road in Cave Creek. For more information, call (480) 488‑2286.

4x4s and 4‑of‑a‑kind

BLACK CANYON CITY – Black Canyon Fire Department invites four‑wheelers and poker fans to their 2nd Annual Quad/4x4 Benefit Poker Run, May 13, to raise funds for their new station.

The run begins and ends at High Desert Park. Staging is at 8 a.m., and start is 9 a.m., for a 15‑mile round‑trip trek through high Sonoran desert mesas, canyons and across the Agua Fria River.

BCFD Ladies Auxiliary Petticoat Brigade will sell $3 breakfast burritos, $5 lunch hamburgers and brats, T‑shirts and raffle tickets. Local band Route 66 will perform.

Registration is $20 per hand (one hand per person), with the option of discarding up to 3 cards and purchasing additional cards for a small fee. Prizes will be given for best hands.

Call BCFD at (623) 374‑5524 to register or for more information.

Tour new fire station

TRAMONTO – Meet the firefighters, tour the station, pick up safety information, get photos taken in front of the fire engine and enjoy refreshments and activities at the open house at the North Valley’s newest fire station on May 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, Phoenix City Councilwoman Peggy Neely, and Phoenix Fire officials will perform a ribbon cutting at noon. The fire station is located at 3210 W. Canotia Place. To get there, take I‑17 to Carefree Highway, turn East to North Valley Parkway, then North on W. Canotia Place to Station 56.

Adopt rescued pets

NORTH VALLEY – Come  by and adopt a puppy or kitten from  Foothills Animal Rescue, May 13, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Troon Mountain Health & Fitness, 10440 E. Jomax Road, in Scottsdale.

For information, call (480) 538‑2877, or visit www. troonmountainfitness.com.

Swing into Spring a smashing success

CAREFREE – If an afternoon tea can be described as a sold out event, then the Desert Foothills Theater (DFT) charity event held April 30 was just that. The

Theater’s “Swing into Spring” fundraiser, an elegant afternoon tea at English Rose Tea Room in Carefree raised more than $4,000. DFT surpassed its own matching campaign goal of $15,000 for a grand total of more than $30,000 donated to the Theater since March 1.

For information about upcoming events at Desert Foothills Theater, call (480) 488‑1090.

Golfers take swing for 3‑Day walk

ANTHEM – Golfers can help raise funds for Team W.I.S.H. (Walking In Spirit and Hope), an Anthem‑based team supporting the fight against breast cancer. The team will host a golf classic and silent auction with proceeds sponsoring their participation in the Arizona Breast Cancer 3‑Day this November.

The event will be held May 20 at 2708 W. Anthem Club Dr. The auction will be open to the public from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and feature golf items, spa packages and restaurant gift cards. Golfers tee off at 8 a.m. Tickets are $125 per person and include a breakfast snack and barbecue buffet lunch.

For more information about the golf classic or Team W.I.S.H., contact Linda Kacmarsky at (623) 551‑5185 or kramsky2 @qwest.net.