The
top stories of 2006
Staff
reports
Loud
and proud
In
an effort to appease residents, the Town of Carefree put
up signs telling motorcycle enthusiasts to keep their
iron ponies down to an 80‑decibel roar or face fines
up to $750. The local ordinance, however, sets 85 decibels
as the upper limit for noise emitted from any motor vehicle.
Bikers have until April to police themselves or face an
enforcement crackdown. The measure garnered national headlines
and also led to a brief but heated confrontation in early
December between Councilmen Bob Coady and Gary Hayward.
Black
Mountain Trails
open
to the public By a 4‑3 vote, Cave Creek Town Council
approved allowing public access to Black Mountain –the
prominent focal point of the Desert Foothills. The town
hired an out‑of‑state engineering firm to
come up with plans to develop the mountain’s trail, but
thus far the town and stakeholders have yet to approve
a final design.
No
smiles for these candid cameras
An
estimated 21,000 speeders were caught on Scottsdale photo‑radar
cameras earlier this year, with a few clocked and cited
for going more than 100 mph. Scottsdale installed the
speed‑detection cameras along a portion of Loop
101 in an effort to stop lead‑foots and decrease
accidents.
The cameras were deactivated this fall while transportation
engineers review the results. The city intends to issue
its final report on the effectiveness of the cameras in
January.
Elderly
woman nearly beaten to death.
An
85‑year‑old Carefree woman was nearly beaten
to death in early September while walking alone near her
home. The attack took place along Tranquil Trail when
an unidentified male dragged her toward an arroyo and
severely beat her.
The
woman miraculously recovered and returned home after a
short hospital stay, but her attacker has not yet been
caught.
The
suspect is described as a 6‑foot 1‑inch tall
male in his forties, about 150 pounds, and was wearing
tan pants and a T‑shirt. Authorities have upped
the reward for his capture to $7,000.
Cave
Creek goes into the water business
In
a controversial move, Cave Creek in September bought the
troubled Desert Hills Water Co. for $2.5 million.
The
town’s acquisition came as the Arizona Corporation Commission
was investigating the water provider over failure to provide
adequate service to the company’s customers.
Two
months later, in a separate move, the town council voted
unanimously to obtain a $6.5 million
loan to buy state‑owned land in order to build a
new waste‑water treatment plant.
The
Pious versus the Patriots
Every
morning dozens of day labors, many suspected of being
illegal immigrants, gather along
Cave Creek Road waiting to be hired. And every so often
a patriotic motorcycle club, American
Freedom Riders, shows up to confront the workers in an
effort to bring attention to
government’s failure or inability to enforce immigration
laws. In an attempt to unite both
sides, Father Glenn Jenks of Good Shepherd of the Hills
Episcopal Church organized a prayer service in early December.
Although Jenks invited the bikers to join the prayer service,
they declined. Despite their differences, both sides agreed
on this much–Congress has failed to come up with a workable
solution to illegal immigration.
Easy
Street Project approved Carefree Town Council in November
approved an ambitious $100 million retail‑condominium
project for the downtown Sundial area. Supporters say
the development is needed to revitalize the commercial
section of town, while opponents fear the Easy Street
project will ruin the town’s laid‑back, quiet lifestyle.
Spanish
language radio towers destroyed
Someone
in late March used a cutting torch to take down four 197‑foot
radio towers located in Black Canyon City on the grounds
of Krazy Horse Ranch Polo Club. The damages were estimated
to run into the millions of dollars.
The
towers, owned by Entravision, broadcast Spanish language
“ESPN Deportes” on Phoenix‑based KMIA, an AM station.
The
Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI investigated
the incident, but the case remains
unsolved.
UPCO
plant explodes
Ammonium
perchlorate, a chemical used in the manufacture of rocket
propellants, blew the roof off a Universal Propulsion
Co. 10,000‑square‑foot plant in north Phoenix
on March 13. The explosion released a gas cloud that
hovered over Deer Valley Road and Central Avenue for several
hours.
Under
the direction of Phoenix Fire Dept., some 90 fire and
emergency personnel rushed to the scene. Although no one
was reported injured, the 144 employees of the facility,
owned by Goodrich Corp., were transported to a local community
center and area residents were evacuated.
Residents
were allowed to return to their homes later that afternoon.
