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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS www.ahwatukee.com
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
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Money remains Lucky to be alive the challenge for AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS flood prevention
NEWS
OH SAY, SHE CAN SING
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BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLSMNEWS COMMUNITY
CHILDREN OF HOPE PRESCHOOL MARKS A DECADE . 27
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BUSINESS
(Ralph Freso/ Special to AFN)
COULDN’T LET GO
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11 Realtors say Ahwatukee Farms would increase home values
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AVAILABLE NOW! Spring Training Guide
Although Jace Hyduchak of Ahwatukee is only 6 years old, he has already fought one of the biggest battles he may ever face – a fight to stay alive. Now, he’s leading an effort to help other youngsters who have fallen victim to pediatric cancer. His story is on page 20.
SPECIAL REPORT BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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leven Ahwatukee Realtors have publicly thrown their support to the Ahwatukee Farms plan, calling it “an exciting proposal featuring multiple aspects that will increase property values to surrounding residents.” In a letter published today in the
Come and celebrate with us at
Ahwatukee Foothills News (p. 32), the Realtors cite several reasons for their endorsement of the plan, including an assertion that Ahwatukee area “is already oversaturated with golf courses” and that the defunct Ahwatukee Lakes course “will never be a golf course again.” The letter is signed by Realtors Dean Carver, Stephanie Coffman, Mimi Cox, See
INCREASE on page 6
aricopa County flood control experts have proposed over $1 million worth of drainage improvements for seven Ahwatukee sites where serious flooding could cause more than an estimated $2.4 million in damage to homes and businesses. But when those fixes might be made – and where the money would come from – are anybody’s guess. The proposed improvements were outlined on Monday during a presentation to the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee by Valerie Swick, project manager for the county Flood Control District, who has been heading up a $1.2 million, two-year study. Swick stressed that most of Ahwatukee was protected from a large flooding threat. Nonetheless, the study determined that more than 492 homes and buildings in Ahwatukee would sustain damage exceeding $5 million in a 100-year flood. The term “100-year flood” refers to an extreme event that has a likely recurrence interval of a century. Put another way, such a major flood has a 1 percent chance of happening in any given year. Hydrologists make that determination on the basis of data for annual rainfall and flooding over an extended period of time. The seven sites discussed Monday comprise the most troublesome of a total of 36 spots in Ahwatukee that were identified in the study. See
FLOOD HAZARD on page 8
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480-705-0505
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