P.23| OPINION P.31| OPINION | BUSINESS P.34 RE AL P.37 ESTATE P. R E1 | GETOUT P.38 | P.41 SPORTS P.44| CL CLASSIFIED ASSIFIED P.48 INSIDE: COMMUNITY P.27| AROUND AF P.31 P.34| BUSINESS |REAL ESTATE P.RE1| GETOUT | SPORTS P.45| P.47 INSIDE: COMMUNITY
www.ahwatukee.com
THUNDER TUTORING
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
. 24 FIRST TIME NEW ART STUDIO NOVELIST
24 . 34
P P
HOME SALES HOT
@AhwatukeeFN
Club West sold, but buyer is a mystery BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
P
@AhwatukeeFN |
T
he Club West Golf Course has been sold but who bought remains a mystery for now. Former owner Wilson Gee confirmed he had closed an $850,000 sale of the site – less than five months after he put it on the market following his foreclosure on a $1 million note that had been signed in December 2017 by the previous buyer, Richard Breuninger on behalf of his Inter Tribal Golf Association. Confidentiality agreements on both sides kept the deal secret, and Gee said he’s waived his and that it is up to the new owners to decide when they want to go public.
Mike Hinz, president of the Foothills Club West Community Association board, said he has not been told who the new owner is. “I don’t have any legitimate feedback,” Hinz said, adding that he was aware there had been “a smattering of different inquiries” from individuals and entities interested in potentially buying the course. One inquiry reportedly came from someone who was interested in putting houses on the course, another source told AFN. The sale marks the latest chapter in a roller-coaster ride for the course, which disintegrated into barren desert land in 2016, was restored by Breuninger to a lush green site in late 2017 and then wasted away again early last year after ITGA ran afoul of mounting op-
Lawmakers OK suicide-prevention training in schools
erating debts that included a nearly $200,000 water bill. There were several bidders on the site, which Gee marketed at $1 million with a requirement that the buyer put up an additional $1 million toward construction of a pipeline that would resolve an enduring problem for the course: access to cheap water. But it is unclear whether that contingency is part of the final sale. Ahwatukee businessman Rande Leonard, who launched the pipeline project, could not be reached for comment. Gee said he was confident that the new owners would be working toward reopening the course for play late this year.
Lion queens
see WEST page 12
BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
. RE1
P
HIGH SCHOOL TRACK
. 44
P
I
n a rare display of bipartisanship, Democrats and Republicans in the State Legislature unanimously passed a bill requiring suicide prevention training for all school personnel who deal with students in grades 6 through 12. Gov. Doug Ducey could sign it today. Responding to the anguish of parents who lost sons and daughters to suicide – including 33 in Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa and Queen Creek and five others in neighboring communities since July 2017 – both chambers last week wasted little time in passing the bill. The bill mandates training every three years for teachers, administrators and even bus drivers who have contact with kids and teens in public and charter schools. The training must be “evidence-based” – meaning that it must have proven effectiveness in helping to identify
see SUICIDE page 10
MEDICATION ASSISTED DRUG & ALCOHOL DEPENDENCY TREATMENT
Ahwatukee muralist Suzanne Whitaker and Monte Vista Elementary Principal Suzanne Radmuno stand near the mural of a mountain lion, the school mascot, that Whitaker painted, making Monte Vista the eighth campus in the district to have walls graced by her artistry. Details see page 23. (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff Photographer)
Suboxone • Vivitrol • Counseling
7331 E. Osborn, Suite 410, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 www.truesolutionshealth.com
CALL (480) 550.7842 FOR A CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION