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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS Wednesday, December 28, 2016
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U.S. Senate offers some hope to noise-plagued homeowners
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS COVER STORY
BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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resident Obama last Friday may have brought a little hope to Tamra Buntrock von Schroeck and her neighbors. It’s been a tough two years for her and many of her Ahwatukee neighbors. She lives in Ahwatukee Lakes, where the golf course has been rendered an unsightly mess since it was closed in 2013, and is “basically a golf course hole away” from the path of the South Mountain Freeway. And since September 2014, she has been under assault by commercial airplanes heading to and leaving Sky Harbor Airport as the result of major changes in flight paths approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. (Phoenix Aviation Department/Special to AFN) “The noise is just horrific,” said von Schroeck, who has invested $12,000 in These two-day snapshots of air traffic at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport show the green paths soundproof windows to almost no avail. of the newer, more concentrated flight paths, while the blue represent the more spread-out routes used before September 2014. She still has to wear earplugs when she’s at home and she’s contemplating the purchase sound,” she said. With the departing planes, requirement that the FAA flight path of $3,500 in soundproof doors. “it’s like you were on the runway.” changes and take steps to mitigate the She also is under a doctor’s care because of Now, she’s hoping that Obama’s approval negative effects they have on the community the impact of noise that she said continues of National Defense Authorization Act for that a municipality can prove. almost nonstop from 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 Fiscal Year 2017 might bring some relief. It also ensures that other airports and a.m. the next morning. Thanks in part to the efforts of Arizona’s See FLIGHT PATHS on page 16 “The inbound planes make this whining two U.S. senators, the law contains a
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS FORGET WATER
Save Club West needs ‘boots on the ground’
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A look back at Ahwatukee’s setbacks, triumphs in 2016 BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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or many Ahwatukee residents, 2016 seemed like a year of siege. Whether it was the setbacks in court for opponents of the South Mountain Freeway, water issues at Club West Golf
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Course or a plan for houses and other facilities on the barren 101-acre Ahwatukee Lakes course, many residents complained that their quality of life was threatened. Other Ahwatukee residents saw the year as one of triumphs and opportunity. Here’s a look at some of the highlights in words and pictures.
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Marking time
Several longtime Ahwatukee institutions celebrated anniversaries. The celebrated Easter Parade sponsored by the Ahwatukee Kiwanis Club marked 40 years of treating locals to a colorful rite of spring. See
2016 on page 12
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