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Ahwatukee Foothills News
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2016 Today: High 107, Low, 88 Sunny Tomorrow: High 105, Low, 87 Sunny
REAL ESTATE
Housing market perking along in Ahwatukee. RE1
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Two women with local ties eye spots in 2016 Olympics
COVER STORY
COMMUNITY:
By Jason Skoda
Frond food
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS STAFF WRITER
Company to grind leaves into cow food. p11
BUSINESS:
Free mullets
Local salon says haircut is perfect for July 4. p25
(AFN file photo) Red White & Boom 2015 Fireworks reflect in Pecos Pool during the 40th annual Red White & Boom at Pecos Park.
Ahwatukee couple puts the Ahh! in Red, White and Boom … and 86 other area fireworks spectaculars By Coty Dolores Miranda
SPORTS:
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Carrying on
DV grad stays course on pro golf goal. p43 Neighborhood p3 Community p6 Calendar p14 Opinion p20
Faith p26 GetOut p29 Sports/Rec p38 Classified p42
Like most of us, Ahwatukee residents Kerry and Lori Welty are prepping for the Fourth of July holiday. But unlike the rest of us, their weekend calendar includes 87 fireworks shows between Friday and Independence Day. This holiday’s opening show for their company, Fireworks Productions of Arizona (FPA),
will be Ahwatukee’s Red, White and Boom! on Friday. During the holiday weekend after the Ahwatukee event, FPA will produce fireworks shows throughout the East Valley, lighting skies over Tempe, Guadalupe, Mesa, Gilbert, Queen Creek and Apache Junction. Other communities throughout the state, including the San Carlos Apache Indian Community, will also be seeing FPA fireworks displays.
(Will Powers/AFN Photographer) Kerry and Lori Welty will be busy this Independence Day Weekend, providing 87 fireworks show to dazzle audiences, starting with Red, White and Boom! in Ahwatukee. >> See FIREWORKS on page 8
With the 2016 Rio Olympic games coming in August, two women with Ahwatukee ties are eyeing spots on the American contingent. Jasmine Todd, whose father is a Mountain Pointe High School track coach, and Shae Nicolaisen, a Desert Vista High School junior, are in Olympic Trials this week for their respective sports. Todd is preparing for track trials that begin Friday in Eugene, Oregon. Nicolaisen is already in Omaha for swim trials that began Monday. Will Claye has already achieved what both women are vying for. A 2008 Mountain Pointe High School graduate, Claye has walked into an Olympic stadium as a member of Team USA. He has had an Olympic medal placed around his neck. He draped the American flag around his shoulders while celebrating his double-medal performance in the triple jump (silver) and long jump (bronze) at the 2012 London Games. “It didn’t truly hit me that I was an Olympian until the Opening Ceremonies. I didn’t understand the magnitude of what it meant to be part of the Games until right then and there,” Claye recalled. >> See OLYMPICS on page 5
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