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ECRWSS Carrier Route PreSorted Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 371 Cave Creek, AZ
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This Week
BUSINESS ......... 14 Michael Pollack celebrates his best year in business
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Serving the communities of Cave Creek and Carefree
Cave Creek - Carefree Area Edition
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
Cave Creek opens the town’s �ire station BY ALLISON BROWN Foothills Focus Staff Writer
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fter a little over a year of planning, �inancing and partnerships, Cave Creek of�icially opened its own �ire station and received the �irst call from dispatch Monday, Jan. 3. “This is the culmination of over a year’s efforts to evaluate and improve the services for the town’s residents and business owners,” said Jim Ford, the new director of community
risk reduction for Cave Creek. “We are happy to have come to an agreement with Daisy Mountain Fire District to provide these services for the community.” Mayor Ernie Bunch and Brian Moore, Daisy Mountain Fire District board chairman, made opening remarks. They were joined by councilmembers, �ire�ighters, residents, business owners and representatives from community organizations. After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the piece of fabric was saved for the Cave Creek Museum.
Friends, family honor Stefan Pruett FEATURES ........ 17 Lovin’ Life After 50 Expos return to Sun City and Mesa
YOUTH ............. 19 Disney on Ice skates into Phoenix’s Footprint Center
OPINION ......................9 BUSINESS ................. 14 FEATURES ................ 16 YOUTH ...................... 19 CLASSIFIEDS ............ 21 Zone 2
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BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Foothills Focus Executive Editor
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hen Stefan Pruett died of natural causes in LA in June 2020, his friends and family longed to have a tribute concert featuring music from his projects, Peachcake and The Guidance. COVID-19 derailed that, until Saturday, Jan. 15, when his family and musicians will gather at the Crescent Ballroom to celebrate Pruett’s life and music. Singing the former Carefree resident’s music are Jessica Biaett, Mike McHale, Michael Kraft, Damien Salamone, Mickey Pangburn, Jason Catlin, Chris Babicke, Johnny McHone, Forrest Kline (from hello goodbye) and Jake Greider. McHale organized the show.
Jeremy Dawson of Shiny Toy Guns will DJ, mashing Peachcake and The Guidance songs. A Claire Slattery and Jes Danz will also spin. “This is the �irst and, likely, only tribute concert,” Dawson said. “This is a goodbye show. We were going to do something before in LA, but there was a COVID thing. There’s even a problem with omicron, but we decided to just do it. It’s been over a year.” All proceeds will bene�it Rosie’s House and Heal International. A 2003 Cactus Shadows High School graduate, Pruett was born with a congenital heart condition, transposition of the great arteries, and survived three open-heart
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In addition to the ceremony, there was an open house for visitors. Cave Creek previously contracted with Rural Metro for �ire protection services. However, after two major �ires in 2020 and prompting from neighboring �ire departments, the town decided to join the automatic aid system. That means the closest department would respond to an emergency, regardless of municipal boundaries, resulting in quicker
see FIRE STATION page 5
Stefan Pruett lived in Carefree during his formative years and graduated from Cactus Shadows High School. (File photo)
