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NEWS..............5 Five Below aims for Lake Pleasant Towne Center
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November 5, 2020
Peoria’s Hometown Newspaper
Father, daughter die in plane crash near Cordes Lakes BY SARAH DONAHUE Peoria Times Staff Writer
A Peoria father and his daughter departed Deer Valley Airport for Page in a small, noncommercial aircraft on Oct. 24, but never reached their destination. The two victims of the fatal plane crash, 34-year-old pilot William “Bill” Engel Bell and his 8-year-old daughter, Amira Caballero, were reported missing on Oct. 25, prompting the search for the aircraft, according to information from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office. At around 12:15 p.m. Oct. 26,
William “Bill” Engel Bell of Peoria and his 8-year-old daughter, Amira Caballero died when the private plane he was flying crashed Oct. 25. (Photo courtesy GoFundMe)
the crew of the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s ranger helicopter unit discovered the airplane upside down in a remote location approximately 5.5 miles east southeast of Cordes Lakes, the YCSO said. The sheriff’s office was notified of the discovery but did not arrive on the scene immediately because it was in a remote location, according to information provided by Chris Wilson, YCSO public affairs assistant. The names of the victims were originally withheld pending nextSEE CRASH PAGE 3
TheaterWorks leader scores Governor’s Arts Award BY TOM SCANLON
SPORTS......... 18 Liberty High girls shine at state tournament
OPINION.................10 BUSINESS...............15 SPORTS...................17 FEATURES...............20 RELIGION................22 YOUTH....................24 CLASSIFIEDS...........26
Peoria Times Managing Editor
Much of 2020 was as bleak as a Beckett play for TheaterWorks. After stumbling through an extended theatric blackout, the Peoria theater is now as peppy as a Broadway musical. Artistic Director Chris Hamby not only successfully relaunched the Peoria theater, he just scored one of the most prestigious honors in Arizona. It has been a most “curious” year for this West Valley native. Hamby, 41, last week received the Governor’s Arts Award in the Central Arizona Artist category. Hamby was shocked when his name
was called at a virtual awards show. “It’s kind of a lifetime achievement award,” he said with a chuckle. “And I feel like we have so much more work to do.” Indeed, Hamby is transitioning from “Curiouser & Curiouser,” his trippy take on the Lewis Carroll classic that closed Nov. 1, to holiday mashup “A Curiouser Nutcracker,” opening Nov. 27. Shortly after TheaterWorks “went dark” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hamby started brainstorming an idea for “an immersive, multi-sensory, intimate theater production,” with audience members walking into and through Alice’s Wonderland.
After spending years racing from one production to the next, Hamby had the rare luxury of time to work with his staff to transform various theaters, rehearsal spaces and hallways of the spacious Peoria Center for the Performing Arts into Wonderland. “Curiouser & Curiouser,” which opened Sept. 10, was a triumphant comeback for a theater that was dark for months. Two days before the theater’s biggest fundraiser of the year, Hamby made the decision to shut down the theater and the fundraiser. “It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do,” he said. “We SEE AWARD PAGE 2
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