Ocotillo Bridge creates turmoil / P. 10
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
Varsity football summer camp / P. 22
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Council approves 186-unit condo development BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer
NEWS..................... 6 Queen Creek nation’s third fastest growing community.
COMMUNITY...... 18 Queen Creek’s “flour child’ pens book.
BUSINESS............ 20 He walked Queen Creek’s Gangplank.
COMMUNITY.........................18 BUSINESS...............................20 SPORTS....................................22 GET OUT..................................23 CLASSIFIEDS.........................24
Sunday, june 5, 2022
ueen Creek Town Council approved a 186-unit residential condominium development despite some passionate opposition from a self-described conservationist who expressed concern about its impact on water supply and traffic. The vote cleared another hurdle for Mayberry on Rittenhouse, located near the southeast corner of Sossaman and Ritten-
house roads, by rezoning the 16-acre parcel to a Medium Density Residential zone. “We need to not build buildings to house corpses of people who have died from thirst,” Mary Metzger said. “And that’s what we’re doing.” Metzger had voiced her opposition at a neighborhood meeting last Sept. 13, about “losing our small town.” Metzger, who said she has consider herself a conservationist since the 1950s, indirectly referred to recent federal government
reductions of Colorado River water releases from the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. Those reductions have prompted Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale to trigger the first phase of their water alert systems, though the actions do not mandate any reductions in water consumption by their customers. “We do not have enough water to sustain the population that we have,” Metzger said.
see DEVELOPMENT page 8
QC Botanical Gardens transform agriculture
BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer
ustin Rohrer remembers Sept. 11, 2001, a little differently from most Americans. It’s the day he bought his first home in Gilbert and embarked on his personal journey of farming. Now, he works as the executive director of the Queen Creek Botanical Gardens, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the “world’s first all-edible botanical garden.” Lonnie McCleve is the founding director and a cancer survivor who credits his recovery to plant-based diet that were as to their natural state as possible.
see GARDEN page 3
Queen Creek Botanical Garden co-founder and Executive Director Justin Rohner sees his Onewheel as the “ultimate gardening tool” for making his way around the expansive property. (Josh Ortega/Tribune Staff)
Central Arizona College www.centralaz.edu
Paths to Great Careers
