Some time between sunset Sunday, February 9th and sunrise on February 10th, two legally permitted Cave Creek Dark Sky Initiative banners advertising the “Celebrate the Starry Night” Art Show were stolen and their strong metal frames destroyed. Both of the frames, built with piping, rebar, heavy metal pipe clamps, bolts and sweat, were bent and torn apart using blunt force. These were not little banners either, one standing about twelve feet high. The busted frames and the cuttings of the thick black plastic ties holding the banners to the frames were all left strewn on the ground and the banners missing. This was quite an effort.
Forty-eight hours later, two new banners had already been reprinted, their frames rebuilt and placed at the same corner locations at Carefree Hwy and Cave Creek Rd. at Walmart and School House and Cave Creek Roads.
The Cave Creek Dark Sky Initiative filed a complaint with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office at their Cave Creek Station. Deputy C. Guyette, who wrote the complaint, characterized the event as Criminal Damage. The Sheriff department is investigating. There are video feeds from adjacent business nearby being looked at for possible identification of the banner culprits.
It appears this attack on private property was preplanned to happen in the middle of the night. No one at this point knows who destroyed the banners, nor if it was more than one person. Were they haters of the Dark Sky movement? Perhaps haters of the new Cave Creek sign ordinance? It’s unlikely the criminals were kids as only the Dark Sky banners were targeted and both locations are approximately two miles apart. To do their dirty work, the criminal or criminals had to bring tools and drive to each crime scene.
Anyone with information leading to the apprehension of the perpetrators should contact the Maricopa County Sheriff office in Cave Creek.
“Celebrate the Starry Night” Art Show is planned for February 24th,a new moon night (no moon) at the Desert Foothills Library from 5:30-8:30pm.
There will be twenty-five artists with seventy-five pieces of art for sale all inspired by the starry night and the dark skies. You can also view Venus and the winter star formations with and three astronomers with their professional telescopes.
