Carefree Christmas Festival
Kudos to the Town of Carefree and everyone involved with the wonderful Christmas Festival. It just gets bigger and better each year. Everything from the continual entertainment, strolling carolers, Renaissance characters, vendors, snow slide, playgrounds, Electric Light Parade and the awesome, spectacular fireworks display, and of course the beautiful gardens, contributed to a first class, very family friendly, fun weekend. Thank you for all for your efforts and hard work in making the Carefree Christmas Festival THE season event of the Valley.
Saundra Carnicelli
Carefree
Back
A heartfelt thank you
A heartfelt thank you goes out to all those who made it possible to produce the Christmas Pageant for the 58th time in Cave Creek! This is truly a community effort at its best: adults and youth involved as crew, cast, choir and luminaria crew. Special thanks to Carefree Kiwanis for being our sponsor and Desert Foothills Key Club for placing luminaria all the way from Cave Creek Road along Spur Cross to the Pageant site! The attendance was great again this year; a perfect way to kick off the Christmas holiday. Join us next year on December 1 and 2.
Wes Sullivan,
Andrew Cupo,
Steve Norris,
Jared Payne,
Patty Sullivan,
Riley Becquet,
Kolten Ledesma,
Lukas Sullivan,
Steven Kralovec,
Savannah Kralovec,
Christine Boisson,
Trevor Penzone,
Jaime Frederick,
Tom Chabot,
Katie Shaughnessy,
Michaela Russo ,
Mattea Reeves,
Danielle Vahey,
Wade Johnson,
Rebecca(king),
McKayla Shaughnessy,
Caitlin Hailey,
John (king),
Michelle Blythe,
Rebekah Ryan,
Danielle Bennett,
Dominique Troyanos,
Virginia Greenlum,
Don Basta,
Rose Fields,
Merry Austen,
Ryan Cordwell,
Ron Brockman,
Brian Gewecke,
Ian Cordwell,
Ed Simpson,
Deanie Reh,
Nancy Hales,
Karen Franevsky,
Raul O'Donnell,
Bill Rudd,
Carol Limes,
Kevin Glenn,
Debbie Clark,
Evelyn Holbrook,
Manny Gonzales,
Jon Loffman,
George Hofer,
Doug Jones,
David Shirey,
Wayne Fulcher,
Al Mascha,
Pete Carpenter,
Will Shirey,
David Bell,
Michael Moore,
John T. Holbrook,
Ralph Pipp,
Debbie Payne,
Chad @Sound Lighting F/X,
Town of Cave Creek,
CopyFast Printing,
Spur Cross Stables,
Arizona Signs Plus,
Shona Becwar and the terrific Desert Foothills Key Club!
Thank you,
Toby Payne
Editor Note: Mr. Toby Payne is deserving of sincere thanks from the entire community for his continued involvement with this annual event.
Back
Property tax
Recently Sonoran News wrote about a proposal to establish a property tax to fund fire coverage for the town of Cave Creek. The article contained the following statement: “Although council can vote to impose a sales tax, when it comes to property taxes, it must be approved by voters. All council can do is vote whether or not to place a measure on the ballot to ask citizens to vote for or against a property tax.”
That statement is accurate when applied to the town of Carefree, but is not strictly correct for Cave Creek. In March 2011 Carefree voters overwhelmingly (919 to 355) passed Prop. 423. Whenever Carefree council proposes a new property tax or an increase in an existing property tax, Prop. 423 (now Chapter 15, Section 15-1-2 of the Town Code) requires a favorable public vote to approve the tax. A related proposition is now Section 15-1-1 that provides that an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Carefree Council is required to present any property tax proposal to voters.
Despite opposition by Carefree’s mayor to Prop. 423 and the circulation in Carefree “Truth” issue #78 of a gross misrepresentation of state law (incorrectly alleging “state statute requires the initiation of any property tax to be voter approved” and “no council can approve a property tax without the consent of a voter majority”) Carefree voters were not fooled and endorsed the initiative by 72 percent. (The favorable result so distressed town hall that the town clerk officially reported the initiative passed by just 65.64 percent, using the number of total March election votes cast -1400 - to determine the percentage rather than the number for/against of 1274.)
Neither the Arizona Constitution nor any state law offers any protection from Cave Creek council establishing a secondary (full cash) values property tax. Secondary values taxes fund such things as bond issues, budget overrides, and special districts.
Thus Daisy Mountain Fire District is funded using a tax levied on secondary valuation, currently $2.97 per $100 of valuation.
The town of Carefree fire contract pays Rural/Metro the staggering annual amount of $1,368,000, allocated to sales tax revenues (61 percent) and general fund reserves (39 percent). The contract makes up over 30 percent of budgeted fiscal 2012 town revenues as town roads continue to deteriorate. Without resorting to financial reserves, the contract would use almost all local sales tax proceeds!
I submit the town of Cave Creek desperately needs a general property tax to pay for its lavish capital infrastructure, not to follow Carefree’s expensive involvement in fire protection.
Jim Peirce
Carefree
Editor note: Sonoran News does not endorse property tax.
Back
Sheriff Joe: DOJ investigation results ... hero or villain?!!
I don't know whether to laugh or cry with results of the so-called DOJ "investigation" of Sheriff Joe. Is it any wonder that the "esteemed" Eric Holder and company have found Arpaio guilty of allegations that have been a mantra of the radical left for many years?
These allegations are nothing more than the results of what amounts to a "Kangaroo Court" of leftist activists masquerading as a credible law enforcement agency set on a particular agenda. That agenda to undermine any law enforcement agency that happens to dare to enforce long established Immigration Law is well documented.
We have the usual local leftist Politicians (Gordon, Wilcox, Gallardo etc) jumping on the bandwagon and ramping up the volume with shrill rhetoric about how Sheriff Joe has abused his position. It is a predictable mantra of never ending nonsense directed at a sheriff who has courageously withstood a consistent barrage of attacks while still upholding the rule of law.
What of the Black Panther polling place debacle, the DOJ sponsored "Fast and Furious" gun running operation among other numerous abuses by an out of control agency? Eric Holder is the one who needs to resign and investigated for the corrupt organization he rules, not Sheriff Joe!
Vince Ansel, Riders USA
Scottsdale
Back
A great neighbor
I want to thank my neighbor and a member of your staff, Marielle Marne. While we were visiting one evening I mentioned how much I missed getting the paper since we moved to Desert Hills. Much to my surprise I came home to find the paper stuck firmly in my door as it has been after every publication. Hand delivery, can't beat service like that. Thank you again Marielle! You’re a great neighbor and an asset to Sonoran News.
Kathy Scott
Desert Hills
Editor note: It’s unanimous!!
Back
Missing U.S. Drone?
An American super secret, unmanned, high tech, surveillance drone has gone missing in Iran, one of the United States most rabid enemies on the face of the earth. You may be certain that this chunk of sensitive, technological windfall will be shared eagerly with the Russians and the Communist Chinese by Iranian dictator Ahmadinejad. Perhaps in exchange for help with their nuclear program.
The President sprung into action. Did he send in a recovery team, launch a pinpoint attack to deny the enemy our secrets by destroying the drone?
No, like an eight year old tacking up posters of his lost dog, he whined, ‘Give it back please.’ What courage. The loss of this technology and intel is a monumental blow to our national security; fat chance it will be returned.
Curious, I checked my Webster's to discover, by definition, we have another drone; he lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Randy Edwards
Cave Creek
Back
Learn the hard way
An expert economist said recently that a loaf of bread is going to cost one hundred dollars.
I don’t know much about hyperinflation, but I remembered an example I had read about the hyperinflation in Germany. The story that circulated was about a woman who took a basket of money to a store to buy a few items. While she was there, her toddler ran out into the street. Terrified, the woman sat the basket of money down and ran into the street and rescued the toddler. When she came back to where she had left the basket of money, she found the money still there, but the basket had been stolen.
I decided that since my knowledge of hyperinflation was so small, I’d better research the subject. I went to my computer and typed in the word hyperinflation. Two articles appeared. I chose the one by a college economics professor: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. What the professor said that impressed me the most was that a $1 item today at 50 percent inflation would cost $130 in one year.
Germany’s experience is probably the most famous hyperinflation example. However, the professor said that the inflation in Hungary in 1945-1946 was larger. “Prices rose more that 19,000 percent per month, or 19 percent per day.”
According to the professor, the cause of hyperinflation is the rapid growth in the supply of paper money. In today’s economy, that means hyperinflation is being caused by the Fed’s practice of printing money out of thin air. Government uses hyperinflation to tax the citizens without their knowledge.
According to the article, the government can end hyperinflation by two commitments: “halt the rapid growth of the paper money and bring the government’s budget in to balance.”
Many economists are predicting that an economic tsunami is coming our way. Some refer to it as Armageddon.
Big government spenders didn’t believe there would be a price to pay for spending money we don’t have. Now the government and each of us will learn the hard way – the very hard way – that the law of cause and effect hasn’t been repealed.
Sincerely,
Arden Druce
Camp Verde
Back
What are the American people really saying is the number one problem in the country?
Just look at the approval rating of the U.S Senate and House. That says it all. The financial crisis, caused by Congress. The housing market meltdown, caused by Congress. The unemployment numbers, caused by Congress. The vast ups and downs in the market, caused by Congress. And who's supposed to be "fixing" these problems, the same Congress that created them all, and who has done nothing to fix them. All the time, becoming wealthier through their own insider trading and land "swaps."
I won't come out and say that these same people are corrupt, but they have succeeded in corrupting the system. They are self-serving elitists, who are only interested in personal power, getting reelected, privilege, and becoming wealthy or wealthier. The only way we are ever going to change all of our problems is to change "their" system, and that has to be Term Limits. I can list some disadvantages to that type of system, which I get from the politicians themselves, but the good, far, far and again, outweighs the bad.
Four terms for the House members and two for the Senate. Tea Parties, where are you? If a candidate, or an incumbent, can't support it, they shouldn't deserve yours. If we don't do something, we'll deserve what we get.
Fred Schneider
Scottsdale
Back
Fairness or Freedom
President Obama says government regulation is needed to guarantee equal opportunity.
But, who decides what is fair?
For most of history warlords, czars and kings were sovereign over the land and the people who farmed it. In recent centuries revolutions have been fought to wrestle ownership from kings and to give power to the people; but, in fact, the politicians who control the government decide what is fair.
Yet, in America, the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution recognized that "We the People" have a God given right to decide what we do with our property. However, in the last hundred years, liberal politicians have used health, safety and, now, fairness, as excuses to take decision-making from individual persons.
In the name of fairness government has come to control 90 percent of all home, farm, factory, business and student loans; and, with passage of health, financial and food safety legislation, now controls health insurance, financial institution and food production.
The next four years Barak Obama would have everyone paying for or dependent on government.
Mitt Romney accepts the rationale for control and wants to manage government better.
But, just changing politicians and policies is not enough; the politics and philosophy of governing has to change.
Newt Gingrich reformed welfare, cut capital gains taxes and balanced the budget; and, he would transform government if he had the help of a conservative Congress and a vigilant citizenry.
Sincerely,
Michael McCarthy
Hayward, California
Back
Christmas and the greeting "Merry Christmas"
At Christmas we are dazzled by the lights of the season. We tend to forget Jesus Christ, the true light of the world, is present - closer to us than we are to ourselves. Wishing each other a "Merry Christmas" helps us to recall and stay fixed on our true joy.
The English word "merry" originally meant something along the lines of "blessed, peaceful" - a deep down inner joy rather than revelry.
One gets a sense of its original meaning in the well-known carol, God rest ye merry, gentlemen. As can be seen from the comma, the word is not used to describe jolly gentlemen, but rather was a blessing from God invoked upon them - "God rest ye peacefully, gentlemen."
Thus, "Merry Christmas," when spoken to one another, is a blessing.
Let us greet one another often with this blessing to strengthen our certainty that the Lord came among us and continually renews his consoling presence of love and joy.
With respectful and cordial best wishes, I remain,
Paul Kokoski
Hamilton, Ontario
Back
"... with liberty and justice for all."
This week, Barry Bonds, home-run champion and juiceman extraordinaire, was sentenced to probation (!) after having been found guilty on obstruction of justice charges. He was facing fifteen years of prison time, but, NO-O-O-O-! He joins boozer-druggie Lindsay Lohan and others in benefiting from the justice standards applied to Hollywood glitterati and professional jocks: a slap on the wrist for offenses that would have landed you and me in prison for five to twenty years. What next? Will Penn State Coach Jerry Sandusky, if found guilty, be sentenced to 100 hours of public service at the Ronald McDonald House?
In the USA, sauce for the goose is – alas! – not sauce for the gander.
J-P. A. Maldonado
Phoenix
Back
