Thanks Lyn. So sorry to lose Ron. I had prayed he could last until I got back in Nov. but it was not God's will. We have all lost a great friend and citizen. He is in a better place.

Ed Morgan

 

It is under a month away from a busy weekend in Carefree. Would you please send this message out to your readers? I hope that your readers will mark their calendars, invite their friends, and attend, one, two, three, or all four events.

Friday, November 11, 2001 at 4 to 6:00 pm, in the amphitheater, the Town will host its annual “Salute Our Veterans”.

Following the Honor Guard from Luke Air Force Base, the National Anthem will be performed by vocalist April Miller and the Main Event Swing Band. While there will not be any ‘keynote’ speaker, all four veterans that will be speaking deserve to be known as keynoters. The Association of the United States Army will have representative available to assist any veterans with questions.

The Veterans Heritage Project, with Barbara Hatch and her super group of Cactus Shadows High School, will be there and the Heritage Quilt will be on display.

Packages from Home will have a table and attendees are asked to bring items that can easily be shipped to our troops serving overseas. The most-needed include drink mix singles (including coffee and hot chocolate), jelly in 20oz squeezable tubes, trail mix, small jars of peanut butter (plastic container) as well as socks, travel-size tissue packs and foot/body powder. Alternatively, PFH representatives will be on hand to gladly accept any cash donations since each package costs $12.95 to ship.

The always-supportive Carefree Kiwanis Club will be providing light refreshments (coffee, tea, water and cookies) to both veterans and attendees alike.

There is no charge.

We should never forget our Veterans and their service to the country, as I have often said, had it not been for the Allied Forces I would be speaking German to you now!

On Saturday morning, November 12, 2011 at 7 to 11:00 am, in the amphitheater, the Carefree Kiwanis Club will host one of its famous Pancake Breakfasts. $7 for adults and $3.50 for those under 14. They will have music by the New Horizons Swing Band.

The Kiwanis Club does so much for the Town of Carefree, including their most recent donation to help offset the costs of refurbishing the sundial. As you know, I have always felt that this icon has been subjected to neglect over the years and I am glad that Mayor David Schwan and my colleagues on Council approved the work. The sundial, along with street signs, are the most-photographed items in Town. Betsy Wise, Town Clerk, has been working on obtaining a listing in the National Register of Historic Places. This is a not-so-easy project.

(By the way, next year, as part of the Town’s participation in the State’s centenary of Statehood (February 14, 2012), we will be ‘burying’ a time capsule within the sundial with the capsule to opened on the sundials 100th birthday in 2059. Sorry, but I don’t think I will be around at that time.)

That same Saturday, November 12, 2001, starting at 8:00 am until 3:00 pm, SkyRanch at Carefree Airport will host its Wings and Wheels Display. Admission is free and a BBQ lunch will be available for purchase.

On Sunday, November 13, 2011, starting at 3:00 pm, the Town will celebrate the Grand Opening of the Carefree Desert Gardens.

We do not know who will perform the ribbon cutting ceremony, but suggest that all mark their calendars for this event. There will be docents within the gardens to inform attendees about the various species.

The CBA uses the slogan “Experience the Difference”, but these diverse events make me state, “Experience Carefree”.

We have a great little town, it may be oxymoronic, but it’s true.

Thanks for your assistance.

Arthur Gimson

Member, Carefree Town Council