The family goes camping at Mingus Mountain Told by Kuma and written by Lorraine Bossé-Smith Man, the heat is on! It is that time of year when temps rise, and my family and I head to the hills to cool off. Mom and dad got the camper trailer all ready and loaded up the car. We were going back to Mingus Mountain. Last time, we had a leak in the trailer. No hold up this time, and we hit the road with ease. We h ...

Puff paint, rockets and filter crafts will make July 4th colorful By Shannon Fisher July is here and the 4th is a great time to make festive crafts.   Homemade puff paint is easy and fun. We started with 1/2 cup of flour and mixed in 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and just kept stirring in water until it was the consistency of pancake batter.  We divided our mix into two parts an ...

The consequences of contracting without a license By Judge Gerald A. Williams Performing work that requires a contractor’s license, when you don’t have one, is not just a bad idea — it is also a crime.  Almost any business that builds, alters, repairs, adds to or subtracts from any building, highway, road or excavation, must have a contractor’s license. There are separate licenses for commercial and for res ...

Sawana Grimmett opens The Salt Spa with the help of Hair.n.Dipity By Heather Maxwell, Executive Director Anthem Area Chamber of Commerce Sawana Grimmett was working out of a local dentist office when, through mutual acquaintances, she met Rochelle Decker, owner of Hair.n.Dipity salon.  Grimmett then saw her business, The Salt Spa, take off.  “In 2016, a treatment room at her hair salon became available and ...

Nate and Rochelle Decker spotlight local artists at their shops By Laura Latzko Neighbors on Innovative Drive, The Bloc Project arts studio and the Hair.n.Dipity hair salon are hidden gems in Anthem.  Inside the two spaces, visitors will find intricate angel wing designs, life casts of hands and other body parts and innovative photographs by local maker Nate Decker. His wife, Rochelle, owns the salon. Every ...

Summertime activities strengthen family ties  By Pastor David Bowen, Standing Stones Community Church, Standing Stones Christian Academy St. Francis of Assisi once said, “A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.” These are words of wisdom spoken 800 years ago. He also said “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” What was he trying to say?  Instead of see ...

Rising senior Justice Banken represents BCHS at prestigious Boys State By Emma Suttell Whether he is leading a group in Arizona Hills’ youth ministry, working at Calvin Klein, or serving his peers as librarian of National Honor Society, senior Justice Banken is dedicating himself to serving others.  When an opportunity arose earlier this year to attend Arizona Boys State, Banken’s guidance counselor encoura ...

Anthem teen headed to Junior World Skeet Championships By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski When Buzz and Jenn Thomas of Anthem introduced their 10-year-old son, Zyler, to skeet shooting, they were ready for the comments. But it’s changed the family’s life. “I know there’s a stigma about guns, but skeet shooting programs show the whole other side,” Jenn says. “It’s an Olympic sport and one day Zyler hopes to make ...

Dignified Home Loans opens Anthem location By Alison Stanton Deborah Hartwick was inspired to choose a career in the mortgage industry for two key reasons — she loves numbers and she’s a people person.  “I like walking my clients through the challenges each borrower can go through on the journey to homeownership,” Hartwick says. With 30 years’ experience in the mortgage lending industry, Hartwick is the sal ...

By Ron Sanzone Kiwanis International is an organization that most people know of, but they are far less aware of its mission or deeds. Even when a branch is located in their own backyard. “Kiwanis International is about helping children worldwide,” says Ed Taylor, president of the New River branch of Kiwanis. Kiwanis International has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to fight and eliminate maladies th ...