Weed Season Plagues Residents, City
Growth causes allergies
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
Thanks to the above-average rains the area has seen in recent months, weeds are growing out of control, causing a headache among City officials, allergy sufferers and home occupants.
  “I will tell you we’ve probably had more calls and concerns about weeds this winter and spring than any other time,” said Brad Steinke, the City’s director of development services.
  “Our part of the deal is that we have code compliance staff in our development services department. There’s four full timers there. At least three of them spend their time going after proactive enforcement and reactive enforcement.”
  Proactive enforcement is when code compliance officers actually go out and try to observe violations. Reactive is enforcement on the basis of complaint only, he said.
  “The vast majority of all enforcement we do is complaint based,” Steinke said. “Most of the issues are complaint-type issues. The proactive ones are in a category which is pretty small. It involves trash in yards. It involves inoperable and unlicensed vehicles visible in the yard. It involves weeds and now the council has directed us to include enforcement of illegal portable signage. Those are the lists of the proactive things we’re doing. When it comes to weeds, we will look for weeds that violate the code in height. I think it’s 12 inches or more. That’s important.”

See A-1 and see Weesda, A-9

Silly Mtn. Trail Nearly Done
Trail created by SALT, City officials
The new interpretive trail at Silly Mountain Park being built by the Apache Junction Parks and Recreation Department in partnership with the Superstition Area Land Trust (SALT) is nearing completion.
  The interpretive trail is a gradual one-third mile pathway laid out in a figure-eight design, paved with compacted crushed granite and lined with native Sonoran desert plants. The path can be walked easily by people of all ages and is wheelchair accessible. The construction of the trail had strong support and contributions from a number of businesses and organizations throughout the community.
  The initial idea for the trail came from Don Wells, SALT vice president. That idea evolved through a community input process and from concepts developed by the J2 Engineering and Environmental Design consulting firm. These concepts were transformed into reality through the planting plan and detail design developed by Nick Blake, AJ Parks superintendent and City landscape architect. A $35,000 grant to SALT from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust provided the primary funding for the project.

See A-1 and see Trail, A-3

Sharing Life
Mother makes organ donation awareness her mission
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
When the 31-year-old daughter of Apache Junction winter visitor Patricia Thomas died in September 2008 after a long illness, it was one of the most devastating events in her life.
  But one thing made it easier for Kathleen Shannon’s family—the decision to donate her organs. Listed as her emergency contact, Shannon’s brother, Patrick Shannon of Denver, made the call.
  “She always said that if anything ever happened to her, she wanted to have her organs donated,” Thomas said. “That made the decision an easy one at the most difficult time.”
  The recipient of one of her corneas was an 85-year-old woman from Japan.
Thomas and her family received a letter from Kisayo Mawatari in Isahaya City, Nagasaki.
  “Life was so hard for me after losing sight in both eyes,” she wrote. “But I can see clearly in my left eye because of that cornea from America.
  “I have no inconveniences in my life now due to my transplant. I talk with my family often about how thankful I am to have received the new cornea. Unfortunately, in Japan, the selfless act of donating a cornea is not widely known or understood. I think so many people are waiting for one here, and I am so fortunate to have received sight from good-intentioned people in America who also have the latest medical technology.”

See A-1 and see Life, A-8

AJHS Track Athletes Compete In Chandler Rotary Meet
By Chuck Baker
The News
  The Chandler Rotary Track and Field Meet is considered one of the premier high school invitational meets in Arizona and the only way to get an invitation is by meeting event standards. So you could say the Apache Junction track and field teams were well represented at the Chandler Rotary Meet when nine athletes and two relay squads competed this past Friday and Saturday at Chandler High School.
  Only Melissa Hernandez and Tyler O’Reilly competed in the Open Finals on Friday, Hernandez in the girls 300 meter hurdles and O’Reilly in boys shot put.
  The Seeded Finals, which is the main event at the Chandler Rotary Meet were all held on Saturday and unfortunately after The News’ deadline for today’s issue. Those competing in Seeded Finals this past Saturday included Trevor Berner in discus, Kyrel Parker in both the 100 meters, 200 meters and also in high jump, Zane Morgan in the 100, 200 and 400 meters, Colt Grandstaff in high jump, Chance Van Soest in shot put, Danny Fuller, David Fernando, Tanner Morgan and Parker in the 4x100 meter relay and Grandstaff, Ricky Donald, Fernando and Zane Morgan in the 4x400 meter relay for the AJHS boys, and Hernandez in the 100 meter hurdles, Diana Woodruff in the 1600 meters and Keisha McClincy in both shot put and discus for the AJHS girls. 
  Berner was considered one of the top seeds in discus. On Saturday, March 20, competing in an Arizona USA Track and Field meet held at Copper Canyon High School in Glendale, Trevor threw a personal best of 162-05 in discus and also beat the reigning 4A-I Division State Champ.

See B-1 and see Track, B-6