Cynthia Morgan looks baCk on 30-plus years in ... - InMaricopa.com

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Editor’s Letter I just found out about Maricopa this past summer when I applied for a job here, and I like what I see so far. It’s a unique and exciting place. Sure, there are problems — crumbling foundations in Maricopa Meadows, rising water rates, discord in the police department — but I don’t think you could find a town this size anywhere that doesn’t have problems, large and small. It isn’t the inevitable growing pains of a sudden city and the recessionary aftershocks still shaking the economic underpinnings that set Maricopa apart. It is the extraordinary transformation that took place here in the first decade of the millennium, when a sleepy former stagecoach stop of about 1,000 souls blew up overnight into thriving suburban city of 45,000 living, breathing, dreaming people trying to find happiness and success, trying to survive and make sense of the their lives in a complex time. The housing crisis hit Maricopa as hard as it hit any place in the county. As hard as Las Vegas and Miami and the Inland Empire in Southern California near where I am from. The bubble in real estate “value” that inflated along with Maricopa between 2002 and 2006 was historic in its size and consequences. It’s plain now that much of the housing wealth created by cheap money from China and the innovation of packaging mortgage loans into speculative mega-investment vehicles was an illusion. Gold rush fever burned hot here and around the country but the ore turned out to be mostly pyrite. Yet the town that the illusion wrought is real, a permanent feature on the social, political and geographic map of Arizona. That is the amazing and exciting thing to me. A tidal wave of real estate speculation swept modern Maricopa into existence, but when the wave receded, the town remained. So what now? One of Maricopa’s defining features is that almost no one who lives here is from here. That makes it a social experiment of the first order. Judging by the articles in this issue of InMaricopa, civic life seems to be developing nicely. Becky Papp’s inspirational story about a successful local dance school shows that the arts are taking root here, while Joe Giumette’s whimsical look at Shamrock Farms super-dairy proves that the town has not lost touch with its rich agricultural past. We also report on the good works of Therese Starkey, the kind of community-minded leader it takes to build a successful city, a high-class celebrity-owned steak house and the local theater hopes of a former Hollywood insider who now calls Maricopa home. A lot is going on here. I am used to living in places where dramatic growth is the norm. The St. Louis suburb where I grew up went from 1,600 people in the 1960 census to 16,000 in 1970. Orange County, where I lived for the past 12 years, tripled in population in the 1950s, growing from 250,000 to 750,000, then doubled to 1.5 million in the 1960s and doubled again to 3 million by the year 2000, reaching that milestone just as Maricopa was about to take off on its phenomenal growth spurt. So I am right at home here, in one sense, even though like many others I am new to the place. I can’t wait to see what happens next. Steven M. Thomas Editor Maricopa 21083 N. John Wayne Pkwy, Ste C105 Maricopa, AZ 85139 (520) 568-5600 Casa Grande 1968 N. Pearl Rd., Ste 25 Casa Grande, AZ 85222 (520) 421-0800 www.PremierOrthoAz.com Ask us about Maricopa’s #1 & provider! • We make orthodontics comfortable and fun! • Advanced technology braces and Invisalign orthodontics for children and adults • Interest free payment plans, insurance accepted • Extended early morning appointments available Actual patient of Dr. Coles. This treatment was completed in less than two years with no expander and no extractions.
FREE Trial Class! The Magazine Publisher SCOTT BARTLE Editor STEVE THOMAS Copy Editor JOYCE HOLLIS Writers JOE GIUMETTE BECKY PAPP MICHAEL K. RICH Photographers Scott bartle Carl Bezuidenhout JAKE JOHNSON JOE GIUMETTE JOYCE HOLLIS DAN MILLER cindy price MICHAEL K. RICH Art Director CARL BEZUIDENHOUT Operations Manager CAROLYN STRUBLE Administrative Assistant Michelle K. Winegard Operations Consultant DICK BARKLEY Sales Representative Kathy Dodge Events KATHY DEBEVEC Volume 5, Issue 3 85239.com, LLC dba InMaricopa The Magazine 19756 N. John Wayne Parkway, Suite 100 P.O. Box 1018 Maricopa, AZ 85139 520-568-0040 Tel 520-568-0050 Fax Register now for Fall Classes online! www.DesertSunPerformingArts.com www.dspagems.com MOST MAJOR INSURANCES Medicare / AHCCCS Uninsured? We can help! SUN LIFE FAMILY HEALTH CENTER FAMILY HEALTH CARE by Jean Paul, D.O. & David Sorenson, P.A.C. • Welcoming patients of all ages • Prescription pick-up available • Immunizations for children & adults • Physicals: sports and employment (520) 568-2245 44765 W. Hathaway, Maricopa Hours: Mon-Fri 8:00am-5:00pm Magazine@InMaricopa.com News@InMaricopa.com Sales@InMaricopa.com Photos@InMaricopa.com Published advertisements are not an endorsement of products or advertising claims by InMaricopa. No part of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without the prior written permission of InMaricopa. Copyright 2010. www.SunLifeFamilyHealth.org Sun Life…Excellence in health care! Vol. 5 Issue 3 | InMaricopa.com 5
Page 1 and 2: The Magazine Vol. 5 Issue 3 3 Days
Page 4 and 5: Contents Vol. 5 Issue 3 DEPARTMENTS
Page 8 and 9: Community Gallery 2 1 Freshman golf
Page 10 and 11: Business Profile Performing arts sc
Page 12 and 13: DSPA’s Inspire students (clockwis
Page 14 and 15: Home Landscaping Tips 3 days to a r
Page 16 and 17: Food Dining Out Below: Shula’s up
Page 18 and 19: Cow College How to pick the best be
Page 20 and 21: ON SALE NOW FOR ONLY $ 119 Renewing
Page 22 and 23: Volunteers Profile Hardworking reti
Page 24 and 25: Remembering Former actress and mode
Page 26 and 27: Cast members from “Much Ado About
Page 28 and 29: Cynthia Mo
Page 30 and 31: Nice work… if you can get it Phot
Page 32 and 33: Clockwise from above left: The big
Page 34 and 35: Above left to right: Thunderbird Fa
Page 36 and 37: Worley lived most of her life in Te
Page 38 and 39: Lacy was welcomed into the Hinners
Page 40 and 41: ON-SITE COMPUTER REPAIR We Come to
Page 42 and 43: BE EDUCATED GET ENGAGED HAVE A SAY
Page 44: P.O. Box 1018 Maricopa, AZ 85139 EC

Cynthia Morgan looks baCk on 30-plus years in ... - InMaricopa.com

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