BY CHASE PURDY
The Arizona Republic

Terry Erickson said she plans to park her car around midnight. She'll survey her spot at Chaparral Park, an island tucked into the anonymous grid of muted Scottsdale streets.

At 2 a.m. Friday her team of staff and volunteers will slip into the light and begin their work. Her phone will ring and she'll answer. A group of nephews and nieces will wait on the other side of the line, excited about the day ahead of them.

"Hello, this is Terry," she'll say.

"Mighty Mud, Mighty MUD, MIGHTY MUD," they'll chant, small voices in the small hours of the night.

The call marks the beginning of Mighty Mud Mania, a 34-year-old Scottsdale tradition which attracts thousands of Valley residents.

For three weeks, dinosaur-sized construction equipment rumbled across the park, digging ditches to shape the terrain for a massive mud obstacle course.


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BY CHASE PURDY
The Arizona Republic

The tap on the window startled her, but Dorothy Iverson closed her book and rolled the window down anyway.

Outside the car, a Navajo man sat on his haunches, eye-level. They stared for a moment, and then he spoke with a thoughtful tone.

"Why don't you come in?" he said. "Don't be like a Navajo lady, always following the men. You should come in with your husband."


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BY CHASE PURDY
The Arizona Republic

Reading through the paperwork, Karen Brooks thought it was a joke. It was unlike anything she'd seen in 20 years.

"This can't be happening," she told herself in 2007, as she skimmed through pages of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act that had been passed by Congress.

Brooks works for Bumkins, a Scottsdale manufacturer of baby products. As production and sourcing manager, she oversees the Scottsdale location's day-to-day operation. It's her job to make sure the company is in compliance with the evolving federal legislation.

But the law, meant to protect children from harmful products in toys and clothes, is increasing costs for some small business owners, and driving others out of business.



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BY CHASE PURDY
The Arizona Republic

Desert Arroyo Middle School will remain open, the Cave Creek Unified School District governing board decided Tuesday.

The decision was met with applause from more than 150 people who attended the meeting.

The school district calculated this spring that it would need to cut between $4 million and $6 million from its 2009-2010 budget. The board considered many options, including teacher furloughs, pay reductions and layoffs to handle the cuts. Many feared the reductions wouldn't be enough, which prompted the governing board to consider closing the school for good.


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BY CHASE PURDY
The Arizona Republic

Anna Piatkiewicz, a New York City transplant, stepped out of the car. The 77-year-old woman stood tall, her pink corsage ruffling in the breeze.

Around the car, Bill Vieregg, 60, eased the driver-side door shut and joined her. Piatkiewicz, a widow of almost four years, turned toward her church. She wouldn't sit alone at Easter service.


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Bad yellow-light timer blamed for $36,000 worth of citations

BY CHASE PURDY
The Arizona Republic

Paradise Valley plans to refund a total of $36,000 to more than 1,000 drivers who received tickets for running a faulty traffic light at Tatum Boulevard and McDonald Drive.

The town sent 1,063 letters June 22 informing drivers ticketed between May 7 and June 17 to expect a full refund of their fines.

The yellow left-turn signal at the intersection lasted only three seconds, but town policy states yellow lights should last 4.5 seconds, Town Manager Jim Bacon said Thursday.

Drivers who paid only a citation will receive a refund of $182. Those who attended defensive-driving school will receive $234.

Public Works Director Andrew Cooper said he planned to investigate whether it was equipment or human error.

"We do not have all the data that we've requested," he said. "We definitely know it was a failure."

Cooper would not reveal the source of the data he had requested.



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BY CHASE PURDY
The Arizona Republic

Carole Pellatt doesn't shake hands, she hugs.

Her infectious enthusiasm sets the tone at Camp Jam, a Scottsdale summer camp geared toward helping young musicians learn to play an instrument and create a stage presence.

Pellatt started directing the Scottsdale chapter of Camp Jam three years ago. She said she teams with other local musicians and music teachers to instruct and run the camp.

"The whole slogan for the camp is, 'No canoes, lots of rock,'" Pellatt said. "We're musicians and we treat the kids like musicians from day one."


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BY CHASE PURDY
The Arizona Republic

Glossy photos cover Carmel Courtright's desk, a polygon timeline of her past two weeks.

A girl named Patricia smiles from one of the photos. Courtright taps it and explains the orphaned girl's story.

"She was four when I first saw her. She's HIV-positive, but Valley Presbyterian Church has gotten her treatment," she said.

Valley Presbyterian Church sent Courtright and seven others on a mission to Malawi, Africa. The group left May 29 and returned June 15, marking the church's third trip to the African village of Matapila.


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It's the beginning of the summer, so it's clean now. But this is where I work:

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BY CHASE PURDY
The Arizona Republic

Gayle Geagan of Scottsdale stepped forward to tee off at Troon Country Club's 13th hole.

Her friends, Linda Tucker and Natalie Mintz, also from Scottsdale, watched her ball fly high above Troon Country Club toward the mountains on June 5, heading straight for the hole about 107 yards away.

The wind at their backs pushed the ball through the air, but just a bit.



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