EV’s next big thing / p. 26
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QC High thespians present ‘Freaky’ production.
COMMUNITY .......... 14
QC pair give students new hope to learn finances.
BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer
ueen Creek resident Tim Campbell was battling traffic on an East Valley freeway one afternoon with his family on his way to a Scottsdale entertainment venue when it dawned on him. “The thing that Queen Creek is lacking is things for families to do,” Campbell, president and CEO of Pecan Lakes Entertainment said. “We’ve got Schnepf Farms and Fat Cat’s, but we felt like, compared with a lot of other cities,
SPORTS ................. 22
COMMUNITY ............ 14 BUSINESS .................. 19 OPINION .................. 20 SPORTS .................... 22 GET OUT .................... 24 CLASSIFIEDS .............27
we just felt like we were oftentimes driving an hour to Scottsdale or Tempe or wherever to try and go do some things,” he said. “In talking to people, we realized there is a real need for family entertainment.” So, Campbell and his business partners, all longtime Queen Creek residents, have invested $16-million in creating a hometown entertainment scene. Their proposed Pecan Lake Entertainment Center is a family-focused agritainment venue on 11 acres at the northwest corner of 206th street and Riggs Road, between Fat Cat’s and
one of Queen Creek’s historic mainstays, Horseshoe Park and Equestrian Centre. Campbell said Pecan Lake will offer a vast choice of signature restaurant options, karaoke, escape rooms, a three-story 80-element ropes course with varying degrees of difficulty, mini-golf and an electric go cart track with covered pit stop. “So, when you’re loading in the cars and you’re unloading, you’re in a conditioned space, so even in the summer you’re only out-
see PECAN page 5
QC girl, 14, an influencer for Phoenix Children’s BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer
One-time CUSD star to lead Eastmark football.
Sunday, April 9, 2023
QC man pitching mega-entertainment center here
Q NEWS.......................4
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ueen Creek resident Hayden Lichtenberg is pretty much your average 14-year-old middle school student, with her eyes on the future and dreams of making it big on social media. “I want to be an influencer,” Hayden said. Influencers are people who have established some level of credibility on social media, and by virtue of their expertise on a particular topic or product, have attracted a following that look for direction or advice. Without realizing it, though, Hayden is close to already becoming one. On Wednesday, she will have the oppor-
tunity to influence people in a way that she is probably not even thinking about. She is just excited about being in the spotlight, and being a star. “I’m going to be on TV,” she said of her upcoming appearance on the 11th annual ABC-15 Phoenix Children’s Hospital telethon, scheduled to be on the air from 6 am to 10:35 p.m. Wednesday, April 12.
see TELETHON page 6 At age 14, Queen Creek resident Hayden Lichtenberg suffers from a complex condition that impacts almost all her bodily functions and affects the way she gets nourishment. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)
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