Fighting trafficking / p. 5
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Inside
This Week
REAL ESTATE .......... 13
Columnist says QC home sellers gaining edge
COMMUNITY .......... 16
EV artist keeps painting while going blind.
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Threats at QC schools prompt police action plan BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer
A
mid the epidemic of school shootings across the country, the Queen Creek Police Department is taking action to try to curb a growing number of threats of violence at schools in town. Together with the Community Services Department, the department is planning an educational campaign to teach students about the dangers of making threats on campus and how those words can affect their future.
Police Chief Randy Brice outlined the program for Town Council April 19 and also got its members’ approval of a plan to broaden the scope of a school resource officers’ duties and adding them at more schools. “It’s all about averting school violence,” Brice said. Brice said he wants to establish a strategic presence on all 30 charter and public campuses in town – and wants students and their families on board. “It’s a collaborative effort,” he said. “What do we need to do in the school and what do we
need to do as a police department and how do we bring in the community at the end of that?” Brice said he wants the educational plan to be in place by the start of the next school year. He said taking input and creating the plan will be labor intensive. “While I admit it’s a huge lift,” he said, “it is imperative that we get this information out.” Brice added the program will not be a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all program for every school but rather “custom-fit” for each, de-
see COUNCIL page 8
Broadway’s bright lights beckon QC actor, 13 BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer
A SPORTS ................. 21
Jason Best celebrates area youth sports clinic success.
REAL ESTATE ............ 13 COMMUNITY ............ 16 BUSINESS .................. 17 OPINION .................. 19 SPORTS .................... 21 CLASSIFIEDS .............23
t age 13, Queen Creek middle schooler Jacob Vella misses his family, including his dog, but maybe misses the local In-N-Out Burger a little more. “I go there all the time with my friends,” said Jacob, who attends Heritage Academy. “Not having it in a five-mile radius makes me sad.” That’s what happens when you hit the big time. Vella is one of 29 singers selected to be part of the cast of HITS! The Musical, touring the country now and scheduled to be in Phoenix May 3 at the Herberger Theater. “We held nationwide auditions with more than 7,000 individuals and from those audi-
see HITS page 6
HITS features a huge cast of talented young thespians. (Special to the Tribune)
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