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This Week
NEWS.................. 8
Back the Badge bull riding and benevolence
BUSINESS.......... 16
Rusty’s Resale Boutique triumphantly returns
Serving the communities of Anthem, Desert Hills, Norterra, Sonoran Foothills, Stetson Valley, Tramonto, New River, Desert Ridge and North Phoenix
Anthem Area Edition
Phoenix hires city’s first public health adviser BY ALLISON BROWN Foothills Focus Staff Writer
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fter COVID-19 highlighted a need, Phoenix has hired its first public health adviser, Nicole Dupuis-Witt, to join city leadership starting Monday, Oct. 17, according to Phoenix City Manager Jeff Barton. “I am incredibly excited to return to Arizona and join the team at the city of Phoenix. It is an honor and privilege to be selected to serve the city as its first public health adviser,” Dupuis-Witt said. “While COVID-19 will continue to be an important public health priority for the near future, I look forward to working with the community on other critical public health issues and the vision toward a healthier Phoenix.” When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the
OPINION.................... 13 BUSINESS.................. 16 FEATURES................. 18 CLASSIFIEDS............. 21 Zone I
city sought professional consulting services to assist with Phoenix’s public health efforts in response to the pandemic. This expertise proved beneficial in advising the city’s strategic approach to pandemic recovery and response, and emphasized the need to bring public health knowledge to the city on a permanent, full-time basis. “The addition of public health expertise to our leadership team strengthens our ability to address public health needs across the city,” Barton said. “Public health is a central tenant to many of the city’s top priorities including heat response and mitigation, housing and homelessness, food systems, senior services, transportation and more. I am confident that Nicole’s
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Nicole Dupuis-Witt is bringing more than 15 years of experience to her position as Phoenix’s first public health adviser. (City of Phoenix/Submitted)
Aaron Johnson’s view of the USS George Washington
FEATURES......... 18
Arts at the Rocks concert series aims to ‘inspire’
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
The Foothills Focus, in partnership with the An them Veterans Memorial, wi ll honor a local veteran each mo nth. This is the story of Aaron Johnson. BY ELIZABETH TURNER Anthem Veterans Memorial
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aron Johnson had not planned to join the Navy growing up. His father and uncles served in the military, but the family ties were not an influence. He excelled academically as an applied physics major at UC Davis. “Like all freshmen, the college experience was new and inspiring; we felt this chapter in our lives was the beginning to an exciting career,” Johnson said. “Out of blue at the end of my first year, I received a letter from the U.S. Navy. It was a
one-page pitch letter, which I glanced over, crumpled and threw out. I had no intention of joining the military. “However, at the end of my sophomore year, I had an existential crisis about what exactly I was going to do with a physics degree. Serendipitously, I received a second letter from the Navy. This time I called the number.” The Naval Nuclear Propulsion Officer Can-
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see JOHNSON page 4