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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Huge new water park opens in metro Phoenix. Here's everything you can do there
With the 100-degree temps here and kids being out of school for summer break soon, it's perfect timing for a brand new water park, splash pad and swim center to open. The sprawling Rescue Oasis Park, Soak Station 309 and Oasis Swim Center in Surprise has a little bit of everything for everyone. The complex has plenty of activities for people of all ages, including a covered splash pad complete with plenty of shaded seating areas nearby. And the new Oasis Swim Center has not one but three types of pools. Here's everything you can do at the new Rescue Oasis Park and Oasis Swim Center in Surprise. Why is it called Surprise? This Arizona city's founder said it wouldn't amount to much. They were so wrong The Rescue Oasis Park has a full-size basketball court, a sand volleyball court and a playground that's a climber's dream with several rope activities and climbing structures. A smaller, aquatic-themed playground has swings, a slide and multiple levels to explore. Parents and guardians will be able to watch the kids play from multiple shaded sitting and standing areas. A picnic area with a shade structure is within sight of the playground. Details: 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. 12361 N. Perryville Road, Surprise. Free. The new Soak Station 309 splash pad at Rescue Oasis Park is the place to cool off this summer. The centerpiece of Soak Station 309 is the large climbing structure made to look like a firetruck. It has a slide, waterspouts that spray in all directions and a giant hoop that sprays water as kids run through it. Some of the waterspouts are aimable, so kids can soak their friends. Details: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily from May 10-Oct. 31. 12361 N. Perryville Road, Surprise. Free. The Oasis Swim Center, which opens on May 24, completes the picture and it's a water lover's dream come true. There's an Olympic-style 50-meter competition pool with racing lanes. There's also a recreational pool that has a walking channel and six slides, including ones that twist and spiral. Finally, there's the adventure pool where you can try climbing two rock walls or take a ride on the zipline. Cabanas and event spaces are available for rent. Here are the programs, hours and admission prices for the Oasis Swim Center: Open Swim: Noon-6 p.m. daily from May 24 through July 30 and Saturdays-Sundays from Aug. 2 through Aug. 31. $6 for Surprise residents 18 and older, $4 for residents 17 and younger, $8 for all nonresidents. Lap Swim: 7 a.m.-11 a.m. Mondays-Thursdays from May 26 through July 30 and Aug. 4-28. $6 for residents, $8 for nonresidents. Details: Seasonal hours and dates; check the city website. 12361 N. Perryville Road, Surprise. $4-$8. Summer movie deals: Get half-price movie tickets — if you know where to look. How to get the deal in AZ Meredith G. White covers entertainment, art and culture for The Arizona Republic and She writes the latest news about video games, television and best things to do in metro Phoenix. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rescue Oasis water park in Surprise: Splashy fun for all ages
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
This metro Phoenix city has a new water park. Here's where you can slide, splash and swim
Just in time for people seeking relief from the relentless 100-degree temps and generally unbearable heat of summer, Surprise has opened Rescue Oasis Park and Soak Station 309, a huge new recreation complex at Cactus and Perryville roads. And that's not all, folks. The new Oasis Swim Center opens on May 24. It will have a recreation pool with six slides and a walking channel, an Olympic-style 50-meter competition pool, an adventure pool with two rock climbing walls and a zip line plus cabanas and rentable spaces. 'Residents had been asking for another pool for recreation and swim lessons. I am so proud to not only be able to deliver, but in such an incredible way. This pool and park really have something for everyone," Patrick Duffy, District 3 Councilmember, said in a press release. Rescue Oasis Park has a basketball court, sand volleyball court and a playground with swings, slides, spring riders and more. Kids can cool off at the Soak Station 309 splash pad. The final piece of the Rescue Oasis public safety and recreation complex is Fire Station 309, which has four apparatus bays, EMS and decontamination rooms, 10 firefighter dorms and more to support the city's growing need for emergency services. 'The Rescue Oasis complex demonstrates Surprise's commitment to enhancing the community experience for our growing community with investments in both public safety and quality of life projects,' Mayor Kevin Sartor said in a press release. 'This complex allows the city to not only provide responsive emergency services but also offers the community a safe place to play and connect.' Go to to see a complete schedule of Oasis Swim Center swim sessions and fees for city residents and nonresidents. Details: Rescue Oasis Park is open 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily; the splash pad is open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily through Oct. 31. 12361 N. Perryville Road, Surprise. Coming soon: Water park debuting tallest waterslide in Arizona with 'toe-curling 65-foot drop' Meredith G. White covers entertainment, art and culture for The Arizona Republic and She writes the latest news about video games, television and best things to do in metro Phoenix. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New Surprise AZ water park: Rescue Oasis splash pad and more
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Kris Mayes wanted to save democracy from Arizona's fake electors. Now what?
The public has broadly moved on from then-President Joe Biden's win over Donald Trump in 2020, but there is a major exception to that in Arizona. Kari Lake, a member of Trump's current administration, still spends time denouncing the results, but the state's Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes is more focused on the Republicans who tried to help sidestep Arizona's certified election results. These "fake electors," including people like former Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward and former Arizona state Sen. Anthony Kern, are at the center of a felony case pending by Mayes, and going through with the lawsuit was a vital point in her election campaign. But now, those Republicans have been handed a victory. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge recently ordered Mayes to take her evidence back to the grand jury to inform them of a key legal argument made by the electors. This ruling may — or may not — undercut Mayes' case enough to reconsider a matter she has framed as protecting democracy itself. This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl are joined by former Democratic Attorney General Terry Goddard, and later, Republic reporter Stacey Barchenger. Goddard breaks down how rare it is for a case to go back to the grand jury for matters of defense, rather than elements of the alleged crimes, and other insights into the law. Stacey then joins The Gaggle to discuss this specific case and what it means for Mayes' political future. The best way to listen is to subscribe to The Gaggle on your favorite podcast app, but you can also stream the full episode below. Note: The Gaggle is intended to be heard. But we also offer an AI transcript of the episode script. There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio. Follow The Gaggle and all azcentral podcasts on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram. Listen to The Gaggle : Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher You can share your thoughts with us at 602-444-0804 or via email here. Reach the producer Amanda Luberto at aluberto@ Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @amandaluberto and on Bluesky @amandaluberto. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kris Mayes' future after fake electors case update
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
He was 'excitedly awaiting' a return from the Korean War in 1950. He finally will in 2025
Six months before he went missing after a battle in the Korean War, Byron Brock was looking homeward. A U.S. Army sergeant, Brock had already sent a footlocker of his belongings back to his mother's home on Flower Street in Phoenix. 'I have packed all my belongings in my bags and am excitedly awaiting my Orders to go home,' he wrote in a July 20, 1950, letter to his mother. 'It has been a long time since I last saw the Motherland.' He never would see his hometown of Phoenix again. He went missing after his unit was forced to retreat from Hagaru-ri, North Korea, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in 1950. Earlier this year, the U.S. Army identified his remains using modern scientific methods and contacted family members. It resolved a question that had lingered for three-quarters of a century and allowed the Army to formally and officially account for James Byron Brock, known to his family by his middle name. For Amy Fernandez, it rekindled stories of the uncle she never met, but knew from stories told by her grandmother Julia Brock Skousen, Byron's mother. 'He was always talked about in my mom's family,' Fernandez said. The tales were detailed and frequent — Amy's grandmother lived next door and although Julia had seven other children, Byron, her youngest child from her first marriage, was always on her mind. 'It tortured her for decades because she let him go,' Fernandez said. Julia had to sign for her son to enter the Army because he was only 16 years old, Fernandez said, recounting family lore. Her grandmother blamed herself for his demise, and rejected overtures from the military to compensate her for her loss. 'She was so funny, so old and stubborn, she refused it,' Fernandez said of the offer of a Purple Heart to honor Byron. 'It was like blood money.' Money the Army sent as a form of reparation was used to buy a set of dressers, which Julia gave to one of her daughters. They're still in the family today. Fernandez shared a photo of a young Byron, his cap angled jauntily on his head. The photo hung in her grandmother's home for years. On the back was Byron's typewritten letter, where he complained about the steamy heat in Korea and mused that the rain his post got in 15 minutes would equal what Phoenix gets in a year. 'I have sent another foot locker with some more of my civilian cloths in it,' he wrote. 'It will probably get to you about the fifteenth of August.' He closed by sending his love to his family 'and tell them that I will be coming home in the very near future.' Brock was reported missing in December 1950. In 1951, he was listed as missing in action. A two-paragraph story in The Arizona Republic on March 29, 1954, stated he was presumed dead. But on Jan. 29 this year, the federal Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced in a press release that he had been accounted for. Brock was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was among the many soldiers who were reported missing in action following a roll call at Hamhung on Dec. 12, 1950, after the battle, one of the most significant of the Korean War. The Chosin Reservoir Battle erupted during a brutal winter in 1950, after the Chinese Communist Forces launched an attack against the U.S. and United Nations troops near the Chosin Reservoir, a man-made lake also known as Changjin Lake, located in the northwest of South Hamgyong Province. U.S. and U.N. troops were outnumbered four-to-one and isolated in the desolate snow-packed mountain area. Brock's regiment was among the troops forced to withdraw to a defensive perimeter at Hagaru-ri and then fall back to Hamhung to be evacuated by sea. Troops faced 'annihilation,' cut off from land supply and suffering in the 'bitter cold of the Korean winter,' according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. They also faced 'roadblocks, ambushes, blown bridges' as they retreated, said the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in the press release. The treacherous way back to the port city of Hungnam was 70 miles away on an icy road in subzero temperatures, according to the U.S. Marines. Ground forces suffered more than 5,000 combat casualties and thousands more suffered from frostbite and illness, according to the U.S. Naval Museum. After the end of the war, North Korea returned remains recovered from Changson, also known as Prisoner of War Camp #1, in the fall of 1953 during Operation Glory. When Brock could not be identified as part of those remains, a presumptive finding of death was issued on March 10, 1954, according to the MIA/POW Accounting Agency. Two years later, all remains that could not be identified with the tools available at the time were buried as unknowns in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, known as the Punchbowl. Among those remaining was one labeled X-15881. Almost seven decades later, in 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency disinterred 652 'Korean War unknowns' from the Punchbowl, the agency said. Among those were remains X-15881, which were analyzed with modern technology and identified as Brock's remains. Scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, circumstantial evidence, mitochondrial DNA, and mitochondrial genome sequence analysis to identify his remains, the agency said. Brock's name and others missing from the Korean War are recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl. The agency said a rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. Funeral and burial plans have yet to be decided. Brock's nephew Robert "Woody" Brock — the son of Brock's older brother — is heading up final plans, Fernandez said. The Army told the family that Brock is entitled to a military burial in a national cemetery. But Fernandez wonders if her grandmother would have other ideas. 'She would say, the Army's had him long enough,' Fernandez said. Perhaps he should come home to the place where he grew up. 'Maybe he should be buried next to Granny,' she said. Julia is buried at the Greenwood Memory Lawn Mortuary and Cemetery west of downtown Phoenix, she said, adding that other family members are also interred there. Reach the reporter at The Republic's coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. Support Arizona news coverage with a tax-deductible donation at Reach Pitzl at or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on social media @maryjpitzl. . Subscribe to today. Honored: Native veterans living and dead are remembered at Steele Indian School Park for Memorial Day This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Military identifies remains of Phoenix native killed in Korea in 1950
Indianapolis Star
24-05-2025
- Health
- Indianapolis Star
'Truly a miracle.' Arizona toddler returns home after week of treatment for rattlesnake bites
An Arizona toddler has returned home after a more than week-long hospital visit in which she was treated with 30 antivenom vials for two rattlesnake bites. While playing in her yard on Friday, May 16, 15-month-old Cara Reed was bitten by a rattlesnake twice on her left foot, as reported by The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network. But the toddler is out of Phoenix Children's Hospital and back at home. "Cara is truly a miracle," her mother Jacquelyn Reed said in a Facebook post on Friday, May 23. "She is now alive and healing at home to try and recover some of her trauma that has temporarily changed her vibrant personality." Jacquelyn Reed did not immediately respond when contacted by USA TODAY on May 24. The Arizona Republic: Florence mom and nurse acted fast to save daughter bitten twice by rattlesnake While playing in the family carport in Florence, Arizona, which is just more than 60 miles southeast of Phoenix, Reed was bit twice by a rattlesnake that appeared from under a nearby propane tank, The Arizona Republic reported. Initially, Jacquelyn took Reed to a nearby emergency room, where she was treated with 30 vials of antivenom. As the antivenom began its work, Reed was airlifted to Phoenix Children's Hospital, where her medical team focused on correcting the toddler's plummeting oxygen levels due to the venom, The Arizona Republic reported. In a May 21 Facebook post, Jacquelyn shared that Cara was still showing signs of weakness and because she was not able to pass a swallow test, she was given a feeding tube in her nose. Reed remained on a breathing tube until May 19, as reported by The Arizona Republic, and a feeding tube until May 22, as shared by Jacquelyn on Facebook. In her latest Facebook update, Jacquelyn said she and Cara's medical team are working on a physical therapy plan ahead of upcoming reconstructive surgery on Cara's foot. "Sweet Cara still has yet to smile and has a thousand yard stare for right now," Jacquelyn shared in her May 23 Facebook post. "Matthew and I truly believe that her best chance of recovering while not much medical intervention is needed is at home with her family. She is so very loved and so very cared for." A GoFundMe fundraiser was created shortly after Reed's hospital admittance. As of May 24, the fundraiser had raised more than $45,000. Rattlesnake bites are rarely fatal. According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, between 7,000 to 8,000 people are bit by a venomous snake (including rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths and coral snakes) in the U.S. each year. Of those cases, about five are fatal. When it comes to how a snakebite affects a child in comparison to a full-grown adult, recent research says there aren't many differences. A 2020 study published in Journal of Medical Toxicology found that adult and pediatric patients bitten by venomous snakes had similar rates of system toxicity, severity, length of stay and late hematologic toxicity − low blood count.
