The 2015 monsoon season was over on Sept. 30 and it wasn’t too much to talk about in Fountain Hills.

The community’s official rain gauge, located at Fountain Park, only received a total of .66 inches of rain making it one of the lowest totals on record.

We had three nights where we had a trace of rain (Sept. 10, August 16 and 31), four nights (Sept. 15, Sept. 22, July 31 and July 3) where .03 inches were recorded, and two nights were .07 inches (Sept. 23, and August 12) and .10 on June 30. Largest official rainfall logged in the community was .30 on Sept. 14.

There were higher totals around the community. One storm dropped 1.35 inches in the North Heights area and .75 the next night. I had over an inch of rain at my house in one storm in August and we had .70 inches at The Times office that same night.

We had our share of lightning displays, and we had three or four dust storms blow through the community. One good thing was we had very little wind damage in the community during the monsoon season.

Meanwhile, Phoenix had one of its more productive monsoon seasons. The U.S. Weather Service recorded 3.29 inches which is more than the average of 2.74 inches. That total pales in comparison to last year when 6.34 inches of rain were measured at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, where the official rain gauge is located.

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I’d like you to save the date of Feb. 20 for a special event being planned to honor a special couple.

The Jerry and Jackie Miles Tribute Dinner will be held at the Community Center. Make plans now to attend since tickets are expected to sell fast.

Cocktails will be served starting at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. and the tribute at 8 p.m.

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It was a shock to arrive at the office on Monday morning and hear about the tragic death of Maxxam President Shawn Hurwitz.

Maxxam is the parent company of community developer MCO Properties. He was killed early Sunday in a boating accident in Texas.

Our condolences are extended to his parents, Charles and Barbara Hurwitz, his wife, Debbie, and all of the MCO staff.

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And on another sad note, Carol Carr, sister of longtime Times employee Linda McThrall, passed away on Saturday, Oct. 3, after a year-long battle with cancer in Oklahoma City.

Linda is the special publications editor at The Times.

Our best wishes are extended to Linda and her family.

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Friday, Oct. 16, is the deadline for advertising in the 2015 edition of HOME.

The slick magazine publication is printed annually by Western States Publishers, based in Fountain Hills and the parent company of The Fountain Hills Times.

The publication is a lifestyle guide to Fountain Hills and Northeast Scottsdale. It features stories on area homebuilding, home improvement, the local real estate market, landscaping ideas and more.