This is a very busy week for the staff here at The Times.

We’re laying out the pages of The Fountain Hills Community Guide and Let’s Go as well as the 40th anniversary edition of The Times. The guide will be distributed in July.

The 40th anniversary edition will be included in next week’s paper as a special section. And special it will be, with background stories on the newspaper, the staff and me. There also will be 10 pages of a review of each year’s news stories.

There will be stories on advertising and on-line services we provide. And there will be plenty of photos from years past.

It should be a good keepsake edition.

Then we will wrap up this busy week with some fun.

We are celebrating 40 years of doing business in Fountain Hills. And we’re doing it with another business that has been serving Fountain Hills for 40 years and that is Bashas’. The Arizona-based supermarket chain opened its doors for business on June 19, 1974.

A pre-opening party was held by Bashas’ the night before. For many it was their first chance to meet their fellow pioneer residents in their new community. The evening was, in fact, billed as a “Meet Your Neighbors” party.

We have invited four residents who were there that night, to the party this Saturday.

They are Jeff and Marsha Mowry, Kay Kinder and Lois Grate. If any of you readers know of someone else who still lives in Fountain Hills and was there that night, please call me this week at the newspaper, 837-1925.

I’ve also invited Fred and Michelle Pulve. Their firm, Arizona 1 Real Estate, was the first company to run a display ad in our classified section. The classified section eventually had many real estate listing type ads. We ran as many as 14 pages in our classified section in 2008, which was our best year. And it all started with the Pulves.

Another special invitation has been given to Jack and Fay Gridley whose Gridleys store on the Avenue of the Fountains has been a consistent advertiser throughout the history of our newspaper.

Also invited is former store director Leonard Borsuk. He managed the store from early 1975 until his retirement in1996. He reportedly has been in poor health the last year, but he is looking forward to attending.

The party is from 3 to 5 p.m. at the local Bashas’ store. Hot dogs and soft drinks will be sold for 25 cents each. There will be free cake and watermelon slices available.

There will also be drawings for prizes. The Times will be giving away 10 $40 Bashas’ gift certificates and Arizona Diamondbacks game tickets to Times subscribers. All of you subscribers must fill out and a coupon by tomorrow, June 19, to be eligible. The coupon is in an ad that appears on Page 5A.

We will also have another drawing for prlzes donated by local advertisers. You can sign up at Bashas’ on Saturday to be eligible for that drawing. But you must be in attendance to win.

I want to thank Bashas’ Store Director Ken Fett for all of his assistance in planning this party.

We hope to see you there.