As you may have seen on Page 1A, Friday, Jan. 15, is the deadline for advertising in the 2016 Fountain Hills and Verde Communities Telephone Directory.

We have been publishing the local phone book since 1977. We are planning to continue publishing it as long as it is still a profitable publication for us and it is still an effective form of advertising for our customers.

We know that it is still an effective way for businesses to advertise. We hear that from businesses which have renewed their contracts already for another year.

They tell us they still get phone calls from their advertising in our phone book. In most instances, depending on their type of business, one or two phone calls can pay for a year’s worth of advertising.

The phone book is especially helpful to new residents. I was sitting in hereresidents.

one Saturday afternoon working on my column when I heard someone knocking on our front door. I went out to see who it was and it was a young couple that had just moved here from California. They wanted a phone book.

I told them I was curious why they wanted it. The woman said, “We want it for the ads. The home we moved into needs some work and we want to use local businesses to do that work. We felt the ads in the town’s phone book would help us to know what services are available and the types of work they can do.”

After they left, I thought, why didn’t I ask them their names? Their comments about the phone book would make a great testimonial ad.

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Here’s other news about an important deadline you should keep.

Friday, Jan. 15, is the deadline for reservations for the Jerry and Jackie Miles Tribute Dinner.

The dinner will be held on Saturday, Feb. 20, at the Community Center.

Tickets are $75 per person. Checks should be made out to “Miles Tribute Dinner.” There will be entertainment provided by clarinetist Larry Linkin. Hours are cocktails at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. and the tribute begins at 8 p.m.

Reservations, including the check and full names of those attending, are to be mailed to Miles Tribute Dinner, P.O. Box 19321, Fountain Hills, AZ 85269.

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Work is already under way on the “Play Ball” edition that will be distributed by mail to every home in Fountain HiIls during the last week of February.

This publication will provide readers with information on the Fountain Hills High School’s upcoming boys’ baseball and girls’ softball seasons, Fountain Hills Little League, town-sponsored softball leagues and a preview of Major League Baseball spring training in the east Valley, as well as a schedule.

It will also be distributed in the Fountain Hills Times’ Feb. 24th edition and placed in racks around the community.

This is an offshoot from the former Let’s Go! publication.

Another former feature of the Let’s Go! publication that is being continued is the Northeast Valley Dining Guide.

A copy will be sent to every home in the 85268 (Fountain Hills) and the 85259 (Northeast Scottsdale) zip codes.

Deadline for advertising is Jan. 22 and it will be distributed in early February.

We will be doing other publications later in the year that were features in Let’s Go! Details on those publications will be announced as they develop.