SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – “I witnessed a drowning when I was 10, and it affected me,” said Tracy Richards. “I saw the mom’s face afterwards, and I vowed that I would never see that again. I was 10, and I vowed at that point I would never watch another child drown.
At 15, Tracy started teaching swim lessons. Today, she is a swim instructor at the Village in Gainey Ranch.
“I mean, you hear about the near drownings and people say, ‘oh, but they survived.’” Sometimes, that’s not the quality of life that anyone would like,” she said.
May 15 is International Water Safety Day, which is geared toward spreading awareness and water safety education by any means possible. A Valley swim teacher takes this goal very seriously. FOX 10’s Anita Roman reports.
Statistics from the Children’s Safety Zone show that from Jan. 1 to May 11, 2024, 18 deaths resulted from 43 water-related incidents. That includes seven children up to the age of 5.
“I mean I think every parent’s worse fear is you walk outside, and your kid is in the pool, and you didn’t see it – whether they’re still trying to kick or God forbid, there is a drowning because especially in Arizona, you hear about it so much,” Taylor Bellow said. “We have so many pools.”
Taylor Bellow didn’t want to take any chances with her 2-year-old son, Brexton. He started lessons a few months ago.
“My parents live very close to us. We are over there all the time, and they do not have a pool fence, so we opted to make sure that, even though he is not really interested in the pool before we started swim, there’s just always that maybe, so we wanted him to learn to maybe flip over, float and get to the side,” said Bellow.
Group swim lessons vary in size, anywhere from two to five kids. Richards starts her lessons at 9-months-old because the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says children ages 1-4 have the highest drowning rate.
“It’s a process for everyone, but they all learn to get to the wall. They learn to roll and float on their back,” she said. “All those things not necessarily in the same order, but learning those things is important because most kids don’t fall into the middle of a pool, they fall by the side, so if you teach them to roll over and get to the side right away, it’s a good thing.”
Richards runs a number of different programs that teach children the importance of water safety, including mommy and me classes and a unique swim and read program, where she uses phonics and familiar words for the fun of swimming.
All these years after witnessing that drowning, Richards is even more passionate about saving lives because she says drowning is 100% preventable.
“It’s OK for them to be uncomfortable to learn the process because crying during the process is a lot better than never crying again,” she said.
Arizona remains one of the fastest-growing states in the country, but new migration data suggests that growth is starting to level out.
According to the latest numbers from U-Haul, Arizona ranked number seven nationwide for growth in 2025. While that is down one spot from the year before, it marks the sixth consecutive year the state has remained in the top ten.
The rankings are based on more than 2.5 million one-way moving transactions for the Arizona-based company.
What stands out in the data is how close those numbers are.
In 2025, 50.3% of U-Haul’s one-way moves came into Arizona, while 49.7% moved out. In practical terms, that means for nearly every family moving into the state, there is another one packing up and leaving.
That does not mean Arizona is losing population. However, it does suggest the margin of growth is getting thinner than it has been in recent years.
Even with that shift, the greater Phoenix metro area continues to be a major driver of growth. Phoenix ranked fifth nationwide among U.S. metro areas, fueled by job creation and new housing across the Valley.
U-Haul leaders point to continued development tied to major employers, including chip manufacturing and data centers, as well as ongoing residential construction, as reasons Phoenix remains a top destination.
Experts who study migration trends say when in-migration and out-migration numbers get this close, it can be a sign that affordability pressures are starting to play a role, especially when it comes to housing.
The latest data does not point to a mass exodus, but it does show Arizona entering a period of transition, balancing opportunity and growth with affordability concerns.
The 2026 Arizona Legacy Races in Buckeye, Ariz., are ringing in a new year for futurity horses December 30 – January 6, at the Buckeye Equestrian & Events Center. Formerly known as the MVP Futurity and Greg Olson Futurity, these two races have been a staple in many professional trainers’ schedules for decades. This year, the two events boast $22,000 in added money.
Linzie Lindsey and Fame Dancin Yola claimed the Round 1 win with a 17.577 for $1,959. Barbara Merrill rode TKW Eye Am Tess to the 2D win.
After finishing out of the 1D money in Round 1, Loralee Ward and Dark Honey ran the fastest time of the futurity with a 17.030 to claim the Round 2 win. The duo also earned the Futurity Reserve Championship for $1,652.
Lindsey and Fame Dancin Yola finished second in Round 2 with a 17.164, adding $1,603 to their futurity earnings and claiming the Futurity Championship for another $2,019.
Jenna Duhon and PMC AintSheBeautiful earned the Round 2 2D win. In the 2D Average, it was Estella Martin and Quanahs Kingdom claiming the win.
Round 1 of a very tough Derby went to Jana Bean and Feature This Goodbye with a 17.268. 2025 futurity standout Blissful Version and Lora Nichols finished second in Round 1 with a 17.282, won Round 2 with a 17.032, and claimed the Average win.
“Buddy” and Nichols were in contention for the highest money-earning futurity horse of the previous season, before the cancellation of the last two major events of the season due to EHV-1. By $7 million sire Winners Version, Buddy banked over $300,000 in his futurity year.
Megan McLeod-Sprague and Seis Corona (“Jagger”) were hot off the 2025 National Finals Rodeo. The duo won the Roohide Hot Rod with a 17.004 for $1,368. They also earned the Friday Open 1D win for $1,083.
With the first 16-second run of the weekend, Sherry Cervi and MP Meter My Fame won the Saturday Open 1D with a 16.969.
Rita Cheeney and HP Dash Ta Fairfax ran the only other sub-17-second run of the weekend, with a 16.996 that took the top spot in Sunday’s Open 1D.
Nichols and Buddy doubled down on their derby earnings, placing deep in the Open 1D both days, as well as the Roohide Hot Rod, and Big Time Boss.
Youth competitor Tabitha Dyal also had an outstanding weekend, earning Open 1D money Friday, Saturday, and Sunday aboard Slym Shady. She swept the Youth 1D on Slym Shady and earned Open 1D, Open 2D, and Youth 1D checks on Promise Me Fame Guys and Smooth Operraider. Dyal wrapped up her weekend with several checks in the Big Time Boss.
Authorities say a prominent California agriculture heir is accused of traveling to Arizona to kill his estranged wife amid a bitter divorce, a case now drawing national attention for its cross-state trail and high-profile ties.
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