As one of the millions who were glued to their TV sets that Sunday evening, I watched in disbelief: "Confirmed: Osama Bin Laden killed."

As one of the millions who were glued to their TV sets that Sunday evening, I watched in disbelief: "Confirmed: Osama Bin Laden killed."

A look at some execution firsts.

Like many of you, I have had more than the usual amount of yard work this spring. The hard freeze this winter took a serious toll on my yard, and there has been a lot of cutting back. I had a few plants and a couple of palm trees that I thought were goners, but as the days have grown longer and the nights warmer, there are new buds and bits of green; signs of life to remind me that death does not get the last word. At its heart, that is the Easter message. Death does not get the last word. What St. Paul called the powers and principalities threw everything they had at Jesus, but death did not get the last word. He challenged the powers - religious and civil - insisted that justice and love takes priority over law and tradition. The powers saw it as a threat; perceived him to be a confused mystic at best, or a crazed anarchist. Even the common folk were spooked when he refused to back down in the face of threats. They crowded in to see him, maybe get something from him, but he scared them, and they ran him out of town, and abandoned him when the powers did their worst. But when what they thought was ultimate power was exercised, death did not get the last word. Life emerged from death. I grew up in a very small town. Wilf Hirsch was, for lack of a more polite term, the town drunk. I didn't exactly understand it then, just thought he liked sitting in the window of the bank all day, sometimes waving at everyone, sometimes sleeping. He always talked to me like we had a special relationship. I thought it was because he knew our family. Dad was the only doctor in town and when Wilf couldn't find him at the office, he'd come to our house, always willing to enjoy a cup of mom's coffee. She didn't approve of his drinking or the trouble it got him into, but she knew he'd had a hard life. A head wound in the Korean War left him unable to tend his farm and he eventually lost it. Other than occasional handyman jobs, there was little in life he could manage. Dad took care of him when he was sick, stitched up his wounds when there was trouble down at the tavern, and insisted that we all call him Mr. Hirsch. I was later to learn that Wilf and I did have a special relationship. I had been desperately ill as an infant and in need of blood transfusions. Wilf Hirsch quit drinking when he heard the news. He quit drinking for quite a while in fact, and he showed up at my dad's office, sober as a judge and better groomed than usual, ready to give his blood for me. He said it was the least he could do. Death does not get the last word, not for any of us. Not for those who do all the right things and not for down-on-their-luck farmers who are just trying to make it to the next day. Easter and spring remind us of that. New life emerges from that which was most certainly dead to remind us that death does not get the last word. And in a world that seems to be in a long, dark winter, how we need a reminder. Steve Hammer is the associate pastor at Esperanza Lutheran Church in Ahwatukee Foothills.

Like many of you, I have had more than the usual amount of yard work this spring. The hard freeze this winter took a serious toll on my yard, and there has been a lot of cutting back. I had a few plants and a couple of palm trees that I thought were goners, but as the days have grown longer and the nights warmer, there are new buds and bits of green; signs of life to remind me that death does not get the last word. At its heart, that is the Easter message. Death does not get the last word. What St. Paul called the powers and principalities threw everything they had at Jesus, but death did not get the last word. He challenged the powers - religious and civil - insisted that justice and love takes priority over law and tradition. The powers saw it as a threat; perceived him to be a confused mystic at best, or a crazed anarchist. Even the common folk were spooked when he refused to back down in the face of threats. They crowded in to see him, maybe get something from him, but he scared them, and they ran him out of town, and abandoned him when the powers did their worst. But when what they thought was ultimate power was exercised, death did not get the last word. Life emerged from death. I grew up in a very small town. Wilf Hirsch was, for lack of a more polite term, the town drunk. I didn't exactly understand it then, just thought he liked sitting in the window of the bank all day, sometimes waving at everyone, sometimes sleeping. He always talked to me like we had a special relationship. I thought it was because he knew our family. Dad was the only doctor in town and when Wilf couldn't find him at the office, he'd come to our house, always willing to enjoy a cup of mom's coffee. She didn't approve of his drinking or the trouble it got him into, but she knew he'd had a hard life. A head wound in the Korean War left him unable to tend his farm and he eventually lost it. Other than occasional handyman jobs, there was little in life he could manage. Dad took care of him when he was sick, stitched up his wounds when there was trouble down at the tavern, and insisted that we all call him Mr. Hirsch. I was later to learn that Wilf and I did have a special relationship. I had been desperately ill as an infant and in need of blood transfusions. Wilf Hirsch quit drinking when he heard the news. He quit drinking for quite a while in fact, and he showed up at my dad's office, sober as a judge and better groomed than usual, ready to give his blood for me. He said it was the least he could do. Death does not get the last word, not for any of us. Not for those who do all the right things and not for down-on-their-luck farmers who are just trying to make it to the next day. Easter and spring remind us of that. New life emerges from that which was most certainly dead to remind us that death does not get the last word. And in a world that seems to be in a long, dark winter, how we need a reminder. Steve Hammer is the associate pastor at Esperanza Lutheran Church in Ahwatukee Foothills.

Jeffrey Martinson will no longer face the death penalty in the case of his 5-year-old son’s 2004 death in Ahwatukee Foothills.

My dogs are about as spoiled as they come. We take them on vacations to the beach and the snow, we go on weekly outdoor outings and they know if they’re sweet enough around bed time, we may just let them sleep at the end of the bed. But even we don’t have a plan for what happens to our pets if something happens to us. We love them and take care of everything for them — but who would do it if we weren’t there?

Police have arrested a Chandler man after his 7-month-old daughter died from a skull fracture and bleeding on her brain.

Police have arrested a Chandler man after his 7-month-old daughter died from a skull fracture and bleeding on her brain.

A Chandler couple is facing a murder charge in connection to the death of the woman’s 3-year-old daughter.

A Chandler couple is facing a murder charge in connection to the death of the woman’s 3-year-old daughter.

For the first time in five years, fatalities on Arizona’s streets and highways increased during 2011, according to an annual report compiled by the state’s transportation department.

Closing arguments in the first degree murder trial of Jeffrey Martinson left jurors wondering if the state had proven without reasonable doubt that carisoprodol toxicity was the cause of Joshua Eberle-Martinson's death in 2004.

A Chandler man wanted for questioning in connection with his girlfriend's death early Saturday was arrested hours later in Mesa.

Five pediatric deaths connected with influenza were reported during the 2010-11 season, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. The season concluded with the latest report, which covers Sept. 25 to Oct. 4.

Five pediatric deaths connected with influenza were reported during the 2010-11 season, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

The last of three teenagers accused in the beating death of an 81-year-old Tempe man on a downtown street in Lynchburg, Va., on the day of his granddaughter’s wedding has been convicted.

Mesa police have arrested a suspect in the homicides of two teenagers.

After several golf car accidents — two resulting in deaths — the leaders of the Sun City West Sheriff’s Posse and the Recreation Centers of Sun City West governing board are proposing a community watch program to catch speeders on the streets. RCSCW Board President Dave Moeller and Posse Commander Tony Sambol said they’re urging people to report drivers to posse members, who will forward them to the sheriff’s office.

Under legislation passed recently, new fees are being proposed for the state Department of Health Services’ Office of Vital Records, which provides birth and death certificates.

Under legislation passed recently, new fees are being proposed for the state Department of Health Services’ Office of Vital Records, which provides birth and death certificates.