Here is a look at Surprise history through the years on this week, compiled from archives of Independent Newsmedia, Newspapers.com and the city of Surprise historical records:

1961

The Surprise Town Council approved the purchase of a 1960 patrol car from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. The 1949 car the department had been using will now be set aside for emergencies.

1964

The Arizona Corporation Commission fines garbage collector Carl Gould for hauling garbage in Surprise without a permit. Garbage Service Co. stopped collecting Surprise residents’ trash a few months prior because too many residents couldn’t afford to pay them. Residents are taking their own trash to the dump in the meantime.

1982

The Surprise Town Council adopted its fiscal year 1983 budget at $708,271. That’s about a 27% increase over 1982.

1997

A group called Concerned Citizens of Surprise, made up of residents of Kingswood Parke and other new housing developments along Bell Road, forms to push the city to offer more recreation services in the newer part of Surprise, and not just the Original Town Site.

2001

Surprise opens its first new school in 10 years when West Point Elementary opens its doors for 1,200 students. The school becomes a problem a month later when mold is discovered across the campus.