January 3 - 16, 2015
www.SanTanSun.com
The future looks bright for CHS’ Perkins
Sun Lakes women assist inmates after release from prison
BY JIM GRIESHABER
NATURAL-BORN LEADER: Bryce Perkins led the Chandler High School team that won its first state football championship in 65 years. Photo by Paul Mason
Life is good for Chandler High School senior Bryce Perkins. Real good. The amicable student and talented quarterback just put an exclamation point on a storybook senior season. Perkins, who comes from a family of college and professional football players, shattered several school passing records, including the all-time leader in passing yardage. He’s one of the most popular kids on campus in a school with more than 3,000 students. He carries a 3.6 grade point average and verbally committed to attend and play football at Arizona State University in the fall. And he’s the leader of the team that just won Chandler High School’s first state football championship in 65 years. “He can do it all, and he proves it all the time,” says Chandler head football coach Shaun Aguano. Perkins, a two-year starter, has put up video game-like numbers, compiling 5,332 passing yards and 70 touchdowns at Chandler High. He also ran for 1,609 yards and 26 scores. Perkins posted a 19-4 record as a starter, including a 3-1
WELCOME BACK: A group of Sun Lakes women help former women inmates become reintegrated into society through the Welcome Back Committee, a program within the nonprofit Gina’s Team. Submitted photo BY MEGHAN MCCOY
With clothing, hygiene items and a bus pass in hand, Palo Verde residents Charlene Clausen and Romelle Durand traveled to prison to transport a released female inmate three years ago. The duo spent the day discussing how the former
criminal could be reintegrated into society. That trip forever changed and inspired Clausen and Durand. Now the two head up the Welcome Back Committee, a program of the 501(c) (3) Gina’s Team, named for Gina Panetta who died from leukemia while serving
SEE PERKINS PAGE 4
SEE SUN LAKES PAGE 6
Reptiles get high-tech thermostats from Intel staff BY TRACY HOUSE
The cooler weather may be a welcome reprieve for warm-blooded folks who don a sweater or cozy up under a comfy blanket, but for the Valley’s reptilian residents, the drop in temperatures can be dangerous. That’s where two Chandler Intel employees come in. Jon Grove, a 15-year Intel factory veteran, and Intel higher-education program manager Zach King teamed up to apply technology to the predicament. The result was GatorSense, a water temperature sensor and alert system that notifies caretakers via smartphone, tablet or laptop if temperatures are unsafe. It was offered to Scottsdalebased Phoenix Herpetological Society (PHS). “This is one of the best things that’s
ever happened to us,” says Russ Johnson, president of PHS, where Grove is a longtime PHS volunteer. A number of PHS’ inhabitants are sensitive to heat, especially crocodiles and alligators, he says. Reptiles are exothermic, which means they control their body temperature by moving to different areas where the temperature is more hospitable. “When we get the few cold months here, it’s critical in the night and in the morning to have a good ambient temperature in the water,” Johnson explains. The product’s cost is reasonable, too. “The system I developed and Jon helped implement costs less than $2,000, if you take out development costs,” King says. “The point is, it’s a fraction of what a commercial system
GATORSENSE: Thanks to Intel technology, alligators and crocodiles at the Phoenix Herpetological Society are in less danger as temperatures drop. Submitted photo
would cost.” The aquatic inhabitants at the Phoenix Herpetological Society are being remotely monitored, much to the relief of the PHS curators who have the responsibility to maintain the sanctuary that houses about 43 hatchling
crocodilians and 50 adults. GatorSense is adaptable, King says, to any application where there is a need to monitor temperature. “It actually opens the door to some pretty exciting wireless temperature applications.”
F E AT U R E STO R I E S Historically significant items stolen from storage unit. . . . . . COMMUNITY . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5 Burst of Butterflies lets patrons release their inner artist. . . BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 19 Plumbers help raise spirits of hospitalized children . . . . . . . . YOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 32 Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to debut downtown . . . . . . . . . . . NEIGHBORS . . . . . . . . . . .Page 45 Improv artists host talk show. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 53
SanTan Family Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Center Section
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More Community . . . . . . 1-18 Business . . . . . . . .19-28 Youth. . . . . . . . . . 29-34 Opinion. . . . . . . . 43-44 Neighbors. . . . . . .45-52 Arts . . . . . . . . . . . 53-60 Spirituality . . . . . .61-63 Directory . . . . . . 64-65 Classifieds. . . . . . 66-67 Where to eat . . . 68-70