Up The Hill

Catherine Uretsky, Publisher and Editor 623.398.5541 info@EstrellaPublishing.com

Al Uretsky, Publisher and Sales Executive 623.398.5541 info@EstrellaPublishing.com

All contents © 2010-present Estrella Publishing LLC. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any form, in whole or part, without written permission from Estrella Publishing LLC is prohibited. Estrella Publishing accepts freelance contributions, there is no guarantee that materials will be used or returned. Some content is provided by Brandpointe. Estrella Publishing is not responsible for the content of contributing writers and advertisers and assumes no responsibility for errors appearing within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the Publisher or Advertisers. Estrella Publishing reserves the right to restrict all advertisement to their proper classification and to edit or reject any copy at its sole discretion. Neither this publication nor Estrella Publishing is an agent of or in any way affiliated with the associated Developer nor Homeowners Association, or any of their respective affiliates. This publication has not been approved by, sponsored by, or endorsed by the associated Developer nor Homeowners Association in any way.

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From Me To You...

I have been watching our robotic vacuum cleaner a lot recently, we named him Gary after the snail in SpongeBob SquarePants. Now that the kids are away at college I moved him upstairs to give my carpets a regular cleaning without worrying about it. (Also there is much less chance that he will get caught on the detritus of teenage life now that the kids are away.)

The vacuum is supposed to clean on a somewhat random pattern and send himself home when he needs to recharge or empty his bin. The thing is, Gary seems to spend most of his time trying to get home, circling the same area over and over, bumping into walls and furniture. The more he circles, the more I am tempted to pick Gary up and place him on his base to cut out the hours of mindless meandering. It wont help though, if I return Gary to his base without letting him find his own way there then he will not learn how to get home next time.

The parallels to raising children are remarkable. You watch them grow and make mistakes, trying to find their way in life, turning on the same

axis over and over again. As tempting as it is to just tell them how to achieve their goals, or even worse, find the solution for them, that teaches them nothing. I take that back, it teaches them that someone will always be there to pick up the slack and solve their problems. The trick to successful parenting, in my mind, is to allow your children to find their own solutions. I am not saying that you can’t help them or guide them, but the value lies in learning that things can be done by yourself, and the pride in knowing you can do things for yourself is immeasurable.

Having said that, I just found my vacuum in the master closet, he ran out of power trying to get back to his base by himself. Just like kids, if they really fail, we will always place them gently back on their base with a reassuring pat and some encouraging words. “You’ll get it next time, kid.”

Catherine Uretsky Editor, Up The Hill magazine info@estrellapublishing.com 623-398-5541

On Our Cover

People ask, what are those CantaMia people at the end of Estrella Pkwy up to? CantaMia’s residents do many things. One of the most rewarding is giving back to our community in many ways. We talk about it often. One day a few residents had the idea to help the local Aqua Fria Food Bank on a year-round basis. We knew they received significant support during the Fall holidays, but they needed help during the rest of the year. And so, this idea was born.

Aqua Fria Food and Clothing Bank opened in 1981 and serves Goodyear and surrounding areas. Each year AFFCB serves roughly 50,000 residents of the southwest valley with emergency food. In June, 2022 we “tested” our program with a few streets in CantaMia. Residents were told to leave any food donations on the curb by their house and a handful of resident volunteers drove around those streets to collect the food donations, then delivered the food to AFFCB. This made it easy for residents to donate and easy for the group to collect the food. In that first collection, of the 58 targeted houses, 21 homes donated 220 lbs of food!

We knew we were on to something that would make a difference!

Our program has continually grown; and we have completed collections in the entire CantaMia community in August and October 2022, and February 2023. Now over 60 volunteers drive around CantaMia to collect food at resident driveways and deliver it to AFFCB. Each volunteer driver has 2-3 helpers to pick up the food donations and each driver is assigned a section of CantaMia. To date, we have collected and delivered to AFFCB nearly 4 TONS of donated food! Our goal for 2023 is to collect 10,000 lbs of food! If we each give a little, it quickly adds up!

Remaining 2023 collections; April, June, August and October. If you live in CantaMia, details will be in the CantaMia e-blasts. If you live outside CantaMia and would like information to start your own food collection in your community, feel free to contact Phebe at phebejones@hotmail. com

CantaMians do many things in retirement, and we are proud to say it includes helping others in need.

Submitted by Phoebe Jones, CantaMia resident

REALTRENDS TOP TEAM

We were honored, once again, to be recognized in 2021 as the top 14th team in the US by volume.

IN THEIR WORDS

“Our experience with The Rider Elite team has been exceptional since day 1! They always made sure we had everything we needed, made sure to let us know they were available whenever we needed them, and every person we interacted with was so nice!”

Twist

Meeting with Al Uretsky at Taste of Italy, swapping stories as we got to know one another a bit better, Al mentioned to me I had some interesting stories. I replied, that at my age, they are what keep me going! So he suggested I might create a monthly column where I relate stories of my choosing (we decided to leave out those involving my antics in the Marine Corps or that time I was invited to leave the U of A for a semester). So here is installment one, discussing memories. This column is simply about us old folks and our memories. We can’t remember why we walked into the kitchen, but we can recall every intimate detail of the most remote occurrence 50 or 60 years ago. And of course, no one is around who can possible challenge us!

Now, where do I begin? Gosh, what am I doing here? I know I sat down to type out something! Oh yeah; I talked to my younger son about this project, and his first suggestion was the Twist incident. A couple buddies, Carl and Bill, and I had decided to enter the competition for Junior High School Disc Jockey. Bill had a reel to reel tape deck, so we decided to record ourselves for the competition. Carl lived near one of the first radio personalities in the world, Tom Jackson, who worked for KDKA radio in Pittsburgh, and his son had sold us a double turn-table set up, replete with tubes and amplifier. We hooked up the mike and recorded our 45 rpm record entries. Mine was “Flying in on Flight 1203 are

the Everly Brothers and their Ebony Eyes”. Well, we won the competition and proceeded to spin the platters at the monthly dances in the school gym.

This was 1962, and The Twist by Chubby Checker was banned. It was considered too risqué, too suggestive for kids our age (even though, as we argued, Jackie Kennedy did the Twist in the Whitehouse). But, as we approached the last dance of the year, the evil Jerry Kimmel suggested we lock ourselves in the little room we used as our studio and, half-way through the evening, put the Twist on. I needed little encouragement, although Carl and Bill protested. So, in the booth by myself, I locked the door and played The Twist….. 13 straight times, before the custodian was able to get the door unlocked. It was certainly the scandal of the year, one I was condemned to consider during my in-school detention the following week.

Submitted by Michale Roberts, Estrella resident

Goodyear 411

If you’ve lived in Goodyear for some time or have visited here recently, no doubt you’ve seen all the construction. It’s a growing Goodyearone of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. With 106,000 residents, it’s a great time to update you on big projects ahead.

LOOP 303 FROM INTERSTATE 10 TO MC85

“The 303 is going to be built,” says City of Goodyear Transportation Planning Manager Chris Bridges. Driving on Cotton Lane to and from I-10 will be smoother. Bridges says the extension is currently under design and programed for FY2025 for construction. This new stretch will run from Van Buren to MC85. We should see dirt moving in the next 3 years!

ESTRELLA PARKWAY BRIDGE PROJECT

Goodyear City Council unanimously passed funding for the pre-construction services on the Estrella Parkway and Bridge project. The 1 mile stretch of bridge on Estrella Parkway from MC85 to Vineyard Road would be expanded to a full 4-lane cross section with raised medians. It is programmed to be completed June ‘27.

WeRIDE MICRO-TRANSIT

Need to get to the doctor? Want to get to the ballpark? One of our favorite new services in Goodyear is “WeRide.”

Goodyear and Avondale offer this “Demand Response” transportation within our neighboring cities.

• A one-way fare is a flat rate of JUST $2.00!!

• Seniors over the age of 60, veterans, disabled, and students registered at EMCC and Franklin Pierce University only pay $1.00 per ride.

• Children under 5 are FREE

If ridership continues to grow, the City of Goodyear will look at adding a hub in Estrella. So be sure to catch a WeRIDE and support this phenomenal ride sharing BARGAIN! Download the WeRide app or book online at book.weride. rideco.com.

RETAIL AND ENTERTAINMENT IN GOODYEAR

Want to know what’s being built in Goodyear? Visit https://www.developgoodyearaz.com/getconnected/development-map!! Eegee’s. The Stillery. Twisted Sugar. These are just a few of the fun new eateries eyeing our award-winning city.

Submitted by Martin Sears of WestUSA RealtyEstrella Branch

Yum Yum

To help ring in spring and celebrate the possibilities of citrus, try this standout Lemon Loaf starring Sunkist lemon juice and zest, ideal for brunch, dessert or an afternoon treat.

Ingredients

Loaf

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs, room temperature

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Zest from 2 Sunkist lemons

Glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Zest from 1 Sunkist lemon

Directions

* Preheat oven to 350F and line your 8 x 4” loaf pan with parchment paper.

* Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add in your eggs one at a time and vanilla extract. Into a smaller bowl mix together your flour, salt and baking soda. Alternate adding your dry ingredients with your sour cream. Fold in fresh lemon juice and zest and mix until well combined. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan.

* Bake in oven about 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Meanwhile, prepare glaze by mixing powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest together until smooth.

* Remove loaf from oven and let cool completely before topping with glaze.

The Bug Guy

Termites are every homeowner’s nightmare. They not only eat through the wood in walls they are difficult to detect. However, there is much more to termites than you may think. Here are just a few fascinating facts about these saw-toothed, silent property destroyers.

Insatiable Hunger

It is not recommended to follow the typical diet of a termite colony. They consume wood, flooring, and even wallpaper non-stop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To better put this in perspective, it is estimated that an established subterranean termite colony, here in the valley, needs approximately a board foot of 2X12 wood to survive for a year. Just imagine the damage that could be done over time if left undetected.

Mob Mentality

Although termite colonies can be made up of millions of individuals, termites do not work alone. Termites are social insects, and the activity of a colony is dictated by swarm intelligence. With this system, colonies can take advantage of

resources one termite couldn’t by itself. It helps termite colonies be very efficient at establishing themselves in a house they have infested.

Colony Cliques

Termites have specialized jobs within the colony. These different groups have specific features that help them perform their job so the colony can grow. A typical termite colony consists of workers, soldiers, nymphs, and reproductive individuals.

Workers make up most of the colony. They are responsible for foraging as well as maintaining the nest and the colony’s eggs. Worker termites are most likely to be found in infested wood. Other individuals serve as soldiers who protect the rest of the colony. These soldiers have enlarged jaws that can block tunnels in case of an attack by ants. Interestingly, many soldiers have jaws so large that they cannot feed themselves. Nymphs are young termites and, in some species, take on the duties of worker termites. One way in which termites differ from other social insects is that a colony has a primary queen and king who mate for life. However, a colony will also have a class of winged reproductive individuals that can leave to start other colonies.

If you think you have a termite infestation or to learn how to protect your home from termites, be sure to contact a licensed pest professional.

Submitted by Larry Cash, of Estrella Mountain Pest Control, Estrella resident

Reading Readiness

When parents instill a love of reading in their children from an early age, it increases their oral language skills and vocabulary knowledge, which helps to build a solid foundation for later reading ability. In addition, focusing on key early literacy skills during the preschool years can help parents and teachers identify potential indicators of learning challenges so early intervention can be provided. Beyond developing early language and literacy skills, reading may also increase a child’s ability to understand the emotions of others - a critical life skill that leads to empathy and compassion.

Dr. Maria Shaheen, senior director of early childhood education at Primrose Schools, provides five tips to help parents encourage a lasting love of reading in their children:

1) Introduce language as early as possible - even before birth. Speaking and reading to your baby during pregnancy establishes voice recognition and promotes cognitive development.

2) Make reading a regular part of bedtime routine. Reading books should be a favorite bedtime activity. With daily “tuck-in” stories and snuggling together at bedtime, infants and young children begin to associate reading with comfort, warmth and security.

3) Offer a wide variety of stories. This can include nursery rhymes, poetry, nonfiction and fiction from many genres, as well as books that celebrate a wide range of cultures and diverse

characters.

4) Help children discover the magic of books for themselves. Books can help young children understand their own feelings when characters face similar life events, so parents should pick topics their children may be curious about.

5) Make reading a fun learning experience. Preschool children can create books with their own stories about things they do with their families. Parents can also play silly word games that help children play with sounds, such as rhyming games or tongue twisters.

Starting a reading routine throughout daily life models for children the importance of reading as a way to gain information and valuable life skills, explore new worlds, encourage imagination and have fun.

YOUR

RICHARD TAX SERVICES LLC

Teen Lifeline

Staff and volunteers at suicide prevention nonprofit Teen Lifeline are urging anyone who knows a teen to Connect with Care on National Telephone Day, Tuesday, April 25. Research indicates that suicides by people of all ages, including teens, tend to increase during the spring months. Each year, the free, confidential Teen Lifeline crisis hotline, which is staffed by volunteer teen peer counselors, experiences an average 10% increase in calls during the months between Spring Break and the end of the school year.

“Connection, family support and community support are all preventive factors that decrease the risk of suicide for our youth,” says Nikki Kontz, clinical director at Teen Lifeline. “There’s no better way to celebrate National Telephone Day than to use your phone for its best possible purpose – to connect with the teens you know and possibly save a life. Any teen death by suicide is one too many. The reality is that the entire community needs to get involved if we’re going to stop teen suicide in Arizona.”

According to Kontz, reaching out on National Telephone Day can be as simple as sending a message like this:

•Just checking in. How are you doing?

•Thinking about you today – how’s it going?

•Doing OK at school? Feeling good about finals or do you need some support?

•Haven’t talked in a while and wanted to say hi!

•I hope you’re having a great week!

Adults who suspect a teen may be considering suicide should ask the teen about it directly. Asking the question will not plant the idea of suicide in a teenager’s head and can give them permission to open up, says Kontz. If a teen replies that they have been thinking about suicide, Kontz recommends thanking them for their honesty and then asking questions about how they’ve been feeling and why. Experts recommend validating the teen’s feelings while being careful not to be dismissive, pass judgement or act like the teen is being dramatic. If a teen is in immediate danger of self-inflicted harm or of acting on suicidal thoughts, call 911 or take the child to an emergency room. If the teen is not in immediate danger, create a plan to get help by calling Teen Lifeline or seeking a referral to mental health services or counseling. While waiting for services, be sure to minimize suicide risks by locking up all medications, sharp objects and poisonous chemicals and securing all firearms, including storing ammunition separately.

For more information, visit TeenLifeline.org.

Combatting Depressive Feelings

As promised in last month’s article, Blessed AND Depressed, I’m back with 6 ways to combat depressive feelings:

1. Start a gratitude journal by writing down 3 things each day for which you are grateful. It’s all about perspective! If you want a more structured approach, visit ThePsychoeducationAcademy. Thinkific.com for a free GLAD exercise.

2. When negativity comes in, redirect your attention to the positives in your life. Look back at your gratitude journal for reminders. Take some deep breaths and picture the positives in your life or some other scene that makes you happy.

3. If you’re a person of faith, you can pray for positive thoughts, redirection or some other relief and tell the devil to get behind you.

4. Ensure that you’re physically doing what you can to fight depression. Make sure you’re getting the right number and type of calories, drinking plenty of water, exercising and getting adequate sleep.

5. Talk to someone about how you’re feeling. Maybe a different perspective or a more objective look at the situation can help you reframe things in a more positive–or at least less negative–way.

6. Get out of yourself by helping someone else, like going on a mission trip or volunteering at a soup kitchen, disabled veterans’ association, homeless shelter or other agency that helps people who are struggling. This can also serve as a reality check, reminding you of the good in your own life.

For more ideas, search “depression antidotes” on www.doctorbellingrodt.com. If you’re depression has you thinking you don’t want to be alive anymore, seek immediate medical attention by dialing 911 or dial 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Hotline 24/7/365.

DISCLAIMER: Material is for informational purposes and not intended to be a substitute for evaluation or treatment by a licensed professional. Material is copyrighted and may only be reproduced with written permission of Dr. Bellingrodt.

Submitted by Jennifer Bellingrodt, Psy.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist.

Spring Cleaning

As you’re doing your spring cleaning, how about taking inventory of your family’s prescription medications: Do you have expired prescriptions you no longer need? Many fire and police stations will accept medications for safe disposal. It’s also a good time to organize a list of the medications in your family’s medicine cabinet, in case there’s a medical emergency, according to Danelle Readinger, Emergency Services Director at Abrazo West Campus in Goodyear.

“What if you or a family member were rushed to the hospital, would a loved one be able to provide a current list of your medications to first responders or the Emergency Department? What if it was your child or parent? Would you know the names and dosages of their prescriptions? How about any non-prescription medications?” she asks. “It’s important to know, because not having this information may cause a delay in care, as paramedics or hospital staff try to confirm current medications before providing that information to the physician.”

Health care professionals from Abrazo hospitals throughout the Valley say that keeping your list of medications and health history up to date can help patients avoid adverse effects from dosing errors, omissions, duplications and drug interactions. Some of the important things to keep track of include:

• Medications, including name, dosage and whether it was completed or is ongoing.

• Medical history. This may include chronic conditions or recent illnesses.

• Allergies to medications and foods and the type of reaction.

• Vitamins, supplements, and other over-thecounter items, and dosage.

• Other pertinent health information, including immunizations.

There are some common sense ways to help keep this information: Each time you make a change, note the date. Ask your pharmacy (or pharmacies) to print out a list of medications filled in the last year. And make sure someone in your family or circle of friends knows where you keep your medications list.

Submitted by Abrazo Health

Home Sweet Home

4 Things Home Buyers Shouldn’t Open, Look In, or Look at When House Hunting

When you’re looking at houses, it’s important to take a really good look at every inch of the house you’re going to buy. But there are some things you have no business looking at when you’re looking around. You could probably use common sense to figure out what you shouldn’t be snooping around in by thinking about whether you’d be embarrassed if the owner caught you snooping. But to make sure—and for a laugh for those of you who’d never dare snoop, here are 4 things you shouldn’t open, look in, or look at:

• The medicine cabinet: While a medicine cabinet is typically affixed to the house and, therefore, something that is part of the sale, there’s not much need to inspect it carefully. If you’ve seen one, you’ve pretty much seen them all. There could easily be medications or personal items in there that a seller wouldn’t want you to see. So, no peeking.

• Dressers and Wardrobes: Taking a look inside the bedroom closets is totally acceptable, and

owners expect people will take a peek inside of them, so they most likely hide anything they don’t want you seeing. That said, “peek” is the key word; don’t go browsing through their clothes or trying on a pair of shoes. Also, don’t open their dresser drawers or open up a free-standing wardrobe. This is furniture and typically isn’t included in the sale. It’s probably where they hid all the stuff they took out of the closet that they don’t want you to see!

• The Toy Box: If the homeowner has children, there’s a good chance there are toys in the house. Ideally, the owner is able to put them away neatly in a toy box or closet when the house is being shown. They probably don’t want a stranger coming into their home and touching them. So make sure you keep an eye on your children and don’t let them treat the house like it’s a visit to Toys ‘R’ Us.

• Their Mail: Sellers shouldn’t be leaving a pile of mail out in the open when their house is on the market. But if they do, that doesn’t mean you should take a glance at it, let alone shuffle through it, to get a feel for who they are or what’s going on in their life.

Submitted by Tara Rutkowski, Realtor and Estrella Resident

Samurai Sudoku

This samurai sudoku puzzle is a great way to engage the brain and help develop logic skills. To solve this Samurai puzzle use standard sudoku rules for every 9x9 grid: each digit from 1 to 9 can only appear once in every row, column and 3x3 box. Good Luck!

Business Directory

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Budget Blinds of Goodyear

Century Glass & Mirror

Consider It Finished Painting

Countywide Plumbing & Sewer

Creative Surface Solutions

Estrella Mtn Homewatch Services +

Estrella Mountain Pest Control

General Exterminating

Goodyear Home inspection

Hardy Solar

J & H Appliance Repair

JBS Roofing

Screen Mobile

State 48 Roofing

West Valley Fans & Blinds

Younger Brothers Exterminating

LANDSCAPING & POOL CARE

Aquienta Pool & Landscape

Fujiwara Landscape Design West

REAL ESTATE

CB Realty - Anthony Hurwitz

Elite Mortgage Group - Cindy Givens

HomeSmart Realty - The Lang Group

Keller Williams - The Rider Elite Team

Realty One Group - Jen Polansky

Realty One Group - Tara Rutkowski

Realty One Group - Barbara Tissell

Realty One Group - C Trachsel-Smith

Realty One Group - Rhonda Watson

Robson Reserve at PebbleCreek

West USA Realty, Estrella - M Sears

William Ryan Homes - S Collins

RETAIL & RECREATION

Arie Layne Boutique

Pure Patio