SanTan Sun News 1.15.23

Chandler asks on GoFundMe vary widely

BY CECILIA CHAN AND KEN SAIN Staff Writers

Christmas isn’t the only season for giving and spreading kindness.

For crowdfunding platforms, it’s a year-long activity – as it is for the largest and better-known GoFundMe.com. In Chandler alone, more than 1,000 people and groups have set up an account on that platform with requests for a broad range of activies, needs and wants.

Since its launch in 2010, the California-based GoFundMe has become the go-to online fundraising tool for charities and just about anybody who wants the public to help bankroll an expense.

Within minutes, someone can set up a money request on the global site. To date, the site has helped individuals and charities around the world to raise more than $25 billion, according to GoFundMe, which did not respond to questions for the story.

is the platform’s second-largest campaign of all time, raising $37 million from 75,000-plus donors.

For 2022, there’s been a 110% increase in money raised for baby formula, a 60% increase for gasoline and a 10% increase for groceries, GoFundMe reported.

With a donation made every second, 28 million people so far this year have sent or received funding, the public nonprofit said.

Most requests in Chandler are for help with funeral expenses, memorials or medical bills such as a 4-year-old girl who was struck by a car.

Mike Ryan set up a Go Fund Me page for Shannon Ryan and her mother, Zoraleigh Ryan.

Shannon, a Hamilton High graduate. and her mother were struck by a vehicle in Chicago after celebrating her 20th

Landings developer sets neighborhood meeting

BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor

When the Chandler City Council criticized the developer of a proposed affordable and senior housing apartment complex in South Chandler last month, it pointed to two main concerns.

Council members felt the developer did not do enough to work with their potential neighbors and ease their worries. Nor did it feel that Dominium Apartments fully consider the 14 alternative locations that city officials suggested.

Dominium will try to address that first concern at a neighborhood meeting at

6 p.m. Jan. 25 at Hamilton High School, 3700 S. Arizona Ave. As for the second, the developer said the suggested sites were less than adequate to meet the project’s needs.

Council last month voted unanimously to adopt a resolution opposing the Landings on Ocotillo project. Dominium Apartments wants to build a total of 518 units on about 25 acres of land on Ocotillo Road, just east of Arizona Avenue. If built, it would be on the east side of the railroad tracks behind the Target store.

The developer hopes to build 336 family units and 182 senior living units.

Air quality curbs could throttle Valley growth

BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor

The Phoenix Metro region could lose more than $100 million in economic growth if it fails to meet upgraded federal air quality standards for ozone levels by August 2024, a Valley environmental offi cial warned this month.

And those losses would steadily increase over the next 20 years to as much as $848 million if the Valley’s ozone levels are not brought under control, Tim Franquist, environmental policy director for the Maricopa Association of Governments told Phoenix City Council Jan. 4.

Though he was addressing a Phoenix City Council subcommittee, Franquist’s assessment naturally applies to the entire Valley.

And it wasn’t very encouraging.

He said the controls necessary to meet more stringent federal air quality controls will carry a substantial cost to taxpayers.

“That’s going to be a big issue for this area,” he continued. “We really haven’t put in ozone-control measures for about 20 years, so we’re defi nitely going to need a lot more measures coming into place.”

Right now, the only way the Valley could meet the elevated Environmental Protection Agency’s ozone limits would be taking all four million gasoline-powered motor vehicles in Maricopa County off the road by August 2024, Franquist said.

And even then, he added, “we would

Because this plot of land is a county island – an unincorporated area of Maricopa County that is surrounded by city land – the city does not have final say on

if the project is built or not. The County Board of Supervisors does, but likely will

A hit and no miss

Chandler Police Det. Eva Zermeno of the Chandler’s Finest softball team is ready to slug a ball pitched by The Enforcers team as Under the Shield hosted its first annual Chris Farrar Law Enforcement vs Fire Department Softball Tournament Jan. 7 in honor of Officer Christopher Farrar, who was killed in the line of duty in April 2021 during the pursuit of a felon. For more photos from the game, see page 16

FEATURED STORIES

Fired teacher alleges Valley Christian gay bias

Gummy World opens big new facility in Chandler.

Chandler Girl Scout wins medal for recipe book.

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Chandler director to debut new thriller flick. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Relentlessly local coverage of Southern Chandler

An edition of the East Valley Tribune

The requests for donations run the gamut from classroom supplies and Girl Scout projects to relief efforts for crisis events such as Hurricane Ian in Florida

and the war in Ukraine.

The “Stand with Ukraine” fundraiser launched by actors Mila and Ashton Kutcher in partnership with GoFundMe

The Chandler Outlaws 7-and-under football team had little success on GoFundMe.com with its plea for $15,000 to get to the Florida Nationals. It raised only $140. (GoFundMe.com)

Fired teacher accuses Valley Christian of gay bias

BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor

Adam McDorman says that his Christian beliefs include acceptance and equality for all LGBT people and that God’s children should never discriminate or show hostility toward them.

The English teacher at a private Christian school in Chandler says he lost his job because of those beliefs.

In a twist, he is claiming in a lawsuit filed Dec. 27 that Valley Christian Schools in Chandler discriminated against him for his religious views. Usually religious schools make that claim when they are sued for anti-gay bias.

According to the federal suit, here’s what McDorman said led to his termination:

Last fall, a Valley Christian School student made a social media post saying they identified as pansexual, which means they are attracted to all genders or gender identities.

High school Principal Josh LeSage learned about the post and urged his staff at a Nov. 1 meeting to share the belief in the sinfulness of LGBT sexual orientation and that anyone who disagreed was like a cancer that needed to be removed from Valley Christian.

McDorman voiced his objection during a Nov. 3 department meeting, saying the school needs to find a better way to care for the school’s LGBT students and protect them from discrimination.

LeSage sent out an email later that

day, saying he planned to meet with the student, whose parents were not invited.

In the email he wrote: “There is a hideous lie that “You can be both,” meaning homosexual and otherwise sexually deviant and also a Christian. God is clear that we cannot openly live in and celebrate our sin, much less elevate it to the status and being part of our identity and serve Christ at the same time. The very thought is so offensive.”

In the email he specifically mentioned McDorman, stating:

“We have a faculty member and a ‘central office’ employee who supposedly suggested in a meeting today that we invite a pastor of a local gay-friendly church to come and speak to our faculty to help us better understand this lifestyle and better minister to those kids we may have. Hell no! We are not doing that.”

McDorman claims he told LeSage on Nov. 8 he did not think that it was a good idea to exclude the student’s parents from his meeting with her.

The principal responded that he had a “problem” with Christians who identify as gay or gender nonbinary and met for several hours on the topic.

McDorman was fired the next day.

The student met with the principal and the school’s coordinator of student health and wellness soon afterward without the parents being present. The student recorded the conversation.

In the recording, LeSage tells the student that transgender people have a mutation in their brain. He said they’re not crazy, it’s biological.

He also said this:

“The homosexual community is shying away from the fact that most homosexual men did suffer sexual abuse as an adolescent. And there is solid scientific research outside of Bible circles, that shows your first sexual experience has a strong determining factor in what your sexual preferences are.

“So again, sin coming into the world, a boy is abused by a man, something happens in his brain that shifts and makes his preference cannot always, but can, give him a preference for men sexually.”

He also told the student, “Same-sex relations are an abomination to God.”

What he said appears to be consistent with school policy.

According to the lawsuit, the school’s Foundational Positions states, “Any form of sexual immorality (including adultery,

fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography, and attempting to change one’s biological sex or acting upon any disagreement with one’s biological sex) or advocacy of sexual immorality, is sinful and offensive to God.”

The lawsuit claims the school deprived McDorman of his right to be free from discrimination based on his religious views. It says LeSage subjected McDorman to threats of discriminatory treatment.

His lawyer, Krista Robinson, said McDorman declined to be interviewed for this story. She said he is not working now and has taken his firing very hard.

Robinson also said that he was reluctant to file the lawsuit, and waited until the last day he could file to give the goahead.

A voice mail to LeSage’s phone asking for his side of the story was not returned.

McDorman also filed a discrimination charge with the Arizona Attorney General’s office.

Dan Kuiper, the head of schools for VCS, wrote in an email, “Since this is a pending lawsuit, we are not able to comment at this time. Our insurance company has not assigned a lawyer to the case.”

The lawsuit is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, back pay and lost benefits, and reasonable attorney’s and experts fees.

Valley Christian School Principal Josh LeSage allegedly said homosexual men became gay because they were sexually abused as youngsters. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

Adam McDorman has filed a federal lawsuit against Valley Christian School in Chandler over his firing for what he said were his beliefs gay people should not be discriminated against. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

Chandler businesswoman has scary time in riot-torn Peru

BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor

Chandler business owner Jody Murray said it was like a scene out of a movie – except it wasn’t staged and her life was on the line.

Murray was at an airport in Peru in December as the civil unrest in the country was beginning. Her flight was scheduled to leave that day, but officials had just announced the airport was closing.

“They were sort of saying, don’t go outside, but you can’t stay here,” said Murray, now safely back at her business, Longevity Wellness Clinic of Arizona.

Whiel trying to leave Peru, Murray called a friend whom she had been staying with and they hatched an exit plan.

“She’s like, ‘go out the way you came in. When you get to the road, turn right run down that road. Across the street, you’ll see a gas station. This van is going to be waiting for you and the drivers name is Julio, don’t get in a van with anybody but Julio,’” Murray recalled.

“So we’ve got all of our baggage and there’s throngs of people who are all trying to figure out what to do. There’s no cabs, because the roads are all closed. So we found Julio, and Julio took us back to her house where we were perfectly safe.”

Murray, who is an acupuncturist and athletic trainer, had arrived in Peru to volunteer at a nonprofit that she serves as a member of the board of directors. The nonprofit provides medical services to people in need.

On Dec. 7, the country’s Congress was scheduled to meet to vote on the possible impeachment of President Pedro Castillo. It would have been the third time they tried to impeach him. Castillo is a member of the indigenous population of Peru and viewed as a liberal, making him very popular with the people.

Members of Peru’s Congress are often viewed as corrupt and self-serving.

Castillo tried to dissolve Congress before the impeachment vote, which is in violation of that nation’s Constitution. His attempt to install a new government failed and Congress then voted to impeach him and this time easily had the votes to do so.

The former president was arrested and charged with rebellion and conspiracy.

That triggered widespread protests. Murray, unaware of the unrest until Dec. 11, the day she was scheduled to leave.

“We were in one of the villages eating lunch at what we’ll call a café… and the TV was on and it was not the World Cup,” Murray said. “It was a person and a sash and I wasn’t really paying attention, but I was like, ‘What is this?’”

That’s when Murray’s Lifetime movie scene played out at the airport in Cusco. The rest of her stay in Peru was not as exciting, outside of two Army airplanes flying over the place where she was staying that were bringing in troops o deal with the protesters.

More than 25 people have been killed in the protests, the youngest being 15.

Murray was able to safely wait until the airport briefly reopened on Dec. 16. She said she believes the protesters took a weekend off so they could watch the World Cup.

“I was really happy to hit L.A.,” she said. “I never thought I’d be happy to be in L.A.”

Murray only lost one day of business, having to reschedule all of her appointments that were slated for that Friday. She thanked Congressman Greg

Chandler business owner Jody Murray gets ready for a van trip to get from Cusco to Manu in Peru during her recent trip. (Courtesy of Jody Murray)

PERU

from Page 5

Stanton’s office, saying they stayed in touch and did what they could to help her while she was stranded in Peru.

She had been working for someone else at an Ahwatukee clinic when the opportunity to start her own practice in Chandler about a year and half ago. Most of Murray’s clients come to her for acupuncture, but some of them also seek her advice as an athletic trainer.

“I started out as an athletic trainer, and then at some point, I went to acupuncture school,” Murray said. “And I’m probably one of, I don’t know, half a dozen people who have both licenses in the country.”

In addition to acupuncture she also does cupping therapy. That’s where cups are used as suction on the skin. If you’ve seen pro or top amateur athletes who have dark circles on their skin, that’s from cupping therapy.

Murray said it may be a while before she’s ready to travel out of the country again, but she suspects she will go back to Peru at some point.

“I will not leave the country really quickly for a while because it was definitely a little unsettling,” Murray said.

Longevity Wellness Clinic of Arizona

1807 E. Queen Creek Road, Suite 2, Chandler, 203-512-0572

Jody Murray is back at her Chandler clinic after being stranded in Peru for five days because of the civil unrest in that country.

(Ken Sain/Chandler Arizonan)

take the city’s sentiment into consideration.

City officials have opposed the project because it is not part of Chandler’s General Plan, which set this area aside for industrial use in the hope of bringing jobs to the area. Residents near the proposed development site have organized to oppose the project, filling the chamber past capacity on the night Council voted on the resolution last month.

They have said they oppose it for a number of reasons, but the main issue is its impact on traffic in an area that already is heavily congested.

Originally, the developer hoped to have the Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission consider its proposal this month. Because of the stiff opposition, the developer has asked the County to postpone action indefinitely while it works with the City Council and others.

A spokesman for the developer said Dominium wanted to hold the meeting before Christmas, but that residents asked for a delay because a number of families were traveling for the holidays.

By meeting with neighbors and addressing their concerns, the developer hopes to eliminate one of the two specific issues mentioned by Council.

As for not fully considering the 14 alternative sites the city offered, Dominium says that is not true.

“The Dominium team – which already

had spent about a year and $1 million planning the proposed new community and working to secure the proposed 25acre site … took the city’s list seriously,”

said Owen Metz, Dominium’s senior vice president and project manager at its Arizona office.

Of the 14 sites the city offered, nine were not available to purchase. Seven of them are 6.5 acres or less, much smaller than the close to 25 acres Dominium is planning to build on.

Two sites are designated for employment, not housing in the General Plan. City staff said they would not support changing the zoning to allow multi-family housing on those sites.

One site, at Loop 202 freeway and Kyrene Road, is owned by the Arizona Department of Transportation and has extremely limited access.

Another site is within the Southeast Chandler Area Plan that caps housing to 3.75 units per acre and would not allow the kind of density in Dominium’s plan.

One site is the southwest corner of Arizona Avenue and Pecos, where the multi-use District Downtown development has been approved by Council.

Another site is zoned for offices, and Council has previously indicated it would not support putting multi-family housing on that location.

Metz said of the 14 sites proposed, 11 are near residential neighborhoods where Dominium would likely face the same opposition that it has seen with the Landings project.

He said most of the opposition to this project and others the company has tried to build involves what he called NIMBY – Not In My Back Yard. Metz said people support the concept of affordable housing for teachers, firefighters and nurses who make less than $70,000 a year, they just don’t want it near their homes.

However, with Chandler at about 93% of build out, there are not many 25-acre

plots of land left to build on. That’s why they decided to try and win County approval despite the objections of the city.

Metz said after reviewing the city’s list for more than a month, the company met with Chandler officials last June and explained why each of the 14 sites would not work.

“Dominium did its best to work with the city regarding these new sites,” Metz wrote. “With that said, by time the city sent its list, Dominium had already entered into a purchase agreement for the proposed 25-acre site, including spending considerable amounts of time and money to secure the property.

“Having the city swoop in after the last minute and tell a home builder, ‘Please build your new homes here, not there,’ is akin to a homeowner buying a house in Chandler, then being told by the city, ‘We’d prefer it if you bought a different house in another part of the city.’ That’s not how private property rights work.”

Neighbors say their concerns go beyond just traffic.

Anne Patterson said her primary concerns are water use and lack of communication by Dominium through this process.

“For 20-plus months, Dominium has had zero community outreach regarding this project,” Patterson wrote in an email. “I had five calls to four different people at Dominium not returned.

“When they say they have spoken with the community, why did they not return calls and why did they not actively try to engage the community until it was evident the opposition was significant and the Council called them out on the lack of communication?”

Mary Ellen Saunders wrote traffic is

her main worry.

“The intersection at Ocotillo and Arizona Ave. is the most dangerous one in Chandler. There are a minimum of three accidents there a week.”

She said higher density traffic because of a new 518-unit apartment complex and more people traveling on Ocotillo to get to the Intel plant because of its expansion is a real concern.

Trains still travel on those railroad tracks twice a day, backing up traffic. There is also a Chandler Unified School District bus depot to the east of the proposed site, with all those buses coming and going during rush hours.

Dominium’s traffic impact study concluded the project would add about 2,500 daily weekday trips to the area. It said there were nine incidents in the previous three years, according to crash data from the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The study found there are delays, but that the roads are currently operating at acceptable levels of service. It concluded that if the units are built, they will continue to operate at acceptable levels of service.

Patterson said she also wants to know more about a a class-action lawsuit alleging Dominium is “double dipping.” The premise is that it received federal help to build apartments and then turned

around and charged the taxpayers living in them for parking.

Dominium gets federal housing tax credits for agreeing to cap its rents. Most residents make 60% or less of the area median income.

The rent price would be set by the federal government’s Fair Market Rate. People living there would have to qualify before moving in. The developer says tenants must also sign a pledge saying no drugs, no criminal activity. If they break that pledge, they can be evicted.

The case is current and no decision has been made. Dominium said in a statement that residents can use surface parking for free and they have the right to charge for special amenities, such as underground parking, when they are built without federal funds.

“Surface lots are typically available at no cost, and residents are not required to park in the underground parking,” the company said in a statement. “Certain residents that choose to park underground sign agreements securing their parking space and agree to pay a separate fee.”

barely make the standard.”

And since that’s a virtual impossibility, the cost of meeting tougher air quality standards could result in lost industrial development opportunities as businesses avoid relocating or expanding here rather than pay for expensive federally-imposed, tougher emission controls.

That cost would extend beyond the Valley since tougher emission standards could even be imposed for trucks and cars that come into the region regularly from other parts of the state and country that may not have similarly tough standards, he said.

And it also could be reflected in other ways, Franquist said, such as more stringent air quality permits and more stringent emission control programs.

“It impacts us by impacting businesses,” he said, noting that the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co plant in north Phoenix theoretically would need a permit and be operating before the new standards kick in. “Now, a $40 billion investment: I think the White House gets involved and I think (it) comes here.”

Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari seized on that example, saying “the hallmark example of an incredible foreign investment” would be scuttled because “we are dangerously close to reaching serious non-attainment, which means that those businesses would not be able to come here after 2024.”

“Non-attainment” is the classification

that the EPA gives metro areas that fail to meet air quality goals. Other metro areas already have studied the economic impact of non-attainment and project staggering losses in future growth.

For example, Franquist said, the Oklahoma City metro area faces an economic loss of as much as $15.2 billion over the next 20 to 30 years for violating tougher federal air quality standards. Corpus Cristi, Texas, estimates a loss of $600 million to $1.7 billion a year in economic activity for failing to meet impending EPA ozone standards.

“We have kind of a table of increasing stringency in programs as we don’t meet

the standard,” Franquist said. “So obviously. as we don’t meet those standards, those programs become more stringent and there’s more of them.”

Franquist said the culprit in all this is the ozone level.

While Maricopa County has actually done a good job reducing many air pollutants, he said, ozone levels have been aggravated in large part by things beyond its control – namely, forest fires in both Arizona and California and the Valley’s average 300 days of sunny weather.

“Unlike some pollutants, like carbon dioxide – which is a direct pollutant that comes from your tailpipe or from an industrial stack,” Franquist explained, “ozone is considered a secondary pollutant. So it actually requires volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen.”

And those compounds react to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, adversely affecting air quality.

Franquist produced a chart showing how wildfires in Arizona and California have adversely impacted air quality, posing a growing health risk to vulnerable adults and even more children.

“This is what our children are breathing,” he said. “What most folks don’t realize with children – they do breathe in the same amount of air as an adult. They just breathe faster than we do. So

they actually take in these pollutants at the same level as adults but in smaller bodies.”

Franquist said the Valley’s future ability to meet federal air quality standards has been crippled by former Gov. Doug Ducey’s veto last year of a bill that would have asked the public to vote last November on an extension of the halfcent gas tax that funds a variety of rapid transit and road improvement projects.

While the Legislature could again vote to put Proposition 400 on next year’s ballot ahead of the tax’s expiration in 2025, the uncertainty currently surrounding it threatens a number of projects already on county and municipal drawing boards – including an expansion of public transportation aimed at curbing car traffic.

Franquist praised Phoenix for being “a fantastic leader” in programs aimed at reducing ozone pollution – mainly involving its multi-million-dollar investment in replacing a large portion of the city’s gas-powered vehicles such as fire engines and garbage trucks with electric ones and its aggressive expansion of bus and light rail routes.

But many of those city vehicles won’t be replaced until 2028 – well beyond the federal deadline for ozone reduction.

Franquist also warned, “There’s no silver bullet in terms of reducing ozone in one different control program. It takes a lot of different control programs working together to actually reduce ozone.”

“I think it’s important that we continue to get the word out to both the public and to our legislators that this is important for our economy, but it’s absolutely important for our public health,” he added, conceding the ozone control programs “are not cheap to implement.”

Franquist’s message provoked Ansari to express alarm about the impending air quality measures and the region’s attitude toward them.

“We are treating them as though they’re not urgent, and they’re not priorities and they don’t have financial implications even though they really, really do and they will hurt us economically,” Ansari said. “So I feel very strongly that we need to be doing a lot more than we have.”

Jane Petersen will be able to answer your hearing health questions and show you how today’s invisible hearing solutions are the best we’ve ever seen.

birthday. Her mother died and Mike Ryan is asking for $5,000 to help Shannon get through her rehab.

Chandler resident Caitlin von Hagen asked folks to help her niece and her family and raised $11,828 of the $20,000 goal so far. The niece’s husband, Ben, was injured coming home from work on an electric skateboard.

They thought he would miss five weeks of work because of an infection to his injured knee. However, it looks like he won’t be ready to work until this spring.

According to GoFundMe, one in three fundraisers is started for someone else.

Another popular ask in Chandler is for animals – to help with things such as rescue efforts, medical expenses, fostering costs for horses saved from abuse and slaughter, and physical therapy costs.

Luigi is an 8-year-old shepherd/boxer mix. Amber Alfaro Ramirez and Adolfo Alanis of Chandler write that their internet provider’s technician left the gate open and Luigi escaped.

They began a search for the dog, but he was found by animal control after he was struck by a hit-and-run vehicle. They are asking for $8,000 to help pay for his surgeries. So far, they have raised more than $1,300.

Chandler resident Chrissy Fisher has raised $425 toward her $4,000 goal to

(Above) Some residents of the SunBird Golf Resort in South Chandler are trying to raise $10,000 to sue their homeowners association board, but have raised only $120 since Dec. 21. (Right) The color guard director for Basha High School is asking for $10,000 to get padded protection for the gym floor so they can rehearse there and so far has raised about $1,700. (GoFundMe)

help pay veterinarian bills for a dog named Kaito. The dog became sick in November and his owners took him to the pet hospital a couple of times to determine

what was wrong, but never got an answer.

They did get the bills for those attempts. The many tests cost more than $4,000 and the most likely diagnosis they have received so far is it may be cancer.

GoFundMe said help for animals is one of its fastest growing categories and that there are more repeat donations made to these fundraisers than any other fundraising category.

To date, more than $50 million has been raised for dogs and cats with $1.8 million donated this year.

Education is another popular category.

Eric Gibbs Jr. is asking for help to pay his tuition at Justice College in Chandler. The Chandler resident said he lost his job in November. He’s a college athlete, so he can only work side jobs while balancing school and the team.

He asked for help on Dec. 23, and only a few days later had raised all $800 of his goal.

The color guard director for Basha High School is asking for help raising $10,000 to get padded protection for the gym floor so they can rehearse there.

Zeth Shirley said students have had to rehearse outside on uneven concrete, which has led to injuries. Shirley writes this is a long-term goal and they will keep raising money until they reach their goal. So far, they’ve raised about $1,800. Additionally, GoFundMe’s received over $400,000 in donations to LGBTQ+ causes.

Hamilton High student Dawn Shim raised more than $1,600 of her $3,000 goal to cover expenses for the walkout her Support Equality AZ Schools group staged earlier this school year. They were protesting what they called anti-gay laws passed by the Legislature in 2022.

There’re also four requests to help pay for gender-reassignment surgeries,

including one from a Chandler teen asking for $90 for a device to use a men’s bathroom.

A number of Chandler based sports teams and athletes are seeking money to help them compete.

Chandler Prep Academy swim coach Erin Biegel asked that a fund be established to help the athletes in the CPA program before she died last spring. They’ve raised about half of the $20,000 goal.

A less successful fundraiser was for the Chandler Outlaws 7-and-under football team, which was trying to raise $15,000 so they could compete in Florida at nationals. They only raised $140.

The 8U Diplomats football team were a little more successful, raising nearly $2,200 for their trip last month to nationals.

Some atypical requests include a fan of empanadas bought at the Chandler Farmer’s Market trying to raise enough money for the cook to open her own restaurant.

Maria Gorosito makes the dishes only on Saturdays to serve at farmers market, which the anonymous organizer said brought them back to their days as a missionary in Argentina.

So far, they’ve raised only $460 toward the $50,000 goal.

Chandler resident Anthony Valencia says he’s raising $5,000 to transfer his wrestling license to Mexico so he can compete internationally, possibly at the Olympic level. He competed in college at Arizona State. So far, he’s raised more than $1,600.

The online requests in Chandler go from needs to wants in some cases.

A Chandler woman is asking for $5,000 so she can go on a school trip to see the Eiffel Tower, as well as side trips to London and Italy. She’s raised $510 so far.

Some residents of the SunBird Golf Resort in South Chandler are trying to raise $10,000 to sue their homeowners association and have raised only $120 since Dec. 21.

Organizer Mark Lastovica says the money will go toward attorney fees, filing fees, court costs, etc. to initiate action to “right the wrong” over an alleged failure to fulfill its fiduciary duty.

The owner of two sober living homes in Chandler raised nearly $1,000 to give residents there a happy holiday, including gifts and food.

Some Chandler firefighters are having fun at a colleague’s expense. They started a fund “to keep Johnny handsome.” They write that he was injured while performing a routine firefighter task, and it has put his image and only contribution to the department at risk.

They say they have a team of plastic surgeons on stand-by once they get enough funds. So far they have raised $20 of the $100,000 they are asking for.

The global crowdfunding market is projected to almost triple by 2025, according to Fundly, another crowdfunding site. Other crowdfunding sites include Donorbox, Kickstarter, Crowdfunder, Indiegogo and a host of others.

Globally, $34 billion has been raised through these platforms, according to Fundly.

Chandler to honor residents who integrated high school

The City of Chandler plans to pay tribute to eight Black students who were the first to integrate Chandler High School in 1949, five years before the U.S. Supreme Court decision mandated it in Brown v. Board of Education.

The city plans to celebrate them at 9 a.m. Jan. 28 at its Celebration Plaza at Tumbleweed Park. They are: Willie Arbuckle, Robert Turner, Artie Mae Turner, Joella Arbuckle, Ernestine Jackson, Willie Ruth Payne, J.L. Payne and Nina Loftan.

Willie Arbuckle and Robert Turner became the first Black students to graduate from Chandler High in 1951.

Others to be honored include Major General Jackson and Barbara Bogle and Rev. Joseph Patterson. The Bogles ran the Pecos Valley Alfalfa Mill and were active in the community. Jackson served on the Chandler Unified School District and Barbara was involved in many civic organizations, including the Chandler Historical Society.

Patterson was a strong education advocate and helped start St. Mary-Basha School and Seton Catholic High School.

Group slates ‘wedding walk’ in downtown Chandler

Couples planning a walk down the aisle this year are invited to participate in a self-guided “wedding walk” 10 a.m.1 p.m. Jan. 28 in downtown Chandler to

see how it is “the premier destination for a complete wedding weekend experience,” according to the Downtown Chandler Community Partnership.

“This means every detail from wedding showers and bachelor/bachelorette parties to rehearsal dinners and receptions can be planned in downtown Chandler at this one stop shop event,” the partnershp said in announcing the event.

For $5 per person, participants can get a raffle ticket for the chance to win a stay and play at the San Marcos Resort and Golf Course, a free venue booking with SoHo63, and other prizes from participating vendors. Additional raffle tickets may be purchased for $5 each or purchase five for $20.

The partnership said the event is aimed at showing downtown Chandler “has a vibrant energy perfect for hosting these special life moments.”

3 Chandler residents fall through lake ice, drown

Three Chandler residents are dead after falling through ice over Woods Canyon Lake in late December. The three are originally from India.

The Coconino County Sheriff ’s Office identified the victims as 49-year-old Narayana Muddana, 47-year-old Gokul Mediseti, and Haritha Muddana (no age given).

Officials say the three were walking on the frozen lake at 3:35 p.m. Dec. 26 when

they fell through the ice. Responding deputies and fire units were able to pull the woman out, but she did not survive. They had to conduct a search for the two men.

Sanborn Elementary adding preschool this month

Sanborn Elementary School is adding one licensed community preschool classroom to the campus this month when students return on Jan. 17.

Students must be potty-trained and have turned 3 years old by Aug. 31, 2022. The preschool runs from 8 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. There are extended care options available for a fee. The extended care runs from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Email earlychildhood@cusd80.com for more information.

City co-sponsoring Shred-a-thon, RX drug takeback event

The Arizona Attorney General’s office and City of Chandler Police Department are sponsoring a shred-a-thon and prescription drug takeback event from 8 a.m. to noon Jan. 28 at Chandler-Gilbert Community College.

Residents can safely dispose of any sensitive documents they have or turn in prescription drugs they no longer need to keep them from falling into unwanted hands.

The event will take place on the east side of campus near the baseball fields.

Angry Crab Shack Southwest Cajun Fest coming to downtown

The Angry Crab Shack Southwest Cajun Fest is scheduled for Feb. 4 at AJ Chandler Park in downtown.

It will invoke the spirit of Mardi Gras, with beads being thrown, brass bands playing, an alligator petting zoo and a Bourbon Street experience. Tickets are $25.

Visit Forty8Live.com to purchase tickets.

Councilman Matt Orlando is elected to national body

Chandler City Councilman Matt Orlando was elected to the National League of Cities board of directors at its 2022 City Summit in Kansas City.

The group represents the nation’s cities and local governments in Washington, DC, lobbying members of Congress and working with federal officials.

Orlando was elected to a two-year term.

Tarwater Elementary to celebrate the lunar new year

Tarwater Elementary School plans to host a lunar new year celebration from 5:30 to 8 p.m., Feb. 3 at the school, 2300 S. Gardner Drive in Chandler.

The school is home to a dual-language Mandarin immersion program.

Students will perform cultural activities, including Lion dancers and lantern making.

Chandler official hopes for big turnout at Night of Hope

Chandler Councilman Mark Stewart is urging people to attend the fifth annual Night of Hope event to try and end human trafficking in Arizona.

It is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 10 at Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe.

Information: nightofhopeaz.com.

Nominations open for city’s Disability Awareness Awards

The City of Chandler is accepting nominations for its 2023 Disability Awareness Awards. This is the 31st year the city has handed out these awards.

There are five categories: student of the year, educator of the year, volunteer of the year, employee of the year and employer of the year.

Nominations can be made through the city’s website, chandleraz.gov/disabilityawarenessawards. The deadline is Feb. 3.

The winners will be honored at the Feb. 23 City Council meeting.

City urges residents to apply for commissions and boards

The City of Chandler is urging residents to apply for its citizen commissions and boards.

Applications are being accepted until Feb. 15 at chandleraz.gov/boards. The city has dozens of boards and commissions available, from airport to arts, planning and zoning to parks and recreation.

Descriptions of each board or commission and their meeting dates can be viewed online at the city’s website. Mayor Kevin Hartke will review the applications and nominate people for the Council to approve.

New state regs could push egg prices even higher

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Those already expensive eggs at your local grocer are about to get a tiny bit costlier – and potentially less available. And it’s all in the name of humane treatment of the hens

New regulations that took effect at the beginning of the month require that laying hens that are kept in cages have at least one square foot – 144 inches –of usable floor space. That compares to cages that until now could be less than half that size.

And beginning in 2025, all major producers have to go to cage-free.

The state Department of Agriculture puts average annual per capita consumption at slightly more than 270 eggs a year. Figuring the new rules would add somewhere between a penny and 3.25 cents per egg, that comes out to somewhere between $2.71 and $8.79 a year.

But Chelsea McGuire, lobbyist for the Arizona Farm Bureau which opposed the rule, thinks those numbers are soft.

At best, she said, it’s speculative as the full rules for cage-free housing are not in place. And McGuire argued that the estimates the state was using didn’t really take into account all the costs.

And that, McGuire said, is only part of the problem that consumers will face, what with shoppers sometimes finding there are no eggs available at any price.

Much of that is due to an outbreak of avian flu that requires farmers to destroy whole flocks even if just one hen tests positive. A ban on selling eggs from traditionally caged hens, McGuire said, only exacerbates the problem.

“We’re restricting the supply from which we can choose the eggs that we can bring into the state,’’ she said, noting the rule affects not just Arizona-based egg producers but any firm that wants to sell eggs to Arizona consumers.

“We’re locking producers into this premium product and doing so unnecessarily,’’ McGuire said. And she said it’s all being done “without a public health or safety justification or a scientific jus-

tification.’’

Some animal rights groups argued that it’s cruel to keep the laying hens in tiny pens.

McGuire sniffed at that contention. “Stress indicators on hens, things like that, are really no different between conventional confinement cages and cage-free production systems,’’ she said.

That wasn’t the assessment of thenRep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, when he crafted legislation in 2021 to require cage-free housing by anyone producing more than 3,000 eggs a year.

“Confining chickens to less than one square foot, I think, is really cruel,’’ he told colleagues.

“Granted, they don’t have very high levels of sentient awareness,’’ Kavanagh continued. “But they feel pain and they’re prevented from engaging in natural and instinctive behavior, even to the point of spreading their wings or being able to sit down when they lay their eggs.’’

The Farm Bureau managed to kill that measure.

That didn’t end the fight, with the state Department of Agriculture concluding it already had the authority to approve its own rules. And that’s precisely what it did.

It turns out the agency had an important ally on its side: Hickman’s Egg Ranch, located west of Phoenix, which is the state’s largest egg producer. And what it came down to is the fear that the failure to take some voluntary measure would result in something more onerous.

As far back as 2021, when lawmakers were considering the Kavanagh measure, company President Glenn Hickman told lawmakers he worried that voters would adopt an initiative being pushed by World Animal Protection.

It would not only have required cagefree systems by May of this year but would have made violations a crime. By contrast, the legislation -- and the rule that eventually followed after the bill

Honoring a fallen warrior

PHOTOS BY DAVID MINTON Staff Photographer

Though the day was fun, the Under the Shield Foundation’s softball game pitting police departments against fire departments was tinged with sadness since it was named in honor of the late Chandler Police Officer Christopher Farrar, who died tragically in the line of duty when he was struck by a car driven by a fugitive attempting to flee in April 2021. During the Jan 7-8 games, 1) C.J. Moore of the Tempe Fire team connected at bat

against the Gilbert Fire team; 2) Wearing a protective helmet, Avondale police officer Brock Adams pitched for the AZ Blue Heat team against Chandler Fire; 3) Steven Stack of Chandler Fire tries to squeeze onto the plate at second against the AZ Blue; 4) The teams that played wore colorful jerseys; 5) Firefighter Derek Molina of the Tempe Fire team grabbed a fly ball in centerfield; 6) Chad Goswick of the Chandler Fire team watched from the dugout during at-bats against the AZ Blue Heat team.

Care needed in negotiating options to renew leases

BY BENJAMIN GOTTLIEB Guest Writer

After enduring the COVID-19 pandemic and navigating a barrage of state and federal executive orders inhibiting landlords’ ability to carry out eviction actions, landlords and tenants are now living in a world facing the highest rates of inflation since the Great Inflation period of the 1970s.

Skyrocketing inflation in the overall economy is translating into higher rents being demanded by landlords and carries key implications in the landlord-tenant space.

This is especially true since most landlords and tenants have not paid much attention to it lately since inflation has

not been a significant news headline in decades.

In addition, long-term leases (especially commercial leases) usually provide the tenant with an option to renew the lease several years in the future from when the original lease is executed.

Some leases (mostly commercial) have provisions addressing inflation in connection with the renewal period in the event a tenant exercises a negotiated option to renew the lease. Extra attention and care should be used in drafting options to renew in leases.

Landlords may want to negotiate shorter rental periods and/or have lease provisions addressing escalating rent that accounts for rising rental rates in any renewal period, while tenants should attempt to negotiate rental rate “locks” that cap any rent increases, or at least modest rent increases to the rent.

It is important to note that most leases provide the tenant with the option to renew their lease.

The option must generally be exercised in writing and in accordance with the option to renew clause. If the tenant does not exercise the option to renew but remains at the premises, the tenant will be considered a “holdover tenant.”

Lease provisions addressing holdover terms usually contain a higher rental rate and the holdover period runs month-tomonth (meaning the holdover term can be terminated with 30 days’ notice).

Many tenants are left scrambling at the end of their lease periods and do not want to renew their lease at a higher rental rate. Ultimately, if the lease is properly terminated by the landlord, the landlord could proceed with an eviction of the tenant.

In the residential context, the landlord is not permitted to “lock out” the tenant.

Rather, under the Arizona Residential Landlord Tenant Act, the landlord must proceed with a judicial eviction and obtain what is called a Writ of Restitution from the eviction judge.

In the commercial realm, if the lease permits a “lock out” remedy, the landlord may simply change the locks if the tenant has defaulted under the lease and need not pursue a judicial eviction.

Of course, a landlord cannot raise rent or charge the tenant unauthorized fees in contravention to the lease terms. In all cases, the parties should follow the terms of the lease.

Benjamin L. Gottlieb is the founding partner of Gottlieb Law at 2375 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix. The fi rm may be reached online at GottliebLawAZ.com or 602- 899-8188. The fi rm handles real estate, business transaction and estate planning law, and specializes in all forms of real estate transactions and litigation.

Recent Sun Lakes sale

This two-bedroom, one-bath house in Sun Lakes recently

$559,000. The 1,641-square-foot

sold for

home in the Palo Verde development boasted golf course and lake views, redone kitchen, covered patio and a master bathroom with vaulted ceilings, among many amenities. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

Gummy World opens in Chandler as it eyes future growth

BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor

First off, there’s one question the people who work at Gummi World, a new manufacturing plant in Chandler, hear all the time.

“We don’t do any CBD,” said Dr. Seemab Zaman, the director of quality and regulatory affairs for Gummi World of cannabidiol the second most prevalent active ingredient in cannabis.

It does not cause a high by itself, according to Harvard Health. Still, CBD gummies are popular because they lower anxiety and will make you sleepy, but they don’t give the same high as THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

“All the time,” Zaman said when asked if they get that question a lot. “They’re like, ‘Oh, you did CBD.’ We’re like, ‘No, we

are specifically dietary supplements.’”

Gummi World started in 2019 in Tempe, but has outgrown that location. Zaman said the company liked the pro-business attitude in Chandler and that’s the main reason they ended up moving their factory to the city’s west side.

The Tempe factory was 35,000 square feet. The new Chandler location is 55,000.

Zaman, and Christina Wessel, the research and development manager, said they need the extra space because of the growth they’ve already experienced, to say nothing about future growth.

They hope to go international soon.

So if they don’t do CBD, what does Gummi World do?

“We do vitamins and botanicals and minerals,” Zaman said.

Gummi World does not put out its own line of products but rather supplies the products for other companies.

“We are unique in the sense that we actually have a R&D on site,” Zaman said of research and development.

The pots of a gummi-making machine rest in one of the clean production rooms at Gummi World’s Chandler facility.

“Because gummies are such a different form of getting your vitamins and minerals, that you have to have that R&D right.”

The company also manufactures the gummies and then ships them to wherever the customers want them.

Zaman said handling all both R&D and manufacturing makes Gummi World unique. Many of its competitors require customers do their own research and development.

“Almost everyone wants to make whatever they’re making it a capsule and

put it in a gummy,” Wessel said. “Everyone is kind of going towards the gummy route right now.”

“And the reason for that is because gummies are tastier than a capsule,” Zaman said. “They’re easy to swallow. They’re chewable, so many people don’t like the idea of a giant capsule, or soft gel or tablet. And gummies seem to be an easier route to be able to get the same type of botanicals and vitamins and min-

Long stretches apart led couple to start their own company

BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor

Former Chandler residents Devin and Ronda Lish said they never set out to run their own business.

“It was actually just by accident, really,” Devin said.

The Queen Creek couple own D&R Design, a remodeling and design company based in Chandler.

Devin and Ronda, both of whom were working in construction, met in Colorado in 2013. They moved to Chandler in 2015 and Devin was looking for work. Arizona is Ronda’s home state. A former co-worker of Devin’s in Colorado wanted him to sign on with his company, which was based in Birmingham, Alabama.

For two years Devin traveled back and forth to Alabama, and then would be away for months on work assignments.

“It was awful,” Ronda said. “Especially when we made that move to come back to move to Arizona. Instantly he started traveling.”

Devin was helping build new power plants and his final assignment for that company took him to Virginia for six months. After that, they decided he needed to find a new job.

“Family is just more important to me than traveling all the time,” Devin said. “I traveled a lot a lot throughout my career,

and I missed a lot. And so there are some regrets there. So, when the time was right it was not a hard decision to make.”

While Devin was looking for work he did a remodeling project inside their Chandler home, putting in some barn doors. They were a hit with friends and family. Soon, others were asking if he could help them put in barn doors.

“Friends and family didn’t know he

had this talent,” Ronda said. “And it just kind of snowballed and continued on to more furniture. And it’s just snowballed to where we are today. We just said never said nope.”

They started D&R Design in 2017 and say business has been great. Demand is so high they have a three-to-six month wait between accepting a new project and the work beginning.

“We kind of have combined all that in one and it’s a one-stop shop for clients,” Ronda said. “Devin and I work so close together and I know his capabilities, I can literally give him a photo [and he can build it].”

Most of their remodeling work is doing kitchens, bathrooms and media walls. The couple said they came through the pandemic really well, but did notice an uptick in requests for home offices during that time.

To deal with the pandemic, they gave their clients the option of backing out of any contracts. No one did. Their workers would arrive and often do their job, and leave without ever seeing the client. They would remain in the back of the house so everyone kept apart.

They said so far, they have not felt the effects of the recent housing market boom and bust cycle. Inflation and high interest rates have cooled what was once the hottest real estate market in

Devin is the construction specialist and Ronda handles the design. She said that mix sets them apart from competitors, because clients can get both the design and remodeling done by one company instead of having to hire two companies for the same work.

Queen Creek residents Devin and Ronda Lish run a Chandler-based remodeling and design company called D&R Design. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

Seemab Zaman, N.D., director of quality and regulatory affairs for Gummi World, a new custom recipe vitamin and supplement manufacturing facility in Chandler, is excited about the company’s new location. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

EV doc brought cancer facilities to China

BY JOSH ORTEGA Staff Writer

Even in the eye of the storm that was the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Matt Callister still helped bring modern cancer-treatment facilities to Hong Kong.

A senior physician executive at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, Callister helped establish that Gilbert facility, where he has spent more than a decade as a radiation oncologist.

In 2017, Callister moved his family in southern China to work with a private Chinese health care company to evelop Western-oriented cancer centers and hospitals.

“It’s a great career opportunity to go abroad and to use the skills and experience that I had in America abroad,” Callister said.

The family lived in Guangzhou for more than three years, including time during the pandemic. He also had the opportunity to work in other cities, including Shanghai and Beijing.

The opportunity came when the company came to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, to learn more about American health care.

Company representatives stayed in touch with him and soon asked him to come to China.

During his time in China, Callister said he learned two big lessons.

One is that regardless of language, cul-

ture or background, there’s incredible similarities for the need of compassionate, effective cancer care everywhere, especially in China with such a large population.

The experience also gave him a deeper appreciation of American cancer care.

“It helped me appreciate what makes a difference in so many people’s lives as we try to recreate those similar types of experiences and opportunities for patients in the Far East as well,” Callister said.

Callister said the U.S. “really stands out” in the ability to provide advanced technology for the accurate diagnosis of cancer through testing and imaging as

the nation.

“I’m wondering how many people maybe pulled money out of their house before interest rates went up?” Devin said. “And they just decided to hang on to it? We do still have people reaching out for larger-dollar projects.”

Ronda said they can handle any kind of project inside the home. For now, they are maintaining a studio and workshop in Chandler.

They moved to Queen Creek within the past year because of the high cost of housing in Chandler and the ability to

get more house for less money farther east. They said if they decided to move their business, it will probably come in the next year or so.

The important thing for these accidental business people is that they are getting to spend more time together.

“Starting up a power plant, it takes a lot of time,” Devin said. “So it was hard for me to get away. But, I had enough.”

Design 3400 N. Arizona Ave., Suite 109, Chandler dandrdesignaz.com

well as for access to state-of-the-art targeted drugs or immune-based drugs that impact patients’ lives.

“That’s one of the real advantages we have and I think the rest of the world is trying to get access to and contribute to as well,” Callister said. “But U.S. really stands out in really drug development and technology development.”

Callister said his efforts in China focused not on importing innovations, but establishing the infrastructure “where excellent care could thrive.”

Some of that included establishing American-style oncology nursing and advocating for specialists and develop-

ment of a higher level of patient support through nutrition services, physical therapy, psychology and speech therapy.

Callister focused much of his time on promoting a multidisciplinary style of decision-making, particularly among physicians, when a patient receives a new diagnosis because “cancer care is really a team sport.”

“The decisions aren’t made by one person, but made by a group of peers that are specialists in different areas who can put their experiences together to really point the patient in the most effective path possible for their cancer,” Callister explained.

He helped accomplish all of this inspite of China’s rigid COVID protocols.

Callister helped open the Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center in June 2021

“We were able to move forward to achieve our goals of getting cancer care to a lot of patients,” he said

Through all his work, Callister still managed to enjoy the scenery with his wife Laura and the four kids they took with them.

Since 2004, the couple has raised their eight kids in Mesa and found life in China exhilarating.

“We loved living downtown in large cities, not having a car, relying on public transportation,” Callister said. “And just

erals that your body needs in a more fun way.”

Gummi World moved to West Chandler in September, but construction was still underway. It didn’t host an official grand opening until last month. The company employs about 50 people now, but is slowly ramping up as it prepares to go international.

To do that, it needed to get a lot of certifications.

“There was a company that’s a global company that wanted to make gummies,” Zaman said. “And they’re like, ‘as soon as we get your halal certification, we will definitely want to make gummies with you guys.’ So there is potential there.”

Gummi World is now halal certified, kosher certified, organic certified, non-genetically modified certified, and – most importantly – GMP certified. That Good Manufacturing Practice, which lets consumers and clients know everything is manufactured using best practices. is essential if you want to do business internationally, Zaman explained.

Still, all the certifications won’t matter if the gummies don’t taste good – which is Wessel’s job to make that happen.

A client comes to them and tells them what they want to make and sell.

“We have to tell them our limitations,” Wessel said. “Usually they want to do like some crazy amounts of milligrams in a gummy. And it’s like, well, we can only fit this amount. And you know, our job for R&D is to make sure that it’s a great tasting gummy.”

They taste test all of their gummies, and Wessel said there are times when they know a gummy will not work.

How do they make a great tasting product when someone wants to make a gummy out of ashwagandha, a herb found in India and Africa that seems to help people deal with stress and anxiety?

“It’s kind of about flavoring and making sure the flavors pair well with what we’re putting in,” Wessel said. “Like we did this ashwagandha gummy that has kind of a darker note to it. So we paired it with a darker berry to kind of play with that.”

D&R

Quality control samples in the lab at Gummi World stand on a shelf. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

Dr. Matt Callistor, senior physician executive Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, established that renown cancer hospital in Gilbert. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

all the all the diversity as far as food and entertainment.”

Callister’s passion for oncology started at Duke University Medical School.

“When you go to medical school, I think one of the things you discover is this incredible breadth of different specialties and ways in which we use science and technology to help patients,” Callister said.

Through patient interactions, Callister became “deeply impressed” by the tools science has and is developing in the fight against cancer.

“I think the science and the people component just really came together,” Callister said. “And the middle of medical school, I really committed to having a career in cancer.”

Callister graduated in 1997 and proceeded to an internship at the Mayo Clinic Arizona and four more years of training and residency at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

In his career, Callister said one of the most important principles about cancer is that it’s not one disease but many diseases and based on both different locations in the body and the genetic abnormalities associated with each tumor.

“I think one of the main themes that’s

developed during my career is that with the progress in science and technology, we have been able to increasingly customize or personalize the treatment needed for everyone’s cancer,” Callister said.

Advancements in technology have allowed doctors to use a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and drug treatments in a “more refined way that matches the abnormality that’s causing cancer to develop or to progress in a patient,” Callister said.

“Increasingly, things have become much more complex, based on a lot more information and a lot more tools that are available,” he said.

Callister now focuses on administering and leading cancer programs.

“I am an avid supporter of getting our docs the resources to open clinical trials, do research and become experts in their field,” Callister said.

Since returning to his current role, Callister said the teamwork he experienced in China is one of the things he will carry forward in his own career at Banner MD Anderson in Gilbert, convinced that “despite the difference in language, differences in culture, differences in the world that we live, good things can be accomplished anywhere when people cooperate.”

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Perry basketball establishing dominance early on

BY DAMON ALLRED Contributor

The Open Division is coming to Arizona high school basketball this year.

Meant to crown a “true” state champ, it’ll feature 32 teams — the top eight from each of 6A, 5A, and 4A as well as eight at-large choices. It’s meant to add parity and a standardized level of competition.

But there’s already one team standing out among the rest of the field in the state: Perry.

That isn’t something Perry boys’ basketball head coach Sam Duane is thinking about, however. He knows his team must be prepared to battle every time they step on the floor.

To Duane, the arrival of the Open Division tournament is comparable to March Madness in the college ranks. Especially with many teams involved. He’s also a fan of the unique feature of the tournament where teams can return to conference playoffs if they lose in the first or second round of the Open tournament rather than having their season come to an end.

“I don’t think the schedules [within regions] were balanced this year real well,”

Duane said, “so I think it allows good teams to be in the tournament, and I think it’s going to make for a really good state tournament.”

Even with the uptick in competition, Perry is still the favorite to come away with the Open title. The Pumas have

picked up where they left off after winning last year’s 6A state title. They were 15-0 heading into their winter break and have faced little challenge led by two five star 6-foot-8 prospects, senior Cody Williams and sophomore Koa Peat.

Perry was the featured team at Hoophall West, a national showcase hosted by Chaparral. Their first game, a late Friday night contest, matched the Pumas against Cardinal Hayes (NY) and Peat’s FIBA teammate, Ian Jackson, who’s ranked as one of the top juniors in the country.

Perry won big, 78-47, over a national power.

“I thought we did a really good job of meeting that challenge on Friday,” Duane said of the win. “We wanted to do the best we could on him, but he’s gonna get his. I thought when Ben [Egbo] was on [Jackson], he did a really good job on him… We wanted to take away their transition, and we wanted to take away them getting to the rim, so I thought we did a really good job of packing in our defense, and we were really good as a team.”

Perry’s talent level is, on paper, above the rest of the AIA schools. The Pumas feature two potential NBA stars on the roster in Peat and Williams.

But the rest of the starting lineup shouldn’t be overlooked.

Perry went on to dominate San Ysidro (Calif.) at Hoophall. Barron Silsby, a 5-foot-11 sharpshooting senior, was named Player of the Game after scoring 20 points and connecting on 6-of-8 3-pointers.

“He’s such a great, positive influence on our team,” Duane said of Silsby. “On the floor, he doesn’t turn it over, he understands his role, and he stretches

the floor for us.”

Rounding out the starting lineup state is 6-foot-5 sophomore D’Andre Harrison and 6-foot-4 senior Ben Egbo. The two combined for 40 points and 20 rebounds over the two games at Hoophall and bring a toughness on both ends that sends the lineup over the top.

Harrison is the new starter to the group after Perry graduated now-Arizona Wildcat and 7-footer Dylan Anderson. Duane said Harrison is getting better each day, finding comfort in his new role.

“He’s a really good rebounder, he crashes the offensive boards, and he can shoot the ball from three,” Dane said. “So, he’s a threat for us … if you leave him [open], he’s going to make you pay.”

Perry handled the national competition with ease and has so far done the same in AIA play.

So far, Liberty in Peoria has played the Pumas the closest. Perry won that game 93-79. The Lions are widely regarded as the second-best team in the state this season.

But even with how dominant his team has been, Duane doesn’t want them to become complacent. They still play Brophy, who has size most other schools in Arizona don’t, and a game against one of the best junior guards in the country in Style Phipps at St. Mary’s. Perry will also have to matchup twice against Basha, which is quickly rising in the ranks thanks to star freshman Mason Magee.

The Pumas know they have the talent to make a run. The state and country know, too. They recently were ranked as the No. 12 team in the nation by MaxPreps. But they aren’t letting that get to them.

Duane is keeping them focused and grounded on the goal at hand.

“Be where your feet are,” he said.

From left: Barron Silsby, Koa Peat, Cody Williams, D’Andre Harrison, Ben Egbo have quickly become the best starting five in the state as the Pumas are nationally ranked and have, at this point, overcome every challenge they’ve faced this season. (Dillon Nockideneh/Hoophall West)

Sophomore sensation Koa Peat, a five-star prospect with legitimate future NBA talent, has been key for Perry along with the other four starters. He has gelled well with fellow five-star Cody Williams, and the duo lead the Pumas alongside the three other starters and supporting cast.

Former longtime Chandler resident marks 100

BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor

Kathi Roark told her mother that they’d get a cake to celebrate her 100th birthday. She surprised former longtime Chandler resident Clela Marie Mann with so much more.

“I tell you, the staff over there just went out of their way to make it a good birthday for her and everybody said she loved it,” Roark said of the Friendship Village staff in Tempe, where her mother is living now. “She was just she was just the birthday girl.”

Moving into an assisted living facility was not easy for the very independent Mann to do. Neither was giving up driving.

“It was, it was tough for all of us,” Roark said. “The sadness that she felt, giving up being in her own place. But it just was not safe for her to be there by herself anymore. And she’d fallen a couple of times while she’s been in assisted living.”

Mann drove herself until she turned 92. Roark said she didn’t leave Chandler and go into assisted living until about a year ago.

Until then they hired a woman to visit her for a couple of hours a day for five

days a week to help with any tasks. And she had a wonderful neighbor who was always checking up on her.

Mann’s maiden name is Bower. She married an Illinois farmer, Clarence Mann. They moved to Chandler in 1963 because Clela had arthritis and they thought it would be better for her. That only lasted a couple of years.

“It wasn’t long,” Roark said, pointing out her dad worked on a Chandler farm during that first stint, but it wasn’t his own.

“He always liked machinery and equipment. Farming is just one of those things, that if you’re born to be a farmer, you’re born to be a farmer.”

So they returned to the Mann family farm in Illinois. Once Clarence retired, they decided to move back to Chandler.

Their daughter Kathi had graduated from Chandler High School, got married and they wanted to be near her and their grandchildren.

After Clarence died in 1996, Clela decided she needed a new hobby, and began quilting at the Chandler Senior Center. She gave that up at the same time she gave up driving, when

she was 92.

So what is the secret to living such a long life?

“I don’t think she could tell you. I really don’t,” Roark said. “She has taken good care of herself all her life. I mean, she she really has, she has been conscious of, you know, eating properly.

While she may not quilt anymore, she still likes to be productive.

“She still does hand embroidery,” Roark said. “The last few years she’s worked a lot of those word search games, the puzzle book. Right? And that that really helped keep her sharp. A couple of years ago, she could tell you how much she had paid in property tax on the land in Illinois. And I would I was just amazed that the things that she remembered.”

In the past year Roark’s mother has had to do some physical therapy because of those two falls while staying at living assisted facilities.

“One of her her favorite things over this past year has been when, I would try to get her to do some physical therapy, or something, she would say, ‘Well, wait till you’re 99. And then you’ll see what it’s like.’

“She’s got a lot of spunk.”

Chandler Girl Scout’s healthy Indigenous recipes lauded

BY JUSTIN LIGGIN Contributor

After becoming aware of rising food insecurity in Indigenous communities during the pandemic, Chandler Girl Scout Jessica Burke took action and encouraged healthy eating habits with her project that earned her the highest honor in Girl Scouts – a Gold Award.

“I learned through the news about the increase in food insecurity and while researching this topic I discovered that Indigenous people have a greater chance of having diabetes than any other U.S. racial group,” Burke explained, noting: “This issue is important to me because I have seen in my family how diabetes impacts a person’s physical and mental health.”

With this, Burke set out on her journey to address the lack of resources for making a nutritious meal fit for the Indigenous palate.

The answer was the Native Health Cookbook, a collection of recipes using common commodity foods given to Native families across Arizona through the food distribution program on Indian Reservations.

“Families rely on food pantries across

their tribes and even though the pantries provide hearty essentials such as vegetables and legumes, it is easy to be tempted by the sugary treats when you are unfamiliar with how to cook,” said Burke.

The Native Health Cookbook contains recipes for dishes such as bean and tomato soup, lentil curry and potato pancakes as well as healthy dessert options such as cranberry oat bars and peach cobbler.

In addition to these custom recipes, the cookbook also includes important information on how to structure meals, read food labels and more.

While compiling the Native Health Cookbook, Burke had to take on the challenge of using unfamiliar ingredients to create recipes that people will enjoy.

“Some of the commodity items I had never cooked with before, such as blue

corn. It was difficult using this ingredient to create muffins that were both healthy and delicious,” Burke said.

“To tackle this, I researched past recipes using the ingredients and took the necessary time to become familiar with how the ingredients are cooked.”

A Girl Scout for 12 years, Burke credits the organization for helping her develop the essential communication and teamwork skills to succeed during her Gold Award project and beyond.

Burke also said the experience creating the Native Health Cookbook taught her how to be a leader and manage large scale projects.

To earn the most prestigious honor for Girl Scouts, the Gold Award, Burke applied her expertise she learned in the organization to create a long-lasting positive change in a community through the creation of the Native Health Cookbook.

As a recipient, Burke can receive distinguished scholarships at the local and national level, stand out during the college admissions process and other Gold Award perks.

Currently a student at Hamilton High School, Burke hopes to study nutritional or food science in college – a career path she began to consider while writing the Native Health Cookbook.

Longtime former Chandler resident Clela Marie Mann was all smiles Jan. 4 as she celebrated her birthday at Friendship Village in Tempe. (Courtesy of Kathi Roark)

Chandler resident Jessica Burke earned Girls Scouting’s highest award for assembling a book with healthy recipes for Indigenous people. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

Sun Lakes nonprofit will hold conference on aging well

SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

A free conference on aging will be presented Jan. 31 by Neighbors Who Care, a nonprofit that provides non-medical assistance to homebound people in South Chandler and Sun Lakes.

The second annual Aging Made Easier Conference will provide “critical information that is Straight talk about aging well—before you need it,” the group said in a release.

Senior services expert speakers with relevant and practical messages were chosen to “help people navigate the aging process with dignity, grace and support” and enable them to “be aware and be prepared.”

“Aging isn’t always easy,” the group pointed out. “And sometimes, we find ourselves in situations where we find ourself in need, but don’t know where to turn. That’s where Aging Made Easier can

give you an advantage and share the practicality in reaching for the help you need sooner rather than waiting for an event to happen.”

The conference will include a vendor fair featuring a variety of senior service resources and the providers were vetted and “are known and reliable thanks to Neighbors Who Care relationships,” the nonprofit said.

Speaker sessions and their topics are:

• Dr. Todd Hurst, FACC: “How to Add 8-12 Years to Your Life”

• Dr. Sunny Niazi, DO: “A Comprehensive Approach to Treating AFib That Leads to Better Health and Quality of Life”

• Jennifer Pitt, Voice Against Fraud: “The Latest Senior Scams and How to Keep Your Money Safe”

• Katie Brenneman, Stronghold Financial: “Protecting Your Assets and Qualifying for ALTCS, Arizona’s Long Term Care

System”

The keynote speaker Lin Sue Flood, community relations specialist for Hospice of the Valley, who will discuss “How Reaching for Help Sooner Keeps Everyone Healthier, Longer.”

The conference will run 8 a.m.-noon Jan. 31 at Risen Savior Lutheran Church, 23620 S. Alma School Road, Chandler, near Chandler Heights Road. There is plenty of parking available, and the worship center is ADA accessible.

This conference is geared toward anyone concerned about getting older, whether they are retired, caring for a loved one, or have aging parents who will need a child to assume a e caregiver role.

Donations are welcome, though the conference is free.

To register online, go to agingmadeeasier.eventbrite.com or call Neighbors Who Care at 480-895-7133.

Neighbors Who Care says its “dedicated volunteers assist the homebound, disabled, and/or frail elderly in Sun Lakes and South Chandler and treat them with the care and respect they deserve. We fulfill our mission by providing an array of non-medical assistive services to our clients who are typically homebound due to chronic or severe illness, physical limitations, or hospitalization recovery. Many are full-time caregivers for a loved one.”

“Neighbors Who Care volunteers are recruited from areas in and around the communities we serve,” it adds, noting:

“They are trained and matched with clients to assist with requested services. Volunteers provide assistance in the areas of transportation, shopping/errands, grocery van transport, friendly visitation, reassurance calling, minor home repairs, business assistance, dinner delivery, and caregiver relief/respite.”

Area women’s choral group slates introductory session

SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

Vocal Connection, a women’s a cappella chorus, takes pride in what it does.

“It’s a proven fact that singing in a chorus is more fun when surrounded by friends, singing their hearts out,” it said in a released. “According to recent research, humans are wired for rhythmic togetherness, and bond best when mak-

ing music with each other. Why?

“Studies show that singing in a chorus improves our mood, with a decrease in stress, depression and anxiety. These effects are linked to the use of deeper breathing techniques associated with singing. The benefits are enhanced in a group setting because singing in a group offers a sense of belonging to something

larger than ourselves.

“Beyond the psychological effects, our physical health is impacted also: lower blood pressure, increased blood oxygen saturation, elevated immunity, higher pain threshold, and stronger respiratory muscles.”

The group also believes “making music together provides a sense of awe not just for the observers of a performance, but for the participants, as well. Research shows that this emotion seems to shift our focus from our own self-view to that of our community.

Toward that end, Vocal Connection is inviting area women looking to decrease stress, improve their health and make connections with other like-minded women in the community while singing to a guest night 6:30-9:30 p.m. Jan. 30 at Seton Catholic Preparatory, 1150 N. Dobson Road, Chandler.

Attendees must be able to sing but do not need to be able to read music to

join. Vocal training and music education are components of Vocal Connection’s many benefits.

To accommodate those attending the Guest Night, we ask that you pre-register by emailing us at guestinfo@vocalconnection.org. Additional details will be provided but attendees must pre-register.

Vocal Connection Chorus is one of hundreds of Sweet Adeline International choruses that make up a worldwide organization of women who sing four-part a cappella and barbershop harmony.

Vocal Connection Chorus performs regularly throughout the community, offering its talent for entertainment at civic events and charitable functions, in addition to promoting harmony and friendship among women.

Information/registration: GuestInfo@vocalconnection.org or vocalconnection.org.

Dancing with stars will help foundation help others

SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

If you’re looking to help a good cause and a chance to learn some fancy footwork before Valentine’s Day, the Armer Foundation for Kids has just the event for you.

The East Valley foundation is pairing accomplished dance instructors with six areabusiness professionals in a fundraising competition 6-11 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio, 3820 E. Ray Road, Ahwatukee. Better hurry, though, because there are only 15 VIP tickets for $50 and 60 general admission ducats for $35 available to watch a spirited competition for the Mirrorball Trophy.

The event will benefit the Armer Foundation, which has earned a region-wide reputation for helping families with children facing catastrophic illness or medical issues.

“Our local business professionals are paired with professional dancers from Fred Astaire Dance Studios in Ahwatukee, where they have been perfecting their dance routines with a series of dance lessons to earn their way to the coveted Mirrorball Trophy,” explained foundation CEO Jennifer Armer.

Even if tickets run out, you can still help the foundation by making donations in the name of one of the amateur contestants who will be dancing with the Fred Astaire dancers.

See armerfoundation.org for the link for the event and the contestants.

Here’s a rundown on amateurs who will be trying their ..er, feet…at some dance floor wizardry.

Anthony Celio

A physical therapist and clinic director at Spooner Physical Therapy – Ahwatukee, Anthony Celio joined the practice in August 2015 and joined the Ahwatukee clinic three years later.

“By continuing his professional development and learning the most effi cient and effective physical therapy interventions and skills, he uses the most recent evidence in the treatment of his patients,” Armer said, adding he has taken courses in dry needling, manual thera-

py certifi cations, as well as pain science and education. He enjoys developing specifi c and individualized treatment programs that will effectively treat you as a person and promote functional movement of the entire body.

A native Louisianan, he is a sports enthusiast and enjoys spending time with family and friends and spending his days outside of the clinic doing anything outdoors.

Karen Nowicki

Owner and president of Phoenix Business RadioX, Karen Nowicki describes herself as “a results-driven professional with over 35 years in corporate, small business, and educational environments.”

Her studio and company “help solopreneurs, professional organizations, and brands build community around the people who matter the most to them” and her specialties include training and

development, assessment strategies, talent management, project management, strategic planning, operations management, communication specialist, facilitative leadership, marketing, public relations, B2B podcasting, and ”conscious capitalism.”

Joe Duff y

Joe Duff y is a longtime Ahwatukee resident and a fi refighter at Phoenix Station 22. As the owner of the Handy Fireman Woodwork, the Navy veteran and father of four is well known in the community for his original art and functional pieces made of wood.

He also calls himself “a perfectionist, a comedian, and a competitor” and when he is not working 56 hours on the job for Phoenix Fire, he is in his garage-workshop or with his family. In 2019, he founded The Woodwork, LLC as a platform to showcase and sell quality handmade heirlooms. “Sometimes in today’s modern world, we can forget the beauty in the natural, beautiful, and handmade,” he said.

“I never stopped learning how to build and create. I am a student of the craft and a perfectionist,” he said. “I now get the opportunity to show my sons the importance of hard work and the invaluable life lessons of attention to detail, patience, problem-solving, and creating change, all while having fun.”

Sarah Kennedy

A retired small business owner from Colorado, Sarah Kennedy was executive director of a multi-national student exchange organization called Hands Across the Border, and then became the

director of the Arizona Sexual Assault Coalition.

An outdoors enthusiast, she started line dancing in 2021 through the City of Chandler Parks and Recreation Department.

“Even though I was a novice, the women and men in the line dance community welcomed me with open arms, and I have since made many friends, and have become acquainted with fascinating line dance people from all over the world. My hero line dance teacher is Donna Chapman, who is the wife of my competitor, Rick Chapman. I have ZERO experience with partner dancing.”

Rick Chapman

Richard (Rick) Chapman has worked for Kroger (Fry’s) for 30 years in the meat department, where he has been known to often sing. “Whether a barbershop quartet or some barroom karaoke, you can always fi nd him singing or humming along to a song,” Amrer says of the Colorado native.

“For many years, he enjoyed a side business as a DJ for weddings or karaoke parties. He was very active in the Montrose Magic Circle Community Theatre group and mainly did the musicals.”

Shanna Williams

A commercial account manager for ECD Systems, a security integration company, Shanna Williams is a native Arizonan who with her husband has raised seven children.

“She has a heart for service and is an active member of the Women’s Auxiliary at the Phoenix Zoo and also volunteers as often as she can at her kids’ schools, Armer said, adding she is an avid outdoorswoman.

“When approached to battle it out for the coveted mirror ball in the Armer Foundation’s Dancing with the Stars event,” Armer said, “The Armer Foundation has done Ssomuch for families near and dear to Shanna and it is a privilege to help raise money to continue impacting these deserving families in big ways.”

Information: fredastaire.com/ahwatukee.

Jennifer Armer, founder/CEO of the Armer Foundation for Kids, has scheduled a unique fundraiser at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Ahwatukee. (File photo)

BY RABBI IRWIN WIENER Coumnist

All too often we are faced with issues that can, at times, boggle the mind and cause anguish and despair. It is especially true in these trying times.

We are witnesses to unimaginable horrors. People are murdered. People are exiled. People are displaced from their homes. Anyone who can muster any type of hope for the future is certainly hard pressed to do so.

Yet, there are people who still cling to the belief that with an optimistic approach to life, all will be right.

Not long ago I read an article listing “six little stories” in which the value of life and its blessings are depicted attending to our need for confidence and assurance:

There was a village where people gathered together to pray for rain. On that day the whole town showed up, but only one boy came with an umbrella. That, my friends, is faith.

When you throw a baby in the air, he or she will laugh because they under-

stand you will catch them. That’s trust.

As we journey further into life we go to bed not knowing if we will see the next sunrise, but still we set our alarm to wake us up. That’s hope.

As time marches on we make plans in spite of not knowing if there is a future. That is confidence.

We see su ering and misery, but still we get married and have children. That is love.

And then there was an old man who had written on his shirt, “I am not 80 years old. I am sweet 16 with 64 years of experience.” That is attitude.

We all have doubts and fears. Our country seems to be lost in some uncon-

trollable tailspin. The world has gotten away from us. We look at our neighbors with suspicion. Our identity is lost somewhere in the past.

Still we celebrate holidays and life cycle events because we have confidence that all will be right. We sit next to each other in our church or synagogue, sing our hymns, mouth our prayers, and feel the love we have for each other. Most of all, we leave these sacred places with the attitude that we can and will be better people.

There certainly are episodes of doubt. Some of these doubts boggle the mind, but still we march on. This is what faith is all about.

Some will ask, “As we age what is there to hope for, or feel optimistic about? For that matter what kind of love is left for us, or, perhaps what is faith?”

As we progress in age, these questions preoccupy us to the point of despair. That is, if we allow them.

Here is something to dwell on; our vibrancy may have been diminished, but not our enthusiasm; we may not be as spry as we once were, but we know that we can take that next step. We have determination to complete our journey with heads held high because we have and continue to contribute to the value of life; we have confidence in ourselves – even though we go through periods of doubt; most of all, we are hopeful –remembering what we were and excited about what we mean to others.

We can feel good about ourselves because our attitude tells us that we are relevant – as relevant as we were yesterday, and even more relevant tomorrow.

Faith, trust, confidence, love, attitude – all the ingredients necessary for a life of fulfillment.

Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D., is the spiritual leader of the Sun Lakes Jewish Community.

Chandler director to debut new thriller at film fest

BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor

As part of his day job, Chandler resident Kiran Kondamadugla sees what happens when someone’s identity is stolen on a regular basis.

He’s a software engineer for a tech company that handles digital payments.

So, when he was asked to do a thriller for his weekend job, the film screenwriter and director wrote about what he knew.

Kondamadugla, who goes by “Kiran” in the film industry, plans to show his latest film, “ID,” during the Chandler International Film Festival. The festival that starts Saturday, Jan. 21, at the LOOK Dine-In Cinema in downtown Chandler and “ID” will be shown at 8:30 p.m Jan. 27.

“When I was working as a software engineer there, I noticed there was a lot of online fraudulence,” Kiran said. “So it was an interesting fact that I came across just in the U.S. that approximately $2.5 billion dollars of transactions were reported as fraud because of identity theft.”

This is Kiran’s second feature film. His first, “Gatham” was a psychological thriller that earned awards and is available on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

He said doing thrillers was not necessarily what he wanted to do when he

started making films.

His first film was a thriller because that’s what he said he could a ord and still make compelling art.

“If I want to engage the audience purely based on the screenplay, and narration is the best genre, because

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI GetOut Editor

Arizona hasn’t been kind to the Galway, Ireland-based act We Banjo 3. Four of their shows were postponed in February 2022 and each time it’s been to the Grand Canyon State, it’s rained.

Vocalist David Howley is hoping for a better result — and some warm weather — when We Banjo 3 returns to the state, including Feb. 4 at the Chandler Center for the Arts.

“These are very special shows for us,” he said.

“We have a lot of new music that’s creeping in from (the new record) ‘Open the Road.’ It’s more of an explanation and understanding as well of where the band is at. We’re probably going to ask the crowd to dance at some point. We love when people move. Movement in music is so important, particularly as we’ve had a break from it for a couple of years. We’re excited to be back.”

The two sets of brothers – Enda (banjo, mandolin and tenor guitar) and Fergal Scahill (fiddle, guitar and Bodhran) and David (banjo, vocals, guitar) and Martin Howley (banjo, mandolin, tenor guitar) –plan an extended break from their rolling banjos, soaring fiddle and mandolin runs that swirl around propulsive vocals and perfect harmonies.

“We all have a lot of projects that we’ve been working on,” he said.

“Since coming back after the pandemic, we have been on the road pretty much constantly. So, we’re going to do something mad and crazy that musicians never do – we’re going to take some time o .”

David has solo tours coming up. Martin plays mandolin in the Broadway show “Come from Away,” while Fergal’s talents went viral during the pandemic when he played a tune every day on social media. Enda has a “fantastic Patreon” where he has created a hub for learning Irish tenor banjo.

“We all have stu happening,” he says.

We Banjo 3 grew out of jam sessions among the four men. After Enda returned to Galway from a tour playing bluegrass and old-time festivals, he called David and Martin and asked them to come over to his house to play music.

In 2009, they started playing gigs, dubbing themselves We Banjo 3, as they all played the instrument. David added vocals and guitar, and Fergal joined later on fiddle.

After a performance at International Arts Festival, the biggest art festival in Europe, We Banjo 3 was awarded a grant from the Arts Council of Ireland, which the musicians used to record their first album and continued to tour Ireland.

you can indulge audience, with twisted screenplay, and nonlinear nonlinear narration, … if the thrilling factor is sustained throughout the movie. So that’s why I picked the thriller genre for the first movie.”

Kiran said he had about $150,000 to make his first feature film. His budget for “ID” was more than double that. A lot of that extra money came because of the success of his first film.

Before making those two films, Kiran did about a half dozen short films and also some commercials.

“Gatham” won two awards and was nominated for three others, according to the Internet Movie Database. So far, “ID” has surpassed that, winning 18 awards and being nominated for five others.

In ID, Sid and Priya decide they want to move back to India and throw a party. When he wakes up the following morning, Sid is naked and his entire house is empty. His identity has been stolen. He teams up with a broke attorney to deal with it.

Chandler International Film Festival director Mitesh Patel called the film dark, something Kiran agrees with. He says it takes a lot

Touring the world, they’ve showed o their musicianship and recently they released “Open the Road,” a 10-track collection. Upbeat and powerful, We Banjo 3’s music is what the world needs, he said.

“Music is a very inclusive, communicative thing,” he said. “It brings people together. I think that that’s the beautiful thing about coming out to a show. You could come to our gig knowing ever lyric of every song, and you could also come to our gig without ever hearing a single song. We build the gig around the idea that both of those people are included.”

David said the pandemic proved there was a lot more music within them that they weren’t exploring.

“The statement of that album is there are no rules,” he says. “There’s not even a destination really in the album. It’s very much just one large exploration of what comes out of your mind if you just let yourself have fun.”

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4

WHERE: Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler

COST: Tickets start at $26

INFO: chandlercenter.org

Chandler resident Kiran Kondamadugula is putting the finishing touches on his second feature film, “ID,” which will be shown at the Chandler International Film Festival. (Courtesy of Kiran Kondamadugula)

We Banjo 3 will play at the Chandler Center for the Arts on Feb. 4. (Special to GetOut)

of crazy turns and there’s a twist that he couldn’t reveal.

Kiran moved to Chandler in 2014 after earning his master’s degree in the U.S. He said perhaps the biggest challenge to being a feature film director is balancing three jobs.

He has his day job, his weekend job, and then there is his family.

“My wife is my great strength,” Kiran said. “She has given me enough freedom to explore my o time, to do something creative. Initially, it was a bit tough because I’m not only talking ... about my IT career, and the filmmaking period, but there is also something called personal life. If you are married, or if you have kids, you need time for them as well.”

Kiran continues to work his day job and juggle in the filmmaking and attending festivals when he can. He said he’s not ready to give up either at this point. That could change if he keeps earning awards and notice for his films.

He said festivals like the Chandler International are vital for new artists trying to get noticed.

“Not only do you get to showcase your talent, but it also provides an opportunity for you to network with other filmmakers, distributors and whatnot,”

Kiran said. “You can’t get the kind of that kind of opportunity anywhere, except for at a good film festival.”

If you go

“ID” at the Chandler International Film Festival

WHEN: 8:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 27

WHERE: LOOK Dine-In Cinema, 1 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler TICKETS: $15, chandlerfilmfestival.com You can watch Kiran Kondamadugula’s first feature film, “Gatham,” on Netflix or Amazon Prime.

Chandler International Film Festival

WHEN: Jan. 21-29

WHERE: LOOK Dine-In Cinema, 1 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler TICKETS: chandlerfilmfestival.com

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