Texting, scooters on legislative minds
CAROLYN DRYER
Peoria’s intergovernmental affairs director, Thomas Adkins, said two bills now being considered by members of the Arizona Legislature have an impact on the city.
Adkins said, “It’s a pretty busy time of year for us. A few bills that impact Peoria we’re concerned about, we’re keeping an eye on them.”
A statewide ban on texting while driving,
Peoria police arrest homicide suspect
Several weeks after he was reported missing by his family, a man’s body was found and a suspect in his death arrested.
Police said the suspect, 29-year-old Zachary Nowak, admitted to using heroin with the victim, an 18-year-old Peoria man; not providing medical aid; keeping the body in his bedroom for a weekend; and then putting the victim in the trunk of a vehicle, driving to La Paz County and dumping the body on the side of the road. The victim’s name has not been released.
Nowak was processed at the Peoria Police Department and later booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on charges of negligent homicide and abandonment of a dead body. Police spokesman Brandon Sheffert said additional charges may be added, and charges may be amended.
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Senate Bill 1165, passed out of the Senate 20-10 on March 4.
“That’s good because it has an emergency clause,” Adkins said. “It needed a certain number of votes to get out. It goes over to the House now, and hopefully it will get the votes there.”
A proposed texting ban ordinance was postponed by Peoria City Council at its first meeting in February. A member of the audience voiced disappointment at that time during the public comments section
of the council meeting. But Adkins said the council probably did the right thing by holding off on a city ordinance.
“It’s a tough one,” Adkins said. “But the reality is if the council had adopted an ordinance and it didn’t match the state law, it was in the best interests of everybody that Peoria drivers don’t have to learn a whole new set of rules. With a statewide law, it’s the best for everybody – one common rule everyone would have to follow throughout
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PEORIA TIMES STAFF
Glendale Community College serves veterans with dedicated center
BY JOHN HECKENLAIBLE Marketing and Communications Glendale Community College
Veterans throughout the USA have a proud tradition of sacrifice and serving our country with dedication, professionalism and commitment. In Arizona, we are home to numerous military installations, including Luke Air Force Base in Glendale. As a result, Arizona and the West Valley of the Phoenix metropolitan area has a large population of veterans.
In the same way those veterans were proud to serve their nation, the staff and faculty at Glendale Community College is proud to serve our U. S. veterans. Since its inception in the mid 1960s, Glendale Community College has been dedicated to helping veterans with their academic careers. Over the decades, the number of veterans taking classes at GCC has grown steadily to nearly 1,000 per year.
To better serve this large population the faculty, staff and administration at Glendale Community College dedicated
a building for this purpose. In the spring 2017, they held a grand opening of the Glendale Community College Veterans Services Center. As a result of this, and its long history of helping veterans, GCC has been named a Veteran Supportive Campus by the Arizona Department of Veterans Services.
The Glendale Community College Veterans Services Center is a one-stop shop for veterans who want to transition from military life to civilian life through
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higher education. The goal at GCC is to provide a wide range of academic opportunities for students, from certificates of completion to degrees and from refresher classes to getting credits as they work towards transferring to a university.
The academic advisors in the Veterans Services Center are veterans themselves and also serve the role of VA Certifying Officials. The advisors assist in planning academic paths, identifying federal and state benefit options, certifying education benefits, and connecting veterans with services, both on campus and the surrounding community.
In addition to Active Duty Military Tuition Assistance, the GCC Veterans Services Center services six different VA education benefits. The VSC also guides student veterans through degree planning, as well as class selection and registration. The academic advisors at
the GCC Veterans Services Center are deeply knowledgeable about the countless scholarship and financial aid options that are available to veterans and can guide them on the most appropriate path. The services that GCC provides are not limited to academics, as part of the career counseling, the advisors at the VSC will help veterans explore civilian career options and learn about job search tools.
Glendale Community College is proud to be the school of choice for such a large population of veterans. The college will continue to serve our veterans with the same pride our veterans exhibited when they served the United States.
the state. It would not vary as it does now.”
Adkins said the Legislature is also looking at an e-scooter bill.
“One we’re OK with now puts escooter into state law but allows cities to regulate as they deem best,” Adkins said. “The city of Peoria puts public safety first.
“There’s also an aesthetic part of the equation we’re concerned about. Being able to regulate where scooters are dispersed. But, another thing is making sure our community looks its best. I think the key for us on this one, like a lot of bills, we want to make sure the government closest to the people has an impact on our residents, making sure we’re looking out for our residents.”
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Thomas Adkins Director
Intergovernmental Affairs
The Veterans services Center at glendale Community College (Photo courtesy Glendale Community College)
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Sunshine is your fundamental right Opinion
BY JIM ZACHARY CNHI Deputy National Editor ValdostaDaily TimesEditor
For government to be of, by and for the people, it must be out in front of the people.
The theme for Sunshine Week 2019 is simply, “It’s your right to know.”
The reason it’s your right to know is that it’s your government.
From the courthouse to the statehouse to the White House, it is your right to know what government is up to.
Every deliberation by city council, county commission, the General Assembly or U.S. Congress is the people’s business.
Every penny spent by local, state and federal government is your money.
Every document held in the halls of government belongs to you.
Transparency is not, or at least should not be, partisan.
Access to government meetings and public documents should never be arduous or even controversial.
Government derives all of its powers from the public and is answerable to the public.
It is unfortunate state and federal laws are needed to protect the public’s right to know.
Of course, we know those laws are needed and more often than not must be leveraged by people requesting even the most basic information from elected and appointed officials.
No branch of government should exempt itself from freedom of information laws and no person in government should seek to circumvent those laws.
Accessing government information and attending deliberative meetings should simply be viewed as democracy in action and not as an adversarial relationship between the governing and the governed.
Access laws are not media laws.
Every person should have free and open access.
Government secrecy that goes beyond national security is fundamentally wrong.
So, records custodians at City Hall, the county courthouse or the State Capitol, or with the public school system, must not bristle when a person asks for public records. The records requestors are simply asking for a copy of what belongs to them already.
Records requestors should not create an unnecessarily hostile relationship when making requests.
A records request and fulfillment should be a basic – and ordinary – transaction between government and the public it serves.
City council, county commission, the board of education, the General Assembly and its committees should not balk at the public’s right to attend meetings and should not look for every excuse to retreat into an executive session or closed-door meeting.
Attending meetings, sitting in on deliberations and understanding not only what decisions are reached but how those decisions are reached are all things which are simply basic American rights, fundamental to living in an open and free society.
In our politically charged, polarized, vitriolic climate, there is very little that conservatives and progressives can agree on.
The public’s right to know is one thing that everyone, both in and out of government, both left- and right-leaning, and at the local, state and federal levels, should agree on.
We are the government.
The government is us. It is, therefore, everyone’s fundamental right to know what government is, and is not, doing.
Zachary can be reached at jzachary@ cnhi.com or his blog, transparencyprojectofgeorgia.com
The right to know is not only an American right; it is fundamentally right.
Jim Zachary
Intersection art funding unique — from general fund
In the next month or so, you will begin to see beautiful art painted on five intersections in Old Town.
These paintings serve as “placemaking,” or art that helps to identify the personality of this creative space.
The appearance of this art on the roads may cause you to wonder why the city would spend its resources on painting streets, when streets in your neighborhoods are in need of repair or replacement.
In the next month, in Old Town, five intersections will become public art locations. The intersection pavement at the key entry points to Old Town will be adorned with locally inspired and locally created custom painted art.
This public art project is unique in that funding comes from Peoria’s general fund.
However, for a long time the city has had a funding mechanism in place, ensuring our city will continue to be blessed with beautiful creations for years to come.
Nearly four decades ago, Peoria city leaders approved an ordinance that provided for dedicated funding to support public art. Art that exists for passers-by to see without admission – in spaces where people congregate, do business, and travel – is an important component of vibrant communities. The process by which city council prescribed the funding for these projects was nothing short of visionary.
The municipal arts fund serves to hold allocations for city expenditures for public art that is derived from 1 percent of the projected cost of all capital improvement projects paid for in whole or in part by the city. Capital improvement projects can generally
be described as structures, parks, utility components, streets and sidewalks. The spending of the arts fund is recommended by the seven-member Peoria Arts Commission. Just as any city board or commission, the arts commission includes local residents and practitioners who volunteer their time to serve the community.
Spending of arts funding, as stated in the ordinance, may only be used for specific purposes. The funds may be used for art planning and the related professional services. Funds may be used for documented artist design and expenses related to those designs, maintenance of the public art collections, as well as the facilities where art is contained may be funded by municipal art funds. Grants to third parties for arts and cultural services may also be funded.
That is the limit of how art funding may be expended. It may not be used to fund new buses, new roads or other city services or programs. Arts funding, by law, can only be used for the arts. And thank
goodness we have those art funds. This year we most proudly applied art funds in several prominent locations. If you have crossed through the intersection at Lake Pleasant Parkway and Happy Valley Road, you probably have seen the Blooming Spire. Jutting noticeably upwards above building height, when illuminated at night, the Blooming Spire is a unique and warm welcome to Peoria.
For all the past 40-plus years, Peoria has stood out among many Valley communities for its quality of public art. From framed art in the libraries, monuments in neighborhood parks, live performance by youth in local theaters and music in neighborhood parks, residents and visitors are surrounded by art in Peoria. As our community continues to develop into full-grown adulthood, you can be sure public art will be a critical part of that development.
Editor’s note: Vicki Hunt represents the Acacia District on the Peoria City Council.
2019 spring training
CoMMeNTArY
Mayor Pro Tem
Vicki Hunt
Public Safety
Peoria woman arrested on DUI
BY DARRELL JACKSON PeoriaTimes Staff Writer
A Peoria woman was arrested and is facing misdemeanor and felony charges after police arrested her for driving into oncoming traffic with her four children in the backseat.
Joni Laughlin, 61 of Peoria, was arrested on suspicion of DUI in the parking lot of the Safeway near El Mirage Road and Vistancia Boulevard February 23.
Officers were called to the Safeway on reports of a wrong-way driver on the road in front of the store. The person who called 911 said she followed the suspect’s vehicle into the Safeway parking lot.
Police said the caller blocked Laughlin’s car and ran to the widow where she told officers, “the driver looked heavily impaired in the driver’s seat,” and that
“four children were in the back seats screaming and crying.”
When officers arrived, they said they smelled alcohol on Laughlin’s breath.
“While asking the defendant questions, she had a blank stare, was very
confused, and did not know where she was,” said Peoria Police Department spokesman Brandon Sheffert.
“The defendant stated she was at rehab, then stated she was at Park West shopping center near the 101 and Northern. The defendant said she was driving home with her four kids.”
Officers tried to conduct a standard field sobriety test but said, “She was unable to understand the instructions to even get into the test-taking stance.”
The arresting officer said Laughlin repeatedly asked officers to remove the children from the vehicle, all of whom are 15 or younger.
“Due to her high intoxication level, the defendant did not realize the children had been removed from the vehicle
HoMICIDe froM 1
prior to her and were standing not more than 25 feet behind us with the family friend,” Sheffert said the officer wrote in the arrest report.
Police said a preliminary breath test put her blood alcohol concentration at 0.254 percent, which is more than three times the legal definition of impairment (0.08 percent).
Police said the children were released to a family friend who is caring for the children because their father is out of town.
Because there were children in the vehicle, Laughlin is facing four counts of aggravated DUI, among other charges and at her initial court appearance, bond was set at $2,500, which she was unable to post.
The Peoria Police Department was contacted by a concerned family member who was unable to locate or contact their adult son on February 13. On February 25, the officer who had taken the original report received information about possible locations of the missing man, police spokesman Brandon Sheffert said.
During the officer’s follow-up investigation, he learned the man may have overdosed weeks prior and his body been dumped in a desert area, Sheffert said. The officer notified the police department’s Major Crimes Unit detectives to assist with the case.
Detectives interviewed several people who knew the victim, and learned he was at Nowak’s house, where the two of them were using heroin.
Sheffert said although Nowak noticed the victim passed out and became unresponsive, he failed to summon medical help. In fact, police said, they had previously responded to the residence on the 7400 block of West Carol Avenue on February 9 after someone outside of the residence reported a possible overdose.
Police said when officers arrived at the Carol Avenue address, they spoke with Nowak, who told them he did not know anyone by the victim’s name and that everyone was fine. Reportedly, however, the victim’s body was in his room.
At approximately 2:40 p.m. on February 26, less than 24 hours after officers learned the victim may have died, police said officers were able to locate the body of a man believed to be the victim on the side of Vicksburg Road, about six miles south of Interstate 10 in La Paz County.
At approximately 3:15 p.m., Nowak was arrested. In addition to his other admissions, police said he also admitted to lying to officers and paramedics when they had responded to his home, and that the victim was inside the residence.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to call 623-773-8311.
Joni laughlin was arrested for dui (Photo courtesy Peoria Police Department).
Zachary nowak, 29, has been charged with negligent homicide and abandonment of a dead body. (Photo courtesy Peoria Police Department)
Vet-themed business networking and career event returns to Valley
BY CAROLYN DRYER Peoria Times Editor
BestCompaniesAZ is hosting its fifth annual Vet Talks: Business Networking and Career Event from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 7, at University of Phoenix, 1625 W. Fountainhead Parkway, Tempe. The event features more than 30 Valley military-friendly companies that are committed to hiring veterans.
The “Vet Talks” portion of the event, modeled after “TED Talks,” features presentations by different military professionals who have transitioned into civilian life, with some of Arizona’s top companies, including GoDaddy and Freedom Financial Network.
The main events, however, are
the veteran interactions with Valley employers, business leaders, acquisition teams and military resource organizations.
Denise Gredler, founder and CEO of BestCompaniesAZ, launched the company in 2004 and works with top Valley companies, such as GoDaddy, Charles Schwab and USAA, to implement military-friendly and veteran-committed workplace initiatives.
“About five years ago, I was approached by Arizona State University and was asked if I’d be interested in creating this program, ‘Birdies for the Brave,’ a PGA Foundation nonprofit,” she said. “The first year we were approached, to get veteran-committed companies, we were at the first day of Waste Management Open.
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“That was my very first experience with a veteran group. It was a truly eye-opening experience. I learned so much about leadership talent coming out of the military. They had difficulty in transition. So, that’s really how it got started. I made connections
with companies, met a lot of veteran groups, companies like Charles Schwab that create, making it easier to translate from a military to a business resume.”
Gredler said the first couple years, she held a couple workshops, veteran
brenda smull was a member of the u s Army before she transitioned to civilian life. (Submitted photo)
and
programs, and every year, the companies that were committed to hiring veterans wanted her to continue. Ranging from finance to technology and call centers to companies such as Charles Schwab, Farmers, GoDaddy, USAA, Vanguard and Rings, there were veteran resource groups in all of them, helping veterans create a career path with corporate companies.
A lot has happened in the past five years. When Gredler’s veteran employment events began, the unemployment rate was high overall. The rate has gone down since then, but remains higher in the Valley, with 5.2 percent compared to the national average of 3.7 percent. In that time, Gredler has helped veteran-friendly companies develop initiatives, such as military spouse telecommuting, veteran resource groups, management training and career development programs and veteran mentorships, which helps pave the way for the future of veteran employment and job satisfaction.
Speakers at the “Vets Talk” part
of the event include Brenda Smull, managing director at Charles Schwab in Phoenix. Smull has worked for Schwab for six years. In the late 1980s, she was in the Army and stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, but deployed to Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
“I started out organized; it makes me more so,” Smull said. “You have to be more disciplined. It’s life or death.”
Smull just started a new job two weeks ago in the data center operations, where she is managing director of incident management.
“When things break, we have to go. We’ve been doing great,” she said.
Directing the conversation toward military transition to the corporate world, Smull said, “It’s hard for people to translate what they did in the military. I went to a recruiter in the early ‘90s. I was in pharmaceutical sales. The next job was through army friends, in Walmart in Arkansas. It’s like the job here at Schwab, like I did in the military.”
When she was in the military,
women were not allowed in combat.
So, she helped set up the cellular program on the battlefield.
“We were in the front lines, so we set up the network and made sure it worked,” Smull said. “That’s what we do now – network at Schwab, very similar.”
Smull said she is part of the Military Veterans Network (MVN) at Schwab.
“More than 500 people are in it in Phoenix and Denver,” she said. “We help each other volunteering and recruiting. We support helping Hiring Our Heroes, a nationwide program. Another program is Military Spouse Employment, a Department of Defense program that helps spouses of military people get jobs.”
Smull said Charles Schwab also does training for veterans inside and out on financial literacy.
She said, “A lot of soldiers and military people don’t do well on their financials at home.”
Smull is a writer as well and maintains a blog, BrendaSmull.com.
She is also active in American Legion Post 64 in Ahwatukee. Smull recommends transitioning veterans joining veteran service organizations, which can help a lot, and then meet other nonprofits and get a job.
denise gredler is founder and Ceo of bestCompaniesAZ, which will host the veteran-centric event on March 7. (Submitted photo)
and civilian training programs, and every year, the companies that were committed to hiring veterans wanted her to continue. Ranging from finance to technology and call centers to companies such as Charles Schwab, Farmers, GoDaddy, USAA, Vanguard and Rings, there were veteran resource groups in all of them, helping veterans create a career path with corporate companies.
A lot has happened in the past five years. When Gredler’s veteran employment events began, the unemployment rate was high overall. The rate has gone down since then, but remains higher in the Valley, with 5.2 percent compared to the national average of 3.7 percent. In that time, Gredler has helped veteran-friendly companies develop initiatives, such as military spouse telecommuting, veteran resource groups, management training and career development programs and veteran mentorships, which helps pave the way for the fu-
ture of veteran employment and job satisfaction.
Speakers at the “Vets Talk” part of the event include Brenda Smull, managing director at Charles Schwab in Phoenix. Smull has worked for Schwab for six years. In the late 1980s, she was in the Army and stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, but deployed to Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
“I started out organized; it make me more so,” Smull said. “You have to be more disciplined. It’s life or death.”
Smull just started a new job two weeks ago in the data center operations, where she is managing director of incident management.
“When things break, we have to go. We’ve been doing great,” she said.
Directing the conversation toward military transition to the corporate world, Smull said, “It’s hard for people to translate what they did in the military. I went to a recruiter in the early ‘90s. I was in pharmaceutical sales. The next job was through army friends, in Walmart in Arkansas. It’s
brenda smull speaks to a group during a veteran recruiting event. (Submitted photo)
AZ Supreme Court rules rental-car tax constitutional
BY DARRELL JACKSON PeoriaTimes Staff Writer
The Maricopa County rental-car tax that helped fund State Farm Stadium, Camelback Ranch and other sports facilities was ruled constitutional by the Arizona Supreme Court February 25.
The key funding for sports stadiums in the Valley took a hit in the courts Aug. 12, 2018 when Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten ruled the state must refund a rental-car tax that was declared unconstitutional last year.
“Glendale is extremely pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision, Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps said. “An adverse decision would have severely and significantly impacted the city’s financial position.”
This new ruling reverses that decision and allows the rental car tax to continue to fund sports facilities.
“The car rental surcharge was not enacted with a discriminatory intent, as that term is used in Commerce Clause jurisprudence,” the justices said in the majority opinion. “In sum, the voters did not enact the car rental surcharge with a discriminatory intent because they did not intend to treat in-state and out-of-state economic interests differently.”
Justice Clint Bolick agreed with the Supreme Court’s majority on the federal law but dissented in part regarding state law.
Since 2001, AZSTA has contributed and committed to contribute about $218.4 million of tourism and car rental surcharge revenues to either build new spring training facilities or renovate existing facilities throughout the county. Rental-car taxes in Maricopa County are among the highest in the nation.
Peoria was also quick to respond to the ruling.
“The City of Peoria is delighted that the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled (in Saban Rent-a-Car v. Arizona) that the car-rental surcharge does not violate state or federal law,” said Thomas Adkins, intergovernmental affairs director.
“The revenue Peoria receives from the surcharge through the AZSTA is critical to funding Spring Training facilities like the Peoria Sports Complex.
AZSTA funding helps pay for the bonds issued to renovate the Peoria Sports Complex and other similar capital
costs.”
Saban Rent-a-Car rents vehicles in Maricopa County and in 2009, was seeking a refund on the rental charge and sued Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) in tax court seeking the refund.
Saban argued that the surcharge violated the dormant commerce clause and the antidiversion provision, but the court ruled against their claims.
“The statute does not violate the dormant commerce clause, as presently construed by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Bolick wrote. “The court has created a loophole that allows the legislature and those seeking its favor to divert funding from highways to other purposes, without the pesky inconvenience of constitutional amendment.”
The decision is being hailed as a huge victory for the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority and the Arizona Department of Revenue against rental-car companies that fought the tax or surcharge.
Rental car companies had been arguing that the levy on rental cars had violated the state Constitution because the money raised didn’t fund highway projects, which the court said was not true.
An audit of AZSTA reported it had received more than $122 million in revenues from the car tax since its inception through June 2014 and AZSTA has said it is appealing.
“First, the city may have been required to repay its share of car rental tax that had already been collected and then distributed to the city,” Phelps said. “Second, it potentially would have reduced future payments that were promised to the city back when
Camelback Ranch-Glendale was built. It has been estimated that the negative impact could have topped $90 million.”
The tax, approved by Maricopa County voters in 2000 and designed to raise more than $1 billion over 30 years, led to the construction of State Farm Stadium (previously University of Phoenix
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Stadium).
“We are pleased the court has affirmed that voters in Maricopa County had full legal authority to help fund State Farm Stadium, tourism promotion, Cactus League facilities and youth and amateur sports grants when they passed Proposition 302,” said Scarlett Spring, Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority board chairwoman. “The decision recognizes that these facilities benefit both Arizona residents and out-of-state visitors.”
The funds were from a 3.25 percent rental-car sales tax and 1 percent hotel bed tax to make debt payments on what is now State Farm Stadium. All money also funded the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, as well as paid for Cactus League stadiums.
City spokespeople were in full support of the ruling.
“Tourism will always be a huge economic engine for Arizona and Peoria. The City is grateful that the Court has made such a strong and positive ruling that both promotes and protects our economy,” Adkins said.
Courts ruled that rental-car fees, which funded sports stadiums throughout the West Valley including state Farm stadium, was constitutional and could continue.
(Photo by Darrell Jackson)
Christian Brothers Automotive celebrates one-year anniversary
BY CAROLYN DRYER Peoria Times Editor
It’s a long way from Romania to Arizona, but Cal Pascanu found a way to not only make a living in the automotive industry, but also meet his wife, Lenka, an immigrant from the Czech Republic. The couple now owns Christian Automotive on 75th Avenue, just south of Thunderbird Road. They celebrated their first anniversary in business on March 5.
Pascanu’s parents moved the family from Romania to Michigan in 1997. Pascanu began working at a dealership, where he learned the art of auto mechanics, and realized he wanted to someday own his own automotive repair shop. He, Lenka and their two sons moved to the area a couple years ago when they purchased a Christian
Brothers franchise. Construction was completed January 1, 2018, and the store opened March 5, 2018.
Pascanu explained why the couple decided on the faith-based business.
“People do hold us to different standards,” he said.
While that is a heavy responsibility, Pascanu admitted, it can be rewarding in other ways.
“I have a lot of customers, a lot share personal things in their lives. I’ve become friends with many of them in the last year. We come together oftentimes helping others.”
time with them, helps them study and takes them to sports events.
“Moms play such a crucial part in a child’s life,” Pascanu said. “Those first 12 or 13 years of their lives set the course of their life. Moms sacrifice twice as much as us guys.”
Service to others is important to Pascanu, and in October, he and his family took part in their first National Service Day.
“We got all our vendors involved,” he said. “We worked with churches and local charities. We learned a lot.”
with premium, quality parts. That allows him to offer a two-year/24,000mile warranty on major work.
“It’s not so much how much they (customers) spend; it’s if they can depend on it,” Pascanu said. “Peace of mind is the biggest thing customers care about.”
Pascanu is proud of his employees. He calls them “really good people.”
The help is focused mainly on single moms.
Pascanu said, “I look around. What if I weren’t to be around anymore? My wife would have to work more.”
He said his wife takes their sons to school, and after school spends free
A month-long celebration of the store’s first anniversary is planned. First, Christian Brothers Automotive is giving a free oil change – up to $50 – to the first 100 single mothers, veterans, teachers, police officers, firefighters and first responders between now and March 31. The offer is available by online appointment only. When applying, under the comments section, those who schedule are asked to write what and who they are; whether retired or active, the offer is the same.
Pascanu said he only uses BG products, “a more expensive product but the best.”
He said the partnership with vendors means they only provide his business
All but one are ASE master certified. That one is a young mechanic who is taking the three-year apprentice program, which consists of online Christian Brothers classes.
“Our ideal technician is one we grow within,” Pascanu said. “I’ve been very blessed with people.”
He is adding another master-certified technician, which means he will have four who are master certified and one who is in training.
His service manager, Craig Coleman, and shop foreman, Zeke Quema, have more than 30 years of experience.
“Zeke has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen,” Pascanu said. “I think the biggest challenge is finding the biggest heart and the skills. I’ve been very blessed.”
Pascanu said he is at the shop from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. five days a week.
“I take pride in what I do,” he said. “My wife and kids, we carry Christ’s name on the
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“We want to be a light in people’s lives,” he continued.
Pascanu said Christian Brothers has a big vision for the Phoenix area, with six stores in the Valley. He said he believes his job is to provide his employees a better place than they were before and provide good service for customers.
“That’s my goal,” he said.
When it was past the 6 p.m. closing time, he was asked why he was not ready to go home.
Pascanu said, “I don’t leave Zeke behind.”
Zeke was working on a car, Pascanu said, and would not leave until the work was done and the car’s owner could take it home because she needed it.
Christian Brothers Automotive is at 13675 N. 75th Avenue. For more information, visit cbac.com/peoriathunderbird or call 623-302-7255.
Both accounts are FDIC-insured up to the maximum allowable limit. Platinum Savings offer available in AZ, NM and NV. Fixed Rate CD offer available in AL, AZ, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, MD, NJ, NM, NV, NY, PA, SC and VA. Portfolio by Wells Fargo® customers are eligible to receive an additional interest rate bonus on these accounts.3
1. To qualify for this offer, you must have a new or existing Platinum Savings account and enroll the account in this offer between 01/21/2019 and 03/22/2019. This offer is subject to change at any time, without notice. This offer is available only to Platinum Savings customers in the following states: AZ, NM and NV. In order to earn the Special Interest Rate of 2.08% (Special Rate), you must deposit $25,000 in new money (from sources outside of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., or its affiliates) to the enrolled savings account and maintain a minimum daily account balance of $25,000 throughout the term of this offer. The corresponding Annual Percentage Yield (APY) for this offer is 2.10%. The Special Rate will be applied to the enrolled savings account for a period of 12 months, starting on the date the account is enrolled in the offer. However, for any day during that 12 month period that the daily account balance is less than the $25,000 minimum, the Special Rate will not apply and the interest rate will revert to the standard interest rate applicable to your Platinum Savings account. As of 12/10/2018, the standard interest rate and APY for a Platinum Savings account in AZ and NV with an account balance of $0.01 to $249,999.99 is 0.01% (0.01% APY) and with an account balance of $250,000 and above is 0.05% (0.05% APY) and for a Platinum Savings account in NM with an account balance of $0.01 and above is 0.01% (0.01% APY). Each tier shown reflects the current minimum daily collected balance required to obtain the applicable APY. Interest is compounded daily and paid monthly. The amount of interest earned is based on the daily collected balances in the account. Upon the expiration of the 12 month promotional period, standard interest rates apply. Minimum to open a Platinum Savings account is $25. A monthly service fee of $12 applies in any month the account falls below a $3,500 minimum daily balance. Fees may reduce earnings. Interest rates are variable and subject to change without notice. Wells Fargo may limit the amount you deposit to a Platinum Savings account to an aggregate of $1 million. Offer not available to Private Banking, Wealth, Business Banking, or Wholesale customers. 2. Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is effective for accounts opened between 01/21/2019 and 03/22/2019. The
Cal pascanu stands in the middle of the work area at Christian brothers Automotive on 75th Avenue south of Thunderbird Road, which is celebrating its first anniversary at its peoria location. (Photo by Carolyn Dryer)
Roadwork underway at 103rd Avenue
BY CAROLYN DRYER
Residents between Olive and North-
ern avenues are watching the widening of their main connection at 103rd Avenue.
Comments from residents who at-
tended an open house last year registered skepticism about the road improvements ever taking place. Work on the roadway started in early November.
Improvements include concrete curbs, gutters, sidewalks, waterline work, road subgrades and asphalt pavement to provide four lanes, landscaped medians, pedestrian facilities and drain-
age improvements.
Contractor crews will first construct the west half of the roadway, with 103rd Avenue remaining open for travel. Lane restrictions will be in place, such as traffic being shifted to the east side of the road.
Project completion is scheduled for September 2019.
March 18 to 24
to Sunday, March 24.
Finding those leaks will save valuable water and money. For more information, visit peoriaaz.gov/sustainability.
Peoria Times Editor
Work continues on103rd Avenue between olive and northern avenues. it is expected to be completed in september. (Photo by Carolyn Dryer)
E3 Cryo owner sees positives of cryotherapy
BY CAROLYN DRYER
Peoria Times Editor
When someone says the word “cryo,” the first words that come to mind are, “What some people do when they die.”
That is not what Tina Smith thinks. The E3 Cryo & Wellness Center owner offers mobile cryo therapy to clients –human and equine. Smith explained her path to becoming a cryo therapist at the March 1 Women4Women networking meeting, and described how her services can sometimes help stop inflammation and speed up healing after surgery.
First, she took a six-month trip to a company in France to learn about cryo stimulation wellness on horses, and then came back to the U.S. She also went to Slovakia, where she learned how to assemble a cryo machine.
Though her main office is at 35th Avenue and Thunderbird Road, Smith and her staff travel all over the West Valley.
“We’re super passionate to help people, find what you need,” Smith said.
However, people cannot just walk into the facility and seek treatment. Clients must get a diagnosis and prescription from a physician.
“How we respond is very individual. We give an individual the power to decide how to take care of their health themselves,” she said. “Enlighten and empower.”
E3 Cryo offers whole body cryotherapy, cryostimulation in small and large areas, infrared sauna with chromotherapy, basic cryofacial, ultimate cryofacial, celluma light therapy, and normatec compression therapy.
Smith said compression therapy involves 750 pounds of pressure with cold air, stimulating nerves under the dermis. This therapy is not used on individuals with high blood pressure, Smith noted.
Clients can also receive vitamin shots. E3 Cryo does nutrigenomic testing to determine if the cryo therapy can
help with aging and weight loss, as well as athletic performance.
Smith talked about the seven ways an individual’s DNA affects their health and wellness, how it influences your ability to lose weight, how it affects your athletic performance and how it affects how you age.
E3 Cryo offers membership packages, and those who purchase them can mix and match various cryo treatments.
The first cryo treatment is $30 or, with a plan, it’s $39 a month. Smith said specialty memberships are also available.
She reminded those at the networking meeting, “We don’t diagnose. It’s up to clients to decide what kind of treatment they need or want.”
To learn more about E3 Cryo, visit e3cryo.com or contact Smith at info@ e3cryo.com. She can also be reached by phone at 480-300-1575.
Tina smith explains the benefits cryotherapy during her presentation March 1 at the Women4Women networking meeting.(Photo by Carolyn Dryer)
West Valley Genealogical Society meets March 11
BY PEORIA TIMES STAFF
Kim Harrison will be the featured speaker at the West Valley Genealogical Society & Library’s March 11 monthly meeting. Her topic will be “Library Research: Have a Successful Game Plan.”
Harrison has been doing genealogy since 1974, and in 1998 was fortunate to turn her passion into her vocation. She has worked in the library community by representing some of the big online providers of information (Gale, Otherdays.com, ProQuest, NewsBank and Ancestry) before relocating her consultant business to Arizona.
Her genealogy membership since the 1970s has been NGS and Ohio Genealogical Society, as well as being past president of the Michigan Genealogical Council and founding member of the Grand River Trails Chapter of the DAR (Michigan). She currently serves as president of
the Arizona Genealogical Advisory Board.
During the 1980s, she lobbied the National Archives to stop the destruction of the Railroad Pension Application files. Later, she wrote a grant for the preservation of the investigation into the Sultana Disaster, which is now available for free on Fold3.
Her most interesting ancestor was Lot Little, and she was able to join the DAR under his service. Little was a freed slave from New Hampshire.
The Society’s meeting, followed by the speaker, will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, March 11, at the First Presbyterian Church, 12225 N. 103rd Avenue, Sun City.
The meeting is free and open to the public. Individuals interested in pursuing or furthering a family history is welcome and encouraged to take along a friend.
To learn more about the society, visit www.azwvgs.org or call 623933-4945.
General & Preventative Dentistry
Implant & Reconstructive Dentistry
Dentures
genealogy expert,Kim Harrison, is guest speaker March11 at the West Valley genealogical society meeting.
PeoriaProgress PeoriaProgress
Peoria Chamber Annual Golf Classic Winners
Asset Preservation Tax & Retirement, and Hole in One sponsors, Liberty Buick GMC and Cruise Planners.
Chamber to recognize Peoria military enlistees
The Peoria Chamber of Commerce will begin a new program to recognize all students from Peoria high schools who have chosen to enlist in the military directly out of high school. Students enlisting in the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard will be recognized.
“This is a three-part program” explained Guy Erickson, President CEO of the Peoria Chamber, “The first part connects each of the students who are accepted into the program with a veteran mentor who will meet with the student to better prepare them for what they can expect in the weeks and months to come following their shipping out. All students in the program from all branches will be paired with a mentor. One student from each branch will selected for a monetary award to be used for a going-away party for their friends and family prior to their leaving.”
Erickson continued, “The second phase of the program will assist the veterans in the program upon their leaving
the military having served a minimum of six months continuous service and receiving an Honorable Discharge to help them reacclimate into civilian life. If they live in Peoria and wish to go to college, they will be awarded funds to help pay for tuition costs. If they wish to open a business in Peoria, the veteran mentors who are business owners themselves will work with the veteran to make sure their new business starts off in the right direction for targeting success. Those individuals will also receive financial assistance to help them offset some of the start-up costs for their new venture.”
“The third phase is to hold a large barbecue event to generate sufficient funds to create an endowment fund that will continue year after year to support what the Chamber hopes will become a legacy program for the Chamber” Erickson said.
The inaugural event, known as the “Peoria Hometown Heroes BBQ Festival” will take place this year from 12 See eNLISTeeS oN 4
1st place winners from Ryno Chiropractic
019 Dinner at the Diamond
Monday, March 11
4 to 9 p.m.
Peoria Sports Complex 16101 N. 83rd Avenue Peoria, AZ 85382
Connecting the Chamber & Community
Tuesday, March 12
5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Haymaker Restaurant 24762 N. Lake Pleasant Pkwy.
Calendar of Events
March Peoria Chamber Women 4 Women meeting Friday, March 15
8:15 to 9:30 a.m.
Peoria Chamber of Commerce
8385 W. Mariners Way Ste 3 Peoria, AZ 85382
March - Chamber member orientation Monday, March 18
3 to 4:30 p.m.
Peoria Chamber of Commerce
8385 W. Mariners Way, Ste 3 Peoria, AZ 85382
Peoria Chamber Ambassador Monthly Meeting Monday, March 18
4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Peoria Chamber of Commerce
8385 W. Mariners Way, Ste 3 Peoria, AZ 85382
March - Hot Topics & Lunch Wednesday, March 27
12 to 1 p.m.
Peoria Chamber of Commerce
8385 W. Mariners Wa, Ste 3 Peoria, AZ 85382
March Chamber Mixer
Thursday, March 28
5 to 8 p.m.
Winery 101
9299 W. Olive Ave., #101 Peoria, AZ 85345
Mike boucos from Health e-deals cuts the ribbon at the Chamber welcoming ceremony.
brian lambeth of beach House Volleyball welcomes Chamber members to their Ribbon Cutting at 16681 n 84th Ave. #130 peoria 85382
Right, Champs Family Automotive draws a big crowd for their Ribbon Cutting and grand opening at their new facility located at 17141 n. dysart Road in surprise.
A.P.E.S.
Brian Garrison
8550 N. 91st Ave., #64
Peoria, AZ 85345
brian@go4apes.com
Advantage Graphics Plus LLC
Tamara Martinez
8550 N. 92nd Ave., Ste 61 Peoria, AZ 85345 advantagegraphicsplus@gmail.com
BNI Grand Networkers
Brian Garrison
Member RENEWALS
Sam’s Club Savers
State Trailer RV & Outdoor Supply
The Pritchard Group
Thryv
Advertising discounts with the Peoria Times Chamber members are entitled to discounted advertising rates in the Peoria Progress. Contact Connie Williams, Advertising Sales, Peoria Times, at 623-847-4601.
New Members
8550 N. 91st Ave., #64
Peoria, AZ 85345 brian@go4apes.com
Charity Benefits Unlimited
Scott Nickels PO Box 71511 Phoenix, AZ 85050 scott@cbuauctions.com
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine
Bar
Chase Harland
9712 W. Northern Ave. Peoria, AZ 85345
peoria@flemingssteakhouse.com
Martin Margetis Family Dentistry
Sandy Margetis 13624 N. 99th Ave. Sun City, AZ 85351 drmargetis@hotmail.com
Modern Round
Traci Thompson 8320 W. Mariners Way Peoria, AZ 85382
tthompson@modernround.com
The Montecito Senior Living
Shanna Black 17271 N. 87th Ave. Peoria, AZ 85382 sblack@themontecitoseniorliving.com
Wyman Plumbing & Mechanical
Tamara Wyman 42302 W. Vision Way Ste 108 Anthem, AZ 85086 office@wyman-services.com
eNLISTeeS froM 1
The Peoria Chamber of Commerce will begin a new program to recognize all students from Peoria high schools who have chosen to enlist in the military directly out of high school. Students enlisting in the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard will be recognized.
“This is a three-part program” explained Guy Erickson, President CEO of the Peoria Chamber, “The first part
connects each of the students who are accepted into the program with a veteran mentor who will meet with the student to better prepare them for what they can expect in the weeks and months to come following their shipping out. All students in the program from all branches will be paired with a mentor. One student from each branch will selected for a monetary award to be used for a going-away party for their friends and family prior to their leaving.”
Erickson continued, “The second phase of the program will assist the vet-
Member Spotlight
The Montecito is a dynamic community with numerous amenities where today’s seniors flourish. It is situated on approximately 14 landscaped acres featuring two swimming pools and Jacuzzis, shuffleboard, bocce ball, a putting green, green grass and several walking paths. In addition, a salon, library, theater, and non-denominational chapel add to the community.
The Montecito offers independent living, assisted living and memory care, all with enriching and engaging activities to help individuals live their lives to the fullest.
Independent Living – Offers 107 spacious villa and casita patio-home style living. Each apartment home is equipped with a full kitchen, washer and dryer. Dine in the bistro or enjoy group activities in the villa recreation center. Bi-weekly housekeeping included.
Assisted Living – The main building features 81 assisted-living apartment homes. Compassionate and well-trained staff are available for 24-hour assistance with the personalized care needs for
each individual resident.
Memory Care – Person-centered care is the cornerstone of The Montecito’s memory care program. The Montecito is the only community in the state to offer the national award-winning BBET (Behavioral Based Ergonomics Therapy) program, yielding excellent results in reducing anxiety and falls, and creating engagement opportunities for every resident regardless of care level. Residents and families have many choices when it comes to senior living. Call or stop by any time to see why The Montecito should be your top choice in the West Valley.
The Montecito Senior Living is at 17271 N. 87th Avenue in Peoria.
guest speaker della brandenburger of Comfort inn suites talks about what makes her company special at the February 1 Women4Women networking breakfast.
guest speaker Yanick Hicks, Coach and trainer, shares tips on leadership at the February 5 breakfast.
March concerts continue at Birt’s Bistro
BY PEORIA TIMES STAFF
Enjoy live music from two popular local bands this weekend at Birt’s Bistro.
Friday, March 8, ushers in the return of the 18-piece Encore Big Band, which plays music from the 1940s through the 1980s. Cover charge is $5.
Saturday, March 9, Birt’s Bistro welcomes back All In Cash with a free concert highlighting the band’s tribute to Johnny Cash, as well as a lineup of
favorite country songs.
Birt’s Bistro is on the main Benevilla campus at the Hellen & John M. Jacobs Independence Plaza, 16752 N. Greasewood Street in Surprise.
Birt’s Bistro will feature its happyhour promotions during concerts with specials on appetizers, food, wine and beers. Reservations are not accepted, so early arrival is recommended.
Every purchase at Birt’s Bistro and Books helps to fund Benevilla’s programs and services. Birt’s also has a private dining room, full catering menu
and offers the entire facility for dining and private catered events.
For more information on services,
volunteer opportunities, to take a tour or make a donation to Benevilla, call 623-584-4999 or visit benevilla.org.
International artists bring music to ABT
BY PEORIA TIMES STAFF
International Artists for Culture and Creative Therapy (I ACCT!) — Global Project partnered with the Goethe-Institut to be a part of the “Wunderbar Together — Germany and US” friendship initiative. Stadtkapelle Duelmen (Duelmen, Germany) band and orchestra members will be guests and friendship representatives from Germany, and will entertain at an event in Peoria next month.
“Most of the musicians have never seen a desert locale other than on television and they are considering this visit to Phoenix a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Regina Draper, director of IACCT!, said.
Draper is a retired U.S. Army Colonel, who spent 31 years in the military. Her hometown of record is Peoria.
The artists will be performing at 4:45 p.m. Saturday, April 6 in the Encore Room at Arizona Broadway Theatre, 7701 W. Paradise Lane.
Draper said the goal is to raise money for scholarships that will be given to members of high-risk careers, such as the military, firefighters, first responders and law enforcement access to and benefits of creative arts therapy instruction and events.
“As a disabled military veteran, I know how beneficial creative arts
therapy was to me and I want to share the goodness,” Draper said.
Reserved tickets are $40 for the general public. It includes dinner and a show. A 50-percent discount is offered for military veterans, fire -
fighters, first responders and law enforcement. For ADA seating, call the box office at 623-776-8400.
The “Wunderbar Together” initiative is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, implemented by the Goethe-Institut and supported by the Federation of German Industries (BDI). To learn more about IACCT!, visit iaforct.org. To learn more about Wunderbar Together, visit wunderbartogether.org.
New name
Same commitment
encore big band entertains Friday, March 8, at birt’s bistro.(Submitted photo)
Packages from Home trying to overcome theft of vehicle
BY DARRELL JACKSON PeoriaTimes Staff Writer
Packages from Home has been helping give soldiers around the world a little love by sending care packages around the world for nearly 15 years, but the nonprofit recently had a setback.
“We were at an event serving both deployed troops and veterans in San Diego and when we returned home, our truck had been stolen,” said Sarah Morrison, Packages from Home director of fundraising and communications.
“It wasn’t in the best condition, a 2005 Chevy truck, but it was ours and we depended on that vehicle for pickups and deliveries of packages to the post office.”
Packages from Home started in Glendale when Kathleen Lewis’ son, Christian, signed up for service after September 11, 2001. Lewis is Morrison’s aunt.
“They were watching September 11
when the world changed and Christian decided that day to enlist in the Army,” Morrison said.
“He was first deployed to Iraq in 2004 and that was when Kathleen started sending packages from her garage.”
When Lewis was in Iraq, he realized he was missing basic items that he took for granted. He asked Lewis to send some.
“He quickly noticed he was going through the items quickly because he was sharing things with his fellow soldiers and he asked his mom is she could send them some items,” Morrison said.
“The first request were silly like Pop Tarts and snacks to hygiene products.”
Lewis was the only soldier receiving such care packages. Morrison said it wasn’t because the soldiers didn’t have loved ones. It is costly to mail items internationally.
“Costs for that have increased 204 percent since we started this in 2004
sarah Morrison, packages from Home director of fundraising and communications, shows off letters from appreciative service members who received packages. (Photo by Darrell Jackson)
and it is tough to sustain this type of mission,” she said. “Unfortunately I think that is why care packages groups do not exist anymore.
Lewis put care packages together in her garage with approximately eight neighbors for Lewis’ platoon. Word spread and Packages from Home was born.
Volunteering to help
Packages from Home has only five employees and Morrison said the group depends on 90 percent volunteers and donations to succeed.
“We sent over 8,600 care packages last year, which is a record number for us,” Morrison said. “We are so grateful for all the volunteers and donations, but we feel we are not doing enough.”
Morrison said there are 230,000 service members overseas and that, while she is proud of the 8,600 care packages, she wants to do more.
“Our goal this year is 10,000 packages sent to service members worldwide and we need the public’s help to reach that goal,” Morrison said.
While the care packages are the main goal of the organization, they volunteer at city, state and national events to aid soldiers and veterans.
Since 2001, the Maricopa County StandDown event, coordinated by the Arizona Housing Coalition’s Arizona Housing Coalition’s Veterans StandDown Alliance, and served military veterans and their families experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Arizona.
It is one of the largest events of its kind in the country. More than 2,100 veterans were served at the 2017 event, connecting them to critical supportive services to help them gain and maintain housing stability. Packages from Home participated in January at the event, handing hygiene kits and T-shirts at the event.
See PACKAGeS oN 20
2 Free tickets for dinner & show Visit www.star-times.com and click on ad for the drawing to complete your entry form
deadline is April 8, 2019
Volunteers from Camden living apartment communities pack care packages to send to service members around the world.
(Photo by Darrell Jackson)
“We partner with a group called Military Muscle in Avondale that is military run and for every T-shirt they sell, they donate one to us for our care packages and these events,” Morrison said. “We had hundreds to hand out and the veterans that took one, their faces would light up over a T-shirt and it blew my mind the reaction to something so simple.”
Truck stolen
After traveling to San Diego to assist service members and veterans, they returned to Glendale where they found their only truck was stolen.
“We depended on that truck for picking up donations and taking packages to the post office,” Morrison said. “Now, our volunteers and employees have been using their own vehicles to do those jobs.”
The problem extends beyond deliveries. They used it to take supplies to businesses to pack and mail.
“Every time we do that, we have to rent a U-Haul and that cuts into our
postage money, which we hate doing,” Morrison said. “The value of the truck is minimal in terms, it is really what it represented for us and helped us do our work more efficiently for us. Every time now, we have to rent a U-Haul.”
She added because they are a nonprofit, any funds they have to use to
rent vehicles cuts into funds used to support service members.
“Being a nonprofit, people who are writing us $20 checks and probably can’t afford that, we are doing a disservice to them,” Morrison said.
Desert Financial Credit Union, whose employees pack twice a month, surprised them recently with a donation after hearing of the stolen vehicle.
“We were shocked that someone would take something from a nonprofit, and even more shocked when we realized insurance wouldn’t cover the amount needed to replace it,” said Aaron Morrison, Packages from Home’s operations manager. “Without a truck, we aren’t able to pick up large donations from the community or bring supplies to events. These are critical activities to our mission of getting packages to our military overseas.”
Upon learning the organization would struggle to continue with its mission without a truck, Desert Financial Credit Union decided to step
in, using their ‘Random Act of Kindness’ donation of $5,000 toward the purchase of a new vehicle.
“We were very happy, very relieved, and very humbled to receive this donation,” Morrison said. “This is something for which we are eternally grateful. When we purchase our new Packages from Home vehicle, we hope to decorate it with a Desert Financial logo for everyone to see.”
Morrison said they received insurance money, but it was not nearly enough to replace the vehicle.
“At Desert Financial, we believe that Random Acts of Kindness go a long way toward helping improve our wider community,” said Cathy Graham, senior vice president, chief marketing and strategy officer.
“It was an honor for us to be able to support this incredible organization with funds to help purchase a new truck and continue their vital work.”
When asked what she would say to the thief, she said:
“It is less about what it means to
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An example of products that packages from Home send to service members.
(Photo by Darrell Jackson)
Peoria Rotary honors busy high school students
BY CAROLYN DRYER Peoria Times Editor
March 1, Peoria Rotary Club honored Students of the Month from Peoria and Ironwood high schools. The club honors students once a month during the school year. Shane Marshall, a senior at Peoria, and Tyler Smolko, a senior at Ironwood, were recognized.
Marshall maintains a 3.99 GPA and plans to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy to major in military strategic studies and have a career in the Special Forces. He was nominated for the academy scholarship by Rep. Debbie Lesko.
Marshall is president of his school’s National Honor Society, was captain of the PHS football team, and is a member of the Calculus Club. He volunteered with the Maricopa County Animal Control and Feed My Starving Children, and participated in the Colon Cancer Awareness run. He also helped a veteran during the annual Veterans Day parade.
Peoria High School English teacher Suzy Treese, who has taught at the school for 21 years, praised Marshall’s academic and social skills.
“He leads peers in discussion groups. He is that true person who always wants to win,” Treese said. “He truly is a hard worker.”
Marshall’s shipping date for report to the academy is June 27.
Smolko maintains a 3.78 GPA and
PACKAGeS froM 20
the organization but what it means to the troops,” Morrison said. “The person who stole the vehicle, you have hurt hundreds of thousands of service members. When you steal from a nonprofit, especially one that serves the troops, you can call me names all day it doesn’t affect me, but the work we do to give support to service members, they have nothing and are risking their lives for our freedom and our country. So for me, that is the most low down, dirty person I can think of.”
For information to volunteer or donate, go to packagesfromhome.org.
plans to attend Appalachian State in North Carolina, where he will major in theater design technology.
He is a member of the band, drama and choir clubs at Ironwood. He is also an Eagle Scout. For his middle school, he built storage for instruments and or-
ganized the music library. He plays the bassoon, trombone and horn, and also sings in choir.
Band director Tim Ormsbee said of Smolko, “He’s extremely hard working and willing to help other students. It’s just an honor to be here with him.”
Smolko said, “I’m always active. I stay busy. In the fall, I play in the marching band. I also have a part-time job at Burger King.”
He takes care of the set and lighting design in Ironwood theater productions. With his choir, he sings at festivals, funerals and retirement homes. In fifth grade, he became a Scout and earned his Eagle badge a month before his freshman year of high school.
“My dad taught me to teach other kids to lead,” Smolko said. “That’s something I carried into high school. For me, theater has become the overall home.”
Last year he took a production design class, a mix of engineering and music.
He said, “At Ironwood, it’s one big family working together for a unified goal.”
Smolko is now working with other theater students on a production of “The Addams Family,” which takes the stage March 15.
Shane Marshall Peoria High School
Tyler Smolko Ironwood High School
Mayor Cathy Carlat celebrates Read Across America day with kindergarten and first-grade students at l egacy Traditional school – peoria. Coinciding with dr. seuss’s birthday, the annual nationwide event promotes reading and literacy among children and young adults. (Photo courtesy Legacy Traditional School – Peoria)
Peoria Briefs Mayor Carlat reads
“We believe in our cremation process so much, that exclusively offer the Cremation Confidence™ Guarantee.”
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If your choice is cremation, there is no other choice than Menke Funeral & Cremation Center. Call us for more information about our Cremation with Confidence™ Guarantee.
Register for spring break camp
Kids looking for something fun to do over spring break can sign up for camp that runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, March 18, to Friday, March 22.
Spring break camp provides licensed child care for $25 per day and includes breakfast (until 7:20 a.m.), morning and afternoon snacks and a scheduled field trip. Lunch is not included.
There is a $5 registration fee for children not enrolled in the AM/PM Program. The price includes scheduled field trips, site events and activities. Several on-site activities and field trips are scheduled for the break camp, such as Out of Africa, a Spring Training game at Peoria Sports Complex and stargazing for the entire family. Group games, STEM activities, arts and crafts, along with a carnival day and movie day are also included. To register, visit peoriaaz. gov/ampm.
PeoriaSnaps! City seeks amateur photographers
Peoria is looking for everyday photographers to share their love of the city through their art. Everyone has taken that beautiful sunset photo or captured the perfect moment on their phones or cameras. Here is a chance to share those photos with the community.
Use the hashtag #PeoriaSnaps and Tag Peoria when posting photos to social media and Peoria will help share the art. Follow the city on social media to see what other Peoria fans have captured. Peoria will periodically offer prizes for those who submit.
For questions, reach the city through social media on Facebook at CityofPeoriaAZ, on Instagram at Peoriaazcam or on Twitter at PeoriaAZ.
Street maintenance/closures
A comprehensive list of local road closures and lane restrictions is available at peoriaaz.gov/roadclosures.
Roll with it – life is too short
This month my wife Kathy and I celebrated our anniversary. During our anniversary dinner, we talked about our wedding and our honeymoon from years ago. We had a simple wedding in our backyard and were lucky enough to have our honeymoon in Hawaii. My personality is such that I have to plan everything, and it is very hard for me
to just “see what happens.”
My wife can plan, go with the flow or just see what happens.
She must have told me 50 times during our wedding and honeymoon, “Relax, it will be all right.”
I hate to admit it, but she was right.
Let me share with you some of the things we planned to the last detail,
City seeks Peoria Leadership Institute applicants
BY PEORIA TIMES STAFF of city government.
Peoria Leadership Institute kicks off next month and with few remaining spots available, the city is encouraging interested residents to submit their applications.
The program runs Wednesday, April 17, to Tuesday, June 18.
“This program gives citizens an opportunity to see how their tax dollars bring value to their daily lives,” Mayor Cathy Carlat said. “It’s an in-depth look at what it takes to operate a city of our size and I believe residents will be amazed at what they learn.”
The Peoria Leadership Institute offers an in-depth look at all operations
During the nine-week course, class members will be taught about the innerworkings of a city government, its budget and finances, public works, utility, police and fire operations through interactive discussions with management staff.
Participants will also enjoy behindthe-scenes tours of city facilities and get a behind-the-badge view of public safety in action. Graduation from the course will take place on Tuesday, June 4, at the Peoria City Council meeting.
The institute is open to all Peoria residents 18 years of age or older. Interested applicants can learn more about the program and apply at peoriaaz.gov/pli.
Qualified individuals sought for city boards and commissions
BY PEORIA TIMES STAFF
The city of Peoria is seeking qualified citizen volunteers to fill vacancies on the Building Board of Appeals, Citizens Commission on Salaries for Elected City Officials and the Design Review Board.
The Building Board of Appeals rules on appeals to technical interpretations of the building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, fire and property maintenance codes.
LESSONS
FROM THE BENCH
Judge Donald Watts Manistee Justice Court
which then went sideways at the last minute. First, the minister was late and lost the wedding vows that we had spent hours writing. Our photographer was stuck in traffic because of an accident.
Our dog, Annie (who passed away several years ago), was going to be the ring bearer. Kathy made a special pillow for the rings and we tied it around Annie’s neck. We practiced her walking down the aisle and she was perfect at rehearsal. We did not plan on several guests calling her name, which, of course, made her go over to them to be petted. She was so excited that all these people had come just to see her, ha ha.
When we finally got to Hawaii and
the car we reserved was no longer available, the car they gave us broke down a few miles away. All of this was going on while our luggage had broken open, and we had clothes everywhere. We made it to the hotel and the view was perfect. I left the Arcadia door open at night to enjoy the breeze and sounds of the ocean. Our room was about 50 feet from the beach. During the night, the tide came in and covered the beach. I had never seen high tide before, and since I was only half awake I thought the island was sinking. I woke up my bride and told her of this dangerous situation. She started laughing so hard she almost fell out of bed. To this day, she still starts laughing if I say anything about high tide.
Lesson from the bench: There is nothing wrong with having a plan, but life is too short not to roll with the punches.
Join Judge Watts’ web page at www. donaldwatts.info.
Saturday, March 23, 2019 | 8:00 am – 2:00 pm
The Citizens Commission on Salaries for Elected City Officials makes recommendations every two years on the compensation provided to the mayor and city council.
The Design Review Board hears design review appeals, works with city staff on issues related to the design review process, recommends process modifications and ensures community review and input on design review concepts.
For qualification requirements, visit peoriaaz.gov/boards.
For details and to register, visit www.midwestern.edu/veteransdentalday or call 623-806-7150.
Rep. Lesko recognizes golf program founder
BY PEORIA TIMES STAFF
Outreach Director Lynndy Smith, from the office of Rep. Debbie Lesko, presented Tom Loegering, founder of Golf Program in Schools, with Arizona’s District 8 Congressional Recognition.
Loegering’s program partners with high schools around the district to help introduce students to the game of golf. Through this program, Loegering hopes to get more young people involved in golf so they may open themselves up to different scholarship and career op-
portunities, all at no cost to the schools or students.
“Golf Program in Schools is a unique opportunity to expose students of all backgrounds in AZ-08 to a fun sport that can be played for a lifetime,” Lesko said.
“The program encourages students to learn a new sport, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and even consider golf as a path to college. Thank you, Tom, for sharing your passion with the community and for inspiring a new generation of golfers.”
(Photo courtesy Congresswoman Debbie Lesko)
Learning from monkey business
Here’s an old story about how to catch a monkey in Africa from which we can glean. All an African had to do was build a Plexiglas box and drill a hole in it just big enough for the monkey’s arm to get through. Then they would place a banana inside the Plexiglas box underneath a tree. The monkeys would come to investigate.
The monkey would reach in, through the hole, and grab the banana with his hands. But, as you can imagine, when the monkey wants to get the banana out of the box, it won’t come. A banana won’t fit through the hole. The problem is the monkey won’t let go. The monkey’s gotta’ have that banana. The monkey is free but what he is hanging on to is enslaving him. All the monkey must do is let go. Well, you know the rest of the story. The monkey won’t let go and the African has monkey stew that night. That monkey’s business went out of business.
There’s a lesson for us from this monkey business. Let go of the banana.
During my many years of ministry, I have counseled great people who
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8340 W. Northern Ave. Glendale, AZ 85305
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Dr. Ron G. Rockwell – Pastor
Sunday: 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m.
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CHURCH COMMUNITY CONNECTION
Pastor Ed Delph Church @ Community
wouldn’t or couldn’t let go of something they needed to let go of. They wanted me to counsel their banana. Some thought they had a demon and wanted me to cast out their banana. Some wanted me to inner heal their banana by taking them back to their childhood.
To be honest, in most cases, what they needed to do was let go of the banana. I couldn’t let go of their banana for them. Only they could let go of their banana, and that’s difficult for many of us.
For everything there is a season. There is a time to not let go and a time to let go. Speaking of monkey business, sometimes we need to persevere, hang on and fight like we are the third monkey trying to get into Noah’s Ark. But other times we need to let go. We give up so we can go up. There is a
First Southern Baptist Church of Avondale
time to accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be.
Here’s something I found that someone wrote titled “Letting Go,” which might help us. It’s about personal responsibility. It’s about the way we deal with ourselves and others. Maybe it will even help us get past the monkey business of holding on to a banana that is robbing us of joy.
“To let go doesn’t mean to stop caring, it means I can’t do it for someone else. To let go is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization that I can’t control another. To let go is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences. To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands. To let go is not to try to change or blame another, it is realizing I can only change myself.
“To let go is not to care for, but to care about. To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive. To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being. To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to effect their own outcomes. To let go is not to be protective, it is to permit another to face
reality. To let go is not to deny, but to accept.
“To let go is not to nag, scold or argue, but to search out my own shortcomings and correct them. To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes. To let go is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future. To let go is to fear less and love more.”
Remember that song titled “Let It Go” from a few years ago, in the movie “Frozen?” The main character was frozen in the past. She had to let it go to let it go. When she did let go, her self esteem was better. Her relationships were better. Her domain was better. She went from the outhouse to the penthouse.
Isn’t it amazing what a banana can do in the hands of a monkey? When you let it go, you let God go, too, for your benefit and in your behalf.
To learn more about Pastor Ed Delph, the Church-Community Connection and Nation strategy, call 623376-6757, e-mail nationstrategy@ cs.com or log on to nationstrategy. com.
Pastor Daniel J. Duarte
Financial Peace University coming to Peoria
BY PEORIA TIMES STAFF
Created by financial expert Dave Ramsey, the Financial Peace University nine-lesson digital course provides families and individuals with practical tools to gain control of their finances and set themselves up for long-term financial success. FPU will be held in Peoria at:
• C hrist’s Church of the Valley (CCV) – Peoria, 7007 W. Happy Valley Road. The classes will begin
God’s Love Is Eternal
We invite you to worship with us weekly
at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 13. Go to fpu.com/1086319 for more information or to register.
Through common-sense principles, FPU gives people the tools they need to change their behavior and succeed financially.
Along with Ramsey personalities Rachel Cruze and Chris Hogan, Ramsey teaches lessons on budgeting, relationships and money, getting out of debt, saving for emergencies and investing.
“FPU will not only transform
10935 W. Olive Ave. Peoria 85345 Phone (623) 972-8479 office@westolive.com www.westolive.com
Sunday Bible Study 9 a.m. Worship 10 a.m. & 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday Bible Classes for all ages - 7:00 p.m.
the way you handle money, but also your marriage and other areas of your life,” Ramsey said. “This isn’t a boring financial class. We make learning about money fun and easy to understand so people in every situation can benefit from the information.”
An FPU membership includes immediate access to newly revised online video lessons, financial coaching assistance, digital tools and a one-year subscription to the EveryDollar Plus budgeting tool.
Shepherd of the Desert
• Worship 4pm Saturday & 9:30am Sunday
• Ash Wednesday Services 10:30am & 6:30 pm March 6th
• Mid-Week Lenten Services 10:30am & 6:30pm (soup supper at 5:30) March 13th thru April 10th
• Maundy Thursday (4/18) 10:30 & 6:30; Good Friday (4/19) 12 Noon & 6:30pm
• Easter Services 4pm Saturday (4/20) and 9:30am Sunday (4/21)
Rev. Dr. Daniel R. Defassio, Pastor 623-933-1359 shepherdofthedesertelca.org Email: sodsecretary@qwestoffice.net Handicap Bus - Call for pickup
“We
Also included is access to Legacy Journey and Smart Money Smart Kids courses.
Legacy Journey walks families and individuals through what to do once they have control of their finances and helps them navigate their way through building wealth.
Smart Money Smart Kids helps parents teach their children to make wise financial decisions.
Go to DaveRamsey.com/FPU for more information.
5614 W. Orangewood Ave., Glendale • 623-939-9785 www.olph.com
Mass Schedule - English M-F 6:15am & 8:30am Sat 8:30am & 5:00pm Sun 6:30am, 8:30am & 10:30am
Mass Schedule - Spanish Fri 6:00pm (OLPH) Sat 7:00pm (Capilla) Sun 10:00am (Capilla), 12:30pm (OLPH) & 3:00pm (OLPH)
Apostles Lutheran Church & Preschool 7020 W. Cactus Rd Peoria, AZ 85381 623-979-3497
www.apostles-az.org Sunday Worship 8am & 10:45am English 10:45am Spanish Sunday School 9:15am English 11am Spanish
OBITUARIES
PhyllisJeanFisher
PhyllisJeanFisher,wasbornon Tuesday,October18,1938andpeacefullypassedawayonThursday,February21,2019.
Phyllisworkedasacaregiveracross thevalleyforover30years.Shewas alwayspositivethroughoutherstruggle withParkinson'sandwasabletoputa smileonanyone'sfacenomatterhowtheywerefeeling. PhyllislovedGod,life,herfamilyandfriends.
Shehadsixchildren:son,RandelMillsaps(Felicia), daughters,DeborahMillsaps,MelanieAsmussen,GaylaGollihar,GingerMillsapsandSamanthaMillsaps(deceased),manygrandchildren,great-grandchildren, niecesandnephews.Shewillbedeeplymissedbyall whoknewandlovedher.
ThefamilywillgatherforacelebrationoflifeinPhyllis' honoratWestResthavenFuneralHome,6450West NorthernAve.,Glendale,AZ85301onSunday,March 3,2019at2:00P.M.
RECREATION CENTERS OF SUN CITY WEST
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER - FT $92K-$120K DOE. This position manages, directs and oversees the operation of the Accounting and Membership staff; responsible for strategic planning, accounting, budgeting, forecasting, purchasing; monitors revenues and expenditures. Must perform complex and technical accounting functions. Reports on financial transactions and maint enance of financial records for the organizations’ operations, programs and services. Reports directly to the General Manager. Works with the GM and Department heads to gather and submit financial information to the Budget and Finance Committee.
BA/BS in Accounting or Business and at least ten years of increasingly responsible professional accounting experience, including five years of supervisor y experience OR an equivalent combination of education and experience. CPA preferred Filing deadline: March 22, 2019
WEB DEVELOPER AND DATABASE ANALYST- Website development and performs analysis and investigates and resolves database and software support and hardware problems – FT with benefits $27 to $35/hour DOE.
LANDSCAPERS - $11.25 p/h - Manual labor. Previous landscape experience a plus. Must be able to work M-F, some OT and MUST have a valid AZ driver's license with a good driving record.
The above positions include golf when availability is open. All positions must be able to communicate in English. Apply M-F, 8-3, at 19803 R.H. Johnson Blvd, Sun City West, AZ 85375. Fax 623-544-6124 or apply online at hrsearch@rcscw.com For more info on open jobs visit www.suncitywest.com (Association) All positions are open until filled. EOE
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DUE DATE: March 20 2019 @ 5:00 PM (Arizona Time ) Solicitation is ava lable
NOTICE OF INTENT TO RECEIVE BIDS
The Arizona Board of Regents, for and on behalf of Northern Arizona University, is sol citing sealed Proposa s from qualif ed firms or individua s for the purpose
ested in providing Call Center Services Reference P19GB005 for Northern Arizona University
Offers shall be delivered no later
2019 to the office of the D rector of Procurement on the campus of Northern Arizona University, 545 E Pine Knoll Dr , Building 98B, PO Box 4124, Flagstaff, Ar zona, 86011, (928) 523-4557
To request a Proposal by E-mail, Fax, Mail, or to Pick-up a copy contact Northern Arizona University Purchas ng Services at the above address and phone number To download a copy from th e Internet access https://nau edu/Contract
The Ar zona Board of Regents reserves the ri ght to reject any or all Offers t o waive or dec are to waive irregularities in any Offer, or to withhold the award for any reason it shall determine and also reserves the right to ho d any or all Offers for a per od of ninety (90) days after the date of the opening thereof No Of-
PUBLIC NOTICE
PUBLIC NOTICE
West, LLC proposes to install a new antenna struct
zona 85306 Please direct
NOTIFICATION INFORMATION SOLICITATION NUMBER: P19-0072 TYPE OF SOLICITATION: Request for Proposa
DESCRIPTION: The City of Peoria Ar zona is seeking an experienced consultant to conduct an analysis and identify
opportunities to initiate a new large-scale "Signature Event" w thin the geograph c boundaries of the City SOLICITATION DUE DATE: March 20, 2019 @ 5:00 PM (Arizona Time ) Solicitation is availab e for down oad from our webs te at: www peoriaaz gov/procurement
ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION HAVE BEEN FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE A
n Services LLC II The address of the registered off ce is: 811 W Northern Ave, PHOENIX AZ 85021 The name of the Statutory Agent s: Bobbie Romo III Man-
AZCANS
85021 bromo@vppartners c com Published Peor a Times,
Br llhart, the Trustor and in tial Trustee u
h av ng c aims against this trust are required to present their claims w thin four months after the date of the first publicat on of this Notice or the cla ms will be forever barred 3 NOTICE OF CLAIMS: Claims must be presented by delivering o r m a i l i n g a w
this Notice DATED: 2/12/19 /s/ Christina
Responsibilities:
new and existing customers Prospect and contact potential clients
Qualifications:
