Ahwatukee Foothills News - May 30 2018

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS www.ahwatukee.com

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

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Two golf courses heading to foreclosure Current Club West owner vows As True Life fadesNEWS away, Lakes AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS to pay off loan in a month could be barren for years RECYCLING MESS

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

.6

W AHWATUKEE P

A NEW JOURNEY

. 23

P

WOOKIE’S WORK

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

ilson Gee has scheduled a trustee sale on his $1.3 million loan to Richard Breuninger for the purchase of the Club West Golf Course, but Breuninger said he hopes to pay off the debt by July 4 and retain possession of the site.

Facing an Aug. 21 deadline when he must either satisfy the loan or lose the beleaguered site, Breuninger told AFN Monday that he is arranging a $3 million financing package that will enable him to pay off Gee as well as bring cheaper water and a 50-bay, two-story Top Golf driving range to the site.

Breuninger and his Inter Tribal Golf Association signed a $1.3 million note on Dec. 1, payable at $30,000 a month Gee said Breuninger has fallen several months behind on those payments, telling AFN, “Enough is enough.”

Unless Breuninger satisfies the debt or someone else does, Gee will get the course back come Aug. 21.

But Breuninger told AFN last week, “We’re in a good place. We’re not turning the property over.”

On Monday, he said, “We have a finance package in place and it’s

Unless The True Life Companies plunks down $8.2 million by Aug. 21, the developer’s hold on Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course will fade into history – and the site’s future will likely remain just as murky as it has been since it was closed in 2013.

Wilson Gee – who would regain full title to the 101-acre site after filing for an Aug. 21 trustee sale on True Life’s note for the site – told AFN that it will be up to homeowners in the community to negotiate a new future for the course with him or let it languish for years as little more than a barren plot of land.

“It will never be a golf course again,” Gee said, adding that he intends to appeal whatever final ruling Superior Court Judge John Hannah might issue in the legal battle that two residents have been waging for more than four years to have to course restored.

Hannah has yet to issue a final ruling in the lawsuit brought by Lakes residents Linda Swain and Eileen Breslin after the judge in January ordered that the site must remain a golf course under the covenants, conditions and restrictions governing its use.

The two women’s fight spawned an organization called Save the

FOOTHILLS NEWS

See

WEST on page 16

See

LAKES on page 17

Pomp and circumstance . 34

P

SHOWTIME!

(Kimberly Carrillo/AFN Staff Photographer and Cheryl Haselhorst/AFN Contributor)

. 38

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Four years of hard work culminated for more than 1,100 students who graduated last Thursday from Mountain Pointe and Desert Vista high schools. As Desert Vista student body President Elyssa Gosswick carried the Thunder flag onto the field before the ceremony, left, newly minted Mountain Pointe grad Janae Jessie was swamped by a deluge of Hawaiian memorabilia shipped in from the islands. Graduation coverage: Pages 20-23, 44.

2

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS UKEE FOOTHILLS NEWSFOOTHILLS NEWS MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS TUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS The Ahwatukee Foothills News is published every AHWATUKEE NEWS Wednesday and distributed free ofFOOTHILLS charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout Ahwatukee Foothills.

UKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Tempe Union raises teacher pay, adds security and AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS counselors in new budget TUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS Times Media Group: 1620 W. Fountainhead Parkway, Suite 219 Tempe, Arizona, 85282 Main number: 480-898-6500 Advertising: 480-898-5624 Circulation service: 480-898-5641

PUBLISHER Steve T. Strickbine

VICE PRESIDENT Michael Hiatt

ADVERTISING STAFF National Advertising Director

Zac Reynolds 480-898-5603 zac@ahwatukee.com

National Account Coordinator:

Patty Dixie 480-898-5940, pdixie@ahwatukee.com

Advertising Sales Representatives:

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Aaron Kolodny 480-898-5641, customercare@ahwatukee.com

NEWS STAFF Executive Editor:

Paul Maryniak, 480-898-5647, pmaryniak@ahwatukee..com Managing Editor:

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Ruth Carlton, rcarlton@timespublications.com Production Coordinator:

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Ahwatukee Foothills News is distributed by AZ Integrated Media, a circulation service company owned by Times Media Group. The public is permitted one copy per reader.

For further information regarding the circulation of this publication or others in the Times Media Group family of publications, and for subscription information, please contact AZ Integrated Media at circ@azintegratedmedia. com or 480-898-5641. For circulation services please contact Aaron Kolodny at aaron@azintegatedmedia.com.

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NEWS

3

48 YEARS OF TRUSTWORTHY SERVICE!

AFN News Staff

T

empe Union teachers will get at least a 10 percent raise and school security will be beefed up next school year under the budget unanimously adopted last week by the Tempe Union High School governing board.

“We find ourselves in a good position,” said Superintendent Kenneth Baca, noting, “We are able to compensate our employees and offer more intervention for students.”

The latter referred to an increase in counselors in the wake of more than two dozen East Valley teen suicides since July. Three students in the Tempe Union District have taken their lives in the last three years.

Teachers are getting a $7,549 raise in the 2018-19 school year, which translates into an annual hike of between 10.3 percent and 19.5 percent raise, depending on their education level and years with the district.

Annual salaries will range from $46,137 for beginners to $82,837 a year for someone with a doctorate and 19 years with the district.

In addition, administrative, classified and instructional staff will get an across-the-board raise of 6 percent.

In an email to employees, Baca – who is leaving the district to take over the Madison Elementary School District in Phoenix – praised the school board’s work in achieving enough budget savings to enact the raises, add six security guards and increase the number of counselors from four to seven full-timers.

“Their attention to detail and welcoming of your input is to be commended,” Baca wrote. “They did not take this decision lightly but were very proud to be able to provide all employees one of the largest salary increases in some time.”

Baca also noted that the board will begin a study of district salaries “in order to ensure we recognize longevity and employees who have been loyal to Tempe Union.”

He said that in recent years, delays in passing the state budget “did not give school districts the time needed to engage and discuss with all employees the various budget opportunities and challenges.”

Now, he said, “Conducting a salary study early on will improve upon our current budget development process while ensuring we remain competitive with employee compensation.

The National Education Association puts the average teacher salary in Arizona at $45,477 a year, the lowest in the nation.

The addition of social workers as well as five new “academic interventionists” is part of Daca’s pledge to have the district address some of the pressures that drive teenagers to consider suicide.

Parents and students had urged the board to expand that kind of intervention because of students who have taken their lives, especially in the past school year.

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

Residents cheer and jeer 32nd Street interchange at ADOT meeting AFN News Staff

A

rizona Department of Transportation engineers and other experts got kudos and brickbats thrown their way as about 80 residents on May 22 looked over plans for the possible addition of a 32nd Street interchange along the South Mountain Freeway.

While some residents near the interchange ramps were upset by how close they were to their homes, others were relieved that an interchange would create an additional route for vehicles heading to and from Desert Vista High and other nearby schools.

ADOT spokesman Dustin Krugel said the agency is still weighing citizen input and finishing an environmental impact study before it reaches a decision on whether to add the interchange. That decision, however, likely will come in August, he said.

Krugel also stressed that even if ADOT reverses course and decides to add the interchange, it might not be added before the 22-mile freeway’s scheduled opening late next year.

Norgaard said she was happy with the turnout and the online feedback ADOT has received. Krugel said more than 1,200 residents have lodged their opinions.

She said she was planning to meet with ADOT today to discuss next steps.

“I always learn a lot when I attend those forums. For example, some of the homes on Redwood Court have been purchased by ADOT and they have tenants,” she said.

“The purchases were based ‘hardships’ and I will be looking into (Kimberly Carrillo/ AFN Staff Photographer) what that criteria was.

Ahwatukee residents crowded around map-topped tables at Desert Vista High last week o talk with Arizona Department of “Also, the light timTransportation personnel about South Mountain Freeway issues during an open house arranged by state Rep. Jill Norgaard. ing on 40th Street State Rep. Jill Norgaard organized the interchange but also to get their ques- needs to be better correlated, and the open house to give residents a chance to tions answered about other issues related median lines need to be enhanced for not only learn more and weigh in on the to the freeway.

See FREEWAY on page 5

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from page 4

better clarify,” she said, adding “the overwhelming response was that the citizens that were there that I spoke to would like the 32nd Street Interchange.”

While some were dismayed to learn that ADOT has decided it won’t need to use eminent domain and clear any homes for the interchange ramps, others said the interchange would spare Lakewood much of the traffic that would otherwise be traveling through the community.

Some residents voiced skepticism when they pressed for an explanation on why the interchange wasn’t in the construction plans in the first place. ADOT

representatives said they scratched that interchange after a citizens panel and Phoenix officials expressed opposition to it.

Engineers also revealed that the 20-foot-wide multi-use path that will run alongside the southern edge of the freeway will be narrowed to 10 feet in the vicinity of 24th Street if an interchange goes in.

Meanwhile, 16 steel-reinforced girders, each 128 feet long, were installed for the freeway interchange at 24th Street.

Crews will return this summer to pour concrete to form the bridge deck and panels.

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Correction Dr. Richard and Judy Lovins of Ahwatukee, who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary recently, were married 13 months after her first husband died after a prolonged illness. A story in last week’s edition had an incorrect time period.

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

Phoenix, EV losing big in recycling revenue

BY RICK BARRS AFN Contributor

D

RIGHT FORYOU just just RIGHT RIGHT FORFOR YOUYOU

services manager, said the town’s contaminant level has run from 15 to 20 percent.

In Chandler and Mesa, it’s a little better at 11 and 13 percent, respectively. Phoe-

nix stations average 25 percent, recycling representatives reported.

“I don’t fault them for doing what

Growing More Smiles!

just

(Kimberly Carrillo/ AFN Staff Photographer)

Recycling operations have been increasingly profitable for East Valley municipalities but the gravy train has been derailed by the Republic of China's new policy of refusing to take American recyclables because they're too contaminated, making them ill-suited for re-use in other products. Though workers sort out recyclables, no municipality in the region achieves the new Chinese standard, forcing municipal recycling operations to scramble for new places that will accept the materials. Some experts fear China is at the vanguard of a new approach to recyclables and that other countries that currently accept them will follow that nation's lead.

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escribed as a “wakeup call” to the United States, the Republic of China’s decision to cease serving as a garbage dump for the world has crippled Phoenix East Valley municipal recycling businesses, costing municipalities hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The impact is dramatic: Last year, Chandler earned over a half-million dollars for selling its recyclables. This year, the Chinese action will cost the city nearly twice that instead to get rid of them.

Declared “National Sword” by Chinese President Xi Jinping, China’s drastic change to its recycling policy is aimed at stopping the flow of “foreign garbage” into the country.

Under the new edict, China will accept only recyclable bales with contaminant levels of 0.5 percent or better – a standard that American cities never come close to achieving.

The national average for U.S. recyclables contaminants is 25 percent – and the East Valley levels are no different.

Frank Flores, Gilbert’s environmental

they’re doing,” Flores said of the Chinese, noting the U.S. needs to clean up its recySee

RECYCLE on page 7

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RECYCLE

from the western United States.

Municipal governments – including Gilbert, Mesa and Chandler – sold their recyclables to material-recovery facilities such as United Fibers in Chandler, which in turn sold most of the material to China.

The process still works the same, except that what the recovery facilities pay municipalities has plunged dramatically this year because the China market has largely evaporated. In some cases, it’s gotten so bad that cities are suddenly paying the facilities to handle and dispose of their recyclables.

Take Chandler: It received $543,075 for its 19,500 tons of recyclables last year at $25.50 a ton. It expects to get some compensation from United Fibers this year for the sale of its goods but nonetheless projects a giant loss.

Because of China’s new policy, the Chandler City Council – at the behest of United Fibers – enacted a March 22 resolution canceling the city’s agreement with its recycling facility. The council instead agreed to pay the company $61 a ton to handle the recyclables.

“We won’t get the $543,000 this year,” and the projection is that instead “we will pay $450,000” to United Fibers for separating and selling or disposing the city’s

from page 6

clables. “But I hate them for doing what they’re doing.”

He noted that China bought tainted U.S. recyclables for about 20 years before suddenly pulling the plug.

What this means is that too many improper or contaminated recyclables – plastic grocery bags, diapers, paper towels, tomato sauce-crusted cans, greasy pizza boxes and the like – were getting mixed into bales headed for China and winding up in the massively populated country’s landfills.

The reality now is that because U.S. cities can’t dispose of contaminated material in China, it’s getting dumped in landfills here.

That flies in the face of Phoenix’s goal of using recycling to divert 40 percent of its garbage from its landfills by 2020.

China was experiencing a building boom and needed recyclables to be converted into products for its infrastructure.

But its construction sizzle cooled in the last few years, and China started caring deeply that U.S. and European recycling was filling up its landfills.

At the zenith of China’s recyclables-buying frenzy, it was receiving half of America’s recyclables exports – most of them Patio Doors/French Sliders

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SONORAN LIVING

from page 7

recyclables, said Traci Conaway, Chandler’s recycling director.

That would be a negative financial impact of $943,000 this year over last.

“I don’t want to say we’re scared,” Conaway said of the blow from the China decision to Chandler’s recycling business.

“But it’s concerning.”

Industry in turmoil

Flores said Gilbert had anticipated receiving $375,000 from the sale of recyclables for the fiscal year ending June 30, but because of China’s new demand, it now projects it will get just 10 percent of that, or $37,500.

It’s a “huge loss,” he said.

It hasn’t been as severe for Mesa, according to Mariano Reyes, communications specialist for the Department of Environmental Management and Sustainability.

He said Mesa took in $819,301 for its recyclables last fiscal year and projects that it will receive $600,000 this fiscal year – about a 26 percent decline.

Reyes said the recycling industry has been in turmoil since the China decision: “We don’t know what the future is going to hold.”

In vastly larger Phoenix, China’s ban has cut the city’s net recycling revenue from roughly $500,000 a month in early 2017 to between $100,000 and $150,000 a month early this year, according to a presentation by Assistant Public Works Director Joe Giudice to a City Council subcommittee.

Giudice called this a “trend line” based on a “small sample size,” and in an interview, offered a different measure of the situation.

When the city compared the last quarter of 2015 with the last quarter of 2017, he said, it noted a 34 percent decline in Phoenix’s recycling revenue.

That was before President Xi’s new policy was kicked off early this year.

The recyclables commodities markets were impacted severely last year by Xi’s July announcement, but experts fear it will only get worse now that the ban is in effect.

Guidice said in his presentation that because the 0.5 measure apparently wasn’t met, ships loaded with recyclables have been turned away at Chinese ports.

The municipal recycling managers stressed that the recycling commodities market historically has been prone to fluctuation.

Trying to predict how such commodities will go is “like trying to predict the stock market,” Chandler’s Conaway said.

But the China decision has hit their cities hard, although the managers believe that other significant markets for American recyclables eventually will be discovered both here and abroad.

Already, markets for certain U.S. recyclables have emerged in India, Indonesia and Malaysia.

And there’s hope among the Valley managers that more U.S. companies will crop up to help fill the void left by China – which paid so much for American recyclables for so long that it muscled out smaller competition.

As for China, some of the managers said they’ve heard rumblings in the industry that the nation is considering relaxing its 0.5 rule.

And some recycling business continues to be done with China.

Unlike the other cities surveyed, Phoenix operates its own municipal recycling facilities, which it pays waste-disposal giant Republic Services to manage.

Giudice said that company continues to have a contract with a Chinese business to provide a “newsmix” of newsprint and other paper.

But he stressed that the U.S. never should have relied so heavily on China as the dominant market for its recyclables.

He labeled Xi’s decision a “wakeup call” to diversify.

See

RECYCLE on page 9

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MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Rules may vary, but some recycling principles are same

Though recycling rules vary from city to city – check your municipality’s website for details – some common dos and don’ts govern. The first rule: Material must be empty, clean and dry.

Plastics: DO recycle detergent bottles, soda bottles, shampoo bottles and yogurt, margarine or sour-cream tubs.

DON’T recycle plastic grocery bags, dinnerware, frozen-dinner trays or pool-chemical containers.

Glass: DO recycle food and beverage jars and bottles.

DON’T recycle glassware, drinking

glasses, ceramics, light bulbs, window glass or mirrors.

Paper: DO recycle newspapers, magazines, junk mail, writing, computer and construction paper; paper bags; shredded paper and file folders.

DON’T recycle facial or toilet tissue, diapers, paper towels, napkins or petfood bags.

Cardboard/Paperboard: DO recycle dry food boxes, including cereal boxes, shoeboxes, packing boxes, egg cartons, tissue boxes and cake-mix and cracker boxes (remove liners).

DON’T recycle greasy boxes or other soiled containers.

foil, tin cans, empty aerosol cans and metal lids.

DON’T recycle clothes hangers, paint cans, pesticide cans or hazardousmaterials containers.

Foam: DO recycle food trays, including meat containers, egg cartons with the code symbol 6.

DON’T recycle packing material.

Metal: DO recycle aluminum beverage cans, dinner trays, food containers and

*Scrap metal, appliances and electronics can be recycled by special arrangement with cities; they just aren’t allowed in blue cans.

RECYCLE

from page 8

Whatever markets are found or restored for U.S. recyclables, the consensus among Valley managers is that their products must be far less contaminated from the get-go.

Tainted recyclables hit landfills

“A lot of what we were sending to China is now going to landfills here,” said United Fibers CEO Ron Whaley, who believes

that cities eventually can get their recyclables inventories to 0.5 percent so that they can be sold again to the Chinese.

Whaley said United Fibers is installing equipment over the next few years that will make it possible to better separate out contaminates from city recyclables loads so that shipments can meet China’s specifications.

This will hugely reduce the recyclables going to landfills, he said, and make more money for recycling facilities and cities.

That would give cities more money for

public education aimed at achieving the 0.5 mark.

“China can’t be replaced,” Whaley said.

“I hear talk from people (in the recycling business) that China will relax the 0.5, but I don’t believe that.”

Municipal recycling officials stressed the need to step up efforts to educate citizenry on what’s proper to put in those blue recycling cans – and what’s not.

Conaway reported that Chandler trash and recycling collectors have found strange material in recycling cans, includ-

ing an automobile manifold.

A goat carcass is the most bizarre thing workers at United Fibers have found among recyclables, Whaley said.

But Conaway said that before the China decision wreaked havoc on her world, the biggest problem recycling departments faced was residents’ putting plastic grocery-store bags into blue bins.

‘Wishful recycling’ must stop

Mesa’s Reyes called this behavior “wishful recycling.”

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

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Ducey disputes school chief’s war on evolution

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

G

ov. Doug Ducey said earlier this week that he believes evolution should remain part of the science standards for public high schools, despite efforts by the state’s top school official to discredit it.

“I believe in God,’’ the governor said. “I believe God created humanity. And I believe there are evolutionary forces at work in nature.’’

More to the point, Ducey said he does not see religion and evolution as mutually exclusive.

“So, evolution will remain part of the education curriculum,’’ he said, with schools free to teach various religious theories elsewhere of how life on Earth developed, like courses on literature or history of religion.

Ducey’s comments came after Diane Douglas, the state superintendent of public instruction, proposed to eliminate multiple references to evolution entirely from existing high school science standards, replacing them with terms like “biological diversity’’ and phrases like “how traits within populations change over time.’’

She wants to replace the term “evolution’’ or add the words “theory of.’’ And she also seeks to eliminate any reference to the “Big Bang’’ theory of the universe’s formation.

Douglas has admitted she supports the teaching of “intelligent design,’’ a concept that life forms have developed in such a complex way to essentially require planning by a higher power, presumably a diety.

But she has insisted that her personal beliefs have nothing to do with the changes. And Douglas pointed out that her proposed standards make no specific mention of intelligent design.

Ducey said as far as he’s concerned, the concept of intelligent design or any sort of biblical concept of creation has no place in science classes.

“Where I’ve seen it done well is where schools work on the story of creation in some type of literature that they’re teaching,’’ he said. “And evolution will be part of the science curriculum.’’

Ducey’s remarks came on the last day of public comment about Douglas’ proposed revisions to the science standards.

It turns out, however, that anyone who waited until the last minute could be out of luck.

The website where comments were being solicited crashed some time on Sunday, leaving those hoping to leave some thoughts with a page saying only, “Service Unavailable.’’ Ditto for those who sought to review the comments already submitted.

But a review of the comment synopsis page on Sunday before it crashed showed no lack of interest in the issue.

In fact, there were close to 700 responses dealing specifically with the changes Douglas wants to make in teaching evolution. And virtually all of them opposed removing references to evolution, with several people commenting that they see the move as an effort to blend religious beliefs with science.

Whether they will still be able to add their views remains unknown.

Douglas said the Memorial Day holiday meant no one was working at her office who could fix the issue ahead of the deadline for comments.

“We’ll most likely extend through the end of the week,’’ she told Capitol Media Services on Monday. But Douglas said she will need to consult with her staff before making any decisions.

It will then be up to Douglas and her senior staff to decide whether to rescind any of the changes she wants to make or keep them as is when she forwards the plan to the state Board of Education which will make the final call.

Ducey said he went to Catholic schools at least part of the time he was growing up. “‘Intelligent design’ wouldn’t have been words that were used when I was in school,’’ he noted. That phrase only became more popular in the 1980s.

“Evolution would have been part of the science curriculum,’’ he said. “And they’re not mutually exclusive. And I think that’s the same way it’s taught in Catholic schools today.’’

While Ducey has no formal say over the final standards, his views could make a difference. That is because he appoints all but one of the members of the state Board of Education who do have the last word. The lone exception is Douglas.

Douglas has said there are parts of evolution that are proven science while other elements are “very theoretical.’’

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MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

Child drownings haunt parents as well as first responders

BY JIM WALSH AFN Staff Writer

J

essica Curtis and Nicole McIntire have both suffered the unbearable pain of suddenly losing a small child to a drowning in a home swimming pool.

Although they both suffer flashbacks to their real-life horror stories and are filled with anguish, the two men have chosen not to surrender – not when an average of 16 pediatric drownings occur in Maricopa County each year, according to Tracey Fejt, trauma outreach and injury prevention coordinator at Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa.

Although that figure represents major progress from the 34 child drownings recorded in Maricopa County 1986, Fejt said the death toll has plateaued at this stubborn level despite constant safety messages that have been repeated from year to year.

So far this year, there have been 5 pediatric and nine adult drownings in Pinal and Maricopa counties, though none were in the East Valley.

Curtis and McIntire have dedicated their lives to turning that number into a zero, sharing their stories with East Valley adults in the hope they remember that children can’t be trusted when a swimming pool is nearby. They need to be watched like hawks.

Curtis even started a support group for parents who have experience the tragedy of a child-drowning. She has 70 members, including many in the East Valley.

Through organ donations, Curtis helped saved the lives of two children after Parker, her 22-month-old son, drowned on June 29, 2013, and was declared brain dead four days later: His heart was donated to a child in California; his liver to a child in Pennsylvania.

(Special to the Tribune)

Nicole McIntyre drowned in a relative's swimming pool. She was 16 months old.

Curtis also teaches water survival classes several days a week at Swim Kids in Mesa.

“It’s everything I can do to keep other families from going through what I’ve been through,’’ Curtis said. “I don’t want another family to suffer another loss like I did.’’

“There’s not a second that I don’t think about it. When I get down, I look for light at the end of every horrible scene.’’

It’s hard to imagine a worse scene than Curtis witnessed the day Parker drowned.

Parker was taking a nap and she was in the bathroom, getting ready to go to a July 4 event. She stepped outside the bathroom and then noticed the backdoor open.

What she did not realize was that landscapers had left a pool gate open. Curtis darted outside and saw something that she can’t possibly forget, no matter how hard she tries.

“I saw Parker at the bottom of the pool.

I thought, no way, I rubbed my eyes,’’ she said, before she dove into the pool in hopes of saving her son.

In the end, it was too late. Parker had some faint brave waves. The paramedics and the doctors at Phoenix Children’s Hospital did everything they could. Finally, after four desperate days, the doctors said a prayer with the family, declared Parker brain-dead and harvested his organs.

The memory returns periodically.

“We all have our bad days,’’ Curtis said, alluding to fellow members of her Healing and Hope After Drowning support, which is associated with the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona.

“There are days where I want to lay in my bed and cry,’’ Curtis said.

But she knows that accomplishes nothing. She knows Parker would want her to save others.

Nicole McIntire suffered the same crushing loss when her daughter Emily Rose, 16 months old, drowned in a relative’s pool in Los Angeles. The pool did not have a fence.

McIntire said she was not present during the incident and only learned what had happened after a friend called, told her there had been accident and that she needed to come to the hospital. By the time McIntire arrived, her daughter was already gone.

Eventually, she moved to Arizona with her husband Jason and her older son Chris to start a new life.

“I don’t know where I would be in my life if I didn’t find the coalition and become an advocate. It can happen to anyone,’’ McIntire said. “I don’t want my daughter’s life to go in vain.’’

(Kimberly Carrillo/AFN Staff Photographer)

Chandler first responders earlier this month taught parents CPR at a water-safety awareness program city officials held at Hamilton Aquatic Center.

A talented seamstress, McIntire had made Emily Rose, “a sweet little beautiful girl,’’ a Tinker Bell costume, because Tinker Bell was her favorite character. She never dreamed that she would also bury Emily in the costume.

Today, she makes special dresses as a side business or for the daughters of her friends, always knowing that she’d rather be making them for Emily Rose.

McIntire struggled with how to tell Chris, now 9, that his sister had passed away. She also had to deal with questions that broke her heart, like when Chris asked her, “Mom, when is Emily coming home?’’

“I have to put on a façade for him sometimes. Sometimes I am hurting so bad.

I don’t want him to know I feel horrible about this,’’ she said.

She said she has heard Chris tell other children when they see Emily Rose’s picture, “That’s my sister. She died three years ago. Now she is my guardian angel.’’

McIntire shares her story on social media and with parents she meets in her neighborhood and through her son’s baseball team. She also has appeared with Curtis, her mentor in the drowning prevention crusade, at water-safety events.

“She’s given me a lot of support and encouragement. She has inspired me to help when I can,’’ McIntire said.

Firefighters and safety advocates say all drownings are preventable but that it takes a concentrated, unending effort to keep small children safe around water.

They recommend focused adult supervision, a fence with a self-latching gate around the pool and swimming lessons, which can start as young as 9 months old.

They say even a momentary distraction on an adult’s part can create enough time for a child to drown, and the fence is required as a backstop to buy additional time.

The problem is so severe that Michele Long, the Mesa Fire Department’s drowning prevention coordinator, recommends putting a life vest on any child visiting a home without a pool fence.

“When you are telling family members, ‘Watch my children,’ that is not enough,’’ Long said. “It has to be direct supervision.’’

The Children’s Safety Zone, a website operated by the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona, reflects the chronic nature of the heartbreaking problem, with the number of pediatric drownings in Maricopa County dropping from 27 in 2001 to 15 in 2017.

In the East Valley, four children ages 5 and younger, the official age range defined pediatric drownings, drowned in 2017.

That includes three in Mesa and one each in Gilbert and Chandler.

Phoenix had six, which represents a typical death toll but a significant improvement from the 15 recorded in 2001.

More adults than children drown in Maricopa County. In 2017, 43 out of 61 victims in were adults.

Gilbert’s number of water-related incidents dropped from 19 to nine in 2017, but the town still recorded two drownings – one pediatric and one adult.

Gilbert does not have an ordinance requiring a fence to surround a pool, but a state law passed in the 1990s during a drowning epidemic requires them.

See

DROWNINGS on page 17

15

MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

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NEWS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

from page 1

99.9 percent ready to go and our target date is to complete before the 4th of July.

There are a lot of contingencies we’re all moving on at the same time, but we’re pretty certain Wilson is not coming back in the picture.”

Those contingencies involve Breuninger’s unpaid $218,000 water bill from the City of Phoenix Water Services Department – which has now ballooned to $280,000 after the city handed the matter over to a collection agency.

Breuninger said the department has frustrated his effort to close the refinancing deal by not taking his calls or answering his emails so he can resolve a final issue with the refinancing company.

That issue involves the restoration of water service, Breuninger said, explaining that the collection agency has offered to set up a payment plan on the debt but that he cannot get the department’s assurances that water service would be restored while he’s making payments.

Ideally, he said, he’d prefer just paying the water debt directly to the city and saving $70,000 in collection fees.

“The only cog in the entire thing is that we have not heard how we can proceed with the city to resolve the past-due water

(Tom Sanfilippo/Inside Out Aerial)

Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course could remain a barren moonscape for years unless homeowners compromise on the dispute over what should be located on the site, said Wilson Gee, who likely will get back the site now that he’s foreclosed on a loan to The True Life Companies.

bill,” Breuninger said.

Gee said last week that if he ends up owning the Club West course again, “We’re back to square one. I’ll close it for the summer, reseed it in the fall and open it for golf.”

He also said he is continuing his work toward developing a pipeline that could provide cheaper water to both Club West and nearby Foothills Golf Course, which

he also owns.

But while Breuninger said he’s been working with Gee on that pipeline, he also said a separate project may yield a source of cheaper water far closer to Club West – possibly even under it.

The high price of city water has been an issue at Club West for nearly two years.

Gee shuttered the course over his own problems with the city Water Services De-

partment.

After Gee fell behind on his water bills in June 2016, the department turned off the water. As the course turned brown, the Foothills Club West Community Association sued Gee, contending he was violating his contract with the HOA to maintain a “world-class” course. That suit was dropped last December when Breuninger bought the course.

If Gee ends up with the golf course again, his plan to open Club West for the 2018-19 season won’t be stymied by the $230,000 bill that Breuninger owes.

“We would not hold a new customer liable for the debt of a separate/previous customer,” said city Water Services Department spokeswoman Stephanie Bracken.

Breuninger said he wants future water service put under the name of the refinancing company, although he also said his deal will still go through regardless of what the city does.

He said the $3 million loan he’s arranging with that refinancing company represents only a third of the golf course’s appraised value.

Meanwhile, Gee said a scientific expert has found a vein of water beneath an area that will be future site of ramps on the south side of South Mountain Freeway at See

WEST on page 17

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MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

LAKES

“I don’t see anyone paying $8.2 million for that land.”

But Hall maintained that any future decision by homeowners depends on Hannah right now.

“We have to see the shape, contours and boundaries of the order,” he said.

Tim Barnes, the attorney representing Swain and Breslin, in February submitted his own sense of how that order should be shaped in detailed filings requested by Hannah.

Barnes proposed the court hire Kip Wolfe, vice president of golf operations for course development company Pro Turf International, as a special master and set a rigorous schedule for True Life to follow in restoring the 101-acre site by the end of next year.

Wolfe estimated in an affidavit that it

He said Club West HOA President Mike Hinz has already assured him that the association would help him get the necessary permission to drill a well on its property if necessary.

Breuninger said he is securing a loan of about $3 million so that he can finally refurbish the clubhouse, pay for water no matter where it comes from, have operating capital and contract with Top Golf to

build a driving range.

Top Golf is a global entertainment company that has multi-tiered driving complexes in both Scottsdale and Gilbert.

Patrons rent a bay to hit a micro-chipped balls at targets in a netted outfield.

Unlike those three-tiered complexes, Breuninger said, the Club West facility would have no nets and be only two stories high.

He said that between that and the regular course, Club West would provide “two lucrative revenue streams” that would make his operation successful.

He also said he intends to continue a monthly flea market at the course and also host other community activities.

“We’re struggling and we’re grinding,” he said. “I’m in it to win it. We’re trying to move forward and do what’s right.”

nightmare for everyone involved.”

While firefighters preach constant vigilance, they say there is a high risk of a momentary lapse in supervision of children around water – the kind that leads to fatalities or a lifetime of disabilities caused by nearly drowning.

“Yes, we all want to watch our kids. At the same time, we need multiple barriers to succeed,’’ Fejt said. She said many drownings still occur at pools not enclosed by a fence or with an inappropriate fence.

Many times, people don’t understand the brief amount of time it takes for a child to drown, or the multitude of scenarios that can contribute to a drowning, Fejt said. Nearly every year, for instance, a Maricopa County child climbs through a doggie door and drowns.

In a world full of distractions, Long said, the risk of human factors contributing to drowning is very high.

“A lot of people automatically think you can blame the parents. That’s not true,’’

Long said. “Most of it is a lapse in supervision. It could be a cell phone or another child.’’

Ehrman hopes he has responded to his last drowning call, but he knows the risk is always lurking in a desert community with a lot of children and pools.

“I wish we knew the right formula for people to be aware all the time and watch kids around water,’’ Ehrman said. “Every agency does prevention every year. The hope is that one family is saved.’’

from page 1

Lakes, which waged a bitter fight against True Life’s effort to win enough support from homeowners for its plan to build an agrihood.

The judge’s ruling could come soon since Hannah is being transferred to a new court division – a routine administrative action – later this week. One source noted that judges who are transferred usually try to clear up any remaining cases before taking on a new assignment.

No matter when Hannah rules, however, the condition of Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course apparently won’t change any time soon.

“It’s going to be vacant for at least another three or four years, maybe 10 years,” Gee said, stating that homeowners should realize that “homes are the best use of that land.”

He also said it will be up to homeowners to approach him to start negotiating the course’s future if no one steps forward to pay off the note and ownership of the site reverts to him.

“I’m the only guy who will pretty much compromise with anyone,” he said. “I’ll leave it up to them to come to me. I’ve had my hand slapped enough when I’ve held it out to them.

“If homes were built there, the existing homeowners would see their property values increase by 30 percent the first year.

I’ve seen this happen in other situations,” Gee added. “If you have reasonable people who don’t want to tie up their money in lawyer’s hands, I think we can reach some kind of an agreement.”

Gee closed the course in 2013, saying he

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was losing money. He and True Life have both pointed to a decline of interest nationally in golf and said the Valley already is saturated with courses, many struggling to stay alive.

Save the Lakes adamantly disputed those contentions and produced a golf developer, Buddy Johnson, who testified before Hannah last falI and said, “I have had at least five substantial and capable buyers come to me and express an interest” in buying the Lakes course.

Save the Lakes President Jeff Hall said Gee’s foreclosure on True Life “doesn’t surprise me.”

Asked if any of those never-identified parties Johnson mentioned would likely appear in the office of Gee’s lawyer on or before Aug. 21 to pay off True Life’s note on the property, Hall replied:

would likely cost about $6 million to restore the course. That estimate is less than half the $14 million price tag that True Life’s expert put on a restoration.

True Life already indicated it would either file for bankruptcy or appeal, so a lengthy delay in resolving the course’s future is no surprise.

Company executive vice president Aidan Berry, who has been the point man for the project since late 2016, did not return an emailed request for comment.

The foreclosure comes almost two years after True Life rolled out its plan to turn the course into Ahwatukee Farms, a development that would include about 280 single-family and two-family homes, a fiveacre farm and café, a private school and various hiking and aesthetic amenities.

True Life spent an estimated $2 million on an advertising campaign to persuade 51 percent of the Lakes’ approximate 5,400 homeowners to agree to a change in the CC&Rs that would allow it to begin formally seeking the required city approvals for the development of its agrihood proposal.

But the company fell short by at least 300 homeowners, and late last year, it proposed a new plan for the site in filings with Hannah.

It said it would develop a nine-hole, par three “fun course” as long as it could also build houses.

The homeowner plaintiffs in the case rejected that offer.

True Life then asserted that Hannah could order the company only to build a golf course but that he had no legal authority to dictate what it should look like.

Barnes disputed that assertion – which Hannah has yet to answer.

from page 16

24th Street.

“The scientist is 80 percent sure” that body of water extends to the north side of the freeway and possibly all the way up to the Club West HOA or golf course property. If that turns out to be correct, Breuninger said he would drill a well.

DROWNING

from page 10

Deputy Fire Chief Josh Ehrman was less than elated, however, realizing there also are near-drownings, in which being underwater too long cuts off oxygen to the brain, resulting in cognitive deficits that last a lifetime.

“We had a great year in the sense that the numbers are down, but a perfect year is zero,’’ Ehrman said. “It’s an absolute

(Tom Sanfilippo/Inside Out Aerial)

Club West Golf Course owner Richard Breuninger says he has a plan to restore the now-brown course to the luster he achieved for a short time last fall and early winter.

18

NEWS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

8 years later, a Mesa family still mourns fallen hero could be attacked with other weapons.

As area residents marked Memorial Day, Barbara’s family somberly commemorated ven at age 7, Barbara Vieyra was their own loss among the nation’s fallen already telling her family how she heroes. wanted to serve in the U.S. Army.

Barbara was only 22 – and Evelyn was Family members, including her sister nearing her third birthday – when she was Lupe, wondered if Barbara was just going killed. through a phase as the two girls grew up It was a devastating blow, the kind with on a southeast Mesa dairy farm. Lupe just as much power over the lives of most gently reminded Barbara, “That’s kind of military families as any bomb or missile. dangerous.’’

“She was more calm, more disciplined.

But military aspirations were not a phase Me, there’s no way I would do that,’’ Lupe for Barbara, who remained steadfast in her Vierya said. “Me, it was, ‘You’re crazy.’’’ quiet determination to serve her country.

Lupe is proud of her sister and her She went through the ROTC program at service to the country. At the time of east Mesa’s Skyline High School.

Barbara’s death, she was considered the After Barbara gave birth to her daughter first East Valley woman killed in action in Evelyn, her resolve only grew. She enrolled Afghanistan and Iraq. in the U.S. Army in 2008 and became The girls and their brother, Robert, are a military police officer and an expert first-generation Americans, born to Raul marksman. and Elizabeth Vieyra, immigrants from And Lupe’s fears became a heart- Mexico who came to the United States wrenching reality. seeking a better life more than 30 years Barbara was deployed to Afghanistan, ago. where she made the ultimate sacrifice.

Raul rose every day at 4:30 a.m. for She was killed in action by an improvised nearly 30 years, tending the Jersey cows explosive device and rocket-propelled while working as a herder. grenades on Sept. 18, 2010. It was a Barbara Vieyra was assigned to the 720th scenario repeated many times over, with Military Police Battalion, 89th Military the IED disabling a military vehicle so it Police Brigade. She was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. She also had been awarded the Army Commendation Medal.

Robert Vieyra, 24, acting as an interpreter for his parents, explained why they are so proud of Barbara and proud of her sacrifice, even though their hearts are forever broken.

“She was taking responsibility for Evelyn by joining the Army. She wanted to take care of Evelyn,’’ Robert said.

He said Barbara did not want to ask others for help in supporting her (Kimberly Carrillo/AFN Staff Photographer) daughter financially Army PFC Barbara Vieyra left behind, from left, standing: her sister Lupe and was looking and brother Robert as well as her parents Raul and Elizabeth Vieyra, who are flanking her daughter Evelyn. to put her military

BY JIM WALSH AFN Staff Writer

E

benefits to good use by pursuing college and a career focused on helping others.

“I think she probably would have been a nurse,’’ Robert said, when asked what would have happened to Barbara if she had survived her tour of duty in Afghanistan. “She wanted to go to school and be a nurse.’’

He said Barbara always wanted to help others and nursing was a natural fit for her.

Elizabeth and Raul Vieyra said they think about Barbara every day, not just on Memorial Day, although it is an especially solemn time when the close-knit family visits Barbara’s grave together at Mesa City Cemetery.

It is ritual the family follows every holiday.

Barbara is always remembered and never forgotten. As always, they will bring Barbara flowers.

“I feel my daughter is very close to me on Memorial Day,’’ said Elizabeth Vieyra.

Today, Evelyn, 11, a fifth-grader in Queen Creek, reminds her family so much of her mother with her quiet, unflappable personality. The youngster is Barbara’s legacy, several family members said.

“I think she’s a lot like my sister. She’s really calm. Her personality is a lot like my sister’s,’’ Lupe said.

Added Evelyn: “I feel very proud. I feel very thankful and I feel very happy she was serving the country. I’m happy because she served our country and she makes me feel proud.’’

However, Evelyn does not have any military aspirations. She hopes to a commercial airline pilot and travel around the world.

She also wants to do well in school and to make her mother proud of her actions.

“It inspires me to be graceful and do things good for people, to help people,’’ Evelyn said of her mother’s sacrifice.

For Lupe, the sense of loss is more personal.

The two girls did everything on the dairy together and went to school together. Lupe said people sometimes joked that Barbara was another mother to her, watching out for her.

“When I think about it, it makes me sad,’’ Lupe said about her sister’s death.

“When Evelyn thinks of her, it makes her happy. I am surprised by how well she takes it.’’

Capt. Aaron Thacker, a military police officer with the Arizona National Guard, never forgot Barbara, either. It was Thacker’s grim duty to inform the Vieyra

(Kimberly Carrillo/ AFN Staff Photographer)

Evelyn Vierya displays a photo of her mother, Army PFC Barbara Vieyra, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010, when Evelyn was nearing her third birthday.

family that Barbara had been killed in action in the Kunar Province.

It was a bad time, with many such notifications across the country.

In all, U.S troops have sustained 6,675 deaths in Operation Iraq Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (Afghanistan), according to the Department of Defense.

Thacker not only made the notification.

Because the Guard was short-handed during that period, he also accompanied the Vieyra family to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to recover Barbara’s remains and helped to arrange her funeral and military benefits for the family.

Later, Thacker was commissioned as an officer and sent for military police officer training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. He was walking through the headquarters building one day when he noticed a wall honoring the military police officers who had been killed in action.

“Her name was right there. It overwhelmed me,’’ Thacker said.

When Thacker eventually commanded his own unit in Afghanistan, he thought of Barbara. Her memory helped inspire him to think of ways to protect his troops.

“It affected how I led as an officer,’’ Thacker said. “I’ve constantly had reminders of Barbara in my life.’’

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MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

19

Notification is first of many services to survivors of fallen heroes

BY JIM WALSH AFN Staff Writer

N

o mission is more emotional than the U.S Army National Guard’s outreach to the family of a fallen soldier.

The Army’s procedure is more thorough, respectful and compassionate than merely delivering the bad news that a loved one has been killed in the service of their country, although serving as the messenger of doom is an essential part of military protocol.

“No soldier is ever excited to deliver a death notification, but every soldier who delivers that message takes it as a point of honor. It’s one of the hardest things you can do in the military but it’s one of the most honorable things you can do,’’ said Capt. Aaron Thacker, a military police officer.

It was Thacker who had to deliver the bad news to the family of Barbara Vieyra, 22, of Mesa, that she had been killed in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan on Sept. 18, 2010.

Thacker dropped everything he was doing that day, as required, donned his dress uniform and ran out to the southeast Mesa dairy where Vieyra grew up and where her family lived at that time.

His kindness to the family, serving as both the casualty notification officer and the casualty assistance officer because the National Guard was so short-handed, made a lasting impression on Lupe and her family. A Spanish-speaking friend volunteered to assist Thacker to improve his interaction with Vieyra’s parents.

“We are really thankful for him,’’ said Lupe Vieyra, 28. “Even though it was not good news, we were happy to have him.

He was very helpful.’’

First Sgt. James Branton has experienced every human emotion possible from family members while acting as a casualty notification officer.

In the next stage, casualty assistance officers usually spend about six months with a family, arranging for the return of the soldier’s body, helping to set up services and pursuing military benefits on the family’s behalf.

“The casualty notification officer’s job is to go with a chaplain and be the ugly face of the Army,’’ Branton said, adding that compassion and flexibility are required.

“You get a very small snapshot of what’s going on,’’ he said. “I have seen very emotional reactions, from sadness, to denial to anger.

way they treated the last notification officer,’’ he said. “He was the one they lashed out at.’’

The casualty assistance officer’s duties are more multi-dimensional but also very sad. The officer goes to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware with the family to re(Kimberly Carrillo/AFN Staff Photographer) cover the soldier’s The National Guard’s Stella Cook, a support coordinator, and First Sgt. James body.

Services Branton help assist families who lose a loved one in combat. and burial are the next step.

The Army noticed that many families “There is no textbook answer. In hostility, you diffuse the situation and don’t take of fallen soldiers were struggling, long afit personally. It’s a lot of empathy and a ter the funeral, with financial problems or behavioral issues. lot of understanding,’’ Branton said.

So, in 2008, it created the Survivor Branton said there can be a shoot-the-messenger reaction among Outreach Services program and made the some family members when they hear National Guard responsible for carrying it out. such terrible news.

The arrangement works well be“I had a family apologize to me for the

cause the National Guard has facilities throughout the country.

“They are part of our family and we want them to know that,’’ said Stella Cook, a support coordinator who has a wealth of experience working with military families. “They might have problems with the benefits, behavioral issues with the kids, family stuff.’’

Cook said outreach coordinators use their knowledge of the military to intercede on behalf of families in need. The program has coordinators who serve the entire state, but 75 percent of the caseload comes from Maricopa and Pinal counties. The program serves 1,800 survivors in the state.

“We try to keep them connected and help them connect with each other,’’ she said. “They themselves are their best support.’’

She said 26 percent of the cases involve families who lost someone in action and 24 percent involve suicides, demonstrating the emotional strain caused by military service. Other cases involve illness and training accidents.

“We’re here for the family long-term,’’ Cook said.

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20

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

Community

@AhwatukeeFN |

@AhwatukeeFN

www.ahwatukee.com

Mountain Pointe grads a pride-filled group Smiles, tears and cheers abounded last Thursday at Mountain Pointe High School as about 575 seniors picked up their diplomas after hearing from valedictorians Cynthia Liu and Quyen Pham, who, along with Katherine Dietz, are National Merit Scholars. At the ceremony, 1) Elijah Valentine got congratulatory balloons from his dad Emil Johnson; 2)Ali Janiec took a selfie as Daniela Diaz looked on; 3) Delvin Jones was all smiles; 4)teacher Suzanne Idler hugged Ezmariah Barragan; 5) seniors marched on the field; 6) Jamillah Waters held up a poster of nephew Jaad Mikaal Waters; 7) grads did their traditional toss; 8)Grace Challoner posed for pics with, from left, mom Robin Munger, stepdad Scott Fisher and sister Sorcha Challoner; 9)grad Leslye Molina got a hug from cousin Karla Nanez; and 10)Kevin Castanada got congrats from Marco Jr., Marco Sr. and little Mateo Castanada.

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PHOTOS BY CHERYL HASELHORST AFN Contributor

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MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Desert Vista High seniors thunder outta here About 700 seniors at Desert Vista High School officially became part of the Class of 2018 last Thursday. Speakers at commencement ceremonies included student body President Elyssa Goswick and valedictorians Kevin Dai, Aishwar Kumar and Qihan "Judy" Zhu. Tempe Union High School District did not provide the total value of scholarships, but several individual seniors were honored. They included eight National Merit Scholars: Monica Essig Aberg, Aksel Laudon, Shae Nicolaisen, Vinayak Parthasarathy, Caleb Redshaw, Nicholas Thatcher, Jessica Wang and Qihan Zhu. The class also included NROTC Scholarship winner Andrew Snedecor while Caleb Humphrey and Don Angelo Piasecki are heading to the U.S. Air Force Academy and James Stagg is bound for the U.S. Naval Academy.

PHOTOS BY KIMBERLY CARRILLO AFN Photographer

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COMMUNITY

22

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

Horizon Honors grad tells classmates: Pursue your passion

BY NIKHIL DAVE AFN Guest Writer

Nikhil Dave, the valedictorian for Horizon Honors’ Class of 2018, was to deliver this address to his classmates at graduation ceremonies Tuesday, May 29.

I

have been attending Horizon since the first grade. Throughout my 12 years as a part of this amazing community, I have learned numerous lessons.

But there is one lesson that has truly transformed my life over the past four years. Tonight, as we walk across this stage together, and prepare to enter the next chapter of our lives, my one request to you is that you keep this message in mind, wherever your future takes you: Find your passion, and pursue it selflessly.

To start, I’d like to share a quick personal story from about a year ago. As

some of you may know, at the beginning of our junior year, my mother was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer.

I’m proud to say that now, she is cancer free and in remission. However, throughout the ten months which she valiantly endured chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and radiation therapy, I learned a very important lesson which I will keep for the rest of my life.

I learned just how fragile life is.

I went to bed one night and woke up the next day to find out that my mother would spend the next year fighting for her life. It came out of nowhere. I realized how life can change on a dime – within minutes or even seconds. And because of that, I learned that there is no time to waste doing something you don’t love.

Life is incredibly delicate and short, so spend your time doing what you are passionate about. Passion is the fire that will always burn in your heart, no matter how windy the circumstances around you are. It is the crayon which colors in the black and white world that we all live in. Without it, life would be bland, boring, and pointless.

Take action in what you’re passion-

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ate about and never lose sight of your dreams, regardless of external critique or circumstance.

Now, there are commencement speeches around the country right now telling you to find your passion, but they’re missing the important part – pursuing it selflessly. Find your passion and pursue it selflessly.

Selflessly means doing something you truly love to do, irrespective of money, recognition, or prestige. It means that the work you do is done with the purpose of bettering, not you, but what it is that you’re doing, whether this be in the art you love or for the people you love.

Those who make a difference in this world, small or big, are those that find their passion, and pursue it selflessly. Our amazing teachers and faculty at Horizon model this daily, giving themselves in a myriad of ways; however, the one example that always stood out to me was the one set by my World History teacher, Mr. Huber.

While this may be the only thing that my slightly over-saturated brain actually remembered from taking World History sophomore year; it is by far, the most im-

portant thing I have learned throughout my twelve years of classes at Horizon.

When I took World History, it was my last class of the day. Now, the convention for these end-of-day classes is to have the students stack their chairs in the last few minutes of class, so that a team of students can quickly reset the room and prepare it for cleaning that night.

While I had gotten accustomed to packing my bag at 2:25, to stack my chair and head out for the day, Mr. Huber, insisted on doing things differently.

Instead, he spent every second of those last five minutes teaching, and then selflessly stacked the 30 chairs in his classroom alone – every single class, every single day. As I picked up on this, his passion for what he did, teaching, became clearer than day.

I soon realized, that when doing something passionately, it no longer becomes about you, and it becomes entirely about the art of what you are doing. As I continue to navigate the world, I hope to pursue my passions with this same selflessness and fire, and I hope that you too will find your passion, and pursue it selflessly.

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23

She’s helped teen moms, now is turning to help others

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA AFN Contributor

B

ronwyn Paes, director of the Tempe Union High School District’s TeenAged Pregnancy and Parenting program, knows what it means to overcome adversity with resilience.

Those are words the Ahwatukee woman uses to describe the teenage students in her program who suddenly find themselves pregnant yet persevere to continue their education and graduate with their high school diploma.

Paes, too, has persevered, especially following the sudden passing of her 60-yearold husband three years ago on Mother’s Day morning, leaving her a widow with three daughters from a previous marriage.

“He had just survived and recovered from prostate cancer,” she said of her deceased husband, Ted Marshall.

“I’m now working on redefining my life,” she said.

To assist in that redefinition, Paes this month retired as TAPP’s director after serving in that capacity for 11 years.

It is a step toward a three-year-plan she has constructed to help her find her way again. It is a well-thought-out plan fitting for the 56-year-old woman who’s spent 35 years as a social worker – the last 25 in public schools.

“While I loved all my jobs – a runaway shelter in New Orleans to shelter work on the Gila River Reservation with abused native children to elementary school work with Gilbert Public Schools – my career in TAPP has probably been the most rewarding,” she said.

She recalled she had no clear understanding of what the role at TAPP would entail, noting, “ It has evolved over the years, and while very rewarding, it has challenged me both personally and professionally.”

“I know that teen pregnancy does not discriminate and can happen to anyone regardless of race, color, religion, ethnicity or socioeconomic status.”

Of the 23 girls who graduated from the program with their high school diplomas two weeks ago, five were from Ahwatukee.

Paes admitted seeing the challenges the young women faced caused her occasional angst with her own three daughters.

“Raising daughters there were times when I was hyper-vigilant with them and probably embarrassed them in front of their friends with my conversations and reality checks about having an unplanned pregnancy at a young age. On the other side of that I know many of their friends

ment, child birth education, pregnancy and parenting classes, a mentoring program, support groups, transportation and child care. In addition to serving as a dropout prevention program, TAPP works to decrease teen pregnancy and repeated pregnancy.

The infants room, formerly run by Early Head Start, was saved from extinction four years ago

by Paes, who earned a (Kimberly Carrillo/AFN Staff Photographer) After directing Tempe Union High School District's TeenAged child care director certiPregnancy and Parenting program for 11 years, Bronwyn Paes of fication after convincing Ahwatukee is ready for a new chapter in her life. the school district it was knew they could talk to me about their crucial for students to be able to return to school with their babies after their twosexual health.”

She said she considers herself “one of week maternity leave.

At the May 17 “Beat the Odds” Celebrathose rare people whose passion and profession intercept. And directing TAPP tion held at Compadre, 23 TAPP students these past 11 years has drawn on that and from all seven Tempe Union High School District high schools were feted. amplified it.

Each student – some with their babies, “The TAPP program showed me the deepest examples of adversity and re- others pregnant – was personally recogsilience. These young women’s lives are nized by district Superintendent Kenneth changed forever. Parenting a baby when Baca and Compadre principal Ed Flores, they are children themselves is beyond both of whom are also leaving TUHSD overwhelming. The tenacity and courage this year.

TAPP has served more than 1,639 stuto overcome obstacles leaves me speechdents in the last 11 years. less,” she explained.

“The TAPP program helps break the cy“What brings me great joy is to work with students who barely have their basic cle. I love knowing I contributed to helpneeds met and to be able to guide them ing young people see the unlimited opporand watch them grow into successful tunities and explore their possibilities. My young adults. Dealing with poverty, sub- fondest memories will be those days when standard housing, minimal food, lack of a former student comes back and shares education and limited resources for day- their current life and successes large and to-day living and yet still come to school small,” Paes said.

Now, Paes’ two oldest daughters, Brenna every day, “ she said, adding: “To see them discover their potential, and Bronte, have earned masters degrees, believe in themselves and move on to not and her youngest daughter, Braelyn, is a only a high school diploma but also col- newly minted Desert Vista High School graduate heading this fall to Northern Arlege is the ultimate satisfaction.”

Located at Compadre Academy in Tem- izona University.

Paes said she decided to set plans in mope, a special wing designed and built in 2001, the 44-year-old TAPP program of- tion for new adventures.

“I love being a social worker. There are fers teens the ability to earn credits, some specially designed. Childcare is provided so many things that I would still like to for babies two weeks to 3 years of age. do and it will be fun to sort that out,” she Twenty-six babies were in child care this said. “But I am also tired. I am ready to slow down and do some hiking, traveling school year.

Nationally, 50 to 60 percent of teens and explore new places and meet more who become pregnant drop out of school. people. Someone once asked me what I In contrast, only about 9 percent of preg- collect, and after much thought my response was ‘people.’ I am looking forward nant and parenting teens leave TAPP. The TAPP program provides students to sharing my gifts and graces beyond with a system of support and education, Tempe Union High School District and which includes individual case manage- the TAPP program.”

Toward that end, Paes drafted her threeyear plan. “I have my 25 years, and I decided not to stay five more years because my life is changing,” said Paes, who has lived in Ahwatukee since 1988.

Step one in the Paes post-retirement plan is to “Stay put and work part-time” with Crisis Preparation and Recovery in Phoenix. There, she will continue drawing on her social work background, visiting and counseling the elderly in their homes and in nursing homes.

She will also continue her part-time work with Arizona State University as an academic associate which she will continue to do in her year-two phase: roaming the U.S. in a travel trailer with her Australian sheep dog Bentley.

“We’re going to hit the road and travel places and visit people,” said Paes.

Year three? Fulfilling a vision she and her husband had before his sudden departure: “I want to work in a village, in a rural area as a social worker. This was a plan he and I had, and now there’s no reason I can’t do it by myself.”

After those three years, she will return to Ahwatukee.

“The girls will all be out of school, and I can spend time with my mother Dorlea Jenkins. She’s 78 now and also lives in Ahwatukee.”

She recalls how her years with TAPP were often emotionally draining, and yet her family was there for her. They were always understanding and provided support when I was just depleted and had nothing left for them at the end of the day. I always tried to be the best mom I could be, but I know there were times when they needed more,” she said.

“All three of my daughters are strong, independent, courageous young women. We faced adversity as a family with a divorce, followed by the sudden death of their stepfather. They are resilient. I believe I have been a positive role model to them and demonstrated the value of a strong work ethic combined with compassion and service to others.”

The one area she wishes she could have rallied more support for at TAPP remains a concern.

“There is a huge need for foster parents for teens with a baby. It is so sad when they get separated and put into different shelters or homes,” she said.

“Many years before my husband died, we were exploring the option of becoming foster parents for this population. My daughters were on board. Life changes and that is one goal that didn’t come to be.”

24

COMMUNITY

St. Benedict’s parishioners have a blast

(Special to AFN)

About 300 members of the Parish of St. Benedict in Ahwatukee recently held their first congregation picnic with the help of their Knights of Columbus chapter and others, such as Amy Fletcher and Eamonn Ahearne. The picnic helped remind parishioners of the current “Living Our Faith, Building Our Home” fund drive to raise money for a new church on 48th Street south of Chandler Boulevard and to underscore its mission as a “welcoming church.” Information: st.benedict.org.

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Wedding planner blends rituals for celebrations

BY COLLEEN SPARKS AFN Staff Writer

J

o Ann M. Grant considers herself an architect who helps people create their ideal weddings from scratch.

Whether it involves a groom making a grand entrance on a white horse as part of an Indian ritual or a couple uniting in a traditional Catholic ceremony, Grant said she helps build clients’ big day “from the ground up.”

As the owner of Apropos Creations, which she started in 2009, Grant has successfully orchestrated weddings that celebrate the cultures of India, Laos, Mexico, the Philippines and the United States.

She also helps people lay the foundation and carry out other life-changing moments – including delivering marriage proposals and anniversary parties – along with birthday celebrations, quinceañeras (coming-of-age parties for young Mexican women) and corporate events.

Grant, who moved to the U.S. from the Philippines in 1986, has studied rituals and traditions from different ethnic and religious groups to incorporate into multicultural weddings her clients desire.

Photos from weddings she has planned reveal beaming women wrapped in colorful, elaborately decorated Indian sarees and grooms donning sherwani, royal-looking suits with long jackets.

Brides in modern, white strapless gowns and grooms in popular American suits posed outside with palm trees, cacti and mountains behind them at other multicultural weddings Grant has planned.

“It’s just my niche,” Grant said. “I educated myself with the traditions, with their lingo. You have to be respectful of their traditions.”

With some clients, the groom has been led to the marriage location in an Indian procession called the Baraat. Grant said the groom’s family members and friends escort him as he rides a white horse.

Because of logistics in some of the Indian weddings Grant has planned, the procession starts somewhere closer to the wedding site, not at the groom’s home.

Grant contacts a vendor who provides her horses for such Indian weddings and also for brides and grooms who want a horse and carriage for their weddings.

Despite cultural variations, Grant said she and the team of vendors always have the same mission.

“We all have one common goal, to make sure the bride and groom is happy on their wedding day,” she said.

(Kimberly Carrillo/Staff Photographer )

Jo Ann M. Grant, owner of Apropos Creations, prepares a cake for an Indian-themed wedding reception.

Planning weddings and receptions can take more than a year and involve multiple elements on a checklist. Some people hire Grant just to work the day of their wedding and reception, while others seek her assistance from the start of their planning journey.

Since December, she has been planning a wedding scheduled for January 2019.

The first steps are figuring out the venue for the wedding and reception, as well as their budget and number of guests they will invite.

Then she will typically narrow down the list of venue options to three and ask her clients to visit them to make their final selection.

“It’s all about the flow,” Grant said.

That flow involves making sure it is easy and smooth for the bridal party and guests to move around during the wedding, cocktail hour, dinner and dancing.

Sometimes she hires subcontractors to help her plan weddings, including assistant coordinators the day of the wedding.

They perform many tasks the day of the wedding – making sure bridal parties are lined up for the procession, shadowing the bride to be sure she has what she needs, checking on the cake and putting place cards on dinner tables.

She keeps a detailed checklist she gives her clients, setting tasks that need to be done by certain dates, including picking the style and colors, choosing the guests, sending out save-the-date cards, booking a caterer and reserving the officiant nine or more months ahead of the wedding.

Working with DJs, photographers, bakers and many other vendors can be stressful, but Grant doesn’t let her clients see her sweat.

“I’m an adrenaline junkie,” she said, adding she enjoys the rush she gets orchestrating weddings.

“I am a very organized person, but I’m not OCD,” Grant said. “You have to be able to adjust accordingly and go with the flow, if something goes wrong, finding a solution. Don’t get stuck. You just make the best of it, of the situation. Do not have that panicked look on your face. You have to keep that calm face.”

She tells her clients not to worry about anything and to just enjoy the moment.

A source of stress is people’s not performing their duties at scheduled times, she said.

Grant recalled how she had recommended a DJ arrive an hour and a half before the ceremony began. Instead, he came 15 minutes before the wedding was scheduled to start.

“I had to roll with it,” Grant said, adding she talked to the DJ about his later-than-ideal arrival afterward.

She also keeps a sense of humor when things do not go as planned at weddings.

Grant recalled how nature called for a horse a groom was riding to a wedding.

She said the procession kept moving as it could. She also remembered at a “fusion wedding,” where Indian and American traditions blended when the bridesmaid, who was the bride’s sister, tried to put a flower garland on the bride.

25

Traditionally, the groom is the one who is supposed to put the garland on his bride, Grant said.

“The priest made light of it,” she said.

Grant enjoyed planning her brother and sister-in-law’s destination wedding and many friends’ weddings over the years.

She loved planning her own wedding about 20 years ago, which prompted her husband, Amoa Grant, to recommend she turn her passion for wedding planning into a business.

“He’s the reason why I have this company,” Jo Ann said. “It’s awesome. I never thought I’d be where I’d be.”

A mother to a 20-year-old son, Grant is also treasurer for the Phoenix chapter of the National Association of Catering and Events.

She planned 15 different events last year, mostly weddings. So far this year she has planned 10 weddings.

She also planned The Playhard Project’s 2nd Annual Charity Golf Tournament in Mesa. The Playhard Project, based in Chandler, aims to get corporate, government and private funding, as well as to do fundraising, to help struggling families and young athletes be able to play sports.

Planning weddings and other special celebrations can be stressful.

“It’s definitely a lot of mind stress,” Jo Ann said. “It’s not just one wedding I’m focused on. It’s being able to juggle and organize my thoughts. I write it all down.

There are challenging times where you doubt yourself. Then you have this family that supports you.”

She said hearing praise from her clients at the end of the night is “all I look forward to.”

“It’s those little words that makes me keep going,” Jo Ann said.

Many clients have posted praise for Jo Ann on Apropos Creations’ Facebook page.

“Apropos Creations/ Jo Ann Grant was such a pleasure to work with,” Daniela Enriquez posted. “Jo Ann is a true professional and knows all the ins and outs about wedding planning, and in our case she was the backbone of our very complex multicultural wedding which turned out absolutely amazing!!”

Nicole Ashley also was thrilled with her wedding organized by Jo Ann. “Than you, that is all we can really say!”

Ashley posted. “Our wedding was absolutely perfect."

Grant’s services start at $2,000. Information: aproposcreations.com.

COMMUNITY

26

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

3 cats and 2 dogs looking to live in Ahwtaukee

CHIFFON

NADIA

AFN News Staff

T

hree rescued cats and two dogs are hoping summer brings them new homes.

Jannelle Cosgriff of Friends for Life, which currently is housing two of the cats, said Dallas, a domestic short-haired red and white feline, is about 5 years old.

“Volunteers at the adoption center say he’s super handsome, quite the ‘hunk’ in fact,” Cosgriff said. “He’s a big boy yet has a sweet nature and very endearing. Dallas warms up quickly and is just the sweetest guy. He likes to roll around and show you

THELMA

his belly and his cat motor purrs almost nonstop.”

Chiffon is “a gorgeous domestic shorthaired flame point cat,” also about 5.

“She is a sweet, gentle girl that isn’t very demanding. Chiffon enjoys affection and attention as well as sometimes doing her own thing,” Cosgriff said.

The adoption fee for either cat is $95. Both are altered, vaccinated, microchipped, de-wormed and tested for FELV/FIV. Jennifer Berry of RESCUE at 4747 East Elliot Road, Ahwatukee, is seeking a home for two dogs, including Nadia,

GRACIE

whose “perky, flip-flopping ears are quite adorable.”

“Nadia is also an active, leggy gal that loves to romp in the grass, and if we let her she would chase lizards all day long,” Berry said. “She loves to prance around shaking her prize. Rope toys are another big favorite. She tugged and pulled on the rope for a good hour with one of our volunteers. After game time Nadia curls up into a small ball and falls fast asleep.”

Nadia is looking for a low-traffic home.

“She can be an only dog or in a home with a small dog to keep her company. aily walks to keep her trim figure are required.

DALLAS Lastly, a home with her favorite toys are high on Nadia’s wish list,” Berry said.

Berry also hopes to find new owners for Gracie, who “has been a perfect houseguest in her foster home.

“When she is out and about she has stolen the hearts of all that have met her and pet her bunny soft fur,” Berry said, adding: Her absolute favorite activity is snuggling up with some lucky human. You are guaranteed to get lost in her plush fur.

She’s looking for a home where she can go See

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Recovering addicts find rebirth at Volken ranch

Students live and work on site and perform all jobs necessary to keep the operation running. They start out mucking stalls and then move onto other jobs, including putting injured horses through water therapy and running the feed store.

There are also off-site jobs such as landscaping and maintaining a venue for weddings and other events.

“The reason we are able to stay here is because we are bringing in money. We are running a business,” said Traydon, a student at the ranch who asked not to use his last name.

The work aspect of the program is an important part of each student’s recovery because it gives them skills they will need to hold down jobs in the real world.

“They learn social skills, leadership skills and work ethic. They build character,” founder John Volken said.

He added that work is only one aspect of the program, which also includes teaching students social skills and putting them through encounter groups where students hold each other accountable for correcting bad behaviors.

“All these little things add up,” Volken

said. “They constantly learn to interact with others.

“For me, it is easy to say the right things and act the right way, but because the time is so long and there is so much that goes into it – it’s not just therapy and it’s not just work…you can’t act or (fake) your way through that,” said Logan, a student who works in the ranch’s call center.

He added, “Eventually your true self comes out. Good or bad, you have to work on some things.”

Confronting those bad behaviors is no easy task.

“It’s hard. It’s not easy, but that is what makes this program different,” said Zack, another student who works in the call center.

The program lasts two years, though it can last longer if a student’s recovery requires more time.

“It’s a change-your-life program; it goes on however long it takes,” Volken said.

The program’s length is a key component to student success, because it gives each student time to relearn healthy behaviors in a safe environment, he said.

“I know they’re not choirboys when they come on board, and it takes time to turn the ship around,” he added.

The students agree.

“One of the most important parts is the amount of time that we get to recover in a safe place and recover physically, mentally and emotionally from whatever addiction we are recovering from,” student Taylor Redfern said.

“A safe place to be for two years is huge,” he said.

Despite the work and treatment schedule, there is time for recreation, too. Redfern, who has been in the program for just over two years, said he enjoys playing volleyball and going to the park.

Students also make occasional visits to the movies or special events like Cavalia, the Cirque du Soleil-style horse show, thanks to donations from community members.

“There are a lot of volunteers in the community that donate time and money for us to do different activities,” Redfern said.

Priest said. “She came to the shelter with her two siblings, Tanman and Louise.

Yes, all three of them are still looking for homes.”

Calling Thelma “very cat social,” Berry added, “the perfect home for Thelma will have existing cats for her to play and

lounge about with. If you are really looking to make Thelma happy, you could adopt her and her siblings.”

Home Fur Good, 10220 N. 32nd St., Phoenix, is open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Information: 602971-1334 or homefurgood.org.

BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY AFN Staff Writer

I

n south Gilbert, where Val Vista Drive meets Hunt Highway and gives way to open desert, there sits a working ranch that can house nearly 150 horses for riders and owners from around the East Valley.

While horse properties are a dime a dozen in the area, this one stands out from the crowd for one reason: It doubles as a recovery center for men fighting addiction.

The John Volken Academy Ranch is a therapeutic community that provides job and life-skills training to recovering addicts on the program’s 50-plus-acre property. The John Volken Academy also runs therapeutic communities in Vancouver and Seattle.

At the ranch, residents pay a one-time $5,000 intake fee and the program provides a grant for further expenses. Much of those expenses are offset by the work the students perform as part of their recovery.

The program is not for everyone. The ranch only accepts male students between

(Kimberly Carrillo/Staff Photographer)

The John Volken Academy Ranch offers job and life skills training to recovering alcoholics.

the ages of 18 and 32. Volken said his residents typically come from “good families,” so they “know there is a better life out there.”

(Melissa Fossum/AFN Contributor)

McKay Tucker, left, offers guidance to Bryan Knudsen in the Volken Ranch wood shop.

PETS

from page 26

on walks, a few plushy toys to call her own and of course plenty of snuggle time. She is an amazing dog that is going to make some family super happy.”

Information: azrescue.org.

A long-haired, fluffy 2-year-old, cat named Thelma has been stranded for more than a year at Home Fur Good.

“Thelma is independent, she prefers to watch humans just beyond reach until she gets to know them,” spokeswoman Kathy

27

28

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

AROUND AHWATUKEE

Ahwatukee Rec Center needs help in getting goodies to troops

For years, volunteers at the Ahwatukee Recreation Center have filled boxes with goodies, toiletries and other items that they then shipped twice a year to American troops overseas.

But their plans were scuttled in April when the Air Force cancelled the program that actually got the boxes from here to overseas military outposts.

Now the Support the Troops volunteers are hoping people will donate a few dollars to help raise the estimated $4,000 it costs to ship hundreds of boxes to troops.

The volunteers had been shipping out hundreds of boxes twice a year, around Christmas and Easter, but this year had to cancel their April shipment because they didn’t have the money to get them shipped.

People can stop by the ARC or mail a check made out to ARC Support the Troops, Ahwatukee Recreation Center, 5001 E. Cheyenne Drive, Phx. AZ 85044. Anyone with questions can call Barb LeChaix at 480-893-2658.

FAST Ahwatukee slates Swedish ‘plogging’ event Saturday

The recent Swedish fitness craze “plogging” has made its way from Europe all the way to Ahwatukee.

Plogging is an activity that combines picking up litter while jogging. The term comes from the Swedish phrase “plocka upp,” which means to pick up, and the word “jogga,” which means jog. Combine those together and you get plogging.

A fitness app called Lifesum makes it possible for ploggers to track their activity. According to the data from this app, a person can burn more calories from

plogging compared to just going on a jog. The reason for this is plogging incorporates squatting to pick up the trash, so it naturally adds in a bit of toning with the cardio.

The Foothills Running Group will be plogging at 6 a.m. Saturday, June 2, at FAST Ahwatukee, 15410 S. Mountain Pkwy., Suite 112. The free event is open to anyone. People will be split into groups and plog for 45 minutes to an hour. Coffee and bagels will be provided after.

Ahwatukee author will conduct writing workshop this month

Katrina Shawver, author of the award-winning biography “Henry: A Polish Swimmer’s True Story of Friendship from Auschwitz to America,” will present a writing workshop entitled “Bringing Someone Else’s Story to Life” 6:30-8:30 p.m. June 14 at Changing Hands Bookstore – Tempe, 6428 S. McClintock Drive.

Cost is $25 and registration is at 480-730-0205. Participants should bring a notebook and pen.

Shawver will address three key challenges she has faced in writing narrative nonfiction and offer tips and resources to achieve credibility in writing.

Shawver has written for numerous publications and holds a bachelor’s degree from ASU in English and political science. She writes and blogs at katrinashawver. com.

Y OPAS wants your castaways for fundraiser, and needs volunteers

Realtor Lindaw Fellows and Goodwill are teaming up to help the Y Outreach Program for Ahwatukee Seniors.

Alzheimer’s Foundation plans conference on care

They’re holding a Summer Cleaning Donation Day 8-10 a.m. Saturday, June 2 at the corner of S. 1st Street and E. Nighthawk Way. People are encouraged to bring any items they no longer want and Goodwill will pay Y OPAS 10 cents for every pound of stuff it collects.

Y OPAS also is looking for volunteers to drive seniors in Ahwatukee to medical appointments, supermarkets and other local destinations. Volunteers must pass a background check and then can choose the hours they want to participate.

Information: jill.sears@vosymca.org or 602-2126076.

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Educating America National Tour, featuring a free Concepts in Care educational conference, free memory screenings and other services comes to Tempe June 22.

The program is open to families affected by Alzheimer’s disease, caregivers and anyone interested in learning more about Alzheimer’s.

Attendees will llearn from renowned medical and caregiving experts about disrupting dementia, setting a standard of care for those living with dementia, tips and strategies for caregivers and activity programming.

The conference runs 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tempe Marriott at the Buttes, 2000 W. Westcourt Way. Information/registration: alzfdn.org/event/afa-educating-america-tour-tempe or call 866-232-8484.

KJZZ Radio's Spot 127 offers summer boot camps for teens

Spot 127, the the youth media center at KJZZ 91.5 FM, is holding summer boot camps for Ahwatukee high school students with intensive, hands-on training in multimedia production.

During the immersive camps, journalists and media professionals mentor students while they produce audio and video pieces.

Participants spend two weeks learning to report, write, shoot and edit audio and video stories with the latest equipment. Students to get hands-on production experience to develop multimedia pieces that can be used in portfolios, scholarship and college applications.

July sessions offer a variety of experiences in digital media with students writing stories on a specific topic, expanding upon existing skills and creating exciting projects.

The cost of each program is $250, which includes lunch. Scholarships are available for students based on financial need. Applications at spot127.org.

Hot tub raffle raising money for local man's double-lung transplant

Friends are raffling a hot tub to help Ahwatukee resident Ed Kriesel pay the $1 million cost of a double lung transplant.

Krisel, 57, who has never smoked, was diagnosed 10 years ago with a rare genetic disease that has reduced his lung capacity by more than half.

The raffle tickets are $50 each or three for $100 and only 300 in all will be sold. A drawing will be held at Phoenix Hot Tubs and Swim Spas in Tempe on Saturday, June 2.

Information: 612-554-6257.

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COMMUNITY

MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

29

CALENDAR

SUNDAY, JUNE 3

New Orleans jazz featured

A New Orleans jazz and klezmer concert will be hosted

by Congregation NefeshSoul. It will feature fun music with The Hot Beignets – a traditional New Orleans jazz and klezmer band – and guest vocalist Susan Colin.

While cash donations are welcome, a contribution of a jar of smooth peanut butter or fruit-only jelly will serve as the admission and help the Chandler CARE Center provide lunch to children during summer.

DETAILS>> 4 p.m., Valley Unitarian Universalist Campus, 6400 W. Del Rio St., Chandler. Information: Kerry Vesper at kerry@kerryvesper.com or 480-429-0954.

TUESDAY, JUNE 5

Microsoft and writer

“Word Processing for Writers: Leaving the Long Shadow of Microsoft Word” with Darren Todd is the subject of this month’s Parchment and Prose Writers’ discussion group, which deals with all aspects of the writing process, from conception to publication. There will be no Parchment and Prose in July due to the July 4 holiday.

DETAILS>> 6-7:45 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Free. No registration required.

Summer STEM Fun

Drop-in at the library for this fun, hands-on STEM based program. Kids ages 6-11 different project each session.

DETAILS>> 4-5 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 6-11. Free. No registration required.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6

Magic of Richard Steele

Be amazed by mind reading and other feats of magic as renowned magician Richard Steele takes the stage.

This program was made possible with support from the Friends of the Phoenix Public Library. Although it is free, tickets are required and available in the library 30 minutes before start time on the day of the program.

DETAILS>> 2-3 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 3-12.

Monthly book discussion

Read the book and join each lively discussion. June’s read: “House of Names” by Colm Tóibín. There will be no discussion in July due to the July 4 holiday.

DETAILS>> 7-7:45 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Free. No registration required.

Learn about Medicare

Ahwatukee insurance expert Gregory Geryak will present a free workshop called “Understanding Medicare” and will discuss rights, options and entitlements; how to enroll; coverage and options.

DETAILS>> 4:30 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. Seating is limited. RSVP/ Information:: 480-797-5615 or greg.geryak@GJGIA.com

TUESDAY, JUNE 12 LEGO Lab is fun

Children accompanied by an adult can stop by for fun LEGO building time the second Tuesday of each month.

DETAILS>> 4-5 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E Chandler Blvd. Ages 6-11. Free. No registration required.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13

Family H2O STEM Lab

This hands-on science lab will engage you and your child in learning together about water on the earth system and sustainability through fun science and arts activities that involve the whole family. This program was provided by the Phoenix Water Services Department. Tickets are required and available in the library 30 minutes before start time on the day of the program.

DETAILS>> 2-4 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 3-12. Free.

summer at the Arizona Broadway Theatre and the Herberger Theater Center), will read stories, sing songs and pose for pictures. Tickets are limited & available in the library 30 minutes before program start time.

DETAILS>> noon-1 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 2-6. Free.

TUESDAY, JUNE 19

Learn desert gardening by getting your hands dirty with the Ahwatukee Community Gardening Project. Share in the knowledge, the produce, and the smiles. All ages welcome Bring sun protection and water, tools optional.

DETAILS>> 8-9:15 a.m. in the northwest corner of the park at 4700 E. Warner Road, Ahwatukee, behind the guitar player at the Ahwatukee Farmers Market, which is open 9a.m.-1 p.m.

Information: acgarden.org or 480-759-5338.

Ironwood Writers Critique Group

On the third Tuesday of every month, writers can bring five double-spaced pages of their writing to get feedback from your fellow writers.

DETAILS>> 6-7:45 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Free. No registration required.

Summer STEM Fun

Drop-in at the library for this fun, hands-on STEM based program. Kids ages 6-11 will create a different project each session.

DETAILS>> 4-5 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 6-11. Free. No registration required.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20 Juggler James Reid

Juggler James Reid astounds by juggling balls, hoops, and sports equipment…even bowling pins and bowling balls. This program was made possible with generous support from the Friends of the Phoenix Public Library.

Tickets are required and available in the library 30 minutes before start time on the day of the program.

DETAILS>> Wednesday, June 20, 2:00-3:00 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E Chandler Blvd. Ages 3-12. Free.

TUESDAY, JUNE 26

Planning and journaling

Do you have a New Year’s resolution to get organized but don’t know where to start? Bring your planner, bullet journal, or notebook and learn some tips on laying out your tasks and goals while exercising your creativity. The fourth Tuesday of each month we’ll get those creative gears turning, get organized together, and help you reach those goals! Introductory bullet journal and all other supplies provided by the Friend of the Phoenix Public Library.

DETAILS>> 4-6 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Free. No registration required.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27 Reptile Fun

Snakes and lizards in the library? Oh my! Meet some of Rich Ihle’s extraordinary reptile friends including a 15foot boa constrictor. This program was made possible with generous support from the Friends of the Phoenix Public Library.

DETAILS>> 2-3 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 3-12. Free. Tickets are required and available in the library 30 minutes before start time on the day of the program.

THURSDAY, JUNE 28

Mary Poppins Storytime

It will be “a spoonful of sugar” at the library this summer when Mary Poppins drops in for a magical storytime event. Mary Poppins, in costume, from the Broadway Musical Mary Poppins (appearing this

SUNDAYS

Learn gardening from pros

Chess, knitters clubs

Two new clubs meet in Ahwatukee every Sunday ­the chess club for players at all skill levels and Knitters Anonymous for all levels of knitters and people who crochet.

DETAILS>> The Chess Club meets at 11 a.m. at Einstein’s at 48th Street and Ray Road. Knitters Anonymous meets at 2 p.m. at Sun Cup Café, 1241 E Chandler Blvd.

For either club, call 480-246-1912 for more information.

TinkerTime

Explore hands-on creative ways to design, experiment, and invent while learning about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) through tinkering. #stem #tinkertime #IronwoodLibrary DETAILS>> Sundays, 2:00-4:00 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E Chandler Blvd. Ages 6-11. Free. No registration required.

MONDAYS

Sign language for crawlers

Accompanied by a favorite adult, babies birth to crawling enjoy songs, music, rhymes, books, interactive stories, simple sign language words, activities to promote movement, and playtime.

DETAILS>> 10:30-11 a.m. Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages birth to crawling. Free. Tickets are limited and available in the library 30 minutes before program begins.

Sign language for walkers

Babies walking to 23 months (accompanied by a favorite adult) enjoy songs, activities to promote movement, rhymes, books and playtime in each lively session DETAILS>> 9:30-10 a.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages walking to 23 months. Free. Tickets are limited & available in the library 30 minutes before program start time.

Power Partners meet

The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce’s Power Partners meets. It’s a category-specific networking and leads group. Non-Chamber members can attend one event to “check it out.”

DETAILS>> noon-1 p.m.at Native Grill and Wings 5030 E. Ray Road, Ahwatukee. Contact: Gina Jenkins 480-990-5444

Little Bytes

Kids can learn the foundations of coding and computer commands before they can write or spell! Fun activities, apps and games will teach the fundamentals of simple

logic, sequencing and coding language. #stem DETAILS>> 3-4 p.m. Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 4-7. Free. No registration

LD 18 Dems meet monthly

Legislative District 18 Democrats gather monthly, usually the second Monday, to share news, opportunities, food and laughter. Meetings include guest speakers, legislative updates, how-to sessions and Q&A. Volunteer or just enjoy an evening with likeminded folks.

DETAILS>> For times and places: ld18democrats.org/ calendar.

Big Bytes

What do video games, robots and self-driving cars have in common? Code! You can become a coding master by learning Code.org, Kodable, Scratch, Tynker, HTML and more. Beginners welcome.

DETAILS>> 4-5 p.m. Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 8-17. Free. No registration required.

TUESDAYS

Coloring for grown-ups

Adult coloring promotes mindfulness, reduces stress, and improves cognitive motor skills. We’ll provide the markers, crayons, colored pencils, and coloring sheets; you just bring yourself and your friends!

DETAILS>> 1:30-3 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Free. No registration required.

Estrangement support

Although rarely discussed, family estrangement is far more common than most people realize. The estranged suffer from loneliness, lack of self-esteem, guilt, anger and depression. Desert Foothills United Methodist Church provides a support group that meets the first Tuesday of every month. The public is invited to the “Living Loss” sessions. No questions asked, and anonymity will be respected.

DETAILS>> 7 p.m., first Tuesday of every month; 2156 E. Liberty Lane, Ahwatukee. Free. Information: 480-4601025 and office@desertfoothills.org

Chair yoga featured

Inner Vision Yoga Studio offers chair yoga to help seniors and people recovering from injuries to stay fit.

DETAILS>> 1:30-2:30 p.m., 4025 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. $5 per class. Information: Toastmasters sharpen skills Improve your speaking skills and meet interesting people at Ahwatukee Toastmasters meetings DETAILS>> 6:45-8 a.m at the Dignity Health Community Room, 4545 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee.

Power Partners available

The Ahwatukee Chamber offers Power Partners every Tuesday except the second Tuesday of the month, when attendees are encouraged to attend the Wake Up Ahwatukee Morning Mixer. Unlike our Monday Power Group, this group will be non-category specific, meaning you can have more than one member in each business category.

DETAILS>> 7:45-8:45 a.m. Jason’s Deli, 7230 W. Ray Road, Chandler. Free. Information:. Gina Jenkins, 480990-5444.

Preschool Prep

Three to five-year-olds (accompanied by a favorite See

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adult) enjoy stories, games and activities designed to nourish the skills that lead to success in school – persistence, flexibility and problem-solving. What is your child learning? Your preschooler is learning about the world and how to master emotions and desires. By teaching her how to focus, take turns, and think creatively, you will get her ready for school. This program includes basic concept knowledge (colors, numbers, letters) as well as structured activities. Free tickets are limited and available 30 minutes before all program start times on the day of the program.

DETAILS>> 10:30-11:15 a.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 3-5. Free. Tickets are limited & available in the library 30 minutes before program start time.

WEDNESDAYS

ToddlerTime with signing

Toddlers 24-47 months-old, accompanied by a favorite adult, enjoy interactive activities that encourage emerging language skills such as stories, songs, games, and playtime. Children and caregivers also practice Baby Sign Language, a great way to help young children develop communication skills, in this an active session. Using sign language will speed your toddler’s language development by six-12 months.

Tickets are limited & available in the library 30 minutes before program start time.

DETAILS>> 10:30-11:00 a.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 24-47 months. Free.

Sit, Stay, Read!

Young readers & listeners can sign up for reading time

with a registered therapy animal & human team. Read to Truffles.

DETAILS>> 4-5 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 5-10. Free. No registration required.

First Five Years workshop

Parents and caregivers of children ages birth to five can learn how to nurture their young ones with a “just right” combination of freedom and positive discipline during this free 3-session workshop. The program is designed for attendance at all three sessions. This series covers: your child’s development and growing brain, preventing tantrums and other problems, using mindfulness to keep calm, six ways to prepare your child for school success.

Babies up to 6 months-old may accompany their parents/caregivers. Presenters request that for children over 6 months-old other childcare arrangements be made, to enable a focused learning environment for attendees. All class materials are included, plus gifts for attending. Presented by Arizona’s Children Association and supported by First Things First DETAILS>> June 13, 20 and 27, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages birth to five. Free.

Registration is required via the online calendar at phxlib.org.

Fun with watercolors

People can get step-by-step instruction in watercoloring whether they are beginners and intermediates.

DETAILS>> 2:30-5 p.m. Hobby Lobby, 4710 Ray Road, Ahwatukee. Four classes for $80. To register: Judy Lokits 480-471-8505, or judylokits.com.

Celebrate recovery

Celebrate Recovery is a Biblical 12-step program that helps you find hope and healing from all of life’s

hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Whether it’s addiction, loss, anger, or stress, you can find the freedom you’re looking for. DETAILS>>6:20 PM, Mountain View Lutheran Church, 11002 South 48th Street, Ahwatukee. 480-8932579, mvlutheran.org.

Montessori holds open house Ahwatukee Foothills Montessori holds an open house weekly. It includes a short talk about Montessori education, followed by a tour of its campus.

DETAILS>> 4 p.m. Wednesdays, 3221 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. Information: 480-759-3810

month. Maricopa Cooperative Extension, 4341 E. Broadway Road, Phoenix. Free. RSVP at 602-827-8200, ext. 348, or rcarter@cals.arizona.edu.

Grief support is free

THURSDAYS

Hospice of the Valley offers a free ongoing grief support group for adults and is open to any adult who has experienced a loss through death. No registration required.

DETAILS>> 6-7 p.m. first and third Wednesdays, Pecos Community Center, 17010 S. 48th St. 602-636-5390 or HOV.org.

Foothills Women meet

An informal, relaxed social organization of about 90 women living in the Ahwatukee Foothills/Club West area. A way to escape once a month to have fun and meet with other ladies in the area. Guest speaker or entertainment featured.

DETAILS>> 7 p.m. second Wednesday of the month, Foothills Golf Club, 2201 E. Clubhouse Drive. Contact Shelley Miller, president, at 602-527-6789 or essentiallyshelley@gmail.com

Parents can ‘drop in’

Parents are invited to join a drop-in group to ask questions, share ideas or just listen to what’s going on with today’s teenagers.

DETAILS>> 5:30-7 p.m. second Wednesday of each

‘Dems and Donuts’ set

Legislative District 18 Democrats gather for an informal chat.

DETAILS>> Free and open to the public 7:30-9 a.m. the third Wednesday of the month at Denny’s, 7400 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler. RSVP: marie9@q.com or 480592-0052.

Networking group meets

ACT Networking Group, standing for Ahwatukee, Chandler and Tempe, meets weekly.

DETAILS>> 7:45-8:45 p.m., Tukes Kafe, 15815 S. 50th St., Ahwatukee. Information: 602-418-3645.

Teen thursdays

Ironwood Library provides the snacks and fun every Thursday; teens just bring themselves and a friend. First Thursdays: video games; second Thursdays: art-making; third Thursdays: Upcycling Makerspace.

Fourth Thursdays: Library Volunteer Opportunities.

DETAILS>> 4-5:30 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 12-18. Free. No registration required.

Kiwanis meets weekly

The Ahwatukee Kiwanis Club meets weekly and welcomes newcomers. Upcoming speakers are: May 24, Brandon Schmoll, constable and Tempe Union school board member.

See

CALENDAR on page 31

COMMUNITY

MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

CALENDAR

from page 30

DETAILS>>7:30 a.m. Biscuits Restaurant, 4623 E. Elliot Road, Ahwatukee. Information: mike.maloney2003@ gmail.com.

Preschoolers’ moms gather

Free child care for ages 0 to 5.

DETAILS>> 9 a.m. second and fourth Thursday, Foothills Baptist Church, 15450 S. 21st St. Call Kim at 480-759-2118, ext. 218.

‘Gentle yoga’ offered

Inner Vision Yoga Studio offers “gentle floor yoga” for core strengthening and healthy backs.

DETAILS>> 1:30-2:30 p.m. 4025 E. Chandler, Ahwatukee. $5 per class. Information: 480-330-2015 or donna@ innervisionyoga.com.

Information: Tessy Bryan 480-330-6528 or vppr1811442@toastmastersclubs.org

SATURDAYS

Sit, Stay, Read!

Young readers & listeners can sign up for reading time with a registered therapy animal & human team. First & Third Saturdays: Read with Raven and Cassie. Second Saturday: Read with JoJo. DETAILS>> 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 4-10. Free. No registration required.

Fun with watercolors

People can get step-by-step instruction in watercoloring whether they are beginners and intermediates.

DETAILS>>10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Hobby Lobby, 4710 Ray Road, Ahwatukee. Four classes for $80. To register: Judy Lokits 480-471-8505, or judylokits.com.

Alzheimer’s support group

FRIDAYS

Toastmasters meet

The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce has a weekly Toastmasters meeting.

DETAILS>> 8-9 a.m., First American Title conference room, 4435 E. Chandler Blvd. #100, Ahwatukee.

Caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients can find support monthly.

DETAILS>> 10-11:30 a.m. Ahwatukee Alzheimer’s Support Group meets the first Saturday of the month at Mountain View Lutheran Church, 11002 S. 48th St.

31

Soul Shock Dance Company & Pre Company Auditions

Thursday, June 7th All Levels Welcome!

Ages 12 & Under: 3:30-5:30pm

BEST of 2015 Ahwatukee Foothills News

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Ahwatukee Ahwatukee Foothills Foothills News News

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BEST of 2013 Ahwatukee Foothills News

Ages 13 & Over: 6-8pm

GOT NEWS?

Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com

WE'RE MORE WE'REAMORE THAN GYM. WE'RE MORE WE'RE MORE THAN A GYM. WE'RE MORE AGYM. CAUSE. THAN A GYM. THAN A WE'RE CAUSE. THAN AA GYM. WE'RE CAUSE. WE'RE WE'REAA ACAUSE. CAUSE.

Teen Volunteers Wanted for Employee U 2018.

Teen Volunteers Wanted for Employee U 2018.

Do you have a teen between Teen Volunteers Wanted for the Teen Volunteers Wanted for Teen Volunteers Wanted for like ages of 14-18yrs that would Employee 2018.

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the Ahwatukee Foothills Family Y! Orientation is June 6th, 6pm at OrientationisisJune June6th, 6th,6pm 6pmatat Orientation the Ahwatukee Foothills Family Y! theAhwatukee Ahwatukee Foothills the Foothills Y!Y! WORK READINESS EMPLOYEE U IS Family AFamily SUMMER

PROGRAM FOR TEEN VOLUNTEERS EMPLOYEE U IS A SUMMER WORK READINESS EMPLOYEE U IS A SUMMER WORK READINESS PROGRAM FOR TEEN VOLUNTEERS Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA EMPLOYEE U IS A SUMMER WORK READINESS EMPLOYEE U IS A SUMMER WORK READINESS 1030 E. Liberty Lane PROGRAM FOR TEEN VOLUNTEERS Phoenix 85048 480-759-6762 Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA PROGRAMFOR FORTEEN TEENVOLUNTEERS VOLUNTEERS PROGRAM 1030 E. Liberty Lane Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA

85048 1030Phoenix E. Liberty Lane 480-759-6762 Phoenix 85048

480-759-6762 Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA

1030 E. Liberty Lane E. Liberty Lane WHEN YOU DONATE TO THE Y– YOU DONATE TO BACK TO YOUR1030 COMMUNITY! Phoenix 85048 Phoenix 85048

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WHEN WHEN YOU YOU DONATE DONATE TO TO THE THE Y– Y– YOU YOU DONATE DONATE TO TO BACK BACK TO TO YOUR YOUR COMMUNITY! COMMUNITY!

Join the company that has won back-to-back National Overall Titles Top Ten Studio in the Pacific Region, Top Choreographer and Top Teacher Awards and Best of Ahwatukee Dance Studio for 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2017!

Our competitive team and performance teams offer something for everyone.

For more information contact us at soulshockauditions@gmail.com 12020 S. Warner Elliot Loop | 480.264.2929 www.phoenixdancecooperative.com

32

OPINION

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

Opinion

@AhwatukeeFN |

@AhwatukeeFN

www.ahwatukee.com

Help teach homeless to fish rather than give them fish

BY RICK MITCHELL AFN Guest writer

I

want to help the homeless too…

As a person who works with a social services agency serving the homeless, the single most important lesson I have learned is that people, darn near all of us, want to help.

My grandmother wanted to feed the world. My father wanted to help his neighbor with his car problems or remodeling projects. Kids want to help too and by introducing your kids to the notion of helping others and being charitable, you are developing lifelong good citizens and caretakers of the world for the next generation.

What can we do?

It seems to me, from real world observation and reading newspapers like this one, that the only thing lacking is an understanding of exactly what we can do to help with this country’s burgeoning homeless problem.

Do we give the guy on the side of the road with a cardboard sign and a desperate demeanor $2? Or no? If he gets to your car before the light changes, you’re going

to have to decide.

How about helping out by serving meals at Andre House or St. Vincent de Paul?

Did you call last Christmas or Thanksgiving or Christmas only to be told they had all the volunteers they could use? We are faced daily with the issue of homelessness and the lack of a ready answer is uncomfortable.

So how can we help?

One frequently travelled avenue is “feeding” the homeless. And “feeding” does not necessarily stop with food as some groups provide food while others provide blankets, clothing and sleeping bags. That sounds like a good plan. It’s a positive group outlet for your church, synagogue or neighborhood social group. Maybe bring the kids.

So with the very best of intentions and well-laid plans, we hop into the van and head downtown to the Human Services Campus. Food is given. Clothing is provided. Everyone is filled and fulfilled – until the authorities show up.

We thought we had the answer but we now have more confusion and discomfort.

Here’s the issue, or at least some of the issues. First, no one is saying don’t help.

But some kinds of help turn out to be, truly, counterproductive. Food handed out on the street causes waste (uneaten meals), disease (hepatitis A), and litter – more than 27 tons of litter from Thanksgiving to Christmas in 2017. Four tons of litter on the average weekend since January. And the cost to remove that litter is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to the City of Phoenix and the Human Services Campus.

Clothing? New clothes provide an opportunity to shed the old stuff… in the alley behind a residence or business in the area… maybe soiled before discarded.

Blankets become tents become places… you get the idea.

So, once again, how can we help?

Provide the ingredients for meals to a food bank. Help prepare and serve meals at Andre House or St. Vincent de Paul – in August, not December. Provide clothing to St. Joseph the Worker who, in turn provides work clothes for the newly employed (and soon to be housed) person who just got a job through St. Joseph the Worker’s job program. 3,800 jobs last year!

Provide T-shirts, jeans, shoes and socks, and even reading glasses to the Human

Services Campus, Circle the City or CASS. They have clients on the spot that need those things, and the agency will funnel the castoffs to do even more good.

Take that $2 you didn’t hand out the window and send it along with another $12 to the Homeless ID Project. That covers the cost of an ID and $2 provides bus fare to the MVD for a homeless client to replace a lost or stolen ID – so that she can go to St Joseph the Worker to find a job (which requires an ID).

Head down to the First United Methodist Church in Tempe and provide some clothing for the Shower Program hosted

by Rev. Rosemary Anderson every Monday and Friday.

In short, if it’s not too late for that, help agencies that are in the business of helping people. Provide all the help you can muster to help a person END their homelessness, and not to remain inert and content in their homelessness.

Help the fishing schools who are teaching people to fish, rather than giving fish.

-Rick Mitchell is executive director of the Homeless ID Project. Information: azhomeless. org.

Soak-the-rich initiative will derail state’s recovery

BY SCOT MUSSI AFN Guest Writer

L

ooking to exploit the momentum created by the recent school strike, a small coalition of liberal organizations and labor unions have launched a ballot initiative that would permanently damage Arizona’s economy.

The proposed “Invest in Education” proposition would impose a new top individual income tax bracket of 9 percent, a near doubling of the current top rate of 4.54 percent. This radical increase would give Arizona the fifth highest income tax rate in the nation, trailing only California, Hawaii, Oregon and Minnesota.

Joining the ranks of the high-income tax states would be a decision that Arizona would quickly come to regret. The evi-

dence is overwhelming – states with a low or no income tax have consistently outperformed high tax states in job creation and economic growth.

It is why for decades Americans have been voting with their feet and moving to states, like Arizona, with a favorable tax climate.

On net, nearly 1,000 people a day are migrating to low-income-tax states, while the same number is exiting high-tax states.

If this initiative passes, we should expect entrepreneurs, high earners and employers to take their jobs and investments elsewhere.

To justify their crushing tax hike, proponents are promising that the approximately $700 million in anticipated new revenue from the tax will go toward K-12 funding.

Of course, the initiative doesn’t include any language that ensures the money will

make it into the classroom, nor does it include any reforms to improve outcomes or parental satisfaction.

They are also selling their plan on the idea that only the “rich” will pay the tax increase. In reality, small business owners and entrepreneurs will be hammered by the increase since they pay their taxes through the individual tax code.

Also unmentioned by the proponents of the initiative is that a new revenue stream for schools is no longer needed.

While the Red for Ed debate was raging on at the Legislature and in living rooms this spring, economic forecasts confirmed that Arizona would have the largest budget surplus since the Great Recession.

This tremendous news is not an accident. The rapid acceleration of projected revenue is a direct result of both local and national policies that fostered a pro-growth

economic environment in Arizona.

It can be argued that lawmakers reacted too slowly during the legislative session to allocate new funding into K-12 classrooms (close to $1 billion), but it illustrated that the best mechanism to generate more money for schools is through economic growth, not job crushing tax increases.

The impact of the largest tax increase in Arizona history would be catastrophic. It would kill jobs, punish small business owners and send families fleeing to other states.

The proponents of this measure might think they are being clever by linking two politically attractive targets – school funding and taxing the “rich” – but we are confident that voters will see through their ploy and reject this divisive initiative if it reaches the ballot.

-Scot Mussi is president of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club.

OPINION

MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

33

LETTERS

Remember in the fall: Science is under attack

Almost 100 years ago, high school teacher John Thomas Scopes was charged with violating Tennessee›s law against teaching evolution instead of the divine creation of man.

Apparently, Arizona Superintendent of Instruction Dianne Douglas would like to take us back to the time when teachers were prohibited from teaching about evolution in our public schools.

Ignoring the efforts of a committee of 100 people – including teachers, parents and community leaders who worked over a year on the revision of Arizona’s science curriculum standards – the Arizona Department of Education staff deleted or qualified the word “evolution” throughout the proposed document.

The March 2018 draft was released to the public showing the word “evolution” crossed out in several areas and replaced with phrases including “how traits within populations change over time” or “biological diversity.” In other parts of the draft, the phrase “theory of evolution” is added.

Diane Douglas, the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, is behind the effort to erase evolution from the state’s science standards. Ms. Douglas is a religious conservative who is choosing to ignore science to advance her personal agenda.

Evolution has been confirmed by science.

This erasure will lead Arizona students backward rather than help them deal with 21st century challenges.

According to an NPR report, Lacey Wieser, the department’s former director of K-12 science education, said she resigned rather than implement the changes made during the unprecedented internal review.

As a former middle school science teacher, I am appalled at this blatant attempt to interfere with our state’s science standards. It is time for

all of us to tell Ms. Douglas to keep her personal agenda out of our schools. Remember in November.

-Laurie Nerat

If someone crosses the border illegally, it’s a crime

This opinion is in response to Alfredo Gutierrez’s (former Arizona State Senate president) May 23 opinion article titled “We will survive and succeed – as humans, not animals” in the Ahwatukee Foothills News.

You preface your argument with the phrase “If you are a Mexican in America, you become inured to being considered a criminal, even a rapist.” If one has crossed our borders illegally, it is a crime – no matter if one is Mexican or any other nationality.

Why is that so hard to understand??? Americans of Mexican descent who are here legally and who are citizens of this great country are not considered criminals as you so insinuate with your outlandish and divisive remarks.

Latinos and other nationalities, not just of Mexican descent, obviously attempt to cross our borders either for the public teat as you describe it or for nefarious reasons.

Why not stop in Mexico or their own country? Of course, the excuse is that they are escaping persecution. So why not seek asylum in Mexico? Here for the “free stuff”? You betcha.

“We just want to make our lives better” gets old. Make your lives better where you came from, not on our backs. Sounds inhumane?

Tough. We are not the saviors of the world, nor can we afford to be.

Not unusual for your side to take quotes out of context for the benefit of your party or your ethnicity. The use of the word “animals” by our president was in reference to MS-13 gang members.

What politically correct verbiage would you like us to call them?? They are animals. They

murder, rob, steal, rape, intimidate and whatever else. Because they are mostly Latinos excuses the fact that they are animals? They are inferior species of human beings. No, they do not easily assimilate and they obviously are intellectually incapable. Where are do they come from? How do they get here?

Yes, the normal people coming across our borders illegally are not educated. If you disagree with that, I would like to see some factual statistics. So, they are the “norm.” And they do not easily assimilate into our society as many do not learn the accepted language of our country or our culture in deference to their own origins.

The vast majority of these illegal entries do not add to the benefit of the nation rather add to the burdens of the nation and its’ citizens.

“In being declared an animal, we join an historic group of peoples who have been oppressed, abused and murdered, being an animal is not good.” Nice try to bring another minority and other abused ethnicities, such as Jews or Tutsis, into the equation.

I find it abhorrent that you, as a former state senator, represented our great state of Arizona and appear to support illegal, unlawful criminal activities. If Latino last names are indicative of the prejudices displayed by your article, why would citizens want to cast a ballot for you? The great state of California appears to be following in your lead.

I am a proud grand-father of a half-Latino granddaughter citizen and am a legal immigrant and citizen.

-Gerald Tharp

Freedom schools funded at public university expense

“Freedom Schools” at ASU and UA received their own budget line item of $2.5 million during the last legislative session. At the same time, two higher education institutions, Pima

Community College and the Maricopa Community College District, received $0 (ZERO!) in state funding for the third straight year.

Why designate millions of dollars for obscure programs within our two largest universities while spending no money on wellknown institutions that educate thousands of Arizonans every year?

The freedom schools, which go by the unwieldy names of the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership (ASU) and Department of Political Economy and Moral Science (UA) are outgrowths of earlier initiatives bankrolled by the Koch brothers in an attempt to inject conservative thought into universities they see as overrun by liberalism.

Freedom schools are the academic version of Fox News: They argue that the only response to perceived liberal bias is unabashed propaganda for the conservative point of view.

And unlike pretty much every other public education entity in Arizona, they are flush with cash.

As reported by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, the two freedom schools are sitting on a combined $9.8 million in cash on hand even before receiving this year’s appropriation.

But the greatest irony of these schools hoarding taxpayer money is that much of the money is going to undermine the very idea of public, taxpayer-funded education, which the Kochs virulently oppose.

Meanwhile, the state’s two largest community college districts continue to struggle after the Legislature abandoned their funding three years ago.

The lack of funding for these important community colleges is inexplicable – unless you see it as another attack in the Koch brothers’ war on public education.

-David Boyles, ASU professor

Share Your Thoughts: Send your letters on local issues to: pmaryniak@ahwatukee.com

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BUSINESS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

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Ahwatukee’s first and only tattoo shop finds open arms

BY ALLY RICHMOND AFN Staff Writer

A

hwatukee is rolling up its sleeves to a new and unique establishment: Wookie Style Tattoos.

Wookie Style – the first, and only, tattoo parlor in the community, at 4142 E. Chandler Blvd. – is owned by husbandand-wife team Terry “Wookie” and Barbi Hoffman.

The Chandler couple chose to put their new business in Ahwatukee because they “love the vibe” of the area and felt that they “had the potential of being welcomed here,” Barbi said.

Wookie is an Arizona native and has been in the tattoo industry locally for over 25 years. He has also been internationally recognized on the convention circuit.

“Wookie has been drawing his entire life,” his wife said. “He grew up poor, so pencils were his toys. He sold artwork for money as a kid, and when he grew up he met a gentleman who loved his artwork and knew how to tattoo. He invited Wookie to apprentice under him. Turned out Wookie was better at tattooing than his mentor.”

After an injury ended his career as a mechanic, he decided to focus all his attention on his art, continuing his professional apprenticeship under another full-time artist. Wookie spent 21 years as the lead artist at the original Club Tattoo in Tempe

(Kimberly Carrillo/AFN Staff Photographer)

The staff at Wookie StyleTattoo includes, from left, James Patrick, owners Barbi and Terry Hoffman and Sway Alvarez.

and just recently broke out on his own in 2016.

He opened his first shop in a small space inside Independent Motorcycles, but when he was approached by other artists who wanted to work for him, he and Barbi made the leap to Ahwatuklee.

“Wookie has a loyal following of clients he has been tattooing for over 25 years,” she added. “Now they’re bringing in their children and even grandchildren to be tattooed by him – all of age, of course. He has regular clientele that travel to Arizona from as far as Germany just to be tattooed by him.”

Barbi has been in the banking business since college, but when her husband decided to expand, she joined his shop,

doing the accounting, bookkeeping, promotions and marketing since opening in February.

They were joined by two other artists – James Patrick, who has been tattooing for 17 years, and Sway Alvarez, a seven-year veteran of tattooing.

Wookie Style Tattoos defies the tattoo parlor stereotype. It is not dark and dingy, nor is it covered in “you pick it, we stick it” designs.

Instead, Wookie and Barbi seek to create a clean, family-friendly environment centered on creating amazing art and putting the customer first.

The shop itself is designed to be inviting. With cutouts in the wall, the space is open and airy. The décor includes pictures

of the artist’s previous work, as well as various “Star Wars” books, figurines, and plush. Wookie’s love of the series is what gave him his nickname.

The welcoming ambiance really does invoke a family-friendly environment, uncommon to most tattoo parlors.

“Everyone around here has wives and kids. We want to be a place where people feel comfortable bringing their family,” Wookie says.

They also show this family-oriented attitude through their limited hours. By being open only on weekdays, the couple can spend more time with their family.

They try to stand out in a highly competitive field.

“Our artists consistently strive to further their artistic abilities by reaching outside the traditional boundaries, also competing at conventions across the country and internationally,” Barbi said.

“Even though each artist has their specialty, they are experienced and well-versed in all styles of tattoo artwork. They are also OSHA-certified in bloodborne pathogens – an optional certification in the state of Arizona). We maintain immaculate workstations and utilize all disposable materials, versus other shops that sanitize and reuse materials.

Moreover, the pair strives to put the customer first in all their exchanges.

See

TATOO on page 35

(Kimberly Carrillo/AFN Staff Photographer)

Ahwatukee tattoo artist Terry "Wookie" Hoffman has been plying his craft for 25 years and creates some elaborate body art at his studio at 4142 E. Chandler Blvd.

BUSINESS

MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Mother-daughter team’s fitness studio offers family vibe

‘the action or practice to force someone to do or say something and cause great mental suffering or anxiety to,’” Jan explained.

“We do just that by asking people to stop and think about what they want and then make the change in their life for it to happen. Change in and of itself can be torture.”

But after “having to explain this to others frequently,” they opted for a new slogan: “Individual Empowerment Because Every Body Matters.”

That still may involve what clients consider torture but “in a much kinder way,” she added.

Like any new business, the Wilsons face the challenges of trying to get the word out about their services while staying on a tight budget.”

But they’re hoping that people will be attracted to their promise of a healthier lifestyle and a pledge “to be treated like family and to have fun.”

New clients receive their first week free.

Unlimited access to any class format costs $100 a month. “Our group training, based on what we’ve researched, is the lowest in the Valley,” Jan added.

Information: 480-390-6361, aplusfitwell@gmail.com, Aplusfitnesswellness.com

AFN News Staff

T

he biggest challenge that Jan and Toni Wilson faced when they decided to open a fitness studio was finding one that felt like home.

So, it’s no surprise they settled last November in Ahwatukee since “it continues to feel like a family community.”

After all, they’re a family too.

Jan, 62, and her daughter Toni, 42, entered a highly competitive industry with one goal: “help people change the way their approach to life and their health.”

At their business, A+ Fitness and Wellness, 4647 E. Chandler Blvd., the Wilsons offer reiki, group and personal training, fitness classes such as core strength, cardio and yoga and other services all aimed at healthy living.

Jan, a yoga instructor, reiki healer, doula and acupressurist and Toni, who holds a bachelor’s degree in health and wellness from Northern Arizona University, see their business as a natural progression from their personal passion.

“Both Toni and I have always pursued a holistic approach to health and life, always looking for remedies that come from mother nature,” Jan said, adding that the

TATOO

from page 34

“We’re about building relationships, getting tattooed is a very personal choice and we want to give each customer the very best piece of artwork that they’ll wear on their body for the rest of their life,” she said.

They build that bond in different ways.

They never charge for consultations.

The don’t pressure anyone. “A tattoo should really speak to you, and you should consult multiple people and do lots of research before committing,” Wookie said.

(Kimberly Carrillo/AFN Staff Photographer)

Daughter-mother team Toni, left, and Jan Wilson offer a variety of services at A+ Fitness and Health in Ahwatukee aimed at helping people develop and maintain healthy lifestyles.

business “just seemed a natural progression based on how we look at health, wellness and life.

“What better way than to offer services based on what we’ve practice during our lives. We love sharing what we are passionate about.”

For a while they branded A+ Fitness and

Wellness with the logo “body by torture.”

But they decided that might scare off clients and was “a challenge for people to understand.”

On the other hand, they haven’t stopped believing that to some degree, torture might be seen as part of their regimen.

“A couple of definitions for torture are

And they try to always give their customers more than they ask for.

One woman came into the shop with a picture of an antique corkscrew that was sentimental to her and her family, and Wookie was able to reimagine her image into something she thought was more beautiful and meaningful than she had ever hoped for.

This customer-forward attitude has served Wookie well, as his customers keep coming back for more, often referring friends and family to him.

“About 70 percent of his customers are repeat customers,” Barbi said.

Added Wookie: “There’s a difference between tattooists and tattoo artists. Tattooists are just in it for the money, but tattoo artists are there for the art.”

In fact, Wookie believes that the future of the tattoo industry is in the art. This is why the shop is full of canvas art prints of tattoos.

The shop also recently hired a microblading professional. This new addition should appeal to those in Ahwatukee looking to step up their cosmetic game, Barbi said.

The business also is also showing Ahwatukee love.

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“We’re working really hard to give back to the community,” Barbi said. “We are big supporters of the military and first responders with a 10 percent discount at all times. We will be doing a semicolon special in September where all proceeds will go to suicide awareness charities.

“Wookie has also done a lot of work on cancer survivors, scar cover-ups and reconstruction tattoos, so we’ll be doing additional promotions for Breast Cancer awareness in October.”

Information: wookiestyleaz.com.

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BUSINESS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

Main Street Ahwatukee Brought to you by the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce

AMBASSADOR OF THE MONTH

Cameron Call, DC

Horizon Chiropractic Center, 4425 E. Agave Road Suite 104 Ahwatukee 602-753-7782 cameron@thehorizoncenter.com, drcameroncall.com, facebook.com/thehorizoncenter/

SHOP LOCAL

Office Evolution 4435 E. Chandler Blvd., Suite 200 Ahwatukee, 480-436-8144 OfficeEvolution.com/Locations/Phoenix Office Evolution Arizona provides small businesses and solo entrepreneurs nearly everything they need to grow their business in a professional setting

(Special to AFN)

Owners Amy and Kyle Timmons show off their "bucks for luck" from the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce during the ribbon cutting for Office Evolution. Greeting them are, from left, Tracey Jones, Gina Jenkins, Terri Kimball and Trudi Kayser.

Good Time Charli’s

(Special to AFN)

6045 W. Chandler Blvd.

Chandler 480-556-1420 goodtimecharlis.com

Members of the 2018 Young Entrepreneurs Academy class were treated to a Diamondbacks game for their year of hard work creating businesses.

Upscale food you don’t expect at your neighborhood bar, but craft mules, craft margaritas, craft cocktails and live entertainment are our specialty.

Spooner Physical Therapy Ahwatukee

Two Men and a Truck 1610 W. 12th Place Tempe twomenphoenixcentral.com 602-286-6683 We are your Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert-area movers who care. Our team of highly trained professional, experienced movers has helped move homes and offices locally and across the United States.

Montessori Educare Academy 1244 E. Chandler Blvd.

Ahwatukee 480-283-8885 montessori-educare.com Inspiring the love of learning in every child, Montessori Educare Academy is a private preschool and kindergarten located in the foothills of Ahwatukee.

What are some exciting things happening in your business? We recently hosted a big homemade salsa competition for the community. It was a lot of fun to have such a great turnout and next year’s will be even better. A large portion of our practice focuses on helping individuals with autism and other special needs. We were recently a keynote speaker at the annual conference hosted by the Arizona Autism Coalition.

How did you come to be in this business? I got a job in college working as a chiropractic assistant and fell in love with the idea of natural healing and alternative forms of health care. There is so much out there that can help in different ways that we don’t even know about. Upper cervical chiropractic is one of those ways. If someone has been to a chiropractor and didn’t feel it helped or gave them lasting results, consider getting your nervous system checked. We are one of fewer than 2,000 upper cervical specific practitioners on the planet.

What other organizations/committees are you involved in? I serve as co-chair of the ambassador committee for the chamber. I am very involved in my church. I play the organ on Sundays and occasionally sing in the choir with my wife, Kristin. I am a big proponent of being active in the community and serving where and when you can.

16611 S. 40th St. Suite 130 Ahwatukee 480-706-1199 spoonerpt.com At Spooner Physical Therapy, we believe we have a responsibility to contribute to the quality of life in our communities. To our customers, this means knowing not only will you receive quality care with the highest level of professionalism, but you will be treated like good friends and valued like family.

What type of business services do you provide? At Horizon Chiropractic Center, we help individuals who suffer from chronic health conditions who are looking for resolution instead of temporary pain relief. By focusing strictly on the health and function of the nervous system and proper biomechanics of the upper cervical spine, we are able to help people with lasting health challenges who may have been told, “You just have to live with it.” Individuals with chronic migraines, conditions such as fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, vertigo, Lyme disease, Lupus, and valley fever (as well as those with the typical neck and back pain you think of when it comes to chiropractic) respond great to our unique form of care.

EVENTS For more info on these and other upcoming events, visit ahwatukeechamber.com.

May 30

6-7:30 p.m.

Women in Business Spotlight Dr. Janet Euzarraga, DDS 4206 E. Chandler Blvd. Suite 20 Ahwatukee Free for members, $15 general admission

June 12

8-9 a.m.

Wake-up Ahwatukee Morning Mixer, Wave Supply 5054 S. 40th St., Phoenix Free for members, $15 general admission

June 13

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Round Robin Tuk Café in Generations 15815 S. 50th St. Ahwatukee Free for members

June 14

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Women in Business Luncheon Location – TBD $20 members, $30 general admission

June 20

5:30-7 p.m.

After 5 Evening Mixer Arizona Grand Resort 8000 Arizona Grand Pkwy., Ahwatukee Free for members, $15 general

June 28

8-9 a.m.

Chamber & Entrepreneur U Mountain Park Senior Living 4475 E. Knox Road, Ahwatukee Free

Ribbon cuttings are a great way to tell your story

BY GINA JENKINS AFN Guest Writer

T

he Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce has an invitation with your name on it.

A major benefit of being a chamber member is hosting a ribbon cutting. It’s an opportunity to bring fellow chamber members and the community together while getting to know and celebrating a new or existing business.

Every business and business owner has a story. Unlike the students from our Young Entrepreneurs Academy, most business owners do not start a business in their teen years.

The seeds might be planted but that is just the beginning of the journey. Some journeys have a path that involve college, multiple jobs in multiple industries or career changes.

The dream come true of being a business owner may come after retirement or after an unexpected event like a corporate downsizing.

For some it may be a life-changing experience involving a loved one that begins the research path that leads to a business.

This is one of the greatest joys of being the membership development director at chamber, hearing these amazing and unique stories. Through the chamber we assist business owners in spreading their story and sharing their passion.

A ribbon cutting is just a starting point for members to begin to grow their member-to-member and community network. According to various studies, the average American knows at least 150 people. In simple math terms, that’s about 3,000 connections if only 20 guests attended.

If you are looking for your next ribbon cutting invitation here are a few easy ways to locate: Sign-up for our weekly newsletter: ahwatukeechamber.com/sign-up-for-our-mailing-list.html Download our mobile app: If you are an iPhone user you can search “chamber nation” in the App Store and the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce will be the first download to pop up in the pick list. If you use the Google

App Store, simply type in “Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce.”

The app makes finding events easy. Once you click on an event, you can add it to your calendar, register, invite others and map the location. Both chamber-sponsored events and member community events appear in the events tab. In addition, the app gives you access to the mobile directory putting hundreds of businesses listed by category at your fingertips.

Follow up on Facebook: Ahwatukee Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting attendance does not require membership and there is no charge for attendance.

Things you can look forward to at a ribbon cutting: Getting to know a business owner from a personal and business perspective; tours, product and service demonstrations; meeting members of the community; special promotions; complimentary raffle entry.

-Gina Jenkins if membership development director for the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce.

FAITH

MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Faith

@AhwatukeeFN |

37

@AhwatukeeFN

www.ahwatukee.com

Life lessons learned from going the distance

BY RABBI DEAN SHAPIRO AFN Guest Writer

I

ran the Rock ’n’ Roll Half-Marathon in January. I’ve never been particularly athletic, so my achievement wasn’t due to ability, but rather to determination. My many early-morning training runs gave me lots of time to think. Here’s some of what I learned on my way to the finish line.

You never know someone else’s journey. Sometimes, a runner would whiz by me. It felt good to think, “She must have just started her run.” I hoped she’d think, “He’s going slowly because he’s been running for hours already!”

But such assumptions are entirely unvalidated. Running reminds me that I never know another person’s starting or stopping place. Not knowing whether someone is having a good or a bad day, for example, helps me to be gentle and FAITH CALENDAR

SUNDAYS

SPIRITUAL CENTER

The Interfaith CommUNITY Spiritual Center offers New Thought, ACIM, Ancient Wisdom and Interfaith teachings, with uplifting music and positive messages.

Ongoing classes include Qigong, A Course in Miracles, Pranic Healing, Kirtan, Drum Circle and many others.

DETAILS>> 10:30-11:45 a.m., 952 E. Baseline Road, Suite 102. Information, 480- 593-8798 or interfaith-community.org.

HEBREW SCHOOL

Registration has opened for Chabad Hebrew School at

personable to them in our encounter.

Not knowing what hand life dealt them – what obstacles they’ve overcome, what struggles they’re facing, what comes easily for them – means I should accept them for who they are in this moment without constructing a narrative of who they must be and how they ought to behave. We never know another person’s truth.

Prepare. It really helped me to get advice from an experienced runner. I stretched before each run. I bought the right equipment. While there is such a thing as “analysis paralysis,” there is also great benefit in asking the right questions and figuring out the best way to do things. That’s true when we begin big projects, and also each time we put our hand to the wheel.

The power of commitment. Plenty of mornings, I didn’t want to run. It would have been far easier to stay in bed. But I had told hundreds of people that I’d be running a half-marathon, and I didn’t want to eat my words.

I learned the value of a public declara-

tion to hold myself accountable, and to encourage positive action. I’d never done this before. I used to keep my plans to myself so that I wouldn’t be embarrassed if I failed. Now, I look for opportunities to share with people and hold myself accountable.

Incremental improvement. When I started my morning runs, I went a few blocks to the big saguaro. Then I turned around. Before long, I pushed myself to the main intersection, and allowed myself to walk a block on the way home. Then, I’d make little additions – a cul-de-sac here, an additional block there.

Eventually, I was able to take longer and longer runs. Small changes add up! Some people set big goals and plunge in. I find that daunting and prefer to make my way step by step.

Don’t cut corners. I’m no endurance specialist, and I certainly didn’t push myself hard. But I promised myself never to cut corners – to run the long way around the parking lot, for example, rather than

through it, and to start my jog from the front gate, not the street.

The impact of each individual choice was minimal, but the set of choices really added up. I try to do the same with work and my relationships: If I’m going to make a commitment, I fulfill it wholeheartedly.

Encouragement really helps. It felt great to hear that I was getting into shape. I appreciated other runners giving me highfives and thumbs up. We have the opportunity to support one another daily. Life is a struggle, but we can smooth out the rough spots for each other. How can you encourage someone today? A kind word or gesture goes a long way.

As long as we live, we have an opportunity to grow and improve. We can encourage others do the same. It helps to have a plan.

the Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life. Classes will teach children ages 5-13 about Jewish heritage, culture and holidays.

DETAILS>> Classes will be held 9:30 a.m.-noon at 875 N. McClintock Drive, Chandler. To tour the facility or register, call 480-855-4333 or e-mail info@chabadcenter.com.

SUNDAY SERVICES

KIDS CAN LEARN JEWISH LIFE

VALOR CHRISTIAN OUTLINES MISSION

Valor Christian Center in Gilbert offers “great praise and worship and great messages for today’s living,” according to Associate Pastor Thor Strandholt. “Our mission is to evangelize, heal and disciple through the word of God.” DETAILS>> 10 a.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Thursdays. 3015 E. Warner Road. Information: valorcc.com.

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES AND SUDOKU from Page 43

The Rev. Albert Bolden leads the Lawrence Memorial A.M.E.Z. Church in Mesa.

DETAILS>> Sunday school at 9 a.m., worship at 10 a.m. Children’s church is every second Sunday, and children officiate the morning worship service every fifth Sunday. 931 E. Southern Ave., Suite 108. Information: 480-393-3001, tlmchurch.info@gmail.com.

-Rabbi Dean Shapiro is the spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel of Tempe. Contact him at rshapiro@ emanueloftempe.org and visit his “Rabbi Dean Shapiro” page on Facebook.

Children can learn and experience Jewish life. Chabad Hebrew School focuses on Jewish heritage, culture and holidays.

DETAILS>> 9:30 a.m. to noon, for children ages 5-13 at Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 875 N. McClintock Drive, Chandler. 480-855-4333, info@chabadcenter.com, or chabadcenter.com.

SUNDAY CELEBRATION SERVICE

Inspirational messages and music to lift your spirit. A welcoming community committed to living from the heart.

Many classes and events offered. We welcome you!

DETAILS>> 10 a.m. Sundays at Unity of Tempe, 1222 E. Baseline Road, Suite 103, Tempe. Information: 480-7921800, unityoftempe.com.

Submit your releases to pmaryniak@ timespublications.com

GET OUT

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

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www.ahwatukee.com www.ahwatukee.com

Kimberly Lewis loves fable, spectacle and her dancers

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

A

hwatukee dance artist/instructor Kimberly Lewis has often exhibited her love of fables, spectacle and

family.

And just she has shown that fascination with her annual production of the Ahwatukee Nutcracker, Lewis is going again with her presentation of “Once Upon a Time” at noon and 6:30 p.m. Saturday, June 2, at Desert Vista High School’s Fine Arts Theater.

The show is made for her wheelhouse.

Lewis calls her 24th full-stage production with dancers, ages 2 to 18, from her Dance Studio 111 “a wonderful journey to far off places, magical and mystical, fantasy, heroic, and of course with an ending where everyone lives happily ever after.”

“You will see over 500 spectacular costumes in the show,” she said. “Each costume (is) a close replicate from the movie.”

Then there’s the family part – or parts, as it turns out.

First, is Lewis’ tradition of inviting fathers

(Kimberly Carrillo/AFN Photographer)

Rehearsing some movements are, from left, Zora Griffin Todd, Libby Juist, Amelia Bennett and in Natalie Sterling.

of the dancers to come up on stage and dance with their daughters.

“This year’s daddy-daughter theme is heroes, where we pay tribute to our heroes – the military, doctors and nurses, firefighters and police officers,” she said. “We love this

because it is such a bonding time for the dads and daughters, and the dads have such an appreciation of the time and commitment it takes to learn a dance routine.”

There’s also another family element – namely, the family that Lewis forges through

the close bonds she develops with her dancing students.

“Dance Studio 111 has been in business in the Ahwatukee Foothills Community for 24 years,” Lewis explained. “Dancers who grew up dancing at our studio now have children themselves dancing in ‘Once Upon a Time.’ It is so special knowing so many dancers who grew up dancing at our studio enjoyed so many years at the studio that they now have their own children attending the studio – the next generation.”

“We have four graduating seniors who grew up dancing, some since age 3, at Dance Studio 111,” she added.

They include Olivia Gregg, who Olivia started dancing at age 3 at Lewis’ Studio 111; Madi Nash, who has a studio regular; Jordan Torgerson, who started at age 4 and was the Sugarplum Fairy in last December’s production of “Nutcracker”; and Vinny West, a studio student for four years.

“Olivia Gregg and Madi Nash have also been on Dance Studio 111 Elite Company See

LEWIS on page 39

El Sol boasts a legacy of authentic Mexican cuisine

BY COLLEEN SPARKS GETOUT Contributing Writer

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any restaurants have come and gone in Chandler over the last few decades, but one has consistently been attracting diners who crave its authentic, homemade tortillas and other Mexican food.

El Sol Mexican Café & Bakery is a family-owned eatery that opened in 1988 across the street from its current location on North Arizona Avenue just south of Ray Road.

Customers rave about the homemade salsa and tortillas, along with the many different burritos. Mexican wedding cookies with cinnamon, sugar and ground walnuts and pigshaped gingerbread-like cochitos also tempt diners.

El Sol’s operation is a family affair for longtime restaurateur Obed de la Cruz and his wife, Panfila, who own a number of other Mexican restaurants in the Valley, including El Zocolo Mexican Grille in downtown Chan-

(Kimberly Carrillo/AFN Staff Photographer)

Obed and Panfila de la Cruz own El Sol Mexican Café & Bakery on North Arizona Avenue, Chandler, and employ several of their children, including daughter Alessia.

dler.

Obed’s father, Daniel, bakes desserts for El Sol. Obed and Panfila’s daughters, Alessia and Beatriz, 19 and 16, and their son, Daniel, 17, also work there.

Obed’s late mother, Beatriz, had worked as a chef at the restaurant after she and Daniel moved to the Valley from Utah.

Obed and his father started El Sol after Daniel had been getting rave reviews for the

homemade tortillas and empanadas he sold door-to-door in barrios, Obed said.

“It’s just the staple Mexican food,” Obed See

EL SOL on page 39

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MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Best Sports Bar & Happy Hour!

One of the Best Restaurants and Wings

appetizers • wings • burgers • full menu (Kimberly Carrillo/AFN Photographer)

Some of Lewis dancers include, from left, Ally Nash, Rachel Christensen, Bella Gregg, Ashleigh Griffin and Madi Nash.

LEWIS

from page 38

team for many years,” Lewis noted. “They have traveled with our studio around the country competing and attending numerous dance conventions, winning many top honor dance awards. And both will be performing solos in the show.”

Lewis also is all about community when it comes to her productions.

“Our dancers would love for our community to come watch them in ‘Once Upon a

EL SOL

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said. “Ours is just quality, the homemade tortilla makes a difference, just the love we put into it. We take pride in what we do. Everything’s made in-house. The recipes that my mom handed down, we just kept running with them. This is where my heart’s at.”

Customers can buy salsa, made fresh daily, by the pint to take home. On Saturdays, El Sol sells breakfast menudo with honeycomb tripe.

Joel Davidson of Gilbert, a mortgage banker who works down the street from El Sol, is a regular there, and his wife, Eris, also loves it.

“It’s just good, authentic,” Davidson said.

“Their tortillas are fantastic. Their chorizo’s amazing.” As he sat at the counter in the restaurant filled with paintings created by Obed and other family members at El Sol recently, Davidson said the owners and their relatives are “just a real friendly family.”

Many people also praised the menu at El Sol on the restaurant’s Facebook page.

“My sister and I are always looking for great Mexican food and El Sol gave us just that,” Brenda Oliver Mook posted. “Food was great, salsa so good we bought some to take home. We will definitely be going back. And service was awesome.”

Time,’” she said. “They have been working since February to bring this show to the stage.

“I am grateful to our Ahwatukee Foothills Community for supporting the talented dancers from our community by attending our show. This is the perfect family show to attend. All ages will enjoy the music, costumes, and theme.”

Tickets range from $15 to $35 and all are for assigned seating. Get them at tututix. com/dancestudio111.

The frijoles, rice and desserts stole the heart of Jay Arrgh.

“There’s a reason this place gets almost nothing but 5 star reviews,” Arrgh said. “You can taste the quality in the rice and the near-Manteca-nirvana smoothness in the creamy frijoles. The tacos are nothing short of a Mexican Milagro. Do not skip out on the desserts.”

Lucee K. Bravo-buchanan also shared her love. “I have been going to El Sol for 14 years and not once have I ever had a bad experience!” Bravo-buchanan said. “I love their chips, their salsa, their tortillas and my favorite is the shredded beef tacos, but my grandchildren love the bean burritos! Also their menudo is the best, Don’t get me started on the pastries!”

In addition to the popular breakfast burritos, El Sol also has huevos rancheros for $7.89. The popular Mexican dish is a corn tostada with an egg, smothered with tomatillo sauce, which comes with a flour tortilla, potatoes and refried beans.

The chorizo plate, also for $7.89, has spicy, flavorful chorizo and eggs, together with a side of beans, potatoes and a flour tortilla.

Customers have many choices in burritos, to choose from at El Sol including red and See

EL SOL on page 42

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

Area watering holes hail the margarita at 80

BY DAVID M. BROWN GETOUT Contributor

BUY ONE Breakfast Entreé receive the 2nd one

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merica’s favorite cocktail is 80 and area restaurants, bars, cafés and cantinas are clinking glasses with special fervor to mark the margarita’s anniversary.

The traditional mixed drink is tequila, triple sec and lime juice with salt rubbed on the rim of the glass; it’s served on ice, without ice, or frozen, blended with ice.

Each mixologist/bartender, though, will cover the basic recipe with innovative methods and ingredients.

One of the popular stories explaining the origin of the margarita is that in 1938, Carlos “Danny” Herrera at his Rancho La Gloria restaurant, near Tijuana, Mexico, created the drink for Ziegfeld dancer Marjorie King, recalled bartender Albert Hernandez, who went on to popularize the drink in La Jolla, California, after World War II. Jose Cuervo, the company known for its tequilas, agrees that 1938 is the birth year, noting that the margarita was first delivered by a bartender to honor Mexican showgirl Rita de la Rosa. The first margarita recipe is said to have been published in the December 1953 “Esquire.”

First, Snooze an AM Eatery in Ahwatukee, Tempe and Gilbert, offers two custom-crafted margaritas, even with breakfast: a Morning Margarita and a seasonal Pomegranate Margarita.

“At Snooze, with our cocktail program we try and start with classics and elevate them with a breakfast theme,” said Andrew Mangan, regional manager for the Denver-based company.

The Morning Margarita, for example, is Espolón Blanco Tequila or spicy with Ancho Reyes, orange liqueur, house sour and a lime squeeze.

The Pomegranate Margarita is Snooze’s variation on the classic drink.

“We update it seasonally with a focus on fresh fruits and juices to complement the classic cocktail build,” Mangan explained.

“We take the juice and add sugar and vinegar, which lends a really nice depth of flavor to the drink.

“The deep purple color is an eye catcher and, because it is well balanced, it is not a fruity or sweet drink and is a crowd-pleaser for all,” he added, noting that the restaurant will feature a seasonal Strawberry Jalapeño this summer.

Near Snooze in downtown Gilbert is one of the three Valley Barrio Queens, which all

serve three signature margaritas: Death’s Door, Toloache and La Barrio Paloma.

“Death’s Door is for those who want a challenge,” said Steve Rosenfield, who began the restaurants with wife Linda Nash. “It is a margarita that is spicy but with a hint of sweetness and a little macho.”

The bar starts with blanco tequila and adds jalapeño, chile de arbol and habanero peppers, then serves it in a skull mug.

Toloache is a love potion. “The Aztecs believed you could make anyone fall head over heels for the person that concocted the potion for you,” Rosenfeld said.

It’s crafted with Maestro Dobel tequila, blueberries and agua de jamaica (hibiscus tea). “The potion is mixed at the table, which the guests love. They also want to see if it really works,” he added.

The Barrio Paloma is a grapefruit-based margarita, made at the table.

Sweet, sour and slightly bitter and salty, the “Dove” includes a very smooth Don Camilo Reposado tequila, fresh citrus juices and is topped with Mexican squirt soda and served in a cantarito.

Nash and Rosenfield first saw this variation in the small town of Amatitan, Jalisco, Mexico.

“There are Paloma stands in every corner competing to see who makes the best one,” he recalled.

Joyride Taco House offers seven specialty margaritas. The restaurant is one of a number owned by Phoenix-based Upward Projects, which started 13 years ago with the original Postino Arcadia by Craig and Kris DeMarco and Lauren and Wyatt Bailey.

“Despite being built around three simple ingredients, the margarita so much fun to make and drink because it’s so flexible. You can throw in your favorite fresh, seasonal fruits or add some jalapeño for spice or sprinkle in exotic elements like hibiscus.

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MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Workshops to teach students digital storytelling, design

BY COLLEEN SPARKS GETOUT Contributing Writer

S

tudents will learn how to tap into technology to tell stories and get on track for digital careers at workshops this summer in downtown Chandler.

The ARTyard Project Inc. will hold its A STEAM Summer Workshop June 4-29 in halfday or full-day sessions at the ASU Chandler Innovation Center, 249 E. Chicago St. High school and college students will be taught digital storytelling, graphic design, game design and audio design.

In small group settings, the participants will learn how to combine a personal narrative with still and moving images and a voiceover to make mini-movies at the workshop.

They will also use Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop to create digital and print designs. Students will build video games while learning game theory styles, designing and making worlds, characters and levels using the latest technology.

In the audio portion of the workshop, students will learn how to enhance the human voice and create music composition to trigger the power of sound as they complete digital storytelling, music, film and podcasts.

“They’ll have access to cameras and printers and scanners, just bringing in all the latest technology for them to experiment with,” said Ethel Ross, executive director and founder of The ARTyard Project.

“We encourage them to bring in photographs from home so it’s a personal story they’re telling, a vacation or memory, something heartfelt. We manipulate the photos in terms of color. We do incorporate a little bit of GIF.” GIF is a format for image files that supports animated and static images.

The ARTyard Project is a nonprofit organization that educators and artists started in 2012 to nurture diverse artists in a collaborative and creative community.

Its goal is to help artists learn entrepreneurial skills and get access to marketing materials made by artists learning technology arts.

Audio, theater, game design industry and web design professionals will teach the summer workshops, which are geared toward people ages 13 to 22.

The ARTyard Project has held events for musicians, singers and videographers, as well as an art show for visual artists at Gangplank on South Arizona Avenue downtown. Usual-

ly a guest speaker talks at a workshop and artists perform their craft at the events.

“There’s so much value in them performing in front of their peers in a safe environment where they get to showcase their talent,” Ross said. “They’re more than just students.

They just need a little bit (of) polishing and directing and they’re able to launch themselves.”

Musicians, actors, dancers and visual artists need graphic arts to promote their work, she said. Often, graphic artists will barter with the other artists involved with The ARTyard Project to build websites for them in exchange for getting their real-world professional experience.

Ross teaches graphic design at Basha High School. She said her students already are working in digital communication jobs before they graduate high school.

“There’s so much work to be had for the digital communication field,” she said. “Everything is online now. We have a shortage of these types of young people entering the field. Most of our graphic design or visual communication (workers) are coming from overseas. We’re not growing digital designers here at the same rate.”

The ARTyard Project, which started in Ross’ Chandler home, held a similar summer camp to the upcoming one a few summers ago at Gangplank. That one focused on graphic design, photography, illustration and page layout but lasted two weeks.

“The kids really had a good time,” Ross said. “It was fun. We were able to create some posters and fliers. The software is very complex. It’s like learning a new language for some people.”

A professional graphic designer, she previously worked as an art teacher for 20 years at schools in Gilbert and New Jersey.

Shirley Chiu of Chandler is grateful to Ross and The ARTyard Project for supporting and encouraging her with her photography.

Chiu cuts, arranges and photographs fruit and her photos were shown at an ARTyard Project showcase, where the work of another artist was also on display and a violin quartet played at Gangplank.

“I think that is a great way because for me, I never thought I am an artist,” Chiu said. “I’m just like a normal housewife and I just start from doing a very tiny little project while making breakfast for my husband and I.” She said Ross contacted her after seeing See

ART YARD on page 42

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ART YARD

from page 41

her photos of fruit posted on Facebook and said The ARTyard Project would like to exhibit her photos.

“I said, ‘Wow,’” Chiu said. “The ARTyard Project has been helping me because I was just like a nobody. Now my Chinese community, they know more about me and about my artwork. I’m really thankful and I really appreciate The ARTyard work.

“Their goal is really good, their vision is really amazing to help the artist to get recognized in the community,” she added. “ARTyard has been the tool for us, the other artists, (to)

EL SOL

from page 38

green ones for $6.65 each.

Another fan favorite, the carne asada burrito, is $7.65 each.

El Sol also has pollo asado (with chicken), carnitas (fried pork cooked in oil with salt) and shredded beef burritos, as well as bean and cheese and veggie burritos, all ranging from $4 to $7.65.

The killer burrito, for $8.25, comes with pico de gallo, green tomatillo sauce, rice and beans and diners can add whichever fillings from the other burritos they like.

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

at least get noticed in the community. I think it’s a great nonprofit organization.”

Ross, who is also president of the board of directors for ARTyard Project, said she would love for The ARTyard Project to have its own space as “Gangplank is very tech-centered and we’re definitely more arts-centered.”

The workshop sessions for A STEAM Summer Workshop will take place in two sessions: from 8 a.m. to noon and 2 to 6 p.m.

June 4-29.

Any of the one-week sessions costs $285.

The cost of taking the workshops all four weeks is $2,000. Information: theartyardproject.org.

El Sol also offers quesadillas, with just cheese or stuffed with pollo asado, shredded beef or carne asada.

The menu gives customers numerous choices in tortas, including shrimp, carnitas and carne asada.

People can order several combinations that come with rice and beans. One combination includes a taco and enchilada for $8.99.

Obed moved from Midvale, Utah, to the Phoenix area in the late 1980s, after his parents relocated to the Valley. He came at first just to visit but liked it and decided to stay.

“I love being in Chandler,” Obed said. “We get firemen, policemen, sheriffs, suits, skirts,

Special to AFN

The ARTyard Project holds events including a recent exhibit for visual artists, and gives musicians, singers, videographers and other creative professionals a chance to practice their craft and get help marketing their work.

shorts, tank tops” at El Sol, he added.

Obed said he was a high school dropout and the creativity he’s been able to express as a restaurant owner appeals to him.

“It’s been fun,” he said. “It’s all I know. I grew up in the business.”

Obed said El Sol focuses mostly on the lunch and breakfast items and has scaled back on the bakery side.

Competing with the many bakeries at local grocery stores that have popped up in recent years is difficult, he added.

His father, who bakes the desserts, is 90 years old and nearly ready to retire.

Besides owning El Sol and El Zocalo, which

is on South San Marcos Place, Obed and Panfila also own Phoenix Burrito House along with Obed’s brother, Daniel Jr. Obed and Panfila also own Mangos Mexican Café in downtown Mesa and Burritoholics and Calakmul in Cave Creek.

“Each location has its own character,” Obed said. “We’re very artistic. It’s in your blood. My dad and mom really laid the foundation; taught us the good work ethic.”

El Sol is located at 760 N. Arizona Ave. It is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Customers can download a menu and order through the El Sol app by texting ELSOL to 33733.

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MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

King Crossword

The ‘Mother Sauces’ from Momma

BY JAN D’ATRI AFN Contributor

échamel, velouté, espagnole, tomato, hollandaise.

Much is written about the five “Mother Sauces,” the ones every cook should know and the basis for most dishes.

But my own mother’s sauces are even more valuable to me. Through the years, I’ve written about many of my Momma’s exquisite original recipes. She was a gourmet chef/owner of her own Italian restaurants, cookbook author and one of those home cooks who could just turn ingredients into a symphony of balanced fla-

vors effortlessly.

Like a musical conductor, my Momma knows how to guide the orchestra of ingredients, finessing them, encouraging the highs and lows and allowing them to do what they’re supposed to do – culminate in the finale. She has an incredible command of what each flavor brings to the dish and lets it all happen without getting in the way.

At nearly 90, Momma still has that same remarkable palate. Just enough salt. Just enough sweetness. Not too overcooked. Just right. One of my weekly go-to sauces is Momma’s 10-Minute Marinara. I’ve also included Momma’s meat sauce and alfredo, too!

Momma’s 10-minute marinara Ingredients:

1 small can organic tomato paste Salt and Pepper to tast

B

4 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, chopped fine 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine 2 bay leaves Pinch of red pepper flakes 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped fine 1 large (28 oz) can organic crushed tomatoes

Momma’s Homemade Meat Sauce Ingredients: 1 large onion, finely diced 3 or 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced 2 sticks of celery, finely diced 1 medium carrot, finely diced 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 pound ground beef ½ pound Italian sausage (sweet or hot) 2 cans (16 oz) organic tomato sauce 1 can (6 oz) organic tomato paste 3 bay leaves 2 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped

Momma’s Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients: 1 cube unsalted butter 1 tablespoon flour 1 cup heavy cream Dash of fresh nutmeg 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium high heat, sauté onions and garlic in oil until golden brown. (Don’t burn.) Add remainder of ingredients except salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper at the end of cooking process.

1/2 cup chicken broth or water as needed if sauce gets too thick Salt and pepper to taste (add only at the end of the cooking process)

Directions:

In a large pan (or Dutch oven) over medium heat, sauté onion, garlic, celery and carrot in olive oil until translucent. Add beef and sausage, cooking until browned.

Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, bay leaves and basil.

Simmer for about 45 minutes. If sauce gets too thick, add chicken broth or water as needed.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

In medium saucepan, melt butter and flour to make rue. Add cream, dash of fresh grated nutmeg, and cheese. Stir until well blended and begins to thicken.

Add salt and pepper.

Watch my how-to video: jandatri.com/recipes/one-minute-kitchen.

ACROSS 1 Grand story 5 Recipe meas.

8 Slender smoke 12 Stereo precursor 13 Conger or moray 14 Opposed to 15 Sit on eggs 17 Highlander 18 Rib 19 Off the path 21 Thing 24 Golf prop 25 Related 28 Sandwich shop 30 Shock and - 33 Lair 34 Duck down 35 Vast expanse 36 Pouch 37 Male 38-Across 38 See 37-Across 39 Eggs 41 Unrivaled 43 Legendary 46 Adult insect 50 Sahara-like 51 On an angle 54 Rinky- - 55 Use the microwave 56 Unrivaled 57 Long story 58 Flightless bird 59 Tackles’ teammates

31 Teensy 32 Listener 34 Jacob’s brother 38 End 40 Bullshot ingredient 42 Zero 43 Crazes 44 Operatic solo

45 Dimension 47 Any time now 48 Neuter 49 Rhyming tributes 52 “Platoon” setting, for short 53 Innards of a PC

DOWN 1 Send forth 2 Corn concoction 3 Erstwhile Peruvian 4 Family member 5 With 6-Down, cups and saucers and such 6 See 5-Down 7 Entreaty 8 Haste result 9 Enlarge 10 Old portico 11 Compassion 16 Wager 20 Use a swizzle stick 22 Fix a manuscript 23 Olympics prize 25 Billboards 26 Mauna - 27 Arriving 29 Toy block name

PUZZLE ANSWERS on page 37

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

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www.ahwatukee.com

Thunder athletes honored as the school year comes to a close

BY BRIAN BENESCH AFN Sports Editor

T

he Arizona Interscholastic Association recognized several Desert Vista athletes who stood out on the field and in the classroom this spring.

The honors came as no surprise as the Thunder baseball and tennis teams were among the area’s best, while the boys volleyball squad claimed a state title.

Tempe Union also bestowed some honors at graduation last Thursday, naming Davis Evans and Jillian Lombardi athletes of the year and Aksel Laudon and Shae Nicolaisen scholar athletes of the year.

Junior Brandon Childers was a workhorse on the mound for a good Thunder baseball team that finished the year with a 20-10 record. The AIA placed Childers on the All-Region First Team.

The pitcher compiled a 6-1 record

(Special to AFN)

Desert Vista High student athletes who were honored included, from top clockwise: Jillian Lombardi, Davis Evans, Shae Nicolaisen and Aksel Laudon.

with an impressive 2.26 ERA. His 14 ppearances on the mound were tied for the team-high.

Desert Vista took care of business in its play-in game, beating Trevor G. Browne by a 10-0 score. A valiant effort against Sandra Day O’Connor, the eventual state champion, fell just short in the first round of the state tournament.

The Thunder softball team saw a senior, junior and sophomore recognized for their work on the field this season.

Rion Simms, Jackie Traughber and Jenna Sumpter were named to the All-Region First Team.

Simms had an impressive four-year run with the Thunder. Her batting average totals of .341, .444, .415 and .421 show just how consistent she was at the plate.

“She is a consummate worker,” said See

DV AWARDS on page 46

Pride softball players, other athletes pick up awards

BY BRIAN BENESCH AFN Sports Editor

W

hen the Mountain Pointe High School seniors graduated last Thursday, some notable student-athletes were able to walk the stage with extra feathers in their caps.

Just prior to the final days of school, the Arizona Interscholastic Association honored several local players for their outstanding achievements on the field, which included some of the Pride’s top athletes.

Tempe Union High School District also saluted several athletes, naming Isela Enriquez and Antoine Kepczyk scholar athletes; Anna Morse and Kenny Churchwell master athletes and Gabriella Leo and Delano Selgado athletes of the year.

The Mountain Pointe softball team returned to the state tournament for the first time in three

(Special to AFN)

Mountain Pointe High senior athletes who were honored included, clockwise from above: Delano Salgado, Anna Morse, Antoine Kepczyk, Kenny Churchwell and Gabriella Leo.

years. And for that, the team can thank a trio of seniors who stayed hot at the dish all season – Danielle Farinas, Veronica Chavez and Ilyiana Vacaneri powered the Pride’s potent offense.

A year after compiling huge numbers at the plate, Farinas was somehow able to improve in the batter’s box this season. She hit .560, with six home runs and 41 RBIs, leading all Pride players in those categories.

Farinas was also a rock on the mound. Her value is hard to quantify, but the AIA placed her on the All-Conference Second Team. It was the highest honor for a Pride softball player this year.

Right behind Farinas in nearly every category was Chavez, who collected 42 hits in 94 at-bats, good for a .447 batting average.

See

MP AWARDS on page 46

SPORTS

MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Karate Korner

Buddhist monk helped create Shaolin kung fu

BY RICK SAVAGIAN AFN Guest Writer

W

ithout standards, there are no values. Without discipline, there is no honor.

It is well known that most Oriental martial arts can be traced back to Buddhidharma, a Buddhist monk who lived during the fifth or sixth century. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch.

According to Chinese legend, he also began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that led to the creation of Shaolin kung fu. However, in Japan he is known as daruma.

Today, in the Shaolin Temple the monks practice the physical but also practice Buddhism and the medicine of these old ways. Hence, they still develop the body, mind and spirit.

Odagiri Ichiun’s contribution was that he was the first to articulate “strong beats the weak,” not just physically but mentally and spiritually as well.

Tomoe Gozen was a vicious samurai who killed 67 men in combat. She became a general she was so highly respected.

There are three types of students one encounter when teaching.

The first is the one you teach and still does not do what you have taught them.

The second student is the one you teach and does it correctly thereafter. The third is the student who you do not have to teach but does it.

This is obviously the best student as they are watching you teach others and make the corrections themselves imme-

diately. These are very rare.

In martial arts there are three types of opponents. The first is inferior to you, the second your equal and the third is your superior to you.

However, the goal is to move as many of the superior fighters into the equal class and then the equal fighters into the inferior class. This is a very old samurai philosophy.

The Japanese believe that there are two kinds of energy. Sha, or negative, and Ki, or positive. Man created Sha energy and it travels in straight lines, while positive or Ki travels in circles or curved lines.

You can defeat Sha energy by using Ki energy back at them. So, as an example, if a punch comes at you, you block it with a high block and punch right at back at him.

This the physical response but the mental response is that you are using a circular mind set or Ki to return the negative energy to the person who directed it at you.

Circular, or Ki, is the type of energy that is good for you – such as when your boyfriend/girlfriend hugs you, the energy is circular.

Sharp, straight energy, or Sha, is the type of energy generated by an arrow or a bullet or when you do not back up because your attacker is stronger.

If you do back up, take your enemy with you. The best approach is to move to 9 or 3 o’clock on a watch face and then go at him moving forward.

-Rick Savagian is founder and 5th degree sensei at Mountainside Martial Arts in Ahwatukee. Information: 480-759-4540, rick@mmacaz.net, or mountiansidemartialarts.com.

Check us out and like the Ahwatukee Foothills News on Facebook and follow @AhwatukeeFN on Twitter.

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45

46

SPORTS

DV AWARDS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

from page 44

Chris Crowl, Vista’s softball coach.

“She loves the game of softball and has worked tirelessly over the four years of club and high school ball.”

Simms will continue her career at the University of San Diego this coming fall.

Junior Jackie Traughber excelled in every facet of the sport. She hit .457 at the plate while serving as the team’s top pitcher at the same time. Her low 2.88 ERA in 26 appearances was enough to secure a spot alongside Simms on the first team.

MP AWARDS

from page 44

Chavez was one of only three players to appear in every game for the Pride this season.

Vacaneri put up five homers to go along with a .473 batting average. She finished second on the team with 42 runs scored, a valuable statistic that is often overlooked.

Both Chavez and Vacaneri were named to the All-Region First Team by the AIA. While the MP baseball team may have been inconsistent season, the season was anything but disappointing for sopho-

“We had one of the toughest schedules in the conference, and a really young team,” Crowl said. “Jackie was playing with a really inexperienced group and she managed to go out there and give us an opportunity to win.”

According to Crowl, Traughber dealt with nagging injuries throughout the year, which made her contributions to the team even more impressive.

Jenna Sumpter’s performance on the diamond was the biggest revelation for Thunder softball. The first-year starter recorded a .526 batting average and a .608 on-base percentage.

“Biggest surprise we had all year long,”

Crowl said of Sumpter. “We knew she had some talent, but didn’t realize how much of an impact she could make. She played like a senior. She’s a really talented young lady.”

The sophomore joined her older teammates with the prestigious recognition from the AIA. The head coach sees big things in Sumpter’s future.

“No doubt in my mind. I think she is committed to getting better and better,” said Crowl. “She’s got her sights on playing at the next level. I see her continuing to rise.”

The softball team was eventually de-

feated by Gilbert in the state play-in game, ending their season in late April.

The Desert Vista boys tennis team continued to be one of the state’s best groups this spring. For their season-long efforts, Michael Liu and Andrew Hoffman were named Div-I Section VI Doubles Players of the Year.

DV’s Luke Urlaub was named Singles Player of the Year alongside Gilbert’s Owen Reynolds and Brophy’s Greg Abbott.

more Carson Tucker.

The infielder earned All-Conference First Team honors for his incredible work in the field and at the plate. Tucker was an effective hitter all year long, highlighted by a 3-for-3, 4 RBI performance in a win over Westview.

“His work ethic is pretty crazy,” said Pride Head Coach Matt Denny. “I don’t think he wants to be the best on the team or in the state. I really think he wants to be the best ever. I expect huge things from him.”

Pitcher Nick Wallerstedt just missed out on the first team honors, but found a home on the All-Conference Second

Team.

He shined on the hill after a rocky start to the season, securing three wins and totaling a 4.34 ERA. “I knew once he figured out command on the mound, he was just going to be fantastic,” Denny said.

But it was at the plate where Wallerstedt really stood out. The Corona transfer hit .408, with 32 RBIs, earning high praise from his head coach.

“He might have been our most consistent guy. He was a guy who could steal bases when he got on. He’s a really versatile player,” Denny said. “I don’t think he has scraped the surface on what he can

do on the baseball field.”

The Pride didn’t quite meet Denny’s expectations, but the team managed to make a run at the end of the year to secure a place in the postseason. A blowout win in the play-in game against Cibola showed what this team is capable of accomplishing next season.

“I’m never satisfied with the season unless we’re holding up a trophy, but I think that run at the end of the year gave us a spark,” he said.

Contact Brian Benesch at 480-898-5630 or bbenesch@timespublications.com. Follow him on Twitter @AZBenesch.

Contact Brian Benesch at 480-898-5630 or bbenesch@timespublications.com. Follow him on Twitter @AZBenesch.

47

MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Break Free from Neuropathy with a New Supportive Care Cream A patented relief cream stands to help millions of Americans crippled from the side effects of neuropathy by increasing sensation and blood flow wherever it’s applied Raymond Wilson The Associated Heath Press

Diabasens nationwide. And regardless of the market, its sales are exploding.

AHP − A recent breakthrough stands to help millions of Americans plagued by burning, tingling and numb legs and feet.

Men and women from all over the country are eager to get their hands on the new cream and, according to the results initial users reported, they should be.

But this time it comes in the form of a cream, not a pill, suggesting the medical community may have been going about the problem all wrong.

In the trial above, as compared to baseline, participants taking Diabasens saw a staggering 51% increase sensitivity in just one week. This resulted in significant relief from burning, tingling and numbness throughout their legs.

The breakthrough, called Diabasens, is a new relief cream developed for managing the relentless discomfort caused by neuropathy.

When applied directly to the legs and feet, it causes arteries and blood vessels to expand, increasing the flow of warm, nutrient rich blood to damaged tissue.

However, what’s most remarkable about the cream... and what makes it so brilliant...is that it contains one of the only natural substances known to activate a special sensory pathway right below the surface of the skin.

This pathway is called TRAP1 and it controls the sensitivity of nerves. In laymen terms, it determines whether you feel pins and needles or soothing relief.

Studies show that symptoms of neuropathy arise when the nerves in your legs deteriorate and blood flow is lost to the areas which surround them.

As the nerves begins to die, sensation is lost. This lack of sensation is what causes the feelings of burning, tingling and numbness.

This is why the makers of Diabasens say their cream has performed so well in a recent clinical use survey trial. It increases sensation and blood flow where ever its applied.

No Pills, No Prescriptions, No Agony Until now, many doctors have failed to consider a topical cream as an effective way to manage neuropathy.

Diabasens is proving it may be the only way going forward.

“Most of today’s treatment methods have focused on minimizing discomfort instead of attacking its underlining cause. That’s why millions of adults are still in excruciating pain every single day, and are constantly dealing with side effects” explains Dr. Esber, the creator of Diabasens.

“Diabasens is different. Since the most commonly reported symptoms − burning, tingling and numb legs and feet − are caused by lack of sensation of the nerves, we’ve designed the formula increase their sensitivity.

And since these nerves are located right below the skin, we’ve chosen to formulate it as a cream. This allows for the ingredients to get to them faster and without any drug like side effects” he adds.

Study Finds Restoring Sensation the Key To Effective, Long Lasting Relief With the conclusion of their latest human clinical use survey trial, Dr. Esber and his team are now offering

Many participants taking Diabasens described feeling much more balanced and comfortable throughout the day. They also noticed that after applying, there was a pleasant warming sensation that was remarkably soothing.

Diabasens Users Demand More Many of Diabasens users say their legs have never felt better. For the first time in years, they are able to walk free from the symptoms which have made life hard.

“I have been using the cream now for about ten days.

It has given me such relief.

I’ve had very bad foot pain from injuries and overuse of my feet for years which have contributed to severe itching/tingling and pain for some time. (My father also suffered from this pain and itching. I wish I would have had this for him.)

The first time I used the cream, I felt an almost immediate relief from this.

Topical Creams Offer Sufferers a Safer, More Effective Avenue of Relief: Diabasens increases sensation and blood flow wherever its applied. It’s now being used to relieve painful legs and feet.

As these nerves deteriorate, sensation is lost. This is why you may not feel hot or cold and your legs and feet may burn, tingle and go numb.

Additionally, without proper blood flow, tissues and cells in these areas begin to die, causing unbearable pain.

The cinnamaldehyde in Diabasens is one of the only compounds in existence that can activate TRPA1, a special sensory pathway that runs through your entire body.

I now use it at least twice a day: once in the morning before work and once at night before I sleep.

According to research, activating this pathway (which can only be done with a cream) increases the sensitivity of nerves, relieving feelings of tingling and numbness in your legs and feet.

I am so delighted with this. It has helped my walking, also. It has helped generate feeling again in my feet,” raves Marsha A. from Texas

Supporting ingredients boost blood flow, supplying the nerves with the nutrients they need for increased sensation.

Diabasens is shown to provide relief from: • Burning • Swelling • Tingling • Heaviness • Numbness • Cold extremities

Targets Nerve Damage Right Below the Skins Surface Diabasens is a topical cream that is to be applied to your legs and feet twice a day for the first two weeks then once a day after. It does not require a prescription.

The active ingredient is a compound known as cinnamaldehyde.

Studies show that neuropathy and nerve pain is caused when the peripheral nerves breakdown and blood is unable to circulate into your legs and feet.

Amazing Relief Exactly Where You Need It With daily use, Diabasens users report remarkable improvements in their quality of life without of the negative side effects or interactions associated with prescription drugs.

Readers can now enjoy an entirely new level of comfort that’s both safe and affordable. It is also extremely effective, especially if nothing else has worked.

Discounted Supply of Diabasens for Local Readers This is the official release of Diabasens. As such, the company is offering a special discounted supply to any reader who calls within the next 48 hours.

A special hotline number and discounted pricing has been created for all Arizona residents. Discounts will be available starting today at 6:00AM and will automatically be applied to all callers.

Your Toll-Free Hotline number is 1-800-621-8199 and will only be open for the next 48 hours. Only a limited discounted supply of Diabasens is currently available in your region.

THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FDA. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE, OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE. RESULTS MAY VARY. 307444_9.25_x_11.indd 1

5/22/18 1:07 PM

48

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

Miscellaneous For Sale KILL SCORPIONS! Buy Harris Scorpion Spray.

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Obituaries WILMOT, Marla Marshall

Marla Marshall Wilmot was born to Hawley and Theda Penn in Dayton, Ohio, on October 20, 1941. She moved to AZ in elementary school and later attended Camelback High School where she graduated in 1959. She married Ron Petica and resided in Tucson where she had son Ronald Scott Petica on February 25, 1961 and son Kent Nicholas Petica on May 27, 1967. She then divorced, moved to back to Phoenix and worked for Motorola and later Scottsdale Unified School District. She later married Lew Wilmot on September 18, 1970. She had Shanna Lynn Wilmot on December 25, 1971 and Melanie Rae Wilmot on June 22, 1978.

Marla was a homemaker and always loved volunteering at her kids’ school.

She was a baseball mom and cheer mom always supporting her kids in their sports/activities. In 1986, Lew and Marla moved to Albuquerque where she joined the tennis club and enjoyed snow skiing.

In 1990, Lew and Marla moved to Lodi, CA where she worked at Mickey Grove Zoo hosting childrens’ birthday parties. In 1998, Lew and Marla moved back to Phoenix to retire. Marla insisted on always keeping the house on Arapahoe Street in Ahwatukee and so this was once again home for the past 20 years.

Marla enjoyed volunteering her time for various organizations including driving retirees to appointments in the Ahwatukee area. She always made friends easily with her warm heart. Marla also enjoyed spending time with her family, friends, neighbors and especially her grandkids.

She is survived by her husband Lew, sons Scott and Kent, daughters Shanna and Melanie, granddaughter Jennifer (39), grandson Nick (27), grandson Robert (24), granddaughter Tatum (16), grandson Kolter (12) and great-grandson Kaden (13) and her dog Merlin. Marla was “Mama Marla” or “Grandma Marla” to many lucky people and she will be missed very much! A celebration of her life will held on Saturday, June 2nd at 2:00 PM at Green Acres Mortuary 401 N. Hayden Rd. Scottsdale, AZ. Contributions may be made in Marla’s name to ASPSA: American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America

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CLASSIFIEDS

52

Landscape Design/Installation

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

Landscape Maintenance

Foothills Touch Landscapes LLC Lawn care/Maint.

Starting as Low as $25.

Install/Design

Landscape Maintenance

LEE'S SPRINKLER REPAIR 30 years experience Timers - Valves Heads Leaks FREE ESTIMATES Ahwatukee Resident Call 480-282-7222

Not a licensed contractor

Ahw. Res. 30 yrs Exp Free Estimates.

Call Pat (480) 343-0562

Irrigation Repair Services Inc. Licensed • Bonded • Insured Technician

Specializing in Controllers, Valves, Sprinklers, Landscape Lighting, P.V.C. & Poly Drip Systems

Not a licensed contractor

Call Lance White

480.721.4146

Juan Hernandez

www.irsaz.com

SPRINKLER

Sell Your Stuff!

Drip/Install/Repair

Call Classifieds Today!

25 years exp. Call Now (480) 720-3840

ROC# 256752

CLASS@TIMESPUBLICATIONS.COM

Jose Martinez • 602.515.2767 English • 602.781.0600

WANT A GREEN LAWN? WANT LAWN? WANT AA GREEN GREEN LAWN? Not a licensed contractor.

WANTAAGREEN GREEN LAWN? WANT

480-­940-­8196

Theplugman.com

WANT A GREEN LAWN?

LAWN AERATING * LAWN SOIL TESTING FERTILIZER PROGRAMS * LAWN SERVICE

ROC 282663 * BONDED * INSURED YOUR LAWN EXPERT SINCE 1995

480-­940-­8196

480-­940-­8196 480-­940-­8196 480-­940-­8196 Theplugman.com Theplugman.com Theplugman.com Theplugman.com

LAWN AERATING * LAWN SOIL TESTING SOIL TESTING DE-THATCHING – LAWN LAWN AERATING * LAWN SOIL TESTING LAWN AERATING * LAWN SOIL TESTING FERTILIZER PROGRAMS * LAWN SERVICE

LAWN AERATING * LAWN SOIL TESTING FERTILIZER PROGRAMS – LAWN SERVICE FERTILIZER PROGRAMS * LAWN SERVICE FERTILIZER PROGRAMS * LAWN SERVICE

FERTILIZER PROGRAMS * LAWN SERVICE

ROC 282663 * BONDED * INSURED ROC 282663 * BONDED * INSURED

YOUR LAWN XPERT 1995 ROC 2282663 ** B **INCE IINSURED ROC 82663 BEEONDED ONDED NSURED YOUR LAWN XPERT SSINCE 1995

YOUR LLAWN SSINCE 11995 ROC 282663 * EEBXPERT ONDED * INSURED YOUR AWN XPERT INCE 995

YOUR LAWN EXPERT SINCE 1995

Free Estimates 7 Days a Week!

ROC# 186443 • BONDED

480.844.9765

SPRINKLER DOCTOR For All Your Irrigation and Outdoor Plumbing Needs!

Give us a call

480-643-9772

House Calls Are Always FREE! We specialize in Repairs and Replacement of

Valves, Timers, Sprinklers & Drip Systems Our Technicians are Local..Experienced..Insured BE WATER WISE..TUNE UP YOUR SYSTEM TODAY Not a licensed contractor

Landscape Maintenance

D-I-Y SPRINKLER REPAIR 4Chat with a Sprinkler Technician 4Get Step-by-Step Instructions 4Get Expert Advice FAST! 4Save Money $$$

DIAL-A-TECH Irrigation Help by Phone Call

602.329.3396

Request Your Dial-a-Tech Appointment Today!

We will give you totally new landscaping or revamp your current landscaping!

Tree/Palm Tree Trimming • Sprinkler Systems Desertscape • Gardening • Concrete Work Block Wall • Real & Imitation • Flagstone

FREE ESTIMATES

602-471-3490 or 480-962-5149 ROC#276019 • LICENSED BONDED INSURED

Affordable | Paver Specialists All phases of landscape installation.

Plants, cacti, sod, sprinklers, granite, concrete, brick, Kool-deck, lighting and more!

High Quality Results

Complete Clean Ups

A-Z Tauveli Prof LANDSCAPING LLC

Painting

New & Re-Do Design and Installation

Landscape Maintenance

Trim Trees All Types Gravel - Pavers Sprinkler Systems

Landscape Maintenance

Arizona Specialty Landscape

Not a licensed contractor

480.898.6465

Landscape Maintenance

SPRINKLER & DRIP REPAIR 4Landscape Lighting 4Wi-Fi Irrigation & Lighting timers 4Misting Systems

MOST REPAIRS

UNDER $100 We Do Installs!

Warranty On All Work Call Dennis or Lisa

602.329.3396 Not a Licensed Contractor

Complete Lawn Service & Weed Control Starting @ $60/Month!

• One Month Free Service • Licensed, Bonded Insured for your protection.

• Call or Text for a Free Quote

The Valley’s Premier Painters Proudly Serving Ahwatukee for a Decade.

Family Owned & Operated -Interior & Exterior Painting -Stucco/Drywall Repairs & Texture Matching -Minor Carpentry -4 Year Warranty!

-Competitive Pricing ACP is 100%Veteran Owned & Supports Our Vets with 10% off for all Military Personnel

See What We’re Up To!

kjelandscape.com • ROC#281191

www.AcpPaintingllc.com

Specials

FREE ESTIMATES • CALL TODAY!

480-586-8445

Licensed - Bonded - Insured ROC 290242

(480)785-6323

Lawn Mowing Starts At $20 Full Service Starts At $70

See MORE Ads Online!

15 + Yrs Exp! All English Speaking Crew

SONORAN LAWN

480-745-5230 We Only Service Ahwatukee, So We Are Always Close By To Meet Unexpected Needs

www.Ahwatukee.com

Landscape Maintenance

CLASSIFIEDS

MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Painting

Painting

PROFESSIONAL PAINTING Interior, Exterior House Painting.

Stucco Patching.

Gate/Front Door Refinishing.

Quality work/Materials Free Estimate Ignacio 480-961-5093 602-571-9015 ROC #189850 Bond/Ins'd

Jose Dominguez Painting & Drywall SEE OUR AD IN DRYWALL! Quick Response to your Call!

YOUR CLASSIFIED SOURCE

15 Years Exp 480-266-4589

480.898.6465

CLASS@TIMESPUBLICATIONS.COM

Not a licensed contractor

Painting

HOME IMPROVEMENT & PAINTING Interior/Exterior Painting 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE

We Are State Licensed and Reliable!

Free Estimates • Senior Discounts

480-338-4011

ROC#309706

East Valley PAINTERS

Painting

PHIL’S PRO PAINTING Int / Ext Home Painting 4-Less!

QUALITY PAINT #1 IN SERVICE

480-454-3959 FREE ESTIMATES

We’ll Beat Any Price!

ROC #301084

Plumbing

Plumbing

Minuteman Home Ser vices

PLUMBERS CHARGE TOO MUCH!!

PLUMBING

Same Day Service Guaranteed 24/7 FREE Service Call with Repairs

Dunn Edwards Quality Paint Small Stucco/Drywall Repairs

Voted #1 Paint Interior & Exterior • Drywall Repair Light Carpentry • Power Washing • Textures Matched Popcorn Removal • Pool Deck Coatings Garage Floor Coatings • Color Consulting

10% OFF

% 10 OFF any total work performed ANYTHING PLUMBING • Water heaters • Leaks • Garbage disposal • Bathrooms

minutemanhomeservices.com ROC 242804, 257474, 290005

affinityplumber@gmail.com

www.affinityplumbingaz.com

All bids include warranty & paint.

Call Cole Gibson at 602-785-8605 to schedule a FREE bid! ROC #312897

Call us to place your ad online!

480-898-6564

SERVICE • REPAIR • REPLACEMENT We offer personalized service for our customers.

We use the best materials that we can find.

Now Accepting all major credit cards

Affinity Plumbing LLC 480-487-5541

100% Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed!

MISSED THE DEADLINE?

Plumbing

Plumbing

• Interior • Exterior • Cabinets • Block Walls & Fences • Accent Walls • Doors & Trim

ItsJustPlumbSmart.com

Code T03

Free Estimates!

Home of the 10-Year Warranty!

Bonded/Insured • ROC#153131

Residential & Commercial

480-405-7099

480-755-5818

480-688-4770

SRS Painting

Bonded/Insured • ROC #223709

APS/SRP Certified Contractor BBB A+ • Licensed, bonded, and fully insured for your protection.

www.eastvalleypainters.com

Solid Rock Structures Inc, DBA

Beat Any Price By 10% • Lifetime Warranty Water Heaters Installed - $599 Unclog Drains - $49 FREE RO UNIT w/Any WATER SOFTENER INSTALL NO INTEREST FINANCING - 60 Months!!

‘A’ RATED PLUMBING REPAIR Free Estimates • Same Day Service

We Beat Competitors Prices & Quality

Family Owned & Operated

Your Ahwatukee Plumber & East Valley Neighbor

Owned and Operated

by Rod Lampert Ahwatukee Resident Serving Ahwatukee for over 25 years

Our services include: Sinks, Toilets, Faucets, Water Heaters, Garbage Disposal, Drain Cleaning, Pressure Reducing Valves, Pressure Vacuum Breakers, Hot Water Circulation Systems, Main Service Valves and Hose Taps.

(480)

279-4155

Licensed • Bonded • Insured • ROC 189848

Anything Plumbing Same Day Service Water Heaters

24/7

Inside & Out Leaks

Bonded

Toilets

Insured

Faucets

Estimates Availabler

PLUMBING

Disposals

$35 off

Any Service

$35.00 Off Any Service Call Today!

A+ RATED ACCREDITED BUSINESS ®

Not a licensed contractor

Your newspaper.

Your community.

Your planet.

Please recycle me.

53

We Repair or Install ROC # 272721

AHWATUKEE’S #1 PLUMBER Licensed • Bonded • Insured

704.5422

(480)

CLASSIFIEDS

54

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

Pool Service / Repair

Pool Service / Repair

CLR Pool Service LLC Excellent Service...

First time, Every time!

Filter Cleaning!

Ret. Public Safety Owner/Operator.

Trusted in Tukee for 35 years.

Great rates.

Guaranteed satisfaction.

480-577-1710 tukeepoolservice.com

Charles Rock - Ahwatukee Resident

480.399.ROCK (7625)

charles@clrpoolservice.com

Monthly Service & Repairs Available

Car for Sale?

602-546-POOL www.barefootpoolman.com

Licensed, Bonded & Insured ROC# 272001

For a limited time

POOL REPAIR

Pebble cracking, Plaster peeling, Rebar showing, Pool Light out?

I CAN HELP!

25 Years Experience • Dependable & Reliable

Call Juan at

Not a licensed contractor.

Advertise It Here!

See our Before’s and After’s on Facebook

1st Month of Service FREE

Juan Hernandez

Pavers • Concrete • Water Features • Sprinkler Repair

480-720-3840

7 6 6 5

www.clrpoolservice.com

Call Now!

Tukee Pool Service

$25 OFF

Roofing

Pool Service / Repair

Call 480.898.6465

CLASS@TIMESPUBLICATIONS.COM

The POO POOL OOL Girls OO Serving Ahwatukee for 15 Years

FREE Estimates!

Ahw Resident • Owner Operated Maintenance & Repair Professional and Superior Service

Call Patti Cranson

We maintain, repair and service all types of pools, equipment, filters, cleaning systems, fresh water and salt water systems

480-390-1212

Call me, Howard:

480.231.9651

AZPoolExpert.com BBB Member

Family Owned/ Operated

Not a licensed contractor.

GREEN POOL

LLC

Roofing

CLEAN UPS & REPAIR

Quality Leak Repairs & Re-Roofs

Honest Free Estimates References

SERVICING THE VALLE Y FOR OVER 25 YE ARS

Pool Drain Special - $150 Acid Wash & Tile Clean - $600

DENNIS PORTER

Free start up chemicals included ($150 Value)

PROFESSIONAL • WEEKLY POOL SERVICE • REPAIRS

480-208-1808 CERTIFIED • BONDED • INSURED

Over 30 yrs. Experience

MORE CLASSIFIED ADS ONLINE! www.Ahwatukee.com

FREE

In-Home Design & Consultation

FAUCET

Included w/ Vanity Install

$

CLASSIFIEDS 480-898-6465 class@times publications.com

750 OFF Complete Bathroom Remodel & Upgrade Install

*Some restrictions may apply.

480-755-5818

minutemanhomeservices.com ROC 242804, 257474, 290005 APS/SRP Certified Contractor BBB A+ • Licensed, bonded, and fully insured for your protection.

CODE T16

Lic#ROC 152111 Bonded

Roofing The Most Detailed Roofer in the State

Cabinets • Walk-In Tubs • Bathtubs • Showers • Toilets • Vanity • Faucets • Shower Doors • Tile • Lighting

Walk In Tub

602-910-1485

Licensed/Bonded/Insured • ROC #236099

Minuteman Home Services BATHROOM/KITCHEN REMODEL in 5 Days or Less!*

200 OFF

RANDY HALFHILL

480-706-1453

Remodeling

$

480-460-7602 or 602-710-2263

Tiles, shingles, flat, repairs & new work Free Estimates • Ahwatukee Resident

TK

®

Tim KLINE Roofing, LLC Roofs Done Right...The FIRST Time!

15-Year Workmanship

Warranty on All Complete Roof Systems

www.timklineroofing.com

480-357-2463

FREE Estim a and written te proposal

R.O.C. #156979 K-42 • Licensed, Bonded and Insured

55

MAY 30, 2018 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Roofing

Roofing

Window Cleaning

Meetings/Events

PHILLIPS ROOFING LLC

John's Window Cleaning 1-story $135 / 2-story $155 -inside and out up to 30 panes (add'l panes $2) Screens cleaned $2.50 per pane.

Power Washing and Re-Screening available Same day Service (480) 201-6471

Ahwatukee Foothills Friends and Neighbors (AFFAN) is a women's organization, dedicated to cultivating friendships, and goodwill. AFFAN promotes social, charitable and educational events all year long. AFFAN holds monthly luncheon meetings with varied speakers. We offer over 40 monthly activities including Book Clubs, Canasta, Bunco, Euchre, and Bridge. Other monthly activities are Dining Out, Stitch and Chat, Explore Arizona, and Garden Club. Significant others/ spouses can attend some events.

For more info contact affanwomensgroup @gmail.com.

Check our website at affanwomensclub.com

Member of ABM

Licensed • Bonded • Insured ROC 223367

Valleywide

CR 42 DUAL

623-873-1626 All employees verified Free estimates on all roofs 36 Years experience in AZ Licensed contractor since 2006

phillipsroofing.org phillipsroofing@msn.com

Security Systems OWNER IS

20yr Ahwatukee Resident

Tile, Flat Roof, and Leak Repair Experts

$1000 OFF when you show this ad

on qualifying complete roof replacements

Let us show you the In-Ex Difference!

inexroofing.com 602-938-7575 CALL FOR YOUR FREE ROOF EVALUATION Serving The Valley Since 1996

SMART HOME _ SAFE HOME INTERACTIVE SECURITY VIDEO SURVEILLANCE HOME AUTOMATION ENERGY MANAGEMENT

Security System $42.95 with video doorbell FREE INSTALLATION!

!!! Located in Ahwatukee !!!

Call Guy @602-284-6594 AZROC1586044

HIRING? People are looking in the Classifieds Every Day!

Payment Options Available Credit Cards Accepted ROC #: 269218

Meetings/Events?

Get Free notices in the Classifieds!

Submit to ecota@timespublications.com

Licensed - Bonded - Insured

Email Your

Job Post to: class@times publications.com

or Call 480-898-6465

Meetings/Events Dining For Women (DFW) diningforwomen.org inspires, educates and engages people to invest in programs that make a meaningful difference for women and girls living in extreme poverty. DFW helps women find dignity and strength, develop skills and opportunities, value and support their children's education. We have a local chapter in Ahwatukee which meets the 3rd Thursday every month from 6:30 p.m.-8:30p.m. If you'd like to know more on how you can transform lives and reduce poverty contact Mary Hake at marysullivanhake @gmail.com

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS SENIOR ASSOCIATION (AFSA) Attention: Seniors 55+ --- become a member of AFSA. Mark your calendars for the first Thursdayof every month and enjoy meeting new friends, have a delicious lunch, and be entertained.

This all takes place at the Foothills Golf Club, 2201 E Clubhouse Dr. Doors open at 11am and lunch is at Noon. Cost is $15. For further information and details, please call Sue McCann at (480) 469-9388.

Crops of Luv

"My dream is that one day we will be able to give every "wish" child a scrapbook to remind them that dreams do come true."

Jody, co-founder, Ahwatukee based non-profit

Come Join us: Help make embellishments, organize or assist with events, scrapbook, donate your time, money or space.

Teens who need to fill Community Service hours for High School are welcome!

Come be apart of something Awesome!

Cropsofluv.com 480.634.7763

cropsofluv@cox.net

YOUR CLASSIFIED SOURCE

480.898.6465 CLASS@TIMESPUBLICATIONS.COM

WIN

56

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 30, 2018

NO MATTER WHERE YOU SEE IT, READ IT, OR HEAR IT, SPENCERS WILL BEAT IT. IF WE AREN’T ALREADY LOWER, JUST LET US KNOW BECAUSE

WE GUARANTEE A LOWER PRICE!

40" SMART TV

25.4 CU FT REFRIGERATOR

• 1080p Resolution • Wide Color Enhancer • Smart Apps

• Spill Proof Glass Shelves • Adjustable Gallon Door Bins • Humidity Controlled Drawer • Accu-Chill Temperature System • 5 Wash Cycles • 1-Hour Wash Cycle WRS325FDAM CLOSEOUT • Triple Filtration System WDT720PADM CLOSEOUT

DISHWASHER

379 449

$ $

UN40NU7100

WASHER

• 3.6 Cu. Ft. • 10 Wash Cycles • Stainless Steel Drum • Deep Rinse Option HTW240ASKWS CLOSEOUT

369 349

$ $

OVER THE RANGE MICROWAVE • 1.7 Cu. Ft. • 1000 Watts • 220 CFM Vent System

WMH31017AS CLOSEOUT

30” RANGE

DRYER

• 6.2 Cu. Ft. • 4 Drying Cycles • 3 Temperature Settings HTX24EASKWS WTW4915EW WED4915EW CLOSEOUT CLOSEOUT

ALL 4

60

$

EACH

MONTHLY PAYMENT**

ALL 4

• 4.8 Cu. Ft. • 4 Radiant Elements • Custom Broil • Storage Drawer

WFE320M0AS CLOSEOUT

399

$

REFRIGERATOR

• 15 CU. FT. • 2 HUMIDITY CONTROLLED CRISPERS • 2 SHELVES FFTR1513LW CLOSEOUT

1999 399

$

$

OVER-THE RANGE MICROWAVE

229

$

• 1.6 Cu. Ft. • Auto Reheat •1990 Watts of Power • 10 Power Levels FFMV162LS CLOSEOUT

139 $989

$

FFSS2614QS

The Spencers TV & Appliance credit card is issued by Wells Fargo Financial National Bank. Special terms apply to qualifying purchases of $499.00 or more charged with approved credit. The special terms APR will continue to apply until all qualifying purchases are paid in full. The monthly payment for this purchase will be the amount that will pay for the purchase in full in equal payments during the promotional (special terms) period. The APR for Purchases will apply to certain fees such as a late payment fee or if you use the card for other transactions. For new accounts, the APR for Purchases is 28.99%. If you are charged interest in any billing cycle, the minimum interest charge will be $1.00. This information is accurate as of 01/06/2016 and is subject to change. For current information, call us at 1-800-431-5921. Offer expires1/31/2018.

6/30/2018.

MESA SHOWROOM | 115 W. First Ave. | 480-833-3072 AHWATUKEE | 4601 E. Ray Rd. | Phoenix | 480-777-7103 ARROWHEAD RANCH | 7346 W. Bell Road | 623-487-7700 EAST MESA/GILBERT Gateway Towne Center |4630 E. Ray Rd. | South End by Target | 480-988-1917 GILBERT Santan Village | 2711 S. Santan Village Pkwy | 480-366-3900 GLENDALE | 10220 N. 43rd Ave | (602) 504-2122 GOODYEAR | 1707 N. Litchfield Rd | 623-930-0770 SCOTTSDALE | 14202 N. Scottsdale Rd. | 480-991-7200 SCOTTSDALE/PHOENIX | 13820 N. Tatum Blvd. | (602) 494-0100 MESA CLEARANCE CENTER | 115 W. First Ave. | 480-833-3072 OPEN DAILY 9AM - 9PM • SATURDAY 9AM - 6PM • SUNDAY 11AM - 5PM